Triathlons and WhipperBerry

My husband competed in his first triathlon this weekend and he did much better then anyone dreamed possible. He absolutely killed all three sports and finished strong with a great time. We were all so inspired by his athleticism that the boys and I are signing up for a Tri in June. Eek!!!

Turns out you don't have to be near as awesome at the swim as coaches imply. There were folks dog paddling, swimming on their backs and even walking through the water... HUH??? I thought you had to have that perfect Michael Phelps thing going on. 

On Sunday we went to the pool and I was able to swim the whole distance in my silly, head-out-of-the-water "inefficient" way.  

And tonight I'm getting a new bike.  *SQUEAL* My friend Coralynn gave me the most wonderful book, Every Woman's Guide to Cycling so I've been plotting about what bike to get for a few months now. I wanted to be sure my back could handle cycling before we replaced my old bike and it turns out that bike riding (cycling is so serious) is just as much fun as it was when we were eight. Wish I hadn't let this fun passtime drift away as an adult.

And one last exercise related ramble, yesterday Avery and I had our long run and we ran 8.5 miles. We were both worried sick as 8 miles is one of our "walls". Instead of crashing and feeling exhausted we really enjoyed our time together. Afterwards we pounded down a Carnation Instant Breakfast (for him) and sweet milky coffee (for me) and then jumped in the pool and swam the kids triathlon distance (Avery) and the Sprint distance of 400m (me). After lunch we went for a bike ride. It felt really cool to do all three sports in one day.

As far as my health, it's been utterly devastating the last two weeks. Several days I couldn't even dress myself. I've gone back on the very lowest dose of pain meds with the farthest time between doses. It's great because I can do much better then just get through the day, lying down, gritting my teeth. I was especially pleased that by taking the meds, I was able to help myself get stronger (the swimming really does wonders for the shoulder pain) and when the meds wore off I was in better condition than before I took them. 

I need to be mindful that there is a place for medicine in my plan. Even if I don't like it. And that being able to function is more important then ideas and ideals.

~~~

I found Whipperberry last week. It's a really cute, seriously cool blog full of interesting projects, recipes and links.

And, lucky for me, they found me too *grin*

So I get to add a new feature button to my "Where's Nicole?" page, YAY!