Here are the March highlights:
- We took a road trip to La Quinta for my first triathlon of the year
- Family goes bowling (a work-sponsored event)
- Kids go biking and hiking in Wildwood Park
- Lilah finishes swimming season at championships
Desert Sprint Triathlon Trip
Normally, I do not attempt to compete in a triathlon before June. In fact, I typically put the bike away for the fall and winter and don’t resume riding until spring. However, there’s nothing like joining a club that rides every Sunday to break you out of old routines and keep you riding. That and the fact that the leader of the club told me I should do this early season race because “everyone” usually does it and brings their family, goes out to dinner together, etc.. “We all have a great time,” he went on to say. Well, as luck would have it, this was the year that the only person who ended up doing the race from the club was me. But no big deal, it was a chance for the family to get on a road trip in their new vehicle and for the kids to spend the night in a hotel, something they absolutely loved. The race itself wasn’t bad either — I was second out of the water in my age group and finished a respectable 7th overall.
During the race, I also met the acquaintance of a very motivating 61-year old. It began with the running leg. I kept hearing this encouraging voice motivating the people he was passing with words like “keep it going buddy, you’re doing great.” As the run progressed, the voice kept getting louder until the man behind the voice pulled up right alongside me and nudged forward ever so slightly. That’s when I saw the number 61 written on his calf (meaning he was 61 years old). That pushed me to go a little harder and the two of us pretty much ran neck and neck the last mile to the finish line (with me edging him out at the end, of course ;-)). At the finish line we high-fived and thanked each other for pushing the pace. Later on, I looked him up and it turns out he was a former Olympic wrestler for Canada in the 1974 Munich games. I also contacted him via Facebook and “friended” him so we could keep track of our races this year.
Bowling with the Kids
We took the kids bowling this month for the first time in a couple of years (I think). At first, Luke did not want to play because he could not properly pick up the ball using the holes. I told him he could just toss it like the other small kids were doing, but he refused and I could tell he was embarrassed because he did not want to throw the ball like “a little boy.” Within minutes of starting to bowl however, Luke quickly changed his mind and relished tossing the ball any which way he could.
On the other hand, Lilah started off very motivated, but when Cathy started rolling strikes left and right her attitude began to sour. One thing I’ve noticed about Lilah is that she really wants to win. As soon as she senses she’s not quite as good as Luke, mom, or dad for that matter, she begins to get pouty and grumpy. One saving grace was that she did not quit. She continued to play, although she did not want to hear any coaching, cheering, or encouragement of any kind. Whatever. Part of parenting is letting your kids go through their moods and not trying to manage things so much because their moods can change pretty quickly — and usually, the more you ignore the bad mood, the better the resulting change in mood.
A Hike and Bike through Wildwood Park
Ah, what can I say about our trip to Wildwood park. What I was saying about moods quickly changing applied to this trip too. The kids decided they had done enough biking and wanted to hike to the waterfall instead. Well, I hadn’t planned on that. I didn’t have enough water for the hike so I told the kids we had to pack up the bikes and go get water. We did that, but when we returned to the park I realized I had forgotten the locks for the bike which meant we couldn’t go hiking quite yet — can you visualize the frowns? Luckily, I got a hold of a friend who lived nearby and he allowed me to drop the bikes off at his house while we hiked. In any case, this detour delayed our hike by well over an hour but the kids cheered up considerably once I got them hiking on the trail again.
We made it to the waterfall in time to watch a pretty wild stunt. Apparently, a dad and his son had climbed out to the edge of the falls and they looked like they were getting ready to jump. This hunch was confirmed when I heard what appeared to be the mom impatiently ask if they were going to jump or not. That’s when the dad basically did a back flip and dove into the water. Shortly after that, the son performed a jump of his own which I managed to capture on film below. Nothing like an impromptu, daredevil performance to impress the kids.
After the hike, we ended up hanging out with my friend and going to see the movie “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” Both kids are avid fans of the books and thus enjoyed the movie immensely, although Lilah said the movie wasn’t as good as the books because it left a lot of things out.
Lilah’s Swim Championships
After a disappointing bowling performance earlier in the month (just kidding Lilah), it was only natural that Lilah punctuate the end of the month with a strong showing at her season-ending swimming championships. She took second in both the 50-yard breast stroke and 50-yard backstroke. Swimming continues to be a constant with her. During the season, she practices twice a week and has a swim meet on Saturdays. She seems to genuinely like it and is sticking to it without any coaxing from mom or dad.
This off season she is going to try something new — basketball. The season starts in April, so I’m sure I’ll have some pictures next month. Until then, take care and stay in touch.