Race Day

What?!  Race day already?  It seemed like so far in the future, them BAM, it's here.  Did I mention Heath and I stayed in the pickup in a little park last night in Loveland?!  I waited to long to find housing because I wasn't sure I'd be racing.  Turns out I waited a bit toooooo long.  One race more race in the books!  Always a story to go along with them!  This race was recommended to me by David and his dad when we visited with them back at Christmas.  (David is my swimming buddy from Texas whose family lives south of Fort Collins in Colorado)  The Loveland Lake to Lake Olympic distance tri was one to put on the calendar due to the absolute beauty.  So, I signed up.  This was waay before I knew that I would become sick.  So after my Mayo experience, I dropped from the Olympic distance down to the Sprint distance.  This was a hard decision, but a great one!  I was not ready for the Olympic distance plus I don't think I would have met my new friend, Liz, if I'd done the longer distance!

Pa came down the morning of to watch me race!
He's been waiting a while because last year in Texas
I was sick the day he came to watch me race.

Just do what you know!
* SWIM * BIKE * RUN *

My new friend, Liz!
Let's celebrate our accomplishment!
God has given us the ability to enjoy the great outdoors!

This beautiful woman is a sister in Christ and mother and wife and athlete and so much more!  We just barely got introduced to each other and then we were off to race.  After the race, I was able to catch up with her to get her contact info so we can stay connected!  She is amazing and I am so blessed to have met her and racked my bike next to hers for our race!  We did it!  Congrats girl on a great race!  Beautiful racing conditions ~ probably the best I have ever had!

Fresh herbs:  Basil - on the left, Sunflower microgreens - bottom left,
Parsley, Oregano, and Rosemary - right.

Homemade pizza (minus the store-bought crust).
(And rhubarb in the background ready to be frozen!)

Even after my race, I was able to keep
my muscles relaxed!

Erik and David, This One is for You!

David, were you late for practice this morning?!  Erik and I were all ready to swim....
It's 5:34 am....not sure, but someone must have
been home primping for picture day!

Sooooo boys, I finally found this picture from the summer!  These are my good buddies, David (left) and Erik (right).  These boys added humor to practices as they pushed me through endless laps, drills, and training during the winter season of swimming in the great outdoors.  While in Texas, I was blessed with a 50-meter year-round outdoor pool that is cooled in the summer and heated in the winter....well, most of the winter.  Some of the time the heater was broken, but it was ok, we just wore wetsuits....and some didn't!  Oh, those brave souls!  I just used it as an excuse to practice in mine (and make sure it still fit)!

Cooper Masters

Boys, congratulations on your achievement of becoming Cooper Winter Warriors!  You attended at least 2 practices/week throughout the winter months.  Thanks for consistent reminders to not slack off and to push myself to be the best I can be!  I sure do miss you guys and my pool!

Thank you to Coach Jim Cole who started this program of Winter Warriors.  With his smiling face and cheerful attitude, we all looked forward to dragging ourselves out of bed at 4:45 am in the dark to go swim under the BIG beautiful Texas sky!

Morning Blessings

I woke up before my alarm this morning which was awesome because Heath could keep sleeping.  I LOVE MORNINGS!  My Daddy always told me that they are the best part of the day.  Now, as an adult, I appreciate that much more than when I was a kid.

Blessed to run with my friends from Cooper Run Group this morning before swim practice.  We ran 3 miles at an 8:35 minutes/mile pace.  After a great run in the dark, I switched gears and deck changed at the pool.  78* water temperature today made for a nice break from the chilly wind on the run.  Great group today in the pool, as always.  My friends/tri family have been incredibly amazing to me and my goals.  I am forever grateful for this sport that has truly changed my life.

After swim, I enjoyed a nice shower and relaxed a few minutes in the sauna before eating my second breakfast/snack and hitting up Maribel's restorative yoga class.  She has an hour long class where you basically just lay in poses in the dark.  It is totally an awesome mental break too!  In fact, I believe I  actually fell asleep today during the last pose!  At the end she gave us each a swipe of peppermint essential oil behind our ears to perk us up for the rest of our day.

Having 30 minutes to spare before PT, I went upstairs and worked on my computer at Tenley's Cafe.  Ms. Kathy made me a made-to-order all *fresh* burrito and homemade salsa!  It is so SOOO good.  Heath told me that when I work out hard that I have to get this because otherwise I am usually starving the rest of the day.  I need "real food" as he calls it.

A beautiful picture of my pool captured after the sun came up this morning.

Off to PT for my shoulder.  I found a therapist who came highly recommended.  His name is Mr. Aaron Pierson, check out his website:  http://www.piersonpt.com/.  He that works on solving the root problem instead of just putting a bandaid on it.  I really like this approach and look forward to seeing what he can do for my shoulder.

Back to the apartment for a brief lunch.  It was an awesome surprise to have Heath was home over lunch.  I got to see him before we both headed out to work.  That was a highlight in my day.

Another highlight of my day was getting off work late and coming home to a man in my kitchen!  Heath had bacon in the oven and french toast and eggs cooking up on the stove.  The whole house smelled awesome and he served it with proud smile.  I AM BLESSED!

Welcome Back!

Hi Friends and Family!! Please send me a word to let me know how you are doing! It will be SOOOO great to hear from you! If you have a chance to connect, let me know so we can Skype/Facetime and have a coffee catchup date! 

Quick recap: We went back to Nebraska the week before Thanksgiving and got to see the boys, Heath's mom and dad, and my daddy and our dogs! After Christmas, we got to go to Illinois to see my mama! My sister is in Morocco teaching English as a second language. Life is good here....God is good! Heathy and happy. I now work at a small animal hospital and really like it as I work with wonderful people and it is a great schedule for my triathlon training.

I have been training really hard in the off season and humbly learning to balance training with being a Godly wife to Heath. He is SUPER supportive of my habit as I get out of bed at 4:30-4:45 am most days and falling asleep between 8 and 9 pm after eating supper and making lunches for the next day. I am passionate about the sport and just amazed to see God working in my life through the sport. I have met so many incredible people along the way. I just cannot talk enough about how awesome it is. I am excited to see how God will use His gifts of passion, desire, and ability through me. :)

~*Race Day*~

Heath got to help me set up my transition area, which usually they don't allow.  We set up my stuff and then he got a photo of the swim start!  Open water, wetsuit legal!  Nothing like the chill of a fresh mountain water lake.  My Daddy drove to Steamboat to watch me race today!  So special.  After the race, Dad took us to my all time favorite cafe called Creekside!  Check out the BEAUTIFUL flowers in all of their gardens along the river.

Creekside Cafe Flower Garden

Daddy and Me

Heath and Me

We found a surprise when we got home!  We got adopted by Little Miss.  She started coming around while Garry and Barb were watching our dogs while we were out of town.  She is so sweet.  Heath said not to name her because we were not going to get to keep her.  Turns out, he named her Harley.  :)  (I think that is a good sign!)

She is super sweet and our dogs like her.  She just wants loving.  She has been trained to some degree...sit.
She is definitely all puppy as her paws are HUGE!  All black, with a little white, she looks like a lab mix.

Our newest addition photo by the garden!

Our dogs were absolutely exhausted from their weekend with their grandparents and then coming home to us and a new dog.  Cat thrilled to have everyone home.  Family together again!  :)  = LOVE!

July 3rd, 2015

Ha ha!  Trying on a non-sexy wetsuit that I am thankful to have been given.  Yep, still fits and is ready to use for
Steamboat Sprint Triathlon the weekend of July 18th!

Our family enjoying fellowship under our gazebo and freshly sodded yard!

One of my favorite pictures of us!  Taken in LaGrange, Wyoming at the 4th of July fireworks celebration 2015!

Another Sick Day

He snuck into my dad's room and through the connecting
closet into the office.  The door to the office was closed,
but that didn't stop him.  Apparently, this is where he
wanted to rest this morning.

From rain last night to snow actively falling this morning to....

....a beautiful Spring day!

My Buddy.

Both of my buddies stayed home with Mama today!  YAY!  :)

Dad just got home with our newly remodeled 3020 John Deere.

It looks Awesome!

All that HARD work paid off~Heath, Dad, and Garry, thank you!

Our rhubarb is growing strong already!

Sick Day

Little Man cuddling with me.

I had a rough night last night and woke up this morning not feeling well at all.  After my decision to stay home from work, I called Heath at work and told him.  He asked me if there was anything he could do.  I just told him that I was going to try to get a doctor's appointment today.  At this point, Dad had already headed out to get some tractor parts before heading over to Garry's again to work on our tractor.  I called him after I had confirmed a 10:30 am doctor appointment.  It is not with my regular doctor, but same clinic.  Thank goodness for the short notice availability!  I am grateful!  My daddy was able to take me to the doctor before heading to Garry's with the dogs.

True definition of curled up.

Dad took me to the doctor and then to get a sandwich to bring home so we didn't have to cook.  We also were able to get my prescription filled at the pharmacy.  This made me realize how amazingly fortunate and blessed we are to be able to have this type of access.

Feel Awful, scared, not sure what is wrong

Go to Doctor, get a diagnosis, and an antibiotic

Get Prescription Filled

Start Feeling Better within 24-48 hours

I cannot even imagine not being able to have access to this kind of care.  For this, I am grateful!  The doctor thought I might have a touch of bronchitis, but she wasn't sure.  They took my vitals...no temperature, regular heart beat, and low blood pressure (which is normal).  I am supposed to take the antibiotic twice a day for five days.  If I do not show signs of improvement, I am supposed to call and schedule another appointment for further review.

It was a quiet day as I have moved from my bed all day to in my chair all day.  I watched the grass grow out the floor-length window and the hands on the clock go round and round all day.  QUIET~no dogs, just my cat who was in and out all day.  Heath got home and then Dad and the dogs.  So excited to have company even though I am not in the mood or up to partying....just having them back in the house and the dogs too was a great spirit booster!  Heath brought me some butter brickle ice cream but I didn't like it so I shared it with my cuddle-buddy.  I think he liked it!

Dad bought some Papa Murphy's pizza for tonight since the birthday celebration didn't occur due to me being a party-pooper.  We are going to try again on Thursday as we will not be headed to Colorado now.

Bountiful Basket

Fresh spinach salad with peppers and deer meat.

I picked up our *Bountiful Basket* for this week.  Lots of YUMMY and HEALTHY in it!

Ice Cream ~ YUMMY!

Heath and I ran some errands after work today and enjoyed some Dairy Queen ice cream.  He got a blizzard and I got a cherry dipped cone.  He order, so he order me a LARGE!  WOAH, lots of ice cream!  Good training treat!  We worked hard for this!

Tractor Restoring Day

We had a great day today out at Barb and Garry's!  Daddy came to visit to help us work on our new tractor.  When we bought our new tractor, Garry took it back to his house to put in his shop.  Heath asked Garry to hold off on any fixes and tune-ups because my dad wants to help with them and to learn how to do it as well.  A couple of weeks ago, we picked this weekend to be the one to fix up our new tractor.  The weather was perfect, we couldn't have picked a better weekend in March if we tried.

Givin' Her A Bath

I think I can, I think I can!!!!

While they were happily working on the tractor, I took my mountain bike for a ride down an old dirt road.  It was FABULOUS!  My first outdoor ride of the season...thankful it was on my mountain bike and not my road bike.  Still a little gun-shy of the road bike since my last ride of the outdoor season last fall I had my accident on top of the Wildcat hills.  This ride was perfect today!

I reached the Summit!

SUCCESS!

The Journey Heading Home!

Got to pressure wash some vehicles.  CLEAN!

Walking In A Winter WONDERland!

The Bench~our normal turn-around spot.

I got to go for a walk today even thought it snowed.  They do such a good job keeping the path clear.  Yay!  I really enjoy my time out of the office to get my blood flowing and to re-energize.  Thank you Lord for my ability to walk!

God's Walk

I so enjoy my walks along the path at the Y that overlook the Monument and the beautiful birds resting in peace.  Reminds me of that verse in Matthew.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?"

~Matthew 6:26~

~Happy 1st Anniversary, Honey!~

We got to celebrate our 1st anniversary by going to church together and listening to Pastor Wayne preach.  It was awesome because the same big, beautiful, high-backed chairs that we used up on the stage at our wedding (because I was on crutches) were up there today.  We were Pastor Wayne's first wedding ever!

What a year it as been!  We have been through alot of adventure in the last 12 months knowing that God is weaving together His precious plan for our lives.  All we have to do is believe in him and enjoy the ride wherever He choses takes us.

After church Gram took us to one of our favorite restaurants, Oriental House for lunch!  Heath then went to help Evie move a few things as they are packing up to move on to the next chapter in their lives as Travis becomes the pastor of a small church in Iowa.  I headed up to the hospital to meet Stella.  I have been swimming at the Y for quite a while and she has taken interest in my swimming.  After quite a bit of talking, we realized that God has brought us together to help each other.  Today, her mama is in the hospital suffering from pneumonia on top of cancer.  Before her mama fell sick, we had decided that she would be my triathlon training coach.  As she was sitting there in the hospital with her entire family, she still spoke with me about my racing plans.

Opps....

Well, I made it to the pool yesterday morning before my 7 am Friday Morning Meeting.....but, as soon as I sat down in my car at the Y, my pants ripped out, yep, just like that, they were goners.  You probably guessed it...yes, right down the middle, in the back!

As I pulled into work, the sun was just peeking up over the horizon.  My coworker was just headed in as well.  Just as soon as I could lay my stuff down in my office, I headed to the bathroom to change into my nice new grey yoga pants.  I am soooo very grateful that so early on this morning, I chose to grab my nice new loose fitting yoga pants instead of my grungy ole' navy and gold Nike sweats.  Blessings everywhere!

Since my coworker saw me go into the office, right at daybreak, in jeans and then come back out in yoga pants, I felt that he needed an explanation before walking into our meeting.  All said and done, it was the running joke for the rest of the day.  Thank goodness I didn't have to present to a bunch of guys in my ripped jeans!

So, after work, I visited Heath at his new office, like I mentioned yesterday.  It was fun!  As soon as I got there he asked me if I wanted to go to Colorado.  Of course, but curious what the occasion was, I had to ask.  I have to brag on him a little, he is a great listener!  I had called him earlier in the day to tell him about my pant issue and so the reason he wanted to head to CO was to go jean shopping.  In his words, "To buy my Baby some new jeans."

We headed home and threw a few items in a bag, grabbed the dogs, and we were off.  We dropped the dogs at Gram and Pa's house on our way out.  They enjoy having the dogs once in a while and we appreciate the help!  We stopped at Outback Steakhouse in Cheyenne for supper.  Boy, was mine awesome!  I had some teriyaki kabobs with a sweet potato, YUM!  Heath ordered a steak, but his wasn't nearly as memorable as mine, bummer.

Heath had booked a hotel in Fort Collins.  We reached it safely with full bellies and looking forward to some good sleep.

That catches us up to today, Saturday, the day before our one year anniversary!  When we woke up, Heath turned on CMT (Country Music Television), went down to get the hotel breakfast and brought it to me in bed, while I listened to the music and read the Bible donated by the Gideons!  Beautiful!  He is so thoughtful and I know he listens to me because he picked out all the same things I would have picked out for myself to eat.  YUM!

After breakfast, I hit the trail.  Heath was super sweet and drove me over to the trail I used to run and bike in graduate school.  It was fantastic because I needed to run and what better place than where Katie Huffman and I used to run together in school.  Oh, the memories!  Hoping Huff is enjoying her mission/study abroad trip!  It was a beautiful day!  Heath is a wonderful man as he waited in the car for me while I finished up my run!

We did some jean shopping before heading home.  Heath is a very good person to shop with because he will pick out stuff that he wants me to try on and then give me feedback.  He is such a good balance for me who is always rushing and not enjoying the moments.  His demeanor helps me stay calm and try to take my time to enjoy some things instead of rushing through life and missing everything.

We quickly picked up the dogs on the way home and Gram donated some biscuits and potatoes to the cause (so we didn't have to stop at the store).  My professor from graduate school recently took a new position up at the college.  In his transition from Colorado State University to Panhandle Research Station here in Western Nebraska, we have been wanting to get together with him and his wife.  I really want to introduce him to Heath.  After putting this date on the calendar for about a month, we got to enjoy their company tonight.  Heath used the new can cooker from his brother and sister-in-law and we had a wonderful dinner with even better fellowship.  What a great couple!

A New Year!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I got a wild hair when I emailed Bill my question:  "How far is Plano or Allen or North Dallas?"  These are three different locations of an indoor triathlon that popped up when I did a Google search on 'triathlons near Dallas.'  I hadn't even talked to Heath yet about racing again, just wanted to see if it was even close before I presented the idea to my man.  Bill told me that Plano is a short 20 minutes away.  So....I brought the idea before Heath and somehow he already knew about it!  He was all for me starting to race again, but we had to be sure that I was going to be able to get off work to go for sure.  I waited for the final go ahead from my boss to be given those three days off, so I hopped on the internet and signed up.  It was a great feeling!

This was an indoor one so it was quite different than any other outdoor ones I have done.  We had set times allotted for each event and set transition times to get from one station to the next.  Instead of racing the distance for time, we raced the time for distance!

10 minute SWIM * 30 minute BIKE * 20 minute RUN

21 lengths in the POOL * 9.5 miles on a stationary spinning BIKE * 2.25 miles on a TREADMILL

It was a GREAT first race since surgery!  I am so thankful for a great surgeon and a wonderful husband who has supported me through it all!  It has been 2 years this week that I last raced.  It was actually a double race with a 5K on New Year's Eve Day and a 1/2 marathon on New Year's Day in Allen, Texas, 2013.  Heath ran them both with me!

When I finished stretching and cleaning up after the race, we headed back to the house.  Everyone was getting ready for church when we got there.  I ate a quick second breakfast and we were off to church.  It was a HUGE church and it was just one of three and it was considered a "satellite" location to the main branch near Dallas.  I was awestruck by their annual budget of over $37 million dollars, that is a BIG church with lots of different ministries and outreaches!

Praises for a safe and healthy arrival to Texas
and for the completion of my triathlon.

When we were finished worshiping our Lord and Savior, we headed to Babe's, a family style chicken restaurant/country store.  It was way cool!  We each just ordered our type of chicken and then all the sides came to be passed, family style.  IT WAS AWESOME!  Mashed 'taters, green beans, corn, biscuits, with my entree of smoked chicken.  Heath had chicken fried steak.  YUM!

Such a cool place!

Our Babes at Babes!