Mulberry Street

A weekend stay at "The Owl's Nest" gave our family some much needed bonding time.  We supported Eric through the SavageMan half iron triathlon, took rides in the canoe, played UNO together, and rode bikes.  We all wish the weekend didn't have to end! A few highlights from the trip include: watching Genevieve and Emory jump into the lake... ...watching Eric finish the SavageMan tri... ...taking rides in the canoe or kayak... ...watching Benjamin discover new things. You can see all the pictures here:   share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtmrlu0Ys2T7Y

Eric finished Ironman Florida and someone asked him, "Was it fun?" To which he replied, "Is childbirth fun?" Yes, triathlon is fun in it's own way, but it's full of pain and misery too. Eric doesn't call it a suffer fest for nothing. In fact, I took a picture of this shirt a mom and daughter wore to support their husband/dad through the IronMan.  The pictures describe the "other side" of triathlon that includes all that suffering.  Eric beat his first iron distance tri by four hours, demonstrating just how well he trained up in all three disciplines, this time around.  I am so grateful that the race went off without a hitch for both Eric and Rob.  Your body simply isn't designed to do this sort of thing and there is infinite potential for things that could go wrong.  Ability didn't matter once the triathletes laced up their running shoes for the marathon. It was sheer determination that would take them to the finish line.  ...

On Saturday, Eric will participate in IRONMAN Florida, along with about 3,000 other triathletes.  They will push themselves for hours on end, completing a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run until they run, walk or crawl across the finish line (all three are permissible according to the official rules).  This may not seem like an easy task, and it isn't, but I have full confidence in Eric's ability to endure all three disciplines.  If he can train for a full iron distance IRONMAN, work full time, be an active father and husband and fulfill his church responsibilities, he can finish this triathlon.  In fact, it may be a relief that he can focus on just one thing for once.  It goes without saying that I am proud of Eric.  Like super-proud.  But, I would be remiss if I didn't shout from the rooftops that very fact.  I am proud of you hon.  You are an amazing person and I am so lucky to be your friend and...

I no longer have to nag Eric about writing up race reports.  Yippee.  He has his own blog with all those details here:  http://thefourthdiscipline.blogspot.com/ Eric completed his third Kinetic Half Iron Triathlon at Lake Anna. Emory and I were able to go down and watch Eric burn it up on the course. I almost missed him finish the bike, he was so fast, then almost missed him yet again on his second lap of the run course.  Emory and I are so proud of him.  Genevieve might be too, but she was at a campout and distracted by older girls whom she is trying to mimic in every way. Emory really enjoyed himself all day.  He got to drink as many juice boxes as he wanted, peanut m&m's, chips, and protein bars.  And, that may be all he did eat.  Emory didn't miss big sister at all, because there was a train playground just his size. It was a great day for all of us.

Today, Eric signed up for Ironman Florida - 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. Eric already completed an iron distance triathlon (2006 Chesapeake Man), however, it wasn't a branded "Ironman" triathlon.  When people asked him about his triathlon, he'd have to correct them and say, "Well, I've completed an iron distance triathlon, but not an Ironman."  He always thought that was lame.  Also, since his first iron distance triathlon was only his second official triathlon, he didn't do as well as he could have.  For these reasons Eric has tossed around the idea of doing another one.  I didn't realize that his lingering thoughts would actually come to fruition.  But, now that it has, I'm worried. Eric can do it.  I'm not questioning his ability.  In a single month he completed a half marathon, a 50 mile bike ride, Ragnar, and a competitive mile swim.  Tho...

Despite the cold wind, we all had a great time at the Giant Acorn Triathlon at Lake Anna.  Eric and I both participated this year.  I biked again and Eric swam, but on separate teams (not that we were competing).  I hope we do it every year, because it is such fun to get together and race with friends. Team Tri To Finish Cherie, Holly, and Eric 1500M Swim - 35:46 40K Bike - 1:33:07 10K Run - 1:10:44 Final Time - 3:23:22 Team Wait Up Katie, Alisha, and Alison 1500M Swim - 30:49 40K Bike - 1:22:26 10K Run - 1:01:15 Final Time - 2:58:27 Our group of athletes (minus 6 who we couldn't find for the group shot) 10/01

Genevieve and Daddy show that you don't need a big course to stage an intense triathlon. This one is particularly spectator-friendly. (Note Emory's splash zone seating.)

Friday - At 9:00pm Eric and I debated the reality of taking the whole family to support him on his tri the next morning.  The forecast was grim and we weren't sure that Emory would enjoy the confinement of the jogger for three+ hours.  Saturday - At 6:30am Eric departed for Bumpass, VA for his tri.  It was only sprinkling and I second guessed my decision to stay home with the kids. At 7:30am the rain started. At 8:30am the wind blew the rain all over the place. At 9:00am Eric called from his car (one hour before the start) and asked, "Why do I do triathlons?"  It was pouring rain.  The wind was blowing.  He was already freezing.  He, along with every other racer, was sitting in their cars (heaters on full blast) trying to warm up.  At 1:30pm Eric called and said, "That was crazy."  I was relieved to hear from him, because that meant he didn't drown in the white caps, wreck on the bike, ...

I participated in my first athletic event in almost a year. Finally. I rode my bike during a triathlon relay. I spent the past two months training up in spin class and hitting the trail on Saturday mornings. It feels great to exercise post-partum. My friend Cherie, enticed myself and nine other church friends to participate, including our bishop and his wife. Our bishop has a house on Lake Anna and he graciously invited us to stay over and then caravan to the starting line. I awoke before my alarm so I snuck outside to catch a few moments of the sunrise. It was a crisp fall morning and spectacular. A great day for a race. Here is my relay team. I biked the 40K (about 25 miles), Katie swam 1500 meters (almost a mile), and Ali ran a 10K (6.2 miles) to the finish line. We named ourselves team "Wait Up!" Our goal was simply to finish, but we rocked it (in our books at least). Here I am pre-race in my nerdy bike clothes. Next time I should pose in front of something a little more ...

You can prepare and train for a race, without any hiccups, then get to race day and everything falls apart. Sometimes you just have a bad race day. And, there is nothing you can do about it. So went Eric's most recent triathlon. Eric participated in the Luray Olympic Triathlon last August and when he signed up for this year, he had one goal - to beat last year's time. He worked hard to run a faster race, especially on his swim, so it crushed him to end the event with a slower time by only 13 seconds. I tried to tell him how great he was just to have finished the race at all. Eric had a little mishap with his bike's shifting cables. Um, like they broke. An hour before the race even began. Instead of setting up his transition area and mentally preparing for the tri, he ran around trying to find a mechanic who had spare cables and time to fix his bike. I decided not to attend this event. (Emory is still hit or miss in his car seat and I wasn't in the mood to listen to hi...

Half Iron Distance Triathlon Swim: 1.2 miles in 34:39 Bike: 56 miles in 3:07:30 Run: 13.1 miles in 2:09:26 Total Time on Course: 5:56:01 Place: 234th out of 416 triathletes Our day started at 4:30am. After years of watching Eric prepare and wake up for these events, I still have no idea how he does it with a smile on his face. The weather was, very graciously, holding out for us - at least the chance of rain was diminishing every minute. Lake Anna is a great location for the triathlon. They have a sand beach, playground, and plenty of space for spectators like Genevieve and I to play while we wait and cheer for our athletes. Eric ran this same triathlon four years ago. Actually it was his first triathlon ever. Most people start off with sprint distances and work their way up, but not Eric, he started with a half-iron distance. The weather four years ago was cold and rainy. The water temperature was a balmy 53 degrees then, but this year was a pleasant 73 degrees. The day was warm and s...