The conversation went like this...........

Tonight, Jeff and I went to the Outback for dinner. He had a gift card taking up space in his wallet since Christmas, and the kids were all gone to watch the high school talent show. So, kid-free (and FREE) dinner! WIN!

During dinner Jeff was lamenting that he had wanted only a salad for dinner because he "felt fat." Um, excuse me - GIRL WORDS! What guy says he feels fat? Well, my husband does. But that didn't stop him from downing steak and lobster AND a chocolate Thunder from Down Under dessert.

At any rate, he mentioned he needed to be "a little bit fat" because when he was out in the woods doing his mountain man/elk hunting/scratching-his-balls thing, he needed some fat reserves in case he got lost in the woods and was starving.

Me: You know, that's why women survive better than men in those types of situations. Because we have more fat.

Jeff: Yeah, like that guy we know who couldn't finish the Ironman? That guy was all skinny and shit, but that one lady? She was WAY heavier than him, AND older, and she finished!"

Me: Exactly. I mean (gesturing up and down my body), I did TWO triathlons! If this body can do it, anyone can!

Jeff: Well........there was a little less of you then.

Postscript - I'm planning to Nair off one of his eyebrows while he sleeps. Subtle, but effective.

Jeff wins again!

Up early on a Saturday for the Cottage Lake Triathlon.......

Making some final adjustments to the wetsuit.......

Thank God for westuits on a cold morning!

Getting in the water........brrrr............

Coming in from the swim...........

Way to represent for the company!

Transition to bike...........

Coming back from the bike ride.......

Heading out on the run, taking time to wave to his biggest fan!

Still smiling after swimming and biking.........

Passing a competitor at the finish!

Finisher's medal!

Happy camper!

Jeff won third place in his age group! YAY! 

Cottage Lake Triathlon

Jeff stretches before the race...

Dock dog! A new yoga pose.

Coming in from swim...

Finishing the race...

Winner!

Accepting a medal for second place in his age group!! Go Jeff!!!

Grace? Not so much...............

I am hopelessly uncoordinated. Perhaps that's why I was never interested in sports as a kid. Or dance, or gymnastics, or any other athletic pursuit that requires me to do more than one physical feat at once. I was eight years old before I could ride a bike - mostly because I was just afraid of falling - and even then, it was an accident. I was sitting on my bike, as usual, balancing from one foot to another, watching all the other (even younger) kids ride their bikes, and I suddenly started to roll downhill on the ever-so-gradual slope of the yard. I panicked and started pedaling........and suddenly I was riding a bike. It never would have happened if not for that one mistaken incident. But once I realized I could do it, I wasn't afraid and I enjoyed it.

I was once very interested in gymnastics. I begged my mom to let me take classes at the "good" gym in town, a real gymnastics center that a friend's dad coached at. So, she signed me up, but guess what? Since I was a beginner (yet in sixth grade) I had to be in a class of much younger kids - even four year olds! I was so embarrassed, even more so when I realized they could do SO much more than me. My body was clunky, short, compact and not strong. I felt like a flailing lump on the trampoline. Four classes in and I was done!

After that my athletic pursuits were.........basically none. I skied occasionally (even did ski club in high school, but again, I pretty much sucked and was in the lowest level class). I took some hikes with my family. Maybe an occasional walk. Oh, I tried "aerobics" - what a joke! That's when I realized I'm hopelessly uncoordinated. Always three steps behind the class, I'd end up looking more like I was having a grand mal seizure than actually exercising. I tried, continued to take some classes, work out in the exercise room at my apartment, but an athlete I was not.

Then, for some strange reason, in 2006 I decided to do the Danskin triathlon. I signed up for it in a fit of inspiration, not really knowing whether I would even follow through. Then, my workout buddy had to bail out of the race due to a hip injury. I was on my own. If it wasn't for Jeff, I would never have followed through. But how could I disappoint this seasoned triathlete when the love of his life was about to embark on a similar pursuit? Chivalrously, Jeff offered to do a triathlon with me before the "big event" when I would be on my own. We did the Federal Escape tri and came in dead last! I was a little humiliated crossing the finish line but the race organizers were so nice to keep the finish line up for me and the police sweeper cars so nice to not run into my ass while I was schlepping my way to the end of the race, I tried to put on a brave smile. Later, I won a wetsuit in a drawing and I was so high on my accomplishment, that the dubious "honor" of being the last person across the finish line faded away. Besides, I said to myself, how many of my peers had ever finished a triathlon?

Still, my up and down pursuit to fitness (as well as my up and down - mostly up - pursuit of weight loss) has been interesting. And I just have come to the conclusion that while I can manage walking, even running short distances (ok a few feet), biking and swimming (actually I like to call it "not drowning"), I simply cannot manage dance-y aerobics DVDs and cardio routines. I flail, I trip myself up, I can't get my groove on. This white girl CAN'T dance......

Fishin'

Pretty sunset across the lake!

Jack, Harrison and I fishing off the dock

Me and my boy, fishing fools!

Fishing at sunset

Harrison and Jack gearing up to catch.........nothing!

Jeff doing a front flip off the dock!

We went fishing at the lake last night, after Jeff and Amy took a swim across the lake to train for their triathlon, and we cooked hot dogs while the boys swam. It was a fun time! We didn't catch anything, but we didn't fish long either. It was already sunset when we arrived at the dock and we pushed our limits fishing past "closing time"!

Tri and Tri Again - Anatomy of a Triathlon

Warming up beforehand. A little yoga never hurt anyone!

Waiting to go in the water with the elite wave. Jeff is the short guy in the back!

Just swam 400 yards! Whew!

Coming out of the swim, goggles off!

First transition. Out of the swim, put on socks, bike shoes, shirt, while dripping wet!

Can't forget the helmet. It's a USAT rule!

Leaving on the bike, minutes from the swim. See you in 9 miles!

Coming in on the bike. Dismount!

Second transition. Switch from bike shoes to running shoes.

Leaving on the run. 1.6 miles.

Coming in from the run. Don't go right! Follow the cones. Elite class does it twice!

Back in the water! No wetsuit this time. 400 more yards.

Back from the swim! That was fun!

Swim to bike transition. Put the sweaty socks back on!

Heading out for another 9 miles!

Back again! Ready for a run?

YES! Double triathlon completed!

Make it official - cross the finish line!

A well-earned medal!

Jeff completed his first double triathlon today. It was a super sprint tri (shortest distance), which meant 400 yards (1/4 mile) swim, 9 mile bike and 1.6 mile run - twice! The second time around there was no time to put on a wetsuit and of course, he had just completed the first tri and had to muster the energy to do the whole thing over again! He was in the elite class with 27 other crazy men and women who did it twice. Despite having a badly injured hamstring, he pulled it off and got an awesome medal and lots of cool swag (tech shirt, sunglasses, race belt, etc.). Even at almost 41 he's still able to pull of amazing feats of physical strength and endurance (ok, he can't leap tall buildings in a single bound, but he's a superhero to me!). Way to go, Jeff! I loved being your race support and taking photos. You're an inspiration!

Jeff's triathlon - he's a winner!!!

So, Jeff did his first triathlon of the summer this weekend. For those of you who don't know, a triathlon, specifically a sprint triathlon, is a race involving swimming (1/4 or 1/2 mile, depending on the race), biking (usually 12 miles) and running (a 5K)..........one right after the other. Most people couldn't complete ONE of these events, but triathletes do all three in a row. Jeff has done MANY triathlons and trains all the time. But this year he turned the big 4-0 and was lamenting his "oldness" (woe is me, I've gained 20 lbs, I'm old, my knee hurts, my arm hurts, I'm sucking wind when I run). So, the big day arrived on Saturday morning (also, in case you didn't know, these things start at an ungodly hour, this time at 7:30 a.m.!). The swim started pretty much on time and I tried as I always do to pick Jeff out of the crowd, but it's really hard when there are hundreds of swimmers all wearing the same color cap (in this case, the crowd was smaller, but it was no less difficult picking out "my" swimmer). However, I knew his swim wasn't going as well as normal when he was NOT one of the first out of the water. Eventually he did come out, and had a quick transition to the bike. Now, Jeff bikes pretty fast, so I knew I would not be waiting long. By this point, coffee-less and exhausted, I decided to have a quick nap on the grass. I was just drifting off when I heard "bikers in!" meaning some bikers had already made it back - Jeff being one of them! I snapped a few quick photos and he was off on his run (which was a bit slower and more lumbering than normal, but still steady). Not long after that, he was running for the finish! He picked up his medal and came over to me, smiling, but saying how hard it was (the run sucked, etc.). However, when I looked at his overall time, he was still pretty much in the same place he's been the past year or so. So, not bad for an "old guy" right? Well, imagine our surprise when we heard his name called for a trophy! He won second in his age group! Yay! His goal has always been to be competitive in his age group and this was the first year for him to compete in the 40-44 age group. So, props to him for bringing home a win the very first time! 40 is looking up!