Week 5/52 - the family challenge

Another week has passed by and I'm happy to report that this one was a little better than the one before, which was a little better than the one before that.  I wont bore you with the details but it went a bit like this:

Monday
AM Run
PM swim

Tuesday
AM ride

Wednesday
AM run
PM stairs/run/walk with my sister at Balmoral followed by a nice open water swim.

Thursday
I was supposed to ride and go to the gym but my day got a bit messy and I didn't do either.  I did go to my coach's New Year celebration at Balmoral in the evening.  This is usually some sort of team race followed by pizza.

Traditionally team events fill me with fear - it's something about all those nasty school team sports experiences that make my skin crawl.  But Matt always invents something that everyone can have a go and and not feel like a gumby.

I had fun playing team tag, swimming and running on the beach, and accruing points.  Our team won contrary to what the other team says.

Friday
An early appointment meant that I didn't swim in the morning with the gang at Leichhardt but I did get my 2.4km swim set done in the afternoon.

Saturday
I was supposed to do an easy 90 mins on my bike but I didn't.  The weather really wasn't an adequate excuse.  Just lazy.

Sunday
TriShave Sprint Triathlon (750/20/5) at Kurnell and round 2 of the family challenge.  Mum & Rob are one team (Mum & Son in Law) and Dad and I are the other team (Dad & Daughter).  Rob and I do the swim and run.  Mum and Dad do the bike legs.

Last year Rob and Mum beat Dad and I by around 9 minutes.  This year Dad and I thought we had them pegged but it wasn't to be.  Mum was too foxy on the bike and had Dad fooled that she wasn't riding fast.  But secretly she had been holding back on their training rides knowing that she could ride faster on the day.

So Rob caught me around halfway on the run.  He stayed with me until about 10m from the finish when he said "gloves are off" and took off to finish with an official 2 second win.  Unofficially, after crunching a few numbers, we figure Mum and Rob beat us by about 6 mins.  So we did narrow the gap a little. 

Highlights of the event:

• the smile on Mum's face
• having healthy, fit, active and happy parents who are approaching 70 and put most who are half their age to shame
• swimming
• swimming into an incoming tide (not)
• running like the wind
• running with Rob
• having my sis and BIL along to cheer and take silly photos
• Rob and I grabbing Mum and Dad at the finish so we could cross the line together
• precious memories!! 
• Kylie's bunny ears in the official finish photo.

Dad gives Mum a hug when she finished her bike leg.

Rob and I running side by side.  I'm not sure why I am smiling.  I was well and truely in the hurt box.

Mum and Rob finishing

Dad and I finishing

The 2 teams ready for the 2013 rematch.