Our First Tri

We've finally entered the world of blogging. This is semi-difficult for me because in the past I have kept diary's only to go back and tear out pages because I did not like what I read or remembering what I was doing at that time in my life because thankfully, I had changed. But now it is different. I realize that with age, I am struggling to remember every little detail. I guess I did not inherit my mothers ability with memory. I had heard that this happens with pregnancy and child birth, but I am sure that it happens with age and the accumulation of events in ones life. Well, with the birth of Mariana, there are many moments that I don't want us to forget and many that we'd like to share easily with our family and friends. So..... let the blogging begin.

Mike's race at Nationals a couple weekends ago was our first triathlon experience with Mariana. Since riding in the car is not her favorite place to be, the trip that would have taken us 3 and 1/2hrs took us 5, with multiple stops to rock, sway, bounce, and potty the little one. We had not gotten much sleep the day before and I was overly tired to endure her crying. I almost wanted to give up on the trip and have Mike return Mariana and I to our safe haven, but thankfully, being the wonderful husband that he is, he took Mariana and was able to bounce/walk her enough for me to recover and nurse her to sleep and continue our journey to the hotel.
The next morning was another early one, but we had regained our strength through a good nights sleep and were ready to cheer Daddy on!

Attending a race with an infant is tough! I look forward to the day when she is big enough and I am strong enough for a whizbeff and I wont need to cart the stroller around. We were able to get a prime spot for T1. We kept our eyes open for Mike, but when many in his age group and older had run past, I became worried and said a prayer that he was ok. He emerged from the river soon after and was making his way up the hill into the transition zone. When asked if he was ok, he replied with something inaudible but enough to let me know this was not going to be a good race for him....

During the bike, we were able to find a grassy area to sit and wait for him to pass again. It's always a competition to see if
1. we can spot him and 2. we can capture him on film. I was able to do both ;) and nurse Mariana at the same time!

We were able to stay in the same location to see him pass on the run to begin the 6.2 miles. As he passed, he told me some words of encouragement. " Pray I finish." Just what every wife and mother with a young infant wants to hear. But pray I did!









and Finish he did ;)

No matter his results, Mariana and I are very proud of Papi and his early morning training sessions, multiple full body shaves, going to bed early, saving money and not competing as much this year, and offering up the lack of ability to afford a new fancy fast bike with out any complaints. Ah we love him!

Now on to training for the 1/2 marathon in Atlanta for Thanksgiving and the full marathon in Mobile in Jan.

In the Beginning...

The idea must have begun when Christina and I married on August 9^th, 2008. Actually, it was probably while we were sipping drinks on the honeymoon in Cancun. So now, two years later, the idea has come to fruition, perhaps sparked by the birth of Mariana Rose on July 3^rd, perhaps encouraged by our move away from friends and family and all that is familiar.

Today in the life of the G-C clan (version 4.0) would reveal Mike at work on St. Joseph St. and Christina and Mariana joining in on the local book club consisting mostly of home-schooling mothers and children. This weekend is Mike's big race at the Triathlon Age Group National Championships in Tuscaloosa, AL so tonight will be full of packing and preparing for a long weekend. And that is the impetus for starting this blog today, in the hopes of sharing with friends and family the results of Mike's race...the culmination of months of 4:15am alarm clocks and countless leg shavings.