Today Might Just Be the Day...
What happens in the daily life of the family.. the drama of foster care, the adventures of parenting, & pictures to share with everyone!
Hey party people! I have been rocking at the gym. I have made it to the gym at least four times a week since the year started! And I have peppered a few runs in the middle as well.
Saturday I run my next half marathon.. Trying to decide what I should wear. And, now I am an ambassador for Skirt Sports. So, I have a couple new, adorable skirts to pick from.
What do you think??
And, if you need your own skirt to love, I have a discount code for you! Hit me up!
The sprint triathlon was yesterday morning.
With all of my races, I get nervous and can’t sleep. But, usually I am really excited, too.
This time around, I honestly wasn’t. I was just freaked out.
Danny was doing it with me and he admitted to being a little nervous (huge for my 13 year old boy to do that!). So, I was trying to keep it in check (and probably failing).
Friday night we laid out our stuff the way that we envisioned it for the race the next morning and practiced putting our shoes on. It felt silly! And, since nothing looked quite the same at the actual race, it probably was. But, I think it did help my nerves.
We got up around 5:00 in the morning.. My neighbor, the one who thought up this whole thing, loaded up our bikes into his truck and we were watching the sunrise as we drove to the race.
This entire thing was so new and foreign to me! We racked our bikes and laid out our gear for the transitions, but there was hardly any space. When Danny dropped his bike at the second transition he wasn’t even able to put it back.
For this swim, we were doing a serpentine of the pool, it was 8 x 50m laps. And they didn’t let you dive… you jumped in, one at a time, every 5 seconds roughly by pace. I knew this ahead of time, but it was so hard to envision! Dan started before me and his swim looked great. I have no clue how he did it without goggles (even with goggles I got jostled by other swimmers!), but he started ahead of me and gained ground.
When I jumped in, I a managed to inhale a ton of water. I spent most of the first lap trying to avoid choking and drowning. It was ugly! And my swim really didn’t get any better. I couldn’t get a rhythm, I kept getting trapped behind 2 slower swimmers at a time. I had a hard time breathing.
But, I will say that it didn’t wear me out! I had more laps in me. I could have gone farther/faster had I not started out in such a poor way. So, live and learn for next time.
When I made it to the first transition Dan was still there. He was a little slow getting into his running gear so we left on bikes together.
This was the last point I saw him :/
We took off on the bikes and I actually felt pretty good. I kept up a decent pace, nothing crazy, but it was ok.
I kept waiting on Dan to pass me. He never did.
Later on, I learned that his shoe lace had come undone and been caught in his chain. His chain even popped off and he took a spill.
While I was worrying about him, I kept telling myself that *someone* would help my baby. I told myself that if he were hurt they would call. If he broke down, he would get back to the transition point and someone would call.
Turns out, he was on his own, but he handled it like a champ. It just took a huge bite into his time.
I was even more worried when I didn’t see his bike at the second transition, but since I was jogging, I sent a text to Brian. Knowing that both of us were looking made me feel a tiny bit better.
The run was ok.. It wasn’t fast or really slow for me. My GPS was off so I have no clue of my actual pacing or time, but I got it done and felt great at the end.
Brian and the other kids came out to cheer and I totally teared up when I saw them. Their high 5’s gave me the boost to sprint to the end.
Danny finished within a couple minutes of me.
So very proud of that boy!
He came in 11th in his age group!
He told me he’s not super excited to do it again, but he also admitted that what he really didn’t like was waking up at 5:00. So, the second I find a race around the crack of noon, he’s all in.
I probably should just wait at this point to post anything.. But, I have a few minutes so I will sneak in an update.
A couple months ago we had a few friends over and my neighbor brought up a sprint triathlon. I am going to go ahead and blame the beer! I had a few so I thought that a triathlon sounded like a great idea.
Fast forward to now, and I think that I have a trained enough (enough to finish, although it won’t be quick or easy!). But, I am really not very excited. I am just nervous. I have tossed and turned a lot this week. As soon as I lay still my brain starts going through all of the steps I will need to follow and all of the gear I need to prep and pack.
Thanks to an amazing neighbor I have better gear than I could afford. And I know that I will be fine.
But, I am still scared.
Freaked.
I will let you know if I survive.
(Oh, and I talked Dan into doing it, too…)
Today is a special day. It’s not a birthday or an anniversary, but it is special none the less.
September 6th is National Sotos Syndrome Awareness Day!
What is Sotos Syndrome?
“Sotos syndrome is a genetic condition causing physical overgrowth during the first years of life. Children with Sotos syndrome are often taller, heavier, and have larger heads than their peers. Because of the distinctive head shape and size, Sotos syndrome is sometimes called cerebral gigantism. Ironically, this rapid physical development is often accompanied by delayed motor, cognitive and social development. Muscle tone is low, and speech is markedly impaired.” You can read more here.
And why is Sotos Syndrome important to me? Well, I happen to care a lot about a little guy who has Sotos Syndrome. I am a member of a group Who I Run 4. The group is full of thousands of runners and special needs kids and adults. They randomly pair up the runners with the kids and adults. I waited over six months to be paired with my buddy! Now, when I run I think about him.. I think about the challenges he faces and has already overcome in his young life. And, when I get medals, I send them to him!
The group has all sorts of members.. Some runners are just beginning, others are very fast! Some only run for fun, others spend each weekend winning local races.
And the buddies are amazing! There are infants all the way through adults.
It’s really just a chance to make a connection. To get to know someone and cheer them on. The runners push the buddies and the buddies push the runners. It’s pretty freaking cool.
Speaking of cool.. This is my buddy! He just turned three a couple weeks ago. He lives across the country from me in Florida, but he pushes me as I run. He also recently started *walking*! The video his mom posted brought me to tears.
And isn’t that smile amazing?
So, I hope that this makes you think a little bit about Sotos Syndrome. And I hope that you will keep my little buddy in your thoughts this week. Maybe you could even run a mile for him, too?
One last thought… The Who I Run 4 group is amazing! But, it also has a massive waiting list! There’s no wait if you are a buddy, but if you are a runner you can expect to wait at least 6 months (worth it!). I would love to see more buddies learn about this organization. So, if you know someone who could use a runner in their corner, please spread the word.
