Time for a new update

Time for a new update. Last one was about the loss of Tassie which is still crushing.  We miss her so, so much.

A ton has happened since the end of May. I turned 36 (wow, 36). We did the 3 Little Pigs triathlon in Smithfield. This is a fun little sprint that’s not too far away from us.  It’s only a 250 yard pool swim which was good since I was still barely swimming at the time. Even in shape, pool swims suck so I figured ‘why bother.’ It was a super hot day and I think everyone suffered on the run, but at least it was flat. I only finished 1:15 behind Marty and won the women’s race which is always fun.  We tried to hang around for awards – they wait until the last finisher is done at this race which is ‘nice’ but makes for a very long morning at these pool swim seeded races.  We had to absolutely leave the race site at 11am as our babysitter had to get somewhere. They kept saying that awards would be soon! And probably after saying that 4 different times they finally started them at 10:50.  Marty and I thought we were good. Then they do the whole “we’re going to do something different this year and go oldest to youngest!” (which by the way, they did last year so it’s not really different).  I’m not sure when they did the overall’s but we unfortunately couldn’t stick around. Some friend’s picked up our awards and I won a free pair shoes from a running store – but the certificate expired in a month and our friends weren’t able to get it to us until a week before the expiration date. The store is in Fayetteville which isn’t all that close so I didn’t get my free pair shoes. I did email them but never got a response.  Oh well, no free shoes for me, and I probably won’t ever give my patronage to The Runner’s Spot if I do ever find myself down in Fayetteville.

Then: BOONE CAMP! The most wonderful time of the year.  It never disappoints and as usual this year was tons and tons of fun.  The whole crew got out to the rental house on Wednesday and we ate/drank/trained through Sunday. Most of us also fit in the Lake Hickory Triathlon on some very worn out legs but it was still a great time.  I definitely suffered from the Boone Camp Blues as we were packing up on Sunday. Until next year!

Right outside our house. Gorgeous views.

Obligatory picture before our run up to the fire tower at Moses Cone

Running down the mountain!

And ice cream as our reward

Lots of brewery stops for this crew

It was Heather's birthday and she wanted authentic mint juleps. Ask and you shall receive.

Getting our core work in.

Logan is 3.5 years old now and boy is it fun. He can ride a bike! Like a real two-wheeler.  He started on a balance bike just after he was 2 and recently he was zooming all over neighborhood on it so we figured we might as well get him a real bike. First time on it and he’s golden.  He needed a little help starting and stopping but other than that he was riding away (and getting scared about how fast he was going). He’s getting the stopping down now and loves it.  I wish I had learned how to ride a bike like this!

For the fourth of July we all drove up to just outside DC in Maryland to our friend Heather’s mom’s house.  Heather and her husband have 3 kids who Logan adores and the adults were all going to see the Foo Fighters at RFK stadium. OMG what a concert! Dave Grohl (lead singer) had fallen off of a stage in Europe and broken his leg just a few weeks earlier. It was a really bad break that required surgery and there was some speculation on whether they would have to cancel (they had to cancel the remaining concerts in Europe). NOPE – he came out on a Game of Throne’s style throne and totally rocked it with his purple casted leg propped up.  The concert was so great – I would see them over and over again. 

We got back to Heather’s mom’s house very late, but Logan had had a grand old time with ‘grandma’ and all the Honnold kids.

Last week we had our second swim in the Triangle Swim Series at Jordan Lake: The Big Deuce and The Little Uno. I opted for The Little Uno (I was once again able to swim since I had some awesome volunteers to help with the late checkin’s).  I guess I took a good line because I ended up 3^rd overall for females. I have also upped my swimming to a solid 1 (and sometimes 2!) times a week. And I wore a swim skin so all that helped.  Then I got to bike after with friends and I’m feeling like my fitness is maybe starting to turn around. I’ve got a couple more sprints on the docket and am hoping to hit them hard.

My mom came up for a visit for a week this past week which was incredibly helpful. Work has been crazy busy and besides the swim on Saturday we also ran a clinic on Sunday (so we didn’t have to pay for a babysitter – thanks, mom!). We also took her to a Durham Bulls game which is such a great time. The stadium is nice and the surrounding area at the American Tobacco Campus is very cool.  I think she admitted it was better than going to a Rays game in St. Pete :)

So yeah, there’s a long update. Off to Jersey next.

And it took me so long to actually post this that we are now BACK from the Jersey shore! More pics below.

Marty and Logan left a few days before me and hit the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in DC.

We stayed in Avon-by-the-sea this year.

Marty exiting the water at the John T. Carey Masters Mile down in Ocean City, NJ.

Marty and Logan on the 'Scream Machine'

And then to the swings.

He was very serious about making sure the seagulls didn't get his chicken nuggets

Playing with cars (OF COURSE)

Huge wrap-around porch at the house we stayed at with our extended family.

Cruising the boards before breakfast.