It always amazes me how fast the summer flies by. It is hard to believe it was time for the school year to start. Amelia was very excited because she was going to start preschool this year. She attends the More for Fours program at Weaver Lake Elementary where Cameron is a second grader.
After twelve weeks of training the big day was finally here. We packed up the van and headed down to Baker Park around 6am that morning. I got my body markings, had a quick bike check up then proceded to set up my transition area.
After everyone had their transition areas set up, we all gathered on the beach for the pre-race meeting. Then they started to stage the beach according to age groups. I was in the second to last wave because I was in a buddy wave. The first group began their swim at 8am. It was neat to watch and I started to get very excited for my turn.
The swim went much better than I expected, I didn't stop to rest at all. I was out of the water in under 18 minutes. Then I ran up the beach to the transition area to get ready for the 15 mile bike ride. I knew the course pretty well since I rode it several times during training. There were a lot of people lined up near the end of the bike course, including my good friend Heather who to my surprise came out to cheer me on! I returned to the transition area once again, to rack my bike and get ready for the 3.1 mile run.
I crossed the finish line in 1 hour 55 minutes and 58 seconds! It was an amazing feeling, and something I will never forget.
Because I've been training so much, I thought the kids would enjoy doing a triathlon of their own. They were excited about the idea, not really quite understanding what it entails. So I signed Cameron and Amelia up for the Chisago Lakes Kids Triathlon. We arrived early that morning. It was amazing the amount of people that were there. We had to park down the street so it was a bit of an adventure hauling three kids, two bikes and a bunch of gear over to the race site.
We got checked in, and then set up their transition areas.
Next was body marking
Swim Start
Cameron was ready to go
Cameron's all done
Amelia's turn
Wow, what a amazing two days! Rino and I rode in the MS 150 this year. It was a total of 150 miles over two days to raise money for the MS society of Minnesota. I was kind of nervous going into it. That's really far to ride, but what a great challenge and experience.
June 12, 2009: When Rino was home from work we headed to Nowthen to catch a bus up to Proctor. We were on on one of the last buses, so we didn't arrive in Proctor until almost 8:30. When we arrived in Proctor High School we had to wait to catch another bus to our hotel. Once we arrived at our hotel, we got all our stuff ready for the next day. We were so excited and a little nervous. We didn't end up going to sleep until after 11pm.
June 13, 2009: Day 1: We were up at 4am, got dressed and headed down to the lobby to grab some breakfast. Then waited for the bus to take us back to the high school to pick up our bikes and begin our ride. When we got there it was a sea of bikes. Once we found them, we headed out! We were on the road by about 6:30am.
Most of the first day was along the Willard Munger trail. The scenery was beautiful....
We arrived at Hinckly that night around 4pm. It was an amazing feeling knowing we were half way done! We dropped off our bikes, picked up our luggage and walked over to our hotel. We had dinner at the buffet and did a little gambling at the casino before heading to bed early!
June 14, 2009, Day 2: We were up early and ready to go! Surprisingly we weren't too sore.
Day two was a lot different, we were mostly on country roads.
Day two was flying by, it actually seemed easier than the first day. We were feeling strong, and were making good time.
The excitement really hit us when we were only 11 miles away from the finish line. It was such an amazing feeling to know what we had accomplished. And and even better feeling knowing we made a difference in the lives of those living with MS.
150 miles and still smiling....
The kids and I stepped back in time this summer when we visited Eidem Homestead in Brooklyn Park.
They helped wash and hang clothes to dry
They also helped feed the animals
And play games
Amelia and I each donated 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love. It is such a good cause, and we both got a new hairdo for the summer.
I ran my second 5k race this May at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. And Cameron ran the kids 1 mile race. We had beautiful weather and even more beautiful surroundings. All in all it was a great day, Cameron even received a medal.
Our baby is 2! It really seems like just yesterday we were celebrating her first birthday, where did the time go. We have really enjoyed the past year watching Lauren grow and learn. She is talking up a storm, she knows her letters and can count to 10! She loves doing puzzles, playing dress up with her big sister and "riding" her tricycle.
The kids had a lot of fun coloring Easter eggs this year. They were very proud of their creations!
On April 11 we headed down to Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain for an Easter egg hunt. It was a fun morning filled with music, games, picnic lunch and horse drawn wagon ride.
The kids woke up Easter morning to find out the Easter Bunny had hid eggs outside. They had a lot of fun finding them, and enjoying a beautiful spring day.
I did it....I'm officially a triathlete! In the beginning of April I competed in the YWCA indoor mini sprint triathlon. It consisted of a 400 yard swim, 8 mile bike and 1 mile run. It was such an amazing experience, and it was even more special with Rino and the kids there cheering me along! I was so thrilled to finish, and even more thrilled to have finished in under an hour! This gave me great confidence and I am looking forward to my next triathlon in August!
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