Because I always wanted a tattoo . . .

A while back, I read about this sprint triathlon geared toward moms. So geared in fact that they were calling it a triathaMOM. Perfect. My baby sister and I needed a challenge. We'd both tried to get ready for a half marathon and it just wasn't working and she has wonky joints these days too. Our cousin Laurie is the super fitness guru of the family and always up for a fitness challenge (several marathons under her belt among other things). So the three of us registered for the race. BT and I rented bikes because I didn't want to ship mine up to Utah and I didn't want to drive either. Laurie lives very very close to where the race was being held and she had a bike, so she rode that.

All summer long, I swam and biked (often stationery to avoid the summer heat) and ran. It was a good mix of options and got me more active, but out of the heat unlike training for a long run would have done. The day of the race came, we came, we fought, we finished and we had the temporary tattoos to prove it. (you write your bib number on your biceps in triathlons and your age on your calf--usually it's done with a sharpie marker, but because this race was run by Utah women, the race numbers were emblazoned on our skin with big number stamps. Yes, a crafty race!)

And I was back in my house, tired and sore again by 8:30 that night. There's something about doing something that pushes you physically, doing it with people you care about, it's a wonderful thing for the heart, in more ways than one.



And because it was a triathaMOM, the post race included bounce houses, face painting, balloons and cotton candy. My kids would have loved it. My nephews and my cousin's kids (first cousins once removed) certainly did!