She Bikes. Now She Runs.

DAY ONE

I'm starting the Couch to 5K running program today. It's a nine week running program designed for a beginner runner who just got off the couch.

New Ipod & arm holder...and podcast!

New Saucony running shoes...super comfy and oh so cool, too.

I'm one step closer to my goal of doing a sprint triathlon on my own. My new gear is courtesy of my dad...thanks for the Vegas money daddy!

I got back from my first run this morning, walked in the door and then it started POURING rain. Timing is everything, baby!

Sunshine State??

So this is what the Sunshine State of Florida looks like today. We haven't seen the sun since Sunday. It's been raining non-stop, sometime pretty heavy, since Sunday afternoon. The pool is full up to the top! Mike will drain it a few inches tonight. And it's supposed to keep on comin' through Friday. Jeez!

The Garden Grows

Jalapeno pepper growing...
Tomato growing...

Green beanies growing...

Justine's garden is growing and so is she!

Dimi Rib Sweater

IMG_3466
Originally uploaded by brenda.pirie

Done. It's margarita time.

Yarn!!!

Georgia import courtesy of my Mike.

The kids (and Mike) got me the Knitpicks Spring/Summer pack of the kettle dyed Essential sock yarn for Mother's Day. And while Mike was in Georgia, he found a little shop with crafty stuff and bought me a skein of Sockotta. He gave it to me and said, "I hope you like it. I know it's not a very good brand because it was only $9.00." I had to giggle...he knows good sock yarn when he sees it! I love the yarn anyway because it came from him!

Danskin Triathlon

SHE SWIMS SHE RIDES SHE RUNS

SHE ROXS

JAX KNITS TRI RELAY TEAM!

Don't ya love it?!


What do triathletes do when they're not racing? Knit, of course!


All done with my part...that's my bike computer I'm holding up.



Shevon races toward the finish line!!


Jen's ready to roll. Only problem is it's the a**-crack of dawn!

After the race wearing our medals!

I competed in my first Triathlon on Sunday, Mother's Day!! I was on a relay team made up of me, the biker, Jen, the swimmer and Shevon, the runner. You can look for our results here, of you like. Our goal was to do our best and finish and that's exactly what we did! The race was in Orlando, Florida at the Disney Fort Wilderness Resort. There were 2200 participants, and among them 67 relay teams. The race started with the swim that was 1/2 mile long, then the bike part, 12 miles and lastly the run 3.1 miles.

Jen and I drove together from Jacksonville on Saturday and met Shevon at our hotel at 11am. We had to pick up our packet and check in my bike on Saturday before 5pm. This being Disney, we couldn't park anywhere near the Resort, so we had to take shuttle buses everywhere. It really was very well organized until it came time to leave then it was a huge mess. The heat was awful both days...high temps with high humidity. Luckily the race is early in the morning...we left the hotel at 4:30 am and were in the Transition area at 5am. That sucked. Then we had a LONG wait until 7:51a.m when Jen's wave hit the water and we were racing.

I feel so proud of us gals! Jen and I both thought it felt like a real turning point in our lives, like it's the start of something big. She and I are going to start training harder so some time this fall we can do another tri, competing either on a relay team doing two of the three legs OR doing the whole darn thing. I'm optimistic, as usual. Our friends and families are very supportive, so with them behind us we can't lose!

New Projects

Ever hear of "starteritis"? I got it last week...started a new pair of socks and two shawls. Now I'm dying to start another sweater, which will might not be so bad because I'm almost done with my Diminishing Rib Sweater. I usually try to have only one type of project going at a time, except socks and I usually have 2-3 of those going at once. At least the shawls are two totally different types of patterns. One repeats over a 4 row pattern and the other is lacey from my Victorian Lace Today book.

Won't you join me?

Go ahead...cast on a new project. Tell them I said it was ok.

This is the yarn I got from in trade from Tara. It's really turning out quite nice in the No Purl Monkey pattern. I love the colors of this skein!

This is my Pagewood Diamonds and Triangles shawl. My mom sent me the yarn via my sister. It's soft and just lovely to knit with...and those colors! I wonder if The Local Needle will start to carry the lace weight stuff in addition to the sock yarn...hummmm???

This is my Bronzyglo Wrap. The yarn (again, another gift from mom...and no, she's not accepting any adoption papers) is a beautiful blend of blues and bronze. It's spun a little tight and ranges from lace to sport in thickness, so this pattern seemed like a good match.

Ok, that's all for now.

Go cast on a new project.

Now.

Go.

Summer's comin'!

It's that time! The weather is beautiful and the pool is warming up! Ok, warming up enough for the kids at least. When it's up to 85, I'll go in.