Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Devin's Journey to Eagle
Devin had his first Board of Review last night. It was yet another accomplishment and yet a necessary step on his journey to Eagle Scout. I am happy to report..he passed with flying colors and is now a Second Class scout. We are so proud of his hard work and are already looking forward at what the next step in his journey entails!! The scouts are camping in St Augustine next weekend ..so John and Devin will be making the trip to work on his next merit badge!!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Our living room
Devin had to describe a room in our house today for his writing assignment. He had no help whatsoever. I thought he did a nice job with this assignment and it was kind of funny because I had never looked at this room in such a positive light...I always see chaos...so it gave me new perspective....here it is....
My living room is a very inviting place. The ivory bordered window emits a warm filtered ray of light that reflects off the polished hardwood floor. The coffee brown leather couch wrinkles with delight as I sink into its' cool arms. It's company, the tan, diamond rocker gently swings in rhythm. Across the room sits the ornate antique desk. Perched on its flat head is a monitor that flaunts a still, silvery screen. But the most warm and inviting aspect is the savory aroma of the Yankee Candle wafting from the counter. It bathes the room in a mouth-watering pumpkin spice. Every day, I long for the moment when I enter my decadent living room.
My living room is a very inviting place. The ivory bordered window emits a warm filtered ray of light that reflects off the polished hardwood floor. The coffee brown leather couch wrinkles with delight as I sink into its' cool arms. It's company, the tan, diamond rocker gently swings in rhythm. Across the room sits the ornate antique desk. Perched on its flat head is a monitor that flaunts a still, silvery screen. But the most warm and inviting aspect is the savory aroma of the Yankee Candle wafting from the counter. It bathes the room in a mouth-watering pumpkin spice. Every day, I long for the moment when I enter my decadent living room.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
It's been a busy two weeks!
As I write this my thirteen year old editor is sitting on the back of my chair approving this post. He has taken an interest in all pictures, captions, and posts. I might call it teenage vanity. He wants to make sure there is nothing embarrassing posted. Well, obviously it started with my race which put me out of town a total of four days. When I returned John had the majority of the week off so we indulged in some family down time. Our family loves to play Scrabble. It is a great time to remind Devin and Mitchell who are the vocab big wigs of the house. Of course John and I go head to head every game...never know who will come out on top!! After some Scrabble face offs we decided to head out to Busch Gardens for a roller coaster ride-a-thon. It was a Thursday so nobody was there.We just coaster hopped for a few hours. No chickens in this family! Everybody rode everything they were tall enough to pass for. John and I experienced Sheikra for the first time. I loved it! John said it was fine! Devin went on it as many times as possible. Upon returning home from Busch Gardens John, Devin and Mitchell left the next morning for a weekend of camping with the scouts. They had a great time! They fished, hiked, swam, and canoed. They returned home tired and with a few ticks..which we promptly removed!! They all agreed they had a great time and can't wait to go on next months trip to St Augustine! Well, that's about all for this week..so until next time...
Monday, September 28, 2009
What a day
As most everyone knows I have spent 20 weeks training for a half Ironman. Well the race came and went. This past weekend 30 athletes traveled to Augusta Georgia to partake in a 70 mile race with 3000 other athletes. It was an amazing experience and so surreal. As we stood on the deck waiting to get in to the 70 degree water I just had to pinch myself as I could not believe what I was about to do AND I could not believe that the race was here!
As for my race...the swim was fast. It was wetsuit legal and we had a nice current to assist. Obviously you still had to swim the mile and a quarter but it took me 28 minutes to accomplish this. I was pleased with this although now wonder how much faster I could have done it in. The bike was 18 miles flat and then hills came to play for about 30+ miles and then it finished flat but you were greeted by a nice strong headwind. This went well except my bike chain came off at mile 18 (or kinked). Luckily this happened at a water stop area so 4 guys later we had it put back together with a warning that something was warped and the chain could come off again...GREAT!! So I decided to pretty much not to use my gears for 30 miles of hills but instead muscle my way up and down them. But my theory was...it is better to do that than to have more mechanical issues and not be able to finish. But when you gamble there is a chance you will pay!!
The run came and it started out pretty typical in that your legs feel like pieces of lumber when you first start running after biking...so they felt normal and OK until mile 4....then my calves started to complain a bit (but this also could be normal) then my quads started to sing the same tune as my calves...however I started chanting one of my motivational phrases "pain is just weakness leaving your body" in my head. Well, I kept running only allowing myself to stop at water stops for a quick drink and stretch. This continued for miles 4,5,6,7,8,9 & 10. Well on mile 11 I start to congratulate myself and think.."you did it Tracy only 2 miles to go..you got this" About a third of a mile later my bike gamble from earlier came calling...my legs decided they were not running another foot. They locked up to the point of starting to fall over and some nice runner guy behind me grabbed my arm and caught me. Lesson #1..never congratulate yourself until you cross the finish line!!
Needless to say after many failed attempts at running the last two miles...I had to walk them! I was hoping to finish in under 6:15 but ended up finishing in 6:26. I guess with two miles of walking and a bike chain issue I am lucky to have been so close to my goal...but on the flip side...in a perfect race day I would have met my goal and exceeded it!
All in all it was a great day (other than the last two tearful miles). I learned so much about racing and so much about myself. I love this sport and can't wait to do another half and next time get under 6 hours!!! It was a journey and so worth it. I could not have done it with out the support of my family, friends, triathlon friends and my coach. I look forward to another journey and another finish but for now...I finished a HALF IRONMAN and that is something I will always have to remember!!
As for my race...the swim was fast. It was wetsuit legal and we had a nice current to assist. Obviously you still had to swim the mile and a quarter but it took me 28 minutes to accomplish this. I was pleased with this although now wonder how much faster I could have done it in. The bike was 18 miles flat and then hills came to play for about 30+ miles and then it finished flat but you were greeted by a nice strong headwind. This went well except my bike chain came off at mile 18 (or kinked). Luckily this happened at a water stop area so 4 guys later we had it put back together with a warning that something was warped and the chain could come off again...GREAT!! So I decided to pretty much not to use my gears for 30 miles of hills but instead muscle my way up and down them. But my theory was...it is better to do that than to have more mechanical issues and not be able to finish. But when you gamble there is a chance you will pay!!
The run came and it started out pretty typical in that your legs feel like pieces of lumber when you first start running after biking...so they felt normal and OK until mile 4....then my calves started to complain a bit (but this also could be normal) then my quads started to sing the same tune as my calves...however I started chanting one of my motivational phrases "pain is just weakness leaving your body" in my head. Well, I kept running only allowing myself to stop at water stops for a quick drink and stretch. This continued for miles 4,5,6,7,8,9 & 10. Well on mile 11 I start to congratulate myself and think.."you did it Tracy only 2 miles to go..you got this" About a third of a mile later my bike gamble from earlier came calling...my legs decided they were not running another foot. They locked up to the point of starting to fall over and some nice runner guy behind me grabbed my arm and caught me. Lesson #1..never congratulate yourself until you cross the finish line!!
Needless to say after many failed attempts at running the last two miles...I had to walk them! I was hoping to finish in under 6:15 but ended up finishing in 6:26. I guess with two miles of walking and a bike chain issue I am lucky to have been so close to my goal...but on the flip side...in a perfect race day I would have met my goal and exceeded it!
All in all it was a great day (other than the last two tearful miles). I learned so much about racing and so much about myself. I love this sport and can't wait to do another half and next time get under 6 hours!!! It was a journey and so worth it. I could not have done it with out the support of my family, friends, triathlon friends and my coach. I look forward to another journey and another finish but for now...I finished a HALF IRONMAN and that is something I will always have to remember!!
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