How did the running skirts husbands garner such clever nicknames you ask? Well, here's the cliff's notes version:
- Hubbies decided to take on the multifaceted & challenging sport of Triathlon!
- Hubbies bought themselves shiny fancy-schmancy (lance armstrong and greg lamond worthy bikes for Christmas)
- Wives purchased hubbies first triathlon entries for hubbies for Christmas
- Hubbies took several rather embarassing, yet hilarious tumbles while learning to ride new bikes in bike shoes
- Wifes concocted nicknames "Lance Fallstrong" and "Greg Landswrong" over a glass of vino one night....accompanied with belly aching laughter and happy crying and a post on facebook with their photos in their "dedunt-dedunts" as we affectionately refer to their skin-tight cycling outfits.
We were looking forward to a weekend in the desert with no racing pressure of our own as well the promise of a brand new location for our long runs (don't get me wrong, our rancho santa fe trails are awesome, but after back to back repeated long runs over the last several weeks, new scenery is in order!). We stayed at a family friendly resort in Rancho Mirage called Rancho Las Palmas which was ideal for the kiddos. They had an absolute blast playing in the massive pool complete with sandy beach, winding water slides and a lazy river that ran around the resort. We were all in unanimous agreement that what seemed as a pricey room rate was actually money very well spent as it not only entertained the kids completely and kept them busy swimming and playing (they need their cardio too), but it also brought them to the dinner table each night completely subdued (physically spent) which made for wonderful relaxing poolside days and great relaxing dinners complete with uninterrupted adult conversation and actual enjoyment of a good bottle of vino too!
Early Saturday, before the families woke up, Christy & I scouted out the great "palm desert" trail system and headed out for a 2 hour long run. We made our way along a trail next to a canal and quickly found our way onto the Hopalong Cassidy trail. It was a gorgeous sunny and clear morning and the view from the top of the trails were amazing. We even spotted a few road runners (for real) and quickly attempted to snap a few photos. Unfortunately the road runners lived up to their reputation (and like the classic cartoon) "meepmeep" and they were gone...too fast for our cell phone cams.
Long run done, we made our way back to the resort on weary legs and found the families already poolside having another great time! The hubbies were chomping at the bit to get to the race expo and pick up their packets, etc. The nerves & pre-race jitters were starting to emerge! It was a nice change to be sipping on a pool side refreshment while the guys ran out to pick up the race packets for a chance. We had to chuckle as they departed and looked at us with puppy dog expression and said "are you guys sure you don't want to go to the tri expo (you know how we love our expos) and leave the relaxing bliss of the sunshine warming our poolside bodies behind, we're gonna have to pass on this one". And then they were gone......for hours!
Dinner that night was again more peaceful and relaxing than the previous night and we all headed back to the hotel for an early night's sleep in preparation for the early start of the Desert Triathlon. We headed out at 5:00 a.m. to beat the traffic to Lake Cahuilla. Greg Landswrong (cindy's hubby) was doing the sprint distance and his race started first. It was a crisp cool morning without much wind but had the potential for rain. The Sprint tri went off without a hitch, and the hubby did a great job, out of the swim in the first half of the pack & by the time he got off the bike, we was in the top 20. He lost his position a bit on the run portion, but still finished in the top 30 and took 2nd place Age group - woohoo! As he was finishing the run portion, "Lance Fallswrong" took off in the International distance. He also did awesome! He was in the first 20 out of the water, lost a little positioning on the bike and then rocked the 10k in 38 minutes. .....which brought him in 11th place in the run and completed the entire triathlon in a downpour of rain! Way to go boys!
The Desert Tri was a great event - very well organized! The guys are already plotting and planning their next tris! It's great watching them become motivated to train harder and get faster, but with that said - it can be challenging now that we are juggling training schedules and kiddie patrol. At the same time, we are excited that our children are getting exposed to multiple sports and fitness activities and can't wait to watch them in their first "iron kids" race soon!
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