2009 - The year my eldest daughter, Cadence turned 10; and my youngest daughter, Dahlia turned 2. One would almost expect I’d have zero life for myself this year. Especially when you consider how much time Cadence spends at the pool; with the move up to the Provincial Group this September she now swims all 5 weeknights. Cadence swam her way to 2 bronze medals in the Regional Championships; one in the 200 Free short course and the other in 50 Free long course. Cadence received the HAC (swim club) sportsmanship award, making me especially proud. At the school track meet she came 3rd in the 300m dash! She also did 2 kids triathlons and had lots of fun. During the summer, Cadence spent 2 weeks at camp and swam an open water 3 mile race. She started in grade 5 this year and is doing well. She will be taller than me soon and faster in the pool too.Dahlia started at daycare this year and switched into a big bed. She is developing a good vocabulary, although she says “No” about 100 times a day. She loves to run but thankfully also loves to sit and read books.
To try and keep up with the kids, Bill and I had our most intense training year. The amounts are crazy: in 2009, I swam 352k, ran 1,375k, and cycled 3,804k. I did my first 30k run in the cold rain at Around the Bay, and did my first marathon (42.2k) on a hilly course in Waterloo. I went to Ottawa for the Masters Provincial Swimming Championships, which was a blast. And at the National meet I made it through my 1st 400m individual medley. My triathlon races started getting longer. In the Muskoka long course race I had my 1st flat during a race. And finally all the training finished with Bill and I completing our 1st Ironman triathlon in Louisville, Kentucky. Bill’s successful completion of the race is even more impressive because this was the 1st year he had ever done any distance triathlon (it only took me over 10 years of sprints, before I got up the nerve). I got my 1st tattoo, to signify becoming an Ironman and Cadence also wrote a beautiful article about our family which was published in Canadian Triathlon Magazine.
We went to French Lick, Indiana for vacation, which was very nice and relaxing. Although, with it being the week before the race, I didn’t even have 1 beer! Between the kids and training, somehow, I still managed to do some socializing with my fantastic friends! Beer Fest and Clayton Christmas are becoming traditions, we had a great time again! We had a fun night in Toronto dancing to great music with GFS folk. The Kents hosted the 1st LOST season opener party. Corinne hosted a summer BBQ and tonight, closes out the year. There were regular Thursday pub nites too. With my girl-friends, there were millions of laughs. We went to circus school, where I swung on the trapeze and climbed the silks; and we had a weekend in Collingwood, where we did the high ropes and 2 zip-lines…weeeee. And Chiki hosted Rock Band night,,,I'd give myself a 2 out of 10!
All and all, I think the numbers speak for themselves and when you add it up, 2009 was another super year!!
