Merry Christmas!!!
It's 6am, and I am wide awake, so I figured it was a good time to do a 2009 wrap-up blog. What a year 2009 has been for us.
We spent almost 2 weeks in Hawaii in February, I really cannot say how much I love that place!! Maui, especially. This was the first time we were there in the "winter" months, so we got to go whale watching, which was a great experience. It was also the tannest I had ever gotten, which was nice as well.
March was a quieter month, we had some strange snow/rain mix at the end of the month, but otherwise nothing to big in March.
In April, Matt ran in the first Annual Bunny Dash 5k and placed 3rd over-all, what a great way to start of the season. A few of the Endurance Nation members were there also, so it was a great way to reconnect after the off season.
In May, Matt ran in the first Annual Chicago Spring Half Marathon. Great race for both running (so he says) and spectating. The weather was finally warming up and starting to feel like winter was finally behind us.
June, what a month!! June, is a month that I won't forget. On Friday, June 12th, we were headed to Kansas so that Matt could compete in Ironman Kansas 70.3, but more importantly, that is also the same morning we found out that our lives where about to change, forever! And, I had to keep it quiet the entire weekend, when we talked to our families because I did not want to share the good news over the phone. So, it was our secret through the weekend, and a hard one to keep!! Anyway, we drove to Kansas, through Iowa, a tiny part of Missouri and into Kansas, about 9 hours in all in the car. Matt had a great race and got a spot to compete in the Half Ironman World Championship in Clearwater, Florida. June ended with my mom having total knee replacement in her right knee.
July, was a pretty quiet month, I had days of feeling good and not so good. Matt raced in the Spirit of Racine Aquabike, and came in 2nd, just a few seconds behind a former EN Teammate. It was a great day!! Early in July, we had our first of what will become many doctor appointments over the course of the pregnancy, this one was the first ultrasound (never knew a little "blob" could be so cute!).
August, was quiet and we enjoyed the weather and time together, and it was countdown until Ironman Wisconsin!
September, another month that was one for the books! Matt competed in Ironman Wisconsin. What a day!! The race was great, I spent the day watching the race with some friends, my brother in law, and some of the guys from EN. I could go on and on about how great the support from EN is. I am thankful that Matt found them and joined "the Nation". I enjoyed spectating before (I've been at this for 5 years now!) but having people all over the course that you know and that are out supporting your husband is just awesome. As, you know, Ironman Wisconsin, was a day that we'll never forget, not only did Matt qualify to compete in the Ironman World Championship, in Kona, Hawaii (ahhhh!!!), he also won his age group!!! He didn't think that was possible, and it was. I was a very proud wife, I still am!!!
October, was our 2nd wedding anniversary, we spent the time around then getting the spare bedroom ready for Baby Ancona - painting, putting together the crib, all of that fun stuff. The room was our "it doesn't have a home, just put it in there" room for 3 years, it needed a lot of help! I also hit the half way point in pregnancy. 20 weeks is when you can find out the gender, but we didn't.
November, we went to Clearwater and Orlando, Florida. It was our last vacation as the two of us. We stayed with Aunt Helen, just outside of Tampa, and drove to Clearwater for the different Ironman doings. It was a great day for the race. I also got to see my friend Erin, who I hadn't seen since 1992 when her family moved to Tampa. The day after the race, we drove to Orlando and spent 2 days at Sea World. It was a very relaxing, great last trip. The month ended with me having to get a RhoGam shot, because my blood type is Rh- and if the baby is Rh+ there could be negative out comes with this pregnancy and all future pregnancies, so they do it as a prevention. The bummer, that shot went to my insurance deductable, that I hadn't met yet, and of course, it does not roll over to next year, when I will be meeting it again when the baby is born.
That brings me to now. I am more then 3/4 of the way through the pregnancy, and while I cannot wait to meet this little person, I really am enjoying being pregnant, and I think I will miss it in the end. There is nothing like having a life inside of you, knowing that you are going to get to show this person the world, and hopefully mean the world to them. We have started taking labor & delivery classes. They are 2 hours long, for 4 Saturdays. The class goes over the stages of labor, pain management for labor, what to expect, the delivery, a tour of the hospital (which we did last week), and what happens after delivery, to both you and the baby. I am glad we took the class.
So, as the title says, this is our last quiet Christmas. Next year, we'll have a 10 month old (wow!), crawling, maybe walking or trying to walk, around. I cannot wait!! We kept things pretty low key this year, since next year will be filled with unexpected twists and turns.
In other Baby Ancona updates, there seems to be a little bit more of a pattern to when I feel the baby moving around, but now that I say that, I'm sure things will change!! We have about 8 weeks left to go until we get to meet this person. I still don't have a feeling as to if we'll have a daugther or son. I say "he" when I talk about the baby, but that doesn't mean I am 100% convinced that is what we're having.
I want to end this by wishing everybody a Very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!! I hope 2009 has been good to everybody and that 2010 is even better. I know that I can't wait for early 2010!!!!
I will still post some pictures, at some point, in the very near future.
Until then, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Only a few weeks left in 2009
Well, since my last update, we have taken our last vacation before we are officially parents. We went to Florida, and had a great time. As you know, Matt competed in the half Ironman World Championship in Clearwater. We stayed with Aunt Helen who lives just outside of Tampa, so we had about a 20 minute drive to Clearwater, which was a piece of cake.
This race isn't as spectator friendly as other races, but there is one spot that you can hang out and see the athletes bike out and back and then a few times on the run, with out moving, so its not as bad as it could be. I spent the morning visiting with my friend Erin, who moved to Florida in 1992, and that was the last time we had seen each other, thanks to Facebook we were able to reconnect.
After our time in the Tampa area we drove about an hour and a half to Orlando, and spent 2 days at Sea World. This was my first experience at Sea World Orlando, I was let down a little bit, but it was relaxing and that is what is important. Matt said that the only difference between Sea World now and Sea World when he was last there (in junior high, he thinks) is that they have added a few roller coasters. We bought our tickets online ahead of time, so we paid kids price & we got the second day free, so we can't complain to much.
We also wandered around the two outlet malls, Downtown Disney and Universal City Walk. My only complain the entire time was how hot I was. I'm glad that I won't be at the end of this pregnancy in the middle of summer. I am warm all the time now, luckily when we were there it wasn't much over 80!!
At this point, I am 30 weeks and 4 days pregnant! Less then 10 weeks until we get to meet this little person. Each day that goes by, I get a little bit more excited. Luckily, I am enjoying being pregnant and I am not miserable. I feel really good my only complaint has been my left rib cage has been hurting for about 3 weeks and the on and off sciatic problem - which are all common. This past Tuesday was the 30 week ultrasound/growth scan. I learned that the rib pain is compliments of the baby bum and tailbone that is wedged right under there shoving all my organs into my ribs - awesome!! Lets see, we were also told that the baby's head is measuring a full week ahead (nothing like being told your baby has a large head! However the tech did also laugh and say that the head isn't what keeps them in), organs are all working like they should be. We were able to see the nose and the upper lip. Baby was practicing breathing and we were able to see the tiny little mouth move, and the chubby cheeks - which makes me happy, I love chubby cheeks!! We were able to see the organs and they are all doing what they should be doing and where they should be. Head is down, so baby is smart enough to know which way is out, which makes me one happy Momma. The best part was seeing where the different body parts were in relation to the movement I've been feeling, so when I have lump sticking out, I have a pretty good idea of what is what. Head down, back/side is curved up along my left side, bum is under my rib cage (or near it, I guess), feet are on my right size, this baby is folded in half, and running out of room, we'll see how the next 9 weeks go and what kind of changes happen to my bump.
I cannot believe I am going to admit this, but I have gained about 27 pounds at this point. However, as of Tuesday 3lbs 5oz of that was pure baby love - and this baby love has a lot of baggage also - placenta, amniotic fluid, etc. They say that about 30-35lbs of weight gain is normal and healthy. My goal was to be right around 35lbs, we'll see what happens, if its a little over, that's ok to. Just more motivation to get back into shape and be ready to hit the Hawaii beaches just 7 short months after the baby is here.
And, for those of you wondering, the gender of baby.....still a surprise! We did not find out, I never even attempted to look or try to find out. Usually surprises drive me nuts, but for some reason this is totally different and I cannot wait to be surprised in the delivery room. It doesn't matter if I have a son or daugther, this little person already means the world to me and I Love this baby more then words can describe already.
Last Saturday, was our first of 4 labor and delivery classes. They are 2 hours each, and at the hospital I will be delivering at. There are 10 couples (I think, including us), 2 of them are having girls, we are the only ones that don't know and the rest are having boys. Last week was pretty much an intro and a what to expect from the class, and a little relaxation breathing. Yesterday, was our second class, we went over the stages of labor, what to do during each stage - at home, when to head to the hospital, etc, and pain management options. At the end we did some relaxation breathing again, this time holding ice as a distraction to see if we could forget about our and how cold it was while we were concentrating on our breathing. Next week is the tour of the hospital, the following we have off thanks to the holiday and the last class is the 1st week in January, I don't know what will be doing in that class, but I do know there are some videos involved.
That is about all, I will update again very soon with some pictures. Hope everybody is doing well & enjoying the start of the holiday season!
This race isn't as spectator friendly as other races, but there is one spot that you can hang out and see the athletes bike out and back and then a few times on the run, with out moving, so its not as bad as it could be. I spent the morning visiting with my friend Erin, who moved to Florida in 1992, and that was the last time we had seen each other, thanks to Facebook we were able to reconnect.
After our time in the Tampa area we drove about an hour and a half to Orlando, and spent 2 days at Sea World. This was my first experience at Sea World Orlando, I was let down a little bit, but it was relaxing and that is what is important. Matt said that the only difference between Sea World now and Sea World when he was last there (in junior high, he thinks) is that they have added a few roller coasters. We bought our tickets online ahead of time, so we paid kids price & we got the second day free, so we can't complain to much.
We also wandered around the two outlet malls, Downtown Disney and Universal City Walk. My only complain the entire time was how hot I was. I'm glad that I won't be at the end of this pregnancy in the middle of summer. I am warm all the time now, luckily when we were there it wasn't much over 80!!
At this point, I am 30 weeks and 4 days pregnant! Less then 10 weeks until we get to meet this little person. Each day that goes by, I get a little bit more excited. Luckily, I am enjoying being pregnant and I am not miserable. I feel really good
I cannot believe I am going to admit this, but I have gained about 27 pounds at this point. However, as of Tuesday 3lbs 5oz of that was pure baby love - and this baby love has a lot of baggage also - placenta, amniotic fluid, etc. They say that about 30-35lbs of weight gain is normal and healthy. My goal was to be right around 35lbs, we'll see what happens, if its a little over, that's ok to. Just more motivation to get back into shape and be ready to hit the Hawaii beaches just 7 short months after the baby is here.
And, for those of you wondering, the gender of baby.....still a surprise! We did not find out, I never even attempted to look or try to find out. Usually surprises drive me nuts, but for some reason this is totally different and I cannot wait to be surprised in the delivery room. It doesn't matter if I have a son or daugther, this little person already means the world to me and I Love this baby more then words can describe already.
Last Saturday, was our first of 4 labor and delivery classes. They are 2 hours each, and at the hospital I will be delivering at. There are 10 couples (I think, including us), 2 of them are having girls, we are the only ones that don't know and the rest are having boys. Last week was pretty much an intro and a what to expect from the class, and a little relaxation breathing. Yesterday, was our second class, we went over the stages of labor, what to do during each stage - at home, when to head to the hospital, etc, and pain management options. At the end we did some relaxation breathing again, this time holding ice as a distraction to see if we could forget about our and how cold it was while we were concentrating on our breathing. Next week is the tour of the hospital, the following we have off thanks to the holiday and the last class is the 1st week in January, I don't know what will be doing in that class, but I do know there are some videos involved.
That is about all, I will update again very soon with some pictures. Hope everybody is doing well & enjoying the start of the holiday season!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Update with pictures
Since my last update, Matt and I celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary! We went out to dinner 2 weeks after the fact, but that's because I spent the majority of our anniversary painting the room for Baby Ancona, and that following weekend, we were finishing everything up. We decided to go to Michigan Ave and just wander around there for a while and then we went to Smoque for some awesome bbq and Sweet Mandy B's Bakery for desert, yumm.
As I said, the room is painted! I love it, which is a good thing after the many hours spent in there. The crib is set up, the chair is in the room, now we just need all the 'stuff' that a baby needs and we're set.
I have been feeling a lot of movement over the last week and a half. The movement has gone from a fluttery feeling - which I only felt once every few days, to a light tapping, bubbly type feeling. Matt has felt some of the light jabs, they aren't to strong yet - which is fine, I'll keep my non-bruised organs and rib feeling as long as possible. I have my 24 week check tomorrow, I am going to be meeting a different doctor in the practice. There are 5 that deliver, and they encourage you to meet all of them ahead of time. So far, I haven't met anybody new, the doctor I've seen the last 2 times, was my doctor before pregnancy.
Matt is headed to NYC next Saturday morning, to volunteer at the Marathon Expo and is then pacing the NYC Marathon Sunday, and flying home that night. He'll be pacing the 4 hour group, and is looking forward to the experience. It was an opportunity that he just couldn't pass up. I'll be staying home, I didn't want to fly 2 days in a row and then less then 2 weeks later to Florida. There are way to many germs out there and with the flu season being as bad as it is and hitting really hard early, I'm trying to limit my exposure.
We're headed to Tampa and Orlando, Florida on November 11th. We'll spend 3 days with Aunt Helen and Matt will do the Half Ironman World Championship and then we'll drive to Orland and spend 2 days at Sea World. It will be our last vacation, as the 2of us. I actually enter the 3rd Trimester while we are there, and that is when the flying restrictions start. A lot of airlines don't question it until about 32 weeks or so, but my doctors office recommends that you don't fly once your in your 3rd Trimester - due to the increase of swelling and discomfort.
Ok, here are the pictures :
We plan on hanging something, not sure what, over the dresser - which will also be the changing table.
We plan on adding something to this wall, and getting a different light.
My bump at 23 weeks and 3 days. (taken 10.24.09)
As I said, the room is painted! I love it, which is a good thing after the many hours spent in there. The crib is set up, the chair is in the room, now we just need all the 'stuff' that a baby needs and we're set.
I have been feeling a lot of movement over the last week and a half. The movement has gone from a fluttery feeling - which I only felt once every few days, to a light tapping, bubbly type feeling. Matt has felt some of the light jabs, they aren't to strong yet - which is fine, I'll keep my non-bruised organs and rib feeling as long as possible. I have my 24 week check tomorrow, I am going to be meeting a different doctor in the practice. There are 5 that deliver, and they encourage you to meet all of them ahead of time. So far, I haven't met anybody new, the doctor I've seen the last 2 times, was my doctor before pregnancy.
Matt is headed to NYC next Saturday morning, to volunteer at the Marathon Expo and is then pacing the NYC Marathon Sunday, and flying home that night. He'll be pacing the 4 hour group, and is looking forward to the experience. It was an opportunity that he just couldn't pass up. I'll be staying home, I didn't want to fly 2 days in a row and then less then 2 weeks later to Florida. There are way to many germs out there and with the flu season being as bad as it is and hitting really hard early, I'm trying to limit my exposure.
We're headed to Tampa and Orlando, Florida on November 11th. We'll spend 3 days with Aunt Helen and Matt will do the Half Ironman World Championship and then we'll drive to Orland and spend 2 days at Sea World. It will be our last vacation, as the 2of us. I actually enter the 3rd Trimester while we are there, and that is when the flying restrictions start. A lot of airlines don't question it until about 32 weeks or so, but my doctors office recommends that you don't fly once your in your 3rd Trimester - due to the increase of swelling and discomfort.
Ok, here are the pictures :
We plan on hanging something, not sure what, over the dresser - which will also be the changing table.
We plan on adding something to this wall, and getting a different light.
My bump at 23 weeks and 3 days. (taken 10.24.09)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Half Way There!!!
Well, I'm just a few days over 20 weeks pregnant, which means that, I am half way there. Crazy. We have the crib, it is still in a box in the garage, but we have it. I have to finish organizing the room, there isn't much left to do at least, then it will be ready to have the crib assembled.
I had my 20 week appointment this morning - complete with ultrasound. Everything is right on schedule. I'm technically 20 weeks 3 days today, and the baby is measuring 20 weeks 5 days, and weighs 13 oz. The entire ultrasound was for measurements - brain, skull, femur bone, spine, heart, kidneys and bladder. Everything is looking good, and where it should be. The baby (no we didn't not find out the gender) has long legs, the tech must have said it about 7 times. The heart has all 4 chambers and we got to see it beating away at 154 bpm. The baby was laying face up, head on my left side, and folded in half, the knees were at the chin and the feet were over the head. I have told the baby several times now to stretch out and enjoy the room while you've got it, it's going to get snug in there fast. We did get to see the little feet and toes. As the ultrasound tech was trying to see the lower part of the spine, to get the measurements, the baby kept putting their hand in the way - either this baby has a great sense of humor already or some attitude.
I haven't even gotten to hold this little person yet and I am so in love. It is such an amazing experience, to see this little person, who is about the size of a pop can and know that they are yours. I get to have this little person grow inside of me until they are ready to enter this big world. After they are here, I get to experience the world through their eyes. How can you not be in love?
Speaking of love, Matt and I are about to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. The weather is slightly different this weekend - it is in the low 50s and rainy. There are times that it feels like just yesterday that we said "I do" and there are times that it feels like its been years. I Love You, Matt, thanks for asking me to be your wife, I couldn't imagine my life with out you in it. I cannot wait for this next year and all the changes it will bring. Here's to many more years!!!
I had my 20 week appointment this morning - complete with ultrasound. Everything is right on schedule. I'm technically 20 weeks 3 days today, and the baby is measuring 20 weeks 5 days, and weighs 13 oz. The entire ultrasound was for measurements - brain, skull, femur bone, spine, heart, kidneys and bladder. Everything is looking good, and where it should be. The baby (no we didn't not find out the gender) has long legs, the tech must have said it about 7 times. The heart has all 4 chambers and we got to see it beating away at 154 bpm. The baby was laying face up, head on my left side, and folded in half, the knees were at the chin and the feet were over the head. I have told the baby several times now to stretch out and enjoy the room while you've got it, it's going to get snug in there fast. We did get to see the little feet and toes. As the ultrasound tech was trying to see the lower part of the spine, to get the measurements, the baby kept putting their hand in the way - either this baby has a great sense of humor already or some attitude.
I haven't even gotten to hold this little person yet and I am so in love. It is such an amazing experience, to see this little person, who is about the size of a pop can and know that they are yours. I get to have this little person grow inside of me until they are ready to enter this big world. After they are here, I get to experience the world through their eyes. How can you not be in love?
Speaking of love, Matt and I are about to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. The weather is slightly different this weekend - it is in the low 50s and rainy. There are times that it feels like just yesterday that we said "I do" and there are times that it feels like its been years. I Love You, Matt, thanks for asking me to be your wife, I couldn't imagine my life with out you in it. I cannot wait for this next year and all the changes it will bring. Here's to many more years!!!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Pictures!!
Traditional Welcome sign
Perfect sunrise, great day for a race
About 30 seconds into the swim
Matt is zooming by me on the bike
Reaching out for a high 5
Hang Loose, the sign I was hoping to see at this point
About 2 steps away from the finish line
These 2 pieces of paper are the ticket to Hawaii!
Matt and his first place trophy
Trophy And, so all good things must come to an end. This season (all though, not completely over, just yet) has been a great one and the end of Matts A race of the year was the icing on the cake. From here, it is a few victory laps, including the NYC Marathon and Clearwater 70.3.
If I don't post before then, look for another post in about 2 weeks after my 20 week ultrasound, so hard to believe that is in 2 weeks. I have finally felt some movement, still, nothing really pronounced and nothing really consistant, but there have been some butterfly and bubble like rolling motions going on.
Friday, September 18, 2009
What a week, what a week!
Wow, where to start! This week has been one that we will never forget!!!!
Last Thursday, September 10th we packed up the MDX and headed to Madison, WI. Now, we use to fit everything into the Monte Carlo with the back seat folded down, yes it was a tight fit, but we made it work. Well, now we have this nice big suv that we still some how, managed to fill. It wasn't packed solid at least. So we made it to Madison, checked into the hotel and headed to the Great Dane downtown for the Endurance Nation (EN) team dinner. EN is the virtual triathlon team that Matt is coached by and trains with. What a great group of people. There were people from IL, WI, and MN at the dinner, there were about 20 of us there, including the coaches and about 8 of them were racing. It was a good time.
Friday,September 11th, we got up early and headed to Lake Monona for the practice swim, 8 guys showed up again from Team EN for that. After the swim, we headed up to Monona Terrace for the EN pre-race 4 Keys Talk. During the talk, we took a moment of silence as there was a 21 gun salute and they played taps in memory of 9/11, cannot believe it has been 8 years already, it was very touching, especially as we sat there, looking at the capital building. The 4 Keys talk was interesting, and helped with any uncertainties the team may have had.
After the talk, we went into the terrace for check-in, and headed to the gift shop. We went in with intentions of not spending much money, well, that didn't work to well. We did get 2 hooded sweatshirts - which were the same price as one of the t-shirts we liked, and 2 shirts for our future Iron-spectator. After check-in we headed back to the hotel to organize the bags of gear and put the numbers onto the bike, and helmet. Had dinner at Red Robin and then drove around downtown Madison, confirming right were I would be for the run portion of the race.
Saturday, September 12th, We went to bike and gear drop off and then headed out to the bike course, to drive part of that, determine right were I would be for that and then to see where they had done some road repairs since the last time Matt had ridden the course. We called it a night, pretty early on Saturday, not that there was much sleeping to be had, but at least laying down trying to relax.
Sunday, September 13th - The morning that we have been waiting for!!! 4am, breakfast, sun-blocking up, writing on arms and heading out the door to be on the shuttle bus by 4:30am, we were downtown by 4:50 am. Matt got body marked, and headed into T1 to fill the water bottles on his bike, make sure everything was as it should be. Then we headed into the terrace to double check the gear bags and make sure everything was there as it should be. At about 6:10 am we headed down the helix and near the swim start. We met up with some other Team EN folks, racers and spectators. Such a great atmosphere to be in. Surrounded by people who are out there doing something they love, or supporting them. The weather was perfect, a little hazy in the distance, but cool and a great start to the day. The sunrise was perfect. At about 6:40 am, I wished Matt luck and headed to make my way over to see the swim start. The waiting and anticipation is enough to make me nuts, but they play music and Mike Riley (the voice of Ironman) is doing a lot of chatting and at 6:50am the pros are off. Shortly after that they do the National Anthem, and it gets almost quiet enough to hear a pin drop. At 6:59 they turn up the music and get every body hyped up to cheer as the race starts and at 7am on the dot the canon goes off and the race has started. The swim is a mass start, so its all 2500 (or about that) people starting at the same time.
I hung out by the swim start for about 5 minutes and then started to walk south along the lake to watch for a few minutes and then meet up with my friends Sarah and Emily. So, after we were all together, we made the mile walk back to the hotel we were staying at and watched as the bikers came by. We were able to catch Matt as he zipped by the hotel on the bike - this is about mile 3 of the 112 miles. We grabbed breakfast really quick at the hotel and then we were off to the bike course. It took us about 20 minutes to get there (and I didn't get lost, yippie!! Thanks to Matt and the great directions he gave me). We got to the about mile 49 of the bike by 9:30 am and were set and ready to cheer. We were able to see the pro men come by, then a few of Matts teammates who were not racing, rode by, they were going to be riding the bike course backward to cheer everybody on. Matt rode by, giving me a High 5, about 3 minutes before I expected to see him. We hung out for a while longer, but then left so that I could make it to the run and catch him there. I had received a few text updates through the ride telling me that he looked great, and was under his watts, feeling good. Great news, and definitely re-assuring.
We made it back to the hotel and out onto the run course. I received a text when he was leaving T2 and he was still ahead of his "Perfect Day" plan. I saw him just past mile 1 of the run. From there I went to mile 6, and Matt definitely had his game day face on. That part of the run course continues about 3/4 of a mile and then they turn around, so I hung out in the same spot, and as Matt passed me again, he was pushing on his right side, just below his rib cage, telling me that he had a cramp. I yelled, slow down, just slow down for a few minutes. He knew he was doing so well, and definitely near the front of his age group. I had also known, but was told not to tell him. So, then I headed to just before mile 13 and was able to cheer on some other Team EN members and then Matt came by, still had the cramp. As he hit the aide station, one of his teammates, Josh (aka Noodle) was heading into the aide station as well, from the other way, so they High 5ed each other and continued on their respective ways. Josh runs by me yelling "Mancona is flying" I stayed in the same spot, and was able to see Matt again, at this point its about mile 14 out of 26.2. Still has the cramp, but is just pushing through. Well, I don't see him again until close to mile 19, he passed the guy in front of him and knew he was in the lead at this point. I got a text telling me that he had just passed mile 18, in the lead 27 seconds, and looked like he was crumbling. So, as Matt passed me, he gave me the hang loose sign. That was his sign to me that he was going for it, or was going to fall over trying. I started yelling and screaming, I was so excited to see that. At this point he had pulled ahead by a few more seconds. I hung out in the same spot and was able to see him again after the turn-around. From there, I yelled "See you at the finish line" and took off. Well, there are a ton of angled streets in Madison, so of course, I get lost. Why wouldn't I? Luckily I knew Jim (a team EN member, and one of the awesome Mancona-Fans who was texting me through out the day), was headed to mile 25 and would text me when Matt passed there. So I just kept looking at my phone hoping that I wouldn't get a text until I knew where I was, and ideally that would be the finish line. Well, I made it, with about 10 minutes to spare (who knew, at almost 18 weeks pregnant, I would be able to move that fast, after a close to 2 mile detour). So, Jim calls me, says "Matts on his way, so are we" so I am now watching the entire straight shot to the finish line, I'm not sure if I was even breathing at this point, finally off in the distance I see Matt, and quite possibly some smoke behind him, he was moving so fast, giving it his all. As he gets closer, I start yelling very loudly, and end my yelling with "Way to leave it all on the course, you rock" I snapped a picture, and took off to get to the back of the finish shoot. I am standing back there yelling and screaming, I was so happy to see him and a time of 9:49:30 is even better!! Matts "perfect day" plan was to finish at 9:45, plan was 10hours. So, he did awesome!!! It had gotten hot out, so to be that close to the perfect day is beyond exceptional. Not only was the finishing time 9:49:30, that was also fast enough to win the age group, come in 12th out of the age groupers and 29th over all. Awesome!
After he crossed and took his finisher picture (that he was barely standing up for), he came out to me and just had this look of shock. Jim and Matt came and found us, there was a lot of high fiving going on then. Cheryl and her friend Kimberly also came to find us. Cheryl is one of the girls Matt rides with on the weekends, her goal is to qualify for Kona at Lake Placid next year (we surely hope she does!!). Matt then headed to the medical tent to get some fluids and ice. 4 cans of cokes and 2 Gatorade later, he was sent on his way. We went and got his bike and gear and made the long long walk back to the hotel. After a quick shower, we took the shuttle bus back downtown and we met up with Matt and Beth (from team EN) and went to Five Guys for burgers. This was the start of the post-race celebration. After that we walked to the Great Dane to meet up with quite a few people from Team EN, to chat about the race, what we saw, how the athletes did and were doing. After that, we headed out to the finish line to cheer on the last of the Team EN members, and then called it a night.
Monday, September 14th, there wasn't much sleeping to be had Sunday night - talk about an emotional high. We got up, took one load of stuff to the car, then had breakfast, went back to the room and got the rest of our stuff. From there, we headed to the terrace to check out the finisher items at the store and to stand in line for "Slot Allocation and Roll Down" this is by far the best line to be standing in. Wisconsin is the first race that qualifies for Kona the following year, so generally there aren't any roll down spots. We then walked around Madison, waiting for the Athlete Award Banquet to start. We went into the banquet and Mike Riley was going to be doing the announcing of the awards. We sat through the age group awards, but left as the pro awards were starting, we wanted to beat the rush of people out of the terrace.
As we left, we decided to stop and take a few pictures of Matt and his trophy outside of the terrace with the capital in the background.
Our drive home felt long, even though it was only 2 hours. I think, being tired, was getting to us. So, we got home, and unpacked the car. Next on the agenda, finding a spot for the trophy and getting CC's Pizza Buffet for dinner.
On Monday, as we were waiting for the awards banquet, Matt received an email from a coworker, about pacing the NYC Marathon on November 1st, so after talking with the EN Coaches, Matt has signed up to pace for the NYC Marathon. His week just keeps getting better!! Then, a week after he does that we'll be headed to Clearwater, FL for the Half Ironman World Championship.
Tuesday, reality hit, as we both headed back to work.
In other news, I am now 18 weeks pregnant, and have been feeling some movement. The movement isn't anything huge. Basically, it's rolling, butterfly in the tummy type feelings below the belly button. I have a small bump that is no longer in hiding. I broke out the maternity jeans today. I decided to be comfortable, we're going to dinner with friends, and I didn't feel like squeezing into a different pair of pants. My capris still fit, luckily they are low in the waist and stretch a bit, but I wanted to wear jeans to dinner. Full belly panel jeans, wow they are comfy. The belly panel is still loose, but that just means I have room to grow!! 2 weeks and 1 day from now, I have my 20 week doctors appointment. At that time, there will be an ultrasound to document the growth of the baby. Check the functioning of all the organs, and they will tell you the gender, if you want to know. We don't want to know, so that will remain a mystery until the big day in February. I cannot wait to see the baby though, and in detail. The latest email update I received, compared the baby to the size of a sweet potato, and weight is about 1/2 a pound.
By my calculations, at this point, I have gained 3 pounds since the morning on June 12th, when I found out that there was a little tiny person inside of me. I'm feeling pretty good, I have most of my energy back and am ready to tackle getting the room ready for the baby.
Yesterday, marked 5 months until the estimated due date of the baby, hard to believe!!
Well, this update has been incredibly long, so I should end it here. I will upload some pictures this weekend and post those.
One last thing - I need to Congratulate Matt one more time on his great day at IMWI. I've said it several times, but I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished to get ready for IMWI. I am so lucky to have a husband as dedicated and hardworking as you. I'm inspired, but not enough to ever sign up for something to this degree! Congratulations!!!!
Last Thursday, September 10th we packed up the MDX and headed to Madison, WI. Now, we use to fit everything into the Monte Carlo with the back seat folded down, yes it was a tight fit, but we made it work. Well, now we have this nice big suv that we still some how, managed to fill. It wasn't packed solid at least. So we made it to Madison, checked into the hotel and headed to the Great Dane downtown for the Endurance Nation (EN) team dinner. EN is the virtual triathlon team that Matt is coached by and trains with. What a great group of people. There were people from IL, WI, and MN at the dinner, there were about 20 of us there, including the coaches and about 8 of them were racing. It was a good time.
Friday,September 11th, we got up early and headed to Lake Monona for the practice swim, 8 guys showed up again from Team EN for that. After the swim, we headed up to Monona Terrace for the EN pre-race 4 Keys Talk. During the talk, we took a moment of silence as there was a 21 gun salute and they played taps in memory of 9/11, cannot believe it has been 8 years already, it was very touching, especially as we sat there, looking at the capital building. The 4 Keys talk was interesting, and helped with any uncertainties the team may have had.
After the talk, we went into the terrace for check-in, and headed to the gift shop. We went in with intentions of not spending much money, well, that didn't work to well. We did get 2 hooded sweatshirts - which were the same price as one of the t-shirts we liked, and 2 shirts for our future Iron-spectator. After check-in we headed back to the hotel to organize the bags of gear and put the numbers onto the bike, and helmet. Had dinner at Red Robin and then drove around downtown Madison, confirming right were I would be for the run portion of the race.
Saturday, September 12th, We went to bike and gear drop off and then headed out to the bike course, to drive part of that, determine right were I would be for that and then to see where they had done some road repairs since the last time Matt had ridden the course. We called it a night, pretty early on Saturday, not that there was much sleeping to be had, but at least laying down trying to relax.
Sunday, September 13th - The morning that we have been waiting for!!! 4am, breakfast, sun-blocking up, writing on arms and heading out the door to be on the shuttle bus by 4:30am, we were downtown by 4:50 am. Matt got body marked, and headed into T1 to fill the water bottles on his bike, make sure everything was as it should be. Then we headed into the terrace to double check the gear bags and make sure everything was there as it should be. At about 6:10 am we headed down the helix and near the swim start. We met up with some other Team EN folks, racers and spectators. Such a great atmosphere to be in. Surrounded by people who are out there doing something they love, or supporting them. The weather was perfect, a little hazy in the distance, but cool and a great start to the day. The sunrise was perfect. At about 6:40 am, I wished Matt luck and headed to make my way over to see the swim start. The waiting and anticipation is enough to make me nuts, but they play music and Mike Riley (the voice of Ironman) is doing a lot of chatting and at 6:50am the pros are off. Shortly after that they do the National Anthem, and it gets almost quiet enough to hear a pin drop. At 6:59 they turn up the music and get every body hyped up to cheer as the race starts and at 7am on the dot the canon goes off and the race has started. The swim is a mass start, so its all 2500 (or about that) people starting at the same time.
I hung out by the swim start for about 5 minutes and then started to walk south along the lake to watch for a few minutes and then meet up with my friends Sarah and Emily. So, after we were all together, we made the mile walk back to the hotel we were staying at and watched as the bikers came by. We were able to catch Matt as he zipped by the hotel on the bike - this is about mile 3 of the 112 miles. We grabbed breakfast really quick at the hotel and then we were off to the bike course. It took us about 20 minutes to get there (and I didn't get lost, yippie!! Thanks to Matt and the great directions he gave me). We got to the about mile 49 of the bike by 9:30 am and were set and ready to cheer. We were able to see the pro men come by, then a few of Matts teammates who were not racing, rode by, they were going to be riding the bike course backward to cheer everybody on. Matt rode by, giving me a High 5, about 3 minutes before I expected to see him. We hung out for a while longer, but then left so that I could make it to the run and catch him there. I had received a few text updates through the ride telling me that he looked great, and was under his watts, feeling good. Great news, and definitely re-assuring.
We made it back to the hotel and out onto the run course. I received a text when he was leaving T2 and he was still ahead of his "Perfect Day" plan. I saw him just past mile 1 of the run. From there I went to mile 6, and Matt definitely had his game day face on. That part of the run course continues about 3/4 of a mile and then they turn around, so I hung out in the same spot, and as Matt passed me again, he was pushing on his right side, just below his rib cage, telling me that he had a cramp. I yelled, slow down, just slow down for a few minutes. He knew he was doing so well, and definitely near the front of his age group. I had also known, but was told not to tell him. So, then I headed to just before mile 13 and was able to cheer on some other Team EN members and then Matt came by, still had the cramp. As he hit the aide station, one of his teammates, Josh (aka Noodle) was heading into the aide station as well, from the other way, so they High 5ed each other and continued on their respective ways. Josh runs by me yelling "Mancona is flying" I stayed in the same spot, and was able to see Matt again, at this point its about mile 14 out of 26.2. Still has the cramp, but is just pushing through. Well, I don't see him again until close to mile 19, he passed the guy in front of him and knew he was in the lead at this point. I got a text telling me that he had just passed mile 18, in the lead 27 seconds, and looked like he was crumbling. So, as Matt passed me, he gave me the hang loose sign. That was his sign to me that he was going for it, or was going to fall over trying. I started yelling and screaming, I was so excited to see that. At this point he had pulled ahead by a few more seconds. I hung out in the same spot and was able to see him again after the turn-around. From there, I yelled "See you at the finish line" and took off. Well, there are a ton of angled streets in Madison, so of course, I get lost. Why wouldn't I? Luckily I knew Jim (a team EN member, and one of the awesome Mancona-Fans who was texting me through out the day), was headed to mile 25 and would text me when Matt passed there. So I just kept looking at my phone hoping that I wouldn't get a text until I knew where I was, and ideally that would be the finish line. Well, I made it, with about 10 minutes to spare (who knew, at almost 18 weeks pregnant, I would be able to move that fast, after a close to 2 mile detour). So, Jim calls me, says "Matts on his way, so are we" so I am now watching the entire straight shot to the finish line, I'm not sure if I was even breathing at this point, finally off in the distance I see Matt, and quite possibly some smoke behind him, he was moving so fast, giving it his all. As he gets closer, I start yelling very loudly, and end my yelling with "Way to leave it all on the course, you rock" I snapped a picture, and took off to get to the back of the finish shoot. I am standing back there yelling and screaming, I was so happy to see him and a time of 9:49:30 is even better!! Matts "perfect day" plan was to finish at 9:45, plan was 10hours. So, he did awesome!!! It had gotten hot out, so to be that close to the perfect day is beyond exceptional. Not only was the finishing time 9:49:30, that was also fast enough to win the age group, come in 12th out of the age groupers and 29th over all. Awesome!
After he crossed and took his finisher picture (that he was barely standing up for), he came out to me and just had this look of shock. Jim and Matt came and found us, there was a lot of high fiving going on then. Cheryl and her friend Kimberly also came to find us. Cheryl is one of the girls Matt rides with on the weekends, her goal is to qualify for Kona at Lake Placid next year (we surely hope she does!!). Matt then headed to the medical tent to get some fluids and ice. 4 cans of cokes and 2 Gatorade later, he was sent on his way. We went and got his bike and gear and made the long long walk back to the hotel. After a quick shower, we took the shuttle bus back downtown and we met up with Matt and Beth (from team EN) and went to Five Guys for burgers. This was the start of the post-race celebration. After that we walked to the Great Dane to meet up with quite a few people from Team EN, to chat about the race, what we saw, how the athletes did and were doing. After that, we headed out to the finish line to cheer on the last of the Team EN members, and then called it a night.
Monday, September 14th, there wasn't much sleeping to be had Sunday night - talk about an emotional high. We got up, took one load of stuff to the car, then had breakfast, went back to the room and got the rest of our stuff. From there, we headed to the terrace to check out the finisher items at the store and to stand in line for "Slot Allocation and Roll Down" this is by far the best line to be standing in. Wisconsin is the first race that qualifies for Kona the following year, so generally there aren't any roll down spots. We then walked around Madison, waiting for the Athlete Award Banquet to start. We went into the banquet and Mike Riley was going to be doing the announcing of the awards. We sat through the age group awards, but left as the pro awards were starting, we wanted to beat the rush of people out of the terrace.
As we left, we decided to stop and take a few pictures of Matt and his trophy outside of the terrace with the capital in the background.
Our drive home felt long, even though it was only 2 hours. I think, being tired, was getting to us. So, we got home, and unpacked the car. Next on the agenda, finding a spot for the trophy and getting CC's Pizza Buffet for dinner.
On Monday, as we were waiting for the awards banquet, Matt received an email from a coworker, about pacing the NYC Marathon on November 1st, so after talking with the EN Coaches, Matt has signed up to pace for the NYC Marathon. His week just keeps getting better!! Then, a week after he does that we'll be headed to Clearwater, FL for the Half Ironman World Championship.
Tuesday, reality hit, as we both headed back to work.
In other news, I am now 18 weeks pregnant, and have been feeling some movement. The movement isn't anything huge. Basically, it's rolling, butterfly in the tummy type feelings below the belly button. I have a small bump that is no longer in hiding. I broke out the maternity jeans today. I decided to be comfortable, we're going to dinner with friends, and I didn't feel like squeezing into a different pair of pants. My capris still fit, luckily they are low in the waist and stretch a bit, but I wanted to wear jeans to dinner. Full belly panel jeans, wow they are comfy. The belly panel is still loose, but that just means I have room to grow!! 2 weeks and 1 day from now, I have my 20 week doctors appointment. At that time, there will be an ultrasound to document the growth of the baby. Check the functioning of all the organs, and they will tell you the gender, if you want to know. We don't want to know, so that will remain a mystery until the big day in February. I cannot wait to see the baby though, and in detail. The latest email update I received, compared the baby to the size of a sweet potato, and weight is about 1/2 a pound.
By my calculations, at this point, I have gained 3 pounds since the morning on June 12th, when I found out that there was a little tiny person inside of me. I'm feeling pretty good, I have most of my energy back and am ready to tackle getting the room ready for the baby.
Yesterday, marked 5 months until the estimated due date of the baby, hard to believe!!
Well, this update has been incredibly long, so I should end it here. I will upload some pictures this weekend and post those.
One last thing - I need to Congratulate Matt one more time on his great day at IMWI. I've said it several times, but I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished to get ready for IMWI. I am so lucky to have a husband as dedicated and hardworking as you. I'm inspired, but not enough to ever sign up for something to this degree! Congratulations!!!!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Beginning of September
Well, I am 16 weeks pregnant, already. I had my 16 week appointment yesterday, it was fast. Blood pressure, hear the heartbeat from the baby - could even hear when the baby would kick and move around - and then lab work - wow that was a lot of blood they took yesterday. It's the "pre-natal" screening, they are testing everything - blood type, blood count, I don't even know what else at this point. My next appointment is at the beginning of October, 20 weeks already! I don't get to meet with a doctor next time, just the ultrasound tech. If we were going to find out what we're having we could find out at this visit, but we're not. They do also record the ultrasound to a dvd so, that's pretty cool.
Ironman Wisconsin is next weekend!! I cannot wait. So far the weather looks good, but that is still subject to change this far out. There are lot of people from Endurance Nation heading up there to volunteer, spectate and help me cheer on Matt. Along with cheering on Matt, we'll also be cheering on the other EN members. So, we'll know in just 10 days if were heading to the Ironman World Championship in October, 2010.
The weather has been pretty much perfect for the last week or so. It's been cool out at night, not to hot during the day. I'll take it.
That's all for now. Look for an update in about 2 weeks with the results and pictures from IMWI.
Ironman Wisconsin is next weekend!! I cannot wait. So far the weather looks good, but that is still subject to change this far out. There are lot of people from Endurance Nation heading up there to volunteer, spectate and help me cheer on Matt. Along with cheering on Matt, we'll also be cheering on the other EN members. So, we'll know in just 10 days if were heading to the Ironman World Championship in October, 2010.
The weather has been pretty much perfect for the last week or so. It's been cool out at night, not to hot during the day. I'll take it.
That's all for now. Look for an update in about 2 weeks with the results and pictures from IMWI.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Well, our lives are changing!
As most of you know, we're going to be parents!! Well, in February 2010, the baby still has some growing and developing to do.
Apparently, we follow the trend of doing big things at once. We closed on our house and got engaged the same weekend. A year later, Matt competed in Ironman Wisconsin and we got married 3 weeks after that. Now, on Friday, June 12th, we find out we are going to be parents on the morning we are leaving for Ironman Kansas 70.3.
So, at this point I am 14 weeks pregnant. I wouldn't change it for the world, this is by far one of the best adventures. I get weekly updates from 2 different websites that email me what is going on this week with the growth and development of the baby and the size of the baby (comparing it to a fruit), this week, the baby is the size of a lemon, the organs are moving into position in the stomach from the umbilical cord. I have become 'squishy' in the midsection, and have a little bump, which is more noticable after a big meal.
The timing for everything is perfect. I was just over 4 weeks pregnant in Kansas, so the 1st trimester symptoms hadn't kicked in yet. I'll be about 18 weeks pregnant when I'm spectating Ironman Wisconsin (in less then 4 weeks!!!!), and I'll be about 27 weeks (just entering my 3rd trimester) as I'm spectating the Half Ironman Championship in Clearwater, FL and wandering around Sea World.
So far, things have been going great. I had my first pre-natal appointment on July 8th. I had an ultrasound, to confirm the pregnancy and then some time to chat with the doctor. The ultrasound was amazing. So here is this little blob (yes, blob, the head and body was all that you could see - the arms and legs were tiny little nubs, the placenta isn't even there yet), with a heartbeat of 168 bpm. Just amazing, to see the heartbeat flickering away and to then be able to hear it. The doctors part of the visit was quick - he goes over the basics, answers any questions and sends you on your way with a bag of stuff.
I had some morning sickness, but the worst of it was at night, or before I had left for work. I did a lot of sleeping early on, when I was asleep it was a dead to the world sleep. I had some food aversions, which is normal. I went for about a week or two of being hungry but not knowing what I wanted to eat, nothing smelled good or sounded good. But I survived. I lost 3-4 pounds during the first trimester, which is perfectly normal and fine.
On August 7th, I had another ultrasound. At this point I was 12 weeks 2 days and the baby was measuring 12 weeks 5 days. We were able to see the profile & bone structure of the face, right arm, complete with 4 fingers and a thumb, the left arm was at the babies side and the hand was in a fist so we couldn't see the fingers on that hand. The little legs and tiny little feet. The baby was measuring close to 3 inches (about the size of a lime) and had a heart beat of 154. When the ultrasound had first started, the baby was laying face down, curled up sound asleep. I guess that's what happens just after eating lunch. The tech woke up the baby so we would be able to see the details. Matt keeps telling me that we will pay for that one day, I just laugh, but as she was trying to wake the baby up, I kept thinking to myself 'never wake a sleeping baby'. It is amazing to me, how much you can love somebody, when you haven't even seen or met them yet.
Baby Ancona, 12 week ultrasound.
My next appointment is at the beginning of September, at the 16 week point. At that visit, I will get to hear the heartbeat on the doppler - basically a stethoscope, and they'll do more blood work. Blood work has become the story of my life. The next ultrasound is at 20 weeks, the beginning of October. At that visit, we could find out if we're going to have a son or a daugther, but we are waiting until the baby arrivves to find out.
Apparently, we follow the trend of doing big things at once. We closed on our house and got engaged the same weekend. A year later, Matt competed in Ironman Wisconsin and we got married 3 weeks after that. Now, on Friday, June 12th, we find out we are going to be parents on the morning we are leaving for Ironman Kansas 70.3.
So, at this point I am 14 weeks pregnant. I wouldn't change it for the world, this is by far one of the best adventures. I get weekly updates from 2 different websites that email me what is going on this week with the growth and development of the baby and the size of the baby (comparing it to a fruit), this week, the baby is the size of a lemon, the organs are moving into position in the stomach from the umbilical cord. I have become 'squishy' in the midsection, and have a little bump, which is more noticable after a big meal.
The timing for everything is perfect. I was just over 4 weeks pregnant in Kansas, so the 1st trimester symptoms hadn't kicked in yet. I'll be about 18 weeks pregnant when I'm spectating Ironman Wisconsin (in less then 4 weeks!!!!), and I'll be about 27 weeks (just entering my 3rd trimester) as I'm spectating the Half Ironman Championship in Clearwater, FL and wandering around Sea World.
So far, things have been going great. I had my first pre-natal appointment on July 8th. I had an ultrasound, to confirm the pregnancy and then some time to chat with the doctor. The ultrasound was amazing. So here is this little blob (yes, blob, the head and body was all that you could see - the arms and legs were tiny little nubs, the placenta isn't even there yet), with a heartbeat of 168 bpm. Just amazing, to see the heartbeat flickering away and to then be able to hear it. The doctors part of the visit was quick - he goes over the basics, answers any questions and sends you on your way with a bag of stuff.
I had some morning sickness, but the worst of it was at night, or before I had left for work. I did a lot of sleeping early on, when I was asleep it was a dead to the world sleep. I had some food aversions, which is normal. I went for about a week or two of being hungry but not knowing what I wanted to eat, nothing smelled good or sounded good. But I survived. I lost 3-4 pounds during the first trimester, which is perfectly normal and fine.
On August 7th, I had another ultrasound. At this point I was 12 weeks 2 days and the baby was measuring 12 weeks 5 days. We were able to see the profile & bone structure of the face, right arm, complete with 4 fingers and a thumb, the left arm was at the babies side and the hand was in a fist so we couldn't see the fingers on that hand. The little legs and tiny little feet. The baby was measuring close to 3 inches (about the size of a lime) and had a heart beat of 154. When the ultrasound had first started, the baby was laying face down, curled up sound asleep. I guess that's what happens just after eating lunch. The tech woke up the baby so we would be able to see the details. Matt keeps telling me that we will pay for that one day, I just laugh, but as she was trying to wake the baby up, I kept thinking to myself 'never wake a sleeping baby'. It is amazing to me, how much you can love somebody, when you haven't even seen or met them yet.
Baby Ancona, 12 week ultrasound.My next appointment is at the beginning of September, at the 16 week point. At that visit, I will get to hear the heartbeat on the doppler - basically a stethoscope, and they'll do more blood work. Blood work has become the story of my life. The next ultrasound is at 20 weeks, the beginning of October. At that visit, we could find out if we're going to have a son or a daugther, but we are waiting until the baby arrivves to find out.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
June is more then half over?
(edit: Posted - Saturday, June 27th, 2009)
Really, I don't know where the time is going!! I'm trying to remember everything that has happened since my last update. This will be in no particular order.
Matt ran in the First Annual Chicago Spring Half-Marathon in May. It was a 10k and Half-Marathon, and pretty good spectating. Matt placed 3rd over all, and got a personal-best. The weather was perfect, a little cool in the shade but still pretty good.
We also spent the morning walking around the city afterward and just enjoying the day.
We didn't really do much else at the end of May, just enjoyed the weather and got outside for some bike-rides and got to the pool a few times.
The weekend of June 12th, we took a road-trip to Lawrence, Kansas. It was a 9 hour drive, we headed west into Iowa and then once we got to Des Moines, we turned south to go the rest of the way through Iowa, and into Missouri, then west again into Lawrence, KS. We didn't hit to many construction zones, which was nice. Iowa and Kansas were surprisingly hilly. We went to Kansas for Ironman Kansas 70.3. This was the second year of this race - Matts first year, and they still have some glitches to work out, but overall it was set-up quite well. While in Kansas we made it to Overland Park for dinner to meet up with some folks that Matt worked with while on a project for SBC in St. Louis. We also went and saw the Disney/Pixar movie UP. Which I really enjoyed.
The race was on Sunday, June 14th. Matts wave started at 7:02am. We were at the race site by 4:30am so that he could get both transition area's set up.
All the bikes racked in T1, ready to go race day morning
Matt out of the swim
Headed into T2 after the 56 mile bike ride
Out on the run, and enjoying it.
The best shot I could get of him crossing the finish line.
Matt finished with another personal best, with at time of 4:25:40 - 8th in his age group and 24th over all. The highlight of the entire day, was receiving a spot to Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Florida. So, we will be headed to Clearwater in November. We're looking forward to it. We'll fly down on Thursday and stay until Sunday in the Tampa area visiting with Aunt Helen and family, the race is on Saturday. Then Sunday morning we are going to drive to Orlando and spend 2 days at Sea World. Flying back home on Tuesday.
We drove home from Kansas on Monday, June 15th, we had a slight detour, when the bridge that we wanted to use to cross in Illinois for Iowa was under construction and closed. It was open on Friday, and there were no signs indicating that it would be closed, so we had to follow the detour, and then ended up heading toward Joliet and had to head back north through Joliet. It worked out fine, just frustrating when there is no notification ahead of time.
This past Monday, June 22nd. My mom had total knee replacement surgery in her right knee. The surgery took an hour and a half (which I just think is crazy, only an hour and a half to replace an entire joint?), and went as well as it possibly could have. Mom came home on Thursday and is recovering quite well. For the people that had known about the surgery before, Thank You for keeping her in your thoughts. We do appreciate it.
And that brings me to now, it has been in the 90's all week and really humid. Next Saturday is July 4th, already. I love fireworks, so I am defiantly looking forward to the weekend.
Well, until next time....
Really, I don't know where the time is going!! I'm trying to remember everything that has happened since my last update. This will be in no particular order.
Matt ran in the First Annual Chicago Spring Half-Marathon in May. It was a 10k and Half-Marathon, and pretty good spectating. Matt placed 3rd over all, and got a personal-best. The weather was perfect, a little cool in the shade but still pretty good.
We also spent the morning walking around the city afterward and just enjoying the day.
We didn't really do much else at the end of May, just enjoyed the weather and got outside for some bike-rides and got to the pool a few times.
The weekend of June 12th, we took a road-trip to Lawrence, Kansas. It was a 9 hour drive, we headed west into Iowa and then once we got to Des Moines, we turned south to go the rest of the way through Iowa, and into Missouri, then west again into Lawrence, KS. We didn't hit to many construction zones, which was nice. Iowa and Kansas were surprisingly hilly. We went to Kansas for Ironman Kansas 70.3. This was the second year of this race - Matts first year, and they still have some glitches to work out, but overall it was set-up quite well. While in Kansas we made it to Overland Park for dinner to meet up with some folks that Matt worked with while on a project for SBC in St. Louis. We also went and saw the Disney/Pixar movie UP. Which I really enjoyed.
The race was on Sunday, June 14th. Matts wave started at 7:02am. We were at the race site by 4:30am so that he could get both transition area's set up.
All the bikes racked in T1, ready to go race day morning
Matt out of the swim
Headed into T2 after the 56 mile bike ride
Out on the run, and enjoying it.
The best shot I could get of him crossing the finish line.
Matt finished with another personal best, with at time of 4:25:40 - 8th in his age group and 24th over all. The highlight of the entire day, was receiving a spot to Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Florida. So, we will be headed to Clearwater in November. We're looking forward to it. We'll fly down on Thursday and stay until Sunday in the Tampa area visiting with Aunt Helen and family, the race is on Saturday. Then Sunday morning we are going to drive to Orlando and spend 2 days at Sea World. Flying back home on Tuesday.
We drove home from Kansas on Monday, June 15th, we had a slight detour, when the bridge that we wanted to use to cross in Illinois for Iowa was under construction and closed. It was open on Friday, and there were no signs indicating that it would be closed, so we had to follow the detour, and then ended up heading toward Joliet and had to head back north through Joliet. It worked out fine, just frustrating when there is no notification ahead of time.
This past Monday, June 22nd. My mom had total knee replacement surgery in her right knee. The surgery took an hour and a half (which I just think is crazy, only an hour and a half to replace an entire joint?), and went as well as it possibly could have. Mom came home on Thursday and is recovering quite well. For the people that had known about the surgery before, Thank You for keeping her in your thoughts. We do appreciate it.
And that brings me to now, it has been in the 90's all week and really humid. Next Saturday is July 4th, already. I love fireworks, so I am defiantly looking forward to the weekend.
Well, until next time....
Sunday, May 3, 2009
It's May?
I cannot believe that April is already over. The weather has just now started to improve. We had some random days of nice weather in April, but for the most part they were gloomy, rainy and chilly. We had Easter dinner with my parents and Grandma on Saturday of Easter weekend. On Easter we went to my in-laws and had homemade Pizza. I liked this a whole lot more then your traditional Easter dinner.
I started a little garden, in my kitchen. I purchased a few little buckets and some seeds. I found out that I cannot plant any sort of garden outside, in the ground or in pots on the patio, so my ideas of planting tomatoes and cucumbers outside were quickly ruined - better to have found out before I purchased everything. So I'll stick with my little garden inside. I have strawberries in one pot, basil and oregano in another, chives in one, and the last one to have been planted is cilantro. So far so good, I say that as I knock on wood, I planted the seeds on a Monday and by Friday the basil and oregano were already starting to show through the dirt. The chives were taken from my parents yard, so they were ready to go.
My little garden about a week and a half after being planted.
Basil and Oregano about 3 weeks after being planted.
Last weekend, Matt was out of town, he went up to Madison with a group of guys for a Bike Camp Weekend. You can read more about on his blog - http://ironmancona.blogspot.com/ I spent the weekend at home, enjoying the quiet, well the little bit on Saturday before the storms. Saturday afternoon, we had a few thunderstorm cells roll through the area. They didn't even seem to be that bad, we've definitely had worse. I was at my parents house Saturday afternoon around 3:30pm we were out back in their sun room watching the Cubs game, and heard a loud noise and the TV went out, we figured it was the power. After realizing it wasn't, my dad went to check their computer and as he walked by their front windows he says "the tree" and so we go to check it out, and the tree in their front yard was struck by lightening. It looked really cool, we agreed that we would like to have seen it happen, since everything was fine (well, everything except for the TV in the sun room, is fine.) Unfortunatly, I do not have any pictures, yet.
My office has decided to start doing some events in the community, the first one was March for Babies, March of Dimes 5k. It was last Sunday at Busse Woods. It started of quite cold and about half way in it started to rain, and then the rain picked up. We were pretty soaked by the time it ended, but all agreed that it was a great event and that we would like to continue to do more. The March of Dimes is a great organization and I am glad I was able to help support them.
This weekends weather has been perfect, mid 60's and sunny. It doesn't get much better then this, especially after the weeks of cold and gloom. The rest of May and early June is a bit busier for us. Next weekend is Mothers Day weekend, then Matt is doing a Half Marathon, the following is Memorial Day weekend (already? really, time is flying) and we're hoping to get down to Bloomington to spend sometime with Doug, Amy and the kids, then June is here. The second weekend of June, we are road-tripping it to Kansas, for Ironman Kansas 70.3. Yes, Kansas in tornado season, you cannot beat that kind of excitement. The goal for Ironman Kansas is to get a spot to compete in the Half Ironman World Championship in Clearwater, Florida in November. We're going to go through Iowa to get there, I'm hoping for a detour to see the Bridges of Madison County, we'll spend 3 nights in Kansas and then come home through Missouri. After that it is exactly 13 weeks until Ironman Madison. I cannot believe how close it is. Matt has been spending a lot of time on his bike. We'll know in just 19 quick weeks if the dream of competing in the Hawaiian Ironman - World Championship is a reality.
I started a little garden, in my kitchen. I purchased a few little buckets and some seeds. I found out that I cannot plant any sort of garden outside, in the ground or in pots on the patio, so my ideas of planting tomatoes and cucumbers outside were quickly ruined - better to have found out before I purchased everything. So I'll stick with my little garden inside. I have strawberries in one pot, basil and oregano in another, chives in one, and the last one to have been planted is cilantro. So far so good, I say that as I knock on wood, I planted the seeds on a Monday and by Friday the basil and oregano were already starting to show through the dirt. The chives were taken from my parents yard, so they were ready to go.
My little garden about a week and a half after being planted.
Basil and Oregano about 3 weeks after being planted.
Last weekend, Matt was out of town, he went up to Madison with a group of guys for a Bike Camp Weekend. You can read more about on his blog - http://ironmancona.blogspot.com/ I spent the weekend at home, enjoying the quiet, well the little bit on Saturday before the storms. Saturday afternoon, we had a few thunderstorm cells roll through the area. They didn't even seem to be that bad, we've definitely had worse. I was at my parents house Saturday afternoon around 3:30pm we were out back in their sun room watching the Cubs game, and heard a loud noise and the TV went out, we figured it was the power. After realizing it wasn't, my dad went to check their computer and as he walked by their front windows he says "the tree" and so we go to check it out, and the tree in their front yard was struck by lightening. It looked really cool, we agreed that we would like to have seen it happen, since everything was fine (well, everything except for the TV in the sun room, is fine.) Unfortunatly, I do not have any pictures, yet.
My office has decided to start doing some events in the community, the first one was March for Babies, March of Dimes 5k. It was last Sunday at Busse Woods. It started of quite cold and about half way in it started to rain, and then the rain picked up. We were pretty soaked by the time it ended, but all agreed that it was a great event and that we would like to continue to do more. The March of Dimes is a great organization and I am glad I was able to help support them.
This weekends weather has been perfect, mid 60's and sunny. It doesn't get much better then this, especially after the weeks of cold and gloom. The rest of May and early June is a bit busier for us. Next weekend is Mothers Day weekend, then Matt is doing a Half Marathon, the following is Memorial Day weekend (already? really, time is flying) and we're hoping to get down to Bloomington to spend sometime with Doug, Amy and the kids, then June is here. The second weekend of June, we are road-tripping it to Kansas, for Ironman Kansas 70.3. Yes, Kansas in tornado season, you cannot beat that kind of excitement. The goal for Ironman Kansas is to get a spot to compete in the Half Ironman World Championship in Clearwater, Florida in November. We're going to go through Iowa to get there, I'm hoping for a detour to see the Bridges of Madison County, we'll spend 3 nights in Kansas and then come home through Missouri. After that it is exactly 13 weeks until Ironman Madison. I cannot believe how close it is. Matt has been spending a lot of time on his bike. We'll know in just 19 quick weeks if the dream of competing in the Hawaiian Ironman - World Championship is a reality.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
What is up with this weather?
Last Sunday, was March 29th, Matt was signed up to run in the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k and we woke up to this...
So, Matt decided to bail. The Shamrock Shuffle is known as the opening to the running season, it wasn't worth the drive to the city, parking and then risking injury. It was a good decision not to go, we talked to a few people that went and said it was miserable and they were still cold several hours later. The problem wasn't that it was snowing, it had rained first so it was slushy out, and the snow was the wet heavy snow, not the light fluffy stuff. Since I didn't spend my morning spectating at a race, I decided to bake Banana Bread, for the first time, ever. It came out quite good, if you ask me ...
It warmed up on Monday and the snow melted and it was a fairly decent week out, windy, but not to bad. Luckly we had nice weather yesterday - well nice compaired to last weekend, it was on and off sunny and in the upper 30's, and Matt was able to run in the First Annual Bunny Dash 5k in Palatine. He placed 3rd over-all, and won his age group with a time of 16:59. A few of the guys that are using the same on-line coaching for Ironman were there. It's nice to keep seeing this group of guys at different events, they are all very supportive of each other, and always have positive things to say. Matt received a metal for placing 3rd over all.
We are currently in the process of refinancing. We have been approved for the new loan, and have the apprasial of the house tomorrow morning. So we've been organizing a few things and weeding out some of the stuff that just piles up. We're using this as good motivation to do some much needed spring cleaning. So I guess, I should end this here and move on with my day, even though I'm lacking motivation, which seems to be the normal trend on Sundays for me. Have a great week!
So, Matt decided to bail. The Shamrock Shuffle is known as the opening to the running season, it wasn't worth the drive to the city, parking and then risking injury. It was a good decision not to go, we talked to a few people that went and said it was miserable and they were still cold several hours later. The problem wasn't that it was snowing, it had rained first so it was slushy out, and the snow was the wet heavy snow, not the light fluffy stuff. Since I didn't spend my morning spectating at a race, I decided to bake Banana Bread, for the first time, ever. It came out quite good, if you ask me ...
It warmed up on Monday and the snow melted and it was a fairly decent week out, windy, but not to bad. Luckly we had nice weather yesterday - well nice compaired to last weekend, it was on and off sunny and in the upper 30's, and Matt was able to run in the First Annual Bunny Dash 5k in Palatine. He placed 3rd over-all, and won his age group with a time of 16:59. A few of the guys that are using the same on-line coaching for Ironman were there. It's nice to keep seeing this group of guys at different events, they are all very supportive of each other, and always have positive things to say. Matt received a metal for placing 3rd over all.
We are currently in the process of refinancing. We have been approved for the new loan, and have the apprasial of the house tomorrow morning. So we've been organizing a few things and weeding out some of the stuff that just piles up. We're using this as good motivation to do some much needed spring cleaning. So I guess, I should end this here and move on with my day, even though I'm lacking motivation, which seems to be the normal trend on Sundays for me. Have a great week!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Wow, it's been a while.
I guess, I should start off with - Happy New Year!! Better late then never, I suppose.
I hope 2009 has been treating you well. January was a low key, laid back month for us. Which was nice. We spent almost 2 weeks in Hawaii in February. I'm sure you have figured out by now, that Hawaii, well to be specific, Maui, is my favorite place in the world. This is the first time we were there in the winter months. The temperature was perfect - mid 70's the entire time, it was quite breezy, and very low humidity. A very nice change from the weather at home. One day we had called home and were saying that it was windy and it was hard to walk down the beach because of the blowing sand, we were informed that there was 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground and 25mph wind at home. I quickly decided that I'd take blowing sand any day over the snow. Since this was our first time in Hawaii during the winter, we also got to see the Humpback Whales. We did a 2 hour boat excursion to see them. Any direction you looked you could see the water spouts as they were coming up to breathe. We had several whales close to our boat, one came up about 5 feet from the boat and at two different times a whale swam under the boat. Even though this was our third trip to Maui, we still haven't done everything - this way we can keep going back. Our first morning there, we got up at 3am, left the hotel at 4am to make the drive to the summit of Haleakala, for the sunrise. It was 35degrees at the summit, we arrived at about 5:50am and stood outside for an hour to watch the gradual changes in the sky. From the summit you can see the peaks of 2 of the 3 volcano's that make up the Big Island. It was well worth getting up early and standing out in the cold. If you haven't been to Maui, I highly suggest you go. Yes, the flight is long, but the reward in the end is so worth it.
Last night, my cousin Dusty got married. We had a great time at the Wedding reception. We're dragging a bit this morning, between the time change and staying out way past our usual bedtime. But we had fun, and that's what counts.
Matt is getting ready to start his in-season training for the Ironman. He's in the basement working out right now, while I sit on the couch watching the Travel Channel - Hawaii Do's and Don'ts. I've seen this show before, but like I said at the beginning, it is my favorite place and I don't tire of it.
Here are a few pictures :
I hope 2009 has been treating you well. January was a low key, laid back month for us. Which was nice. We spent almost 2 weeks in Hawaii in February. I'm sure you have figured out by now, that Hawaii, well to be specific, Maui, is my favorite place in the world. This is the first time we were there in the winter months. The temperature was perfect - mid 70's the entire time, it was quite breezy, and very low humidity. A very nice change from the weather at home. One day we had called home and were saying that it was windy and it was hard to walk down the beach because of the blowing sand, we were informed that there was 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground and 25mph wind at home. I quickly decided that I'd take blowing sand any day over the snow. Since this was our first time in Hawaii during the winter, we also got to see the Humpback Whales. We did a 2 hour boat excursion to see them. Any direction you looked you could see the water spouts as they were coming up to breathe. We had several whales close to our boat, one came up about 5 feet from the boat and at two different times a whale swam under the boat. Even though this was our third trip to Maui, we still haven't done everything - this way we can keep going back. Our first morning there, we got up at 3am, left the hotel at 4am to make the drive to the summit of Haleakala, for the sunrise. It was 35degrees at the summit, we arrived at about 5:50am and stood outside for an hour to watch the gradual changes in the sky. From the summit you can see the peaks of 2 of the 3 volcano's that make up the Big Island. It was well worth getting up early and standing out in the cold. If you haven't been to Maui, I highly suggest you go. Yes, the flight is long, but the reward in the end is so worth it.
Last night, my cousin Dusty got married. We had a great time at the Wedding reception. We're dragging a bit this morning, between the time change and staying out way past our usual bedtime. But we had fun, and that's what counts.
Matt is getting ready to start his in-season training for the Ironman. He's in the basement working out right now, while I sit on the couch watching the Travel Channel - Hawaii Do's and Don'ts. I've seen this show before, but like I said at the beginning, it is my favorite place and I don't tire of it.
Here are a few pictures :
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