2nd Quarter Retrospective

Wow, halfway through 2011.  That means I'm only 6 months from having "40" written on my calf (even though I won't be 40 for 17-1/2 months).  It's a weird thought.  It also means Julian is only 6 months away from bike racing age.  That's a more exciting thought.  Oh well, on to the look back at our family's 2nd quarter.  If you're new to the blog, be sure to read (and follow some of the links) in the 1st Quarter Retrospective.

The 2nd quarter got off to a roaring start as Angelia PR'ed the Lion's Dash 5k and more importantly --- wrote the blog recap herself!  Meanwhile, Julian got his first road rash and we had a great race at the Fast & Furious Duathlon.  It was our first non-relayed duathlon which meant I had to *gasp* run competitively for the first time. Julian naturally took home some bling.

The boys started swim lessons at our very awesome aquatic center only 2mi from the house.  There were also a couple more 5k's with Julian & Angelia running the Springer 5k and Julian running the Heart of Heath 5k while Angelia volunteered at a water station.  No recaps were ever posted for these as I was at baseball with Connor both times.  I did however see Angelia cross the line at the Springer 5k for yet another PR.

I relayed a humorous story about why I suck as a riding buddy.

Julian took to defining his own style by wearing cycling caps everywhere.  I played Jam for Japan where we raised money for earthquake/tsunami relief.

Connor got some TV facetime as the cutest member of the Cheesy Riders.  You can read about all three of these in the Random Tidbits post.

Why were we on TV?  To promote BikeMS - Frisco to Ft.Worth of course.  Angelia and I had a great first day riding before getting rained out on day 2.  Videos and photos can be found via the link.  Phew!  That was all just in April ..... could we keep it up?

Well, not completely.  Angelia had a big health scare where here legs stopped working due to an atypical migraine.  This was ironic timing as she just purchased a new bike which she wouldn't get to ride for awhile.

May was a big month for our boys as they both competed at the Hooty's Kids Tri which was Connor's first ever triathlon at the ripe age of 4.  Tons of great photos in that post so go check it out.

The next weekend was a big one as we lived up to the subtitle of this blog ("The family that tri's together, wins together!") by relaying the Classic Rock Sprint Triathlon.  Angelia had recovered enough to tackle the swim leg, I delivered my best ever bike split, and Julian crushed the field on the run for a very successful and fun event all around.

Next up was the Buffalo Creek Kids Tri which was the first repeat event for Julian.  He knocked over 8 minutes off his time from a year and a half prior.  This was a very busy month for him.  Every weekend had something, ending with the American Heroes Race on Memorial Day.  Angelia did a 10k there while Julian and I did the 5k.  It was a great run but in the end only one person came home with bling.  Yep, Julian with 1st in his age group ...... again.

After a crazy April and May, June didn't really have much planned.  So what did we do?  Angelia and I rode the Mesquite Rodeo Ride as a last minute (read: night before) decision.  I had a t-ball game to get to afterwards so I opted to ride the 75k as fast as I could instead of the full 100k route.  End result?  First to finish the 75k route, probably my best ride ever.  Last year, Julian did this ride with us but this time he had to skip it as the next day was the Kids Tri at the J.  This marked his 4th triathlon and the first with a 100m swim, an important stepping stone towards his goal of IronKids.

Julian was the first to complete a triathlon in our family at the age of 7.  Connor was next at the age of 4.  Finally, one of us parental units stepped up as Angelia competed in the Try the Tri.  She did a great job.  Will she follow in IronTexasMommy's footsteps by completing Ironman Texas just 2 years after breaking into the sport at Try the Tri?  No pressure. ;-)

Following that was the most exciting, ground-breaking event of the year ...... the Half-Birthday Triathlon in Kona, TX!  Really, I can't justify this event with a little snippet - follow the link and enjoy.

That's it!  Since then it's been Julian putting in all the real training work (fully detailed in the Conquering Demons, Glutton for Punishment, and 9yr old training week posts.  What lies ahead for the remainder of 2011?  Some potentially big things ...... a first for me on the bike, a big challenge for Julian, and an out of state event for Angelia.  Stay tuned.