Wordless Wednesday: Salty Dog Triathlon 2013

Last Saturday I participated in my first triathlon. I loved it! This year my main goal was just to use it as a learning experience, especially since I was still nursing shin splints. I rested them and iced them most of the week instead of doing any training.

My sister and I pre-race. 

Both of us were so nervous, anxious and excited that neither of us slept well the night before. It was a beautiful morning! The mosquitoes only bothered us before and after the race when we were standing around. Of course we forgot bug spray. Lucky for us, someone dropped some in the parking lot. We used it and left it in the transition area for the next person.
I was disappointed with my swim time, but it's my own fault. I hadn't been in the pool for a workout since May. I remembered how much I dislike long course- 500 yds is so much easier for me than 400 m. I also had a little issue with my pants. I used the yoga pants from this post. I should have used new elastic and made the waist smaller. 

The next lesson I learned is that I need a road bike. My eleven year old mountain bike made me wish I still had the ten-speed bike with skinny tires I bought when I was 13! I also need to be faster transitioning between the swim and bike.
My run went much better than I had anticipated. Even though my legs felt like lead weights and I didn't get my fastest 5k time, my pace was faster than my average. I ran the 3.1 miles without walking. And since my legs were numb, I couldn't feel the shin splits. lol
I was a little disappointed because at the end of the race I didn't have enough to finish hard. A woman I had been playing leap frog* with throughout the run passed me at the end and I couldn't catch her. Michael mentioned that I need to work on my posture when I run. I hunch forward, which probably doesn't help my breathing any.
* (Leap frog is a term from my high school swimming days- she would pass me, then I'd pass her.)

My sister and I post-race. 

Taylor did AMAZING! I'm so proud of her!! I am so glad we did our first triathlon together. This was the first time we have "raced" since I was a senior and she was a freshman. On the course, a family friend tried to motivate me by telling me my little sister was beating me. My response was, "of course! She's awesome!" (Not to mention she trained much harder than I did.) She finished 6th (out of 22) in her age group and 73rd (out of 183) overall.
I finished 11th (out of 19) in my age group and 140th overall. Tay would have won my age group, so I have 2 years to step up my game! :) That should be easier now that the first one is over; I know what to expect and what I need to work on next year!

Wordless Wednesday: Water Weekend

Swimming and water activities are our favorite summer past time! On Saturday afternoon, we set up water slides in the backyard. We used the boys' playhouse slides and kiddie pools.

It's something we've done every year since 2009.

I couldn't find a picture from 2011. :(

This is the first year Tate has been brave enough to go down the big slide without help. (This is only the second summer we've had the small slide.) I love this picture!

Instead of the pools, next time we are going to try putting a slip 'n slide at the end of the small slide (no way they'd go down the big slide lol). A friend did it with her son and it looked like a lot of fun. 
On Sunday, we went out to a pond for a picnic and some swimming.

We are the mean parents that make the boys wear life jackets even in the shallow water. Safety first! :)

I rarely burn, but I used expired sunscreen and am suffering the consequences. My mom said it doesn't even look red, but I've had so few sunburns in my life that I'm a TOTAL wimp!

My 2013 Exercise/ Workout Goal

Better late than never, but I am going to share my workout goals for 2013 because if I put them in writing, I am more likely to achieve them. It's as close as I get to a New Year's Resolution. It is long-term, something new, yet something I know I will be able to achieve, but not without working at it.
I started running for the first time in July 2012. It was memorable for several reasons: there was a full moon, people were shooting off fireworks and I had never gone for a run before. In fact, in 33 years, I don't think I had run a mile without walking part of it. Ironically, I swam my first mile when I was 14 or 15 and it was one of my favorite events.
Growing up, I always hated running. In eighth grade, I found out I have asthma, which explained some of my troubles with running. During basketball that year, I was called a "slowpoke" numerous times. The team often had to run extra laps because of another girl and me. The other slowpoke and I became best friends. She was the main reason I started running in July. Michael challenged me, "If Jenny can do it, so can you!"
Since July, I have tried to run at least three times a week. My only goal last year was to run a 5k. By the end of October, I had competed in my first two 5ks. So I needed a new goal for 2013. Several friends and family members have been trying to get me to run a half marathon, but I am not convinced. I am still on the fence whether or not I will try to train for our local half in September. I do know I would like to better my 5k time, but I also want to try something a little more challenging too. I decided I am going to try our local triathlon, the Salty Dog, in August.The 10.5 mile bike worries me the most.
My training goal is to run 730 miles in 2013. It averages out to two miles per day. So far, as of January 6th, I have only logged 4 miles. After eight years without having any real problems or even an inhaler, trying to run in the cold has me struggling with my asthma. I prefer to run in the morning, but had to switch back to evenings when it is warmer outside. I breathe through my mouth and I found wearing a mask to help filter the air helps, but I still struggle. I'm not making excuses, I just know that when it warms up, I will be playing catch up. When I don't run, I usually try to do a tabata workout.

Project 366: Day 177-181

Day 177: Mayer finally got to play with a noodle at swimming lessons.
Day 178: The once a week no picture habit for the month of June...

Day 179: Mayer's last swimming lesson for the month of June. He insisted on wearing the swim cap and goggles, even though he never put them down!

 

Day 180: Tate's last swimming lesson in June... distracted by the mushroom fountain.

I was trying to hold Mayer and take pictures so I never really got a good shot.

 Day 181: A visit to Grandma and Pa's house

 Tate would pretend to fall off, laugh hysterically (because it was way past bedtime) and then Mayer would do the same.

 I was able to catch several ornery faces from Mayer, but Tate was too quick!

 The orange on his head is from the dry erase markers. He has a habit of coloring himself with them!

Project 366: Day 163-167

Day 163: Mayer had his safety goggles on and wanted to wear them to swimming lessons!

Day 164: Tate has swimming lessons on Tuesdays. He wanted to be sure to take his goggles, so he wore them most of the day around his neck. This is at breakfast and his lessons are in the evening!

Day 165 was posted here.
Day 166: Boat Day! It was my favorite lesson to teach when I taught the preschool swimming classes. (Tate is hanging onto the side next to the teacher.)

 Day 167: Mimi's Art Camp

My mom had an art camp for the grandkids. She had a bunch of art projects planned for them. They got to paint the shed behind my parents' house. They colored sandpaper and transferred it to t-shirts. They played with shaving cream. They painted with soap bubbles. Mainly, they had a blast and loved every second!

 Mayer wearing his new t-shirt he made a Mimi's art camp... and wearing Tate's pirate mustache as eyebrows. I was afraid he looked like Anthony Davis, but my aunt said he resembled his great-great grandpa.

Negligent Posting

I have been very neglectful lately! I have been busy catching up on my reading. I read or listened to 8 books in about 3 weeks. Most were my favorite genre, mysteries, but I also fell victim to The Hunger Games series. I was completely transported to Panem for a few days! I read all of Mockingjay, the third book, in one day. I was an avid reader before my boys. I have read and listened to some books in the past several years, but nothing like I used to. Even though The Hunger Games books are considered Young Adult, it felt good to read something other than children's books.
Speaking of children's books, the boys just turned in their reading lists from the summer reading program at our local library. Mayer is getting really into "reading" lately. He usually wants to read the book himself (aka point at the pictures and grunt until you tell him what it is). Typically, he picks the biggest (and heaviest) board books to carry around. Tate is starting to read a few words on his own. He recognizes about ten words by sight and can also spell most of them when they aren't in front of him. I'm considering starting a short chapter book with him; I just need to find the perfect book.
The boys have also been busy with swimming lessons. Monday through Thursday we are at the YMCA until 7 PM. By the time we get home and rinse off, we had to push their bedtime back to 8 PM. I'm so glad they both LOVE swimming, but this makes for two exhausted boys come Friday! I signed them up for 2 sessions, so we have another month to go.

Eventually, I would like them to at least try competitive swimming. If they don't share the Johnson family love for the sport, I will be sad, but I won't make them continue. The love for the sport goes through 2 generations. My dad and his brother, Alan, swam age group and high school swimming. My siblings and I, as well as several Johnson cousins, swam age group and high school too. I have taught swimming lessons since I was 15 and have also coached age group swimming on and off since I was 18. My dad is currently the assistant swim coach for Hutchinson High School. My brother also coaches age group and teaches lessons. As much as they have been enjoying their lessons and the Olympic trials, I think it's safe to say they interested for now.

Project 366: Day 121-125

It's interesting that some days I struggle to find one picture and other days it is easy to come up with several.

 Day 121: Cloth Trainers

He didn't want to model them for me.

 Day 122: May Day

This is what happened when Mayer tried to feed me. First he was going to eat my coconut Greek yogurt, but decided he did not like it and would feed it to me instead.

 The May baskets for Michael and me from the boys.

Tate was completely backwards in his bed.

 Day 123: Pool side

Mimi got a pool for the backyard.

 Day 124: Water Babies

 No matter what the temperature of the water is, they can't seem to resist!

Day 125: Special Delivery

I found two old mail bins at a garage sale a few years ago and they work perfectly to hold the toys in the living room. One has a hole in the bottom and recently Mayer has discovered he fits through the hole.

Disappointment in the pool

In my life before becoming a mommy, I was very active in the swimming world. When we moved back to my hometown, I taught swim lessons 3 days a week and coached swim team 5-7 days a week from November 2005-August 2008. There are some days I miss it; but right now, I'm not willing to give up my time with Tate. I am able to keep up with some of what is going on in the sport since my dad is the assistant coach for the high school team. I also still teach a private lesson once a week to get my chlorine fix!
Eventually, I would love to get back into coaching and it would be awesome to be able to share with them. When I was in high school, it ended up becoming a family sport for us. All 3 of us kids swam competitively and so did my dad. He was also a judge and my mom was in charge of taking splits for us. I won't force my children into competitive swimming, but they will have to take lessons. Then I secretly hope that they will love it as much as I do! 

So far, Tate loves the water: bath, shower, pool, garden hose or puddles. This is his second summer taking swimming lessons and am a very disappointed. Last summer, we had one of my former swimmers as our parent-child instructor. Both Tate and I enjoyed it so much, we took 2 sessions. Becca sang songs with us to introduce skills and keep it fun. He was only 10-11 months during that time, so I mainly wanted to make sure he was comfortable in the water since a pool is a little different than bath time.

When I signed Tate up this summer, I asked if Becca would be the instructor again because she did such an awesome job. I was told she wasn't; however, the instructor was just as great and we would really like her. I recognized her name from around the swimming community, but had never personally met her. I still was optimistic since the Superintendent of Aquatics and Wellness had raved about her.

After almost 2 weeks of lessons, I am not impressed. In fact, I am very disappointed. My 22 month old starts telling me he wants to "GO!" after about 10 minutes in the water because he is bored. We work on 1-2 skills per lesson and it is very self directed. The only thing we do as a group are the opening and closing songs. She comes by and dunks the kids under water, praises them and moves on to dunk the next.

We are so lucky that Tate is comfortable with water in his face, but it scares some kids to death. I have 2 nephews that absolutely do not like water in their faces at all. It really bothers me that there is a baby in the class and they dunk him without blowing in his face first! I know they lose the reflex to hold their breath when you blow in their face around 6 months, but the poor thing comes up coughing, gagging and crying. Judging by that reaction, it wouldn't hurt to see if he would hold his breath before he was dunked under.

Next summer, we will have two in the class. If she is the instructor again, we will not be taking swimming lessons through the Red Cross. I plan on putting that on the evaluation form because they need to know. Tate will almost be old enough to take lessons in the preschool class at the YMCA. I preferred teaching the preschool class when I taught, so maybe I could start teaching again. We will just have to see what happens.

It's in his blood

Last night Tate had his first swimming lesson. I was supposed to be teaching the infant/ parent classes through the Hutch Rec. I was disappointed, yet somewhat relieved to find out I would not be teaching the class. They forgot to let me know that since I asked not to teach all 3 classes every night, due to Tate's bedtime, they decided not to use me as an instructor. I wondered why no one called me to let me know what skills I should teach. So because of the miscommunication, Tate will be receiving one free session of Red Cross Swimming lessons. Unfortunately, my other helper, Drew, doesn't get any lessons.

Tate's teacher is a former swimmer of mine, Becca Page. She comes from a swimming lineage too. The air and the water were both a little chilly, but Tate absolutely LOVED it! His teeth were chattering in between his squeels of delight. He was very intregued when I blew bubbles and gave it a try. He got a big mouth full of water! He coughed, chocked and laughed. He practiced kicking, splashing, sang and of course, his mean mommy dunked him one time before we got out.

Here is a picture and video of our trial run in the backyard. As if there was any doubt!