larson cup 2009

about 6 years ago, my brother delos talked some guys into doing a triathlon in orem, utah. he called it "the larson cup". included in that first triathlon were delos, my brother james, dave, my brother-in-law jared, and our cousin anthony. anthony rides 100-mile bike races and wins them, so he isn't allowed to actually win the larson cup. in fact, we call it the "anthony larson cup." jared won that first year.

first larson cup, november 2005 (anthony not pictured)

in later years, more and more cousins and family members began participating. the next year our cousin neal won. in 2007 dave won--and that year we added a girl's larson cup so that we could have a male and female winner. that year (2007) i competed as well, but definitely did not win--anthony's wife barb won. my cousin debbie came all the way from massachusetts to compete (and won the grand prize, a treadmill, for her trouble). then last year, my brother delos and his wife misty won (but in fairness, there were only about 3 competitors last year). and this year, delos and misty won again, with lots more competitors. here they are at the "awards ceremony" in their belts:

(yes, the larson "cup" is a belt, in which we inscribe each winner's name, like the stanley cup)

so delos wanted more competitors this year and insisited on registering me for the cup. i was not ready and had not been training, so i hopped to it (this was about a month ago). i would bike about 11 miles (on an exercise bike) and then attempt to run 3 miles. have you ever tried to go from a bike to a run? your legs are like jell-o and it's almost impossible. i did this for several weeks, and the week before the triathlon, i just realized that i was not ready. it just wasn't going to happen this year. when i did it 2 years ago i really trained hard. i was still nursing noah and was sure that was going to slow me down, so i worked really hard. it was awful, but i finished (barely). but this time, i just knew it wasn't going to happen.

the friday before the triathlon i begged dave to save me and compete in a team with me. he's a good swimmer, so he agreed to do the swim. and then i begged him to also do the 5k, and i would just do the bike. he complied. my hero.

then last friday, jared, jess and i drove the bike course. and i wanted to cry. you people do not understand the level of difficulty this bike course was. it was really really hard. i was sure i couldn't do it. i asked dave if he'd be willing to switch and do the bike instead of the run. i almost threw up most of the night i was so sick about it. we didn't want to rent a bike for dave (i was riding my nephew austin's bike) so in the end, we decided i would just do it. i know 11.6 miles to most bikers is not a big deal (in fact it's probably laughable) but i do not own a bike, and had not been training, and i was terrified. i wore my jack bauer shirt to give me a little bit of oomph and inspiration. i think it helped.

me (dancing?) cousin diane, husband ryan, then gordon & cousin kristi on the right, with anthony in background

the morning dawned bright, but moments later, it started to get cloudy, windy, and cold. by the time the boys were in the pool, it was raining. cousin diane finished the swim in about 30 seconds, then her husband took off on the bike before anyone else was even out of the pool yet. dave finished the swim in about 6 1/2 minutes, and then it was me, off on the bike. dave was ahead of everybody else in the swim so i left first. after a few pedals i decided i just couldn't do it and wanted to turn around. i was moving as fast as i could, when my brother delos goes ZOOMING past me, telling me to keep it up. and man, he was moving. a few minutes later, jared did the same thing. then james. then misty. then gordon, cousin kristi's husband. it was embarrassing.

(clockwise from top left: misty, james, delos, jared)

i was basically getting worked. and i thought, 'i have to finish this.' so i did. i literally thought in my head "just keep spinning, just keep spinning" (like in finding nemo when dory said 'just keep swimming") and so i kept going. and going. and going. for 11.6 miles. the hills were brutal, and i did have to get off a few times and walk up them, but once i reached the turnaround point, it was lots easier (more downhill) and i was able to coast quite a bit. it was pouring rain at one point so i was a little nervous that i was going to wipe out on some of those hills as water poured off my helmet and into my face, but luckily i didn't...but i was spattered with mud when i was done. i really didn't think i could do it, but i did, in just under an hour. (delos was done in 36 minutes, if that gives you any idea of how slow i am.) poor dave had to head out on the 5k just a few minutes before everyone else was done because of my tortoise-like biking, but he finished in about 26 minutes. (cousin anthony was done with the whole thing just as i was hopping off the bike!)


my nephew austin (11) and niece alex (9) and 2nd cousin beth (also 11) competed in the kids version. austin took 2nd for the boys and beth took 1st for the girls. looks like we have a new generation of triathletes in the family.

my mom had been watching our kids so after a little while, we decided to take them home. i wish we had stayed, though, because we won the grand prize drawing but weren't there to claim it! ugh. anyway, the larson cup was a success, loads of fun, and hopefully i'll be able to do the whole thing next year. better start training now, eh?