Planning for next year

The whole family is still pumped up about racing and triathlons, so we've been talking about what we could do next year. Mik is gung-ho about doing the adult tri (a sprint), and I had said if he did I'd do it with him. But then I had a better idea: What if Mik does the tri individually, and the rest of the family does it as a relay—me on the swim, Dex on the bike, and M.H. on the run?

Mik, of course, loves the idea. He thinks he can take all three of us.

As for me, I'm committing right now to doing something at the Big Sky State Games next year. Either the swim meet, the triathlon, or both.

Bragging on my other kid now

This started out as a triathlon blog, and if that's why you read it, then you'll appreciate that the next generation is picking up the slack.

Mik did the kids triathlon for the Big Sky State Games yesterday (150 meter swim, 2 mile bike, half-mile run). He'd been saying he was going to win it, and I believed him, but I did not realize just how MUCH he was going to win it.

First, some pictures:

Before

During

After

Oh, just being interviewed for the local TV news.

I'm making him write a race report (partly because I'm such a mean mom, but partly because I get a crazy amount of joy from my own). But since I'm sure he won't let me share what he writes, here's how it went down:

Mik got second place in this race last year, which bugged him. So I did as much as I could this time around to give him every advantage. I dug out my race belt so he wouldn't have to bother wearing a shirt. I helped him experiment with slipping on and running in different shoes without socks. I had him practice transitions in the driveway. I talked his brother into lending him a bigger, better bike. I even shared my knowledge of how to do a fast swim start, how to sight in the water, how to get out of the water, transition tips, bike mounting tips…

The one thing I didn't bother discussing was pacing, because Mik basically just has two speeds: give up or give it all you've got (cough). His triathlon philosophy can be summed up as, "Get ahead and freaking stay ahead." He told the TV reporter as much, and you can hear that here. 

Anyway, he shot out in front so quickly that the spectators around me started saying, "Wow, look at THAT kid." Then he did a lightning-fast transition and disappeared for seven minutes while out on the bike course. Then he took off running like he was being chased (see During picture). He came in at 13:00.79, more than a full minute ahead of the next kid to cross the line, making his parents and other assembled relatives very proud (see After picture). 

And that's pretty much the race report, except that I have another before and after to show you. On the left is Mik at last year's triathlon, when he had been eating Paleo for two months and had already lost about 10 pounds. On the right is him after eating Paleo for 12 months more. Just sayin'. 

Last year

This year

This is how you do summer

Dex is 15½, so it might not come as much of a surprise to you that he's getting really independent, but it sure does to me. If he weren't still required by Montana state law to have a parent in the car while he drives, he might not need us at all. He can cook his own meals, plan and execute his own social engagements, do his own laundry, handle pretty much any household task—not to mention take apart a computer and put it back together again, if that happens to need doing.

Most importantly to him, he's got all the gear and skills he needs to safely go rock climbing with a friend, and he that's just what he's done maybe half the days this summer. When he came home from another expedition at around 8 last night, he commented that his hands were really trashed. How, I wondered, could they not be toughened up by this point? Oh, he said, they were really tough. "But I've been out so much this week that I wore the callouses off, and now they're just…disintegrating."

Once again I'm a bit jealous of my firstborn, who's found a way to play outside in the sunshine all summer long until his hands disintegrate.

Flawed eCard of the Day: Three choices?

See how this cleverly used the word "give" three times? It follows that it must be true that the only way to get through life is to get ripped by performing an hour of high-intensity training while being screamed at six days a week.

Or wait. Am I still allowed a rest day when I'm giving it all I've got? And if I choose to be a knitter instead of an athlete, am I allowed to just give knitting all I've got instead? What about parenting? What about work? Should I give all the things all I've got? Do I do it forever, or when I'm 80, can I decide that I've conquered my own body and life once and for all and finally give it a rest?

So many questions best not asked on my gym's super-irritating Facebook feed.

Bah

I was planning to have a busy but satisfying workday, but it didn't pan out. It never pans out when the work is for Grumpy. Grumpy makes everything a million times more difficult and time-consuming and irritating than you would expect. It didn't get its blogging code name for nothing.

I would dearly love to give Grumpy the old heigh-ho, but Grumpy is also my largest source of income. When Prince Charming is thinking up doomsday scenarios under which he would have to stop writing full time and apply to work at Costco (it's always Costco in the doomsday scenarios), they generally begin with, "If something were to happen with Grumpy…"

So now I'm done working for Grumpy for the day but have not yet started on anything else (like a project for poor, neglected Bashful). It makes me grumpy. I was out of sorts yesterday, too, though, which makes me wonder if giving up eggs has anything to do with it. I think I heard somewhere that your body will rebel when you give up foods you're sensitive to, because you're also addicted to them, or something like that. Just work with me here. I'm not in any kind of mood to put a lot of effort into making sense.

A trial separation

Because I can never leave well enough alone, and because I listened to a podcast last week where this Paleo-type nutrition person made a pretty convincing case, I'm trying out giving up yet another food. (New Life Plan!) These were her seven foods to avoid:

1. Corn
2. Peanuts
3. Gluten
4. Soy
5. Sugar and artificial sweetenrs
6. Dairy
7. Eggs

Since I already avoid the first six, the only new thing I'm giving up (for three weeks) is eggs. That's harder than it sounds, though, since I love eggs and had been eating maybe three or four a day on average. I don't think I actually have any of the symptoms the nutrition person cites, but she says she's found that 70 percent of people she works with are sensitive to eggs, usually without knowing it, and that giving them up for a few weeks makes them feel better and helps them "shed those last few stubborn pounds."

Well, that got my attention. Last few stubborn pounds? I would love to shed those last few stubborn pounds! Except of course I'm not weighing myself, so instead of pounds, I'll have to use a nonstandard unit, namely size 10 dresses purchased on eBay.

Size 10 dresses purchased on eBay? I would love to fit into those last few stubborn size 10 dresses purchased on eBay!

Ode to softball

The church softball team played its last game this morning, and I'm a bit sorry to see the season end. I could feel myself getting more competent with each passing inning, and I even found a position (catcher, who knew?) where I felt like I was actually contributing something, rather than just standing out in the field being one of the five required women.

Granted, my primary contribution as the catcher was that I filled a position no one else really wanted, but I enjoyed getting to touch the ball every inning, I don't mind getting up and down all the time, and it fit my fielding skill set: throwing the ball back to the pitcher and practically nothing else.

Softball is all sprinting, jumping, and other explosive movements; it's great for hand-eye coordination; and in my case I got the added benefit of a whole bunch of squats. The perfect exercise, and a pretty fun game to boot.