Nutmeg State Tri

This past Saturday I competed in the Nutmeg State Triathlon. To think that I've spent my whole life up till now without knowing that Connecticut was the Nutmeg State! Hilary was supposed to compete, too, but her recent medical adventures made it quite out of the question. Given how very little training I've done over the last two months, I had my own doubts. Nevertheless, after too little sleep, there I was Saturday morning, charging from the beach in a mass start. This course had a 1/2-mile swim, somewhat long for a sprint distance, which typically has a 1/4 or 1/3 mile. The bike section screams downhill for the first two miles or so, then makes a trip round Lake Waramaug, followed by a long slog back uphill. Very scenic, but the twisty and unsmooth road meant it was a not a speed course. The first mile of the run spared us nothing: steep grades on hiking paths. At this point, the lack of recent training made it a rather painful and drawn out process. But, perseverance and the rhythm of the breathing brought me through to the end.

But hey, that only covers Saturday morning. We did have some of the usual chaos getting out the door Friday night. But Brynna was quite pliable, declaring her immediate readiness to go to "M-Dean House!" I started off driving, but needed to switch off before we reached Greenfield. Hilary needed to switch back before we reached Hartford. Despite the late hour and the short night, Hilary was kind enough to be there to cheer me on with her father and grandfather in the morning. But as soon as we got back, we all had naps along with Brynna. Saturday night we, and a number of Hilary's parents friends, were treated to the exceptional culinary talents of Paul, a longtime friend of Hilary's family. Crostini with a number of toppings. Brown and wild rice with apricots and roasted walnuts. Roasted potatoes. Grilled zucchini and squash casserole. Grilled corn and tomato salad. Caprese salad. Roasted white peach halves and mascarpone with blueberry and port sauce.

Sunday morning we had a late and leisurely brunch with Phillips donuts, blueberry pancakes, Spanish frittata, fruit salad, and pan-fried stuffed zucchini blossoms. Yes, it was all quite fine. The only downside was that, alas, we needed to come back to New Hampshire. Hilary had a pile of clinical paperwork to catch up on, and was uneasy about starting the week on a sleep deficit. It won't be much longer, I think, before we get her back in the saddle and hitting the pavement.