Monday, January 18, 2016

No Snow January!

January seems to be flying by and while this El Nino stuff seems to be true (we are definitely getting some much needed rain) I truly don't miss the cold and snowy January of the Midwest!  The kids have been busy with swim team and I've been busy earning some spending money for Kona in addition to my off-season training.  I've also been selected to be a Brand Ambassador for Zensah and Nuun.  I'm super excited to be chosen to represent these products!  


My sweet Jilly

I have earned GOLD All World Athlete status!  What does this mean?  Priority registration for certain Ironman branded events and some cool pre-race activities at Kona!

The kids had a swim meet in mid-December - it was cold outside but at least the pool was warm

Jillian's friend shares her towel

Jillian taped this drawing to the wall - Rooodolp!

My ninja turtle lover has some cool ornaments

some strength training by the tree one night while the kids were at swim team practice - I am determined to make strength training a priority this season.  It gets tough to fit it in when the training volume increases but I know it's important to staying healthy during race season

I've been working hard on a swim block for the past couple months - seeing the sun rise most mornings at the pool.

Jillian says "STOOOOOP"

Jillian says "SLOOOOOOW"

I've been working as a crossing guard and lunch room/recess supervisor since November.  I've also been doing some food prep at the high school  It's not exactly in my field of engineering, but it works with the kid's schedules and allows me to earn a little bit of spending money for Kona ..... or all the tri gear that I seem to 'need'.

I'm super excited to be a part of Team Nuun for the 2nd year in a row!  The kids love the Nuun just as much as I do.

A few weekends ago, Ross and I got out for a nice bike ride.  I didn't get too far ahead of him

Sometimes when you don't finish a swim set in the morning, you come back at night to finish it.  I know it's not the same as finishing the complete set all at once, but it bugged me all day that I didn't quite finish.

I'm super excited to be a Zensah ambassador this year.  They make some great compression gear.  I especially like the compression calf sleeves for recovery and the compression socks for running.  I can put the compression calf sleeves on under my jeans and still wear my flip flops!

Junior Olympics 2015 - Graham and Jayden

Last November the boys swam in Morgan Hill at the Junior Olympics.

Helen helps Graham count his laps in the 500

Jayden helps Graham count his laps in the 1000 free - despite Graham's goggles falling off after the first lap, he still managed a time within a few seconds of his personal best

Tailgating for breakfast!

Jayden  - aka Flyboy

Graham swam the 1650 free in 19:22 - breaking the team record and qualifying him for Far Westerns in the spring

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Thanksgiving and our #optouside adventures

We started off Thanksgiving morning with a Turkey Trot 5k in Benicia.  Everyone ran in the race but me - I've been fighting a bit of a knee issue and haven't been running much.  After IM Wisconsin, I started a training block for the Sacramento Marathon - things were going great in preparation for a sub 3:10 marathon until about midway thru November when I developed a bit of a knee pain in my left knee.  I decided to back out of the Sacramento Marathon - which was a VERY difficult decision for me but knowing what I have coming up in 2016 --- I know in my heart that it was the right decision.  My knee seems better now, but I'm still cautious.  I think I ran too many laps on the track (like 20 miles worth of laps) in one direction - I know better to switch directions on the track too.  So let this be my public service announcement - ALWAYS SWITCH DIRECTIONS ON THE TRACK... and maybe don't run 20 miles on the track either ..... but I will say that I LOVE running on the track.  I have my water right and nutrition right there and I can turn my music up super loud and not worry about traffic. 

I did enjoy being a spectator for the kids and Ross who ran a local 5k on Thanksgiving morning.

Ross got 2nd overall

Jayden got 5th overall


Graham --- well, he said he was going to trot the turkey trot and he did - I think he still finished in the top 15 :)


Helen running

and Jilly ran most of the 5k too

working so hard, she needed some water at about the 3k mark









kids were off school the entire week of Thanksgiving so we met Ross for lunch one day at Subway with one of Helen's friends from the swim team


Then I took the kids to the Jelly Belly Factory for a quick tour

Sunrise Start of the Turkey Trot 5K


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yxxGy1aWzc

Serving up Thanksgiving Dinner
  
View of Golden Gate Bridge from Mt. Tam


Aunt Erin came to visit us for Thanksgiving
 

Mrs. Doubtfire's House

Alcatraz



Sunset at Pier 39 in San Francisco


Hiking on Mt. Diablo
 




Graham received the "Most Dedicated" award from his Cross Country Season and finished the top 6th grade boy - Super Proud of him!