Beach Adventures

Last weekend we loaded into the car for a quick, nearly spontaneous trip (I'm not real good with spontaneous -- it was a personal growth opportunity:) to the beach. We met friends and while the daddies played with the children, the mamas went running. We ran, on the beach no less, for nearly an hour. Oh my. Good for training, casual girl talk and appreciating several miles of a lovely beach!

All done and sweaty and cooling rapidly, I grabbed just a very few pictures of my sweet children in the evening light. 

We live so close -- just an hour and some change, yet we rarely make the trip. Hubby and I said repeatedly that we will take the kids to the beach more often this summer. It is often gorgeous and just right when things are steamy at home. 

Today is meant to be hubby's and my introduction to windsurfing . . . it's raining, of course. It seems as if the rain will never stop her in the Northwest! Oh. My. Goodness. Crossing our fingers for a fun and productive day on the river. And that the kids don't lose their ever-livin' minds in the back of the van. They certainly have a enough toys and games stashed away to entertain them while their parents flop about in the water. Expect a full report and potentially embarrassing photos to come!

The end of a journey

This humble Thursday marks the end of a long journey . . . if all goes well, I will have finally accrued the massive number of hours needed to be licensed as a professional counselor. I don't quite believe its possible! It has been five years since completing my graduate degree and in that time, I've worked part time, had a second child and temporarily lost my job when there were budget cuts. And here I am today with 5 hours left . . . . unless all my clients decide that the sunshine is good cause to miss their appointments today, I'll be done early this afternoon. I need to pinch myself!

This has been a central focus of my attention for a few weeks now as I've steadily watched the number of hours still left to document dwindle but that's not to say there haven't been exciting prospects and projects on the horizon.

1. A friend has gifted me an unused copy of photoshop and I can't wait to dig into the tutorials on Lynda.com so that I can begin learning how to use this amazing software.

2. I want to redesign my website. Feels as if I've outgrown this particular layout but I'm not sure where to begin in creating a new one. Ideas, anyone?

3. Training for a triathlon this summer. It's been 3 years since my last one . . . I'm older, slower and a wee bit more distracted! But boy does it feel good to be running, biking and swimming. And I get to share it with a good friend.

4. And this summer, hubby and I intend to learn how to windsurf. I even have a gift certificate for lessons!! I can hardly wait . . . we'll camp on the river, sit in the sun, play with the kids in the water and hopefully, experience some soft of success with getting up on the board ;)

What plans and excitement have you got hovering on the horizon? Please share!

H2C Part 2

I missed the most touching moment of the event with my camera -- the fabulous and fast runner above is Jaime and her oldest son and mother came to see her in her first leg. We had pulled off Hwy 26 to wait for her so we could cheer and offer water midway through her run. She came to a full stop, hugged and kissed her clearly very proud boy. So sweet. Several of us were a little teary as we loaded back into the van to catch her at the transition.
Sure, we talked about our kids, exchanged stories on toddler misbehavior and cuteness, compared ages and schools. There were phone calls and text messages keeping moms connected with partners and children. At the finish line, two of our mommies were met by husbands and cute tots. They joined their moms in the team photos 'cause let's be honest, every mile we logged in training was a feat of organization and teamwork with our families. 
Today I decided to shake the ol' legs out with my regular spinning class. One of my classmates is an iron man triathlete. He gave me grief about rest days and fatigued legs, all in good humor. We talked about a triathlon in Canada yesterday and he said, repeatedly, that I could/should do an iron man distance. You know, when my kids are 12! It does take time and effort and a single-mindedness that is hard to accomplish when you juggle multiple roles and responsibilities. 
Besides my own need and love for sports, I want to continue challenging myself and surrounding myself with the kind of women who do the same because I'm raising two children -- a daughter and a son, that I want to go out into the world seeing possibilities for themselves and each other that are not based on gender or imagined limitations. I love that I can bribe my spunky 3 year old daughter to eat her food by saying that if she does, she'll grow big and strong and run like her mama! Or that when I come home from either the gym or a run, they run to give me sticky, wet hugs and tell me to take a shower. Right now, they think I'm fast and strong. Soon enough, they'll be faster and stronger. 

Run, Mama, Run! (This is Kirsten and her little girl . . . sorry, none of mine as they were home with daddy. Perhaps next year)

Hood to Coast Relay (part 1)

We did it! Two urbanMamas teams successfully completed the Hood to Coast Relay this past weekend. This was my first H2C experience and I LOVED it. 
Quick primer for the uninitiated, each H2C team is made up of 12 individuals and two vans. The race consists of 36 legs, anywhere from about 3.5 miles to 7.5 miles in length and of varying difficulty. This year there were 1,000 teams and if I do the math correctly, that's a whole lot of runners, vans and volunteers. Speaking of math, each team is responsible for keeping their own time and charting it on a bright yellow paper to be turned in at race completion. Very quickly, it was determined who was most comfortable with this awesome responsibility (not me!) and who best keep far, far away. 
Here are my van-mates. I'm on the far left and the other ladies are Jaime, Merry, Kirsten, Nancy and Arabeth. Our start time was 7:15AM in the morning which had us meeting up in NE Portland at 5:00AM to load up, eat bagels and run over last minute details. Below is Kirsten, our official time keeper for a good portion of the relay. 
Nancy was our first runner and while she barrelled down the mountain, we decorated our Freightliner Sprinter. Don't they all look spry and chipper and ready to conquer the road? That'd be because none of us had run yet! Just you wait until the second installment when we'd been running, sweating and not much else for several hours . . . 
I've been sitting with this entry for awhile, wondering how to best sum up this experience. If I use any more caps or explanations marks, I'm in danger of sounding like a hyped up cheerleader in high school. I've talked recently about flow activities and for me, running and competing in one form or another is a grounding, centering experience. Working as a team with strong, inspiring women is phenomenal. Since high school and college, any competitive sport I've engaged in has been individual . . . which is fine, but I need and look for community and connection. Nothing like 6 women in a van for 30 hours for quickly becoming comfortable with one another! Laughing like school girls at jokes that if repeated here, wouldn't be funny. You just had to be there -- or perhaps equally sleep-deprived and dehydrated! Cheering out open windows, poking fun at the "officals" (many of the "official" shirts were misprinted), passing around bags of cookies and water bottles -- that's good stuff, folks! 

I'd been worried about my calves for a few months -- stretching, ice baths, chiropractor, new shoes, etc. Nothing seemed to make the problem magically disappear so I met up with my team mates a little afraid that I'd either bonk out because my training hadn't been up to snuff, catering to my aching legs, or that I wouldn't be able to finish because of an injury. But lo and behold, I ran faster than I thought I could for all three legs and felt strong. It was the energy of the team and other runners -- there is a synergistic energy in events like this. Each runner's success is the sum of the team's optimism and support. Well done, mamas. Let's do it again!

More pics to come . . . 

Last Days of Summer

Big D starts 1st grade tomorrow. I'm feeling a little numb on the subject. He's thrilled, excited, can't wait to get a little space from his Sis who he's been cooped up with all summer. I know his starting grade school is another proof that he's growing up -- as if the size 7 pants that are nearly too short aren't proof enough, or the smart mouth he sports now and again . . . but he still hangs on our necks when we tuck him in and asks for "huggies." He's still my little boy and I guess, he will be a 1st grader tomorrow. 

In prep, we've done the essentials. Bought the reams of paper, packs of pencils and new socks and undies. We'll stock his backpack today and lay out his clothes for the week. In some ways, though he is the only member of the family going back to school - it feels like some sort of fresh start for the rest of us as well. I'm determined to get back to my weekly menu planning and we've instituted a daily routine for both morning and evenings. Let's not fool ourselves, though couched as necessary for the well-being of the children, these charts are for mama and daddy. Helpful reminder of the important things -- regular teeth brushing and special family time. 

Big D and I have started a ritual of reading a chapter book together and then he writes a sentence (or an approximation thereof) summarizing the chapter and illustrates it. With daddy, special time has been playing Candy Land and Shoots and Ladders. Little Sis is struggling with the new bedtime arrangement that puts her in 15 minutes ahead of brother. It was time. Big D needed one-on-one time with his parents and some sort of recognition for being 3 years older than his spunky sibling. 

Today is full of odds and ends as we get ready for a big week. Friday is the relay that I've been prepping for all summer. So, need to get together such essentials as a reflective vest, flashlight, sleeping bag, pain meds . . . Oy, the legs. Have I mentioned this relay before? 197 miles, Mt. Hood to Coast in a team of 12 in two vans. We start at 7:15am Friday morning and anticipate being done early afternoon Saturday. Send my calves healing thoughts -- they are busy protesting this running and last night found me in a cold bath, followed by icing and Ibuprofen. UGH. 

I have fun photos to process, hopefully today of a nature walk we took yesterday. I'm smiling just thinking of how much fun they'll be to share!

I am Woman, Hear Me Roar

In brief, I completed an 8k race yesterday -- the Shamrock Run -- in the rain and wind and LOVED it. Roar! My official time was 46.16 which is roughly 9.16 minutes per mile on a rather hilly (and did I mention wet and cold?) course. I'm really very ok with that! It's been 2 years since my last race, a triathlon, and it's about time. I need these little road markers to remind me that I can be a force to be reckoned with -- feels pretty darn good to pass up more runners than pass me. Who needs water? I don't need no stink'n water. Pshaw. I scorn you runners who drink from tiny paper cups and toss them on the ground. I trample your cups on the ground (please, somebody get those?). 

Silliness aside, felt great and reminded me that I have long outrun the story of little timid Heather that got her kid sister to do the "scary" stuff first. Athletics happens to be the most concrete example of how I've set goals for myself and then just got going. 

Which inevitably leads to more goal setting:

1. Major fitness goal is to complete the Hood to Coast relay with coworker and team. 

2. Find some means to regularly post work out/training schedule -- might need to tap hubby's techie skills

3. Make stretching and strength training a "more" regular part of regimen. Is that redundant? 

4. Find more mid-length races along the way as motivators. They are way fun and have great shirts:)

5. I'm so weak . . . look hot in swimsuit for 10yr wedding anniversary in Hawaii this July. 

Different Parts of Me

Boy, no pressure writing the virgin entry on a new blog! Yikes. Why am I doing this? To talk about the journey of mothering, of course, but also of self-discovery. I hope this will become a place to talk about all the different parts of me -- many of which have, for a time, taken a back burner to my roles of mother and wife. I want to give voice to the athlete, bumbling gardner, amateur photographer, feminist/social activist, spiritual quester and growing therapist that are all part of me. Oh, and dancer! I've always wanted to dance and never really have. Shocking, isn't it? Well, unless you count hopping  and prancing about with my two tots to They Might be Giants and assorted kiddie songs. The more I think about the things I enjoy or want to experiment with, the more that comes to mind. That's exactly what I hope for this blog. An opening up in my own mind, expectations and willingness to try out these other selves.

Let's get acquainted.