Since I didn't get home, showered and in bed until 2:30 the morning came much too early. Lauren had registered for a triathalon and it was here in Herriman, thankfully. But, we still had to be up and out by 7:30. The night was much too short.
We rode bikes to the park to get her packet and then my sister (bye-wing) took her bike up to the reservoir where they did their open water swim. Although the oldest group (12-15) had to wait until the last wave, I was really proud of how well Lauren handled the race and the heat!
She had a 200M swim 8 mile bike and 1.5-2.0 mile run. Since I was on my bike at the reservoir the race director asked me to lead the bike group. It was a fun push! The lead boy really had me pushing myself at times to keep ahead of him. The only good thing was I could lose him on the flats and uphills, gave me some hope that I've got a bit on a 14 year old boy.
After leading him and subsequently the other kids through the loop twice I let the first place kiddo go into transition and I went on another loop to find Lauren. She was almost done with her 2nd loop and happy that she'd passed quite a few people on the bike. The kids were spread far enough apart that there wasn't anyone to catch on the run, but no one passed her either. She actually got pretty close to catching the girl in front of her, but was still a few minutes behind.
It was after Lauren finished that my sister and another person told me that the girl that came in 2nd didn't finish 2 loops on the bike, just one. Since Lauren was in 4th I knew that meant she would get bumped to 3rd. I was excited for her to get a reward for her hard work and training she's put in. But then at the awards they tried to give the girl the 2nd place trophy. 2 other parents (and the mom) agreed that she didn't finish the 2nd lap on the bike, but the lady kept saying "Well, would she have finished in double that time? We could just give her 3rd" I was a bad mom and couldn't keep my mouth shut. I just said "you can't guess a bike time or just add time, because her legs weren't as tired for the run. If she didn't finish the full course she is disqualified from awards." I couldn't take it. I'd hope that if it wasn't Lauren in the next position I'd still fight for them and the right thing to do. Unfortunately, that girl had the same instruction and signage to follow as everyone else and if she didn't complete the course you don't just get to guess a time, you get disqualified. A hard lesson to learn, but one that needs to be learned. After I said that and joined in the conversation I realized what a turd I was being and that I needed to step back from the conversation. I apologized and said I need to just step back and I did. The race director then came over and made the decision that she should be DQd and gave the 3rd place to Lauren. I'm not sure that if that girl would've done 2 laps she would've beat Lauren or not, but I was proud of Lauren for her effort whether or not she came home with a trophy. I just couldn't stand by and have rules not followed. I'm a little particular about them :)
I went home for a nap and ended up with about 15ish miles total on the bike. a few good pushing miles. Then I waited for my evening run with Kelli and Scott.
They got home from trek and then were willing to do the HOMM trail half course with me in the evening. Man, those first 2 miles trekking up to the peak isn't easy, but SO worth it! The sunset over Tooele and the lake and then the moon rising nearly full over the mountain we were climbing. Trail running (power hiking) certainly has its perks!
The way down then started getting dark and it was slow going, because us girls are kind of hesitant on steep, rocky trails in the dark. Once the moon came out nice and bright we shut off headlamps and enjoyed the moon. It was gorgeous! I really loved it. Not the unsure footing part, but it was gorgeous!! Plus, the company was good too :)
I didn't remember a few miles of the trail and was worried we were lost. The only problem is that you can't go anywhere other than the wide trail we were on! I just didn't remember it. Either way, after a couple miles of worry I started recognizing the trail again. Whew! I'm glad Kelli and Scott were more confident in my skills than I was :) Just after the gate (we'd turned headlamps on again, because of the tree shadows) I looked up on a trail and about 8 sets of eyes 5 feet off the ground were shinning back at me! Scared the pee out of me. Not literally, but almost. I knew how scared Kelli was of wildlife so I tried to stay calm, but then quickly realized they were cows. Ah, sigh of relief...just a bunch of cows. They were close to the trail though. We walked past them just in case they were like dogs and tried to chase us. Hamburgers can be big and frightening! :)
Since it was later than planned we called my hubby to come get us at the top of Rose Canyon Road and bag the 3 miles of pavement down to my house. We ended at 10.0 as Craig came to get us. It was a fantastic adventure and I loved it! I need to do this more often. I love trails, I may suck at them, but I really enjoy it!
A great way to end the weekend, even if I didn't get to bed until 2:00 again :) | 
