ironman 70.3

Hello, it's me. Fall is here and I am dropping in for my bi-monthly post. No, I've got a few posts coming...  

It has been over a month since I wrote about Hannah's sixth birthday and we have just been trucking along, managing schedules, enjoying the change of seasons, and mostly having a whole lot of fun. There have been a few noteworthy events, too. One of which happened at the end of September. 

On the 27th, Joe completed a half-Ironman - or Ironman 70.3 as it is now called - in Augusta. This is his second triathlon of that distance. {It has been a long time since the first one, and much longer since he did the full Ironman.} That same weekend he also married a couple. Thankfully that was in Augusta as well, what with the rehearsal, dinner, wedding and reception to attend. We brought the kids and Meme and spent the weekend in a hotel. While Joe and I did wedding stuff, Meme and the kids had all sorts of hotel fun.

The race was Sunday. We were a little nervous about the weather. It was going to rain, then it wasn't, and back and forth until we got a favorable weather report the day of. And then it did end up raining some, though thankfully mostly just a mist.

Hannah and Joseph were excited to cheer on Daddy. At the race expo the day before, Meme bought them "Support Crew" sweatshirts. I loved the neon. Great visibility! Daddy spotted them every time he passed by.

Joe left the hotel early that morning with his friend, Mitch. Since there is such a time lag between the close of transition and the swim start, we came a little later, riding the hotel shuttle bus (which delighted Joseph).

The triathlon includes a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run (half marathon). Joe had a really great swim, coming out of the water first in his age group, and ended up with the 13th fastest swim time (out of 2600 people).

He just told me today that he was really nervous about losing his wedding ring. He usually gives it to me before the start, but I wasn't there this time. But we saw him coming out of the water and cheered loud! These are the professional pictures below.

While he was on the bike, we went to a great little breakfast place and then found a good spot to watch the run. We only saw Joe on the bike at the very start, coming out of the transition area, which is normal for a race with such a long bike distance.

The bike leg was rough. Joe was in a lot of pain for most of the 56 miles. It was definitely due to the accident; his back just can't take that position.

He said he learned two things after the race: 1, he is not doing that race distance anytime soon (if ever again), and 2, we need a third opinion. It's not just the bike riding. It's a quality of life thing. People often ask us how he can manage to run so much with his back being so bad. Well, he can run with no pain, yet he can't sit (or ride a bike) for 20 minutes without pain. He would rather run for an hour than sit for an hour. Seriously.

Joseph wore his Boston Strong shirt and Hannah wore the one she got for running her first race. We do love bright colors! We brought our cowbells from the Savannah Rock-n-Roll marathon and used them with abandon.

Joe had a really good run. He would probably want me to clarify the above photo. He is not saying he's #1. He's pointing to the Big Man upstairs who got him through the race and has enabled him to be even able to race. Praise God, indeed!

His final time was 4:56:27, accomplishing his goal of sub-5 hours. Yay!! Go, Daddy, go!

It was a super fun day!

...And, thanks to Meme, a very helpful part of Joe's fan club.

tybee half marathon

This past weekend we were in Savannah for the Critz Tybee Run Fest. We drove into town on Friday afternoon and then, a bit later, on out to Tybee Island to pick up Joe's race packet. Hannah wanted to come along and I'm glad she did…

We got to have a few sweet moments on the beach with our girl.

Saturday morning started early, but both kids were up and dressed in a hurry. Obviously, we had to stop at Krispy Kreme on our way to the beach. I was very disappointed that there were no hot doughnuts ready, but we settled for some of these:

The race website advised us to arrive before the 7:00am start of the 10K due to parking and street closures, but we decided we'd take the risk. The half marathon start time was 8:30 and we were going to take advantage of a little extra sleep. We got out there around 7:40, found a great parking spot on 13th Street, and bundled up before heading over to the starting line.

Contrary to what we were expecting, it wasn't too cold. Hannah shed her coat almost immediately and I soon followed suit. The weather was incredible and both kids were so excited!

Love this video of them warming up with Daddy:

I had my phone in one hand taking pictures and Joe's phone in the other taking a video of the start. Hannah's cheering is awesome…

While we waited for Joe to run the first half of the course, we took a walk down the pier with Gran Gran and Poppy who also came to watch.

There were a bunch of surfers out in the water which was fun to see.

We found a spot on Butler Avenue to see Joe at the 7 mi mark. I encouraged him to wear his new (loud) neon singlet that I got him for Christmas and so glad he did - you could see him coming from a long ways off. No missing Daddy!

Now, let me tell you about Hannah. If you don't already know, she gets really into these races. She loves it all and is Daddy's biggest fan. She chose her outfit - three different layers. At the bottom was her favorite t-shirt which states "RUN FAST OR BE LAST". That's what she's showing Joe in the photo below.

One of the other runners said to Joe, "I don't know whose girl that is, but she sure is cute." To which he responded, "She belongs to me. Did you see her shirt? It says 'Run fast or be last'. You gotta train 'em early."

Another runner that passed by us at one point called out "I hope my daughter cheers like that one day!" Hannah is such a good supporter and encourager. I love that about her. So enthusiastic and animated. And Joe loves it, giving her a thumbs up and calling out as he passes by. {Joseph cheered mostly from the stroller but he gets a shout-out, too.}

Just by walking a few blocks, we caught Joe at the 7, 9.5, and 11 mile marks. Tybee is a great race, both for runners (it's flat!) and for spectators. The only wild card is the weather. Thankfully, the cold, wind, and rain of years past was not an issue this year.

That's him running into the finish on the left. He beat his goal of 1:25:00 finishing with a time of 1:23:13. Yay!!! With that time he qualified for the New York marathon! {As has been the case lately, he also ran with no pain!}

So excited and proud of Daddy!!

We wrapped up our morning on Tybee with a short playtime on the beach. It was chilly but sunny and Hannah and Joseph had a ball playing on the sand.

I wrote "Momma (heart) Hannah + Joseph" and then Hannah followed with her own message in the sand, x's and o's and stick figures:

What a fun morning and a great race!

a birthday and a holiday weekend

Last Thursday we celebrated Joe. Not that it was a huge celebration; he had meetings all day long and didn't come home until after 8. But we did make room for a family lunch, taking Hannah out of school early.

Meme arrived in town bearing Gran Gran's delicious carrot cake - Joe's favorite. We had the kids in their pajamas and ready to taste some of Daddy's cake before heading off to bed.

Hannah's sign says "Daddy happy BiRThday Hannah JosEpH"

Meme spent a couple nights and we did things like install Joseph's teepee lights (that was tedious)…

Ride bikes up and down the street (he's fearless and loves to go fast, and slam on the brakes)…

Joe and I went out to a nice dinner with some friends on Friday night. While we were gone, Hannah became a master at Dominos and there was some exploring in the woods behind our house.

Saturday night Joe and I had our Sunday School class party out at a member's farm. Hannah and Joseph came along (mostly staying in the car to watch Tangled) and really enjoyed helping Daddy blow out the candles on his surprise cake!

There were a LOT of candles!

Happy birthday Daddy! We love you to the moon and back!!

We thoroughly enjoyed having a long weekend to play. Yesterday the weather finally warmed up enough to spend time outside. After joining Joe for his cool-down in the morning, the munchkins spent most of the day "digging for treasure" in the backyard and riding bikes.

Joseph was "working too hard" to look up at me, but Monkey obliged.

While Joseph was napping and Hannah was over at a friend's house, Joe and I tackled (begrudgingly, I must admit) a Christmas present-project. My mom gave Joseph this parking garage model kit. We've been procrastinating putting it together…and for good reason: it was not easy to assemble (two people with bad backs, on the floor, glueing parts together and all).

But, alas, it is done! And what matters now is…

He absolutely loves it.

And that sums up our holiday weekend. Thank you, America, for honoring Dr. King…and for giving us a day-off to spend as a family.

rock 'n' roll

This past Saturday was the Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and 1/2. We came into town on Friday and carbed-up at Vinnie's. Vinnie Van Go Go's is an awesome pizza place downtown in City Market. My family has been eating there for most of my life. We love to go and sit outside, drink good beer and have their (huge!) slices with all kinds of toppings (I like spinach, artichoke hearts, anchovies, garlic…).

Granddaddy, Aunt Angie and Uncle Will Will joined us. We didn't all need to load up on carbs, but we did anyway.

The next morning we bundled up and left my mom's at 6:30 to make it to the start on Bay Street before 7:00. Initially, I thought I would run the 1/2, but due to some knee issues, I never got the training miles in.

But Joe did run. And, after dropping him off, we maneuvered around road blocks and closed streets to make it to our first cheering point: the corner of Montgomery and Gwinnett streets. We waited eagerly to see Daddy, who came in right on time!

Mile 4.7 at 7:30AM:

Then we made our way to stop #2. Again, right on time.

At each point, Granddaddy (pushing the stroller) and Meme (at times running with Josey) joined us in cheering Daddy on. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Mile 8.2 at 7:52AM:

Two friends from Sandersville also ran. Thomas on the left, Mitch on the right.

Then, off to catch Daddy at the finish.

Geico gave out little bells, which my children were only too happy to ring like crazy. And not too long after we found a place to stand did I spot the yellow singlet coming down the chute…

…ahead of his goal time!!

I had propped Joseph up on the fence and was trying to hold him, take pictures with my phone, and yell at the same time. So, excuse my finger and poor photos.

Joe wanted to run the 1/2 marathon, 13.1 miles, in less than an hour and a half. Well, he got his sub-1:30 goal alright. His time was 1:25:11. Even better: for the first time in sixteen months, he ran with no pain caused by his accident.

Go, Daddy, go!!!

Our friend Mitch did well too and I was happy to post a picture of the two of them.

And then I love this:

Joseph wanted to take a picture of Honey and Daddy with his camera.

Just to be real, here's what most of our family shots look like:

This is the best one. Three out of four isn't bad.

We had breakfast at the Original Pancake House and then let the kids play at the mall before heading back home in the afternoon.

It was a very successful day, though I should mention one little detail. Joe told me after he finished the race that he was hoping to qualify for the New York City Marathon. I didn't know about this, and he missed qualifying by 11 seconds. Eleven seconds!

You see, Joe has a new goal. {My husband operates on setting and achieving goals. So whenever I hear I new one, I know that he will likely do anything in his power to make it happen.} He wants to run "the big six"- or the World Marathon Majors. Boston, NYC, Chicago, London, Berlin and Tokyo.

One down (Boston), five to go…