Triathlon! And exercise

Today was the Santa Barbara sprint triathlon.  If you've been reading long, you know that I've done the last 2 years.  I decided when I turned 40 it was a good time to learn to really swim and be comfortable in the ocean, being that I live here.  I went to college, joined the Navy, honeymooned and vacationed on beautiful islands with lots of snorkeling...and was terrified of the water.  I credit my mom-friend Whitney for finally getting me to do it.

Sadly, I missed this year.  While I swam, biked, and walked right up to delivery, there was no way I'd be able to do the tri just 7 weeks later.

However, I took the boys down to cheer on some of my buddies.  I didn't get to cheer on very many (see: I had the two boys).  We got there right about when the fast people were coming in off  the bike.

It was fun, but a bit depressing.  It was encouraging to see all these people complete the course. For some, it's just another tri.  For others, it's exciting and scary because it's their first.  For another set, it's an attempt to get a personal best.  But the depressing part is that I'm in no shape to be doing a triathlon.

There was one group together wearing orange at the finish line.  Women in teeny bikinis and men in orange shorts.  I saw a familiar pink hat on one of the bikinis.  Trim body, tight abs, and I realized she's the women who I did the tri with two years ago...when she 8 months pregnant.  At least I hope it was 2010 and not 2011.  And it's her fourth baby.  Wow.  2 years later and she looks like that?  Now, I have to be honest.  I do not have that kind of body.  Trim legs, long and lean.  I. Am. Not. Built. That. Way.  I have big hips and thighs and always will.  Pre-baby, never looked like that.  Certainly after having two babies (the second at 42), the only way my abs will look like that is after some serious skin tightening surgery.  And...I'm not really into that.

So, you go girl!  I can dream about looking like that, right?

I also saw one of the coaches that I had in 2010, and she's pretty pregnant.  She asked me if I'd join her next year and I said "of course".  But really, she'll finish the sprint probably 15 minutes ahead of me, at least.  I'm an hour and five minutes person.  She'll be out of the water before I go around the first buoy.

On a positive note...the only exercise I've been doing and have had the energy for lately is short walks.  But I've been doing them. Some with the baby in the sling, bjorn, or moby wrap (but I have to go early...it's hot and sweaty for that.)  Sometimes with the baby in the stroller.  Today, I knew parking was totally going to suck at the beach, so I had to look at the map and figure out where to park.

My first option was the courts where my husband was playing tennis.  But that was 1.8 miles away, we got a late start, and I was walking with my 6 year old.  I continued to look and found a spot about 0.7 miles away where I figured there would be plenty of parking.  It's in a depressed area of town, and I'm pretty sure I saw someone buying marijuana on the walk back to the car, but we were fine.

And that's the good part.  We were easily able to park and walk 0.7 miles to the finish line.  And back.  Many many people aren't able to do that, and would never consider doing it.  If they can't park very close to where they are going, forget it, we're going home.