Back in 2014, a dear girlfriend of mine convinced me to jump into the world of triathlon by participating in the Tri 4 the Cure CO race held at Cherry Creek. At that time I was an IRONMAN wanna be and needed to start actually triathloning so of course I said yes. This series of races holds a special place in my heart, not only for its purpose, but also because it represents the start of my triathlon journey. That race 4 years ago is what made me a triathlete.
Rosario reached out to a bunch of us a couple of months ago and asked if we wanted to participate in the AZ version of the race on St. Paddys Day. It just so happened to be her birthday and I jumped at the chance to "celebrate" with her. Running a race for any occasion is a good day!
The AZ race is shorter than a sprint distance event. The pool swim is 400 meters, followed by an 8 mile bike ride, and finishing in a 2.4 mile run. It is a fun, fast, and FABULOUS distance to race. Go hard, cause when you want to die you get to either switch sports or run across the finish line.
I had a great swim in the pool. It was chilly at the start so all of us couldn't wait for our turn to jump in the pool and go. I really loved it and even though open water swimming is awesome, it is nice to not have to site out of the water!
The bike was surprisingly challenging due to its course. 2 miles heavy up followed by 2 miles down, 2 miles up, 2 miles down. The down was great, but the uphills were no joke. Of course, I haven't been on my bike a lot so I was feeling it!
The run was fantastic and I cruised through the finish line having a solid under 8 min pace. I passed a few athletes and didn't get passed once. I crossed the finish line feeling well warmed up and fired up. THAT WAS FUN!
The Tri 4 the Cure was a great event and a fun one for the whole family. The girls really enjoyed the candy given freely at the finish line. Happy Birthday to Rosario and I am looking forward to the next race "celebration!"
Well, it was back to the grind this week after a whirlwind blast of a Spring Break. What a great time we had! But seriously, seeing 2 grandmas, riding horses, playing with friends, making rice krispie treats and going to the zoo should make for a great vacation!
We headed up to Vernon on the Friday before Spring Break and all 4 of us were anxious to get away and up to the mountains. Bob and I planned a 2 day getaway while we were up there and we were almost more excited than the kids!
Our first night we spent with Memaw and Papa. They had some friends from Colorado visiting for the night too and I had a blast seeing them again! We all had a really great time. The next morning, Bob and I hung around for a bit and then gathered up our bags and headed to Pinetop for our getaway days. No kids, no responsibility.....thank you MEMAW and PAPA!
I had planned this awesome VRBO stay in a little condo in the Pinetop Country Club. It was so cute, but on arrival, we realized that the owner had sublet the 2nd bedroom and the people would be there......awkward. So we cancelled that, pulled up Southwest Deals, and found ourselves at the Holiday Inn banking a few airline points in the process. Ce La Vie! We really ended up having a spectacular time together. It ended up raining cats and dogs on our free day together so we took a walk in the rain, watched movies, napped, and enjoyed the Pinetop Brewery. I even slept in AND had breakfast in BED. WONDERFUL!
We headed back to Memaw and Papas for the last day or so and spent our time riding ponies, digging up ground cactus, gathering firewood, and watching the movie, "The Star" (so cute....seriously......go see it).
We made our way back down to the valley with enough time to hang out at the Children's museum with some of our buddies and get some laundry done before Grandma Jill came to town!
It just doesn't get better than a rolling selection of Grandmas to play with! Grandma Jill LOVES to play and we did it! We spent one day at the zoo and introduced the girls to the paddleboats. The weather has been perfect and it was so much fun to try new experiences.
I had a very sappy moment when we meandered by this little cave. That picture on the left was 2 years ago. HOLY BUCKETS.........How does it happen so fast? At least they are learning to wear shoes!
I got to do some triathlon while Grandma was here and Bob and I got to sneak in a date night too! We decided to explore a bit and test out the Mesa Art's Festival. We taste tested some food trucks, had 2 desserts, enjoyed some music and toured the plethora of crazy "art" cars. The one I loved the most was the Camera VAN. It was literally an entire van made of cameras. So much fun.
As it usually does, Spring Break ended with a hurry. We enjoyed a wonderful morning at church played hard until Grandma had to leave and we all had to gear back up to go back to school. Spring Break 2018 was a smashing success.
Okay, head lice, disciplinary reports, and principal visits aside, there are moments where Bob and I realize that maybe.....just maybe we might be winning at this whole parenting gig. Its not often, and a day of success is usually followed by a day where no one can pick up their socks without crying, BUT, there is hope, and we are seeing it!
Last week we decided to head to the zoo to finally see the incredible Dino's in the Desert exhibit currently residing there. Both of the girls have been asking to go so we made a morning out of it and had a BLAST!
Here is the winning part.....we went without a stroller, wagon, or jogger. They brought their own money to pay for the sting ray petting. We carried 1 backpack. Both Bob and I got to walk around with a cup of Starbucks in our hands, and we did not have to carry the kids once! WINNING! Oh yea, and they played together and explored without fighting. WAHOOO!!!!
When we weren't checking out the amazing near life size verions of prehistoric creatures we were exploring many of the other areas and catching a rare and up close view of not only 1 but 3 cheetahs. Love our zoo so much.
Our day was ended at the base of the T-REX. He moves....and growls.....and Evie was amazed. Such an incredible time to be a kid!
Here's to the next coffee in hand, less responsibility, kids pay their way trip to the zoo!
Well.....its been a few weeks since our lice "experience" and I realized that I never finished telling the story of God and Karma. I know, those really shouldn't go together, but 2 weeks ago....they did.
So there I was in the throes of dealing with head lice and literally wanting to break down, buy a flame thrower and torch my house. Bob was of course out of town and to make it worse his meeting on day 2 of this whole fiasco ran too long and he missed his flight. The poor guy was frustrated and I was neck deep in the reality that I was going to have to "do this" by myself for the next 30 hours. Okay....I got this.
After being inside the lice infested house for 36 hours, I was determined to get us out and amongst the clean people for a break. So I slathered the girls up with olive oil (yeah, cause remember the little buggers like clean hair) and we attempted an incognito appearance at gymnastics.
Nothing to see here folks, just some greased lightning flashbacks.....thank God for hats....but I digress.
I sat in the car, called a friend and laughed. Oh man I laughed......what else was there to do? When my hour was up I walked into Mrs. Carol's Gymkids doors and was greeted by Mrs. Carol herself. She did not look happy, and she had a paper......a typed paper.......with Evie's name on it. Of course she did. All I could think about as she began to tell me of Evie's disrespect and naughtiness was, WOW kid........that's TYPED! That took time.....and energy.......and....well, I think its serious. Won't lie....I laughed. Oh Evie.
So I took my hooligan and her sister back to the den of lice to continue our front against them. I had to make a mad dash to Walmart for more supplies in which not 1 BUT 2 Walmart employees got upset with my girls for their behavior. YEP.....its been a bad day when you get a typed note and WALMART doesn't want your kids. So great. So we went home and I prayed for the sweet release of bed time. Come quickly Lord.
As I was tucking Evie in, Lily comes in from the bathroom and proceeds to tell me that her number 2 has clogged the toilet and "its overflowing Mom." Again......sure......that fits.
So I put the girls in their beds and headed to my 12th job of the day....plumber. It wasn't horrible,......but it wasn't great. I plunged, and plunged, and plunged, and plunged. It wouldn't go down and the more I plunged, the sloshier it got, the more it over flowed and the more my feet and legs felt the splash of poop water. So, so, so great. I plunged and plunged to no avail. The mess was great, and my determination was waning. In the midst possible defeat by poop I just closed my eyes and prayed, "Lord God Almighty, Momma is at the end here and I flat out need a victory. Please Lord, make it go DOWN!!" I opened my eyes, plunged once, and it went down! HALLELUJAH. That night God was my Plumber.
I went to bed a little more peaceful. God doesn't always unclog your toilet when you ask, but that night I just needed to feel not alone in that moment. I needed a victory, and He was real. Even in the midst of life's hot messness, I felt His presence.
So that is my God story.....then Karma happened. We woke up the next day and I got us oiled up, sprayed down, and off to work and school. I made it through the morning with no major incidents....Praise the Lord. When it was time to get little Evie, I pulled up to the school and waited outside the room. In true "the norm" fashion, Mrs. Hershey calls me over upon opening the door, "Oh Bethany, Evie had a rough day." There was fighting and kicking and screaming involved. Oh Baby. So as a result of her naughtiness she didn't get her sucker for the day. So sad. "GRRR, Mommy I want my sucker!" Man its hard to parent when you know its just been a flat out not awesome week. "No, bug, you know the rule." We got to the car only to have her not want to get in while growling and threatening to hit things.
I so desperately did not want to have to come down hard on her. I was tired and I felt everything she did......it HAD been a long 3 days. But she persisted. I got in the front seat and once she decided to get behind me she proceeded to lean back in her chair and kick my seat with such force that I knew I couldn't let it go. Just as I was about to become mean Mom she kicked so hard that her knee ricocheted off the seat and nailed her in the nose causing a blood fountain. OH KARMA, THANK YOU!
She was a mess, but instead of disciplining, I got to pull her in my arms, clean her up, snuggle her and let her cry on my shoulder.
I get it babe....its been a long week.
So there you have it. The culmination of that life story. Lessons were learned and I for one am very, very grateful for God and Karma!
After IRONMAN, it was really important to me that Bob find things that he really loved to do but was unable to during my training. He has always loved volleyball and has talked of maybe joining a league off an on. I am so thankful that our good friends Melissa and Jeff introduced him to the Funkalicious Beach Volleyball league this year because it has been such a great place for him!
He and Jeff recently played in a Doubles Championship and I just have to take a blog and brag on the guy. You know, its hard to come "out of retirement" and get back on top. He has been working hard to regain his skills that he honed in high school and college. He has played in a good many tournaments that have been, in his words, demoralizing. This tournament was different though. The guys came to play....and they ended up on top!
AVP Champions! I was sad that the girls and I had to miss the day, but it was an all day event and I don't think we would have lasted. Super duper proud of this guy for finding something he loves and is really good at! Wish I could have put some of his action shots in here, but there is a lot of copyrights protecting them (silly photographers!)
Its happened again....I'm behind. So here comes some last month blogs to get you all caught up on what happened last month. Lordy. Here I thought our year start was going to be chill. I was going to have so much time! BAHAHAHAHA.
So.....the Phoenix Half Marathon. I had been really looking forward to this race for a while. I love Half Marathon distance and this particular race is really fun because it is in our stomping grounds and a downhill race. The weather this time of year is absolutely perfect so the whole combination is glorious.
Our amazing neighbors took our girlies so that Bob and I could sneak out early for this one and it was so much fun to just have an early morning running date with my favorite guy. Unfortunately, I was feeling less than on top of my game due to the timing of being a woman, so the morning of the race I knew without doubt that this was going to be a good ole "just for fun" adventure.
Bob, who is unbelievably blessed with an athletic ability went into this race "untrained" and as you can see in the picture below had an incredible morning. I was determined not to get dropped by him, and against my expectation, he increased his gears as the miles wore on. We started our journey rocking the 9:30 pace and crossed the finish line having ran 7:20s for the final 3 miles. I was done.......
But I was so proud of myself that in spite of not feeling awesome I refused to get dropped. I wore those Wonder Woman pants and worked! Our race was wonderful and it was so great to reconnect with a few of my triathlete buddies. Bob and I always agree that the people are what make racing and training truly a blast!
Here's to another race in the books and another medal on the wall!
I’m taking over Bethany’s blog to talk about my recent trip to see my dad, the experience of seeing Falcon Heavy Launch, and reflect on why space has been exciting me so much lately:
Long story short, I saw something with the thrust of 18
747’s launch an electric car to Mars. I saw the largest rocket in operation
make its first flight. I saw two 16 story buildings do a backflip at 1,400 MPH
and drop from 100 miles high to make precision landing less than 2 feet from
the target. I felt the building behind me shake so much they evacuated it
before the launch. I felt six sonic booms kick me in the chest. I heard the
roar of 5,500,000 pounds of thrust. I met Bill Nye. Last, but not least, I got
to hang out with my dad.
Notice the people standing at the bottom of the rocket for scale. See them? No? Zoom in:
The best advice I was given about attending a launch is put
the phone away and enjoy the day. Professional photographers will be there and
capture way better images than you can. Just go and be – so I did.
We started our trip by playing golf at the preserve. I’ve
only played golf in Florida a few times in my life. The easiest way to
summarize golf in Florida is there is water left, water right, and an island
green. Don’t go left, or the gator will eat your ball. Don’t go right, or it’ll
go into the woods and the snakes will eat your ball. Make sure not to hit it long, or it’ll roll
down the hill into the water.
After that humbling experience, I got an hour lesson with my
dad’s instructor. This guy was a miracle worker and I’ve got a path to play
good golf pretty soon. He showed me how to fix issues I’ve had for years. I’m
kicking myself for not getting lessons sooner.
After that, we packed up our car and drove the few hours
across Florida to the Kennedy Space Center.
Back in the 50’s NASA needed a place as far south as
possible (to get maximum advantage from the rotation of the Earth), with access
to an ocean to the east (so you don’t drop your experimental rockets onto
people’s houses), and somewhere isolated so it’s easier to notice some Russian
guys buming around (because spying). That basically leaves you the Island bought
by the Air Force that became Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Port Canaveral
(where cruise ships leave from), and Kennedy Space Center (NASA property).
It’s a huge ballpark that has millions of square acres.
I knew where I wanted to see the launch from and dropped
some bucks on the premier launch viewing package that allowed us to be the
closets civilians to the launch. They didn’t allow any humans within 3 miles of
the launch site. We were 3.9 miles away.
The morning of the launch, we had to get to the site 6 hours
ahead of time because they were expecting 100,000 people to make their way out
onto this island. Once we were onsite, they bused us onto the Air Force base to
view from the “Saturn V Visitor Center.”
This building was nerd heaven. They had a Saturn V hanging
from the ceiling. The Saturn V took men to the moon. It had the largest lifting
capacity of any rocket, ever. It could put 260,000 pounds into orbit (the
shuttle could do around 20,000 and the Falcon Heavy can do around 140,000 pounds). This thing is stupid big.
My dad enjoyed seeing all the design choices that the
engineers made like where to add stiffeners, how to attached to the tanking,
how to maximize storage space, and how crazy the astronauts were to ride that
thing.
Oh, I got to touch a moon rock. So that happened:
The time of the launch came, and they had to delay due to
upper level winds. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t launch on the first try. No
one has ever launched a new rocket on the first attempt. It just doesn’t
happen.
So, they launched on the first attempt.
Here's the official webcast (just in case I haven't made you watch it already). Watch it all, it's better than whatever else you had to do for the next 34 minutes:
The Kennedy Space Center had the SpaceX webcast playing over
the load speakers. At T-2 minutes the call of LOX loading complete was given.
The crowd went wild. At T-1 minute, the launch director gave permission to
enter terminal count, the crowd went nuts. At T-30 seconds, AFTS was set to
launch, people lost their minds.
Being 4 miles away, the sound arrives at you 12 seconds
after the sound. All 5 Million pounds rise in silence. Watching through
binoculars, it’s like looking at the sun. It’s so bright it hurts your eyes,
but you can’t look away.
The Heavy rises and begins its gravity kick. Space isn’t up,
it’s downrange – fast. After 8 seconds, its cleared the tower and pointing all
27 engines at you. Right about that time, you start to feel a low rumble coming
across the water. It’s a stampede of elephants. It’s your stomach resting on a
kick-drum. It’s so loud you’re talking in ALL CAPS.
Humanity has never heard 27 engines firing in unison before.
The sound interacts with itself in weird ways. The exhaust left the nozzles
faster than the speed of sound and created thousands of tiny sonic booms
crackling the air. The Air Force was worried the Heavy would break windows over
4 miles away, so they cleared the Vistor Center out before the launch. You could
feel the building shaking, rattling, and whining like someone struck it with a
tuning fork.
As the roar subsides, you track the 3 cores down-range. I
knew the major milestones to look for. When I see a change in the exhaust
plumes, I call “side core MECO.” Once they’ve burned the majority of their
fuel, the two side cores release and fly in formation away from the center
core. I see the side cores shut off their 9 engines, each, then glide away as
the center core throttles up and heads further down-range.
Right after the side cores split off, they start a back-flip
immediately. It must have been less than 2 seconds before they had flipped these
16 story buildings around (it was unbelievably aggressive how hard they turned). At this point they’re about 25 miles down range, 40
miles high, and going about 1,500 MPH.
They re-light 3 engines to cancel the forward velocity of
the side cores and gain altitude. They fly higher to let the Earth spin under
them and bring Florida to them. Remember, Florida is heading east 100 miles
every 10 minutes.
Once the side cores cut their engines, you lose them.
My dad and I had our binoculars out scanning the sky for the
return of the cores as they had to re-enter the atmosphere soon.
I had a general idea where they’d appear in the sky, but I
was wrong. We watched the sky as 2 new suns appeared. It seemed like they were straight
overhead. The side cores have to re-enter the atmosphere.
The Space Shuttle
had the famous heat absorbing tiles for this effort. SpaceX can’t carry the
extra weight, so they light their engines and punch the atmosphere in the face
on their way in. The math works out that you can blast the air away from you
faster than it can heat you up.
You tend to get your rocket “A little toasty” and will melt
anything not able to withstand a few thousand degrees, but it’s a completely novel
solution to the passive methods in the past. Who would have thought to solve
the heating problem by lighting your engines and falling through your own
rocket exhaust, but I digress.
Once the cores re-enter, you can see them with the
binoculars. Imagine looking straight up then scan down to the horizon in about
30 seconds. That’s how fast these things fell. WAY faster than I had thought.
Once they are 5 miles high, they light an engine and begin
the landing burn. They slow from terminal velocity to 0 at the exact second
they run out of altitude. It’s called a suicide burn as the Falcon 9 has too
much thrust to hover, so they have to get it right the first time. They nailed
both landings.
Remember how light travels faster than sound? The boosters
land to the sound of the crowd going wild. Then, you hear 6 sonic booms in
rapid succession. It’s like the sound man from A.C./D.C bought a speaker than
kicks people.
Then, about 20 seconds later, the sound of the landing burn
reaches you. That caught me completely by surprise as I wasn’t expecting that
last, final touch from physics.
To get an idea what this is like, put on a pair of headphones and watch this. They put bi-directional microphones on-top of the VAB (vertical assembly building) and caught the launch and landing.
While all this was going on, the center core, and the second stage, were continually accelerating a throttle limit of 4Gs (the rocket could accelerate faster than 4Gs stretched out of 8 minutes, but they throttle down to avoid over-stressing the payload or people as 4Gs for 8 minutes isn't exactly easy).
After a few minutes, they dump the payload fairings (the white noise cone that keeps the payload from being smashed against the atmosphere at a few thousand MPH). Once the rocket is high enough, there isn't enough air up their to harm the payload, even at those speeds, so they dump the fairings as no reason to haul dead weight any further than absolutely necessary.
There, back-lite perfectly by the sun, is Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster sporting a dumby in a space-suit (Starman).
Why launch an electric car to Mars with a rocket that cost $500,000,000 of your money to design. Well, why not?
Test launches are tests. The FAA doesn't allow you to take a paying customer because they're pretty sure your rocket won't make it. The failure rate of a rocket's first flight is crazy high. Elon even woke up with nightmares about the rocket exploding, a tire bouncing down the launch pad, and the Tesla logo landing with the thud somewhere.
But, it didn't blow up, and now there is a red car headed to the red planet.
Here's why any of this matters:
You have two choices for the future. You can either let humanity get worse, or work to make it better - those are your two choices.
I have never seen a more hopeful, determined group of people than those involved in space exploration and scientific studies. There is nothing this group of people can't do to make the world a better place for the next generation.
When you see 5,500,000 pound rocket throw an electric car at 40,000 MPH, you start to think we can solve whatever problem we have down here.
