Friends and racing

One of the best parts about triathlons and sports is the people you race with.  In high school I became good friends with the other girls I ran against.  I really liked this.  It was fun to race against these girls since I knew how much work they put in each week and they made me want to work harder.   It's the same with triathlons.  It's fun to see the girls and guys at each race both on the course and off.  Before and during the race, it's strictly business-but afterwards it's fun to catch up and chat!  There are different groups around the island that meet and train together, but personally, I tend to do a lot of training by myself, mainly because of time.  I do really look forward to Masters Swimming, because that is my social training time.  In the pool it's fun to work hard and see others push theirselves to be better and get faster.  I could meet others to run and bike, but I don't.  I wonder if my running and biking would improve if I did this?  I think it just depends on the workout.  Anyways, that's not the point of this post-the point is to say that friends that have the same hobbies are great!  And it's even great to hang out with those friends and not workout!  For the past couple of years, I've always had a running birthday party--where I get my friends together to run and then we eat afterwards.  It started in Utah with a morning run and then breakfast afterwards and then last year it progressed into dinner and this year I decided to invite a lot of people, but I couldn't make dinner for everyone so I made it into a 'run and dessert'.  My plan was to make desserts for everyone, but I forgot that I lived in Hawaii and people always bring things--so we ended up with a TON of desserts!  And I also forgot that we are all active and don't always want the extra sugar.  I don't know what I was thinking?!?!?  Next year, it'll be a 'run and fruits and veggies' party.  :)  But it was a lot of fun.  It was fun for people who only knew each other from Strava or Instagram to meet.  It is a small island, but not everyone has met face-to-face.  I had a great time chatting and watching others have a great time too.  Thanks everyone for coming and spending your Friday night with me. :)