Ali Senz - Swim, Bike, Run, Smile!

Saturday, June 18th was Lookout Mountain Triathlon. A short lung-buster of a triathlon that I’ve competed in twice before and enjoy simply because it’s different, challenging, and allows me to push myself in a short amount of time. The swim occurs at Mount Vernon Country Club in the outdoor pool. From there, the bike screams down to highway 40, where there’s a small climb and descent, followed by a very steep climb up Paradise Hill. Climb, climb, climb back to Mount Vernon, and attempt to get the legs moving through a 5k run that climbs trails into the backwoods neighborhoods. It’s a lot of uphill, but I strangely like uphill quite a bit. The morning was freezing, despite projected temps in the high 90s. A cold canyon wind was rolling over the top of Lookout, and I spent the majority of my time waiting in a blanket burrito. Prior to the swim, I hopped in the heated pool to warm up, but only ended up shivering while I waited to be staged in my wave. The swim was incredibly quick. I ...

First race recap of the season! I want to start by thanking everyone who has donated to my page in the past month or so. I’ve written many thank you cards and I’ve gone on a couple of bike rides as well, but I’m not tired yet! I’m still raising money and can still use your help! The link to donate is in the top right of the blog. To everyone who already donated, I want to let you know that the night before the race, I was glowing with excitement. I knew that no matter what happened, you all had already given your support and would continue to cheer me on in my endeavors. I was, however, determined to provide some solid evidence of my hard work this season by getting a PR and hopefully catching the podium. Recently, I have been training even more fervently than usual. My mom switched cancer drugs a couple of weeks ago and they have left her utterly drained. We hope that this side effect goes away with time (along with a terrible metallic taste in her mouth that renders any food, even ...