An Update

"I acknowledge that a Multi-Sport Event is an extreme test of a person’s physical and mental limits and carries with it the potential for death, series injury, and property loss. I HEREBY ASSUME THE RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS EVENT. I certify that I am capable of completing all disciplines of the event, and that I am physically fit and that I have sufficiently trained."

Well, maybe not sufficiently trained yet. But I still check 'I agree" and registered for the Olympic Distance Triathlon! Eek! 

I've been training slow and steady. I took a weekend off for my ski trip, which was both awesome and painful, and I've had a chest cold that's kept me on my butt for 5 days and counting. But I've passed the time by scouting out bikes and clip-less pedals/biking shoes to buy for my birthday and I joined a local triathlon club. 

The kids are growing like weeds. They love to take family bike rides and watch Spiderman cartoons. I found Liam having a solo tea party in the play room before bedtime. He told me, "Tea parties are only for big boys." Not quite, dude. Rosie loves to color and is talking so much. On the way home from our ski trip, we picked up some burgers. A few minutes later, Rosie said, "It came apart! Oh goodness, momma!" I love these crazy kiddos. 

The aftermath of my attempt to ski.

I've been a little busy.

I took a few days off after my triathlon, and I just felt lost at the gym in the days after my recovery. I no longer had a goal or a training plan to follow. I decided to sign up for another race- the Suntree Turkey Trot 5k. It's a Thanksgiving morning run back in Florida. A few family members and friends will run it, too, so I'm highly motivated to train so that I don't embarrass myself. 

I've been running 2 or 3 days a week, swimming 2 days a week and I've thrown a little biking, lifting and yoga in for good measure. I learned at the end of my tri training that I actually love running outside. It's a little harder to schedule since I have to find someone to watch my kids. Plus it's getting darker, colder and much more rainy. In fact, those factors caused me to fell on Wednesday when I was out on a run. My knee got scraped up, my wrist still hurts and I have a gnarly bruise on my shoulder. 

Last week, I decided that I didn't want the Turkey Trot to be my first 5k race, so I signed up for the Regatta Run 5k, which I ran this morning. 

I went in with the single goal of beating my 5k time in my triathlon of 31 minutes. I was a little nervous that my knee would start bothering me from my fall a few days ago, but it was fine. The weather was pretty good, too. About 59 degrees and calm, cloudy at first, but the sun came out after about 15 minutes. 

I underestimated the crowd. I meant to start near the top 25% of the pack, but I was actually more like the top 10%. As a result, I got passed by dozens of people in the first quarter mile. I ran it too fast, too. A 7:30 pace, which is way too fast for me, especially since I wanted to do negative splits (ie running the second half or the race faster than the first half.) My RunKeeper app updated me on my mileage, current split and average pace, so I knew I was running too fast and settled down. 

The course was lovely, much of it the same as my triathlon's 5k running course. It was fairly flat (for Oregon) and had a lot of variety- wooded paths, parks, under the footbridge, along the river and by the dog park. I was glad that I finish before the trains went by though- the course was right next to the tracks! 

After settling down the first half, I picked up the pace around mile 2. I passed a small herd of runners around mile 2.5. I was getting tired, but kicked it the last stretch to sprint to the finish. I was exhausted! 

I forgot to check my time as I finished, but I think it was about 26:15, a 8:39 pace. 

Splits:

Mile 1: 8:22

Mile 2: 8:48

Mile 3: 8:28 

(Last 0.1: 7:27 pace)

In other big news, I went back to work! I am working as an accountant at a local tax and accounting firm 2 days a week. (I'll work full time during tax season.) It's been manageable. The kids are doing well at daycare and I am enjoying my work and the people with whom I work. It's getting hard to fit everything in though. I still make it to the gym or run outside most of the days that I don't work. (Dan's business trip, my fall and scheduled rest in preparation for the Regatta Run have made the first 2 weeks weird.) The kids go to bed earlier now, so there isn't time to go to the gym on the days that I work. I'll probably end up putting my membership on hiatus during tax season. 

I realize that I can't do everything that I want, I have to make choices. I only watch tv on the iPad while doing dishes, folding laundry or cooking. I'm still playing the piano enough to keep up with my lessons, though I won't be making the gains that I have seen in my first 9 months of lessons anymore. It's hard to be an adult, right? Someone tell Rosie to slow down and be a baby for a little bit longer. 

   

College Race Day

Liam has been talking about racing ever since I told him about my triathlon. I looked around the internet for a local kids run and found one on Sept. 27th. With Dan travelling so much, we didn't pre-register in case something came up. Saturday morning arrived and everyone was happy and excited for the kids race.

The "college race day event" had a tailgating theme and all of the proceeds from the event supported the athletic programs at a local high school, so everyone was encouraged to wear their college gear. We were sporting orange and blue, of course!

Rosie outgrew her Gator gear. She'll fit into Liam's jersey soon and he's getting too big for it anyway. 

I bet you are wondering why Dan has a race bib, too? We had planned to just run along with Liam on his 1k and cheer the 5k and 10k runners. On the way over to the park, Dan randomly decided that he was going to run the 5k also. This was seriously like 20 minutes before the 5k race started!

We rushed to registration and Dan stretched and warmed up. Then it was time to go.

The kids 1k started about 30 minutes after the 5k, so we went to the playground. This was at Cook Park, the lovely park where I ran the 5k portion of my triathlon. At the playgound, we ran into our neighbors! The same family who had come out the previous weekend to cheer me on. Turns out the wife was running the 10k! 

When the finishers from the 5k and 10k races started to trickle in, the kids and I lined up along the finish line to cheer on the runners. As we waited, Liam was getting more and more excited for his race. He told me, "I'm going to run really fast! There aren't going to be any yellow lights!" So cute! 

I thought I would see my neighbor first, but Dan really surprised me when he finished the 5k in 24 minutes! Men! 

My neighbor finished shortly afterwards. She was really surprised to see me and the kids cheering her on the the finish line. 

Then it was time for the kids run. We had planned to all go, but the path was not conductive to pushing Rosie in the stroller, so Dan and Rosie stayed behind while Liam and I went. Not all of the parents had finished their races, so there were just 4 in the first heat of kids. 

Liam's a sprinter. He took off and passed everyone, including the girl who was leading the course! That didn't last long, but he did run the whole route without stopping. The group kind of spread out. I kept encouraging Liam on. He was focused and pretty quiet when, about 2/3 of the way through the course, he let out a loud "Meep meep!" 

The road runner is pretty much his spirit animal. 

There were quite a few people gathered around the finish line and the event organizer announced Liam's name over the loud speaker and he made his way to the finish line. It was awesome! I'm so proud of my little buddy! 

Last Week

I was really nervous going into my bricks last week, especially after discovering that the bike portion of the triathlon was significantly longer than I had previously thought. Tuesday afternoon was my first bike/run brick. My neighbor watched my kiddos for an hour while I went out. I was really nervous about biking on the main road through our town, but it was alright. Uphill on the way home is hard, as always, but I felt pretty good. I expected my legs to turn into jello after a substantial bike ride, but they were okay and I was able to run after just a few seconds of walking.

I was back in the pool on Thursday and tested out Body Glide for the first time. It's supposed to help with chafing, but I don't really have that problem. What I do struggle with is getting my sports bra and workout tank on while my skin is still wet from swimming. I think it will help me with my transition.

I also did an extra lap on Thursday, too, just because. 450 yards non-stop and it honestly felt like a rest day. Even though I was a fairly comfortable swimmer when I started training, I'm still proud of how far I've come with my swimming.

Friday night was a long night. Liam had a s'more party with his primary class. My cold that I had been denying all week caught up with me. The kids hadn't seen Dan all week so Rosie pitched a fit and cried for me when he put her to bed. I took tissues with me and powered through my biking and running. I did 6 miles on my bike and ran 2.5 miles. I had an armband for my phone delivered that morning and discovered Amazon Prime music, which is awesome. Train, Panic at the Disco and FUN were incredibly helpful for my run. Except for the hills, I ran the entire time.

My cold really caught up to me on Saturday night. I spent most of Sunday in bed reading and watching tv. I'm feeling much better today, though I still have a disgusting cough. It's "taper" week anyway to rest and prepare for the tri in 5 days (5 DAYS!!!) so I'm not going to work out today. I'm hoping to do light, swim/bike/run workouts on Tuesday and Thursday and I think that will be enough to keep me focus but rested.

Painted Faces at the Children't Museum

Rosie and Bear Bear Watching Frozen

Our neighbor, Emma, with Liam & Rosie

So sweet!

Rosie takes after Dan a little. 

Me and Liam at the Portland Gator Club

Bouncy Basketball at Pump It Up

Rosie painting our faces at the Children's Museum

Dreaming of a White Christmas

A white Christmas isn't in the cards in Portland, but we did get our first little snow on Friday.

The view from my bedroom window first thing in the morning. 

It was really coming down for a while, but had lightened up by the time I got Rosie down for her nap and Liam bundled up to go outside to see it. He thought it was pretty cool. I was probably even more mesmerized than he was though.

Oregon is full of Christmas tree farms. We found one just a few miles away from our house. Dan and I picked the biggest tree that we thought would fit in our living room. We were a little off and had to chop a few inches off of the base of the tree.

Liam was just a tiny infant during his first Christmas. We spent his second Christmas in California, so we didn't put up a tree that year. Rosie is really breaking me in to having a baby and a Christmas tree. She cannot get enough of it! I finally put chairs up in the hallway to block her off.

We went to another tree farm today so that the kids could meet Santa without the crowds at a mall. Meeting Santa last year did not go over so well. Here's what it looked like:

He did so well this year! After watching a Charlie Brown holiday movie, he wanted to write a letter to Santa. This is what it "said."

Santa comes tomorrow. That lines says, “Don’t say anything until Santa comes, okay?”

A cement truck and a car, I want both of them.

I am a good boy. I’ll tell him if I want to go pee pee. This is Santa Claus’s potty.

We talk a lot about the potty, can you tell?

Anyway, Liam brought his letter to Santa with him to the tree farm and gave it to the Big Guy.  

2 happy kids?!?! A Christmas miracle! 

Birthday Shenanigans part 1

We don't really have any friends here yet, so Liam isn't having a party for his upcoming 3rd birthday. Instead, we drove to the coast last weekend to take a ride on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. Since it was close to Halloween, there was a special "Pumpkin train" where the kids dressed in their costumes and got to choose a pumpkin in the freight car.

We started off in the dining car and had the most amazing view while we ate ice cream.

 After our snack, we made our way to the outdoor seating and enjoyed the views. The train would honk its horn when crossing the roads though. Liam and Rosie didn't car so much for that, so we went back inside after a while.

The whole ride was an hour long, which was the perfect length for the kids. 

6 months old

My sweet little Rosie's first year is already halfway gone. She is such a sweet, happy girl and I can hardly remember our family without her.

She usually wakes up once per night. She is still nursing like a champ. I've started giving her tastes of food. I'm going to try out the Baby Led Weaning method for introducing solid foods to her in hopes of not having another picky eater.

She sits up by herself pretty well, though I don't leave her without pillows around her in case she falls over. She doesn't roll over with any consistency yet, though she likes being on her belly.

Rosie loves Sophie the Giraffe (her baby chew toy) and Liam. He is pretty good with her most of the time.

She laughs so hard when he plays with her, even when he's a little bit rough.

I love these next photos of Rosalyn. They are straight out of my camera, just the product of gorgeous light, an adorable subject and my favorite 50mm lens.

I love Rosie so much and I am so thankful for her. I can't wait to watch her grow up and see who she will become.