A Day of Firsts

We have been experiencing a lot of "firsts" lately...
we've had our first poop in the potty,
Brenna slept all night in her big girl bed,
I joined my first masters swim club,
Hayden put on his pants all by himself (although it was hard to walk with both legs through one hole....)

But the event I am going to write about is our first family outing at the zoo!
Yes, the kids have been to the zoo  before, but this was our first time tackling it as a family unit.

It may seem weird to visit the zoo in July, but we had a pass that was about to expire.
And, to lure people in during one of the hottest months of the year, the zoo hauled in a bunch of snow.

The word "snow" in Phoenix is such an anomaly that always draws a crowd.

I was stoked that the kids were going to see snow for the first time!  And even more stoked that I didn't have to drive them hours or fly them anywhere for it to happen.

But I have to say, to call this "snow" is quite a stretch.

At best, it was dirty ice.

The kids were not interested, to say the least.  

At best, they were indifferent.

I tried to get them out of the stroller to engage them.  Hayden flat out refused.

Brenna only appeased me under the condition that her precious feet did not have to touch the ground.

It's hard to tell in this picture but we are wearing our matching running skirts.                                                  This is not the first time we have worn them, but it is the first time she wanted to wear them. Usually, I have to beg. And then I get denied.

After the snow debacle, we decided to stay and see some animals.

The kids were very satisfied with the monkeys. The zoo has a little walk-in area that is overtaken by small monkeys. They literally come right by your head (David had to be reminded by a zoo-keeper to keep 3 feet of distance).

We also saw flamingos.  I found this to be noteworthy because I had never seen a flamingo before.

Even though it was 100-degrees, the snow was nasty, and we were dripping in sweat, the kids were the epitome of well-behaved toddlers.  If the heat did bother them, they sucked it up.

We belong in Arizona.

And without snow.

Coldwater Rumble Trail Run Race Report

Even though I know this does not sound like me, I did go to the race with any competitive intention. The race was 12 miles, and I only have ran that distance once since November. And, it was on difficult (hilly and rocky) trails: (photo courtesy of race website)

Trail miles are harder than road miles and I did not feel prepared. But I love trail running, as you guys know, so I was excited for the opportunity to do something a little different.

It was a chilly morning - we got to the race early and sat in the car awhile. Finally we braved our way and huddled around a space heater:


You see those mountains in the background? Yeah...we ran up those!

The race started on a dirt path and it started fast.
I was a little concerned about starting a race that fast, but at the same time, it felt good and almost natural. After the first 400 meters, I was the 2nd female and I maintained that position for the first half of the race.

The trails were curvy and sometimes you could get a good glance at those in front of you, and those behind you. Instead of chasing the number one woman, I decided simply to make sure that I stayed ahead of the number three woman. I was okay with second place and in fact, it sounded rather nice.

The number one girl maintained her lead. I could tell she was a serious runner because she had very fancy sunglasses.

At around mile 4, we entered a wash. I was expecting this and I was told running in sand was very hard. But it didn't feel hard to me at all - and by the time we were at Mile 5, that number one girl wasn't very far ahead. I considered catching her, but it was too early in the race to make a move.

By the time we reached the aide station a little past Mile 6, she was probably around three seconds ahead of me. It was tempting to catch her but we were already moving pretty fast - I knew that if I increased my speed, I would get tired and she would just pass me back. Also, I didn't want to lead the race. The trail was marked by orange markers, but it was a lot easier just to follow someone rather than pay close attention.

However, Mile 7 was uphill and I had no choice but to pass. Maybe she got a cramp, or felt light headed...maybe it was just a bad day.

I was having a great day though! My legs felt light, my muscles felt loose and I was so happy to be trail running. And I just kept trail running, all the way to the finish for an unexpected win!



I lucked out with this race because instead of going to my mother's house on Friday, they went to the zoo with my Dad. So, Mom didnt mind watching them so that I could do this race instead.

The kids had fun at the zoo:


But preferred the fake animals over the real animals:


However, please note that Brenna is wearing pants. Lately, I have found that I can actually reason with her but I don't want to talk about that too much yet so that I don't jinx it.

Damn, the zoo is hilly!!

Ran our 5k today with a final time of 21:30.

It was 30-45 seconds slower than I wanted, and definitely not as competitive as I wanted (although we were the first jogging stroller in by a long shot!)

I seriously had no idea the zoo was so hilly. I know, I know...I live right there, how could I not know this? I realized it was not flat, but I really didnt realize that it was on a mountain. The course was two loops, each one all the way up. During the first loop I said out-loud, "You must be kidding me!"

I consider myself a trail/hill runner first and foremost - usually hills excite me because I consider them an advantage. But not with the stroller. It doesnt matter how good you are, or how determined you are, pushing 60-pounds of babies uphill is a lot of work.

With the course in mind, I am happy with 7-minute miles. I am going to do one more race with the babies before it gets hot - I know we can break 21 minutes - we just need a flatter course.

One of my favorite thing about running with the babies is that for 20 minutes after the race, I have a moment of super-stardom. I play it off as though its no big deal, but just between us, I love having a slew of people come up to me afterwards and tell me how awesome I am. It's not like that happens very often in life.

As usual, I made it a point to smile for the camera:




As far the zoo goes, I think the kids were still a bit young. We saw a neat monkey, an awesome vulture, some birds, a massive turtle, a jaguar, and this thing that my dad thought was a swan but I am sure its not...pelican?


I was a fan of this bird:


There was a tree house (albeit not in a tree) that the kids enjoyed playing it. It had little rooms with a bed:


and a chair:


There was also a slide. Anything with a slide is super cool.