Superstars!

I am so proud of Trev and Lexi.  They

 both excelled at their School Track and Field Day.   

Trev once again proved that the "shoe kick" is really his expertise, gaining a first place position.

He also surprised himself this year with a "tire toss" that out tossed his classmates by FIVE FEET(I have been informed by Trev) gaining another first place ribbon.

Lexi was speedy fast in her 50 yard dash, gaining a blue ribbon.  

She excelled at the frisbee toss as well.

Most of all, they had fun with friends.  

Here are a couple shots.  

To see more pics and to hear what Trev and Lexi have to say about it, visit their blog.  See link to the right.

Baseball and Soccer continued this week, bringing lots of excitement and fun 

for all. I just love taking photos while watching them at practice and games.  

Apple Du was just this morning.  Another race checked off......check! All in all not a bad day.

It felt great to be racing, pushing my body and mind as hard as it could go(today).  Each race, each training session, I know I will continue to see improvements.  For right now, it is important to be out there giving it my all with a smile on my face.  Enjoying life, enjoying the moments and knowing that for me, right now,  balance is what I am achieving. 

Congrats to Dan, Coach John, Cathy, Julie, Jan, Karen, Kerry, Jason and all the other super

 talented racers who gave it their best at the Apple today.   I am proud to be training and racing with such a fantastic group of people.

Breathe, relax, enjoy the moments.....SMILE

Its a busy time of year........but I just keep remembering to breathe because its also a wonderful time of year with lots of memories to be made.

Here are some of my favorite photos of the week.

to be a soldier

Today started a new season, it was the Gear West Du.  But with it came a metaphor from the past-from last year's tri season in fact.  I remember it well.  I remember Becca and I smiling for this photo. This photo was taken at Buffalo Tri, minutes before our wave took off into the water.  Photo taken by Paul Phillips. Looking back, I think, "man we looked happy". Because we were happy.  We were happy because we love triathlons, we love the sport, we love the training and we love the people.  Little did we know that in next couple of hours we would both have quite the battle in front of us. You see, we both got lost on the bike course that day.  Gone was the competitive group we yearned to be with as well as the dreams of accomplishing the results we had hoped for (numbers that is).  But, we have a wise coach.  Coach John.  And he reminded us that we were "soldiers" out there.  We didn't quit.  We eventually found our way on the bike and kept on til the end...We fought the battle and we conquered our own race.  This was a pivotal moment for me.  A metaphor that would stick in my head and shape my mental attitude towards racing.  

BE A SOLDIER.  

For me, the rest of the season, was an individual battle.  A season filled with opportunities to be a soldier.  Opportunities to fight my hardest, to battle tough conditions, to dig deep into reserves.  The

 cool thing about a metaphor is that it becomes your own.  You begin to expand it to what it means to you.  For me, a true and respected soldier that does his best, puts his best effort out there on the racecourse,  knows they can be happy with that.  HAPPY  when they cross the finish line and HAPPY after they  look through the results.  An experienced soldier learns this skill, trusting only their efforts and not worrying about the results of their competitors.  

So, that was last season........

Today, was no exception!

With one year of intense soldier duty under my belt, I went into GW du with a a refreshing attitude of "be a soldier".   It is a fresh start, a new season. 

I had all the typical pre race jitters.  I had a great time getting all my gear together, trying to figure out what to wear (always a challenge for me, just che

ck out last years  pics from gw).  I was trying out n

ew ZIPP wheels(thanks Kevin), new headset (thanks Dan), new funky Aero Helmet (no help on transition times- I seemed to be buckled challenged). 

The best part was being on that start line and chatting with all the fellow tri(du)athletes.  

Short race recap- hard run, smoother bike, harder run.

I know that I gave it my very best out there today.  I dug deep and it hurt. I smiled and I had fun.  I have looked at results and have started to fall into the trap of disappointment.  It is in writing this and realizing that is unfair to myself.  I was a soldier today.  I will be a soldier again.  I will train hard and I will continue to make improvements.  I

 will be patient with my progress.  Everybody has their own story to tell.  Mine is about doing the best I can for me and being happy with that. When I came home, I told my results to my kids.  They acted like I won the Gold.  What's better than that! 

Thanks to all the volunteers,  cheerers, supporters, and photographers today.  Special thanks to

 Jan and Kevin for an  awesome race.

Picture taken at Gear West Du by Yndecam

a simple run

Sometimes I forget how a simple run can brighten my mood, how a simple run can make all my difficulties of the day fade away, how a simple run can remind me that taking things one step at a time is sometimes all we can do.I wasn't always a runner.  Back in the day I was  a competitive gymnast and as I grew taller and realized I wasn't going to the Olympics like my idols Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci, I decided to try out other sports.  I dabbled in soccer, dancing, and eventually track.  By the time I got to college, all I wanted to do was not do sports. 

 So I didn't.  And 10 pounds later I was running.

I think running has always brought me peace and exhilaration.  Today was no exception.

I had to force myself to get outside in this beautiful weather, due to a bad headache, and get my run in.  I am so glad I did.  

Not only did my headache fade away but also my worries of the day.

The best part is that this simple run enabled 

me to get my energy level back so I could go enjoy my son's baseball practice.  It was a beautiful night at the park.  Trevor is so excited about Baseball.  

Lexi was there waiting for me to play with her at the park. I am getting pretty good at playing at the park and can usually get a little bit of a strength workout in while on the equipment.

All in all, it was a great night that I think I would have missed out on if I would not have gone for that simple run.

so excited to be blogging

I have been working on my website on my mac for a long time.  I just can't seem to get it linked to my personal domain........so.......i decided to go ahead an open a site on blogger.  I just couldn't stand to be missing all the fun any longer.

I want to share so much going on in  my life.  I have so many things to be thankful for, I hope I can find ways to share and to connect with others.

My kids, Trev and Lexi also want to be a part of this and are quite creative.  It is just another fun thing we can do together. 

With race season right around the corner.......I am excited to have a place to share some race reports where family can find some information.

Well, that's it for now.

Oh, and I should say that we had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday.  Lexi and Trev made sure

that they made my day very special.  It was full of nice thoughts, special cards, breakfast and best of all just time to be together.

Juliemac