Funny you should ask…or is that funny I should ask? Hmmm… well, anyway, the answer to that question is: a lot and I have no idea where the time has gone!
Since I finished Ironman at the end of July, it’s been a flurry of activity for me and my family. It’s hard to believe that was almost 7 weeks ago already – I am floored by truly how quickly time goes by. I feel like I always say this, but it’s more true now than ever!
After we got back from Lake Placid, I took a few days off but was back in the gym 4 days after the race. Don’t worry, I didn’t overdo it and just did some easy swims and easy spins. I did think I could run and was quickly told by my knees ABSOLUTELY NOT. They hated me for a couple of weeks after the race and I definitely backed way down on the run. It became obvious quickly that the mountains of Lake Placid took a lot more out of me than I thought. So instead of trying to be a dumbass, I didn’t run. Duh.
Once we got back, we celebrated our Julia’s 7th birthday about 6 different times with family, friends and at her party. Her birthday lasted about 10 days – I want to have that for my birthdays! It’s still crazy to me that she’s 7. We got her a motorized scooter and within minutes she was out riding like an expert.
After those celebrations, Julia and I went to Seattle for a long weekend to celebrate the wedding of one of our closest friends, Alicia! She was Julia’s pre-school teacher when we lived out there and has continued to be a big part of our lives since. Her new husband, Carl, is the best and we were thrilled to be part of their day! (Rob and Emily got have some daddy/daughter bonding time back home so it was a win on all fronts) We also got to see lots of great friends while we were there so it was a fantastic trip
We got back and I did a sprint tri the following Wednesday evening. No rest for the wicked, right? It was the final one in the T-Rex series and the only one I did this summer. I’m glad I was able to make this one work, as it really is one of my favorite tris to do. Rob sat this one out since he was racing the following weekend (more to come on that…)
I had no expectations going in and just tried to have fun with it and whatever happened was fine. I hadn’t been training for the sprint distance so I had no idea how my body would respond and never mind being tired overall from our jaunt cross country a few days before. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, so off I went!
Here’s me with my dad pre-and post-race. No matter what is going on in life, one of my favorite things to do is race with my dad. I continue to be in awe of him and he is my inspiration and my idol with everything in life- triathlon and otherwise.
We both did well and were 2nd in our respective age groups and I was happy with my time despite not feeling “trained” for this event. Oh and we got mini coolers as our age group awards – love prizes that I will actually use!
The next weekend brought us to Columbus, Ohio for Rob’s first Ironman 70.3! He trained so hard and so well for this race and we were all very excited to get there and watch him race. His sister, Janene and our youngest niece Kirsten were able to join us and I can’t thank them enough for coming along! They were a huge help with our girls and it was great to have more support and a bigger cheering section for Rob. As his Sherpa, I did my best to make sure everything was taken care of for him and the kids were out of his hair (as much as that’s possible!).
The race had 2 different transition areas which made for interesting logistics. But we figured it out quickly once we got there. We got his packet and goodies and the kids made signs for him. Yea, that sounded like a good idea to start with…until I quickly realized that the paper was coated and the markers they gave the kids to use didn’t really stay on the paper. And of course, who wanted to color? Emily. Needless to say I won the Parent of the Year award as I watched her roll around on the paper covered in permanent marker she had just drawn. Absolutely every inch of her was covered in marker and it would not come off. The pictures do not do it justice…
I threw this outfit away once we got to the bike check-in.
After his bike was checked in and we got back to the hotel to let the kids swim, we watched as a storm front came through and got word that a TORNADO had ripped through literally within feet of the transition area where all 2,000+ bikes were racked! I have no idea how they got missed, but somehow not one bike was moved and nothing was damaged, although within the same park, big trees were knocked down and blocked the start of the bike route! It was nuts but thankfully it all moved out before morning.
I was able to go with Rob in the morning while Janene stayed with the girls to sleep a little longer (3:45am comes early even for grown ups…). We got him all set up and ready to go. He was in the 2nd wave starting at 7:04am so thankfully not a lot of time to stew about it before it was go time. He was ready and I knew he would do well!
I was able to watch the swim and positioned myself at the swim out and saw him run up to get to the bikes. He had a great swim and was ready for the bike.
After he left on the bike, I walked about a mile to my car and headed over to park at the 2nd transition/finish area. It was fairly quiet so I was able to just wander around and find a good spot to watch. Janene and the girls joined me a bit later and we were ready to watch him finish the bike and onto the run!
It started to get hot but he looked good heading out onto the run. We hung out at our Ann Arbor Triathlon Club tent until I figured it was getting close to finish time.
They finished on the football field at Ohio Wesleyan University which made for a cool backdrop and was nice for spectators to be able to sit in stands and see the finish from above.
Rob finished strong and met his goal at 5:47!
It was a fun day to watch him race and I was very proud of all the hard work he put in to get there. Lots of early mornings, lots of solo bike rides and it paid off with a strong performance!
Another successful and fun weekend in the books and back to reality…but not before I did THIS:
Yep, I got my Ironman tattoo! After waiting 4 years since my last one, I finally got up the courage and went for it! Thankfully my friend Jill came with me to distract me from the discomfort and help me decide where to put it! Rob convinced me simple was best so that’s what I did and I love it! It wasn’t a pleasant experience but luckily it was only 25 minutes or so and could have been a lot worse. Hell, I have had 2 kids and done 2 Ironmans…I really *should* be able to handle this type of pain! HA!
We had enough time at home to do laundry, re-pack and head a short vacation with my parents to Drummond Island in Northern Michigan! It was a fun time to be on Lake Huron – Rob, my dad and Julia fished a lot and Julia loved it. We all got to go biking and running and even saw a baby BLACK BEAR on one of our rides (he was so cute…but I also was a little worried that Mama Bear wasn’t far away so we biked just a bit faster as we passed by where they were!)
After the fun trip, it was time to get ready for our first Michigan State football game and tailgate of the season! We had perfect weather for our Friday night opener and enjoyed spending time with friends and family! The game was definitely NOT our team’s best performance but we had a great time anyway!
Then it was Labor Day, and then it was THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!! I was just a *bit* excited for Julia to head to 2nd grade, and Emily to get used to her new daycare so we could get back into a routine!!
After 2 months of craziness, maybe things will slow down a bit….
Oh wait. Just kidding. Rob and I are doing the Rev3 70.3 triathlon in Ohio this weekend! Stay tuned!
This Spartan Will 
I have never heard of 2 transition areas-did they say why they did that?
As for your tattoo, you know I love it. It’s perfect 😀
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