Nov 25 - 30th ... Two Birthdays and Thanksgiving, oh My!

Well, the week of Nov 25th to 30th is always busy in this house!!! We have Emily's Birthday, Jonathan's birthday, and then Thanksgiving! The house is full of laughter, smells of cakes, pumpkin pies, and turkeys cooking, and best of all ... family and friends. A great time of year. 

 

Here are the cupcakes we made for Emily's birthday party - Emily did the decorations :) The pumpkin pies snuck into the picture too ...

Emily's Birthday cake - she wanted a farm :) Yes, I decorated it!

Jonathan's birthday cake. Emily wanted him to have a blue bear ... this one took a while :)

More birthday treats ... we went down to BurgerVille for dinner when we were at Great Wolf Lodge :)

Fun at Great Wolf Lodge

I'm a runner again ... did i just say that?

So I've been running a bit more this year - had to get in shape for the 1/2 ironman ... and then decided to do a 1/2 marathon this fall. It's fun, I love running ... and really like the balance of running and biking ... with the odd swim thrown in. I feel less tired, and my muscles have time to regroup after a hard run/ride.

And yes, I think it is time I acknowledge it ... I am a decent runner. Not super fast. But decent.

I signed up to race the XTerra Harvest 1/2 Marathon ... here are the details by the numbers :)
- Miles ran: 13.2  - all single track
- Vertical feet climbed: 2600ish
- Time running: 1:48
- Days till my legs felt 'normal' again: 3

What a race! I love running on the trails, but with all the 'busy-ness' of a new job, regular life, and getting married, I didn't get in much trail time, and definitely did not get in enough hill descending. Yes, I said descending. I can climb just fine ... but descending ... I have to work up to it. My quad take a beating and I usually work up to the long descents. But for this race, I didn't. I simply did not have the time ... but hey, I was doing this race for fun, and to keep myself motivated to run.

It was a mass start and all 100+ runners started down the trail at the same time. There was a lot of passing for me to do in the first 10 min .. I felt good. My legs felt light, springy even. I was drinking well, and even better, I was enjoying the single track. Let me explain that a bit more ... enjoying the single-track means that I feel like a little kid. I generally have a goofy grin on my face and do airplanes down the hills for the switchbacks. I hop and jump over anything on the trail, as if it is a game. So yes, I was enjoying the single-track :)

There were two laps; and in each lap there were two big climbs, and two big descents.  The climbs served me well. I don't consider myself a fast runner ... but on the hills I was passing like crazy ...  and even on the descents ... and the flats.  And I know part of it is that I started towards the back (texting with Jonathan until the start gun - whoops!) .. but still. It felt good to pass. And on every single climb, I passed.  About 1/2 way thru the 2nd lap, I caught another girl. We both got a bit lost at one point but figured it out together. I ended up ahead of her at that point and put on the gas thru the woods (I knew I was better at dancing thru the technical single track) and then thru the field till the end. I beat her by a whooping 60 seconds :) I worked hard for that!

And come to find out, I was 2nd. 2nd overall! What the heck! I was pleasantly surprised ... what a fun race :) Yes, I will do it again!

Enduro racing ... it's all about the downhill

This summer I found out about a new race at one of my favorite riding venues - Tiger Mountain. The race format was intrigueing .. lots of riding (4+ hours in the saddle); but they only time the descents. hmmmmm ... I figured I had to gie it a try since there was one at Tiger. Here are the details ...

By the numbers:
- Hours ridden: 4.5
- Miles ridden: 38.5
- Vertical feet climbed: 3500
- Total of all timed sections: ~32 min
- Finishing place: 3rd

It went pretty well considering it was my first rodeo :) The first section felt like cheating - I ride that course so much as part of my training (well, not a lot this year - but normally) that I can almost ride it in my sleep. It's technical, twisty, rooty, rocky, and oh so FUN! I give it a 8 for technical difficulty. and a 10 when you are trying to go fast. for my Ottawa readers, this is harder than Fortune. Much Much harder! also so much fun to ride down!  The second section was new trail and really tough. deep mud for the first 1/2 mile had me off my bike and running ...and it was over really fast! The third section as also familiar territory and I managed to rock that one out too. good times!

OK OK, enough about the timed sections - lets talk about the race format and why I enjoyed this type of race.  They had designated start times so I got in a 2 hour warm up before we even started. fun. i love riding at tiger.  Each person started 1 min behind te person in front of them to ensure minimal passing.  Goodness! The race organizers and volunteers were awesome - friendly and fun.  Oh, and it was raining. I am not talking about a gentle Seattle drizzle ... I am talking full on rain. As in buckets of rain. As in so hard I can barely see where I am going rain. This is where the 'able to ride the trail in my sleep' skill really helped :)

After each timed section it was pretty chill. There were three of us girls that kind naturally landed together and we rode to each section together. yes, these are the 2 that beat me :)  It was fun to chat and be chill in between sections where we tried to beat eachother. Adds more social dynamic to the race.  Add to that the fact that I wasn't feeling 100% and didn't have any kick ... well, I was glad they were only timing downhill sections :)

All in all, a great race, organized by good people! Thanks to Element Cycles for their support - not just to me - but also to the race - they were a key sponsor.

Married!!

Yes! It is true!!! It was perfect … in every possible way.  There are so many reasons why …

I married the man I love more than anything in the world. So even if it was pouring rain and nothing went well, it would have been amazing.  It was awesome to be ‘home’ at mom and dad’s farm in Nova Scotia, for the wedding. It was amazing to have 98% of our family present – the only one absent was Jonathan’s sister, who could not travel for health reasons. It was so fun to have Emily and her immediate ‘best friend’ Kirra be our beautiful mischievous flower girls.  It was so connecting to have personalized vows, and to sing the song I wrote for Jonathan.  It was special for my dad to walk me down the ‘asile’ between the sunflowers and garden while Luca and Luke ‘managed’ the music.  It was special to have my sister hand me Jonathan’s ring, and for my brother to hand Jonathan my ring.  It was also special to have our Mothers signing the wedding certificate, and for my father to do the welcome and Jonathan’s father to a blessing. It was really cool that Jenn could skype in for the ceremony! I loved that our Justice of Peace is the mother of my very special friend, Kate – and that even better, Kate could be there!

It was fun to get ready with ‘the girls’ and entertaining to spend more time on Emily’s hair than on my own ;-) Our little princess!  It was very cool to have a bouquet which was picked from my parent’s garden by Caralee and then assembled by my sister, Eloise.  My mom outdid herself with our cake – it was delicious, and looked SPECTACULAR … decorated with edible flower petals from the gardens around the farm.  My dress was stunning – the alterations shop did an excellent job, and LaVerne make sure it was perfect by steaming it, by hand, before the wedding.

Mom and dad did a great job prepping possible wedding spots, and organized a photographer …  so we have loads of photos before and after the ceremony. And the dinner! Amazing. I love my mom’s country-style Sunday dinners so this is what we asked for. With over 20 people around the table the conversation was lovely, there was lots of tinkering on glass for kisses, and the food was spectacular!!!  The wine that my brother and Caralee picked out was spectacular too - they did a perfect job wine shopping based off one phone conversation :)

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue …. Yes we did that too! Here are the details … Something Old – we used my parent’s wedding cake cutter (and had their topper out as a decoration).  Something New – heh, this was easy … my dress, Emily’s dress, Jonathan’s suit … J  Something Borrowed – this was very special.  Jonathan wore Otto’s first wedding band (he had it replaced a few years ago) on his right hand. Very special.  Something Blue – this was fun … Jennifer had given us some blue angles and Jonathan carried one in his pocket.

Even weather was perfect – a beautiful September day in NS (~74F, Sun, and fluffly white clouds).  Everyone made the day perfect and special!! I cannot thank my family and friend enough for such a special day.

I am a very lucky woman … I have a wonderful man and little girl in my life whom I love very much. I am very excited about this chapter in my life. Love to you all!

Race Report: Birthday Race - Capital Forest 50

ah, the annual tradition (since moving to Seattle) of doing the Capital Forest Race on my birthday weekend! Great tradition :)

This year, I opted to do the 50 mile option so that I could spend the afternoon playing with Jonathan and Emily. It was a great choice! ... and here are the numbers :)

Time in saddle: 5:07
Miles Ridden: 50
Vertical feet climbed: >6250ft
# of mechanicals: 0
Placed: 2nd

But of course, the numbers never tell you the whole story .... For example, they don't tell you about the cheering section I had in my send off (thanks honey!) and how cute it is to see Emily pumping her fist in the air cheering :)  Nor do they tell you how fast my new Norco Hardtail climbs and how strong I felt on the 2nd big climb of the course! 

It was a fantastic race ... if I had to do it over I'd have a little less air in my tires (a little aggressive since last year I flatted 3 times in this race) ... but that is about all I would change. I pushed hard the entire race - I was worried that I would wimp out so I wore my heart rate strap to ensure I kept pushing - it worked :) I am very good at settling in and going a speed that I can maintain forever - this race was about pushing myself harder ... and I did! I knew coming into the last mile that I was happy with my race .. no matter where I placed. I knew I had pushed myself hard, and that I had given a good effort ... and that I had beaten my younger self.

At the end, I am not sure who was more tired from the days activities - me or Emily. Her and Jonathan had found a fantastic children's museum and fair in Olympia and she played her heart out... she was sound asleep when I finished and didn't peep till we were 5 min away from home :)  Nap time worked out pretty well - meant we got to spend the rest of the day having a family adventure!

Race Report: Xterra Black Diamond (offroad triathlon)

A bit late (Aug 10) ... but late is better than never :)

Awesome race! I really enjoyed the 1/2 ironman ... but to be back on the dirt ... well, lets just say I felt like a kid in a candy store! :)

Here are the details:
Swim: 26 minutes (compared to 32 when I did it 2 years ago!)
Bike: 1:47 (compared to 1:55 2 years ago)
Run: 50 (compared to 55 2 years ago)

Usually I am not keen to get in the water ... but with the race starting at 9:30am, it was not so bad :) I was chatting away with superstar Danelle Kabush before the start and she initated a swim warm up .. smart girl ;-)

After a quick warm up, we were off. I felt decent in the water, and was (as expected) in the back 25% of the pack. It was nice not to be swam over :) I came out of the water about 10 minutes off the leaders (Danelle) and then onto the bike. Ah, the bike! I love mountain biking! Black diamond is technical - not big drop, big descent, big climbing technical, which I LOVE, but still technical - very tight corners, baby-head rocks, and lots of roots! So in a nutshell, it is a good course for me. I spent the first lap (we did 2) passing. I felt like a broken record  ... " can I get by?" .. "I'll pass when it's safe" ... etc.  Most people were pretty good about it and let me by as soon as they could. The course is pretty technical, so you are limited more by your abilities than your fitness ... so coming out of the bike, and into the run, I barely felt tired :)  The run was great - I love trail running! I feel like a little kid on the technical trails, jumping over logs, airplaning around corners, and sprinting up the hills. A solid run at around 50 minutes! As usual, I was surprised by all the people I passed running ... makes me feel like a fast runner ;-)

A great race on the dirt, and good reminder that I am better on the technical dirt than the road!

Thanks again to Norco for the great ride, and to Element Cycle for making sure my gear was all up to snuff for race day! You guys rocks!

Race Report: My first 1/2 Ironman

Last weekend I competed in my first 1/2 ironman ... it was crazy, frustrating, and fun.... lets start with the numbers :)

Number of racers: >1,400
Swim distance: 1.2 miles
Number of people who swam over me: >500
Place out of the water: 1,000
Ride distance: 56 miles
Ride vertical: >4,000 ft
Place after the ride: ~500
Run distance: 13.1 miles
Run vertical: 1,000
Place after run: ~300

Lots of numbers in this race! For me the 1/2 Ironman was like three separate races. Partly because I didn't go as fast as I could have or wanted to ... here is the full story:  The race took place at Lake Stevens - a beautiful location.  Jonathan, Emily, and I headed up on Saturday to do all of the necessary pre-registration fun ... Emily quite enjoyed this:

Once that was taken care of we headed to the Children's museum in Everett where Emily had even more fun!!! It was a great day, which ended with freezies on the back porch - Em's favorite.

Race day was a bit different ... very early morning as we had to be ready for a 6:30am start  ... so out of bed at 4am and up to Lake Stevens. Unfortunately Jonathan had to travel to China on Sunday  - so no Emily, and we had separate cars so he could leave to catch his plane.

When we got there, people were everywhere. We had seen how far up the numbers had gone when we registered ... but to see >1,400 people milling around getting numbers, doing jumping jacks, and doing last minute gear checks was fun. The atmosphere was charged as everyone got ready for the Big Race. 

The start was a bit rushed for me ... I was totally procrastinating getting into the water - but the start was a 'jump in the water off the dock' start .. so I needed to get in before I had to jump in. So I was slowly immersing myself when Jonathan yelled at me that my group was on deck. Yikes! Out of the water and up to the deck ... into the water and off we went! I got into a 2-stroke rhythm easily ... but really wanted 3 strokes ... it makes  me go straighter and faster.  After about 8 minutes in the water I settled into my 3 stroke rhythm ... and found the cable under the water to which the buoy's were attached. Cool! I didn't have to spot! I liked this option so I followed the cable the whole race.  About 10 min in  - just after I found my 3-stroke rhythm, the next group swarmed me. I am NOT a fast swimmer ... I could go faster ... but the swim is about surviving for me at this point.  I hear the other athletes complaining about sore arms .. yeah, not going as fast as I could. I have no sore body parts coming out of the water. None.  Well, normally I have none. In this race I had a fat lip, a sore eye, and a swollen ankle ... people grab your ankle to pass you, they kick you in the face, and they generally ignore that you are in their way and just swim over you. I did NOT enjoy this at all. Each time the next group would start (we were in wave so there were about 1000 people behind me) i'd eventually get swarmed by the fast swimmers. This is a great incentive to go faster but I did not really want to risk that until I got past 1/2 way.  Back to the cables in the water ... following them was a great plan but other people had noticed this too. ... It might have been better to spot and be further away ... lets wreckage :)  But I liked my cable guidance... it was funny though. Several swimmers did not see the 2nd cable which was at a 90 degree angle to the first one .. and they kept on swimming wayyyy out in the water. Kinda funny.  

46 minutes in I finished the swim. For context, the Pro women finished in 26 minutes. Yeah, I know. Room for improvement :)  My swim to bike transition was a bit slow - it was chilly out and my fingers were not working so well. I had practiced this but during a race you have the added stress of TRYING to go faster.  In practice I had gotten it down to 2 min ... it was closer to 3 min during the race. Ah well ... on the bike I go - back to more familiar territory! 

I was looking forward to the bike. My plan was to go hard for 50 miles and then relax and recover for 6 miles - so i'd be in good shape for the run. My stomach had other plans ... and for this I need to share a bit of context ... years ago I would have wicked stomach pains whenever my stomach got empty. The only way to describe it is like a knife twisting in your side.  I was lucky to meet a doctor in a social setting who knew exactly what it was - my stomach lining was too thin and it was rubbing against itelf when I didn't have food to separate it. And he gave me a great remedy ... Licorice Root! These little chewable tablets are magic for my stomach!  After 1 week on the magical licorice my stomach no longer hurt when it was empty! Awesome! Without licorice root I never would have been able to do endurance sports.  So .... lately I have been lazy about taking it ... after I healed I only needed to take it once a week or once a month ... so it is easy to forget. And oh, how I paid for it on race day ... The whole ride it was like someone was sticking a knife into my stomach and twirling it around. I felt like I was 'limping' around the course. I knew the best thing I could do is get solids in ... so the banana I brought with me and the gels came in handy ... I ate them all! Of course when you put the first bit of food in it hurts even more because your stomach has to stretch out for it ... and is very unhappy.  I threw up a few times while riding ... and ate some more. And that is how the bike went! I passed quite a few people, keep positive, and kept on doing what I knew I needed to do if I had a chance at finishing.  Towards the end of the bike I was nervous about the run because it still hurt. But I knew I could move, and if I could move, I would try my best at running. I felt a slight twinge in my right hamstring ... ooooh, that was tight.  I realized i'd be riding a bit funny due to the bruising/swelling on my right ankle. I was glad i'd had the foresight to put some tiger balm in my transition kit. I would need it!

3:10 in I finished the bike. Not stellar, but I finished, and I passed quite a few people. I was signing the song 'moving on up' in my head most of the time :)  Off the bike my stomach was killing me. Jonathan was waiting for me outside the transition area and it's all he heard about ;-) I put some tiger balm on my hamstring, grabbed my running belt, changed my shoes, tossed my helmet, and off I went!  Thankfully the banannas worked! Yay!!! I was so happy!!! The first few minutes into the run are always slow for me ... but i'd had the whole bike ride to warm up so it wasn't so bad.  I was super amazed at how MANY people I passed on the run. I don't think of myself as a strong runner ... and I missed out on 6 weeks of running this summer due to sickness ... so I was not at the top of my game by any means.  But I am not slow. I passed a lot of people - about 200 in fact. That was fun. I felt good, I felt strong, and I ran a solid race.  I ended up averaging less than 8 min miles, finishing in 1:45. I was soooo happy to be done. Jonathan had left for his flight to China but the first thing I did was call him :)

Will I do another one? Yes! The challenge of a new sport is that you have so much to learn, and so much room to grow.  I definitely want to do another one. And maybe, some day, a full Ironman. Here are the photos:

http://www.finisherpix.com/photos/my-photos/currency/USD/pctrl/Photos/paction/search/pevent/ironman-703-lake-stevens-2013/pbib/110.html

Sunday night was all about eating ... yummy homemade pasta sauce, pasta, bread, cheese, tomatoes ... anything I could find to eat :)

 

 

 

Thanks to the crew at Element Cycle for getting my road bike in top shape ... and to Norco for such a sweet ride!  Next up is an off road triathlon -Xterra at Black Diamond!

 



Visitors!

We had a great 6 days with Jonathan's family here at the beginning of July! What great fun we had ...

Emily really enjoyed the little 'poppers' that you throw on the ground and/or step on to make a 'pop' noise on July 4th - we had fun hanging out at the house/lake.

The girls were hard at work baking while the boys built up the new BBQ. We made so many things ... cookies, banana bread, bread, more cookies, chocolate squares ! Yummy! I will need to do a few extra miles to enjoy all these goodies ;-)

Lots of reading, painting, playing, and singing with miss Emily. She was particularly fond of Aunt Jenn's "He's got the whole world in his hands" song rendition. Oh, and she's very into getting her toenails painted, so we had to change colors every day. Note for moms: Sparkly blue is NOT easy to remove!

It was so great to have family here ... we miss them already! Next family visit will be for our Wedding in September - when both families get together at the same time! Emily won't know what to do with all the grandparents :)

Aunt Jenn and Emily ... reading

Firecrackers with dada!

The Kellers threw me a bridal shower! How fun! we got all sorts of goodies

Grandma and Emily reading

Ready to go for a canoe ride!

Fun with Papa in the park

Kisses with Dada on the swing

Fun in the water

Happy Father's Day! Celebrating Parents

Last weekend was Fathers day ... and I got to celebrate with Emily and Jonathan, the man I love  - who is an amazing father, friend, and life partner.

Being a great father is no easy task ... it takes love, patience, and a lot of time.  I should know, I have a great father!  I am fortunate to have amazing parents - they are my role models, my friends, and my biggest fans. 

My father is one of  the most empathetic, patient, curious, and loving people I know. I have many memories with him ... ranging from playing the guitar until we fell asleep, to learning to drive stick,  to watching him support my mom as she went back to university. So you see, Jonathan has big shoes to fill .. and watching him with Emily - playing, teaching, comforting ... makes me so proud of him ... as a father, and as my life partner.

And my mother ... my best friend! What an amazing role model - she taught me from a very young age that I could do and be anything I wanted ... as long as I really put my mind to it, and worked for it.  She is a super-mom, and a sets an example that I can only hope I live up to.

Having Emily in my life has made me reflect on my own childhood, and how my parents demonstrated their unconditional love for us, how they empowered us, and how they taught us to find our own path in life ... and I hope we can do the same.

We celebrated Fathers Day on the beach - Emily had a blast, enjoyed singing 'happy fathers day' to 'dada', building sand castles, chasing seagulls, and generally being a 2-year old. We love her so very much and look forward to many more memories together!

Happy fathers day -- to Jonathan, and to my own Dad. I love you both, and you are both amazing fathers!!