Tera's Tri

 SWIM, BIKE, RUN--I love it!!

Back in the day, my annual fitness activities included a marathon, a triathlon (olympic distance), half a dozen 5K's, and a few 10K's and half marathons, plus all the training. Easily 10-20 hours per week of training and racing every year for about five years. That was then.

This is now. 2010, at the beginning of the year, I decided on my fitness goal for the year: An olympic distance triathlon. That's it. Doesn't sound like a big thing when you consider what I did "back then" but folks, I was barely in maintenance mode when I set that goal. My dear friend Sharon ran my birthday 10K with me in February (I wasn't ready for another Birthday Half Marathon yet). I was doing itty bitty runs and trudging along through the winter months, but I had not been on the bike for about two years. Nor had I been swimming.

D fixed up my bike and I finally started going on rides--it felt spectacular! I kept thinking, "Why have I stayed away so long??" (Oh, yeah, I can't just jump on my road bike and leave my three kids to watch themselves...Details!). I needed to choose a race. I decided it had to be before D started residency because of that small detail about my kids not being able to watch themselves. I went back and forth between one in Daybreak (45 minutes away from our house) and one in Hyrum (30 minutes from D's parent's house).

Ugh, the agony of trying to juggle in my mind the details of traveling to and from the race with all my gear, managing sleeping arrangements (for me and my crew), finding someone to take care of my kids, and, of course, my cute little baby who I was still exclusively breastfeeding and who could not be separated from her Mami for more than an hour or two without some serious drama. Plus, those races are so expensive! And they start so early!!

And then I learned about Tera's Tri--the exclusive race that started right at my front door on the date and time I chose. Transition area at my house. Being able to use my own bathroom. What a dream race! I chose June 1, my sister's birthday. And I was off!

1 mile swim
        25 mile bike
                   10K run




Jonny did part of the swim with me, I was on my own for the bike, and D did the run with me (while wonderful Karen watched our munchkins). Ah, the glory! To everyone's amazement, I ended up taking FIRST PLACE!! Melissa and Jonny met us at the end. What a race!

 
 That's me holding my "Teraflex" keychain, ha ha.

I have also purchased myself some matching running clothes since Tera's Tri. Yay, me!

Good News Minute!

I've had some great moments this week!

• Squeak and Pip learned all the words to "Jesus en Pesebre" (that's my favorite Christmas hymn--"Away in a Manger")
• Squeak and Pip have really been enjoying preparing and wrapping gifts for others (we're trying to help the kids focus on others instead of themselves at Christmas)
• Squeak threw up four times on Thursday. All the barf made it into the bucket except for the first batch, which landed neatly in two piles on the side of her bed. Vomit clean-up is getting easier all the time!
• I went for a run on the ice/snow in my awesome winterized running shoes (made for me by my sweetie pie) and felt GREAT!
• Found a sewing machine and a Christmas tree in somebody's trash pile--saved them from the landfill!
• I now feel better prepared for the Michigan winter after acquiring a wonderful, warm, cozy, new-to-me knee-length down coat. Delicious!
• When somebody asks either Squeak or Pip if they're excited about Santa, they just get a blank look on their faces. We downplay Santa at our house--he brings the gifts and treats for the stockings, but  all the other gifts are from family/friends.
• Squirt's first word after "mama" and "dada"--"uva"--she's crazy about them!
• I've started the P90X program--LOVE it!!!
• The bank FINALLY (after our fourth try) accepted our offer on this house!!!!!! I see some stability in our future!

Volume

After much observation and pontification, I've come to the following conclusion:
LOUD MOM = LOUD KIDS
Along with that, of course is:
quiet mom = quiet kids
I earned the nickname "Volume" during my freshman year of college because I "just can't keep it down." My kids have the same ability. (Let's not call it a "disability!")

This past week has been interesting. D worked graves all week, so he'd roll in between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. and hit the hay. Right about the time our little crew wakes up. Our house is very small--864 square feet, plus a basement. There is no way to "go to the other side of the house" to keep the noise from traveling. In a space this size, you can hear everything. When D worked graves earlier in the year, I'd take the kids running with me and then back outside to play and eat, but now that the weather has turned cold, that isn't really an option. I've mostly tried to find things to do elsewhere, like the library or a friend's house or even errands. But sometimes we can't just get right up and into the car, which is where the volume becomes a problem. Volume around here is always either full-blast or turned off. Turned off only happens when the kids are asleep. I tell them dozens and hundreds of times to whisper "porque Dada esta dormido" but my requests fall on deaf ears. And I find that in order for myself to be heard, I have to raise my own volume (and we all know that I'm capable!)--I have to yell at my kids to keep them from yelling! It just ain't right!

So I was thinking of all the moms I know and thinking of their kids (this is when I was reaching the conclusion above) and I thought that there must be an exception. Who do I know who's an exception?? I thought and thought and thought...and then I realized--my mother is the exception! My mom is anything but loud. She is so polite, so proper, so reserved, so demure. And her eight kids? ALL LOUD!! I mean, there are those who are less loud, but "less loud" is still "loud." Wow, what an experience it must have been for her to raise us! Lucky gal!

 Here's my mom with four of her loud kids, three loud grandchildren, and one not-so-loud granddaughter (hey, another exception!?)

 My mom and dad supporting their loud kids at the Spudman 2006

 Six of the eight of us at the Spudman 2007. I couldn't find any photos with all eight of us.

Join Us!

Did you know that in this country adults gain an average of 10 pounds during the holiday season? WHY?? After pondering that little tidbit, I thought that not only do I NOT want to be part of that crew, but I also want to go against the odds and lose weight over the holidays. So D and I are going to lose 10 pounds this month (that's 5 pounds each).

Wouldn't you love to join the D&T Challenge? This challenge doesn't mean that we are saying no to every delicious thing, but it does mean that we will make healthier food choices, exercise more, and eat smaller portions of those tempting morsels. Join us and rejoice in a healthier body at the end of the month!