Ripping off the bandaid

I have been thinking a lot about Triathlon lately.....do I want to still do them or hang up my Tri shoes? Sam and I talked about selling my bike, but I just couldn't commit to it. I felt like a quitter and getting ride of my Tri stuff just didn't feel right.

I reached out to a friend on my Tri Team and asked for some guidance. She basically told me that I should do one more - can't end on a DNF - and see how I feel. If after a successful Tri I feel done then I have some good closure and know that Tri's are not for me. On the other hand, maybe it's what I need to catch the bug again.

So, what did I do? I promptly registered for a Sprint in July. It's a race I've done before (I do love to compare data) and it's close to home. The Colonial Beach Sprint Triathlon. Sam is going to do it "with" me so that takes away some stress. A few teammates are doing it as well. After I felt like throwing up I did start to get excited. Getting back into this is going to be good. Closure or rekindle my love of racing - I'm ready for either one.

A few things that are different this time around

1. Sam and I do not qualify for Clydesdale and Athena categories anymore. What!??? Clydesdale for men is 220+ and women is 165+. I am pretty excited about that!

2. Went for a run/jog with my Garmin for the first time in a LONG time. Had to change the settings because I'm down 10 pounds since the last time I wore it! Need the accurate weight for the heart rate monitor :)

3. I have not worn my Tri kit or racing gear in about a year because it didn't fit. Tonight I will go home, try it on, and hopefully have some more breathing room.

Here's to ripping off the band aid and seeing what Team Hardman is really made of!

Winner Winner, ditch the kids and drink Wine!

This past week was a rough one at work. I was super stressed and just feeling down. I went to CFA on Friday night and was glad I did. The WOD was tough, but that's just what I needed. I ended up finishing first in the class! That may never happen again - so I called as many people as I could to tell them. I also found out that Team Hardman won a squat picture contest. It was put on by The Sox Box and Primal Home. My kids now think they are famous!

The winning pic!

Saturday was a busy busy day for Team Hardman. Sammy had his first birthday party + slumber party. I was nervous that he would have an accident and wake up wet - then get teased. We talked a lot about it and came up with "drink nothing!" We picked him up Sunday and he was super happy - said he woke up dry and didn't even sweat! This is HUGE. As I unpacked his over night bag I found he didn't even wear his pullup! He said he wanted to be brave - I don't think he realizes how brave/crazy that actually was. Whew!

Mason spent the night with Grandma, saw a movie, got frozen yogurt....all the fun stuff. He also had a great time and got some good alone time with grandma.

What did we do without kids? Well well well - WINE TASTING! We got a group of friends to celebrate three bdays (Sam, Jay, Kaitlin), hoped in a limo, and hit Leesburg up for some wine. Now, this was a cheat day for us (only the 2nd cheat day so far) and our first time drinking in close to 40 days. I was nervous. I got pep talks from Paleo friends and packed good snacks. I did not want to get sloppy or pass out in the limo. We had a great time with friends and laughed a lot. What more could you ask for?

We spent Sunday detoxing from the poison (aka wine). Not sure I will drink like that again for a LONG time. Whew. I spent most of the day on the couch drinking water and eating super clean.

The WOD for today is a Fran Ladder. I'm nervous and excited - which is pretty much every Crossfit day.

The Birthday Peeps

Jammin out in the limo

Hanging out

Limo fun!

Team Hardman: The begining

How did Team Hardman come to be? Glad you asked.....

I moved to Va in 1992 and so did Sam and his family. I was in 7th grade, he was in 8th. We were both At Robinson Secondary School and I could have never guessed we would have ended up together.

Sam has a brother that is my age. We had almost every class together - they did all scheduling alphabetically. Are you ready for this? He is Hardman (duh) I was Harmon. Yep. Wrap your brain around that one. Wedding day? Hardman Harmon wedding. People thought we were cousins, there was a typo, and we were really related. Hahahaha

So, we met in 1992 - were friends, but didn't hang out that much. We had alot of the same friends, Sam dated one of my best friends in High School. He graduated and went to Coast Guard boot camp and made a series of moves that landed him in Florida. I graduated and went to Longwood University in Farmville (yep, real place).

Winter break my sophomore year Sam had moved back to Virginia - our parents now lived in the same neighborhood. Summer break Sam's car spent most of it's life in the shop. Paint, body work, all kinds of "custom" stuff I don't understand. We now had the same group of hang out friends and we spent a lot of time together. He didn't have a car and I was forced to pick him up daily to get him where ever the fun was.

I was a lifeguard that summer and Sam started bringing me snacks, sodas, lunch - just the "stopped by to say hi". He was in love. :)  It took most of the summer for me to realize how great he is and that I needed to stop playing hard to get. Our first date? A wedding for his family friend. It was so fun - and we've been together ever since.

He supported me through college, graduate school, two kids, weight watchers, marathon running, triathlons, and now Crossfit.  He's a pretty great dude.

Now, I get to support him. He found out last night he got into George Mason University!!!! I could not be more proud.

Finish at Reston Olympic. He went back and found me so we could finish together

Our first wet suit swim at Lake Anna

Mother's day 1/4 marathon

Best Dad ever

After I love the Tavern Tri

Theme Party

Chris Cooley's breast cancer awareness event

My Fav. After the marine corp marathon

7 year anniversary

Morning of Sam's first 1/2 marathon

Cherry Blossom 10 miler

After Sam's 1/2 Ironman