senior pride

The last home football game for our high school team is on Friday evening. It's also Senior Night where senior football players, cheerleaders and dancers will be recognized. In honor of that, the Senior Class got organized and designed a t-shirt especially for all seniors.

First, it's a VIP pass to the front row of the student section. If you're not a Senior, don't think that you're welcome in this sacred row.

On the back, it recognizes all Senior football players. I love that they did this.

Seniors, wear it with pride. You're all better because of each other.

70.3

70.3 miles. 6:12:00

Lawman completed the Redman (Half) Ironman in Oklahoma City yesterday. 70.3 miles by way of swim/bike/run. 6 hours and 12 minutes from beginning to end. One thousand athletes.

This event came to be by way of a challenge. His tri-buddy, Charlie, sent an email. Are you man enough? Anyone that knows Lawman knows that he's not going to let this go. Are you man enough? Are you kidding? 

Charlie gave this challenge to Lawman and another tri-buddy, Tracy. Charlie said, "You race and I'll pay your entry fee, hotel and if you want a tattoo after finishing, I'll cover that too."

So the training began. That was in May.  The days and weeks since have been filled with swim, bike, run. Add in eat (alot) and sleep and the process begins all over again. 1 mile swims several times a week. Long bikes on Saturday. Long runs on Sunday. One day of rest. During the week it is more of the same but in shorter distances.

Friday, he and Tracy headed south at 8am. At the race site to scout out the course by 1pm. Check in to the hotel. Big meal of carbs at 4pm. Back to the race site to set up the bike in the transition area. At the hotel early for some shut eye.

4:30 a.m. Saturday, I get a text -- "Headed to the race site." You've got to be serious to be up at 4am to eat a race day breakfast.

7:33 a.m. - Lawman's swim heat. Just a few hundred swimmers trying to claim their place in an open water swim. Waters churning. 36 minutes. 1.2 miles.

Followed by 56 miles on the bike. Flat. Fast. 30 mph at times.

13.1 mile run. Lawman says it was the longest and hardest leg of the race. He burned up his legs in the bike. This will happen when you get a fast bike course.

70.3 miles.  6 hours, 12 minutes. Mission accomplished. Yes, he's man enough.  Tattoo? No. Not yet. He'd like to have the M-Dot (that's the Ironman symbol if you didn't know).

Another goal? Yep. Do another race with the tri-buddies. Find another course. Finish in less than 6 hours.

Today is a day of recovery. Horizontal. Watching football. Life is good.

Run, Madison, Run

This spring we spent at least a day a week at the track. As spectators.

It's been a rule in our house that during jr. high, the girls must participate in at least two school sponsored sports.

Madison had it in her head that this rule wouldn't apply to her. Did she think that since it'd been 2 years since her sister was in jr. high that we had forgotten this rule? Much to her regret, we remembered. She signed up for track.

I think she was surprised how much she enjoyed it. I know. During enrollment she indicated that she plans to participate in volleyball and track next year.

I think one of our responsibilities as parents it to encourage our kids to try new things, even if it means pushing them outside of their comfort zone. If I don't encourage her to expand her horizons, who will?

Bump-Set-Spike-Win

Today was the day to find out if all of B3's hard work would pay off. It was her first volleyball game as a 7th grader. On the way to the game, the coaches announced who would be on A team and B team; a big announcement that these girls have waited weeks for. B3's name was included on the A team roster. She was thrilled. (And I was so proud.)

When I walked into the gym and saw the big grin on her face, I knew she was enjoying it. Their hardwork paid off tonight. They won both of their games. What a way to start off the season. Nice work ladies!

Since I knew we would be out of town tonight when I was planning my menu last weekend, I scheduled fast food for our dinner. Now that it's over, I'm irritated with myself that we spent the $18 at a drive-thru rather than just sucking it up until we got home and making sandwiches. We (3 of us) ordered 3 combo meals and ended up eating only the sandwiches from each of them. The fries ended up in the trash. They were stale and cold. They didn't even feel like they'd been sitting under a heat lamp. Of course, by the time we realized this we had already left the restaurant's parking lot and were back on the road home. We didn't even get napkins.

Highlight of the day was free samples I received in the mail -- Cascade Complete and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. The free samples were 2nd, of course, to the volleyball game.

Weekend at a Glance

A goal became reality for Lawman this weekend. He completed the Kansas 70.3 Ironman on Sunday. Late last year Lawman decided that he'd like to complete a half ironman to celebrate his turning 40 this month. After many, many hours of grueling training, he did just that.

Here's a glimpse into our weekend. Saturday was check-in. Below: 1) Lawman and his training partner, Tracy, at registration; 2) Need to hydrate? Here's a few choices. 3) At bike check-in.

Race day started early. We were up at 4:00 am and at the race site by 5:00 am. Man, that's early. There were 1200+ registered athletes. Add to that all of their families and friends that came out to support them and you've got a very large crowd.

Lawman & Tracy's swim heat started at 7:00 am. Here they are waiting and then they were off. Notice the blonde girl in the red shorts--that's B3. She's sporting our Team Burton shirts we had made for this weekend.

Lawman was out of the water in 42 minutes. Oh, and the distance was 1.2 miles. Someone would have had to rescue me.

Next stop...transition and onto the bike.

That's Lawman in the blue tri-suit. He's taken off the wet suit and he's gearing up to go out on the bike.

B2 and B3 were tired so they caught a few Z's while dad was on the bike. They had about 3 hours to kill.....good time for a nap.

Here he comes. 56 miles later, he's ready for dismount. Man that's alot of miles. Lawman said it wasn't a flat ride either; every hill in the area was part of the course.

Now it's back to transition to prepare for the run. Put the bike on the rack, get your race belt, shoes and gel packs. 13 miles to go. Oh, and locate the wifey on the fenceline, get a kiss and a few words of encouragement.

Here he is at the completion of the first leg of the run. We'll be able to see him 2 more times before the finish line.

6 hours and 23 minutes later, finished at last. Time to re-hydrate. What an accomplishment. Way to go Lawman. His best friend since race day has been the bottle of Aleve. After a few days rest it will be time to start training again. Full ironman in Oklahoma City in September. Do you think he's certifiably nuts?

All Swimmers on Deck

This is our 9th summer with the local swim team. This is how we spend our Wednesday evenings. If our girls were only allowed to participate in one sporting event a year, this would be their choice. They love it. Here's a few pictures from this past week's meet.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed your stay.

KU, I'd just like to thank you for stopping by our house last night. KSU's Bramlage Coliseum to be more specific. I hope you enjoyed your visit because I know I sure did. Last night's win has been a long time comin'. And let me just say that I'm proud to be BLEEDING PURPLE today! Go CATS.

Final Score: KSU 85, KU 74