Abbey's Florida Ironman

Florida IRONMAN
November 6th, 2010
Panama City Beach, Florida 2,700 participants
2.4 mile swim 112 mile bike 26.2 mile run

I have been asked to post an update of the race. I SOOO appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers from my family and friends. Here we go! :)

The beginning of the race: It was COLD! A huge cold front actually came into Florida. I could see my breath!!! Crazy, I know. The outside temp was 41 or less. And the sand was even colder! My poor feet were already starting to get numb. My heart was pounding, standing by all the other athletes. They sang the national anthem, and we all stood quietly, with hands over hearts. The feeling was incredible. I had to smile! The sun was rising; the ocean was a beautiful color, white sand beach and thousands of participants and spectators. I thought to myself “I am ACTUALLY DOING IT! I’m doing my goal. I can’t believe it’s here!” What an awesome feeling! The cannon shot, and off we went!

While I was swimming, I had to psych myself out…”just look at today as a duathlon (2 sports instead of 3). You’re just going to swim and then bike 112 miles. Nothing else. That seemed doable. Though, I knew it would be extremely challenging still. But to look at the whole picture was too much for me at that point. The swells were big and there were almost 2,700 people in the water. When I finally reached the shore I was SO happy to be done

When I finished the swim, heart was racing, excited to start the next segment of the race. I got changed and hopped on my bike. Just up ahead, in front of our hotel, Greg, and Baby Kate stood cheering! Kate was in her pj’s with her coat on top. Greg was holding her, cheering like crazy! When Kate saw me she gave me a big smile! That MELTED ME! They were SO CUTE THERE! I REALLY appreciated their support. Then, just up ahead of them, Mom and Dad were cheering so loud, holding the signs Dad had made the day before. They had huge smiles, and it gave me a huge boost as I headed out! So fun! I couldn’t believe I was now on the bike. I felt good and just kept relishing in the realization that I was DOING IT! I couldn’t believe it. We fought wind most of the way, but seeing MY FAMILY at the turn around was the best! They had driven to the turnaround! It meant so much to see them! They are the best. I love them so much. And I was so thankful for them throughout the entire day. Thinking of them kept me motivated. It meant so much to me that they’d stand outside, while it was freezing, and cheer my on all day. They are SOOOO cute! I loved to see them. I really enjoyed the bike course. It was tough, but it was also SOOOO beautiful.

I had to just think of it as a beautiful ride in Florida; on a beautiful day. I really wanted to soak it up. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do one again, so I wanted to enjoy every bit of it. That optimism was annoying to the people around me. They told me that I was enjoying it more than they were! But later on, around mile 95, I wasn’t feeling so hot. I thought “how can I do this? I still have almost 20 miles left? And then, the run. How can I do that? My legs are so tired.” I was sad that all of those positive feelings I had felt, were not there. hoped they’d come back; that I’d catch a second wind. I prayed fervently for help and encouragement. Once I got onto Front Beach Road (the road leading into the bike finish) that put quite a bit of pep in my “step” and I was so excited to be on the final stretch! The only thing with getting excited about finishing the swim and the bike…there’s still a MARATHON! So, you can’t feel totally off the hook. But, none the less, I was sooooo happy to be done with the bike!

...Of course, my support team was there… Mom, Dad, Greg and Kate. They’re my favorite people! They were walking toward the bike finish, but I could see the stroller and then Greg and shouted out to them. They were so cute! They got emotional and expressed how proud they were of me! They are the best! I DID feel a sense of relief that I could have my feet on the ground again and no need to worry about water or flat tires or a major head wind. I felt a good sense of relief about that. Right when I exited the area, the family was standing there shouting for me. I actually went over and stopped and talked to them. I gave them all hugs and kisses. I couldn’t kiss Kate though, b/c she was in her stroller. All I wanted to do was hold her. I missed her SO much while I was on the bike. I thought about her button nose, her laugh, her smile, and her little hands when she turns the pages on her board book. But I decided not to pick her up but decided to wait till the finish line.

The run…I started off kind of excited, b/c a lot of people were on the side of the road, cheering all of us on. Our bib had our race number AND name on it. So people would actually cheer for you by name, which was awesome! That was SOOOO awesome! I loved that. But I must say, the run was tough for me. And the last half of the run was the MOST difficult part of the day for me. I really didn’t know how I could keep going. I was so sleepy. I kept indulging myself in the day dreams of hot baths, a warm hotel room and food. It was so hard to motivate myself to keep going. The mind does funny things to you when you’re so exhausted. Negativity overtakes and you have to literally fight it with every tool you can think of: smiling, praying, talking to yourself like a kooky person, pumping your arms, saying quotes, scriptures, singing songs, remembering all the people who are rooting for you, remembering who is waiting for you at the finish line, reminding yourself that “Pain is temporary, “(DNF) Did Not Finish” is forever”. But I was able to keep going. I felt I was being pulled by angels. And when I FINALLY reached that finish line at 11:00 pm after 16:00:58. (16 hours and 58 seconds), I heard those words that I’ve literally dreamed of hearing since I was 8 years old…
“Abbey….YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”

The volunteer put my medal around my neck and I gave her a big hug. I was smiling! I felt relief and disbelief that it was over. Greg and Kate came over and I gave Greg a big kiss and Kate too; I finally got to hold Kate.! Next, my Mom and Dad. They were all such an incredible support group. I love them tons. What a wonderfully difficult experience!

More :)

Greg got up with Kate this morning, so I was able to sleep in. Love that. He also surprised me with this adorable breakfast! :) Gosh, what a fabulous husband.

Last night I was as proud as a peacock! I decided to make dinner totally from scratch. I used Mario Batali's pizza dough recipe, but kinda winged the rest: olive oil (no marinara), pressed garlic, mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, salt and freshly ground pepper. As a side dish, I roasted zucchini (from the farmer's market- it was 9 POUNDS! I only used part of it), onions, garlic, and tomatoes. I felt so proud of myself! :) It actually tasted yummy. Most nights, that's not the case with my dinners.;)


Here's our little lovey.
(Notice the "world" in the back ground. I mention it in the next blog post)


I just love this picture.


She is growing up! Her birthday is at the end of the month. She tries to walk and she's just so much fun. Love her to pieces!

On the move. The joys of having your home baby-proofed! It gives her so much freedom. It's so great to be able to let her crawl everywhere.

"What's going on out there?! Who can play with me?"

High Chairs Rock!

I have been on the prowl for a high chair for so long. I haven't found one I wanted to purchase until...yesterday! Yippeeeee! I love it. It's cute and just the right size. She has room to grow into it! I was worried that she'd already be too big for it. Good-ol' classic wood. Gotta love it. Someone enjoyed it before we did, so it was a great price! I fixed a couple minor things and there you go! Good as almost-new! :) Kate ate her first meal in it this morning. She had some pears and wheat (one of her favorites), and some smooshed bananas. SO GREAT! It's been like herding a cat, these past few months.

1)Trying to get her to eat while sitting in her "world" (they stand in- andthe seat spins around)

2) Trying to feed her while sitting on my lap.

3)Trying to get her not to fall out of the bumbo (I kept it on the floor, but she still managed to squirm her way out of that).

4) Last, but NOT least, feeding her while she's taking a bath! That's a classic one! Right when she's about to put her bath toy in her mouth, I sneak the spoon in. It's always funny to see how she reacts to that one.

So, kudos to whoever invented high chairs, and hooray for not feeling guilty anymore about Kate's eating habits! :) (By the way, she has consistently been great about drinking her formula at least)

SOOOOO Tired!

When I woke up today, my workout seemed like it was going to be do-able. It was three 5ks in a row. It said I should take 75 minutes. Wellllll, let's just say I wanted to quit after the first mile. Oh my heck. Wanting to quit is THE WORST temptation while working out. But it seems like THE BEST option. I decided I'd just do one 5K (3.1 miles), and then decide if I wanted to quit. Once I finished that one, I walked for about 6 minutes. I ate a power bar gel and got a little more energy. Then I did the next one...I felt so tired! I didn't have enough calories in my system, but I was so grateful to be done with that one. I just wanted to go home and eat something. Putting Kate down for a nap seemed fabulous, but Kate wasn't even fussy...I considered finishing the last 5K later on in the day, or doing it on the treadmill during Kate's nap. Kate was doing just fine in the jogging stroller, so I mustered up the motivation to do the last one. Thankfully I finished it. I'm so grateful I was able to. Oh man, that was tough. It really goes to show that you need good nutrition when you exercise. I am SOOO thankful that I didn't quit. What do you guys do to make you feel good about yourself while you're struggling during your workouts? The worst thing I do is think that I'm slow or out of shape...

September's Moustache of the Month

I thought we should start the month off right! Enjoy!

CALIFOR-NI-A!!!

We spent the last 2 weeks in California, with Greg's side of the family. We had the best time. :) They were sooooo sweet to us. Greg's mom made some amazing food, we played Scatergories or Zilch (or I like to call it Zilchies!) almost every night, ate tons of treats, BUT we also exercised, went to the Folsom Zoo, took Kate to a playground, took walks, went to church, enjoyed beautiful weather, ate at the best pizza place EVER, and took a 2 day-trip to Lake Tahoe.

By the way, we drove to Sacramento, and were super worried about how Kate would do on an 11 hour trip. I am not kidding when I say our prayers were answers! She did SO well. She took 3 naps, and did great. Couldn't have asked for a better trip with her. Greg did most of the driving, which was so sweet of him. I don't like to be the driver on road trips anymore. Here are some of my favorite pics of the trip:

The AMAZING trees at Lake Tahoe

I got to put my feet in Lake Tahoe for the first time! Kate's too! :) Loved it! Seriously, a spectacular place!

We stayed in a house just a block from the Lake. This was the beautiful view behind the house.

Greg's sista's: Tara (lives in Seattle) Lisa (lives in San Diego). I love these gals. They're awesome sisters-in-law. I'm lucky to have em'.
Greg has SO MUCH FUN with them. I haven't heard him laugh that hard in a long time. It's the kind of laugh only your siblings can get out of you. (They were playing dodge ball with really hard, soft-ball sized bean bags. For some reason, that kind of stuff makes Greg's family hysterical!)

Greg's Grandpa and Greg's Momma. Isn't his Mom cute? She's a great woman too! She's taught me SO much!

We were in an antique shop in Folsom, and Greg's mom put this on Kate. When we first saw her, she looked a little confused about what was on her head. It only took a few seconds for her to realized she wanted that crazy hat OFF!

I wasn't expecting very much, b/c I was told this zoo was super small. Greg and I were both very pleasantly surprised. It was such a cute zoo; and every animal there had been rescued from a bad situation. I loved it.

Baby Kate in the pool.

Greg, his Mom, and Baby Kate at the park.

We all tried this. It was TOUGH! We all looked ridiculous doing it. In fact, I have a little footage of Greg's mom doing it. Hopefully it will upload. I was laughing so hard when she tried it...thinking "it can't be that hard". THE TRUTH: It is!

Hi Sweet Lovey!

I asked Greg if it was okay for me to post these videos. He thought she'd think it was funny. Muz, if you do mind, just let me know and I'll take em' off :)

August's Moustache of the Month

Lately...

This is how baby Kate chose to fall asleep! So funny! :) She gravitates to those bars! It looks so uncomfortable, but she likes it.

Greg and I at dinner for our 6 Year Anniversary. He had steak and mashed potatoes, I had chicken fettuccine Alfredo. SOOOOO GOOD!


Greg's friends invited us over for a pool party. We had such a great time. We jumped off their man-made waterfall (Greg and I still laugh about how we were trying to show off: him with his back flip and me with my toe-touch!) lol :D ahahah


So sweet! :) (if you don't mind me saying so!) Aren't baby's toes the best part about the summer?

The latest with G,A and K!

Let's start with Kate! She has be trying to walk! She has done 3 steps! (I recorded her when she did 2 steps!!!) This was so exciting for us to see! :) Wow! So monumental! It started out with us holding onto both of her hands, then we held on to only one of her hands, and now she sometimes tries with no hands. We're SOOOO proud of her! :) It's exciting for her to explore the world at a higher altitude; but that means bigger falls :( She is sleeping well. She goes to bed somewhere between 6:30pm and 8pm. She'll sleep until around 5 or 6am. Sometimes she'll go back to sleep after eating a bottle, sometimes not.

Next, I'll give you the Greggers update. Sorry if this is kinda "braggy" but I'm dang proud of him... He did a 38.7 mile trail run on Saturday. I can't believe it. His boss signed up for a 100K (which is apx. 62 miles) and needed someone to run half of it with him. Greg volunteered (to be supportive and for the challenge), so they began running at 3am and ended at about 2pm! Holy cow! His boss went on to run the rest with another person. Greg really enjoyed it. They climbed 13,000 feet, so they did some speed walking up the steep climbs, running on the flats, and flying down the hills. I honestly can't even imagine going that far. Crazy. I was so grateful that he didn't encounter any bears or cougars...my prayers were heard (honestly). :) Work is going well. He's still enjoying training people for triathlons. He knows all that exercise science bidness, which is very helpful. He's also great with people. :) He's also really good with Kate; she is quite taken by him! She loves her papa.

Updates in my life...Kate's walking has been a huge highlight for me! We have a great time together each day. She's a lot of fun to be with. I'm also exercising outdoors most days, and I take her along for the ride (jogging stroller and bike trailer, etc...). She does great. I'll post some pics and video. Then I'm hittin' the hay. By the way, I've been reading books written by Jeroldene Asplund Edwards...I totally love her books. "Things I wish I'd known sooner." "Celebration!" She was a mother of 12 kids and gives her perspective on parenthood and seizing each day. If you're interested, I think you can get them at Deseret Book. I've been learning SOOO much. I hope you are all doing well and that you'll have a great end to your summer!

Mommy Like I Spy

SWAGGER WAGON

July's Moustache of the Month

Growing Baby

9 Months Young

Our little schnookems has turned 9 months old. Wow! She's thankfully doing the things the Dr. was hoping she would be doing at this time: crawling, picking up cheerios with her index finger and thumb, having separation anxiety a little bit, & sitting up well. She's also saying "mama" a lot, and pulls herself to standing :) She crawled up all of the stairs the other day (over a dozen). I was behind her, thankfully. She went from 2 steps to all 14 in 3 days.

Stats...she weighs 19 lbs., 28 inches long. When she was born she weight 7 1/2 lbs., 19 inches long. that means she's doubled in weight and grown almost 10 inches! Wow! I'm thankful she has, though!

I've posted a bunch of pictures. Hope it's not too many.

P.S. Happy Independence Day! We're all so grateful for the freedoms we have the privilage of enjoying. Hope you all have a great one :)

Oh my goodness. Profile to die for!

Kisses for Mommy. I kiss this little one like 1,000 xs/day!

Baby Kate trying to grab the camera lense. She loves that thing!

Big girl! She loves to hang out at the subwoofer.

Cheese! Since she's been able to do this, baby-proofing means something new. Coffee table is no longer a place to put anything fragile or full of juice!

Zoo time! That cute giraffe is looking our way! Kate wasn't in the mood to look at the camera.

Check these wolves out! The one on the left is Jacob.

Jacob, it's over. Just forget those days at the "res". It's in the past.

My Momma gave this to Kate. It's her little swim suite. So cute! We have a little denim hat to top it off. LOVE it!

Waking up from her nap! Probably the single most eg0-boosting thing of my day (b/c she's so dang excited! )

Story time with Daddy!

My Grammy's 96th Birthday! Happy Birthday Grandma! You are a wonderful person. We love you sooo much and admire your strength!

Video of Baby Kate Waking up from a Nap. I love this!

June's MOUSTACHE of the Month

I decided to change things up a bit. We are now doing the moustache of the month! Enjoy!

Keyboard Cat

Awww. Exhale. It's nice to be back on a blog. I was just on Facebook and it's great for keeping up with friends, but I prefer blogs. I love how every one's blog page is personalized, with cute pictures and longer updates. Thank you for keeping the blogging world alive. I LOVE reading your updates. :)

Kate did 2 amazing things today! She crawled across the living room, many times!!!! :) and she clapped! Soooo cute! :)

Here's a video of her crawling. Great job Kate! You're growing up!

CHEEEEEESE!

This is hilarious! On Mother's Day, Kate started to mimic us. I was about to take a picture of her. I was trying to get her to smile; so I guess I was smiling and squinting, b/c she did that. I kept taking pictures of her and every time she saw the camera on her, she did this face! Hilarious!

Here's a video-SO FUNNY!

May's Mullet of the Month

I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THIS ONE......