My Triathalon Experience - It was FUN!

I have to thank my sister, Shawna, who introduced me to these little “text to talk” things on youtube through something she posted on facebook. I wanted to share my triathalon experience and after watching these videos on youtube, I thought it was the most appropriate way! And I am going to use Shawna’s name in this conversation since she was my inspiration for this blog! Love you! (pictures follow)

Me: I did a triathalon sprint this weekend. It was so fun!
Shawna: What is a triathalon sprint?
Me: Well, you compete with hundreds of others in a swim event, bike event, and run event.
Shawna: Hundreds of people all swim, bike, and run at the same time? That sounds crowded. But you say it is fun?
Me: Yes, it is very crowded, but they split you into waves so groups start at different times so it isn’t so crowded. In my case, I had to start in the last wave because I will be 35 at the end of the year, I am considered to be in the 35+ age group, otherwise known as the “old lady” group. And yes, it is fun!
Shawna: How far do you have to swim, bike, and run?
Me: You have to swim 600 meters, bike 6 miles, and run 2 miles.
Shawna: Where do you swim?
Me: This was in Donnor Lake
Shawna: A Lake? Isn’t it cold?
Me: The water was about 64 degrees but I wear a wet suit so it was not as cold as it was for those not wearing a wetsuit. And at the start, you try to avoid others splashing and kicking you while you make your way out into the lake. Then you spend the next 10 – 15 minutes trying to find your way around the course. I got lost a few times and was swimming the wrong direction, but luckily I noticed before I strayed too far from the course. It felt like I was swimming for miles and miles, felt like I was going to drown a few times, but I made it to the end of the swim course, got out and headed to change into my bike gear.
Shawna: So, you get into a 64 degree lake with hundreds of people to swim 600 meters during which you feel like it will never end, nearly drown, and it is fun?
Me: yes, it is fun. It is even more challenging when you get out of the water, peel off the wetsuit and try to get shoes and gear on for the 6 mile bike ride as you are gasping for breath from the near drowning experience. The bike ride is 3 miles practically straight up and 3 miles right back down. It took me 30-35 minutes or so to get up and then 5 minutes to get back down. The ride down is so fast that I was nearly clutching the center bar with my thighs and praying I did not fly over the cliff at 40 mph with only a helmet to protect me.
Shawna: Practically flying over a cliff…..And this is fun? What happens after the bike race? Do you get to rest then?
Me: No, not really. You get a few minutes to catch your breath while changing gear, but that isn’t much time. Right after the bike ride, you have to change your shoes and gear again, then start running 2 miles. 1 mile on an uphill and 1 mile on a downhill. That part isn’t so bad. It is a lovely run through Donner on a paved road, but there are cars on the road so you have to watch out for them so you don’t get hit. But that run back was an incredible feeling, knowing I had completed my goal just by finishing and not stopping my momentum at any point. And once I crossed that finish line, it was such a rush!
Shawna: So is it such a rush because you won?
Me: No, because I finished. But they did give me a free shirt for participating! I did not even come close to winning. I finished 150 out of 200 in 1 hour and 21 minutes. The first place person in my age group finished in 1 hour and 1 minute. They do not give prize money anyway, it was a small trophy. In fact you have to pay $105 to participate in the race.
Shawna: You must have had to train a lot for this? How long have you been training?
Me: Since November, 2010 about 90 minutes per day.
Shawna: So, let me get this straight…. You spent the last 9 months every day for 90 minutes killing yourself so you can pay $105 to participate in a race in which there are so many people you can’t all run together, you swim in freezing water in a tight suit where you nearly drown, spend 30 minutes riding straight uphill just so you can nearly kill yourself riding downhill, and then struggle to run just so you can get a free shirt at the end since you have no chance of actually winning anything? …And this is fun?
Me: Yes, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it was worth every moment and I can’t wait to do it again next year. I am already planning my training schedule!:)

6:30am - walking the course, getting ready

The transition area

Heading to the starting line

7:15am - Ready, Set, Go!

Swim Finish

Transition to bike

Bike Finish

Transition to Run

Run Start

Finished! (With my free t-shirt)

My #1 Supporter. :)

Summer vs. The Working Mom

When Summer comes, so does Chaos...

For the kids, summer is a time of carefree fun. For stay-at-home moms, the challenge (from my perspective in reading all the facebook pages and blogs) is to keep the kids active and busy in the midst of chaos. Although all of the activities look like a blast, I know that for these moms, it is hard work. Day-in and Day-out, organizing the fun activities that your children are sure to enjoy so much they fly on the high of their excitement only to crash later from exhaustion. And mom gets to go along for the ride only to wake up the next day and start the cycle all over again in addition to keeping up with all of the household responsibilities that never seem to stop.

As a working mom, I read about all of these summer activities. Every time I read about them, I feel so guilty that I am not one of those moms. I don't get the thrill of enjoying those fun times with my children during the summer months because most working moms don't get summer vacation. I feel it is time that I am missing with my children. They are still enjoying those fun activities....only without me. It isn't easy knowing that my schedule remains the same. I have the same hours in the week and I have the same responsibilities. I still try to maintain some kind of schedule amongst the summer chaos, but my children continually ask "What are we doing tonight/this weekend?" as if I am some cruise activities director with a list of activities and events to fill every minute of the hours I spend with them. And of course, I always give in to the pressure of keeping up with the summer chaos around me so my children feel they are getting the full summer experience. So, I try to continue to manage my responsibilities with my job and within my household with the little time I have in addition to making sure there are fun weekend events planned. As my "fun" weekends come to an end, I have used every minute of every bit of the 50 hours that I have over the weekend not only to get laundry, grocery shopping, bills and budget, workouts, house cleaning, and yardwork completed. I also have used it to take the kids to the pool, or to outdoor events in the community, have slumber parties, take the kids to the mall, go to the lake for swimming or jetskiiing or camping. Not too mention that our football/cheerleading starts mid-July and that starts to take over my Saturdays so my only "work" day at home is removed.

For me, as a working mom, summer is exhausting. Although there are times when it is so much fun, there is never a day that I get to choose to "rest" or catch up on my work around the house. Day in and Day out, I have to keep up with all of it or before I know it, I am behind. Granted, some days I have to prioritize and choose what will get pushed aside for tomorrow, but efficiency is my best friend. I have had to learn how to use every minute of every day from the time I wake up at 5:30am until I go to bed at 11:00pm. I have learned how to do more with less time. It may seem crazy, but I have learned to do certain tasks in certain orders just so I can get more done in the short time I have.

I also have to admit that I am seduced by the warmth of the sun, memories of my own summers spent on the beach, and fun with my siblings and friends. I want my children to have those memories as well. I want to have those memories and experience the same fun that I am reading about on a daily basis. I could choose not to do any of it. I could choose to be responsible all the time and not try to juggle the fun activities, but what kind of life would that be?
Some people tell me that I will burn myself out. I just say that, I have to use the energy I have while I am young. Honestly, I find that the more I do, the more energy I have. I heard someone say once, “I will rest when I am dead.” Well, that’s my plan. For now, I am going to use and enjoy every minute of every day that I possibly can.

I will rest – someday.

What My Dad Has Taught Me.

I have to say first and foremost, that my sister wrote the most beautiful blog about these wonderful memories of our Dad. It brought back such a rush of my own memories and all day I have been thinking about the wonderful things my Father has taught me. So I am including the most memorable lessons my Dad has every taught me.

What I have learned from my Dad

1. The importance of budgeting and being smart with your finances. – At 19, when I decided I wanted to move into my first apartment my dad taught me the greatest lesson I have ever learned and still apply to this day. He told me that before I could move out, I had to create a budget and show him how I was going to pay my bills with the income I had. He made sure I thought of all the little things I would have to pay for. To this day, I still budget the same way and I have managed to save money, manage my debt appropriately, and live within my means. It is because of him that I have been able to provide for my family even through the most difficult financial times. He taught me to fish so I would never have to ask him for food.

2. Have strong work ethics and be dependable. – I do not ever remember a time when my dad was not working (except on vacations). I do not remember him being home sick, or playing “hooky” from work. He worked every day so our family could have the comforts of home, food, and clothes. We may not have had luxuries when I was a kid, but we never wanted to for anything because he went to work every day. I learned from watching him how important it is that I work hard and be dependable. As a result, I have been successful in my career because he taught me what it means to be a good, dependable employee.

3. Serve others in your family and in your community – My dad has always been a servant within the Church and within the community. He was always working on a service project within his callings. He has always been supportive to the elderly. My dad was usually right along side me during Saturdays when we would have a youth service project, never complaining, always making it a bit fun. He has shown me the importance of giving back to the community so much more than you get back because at one point, we all need someone so we need to be there when others are in need.

4. Have a sense of humor – My Dad is so funny. He is always telling jokes and making everyone laugh. Even in those moments when things are tense or maybe a bit uncomfortable, he usually makes things light by making things seem a bit humorous. He taught me to find humor and laugh in life. Humor can be a great coping mechanism.

5. Parenting is not just about teaching, it is also about learning – As a parent now it is so nice to be able to talk with my dad about my struggles as a parent. He seems to point out a lot now how much we learn from our children. It makes me realize that all those years he was trying to teach me, he was learning himself. I have watched my dad evolve over the years with each child. I try to remember that I am learning just as much as they are thanks to the words of wisdom from my dad.

6. Learn from your mistakes and be forgiving of others – My dad used to sit us down individually when we would make a mistake, to try to provide time for us to talk with him and show us how to learn from those mistakes. I made my fair share and he would always take the time to sit and talk with me about them. He would try to help me learn what I had done wrong and what I can do differently next time. He was forgiving and would move on from the mistakes without speaking of them again. He taught me once that if you continue to bring up mistakes, it was like ripping the bandage from a healing wound. You would have to start the healing process all over again. It is better to forgive and move on.

7. Family is the most important commitment – Family comes first. My dad was a busy man. He worked more hours in a week than I could count growing up. He held callings in the church. There were some days I did not see him. However, I knew without a doubt that my dad would be there every Monday night for Family home evening, every morning for family prayer and scriptures, and every Thursday night to watch our family sitcoms and eat popcorn (which I picked up from him as well.). Life is busy, but there are some commitments you make to your family that you must keep. My dad always kept those commitments.

8. Being a good parent means you get to be a fun grandparent! – It gives me hope when I see my dad playing with his grandchildren. All the years of hard parenting does pay off and one day, I will get to be a grandparent too! What I learn from him – have fun with them. Leave the parenting to their parents.

9. Raise your children with rules and boundaries, children need parents, not friends. – My dad set rules. He had no gray area. I was very clear with what my rules were and when I broke the rules, he let me know. What I learned from this is that children respect those rules and boundaries. Of course, growing up I thought the rules were so mean! Now that I have children of my own, I find that the rules give them more freedom because they understand what is expected of them. I always knew what was expected of me. In addition, my life has turned out incredible because I knew my boundaries. I have strong judgment skills and I am confident in my decision-making skills now thanks to the guidance I received growing up. (I call it guidance now, as opposed to “rules.” Because my dad created those rules, I am the person I am today. I see others who were not as fortunate and I see them struggle in their adult lives. My dad gave me a great gift growing up by being a parent to me – not my friend.

10. Unconditional love is the most precious gift you can give your children. – All those years that my dad would spend time talking with my mistakes prepared me for some of the most difficult conversations I had to have with my parents as an adult. But, every time I had something I had to talk with my parents about, I somehow knew everything would be okay. I know I have not followed the exact path my parents hoped I would follow, but they have loved me still. They have supported me every difficult step of the way. My dad has listened, offered advice, and been a true support and friend to me in my adult life.

Daddy, thank you for all you have taught me. I wouldn't be capable of anything I am if not for your guidance and love. I hope to continue your legacy through my own son.

I love you!
Your forever Princess
Dawn Marie