Anniversary Weekend Part One: The Race

A few months ago Jon was talking with his brothers about signing up for triathlon races together. There was a particular race in Napa Valley, California that Jon decided to sign up for. His sweet mom sponsored him and training for the Napa Valley, CA HITS 70.3 began.

The race was on April 11th and our anniversary is April 13th so we decided to make a long weekend of it and take advantage of being in Northern California. We signed up to volunteer for packet pick up the day before the race so we got to Northern California Thursday night and headed to Napa on Friday. Can I just say how beautiful the Napa area is? Rolling hills of vineyards and tall trees. I was in nature lover heaven.

Volunteering was a lot of fun! We got to meet a lot of the athletes and get an idea of how the behind the scenes are run. The HITS Triathlon Series is a great organization! The people are so genuine and willing to help. Plus they offer several distance options which means that people like me can try a triathlon without having to swim, bike, and run insane distances. Maybe some day I will try it!

Saturday morning we were up before the sun to drive the long windy roads back to the start of the race. Is this not the most beautiful view? It made me feel glad to have gotten up at 4:30 am!

Because I was not an athlete I couldn't go inside the transition area and help Jon get ready. Feeling helpless made me more nervous than anything, so I soaked in all of the beautiful scenes around me to calm my nerves. Anxious wife?! I wonder what it will be like when I am a mom! 

I loved being able to be up that early and feeling the energy and excitement of all of the athletes as they got ready to start the race.

First, the swim. Jon has a really bad habit of dislocating his shoulder so this part made me extra anxious.

And the swimmers were off! Like I said, beautiful scenery here! To pass the time I made friends with a lady who's fifty some some year old husband was doing the full distance. It was so fun to talk to her and hear her experiences of having a husband who does triathlon races.

1.2 miles later and a shoulder still in tact, Jon was on to the second leg of the race.

So, part way through the race I got to be in the transition area and was lucky enough to be there when Jon pulled in from the 56 mile bike. The course was basically all hills. Not joking. Now go run 13.1 more miles of hills! 

This was right before the finish line. You can't tell but I am standing on a short steep hill that leads to the finish line. Brutal spot to have the finish line if you ask me. Jon is one of the toughest and hardest working people I know. He didn't train on hills and his legs were beat, but he still came in strong, finishing 70.3 miles total of running, biking, and swimming. 

Proud wife moment? I think so! 

With the race being a success and a delicious dinner and desert later, I think we both agreed that it was a fantastic start to our weekend. We got to spend it with some of the greatest people who went out of their way to make it special. And this was just the beginning! More to come on our Anniversary Weekend!