Math Challenge Winner

At the beginning of this school year, a few second graders from 3 elementary schools were chosen to participate in a Math Challenge Group.  They met 2 times a month from October to May - working on various math skills.   At the end of the Challenge, the kids took a test and were ranked by score.  Jayden got first place - he did tie with another student but he claims it is because I had to pick him up early to go to piano lessons and he was not able to finish 2 questions on the test  :) 

We are super proud of him!

Piano Recital - May 13, 2013

The boys had their piano recital on May 31.  They played a duet together.  As part of their recital, they had to create a biography -- I love reading their answers.

 

 http://youtu.be/8z9MajKRDuM

my apologies for the view -- I could not move from my seat when they were playing

 

jilly visits a farm

 jillian's preschool class visited a local miniature horse farm today

 learning about the difference between brown and white eggs

 brave jilly touches the chicken!

 some neighbors stop by to check things out too

going for a ride in the cart!

science and spring singing

Where's Helen?  can you spot her in the crowd?  she's in a striped blue and white dress with green on the bottom.  it was her spring sing concert

 Where's Jayden?  he's a little easier to spot!  wearing a striped blue shirt.  his spring sing on a different day!

 Helen get's 100 percent on her science project!  she came up with the title on her own --- The Green Thumb.  she grew cat grass with different variables -  hot water, cold water, shade, full sun, lots of dirt, and little dirt were her parameters.  she came up with the hot and cold water on her own :)

Jayden earned a 99 percent on his science project and yes, he's still a little bitter than his sister beat him!  he did a project on nutrition in his friend's favorite foods.  he looked at natural sugar versus added sugars and sodium in products. 

nice skirt!

Seahorse Triathlon - Sunday, May 26, 2013. 

38/110 overall  -  5/28 for women -  1st in Age Group!!!!

25th overall swimmer, 65th overall biker (ugh!), 23 overall runner

2:41.24 overall time

transition time from swim to bike 3:37 --- ross asked me if I stopped to fix my hair and brush my teeth - haha!  guess I know what I need to work on for future tri's :)

 my cheerleaders

 1st lap on the bike

 i'm just in front of the lady in the white shirt/pink bike ----- there's a reason why the title of this post is called "nice skirt!" --- the lady in the white shirt/pink bike and I had been playing frogger on the bike back and forth from the start of the bike portion.  she would pass me and a few minutes later I would pass her, then she would pass me, and I would pass her again.  I thought I had passed her for the final time but all of a sudden around mile 15 she comes speeding past me and says "nice skirt!" --- it wasn't the "nice skirt - I want one like that" type of a tone.  it was somewhat sarcastic.  and I immediate thought - GAME ON PINK BIKE LADY!  it took me a LONG time to catch her (that's another story.... has to do with a struggle I was having with my gears on my bike... I was terrified to change gears because of my chain falling off on a training ride a few weeks ago - so I rode the entire tri in 1 gear... and this course was hilly!)  I finally passed her going into transition and she beat me by about 10 seconds coming out of transition to the run.  but I blew by her doing about a 6:30 pace and wanted to say to her "how do you like my skirt NOW!!!!????"  but I didn't.  I knew I needed to stay ahead of her to the finish.  I think what made it such a competition was the fact that we were in the same age category (your age is marked on your calf in a triathlon). 

 up the hill and on to the run.... my happy place

 my skirt!

 1st lap on the run course

 stairs - ugh!

 

 high fives for my cheerleaders

my race report - the water was really cold!  67 degrees but warmer than the air (about 50 degrees at the start). my face and feet were really cold during the swim but with my wetsuit on, my body was fine.  I finished the swim in 27 minutes... not too bad for my first tri of the season.  swimming in a lake is so different than training in a pool.  I have a few more tri's this season to get used to the lake swimming!  my transition from swim to bike was definitely slow - ugh!  I felt like a fish out of water coming out of the swim.  on to my bike where I was struggling with the gears on my bike.  my chain kept rubbing on my derailer and I was so afraid to change gears.  a few weeks ago, I was out on a training ride switching my gears around, when I my chain seized up - I could not pedal around to get my feet out of the toe clips and it scared me.  it's so embarrassing to fall when you are clipped into your bike!  not to mention the fact that it hurts!!  I managed to get out of my clips without falling that day but it scared me.  (after a quick lesson from Ross yesterday, I now know exactly what I did wrong that day my chain seized up and I think I've got the gear changing thing figured out!  but I do have a LOT of work to do on the bike this summer!)  during the run portion, I felt awesome!!  I came out of transition doing a 6:30 mile and maintained that for almost 3 miles before the trail running portion of the course began.  then I slowed to about a 7:45 pace.  I was still very happy with this pace.  back on the 2nd loop of the course, I was able to pick up my pace again on the paved road to a 6:50 pace until the trail portion again.  my legs felt great.  I just need to improve my running form --- sigh --- swinging arms, lovely heel striking feet, and getting used to running without my ipod.  I LOVE my music but it's not allowed on tri courses.  this will be a bigger challenge for my Ironman in August.  the thought of doing a little more than 4 times the distance of this race for my Ironman crossed my mind a few times on Sunday but I know mile by mile and hour by hour, I WILL FINISH 140.6 miles!

Tooth Fairy visits Helen

On May 20th - the tooth fairy finally visits Helen - she's been anxiously waiting for her turn to have a loose tooth!

 she is so excited - you can see it in her face.

 she pulled the tooth out all by herself!

 the tooth fairy hasn't had the best track record at our house - she often has to "recover" the next morning when she "forgets" to stop by the previous night...... but she thought it would be funny to leave a credit card for Helen..... well, she ended up changing the credit card for a $1 bill before Helen woke up! :)

 nothing to do with the tooth fairy --- but a cool rainbow behind our house.

3 days later, Helen lost another tooth!  2 teeth in 1 week - she's growing up too fast!!

being uncomfortable

last Thursday morning I was out on my 5am run - I decided to do a 3 mile tempo run at my half-marathon pace.  so I warmed up for 1 mile, ran 3 miles at a 7:20 pace, then ran another mile to cool down.  it was during that 3 mile tempo run that I finally figured out what has been holding me back (I've been struggling with my race times all hovering around the same time or even worse - SLOWER!).  it was during those 3 miles that I realized that I don't like to be uncomfortable :)  well, really who does, right!  about 1.5 miles into the tempo, I started to struggle with my pace --- staring down at my Garmin about 10 times in a matter of 30 seconds - watching my pace get a little slower with each step  - ugh!  and it was at that point - I felt uncomfortable.  normally, when I feel this - I begin to slow down my pace (no matter what distance 3 miles, 13 miles, 26.2 miles) and get back into my "comfort zone" and my happy running place.  where my mind can wander and I'm "comfortable" again.

then on Saturday night, before my half-marathon race, Ross and I went for a 2 mile jog.  I was talking to him about how I am so frustrated with my mental breakdowns during my races.  I told him that I start the race out great and about 3/4 of the way through the race - my pace starts to fade and I struggle with the mental battle between my mind and my Garmin.  I decided at that point I would run the half-marathon without my Garmin.  I would go by feel and not run it for time. 

on race day, Ross headed for the start of the marathon about 20 minutes before it was scheduled to start.  after he left - I found a quiet place to do some stretching, dynamic exercises, and some pace sprints.  as I was finishing up, an announcer came over the loudspeaker and asked for a moment of silence for the people of Boston.  this was my first race after Boston and probably only my 7 or 8th run in a matter of 3 weeks.  (very unusual for me not to run 6 times a week!)  I remember vividly where I stood in Kalamazoo during that moment of silence - I was next to a Pepsi truck.  I paused, took off my visor, and observed the moment of silence - it was at that point that tears just came streaming down my face.  I didn't even bother to look up to see if anyone was watching me... I think it was just 3 weeks of emotions all coming out of me at once.  it was at that time that I really felt a sense of relief - not sure how to describe the relief - it was just relief.  I think I finally let go of everything that's been in my mind since Boston - the sleepless nights I've struggled with and just trying to wrap my mind around everything that happened that day.  I put my visor back on and wiped the tears off my face and put on my game face :)  it was race-time and I was looking forward to seeing what I could do without my Garmin. 

the weather was perfect and the start was not very crowded - I took off at a comfortable pace and decided to resort back to my old method of "fishing".  in my mind I would hook the person in front of me and then begin to reel them in.  the mile markers weren't clearly marked - either that or I just missed a few of them at first :)  - the first mile marker I noticed was mile 4.  it was at that point that I guy ran beside me and said hello.  he said he was from Germany and he asked me how many kilometers into the race we were at that point - we chatted for a few minutes and he said "ok - I have to get back to my pace - no more talking", so I plugged my headphones back in and when back to "fishing".  later the same gentlemen said to me - you seem to be on pace for about a 1:40 finish - i'll stick with you.  I sort of lost track of him for a while but at the finish line he came up to me and said - "you were just a little too fast for me --- impressive time little lady!".  he said he lost me when he had to make a stop at the porta potty :)  throughout the race, I felt really good - there were a few people along the route that had on their 2013 Boston Marathon jackets.  I wore a Boston shirt that I bought at the marathon expo.  I got lots of thumbs up and smiles along the course.  at the 3/4 point I was still feeling good - legs were good and mind was good.  I didn't seem to have that "uncomfortable feeling" - was it because I was aware of the fact that I don't like to be uncomfortable now?  was it the fact that I didn't have my Garmin to check every 10 seconds?  I'm not sure but when I finished the race - I looked up at the clock and was shocked to see 1:35 - wow! I did it!!  I broke through my mental barrier, my feelings of being "uncomfortable", and even better than that - I finally broke 1:37!  along the course, someone told me that I was the 12th woman overall and I knew that I had passed 1 female after that - so I was pretty sure I had 11th place overall but I wasn't sure about my age group.  got home and the kids told me that I placed first!  I laughed because when i'm done with a race they always ask me what place I got  and I always tell them first.... for our family :)  they said no mom, you got first!  I ended up getting first in my age group and 10th overall for women :)  and did i mentioned that I ran a 1:35!!!!  an amazing day for sure!

after I finished my race, I headed back to the 24 mile marker for the marathon so I could run with ross.  I really wanted some chocolate milk (YUM!)  at the finish but I was so afraid that it might upset my stomach and I wanted to be 100% to help ross finish.  as I was walking back to meet ross, it suddenly dawned on me that I would have to run another 2 miles at 7:00 pace!  yikes! - how was I going to do that!?!?  I just ran 13 miles at that pace.  i'll admit - i was so nervous about keeping that pace.  i found ross and ran the last 2 miles with him - it was amazing!  he was amazing!  he ran a 3:17 marathon!!!!!!  a personal best by more than 30 minutes!  now i think i need to have him pace me for my next marathon!  :)  i ducked out just before he ran down the final stretch for the marathon.  (someone standing there cheering actually said to me "Don't quit NOW! you are almost there!" -- i had to laugh because i had already finished my race - i told her - don't worry - i already finished and was running with my husband :)    i walked beside the barriers and had a feeling i might find him in the medical tent :)  ... and i did.  i'll admit - this made me nervous for a couple of reasons - first i hoped ross was ok - but second it reminded me so much of Boston - i was actually super nervous to stay around the finish line.  i tried to focus on other things - but it was impossible.  i kept looking all around .... listening the the announcer calling the names of the finishers.  after a few minutes, ross decided he was ok to walk about of the tent.  we found a place to sit down for a while - i stretched his legs but he didn't look so good - he started to shake from being cold and get pale.  i decided that he should go back to the medical tent --- and part of me gasped at the fact that we had to go back to the finish line area again.  long story short- ross started feeling a little better and we left for the car.  i was so nervous being in the medical tent, but maybe that was what i needed to get over things.