I Did It!

Referring to my triathlon, I finished, I survived, I conquered, I had fun! Those are some of the feelings I've had. Saturday was race day, and there was no rain and little wind, which was what I was hoping for. The race took place in Spruce Grove and consisted of a 750 meter swim, 20 KM bike, and 5 KM run. My goal was to finish in 2 hours and finish the run without any walking and I ran the whole way and did it in 1:51:21!

Here I am after a short warm-up in the pool waiting for the race to begin. There was an under 11 race that took place before ours. It was fun watching the kids and see them really get into it.

Just before them swim. And yes, I know I am extreamly white and definitly not a swimsuit model, but could those models do the race I was about to do? I like to think not!

Transitioning from swim to bike. My swim time was 22 mins. I was a little disappointed as I had previously done the swim in 18 mins. Part of it had to do with the fact I was in a lane with two people who were doing breaststroke and backstroke and were all over the place. I lapped both a couple of times, and I think they slowed me down. Oh well.

I posted this one to show one of the big hills along the bike course. There were two big hills, and then a few other smaller ones. I didn't have a chance to see the actual bike course until the day before the race and when I saw the hills I had a little freak-out and second guessed all my training. But with race-day adrenaline it was all good.

Macy waiting at the finish line for me. Chris was great and drove along the course to meet me and cheer me on. It was good to have some encouragement!

The finish line!

This is me saying I did it in under 2 hours! I gave my all for the swim and the bike and when I got to the run I thought, I haven't saved any energy for this! I was sure I was going to come in at 2:15 or even 2:30. So I was very happy with my time!

So now it is all over. I spent my summer training for it and it was all worth it. A great hobby to have. Would I do it again? Yes! But give my a little more time to recover!

Gregoire Lake

Just 25 minutes south of Fort McMurray is Gregoire Lake. We went out with a friends for a campfire dinner of hotdogs, chips, and smores. One of the things I love about Fort McMurray is all the trees. We are right in the middle of the Boreal Forest and it is beautiful. We had fun watching Macy explore nature!

I know she is long clothes, it wasn't that cold, but it was evening, and the bugs were out, so the extra clothing was nice for that.

They have a grassy and treed area for picnics, with a few fire pits. They also had a great play structure. Then there is beachy area and the lake behind Chris. For Alberta, it was a really nice lake.

She just loved the fire. A little too much...

Eating smores with our friend Desiree. Macy's is just graham cracker though, too messy!

We like the lake!

Question

How do you get a picture in your title heading of your blog without is being all huge and out of porportion?

InterPlay

Usually when I haven't posted in a while it is because nothing interesting has been happening in our lives, but lately I've just been busy. A couple of weeks ago we went to the InterPlay Street Festival here in Fort McMurray. We only went for a little over an hour, but if we had planned better we could have stayed longer for there was lots to do and see.

This was a motorbike show. These guys did tons of stunts. It was fun to watch.

Macy just chillin'. It was a hot day, and I am a bad parent who forgot her hat:(

This couple was so fun to watch. I wish we had caught more of their show. I love anything to do with strength/gymnastics/tumbling. They were great.

It was a fun day and great to meet up with Dad while he took a lunch break.

You Gotta Love this Girl!

I really can't believe she's already one, but I guess it's not that suprising. She walks all over the place, plays games, reads, and can't help herself when in comes to exploring, telephones, and keys. We just love her!

Birthday Bash

We had a busy and fun birthday with Macy on Monday. She's so special it was even a holiday, so Dad even got the day off to hang out with his little girl.

Here's the birthday girl with all her loot. She got a pretty good haul!

Practicing with Dad. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Cutts for the Xylaphone!

It's only 10am in the morning and Dad is already tuckered out. We had only gone out for breakfast with Grandparents Lamont and opened presents. We still have a big day ahead of us.

I guess Dad found some energy cause we headed off to Heritage Park for a festival they were having there. Check out the old Lego found at the drug store.

This was in an old house we went into. The boy who used to live there was Ken, and this was his bedroom. (Sorry that the picture isn't the best quality).

Check out this boy's mullet! Can you believe that!

For Grandma Lamont!

I thought this was a cool steam tractor. It looked so much like a train to me at first.

I'm not sure if you will be able to read these rules for both the students and teachers. But they were pretty great. Rule #4 for teachers; Men teachers may take an evening a week for courting, two evenings if they attend church. Rule #5; After 10 hours at the school, the teacher may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.

Later in the evening we went swmming at the rec center but I forgot my camera. It was a great day. Thanks for all the family that called to wish our little one year old happy birthday!