Triathlon

Last Saturday, Tracey and I participated in the "Soak Up the Sun Triathlon" in Madison, just north of Jackson, Mississippi. It was an ideal first real triathlon for us, as it was short distances (250m swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run) and it catered to people who have just started to do TRIs. We both had done the TRIs on base, but they were nothing more than a few people getting together for a workout--this one had over 400 participants!
Friday night we drove to Madison, had some dinner and checked into the hotel near the race site. The race began at 7am so driving from Meridian was not going to happen, especially because of the "setup" involved with the bike and getting checked in, etc. So we were up at 5 and racing by 7. Because of the number of participants and the fact that you start the swim in a lake, the start is a little different from most races. A long single file line was formed and everyone started at 5 second intervals. Each person had a chip--an electronic timing device affixed to the ankle--that would record the individual's time to do each event and the overall time. So even though people may be in front of you, they may be going slower than you!
As it turned out, the chip and timing was a disaster for both Tracey and me. My chip fell off my ankle during the swim and though I miraculously found it in the cloudy water, it failed to record any times for me. Agh! Tracey's timing was not without controversy as well. She started her watch when she began swimming and stopped when she crossed the finish line, thus at least giving her the overall time. However, the chip said that she took 38 seconds longer than her watch! It would not be a problem, except it meant the difference between 2nd and 3rd place overall for women. Double Agh!
Despite these issues, we had a lot of fun. We figured out my time based on one of our friend's time and the time stamp of the picture of him crossing the finishline and the time stamp of when I crossed the finishline. And though in our hearts, we know she was second, Tracey was officially 3rd overall female and I, if my chip had functioned, would have been 1st place, 30-34 male in the mountain bike division...or more succinctly, second place in my own house.
To the surprise of no one, Tracey beat me soundly.

End of the School Year Program

Marin has been going to Tuesday and Thursday school for about 6 months where she has made a lot of friends at Northcrest Baptist School. The school year is coming to end, however. And to mark the end, along with countless parties, lunches and other gatherings, the students put on a program of musical selections. Above is Marin with her teacher, Ms. Jerri.


Marin's class practiced these numbers at school and Marin practiced them at home as well. As you can tell, she was very proud of her singing and gesturing throughout the songs. We love the picture below of Marin showing off her painted finger nails to one of her classmates, Jackson.

To explain a little, the children on the bottom step are under 2, Marin class is next up (between 2-3) and then you have 3 and 4 year olds above them. Enjoy the video & pics!

Back to Back Posts

In what I believe is an unprecedented move, I am actually authoring two blog posts in a row! Frankly I am using this medium as a distraction from some crazy swim team "drama" that has been happening this week. As a true testament to the ways things are done here in the deep south, it has taken some seemingly drastic moves, even threats, to initiate the first small steps in implementing some big changes. One might think that I am referring to some big civil rights movement, but oh no, I'm simply talking about the volunteer swim team board of the team that I am coaching here in Meridian. Somebody shoot me, please. In any event, the "drama" has been a nice distraction from the slow and depressing days that seem to blend one into the other here in Mississippi, but I can only take so much drama in any given day, thus I need a distraction from the distraction and so here I am.

I wanted to share this picture that my mom took of us during our visit to San Diego last month. My mom, God love her, would never claim to be a seasoned photographer, but whether it be sheer luck or momentary streaks of pure genius, my mom has, upon occasion, captured some indescribable images with her little camera. On July 5, 2006, mom managed to get the most unbelievable picture of Marin literally taking her very first breath of life. For obvious reasons that picture will never be put on this blog, but it is probably the coolest picture I have ever seen. This picture is, for me, another top fiver. I can't really describe the reason why and that's pretty much the whole point. There just aren't words for it.....

One more thing I want to mention -- Tom and I are competing in an itty-bitty (aka sprint) triathlon this Saturday in Madison, MS. I'm not going to lie to you - I'm a little bit nervous. Not about actually doing the triathlon or competing against the other athletes, but rather that I will likely get my butt kicked by Tom despite the following: my new, super "high tech" triathlon outfit, my unfair advantage in the swim portion, the lucky penny in my running shoe, my ipod loaded up with the new Better Than Ezra cd (which, btw, is AWESOME), oh and let's not forget that I will be on a new road bike while Tom is riding an antique mountain bike. I fear that the meager 250M distance on the swim portion is just not going to be enough to give me the lead I will need to hold him off. We'll see. I'm sure we'll have some pics to share and perhaps the winner will have enough strength left at the finish to capture some video of the loser coming across the finish line ;)

Board Results and The Mullet Toss

First off and most importantly, the FTS Board results were finally announced (last Friday) and we are extremely excited that Tom has been selected for FTS - VR. I know that Tom has told most of the family and some friends and I have a feeling that you are all waiting for me (or somebody) to explain to you exactly what that means. Sorry to disappoint, but like everything else associated with the Navy, I honestly have very little insight as to exactly what it all means. I do know this -- when we leave Meridian (still looking like early 2010), Tom will still be gainfully employed by the US Navy and will continue to fly airplanes. What type of airplane remains to be determined and exactly where we will be living is a little up in the air as well. However, it will DEFINITELY not be Meridian, MS. Our top picks of course are San Diego and Pt. Mugu (which is inbetween LA and Santa Barbara). Other possibilities include the Dallas area, DC, and a few other East Coast towns. We're still trying to figure out how the whole process works and who exactly we need to send a case of booze to, to ensure that we end up in the Golden State. Hopefully we will know more soon ---- we'll keep you posted.


Now, for some almost equally important news (not really). We finally attended our first Mullet Toss at the glorious FloraBama a few weeks ago. Our good friends, Rob and Leea Myers have been attending this event for years. In fact, this is where they actually met and eventually ended up getting married on the beach just a short distance away a few years later. Anyhow, they've been begging us to go with them each year and we finally caved. It was a fascinating experience. Tom kept saying that he felt like he was at a "High School Drop Out's Spring Break". For me it was like traveling through a red-neck/hillbillie/barbie doll time warp. I would look around and at one moment I would think to myself "man, I'm seriously getting old" and then the next instant I would see something that made me feel incredibly young. Tom actually competed in the Mullet Toss which entailed him attempting to throw a nasty old fish as far as he could. He did quite well, considering it was his first time and that nobody told him that the number one secret for success in launching a fish is that you must dig your nails into it's flesh to ensure that it does not slip from your grasp too soon. As you can see from the photo, his fish slipped and the immediate frustration is evident in Tom's face and his left hand which looks like it's about to claw somebody to death....
It was a hilarious day from start to finish.

Here are a couple of shots of us with Rob Myers, who after having flown for 10 years with the call sign "Pee Wee", may now be earning himself a new call sign.......... Leea entered him in Redbook Magazine's "Hottest Husband" contest and we have learned that Rob is a top 5 finalist. We are so proud of him and he is absolutely mortified and can hardly keep his head up when he walks down the hallway at work. Check out the "Hottest Husband" link and stay tuned for the final winner announcement :)




Next up we have some little local triathlons we will be attempting and my sister and mom will be visiting in a few weeks -- can't wait!