Race Report: Duathlon Madness!

My first race of 2013!!! So much fun ... Here are the details by the numbers:

• Run: 3.1 miles
• Mountain bike: 16 miles
• Run: 3.1 miles
• Vertical feet: 2300ft
• Place Finished: 3rd
• Time on the course: 2.5 hours

What a fun race! The best part was having Emily and Jonathan there to cheer me on (and they even snuck in a run/nap while I was riding) and having Yvonne to chase around the race course :) 

The start came kinda quick. I was sneaking kisses from Emily and Jonathan told me I had to go ... I stood up to hear 3 - 2 - 1 START! and off we went!!  As usual it took a while to warm up so i tried to keep up with Yvonne ont he run but she dropped me about 5 or so minutes in. After that it was pacing and then picking up the speed as my legs started to warm up a bit and I started to catch a few women. In the first transition I spent a bit of time chasing Emily around for a kiss and then hopped on the bike. Pretty funny :) The biking part was fun - lots of good singletrack and a bit of climbing ... and it was a nice break from running :) Yes, i love my bike!!

I started to pick off some riders on the 2nd and 3rd laps, and passed Yvonne at the end of the 2nd lap. She's a stronger runner so i tried to put in a bit of a gap on the 3rd lap and managed to pull it off!  Into the last run my legs were tight - i'd pushed it on some of the climbs and my legs were feeling it ...  but eventually they warmed up and I picked off a few more women to finish 3rd! Yvonne was hot on my heals, finishing 4th :)

Some photos:

http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h5186628e#h518967e2

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http://stevesandersphotography.com/p840101718/h5186628e#h51a5b1da
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Naps DO make you faster

Emily has taught me many things since coming into my life ... the most recent being how amazing naps are!

Emily sometimes naps 2x a day when she has weekends with us ... and sometimes only once. When she naps twice in a day, we often go for a run for her first nap - she loves napping in the Chariot, and will often 'ask' for a morning run when she is feeling a bit tierd. It's pretty cute! Running with the chariot is fun, and Jonathan and I take turns pushing it down the trail, trading off every one mile.

For her second nap we often join her, and that means we get a nap too! If I am not feeling tired, i hop on the trainer and get in an hour or so spin.

When she naps once we often start napping with her and  then wake up after an hour and then ... again, i hope on the bike and ride till she wakes up. Some days she'll sleep for 3 hours - that is a long training ride ;-)

Napping with Em is awesome! Of course Emily is even more aweome ... she has taught me so much ... especially how to enjoy the many things we forget to celebrate in life.

Snow Day!

What a day!  We had so much fun with Em this past Monday ... we started a day with a trip to Cougar mountain zoo .... to see the reindeer (and possibly Santa, which got a big NO from em, so we declined) ... but she suer enjoyed the reindeer, the sleigh, and the other animals. Such a cutie!

 

Next up was SNOW! We found a little hill in Snoqualmie ... just us there and it was the perfect size for us to sled with Em. She LOVED it ... i think our legs got tired pulling her up the hill before she did :) And she thought snow angels were pretty cool, and as you can see, was in love with the snowman ... he got so many hugs!

Thanksgiving, Birthdays, and Dora, oh my!

So much fun on Thanksgiving week! Highlights included making Dora cupcakes for Emily's birthday party ... best part was when she saw them on the cupboard and started to giggle uncontrollably! Super cute!!! It was also fun to watch her open her Easel- definately a hit! Chalk board on one side and whiteboard crayons on the other. So much fun is had at the Easel these days! Of course she loved her custom Dora TShirt, her Dora hairclip, her puzzels, and all of her other toys too!

On thanksgiving we did an amazing hike up Rattlesnake ridge. It was the one day that it hasn't rained in ages! We spend the afternoon/evening eating and hanging out with friends. A wounderfull day!!