Since Hanna is such a fitness buff, it made sense that she eventually decided to do a Triathlon. I mean, she runs, she bikes, she works out. Every. Single. Day. After some scheduling conflicts, she signed up for the sprint triathlon in Kirkwood. A great choice for beginners. She convinced a few of her GNO riding partners to do it also, and a couple more were already planning on it.
But you know what she doesn't do much? Swim. Here she is, resplendent in her tri-suit, nervously waiting for her turn in the water. How much does she ride and run? Every day. How much did she swim before this event? Umm....
Splash into that water she did! Good form! Powerful strokes! Refreshing water! Go Hanna!
Quite a while later, she emerged from the water. Like, a long time later. Still smiling here, she said "I'm not a very strong swimmer!" I said, "I know! Now get on that bike and do what your best at!"
She jumped onto the Hellcat and blazed the course. She was the 2nd or 3rd fastest woman on the bike segment. No surprise to anyone who has ridden with her.
A very fast transition to the run, I could barely make it to the run segment to catch this photo. "I'm not a very strong swimmer!" she told me again. "I know!" I said. "Go tear up this run course!!"
That she did. She made up a great deal of time on the bike, and more time with a solid run. Guzzling a cold bottle of water, she said, gasping, "I'm not a very strong swimmer!" And again, I said, "I know. But you did very well and we're very proud!"
The entire crew finished strong and had very few hiccups. It was awesome cheering for them. Hanna's mom and grandmother were there cheering, too. Family support in sports is so important, and we had a lot of that today.
After the triathlon, we had a party planned for Hanna's graduation from Mizzou. Not that the weather really cares about our party plans. As it turns out, it was also a going-away party. She's taken a job in Texas with a sunglass company, WileyX. Great for her, but it's going to be hard without her around.
The woman of the hour, making me look good.
She chose a Carrot cake from her favorite St. Louis Bakery.
We had the get-together at Rockwell Beer Garden in Francis Park. The Beautiful Mrs. K made the arrangements and tons of people showed up to wish Hanna well.
So talented, she can even cut carrot cake with a flimsy plastic knife. And yes, that's her participant number, written on her arm with a sharpie. That's hard to get off in the shower.
We were so happy to have her Girls Night Out friends show up for the party. Such a fun-loving crew who will miss her huge smile (and her dating advice). Hey, who's the Chippendales model in the front??
Eli has shot way past Hanna in height, but these two have grown very close over the last year and Eli is very sad to see her go. Tyson had to miss the party as he was in a baseball tournament. I wish he had been able to make it, and I wish I had a current picture of them all together.
I was able to get these three together! Hanna has so many people in her corner that love and support her. Lots of blended families are a mess, but we are all so fortunate that this one is not. She has moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers...all of them love this girl to the moon. I wish my girl the best of luck and hope for the best that life has to offer. But it doesn't mean I'm not super sad to see her leave.
Thank you for all that cheered her on at todays event, thank you for all that came to wish her well, and a big thank you to the Beautiful Mrs. K for putting together a wonderful party.
Love you, HGK.
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