Hurts So Good

I'm addicted...to the pain apparently. Since my first triathlon the end of June, I've recently signed up for two more triathlons (and there are a couple more I have my eyes on). After the triathlon I took a little break and allowed for my body to recover; not only from tired muscles, but also from a sinus infection that I had battled through. It amazes me how quickly my body can get out of shape and then how hard it is to get motivated again to get back in shape. It's rather discouraging, so I try to remember that feeling of "great health" because it is definitely an amazing feeling.

So, this week has been the start of an 8-week training program for my next triathlon, the Seattle Danskin. After not working out consistantly for the past few weeks and jumping right in again my body is sore, tired and just plain weak. Again, rather frustrating. However, the pain of having to hoist myself onto the toilet with my hands or practically rolling out of bed onto the floor because I cannot move is AWESOME. My muscles are working again, my cardio is getting a boost and I'm looking forward to the mental and physical challenges ahead of me.

(The pic is from my cardio training to the top of Tiger Mountain with my tri-partner, Danielle. It was an intense and fast paced hike that I'm quite proud of.)

Fishing Trip in Alaska

A couple weeks ago Chad took a fishing trip to Alaska with his dad and family friends. And although their trip was filled with great memories, many of the memories are not of catching fish. The idea was to go to Alaska and to bring back salmon and halibut; however, that didn't happen. Their trip was filled with drinking, great food, early morning boat rides, tangled fish lines, eagle watching, moose sightings, and evening river cruises. Fishing? Yes, it existed, but without the fish.

The picture is of Chad's catch...of the trip, which was thrown back.

Do You Know Where God Is?

I recently took a trip to Oregon for a girls weekend with the MacDonald family, also known as Kamp Kurt--Teagan's husband, Kurt, was the only male around for the weekend. On my way down to Eugene, I stopped at the Nike outlet store to see if there were any good deals. As I am about to walk into a dressing room I notice two blonde headed, cute as buttons, littlle girls that were about 5 years old standing oustide of another dressing room door. As I'm about to exit my dressing room, I over hear one of the girls say, "Do you even know where God lives?" As I open the door, I notice the other little girl standing very proudly with hands on her hips and she says, "Duh, of course I do." She continues, "He lives up there (pointing towards the sky) and He is looking down on us right now." With hands still on her hips and getting much in the face of her little friend, she then says, "Did you know God loves everyone?" The other little girl retorts sarcastically, "Of course I did!"

If only it was this simple. If only everyone could believe in God. I absolutely adore the innocence and purity of children. This little scenario definitely made my day.

I'm A Tri-Athlete?

So this weekend I partook in my first sprint triathlon. I had been training for the event for about 9 months with a friend from Peter Kirk Elementary. A few days before the triathlon I came down with, what I thought was, allergies. Eventually "it" got worse and Friday, the day before the triathlon, I went to see my doctor and she told me I had a sinus infection. The doctor gave me the "okay" to compete in the triathlon the following day.

By definition I am a tri-athlete. I partook in a race that had three parts--swimming, biking, running--and successfully completed the event. However, I don't really feel like a tri-athlete. When I think of a tri-athlete, I think of someone who is in prime shape, almost to the point of being an olympian, if not already one. This is not me. Although, at the race I realized that tri-athletes come in all shapes and sizes. The race was very difficult, but the training, the challenge, and the competitive and fun-filled atmosphere of the race was awesome!

Do I want to do another one? Yes. I'm hooked. My time was 1:56:26--much longer than I expected; although, I'm hoping my lengthy time was due in part because of the unfamiliarity of a triathlon and because I was sick and had troubles breathing. My goal for the next event is to cut 25 minutes off my time.

Chad took many great pics, of which I have only included one. More photos can be viewed at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84349&id=583296818&l=55e860bc49

Memorial Camping at Rasar

The past four years we have made a trek north to Rasar State Park for our Memorial Day camping trip. We always reserve the back 3 walk-in tent sites and fill them to capacity. This year we had about 20 people attend the annual Memorial Day Rasar camping trip. Hi-lites from the trip include setting up camp, sitting around the campfire, ladder ball (testicle ball), bocce ball, volleyball, cooking over the campfire, monkey balls in the dutch oven, Kyle's homemade kahlua, walk abouts, knitting/girl time, meal sharing, "gars" (cigars), SUNSHINE, lost testicle ball in the tree, boys bathing in the river, great friends, and lots of laughs. The pic below is of the lower field we walk through to get to the river--it reminded me of the Sound of Music. The other pic is of Chad and I down by the river--Chad had just bathed in the river and was trying to get warm.