We had decided to get a inexpensive hotel room so we would not be driving back and forth from Houston to Kemah. Kemah is about 45 minutes from Houston, so we justified that one night hotel stay is equivalent to a tank of gas. We found a hotel that was directly across from Space Center Houston. We have lived in Houston for nearly 6 years now, but we have not had a chance to visit the historic NASA base and museum. Since the rain was not imminent, and I have heard that it is very "kid friendly", we decided to check it out. I am so glad we did because Shawn and I had a "Whoa" moment.
Space Shuttle Houston lived up to the hype. As a history buff who is fascinated by space exploration and engineering, I knew that I would enjoy this visit, but I really did not expect Shawn to be so excited. I guess I underestimated what he learned from the movie WALL-E because he knew about satellites, the space station, and the shuttle. He had a blast checking out the robots, space suits, and the cockpit of the space shuttle. I don't know why, but somehow I felt proud that we would be so fascinated by something that I cared so much about. I am so glad we took time to visit.
4:00 AM wake up revealed that OnURMark race directors and Public Safety officials were forced to cancel the bike portion of the race because of flooding. As soon as I got this message I got an erie feeling that the post race area would be flooded and we could have potential damage to our tent. My intuition was sadly right.
When I arrived, we had notice that our tent was already folded up and the frame was completely bend beyond repair. This really saddened me because Shawn's Anomaly is still really small and we don't have big budget. Okay, let me rephrase that. We don't have a budget at all. All of the donations that are give to the athletes go directly the TCH research fund, so that means that all the promotional stuff that you may have seen has either been donated or I personally paid for it. I purchased the tent and Dean Digamon of Prosper Apparel put on the logo. Since I am no longer working for money, I can't afford to purchase another.
What upset me the most was Shawn's Anomaly was not going to be able to support the athletes on race day. The tent has been great for the supporters and athletes. It is a place to relax and socialize for everyone. If you remember the "Kona Shake" was filmed under the tent at the IM 70.3 Texas. It is just a fun place to be on race day. I felt like I was letting the amazing athletes down by not being able to have the tent available, but things were starting to get brighter.
Since the race was now considered what I call a "Spash & Dash", I knew that Jackson Wyers was going to have a huge advantage since he was such a great swimmer. Just as I predicted, he did and brought home the first individual triathlon podium for Team Shawn's Anomaly. This means that the iDO! fab 5 has not had 3 podium finishes in some form or fashion. Jackson said it best when he said that racing for Shawn's Anomaly just gave him an extra boost. All of those that have raced for Shawn's Anomaly have said that. I am so proud of all of them. The day ended great and the new week started of amazing.
e told me the news. This was AMAZING! I am so grateful for their generosity and I highly recommend that you join the the club if you have not already done so. They have great group workout events and you can do a free open water swim on Friday's with the team at 288 lakes. For more information about HRTC click on the picture to go to their website.
So that wraps up the Kemah Triathlon. Some great times and great memories. I am now looking forward to rooting on iDO! Fab 5 member Melanie Kershbaum at the Gulf Coast Triathlon in Panama City, FL. Hopefully we can follow her online so see how she is doing. Her fundraising is going great. If you would like to make a charitable investment to her page you can go to: https://my.reason2race.com/MELANIEKERSCHBAUM
