Just got home from Steelhead Triathlon. As a spectator. This year.

What a BEAUTIFUL race venue--right on the shore of Lake Michigan at a jewel of a park.

Fun as it was watching, it made me want to do it next year. Also fun as it was, I somehow missed Shelley and Nancy, as well as a host of other people. I saw only 4 people I knew, 3 from my area, and Elizabeth from Cleveland. Apparently, I picked the exact moments these people finished to find a bathroom, hunt down Don (whom I had not seen for over 2 hours!), and/or again find a bathroom or Don. I did manage to see a woman (Deb) I knew in my age group finish third in 5:23! Wow is all I can say. She was hoping for a slot to the Championships in Clearwater Beach in November, but as luck would have it, the other women in her age group also wanted it and there were only 2 slots. Two other women I knew were offered slots and turned them down! Her day will come though. She is a super triathlete, and I was glad I had a chance to get to know her a little better today. She was beaming and bubbling about her fantastic time, as she should have!

I will have to wait for Shelley's race report, since it was very difficult to get close enough to the results to spot anyone's time, since they were in finish order, so I only have a guess as to what she did. I heard from a friend who did talk to her that she did better than last year. Go Shelley! And then she left almost immediately after, which is how I missed her. Go figure. I stand out there 2 hours and the minute I leave out of necessity, stuff happens. In fact, I thought I saw her from behind talking on her cell phone and went up and grabbed some strange woman, thinking it was her. Oops! Didn't mean to get so friendly!

I heard though how warm the water was (unbelievable!), how fast the bike course was, and how hot the run was (yes, it was, that's the only thing I did). It was just a very pretty day on the beach, and I would love to go back sometime. How about next year??

So if anyone is close enough to drive over to Michigan or are thinking of a vacation in the area, try this race.