The SafeSwimmer Float and other brands of swim buoys provide visibility and more for triathletes training for open water swims. Check out the video review of the product below.
You can find information for getting a swim buoy at the end of this post.
About half of the triathlons in which I have participated have involved open water swimming. Even if most of your training is in a pool, eventually you will need to practice in open water.
In this post, I am going to share with you my initial experience with the ‘Safe Swimmers Float’ or ‘Float’, for short. In 2025, when I updated this post, many alternatives replaced this brand.
I first noticed the Float when I noticed swimmers dragging this orange floaty as they swam past our house. That I so easily noticed them was testimony to the visibility provided to the swimmer by the bright orange color.
This additional visibility is especially important for lakes where people use boats for fishing, skiing, wake boarding, and leisure cruising, and where the captains possess varying boating skills and levels of focus.
One inflates the Float quickly with a few strong breaths. Then, swimmers clip it to a belt around their waist.
The belt is adjustable to fit waist sizes up to 38 inches. An extender belt is available for larger waist sizes.
This particular model also has a place to store a water bottle for long swims. According to the manufacturer, swim coaches recommend consuming between 150 and 350 ml or 5 to 12 fluid ounces of water every 15 minutes during a swim to avoid dehydration.
The manufacturer claims you can also store personal items such as wallets and car keys in the same area as the bottle. I have not tried this and would, at a minimum, place these items inside a zippered bag to avoid them becoming wet.
Make sure that the Float is sitting on top of the water before you release it. The first time that I let the Float hang from my belt while I was standing in shallow water, the water bottle fell out of the Float into the lake.
Once out into the open water, you will not notice that you are towing the Float.
In addition to providing visibility for the swimmer, the Float will support the swimmer in the event of panic, a cramp, or anything else that causes one to stop.
No matter how much assistance the Float provides, it is still wise to never swim alone or at least never go out alone. My wife often followed me in our pontoon.
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Hunter Mountain, New York; June 9, 2012 – North-South Lake State Park.
The Catskill Mountains in eastern New York are home of the legendary Rip Van Winkle. They also provided the mix of water and hills for a challenging race in this chapter of the ‘Triathlon Across the USA’ adventure. Along the way, we enjoyed a host of new experiences and learned several lessons from this weekend with the HITS Triathlon Series.
I began to prepare the 2012 triathlon season in late 2011. To achieve the goal of completing triathlons in all 50 states by age 70, I needed to complete triathlons in the remaining 47 states within eleven seasons, an average of just over four races per season.
For the past several years, Joy and I lived in western Massachusetts approximately half time. The work situation that brought us to Massachusetts would only continue for two more years. Therefore, my goal for 2012 was to complete triathlons in the remaining New England states. With the ‘race schedule fairy’ working on my side, I was able to complete races in the remaining New England states and, as a bonus, this one in New York, all within the 2012 season.
Travel to the New York Triathlon
Hunter Mountain, New York, is a 2-1/2 hour drive from our home in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Since the race started at 7 am, we made the trip to the race venue the day before and stayed overnight near it.
We could have left at 3 am (as on the previous weekend for the Connecticut triathlon) and made the drive in the morning. However, I was still new to competing in triathlons. I wanted to pick-up my race packet before race day. I also wanted to arrive at the race site on race day near the time when the transition area opened, which in this case was 5 am. Besides this, we would have missed exploring the Catskills as we did on Friday afternoon.
The Copper Kettle Motel Cottages in nearby Windham, New York, provided lodging for Friday evening. While the rooms were simple, we were happy to support the young couple who purchased the cottages one year earlier.
Route traveled to the HITS Series Hunter Mountain, New York triathlon at North-South Lake State Park.
Pre-Race Activities
There was another reason for traveling to Hunter the day before the race.
One week before the triathlon, I received a call from Dave Kiviat with the HITS Triathlon Series. Dave asked if he could interview me about my triathlon story.
Weeks earlier, I received an e-mail from HITS Triathlon requesting stories about those taking part in the triathlon. I responded with information about the ‘one triathlon in each state by age 70’ mission. HITS management found the story interesting and decided to use it to promote the Triathlon Series.
On Friday afternoon, Joy and I first drove to the Copper Kettle, following the back roads from exit B2 on Interstate 90 in eastern New York. After settling in our room, we traveled to the race site for the interview and pre-race meeting. Dave videotaped the interview from the bluffs overlooking the Hudson River Valley at Saugerties, New York.
After picking up my race packet and attending the pre-race meeting, we headed back to our cottage with a stop for a light dinner.
While I never saw the video interview, Joy heard from a race spectator the next day that they had published the story in a local newspaper.
A Cloudy Race Morning
We left the Copper Kettle a little before 5 am, driving the roughly 15 miles to the North-South Lake State Park. In keeping with one pre-race ritual, we stopped at a local convenience store for coffee.
HITS Hunter Mountain Triathlon
This HITS Triathlon Series included five distances – supersprint (which HITS calls ‘open’), sprint, Olympic, half Ironman (70.3), and Ironman 140.6 – over two days.
Distances for the individual legs of the sprint triathlon in which I competed were:
Swim: 750 m (0.47 mile)
Bike: 20 km (12.4 mile)
Run: 5 km (3.1 mile)
By the start of the sprint triathlon, the air temperature was in the lower 60s °F (around 16-17°C). The sky was overcast, threatening rain.
Joy also volunteered at this race. Her first assignment was in the transition area during the sprint distance. It turned out that it was good for me she was here.
Later, she moved to the Finish Line where she presented finisher medals to those who had completed the Olympic distance race.
Swim
The 750 m (just under a half mile) swim leg of the triathlon occurred in South Lake. Since this was early June in an area popular to snow skiers, the water temperature was in the lower 60s °F.
I learned one important lesson on this day. For an open water swim, go into the water before the race to see what you will be running or walking on and swimming in. In this case, the lake bottom was covered with many sharp rocks that could have hurt my feet or resulted in a twisted ankle had I blindly run into the water and stepped on one of them. From what I learned about South Lake before the race, I took a much more conservative approach to entering and exiting the swim.
Thanks to my wetsuit, the swim was comfortable. I did, however, have my first experience with my goggles being struck by another swimmer. As a result, my goggles filled partially with water early in the race.
Bike
During the swim leg, a light drizzle had begun to fall, making the roads wet and somewhat slippery.
This was also the hilliest bike course in a race until now. The first part of the course, which left the park, involved a slight climb. This was followed by a flat section and then a portion that was slightly downhill. During the downhill section, I was in a high gear trying to take advantage of the slope to gain some speed.
Suddenly, the course made a sharp right turn. As I turned the corner, I saw the steep hill in front of us. As I shifted the chain from the large to the small ring, the chain came off and became jammed between the small ring and frame.
I dismounted as soon as I was able to unclip my shoes. The chain was not moving so I flipped the bike upside down and found that the chain was being held in place by the head of an adjusting screw. I grabbed the chain, maneuvered it around the screw head, and pulled it loose. In the process, the chain cut the tips of the index and middle fingers on my right hand. Not serious, but they would hurt later.
I was able to quickly get the chain back on and start riding. However, as a result of flipping my bike over, I lost all of the Gatorade in the water bottle between my aero bars. Fortunately, the weather was cool and I did not need the liquid.
In retrospect, I lost about one minute so this was not a catastrophe. However, I had learned a couple of lessons.
Run
With the recent pain in my right knee, my chiropractor had recommended that I avoid weight bearing exercises. I had been only swimming.
While swimming is great exercise for general fitness, it does little for the specific requirements of running. The run was the most difficult of this year’s races, requiring a combination of running and walking. Near the end of the race, the muscles above the front of the right knee felt as if they were going to cramp. Fortunately they did not.
One other lesson that I learned was that it is good to have someone looking out for you. Early in the run, a woman passed me. As she did, she commented about her wet shoes.
I thought her comment odd. My shoes did not feel wet. Since I was running without socks, I was sure I would have known if my shoes were wet.
After the race, I found out why my shoes were not wet. My dear wife, who was volunteering around the transition area, had thoughtfully covered my shoes when the drizzle began.
From that day onward, I would cover my running shoes with a towel in the transition area if there was the slightest appearance of rain.
Results
I completed the course in 1:38:45, fast enough for a first place in my age group.
However, I need to qualify this. The HITS Triathlon Series gives awards for each year of age, based on the age of the person on January 1st of that year. This meant that I raced as a 58 year old (even though I was now 59). Despite the problems on the bike and run, I was the fastest 58 year old.
Receiving a 1st place Age Group Award at the HITS Hunter, New York Sprint Triathlon.
Race Firsts
This was the first time I was interviewed about my Triathlon Across the USA story.
First triathlon in which there was a light rain.
This was the first triathlon in which I had a mechanical problem with my bicycle – the chain came off when downshifting to climb a steep hill.
First triathlon in which I received a plaque for a first place age group finish.
Other Lessons from the New York Triathlon
I now carry extra liquid, particularly on hot race days. Losing all of the liquid when I stopped to reinstall the bike chain taught me to be prepared.
Get business cards or at least e-mail addresses of fellow participants of each triathlon. I have met such great people, many with whom I would like to stay in contact.
A jammed chain can happen “to the best of us”. The picture below is a scanned image of an article from the June 12, 2012 issue of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The article described the experience of Amber Neben, an Olympic cyclist who lost her chance at a medal when her chain jammed on a hill climb (sound familiar?) and she had to dismount in order to reinstall the chain.
Article describing the experience of an Olympic cyclist who lost her chance at a medal when her chain jammed on a hill climb. Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 12, 2012.
Back Home from the New York Triathlon
For the return trip, we followed the same route used on the way to the race location. However, we made one extra stop to enjoy Kaaterskill Falls.
In traveling around the USA, we often combine travel to and from the triathlon with side trips to waterfalls and other parts of God’s creation.
Joy in front of Kaaterskill Falls near Haines Falls, New York in the Catskill Mountains.
A Story That Resonates
“A must-read for every athlete and retiring business executive committed to living healthy.”
What has been your favorite triathlon in New York? What made it special?
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Yankton, South Dakota; September 4, 2011—Triple V Triathlon, Lewis & Clark Recreation Area.
Historians have recorded Julius Caesar proclaiming “Veni, Vidi, Vici” following his swift and decisive victory at the Battle of Zela in 47 BC. This same Latin phrase, which literally means “I came, I saw, I conquered”, was the theme for the Triple V Triathlon.
What does this have to do with triathlon?
You’ll see as you read the story of our triathlon in the second state in our adventure.
Having set the goal of completing triathlons in all 50 states by the time I reached age 70. I was 58.
I knew I needed to get on with it and complete races in other states. Fifty states in 12 years meant I needed to complete triathlons in over three states per year. Said another way, I needed to complete triathlons in at least three states this year.
South Dakota is one state bordering my home state of Minnesota. It also sits between Minnesota and Nebraska, home of our son, Ben.
Joy has family in Rapid City, South Dakota, near Mt. Rushmore. However, I could not find any triathlons in Rapid City scheduled for this year on an open weekend.
As luck would have it, I received an e-mail from All Sports Central advertising the Triple V Triathlon being held in Yankton, South Dakota, on the Sunday of the 2011 Labor Day weekend. We had no plans for that weekend, so on June 27, 2011, I registered for the triathlon for my South Dakota triathlon
Travel to the South Dakota Triathlon
Our trip to South Dakota started with a detour to take our granddaughter Valerie to her home in Hutchinson, MN. She had spent the previous week with us. Her school was resuming the next Tuesday, the day after Labor Day.
After dropping off Valerie, we wound our way through the flat, green, and just-plain-beautiful southwestern Minnesota countryside. We passed through an area where hundreds of wind turbines captured energy from the wind as it passed unhindered by any hills. We were certain that we had never been to this area before.
By mid-afternoon, we were in Yankton and checked into our hotel, the Best Western Kelly Inn. Our son, Ben arrived shortly thereafter.
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Yankton and the race venue, eventually picking up the race packet. We ate an early dinner and headed to bed, knowing that 4:30 am would come quickly.
Map showing the 713-mile route traveled to take part in the Triple V Triathlon in southeastern South Dakota (and spend time with family).
Race Day
The Lewis and Clark Recreation Area, ground-zero for the South Dakota triathlon, was six miles west of Yankton. The lake, created by Gavins Point Dam, is actually on the Missouri River, the longest river in the USA. The dividing line between the states of South Dakota and Nebraska more or less follows the center of the river.
Triple V Triathlon
The course comprised the standard distances of a sprint triathlon
0.25 mile (400 m) swim
14.3 miles (23 km) bike
3.1 miles (5 km) run.
Weather was perfect for a triathlon—sunny and around 60ºF (16ºC) with a light breeze.
Swim
The 0.25 mile (400 m) swim started at the boat launch of the marina. The course was simple – straight out to an orange buoy, around the buoy, and back.
The bottom of most Minnesota lakes is a mixture of mud and sand, with the occasional weed. Traction is never a problem.
In contrast, the bottom of the Missouri River, at least in this area, was clay. The bottom was slippery like glare-ice, making it difficult to walk in the water without falling. The answer was to swim in to shore as far as possible, a practice I have adopted for all open water swims.
This was also the first triathlon in which I wore a wetsuit, one I had purchased two weeks earlier. My swim cap slipped off my head about the 3/4ths of the way through the swim. I carried the cap in my right hand through the rest of the swim; it is important to never leave garbage or gear along the course. (In future races when my swim cap came off, I would tuck it into my wetsuit or triathlon suit rather than hold it in a clenched fist while I swam the rest of the distance.
The open water swim in the South Dakota triathlon was in the Missouri River at Lewis & Clark Recreation Area.
Bike
The transition area was a short distance from the boat launch. The 14.3-mile bike course left the marina through a parking lot and onto South Dakota Highway 52 eastward toward Yankton. After a short distance on Highway 52, the course took a right turn over Gavins Point Dam and into Nebraska.
The course followed the river into the south end of Yankton, crossing back over the Missouri River, winding through a residential area of Yankton, past the hospital, and back onto Highway 52 westward toward the marina and transition area.
While there were a few hills on Highway 52, the course was generally quite flat. It was also fast with an average speed of nearly 21 miles per hour (33 km per hour).
During the last half of the course, I repeatedly traded positions with a guy bearing the number 40 (his age) written in black marker on his left calf. He passed me, then I passed him. This went on for several miles. In the end, he beat me into the transition area.
After the triathlon, the 40-year-old guy came up to me and confessed: “When I saw your age, I told myself that there was no way that I was going to let you beat me.” I was flattered to have been viewed as serious competition by a person nearly 20 years my junior.
The bike course took us from South Dakota into Nebraska over the Missouri River.
Run
The extremely flat, 3.1 miles (5 km) out and back course followed a running path along the Missouri River.
Results of the South Dakota Triathlon
I was happy with my time for this course (1:19:45). However, I was not so pleased with my place within my age group of 50-59. I ended up in 7th place of 14 within my age group, compared to 3rd place in the Maple Grove Triathlon two weekends earlier. Among all men, I finished 38th of 85.
This was a fast race. I had raced with other 50-year-olds who were much faster than me.
This was not the last time that I would be humbled.
Race Firsts
First triathlon outside Minnesota
First triathlon attended by our son, Ben
Initiation of a wetsuit purchased for the open water swim
First triathlon open water swim in a river (Missouri River)
First triathlon in which my swim cap came off during the swim.
The bike course was split between South Dakota and Nebraska making it my first triathlon in which I crossed state lines. To be clear, this race did NOT count as the Nebraska triathlon, which would be state #29.
T-shirt from the 2011 Triple V Triathlon, Lewis & Clark Recreation Area, Yankton, South Dakota
Return trip
The return trip provided the ideal opportunity to visit Joy’s cousin, Tom, in Watson, Minnesota, also known as “The Goose Capital of the World”.
After a dinner of New York strip steak, spinach salad with bleu cheese, and mashed potatoes, the typical meal with cousin Tom, we returned home.
Lessons
At the beginning of this post, I asked what the phrase “Veni, Vidi, Vici” has to do with triathlon.
The Triple V Triathlon was a quick and definitive personal victory. First, it was an important step toward Joy’s and my goal of completing a triathlon in each state by age 70. Secondly, I finished a sprint triathlon in a time I never imagined one year earlier, before starting the training for my first race.
Two states down – 48 to go.
A Story That Resonates
“A must-read for every athlete and retiring business executive committed to living healthy.”
While not being large, South Dakota has incredibly diverse geography. The area of the triathlon is dominated by the wetlands of the Missouri River. Further west, you will find the Black Hills and the iconic Mount Rushmore. Travel north and you will find almost unbelievably large corn fields.
Let us know about any triathlons you have done in South Dakota.
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Columbia, Missouri; May 1, 2016 – University of Missouri at Columbia; TriZou Triathlon
The TriZou Triathlon, held at the University of Missouri at Columbia, was my Missouri triathlon and 28th state in our ‘Triathlon Across the USA’ adventure.
I started planning the Missouri triathlon during the summer of 2015. While sitting on our patio one summer afternoon, our daughter-in-law, Lindsey, informed me that she and our youngest son, Ben, wanted to do a second triathlon with me. Since Ben and Lindsey live in Nebraska, one option was to find a triathlon in Nebraska.
Another possibility was to find a triathlon in Missouri where Lindsey’s mother and husband live. Joy and I had been talking about visiting them for awhile, so we also looked for races near their home.
Through a search on Running in the USA, I learned about the TriZou Triathlon. This race was to be held at the University of Missouri at Columbia, also known as ‘Mizzou’, on May 1st of the next year.
Lindsey’s mom lives near Freeburg, Missouri, about one and one-half hours south of Columbia. Also, my uncle lives in Columbia about 20 minutes from Mizzou. Seemed like a good opportunity to combine a triathlon with family time.
Since I was looking for two spring and two fall triathlons for 2016, we agreed on TriZou. On November 7, 2015, I registered the three of us – Ben, Lindsey, and me – for the Missouri triathlon.
Travel to the ‘Show-Me’ State
Joy and I left our Minnesota home for Missouri around 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 28th. About 9-1/2 hours later, we arrived at Lindsey’s mother’s home south of Jefferson City, Missouri.
Map showing the roughly 1,200 miles traveled roundtrip between Minnesota and Missouri for the TriZou Triathlon.
I have traveled for business and pleasure to Kansas City and St. Louis but do not recall having been in central Missouri before. I swear that if I ever knew that Jefferson City was the capital of Missouri, I had forgotten it.
We were treated to real southern hospitality in a gorgeous area of the country. Their home, nestled in the hills of central Missouri, provided relaxation that is hard to beat.
However, almost immediately, I felt the effects of my allergies to tree pollen (itchy eyes, running nose). I have since been careful to avoid scheduling triathlons in states with high tree pollen counts during race days.
On Friday, Ben, Lindsey, and our two granddaughters, Mari Lyn and Anna Joy, joined us. We spent a lazy day chatting and exploring the farmyard and surrounding pasture. Later that day, we took advantage of being in the country to practice our shooting skills.
Leading up to the triathlon, we enjoyed the very real hospitality of the Neuner family near Jefferson City, Missouri (left). One takeaway – I finally learned to identify poison ivy – ‘leaves of three, let them be’ (right).
Visiting Columbia and Mizzou
On Saturday afternoon, Ben, Joy, and I traveled to Mizzou for the pre-race triathlon ritual of ‘packet pickup’. Here we received our race t-shirts and race numbers.
Due to ear infections that had been keeping Anna Joy (our youngest granddaughter) and Lindsey from sleeping over the past few days, Lindsey decided against taking part in the triathlon, choosing instead to stay with Anna. Of course, we agreed that this was the correct decision.
After picking up our race packets, we set out to drive the bike course. After a short while, we gave up as I realized that my map reading skills were lacking. I confirmed this on race day, when I learned we had been on the course for only a short distance.
Having given up on driving the course, we made our way to my uncle’s house. Here we enjoyed another evening of Missouri hospitality with homemade crispy, thin crust pizza (Joy’s and my favorite) and Missouri wines all while laughing and solving many of the country’s problems with Wayne, Anita, and Ethan.
An Early Morning for the Missouri Triathlon
On race morning, Ben, Joy, and I rose at 4:30 a.m. Why this horrendous wake-up time? To stake out a favorable location in the transition area.
Even though triathlon is a supposed hobby, I often catch myself acting as if the decisions associated with it are life-altering. True to form, I tossed and turned throughout the night analyzing various options for the optimal position of my transition area. Where should I rack my bike on the Mizzou Track & Field track?
The transition area for TriZou was described as ‘open rack’. This meant that transition spaces were available on a first-come, first-served basis, rather than pre-assigned by race number. To get an ideal space (near the Bike Out area for this race), I wanted to be at the race site when the transition area opened at 5 a.m.
After packing the car and stopping for coffee, we arrived at about 5:10 a.m. to find many people already having racked their bikes.
To put this in perspective, there have been many races for which I have been among the first to rack my bike even when arriving 15 minutes after the transition area has opened. That there were so many participants in the transition area this early told me that this was going to be a serious race.
Ben and I racked our bikes next to each other. Lindsey’s cousin, Jeff, also from Omaha, Nebraska, arrived a few minutes later.
While were setting up our transition areas, checking out the pool, and killing time before the race, the ever faithful supporter of this triathlon obsession, Joy, waited for us in the van. She didn’t complain, however, since I’m pretty sure she got in some of the sleep I had deprived her of earlier.
Downtime with Ben and Jeff between transition setup and the start of the triathlon.
8th Annual TriZou Triathlon
The event included options for sprint (Jeff’s and my choice) and supersprint (Ben’s choice) triathlon distances and a duathlon. The sprint and duathlon races also included an option for a relay.
The advertised distances for the individual legs of this USAT-sanctioned sprint triathlon were:
Swim: 400 meters (0.25 miles)
Bike: 14 miles (22.4 km)
Run: 3.1 miles (5 km)
Pool Swim
TriZou is advertised as “The Largest Pool Swim Triathlon in the Midwest”. I guess it has earned this because of the number of participants in the sprint and supersprint triathlon distances.
The swim distance was 400 meter (8 lengths of the 50-meter long pool) for the sprint distance and 100 meters for the supersprint. Swimmers followed what I have called a ‘zig-zag’ pattern but what the race director called a ‘snake-style’. In any case, we entered at one end, swam the length of the pool, ducked under the lane divider to the next lane, swam back to the starting end, and repeated the process for the eight lengths. The swim leg of the supersprint race involved two lengths of the pool.
Mizzou Aquatic Center at University of Missouri, Columbia, location of the swim leg of the TriZou Triathlon.
Bike
The temperature (according to my bike computer) was perfect at 64°F (18°C). The bike segment consisted of a 7-mile course, all on the streets of Columbia. We covered the course twice for the sprint distance (14 miles). Supersprint participants rode it once.
The race director described the course as ‘technical’ because of the many turns. With its long hills and sharp turns, the course reminded me of the course on which I had trained in Minnesota. My average speed logged by the bike computer supported this idea.
Run
During the transition from bike to run, I experienced something never before, even in training. I nearly passed out while putting on my running shoes. The feeling quickly passed. I thought this to be an isolated incident.
However, about a half mile into the run, the feeling returned. I found it necessary to walk for a while. I completed the 5k run through intermittent walking and jogging. After the race, I felt fine.
Thinking About the Missouri Triathlon
I have thought that the dizziness was related to my allergies (body producing histamines) or to the antihistamine I had taken during the night before the race to quell allergy related symptoms. My daughter, a registered nurse, agreed that the light-headedness likely resulted from the antihistamine.
Any thoughts about this experience are welcome.
TriZou was as predicted during transition setup a competitive race. While the problems during the run cost some time, I still would have ended near the middle of my age group (60-64). I ended 5th of 9 in my age group and 311th of 483 participants. On a positive note, my times were 1st in T1, 2nd in T2, 3rd in the swim, and 4th in the bike within my age group.
Race Firsts
My first time experiences from this triathlon were:
First triathlon swim in a Division 1 college pool.
This triathlon was the first with the transition area on the track around a track & field facility.
First triathlon where Ben and I racked our bikes next to each other in the transition area.
The transition area was located on the track of Stankowski Field, which is adjacent to the Mizzou Aquatic Center, location of the pool swim. The ‘Bike In’ and ‘Bike Out’ were on one end of the track (to the right of the area in the picture), while the ‘Swim In’ and ‘Run Out’ were at the other end (to the left of the area in the picture).
Lessons From the Missouri Triathlon
The first lesson from this race came from the video of my swim stroke taken by Lindsey. While my right arm extended properly, my left arm did not fully extend. I am not certain if this was unique to this race or a feature of my stroke since I had not seen video of my swim stroke before. Since then, I have been conscious to extend both arms during the reach portion of the stroke.
I also learned to be more aware of the types and amount of pollen in the area and for the dates of a triathlon I am considering.
Returning Home from the Missouri Triathlon
After lunch with Ben and his family, Joy and I headed home. While it rained most of the eight hours, traffic was light and the roads were good.
Our route took us by Pella, Iowa, host of an annual Tulip Time tulip festival. We had always thought of attending Tulip Time in Pella so looked into it while enroute. Sadly, we learned that we were one weekend too early.
However, since we were so close, we made a quick detour through town. Sure enough, there were thousands of tulips in bloom and plenty of evidence of preparation for celebrations the next weekend.
One More Thing
The swimming, biking, and running are important parts of this journey. There is so much to learn about triathlon and my body and its reactions or responses to different environments and situations.
However, the enjoyment around seeing the USA and sharing time with family, friends, and others we are fortunate enough to meet along the way makes me never want to stop this adventure.
A Journey Beyond This Race
“Uplifting, real, and full of heart—I couldn’t put it down.”
Have You Experienced Dizziness During A Triathlon?
I would appreciate hearing about any experiences you have had with dizziness during a triathlon? What did you learn about its cause? How to prevent it? Tell us in the Comments below.
Comments: Join the conversation below — Click on “Subscribe” (located above the Comment box) if you’d like to be alerted to replies to your Comment. Even if you do not submit a comment, you may subscribe to be notified when a new comment is published.Please note that I review all comments before they are posted.
