The day I have been waiting for has finally come ... Andrew, my 7 year old, came with me on his bike for my 11 mile run and he did great! I love the quality time it created for us and he even told me during the run that he really liked being out there with me. The best part? He keeps asking when he can go out again!
Tyler, my 4 year old, joined us for the last 2 miles or so (he peters out after that) and then insisted or running the last .25 miles with me because he just loves to run, and even more so, he loves to run with me!
I love sharing my passion with them and I love that they too are enjoying the exercise and developing good habits now --- plus, it removes some of the mommy guilt of training when you can use training time as quality time!
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
You know what they say about assumptions ...
About a week ago the doorbell rang in the evening, sending my chocolate lab into a barking frenzy and two curious little boys to the door. Standing outside the door was a young guy, early 20s perhaps, wearing khaki pants and a 3 button polo shirt with a pest control company name embroidered on the front. He gave a very short spiel about how his company was doing some work in the neighborhood and wanted to know if we were interested.
I quickly explained to him that Terminix has been doing our quarterly pest control for years so we would not be requiring his service. I was about to turn around to go inside and shut the door when he stopped to ask me one more question ...
"What is the sticker on the back of your Jeep - the number - mean? Is it a race?" I explained that the number was 140.6, the distance of an Ironman.
His reply ...
"That's really cool, did your husband do that?"
I just smiled and pointed at myself.
I quickly explained to him that Terminix has been doing our quarterly pest control for years so we would not be requiring his service. I was about to turn around to go inside and shut the door when he stopped to ask me one more question ...
"What is the sticker on the back of your Jeep - the number - mean? Is it a race?" I explained that the number was 140.6, the distance of an Ironman.
His reply ...
"That's really cool, did your husband do that?"
I just smiled and pointed at myself.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Identity Crisis
What words do you use to describe yourself?
I am a Catholic wife, mother, daughter and friend. I am an endurance triathlete and hobbyist photographer. I am passionate in all aspects of life - family and friends, work and hobbies.
And now, I am having a bit of an identity crisis.
For the first time since April 2008 I do not have a big, fat hairy goal to chase or a big race on the calendar .... and I am lost.
I promised myself during peak IMTX training that I would take a year away from the IM distance, focusing on shorter races with at least a 70.3 next year to keep me honest. This would also allow me to pursue other goals, like an ultra trail race and/or bucket list races like Escape from Alcatraz, Goofy's Challenge or the Nike Women's Marathon, to name a few.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Let me take a step back though …
You may be wondering why I would want to take a year away from the distance in the first place. This is easy to answer.
Training for an Ironman is selfish. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I do think that we should all do things for ourselves that are inherently selfish – but we also need to recognize it. Selfish is not a “bad” word but it is an opportunity cost.
No matter how time efficient you are, if you respect the iron distance, you have to train long on the bike and that means a long ride (or really a long brick) every weekend leading up to the race.
I trained for IMTX from January to May – so let’s call it 5 months training. During that time, there were at least 2 months where my long brick took me until well into the afternoon.
With two boys ages 4.5 and 7, I feel like the opportunity cost is too great to give up that much of my weekend to training. I am lucky in that my family 100% supports this passion of mine and has encouraged me to sign up for another iron distance race, but my own guilt is holding me back.
I think that my struggle, well part of it anyway, is that all of races I am considering are in 2012 and I need a goal NOW (any ideas on getting into the San Francisco Nike Women’s marathon this year?). Another issue I am facing is that I have come to identify myself as an endurance triathlete, so how do I see myself if I am not currently training for an Ironman?
I also know that next May when everyone locally is gearing up for IMTX again, I am going to be jealous instead of relieved that it is not me out there training and racing.
This is the crux of my struggle – what I want to do versus what I think it best for this period of my life for my family. I don’t want to look back and regret that I missed this time with my boys.
Yet another problem with taking a year off the IM distance is that the necessity of signing up for most races a year in advance means that I may be looking at taking two years away from the distance. Thank God for races like Rev3 Cedar Point and Red Man that allow you to sign up much closer to the race, but I digress.
On a whim, I signed up for a local Sprint Triathlon on August 7 and I have been trying to add speed to my workouts as a new type of challenge, but that still leaves 5 months on the 2011 calendar.
I am not sure what I am asking necessarily, but I needed to share my struggle.
Any suggestions on making the transition from long course to short course? Any races I should be considering? What should I focus on this Summer and Fall before picking a goal for 2012?
Thanks for reading!
I am a Catholic wife, mother, daughter and friend. I am an endurance triathlete and hobbyist photographer. I am passionate in all aspects of life - family and friends, work and hobbies.
And now, I am having a bit of an identity crisis.
For the first time since April 2008 I do not have a big, fat hairy goal to chase or a big race on the calendar .... and I am lost.
I promised myself during peak IMTX training that I would take a year away from the IM distance, focusing on shorter races with at least a 70.3 next year to keep me honest. This would also allow me to pursue other goals, like an ultra trail race and/or bucket list races like Escape from Alcatraz, Goofy's Challenge or the Nike Women's Marathon, to name a few.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Let me take a step back though …
You may be wondering why I would want to take a year away from the distance in the first place. This is easy to answer.
Training for an Ironman is selfish. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I do think that we should all do things for ourselves that are inherently selfish – but we also need to recognize it. Selfish is not a “bad” word but it is an opportunity cost.
No matter how time efficient you are, if you respect the iron distance, you have to train long on the bike and that means a long ride (or really a long brick) every weekend leading up to the race.
I trained for IMTX from January to May – so let’s call it 5 months training. During that time, there were at least 2 months where my long brick took me until well into the afternoon.
With two boys ages 4.5 and 7, I feel like the opportunity cost is too great to give up that much of my weekend to training. I am lucky in that my family 100% supports this passion of mine and has encouraged me to sign up for another iron distance race, but my own guilt is holding me back.
I think that my struggle, well part of it anyway, is that all of races I am considering are in 2012 and I need a goal NOW (any ideas on getting into the San Francisco Nike Women’s marathon this year?). Another issue I am facing is that I have come to identify myself as an endurance triathlete, so how do I see myself if I am not currently training for an Ironman?
I also know that next May when everyone locally is gearing up for IMTX again, I am going to be jealous instead of relieved that it is not me out there training and racing.
This is the crux of my struggle – what I want to do versus what I think it best for this period of my life for my family. I don’t want to look back and regret that I missed this time with my boys.
Yet another problem with taking a year off the IM distance is that the necessity of signing up for most races a year in advance means that I may be looking at taking two years away from the distance. Thank God for races like Rev3 Cedar Point and Red Man that allow you to sign up much closer to the race, but I digress.
On a whim, I signed up for a local Sprint Triathlon on August 7 and I have been trying to add speed to my workouts as a new type of challenge, but that still leaves 5 months on the 2011 calendar.
I am not sure what I am asking necessarily, but I needed to share my struggle.
Any suggestions on making the transition from long course to short course? Any races I should be considering? What should I focus on this Summer and Fall before picking a goal for 2012?
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
How far is too far to run with your dog?
I mentioned recently that my chocolate lab Indy loves to run and it seems like she can run for days without getting tired. She makes for great company on a long run but I am worried about pushing her too far.
I gradually increased her mileage and we are now up to 10 miles, which is about 1.5 hours. My gut says I am probably starting to push the limit on how far I should let her run even though she seems great at the end of our runs. Maybe 2 hours max?
I will definitely ask her vet at her next visit, but I am worried that it will be like asking a doctor that doesn't run about overcoming a running injury. Without perspective or passion for the sport, the short answer is usually very conservative and not patient specific - usually something really creative like "stop running".
Do you have a dog that loves to run? How far is too far to run with your dog?
I gradually increased her mileage and we are now up to 10 miles, which is about 1.5 hours. My gut says I am probably starting to push the limit on how far I should let her run even though she seems great at the end of our runs. Maybe 2 hours max?
I will definitely ask her vet at her next visit, but I am worried that it will be like asking a doctor that doesn't run about overcoming a running injury. Without perspective or passion for the sport, the short answer is usually very conservative and not patient specific - usually something really creative like "stop running".
Do you have a dog that loves to run? How far is too far to run with your dog?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
I Aspire to be More Like my Dog
Meet Indy, my faithful chocolate lab aka The Best Dog in the World
This lovely brunette is almost 4, which is 28 in dog years. As the only girls in a house full of boys, we have to stick together, so it is good that we have a lot in common. Besides being close to the same age (I am 31) and brunettes, we are passionate about many of the same things in life and we are both fiercely loyal.
We both love …
1 - Eating
2 - Relaxing lazily in the warm Texas sun
3 - Sleeping for 10+ hours at a time (or more)
4 - Running around like crazy for fun
5 - Playing with and protecting our boys
6 - Hiding from our boys when they are being, well, boys
7 - Cuddling on the couch
8 - Wrapping up in a warm blanket
9 - Attention (unless it is a result of #6)
10 - Being with our family
11 - A good back scratching
12 - Sneaking food from the boys
… just to name a few.
For as much as we have in common though, she has (at least) one quality that I seek to possess…
Sheer excitement to go for a run no matter what time of the day, how hot or cold it is outside or how tired (who am I kidding) she may be. She does not love to swim (hmm, not sure if I do either) and she can’t cycle so I can’t speak to those sports.
Let me paint a picture with words on what I am talking about.
Tuesday morning, 5:25 AM. Bedroom is dark. I am up, have brushed my teeth, put in my contacts and put on my running clothes. I am sitting on the bedroom floor putting on my socks and shoes and I look up at the bed to see Indy staring at me longingly, much like in the photo above.
I get up early often, so I know it is the running shoes that have given me away. I ask her if she wants to come for a run with me and her head perks up. I finish tying my shoes and tell her that she better get off the bed if she is going to come with me. She immediately jumps down and stretches (something I should do more of too).
As I stand up she starts walking circles around me in excitement. When we get to the utility room to grab her leash she starts jumping up and down. She can no longer contain her excitement about what is about to happen. When we get to the street, I barely have time to hit the start button on my Garmin before she is ready to take off.
Her leash is adjustable so I am able to wear it around my waist so that I do not have to hold it while we run. After the initial quarter mile or so, her pace settles in as her excitement becomes pure contentment to simply be running – and you can tell by the smile on her face.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Du the Teddy Bear - Andrew's First Race!
Andrew, my 6 year old, competed in his first race in October and I could not be more proud!
We live near Bear Creek Park and there is an annual duathlon in October called "Du the Bear". I have never raced it because it has yet to align with my race schedule, but the bike shop I frequent is the head lining sponsor and I just happened to see an advertisement for a kids race called "Du the Teddy Bear".
The kids race was supposed to be a half mile run, 2 mile bike ride, and half mile run, but they ended up splitting the race into kids over 8 (they did the original distance) and kids 7 and under, who did a shorter version.
Here are the photos that will do a far better job of telling the story of the race ...
Waiting for the race to start - deer in the head lights anyone? :)
Waiting for the race to start - deer in the head lights anyone? :)
Having fun on Run Part I
Still running
T1 - preping for his ride
On the bike leg ... he actually had a minor crash at the turn around, but he got right back on his bike.
These 3 are my favorites - look at him, finishing strong!
The grin is on his way out ...
Receiving his medal
Andrew with his buddy Jack and his favorite little brother
Showing off his medal
Andrew with his gear
Brothers
Proud Mama
Proud Daddy
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