My fear of drowning (and therefore not being able to finish the triathlon) is motivating me to get to the pool and/or lake more often. I went tonight -- and realized that I still have a lot of work to do. I.Need.To.Swim.More Enough said.
I promise to swim at least two times per week from now until the triathlon (Aug 16th).
It was a beautiful Seattle day today -- and we were lucky enough to have a fun outdoor birthday celebration to go to (Happy Birthday Melissa!!) Both kids had to power through nap-time today to enjoy the festivities... but they survived like champs :)
Here are a few pictures from our afternoon:
Noah in his Spidey trunks:
Travis with the "catch of the day":
Had to include this one -- I think it captures Noah's mischievous side :)
Noah was definitely overdue for a hair-cut -- so we decided to take him tonight. We were going to take him to one of those cutesy kids hair places -- but the ones by us charge $30 for a simple cut. I don't even pay that to get MY hair cut!! So we went to the local barbershop instead. Noah was not a happy camper at first... I think the cape freaked him out a little bit.
We snuck his finger out from behind his cape for him, and he calmed down.
Afterwards we took the kids to the park by our house. Noah decided to give Evelyn a ride in her car. 
Well -- I made it -- I survived my mini-triathlon tonight. I must admit -- the open water swim was a bit scary. The beach we swam at on Lake Washington is supposed to be around 70 degrees right now -- but the water felt painfully cold. However, adrenaline kicked in -- along with my fear of not finishing/drowning -- so I had no choice but to start swimming.
Believe me, I couldn't have been happier when the swim portion was complete. It was all downhill from there (not really -- it was a pretty hilly bike ride -- but you know what I mean). Biking and running are comfortable sports for me and I finished those portions within a decent time.
I learned a few things:
1) I need to do more open water swims for practice -- totally different than the pool.
2) I need to drink more after the swim/during the bike portion -- I got a horribly painful side stitch at the end of the run that was probably due to dehydration.
3) The transition from bike to run is tough -- your legs feel like jello for the first couple minutes.
Here is a photo before the swim:
Photo of my transition area (where I return to between race legs to put on cycling shoes, bike helmet, running sneakers, etc) This area will be teeny-tiny during the actualy triathlon -- we were all very spread out today which made it much easier.
I will be sleeping like a baby tonight!! :)
I am going to do a mini-triathlon for training tomorrow evening. I will be doing it with a group of women called the Luna Chix -- along with a bunch of other people training for triathlons. Here is what we will be doing:
1/4 mile open water swim
6 mile bike
1.5 mile run
I decided to post about it so I am less likely to back out. I have to admit -- I am very nervous about the open water swim portion... it definitely will be different than practicing in a swimming pool. Wish me luck!!
"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever” - Lance Armstrong
We have a great "water spray" park nearby that we visited today. It is just a local park that anyone can go to and use -- great free summer-time activity.
It has a soft rubbery base (reminds me of high school track stuff) so the kids can play and not get hurt... and the base must somehow absorb the water and recirculate it back through the sprayers, because there isn't any standing water. There are a bunch of whales and other things that have water squirting out of them -- just imagine huge sprinklers everywhere. It is really cool. There were a lot of people there -- but somehow both Evelyn and Noah were able to have their own "whale" to play with. The kids had a great time today! Here are a few pictures to prove it:
Evelyn also spend some time at the jungle gym area of the park. She is quite the park pro these days!New quick video from dinner the other night... kinda funny :)
Trav's dad is in town for the weekend helping to install a sprinkler system in our yard. Thankfully Chuck (Trav's brother) came over to help, too. There was a lot of digging to be done --- and we might have the rockiest, hardest ground/dirt ever! Not sure how they are smiling in this picture... I am sure they were exhausted!!
Here is a picture of the kids at the park -- Sally and I have been on kid-duty & kitchen duty while the men work. 
Had a little bit of a trying day today...
I battled a bunch of traffic and had a lot of "windshield time" today, I'm away from Trav and the kids for the night (staying over on the Olympic Peninsula for work - I typically do this once a month), I received news that a huge customer of mine might switch to a competitor's product.... GRRR!!!
So -- at the end of my day I checked into my hotel, put on my running shoes, and set out to relieve my stress. I love the fact that I can completely clear my head and put life back in perspective with a good work-out. It doesn't always work -- but my success rate is pretty darn high. :)
It also allows my mind to wander in random directions... here are a few of my topics tonight:
- Sister Madonna Buder -- the inspirational nun marathoner/triathlete who talks about harmonizing the mind, body, and spirit with running -- did I mention she is close to 80 years old???
- my best friend from high school who just told me she is pregnant -- her and her husband are going to be great parents :)
- Elisabeth Hasselbeck (love her!) - haven't watched The View since maternity leave... just hoping she is keeping her strong conservative voice. Want to tape a show -- but Trav HATES it -- so I will have to watch it on the sly
- I saw a golden retriever while running and I thought back to a time when I was in Saginaw with a college boyfriend. We decided to take Buster for a run from my brother's house to my parent's house (maybe 3 miles). Buster decided about 2 miles into it that he was done running and would rather walk -- so we did. Just thinking of that story today made me smile - he was such a good dog (Buster, not the boyfriend!!) :)
6 miles later... I was feeling strong, accomplished, upbeat, and thankful to God for blessing me with such a beautiful life!
Here is a picture of Evelyn and her daddy enjoying some ice cream together tonight before bed. Poor little girl got two new bruises -- and, just like her mommy, she always feels better after a big bowl of ice cream!! This picture reminded me of when I was younger and would have ice cream with my dad almost every night of the week. Wish I could have that metabolism back!
I am curious to know what these bumps/bruises are going to look like in the morning... she seriously took her hardest fall ever. She instantly got two bruises -- one on her forehead and one under her left eye. We are pretty lucky -- she is usually an overly cautious little girl. We can already tell that Noah is going to be more of a dare-devil -- typical boy I guess :)
Had a pretty good weekend... took the family to watch a triathlon early Saturday morning (very motivating for my training), afterward I had my best swim lesson ever, got family photos taken (including Cocoa!!), church Sunday morning, long bike ride during the kids' nap-time, plenty of walks/trips to the park, can't really remember what else. All for now -- lots of work to do...
