To be a family does not mean that you have to be blood related. Friends are the family you choose and here in Utah I am so blessed to have such a big happy family. I call my Balanced Art Multisport team my BAM fam often and it really describes the dynamic of our group. We all look out for each other and care about how everyone is doing not just in triathlon, but on a more personal level also. I look forward to every practice, race, and road trip that I get to spend with these funny, smart, dedicated, wonderfully caring people.
Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to race with a teammate of mine in Idaho. We raced the Boise 70.3 as a relay. I swam the 1.2 miles, she biked 56, and then I ran the half marathon (13.1). It was so much fun! And let me tell you, it is amazing how much less stressful it is to go to a race without a bike. While I was in Boise I got to stay with my cousin Jamie, this girl is awesome and I am so lucky that my cousin is one of my very best friends in life. I also got to see her brother, my cousin Chris, as he stopped through Boise. It was a big happy cousin reunion!
The day before the race I met Apolo Ono at registration, and then got to talk to him again when he happened to be at the restaurant our team decided on for dinner. I had a great time at dinner, because I was able to sit with a few women that I hadn’t really talked to that much before, and we had a grand old time laughing and swapping stories. (Suz, Carmen, Kori 🙂 )
The morning of the race Jamie and I went to the farmer’s market and got our coffee and my post race treat (a crazy donut from Voodoo donuts) and then headed to the Lucky Peak Reservoir. The swim was a little long but I managed the 3rd fastest swim time for females of the day, which was about 30 seconds faster than the fastest female pro time. Then Jamie and I hopped in the car so she could drop me off at T2 before she went to work. I met up with my coache’s wife Jen, who is the cutest little pregnant lady you could ever meet. She doctored me up so that I was representing both of my teams, Balanced Art Multisport, and Salt Lake Tri Club (SLTC). I felt kind of bad whizzing past people on the run since I hadn’t had to bike on what was a very windy course that day. I had a lot of encouragement on the course though, lots of athletes and spectators were so great about cheering, and of course when I ran past our SLTC/BAM tent on the course I was all smiles and giggles. I was just so happy to be out there running with the people I call family. Post race was just as much fun as I was able to cheer on my teammates as they finished or as they headed out on the second loop of the run course.
Boise was such a beautiful little town and I had a fabulous weekend catching up with my cousins, spending time with my tri family, and best of all, racing. It is hard to describe the joy I feel when I am swimming, biking, or running, I’m just glad that every day I wake up and get to do what I love.
Next race: Saturday June 21st, Monroe U25 EDR, Monroe, Washington
Zara Guinard 
WTG Z !!!!!! Always love reading your post……Boise is lovely having had the pleasure of visiting there myself many many years ago………glad you had the chance to see it in person……….still lobbing for you to come for a visit…maybe after your race season comes to an end…know Gary would really love to see you as your Mom if you can coax her to come……………