Monday, November 9, 2009

I'm back!

Have you missed me? I have been exercising extreme discipline, this past month, as I tried to juggle mommy, student, trainee, and employee. Thankfully, one hat can be hung (literally) until the spring, as the Iceman is, now, behind us.

I spent nearly a year training for my very first mountain bike race and was sorely disappointed with my results. Ty brought the flu home 2 weeks ago and our home has been a recurring pool of sickness. Neither Ben nor I should have raced, as breathing proved difficult after the first few miles...but we persevered...and crossing that finish line never felt so good.


Ben started a ficticious club that has grown in popularity - League of Extraordinary Bikers. Although there are several members, Meeghan and I are the only women brave enough to get our pedal on.



We overcame tremendous odds as we both became moms,this June, and trained on little sleep and pure exhaustion. Not to mention Meeg actually had her baby - 5 months ago! She is also mom to two others under the age of 4. I started my Master's, we both went back to work, and in the last month it was dark before I could even get home from work. But, we did it! We pushed through and cheered each other on the whole way.


Our hubbies were only able to see us off and then had to head to their race. Believe it or not, the burly-bearded man pictured with me, below, is Ben. Iceman is usually in the low to mid 30's (hence the beard), but we got lucky, this year with mid 50's!

Meeghan and I lined up with our wave (right side - hands in the air). We were significantly prepared, but it is impossible to explain just how horrendously difficult this 8-mile off-road race was. The best way it can be explained is monstrous sandy hill after monstrous sandy hill. I knew I was in trouble when I could barely walk up some of the hills with my bike!


Biking has given me great purpose. I started riding because Ben was. I wanted to be with him and I needed a distraction from infertility. There are few things in life we have control over, having a baby being the hardest one for me. Jumping on my bike, however, became healing.

I finally had control over something in my life. I contolled my speed, endurance, competitive attitude, and mental ability to push my body to new extremes. There is something freeing about throwing all caution to the wind and racing over bridges and flying down hills. There is an adrenaline that comes with conquering obstacles and an accomplishment at exceeding goals.



Even being sick, I was able to finish middle of the pack. I definitely could say "been there, done that," but I'm not quitting now. I want to win. Next year's goal. I want Ty to see his mom as a fighter...a conquerer...I want him to know that he can do anything he sets his mind to, no matter how unlikely.

If he doesn't learn that from mom, he'll definitely see it in dad. Our crazy hard race was nothing compared to Ben's. Same style, nearly 4 times longer! I was able to cheer Ben on at mile 19 and I could tell he was hurting...we learned a valuable lesson about flu recovery that day! Ben refused to quit and pushed on for the last 10 miles.


Shout out to the boys for all their hard work. They rocked it!

After the big race, we indulged in a much deserved break on the beach. Ben and I were minus Ty for the first time in 5 months...and really enjoyed each other, for the weekend.




We caught the tail end of Juno, in our hotel room one night and I looked over to see tears streaming down Ben's face. Tyrus has rocked our world and life will never be the same. We smell every flower and see every blue sky. The crickets don't escape us and we are forever thankful for Rebekah's sweet gift to our family. There isn't anything the three of us can't handle together.


Because I know you want to see Ty, I will leave you with this cutie picture and let you listen to Ty's new means of communicating (see below).


This just started, today.

26 comments:

  1. He rocks my world and he is thousands of miles away, I cant imagine the joy you have with him. Im so proud of you and Ben. You accomplished something HUGE with your bike races. Ty has most certainly got some great role models for parents. :)

    R

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  2. OMGoodness! You are just so stinkin' cute! Have you ever taken a bad photo???
    Glad to hear that you and Ben did so well despite feeling a bit under the weather. I am proud of you guys!
    Hope you got some much deserved time alone as a couple, and glad to see you back home enjoying your time with sweet Ty!

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  3. Adorable video!!!! It made me laugh because I have a very similar video of Evie at the same age making very similar sounds! Love it. Good for you with the biking...you're a better woman than I. When I had the flu I sat around at home and watched TV and drank tea. :)

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  4. You have no idea how much I look forward to reading your blog. Few can express themselves from their heart like you can and it is beautiful.

    I have to say that you and your Ben seem to have a great marriage. I see so much love in the pictures and in the way you write about him.

    Of course your Ty is adorable and the story is only one that God could have written. I look forward to someday purchasing your book.

    May God continue blessing you immensely, Rebekah. You are precious.

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  5. Congrats and how exciting that the two of you got a weekend to yourself...that is so very important! Hint Hint....Halloween? Did that cute boy dress up for Halloween?

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  6. I missed ya! Ty is getting so big. check out my blog. I have news.

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  7. Congrats on your race! I relate completely to knowing about needing distractions and something you can control while dealing with infertility. It's wonderful that you threw yourself at something so positive. :-D

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  8. Oh I so enjoy your posts, especially the pics, your family is beautiful! If you get a moment in your hectic mommy/worker/biker life, you should definitely check out Lance Armstrong's book "It's Not About the Bike." Great, great read.

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  9. I am so proud of you! Congratulations aon a HUGE accomplishment!

    And that baby boy ... no words!

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  10. Congrats!!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend! And did awesomely in the race!!!

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  11. 1) What a cutie don't you just adore all those coos and noises!!!

    2) Congrats!!! My husand is a cyclist and he loves it! I have tried so much but I am scared of being no my nike on a public road but seriously amazing job on therace and a huge congrats to you both!!!

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  12. I loved Juno! I told becky to watch it when I first saw it cause it was so sweet. Congrats on finishing the race.
    Cindie

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  13. yes I did miss you!!
    first of all, you should be SO proud of yourself, that sounds SO tough!
    and Grayden and I were watching Ty's videso together and his eyes got SO big when he heard Ty's new squeel! it was so cute! He did that exact same thing when he was that age. Robb said he sounded like a dinosaur!
    oh and I love the jammies, Gray just grew out of those exact ones!
    they both are getting so big!! I love watching Ty grow!

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  14. SOOO glad we did this together. So proud of you for finishing...great job friend...what a GREAT weekend away. Is it too early to start training for next year :) You are amazing...you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to.

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  15. In so glad you were able to finish the race. I love that first close-up picture of you and Ben in Black Ice Man t-shirts. You are still such an adorable couple.

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  16. WOW!! You rock, Rebekah!! Big congratultations to you, Meegan and Ben on your HUGE accomplishments! I wish I could have been at the finish line to cheer you on!! You and Ben are great role models for Ty!!

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  17. So glad you're back...and CONGRATS on such an awesome bike race! I am amazed that you still did that, despite being sick.

    Tyrus is (as always) completely precious in every possible way...LOVE the squeal!!

    Melba

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  18. Wow, congrats to you both for finishing, I can't even imagine the endurance it must take to train for a race like that! And I love Ty's squeals, it's the best when they start communicating back to you!

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  19. I swear that little guy was going to say Night night. Crazy!

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  20. wow, the amount of things on your plate make me feel like my life is a piece of cake but at the same time everyone has "a lot" - just arranged differently.

    i am so glad you went even though you were sick, all that work couldn't go to waste. at least you got a week away out of it :)

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  21. Wow--I'm really impressed with your bike race despite being sick you did a great job! Little boy's squeals are just as amazing ;)

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  22. You rock. Congrats on accomplishing your goal, you are AMAZING.
    *hugs*

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  23. That's so great that you both raced!

    Love Ty's squeals! Zoe started that recently, too...I just love it!

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  24. Love your blog! I too needed a distraction when I first found out that infertility might be a journey I was going to follow. I competed in my first triathlon last month. The finish line for us is still unclear, but I love reading your blog. God's been whispering adoption, but we are not ready yet. Have you gone to http://www.fwe1.net/ Great website and message. You might enjoy it.

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