Taking up a new sport

I love this photo--Rowan sticking up for me to my bro...
All my siblings together

cousins...a little blurry...my kids not cooperating....

That's right sista'! Bring it on!! This is for not letting me borrow those
Guess jeans!!

Nice move, Jenn...

It helps that I'm an Amazon compared to my sister....

Elliot(bro 1) takes on Jeremy (bro 2)...Trevor (bro 3) watching....

Woahhh! Low blow El! Jeremy protecting his money maker...

Trevor trying to beat Elliot while my neice and sister-in-law heckle....


While I was on break this summer we had a family reunion to celebrate my little brother Trevor's return home. In order to satisfy the Jones competitiveness, we started a tether ball competition. I won the women's division. Granted, I only played 1 person, my older sister, I now have a better winning record in tether ball than triathlon! Hmmmmmmmm..........

In training news, my build going into Longhorn 70.3 has been going well. I love the taper as I'm able to get so many things done! I'm trying not to be too OCD and clean like crazy because really the point of taper is to rest, but sometimes I just can't help myself. The most exciting part of Longhorn is my Dad is doing the race. He turned 65 last month. It's always so much for fun to do a race with someone. Also, it's always fun to catch up with friends! With the end of the year just around the corner it's always an exciting time!

Until next time....

Cycling Shorts

Gwyn insisted that she wear cycling shorts. I mean, that's kind of cool. Instead of asking for dolls she's asking for cycling gear? Then she also asked for a cycling shirt. The next think I know, Rowan is chiming in that he wants cycling shorts and shirt. And these kids are demanding when they fixate on something! I better come up with a cycling kit pronto or else massive discord in the Meyers house. Luckily I found their "cycling kits" in a recent gift from our friends in Washington. Whatever you do, do not call these soccer outfits. These are their cycling clothes--I can only fool them for so long. The XMAS list is getting longer...

And yes, Rowan is wearing a necklace. He stole this from his Gramms and has been wearing for nearly 3 months. It's kind of masculine, right?

On our ride...

Rowan's school picture...

Saturday on our ride Duncan said to me, "I stopped reading yer blog. You never write on it anymore." (Yes, I know how to spell "your," this is my attempt to convey is thick southern accent!) Oh, will I get my 3 readers back? I have failed you!!!! To get you up to speed...I took a "break" after Kansas. Partly needed, but partly forced as my kids were out of school and my husband's work forced him to be in the field for a week and then back home for 2 weeks. He did this for four rotations. Training took a hit. While I love Tulsa, it is hard to not have any family near by to help out. Luckily I have an incredibly supportive family and my Mom came up to help the last weekend he was gone. I almost made it!! Soooo, when September rolled around I realized I wasn't in too terrible of shape and decided to stick Longhorn 70.3 on the end of my schedule. I'm excited as last year this was my first half, and I can see if I've improved at all :)

The above photo is from school photos. I'll get one of Gwyn soon. The kids go to a "pre school" at a church here. Last year it was two days a week, and this year it is 3. They go from 9:30 until 2:30 which I found is the perfect amount of time for me to get my workouts in. No messing around if I want it all done! Anyway, the teacher told me after photo day that Rowan really got into it. When I saw the photos I died! This kid is such a cheese! I guess he loves the camera?

I promise to blog better! See you soon!

Long time no blog....

Okay,
I will keep this brief! I apologize to my avid readers for my lack of blogging. And by avid readers, I mean you, Mom. I raced the Kansas 70.3 the weekend before last. I ended up 7th in just over 4:29, with Chrissie Wellington taking top honors. I wasn't thrilled with my swim and bike, but my run is getting better. The thing about racing Pro is sometimes you end up by yourself, and the bike ended up feeling like a lonely training day. I need to make sure I keep my head in the game, and I know that just takes practice. Also, a better swim always means you're around more people. So, lesson learned! I did get my Clearwater slot--however, I left before I had time to claim it. Gwyn got into household cleaner, "Tough & Tender," which isn't so tender after all. Lucas and I rushed back to take her to Urgent Care, which of course was closed on Sunday evening. So we sat in the ER until midnight. Poor girl had chemical conjunctivitis and a scratched cornea. Then on Monday Rowan got sick...long story short, my "recovery" week was short on sleep, and 5 of 6 days at the ER or Dr.'s office. Ahhhh, the joys of motherhood! This week is the Jones family reunion to welcome Trevor home. Should be fun and full of training partners!

I take my duties seriously....

I forgot to mention....over Memorial Day Weekend I headed to Louisville, KY for my friend Carolyn's wedding. Carolyn and I went to West Point together and she is one of my closest friends. I was honored that she asked me to be her Matron of Honor. And I proved that I was fit for the challenge...Here I am wiping her sweaty upper lip for the pictures. Now that's showing her the love! I also got to hang out with some other friends from college, my bff Jenn D, my teammate Christine, and Jen C! It was like a mini-reunion! Congrats to Carolyn and Joe!

Updates!

Becky, Rachel, and Trevor together again

Rachel getting her patriotism on....

I knew that I would be hit or miss with the new blog. In my defense, my kids did learn to crawl out of their cribs, which created a sleep disruption in the whole house for a few weeks. But like anything, with time they are napping and sleeping through the night in their new twin size bed! Training has been going great, it's getting hot in Tulsa, and blah blah blah. I will spare you the details. I'm sitting here sweating and not feeling very witty (but am I ever as witty as I might think? Probably not, ask my husband...) The BIG news is...I'm expecting twins again! Okay, not really. Just making sure you're paying attention. My little brother Trevor is back from Iraq!!! He got back this past weekend! After the race in Kansas this weekend, we're headed for a little family reunion, which will be awesome. It's not often we all can get together, and unfortunately we might be missing my brother Jeremy and his wife Pearl. The other news is that they graduated medical school over Memorial Day Weekend, and they are starting their residency at Vanderbilt. I love calling Jeremy, "Docta Jonez!!" like that little Asian kid in Indiana Jones, do you know who I'm talking about? I think maybe Temple of Doom? Who knows, I'm rambling....One last thing...Duncan, don't kill me for telling this story, but every time I think about it I laugh. Duncan, a retired firefighter and upstanding citizen of Tulsa, is doing his first 70.3 in Kansas this weekend. We were talking about his nutrition for the race and I told him there would be water on the bike course. He then says, in a thick Southern accent, "Shoooot, for two hundred dollars there oughtta give us water, gatorade, (slight pause) and wipe my a$$!" Well put, Duncan!! I'll be sure to pass that along!

I've Missed Mother's Day, B-day, and Race!!

water thief....

hurry up mom

now let's get bbq...

Lucas & Gwyn waiting...

Finally here I come, with no glasses :(

Rowan out of it thanks to Gwyn keeping him up...

Yes, I am cool...and I am in trouble....

I knew this blogging would be tough to stay up with! To backtrack, I had a great Mother's Day--I got the best gift a girl could ask for--a maid for a day! Oh, I am still in heaven! While I'm fairly neat and can't stand clutter, there is only so much cleanliness I can achieve with two two-year-olds running around with grimy hands. We'll see how long it lasts....

On Thursday my old teammate and swim extraordinaire Sara Mclarty got to spend the day with us. She was racing in Oklahoma City so she took the time to stop by Tulsa and chill with us. Poor girl--"chilling" with Rowan and Gwyn are not conducive to pre-race relaxation. We had so much fun and hope she can come back soon! Maybe some swim lessons for the kids next time, hint hint! :) Pictures to come, but Lucas took the camera to work today....

We took off for Memphis on Friday. We made pretty good time and for the first car trip ever the kids were not totally crazy. They got antsy a few times so we actually had to stop and let them out to run around. Now I see why Mapquest directions take so much longer than what I use to think was "real" drive time! We arrived at the State Park and I told the kids, "This is when we find out if Daddy is a big hero or a big zero." I wasn't so sure about staying in a cabin. Lucas and I agree that after being in the Army camping is totally ruined for us. We have no desire to rough it in the wilderness, desert, or even the back yard. Give us a bed and shower and roof, please! Luckily, while the cabin was not glamorous, it had all of this and plenty of space for the kids to run around and they were in a separate room. This came in handy the night before the race as Gwyn decided to scream at the top of her lungs every 45 minutes. Since it was my birthday and I was racing the next day, my lovely husband sat with her at 1 am for an hour until she calmed down. Oh, and my kids also learned a new trick! It's called "Crawl Out of Your Pack-n-Play!" We are doomed. Hopefully they won't be crawling out of their cribs at home!!

Saturday some friends of ours that Lucas went to high school with came to visit. Nathan and Beth have a beautiful new baby boy and it was fun to see them on my birthday. No cake, though--I'm still waiting for that. Lucas better deliver tonight...

Race on Sunday had the Pros starting after everyone at 1030. While the heat was not a factor this year, the wind was out of control! Memphis in May is one of the oldest, most established triathlons out there. One reason we came back this year is it is always put on so well. This year was no different. I had a blahhh swim, I felt good on the bike although I do feel a bit "slower" since training for the longer stuff. I actually felt great on the run and ended up withe fastest run split. I've been really trying to dial in my run as this is my strength but it hasn't appeared that way in my last couple of half ironmans....slowly but surely it's coming around and I know to be patient. I ended up 3rd behind Pip Taylor and Michillie Jones. I'll take that anyday, they are studs...Oh, my sad news is that I hook my Oakleys onto my bike and put them on while biking. Well, I looked down and they were gone! I am so bummed!! Soooo, if anyone out there forgot my Birthday gifts--as in all of my siblings, yes I say I do not care about gifts but now I actually need something--you know what I need!! Ha ha ha, it will be a cold day in Baghdad before this happens...............I'm putting some photos from the race. Thank you Beth and Nathan for the beautiful photos!!