I love to race… anyone who knows me could probably tell you that. But, this summer, I have been struggling a bit trying to figure out the right goal to fit my current lifestyle and ‘training with Hayden’ routine. Long hours on the water aren’t a priority – but, creative ways to train with Hayden are.

Any given day, I run up and down the steep roads and trails around our Sudden Valley home with Hayden in the jogger enroute to a play date at AM beach or the Marina. If I am lucky, I will escape for a quick swim or tool around on the SUP while one of the Mom’s watches Hayden.

Or, Hayden dons his helmet and climbs in the bike trailer and we huff it up the logging roads just minutes from the house. Hitting a speedbump on the way to the trailhead at high speed is good for a giggle from the peanut gallery, and, once on the trail, as it gets steeper and steeper, Hayden repeats his mantra “Mama, Mama, Mama!”

Hayden also gets his Papa fix a few mornings a week. This is when I leave the two of them alone and escape for a paddle on the lake.

Then, there is the hours daily spent chasing after Hayden. You Mama’s and Papa’s know… those little legs move FAST!!!

Back to racing: Brandon and I had reserved the weekend of August 8 as a race weekend. There were two options we were chosing between: the Wildside Relay down at the Columbia River Gorge is always good fun and epic surf, or the Sound Rower’s 14-mile Round Shaw Race is a great excuse to get out to the San Juan Islands. But, neither was really getting my heart rate racing with anticipation. Then, Bob Putnum from Deep Cove Kayaks sent out an e-mail about ‘Ocean Man’ in Jericho, BC.

I immediately checked out the website and the ex-swimmer, ex-multi sporter, and current paddler in me all felt downright giddy!

1KM swim, 6KM paddle, 8KM run – with secret special tests thrown in for fun along the way.

Brandon and Hayden agreed to be my cheering squad… and I sent in my entry.

This morning I did a trial run. At 6:30AM, after setting up my gear for quick transitions, I dove into Lake Whatcom for about a ½ mile swim. I returned to the beach 12 minutes later and feeling warmed up, threw on some shorts and returned to the water in my surfski for a 3.6-mile paddle.

I kept up a good pace, and was amazed at how relaxed the swim left my muscles feeling. The out-and-back course I chose flew by, as my mind wandered to race day, and to the next leg of my workout – a 4.5 mile run.

When I returned to the beach, I ran up the beach with my boat, loaded it quickly on my van, laced up my shoes and was off. Wahoo… running without pushing Hayden in the jogger is fun! I felt like an Olympian as I flew up and down the rolling hills!

In all, the trial took 1 hour and 38 minutes… and I was grinning the whole time! The multi-sport bug is back! I will let you know after the race if I have really been bitten!