Busy, Busy

It never seems to slow down, does it?  All summer I've been looking forward to the end of August because that was when my big race was over and then I'd have all this time.  And guess what?  I've gone and filled it up.  So what's going on out here in the boondocks?

• A. started preschool a few weeks ago.  She loves it!  This is such a relief because J was not as enthusiastic about school.  More than once I had to drag him in kicking and screaming.  But A. is having a great time.
• With A being in preschool and J in school, that leaves me a few hours a few times a week to myself.  The first day, I went to breakfast with a friend.  Then I got my hair trimmed and highlighted the next week.  Today, I went swimming and took a bath.  I find that it's all a little strange to have so much time on my hands where I'm not constantly wondering about another little being.  
• I've been trying to tie up old projects before the weather turns.  Last year, I started refinishing a dresser for A.  I never got it done and then I was so busy with the training for the Half and the weather was so hot, and now I am finally getting back to it.  It's SO close to being done.  
• Before I started on the dresser, I refinished a desk that was part of the same bedroom set as the dresser and the bed I did for A. last year.  Originally, it was going to be hers, but then I got to thinking that it would be pretty cool in my room as a vanity.  Our master bathroom is really tiny and Wade is always getting after me about my hair stuff and make up, so I finished this "vanity" and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the end result.  It's probably the best project I've done thus far.  Once I unearth the before pictures, I'll post a picture.  Grandma (who originally bought the bedroom set for my aunt 65 years ago) would be duly impressed as well.
• In addition to the dresser, I'm also refinishing a cedar chest.  This one is near and dear to my heart because it belonged to my grandma, who's been gone nearly 10 years.  When I was sanding it the other day, I swear I could smell her.  Funny how some things bring back memories.
• I'm also making curtains for my bedroom.  Haven't sewed a thing in my life, so by all means, start with curtains.  Google, youtube, and pinterest are awesome, though I'm sad to admit that pinterest is really hard for me to follow.  I'm a dork.
• There's two bookcases out in the garage I need to do something with.  I have a few ideas.
• I won the evaluator contest at Toastmasters a few weeks back.  A target speech is given and then you have five minutes to come up with a 2-3 minute speech evaluating that speech.  It can sometimes be reallly difficult, depending on the target speech.  Luckily, the target speech was good and I had an easy time evaluating it.  Ideally, you have to point out things to work on in addition to what they did well.  I went on to the next level and was the only one to show up, so I won again.  Now on to the next level at the end of the month.  
• I'm back to exercising after taking a much needed break after the Half.  It's been harder than I anticipated to make myself go out without some kind of goal in mind.  
• I'm decorating my house for Halloween and maybe even Thanksgiving.  I'm going to become one of those people.  Maybe not to the extent of some, but I want a cool house too.  I'll post pictures when that gets done this week.  
• A. also started ballet classes this month.  She's a doll and really enjoys them.   I never thought I'd be a dance mom and I have a lot to learn.  She's picking up on the moves a lot quicker than I thought she would.
• Taught myself how to do the flip turn while swimming laps.  This has been on my wishlist for a long, long time and had I known it would only take 15 minutes, I would have crossed it off years ago.  I'll post about it tomorrow because it's kinda interesting and funny how I came about learning this trick.

I guess that's about it.  Seems like the same old stuff.  Loving the weather right now.  Wish it was it was like this all the time.  I hope it will stay nice for a few weeks so I can get the yard  fixed up before winter too.  This time, I promise I won't be two weeks again.

#76 Do an (Half) Ironman

I did it!

It's still surreal.  Months and months of training and in one fell swoop, it's done.  It seemed kind of anti-climatic as I was closing in on the finish line.  Except for at mile 11.8.  But to that later.

I signed up for this endeavor nearly nine months ago.  I was at a pretty low point in life for the moment and it seemed like a little silver lining.

(Cupcakes may be silver linings in most worlds, but in mine, large endurance races are.)

August seemed so far away.  And, strangely, 70.3 miles seemed so...easy...at the time.  It seemed perfectly attainable.  Easy peasy.

I told a couple of training buddies about it and all but one balked at the idea.  She's a true inspiration and will actually have a full name in my recounting of this tale:  Hillary.

Hillary gave birth less than a year ago to her fifth kid.  When I told her of my crazy idea, she laughed.  And then, within a few hours, she had called me back and said she wanted in.  I worked on coming up with a training plan that would take in account her crazy schedule and some key races we wanted to complete.  What resulted was a hodgepodge of a schedule that actually worked really well.

As the day neared, my nerves were on edge.  It's hard to comprehend what a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 run looks like when put together unless you've actually done one yourself.  And neither one of us had.  We talked to a few that had done this distance, but even then, it's still too hard to comprehend. The fear of the unknown held me captive all last week.

There are a lot more details I'm going to omit for the sake of getting on to the important things, but I drove to Burley, Idaho for the race with another good friend, Mary, who was doing the duathlon, her cousin, Becky, who was doing the Olympic distance tri, and a good friend of Mary and mine, Allyson, who hung around for moral support.  We met my cousin from Boise, Katrina, up in Burley.  She was also doing the half iron distance.

Interjection:  Wade wanted to come.  Really wanted to come.  But I have not had good luck with the kids being at the finish lines of my races.  They haven't captured the spirit of what it's like to run your body into the ground for hours on end and thus, as soon as I'm within sight, they will tackle me and then pour out their sorrows in the form of pitiful whines that make me want to scream.  Then, when they realize that mom isn't sympathetic to their boredom and pleas to leave at that precise moment, they turn on each other and fight.  Mind you, this will be at the finish line.  As I'm catching my breath.  And I knew that I couldn't do it for this race.  I wanted my family there to see me meet this huge goal of mine, but I don't jump from Super Athlete to Mommy really well and so I (politely) asked him to stay home.

I know.  It's amazing we're still even married, right?  He really is the nicest man on the planet.  And I take full responsibility for him not being there.

I slept okay the night before.  Nothing great.  But it was still rest.  The morning of, I was a little nervous, but not like I thought I'd be.  I methodically got everything ready and we headed to the transition area.

I was a lot more organized for this race than I've been for the last few I've done.  I packed a completely separate bag with all my gear and it just sat unopened until I was ready to lay it out. Usually, when I travel to a race, I'm pulling it all together at the hotel the morning of and  praying I don't leave anything behind.

We got all our stuff laid out and then headed in a truck to the swim start.  The swim was down the Snake River and it was a gorgeous morning.  A little cold--49 degrees--but no wind, which was a relief considering the wind that was roaring the day before.

The swim start was in someone's backyard and that was a little strange.  We doned our wetsuits and waited for the official start.  My feet were freezing, but there wasn't much I could do about it.  I was too nervous to think about anything other than that this was finally happening.  Hillary's dad was at the swim start and he kept snapping these pictures of us.  It was nice to have someone to talk to that wasn't on edge like the rest of us.

The men got in the river and they started the race.  Then the women all trudged in.  There were 17 of us.  Before I knew it, the race was off.

I felt pretty good in the swim.  It's not my strongest discipline and I know that everything would go smoother if I didn't have to expend so much energy on the swim, but for what it was, I felt fine.  I kept veering off course and probably swam so much more than I needed to.  I need to work on my sighting.  But overall, a good effort.  I wasn't the slowest swimmer--I did come across two guys who were walking, so that was encouraging--but I wasn't anywhere close to the front.  One day...

I got out of the river and headed to the bike transition area.  It was a loooooong way from the river, which was weird.  I didn't know what to do with the two people who were offering to take off my wetsuit so I bypassed them.  I got caught up in my wetsuit as I was taking it off and that took some time.  And then, I was having a hard time getting the rest of my stuff on and Hillary's dad kept asking me questions from outside the transition area.  It was all a little strange, but since I was just looking to complete the race, I thought it was funny and engaging.  I asked Hillary's dad how Hillary looked and he said "she wasn't smiling as big as you." to which I responded "that's why she's ahead."  I burned a lot of time in the transition area.

Once I was on the bike, I settled into a good rhythm.  I had to remind myself not to chase down everyone that passed me.  At times, it seemed like I was standing still. Where did these bikers come from?!?  I had a lot of time to think about what to do differently with the training and I know that I need to do specific bike workouts instead of just riding around.

The bike went pretty uneventful.  It was four times around a 15ish mile course.  Even by the fourth lap, I kept thinking, "Um...I don't remember seeing this before.  Did I miss a turn?" No flats.  No crashes.  Just around and around.  I passed my cousin in the third lap.  I knew she'd catch me again in the run, so I kept going to gain as much of a head start as possible.

By the time I hit the end of the fourth lap I was ready to be done with the bike.  My butt and back were killing me.  I don't have aerobars and I'll definitely be changing that for the next one.  I needed to stretch out on the bike big time.

At the transition area, I ran into Hillary's family again.  I asked how she looked and they said she looked great.  I was feeling really good too.

I made it in and out of the transition pretty fast considering.  I started out on the run and passed by Mary, Becky, and Allyson, who cheered me on.  It was fun to see their familiar faces.  My legs felt great and I felt  like I had a lot of energy.

I stopped at the first aid station, about a mile into the run and peed and got some water.  Then I got to the second aid station.  They were handing out ice cubes and that sounded good.  So I walked and chomped on ice.  I decided to walk for four minutes and then start back up.  I saw Hillary coming down the other side and we gave each other high fives.  She looked to still be in good spirits.

This part of the run was hideous.  It was by the airport, off in the weeds, and the smell was atrocious.  There wasn't an ounce of shade to be found and it was getting to be pretty hot.  About 2 miles into the run, my cousin caught back up with me and we ran to the next aid station.  We stopped to walk for a little bit and then continued on.  It wasn't fast, but it was something.  I stopped to walk to eat some gel and Katrina kept going.  That short walk turned into a longer walk than I anticipated, but I still felt pretty good. I headed back towards the finish line--which I would be passing by on my way to the other half of the run--and passed a few people along the way.  They were all struggling, but it felt nice to know we were in this together.

I ran to the park, where Allyson was sitting and waiting.  She started jumping up and down, excited that I had finished. I had to inform her that I was only half way.  She felt really bad about her early congratulations. I ran past the finish line and looked at it longingly.  It seemed so close, yet so far away.

My spirits were still pretty high and I was offering "Good jobs" to everyone that was passing me on the other side on their way to the finish line.  I shuffled my way through miles seven and eight.  I was starting to get really, really tired.  My legs were hurting and I felt like the finish line was a long ways off.  But, I was still joking around with the aid station volunteers and didn't feel like this was the dumbest idea I had ever had.  A plus in my book.

I saw Hillary at about 8.5 miles and she was at about 11 miles.  She looked really good and I knew we were both going to cross the finish line.  That was a relief.  I finally made it to the turnaround spot and headed back towards the finish line.  Mile 10 passed and then I sort of zoned out.  When I finally came back to, I looked at my GPS watch and saw that it said 11.8 miles.  I started bawling because I remembered the last little bit to the finish line was longer than a mile and so my watch must have gone on the blink somewhere.  I was probably only at about 10.2 miles and I still had almost three miles to go.  I was so tired and my legs were so sore, I didn't think I had enough in me to finish.  Off to the side of the road was a mileage marker and as I came upon it, it said 12 miles.  It was the greatest gift I had ever been given.

The last mile passed slowly but I got there.  There was a guy in front of me who was really struggling and I wanted to pass him.  I couldn't seem to close the distance though.  As we came up to the finish line, I saw everyone standing there, cheering me in and I started to sprint to the end.  But I felt bad for this guy who was so obviously struggling that I ended up slowing down a bit so I didn't edge him out in the last 20 feet of the race.

For whatever reason, I did a superman pose across the finish line, and then that was it.  The race was over.  All those months of training, done.  I felt really good though.  Much better than I thought I would.  I was still smiling and laughing.

This was such an amazing experience, start to finish.  People ask me how can you do something of this magnitude and I say I did it because I told myself I could.  Baby steps to the finish line.  It wasn't fast--I was 50 out of 55 people--but I finished and that's all that matters.

I realized that I had miss some key workouts in the training--life with little kids is unpredictable--and I think I could have finished faster if I would have hit those workouts.  But to finish feeling like I did is a testament to how well the rest of the program went.

At mile 10 I was ready to sign up for another one.  I even had the fleeting thought that I needed to get a few more of these under my belt before I attempt a full iron distance.

Eek.  Where did that thought come from?

Hillary and I got together last night and hashed over our race experiences.  Hers was similar except for that she ran every step of the run except for through the water stops.  That's AMAZING!  She contends that at times, it wasn't fast, but she was still doing it.  We decided we're going to do the same race again in two years with the goal of being at least age group contenders.  In the meanwhile, we both have some ideas of things to work on.

I love that I've worked so hard for this and I finally have it completed.  I love that I've finally gotten to a point where I don't feel like I'm disappointing myself if my times are not as stellar as I want them to be.  This was one of the funnest races I've done.  I made new friends.  I smiled a lot.  I thanked each volunteer that sat outside with water and ice for over 7 hours.  They smiled and laughed back at me.  It was such an incredible experience that I know this write-up doesn't even do it justice.  The human body is truly amazing.  God cares about your dreams.  The mind is more powerful than we'll ever comprehend.  Friends are truly the family you get to choose.  Love means staying home and being okay about it.  So many more lessons learned as well.

So what's next?  For starters, I'm going to be a regular contributor to my blog again.  That's good news to the four or five of you diehards still hanging around.  As far as endurance events, I really want to do the Grand Slam--four marathons in a single summer--qualify for Boston, and do a full Ironman.  Obviously, those things aren't going to happen any time soon, but I'm still thinking about them.  On the home front, I have a bazillion projects to do, so I'm keeping myself busy.

I gave myself a gift for this monumental occasion: a necklace that has a charm for every "big" race I've done--13.1 (half marathon), 26.2 (marathon), 100 (bike century), and now 70.3 (half iron distance).  It also has a charm on it that says "miles to go before I sleep" from Robert Frost's famous poem.  It's a visible reminder of what I've accomplished in just the last five years--and what I have left to do.  Definitely miles to go before I sleep.

Where My True Identity as a Cat is Revealed

A few weeks ago, I suited up to do yet another long ride on my bike.  Wade was going to be gone, so my parents graciously agreed to watch the kids and I decided to bike out by them on the infamous Jordan River Parkway.

Following is a pictorial account of my ride.  Note: The pictures were drawn on my netbook using the Paint program.  They are a little...rudimentary.  Also note: the grass is not that green nor the water that blue, but as to not confuse the reader with the murky brown water and the even browner grass, I opted to keep it elementary.

I start off at 7800 S and decide to ride south.  It was pleasant.

I get about a mile and a half away and I run into a gate.  

This opens into an industrial part of Sandy and I roam the street for a while before deciding that the parkway does not connect like I thought I read online before heading out. 

So I turn around and head north

I pass the car and continue north.  Everything is going well.  Until I get to an intersection in the pathway.  I opt, at breakneck speed, to go right.

The road ends--abruptly--at the water.  I come dangerously close to falling into the Jordan River and being swept out to the Great Salt Lake.  I squeal my brakes and turn around.

Then I go left.

This road ends-abruptly-into a patch of dirt road.

I turn around and go straight.

Finally, I feel like I'm going somewhere.

But it's all a ruse.  Each time I get to a fork in the pathway, I ultimately choose the wrong pathway and I'm lead to dirt paths or into neighborhoods. Left, right, straight.  Doesn't matter.  I'm beyond frustrated.

Finally, I get to a part that is relatively easy to maneuver in.  But, then...

And I realize I'm not in Kansas anymore.  I feel very apprehensive to continue my ride considering what kind of weirdos might be hanging out on the pathway or in the grass and the apartment buildings that butt up right next to the path.

I'm led into a park and realize quickly that I am lost.  

I have no idea where I'm at.

I leave the security of the park and head to the nearest street to get my bearings.

Then I stupidly decide that I will ride the 47 blocks back to my car on surface streets.  For some reason I think I'm safer on the surface streets than on the pathway with the man in a cape and the guy in the weeds.

However...

I have to stop at every light and the sun is SO hot.  I'm melting into the asphalt.

At some point I make it  to Redwood Road and stupidly turn down it to head to 7800 S.

There are lots of cars and buses and I belatedly realize that I'm out of my element.  The weekend before, I went on a 50 mile bike ride in which I only happened upon 5 stoplights (3 in one direction then 2 turning around) and only had to stop at one.  50 miles!

But, stupidly again, I continue on my way to meet my Maker.  My first obstacle is the freeway entrances to I-215.

(Those blobs are cars).  Somehow I am headed in the line that will take me onto the freeway.  I don't want that.

So I change lanes.  On my bike.  During Saturday afternoon traffic.

And then somehow...

I am three lanes over and the freeway exit lane is spitting cars out like softballs at the batting cages and I'm going to get run over.  And some guy flips me off.  And I know that I totally deserve it because I'm riding in the middle of the road, but I can't get over to the side.

There.are.so.many.cars.I'm.going.to.die.

I might have yelled some expletives because I really thought I was going to get clobbered, but miraculously I make it to the shoulder.

I decide that I will just get to my parents on 6200 S.

And plead with my father to take me back to my car where I've left my shoes and my regular clothes and--apparently--my brain.

By some miracle I manage to make it across the three lanes of traffic relatively unscathed.

But the 30 blocks I have to travel on 6200 S have no shoulder and I am almost killed multiple times there too.

I can feel the cars rushing by me.  Sometimes, I swear, I can even feel the slightest touch of their side view mirrors.

By the time I reach my parents house I have to pry my fingers off the handlebars.  When I relay the story to my dad, he wonders out loud why I didn't  just ride on the sidewalk.

And sadly, the thought never crossed my mind.

I'm pretty sure that I burned at least 3 of my lives in just that intersection alone and probably another two on the jaunt to my parents house.  In fact, I'm probably living on borrowed time as it is.

And even just yesterday, my mom and I were driving along 6200 S and she said that she and my father still marvel at how I made it to their house without getting run over.  Secretly, I still marvel too.

My dad, ever so helpful, sent me a link today in an email that has the whole Jordan River Parkway mapped out.  He even included a little smiley face emoticon like so: (:

I didn't even know he knew how to make those.  I'm duly impressed and can see that obviously I didn't get his brains.

Chasing Last Place

I'll save you the suspense.  I wasn't last. 

Backing up, this will be a write up of my first Olympic Triathlon.  Since you know the outcome, you don't have to read further.  Unless, you know, you want to.  Because I was, at one point, last.  And then I wasn't.

When I signed up in January for my half ironman (date: August 25th.  It's coming up really, really, really fast) I belatedly realized that I actually have never done a triathlon longer than a sprint distance (400 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run). 

So I looked around for an Olympic Distance triathlon (1 mile swim, 30 mile bike, 6.2 mile swim) to do.  This one stood out because (a) it was somewhere new (b) there weren't a lot of competitors and (c) it was on a week that both my running buddy and I could do it. 

After we started training I realized that (a) 6 am is a terrible time to start a race (b) July is a terrible month to do a race in the desert and (c) not a lot of competitors = a very bad placing.

I conceded that I would probably be very close to the back.  I want to make it clear that I was not creating some self-fulfilling prophesy or being modest--the women who have signed up for this particular triathlon in years past have consistently had much better swim, bike, and run times than me.  Judging by the course maps and the times, it's a result of being better triathletes.  They probably race a lot during the year and have done these distances multiple times over the course of many years.  One day, I'll get there.

But I wasn't going to get there this year and I was okay with it.  I wanted to just go out, do the best I could, and clock an Olympic Distance Tri before my big Half Ironman (HIM). 

So race day came much quicker than I anticipated.  I was nervous for about a week preceding it.  My wetsuit came last week and I took it out for the first time three days before the race.  I realized that I probably should have bought the wetsuit two months ago because it takes some time to get use to it.  Oh well.  Chalk that up to a lesson learned.

At 4:50 am on Saturday, H. and I left our slumbering families at the cabin we were staying in and drove the 45 minutes to the race.  We definitely didn't leave enough time to get our stuff ready at the transition area and I was really stressed about that.  I also had to run to the car--parked about a quarter of a mile away--3 times.  That's definitely something we'll be changing for the HIM.

I didn't sleep well the night before and I was really nervous about the swim leg of the race particularly.  Swimming is not my strongest discipline and I didn't get a lot (read: none) of open water training.  Another thing we'll be working on for the HIM. 

At 6:30, it was time for the race to start.  The men jumped into the water and they shot the gun off.  Then the women got in the water and waited.  They gave the men a five minute head start and then we were off.  The buoys looked so far away and I knew we were going to have to do the course twice.  But, I felt really good.  I fell into a good rhythm and just kept swimming.  I knew I wasn't going fast but it was what it was and I was able to swim the whole thing freestyle instead of reverting to a different stroke to conserve energy, so that was encouraging.

I exited the water at 45 minutes, which is on par for my usual mile swimming time.  There was some weaving and stuff when you realized that you had overshot the buoy.  But overall, I did what I expected for the swim portion.

I jumped on my bike and headed out for the bike course.  When I was setting up our training, I had us do this nasty portion of road that I thought mimiced what the course would be like for the race.  We rode this road over and over again.  Unfortunately, it wasn't really what the bike course was like.  But, we don't have anything nearby that would have been better, so it's good that at least we did what we did.  The bike portion of the race was really, really hard.  And then you got just enough of a break by riding down to convince yourself it wasn't that bad, and so you did it again.  It was 7.5 miles uphill, then 7.5 miles downhill and then up and down again.  The second time uphill, the wind started to pick up and I was fighting this stupid headwind.  Coming down, it was still blowing right in my face and I didn't pick up as much time as I wanted. 

I knew that I was the last female on the bike because there weren't any other females behind me.  But, I just kept pedaling along.  I counted two males that I was ahead of.  I figured they were going to pass me in the run, but I could gain as much time as possible by pushing myself on the bike.

After I dropped off my bike, I started out on my run.  I was really tired at this point and running was the last thing I wanted to do, but I wasn't going to give up.  Immediately, it just felt like everything was off.  I had rocks in my shoes.  My shoelaces were whipping me in the legs.  I was tired and hungry and hot.  The run was two times around the lake and the entire way I could hear the finish line announcer calling out all the finishers as they crossed.  It was really demoralizing.  Especially when I came around the first time and everyone was cheering for me only to realize that I still had another lap to do.  The two guys passed me on the first loop.  I wondered if anyone would know that I didn't do all two laps.  But I would know, and so I kept plugging along.  I made up little games to play in my head.  The second lap was a little better than the first.  I saw someone in the horizon and made her my goal to catch.  I caught her about a mile before the finish line.  We walked for a little bit and she said this was the hardest Olympic Tri she's ever done and she had done a lot of them.  With a half mile left I said I was going to finish strong and took off.

I crossed the finish line a little before four hours.  It wasn't what I wanted, but I had finished and I know what to work on for the HIM.  I know the competition won't be as fierce there too.  I woke up this morning and thought, "hey, maybe I'll sign up for the Olympic Distance one out here in two weeks," so I must've had some fun, right?

Catch Up

It's been a while.  Here's what's new in my neck of the woods:

* Summer racing season is in full bloom.  I've done one of my three target races for the year, the American Fork Canyon Half Marathon.  My goal was to finish it in under 2 hours and I crossed the line at 1:59:13.  At mile 8, I was on target for a 1:53 finish, but I couldn't sustain the pace for the last five miles.  It was an awesome race, with awesome organization and food at the finish line.  I'll definitely be doing that one again in the future.  Next up is the San Rafael Classic Olympic Tri next weekend.  I've already resigned myself to my fate of coming in last.  This really isn't about me being modest--I will be very shocked if I'm not dead last--but I'm just going to go out and do the race for myself and not worry about it...too much.

* As I was laying on the grass following my half marathon finish I was thinking "holy crap.  I have to do this again, only I have to swim 1.2 miles and then bike 56 miles beforehand."  I'm a wee bit nervous about that as well.

* While Wade was away on a scout trip this last week, I took the opportunity to redo the master bedroom. The inspiration hit one day while I was laying in bed reading.  I find that I spend a lot of time in my room and when I looked around, it looked suspiciously like my college dorm.  Specifically, there were mounds of books and papers and crap milling around and the walls were beat up from 10 years of living and so I decided to redo it.  I knew that Wade wouldn't be on board--and it's easier to displace just one of you instead of both of you--so I waited until he left.  Needless to say, he wasn't exactly thrilled when he got home, but it's done.  When everything is put back together I'll post some pictures.

* The neighbors have put their house up for sale.  I have been looking forward to this day for a long, long time.  I hope it sells quickly to a family with respectable children that won't ring my doorbell incessantly at 9 in the morning.  One can hope, right?

* My brother and his wife took the kids for the entire weekend this last weekend.  It was awesome.  Too bad that Wade and I were dead tired from our escapades (him--canoeing, me--running 1/2 marathon + redoing the master bedroom all week) to actually capitalize on this rare occasion.  It was nice to only have to get ourselves ready for church (we were still late) and to sit through sacrament meeting without interruption (Wade had to speak though) and then come home and take an uninterrupted 3 hour nap.  I guess it wasn't a complete loss.  The house was really, really quiet though.  Too quiet.  That quickly changed the minute the kids returned.

* J. started piano lessons this month.  He's been doing really well and seems to enjoy them.

* I was hired as a math tutor for my regular babysitter.  We've worked out a deal where we tutor for an hour and then I get to go "exercise" for two hours.  I'm still making a profit and she's earning some money for summer fun.  It's a win-win situation.  Originally, I was going to use my two hours for swimming, but have had to use it to run errands and such on a few occasions.  I don't mind, because at least I don't have to drag the kids with me.

* The summer is simultaneously dragging and flying.  I can't wait for school to start again, even if it means having to endure the morning routine again.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad

Hey, look at me go!

This recipe was found on tasteofhome.com.  It looked good and guess what...it was.  I halved the recipe because it makes A LOT, but this is the recipe in it's full glory.

3 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped red onion
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (cheaters: real bacon bits found in the salad dressing aisle)
1/4 cup crumpled Gorgonzola cheese (found in the "exotic" cheese aisle)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup minced fresh basil (cheaters: basil from a jar works too)
2 T brown sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse in cold water; transfer to a large bowl.  Add the chicken, tomatoes, onion, bacon and Gorgonzola cheese.

In a small bowl, whisk the oil, basil, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper.  Drizzle over salad and toss to coat; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

This was a very easy meal to throw together and it tasted great.  Wade went back three times, so I'm guessing he really liked it.  Warning though, the onion can be a little overpowering if you're not really an onion person.

Sweet Revenge

Oh. My. Heck.  The days are FLYING, aren't they???  Well, they were until J got out of school.  But still...it's been almost two weeks.  I'm not doing so good with my resolution here...


Monday, I ran a Memorial Day 5k with my older brother.  We did this same race last year.  I love the race because it's (a) free and more importantly (b) you run a portion of it through American Fork cemetery where they've lined the pathway with American flags and theoretically you're reminded of the sacrifices made for the freedoms we enjoy.

The reason behind the theoretically will be divulged shortly.

The only thing I don't like about this race is that it's an hour away.  But, it's a small price to pay for an avenging race against your older brother.

Back in March, we raced together in my annual Running of the Leopards 5k.  I've done that race every year since it's inception--2008.  My brother, macho man that he is, made it a goal to beat me and by golly if he didn't pull it off by a measly 15 seconds.

But I've been hearing about those 15 seconds for two months now.  Monday was my race to win if it was going to kill me.

About half way to the race I realized that I had forgotten my music.  My heart sunk because I am a much faster runner with music.  I'm not someone that has to have music on their run, but if I'm pushing it hard, I do considerably better when I'm not listening to myself wheeze.  But, I had no option to turn around and go back for it.  I was going to have to go au natural on this race.  It's been a long time since I've done that.

We met up and got situated at the starting line.  The first part of my strategy was to determine at what pace my brother was going to run.  I need some warm up time in the first mile and can't usually go all out from the beginning.  I let him set the pace and made sure to keep him in my sights.  As I warmed up and sped up, I realized that I was going a bit faster than him and so I hung back, letting him think he had me for the first half mile.

Then I waited for a big group of people to pass. I melded into them and overtook my brother on the outside.  To be honest, I thought this would only buy me a few minutes at most.  I had chosen a bright green shirt to run in and thought he'd pick me out pretty quick, but at least I would have the upper hand for a little bit.

We wound our way through the streets of American Fork and started the big climb to the cemetery.  In previous years, I always end up having to walk up this hill, but I was a little worried about where Eric was at, so I kept running.  We turned down the pathway through the cemetery--this is where the theoretical comes into place--and it's downhill the rest of the way to the finish line.  I figured if Eric had his eye on me, this is where he'd be overtaking me so I took off as fast as I could go.  I barely registered the flags at the time (though I did think about their meaning throughout the rest of the day--I'm not completely heartless) and flew the final mile.

As I neared the finish line, I thought he'd sprint past me and overtake me by his 15 seconds, so I turned on the jets and crossed it before he could.  I was a little surprised that he wasn't right behind me, huffing.  And then, I waited at the finish line.

And waited.

Can you imagine the look on his face when he crossed and there I was, holding a water bottle and looking relaxed?  He thought he was ahead of me the entire time.  He didn't see me when I passed by a half mile into the race.

I beat him by over 2 minutes.

2 FULL minutes.

Ahhhh....revenge is so sweet.