On the move
Hi there! Have you been waiting for me??
It’s been a long time since I last wrote. A lot has happened since then! In the last few weeks:
- I ran my first (super sprint) triathlon
- I ran a half marathon a week after the triathlon and set a personal record for that distance
- I’ve been to South Carolina twice for work
- Hazel started crawling, quickly increasing her speed and distance
All of that, plus Halloween festivities made October a busy month! At the same time, it was quite a fun month.
My triathlon buddy, Kathi, with me and Hazel before the race
I didn’t train much for the triathlon. It was sort of a mistake that I registered for it and the half marathon in the same month, so I was prioritizing the half marathon training. I enjoyed swimming until mid-September, when our outdoor pool closed, and obviously, I was prepared for the run, but I pulled my bike out of the basement just 2 weeks prior to the race, after it had been sitting there for a quantity of time best measured in years. All this led me to two conclusions: (1) 9 miles is about as far as you should attempt to ride a bike in a race without doing any regular cycling and (2) I should totally try the triathlon again with a little better training plan. It was a fun event, and I even placed 8th within my age group with the swim, so I didn’t fair half bad for my first event. I’m glad my friend Kathi got me to do it, even if I didn’t do a good job of paying attention to when the race was!
Hazel checking out my medal after the Ramblin’ Rose half marathon finish
The half marathon was loads of fun. It was an inaugural running event for the Ramblin’ Rose series, and then first time there’s been a half marathon in Durham. The course started right by the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, wandered through several great Durham neighborhoods, ran by Duke, and was generally perfect for spectating. Dan plotted out 10 places where he and Hazel could see me run by, and they made it to every one. It was loads of fun to run a distance race around our town and wonderful to see Hazel’s face light up when I came up to her. The course was hilly, but all the running I’ve been doing at work and with my running buddies seems to have made a difference. Even though I didn’t feel totally trained up for the race - my first distance race since Hazel was born - I made a good time, even better than I expected!
Representatives from across South Carolina at our Working Well Advisory Council
Traveling down to Columbia, SC for work is a bit of a haul, especially since it’s not really feasible to make it there and back in one day, which means a night away from my favorite folks in Durham, but the two events I’ve gone there to attend have been really great moments for the project I’m working on. And it’s so much nicer to get to know people in person and learn faces that go along with names I’m e-mailing and working with on webinars the rest of the time.
Hazel crawling straight towards the camera!
Keeping up with all of this while keeping up with Hazel is a new challenge. She took her time with wanting to move, but now it’s hard to imagine her ever just sitting on her playmat. She loves crawling into the kitchen to dig into her favorite drawer (so far she hasn’t figured out opening the kitchn cabinets, which have higher door pulls than other cabinets in our house), and she provides an awesome welcome home to anyone who comes through the front door by crawling toward the sound of the door opening. We could benefit from some more baby proofing of our numerous pieces of storage furniture that are at ground level, but with parents always busy with something new, it’s good that Hazel’s on the move and learning to keep up! :-)
Teaser: Stay tuned for more about Halloween festivities
