With much love,
Claudia, Neil, Finn and Lily
P.S. The pictures you will have to come get yourself :)
6/02/2010
Happy Birthday, Kristine!
With much love,
Claudia, Neil, Finn and Lily
P.S. The pictures you will have to come get yourself :)
6/01/2010
My first triathlon, the long version :)
Last Sunday was the big day - my first triathlon ever! First off: without Neil I could never be doing this, so thank you for taking care of the kids and supporting your wife in these crazy ideas she gets into her head! :)
When we arrived in Munich at around 8:45am it was not only raining and windy, but at 5 (!) °C / 41F also freezing cold. I was more than happy that we were going to swim in the pool.
In case you are not familiar with the sport of triathlon, here is what you have to do: swim-bike-run, in that order. The athlete with the overall fastest time wins. There are a variety of distances, from sprint triathlons (500m/20k/5k) to the ironman (3.8k/180k/42.2k). The one in Munich last Sunday was a sprint distance one, a bit shorter even (425m/19k/5k). There were 4 groups: kids and youth, the "Volkstriathlon"/"everybody group" (women / men), and the "sprint triathlon group" for the professionals and serious triathletes. The kids were to go first, then the women, then the men, then the pros.
So the first thing we had to do when we got there was to unload the car, put rain gear on the kids (lucky Lily got to ride in the stroller), grab my bike and all my stuff and go check in my bike. There was a long line-up, and waiting in the freezing rain was not much fun. Finally it was my turn and while Neil and the kids took off for somewhere dry and warm I set up my "transition area". It was basically a huge fenced-in meadow beside the pool with long lines of bike racks where soon 1,500 bikes would be waiting in the rain. Contrary to most other people I left all my gear in plastic bags. If I was going to bike with wet clothes I wanted to have dry feet at least. And since I wasn't a serious contender for the title (ha ha) I figured a few minutes added to my total time wouldn't matter.
Then I went inside the pool building, got my race number written on my arm with marker, put my tri suit and my timing chip on, grabbed my goggles and cap and put all my other stuff in a locker. As it turned out the race was delayed for more than an hour, because the first group (kids and youth) had to have a 15min break between the swimming and biking as it was still so cold out. So I swam a few laps in the practice pool, ate a banana, wished I hadn't left my water bottles with my bike, wandered around for a bit, ate a cereal bar, waved to Neil, Finn and Lily who were sitting in the stands, ate some more banana which made me even thirstier, and so on.
Finally, we were told to line up (I was number 554) and people started jumping in the water 8 seconds or so apart. We all had timing chips strapped to our ankles and they beeped whenever you ran or biked over a timing mat. There were mats at the entrance and exit of the pool, at the beginning of the bike course etc.
The swim went well, but since I hadn't warmed up properly and didn't want to overexert myself right away I took it easy. Actually I took the whole race kind of easy. :) The 425m took me 10:03min. Then I jogged outside, found my bike, had a drink (finally!), dried my feet, put on socks and my bike shoes, my jacket, my race belt with my number, bike gloves, bike shades and my helmet. Then I got my bike off the rack and pushed it across the wet muddy grass to the exit of the transition area. I got on, crossed the timing mat, my foot beeped (the chip more precisely), and I was on my first of 5 laps on the bike course.
The bike course was something else. We biked around the "Olympiapark" and it was very curvy. There were quite a few 90° turns, plus there were all those puddles. I am not a crazy biker and I actually braked before taking those turns. I don't have a racing or triathlon bike, so I wasn't as fast as a lot of the others, but I wasn't slow either and I had fun! I actually really enjoyed the biking part, especially the fact that the sun came out and I didn't get any wetter than I already was. The race officials had said the course would be 19k long (5 laps), but when I came to the turnoff to the transition area the speedometer on my bike only read 17-something, so I actually went past, but quickly realized that that probably was a mistake. I finally stopped just in front of the timing mat and asked the race official on duty there if the course maybe was shorter? He asked me if I had gone over the mat 5 times and I thought I had, so I finally turned around and went back to the transition area. Turns out I wasn't the only one who had done this, and at least one guy I know of actually biked an extra lap.
So I got off my bike, walked across the timing mat into the transition area, pushed my bike to the far end of the meadow, found my spot, took off my bike shoes, helmet, gloves and jacket, had a drink, put on my running shoes, and jogged up the steep hill (ouch, my legs!) to the running course. Neil and the kids had waved to me and cheered me on while I was biking and I had told them I was going for the run, but I looked and looked and couldn't see them. The run was four laps, and since it was pretty much back and forth you ran the same length 8 times. My legs felt a bit heavy because of all the "stop and go" biking, and I didn't really push myself to the limit, but I noticed I still ran a bit faster than a lot of others. Then I was on my last lap (by now it was raining again) and still no Neil in sight. I crossed the finish line, and I had done it: my first triathlon!
I chatted with a few people, had something to drink, a few pieces of watermelon and a doughnut, and finally left the finish area because I was freezing. I went back to the pool where I had my cell phone in the locker and phoned Neil. He and the kids had just arrived at the finish line and were waiting for me. :) The kids had needed a bathroom and wanted some ice cream, and that had taken them a while. I took a nice hot shower and met up with them.
And this is how I did:
I placed 165th out of 267 women, and 24th out of 45 in my age group. This includes the women from the "pro" group though, who naturally all placed in front of me. I am actually quite satisfied with my individual times. I took a long time in the transitions though, the first one took me more than 4.5 minutes! My bike time was 39 minutes, which of course includes the little detour and chat at the end. There was no timing mat at the beginning of the running course, so I don't know my exact 5k time, but from the time I finished the bike course to the time I crossed the finish line was 28 min, so I am guessing my 5k time was around 25min. Looking at the results there are women who placed way better (let's say around 100 out of 267), but actually swam and ran slower than me. They just biked a bit faster and didn't hang around in the transition area as long as I did.
So, considering this and the fact that I didn't really give it my all I think I can survive the Olympic distance on June 13th. My goal will be just to finish (even if it means walking in the end), and anything under 3.5 hours I will consider a huge success. Now I only need to somehow shed this cold that I can feel coming. The kids are sniffling and coughing too.
And - Neil doesn't know about it yet, but I guess I wouldn't say no if a used racing or triathlon bike happened to cross my path some day. :)
When we arrived in Munich at around 8:45am it was not only raining and windy, but at 5 (!) °C / 41F also freezing cold. I was more than happy that we were going to swim in the pool.
In case you are not familiar with the sport of triathlon, here is what you have to do: swim-bike-run, in that order. The athlete with the overall fastest time wins. There are a variety of distances, from sprint triathlons (500m/20k/5k) to the ironman (3.8k/180k/42.2k). The one in Munich last Sunday was a sprint distance one, a bit shorter even (425m/19k/5k). There were 4 groups: kids and youth, the "Volkstriathlon"/"everybody group" (women / men), and the "sprint triathlon group" for the professionals and serious triathletes. The kids were to go first, then the women, then the men, then the pros.
So the first thing we had to do when we got there was to unload the car, put rain gear on the kids (lucky Lily got to ride in the stroller), grab my bike and all my stuff and go check in my bike. There was a long line-up, and waiting in the freezing rain was not much fun. Finally it was my turn and while Neil and the kids took off for somewhere dry and warm I set up my "transition area". It was basically a huge fenced-in meadow beside the pool with long lines of bike racks where soon 1,500 bikes would be waiting in the rain. Contrary to most other people I left all my gear in plastic bags. If I was going to bike with wet clothes I wanted to have dry feet at least. And since I wasn't a serious contender for the title (ha ha) I figured a few minutes added to my total time wouldn't matter.
Then I went inside the pool building, got my race number written on my arm with marker, put my tri suit and my timing chip on, grabbed my goggles and cap and put all my other stuff in a locker. As it turned out the race was delayed for more than an hour, because the first group (kids and youth) had to have a 15min break between the swimming and biking as it was still so cold out. So I swam a few laps in the practice pool, ate a banana, wished I hadn't left my water bottles with my bike, wandered around for a bit, ate a cereal bar, waved to Neil, Finn and Lily who were sitting in the stands, ate some more banana which made me even thirstier, and so on.
Finally, we were told to line up (I was number 554) and people started jumping in the water 8 seconds or so apart. We all had timing chips strapped to our ankles and they beeped whenever you ran or biked over a timing mat. There were mats at the entrance and exit of the pool, at the beginning of the bike course etc.
The swim went well, but since I hadn't warmed up properly and didn't want to overexert myself right away I took it easy. Actually I took the whole race kind of easy. :) The 425m took me 10:03min. Then I jogged outside, found my bike, had a drink (finally!), dried my feet, put on socks and my bike shoes, my jacket, my race belt with my number, bike gloves, bike shades and my helmet. Then I got my bike off the rack and pushed it across the wet muddy grass to the exit of the transition area. I got on, crossed the timing mat, my foot beeped (the chip more precisely), and I was on my first of 5 laps on the bike course.
The bike course was something else. We biked around the "Olympiapark" and it was very curvy. There were quite a few 90° turns, plus there were all those puddles. I am not a crazy biker and I actually braked before taking those turns. I don't have a racing or triathlon bike, so I wasn't as fast as a lot of the others, but I wasn't slow either and I had fun! I actually really enjoyed the biking part, especially the fact that the sun came out and I didn't get any wetter than I already was. The race officials had said the course would be 19k long (5 laps), but when I came to the turnoff to the transition area the speedometer on my bike only read 17-something, so I actually went past, but quickly realized that that probably was a mistake. I finally stopped just in front of the timing mat and asked the race official on duty there if the course maybe was shorter? He asked me if I had gone over the mat 5 times and I thought I had, so I finally turned around and went back to the transition area. Turns out I wasn't the only one who had done this, and at least one guy I know of actually biked an extra lap.
So I got off my bike, walked across the timing mat into the transition area, pushed my bike to the far end of the meadow, found my spot, took off my bike shoes, helmet, gloves and jacket, had a drink, put on my running shoes, and jogged up the steep hill (ouch, my legs!) to the running course. Neil and the kids had waved to me and cheered me on while I was biking and I had told them I was going for the run, but I looked and looked and couldn't see them. The run was four laps, and since it was pretty much back and forth you ran the same length 8 times. My legs felt a bit heavy because of all the "stop and go" biking, and I didn't really push myself to the limit, but I noticed I still ran a bit faster than a lot of others. Then I was on my last lap (by now it was raining again) and still no Neil in sight. I crossed the finish line, and I had done it: my first triathlon!
I chatted with a few people, had something to drink, a few pieces of watermelon and a doughnut, and finally left the finish area because I was freezing. I went back to the pool where I had my cell phone in the locker and phoned Neil. He and the kids had just arrived at the finish line and were waiting for me. :) The kids had needed a bathroom and wanted some ice cream, and that had taken them a while. I took a nice hot shower and met up with them.
And this is how I did:
I placed 165th out of 267 women, and 24th out of 45 in my age group. This includes the women from the "pro" group though, who naturally all placed in front of me. I am actually quite satisfied with my individual times. I took a long time in the transitions though, the first one took me more than 4.5 minutes! My bike time was 39 minutes, which of course includes the little detour and chat at the end. There was no timing mat at the beginning of the running course, so I don't know my exact 5k time, but from the time I finished the bike course to the time I crossed the finish line was 28 min, so I am guessing my 5k time was around 25min. Looking at the results there are women who placed way better (let's say around 100 out of 267), but actually swam and ran slower than me. They just biked a bit faster and didn't hang around in the transition area as long as I did.
So, considering this and the fact that I didn't really give it my all I think I can survive the Olympic distance on June 13th. My goal will be just to finish (even if it means walking in the end), and anything under 3.5 hours I will consider a huge success. Now I only need to somehow shed this cold that I can feel coming. The kids are sniffling and coughing too.
And - Neil doesn't know about it yet, but I guess I wouldn't say no if a used racing or triathlon bike happened to cross my path some day. :)
Here are some pictures:
I'm in the middle, in the white cap
I'm in the middle, in the white cap
I'm on the right
5/29/2010
Hail and sunshine
.
A couple days ago we had the craziest hail storm I've ever seen. It was all over in 10 minutes, but it did a lot of damage. The pellets were marble sized, with some being almost an inch in diameter. I ran out to drive the car under the car port and it felt like being shot at from above.
Now our bushes look like plucked chickens, so many branches broken and the leaves all have holes. More berries on the ground than on the bushes, too. And Finn was heartbroken to find the roof of his playhouse damaged. Neil took it off and maybe we can think of a way to somehow put a new one on. Otherwise Veronica the cow, Piggy and Sheepy will be homeless from now on.
Then yesterday, the most beautiful weather for swim class. Lily had so much fun splashing around too! She went absolutely crazy on that fast slide, people were commenting on how fearless she is. Finn is enjoying swim class, half way through the course he knows in theory what he is supposed to do to stay afloat ("arrow hands and frog legs"), but he can't really do it yet. Yesterday he put his face under water though and picked a ring up off the floor of the pool; he was so proud. We'll have to keep practicing this summer so he will be a little swimmer soon!
A couple days ago we had the craziest hail storm I've ever seen. It was all over in 10 minutes, but it did a lot of damage. The pellets were marble sized, with some being almost an inch in diameter. I ran out to drive the car under the car port and it felt like being shot at from above.
Now our bushes look like plucked chickens, so many branches broken and the leaves all have holes. More berries on the ground than on the bushes, too. And Finn was heartbroken to find the roof of his playhouse damaged. Neil took it off and maybe we can think of a way to somehow put a new one on. Otherwise Veronica the cow, Piggy and Sheepy will be homeless from now on.
Then yesterday, the most beautiful weather for swim class. Lily had so much fun splashing around too! She went absolutely crazy on that fast slide, people were commenting on how fearless she is. Finn is enjoying swim class, half way through the course he knows in theory what he is supposed to do to stay afloat ("arrow hands and frog legs"), but he can't really do it yet. Yesterday he put his face under water though and picked a ring up off the floor of the pool; he was so proud. We'll have to keep practicing this summer so he will be a little swimmer soon!
5/26/2010
Sibling love
They are not always like this, though. What can drive us nutty is when they start arguing about who gets to be first. Finn started it by always wanting to be first: the first to open the door, get his shoes on, be buckled in the car, get unbuckled, have a drink, go on the toilet - you name it. Now of course Lily wants to be first all the time too. The other day we were all in the car and Neil told Finn that it is more important to be nice than to be first. Finn's instant reply:
"Lily, you be nice and let me be first, okay?" (Lily: "Okay.")
Sometimes I think he is way too smart for a 4-year-old. :)
5/25/2010
Long weekend fun
We had a long weekend here, and it was awesome! It was sunny and warm, and we did a ton of things. Finn had his first (of 10) swim classes on Saturday, and really enjoyed it. Neil and Lily were in the pool too, splashing around. In the afternoon I went for a nice long run while Neil did a core strengthening class at the gym and the kids played at the gym daycare. I ran 18k (11.25 miles), the weather was perfect, but I sure wished I had brought some water.
On Sunday we watched our neighbours' daughter compete at a horse show, and while Finn was a bit bored (he fell in love with the letter "F" sign from the dressage ring and wanted to steal it), Lily kept on asking when it was finally her turn to ride.
Both kids have wanted to ride a pony for about half a year, so Monday morning we all went to a barn where they have gentle, well-trained ponies you can rent. We took "Felix" for a walk in the forest, and Finn and Lily took turns riding him. They had a great time!
Then it was on to a BBQ, a birthday party where our whole church was invited. We stayed for about 6 hours. :) Lots of fun, friends and food!
On Sunday we watched our neighbours' daughter compete at a horse show, and while Finn was a bit bored (he fell in love with the letter "F" sign from the dressage ring and wanted to steal it), Lily kept on asking when it was finally her turn to ride.
Both kids have wanted to ride a pony for about half a year, so Monday morning we all went to a barn where they have gentle, well-trained ponies you can rent. We took "Felix" for a walk in the forest, and Finn and Lily took turns riding him. They had a great time!
Then it was on to a BBQ, a birthday party where our whole church was invited. We stayed for about 6 hours. :) Lots of fun, friends and food!
And - it was finally warm enough to play with the Playmobil pool and pond that Lily got for her birthday. Due to them requiring water I decided those are outside toys.
Meeting pony Felix
You'd almost think I was riding the pony myself, with that big grin on my face. :)
At the BBQ
Lily needed a snooze
"Remember, Finn, we can't eat the green!"
So, a great weekend for all and a short work week for Neil! Finn has swim class every morning at 9, and since it is at an outdoor pool we're hoping this nice weather will hold. On Saturday we might all go to Munich for an outing. I need to pick up my race package and attend a race prep meeting at 6:30pm, so if the weather is nice we might all go and hang out in a beer garden for a bit. And then, on Sunday, my first triathlon!!! I'm trying to squeeze in a short workout here and there, but nothing major this week.
5/21/2010
Testing the waters
.
So. I had been looking forward to the scheduled test swim in the "lake" (the Ingolstadt "Baggersee" is more of a dug-out) for weeks. Finally, a chance to swim in open water and try out my wetsuit. Alas, because it's been so cold here and the lake is not warm enough yet the test swim was moved to the local outdoor pool. This means my first real open water swim will most likely be the Ingolstadt triathlon in 3 weeks, which of course is far from ideal. The swim at the Munich triathlon next week will be in a pool. Oh well.
Two companies selling wetsuits and other triathlon equipment were at the pool today and you could "test swim" the different suits.
.
I brought my wetsuit along (and the whole family :), but instead of getting it wet I borrowed the same model and size from the Sailfish folks. I squeezed into it and hopped in the pool. I learned a few things:
- Getting it on takes forever and involves plenty of pulling, pushing, shoving and adjusting
- Covering your hands and feet with an ordinary freezer bag helps immensely with putting it on
- I can NOT for the life of me zip it up myself, I need someone to hold the back together
- Once it's on you get pretty hot in it pretty quickly
- Luckily, I don't need help taking it off
- In the water it keeps me afloat nicely, but does restrict arm movement. My plan to switch from crawl to breaststroke if I get tired just fell through. I might have to flip on my back instead.
.
I think if I can get into a good rhyhtm in the lake I will be able to do the 1.5k - provided I don't panic and head straight back to shore first. Facing the deep black cold vastness underneath is something I am NOT looking forward to. Didn't help that I happened to see pictures of humonguous fish called "Waller" that people have been pulling out of the Baggersee. Hopefully the masses of people in the water will keep those creatures away. :)
.
Here are some pictures from today. It was actually nice out for a change!
So. I had been looking forward to the scheduled test swim in the "lake" (the Ingolstadt "Baggersee" is more of a dug-out) for weeks. Finally, a chance to swim in open water and try out my wetsuit. Alas, because it's been so cold here and the lake is not warm enough yet the test swim was moved to the local outdoor pool. This means my first real open water swim will most likely be the Ingolstadt triathlon in 3 weeks, which of course is far from ideal. The swim at the Munich triathlon next week will be in a pool. Oh well.
Two companies selling wetsuits and other triathlon equipment were at the pool today and you could "test swim" the different suits.
.
I brought my wetsuit along (and the whole family :), but instead of getting it wet I borrowed the same model and size from the Sailfish folks. I squeezed into it and hopped in the pool. I learned a few things:
- Getting it on takes forever and involves plenty of pulling, pushing, shoving and adjusting
- Covering your hands and feet with an ordinary freezer bag helps immensely with putting it on
- I can NOT for the life of me zip it up myself, I need someone to hold the back together
- Once it's on you get pretty hot in it pretty quickly
- Luckily, I don't need help taking it off
- In the water it keeps me afloat nicely, but does restrict arm movement. My plan to switch from crawl to breaststroke if I get tired just fell through. I might have to flip on my back instead.
.
I think if I can get into a good rhyhtm in the lake I will be able to do the 1.5k - provided I don't panic and head straight back to shore first. Facing the deep black cold vastness underneath is something I am NOT looking forward to. Didn't help that I happened to see pictures of humonguous fish called "Waller" that people have been pulling out of the Baggersee. Hopefully the masses of people in the water will keep those creatures away. :)
.
Here are some pictures from today. It was actually nice out for a change!
The tale of the butterfly wings
.
This totally deserves a post, so here goes!
.
The Friday before Lily's birthday party Neil had a day off and asked me what he could do to help to get things ready for the party. Since Neil is the artist in the family I said, "How about some butterfly decorations?" I was thinking of, you know, paper butterflies hanging from the ceiling, window stickers, and the like.
.
But later that day Neil took Finn to the park and they came back with a load of green willow twigs. Neil asked me for a kid's backpack he could borrow (it wouldn't get ruined), and went and got one of our old curtains from the rag bag in the basement. Then brought the willow twigs into the (just cleaned) house, and started cutting, shaping, bending, tying, and generally making quite a mess. Meanwhile I went grocery shopping, prepared dinner, made Lily's cake and cupcakes, and watched in fascination. Hours later, Finn was in bed already and Lily was going to join him soon, Neil was still working with his twigs. I could tell the "butterfly decorations" were going to be quite a bit different than I had imagined, but you gotta let a man do what he's gotta do, right!?
.
I went to the pool for a late night swim, and laughed in the car half the way there (didn't want to laugh where Neil would hear it). Those wings were going to be huge!
.
When I came back they were finished, and Neil showed me how well they worked. I don't think I had laughed so hard in months. Neil jumped up and down and they actually flapped quite nicely. He did say they "might be a tad big for Lily."
.
So, at the party all the kids got to try them out, and they loved them! The smaller ones (Lily and Hannah) will have to grow into them though. :)
.
And - Neil and Finn did make some paper butterflies for the party on Saturday morning.
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