Have cheering section, will tri

We have all become familiar with my athletic endeavors - they really exist to keep me moving and motivated to do a bit of philanthropic work at the same time as I typically get the chance to raise money for a good cause. Today I did the Santa Barbara Triathlon (sprint distance, women only), which ranks right up there among my favorite events, partially because it is semi-local, and also thanks to a great system they have for sorting out the competitive athletes from those of us who don't even pretend to have serious athletic skills. One group that I have been introduced through this particular event is called Moms in Motion and they have an awesome approach to making regular exercise achievable for everyone, even busy Moms.

Holly and her posse ended up spending the night, so they decided that they wanted to come out and cheer me on. I appreciated their offer, but warned them that coming along meant a 5:15 am wake-up. They said that they were game and insisted that they go along - they even called Olivia and had her come over after work so that she could be a part of the fun.

I woke up at about 1:15 am (drinking lots of water for good hydration prior to an event has it's drawbacks), and I heard them still awake, laughing about something and showing no signs of slowing. I remember thinking to myself, 'they aren't going to be excited about that wake up call in just a few hours' and then I conked back out. As I picked my way through the sprawl of sleeping bags and blankets (why they chose to sleep in the family room is it's own mystery, but anywhoo..) I finally found Holly upstairs and woke her up. She was pretty groggy so I asked her if she wanted to go back to sleep, "No way!!!"

Loaded up in the car and on our way, I was dropped off at the start while the girls went to go get some coffee and park the car. Once I set up in the transition area, I just hung out for a while and was rewarded with the arrival of my very own cheering section. Besides getting a few candid (and not entirely flattering) photos and shooting some video, my squad made up several cheers that they shouted out when I ran or biked past. Truthfully, I really didn't hear the details of what they were shouting (other than the 'We're not WORTHY' routine when I came in from the bike portion), but it cracked me up to know that they were there and putting so much energy into it.

The finish (and, thankfully the entire event) was very smooth due largely in part to my cheering section. It is also noteworthy to mention that I was targeting 1:15 for my final time and came in at 1:07 - I am sure that I have my fantastic cheering squad to thank for that. Perhaps I shall book them for my next gig at Disneyland next week!