Sunday might have been Father’s day but it was all about the ladies as hundreds of women gathered at the start line of Athleta’s Iron Girl Triathlon Lake Zurich. After all, what better way for dad to celebrate Father’s day than to cheer on the women in his life? 

This was not your average race.  Over 300 women lined up to see if their training was going to get them through the one-third mile swim, 14-mile bike ride and 3-mile run that lay ahead.   As one in a series of 19 Iron Girl events nationwide, this was a women’s only race that welcomed a camaraderie of women from ages 14 to 78. 

Whether it was a mother-daughter pair, women from the area or beyond, everyone was really excited to be able to participate in something that supports health and wellness among women. 

Photo from Finisher Pix

With such a successful inaugural year, there’s no better time to start training for next year’s Iron Girl than now.

This weekend I explored the Lakewood Forest Preserve.  It was such a nice day out so without any real plans, I just got in the car and ended up finding a pretty interesting spot.  I had heard about the bat shelter before and it’s mentioned on their website, but I didn’t know how educational (in a fun way) it was.

When I arrived, I was near Shelter E (map of the preserve), and when I saw a trailhead marker, I pulled over, parked, and started walking on the “Snozberry” trail.  I immediately saw two beautiful deer jump out into the trail and then casually mosey by, followed by a beautiful red tailed hawk that flew away before I could get a picture.

After a few minutes, I found myself on the opposite end of the field that I had entered near, and I found an area devoted to bats!  The whole section of this wonderful park had learning stations about bats, including what they eat and the importance of their presence in our natural environment.