April 13

Back on April 13th, Eric and I completed our first half marathon together.  It has taken me until today to think back and be able to say it was an enjoyable experience. ;)

All smiles before the race...

And even a couple of smiles after….

Not too bad for my first half….perhaps a little more dedication to the training regimen would lead to better performance and better experience overall.  The full rainbow over the Pacific ocean was a nice touch for the last 2 miles. 

Great Aloha Run

On president's day, Eric and I participated in the 30th annual Great Aloha Run from Aloha tower to Aloha Stadium….just over 8 miles.  While we are not speed racers by any means, we did finish and had fun people watching and chatting with friends.  Here we are in the parking garage at 6 a.m. Bright eyed and bushy tailed!

If you click here, you can enter our last name to see more fun pictures of us. It also asks to select the event name…Great Aloha Run 2014.  :)

Dad's First Marathon

On December 9, Dad ran his very first marathon, ever!  He is amazing.  Those of you who know him well would not be surprised.  The man hardly trained at all, was iffy about even running because of a bum knee two days before the run, and he still finished in less than five hours.  He is a stud.  And we are very proud of him.  Although Caleb is not afraid to let Dad know that he is faster than him.  Still working on that humble trait with him.  ;)

The race started at 5 a.m. just a few blocks from our house, so I headed down to the starting line with him around 4:30 or so.

 There were so many people!  All these tiny little, skinny runner's bodies.  Dad was like a giant muscle man walking through them.

 I parted with Dad as I still had sleeping children at the house.  Little did I know, I was going to miss the fireworks display at the start of the race.  Good thing I could see the start from my bedroom window!

 I even broke out "the creeper" lens to capture a pic of the runners.

 After my coffee was brewed I headed out front to catch the runners pass our building.....just 5 seconds too late.  I literally turned the corner out of the parking garage and saw the flashing lights and the blur of little bodies sprinting by.  I had JUST missed the "elite" pack.  Doh!

Oh well, this day was about Dad, so I stood and watched the endless stream of runners trotting by.  The pounding of their shoes on the pavement was mesmerizing.  Other than that, there was almost complete silence. About a block down the road, I could hear cow bells and people cheering....I wanted to go join them, but I knew the second I turned my back, I would miss Dad.

 Here he comes!

The boys and I attempted to ride our bikes there, but after an hour and a half and a fix a flat nightmare, we were back at the house loading up the car and hoping to find a parking spot in Waikiki near the finish line. Ha!

Somehow, we managed just that.  Amazing.  Unfortunately, we had missed Dad crossing the finish line.  So. So. So. Sad.

 But we were still so proud!

He has all sorts of stories to share about the race.  His top two involve runners stopping on the side of the rode to smoke cigarettes and then joining the race again, and runners grabbing the Vaseline tubes for chaffing (thinking they were gel energy shots) and eating them.  Sick!

If interested, you can CLICK HERE to see pictures of Dad throughout the marathon.  Simply enter bib number 8309 in the blank about halfway down the page.  The pictures take a second to load because there are so many!  They are all so good!

Noah's First Triathlon

Last weekend we had the LONGEST. Saturday. Ever.

It began around 4:30 a.m. when Mr. Noah Selter awoke to jump in the car en route to his very first triathlon!  Ko'Olina was hosting a sports fest the entire weekend and one of the events was a kids tri.  A 100m swim, 5k bike ride, and a 1k run.  Very manageable, we thought, so we signed him up!  And he was awesome.  He wasn't first.  He wasn't last.  Right in the middle of the pack.  And I think he gained a ton of confidence in himself through doing the race.  

Check him out....

after a LONG, CHATTY car ride...we made it!

Sunrise over the marina was looking pretty nice! 

At this point, I think he was just a bit overwhelmed as he was looking over the course.

 Dad helped get all his numbers set.

 And we're finally settling in.

 But still taking it all in.  It was a lot for this 32 year old mama to take in.  Can't imagine being only 9!

 The transition area before the race.

 The organizers talked the kids through the race before it all began....even coaching the parents on laying off their kiddos.  Here you can see them showing the kids how to get from the water to the bike transition area.

 Caleb was ready to begin!

The kids huddled for a group stretch before they began.

 The waves were huge causing large swells in the usually VERY calm lagoons where the swim was held.

And it begins!

 Noah is the orange cap, black goggles, in the middle.  Looking good.

 Coming out of the swim...

Rushing to the transition area...

 Such a sweet face...getting ready for his bike ride. 

 He was MOVING on that bike!

 Off for the run now.  After this picture, it was so cute.  He attempted to sip the water while running and failed, so he simply tossed the water in the air and ran through it.  It was done so playfully with such a huge smile.  I know that something as simple as that made him so happy.  It really made him feel like a "real" racer!

 By the end of the run, you can see that most of the kids were pretty spread out.  

FINISH LINE!  Lots of proud mamas and papas waiting here....especially those of this boy below. 

 He is so stinking cute....and happy that it is over!

 So proud of this guy.

Dad's Racing Season

When we first moved here, we found an ad in the paper advertising the Honolulu marathon and Eric decided he was going to try to run in it.  I have named myself his official coach, haha!  Basically I had my sister, who has taken up running long distances within the past few years, send me a marathon training schedule that her running groups use, and I wrote it on the calendar for Eric.  :-)
He completed his first big run, a 15K this past Sunday and did a mighty fine job.  It amazes me, that only four weeks ago, he was not running, and the man can now just pick up and run a 15K.  He is a stud.  Since it was a 6 a.m. race in Waikiki, the boys and I opted to sleep in and just enjoy dad's pictures online later.  You can see them by clicking here and here.
He finished in less than 1 hour and 25 minutes which is phenomenal for his first race over 4 miles.  He is still trying to learn and figure out the art of pacing and training for such.  He tends to be a bit competitive....and I know I don't help by scrolling through the finishers list and calling out all the women and 60+ year old runners who beat him. Haha....a little tough love by the coach.
Great job Dad!  Such an inspiration for me and the boys.  Only 4 more months until the BIG one!