Barber Bustlings

Elliot's day came amidst great trials this year. September is a hard month for us because it hosts the anniversaries of losing Scott's father and Elliot. Scott's sister placed her daughter for adoption in September, as well. This year brought other trials. Scott lost a coworker to a car accident; he was 32. The next week he also lost his boss to colon cancer; his boss was 33 and left behind a young family. The emotional stress has been tough on Scott and it brings up a lot of mourning in us both. The week leading up to Elliot's day both our cars ended up in the shop. Scott's car needed a new head gasket and mine needed a new computer. Both were expensive fixes and the parts for the van were 4 days away. A friend let us use her son's boat   hooptie  grand marquis. I am so thankful for that; she saved us renting a car for a week. We sold Scott's car and fixed the van, though I would have loved to replace my vehicle, too. I will have to wait on that. :(

August 17, 2013 I competed in my first triathlon a few weeks ago. It was amazing! I loved every minute of it. I felt so strong the entire race. As soon as I finished I wanted to start over and do it again. I did two run-throughs the two Saturdays before the race. Both times I encountered many problems: flat tire, ripped swim cap, low energy, dehydration, heat, forgotten water bottle and gum, and slow times. I am glad now that I went through those things because I was prepared for all of it race day, which was perfectly smooth. I even shave 17 minutes off my practice times! I was nervous before the swim, though it went well. The bike portion was fun. I passed a lot of people on the uphill parts but when it came time to shift back for the downhill parts, my bike wouldn't cooperate so I coasted most of the way. The run was mostly uphill but I took it slow and steady. Again I passed people on the uphill but they passed me on the down; my knees don't like when I run