Running the Rainbow

This race was on Fathers Day and Lloyd was going to be mountain biking all day in Keystone, so I went ahead and registered. It was very cold and windy at the start but it warmed up pretty quickly. I had a lot of fun running this race and I got almost exactly the same time as I did 2 years ago. My friends put on this race and I like to support them in as many races as I can. I was able to get 2nd place overall. The 1st place girl was 14 years old and 3rd place was 11 years old. The new generation of runners are catching up to me! After the race, Grandpa came over and we went to the pool. The pool was giving ice cream sundaes to Dads. We spent a few hours at the pool swimming and eating with Grandpa. After leaving the pool, Grandpa played Monopoly with the kids. The kids made little signs that said 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. Here is a picture of the winners. We love our goofy Grandpa!

Connor got 1st place on Medley relay with the other boys on his team. He got 2nd place on his free relay with his team. He still needs to lose about 8 seconds off of his breaststroke, in order to make it to All Stars. He got 8th place in Backstroke today. Here is a video of him swimming backstroke (blue goggles): https://youtu.be/TbByIU3-RsA Camilla made huge improvements at this meet! I actually started crying when I was watching her. She doesn't even look like the same kid! She took 4 seconds off of her freestyle (15h place), 5 seconds off of her backstroke (8th place), and 1 second off of her breaststroke (10th place). Here is a video of her swimming backstroke (last lane): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLvTh5KCf-I Carly's freestyle was amazing! I told her to try to make it to the other side of the pool without coming up to breathe. This took 2 seconds off of her time and she got 4th place in freestyle. She also got 4th place in breaststroke. Here is a video of h...

I have not been focusing on running as much, since I started working full time and studying Spanish. The Spanish learning is going to continue for a while, since I still have not passed my Spanish certification exam. However, I hope to up my running training this summer, since teachers do not work in the summer. Thank goodness! Cherry Creek 10 mile went okay, but I was slower than last year. I still managed 3rd age group and still received an award, so it wasn't so bad. Home Run for the Homeless 5k was a little disappointing too, since I was also slower than last year. I finished 4th overall female. 1st-3rd gets me recognition at a Rockies game, so I just missed it this year. I really enjoy doing this race every year since they give me Rockies tickets and I also get to run through the stadium at the finish. I had a personal record at Garden of the Gods 10 mile. I am finally getting into race shape and getting faster! This race is pretty competitive and it is fun seeing the Ke...

This was the first meet of the year, so the kids were just getting used to swimming again. Carly is in a different age group now, so it is more difficult for her to win against older kids. She managed 8th place. Her best strokes are freestyle and backstroke. Here is Carly competing in freestyle. She has the purple cap on. https://youtu.be/eU_Bk9lR8r0 Connor is really succeeding in backstroke. He got 3rd place at the first meet. Camilla is in an older age group, but she has gotten significantly faster. She struggles with disqualifications in backstroke and breaststroke, but her times are pretty fast.

Carly has been asking me to go horseback riding for over a year. It is really hard for me to find the time to take her and I was also worried about the cost. I was so happy to find a place in Highlands Ranch that does rides for $35/person. I was able to register all 3 kids for a ride. Camilla had a horse named Comet. Comet was a little ornery at first, but he behaved for the rest of the ride. We almost did not get to go because we saw lightning. But, they allowed us to wait and pet the horses until the storm passed. Connor had a horse named Fawn. Fawn loved to eat!!! Carly's horse was named Pocahontas. She was so tiny with really pretty markings. The wranglers were very good at explaining horse care to the kids. They all went for a 1 hour ride and loved it. Although, I think Connor loved it the most. He won't stop talking about it.

This meet went very well! I was alone with all 3 kids and also had to work stroke and turn judge at the meet. So, I expected all the kids to make it to all of their events on their own. They didn't miss a single event and I was very proud. They all placed in each of their events. Connor got 3rd place in backstroke and his relay team got 1st place. Carly got 3rd place in both breaststroke and backstroke. Camilla got 4th place in breaststroke. She did not get disqualified in any of her events. The kids times are pretty competitive, so they all have a chance of making it to Championships and All Stars. All Stars is a bit different from Championships, since the kids have to get an All Star time. Camilla needs to shave off 16 seconds from breaststroke to make it to All Stars. Connor needs to shave off 14 seconds from backstroke to make it to All Stars. Carly needs to shave off 6 seconds from backstroke and 8 seconds from freestyle to make it to All Stars. They need to be in th...