KEEPIN' IT SIMPLE

This weekend the race was a circuit race, which means Michael's race consisted of eight laps on a seven mile course. Set in Amish Country that means farm land and rolling to steep and short hills. One of the best things about Michael's races series this year is that they are in Lancaster County. Lancaster has a large concentration of Amish. This is their land.


For part of the afternoon they stopped doing their chores to take some time to watch the races. Luckily I was able to snap a few pictures at the race. I really love the one of the man on the horse. The finish line was on the road that lines his families' property so they came across the land to check it out. So he really is actually looking over his land in that photo. It was just so beautiful, I can only imagine his sense of pride. I could go on about the Amish, but what it really comes down to is that I have so much respect for them and their way of life. I felt very lucky to get a sneak peak at their world coming into contact with ours.


Oh yes, and the Amish kids huddled at the finish line...too cute!

HAPPY EASTER!

WANNA GO ON A DATE?

YES! We had our first official paid babysitter here in Chambersburg. The day after our first races we scheduled a girl we know from the YMCA to babysit for us. What exactly did we do for our date you may wonder....hello, we went for a bike ride. It was my first time actually riding a bike outdoors since Gilbert was born. But I think the pure excitement of actually getting to go for a ride together pushed me enough to get through the ride just fine. Michael knows a few routes, so he lead the way. Any direction you head outside of town you are on rolling country roads. Which were a lot nicer than I recall seeing from driving along in the car. It was really very beautiful and left both of us on could nine for the rest of the day. I quote one farmers sign in saying,"The broad path leads to destruction". In other words, keep it simple folks. So true, so true!

AND THE RACE IS ON...

Michael and I had our first races last weekend. We both got a bit worked. But it is early season, so really any race right now is simply to determine where you are and what you need to do to get to where you should be. Um....I've got a lot of work to do.

I "raced" the Chambersburg Half Marathon. They say never try anything new on race day. Well, I didn't really follow that rule and decided to take Gilbert along in the baby jogger. It was our first time actually using it for running. We were doing just over a nine minute mile until miles eight through ten. We had to pull off about four times for feedings and for holdings. I think for anyone running a half marathon those are the roughest miles, who can blame him. So we placed close to last, but it was a beautiful Spring day and I really enjoyed getting to share the experience with Gilbert. It was just nice to be out with other runners enjoying the outdoors.


Michael did the first race in a local series that goes through August. Here is the link to the series for cyclists reading the blog:

http://www.redroseraces.com

He did well and felt pretty good throughout the race. He was mainly just trying to push himself to see what he has in the tank as far as early season goes. He finished 18th and with the second pack of racers. The top twenty finishers get points towards the series, so he came away with a few points! The series should progress well, being that a lot of the same racers will consistantly be there. So needless to say he is already getting a feel for some of the styles of the other racers.

There were other members racing from his team, C3 Sollay, based out of Baltimore. They have not had much time to train together, but hopefully in the upcoming races they will determine how to work their individual strengths to come together as a team, resulting with one of their teammates out front.

The majority of the races are just over an hour from here, so as long as I'm not racing we will head out as a family. And if there is someone there to watch Gilbert I might even get some road racing in this year.

...AND NOW FOR THE NUMBERS

We just had Gilbert's four month check-up on March 3rd and he is progressing just fine. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a number person. Which is about 75% of my obsession with triathlon as it really all comes down to the numbers. Luckily numbers are also a big part of having a baby, from how far are you along in you pregnancy to how many day left in your pregnancy. To a whole new set of numbers, the age, height, weight, and yes head circumference. So for those of you that are interested here is how Gilbert fits into the scheme of things for a four month old:

Length: 26.25 inches 90%
Weight: 16.2 lbs 75%
Head: 44.5 cm 97% must be the brains ;)

His height just got him kicked out of his baby car seat. Luckily we just got the next stage car seat in the mail this week. So it went into the car today and the old one is in the attic.

It also seems that as soon as he is into a piece of clothing that in no time he is out of it. Plus I have learned that "one year" can mean "four months". But he is mainly fitting into all of his six to nine month clothes. You know when he can't stretch his legs out all the way in an outfit that it's over. For some reason it is hard for me to take the too small clothes out of his dresser and put the new ones in. But everyone told me, and now I know for myself, it sure does go fast.

But one last number and that is the number TWO. It seems that ever since his visit to the doctor that our baby sure does drool a lot, always has his hands in his mouth, rubs his eyes, and has a weird cough...which all causes a baby to be a bit crabby. Well while Michael was out riding today and Gilbert was in the midst of a cry I noticed TWO small pearly white teeth starting to stick out from his gums!!!!

Yet another milestone.