None Too Quiet on the East Coast

We had an earthquake on Tuesday. I was on the 3rd floor of a building in Tyson's Corner when everything started to shake and the building began swaying. Nothing fell over but a lamp and a cabinet were shaking violently for a while. The shaking lasted 5 - 10 seconds, long enough for several thoughts to go through my head:
1. What is happening?
2. Feels like an earthquake!
3. We don't get earthquakes!
4. We had no earthquake warnings!
5. Terrorists!

We evacuated the building for 10 minutes or so, then everyone decided it was safe to go back inside. Now that we've read up on what to do in the event of an earthquake, we realized we did it all wrong. Should have stayed inside - more danger on the outside from falling debris. Should have sought shelter away from windows. Should not have been in stairwell. Should not have used cell phone so lines could be open for emergencies. Everyone was using their phone. Couldn't make a call anyway.

To add to the excitement, Hurricane Irene is on her way up the coastline and will most likely hit us Saturday evening/Sunday morning. Stuart and I are supposed to be doing South Riding Triathlon Sunday morning. That may or may not happen. We'll have to wait and see. We are low on toilet paper but I refuse to join the crazy people stocking up at the stores. We'll hunker down and make do... ;)

Joshua hits 19.1 mph!

I took Joshua for a 5 mile ride on the trail yesterday. It's smooth and flat and you can go fast. We decided to see how fast he could go. I rode behind him and called out his pace...13, 14, 15, 16, 17... on his first speed attempt he hit 18.3. On the second sprint, 18.6. I asked him if he thought he could do 19. He said "sure." 3rd attempt: 19.1mph! Speed demon. Here he is after the ride.

IronGirl

Iron Girl Results

Click the Results link above. Can you find me? Hint: don't scroll down too far! :)

The Governor of Virginia

I just received this certificate from the Governor of Virginia. I don't know if he's an avid follower of Duathlons, or what made this race significant enough for him to send me a certificate, but it's nice nonetheless! The race was back in April so I guess he's been busy.

Funny that I am "Overall Female Finisher"...

Dog Days Triathlon

Here are a few pictures from Dog Days Triathlon, in which Stuart won his age group! We showed up to watch and were instantly put to work directing runners, many of whom wanted to go the wrong way! So we had to form a kind of human shield to keep them on the right path. Even with that, and yelling, some of them tried to run through us.

There's also a couple of other pics - one of me during my first 55 mile ride, and the other of the boys and Leah at the FDR memorial in DC. Enjoy!

August 16, 2011

Romeo, Foolio, and Juliet

Joshua decided to try acting camp this year. Well, I decided he should try it, given that he's always acting up, acting out, or pretending to be someone else. So I signed him up for "Fakespeare Camp" which promised lots of fun and games as well as an introduction to acting.

There were two comedic plays which would be shown on the final day of camp: Julius Caesar and Romeo, Foolio, and Juliet. Joshua came home from camp on Monday announcing that he was going to try out for Foolio. He had already learned some of the lines and was rehearsing them. I warned him that he might not get chosen, but apparently the camp director decided he'd be a perfect Foolio and he was cast for that part.

During the rest of the week they rehearsed, made catapults and wands, and played games that were around during Shakespeare's time - including a skittles game in which Joshua got the high score, breaking a 9-year record!

On Friday parents were invited to watch the plays. Joshua was hilarious. He got off to a bit of a rocky start, having to ask Romeo to repeat his first line, timing being of the essence, and then losing his place in the script (they didn't memorize all their lines) but then he got into the swing of things and clearly enjoyed himself. He's already looking forward to going back next year!

Summer swimming comes to a close

The boys had their last Stingray meet on Saturday. It was a great way to end the season as they both qualified for the final 'A' meet (only Joshua qualified for the previous 'A' meets, in backstroke) which was at our home pool, and which we won! Joshua swam free and back and Daniel swam back. While Joshua had a fantastic 'B' meet on Wednesday night, taking off 4 seconds in freestyle and ending up 3rd in free, 2nd in back, and 3rd in butterfly (which he was swimming for the first time!), he felt the pressure on Saturday and did not place in free or back. Daniel, meanwhile, swam a fantastic 50 back in 57:69, taking a second off his previous best time, which he hadn't come close to all season. He had a big adjustment this year, moving up to 50m events and swimming against kids almost 2 years older than him, which is a huge difference physically in the 9/10 age group.

They will both have an easier time next year as they'll be at the top of their age groups. In fact, Joshua, having a late birthday, could actually stay in the 7/8 age group for two more years! A couple of kids that are in Daniel's grade swam 7/8 because of their summer birthdays. So Joshua was basically swimming against kids Daniel's age! Tough, but that's the way it is.

Finally, there are some pictures of Joshua. They're all from the early meets because he wouldn't wear a swim cap until he started believing it would make him faster!

Stingrays