And the winner's are....

All of us; because we were able to take a little weekend trip to beautiful Lake Powell on the Arizona/Utah border.  Wahweap Resort was the site of the Powell 3 Triathlon (open water swim, road biking, and running competition) which was our reason for being there.  Rachel trained with 3 friends and entered her first triathlon sprint.  The course was challenging (including the very steep 3-mile uphill incline that was a part of the 12-mile bicycle leg).   I would have drowned on the open water swim!  Here she is the night before the race with her younger sister Abby, who came along for support.

And here she is after the race. That's a happy smile. Doesn't she look good for having just finished a grueling competition?


Rachel of course was the real winner!  She worked hard and accomplished something she had never done before.  Her friend Lindsay placed 2nd and Rachel, 3rd in their age division.   Can you say Proud Parent?  It was inspiring to see entrants of all ages, sizes, and abilities entering and finishing this race.  Rachel said she was most impressed by the encouragement the racers gave to each other as the competition went along.  As she neared the finish line and was tired and dragging, an older woman near her said, "Just run along with me.  You can do anything for four minutes." In a dog-eat-dog world, it's nice to hear of caring people offering encouragement to each other. 

It was a good weekend.  Hope yours was great as well.