IRONMAN 70.3 Austin, TX

I am so terribly sorry to my dear blog for neglecting you. It is very hard to get motivated when you are so behind, but we just got a little busy. No excuses though and I will try not to let it happen again!

Back in October, shortly after my triathlon, Forrest completed the Ironman 70.3 in Austin and did absolutely AMAZING. Aaron, Jeremy (friend), and Will (Aaron’s friend) joined him in the race. They all did so great- all of us girls were so proud.

I wish I could share the book I made Forrest– it has all of his thoughts, all pictures, it is so great at telling the story. In fact, if it is not too long I will maybe try and add some of that into here. Anyways, I am so proud of him. He worked so hard to get to this point. I cannot wait to cheer for him in the IRONMAN Texas in May 2011.

   

   

  

A note from the athlete himself:

“First and foremost.... I want to thank all of my family who made the trip to Austin to support Aaron and myself in the Longhorn 70.3 Ironman this past weekend.  I was completely taken back at numerous moments of how much support we had.  It would be ZERO exaggeration to say that Aaron and I had the best and loudest fans of anyone in the race.  So a BIG THANK YOU to Aunt Dede, Rob, supa dupa paratrooper (Dyron), Kim, Madison, Rocky, Rod &Donna, Amberly, Natalie, Aiden, Ashton, My Parents and a big thank you to Megan as if it were not for her I would have never signed up for the event.  Also, thanks Pop for picking up my slack around the ranch while I was training for the event.  I am often reminded how lucky I am to have such a wonderful loving family that cares so much about each other and what is going on in each of our lives.  Family is what makes everything in life all worth it.” -Forrest

Race Day!

 “Head to the starting line with the knowledge that the woman who starts the race is not the same as the woman who will finish it.” – Sally Edwards

Race day was eventful and filled with moments I could never explain. I can’t imagine going through the experience without all of my wonderful family being there by my side. Between Forrest, his parents, my parents, Amberly’s family, it seemed like someone was there every corner I made with a camera and a big smile. It made me feel so good and reminded me of how thankful I am for them.

So starting with the morning of:

I was extremely grateful that Forrest had set up accommodations for all of us at a lodge on site because that made such a difference in how we were all able to spend our morning. We didn’t have to deal with traveling, parking, waking up extra early, etc. It was absolutely perfect!

The day started at 5:30am which was the time that the transition area opened. Amberly and I rolled out of bed after waking up every couple of hours through the night thinking it was game time. The transition area was just opening up and we wanted to be some of the first ones down there to rack our bikes, which we were. The temperature outside was in the lower 60’s so it felt a little chilly. Feeling a little anxious at this point especially thinking about getting in that water!

Next we came back to the room to get ready, ate a little breakfast, and gathered all of our things. Then around 7am, we headed back down to the transition area to set our things up next to our bikes. We then went through the body marking area to get all of our numbers put on us and eventually made our way down to the swim start, setting our shoes up along the way.  Soon it was time to put our lovely swim caps on and line up according to our wave.

     

The swim went well. I started in the back and fortunately did not experience any leg kicks to the face or anything like. I only choked on water once and had to stop to catch my breath. Other than that, I finished feeling good and ready to start the bike.

Amberly and I met up in transition after the swim which was nice because for the remainder of the event we were able to stay together. The bike course was difficult because of all the hills but we made it through.

   

We still had energy for the run but decided to take it easy. The course was a little rocky and the last mile was completely uphill. We finished strong and held each others hands as we crossed the finish line.

 

 

 

Afterwards we celebrated and had fun rooting the rest of the women on as they crossed the finish line!

 

Thank you to all my family for being so great to me and for all of the support this weekend. It means so much to me. and I will always cherish the memories we made!

Moment of Reflection before 10/03/10

Which is the day of the Trek Women’s Triathlon in Austin, TX. EEEEK!!

Thinking back about when I first considered doing one….I actually didn’t even consider for a second doing the whole thing because I was deathly afraid of getting on a BIKE especially one of those ones with skinny tires which I soon found out was called a road bike. Whoever came up with the metaphor, “it’s like riding a bike” in reference to one of those skills you never loose, is not someone I can relate to.

Anyways, I started out on Cheri’s cruiser and rode with her up and down the driveway (about 0.2 mi) at the ranch. She taught me how to turn and literally at one point held my shirt (think it was meant to be funny). I really was that rusty though. I did get the hang of it eventually, only falling once in the beginning (during a turn of course). Fortunately the fall wasn’t traumatic enough for me to sell my bike back.

As for the SWIM, I just had to get my body back into shape. Luckily since I used to swim when I was younger, I already had the form down which is a big obstacle for many beginner triathletes without swim backgrounds. I was able to build up pretty quickly, surprising myself how much I remember from 12 years ago. Gotta thank my mom for that – dragging me to swim practice all those mornings….thanks Mom!!

And as for the RUN, I have been jogging on and off for the past couple years. I mainly focused on just maintaining until I signed up for a half marathon in January 2011. Then I had to step it up a notch and start running longer distances.

Anyways, I mostly followed a TRAINING program set up by the triathlon organizers. The couple of weeks when it got more intense, picking up in frequency and all, I wasn’t able to stick to – just with school and all, I had to prioritize.

So after 10 weeks of preparation, the big day is here. It is hard to not have any doubts. Just have to think positive – or as Sally Edwards would say, think to yourself “I AM STRONG!” the whole way through.

My inspirational husband has been so supportive all along, telling me how great I am doing, giving me so much confidence. Amberly, I am so grateful for – she committed to doing it with  me which made this whole process much more fun. And Cheri, my little bike riding partner. I am so blessed to have had her there for me/with me since day one.

Here are a few pics of all of us in Austin the night before the race.

    

Next up, the big day: RACE DAY

Autumn begins

I feel like football season always marks the turning of the season even though the weather does nothing exciting right away. Labor Day introduced our first football fun weekend. It was hot, but we all enjoyed being outside at the ranch. The girls did their thing while the guys went to the game. A&M won so everyone was happy.

I love this time of year – I think it is because everyone gets so festive and I love festive. Like everyone else I am sure, I have really been enjoying the weather change. Just crossing my fingers it does not regress, knowing Texas weather. Anyways, Cheri and I celebrated the perfect weather by going to a craft show in Bryan last weekend. She bought a few things for the ranch:

 

Along with my decorating mood, I have had my eye on some new furniture – Forrest and I never really purchased new furniture when we moved in our first house. I think we need to do some replacing … just a little at a time, and starting with a new bed. I have had my eye on these two:

Well that is it for now. Just enjoying the new season. Next I am off to work on some research for school assignments, then I plan to study (outside of course) for my pediatrics test on Monday. We will be in Austin all weekend for my first triathlon - will make sure to post pictures if Forrest gets any good ones. :)

September 21, 1980

Is the day my parents got married which makes today their 30th YEAR ANNIVERSARY.

I am proud that my parents are able to celebrate this milestone. It takes a lot of work to make a marriage last and I know it is not always easy. What matters most is that you make it through the hard times, learn from those experiences, and grow as a couple. You have to live as a team, learn to compromise, and be considerate of each other. Understanding these things and the many aspects of marriage, as a daughter and a wife, makes me appreciate and value this special day for them even more.

With that said, I just want to gratefully wish my parents both a very happy anniversary today. I could not be happier for ya’ll and look forward to celebrating when we are all together in Austin next weekend. :D

   

Wednesday night Bible study

I am so happy to talk about the amazing women’s Bible study group Nena, Cheri, and I joined at their church in Brenham. We have gone twice now and I am looking forward to next week’s already.

We are studying the Book of Esther. After sharing some of it with my Mom today, I thought I might share it on my blog too for anyone else interested (and for me to reflect back on as well).

Last week (day 1; Ch. 1) we talked about God’s presence in our lives and how we can trust him with our circumstances. One question I really thought about was “Do you ever give things to God and then turn around and take it back?”

This week (day 2), we discussed six of Esther’s queen-like qualities that Christian women should aspire to have.

1.) Grace filled charm and elegance

2.) Unusual restraint and control (ex: the ability to keep a secret for someone)

3.) Continual teachable spirit

4.) Unselfish modesty and authenticity

5.) Winsomeness (meaning pleasant and delightful spirit) regardless of surroundings

6.) Humble respect for authority

I really feel like I will grow as a Christian and as a woman, wife, mother one day from joining this study group….afterall “when you’re green, you’re growing; when you’re ripe, you’re rotten.”

:)