My first open water mile swim...

Before I recap my weekend, I'd like to ask everyone reading to say a little prayer for the family of the man that lost his life during the swim of the Hy-Vee Tri this weekend. Jim Goodman, 46, signaled for help and by the time the boat reached him, he was going under. They were unable to revive him. He is survived by his wife and 3 daughters, 11, 7, and 3....please say a prayer for them!

This weekend was the big Hy-Vee Tri. Saturday I went out to the kids races as I knew some of the little ones participating. They kept their event as a duathlon as the swim venue was still slightly flooded and there wasn't a good low depth area for them to swim in. These kids worked hard and did great. It was VERY cool to watch!

On Sunday I woke up at 3:45 to get some food in my stomach and do one last check of my swim bag to make sure I had everything. My biggest debate of the day was if I should wear my wetsuit or not.
Kyle dropped me off at the swim venue about 4:45 and I headed over to get marked and get the timing chip for our team. I hear the official announcement that the water is 75. I've already decided that since I'm not 100% on swimming this mile, I'd wear the wetsuit for the buoyancy in case I needed it....well, I think that ended up being the wrong choice!

6:00am - they finally get everyone out of transition and headed over to the start. The first wave is off at 6:18, we are the 4th wave out. As we line up for the swim I am really second guessing my wetsuit....too late now!
Off we go!
About 300yds into it I hear a bunch of yelling and my lifeguard instincts kick in, I see a group about 30yds to my right holding a person up and yelling for help, another gal next to me and I start yelling and pointing, they see them, so off we go again.
Round the first buoy and a HUGE gulp of water! YUCK! I'm totally disgusted as I know that the water is even dirtier because of the floods...I tried to do a little breastroke to get my composure, but felt like I wasn't moving. How about sidestroke...GREAT...it's faster and I can cough and get over my icky feeling!
Back to freestyle. Just before the next buoy I start to wheeze and feel really hot! I think I'm overheating in my wetsuit!! Back to sidestroke and use one arm to move the wetsuit a little to get some more water in it to cool me off.
I then round the last buoy and am in a good rhythm and WHACK, I get smacked in the head...the guy even apologized! Once again a little sidestroke to get my composure.
Almost done...about 400yds to go! Kicked it in a little and made it pretty close to the edge before I stood up. I RAN as fast as I could, without falling, in transition to get to Kristin Reese and she took the timing chip and was off on the bike leg.
So, decision made, wetsuit is ONLY for training purposes. I have had issues in my last 2 races wearing it. If it's cold, I'll deal with it. If I'm not 100% in my head, I'll just talk myself into it!
After waiting for Julie G to exit her swim, she did the whole tri, I changed and took a little jog up to T2 and found Kelli, our runner, and we waited for Kristin to come in on the bike. After Kelli left on the run, we went over and got some food and drink from the participant tent and went over to watch all the other athletes. Some of the people were amazing! Kelli had a great run and we felt pretty good about how our team ended up.

Official Results:
My swim - 33:32 - 1.5K or 1 mile
T1 - me passing to Kristin - 1:04
Kristin bike - 1:12:34 - 40K bike or 26 miles
T2 - Kristin passing to Kelli
Kelli run - 1:02:42 - 10K or 6.2 miles

Total time was 2:51:18 for 9th of 38 all women teams. We did AWESOME and had I personally had a TON of fun!!

Swim is on...

it's official age-group and Elite will be swimming on Sunday. I have to say I'm kind of disappointed, the original press release made it sound they were just trying to find a venue for the Elites and I was ready to run!
I know a lot of people are happy the swim is back on, but I know others are tired of the back and forth.

check here for more info.

Another Update...

At noon while at the Y and at the swim meet tonight, I've heard they are testing the levels of bacteria in the water at Raccoon River Park. So does this mean they will change everyone back to a true Triathlon if levels are OK.

OR

Will they change just the Elites so they have their Olympic Qualifying and leave the age-group as is. My vote...leave age-group as is. I know many people that have changed their mindset for a different event, or have dropped out all-together.

Definitely change Elite back to a true Tri if they can....they need that Olympic Qualifier if they can have it!

I guess we'll know in about 36 hours....stay tuned!

Update on Hy-Vee Tri...

...looks like I will now be running a 5K as the last leg of our team! Freaking out, a little, my running still needs work! I guess this will be good training for me for my sprint Tri's later this summer!

more info here....

Hy-Vee Triathlon

OK...so I'm supposed to be swimming at Gray's Lake on June 22nd for the Hy-Vee Tri. Well, it is currently closed due to the flooding and we have rain in the forecast for the next 2 days.

I emailed the race director and the Hy-Vee marketing director and asked to have something posted on the website as there are TONS of rumors going around about what is going to happen.
I got the following response:


Julie
When I know then everybody will know. With a changing situation - will not place wrong information on the site until I have correct info. Nobody wants to know what's going on more then me and I'm working with state and city officials to figure this out so please just tell folks to site and pray that the rain stops.
BB

Guess it's going to be awhile before we know if there will be an event!

Pigman Tri...DONE!!!

The race went good! Check out a race recap here for more information!

Am I Ready?

I really can't say for sure...but come Sunday morning at 7:30, I have to be!

Yep, my first Triathlon of the summer. Sunday Morning, Pigman Sprint, Palo, IA...first wave off at 7:30am!

If you are up at that time send me some good vibes...race re-cap sometime after...check back!

Biking in MN

Last weekend we headed up to the Root River Trail in MN to go biking with Kyle's parents, Kurt and Mindy. My parents couldn't make it...bummer!

Alexa and I checking out the water below...

Kyle blew a tire...I think he almost gave another rider a heart attack!

The excitement of the afternoon and a comfortable trailer caused a little girl to fall asleep!

Stopping for a beverage break and enjoying the little shelter...it was a close one for Kyle and the nails sticking out of the roof!

Potty Break!

We had a lot of fun and can't wait to do it again!

Saying Thank You...

I know there are many out there that do not support the war and all that goes with it.

But do you still want to say Thank You to the Men and Women of the military for the sacrifice they choose to do?

The Gratitude Campaign shows you how to say Thank You when you are uneasy or feel awkward about approaching someone in the military to say Thank You.

I know personally that I don't have the mindset to be part of the military and am grateful for those that do. My brother is in the Air Force and has not been deployed, and I don't know if he will be due to his field of work, I still thank him for his role in the military!

Check out the link if interested and have another easy way to say Thank You!

Morels...Sesame Street...Graduation

What a week! Wednesday night we cooked up some Morels and even got Alexa to try them...we had to tell her they were just like chicken nuggets, but she like them and ate quite a few!!

Open WIDE!!!

MMMM....tasty!

Friday night Kyle and I took Alexa to Sesame Street Live. Even though she was tired she loved it! She got really excited and danced a lot when Oscar the Grouch came out. I still am curious as to why she likes Oscar so much...hmmmm?

Picture with the Elmo and Grover sign.

Oscar and Elmo singing and dancing!

After Sesame Street Alexa and I headed back to Marcus for my nephew's graduation. They had his reception on Saturday with the ceremony Sunday afternoon. After the ceremony we headed out to his cousin Kaylee's reception. I babysat Kaylee every Saturday from the time she was born until I went off to college, about 4 years.

They grow up so fast! I can't believe they are off to college in the fall!

I didn't get them in cap and gown as the crowd was too big...even for a little class of 44!

My nephew Justin and I

Kaylee and I...think she could be my little sister?

Trader Joe's?

So Trader Joe's is a big commercial health food store.
Something Des Moines may be in the market for? What do you think?
Check out my other blog and if you agree, send a message to the company to try and get one in DM!

Decorah and Waverly

Kyle's first race this year was the Decorah time trials. This has been his favorite race from year to year. Kyle headed up on Saturday with Taylor to pre-ride the course and just have a little fun. These pictures are from the pre-ride as they didn't have anyone to take pictures during their race. Full results here. He got 1st in his age group and 11th overall. Pictures taken by Taylor.

Rounding the corner

Limbo on the bike!

Water crossing!

The very next weekend it was back to NE IA for the Waverly cross country race at Camp Ingawanis. Alexa and I stayed home again so no pictures of Kyle. Kurt rode along and had his first go at a Mt. Bike race. I think he's hooked!
The Reese family camped the night before in one of the cabins...we may have to look into that next year!

Kurt making his way up the big hill

Kristin making her way up the hill

Taylor was a little tired on the way home.
Kurt also fell asleep leaving Kyle to drive "all by himself"

Bedtime Prayers

Each night I've been reading a Prayer book as our last book of the night. The other day I found her in her room "reading" the prayer book. She has the whole thing memorized. So lately at night she has been "reading" me the book. This night she needed a little prompting toward the end.
It just amazes me that a 2 1/2 yr old can memorize a whole prayer!

Goals and Challenges

This new year I set some goals and challenges and have been tracking progress along with my friend Julie; as her goals are along the same lines as mine.

I have officially signed up for the Pigman Sprint Triathlon on June 1st. Now that tax season is over I've stepped up the training a bit and am really getting excited for it!

I got a race report today. It is capped out at 800 participants and they are predicting the water temps to be 65 degrees! YIKES! Good thing I bought a wetsuit on ebay a couple weeks ago.

I bought the wetsuit mainly so Julie and I could start some open water training here soon. I am doing the Hy-Vee Triathlon as part of a team and to swim 1 mile in open water will need a little practicing. She is doing the whole Hy-Vee tri and you can see her training progress on our blog as well. So once May 1st hits we are going to plan some training in the COLD open water!

My first "challenge" will be the PRC duathlon on May 1st. Need to work on my running and I figured this would be a good way to get some practice in.

Check out my progress and feel free to leave any comments/suggestions!!

Tiny Tumblers

This past winter Alexa participated in Tiny Tumblers at the YMCA. She loved it and I have to say, it really did help with some of her "play" skills. She can know jump with both feet off the ground and can do somersaults!
Here are some pics from her last class:

Jumping on the trampoline...couldn't get a good picture as she was moving too fast!

Walking on the balance beam...

Playing "red light, green light" with Daddy...the hula hoop is so we can help them stop and go!

Singing the "Bean Bag song"....she LOVES this song!

Next January she'll be able to do the Tumble Tots.....Mom and Dad can work out during this one....maybe I'll run around the track that encircles the gym, that way I can still watch but get a workout in too!

Last couple weeks...

...have been pretty unproductive.
Alexa and I were both sick last week, and before that it was just the every day routine of go to work, come home, go to activities, and back home to bed.

Alexa has been in Waterbabies and Tiny Tumblers at the YMCA. We are going to continue with Waterbabies through May, but now that the weather is warmer and she can get outside and run around, we are by-passing the Tiny Tumblers. She's pretty tired at night. I'm hoping we can make through waterbabies too!

Sat. April 12 we attended Zoo Tots at the Blank Park Zoo. Alexa learned about bugs! They did a little craft, read a book, had a snack, and got to see 3 live bugs. Alexa even petted them! A hissing cockroach, a walking stick, and a giant millipede. They were actually pretty cool and yes, I petted them too! I'm not a big fan of bugs, but am trying to get better as I don't want Alexa freaking out every time she sees one. Next Zoo Tots is the 26th and if I remember correctly it is water animals.

This Saturday April 19th, I'm going to brave a bike race! Kyle is hosting a Mt. Bike crit and I have decided to get into the action. Nervous, excited and anxious all at the same time. I think it doesn't matter what I do competitively, I'll feel the same way every time. I always doubt myself, but I just have to go out there and do it!
Thanks to Mindy in advance for watching Alexa so I can race!

A new member to the Cycling family

Congratulations to Beth and Taylor Webb on the birth of a little girl!

Olivia Joyce
March 29, 2008
5 lbs 14 oz
19 1/2 inches long

She is adorable! Lots of black hair like Taylor, and a cute petite face like Beth.

Alexa and I got Haircuts!

Tonight Alexa had her first haircut and I decided to donate to Beautiful Lengths.
Thanks Mandy, we love our new do's!!!

Getting ready to go

Combing it out

The first cut!Styling it all pretty
I'm all pretty now!Alexa did really good for her first hair cut. She sat still the whole time and even looked at her toes when Mandy told her too! It was really cute to watch and I'm so proud of her!

I was thinking towards summer and all the cycling, running and swimming I want to do and decided my mid-back length hair was going to be too much. So I found the beautiful lengths program and decided to cut it all off!

Ready to cut....

First side gone!All done!A new do and 10 inches of my hair off to make a wig for cancer patients.

Happy Easter!

Well, since I don't know how to use our new camera yet. I only have this picture of Alexa today. I kept hearing beeps so I thought the camera was taking pics. But I guess I wasn't pushing the button down far enough. Hopefully Mom got some cute ones to print off!
The Easter Bunny hid eggs and toys around the living room. She got lots of candy and some change for her piggy bank in the eggs, sidewalk chalk, a Ducky, a movie, and Disney Princess Soap paints.
In this picture her hair wasn't curled yet...it looked so cute!!

Anyway....hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

A nice day for a Hotwalk!

Alexa got to get outside on Sunday March 2nd and test out her new Hotwalk! Can't wait for it to get nicer so we can take it over to the park near our house.

She loved it! Took a couple spills and tried to offroad in the snow and rocks. Not quite enough balance for the offroad, she tumbled right away. Hopefully she'll be like Daddy and not Mommy when it comes to the singletrack! I've still got the iffy-nerves from when I did super-man at Boone about 4 years back!!

After the hotwalk she decided that she needed to ride her trike. First work on balance and then pedaling....she knows how it's done!

A slight incline in the road really helps with the pedaling. I had to push her on the way back!