Hickory Grove Race Report

Where to start?

Hickory Grove Park is this quaint little park in the middle of corn fields in Iowa. Siri may have took us to the middle of a corn field initially.

My friend Nicole and I made the 5.5 hour trek south because this sprint triathlon was one of two USAT (United States Triathlon Association) sanctioned races in the Midwest, in May. I usually make my way down to ATX (Austin, Texas) over Memorial weekend to do the Cap Tex Tri, but decided to not go this year because my budget was a little tight due to lots of traveling early in the year.

It was a great morning for a race. I wasn't sure it was going to happen because I woke up to a huge thunder storm rolling through the area. I thought it was 5a, it was 3a and once 5a rolled around, the storm had passed and the race was good to go. It was a cooler morning, and overcast. Perfect! "We won't have to worry about overheating." I thought. It was suppose to be 81 degrees that day.

The race was a 500 meter swim, 15.5 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. I finished in a 1:15 and won overall female. I felt great! First out of the water and kept the lead the whole time.

What was more significant and meaningful about this race was the company I had all weekend. My friend Nicole joined me and raced as well. This was her 3rd tri and I am so proud of her. She has an incredible story.

She has a PsyD in clinical psychology, and is working on her Board Certification in Health Psychology. Is a mother to the cutest little boy. She's a 2.5 year breast cancer survivor, and overall just an exceptional woman.

I met Nicole last year by chance (nothing is by chance). She happened to be swimming at the same pool the first morning of my Duluth Tri Team practice. We chatted, she became a client of mine, and we have become good friends since.

It has been truly inspiring to see her find trust in her body again, to overcome and crush huge barriers, get so much stronger and see her never give up even when life keeps chucking lemons at her.

We got to spend two days together. I cherished every moment of that trip as it is so important to savor that uninterrupted time with friends. That time to actually talk, laugh, cry, engage, contemplate, etc.

Time like that doesn't happen often for me. I am trying to balance this more in my life. I work long hours, go to bed late trying to get one more email sent, finish one more project. I train 2-4 hours most days of the week which doesn't leave me much social time for those who are most important to me. I am working on nurturing those relationship because those people are what keep me going. Those relationships support me and help get through.. well everything in my life.

Moral of the story: take time to cherish those moments, those friendships, and that uninterrupted time.

With love,

JRossing