swim.bike.run

 My triathlon training this year has gone exceptionally well.  I feel stronger than ever and I know that I am ready for my TRI.  We have three weeks until the day of our event and the anticipation is already starting to creep in.  I love this event.  I have been to two tri's this season to cheer on friends and I swear I get just as excited for them as I do the day of my own event.  I am extremely passionate about tri's and if you ever participate in one I will be your biggest fan. 

My training and race buddy is my neighbor Kristi.  This will be her first time competing in a triathlon.  She has had five children; the youngest is 15 months old, she has run half marathons and she has the best attitude about trying new things.  She has been the best training partner I have ever had.  She is strong, confident and willing to try her hardest to accomplish this goal.  She is ready for this thing and I couldn't be more proud of her. 

Our training program is 12 weeks long.  Last week we had our long run goal of 45 minutes, 3 brick training's(two sports back to back) and a transition practice.  Yesterday, we drove to Lake Nokomis(where our event will be held)and trained all 3 sports.  We swam in the lake for 10 minutes, rode the entire 15.5 mile bike course and then ran all the way around the lake(3 miles).  The weather could not have been any better and we both are secretly wishing for a day like yesterday for our event.

Yesterday, we experimented with some energy supplements called GU chomps.  If any of you have ever tried plain old GU, the difference is that these are like fruit snacks instead of a thick viscous gel that I literally had to gag down.  I was very pleased with the chomps even though stuffing four of them into your mouth doesn't look that pretty.  I really feel like these energy chomps did the trick for us.  We have trained the bike/run plenty of times and never have I felt so good going from the bike to the run as I did yesterday.  We had very minimal "jelly legs", felt strong and competent through the whole course, and we did not feel wiped out at the end of the training.  I am not sure if it was the chomps or the fact that we have done virtually all of our training on VERY hilly terrain and the actual course is pretty flat, either way I am ecstatic about our success on the course.

I was able to borrow a bike for the race from a neighbor of mine who has done and Ironman triathlon.  Her bike is a beautiful blue TREK that is decked out with some of the best components along with aerobars to maintain a comfortable aerodynamic position.  Her bike is Ahhhhmazing and I am so excited to blow last years bike time out of the water.  There is a HUGE difference between a mountain bike and a road bike.  I will never be able to go back to a mountain bike after this tri so I had better start searching for a part time job that will help me afford a new bike for future races :) 

Seeing this ironman sticker on her bike every day has definitely inspired me to push myself further.  I have been seriously contemplating doing a full Ironman.  Most people tell me that I must be crazy to consider swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and then running a full marathon, but to me it is the ultimate test of fitness and ability and I would love to achieve that goal in my lifetime.  I know that I will do an International/Olympic distance next summer and hopefully a half ironman the following summer and possibly the Ironman the year after that.  I plan on doing a few half marathon's to pick up my running distance and continue to swim train as well.  We'll see.  Nothing is set in stone, but I would really love to do it.  I was given a book called "Hot sweaty Mama's."  The authors are two women from the twin cities who both have families and have both done multiple Ironman's.  What I have read so far is definitely inspiring and they talk about how to train for it while still being present for your kids and husband.  Training is very time consuming and I want it to have the least amount of negative impact on my family.  I know that being athletic is great for my kids to see but at the same time I cannot let it eat up all of my spare time so that I sacrifice time with them.  It is a tricky balance some days.

For now I am counting down the days until my race.  After that, I can continue to dream about the Ironman 2014 :)

rewind....4th of July

Warning!  Extremely picture filled post.  Proceed with that in mind :-)

 The 4th of July is one of our family's favorite holiday.  My kids love to dress in red, white and blue and celebrate with sparklers and fireworks.  I love the parades, picnics, colors, fireworks, camaraderie and celebration of our nation's independence.  This year, we went to a picnic at my sister and brother in law's new house.  The kids absolutely love their Auntie B and Uncle Andy.  Bethany and Andy really went all out to make sure that the kiddo's would have a *blast* literally :)

 Bennett sporting his red, white and blue.  He is a tough one to capture with a good smile.  I had to make him look at his toes, look at me and then I cracked up and so did he :)

 Breezy peeking out of the box house that uncle Andy made for the kids.  It came complete with a mail slot and markers to decorate the inside.

 My three musketeer's.

 On top of the cardboard house and big bubble wands, Bethany and Andy had 100 water balloon's ready for the kids to have a water fight.  It was hilarious and they had so much fun launching balloon's at each other, on the driveway and over themselves.

 Awesome!

 Bennett didn't realize he had a balloon piece stuck to his head so we told him it was there and he kept looking around for a piece on the ground.  It was hilarious.

 Slip'n'slide time!

 Auntie B bought sparklers and those little popper things that you throw at the ground and they blast...the kids had so much fun with both of them.

 We went to watch the fireworks at the Port of Excelsior.  They had an orchestra playing to the fireworks.  It was absolutely crowded but so worth it because the show was amazing.

 Like Niece.

 Like Aunt.

 Bethany snuggling with Av.

Boom!  It was such a great day and night.  These are the memories my kids will have for a lifetime.  Thank you Bethany and Andy for such a fun filled evening.

Happy 6th Birthday to my darling Avery

 Yesterday, my darling first born daughter turned 6 years old!  I cannot believe how quickly the time flies by.  All of those well wishers who told me to enjoy each and every moment were right on because folks, time flashes in the blink of an eye.  I can remember her birth like it was yesterday.  I remember each birthday of hers the same way.  Who was there, what gifts that she got, what theme we went with and where we had it.  This year she decided to have it at home instead of the Como Zoo.  I was both relieved and saddened as it had kind of become a tradition.  We had 15 little girls come to our house for a Rockstar water party.  Thankfully, the weather turned out beautiful and hot and humid for the girls to rock the water slide.  It was a blast!

To my beautiful girl:  You are a talented, beautiful, and smart little girl.  You make me laugh every day.  You are a wonderful friend, sister and daughter.  You used your $5 from the neighbors to buy a smoothie for your brother and sister on your own birthday and it made me so proud of you.  You are a constant reminder of what life is about.  I can't wait to see how you grow over the years and I am sure that you will continue to be a bright shining star in this world.  I love you Avery Dew!

Fantastic boat trip!

Yesterday was our first day out on the lake this season.  Our neighbors Dan and Brandee graciously offered to take our family along with them for the day to Lake Susan in Chanhassen.  We packed some snacks and drove to the lake. 

Dan can barefoot water ski.  He is amazing.  I think the kids were in such awe of him gliding across the water on his back, belly, and bare feet that they would have been fine watching him all afternoon.  It was a pretty awesome sight.  I have never seen anyone barefoot before and it was nothing short of impressive.

Since he does this often, he has all sorts of gear.  This mean that all of our kids were able to try barefoot skiing, water skiing and slalom skiing.  They had the time of their lives...well, at least Breezy and Avery did.  Benny was content to watch from his front row bench seat on the boat. 

 Avery is gearing up for her first experience as a barefoot water skiier.  She was so excited to do what her friend Madi can do.  Isn't that wetsuit adorable?

 Dan attaches a rope to the boom and the kids use it like a swing.  They sit their bottoms on it and put their feet into the water.  It is such a cool piece of equipment as it allowed this little girl to be oh so proud of herself after bare footing.

 They also have this piece of fancy equipment.  It is a waterski that is attached at the top.  It teaches the kids about how to balance on the water before attempting skiing behind the boat with only a tow rope and separate ski's.  Even Bria joined in the fun and she was hilarious on this thing.  She wanted to ski all day long!

 Of course Avery had to give it a whirl as well.  I think she preferred bare footing to this, but she did great nonetheless.

 Avery also attempted slalom skiing off of the boom.  Dan had his work cut out for him when it came to this stuff...yowza!  He spent close to 40 min in the water with Madi and Avery trying to get them up on this single ski.  None of us were that surprised when his right forearm seized up on him and stuck in a closed position as he tried to open his truck door.  Thankfully, it loosened up again and he was able to drive home just fine.

 This was my first time EVER getting up on a single ski.  I have tried to slalom numerous times in the past but to no avail.  Each time I would get up on two, drop one and balance for a while.  Then, as I attempted to insert my back foot in the ski, I would bite the dust.  Dan and Brandee both told me exactly what to do in exactly what order and boom! I got up on one ski no problem.  I even went in and out of the wake.  It was an extremely exhilarating experience :)

 Breezy, my adventurer...she LOVED bare footing too.  I was so impressed by this little tootsie.  4 years old: water skiing:check, bare footing:check!

 Watching Brandee slalom was so fun.  She is amazing at it.  She skied for twice as long as I did and she is so good at it.  She looks completely at ease and comfortable on one ski.  It is what inspired me to give it a try. 

We ended the day the way we started it...with Dan the man showing us his amazing skillz.  If you ever get the chance to see someone barefoot, do it.  You will not be disappointed.

Thanks to our wonderful neighbors who treated us all to an incredible experience!!!