Joe's Birthday

So my triathlon also fell on Joe's birthday. He was super sweet about it, and we kinda started celebrating after my race was over. We did his fancy breakfast in bed the following day, and he was a super sweetheart and took care of me as much as I took care of him. The only pictures I took were of his cake, which was a Peanut Butter Cup Cake. It was super rich but totally tasty. It was also a very small cake, so I'm surprised I fit all the candles on top.

Sure love my hubby and all he does for me and our family. 

Glad we get to celebrate how awesome he is.

Bucketlist Triathlon

A few years ago I decided that sometime in my life, I wanted to participate in a sprint triathlon. It became one of those "bucket list" sort of items. The thought has stayed with me tho I haven't done much training for it. I have looked up locations and races going on, but nothing has ever fit or been the right thing. Around Brek's birthday, I saw a flyer posted in our town about a triathlon happening right here in our community. The only concern about it was that it was only 3 weeks out, and we were going to be in Chicago for one of those weeks. I decided to train really hard for the first week and just see if I could actually do it. The first day, I just did the run. The second day, I just did the bike ride. (I hadn't been on a bike in a long time, so I actually rode closer to 15 miles that day, just to see how I would feel.) The third day, I just did the swim. Then day 4 I did the bike and run. Day 5 was bike and swim. Day 6 was run and swim. 

Honestly, the 2 biggest reactions I had from the training was 1) I was tired, and napped every day. and 2) I was cranky, because, see #1. So then we went to Chicago (see separate blog post) and then we came home and were back for the week of. With school starting that week, my amount of time for training was more limited since Joe wasn't around, and the pool wasn't open. But I still got in training each day except for the day before the race. 

Joe really was hesitant about me doing it since I hadn't had training time. He even started training for the swim and run parts, just to be a backup as a team or something. But I convinced him I could do it, so he became the world's greatest cheerleader. 

So the day came:

Brek and I keeping each other warm while we waited for my turn to swim. I was in heat 4.

My race number.

(Random tidbit of info, the number 122 is my second favorite number. I liked the coincidence.) 

In the pool and getting ready for my heat to start.

Action shot, getting ready for my turn around, about half way thru the swim.

All done with part 1.

The turnaround point for the bike ride.

Joe and Brek were awesome! They waited for me at the bike 1/2-way point. Then they met me at the switch-point for the end of the bike/start of the run. Then they met me at the mile-marker for the run, which was also the 2-mile marker. And again at the 2.5 mile point, and then again at the finish line.  

This was my re-cap that I posted on facebook, and I think it sums it all up pretty well:
It's all done and I'm still breathing. It was hard! As an answer to prayers, the forecast was overcast and breezy, so that was great. The swimming was harder than I thought it would have been for me, since I've swum farther. But the "pressure" of "racing" definitely added to things. I was pretty darn slow - I think I still had 3 laps left when the last person got out of the pool in my heat. My legs had had to work harder in the swimming, so the biking was a challenge. Plus the first half we were going against the wind (which all the racers commented was pretty challenging.) I kept a steady pace tho, so that's what I cared about, and tho my rear got uncomfortable, it doesn't actually hurt from bike-butt. By the time I reached the running, I really wasn't feeling too excited about what was ahead. I was able to jog until I was out of sight of everyone else, and then I walked. I had to walk way more than I wanted to or ever have. About 1/4 mile in, I decided to alternate running and walking while counting to 100. That actually helped a lot. Around my last 1/2 mile, a biker came and joined me and talked me in. A second one joined for the last 1/4 mile. It was hard to keep jogging that last 1/4 mile, but everyone could see me, so I kept at it. There was no way I could push it faster tho, so they waited a long time. Everyone in the race hung around and lined up and cheered me across the finish line, which was part embarrassing, but also partially emotional too. Brek ran to me that last little bit and then held my hand to run across the line. I did actually have to fasten my pace to keep up with him tho, cuz he's a fast little runner. 
So it's all done. Final time was 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 56 seconds. That totally shocked me! I felt so exhausted the entire time, so I really thought my time was going to be at 3 hours, or more. Thanks for all the well-wishes and encouragement. Fun stuff for sure! Time for a shower and a nap!

When we got home I realized I needed a picture to capture it all, so we pulled out Brek's bike, added the swim goggles, and got me and my little buddy. Super cute! 

Then Brek got jealous of my numbers, so we gave him some too. 

It took over a week for my numbers to wash off.

Here's me after my nap and shower and wearing my shirt.  

The reason I picked a triathlon as my "goal" was because I love the concept of cross-training. I believe it prevents injuries and creates a well-balanced athlete/person. That being said, I am pretty bad at EVERYTHING. I'm a super slow runner. I like riding a bike, but I don't like that my butt hurts, and I don't like going fast, and I REALLY don't like going down hills. And I like swimming. I didn't learn to swim until I was 23 and in college. And I'm super duper slow. So slow. But I like it. 
I've had many people ask me what's next? When's my next race? Will I do a "real" triathlon next time? To be honest, I don't know. 
My bucket list triathlon didn't come with a follow up. I just wanted to do one. This isn't saying that I won't do one again, but I'm not scheduling my next race. I don't have any intentions of doing a "real" triathlon, as compared to a "sprint" course. I'm not that hardcore, and I'm not sure I'm as dedicated to the training to be able/willing to do the bigger/longer distances. I'm not saying that it's out of the picture, but I'm not planning on it. And now that I know about this race (and it's intentions to repeat each year), I think next summer I would train to be on a team. I don't think I will do it all solo next time. But who knows, that's still months away. 

General August Happenings

So this post is for the non-eventful moments of August in which we took some pictures.
First off, we went to the fair. To be honest, I was expecting something akin to the county fair where I grew up. This was WAY off. Much more boring. :) We saw some sheep getting judged. Brek got a balloon animal. And one of Joe's students wanted to show Joe his cow, and Brek got to pet him and give him a scratch.

Then we went and got a treat and then went swimming.

Action jump shot

He gets out of the pool and watches for when kids jump off the diving board. He tries to time his jump just right so that they he and whatever kid is landing in the water at the same time. 

Lots of splashes

Our little fish

Love this picture!

We planted our first garden. We planted tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, and watermelon. In total I think we got about 15 little tomatoes, and 2 zucchini, one of which was only an inch, maybe 2, in length. This was the first tomato we ever picked:

Our little cowboy

Brek enjoying another tomato from our garden

Now stay tuned for the more exciting events that concluded our summer.

Chicago 2.0

Right before school started up for Joe again, we were able to make our 2nd trip out to Chicago to visit my sister and her family. Although the coming home portion was rushed and hurried to get back, it was a pretty awesome trip!

We tried another of my sister's authentic Chicago Pizza places.

We spent a day at the beach. It was so fun. I even got in and went out and jumped waves. Totally felt like a 10-year-old kid again, only loved that it was fresh water and not salt water, and didn't have to get saved by any lifeguards. Loved that Brek and my nieces could even come out and jump the waves with us adults. Such a fun day!

She's such a cutie!

My sister and parents surprised Joe with an early birthday present. And boy was he surprised! They got the 2 of us tickets to see the Chicago Symphony perform at the Ravinia, with guest conductor Itzhak Perlman. It was awesome! They played Brahms' Academic Festival Overture, which was our favorite, as well as a Haydn cello concerto with Alisa Weilerstein, and Tchaikovsky Symphony #5. Fun night!

You can just barely see the tuba there between the back two rows of basses.

Full stage shot

Us at the end of the night

Special and very surprised boy!

My sister got my entire family some free VIP tickets to the Aquarium. Brek was cranky the whole day, but otherwise, it was very fun.

The view from the dolphin show seating.

Finally got him to go to sleep at the end of the day

The beautiful Chicago city skyline, which then inspired a variety of pictures.

This series cracks me up:

I think this is the best one I caught

He's still grumpy

Then we went and had Mediterranean food. Yum! My dad didn't like it much, and I'm not sure the kids did either, but I think the rest of us loved it. The schwarma was terrific and the hummus and pitas were amazing. The falafel was pretty good too.

Cute kiddos with grandma

So, the whole reason for our trip was that my niece Adelynne turned 8 back in July and was choosing to be baptized. She wore the same dress that my sister and I and our other niece Heather had worn to be baptized. (Also a bunch of other cousins have worn it too. All of our names and our baptism dates are embroidered in the dress.)

Love this girl!