Really?? I'm not that old... Right??

I was doing some touch-up painting this evening in Luke's bedroom with a big roller brush when my youngest stepson, Max, walked in... This is how our conversation went...

Max: What are you doing Jennifer?

me: Oh,... nothin... just drawing. 😊

Max: DRAWING??? 😂😂
Max: When do we get the new floor put in?

me: When do you go back to school?

Max: Wednesday. 

me: That's when we get the new floor put in. The day you all go back to school.

Max: I've heard 4th grade is easier than 3rd grade. 

me: 😳(slight change of topics there) Oh really, where did you hear that from?

Max: My friends mom is a teacher. She says 4th grade is easier than 3rd grade. 

me: Well, when I was your age, I thought 4th grade was really hard!

Max: Well, that was a long time ago. Maybe things have changed since then. 

me: 😝😝😝😝

Twins Paintings

Last night, the twins asked Phil and me if they could paint in the kitchen.  Never fear!  We had printer paper for them and water paint for them to use.  😊

What they came up with was much to my surprise... 

This just goes to show that kids watch, pay attention, listen, ... to everything!

Ironman swim (2.5-miles), Ironman bike (100-miles),
Ironman run (50-miles), Ironman m-dot

They were a little off on the distances, 😳 (the run was 50-miles) but I love it! 😂 🏊🚴🏃

💖💗💝

IMAZ Spectator Race Report

A day in the life of an ironman spectator. The AMAZING Support Crew. The group behind the ironman athlete. Who are these people?

While you have the triathlete enduring a long day swimming, biking, and running... You have the crew behind the triathlete. The support crew out there from dark ... to... well, dark.

Morning setup

The 2.4 mile swim starts at 6:50am or 7:00am... BUT, the preparation for the day really begins with a 4am wake up. Phil and I got to transition around 5:30am and it was already a sea of people!

I saw Phil and took his morning bag of clothes, helped him into his wetsuit, and then started to head back to the car. About five feet towards the car, I had a mild panic attack. "OMG! I forgot to give him a bagel!" 

So I went running into the sea of people, towards the swim start, anxiously looking for Phil. "Phil, where are you?? Phil, where are you??" 

Finally!  6:30am, I found Phil at the swim start line. "PHIL!" I called for him.  "PHIL!!" ... "I forgot to give you a bagel!" Phew... we connected... and he ate half of a bagel. My swim through the sea of people was a success. 

Now... To run through the sea of people to make it to the bridge to find the morning support crew. 

The morning support crew consisted of - Nancy and Tom (Phil's parents), Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Mike (Phil's aunt and uncle), and my parents Gayle and Richard. 

Left to right: Jennifer, Richard, Tom, Aunt Bonnie, Gayle,
Nancy, and Uncle Mike hanging off the ledge there.

We watched the swim start from the bridges and kept looking for Phil. What's nice these days is that the Ironman Tracker phone app has a MAP now. Uncle Mike found it and then showed the rest of us how to use it. We watched Phil's initials "PH" float down Tempe Town Lake and then back towards us. 

I thought I saw Phil coming back to our bridge on the swim and we followed that person over to the Transition Area.  Well, we will never really know if it was him or not because the Tracker Map froze and we never saw him make an appearance out of the water.  (Ok, wife fail #1)

So we went out to watch the bike out of transition and waited and waited... OK, maybe it wasn't him that came out of the water at that time!  😂😂 

We finally did see him come around on the bike and I know he heard us and saw some of us heading out onto the bike.  PHEW!  (Make up for missing him come out of the water.)

At that time, my parents decided to go back to my brother's house while the rest of us tried to find breakfast somewhere. 

Tom, Nancy, Uncle Mike, Aunt Bonnie, and I found breakfast at a pizza bar restaurant. We ate and hung out until Uncle Mike and Aunt Bonnie had to go to the airport for cousin Beth, Steve, Natalie, and Abigail. 

So then there were three. Tom, Nancy, and me.  We went over to the bike turn around and we saw Phil coming in from his first bike leg (there were three bike legs).  We cheered for him, took pictures, and then he was gone. 

We took that time to move the cars around. 

Fast forward now to catching up with cousin Lori who drove up from Tucson with her boyfriend Eric and kids Zayda and Vash. The three became seven! 

THEN, Uncle Mike and Aunt Bonnie came back to Tempe with Beth, Steve, Natalie, and Abigail.  Alright! Now we are picking up into full force! 7 support crew became 13! 

Around that same time, we were waiting for Phil to come back around to finish his second bike leg and go out for his third/last bike leg. Perfect! My parents are coming also... we will have a huge crowd for him! (15 count now)

We waited and waited for him and before we know it, Uncle Mike says "Jen, he's passed us already!" 

Wait. 

What??

He passed us already??

Yep, sure enough. We missed Phil passing us going out for his last bike leg.  (Wife fail #2)

But, check this out... I got a really great picture of the support crew:

Support crew at full force! Awesome!

So since we missed Phil on the bike, we decided to all go to lunch. We found a place we could sit outside in the shade. Very nice!

As we were leaving lunch, we split up so I told the crew to meet back at Ironman Village at 2pm. 

We met at Ironman Village... waited and waited for Phil on the bike. 

Finally!  

We saw Phil!!

We had a loud, awesome, group and he looked great coming off the bike. 

Ok.  Let's try to go find him on the run!  PHEW!  This is exhausting!

We walked along the side of the transition area to find the run path. Finally we found the run path. We estimated his appearance to be around 30-minutes. 

30-minutes later...

Oh wait. We read the map wrong. We think he will be 30-more minutes. 

I think at this point is when Uncle Mike and Aunt Bonnie left with Beth and Steve and kids.

But then about 10-minutes later... 

OMG!! THERE HE IS!! Crap! My camera wasn't ready!  

But I did ask him if he changed socks and he said yes.  Ok good.  Hopefully no blisters.  😂😂

After that sighting, Lori and her crew were leaving.  They still had to drive back to Tucson!

At that point, we had mom, dad, Nancy, and Tom.  My parents were trying to figure out what my brother and his wife were doing... so I decided to hop over the bridge to try to find Phil on that side. 

Tom and Nancy were up for the haul, so I'm pretty sure I dragged them across the bridge with me, made them climb over the railing, and then scale down the side of a hill... 😂😂 but hey, they were troopers! They did it! 

We did get to see Phil on that said AND Tom and I got to walk with him a little bit and talk to him.  He said he had some pain in his left hamstring and he was just going to walk it out at a fast pace. 

We waited to see him again, but my brother and his wife were closer to Tempe and we were going to have dinner with them, so I had to work my way back over the bridge.  This was around 4:00pm. 

I walked back over the bridge, while Tom and Nancy stayed to look for Phil. 

Hey - there's James!  But first, let me take a picture of this pig:

Seriously.  Now I've seen everything.

We caught up with James, Caitlin, and Abigail for dinner and it felt SO GOOD TO SIT DOWN. Wow. Chairs. 😂😂

The entire time we were at dinner, I felt guilty for sitting in a chair, eating yummy food, and drinking a beer... while Phil was still out there making his way around the Ironman course. 

My brother James, his PREGNANT wife
Caitlin, and Abigail. 

To make up for my previous fails and guilt over dinner, my parents and I decided to pick up Phil's bike and transition bags. (YES! Wife Win!)  😂😂

After putting the bike and the bags in my car, my parents and I went to the finish line about an hour before we expected Phil to come around.  We sat in the stands and watched finishers come in... 

Ironman Arizona finish line

One of the funniest finishers was a man wearing all white long sleeve shirt and pants and a sombrero... At the finish line, he took off the sombrero and danced around it.  😂😂

When Phil made is way around, my parents and I were at one wall and Phil's parents were across from us. We all saw Phil come running down the finish line chute excited about his very first Ironman finish. 

Guys. It doesn't end there.  😂😂

Where does our Ironman finisher go after the finish line???

Into a long line of volunteers carrying them through - finisher t-shirt, finisher hat, finisher pictures, finisher foil to keep warm, finisher food and drinks. And then out the other side of that tent. Some where.  😂  Good luck finding them in a sea of volunteers, Ironman finishers, spectators looking for their finisher, etc...

We (Tom, Nancy, mom, dad, and me) made sure Phil got into some warm clothes and let him talk all about his day.  It was so great to see his excitement!

We all walked to our cars - which were in the same parking garage on the same floor - and continued to hear about Phil's victorious day.

Phil and I drove to my brothers house. When we got there, we hung out a little, let Phil take a shower,  start watching a movie, but Phil and I couldn't stay awake.

Guys. It doesn't end there.  😂😂

This morning, Phil and I woke up at 5:45am to go BACK TO IRONMAN VILLAGE... Because Phil needed to purchase his Ironman Finisher jacket.  We waited in a long line that started moving at 6:50am... We got into the Ironman merchandise store around 7am and we were walking back to the car at 7:15am.

Congratulations Phil!! 🎉🎉

Journey complete.  The end. 💗💗💗

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning everybody!

I'm drinking my Saturday morning coffee and thought I would provide an update on the boys.

We are a little over a month into school now. Lucas* is in 8th grade, Cody is in 7th grade, and Jake is in 6th grade. So right now, they take up every grade in middle school!  The twins, Chris and Matt, are in 3rd grade this year. They will not be in a school again with their bigger brothers until they are in 9th grade and Jake is a senior. (Help me out, is that right?? I'm still drinking my morning coffee.)   😂

There's been homework, studying, tests, tears, not completed homework, skipped football to finish said homework, ... All in just one month already! I mean... 10-missed homework assignments?? Really??  I think I'm more surprised that there's been 10 homework assignments!

I promise, Phil had on running shorts.

Lucas and Cody worked really hard this summer at detasseling jobs in the corn fields. While Cody worked really hard and did a great job, he ended up getting fired (it's not uncommon) for "missing too many tassels". Lucas, as tall as he is, ended up working more than expected with a few additional assignments up in Rockford area. He ended up making so much money, he bought himself a huge graphic gaming computer! (Mom and dad pitched in half of anything he was missing to make sure it was all setup.)

And yes, football has started! Cody and Jake are playing this season. So far, I have only been to one game (I promise to attend more).  As Phil would tell anybody, "I didn't give them the athletic, tall, and fast gene." 

Jake is #80. We think he likes it for the social
aspect more than anything. But, if you know me at all,
I don't discourage that one bit!

One Saturday, the twins twisted my arm into taking them to a new place in Peoria called ELEVATE. Parents all know this as the "You have to sign a Waiver?? *sigh*" place. It's a big indoor trampoline park. I think it will be great for winter - if I could find some discounts. 

Top: Matt playing dodgeball. Bottom left: Matt running into the sponge pit thingie.
Bottom right: Chris running full sprint to get to the top of the trampoline wall.

We all have been fairly busy. I'm glad that my triathlon season ending has given me more time to start blogging again. So I promise to have more poopy/peepee stories for you this fall and winter! 

I'll wrap up this morning's blog with some cute photos of Lotti.  She doesn't really pull her weight around here, but that's ok. She's still adorable, soft to pet, and can be super snuggly when she wants. 

Pictures of her sleeping... because otherwise she's
moving too fast to get a picture!

* boys' names changed for blog

ITU World Championship Off-Road Triathlon

On Wednesday, August 23^rd 2017, I raced with Team USA in the ITU World Championship Race off-road triathlon in Penticton Canada. This event consists of a 9/10ths of a mile swim, 20-mile mountain bike, and 5-mile trail run. 

The swim kicked off at 7am with the pro men, then the pro women, followed by age group men, and then age group women. I was in the age group women field so we started at 7:40am. 

Figure 1:  All Setup in Transition, Hanging Out at
Swim Start, and Women AG Swim Start

The swim was a “U” shape that went from one beach to another, making right hand turns.  The water was calm, non-wetsuit, and simply put, just perfect conditions. I wanted 35-minutes and came out of the water in 33:39. A fast swim for me - excellent! 

Figure 2: Swim Exit in 33:39!

The mountain bike went from transition by the lake, up the side of a mountain with gradual/steady climbs and a lot of Switchback S curves. The climb was pretty uneventful; it’s just a grind. Sit in the saddle and be ready for a lot of ascending.

At the top of the mountain, three people at an aid station met us, they took our bib numbers, and I noticed I made it to “Neverland” trail system.  That was my queue that the climbing was done and it was down the mountain and technical terrain the rest of the way. I understand there were many spills but nothing serious. I wanted to finish the bike course in 2-hours and 45-minutes and came out just one minute slower. I’ll take it!  😃

Figure 3: Not Pictured - One Badass Mountain
Climb and Rough Downhill

Back into transition, racked my bike and put on my run shoes for a tough trail run. They took us up a disc golf course and then scaled up the side of the lakeside bluff to a rails-to-trails road. Once I was on the flat trail, I was able to pick up the speed to a run. I thought I would finish the run in about 1-hour and 15-minutes, but my nutrition was spot on the bike, that I felt great on the run!

One of the Team USA coaches was out on the run and she said, “You look great! Look really strong!” ... now she could have been saying that to every Team USA athlete for confidence, but I like to think she said it to only me. 😃  As a wrap-up to the run, you scale back down the bluff and run along the beach lakeshore, in and out of water at most knee-deep.

After that fun, you duck back into trails before getting to the road for the finish line. I finished the run in 59-minutes. Honestly, I couldn't believe it. 

Figure 4:  Strong Trail Run and a Fast
Sprint to the Finish Line!

I finished 11th out of 15 in my age group in a total triathlete field of 315 best off-road triathletes in the world. (And I didn't come last! Yay!!)  

I am constantly amazed at what the human body can do and accomplish. I've had a great training year, a super fun triathlon season, and excellent eating discipline... it's now time to relax and eat all of the food!  😂😂

I'm so sad this season is over. It has been such a wonderful experience to be part of Team USA. 

Visit to St. Rose

Yesterday was quite an adventure!  My father-in-law Tom grew up in St. Rose Illinois. Yesterday was the St. Rose annual festival, so all of us (including my in-laws and one of my stepsons cousins) took a day trip to attend.

It was a very enjoyable, relaxing day. We all took two cars down and had lunch at Wally's in Breese Illinois. Then we ventured over to Carlyle Lake to get out of the cars and walk a bit.

After Carlyle Lake, we went to St Rose to visit and remember family in the local cemetery. 💜💜  We then made our way to Tom's cousin's farm to see how the cows are milked. Now this was the real treat of the trip.  First time for everything, right?

I wasn't expecting this. 😂😂 But, in all honesty, I don't
know WHAT I was expecting!

The boys got a chance to try it.

They had another barn with calves
and barn kitties. 😺😺

What a fun experience! I know the boys really thought it was fun to see as well. 

We ventured over to the festival for a jam-packed, delicious, dinner and festival fun. 

Bingo to try to win quilts or money!

We stayed until sunset... 

Beautiful St. Rose Catholic Church at sunset.

First Ever MTB Ride!!

Well, it's about time... That I finally got the stepsons out on mountain bikes and single track trails!

Phil and I loaded up the cars with the bikes.  Oh yes.  Both cars.  With bikes.

Loaded inside the minivan first. 

Loaded outside the minivan. 

THEN loaded up my car.  😂

We only had 4-out-of-the-5 boys with us this weekend, but we still had trouble loading up bikes.  Guess it's time for a new multi-bike rack. 

We rode out at Kinsey Park in Peoria. The trails are named after Wizard of Oz movie. So there's munchkin land east/west trails, ruby red slippers trail, yellow brick road trail, etc... The trails are all "green" (easy), so the boys were able to ride all of the trails. 

Yes, I had them look away.  Yes, they know why.  😂😂

The boys had a blast! We only had one fall and it wasn't very bad at all. So now the boys want to bring some of their bikes from their mama's house and their camelbak hydration packs. We'll definitely go out to mountain bike again soon.  That was so fun!  😄❤️😄❤️