Olympic Trials

We've been watching a lot of the Olympic Trials that have been on tv recently and it got me thinking about how glamorous it all seems. Chasing the Olympic dream, putting it all on the line, your life on hold and BOOM - I'm an Olympian! It's awesome.

Or not.

While I was bored at work taking a break from endless excel spreadsheets, I came across several articles that give you a glimpse into the real life of an Olympic hopeful or athlete - and it's not all that pretty. They fail to go into much of this when you're watching Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte swim against each other for billionth time.

How about these guys? This couple was trying to make the Olympics, him in the steeplechase and her in the marathon or 10,000 (neither made it unfortunately) and they were on freaking food stamps! This quote was also interesting:

"A recent foundation survey found that 80 percent of pro track and field athletes ranked in the U.S. top 10 in their event make less than $50,000 per year in sport-related income, and half make less than $15,000. Cull out marquee events like the 100 meters and the marathon, and the numbers grow even grimmer."

A book recently came out from an Olympian detailing some of the struggles she had. Dominique Moceanu, a former gymnast speaks about alleged 'abuse' from her coach. I haven't read the book but this article talks about eating issues and crazy workout schedules.  I guess what most shocked me later was that I wasn't shocked. You sort of hear about this stuff all the time, particularly in certain sports like gymnastics.

And prolific swimmer (and model) Amanda Beard recently spoke out about her struggles with bulimia and depression - and she was an Olympian! It makes me wonder about all those who got close and but never made it - how many of them dealt with the pressure in similar ways.

Anyways, I just found it interesting how glitzy the tv makes it all feel, so you and me on the couch thinks it's the most awesome thing ever to train for an Olympic spot. They don't tell you the real deal of people barely scraping by and not making it, or making it and being too f'd up to even enjoy it. 

I do feel for those who barely make any money, but on the other hand sometimes I see these athletes and think, oh just get a job. The irony of me being mired in work spreadsheets while simultaneously feeling sympathy and jealousy is not lost on me.

But don't get me wrong, I love watching the events, the stories, and reading about it. That's why our DVR is filled with prelims and finals of every sport that was on tv. 

Go USA.

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Funtime

My sister flew into town on Thursday afternoon, just in time for NC to have our hottest weather of the year. Holy hotness, Batman! Summer is here!

I tagged along with her to Chapel Hill (her happy place) on Friday. We did some shopping and eating (I had a cupcake called "Frat Boy" - it was yummy).  Then that night our babysitter, Lovely Rita, came over so the 3 of us could enjoy a nice dinner in downtown before we went to the Big Boss Brewery and drank some delicious beer.

Saturday was pretty low key. I had decided earlier in the week to sign up for a local sprint race on Sunday so except for driving to pick up my packet, most of the day was spent hanging out with Logan in the living room.

That night we met some friends out at a local pizza place, and Logan was reunited with his betrothed, Elle.  He was very happy to see her and promptly took her rattle and stuck it in his mouth, then tried to pull her shirt down. We apparently need have a talk with him and cover topics such as 'coming on too strong' and 'father's don't like it when you're handsy with their daughters.' 



Don't worry, though, Elle held her own.



Logan can now sit in a high chair and is very entertained trying to pick up and eat cheerios. Out of about 20 cheerios, one may actually get close to his mouth, and of those, another 1 out of 10 might actually make it in his mouth. It was a complete minefield of cheerios under his high chair at the restaurant.  The next night he had cut down those percentages considerably.  There's no place to go but up with physical skills when you're his age.



The next morning was the race: Smile Train Sprint Triathlon. It was a shorty - 250 meter swim, 12.5 mile bike, 5K run. I was happy for a short swim and was also happy no one passed me in the pool. I even managed to pass one person! The bike was pretty nice after you got through the first mile of neighborhood speed bumps. It was rolling but nothing horrible. I felt better on the return trip then I did going out. And the run was hilly and hot.  The only shade out there was from the finish banner, I think. They also made it a legit 5K as opposed to other years apparently, when it was a bit short. I wouldn't have minded it being a bit short this year! It was nice to win - it's funny, I think I've won more races this year than I have in any previous year here in NC!

It was a fun event. I didn't stick around for awards since it was so hot and I had heard that it takes quite awhile. Plus, I wanted to get home to hang out with Shana and Logan. It was great having them and Marty out there cheering for me.

go mommy





Ain't nothing prettier than posing with a swim cap







Smiling at Logan (my sis is holding him in the pink shirt)







I'm up next







Pretending to swim







Heading out on the run







Finishing up



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Catching up

It's been awhile. I have excuses. I've been busy. And sort of lazy with this thing. I'm not confident that my posts are getting read by that many people anymore which causes my initiative to write go way down. But, I do enjoy looking back now and then so even if it's just me and my mom here (hi mom!) I figured I can still document what's been going on.

So what's been going on? :)

• Boone Camp III came and went. I was part of the 'Daisy Picker' group which meant we spent more time stopped with our bikes then actually on our bikes. Boone made me realize that even though I am working out and have even raced pretty good so far, I am really out of shape. I know that doesn't make sense, but seriously, I have apparently lost so much overall strength and core that after 2 days of riding in the mountains I could barely move. It felt like I had done 5,000 situps. Even my forearms hurt! In typical Boone fashion, we still had a ton of fun and a lot alcohol was consumed. I also may decline any group games from here on out as my child prodigy status led to hyper-competiveness and big frownie faces on Bri. Marty knows why 'Bri Wins' is not just a game but a way of life ;)

  

  

  Debating on how long the dirt road extends on our ride

  

  

  

  Brekky on the deck. Tassie had the best week ever with 20+ people constantly petting her

     

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  Pretending to be freezing after a mountain lake swim

  
  

  

  Daisy Pickers

  
  

  

  We had a rotating contingent, but here's most of the crew on Saturday night

  
  

  

  Game night

  
  

  

  Some campers braved the cold mountain water for some open water swimming. There may have been a few wimps who even wore a wetsuit.

  
  

  

  Marty on the Viaduct

  
  

  

  At Moses Cone Park

  
  

  

  I love my dog, but seriously, what is it with wanting to roll in poop?!

  

  Kory found this comic and sadly, this sums up some of Tassie's adventures during the week.

  
  

  

  The 'Prop' picture

  
  
  
  
• Marty's mom was up here this past week and I took total advantage of the poor women and did something every night with friends. Then I slept in almost every morning.
• We had the 2nd Old School Aquathon at Vista Point. It was a crazy format, but so, so fun. 300 yard swim/1mile run X 3.  Kari, Cari and I all did it together which made it even more fun.

We are serious Aquathletes? Aquathoners?

• This past Sunday we had our 2nd race in the Triangle Open Water Swim Series at Jordan Lake. It was wetsuit legal but I didn't bring mine which I was none to happy about. My swim is abysmal right now. But I figured out that if you don't push too hard it doesn't hurt ;) Lucky for me, they didn't get me coming across the finish line so I didn't show up in the results. I'm glad that time won't be forever inked on the internet.
• I saw 2 movies this past week: Snow White and the Huntsman (entertaining) and Men In Black III (entertaining). Unfortunately, I saw MIB in 3D which was such a freaking rip off.
• Logan had his 6 month appointment. He weighs 17lbs 7oz (49th percentile); he's 2'3" (62nd percentile) and his head is the 92nd percentile. He's also cutting his first tooth.

6 months old and so fun!

Sleeping angel, surrounded by whatever so he doesn't roll off the couch

Happy Father's Day!

He couldn't be bothered to stay awake for Father's Day dinner

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Picture Page

Family portrait from Doughman -- what do you think? Christmas Card?

Me and my girls at my birthday party

Rogue's Bacon Maple Ale - it was interesting...

Thumbs up to a fun weekend

Logan likes to swing

There is a quiet war going on between our friends on which NFL team Logan will be cheering for: The Giants or the Steelers. Here he is with a gift from Aunt Kari - a Terrible Towel.

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Doughman 2012

So. This went slightly better then last year, but we continue to have rotten luck at this crazy race. While sitting in a circle post race with my teammates, a Memorial Day beach weekend was brought up for 2013 as opposed to trying our luck at Doughman 2013.  I think we all have a little bit of Doughman burn-out at this point.

The day started early. This was a bit different then your typical race because I have never had to factor in 'make-up time.' In keeping with our goth theme, we were all going to put on crazy dark eye shadow and eyeliner. Then we were going to meet to spray some pink into our dyed black hair.  We were going for angry and scary but we were probably more crazy and laughable.

Just like last year, our amazing family and friends got us to the top fundraising level and we were set with our 5min head start. Thank you thank you thank you!!! There were a total of 6 teams that met this goal, and another 18 teams that raised enough for the 2min head start. All in all, a lot of money was raised for SEEDS, the local charity that helps under privileged kids in Durham.

We took a ton of pictures beforehand knowing that the morning was going to heat up and our makeup would probably be running down our faces and we would quite literally be hot messes.  We had a lot of fun prerace essentially being silly. Unfortunately, our teammate Brooke from the past 2 years couldn't make it as her and her husband were going to be in Denmark. We got Erin, another fast friend to take her place and do the bike portion which was the first leg this year.

The time flew and before we knew it Erin was at the table ready to eat her peanut butter and fluffer nutter sandwich.  There were two huge dudes right near her but that didn't matter - because she freaking ate that sandwich faster than anyone!!  She even surprised herself and looked back at the crowd with a huge smile on her face as she ran to her bike.  Erin is such a stud, not only is she a former swimmer at UNC, an amazing triathlete, but she's also a Type-1 diabetic. She is able to control her insulin with shots and has not let it stop her for one second. Prerace she spoke to Dain who is a sponsor and who's restaurant supplied the sandwiches so she could get a better idea of how much insulin to give herself.

Erin ready to give the boys a beat down

Erin's sandwich

She's made it to the bike course in first place with 2-3 guys hot on her tail. Through the first half of the ride which was very urban with lots of stops, they were all together.  But when they got onto the 2nd half with the longer stretches she took off. She totally dropped the guys and had a police escort stopping traffic for her along the way.  One of the guys she dropped couldn't believe it saying, "Your girl was hammering! She dropped us all!"  At one point, Erin said she felt like she was off course, but quickly shook it off since the police officer was continuing to stop traffic for her....until he turned around confirmed they had gone the wrong way.

Back at transition, we all knew something was wrong quickly.  Two cyclists came back, but we all thought that was fine because some of the teams had literally recruited some great cyclists for their teams. But we also figured that Erin would be very close to them. So as more and more cyclists came in we all thought it had happened again.  One of the cyclists that had been with her confirmed that she had missed a turn and although he tried to yell at her, she didn't hear and kept going.  She thinks she probably went an extra 3 miles. This bike is only 8.5 miles so that's a lot of extra time.

She finally came back and the rest of us still tried to put down our best effort.  Alysia was up next and ate some disgusting vegan taco and then ran 1.8 miles and did the short pool event. She thought she caught 4 people. Kari was our 3rd leg and she ate a fried green tomato sandwich with a big buttery bun and ran 2 miles, passing 2 people. I was the anchor but at this point the teams were so spread out that I didn't see anyone on the course. I ate some sort of Cuban pulled pork sandwich and a fried plantain and then ran 2.3 miles. I tried to push but don't think I ended up running that fast overall.  Alysia and I are definitely not in our best shape right now which does make another year seem enticing...

Alysia looking cute and eating fast

Kari's sandwich, in my opinion, the hardest of the bunch

Anyways, we finished 6th overall. We really feel like we would've been a solid 3rd place if Erin hadn't been led off course. It was still a lot of fun, and Erin made the paper - front page of the local section. 

One thing that is interesting about this race - it has gotten way more competitive.  The top two teams (all guys) are super fast. And overall the teams are faster.  There weren't as many costumes as in years past - more like props instead.  And the food has definitely gotten a lot easier.  The first year Alysia did it, she had to eat a burger with bacon, sweet chili, cheddar, coleslaw and a hot dog on top! That same restaurant this year was Erin's leg - the half pb and marshmallow.  Even 3 years ago Alysia had to eat a sausage hoagie that was really big, but the portions have gotten a lot smaller. I imagine it has to be the cost it takes to make those big meals and then having them ready at transition. The race used to go to the restaurants and now it's at a central location.  We were all discussing all this at our party that night, about how the food used to be an equalizer and a big dude might be able to eat that giant burger faster and handle it better than a skinny runner guy. Now the food is super quick and not much of an issue.  It still took me a couple of minutes to get my food down and the guy who was right ahead of me literally ate it in 20 seconds, so there is that. Anyways, get a few beers in people on a back deck and you can analyze and theorize about anything.

6th place out of 81 teams is not bad. Not what we hoped for, but still a good showing. And we had a ton of fun as usual.

Team Victorious Secret

Erin and I with our game faces on

Alysia and Kari trash talking with Dain

Erin passing off to Alysia



Waiting for my turn, keeping it serious



The last leg of desserts we all split

Post race discussion - are we in for 2013??

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Busy Busy

Even though traveling with a 5 month old is not ideal, we still all had a lot of fun in Maggie Valley to celebrate our 8th Anniversary.  Tassie included - she loved splashing around in the creek behind the cabin.  We made it into Asheville a couple of times and enjoyed some delicious beer. Unfortunately, we forgot the delicious beer in the fridge when we left, including a growler of Oktoberfest from the Lexington Avenue Brewery which was oh so good. I hope the cleaning crew appreciated it.



Twins



You are not allowed to crawl yet!

I'm eating ice cream and Logan is belly-to-the-bar. Ummmmm.

Our little Wolverine

Saturday morning I woke up at 4am to drive to New Bern so I could race in a triathlon that is part of the TrySports series.  The Twin Rivers YMCA Triathlon went well - although it was weird not to know any of the other racers.  I went solo while Marty and Logan held down the fort at home.

Saturday afternoon was spent dying hair and practicing our makeup for Doughman! Like I mentioned in previous posts, we are all about redemption from last years disaster of a race so we are 'angry' and we're 'going goth.'  Gone are our pink costumes with bows and here comes lots of black.  In keeping with the theme, we dyed our hair black and will be spraying in a pink streak for the race.  My hair is already quite dark so the black isn't terribly noticeable, but on Alysia and Kari it is! We'll be taking a lot of pictures so stay tuned to see the whole ensemble.

We are so, so close to getting the 5 minute head start. So far, 3 other teams have gotten that time bonus. We need to raise $1,000 and we are at $820 so if you wanna help us out........click this link!

Tomorrow evening is the first Aquathon if any locals want to have fun doing a low-key cheap event.

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What's in a Name?

The Social Security Administration just released the most popular names of 2011. Logan came in at #20, Martin was #262 and Brianne was nowhere to be found. My name hasn't been on the list since 2005, apparently, when it was ranked #994.

Brianna was on the list at #45. BUT THAT'S NOT MY NAME!!! (I may have a slight issue with people adding that 'ah' on the end of my name)

A lot of you know that I was named after my dad, Brian. Marty (Martin Nicholas) is also named after his dad who is from Hungary (Marton Miklos). Logan is Logan Marton. So we're all in the family.

But where did Logan come from? For me, it was always the boy name I liked. Perhaps from my years of reading The Babysitters Club books, I'm not sure. Marty was all aboard because he has always loved Wolverine and his name is Logan. We didn't really have any debate - I think the conversation went something like this:

Me: "I like Logan for a boy."
Marty: "Me too."

If he were a girl I think there would've been more discussion.

In other news, we had our first open water swim race of the Triangle Open Water Swim Series this past Saturday. It was a gorgeous day with calm water and a great temperature (mid-70's). Logan was with me so I wasn't much help at registration; I sort of stood there and ordered people around. Thank god I have great friends who volunteered to help. I am so lucky. 

I did not strap Logan to me so I could swim in the race. We're not at that stage yet ;) I did remember that he actually did do this race last year, though.

Afterwards a handful of us did a nice 40 mile ride on some rolling hills in North Raleigh.  It was fantastic.

Tomorrow we're off to Maggie Valley (all 4 of us) to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, which is actually tomorrow.

As Marty would say, that is all.

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