The End of a Great Season

By Kris Stolmeier

A blog? I have never written my own; only read others or had them written about me. Now it is my turn? Well, with a whirlwind weekend I am going to give this a try.

Competing this past weekend was the end to a great season; great because it was filled with a multitude of firsts that included; first ½ IM, first IM, first Olympic. Of course, there were a few sprints in there too. Did I leave anything for next year?

The weekend started with the Flowing Lake triathlon on Saturday which happens to be one of my favorite sprints because it is a great course for cycling. It is a mere 400 meter swim, a short 4k run and a great 13 mile cycling course filled with hills, fast down hills and some sharp corners.

The details of the race were shared in Lisa’s blog but I need to add that it was great sharing this race with so many friends, family and TF members. Lisa was at the finish line (crutches and camera) cheering me and other TF members on as we crossed the finish line (although I would have much rather had her competing). My husband, Tim, was taking off chips and my daughter, Sydney, placing finisher’s medal over the athlete's heads. Great of Rory and Deanna of BuDu Racing to put those spectators to work! And where was my 14 year old son, Sam, during all of this? He was at a cross country meet but would be joining me on Sunday.

Sunday was the Kirkland Triathlon. I love ending the season with this race; competing as part of a relay team. This year would be no different. My son was our runner, Patty Swedberg, Owner of Raise the Bar, was our speed swimmer and I was the cyclist. Team Gewurztraminer! (Named in remembrance of all those wineries Patty and I passed on our way to IM Canada in which we never got to actually stop and taste the wine, not even sample the ‘fine’ whites; in fact I don’t even know if we can say or spell this one!)

I dragged Sam out of bed early Sunday morning. Late enough that the coffee shops were actually open but early enough that we could still park within walking distance of the park. (It was not until later that I would learn that a caffeinated drink in my other hand might have benefits!)

Sam and I just hung out; visiting with friends and teammates that were also up at this ridiculous hour. Oh’ to be 14 years old again! No warm up or pre-race jitters from Sam! No bathroom stops…just some time relaxing on the grass. His only worry came at 6:30AM. “Where is Patty”, he asked repeatedly. “Call her, Mom”, he kept yelling out. When she didn’t answer, he was convinced she had overslept! Who would swim? All I had was my cycling 'stuff'. No worries – Patty arrived at 6:40 with a coffee in one hand and another caffeinated canned drink in the other. Besides the fast twitches and quick words, she seemed relaxed and ready to go!

She was! She was out of the water in no time. An amazing 12:34 split. A high five and I was off; veering my way through the long transition to bike mount and then onto another great course with some good hills, long flats and fast descents.

My computer wasn’t working and the 12 miles ended far too soon. As I rounded the last corner in transition I saw Sam ready to go; legs wanting to move forward. He took off as soon as I tagged him.

Patty and I made our way over to the finish line; meeting up with some of her team members, yelling out to some of mine, watching a nasty crash with the athlete making her way to the dismount line – all while Patty is snapping photos. I don't think she ever puts that camera down! We arrived just in time to see Sam cross the finish line.

Sam finished looking strong. The results said it all…Patty had a great swim, my cycle time was good – the pressure was on having to go up against Suz Weldon; the fastest cyclist in all of ….. a lot of places…and Sam’s run time was great! Best of all, I didn’t even have to get wet!

A great way to end the season…surrounded by friends and family!