Getting back into it

We've been busy (ongoing theme) at the house. The boys are wonderful and beginning to settle in. I have been ramping up the intensity of my workouts recently.  I love to workout, as many of you know, and I really miss the old days (I was training for a half ironman triathlon when I got pregnant with Briar). I ran a casual 5k the other night at a very brisk pace (it was an organized, untimed run..).  I have been running distance on the weekends to train for a half marathon in November. And during the week, I do spin in the mornings and a bootcamp called "Stroller Strong Moms" in the mornings.  It sounds wimpy, but it is anything but.  If you ever want more info on that, I'd be happy to take you along! So, since I have been doing the bootcamp type training and some long runs, I figured, why not just do a triathlon.  Actually, it didn't come about that way. I got talked into it by a friend who is a triathlon coach who seems to have a ridiculous amount of confidence in anyone who can walk....that they can complete a triathlon.   There is a little history here. I first started doing triathlons in 2007 because B was deployed for 15 months, and he talked about getting into them when he got back.  I always have such a hard time keeping up with him, I decided that I would one up him. :) I already loved to work out, i swam growing up, recently got a road bike, and I could run.  I would start doing them now so I would be able to keep up with him later.  Well, I started and he never did. In fact, I never did them while he was home. They began to be something that kept me busy while he was deployed.  I did several every time he deployed, and he deployed 4 times. The first one I did was sort of like this one, that I did Saturday. I didn't train much. I didn't prepare...I swam a little, biked (a very little) and ran on occasion.  I figured I could do it.  It was a "sprint" distance. I think it was a 700m swim, a 15 mile bike and a 3 mile run.  Some are shorter and/or longer in the distances, and they vary.  I knew I could handle it. And I did. I think at the time, I placed second in my age group. I was shocked, as my goal was to finish.   Just to entertain you, I will show you these embarrasing photos of myself back in 07-09...because I didn't take any photos yesterday, then we can talk some more.

Hello, my shorts are up too high, I have horrible running form, and I look dorky, but give me points for trying...

Running from the swim to the transition area to the bike is always super tiring...

Taking your bike out of your car is the most nerve wracking part of the day.  You realize that you are up at the crack of dawn to compete against others. Really fun. Really adrenaline inducing.

Getting marked up with my race number.

Swim buoys that you swim around in the lake/river.

This was probably my third triathlon, still very new and scared. Although I am scared everytime.

Waiting for the swim to start. Not sure why my hair looks like such a horrible cone.

The worst part of the swim is crashing into the water with tons of other swimmers. I tried to get out in front (top right) so that I wouldn't get kicked in the face.

I think these last four must be horrible quality because I couldn't get them any bigger. This triathlon was after I moved to Georgia, the rest were when I lived in North Carolina.  This was the longest triathlon I had done up until this point, the olympic distance triathlon at calloway gardens.  (with my sweet friend Sarah!) All of this to say....I'm not a triathlon star.  I have won the fastest time in my age group several times, but I do think that it is fun to compete. So, this weekend I did a race.  It was an Olympic Distance, like the one I did above.  It was a 1500meter swim, a 26 mile bike and a 6.2 mile run.  The run actually turned out to be a little longer, around 6.9 miles.  It was tough. I did okay :) IT will be a good baseline for future races.  I feel like I succeeded in doing it, but my competitive side won't feel good until I am beating my old times. To be honest, I stay away from blogging a lot because my blog isn't super cute, how I want it to be.  I don't have time to edit great photos for myself (only for others :), so I just end up not posting, but for now, I'm just posting...imperfect and all. In other news, in the last two days, we have been given a $3000 matching grant from lifesong (total of $6000 if we get $3000) and we got $1000 donation to the adoption. So....since we have just wrapped up a lot of our adoption expenses (we probably have about $1000 left...), does this money mean we should start another adoption?! :)  Oh mom and Jenny, I know this is making you freak out. Don't worry yet.... :) But, I guess you can never say never. Have a wonderful day!