Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sharing my love of the track with the boys
Today my plan was to do a track workout which included mile and quarter mile repeats. So instead of taking this on solo at some crazy early time in the morning..I decided to have my boys come along this evening and partake in the fun. In all honesty, three out of the four boys actually like doing track workouts. Devin has proclaimed himself a "cross country" runner so he "doesn't do" track. So he sits and watches us. My kids impress me every time we do the track. Mitchell did 4 miles and fast. Preston ran 3 miles with an amazingly positive attitude and you would have thought Nicholas was at a party. The kid kept running and talking, running and talking. He even brought a stuffed bear out to run with him. He completed 6 laps or a mile and a half. At one point he laid down on the track and I thought he was done...but no...just a little break and then back at it again. I love doing track with my kids..my son keeps me humble, I get a good workout, and I get to share one of my passions with them. I think we are heading out there again on Friday!!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Saying Goodbye for now...is so hard to do
My Grandfather passed away a couple of weeks ago..in fact the day after we put our dog to sleep. Although my grandpa was to celebrate his 89th birthday in 4 days...his passing was unexpected and came as a surprise. I was planning on visiting him the day he passed away..so obviously I wished I had done it just a bit sooner. But the time we did spend with him when we visited him at his assisted living facility was sweet and a time I am now so thankful that I had with him. Many times we just did puzzles, or taught him a new game or chatted. In fact I think I made him a bit crazy at times in that I always asked him so many questions. But I guess as you get older you begin to realize time is fleeting and there may not be a tomorrow...so the passing of my grandfather is yet a gentle reminder to love the people in your life because they just may not be there tomorrow. I do believe the Lord was so gentle with my grandpa...he did not suffer and was taken so peacefully. He was blessed with a long life and was taken in the blink of an eye. I miss my grandfather...the chair where he sat for every holiday will be empty this year and from an earthly perspective will be sad. But he loved the Lord so we will meet again someday. Goodbye Grandpa...until then!
Caesar...a sad goodbye
Unfortunately our family has gone through the pain of putting our dog to sleep in the past month. This was totally unexpected making it all the more painful for each and every one of us. Our dog just stopped eating one day. At first we thought he was being stubborn due to John letting him taste some meat juice..so we were not super concerned. However, as the days kept coming and the dog kept refusing food we knew something was wrong. The vet informed us that he had swollen lymph nodes indicating cancer but we treated as an infection as a hopeful attempt that things were not really that bad. However, the poor puppy wanted to eat but could not and he just kept dropping weight and losing energy. In the end we chose not to make him suffer any longer. The kids said their tearful goodbyes and John and I made the long trek to the animal clinic to say goodbye as well. I will say it was a super hard thing to do and tears stream down my face even writing this post. This dog was a crazy dog that did nothing in moderation. He ate his leash more than once, chased the kids with reckless abandon, and loved us with all of his heart. As sad as I am it is so worth it to have a pet you love and loves you unconditionally. I can not imagine my life without a dog. As Caesar took his last breath it was painful, it was painful seeing the pain in my children's faces and the tears in their eyes..but the love we gave and the love we received from that dog none of us will ever forget. We love you Caesar and will remember all of your craziness with a smile on our face.
Not Florida Hills
This race season I picked the Ironman 70.3 in Washington State as one of my races. I would not have traded this experience for the world. If there is one thing I love about triathlon is doing races in all different places and with different challenges to take on. This race offered up all of those things. The swim was about 68 degrees but they gave us a line as a guide which was a very cool perk. The bike was nothing shy of amazing. Hills, mountains, winding hills, heart pounding, quads moaning, but man did you know you were alive on that bike course. I loved it. As a Florida girl there is no way I could have trained those hills at home. But I trained hard and went out west to see what Washington would hand me. It did not disappoint. I felt a wee bit sick when we drove the course the day before as I knew these "hills" would be a whole new experience but I told myself "you love hills" and I just went with that. It was hard but amazing...I biked it in 3:17 which was two minutes shy of where I thought I would be. However, the run....not so amazing! I have been fighting an injury resulting from the bike all season and unfortunately that little pain decided to show up that day. On a positive note...I was able to enjoy the beauty of the run course...unfortunately at a way slower pace than I would have liked. But I knew this was a possibility so had kind of expected this outcome. Overall an amazing and beautiful venue but you had better love winding hills on the bike and lots of hills on the run to take on Lake Stevens. I was lucky also in that my husband and uncle escorted me to this race. It was fun to have family cheering you out of the swim and coming into the finishing chute. Another perk is that John took lots of photos...so this event is my first event that is documented. That is a race I will be able to see forever! Big thanks also go out to my cousin Daniel who reluctantly agreed to ride with me as a warm-up on Saturday. Goodness knows I would have never found my way back to the parking lot as I lack a sense of direction. It was also so great to share a common interest with him and to have him check out my bike one final time before race day! I can never thank my cousin, uncle and husband for their support that day. Let me not forget my aunt who took on my four boys in Portland for a few days so that I could race with an uncluttered mind! Thank you so much to a wonderful family!!
Playing like the big boys
Nicholas is playing his first season of soccer.He is so stinkin cute I can't stand it. The first game I thought it could possibly be a very long season. He is beginning to understand the concept a little and follows along with the 4 year old beehive perfectly. He had a "breakaway" last game but did not make it to the goal. At times it is nothing short of hysterical watching the 4 year olds play. Sometimes half of our players are off of the field of play looking at a dog across the way or perhaps chasing a soccer ball from a totally different field of play. It is like watching a comedy many times. He often needs to be reminded to watch the ball. This is one of those opportunities in life that no parent should miss. It drives me crazy when parents of the 4 year olds take the game too seriously and rob their little ones of the joy of the sport at this age. Trust me...I am all about competition...but this is a time to simply enjoy, laugh and love on those little ones as they struggle to remember why they are standing on that field at all half of the time. Three more games and loving every minute of it!
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