Triathlon: check!

Yesterday I had a big personal accomplishment...

I completed my second Triathlon!

It felt incredible.

If you have ever considered doing one, I highly recommend it!

It is so thrilling and so fun to be a part of something like this!

(I did my first one about 5 years ago, so it had been a while.)

And I did not train much for this one, so I was proud to just finish!

Next time I will train better and focus on my time!

I added doing another Tri to my "desires in my heart list", and so decided now was the time to check it off that list! yay!

{finishing!}

the preparations:

packing my bag for the transitions (those are the stations where you get on bike after swim, and then get off bike for the run).

Also, my bff GU. (an electrolyte sugar filled energy snack), and a PB sandwich!

a sweet note hubbs left for me to read when i left at the crack of dawn!

Spectators were not really allowed at the swimming portion so I don't have any pics of that, but it was great! A little stressful with so many people swimming at once, but it went by fast.

This is me at the transition, drying off after the swim,

and then putting on my jersey and helmet for the ride...

my little cheerleaders...

getting ready to hop on my bike!

coming in from the bike ride...smiling big because I could hear sweet Abigail yelling

"Go Mama Go!"

off to the run...jello legs! :)

(PS if you havent ever seen it before, for tri's, you get "marked" with your race numbers, which is what you see written on my arms and legs.)

I was #99!!! woot woot.

"99 Baby..."

Apparently Abigail did a little running herself while waiting for Mama!

I think she's a little racer in the making.

Coming into the finish!!!

best. feeling. ever.

the best part of finishing was scooping up my little cheerleaders!

Glad it's over, but i can't wait to do another one!

I think I could really love doing Triathlons!!

Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me with this lately!

Yall have a great Monday!

Swim, Bike, Run...here I come!!!

the day is here: my second Triathlon.

(insert: small freakout)

Pray for me Sunday morning if you think about it!

I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes!

let's get er done.

Naptime Ramblings: the 4th, worship, 54 texts, weight, Joe, potty training, and Alaska

Seems that this might become a regular thing.

when I don't really have a "topic" in mind or on my heart to blog about...

just sharing a few thoughts while the babes are asleep. :)

1. so excited for the 4th! Looking into our plan for the day right now. We will probably go to a parade that morning, and then that evening we will head to our city park for free food, live bands, bounce house, and fireworks! woohoo!

(and don't forget the watermelon!)

2. also excited for the 4th because it is Bethany's half-birthday!

SIX months old!! can you believe it? I can't.

oh my goodness I feel like she was just being born like yesterday. time definitely flies even faster with number two.

She is growing, uses her excersaucer, rolls all over the place, and is super close to sitting for more than a few seconds! I fall in love with my tiny peanut more every day!

3. I am working through in my heart about what it looks like to really be listening to HIM each day.

It seems as if He needs to remind me of this in a new way with each season of life.

Lately, He has led me to listen to messages online, and also just to spend time worshipping to music.

He is speaking and showing up, and I'm so glad.

4. about worship: it has been VITAL for me lately. seriously.

When Bethany wakes up about 6:30-ish, I have been bringing her to bed with us and turning worship music on on my phone while we all just lay there until Abigail wakes up, usually around 7. Bethany loves it, and I swear it makes a HUGE difference in how we start the day.

5. potty training. OH potty training. Abigail WAS trained for a while, then got a tummy virus and it all went out the window.

(or down the toilet I should say?!). :)

so here we are again...she is SO ready, and pretty much takes herself to the potty every time she has to go.

(with the expectation of a marshmallow each time she tee-tees in the big girl potty. duh.)

We're about to do hard-core-dont-leave-your-house training again this week, just to try and seal the deal, so...here's to hoping I won't step in any poop this week as my two year old is running to the bathroom.

(yes, that did happen last week. ick.)

6. I am so thankful for some of my bloggy bff's who keep me laughing just about every day through our group text messages.

We are also a group who prays for each other, and for that, I feel so blessed.

Also, its pretty awesome to leave your phone for a while and come back to 54, yes 54, texts.

#truestory

I LOVE you ladies...you know who you are! :)

7. I started training this week for a triathlon. It's not my first, but its been like 4 years. ahh!

So here goes. September, here I come!

Watching The Tour De France, my FAV sporting event to watch, is giving me lots of motivation since it started this week.

8. On that note, I am about 1.5 lbs away from my goal weight, and am hoping to do a post about it soon! I am hopeful I will reach my goal by Wednesday the 4th, because that will be 6 months since baby.

I am thankful for the way cutting sugar out/down has changed my life...and not just my weight, but my life!

But as you might know from my instagram pics, I'm def far from perfect in my eating.

(Nutella, anyone?)

9. In a few weeks, we will be going to Dallas to celebrate the 60th birthday of our spiritual father, Joe. We cannot wait!! It is going to be a huge night of blessing, testimony, and just experiencing the presence of God, as people share about the impact Joe has had in their lives.

We are beyond blessed to have him and his wife, Kim, in ours.

(and we even met at their house!)

Can't wait to post about it.

10. My mother-in-law is leaving soon for an Alaskan cruise.

I'm jealous. that's all. :)

(so excited for you Jan!)

Y'all have a blessed day!!!

Thanks for listening to me.

cheering each other on!

I get choked up when I watch a marathon pass by.

(if you've race-watched with me before, you know!) :)

I've considered it a blessing to live near/on the major marathon routes here the past several years. Those 2-3 times a year when race day comes, I get so excited when they start posting the traffic signs to let everyone know that the road will be closed that weekend!

This morning was the Dallas Rock and Roll Half Marathon, and I was excited to wake up to the sound of a band playing just a few blocks over (in the Rock and Roll series, there are bands at mile markers along the way). We got all bundled up and headed out to the action. Before we even got to the runners passing by, my eyes were welling up.

So excited!

There's something about a sea of people (as far as you can see), all running towards the same finish line. Each of them with their personal goals in mind, each with their victories, each with their own struggles. Each with with a different training plan and strategy for racing. Each with a desire to complete this race, and each with a voice in their head reminding them of why they are doing this in the first place.

Each one different, but all of them running together.

This is why I get overwhelmed by watching it, and by taking a part in it myself.

The unity there is between so many different people, so many shapes and sizes, ages and races.

Some running for a certain cause or a certain person, some with that cause written on their shirt, reminding them of why they are putting themselves through it.

Its amazing.

If you think I sound cheesy, go stand on the route of a race sometime,

you'll know what I mean.

Abigail blew kisses to the runners, she clapped for them, and waved hi for an hour! I think her smile gave a little light moment to a few racers as they rounded the halfway point right by our house. I'm one of the annoying onlookers that yells really loud for the racers.

"Keep it up!", "You CAN do this!", "Good Job!"

I do it because I know they need it.

The triathlon I completed a few years ago (my first real race) was one of the most challenging things Ive ever done. I dont remember much positive about it (except finishing) because it was such a physical struggle for me...but the one thing I do and will remember is the volunteers and local people standing out on street corners, cheering for me. I know they werent cheering for ME. They dont know who I am. But man it felt like they were there for me.

Their words of encouragement were so helpful.

I distinctly remember riding up a big hill in the bike portion, just completely exhausted

(telling myself pedal sarah, pedal sarah, dont stop....pant pant pant).

There was a girl there just yelling her heart out for the racers going by, and as I pedaled ever so slowly by her, she yelled "You did it! You finished the hill!"

I didn't even know I had until she yelled it.

I was amazed and surprised.

and so thankful for her encouragement and cheers.

It gave me the push to keep going.

I needed someone to point out to me that I had completed that hard part, because I was so focused on just getting through and not falling or stopping.

This is why we should cheer each other on in this race, in this life of faith.

We need it.

God designed it that we would race with each other,

and cheer each other on.

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works."

Hebrews 10:24

"So encourage each other, and build each other up..."

1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Two people are better than one, for they can help each other succeed.

If one person falls, the other can reach out and help..."

Ecclesiastes 4:9

"If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.

And if one part is honored, all the parts are glad."

1 Corinthians 12:26

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, and the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us RUN with endurance the race God has set before us."

Hebrews 12:1

HAPPY RACING. Im cheering for you.

hittin the trails...

Part of the reason for the title of our blog using the word "racing" is also to talk about our goals and journey in our training for physical (biking and running) races.

(o man, what a little diva!)

Parker introduced me to biking early on in our life together.

My first mountain bike experience was just a few weeks into our marriage, and it wasn't pretty.

Lets just say there was a certain tree that did not like me very much. ouch.

He then got me interested in road biking, which also resulted in the lovely scar I still sport on my knee 5 years later. ha.

Parker and I did our first triathlon together 3 years ago, and though I literally almost drowned, and was at the end of the hundreds of people finishing....I finished. I will blog about it another time, but next to delivering a baby, and breastfeeding for 15 months and counting,

finishing the tri was one of the biggest and hardest accomplishments I have ever set out to do.

And now Im gonna do it again! (big sigh.)

I am learning to build my confidence in biking, and running and swimming too.

I have a bike of my own now and don't have to use Parker's, and I am learning that I love it!

(sweet little A enjoying the outdoors with us today!)

All that to say...today I hit the "training trails" with Parker (and Abigail in tow of course!)

We drove south of here to a state park with great mountain biking trails and a great lake to run around. Parker is doing an Adventure Race next weekend (paddling, running, biking, and a mystery event...oh so fun!), so he hit the trails with his bike, and I took A for a jog in the stroller.

If you don't live in our part of Texas, then you don't know...but it was GORGEOUS today!

Abigail loved being outside, she is definitely made for the outdoors

just like her mama and daddy.

She made her voice shake as I ran with her in the stroller, and every few minutes I would hear her giggle at the fact she was moving fast.

Much better than listening to music on the ipod.

My desire is to share my journey of training with you,

as I know it wont just be about improving distance or time.

(which for me it just about doing it at all...maybe someday I can worry about improving time and such!)

It will also be about self-discipline, building confidence in myself, overcoming fears (of falling and of failing), and learning that I can do it. It wont be perfect, or even pretty. I may even get another scar, but then hey, maybe I can have one for each knee! anyways.

I know this sounds silly, but I think that training for this is something the Lord has put in front of me to do. I know He has a lot to show me about myself through it. And about Him.

That HE is my Sustainer, my Carrier, my Protector, my Breath every day.

June 5th. 11 weeks from now. ahh!

Hopefully it will be another proud accomplishment in my life!

I will keep you posted (haha...such a blogger thing to say) on how things are going, and welcome any encouragement!

Thankful right now for the gifts and blessings in my life. Thankful for Gods restoring of my health (read more about that here.) Thankful for another reason to lean on His strength!