I have no recollection of this race at all. I think Pete and I both did it, with him doing Olympic and me doing Sprint again. And I know I liked it, but that's about it.
The next week we went to Newport Beach, CA. It was so much fun! What a great year that was! Look at our cute little family too!
We finally got some snow this weekend! A little while after my run in the rain on Saturday, it turned into big, fat, fluffy, flakes! We all just stood there looking out the window, watching it fall. Elle even asked if it was raining snowballs. :) They were probably the biggest flakes I've ever seen, and it was really cool to watch! I was just glad I didn't have anywhere to go! This is what was going on just a few miles away from us in Bountiful (it starts out slow, but keep watching):
People are crazy!
Anyway...
A lot of rain and a little snow in the valley, meant it was dumping in the mountains! Yay!
We couldn't wait to get up there Monday morning. I dropped the kids off at school, and George at my friend, Brittany's house. She is just so good with him, and makes me not worry about leaving him, plus her daughter and Elle are just best friend so she was excited to go over there after preschool. Thanks Brittany!
Pete's friend, Hui, came with us up to Brighton and he even scored a ticket off a scalper for almost half price! Nice! We got on the lift by 9:30 or 10, and we were so excited to see how beautiful the snow was and that there was hardly anyone up there! They had all come Sunday to catch the freshest powder, but there was plenty left for us!
We got to the top, and right off the bat, Pete took off down a steep part into the trees! I thought about trying to follow him, but knew I would just get stuck so I just followed Hui down the groomers, and we met back up at the bottom where we headed up for another round. I kind of got after Pete for ditching me, but he said he wasn't ditching me because he was in front of me! Anyway, this time we planned it out better. They were going to go more off course, and I'd just stay on the groomers by myself so I could work on my turns. This actually worked out really well! Towards the bottom, I was in a section where I was all by myself, and I had this huge area to just carve as many Ss as I wanted. It was really good practice for me!
When I got to the bottom, I sat there for a while resting and waiting for the guys. My legs were pretty tired since they're not used to doing so much front edge riding (yeah!). After I sat there for a while, I finally called Pete to see where they were, and he said they were kind of stuck and hiking out so I should just go do another run. So, I hopped on the lift with this kid from California. He moved out here in October chasing the snow which kind of sucks since we're just barely getting some! It's going to be worth it though! He said he had come Sunday, but they turned him away because the parking lot was full. I'm so glad we went the day after the day after the snow! When I told him I lived downtown, he asked me if I was going to the university! How sweet of him! Haha, again, easily flattered!
This run was another really good practice run for me, and I was just feeling so awesome and excited when I got to the bottom! I'm really starting to get it! Yay! It was so beautiful up there too, and the snow was so soft! It was SO much better (100 times better!) than last time!
This is a picture Pete took. He kept comparing it to Skyrim. Haha
Anyway, Pete and Hui were there waiting for me when I got there so we just hopped back on. This time we veered way over to the right so we could go up the Great Western lift. I didn't lose them quite as quickly this time, and it was really fun, but there were a couple places where it flattens out and I wasn't going fast enough to get through, or I'd go off into the deep powder and not be able to get out, so I had to walk a bit.
Great Western is a really long lift and it took us way up to the top of the mountain. It had started to snow a little bit on my second or third run, but now it was starting to snow a little harder, and the wind was picking up so it was really cold on the lift! When we got to the top, it was hard to even see the ground, everything was foggy and white. It felt kind of foreboding setting off in those conditions! It didn't last long, though. Once we got down a little bit, it was fine.
Here's a picture Hui took. You can see how foggy it was up a little ways!
Hui turned off the path right away so it was just Pete and I, and we were going to stick together, but that didn't happen. I tried to follow Pete, but ended up turning onto a deep, less ridden area. This was really cool, and fun, but I felt out of my league! All the guys there with me were at a much higher level so I felt really self couscous did a lot of starting and stopping. I just focused on getting back to the path. I wish I would have tried to enjoy it more, though, because really that was the funnest part of the day! I'll get there, though!
By the time I made it to the bottom, Pete was there waiting and he was done, and ready to go to the car. I probably would have been game for another run, but it's a good thing we left then because my legs were so sore afterwards!
That was 5 runs in all for me during about 3 hours. It was so awesome!
I had a hard time falling asleep my legs hurt so much, but I had faith that they would feel better in the morning and set my alarm to get up for my trainer class! I was too excited to go to skip it because of tired legs!
My legs did feel pretty much all the way better in the morning! Yay! It's amazing what a good night's sleep will do for your muscles! It is so nice that George is sleeping through the night now too!
Our trainer class was really hard, we did 10 fast spinning intervals for 90 seconds each. Ouch! Then single leg drills - 3 on each leg! I was glad when it was over, but also glad I went! We watched the 25th anniversary of Ironman while we road, and I'm getting really excited for my next Ironman! Whenever it will be...
I was going to do a really easy 3-4 mile run after I got the kids to school, but when I got home I found out that Elle had been throwing up so I just forgot about running. It won't kill me to skip a day, besides this is my recovery week anyway. I also went and donated blood this afternoon, so skipping the run was probably overall, a good thing!
I just threw this together this morning, and thought I'd throw the recipe on here for you guys to try!
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups whole white wheat flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
frozen blueberries (optional - my kids don't like them so I just dump some in mine)
Mix together until smooth, then fold in blueberries. I made pancakes and waffles with this, and it works great for both! Top with maple syrup and enjoy.
I was so proud of my long run last week, but I never got around to writing about it! I did 10.5 miles. The first 6.5 was up The Avenues and back home to get a drink and fuel. Then I just went out on the bike path and added 4 miles, and those 4 miles were so awesome! I felt really good, and was able to keep up an average of 9:48/minute mile pace on flat! That was with slowing down a bit on the last mile too. It just made me so happy that I was able to do that after running 6.5 miles, and that it felt pretty easy! I must be doing something right!
Last week, I also got a new TYR tri top and shorts that were on sale at Kompetative Edge for 50% off. Score! They are so nice! The top is nice and long so I won't have to worry about getting my lower back sunburnt, and it also has a big pocket in the back that will actually be useful. I'm so excited to try it out! The shorts are just like my tri suit, and I love them!
Notice the sea monkeys on the back of the toilet? Yeah, they got knocked off today and are no more. Poor sea monkeys. They were Ethan's Christmas present, and didn't even last a month!
I wore the shorts for my run Thursday morning, then I did an easy trainer ride during George's nap. When I say easy, I mean really easy for only 30 minutes. I just really need to get used to sitting on that seat again. I was so sore after Tuesday's trainer class! I'm sure I'll get used to it quickly though.
When I put George down for his nap, I looked outside for the first time and realized it was pouring! I wanted to do 11.5 miles for my long run, but there was no way I was doing that inside! I reminded myself that I am a rock star and that I just needed to get out there to do it!
I'm so glad I have such a nice rain jacket that really makes the rain a non-issue. (even though I look kind of silly with the hood on...) I wore it for my Ironman and I wished I had had it during the St. George Marathon where it rained pretty much the whole time! The trouble is that it doesn't breath very well, so I was soaking wet (with sweat, not rain) when I got home! But I stayed warm for the whole run so it was great.
I drove up to the capitol headed up City Creek. My battery died on my Garmin so I just used an app on my iphone called Runkeeper to track my miles. It wasn't as easy to look at my pace, distance, or time that way since I had my phone in my iFitness belt, so I just kind of guessed on where to turn around. I turned around at the 2 mile marker up City Creek since I knew I had done about a mile before that.
As I started back down, my right foot started to hurt a little. It wasn't bad, but it felt likewhen it got bruised back when I was training for the Utah Valley Half Marathon and I had to stop running for like 2 weeks. I didn't want that to happen again so I pretty much decided I'd just cut this run short and head home instead of out for another loop when I got to the car. But then it stopped hurting, and I didn't feel it again the whole 3 miles. Weird.
I sat in the car for a few minutes debating what to do. I ate my shot blocks (Have you tried the margarita shot blocks? They are so good! And they have salt in them!) and drank some water. Finally I decided to just keep going and at least do 10 miles. I was at 6.5 so I thought I'd just do the 3 mile loop around Bonnaville Blvd. and call it good.
I left my gloves in the car because I was pretty warm, but that was a little hasty because after about a mile I was pulling my sleeves over my hands. It was ok, though. I was really only cold for a few minutes where the road was more exposed.
On the way back, I ended up running down the canyon towards memory grove for the length of a song, then back up, to add some distance on. When I got back to the car I was at 11.19 miles, and I was fine with that! It took me kind of a long time - 2:05. That's a nice slow 11:11 min/mile pace. That's ok, though. It was a hard run, City Creek is pretty steep! My legs are tired!
It's weird because I was warm the whole run, but as soon as I got home, I was freezing! I started a hot bath while I stretched and that helped. We had a nice relaxing afternoon and I put my feet up while George napped, and did a little cleaning after that. It was nice. Now I'm sitting with my feet up again, and my compression socks on, not wanting to move. Hopefully we'll have a nice night and George will just sleep!
The other day was George's 12 month check-up. He is doing great in everything except the skin department. The good news is that our doctor said she didn't thing the rash was food related, and that it's just exima. Again. That's what it always is. She told me to put hydrocortisone cream on it. I put some on that night, and it was noticeably better the next morning! She's told me about that stuff before, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner! We're going to continue with the no dairy for another week, then re-introduce and see what happens.
George's favorite part about the visit was the paper on the exam table! So much fun to kick his feet around on or just shake!
The not so fun part was that he had to get 4 shots! That's always so hard to see the look of betrayal when you're holding their hands and they get poked! Luckily we haven't seen any side effects from the shots yet. She said he could be sick for the next couple weeks because all the different vaccines cause fever/rashes at different times. Great. Hopefully it won't be bad.
The doctor also recommended we start making George cry himself to sleep when he wakes up in the night. I really should have done this 6 months ago, but it is just so hard when my sweet little baby cries and I know I can make him feel better! I also really love the time I get to cuddle and nurse him during the night. Cheesy, I know, but it's true! I've still been nursing him 2 times a night, and at one year old, that's very unnecessary! I guess it would be nice to have an uninterrupted night's sleep... OK, that would actually be amazing! I don't know when the last time that's happened! So, we're giving it a try.
The first night, he woke up at 11 and cried for an hour and a half. I went in at half hour intervals to comfort him, but didn't pick him up. Ug, it's so hard! Then he woke up at 4 and cried for about an hour. This made it easy for me to go to swimming even though I didn't get much sleep, because I was already up!
I'm so glad I went swimming too! Chris was back, and we did kind of an easier workout totaling 2000 yards, then I was able to lay down from 9:30-11:30 while George took his nap. That was so nice, and I felt much better after that!
Last night he actually didn't wake up at 11 or 12 like he usually has been! He did wake up at around 6, but he must not have cried for long because I can hardly even remember it! Wahoo! I'm trying not to get my hopes up that we're already almost done with all the crying, but that would be nice! We'll see how tonight goes.
Last night, George played catch with me and Ethan. It was so cute! He actually seemed to know what was going on, that we passed the ball in a circle. He just loves balls so much, and pretty much throwing anything! He's just so much fun!
I was just thinking back, trying to remember what other races I've done that I haven't recorded on here. The first one that popped into my head was St. George Tri 2007. I knew I did that one because I got a long sleeve tech shirt from it, and I wear it almost every time I run in the winter.
Actually, we have two of those exact same shirts because Pete also did it and we both ordered mediums. Maybe that explains why it feels like I wear it so much...
This was the year after Elle was born...
Look at that baby! Remind you of anyone?
It was my second tri, and I did the sprint while Pete did the olympic. I remember him catching up to me on the bike and I said something like, "it's not like we're in a race or anything."
I know, I am so cheesy.
Anyway. I really don't remember much else about it, but I looked up my times so here they are:
Swim 750m - 20:17
T1 - 2:42
Bike 20k - 49:16
T2 - 1:53
Run 5k - 36:43
Total - 1:52:05
I finished #30 out of 48 in my age group.
It's nice to see how far I've come. I haven't done a sprint in a long time, but I'm pretty sure I could beat the heck out of those times now!
I don't have any pictures from the race, but afterwards we went and saw the dinosaur footprints with our friends and I have these pictures to prove it:
Oh man, my kids were so LITTLE! (Elle would have been 8 month, Ethan would have just turned 3, and Mindy would have almost been 5! And that's Isaiah with them, who would have been not quite 4.)
The last 2 weeks I missed my Thursday speed workout because I was sick two weeks ago, and because I was just so worn out last week! I decided a rest day was in order after my first bike/run day last Tuesday and a nice hard swim day last Wednesday. I'm hoping I can pull it off this week, though!
This week, I didn't run on Monday because we took the kids skiing, but I did stick to my Tuesday plan of awesome hard bike trainer class and easy run!
It was so hard to pull myself out of bed! I was running late, and I had that little voice in the back of my head telling me I should just stay home, but I got up, got my bike and trainer in the car drove down there, and got all set up before they started!
The bike class was such a good workout. The teacher, B.J., put the 1999 Ironman World Championship video up on the wall behind him, with his music on top. That was fun to watch and was really good motivation!
For January, we are working on high cadence so we did a lot of just fast spinning, and at one point B.J. pointed me out and told them to watch me because I was doing it right. I was pretty self conscious to keep doing it right after that, and hoped I was in the right gear! Then after class he told me I was a rock star! I know, I'm so easily flattered! I'm so bad at talking to people though. All I said was, "Oh... thanks!" I couldn't even manage a, "Shut up, you are!" ala Liz Lemon. That's more like what I was thinking because he is such an amazing triathlete and a great teacher/motivator! I'm so excited to be taking this class from him!
Anyway, that kind of made my day so when it was 17 degrees outside and time for my run, I felt like I could do anything! I bundled George up with warm PJs, socks, a hoodie, his snowsuit and a blanket. Once we got moving, he was totally happy. He fell asleep right away, and I put the blanket up over his face a little. His cheeks felt a little cold when we finished, but he never complained! I was only a little cold for the first mile, then I had to take my hood off (I still had a hat on) and I felt great! It was a little icy in spots so I had to be careful, but I ran on the bike path which was plowed so it was pretty clear most of the way. It was so calm and still and almost felt magical to me. I was so happy I had decided to go for it and run outside! Now I know 17 degrees is NOT too cold to run. :)
I made sure to make a bathroom stop half-way so I wouldn't have the same problem as last time. It was still a pretty slow run, but it was supposed to be easy, and I was pushing the stroller! I did 6 miles in 1:06.
The rest of the day was just really nice. I was in such a good mood the whole day. Pete would say, "You shouldn't need two workouts to feel good," but I think it wasn't just because I did two workouts. It was because I planned to do them, and followed through even though it didn't seem easy. It's always such a good feeling when you have those little victories!
This morning it was hard to get up again, and my friend Chris wasn't there at Masters so I was a little lonely, but I also got a really good workout! I managed to do 2500 yards (awesome right?) in my hour! Here's what I did, in case you're curious:
4 x 150 warmup - alternating free/kick
500 ladder w/20 second rests
500 strait
4 x 100 alternating breast/back and dolphin kick/back flutter kick
8 x 50 all out - first 4 on 1:00, last 4 on 1:15 (:40-:46)
100 cool down - breast/free/back/free
I got to take a very small nap during George's morning nap before picking up Elle. That was nice, even though it was very small.
It's funny because last year on this day, my dad drove up here at 6am to stay with the kids while we went to the hospital. Today he drove up here at 6am to stay with George so we could take the kids skiing! My dad is so wonderful!
We left the house at about 7:30 and went to the local rental place where we had 2 free rentals, to get Mindy and Ethan all set up. We decided to just get Elle's skis at the resort since the lessons come with rentals.
While we were doing this, the snow started to really come down so by the time we got on the freeway, we had to go really slow. We saw so many cars off the road or turned around or smashed up, it was scary! So, we took our time, and eventually got out of the snow and the slow traffic, but we still got to Wolf Mountain a half an hour later than we wanted to be.
I went in and paid for the lessons, and Pete took Elle to get her skis. Then I went back to the car to help Mindy and Ethan get their skis on which was quite the ordeal! They were both crying and saying they couldn't do it while I was trying to help get them on, and I actually had to ask the people in the car next to us for some help! Finally we got them on, but Mindy was still crying and saying it was too tight (even though she had tried them on when we rented them!) so we walked to the renal shop to get her a bigger pair.
When we got there, I couldn't believe the huge line that went out the door and into the parking lot! Luckily, Pete and Elle were inside, but there was still a long ways to go, and their lessons were starting in 2 minutes. Elle had 2 pairs of socks on so I asked her for one of hers to give to Mindy since they were thinner, and this solved the boot problem! Whew!
I got Mindy and Ethan to their lessons just in time, but had to tell them Elle was going to be a while. They said that was fine because a lot of the other students were in the same boat. They said they'd just plan on her at around 11 (the other kids started at 10). Once I got them sent off, (hoping they would have good attitudes after all the trouble with the boots!), I went back to the rental shop to find Pete and Elle. They had hardly moved, and Pete was getting really frustrated so I took over while he went to relax in the car for a while. He ended up falling asleep and being gone for about an hour, which was just fine because we were just getting our stuff when he got back!
Apparently, Martin Luther King Day is Wolf Mountain's busiest day, and since everyone who has the Pass of All Passes (like us) was able to go there, but not Brighton, on this day off school, it was quite the mad house.
Despite having to stand around and wait for an hour and a half, Elle just had the best attitude the whole time! She was really so good, and I didn't mind waiting with her at all. She was just so excited to go ski, but didn't whine about it taking a long time or anything! She just played around and even found a ladybug on the wall to play with!
Finally, we got her sent off with her own teacher at 11:15 and went back to the car to get our boards. We did 2 runs on the longer beginner hill before it was time to pick Mindy and Ethan up at noon. I saw Mindy riding the ski lift while I was coming down, and she looked happy. She was excited because she was the only one in her class that got to go on the ski lift! All the other kids just stayed on the very short hill with the "magic carpet."
Unfortunately, Ethan was one of the kids who just stayed on the little hill. He wasn't happy about this, and didn't have the best time, but his teacher said he did have a good attitude and did a good job. He said he likes snowboarding better. I'm glad he got to try skiing though, so he could know for sure.
This is a thumbs up for the hot chocolate they got after their lesson. :)
Pete took the kids back to the car, and I did 3 more runs while I waited for Elle to finish her lesson at 1. I didn't get too much practice turning because it was either steeper than I dared try it on, or there were just too many people for me to dare try it. There were just people everywhere! It was insane! It was nice going by myself, though, because I could just go up to the front of the lift line! I was happy to just get out there, and remind myself that I don't sprain my wrist every time I go snowboarding, and just get over the little bit of fear I still had from last time!
Elle had a great time in her lesson, and did well enough to be able to go up the big ski lift too! She was so excited about that! But she was definitely tired, and fell asleep right away when we started driving.
We stopped at a burger place in Ogden for a fun lunch on the way home. We were all very hungry!
George was just as happy as a clam when we got home! My dad said he was just a little angel (of course), and took 2 good naps so that's really nice! He's such a good boy! Happy birthday, George!
Sunday afternoon we had George's first birthday party and had a lot of family over! It was so much fun, and I'm just so grateful to have so many wonderful people who care about us and our children and come support us on days like this!
He got so many great toys, but I think he favorite was the balls. He loves balls, and loves to throw them or roll them and then chase after them.
We had tacos just like we did at his blessing which is a great way to feed a lot of people! I made a chocolate cake, but George didn't get to eat any of it. We decided just the other day to try cutting dairy out for him because his cheeks were getting really red and he's got a nasty rash on his feet that is really itchy. The poor guy will just start rubbing his feet on the carpet as soon as you take his socks off. We had just started upping his dairy because he loves cheese and butter, and I just started giving him milk a few days ago too. He still nurses a lot so I'm not worried about him not getting enough nutrients or anything, so we'll just see how this goes. Hopefully it clears up soon! Otherwise, he'll have his 12 month check-up soon and we'll see what his doctor says. He didn't seem to mind missing out on the cake at all. We got him his own little treat - some pureed fruit.
Happy Birthday my darling baby! We love you so much!
Well, the days of lounging around and only doing one workout a day are over! I'm doing a century in April remember? That's only 4 months away so I should probably remind myself how to ride my bike sometime. I'm also pretty sure I'm going to do Little Red Riding Hood Century in June too. Trouble is, I'm already working out 6 days a week, how am I supposed to fit riding my bike in there too!? The answer is, obviously, doing more than one workout a day! Wahoo!
Today was my first double workout of the year, and I am tired! I'm hoping it doesn't take too long for me to get used to it again!
I woke up at 5 am to get to Salt Lake Running Company by 6:00 with my bike and trainer. Today was their first free bike trainer class of the year. They'll be doing them every Tuesday morning until May, I think, when they'll switch it to a group ride up Emigration Canyon! Fun, fun!
I was a little nervous about going today because I'd never done a bike trainer class before. Anything new makes me a little nervous even if I tell myself it's no big deal because I just don't know exactly what it's going to be like. I'm so glad I went, though. It was really fun! There were 9 of us there, plus our instructor, B.J. Christensen. He's our local tri hero, training for IM St. George, and KONA so it was awesome to have him lead the workout. It was a really good workout and intro the the trainer riding season! I'm so excited to get back into riding my bike, it's been badly neglected these last 4 months!
I got home around the same time I do when I go swimming so that worked out well. I even had time to curl Mindy's hair and make breakfast before getting the kids to school on time! YAY!
It was very cold, but when I got home, I got George all suited up and we headed out on an "easy" run.
I didn't realize how tired my legs were until I started running! This was such a slow run! I was going to do 6 miles, but only ended up doing 5 miles in an hour! It was all because of the bottle of liquid I drank during that early morning ride that wanted to come out! I seriously went to the bathroom 3 times before I left, and I still had to pee pretty much the entire run! I kept having to stop and walk because of this. I constantly lament that they close the bathrooms at the parks along the parkway during the winter! (Though, they do plow the path, which was really nice!) I finally stopped at the rec center when I was about half a mile from home. I wish I would have done that on the way out because I felt so much better after that! Oh well, I was supposed to do an easy run, and that's what I got.
Also, look at all the geese we saw at the park! A few minutes later some boys came and made them all fly which was quite a sight!
So, that's what my Tuesdays are going to look like for the next several months. I'd like to work at least one more trainer ride into my week, and I'm thinking I'll do that Friday mornings after swimming... no, that might not be the best time since Elle doesn't have preschool on Fridays... I might have to go with Thursday nights since Pete goes climbing those nights anyway. The trouble with that is that I don't end up getting the kids to bed until 9 so I'd have to break my "in bed by 10:00" rule for that. I hate to make that a late night since I swim early on Fridays, but I don't know what time would be better to fit it in. I don't think I'll do it this week, though, because I'm pretty sore from this morning (I'm not used to sitting on a bike for an hour anymore!) and need to ease into it!
When there are more workouts than days of the week, how do you fit it all in? (I'd seriously love to hear how you guys do it)
