I swear it was just June 1 and now suddenly here we are: in the thick of autumn. Summers go by way too fast. August was blazing hot, but we still managed to get out for walks to the park, which are quite possibly my favorite part of the day. September and October were more of the same, with a little trip to Hawaii in the mix (more on that soon!). Here are the highlights.
home
Finally, after two months of waiting, our backyard mini renovation is done. Folks, vet your contractors. We thought we did our due diligence, but turns out some people just aren’t reliable and don’t do what they say they’re gonna do. We hired someone else and they finished the project – paver patio clean-up, installing a paver walkway, and sod – IN ONE DAY. We waited two months – all summer – for this final work and they did it in one day. It looks amazing. And I can’t tell you how fantastic it is to have a backyard with grass. We love it. Jackson loves it. The dogs love it – but let’s hope they don’t destroy it immediately.
fitness
There’s nothing exciting on the fitness front. My coach programmed workouts through September, but to be honest, I’m just haven’t been that interested in biking right now. I’m so mentally tapped out from chasing a toddler around all day that it’s hard for me to start bike intervals at 7:30p after his bedtime and be motivated to do them. But I am (was?) doing some, I’m running some (though it’s on pause thanks to a broken toe, but should still hit 1,000 miles by the end of the year), and I was swimming just enough to ensure I could swim to the coffee boat in October. And I’m still going strong on strength training via Body & Bell in the Ladder app (50+ workouts in!) and loving every second of it. It feels so good to move my body on different planes (vs just the linear plane of swimbikerun) and to lift heavy bells. Holler if you’re interested in joining me – your first week is free!
Quite a few people have asked if I’m gonna race triathlon again, and the short answer: I don’t know. Kona was incredibly inspiring – I mean, how could it not be?! Especially with momma Chelsea Sodaro winning! – but right now, in this season of life, I just don’t know how I could feasibly fit in 15 hours of training (because let’s be honest, I can’t and won’t half-ass training when I’m committed to a race) and still spend the time with Jackson. How do you people with little kiddos do it while working a full-time job?!
family
The pandemic took away a lot of things, but the saddest and hardest part of it was not spending time with family (and not being able to go to my grandma’s funeral). That changed in August, when I brought Jackson home-home – his first trip to Hallock and my first time there in nearly three years. It was lovely and filled my cup to the brim. The highlights: Jackson meeting his great grandpa ❤️ an afternoon at the pool (where I basically grew up), lazy mornings visiting over coffee, live music at the gazebo, dusk until long after 10p, making petaha (Ukrainian for pirogies), and an evening at Får North Spirits.
Other recent family highlights: all the walks to the park, a trip to Sever’s Fall Festival (Jackson loved the corn pit), and a tiny dino for Halloween.
fashion
Not gonna lie, as sad I was to see summer end and to put away my denim cut-offs and tanks, I’ll forever welcome fall and all its cozy. But even in the winter, 99% of the time I rotate between two pairs of really old black lululemon speed shorts and The Great sweatshirts (because WFH) – the epitome of fashion, right?! I picked up a couple key pieces, though, mostly for a work trip to Berlin, including a cozy cashmere fisherman hoodie (that I foresee getting lots of wear), a classic black organic cotton popover, and rain resistant chelsea boots.
favorite thing
You know you’re old when you’re excited about a dust buster. I love our Miele vacuum, but I don’t always wanna lug it out for quick clean-ups so recently bought a Black+Decker handheld vacuum. This thing has been great for sucking up all the dog hair (two vizslas shed a surprising amount!), shag rug fuzz, and toddler crumbs.
the doggos
Living the life and loving weekend trips to the dog park.
1 Comment
I discovered that after having kids racing was more about doing what I could do to balance life work and kids and choosing something I could race where I had different expectations than when I was in peek race shape (before kids). So I changed my expectations and also changed sports – triathlon / bike racing to running only. Kids grow up and very quickly I might add. Enjoy children at the young age; triathlon will be there if you decide to go back to it later. Take care of yourself.