Tri-ing Again -Day Three

The last two Sun-dees I’ve written about my history of combining Dee time and triathlons, and the first two days (Wednesday, Thursday) at this year’s USA Triathlon National Age Group Championships in Milwaukee. Today, day three, Friday.

I had one triathlon obligation on Friday I had to work around; take my bike to the transition area in advance of Saturday’s race. After dropping off my bike, I could also have a practice swim at the swim course. The swim time was from around noon to one, so I had time before and after to get my Dee on.

My morning outing was to an upscale thrift shop I found on the interwebs a few blocks from my hotel, a fancier offshoot of Goodwill. I dressed in my latest summer dress and my Keds for walking, and headed out. The store was in a trendy area of downtown Milwaukee. Poking through the racks I pulled 15 items that interested me and tried them on, with one winner, a polyester dress that was colorful and my style. Swapping texts with my GG friend Renee, we both agreed it was a winner.

I walked to another nearby thrift store (nope; closed), then returned to my hotel, got cleaned up and changed, and rode my bike down to the lakefront. After racking my bike in its proper slot, I prepped for my practice swim. While putting on my wetsuit, the guy who zipped up my wetsuit noticed my painted toes, and made a comment about guys should be able to have cute toes too (I removed the nail polish on my toes before my races–but I have done races with painted toes before).

My triathlon business done, back to my hotel, and dress for my afternoon outing, visiting a mall with a Nordstrom in a Milwaukee suburb. I wore a halter style dress, bought a few weeks before at Nordstrom Rack–my first chance to wear it out.

En route to the mall with the Nordstrom I stopped at a house in Milwaukee. Renee, a prior Milwaukee resident, had lived in a share house at the address, and she asked for a picture of the house. I obliged by doing so, and shooting a brief video of the street, to give her a feel. Of course, I had to include myself in a photo with the house.

Before hitting the mall, I drove to a Cheesecake Factory near the mall for a late lunch/early dinner. I carbo loaded with spaghetti and meatballs, bread, and cheesecake (yeah, probably overdoing it on the carbs). I sat at the bar and took the obligatory selfie (I am not nearly as engaging as Kandi when it comes to interacting with bartenders or fellow customers when sitting at the bar, meekly entertaining myself on my phone).

Finally arriving at Nordstrom, I perused the sale racks. I usually favor dresses, but these days they are hard hard hard to find. I found a croptop on sale for $12.50, told myself it was far too short, but decided to try it on. I did, and it WAS too short–but I loved the look anyway (I have long gotten over about showing my guy shoulders). As the price was agreeable,  Renee and I agreed (via text) it was a yes. Yet more motivation to eliminate the remaining spare tire around my waist.

My last stop was a nearby Rack where I tried on a few things while waiting out the thunderstorm that blew through Milwaukee. After returning to my hotel, I changed into my new swim suit and ventured downstairs to the indoor pool. As the pool was chock full of kids, I decided that swimming was a no, so I returned to my room and rested for the next day’s race.

I didn’t have a chance to dress on Saturday (race in the morning, then met with my sister and brother-in-law and two friends for a late lunch and Brewers game), but I enjoyed my three Dee days.

And my races? After two years of getting ready (signed up in August 2019, canceled in 2020, racing in 2021), I set personal bests for both my longer (Saturday) and shorter (Sunday) races. All my preparation and hard work led to better times–and smaller dress sizes–and I’m happy about both.