IRONMAN

We did it! We are Ironman finishers!

It was such a whirlwind when we arrived as we had to get all of our gear in the right places, check-in, and attend pre-race meetings, but all when off with out a hitch. Our emotions flip flopped from anxiety and fear to excitment and anticipation all way up until the cannon rang out on race morning.

We drove the bike course on Friday evening and when the SUV had to down shift every few minutes as we climbed another hill my heart skipped a few beats. We didn't train for this course and comments from previous years competitors about the gusty winds made my heart skip a beat. We then decided to grab a bite to eat, sushi (starch) vs. the suggested carb fest, why start going by the rules this late in the game?

The coolest gekos live on the big island!

This was the view from our room. We stayed at the host hotel and it was breathtaking. This beautiful resort lies in the middle of miles and miles of lava fields. It was like driving through mars as we drove down the HWY.

Swim~1.2miles

We started the day with a swim in the warm, clear waters of Hapuna Beach State Park, recognized as one of the world's best beaches. Conditions were perfect with no currents, full visibility, and Chris and I both set personal records for the swim. The swim was over before I knew it as I finished in 34min. and Chris cut his normal time in HALF coming in at 48min. We ran up the hills to our bike and set out to give our all on the challenging road to Hawi.

Bike~56 miles

Triathletes who ride this road say there is a power in this land that challenges them not only to their physical best but also requires inner fitness - the willingness to be open to the conditions the island extends on race day.

Today the conditions were great with no winds and free of vog (volcanic fog). The weather challenge of the day was the unforgiving sun and the consistent sight of another hill to climb. With the climbs, there came descents, but the inner fortitude and brut strength that it took to keep pedaling up again and again is all I can remember.

This was the best refreshment on the race. We secured laminated photos of Jake with words of encouragments onto our handlebars and Chris and I both agreed that the picture pulled us through of the bike.

Run~13.1 miles

The run course did not dissapoint as it winded up and down hill after hill taking competitors on grass, pavement, through lava fields, and on a little service road I like to call " The road to hell and back". Half of the people that passed me on the bike were hurled over on the run course with cramps, illness, and exhaustion. It felt so good to jog slowly past them ;) The grass was like quicksand, the pavement was like a sledghammer to the knees, and the lave fields felt like you were running through an oven. The road to hell and back was particularly tough and at the 10mile mark Chris' calf cramped up. Blisters were inevitable and Chris currently has at least 5 on his feet...ouch.

Then came the finish line and the refreshing site of shade. I finished in 6:16 and Chris came in at 8:09. The finishers high has never felt so good and we are still excited about the physical and mental challenges that we have overcome. It was great to experiece this together and know that we will return in years to come.

What hurts the most after a long grueling race? The sunburn! We have semi-permanent tatoos of our race numbers on our arms. Very nice.

This was a race in which every detail is meticulously attended to. The result was the experience of a lifetime that will linger long after muscle aches and pains have gone away.

Jake was all smiles when we picked him up from auntie Carol's. We went out for sushi and he loved the cali rolls!

Thanks for all the love and support everyone!

Let the countdown begin.....

What the hell were we thinking!!! Needless to say, my pre-race nerves are getting the best of me as I am excited, nervous, anxious, and most of all, terrified of what the next 48hrs will bring. The weather is crap as it has been abnormally humid, stagnant, and suffocating. My pre-race tapper (shortening of workouts in prep for the big one) started a month too early and now I feel inadeqate and out of league in this race. My confidence is down (can you tell?) and I know that I am going to miss my little munchkin so much it hurts even typing about it.

We fly out to the Big Isle tomorrow morning and Jake is going to stay here with his favorite sitter "Auntie Carol". Pre-race briefs will take up most of our day along with making sure that we have all of our gear in the right places. Then it all begins at 7am on Sat morning....

1.2mile swim

56mile bike (up a mountain!)

and then a 13.1mile run to the finish

This will be the most physically challenging event that I have ever done, and with time cutoffs, the pressure is on.

Check out more info at:http://www.ironman703hawaii.com/index.php

Finishing is our goal-wish us loads of luck!

Sea Life Park

We started the day early with a hike up Makapu'u. Today was nice, sunny, and HOT!

Here is a pic of da boyz. Jake, Vinny, and Mason. They were troopers in the blistering sun, and it was only 9am! It was a Mommy and Son day today as we headed for sea life park, after a quick pit stop at the beach for lunch and a dip in the ocean to cool off.

Sea Life Park was free for local Mom's for the month of May and kids under 3 were free, a great deal that we couldn't pass up.

Vin and Jaime checking out the green sea turtles.

They had a massive aquarium as you walk in and Jake and I could have stayed in there the whole day. He loved looking at all the fish and rays.


Jake was all smiles until he saw this....



We watched one of the many shows that they put on throughout the day and Jake was so entertained by the dolphins. He sat on my lap for 30min straight watching the show. This is monumental people, my wiggle worm of a son sat quietly for a half hour! Good times, good times.

Lovin the looong weekend

We enjoyed bath toys, beach time and of course surfing over the long memorial day weekend. Oh yeah, Chris also suckered me into car shopping for 1/2 a day. Little does he know that I suckered him into thinking that the car I liked was the best choice for us. No, we didn't drive home in a new Honda Pilot, what do you think we are...Vensko's : ) We are trying to look at all our options and besides the damn island doesn't have any more.

I got these bath toys for Jake and he has even MORE fun during tubby time now.



We headed up to the north shore on Sunday and both caught our very 1st North shore wave. I was always a scaredy cat when it came to those waves. They are bigger, fatter, more powerful, and I am a little haole(white) girl that lets the good waves go because "it didn't feel right".

Everything was different out there, the water was like looking through glass to the ocean floor. The currents were scattered and ripping. The break was small, but worth the wait and hard work in the end. The people were all good, no one missed a wave or pearled. We feel like we came away with a badge of honor of sorts. I know that it sounds corny, but we always said "yeah we surf, but not north shore".

We welcomed a new board to our collection. This soft top was on sale for $75 and is great for beginners as it is wide, floats like a battleship, and can catch a ripple into shore. Jake will most likely learn on this in a few years, but why pass up the sale?

After the beach we had to get some stortos (best sandwich place on the island) and Jake dug right in!

As if the child did not get enough sand at the beach in the past few days, we gave him a little more with his very own personal sandbox.

The dogs want to eat it and Jake wants to empty it, good thing we had the pool set up nearby.



Here is Chris grilling his lunch on a grill big enough for an army.

Happy memorial day everyone!

Graduation

Wheww! I am done! I finally finished all my papers, all my finals, and graduated last Sunday. I feel accomplished, proud, supported, and loved. The grownup feeling starting to creep up on me and then I held my son...thankfully the funny noises, faces, and giggles reveived me back to my fun reality. I don't know where I want to go from here, but I know that my academic journey is far from over. Work is luckily an option not a requirement and with how expensive day care is these days, Nic the homemaker may be my occupation for awhile.

My fellow graduates were talking about how emotional the ceramony was going to be and I thought that I would be fine and was there to celebrate. I was good as I found family and friends in the balcony section cheering and waving vivaciously. But, the tears started to roll when I saw Jake up in the stands clapping for his mom. He is my inspiration and the sweetest soul imaginable.

I graduated from the University of Hawaii-West Oahu with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology.


It is a Hawaiian tradition (that I love) to adorn graduates with an abundant amount of leis. They all smelled so good and now they are hanging all over my house, I love it.

I met Linda during my first class at UHWO and we are so excited to be done!!





Kim (my step mom-in-law) made a wonderful surprise visit for the week and we had a ton of fun hanging out and enjoying the sun. We really appreciated the special trip and had a great time.




We made it to the beach last weekend and Jake has turned into quite the sandman. He would much rather move the sand in, out, and all around, than be in the water lately.



When he is in the mood for some H2o, Jake has fun splashing around and charging for the water. My child has a fearless spirit that comes from me, but it makes me so nervous.




Jake had to show Gma Kim his big wheels and took her for a stroll around the block.

Gma Kim and Jake. Of course it wasn't until the last day that we realized we didn't have any good pics of them together and what do you know....Jake had his first grumpy day in 2 weeks. This was the best shot we could get and I'll type it again, "the shirt says it all!".

Here are some other fun photos of of my sweet little stuntman on happier days....


Come on, everyone has the pic of themselves in a box when they were this age.

Chris put the table and chairs that we had gotten him for Christmas together and he loves them.