Rev 3 Cedar Point Part 1: Pre Race

This was to be my first half iron distance race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). I was so excited to see my Trakkers teammates and the Rev3 staff, and spend time with my family. The venue was super family friendly, so we made it a family road trip. (Thanks to my dad for letting me use his car!) My Sister, Mom, and I headed out with the kids (ages 7 ¾ and 4) early Friday. After my daughter’s bout of car sickness, we had an uneventful trip.




The Hotel: Hotel Breakers…a great room with a view of the beach and the swim start.We had a suite, with a pull-out for the kids, and a mini kitchen (so my sister could have her oatmeal in the morning). Walking distance to the park, the finish line, and several places to eat. I was so happy I had picked the water view room. It really was great!


The Expo: No lines on Friday. It was great time for packet pickup, shopping, and a talk with Robert Kunz from First Endurance all about nutrition (I got to try one of the Triple Berry Liquid Shot samples...yeah!). (Good race gear: a Headsweats visor, Tyr slingbag, and Rev3 shirt, plus some samples). I got free ART and lots of other goodies.



The best part of the expo? Connecting with my Trakkers teammates. It is amazing how we have formed such a cohesive unit, even though some of us have never met. Thanks to Mama Bear Sharpie (and Facebook, Twitter, and blogging), we have gotten to know each other from all over the country. It is like coming home...seeing these people who have supported me and who I have cheered on throughout the season. Hard to explain but it made the weekend that much more special. Every time I saw green on the course, it was like seeing a sibling out there. Not to mention the Rev3 staff (Jenn sent the post-its I have at the beginning of this post. They hang on my fridge and provide more motivation than she could ever know).

Rev3 Night at Cedar Point: Cedar Point has never seen so much compression wear! They had select rides (all of the big coasters) open. Team Trakkers met up, and we were like little kids…racing from ride to ride ("Hey Coach. I did 5 x 100 meter runs between each coaster!"). I also got to spend time with my kids on the little rides. My Mom and sister were awesome support and kid wranglers the whole weekend. (My son loves to have meltdowns for me, and they know just how to get him distracted).

Swim Preview Saturday: My Trakkers teammates and I handed out TriSwim/TriSlide samples, meanwhile procrastinating our own swims. The air temps were chilly, and the water was ROUGH. You couldn’t see beyond the swells when you were swimming (I was more nauseated swimming than I had been on the coasters). I did my short scheduled swim, and hoped conditions would improve. Once again, it was great to have my teammates there. Ryan and his wife Emily are awesome swimmers, and they definitely made it less stressful. Of course Sharpie was out there...swimming with her broken arm. That is one hard core chick!

After the swim, it was mini golf with the munchkins. We had a blast. (I'm sure this was what my coach meant by "rest").

I convinced the kids to get in bed early (after a pre-race dinner at Famous Dave’s- not my ideal pre-race dinner but not a ton of choices when it poured down rain and everyone flooded the restaurants). I had everything packed and was ready for the morning.