triathlon

It’s been a lovely fall. It hasn’t rained here in about 6 weeks, which has been terrible for the grass and plants, but with low humidity and the perfect temperature, it’s been amazing to just be outside.

Dave and I competed in the Waterman’s Olympic Distance triathlon in Rock Hall at the end of September. I was still in great condition from training for Nationals and ended up taking 2nd overall in the Masters Category (anyone 45+). I was a little offended to be considered a Master, but what can you do? It was my fasted Olympic Distance so this Master killed it.

Lauren ran on the cross country team again this year and did really well. She ended up in the Top 5 of her team of about 30 5-8th graders. She really enjoys it and is also very much looking forward to joining the track team when she’s in 7th grade (track is only 7th and 8th).

And Sophia had a cool experience with the Philadelphia Girls Choir. She was one of just a few singers invited to sing with The Philadelphia Orchestra in their performance of G. Mahler Symphony No. 3. They performed twice at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and once at Carnegie Hall in NY! The most exciting part of the NY performance for her was running into Alec Baldwin in the hallway, who then took her phone to take a group selfie (“he touched my phone!!”).

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It’s been a packed spring with races, performances and various end of year activities.

Lauren and I did a 5K race for Gift of Life, called the Donor Dash. And Lauren killed it. She came in 3rd in her age group of 15 and under. We’ve got a star runner in the making!

The next weekend Dave and I, along with Justin, Don, and Rebecca did the Broad St. Run. The weather wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst we’ve run in either. First weekend in May, you never know.

I also did a sprint distance triathlon in Rock Hall. Dave unfortunately couldn’t come down to do it because of a crazy schedule, but Don joined me. This year I’ve moved up in age groups to 45-49 (ugh). But it went well and I ended up taking first in the group – first our of 18 in the age group and 61 out of 380 overall!

There were also spring concerts – Lauren’s 5th grade band concert and Sophie’s Philadelphia Girls Choir concert. Both were excellent and both girls did a great job.

Lauren had her 5th grade dance, which she went to with her “crew” of friends.

After two years Sophie finally got her braces off! We finally get to see the full smile again – teeth and all!

And finally, in exciting family news, Shannon Boyle is getting married! Lauren and Kathy represented the Sharp contingent at her shower. We’re looking forward to the wedding in September!

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This fall, both girls played a sport for the first time. Sophie tried out and made the volleyball team. She had never played volleyball before and she really loved it. She floated back and forth between the A and B teams, and even though BC didn’t win many games, she played really well and got better throughout the season.

8th grade volleyball team

Lauren ran cross country, which is one of the few sports that 5th graders are able to play in middle school. She did really well, placing in the top 5 for her school in most of the races, but I think the amount of work was a wake up call for her. She likes to get out and run, and she’s fast, but I’m not sure she was ready for all the training. She also was part of the stage crew for the school play, and really enjoyed that a lot. She bounced back and forth between practices after school for both.

cross country race
5th grade dance
Bettlejuice for Halloween

Dave, Don and I did the Olympic distance triathlon in Rock Hall in October. We all did really well. Don’s PR’d and this was Dave’s first Olympic distance in about 25 years. I placed 3rd in my age group, and since it was also the MD State Championship that means I qualified for the Nationals next year in September in Atlantic City!

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This spring we were competitive. Lauren participated in her school’s filed day and took 2nd in the 50 yard dash. Dave and I ran Broad Street with our neighbor, Mark. Lauren and Dave ran in the Gift of Life 5K, where Lauren took 3rd in her age group (15 and under), and Don and I did the French Creek Triathlon, where I took 3rd overall in the women’s sprint. I’m proud of all of us!

French Creek Tri
Field Day
Broad Street Run
Gift of Life 5K

Over Mother’s Day weekend we volunteered at the Gift of Life Family House where we cooked a meal for 40 guests staying in the house that night. It was just the 4 of us cooking and we got it done! If only we could convince the girls to help in the kitchen on holidays.

Sophie had her spring Philadelphia Girls Choir concert at Temple Performing Arts Center. The girls were fabulous, per usual. This coming year will be Sophie’s last year in the Cantata group, and then she’ll audition for the Concerto group, which is the most senior group.

Our singer
Phila Girls Choir

And I met Aleen and Sallie in DC for a girls weekend. We went to the National Portrait Gallery, which none of us had ever been to before, and we ate several very good meals. As always, it was a lovely weekend with my besties.

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After a summer of training, I finally competed in my first Olympic distance triathlon the first weekend in October in Rock Hall. The weekend also coincided with Hurricane Ian, which made conditions pretty miserable. But I did it and ended up taking first in my age group – which was a total surprise. It was definitely one of the hardest physical challenges I’ve done and on the last 1/2 mile of the run I knew what it felt like to be completely depleted. But it was also really fun and the training paid off!

On November 19th, Dave, Don and I did the Philly 1/2 marathon. This was my first half since 2019 and longest distance I’ve run since my leg surgery. It was a very cold, but clear day and the run was really fun. The course takes runners throughout the city and hundreds of people come out to cheer you on, which is really fun to experience.

Starting corral
post-run trying not to freeze!
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Amazingly, another school year has come to an end! The girls wrapped with some final activities before the summer break.

Sophie had her Philadelphia Girls Choir spring concert at Temple Performing Arts Center in June. It was their first concert without masks. It was great to see their smiling faces and really hear their singing voices again!

The full choir
Our beautiful singer
Sophie with her friends Jojo and Ella

Sophie also went to her first school dance!! I can’t believe it either. She had a good time, but we heard about some girls drama too – I guess it wouldn’t be a middle school dance without it.

Sophie with her friends Jojo, Camille and Rachel.

Sophie also did band again this year, continuing with percussion. This was the first in-person concert we got to see since they were either recorded and shared with families, or submitted via zoom over the last two years.

Lauren did Girls on the Run again this spring and their 5K was held at Montgomery County Community College. There were a ton of schools participating this time and many runners. We’re not sure how many, but one of the coaches told us it was over 1,000 girls. Dave was her running buddy again and they killed it. Lauren came in 10th out of the girls running! She loves it and we’re so happy about it.

Lauren and Dave before the run
Lauren with her team
post very hot run
Lauren with her coach and teacher Ms. D’Orazio

We also attended our first Bat Mitzvah for Sophie’s preschool friend Rachel. The party was held at Germantown Cricket Club and there was a special candle lighting ceremony for all of her preschool friends, which was really sweet.

Candle lighting with preschool friends
Me and my girls

Dave and I got away one night for a night out with the college crew, most of whom we haven’t seen in a long time. It was a really great night!

The college crew!

And finally, at the end of June, Dave, Don and I did the Rock Hall sprint triathlon – my first since my leg injury. I hadn’t planned on doing it, but decided to just give it a go – I’ve been feeling good – and ended up taking 2nd in my age group! Booyah! Actually, I was totally suprised and super excited about it. I’ve spend the last 11 months doing so much PT, strength training and mobility – I felt like it really paid off. I’m really looking to training throughout the summer to compete in an Olympic Distance in the fall.

2nd place, baby!
Oliver, Sophie, Lauren & Liam

The girls both had a great year, we all had a great spring, and we’re looking forward to this summer!

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The first weekend in October was the annual fall triathlon in Rock Hall. The event was cancelled last year, so this was the first year back since 2019. Sadly I’m still on the long road to recovery so was cheering on the sidelines this time, which was also a lot of fun.

The Morris’ came down for the weekend and Don did the race with Dave.

Just two men in their tight wetsuits

The start was a little different this year, with everyone lining up and jumping in one at a time. This was the first year that Dave wore a wetsuit and it was pretty terrible for him. The suit was too tight and he had trouble breathing. He didn’t swim nearly as fast as he has in past years, but fortunately made it up on the bike ride.

  • swim to bike transition
  • out for the bike ride
  • start of the run

He ended up doing pretty well, coming in 4th in his age group. And Don did really well, placing third in the Clydesdales category.

Don placed 3rd in the Clydesdales category!

Petunia also felt she deserved recognition, although we all know she can’t swim, and really is pretty terrible on a bike too.

Petunia taking 1st place

It was a quick weekend, but we did manage to get in some good Rock Hall time with a walk to the beach for sunset and a sail on Sunday after the race. October is beautiful down there, and the weekend did not disappoint.

Oliver doing their “normal” and “crazy” poses
Sophie hamming it up
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Dave, Don and I did the Waterman’s fall triathlon in Rock Hall again this year. Last year’s was my first tri ever, and I won the novice category. This time I raced with my age group – 40-44 and got third!

Here are our overall results:

Jess – place: 65th overall; 3rd in age group/ Total time: 1:26:34/swim: 14:13/bike: 46:17/run: 22:45

Dave – place: 68th overall; 11th in age group/ Total time: 1:27:18/swim: 14:59/bike: 43:00/run: 25:10

Don – place: 74th overall; 12th in age group/Total time: 1:29:15/swim: 15:02/bike: 45:29/run: 25:22

Here’s what we looked like a year ago.

  • water was cool enough for a wetsuit
  • Dave jumping in
  • the men’s start
The podium for women 40-44. Our “prize” was a cheese board. One of the more useful prizes I guess.

After the race the day was beautiful so we took the boat out for a sail and swim. The kids had a great time jumping off the side. It was the first time Liam and Oliver were on the boat and they had a blast!

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On July 7th (mom’s 54th birthday) I did the Philly Women’s Triathlon with my friend Lauren Nestler. Lauren used to do tri’s years ago with her husband, but it had been some time since she did one. A few months ago we were out getting a drink and decided that we would do this one together. It was so much fun! There were 1600 women registered and the energy was so great – total girl power. The swim was in a pool, the bike was along West River Drive along the Schuylkill River, and the run was around the Japanese House in Fairmount Part. We had beautiful weather.

Here are shots of the three legs:

  • Lauren & I
  • 3rd place in the 40-44 age group!

I ended up doing really – running the fastest mile I’ve run in my life – and ended up taking third place in my age category (40-44)! I was pretty psyched about it!

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Dave and I decided to do another triathalon in Rock Hall. We did one at the end of September (my first) and it was a lot of fun. We stuck with the sprint distance, which is a 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. This was Dave’s first race since injuring his foot back in January. He did great, beating his time from September. I trained a lot for it and also beat my time from September by 10 minutes! That also put me in 3rd place for my age group, which was 40-44 (they made us compete as the age we will be at the end of the year), so I got to stand on the podium!

  • Pre-race photo op
  • transition from the swim to the bike
  • 3rd place in the 40-44 age group

A few months ago the Sharp’s bought a new sailboat and after the race the new name was put on: Kind of Blue. It’s a Catalina 42, which is a good bit bigger than their previous boat, Stolen Moments.

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