Ironman Des Moines 70.3

Marty

Last weekend I crossed the finish line again at my second 1/2 Ironman in Des Moines. We lucked out because the weather turned out awesome. There was a chance of rain but it was dry and 70F degrees. The great weather and a bit easier course helped me cut almost 30 minutes off my last Ironman in Maddison.  I’m extremely happy with the results and glad to be finished so I can relax for the rest of the summer.

2021 2023
Swim 32:52:00 33:38:00
T1 4:13 3:11
Bike 3:01:29 2:53:16
T2 4:03 4:57
Run 2:32:59 2:11:58
Full Course 6:15:35 5:46:58

School is out!

Marty

We made it to the end of the year, let the summer fun begin. Both Carter and Emery had great years but were ready for the downtime. They won’t get much downtime because they both have a ton of camps to keep them busy. The kids won’t miss school but I will miss my bus stop buddies. Many mornings, I got out of the house and walked with Carter to the bus stop. It gave me an excuse to get some fresh air, walk the dog, and have some coffee with two other dads looking to do the same thing.

While my kids are celebrating the end of their school year, my nephew Braxton is celebrating the end of his high school. He is all grown up and is now off to college. We took a trip back to Davenport to celebrate the occasion with him. It had been a long time since the extended family had gotten together so it was really nice to see everyone and catch up.

 

Spring Break 2023

Marty

We escaped the Chicago cold and migrated south to the land of sunshine for spring break. Like most of our previous visits, we spent a lot of time in the pool which is right next to Grandma and Grandpa’s place. We got out of the pool to do a few excursions. The Pirates were still in town so one of the days we caught a spring training game. One morning I had a crazy idea to rent some jet skis. Amazingly everyone was in so we rented 3 jet skis and scooted around Palma Sola Bay.

I was missing my F3 crew so one morning at 4:45 AM I went out and ran with F3 SunCoast. It was extremely nice to be able to run without 3 layers of clothes to keep me warm!

 

Daddy Daughter Dance

Marty

Emery and I got to break out our fancy clothes for a night out on the town. Her Girl Scout troop hosted their annual daddy-daughter dance. The past years were always super fun and this year didn’t disappoint. Emery and I went out to eat with some friends to have some pre-party fun. At the dance, the girls had a bunch of activities they could do but most of the time was spent on the dance floor. I might have made an appearance out there too! Carter and Julie were not going to be outdone so they headed out for a nice dinner and night out too.

Welcome Charly!

Marty

After a couple of years since Ali passed away, we finally decided to get another dog. We welcomed Charly into our family 2 weeks ago. Of course, she is a Jack Russel Terrier! We have a soft spot for that furry little face and persistent attitude. She is 6 months old and has a passion for all socks. She will help you find any sock that is left around the house and make sure to let you know if you have them on your feet.

Everyone is loving having a dog around again. It adds a little bit of chaos to the house but is super nice when you need a warm friend on the couch. It is also awesome to have a work-from-home office buddy to keep me company all day.

Happy Bday Emery

Marty

Emery turned 9! One thing she really wanted this year was to get her hair colored. I wasn’t too eager because I was thinking it was going to be an obnoxious crazy full head of color. After much negotiation, Julie talked her into doing a peek-a-boo color fade that turned out pretty amazing.

Her passion these days is mostly gymnastics, she loves contorting her body into different shapes and flipping around the house. We are starting to get a good collection of gymnastics equipment in the basement to give her plenty of opportunities to make me cringe in pain. So it made sense that for her party we did it at the Forthill gym. Emery and her friends had a whole room to run around, jump, flip, and bounce.