HE is my Rockman

HE is my Rockman

He brought us to His beautiful forest where we could be at peace; where we could camp near His beautiful lake.
He blessed us with a sprinkling during the night; sleep well my brothers and sisters but let this shower be a prelude of what’s in store for the day ahead.
He was with us as we awoke; He nourished our bodies and filled us with excitement.

We felt Him as we swam; His water was refreshing, His seaweed was His way of providing an additional challenge.

He was with us as we biked; His 60+ mph tailwinds gave us strength as we sped across His land.
Once again, He blessed us…He showered us to keep us cool and to keep us on our toes.
He showed His Rockman strength when He flashed a bolt of lightening across the sky as His way to say; ride swifter my son.

He was with us as we arrived back at transition, when we emptied our running shoes of His waters.
He again showed His Rockman strength when he toppled His large trees onto His running path as if to say; it’s simply another challenge, my sons…keep running.

He was with us at the finish; He greeted us with His cheers, He helped us smile, He helped us cross the line, He proclaimed, well done my children…
for you are now Mightier, Stronger, and Magnificent!



Wow, I wish I could get my mind to put words together like this. Thanks Gil for letting me share it. :)

Choices

Dinner at the Erickson's last Tuesday night -

Me - You know I'm signed up to do Rockman 1/2 IM on Sunday.

Scott - You prepared for that? You haven't been doing much. Is there anyone you can race with?

Me - NO, there's no one I can race with. And, no I'm not prepared to race but I am prepared to just finish. The tri-mates are camping the night before, is that ok with you?

Scott - Camping? You camping? ....

And so the choice was made. I would do Rockman.

Saturday Afternoon -

The hubby and kids dropped me off at S.I.'s right around 1:30 p.m. Me, Michelle, Laura and SI packed up the car, hugged our families good bye and we were off.

We are about 3 miles from the state park and packet pick up. The radio starts making that weird high pitched Meep, Meep, Meep -oooooooo. Then - warnings are announced about bad thunderstorms, high winds, hail, and tornado's in the area. Hmmm.

Get to transition. Check in. The sky starts to turn dark and the wind picks up. We rack our bikes. I go to the end. Don't want to interfere with anyone racing. As I'm maneuvering the bike onto the rack I hear this very soft, "Mrs. Erickson". Is someone calling me? Is there another Mrs. Erickson here? Why wouldn't they just call me Pam? So I look up and I see a group of boys standing at the end of transition with their dads. I kind of smile and wave. No one looked familiar. I even did the corny thing of tilting my sunglasses down to get a better look. Then one of the men says, "It's Dr. B...." And an immediate "OH CRAP" rushes around in my head, and almost out my mouth. Luckily I got some kind of pleasantry out and I hear him say, "Ok, see ya in the morning." My mind was RACING. My trimates knew I was just doing this and trying to get the spark back how would I explain this to my kids pediatrician. It took me a while to calm my thoughts. I just reminded myself that it really didn't matter.

Shortly after my anxiety attack we met up with some more tri mates and we were joking (but serious) that we were going to camp on their hotel room floor. We got to the car when the sky opened up and dumped a lot of rain down.

Saturday Evening -

Jeff and his daughter, Craig and Amy came to visit the camp site. Jeff ate with us. Scott made steak, pesto pasta salad, and grilled vegi's. It was so good. Then Laura whips out these rice crispy/chocolaty/peanut butter bars. I know, without a doubt I could have eaten the entire container. I ate one. Can't look like a pig in front of my tri-friends. :)

Finally the rest of the group got to the camp site around 7:30. Geez I'm thinking. They are Lolly gaggers. While the guys were eating their dinner Tom R. tells us that about a mile from the Rockford exit his bike fell off the back of the car. Oh man. The bike is in pieces. Thankfully no one was hurt. Tom is amazing. Truly. I would have been inconsolable. As luck would have it, Laura's husband was coming up the next morning to watch the race and agreed to bring up Tom's road bike. Tom didn't like the bike but it was better than nothing.

After all the tents were set up with air mattresses (thankfully Tom brought an extra for me) Gil and Ed left to rack their bikes. 20 minutes later Gil calls saying the race director can help Tom and Tom needs to go to the RD's house and check out a bike. What a great guy to lend Tom his bike. Laura, Michelle and I just laid in our tent listening to the wind in the trees. It's about 10:30. Scott and Tom are back and laughing. We could hear them saying something about the bike. Soon he had all of us laughing. And I'm thinking, no way, tomorrow Tom will be riding a pink bike.

Sunday Morning -

Sometime around 12:30 it started to pour rain. Laura closed up her window and then Michelle closed hers. Luckily the back one and the one next to me could stay open. The rain stopped eventually but we were under a tree that just kept dripping onto our tent. I ended up putting the pillow over my head. I know I slept about 2 hour hours cause the next time I looked at my watch it was 3:48. Ok, good. 4:30 came and it was time to get up. None of us really slept but the mood in the camp was a good one.

Thankfully Ed brought bagels, peanut butter and banana's for everyone. Good thing, I packed for a week but forgot breakfast. The rain started up again. I brought the rain ponchos from our trip to Disney. Just Tom's luck - he picks one sized for kids. He wore it.

Drove to transition and the nerves were starting. The drive was short and quiet. We had about a 1/2 mile walk from parking to transition. Of course the pink bike helped ease the nerves. I saw a lot of people from the club and past club members. Everyone was excited and ready. I love this feeling and hate it all at the same time.

On the way into the water I see Dr. B. again. He was smiling and looked ready. I apologized for not recognizing him a day earlier. Let's face it that blue lab coat he always wears is enough to change anyones appearance. You know just like Bruce Wayne/Batman. I almost said how I was doing this for fun and then stopped myself. Why bother. Wished him luck and went to the very back of the pack. Sang the National Anthem. There was about a minute I had my chance to get out of the water and just cheer my mates on - then the horn blasted. Oh well, to late.

Took my time on the swim. The seaweed was still a problem. Luckily I didn't get completely tangled in it. Was about 2/3 done with the swim when I saw a woman swimming next to me. She was doing the side stroke. Wow I thought, she's doing really good. The side stroke and she's right next to me. Um, how slow as I actually going? Obviously to slow. Started to breath every 3rd stroke and kick a little harder. Couldn't believe I actually swam up next to SI. Recognized his wetsuit. Would have to ask if he knew I swam next to him at the end of the race.

Out of the water in 50 minutes. 50 MINUTES! Settle the mind. SI slaps me on the shoulder on his way to T1. We high five. I take my time. Turn on the Garmin. I was racing with my heart. Completely with my heart so I figured the Garmin wouldn't hurt. Used the PAP. On my way out of T1 they were announcing that there were only 10 swimmers left in the water. UGH! Just go I told myself, have fun and go.

Rick didn't know it but he came with me on this ride. I figured his spirit was about the only thing that could pull me thru this mentally. Keep in mind, since Ironman I was on my bike twice before this,20 miles in September and then 27 miles 3 weeks ago. Much to my surprise, coming right out of transition is a guy riding a bike just like Rick's :). I was smiling and soon I passed him. Hey, wow, what ya know. As rode I was thanking volunteers, the police and the sheriffs. Saw Craig 1st on the bike. Checked the Garmin. He was about 20 miles ahead of me. And then started seeing everyone else. It was so uplifting seeing them. At the turn around point I thanked God for keeping the weather so nice for us and putting a lot of wind at my back.

Around mile 30 I saw Laura's husband. Cheering and video taping. Just after that the sky turned dark. Around mile 33 the rolling thunder and then lighting. It's going to pass I told myself. Then the wind and finally pounding pouring rain. I started to pray the Lord's prayer. I said it so many times and then started Hail Mary. It was still coming down. I then I was talking to God asking him to keep everyone safe. I knew to many people out there to start naming names. I prayed - "Please God keep us all safe from harm - please keep me safe from harm" over and over and over.

A short time later the rain stopped. Ah, I did my climbs thru the tough part of the ride. Was about 7 miles from the finish and in a flash the weather turned again. This time winds. Winds like nothing I have ever experienced. You know the scene from the Wizard of Oz, where the witch is pedaling and then she's in the air? Hmmm, maybe E.T. would be a kinder choice for describing this. Well, I felt just like that, not once but twice. I had no control over the situation, which is a terrible feeling. Just minutes before a truck drove by and asked if I was ok and if I wanted to stop - I said no. If he had been there at that moment I would have said yes. I'm glad he wasn't there.

I made it back to transition in 3:38 minutes. Just about what I planned on. Coming in I saw vans and cars leaving. I was hoping one of them wasn't Dr. B. I didn't want the crappy weather to spoil his experience. Then I thought - ut oh, what if they are cancelling the race. I told myself to ignore them. People kept going thru the Chicago marathon. I was going to finish no matter what. Turns out some people were quitting. Which I completely and totally understood. The weather had been miserable and turned bad quickly. It was sunny now but 5 minutes from now, who knew. But I had to keep going.

I started the run by walking with Tom N. out of T2. He left me at the bridge and on just the otherside I see Craig. I was calling Scott to let him know I was starting the run so couldn't say anything to Craig but the look on my face said it all. He was just finishing. Man, he's fast!

I wanted to keep a 10:30 pace on the run. Ended up averaging around 10:45. I was thrilled to see Laura and Michelle around mile 6. They told me that a tree had fallen in the road by our campsite. We couldn't get out. Nice. Thank God no one was around when it fell. Then my phone rings. Of course, it Dennis. "Hey, ya done?" I just started laughing. "No." I told him, "I'm on your favorite hill." He did this race last year. "My battery is dying, I'll call when it's over in about an hour and 10 minutes." "Yup, call me", he said. He convinced me I have to do this just to get me moving again.

Coming into the finish Laura's hubby was at the bridge, right were I left him. We ran in together and talked about his plans to run Boston. Oh, they are going to have a great time out there. Then he left me and told me to finish strong. I almost started crying, which was fueled by my tri-mates at the top of the hill cheering. I attempted to look at them and smile but couldn't. It would have been all over at that point and I was just 200 yrds from the finish.

I did it. I had a great time. Well not a great finishing time but a good time none the less. I would have had huge regrets not doing it. I loved hearing about how everyone felt out on the course during the crazy winds and rain. Gil knew I was praying. He was praying too. :) The pink bike helped Tom finish the bike leg with a smile on his face. I don't think I'll ever look at a pink bike the same way again. Dr. B. finished, I checked his time (of course -I had too), he was well ahead of me. And Michelle raced with Laura who finished her first 1/2 IM. Again, she has reached another milestone in miserable, crappy weather. She has a lot to be proud of. SI missed the middle of the pack award by about 30 people. Bummer. He's so even tempered about EVERYTHING!

I know a great group of people. They are my trimates and my friends. Life is blessed. :) Life is good. :)

The Happiest Place on Earth! (?) :)

We spent 12 days away from home. Traveling via airplane to Orange county Florida (we learned among other things about Disney World that it isn't in Orlando but in Orange county). Disney World is a great place to vacation. Here is my description of some of what we experienced during our 12 days ....

"Not So Happiest Place on Earth"

Let's face it. Parents have expectations, children live in the moment. Parents want to do one thing and kids another. There are lots of crying children at the happiest place on earth. Doesn't matter what time of day it is. Some where on the grounds of Disney a child is crying and a parent is probably yelling. Scott and I weren't exempt from this. We definitely had our moments.

"Sensory Overload"

Without fail, 3 things are always happening at the same time here. Music is constantly playing, then you can hear the rides moving about and then characters come at you from any direction. Parades and fireworks at all times of the day. I have trouble with this part of Disney. Really, it relates heavily to the "Not so Happy" part for me. I can only process so much and then I start to get overwhelmed and angry. Which is weird for me cause my mind races in every direction and doesn't ever really rest so you would think this wouldn't be hard for me to process. Go figure.

"Shinny Happy People"

I have to give double kudos to the Disney employees. It was obvious to me these are a group of people that actually enjoy going to work everyday. From the moment we got on the bus from the airport everyone was genuinely nice to us. You don't see that very often.

"Carol & the Upgrade"

We checked into the resort and Carol, the very happy woman behind the counter told me that the "Erickson family will be receiving a little Disney upgrade! We have moved you to a room with a view of the Magic Kingdom!" I was so excited. When planning the trip I actually booked the Magic Kingdom view but then realized we could eat off the Disney Meal plan for the same price as a room with a view. I obviously switched to a garden view and got the food included in the price of the trip. Well, we walked into our room with a view. Here's a picture ..... the view is behind the overgrown, palmy bush :)

It really was nice though, having this room. The kids literally could walk out the door and on to the beach. They played there a lot in the mornings while we would get ready to either go to the pool or a park. The other nice thing about the beach. You could see the fireworks from over the Magic Kingdom at night. Gracie and Scott would always fall asleep first so Zak and I would go outside and watch the show and then head back into the room. Good memories.

"The Picture You Want to Forget"

Vacations are classic for having bad pictures taken. The kids love this one of me, grimicing down the splash ride at Islands of Adventure. The picture proves that Gracie is definitely Scott's daughter and Zak is definitely my son .... :)

"The Pool!"

We had a great pool at the resort and spent a lot of time there. Zak, who is skittish around water eventually warmed up to the whole pool experience (with the help of his life vest) and probably slid down the water slide 25 times one night. I think I went down with him 15 of the 25 times but the 36 steps (we counted them, out loud, each trip up) started to wear me down. :) Gracie couldn't decide which she liked more the beach or the pool and we had to remind her a couple of times that she couldn't just head off to the beach without one of us. Ah, the independence at 5 years old.

"Moments We Won't Forget"

We went to Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory and Gracie was picked out of the audience and identified at the character "Boo". It was really, really funny to us because Scott was holding her on his lap. She thought is was going to be a scary ride and when she saw herself on the screen she made the cutest face, the audience oooo'd and then laughed.

On the Energy ride over at Epcot, we were worried the kids might get scared of the dinosaurs. Instead Zak stands up and starts shouting at them, "I love you dinosaurs. I love you T-Rex. Really, I do." The man sitting behind us couldn't stop laughing.

Both kids have a need for speed. They loved the Test Track at Epcot. They thought they were driving "race cars" at the Magic Kingdom until they got in the car at Epcot.

Gracie couldn't get enough of all the slides at Blizzard Beach but let out the most terrifying scream when she started to float away from us on the lazy river.

The entire Pirates and Princes party was a blast! The Magic Kingdom closes 7 p.m. to everyone except for 1,000 people who bought tickets to the party. Guests are encouraged to dress up like a priate or princess. Zak didn't want to be a priate so he dressed up like Stitch. We didn't wait to get on any rides. The park stays open until midnight. We ended up leaving, exhausted around 11:30.

We took the kids to Sea World and the kids love just about everything there. We went to the Animal Kingdom and they weren't that impressed, except for the Dino part. We spent almost 2 hours there. But Sea World - the entire park was good. They loved feeding the sting rays and trying to pet the dolphins. They loved learning about the manitees and watching the dolphins / bird show (which had some Cirque D'Soliel stuff thrown into it) and the Shamu show. This was the only day Zak took a nap. He fell asleep in his stroller (yes, we ended up buying stroller to keep our happy vacation happy) and slept for almost an hour. He woke up ready to have fun that night.

Lilo and Stitch breakfast was a blast, although Zak tells me now that he didn't like dancing around the dining room. And if you like meat on a stick, Ohana's for dinner can't be beat. Oh, and how could I forget Tonga toast. It's this sugary french toast type of breakfast. If you love sweet stuff then you'll love this.

Riding in the nose of the monahail, I mean monorail. It's a completely different ride up in the front. The kids got their license to drive it when the ride was over.

Gracie and I made a pact to eat cotton candy every day we were there. Well, some days we couldn't find it but we did have it probably one day to many. The Thursday before we left I ordered dessert. When it came the plate was wrapped in cotton candy. I thought I was gonna get sick just looking at it. I tried to give it to Grace and she just made a face. :)

We had a lot of great family moments. To many to write about but ones we will talk about for the rest of our lives. Our lives are truly blessed. Life is good. :)

There's No Place Like Home

Yeah - We are home from our 12 day trip to see Mickey and the gang. I will write a long report about the entire experience once I find my way thru the ocean of laundry, suitcases and souviners we brought back from the "happiest place on earth". Be assured I will include lots of pictures. Ok, well maybe not lots, it's a pain in the butt downloading them but I will include some. Oh it's good to be home and have nice weather. Oooh, I hear the dryer time to change loads. More later :)

Mid-Life Crisis? Culture Shock? Identity Crisis? All of the Above?

Ok, I never understood the Mid-Life crisis thing. The way it works, you hit your 40's and suddenly start to see the world differently. You can almost hear the clock ticking down so you go out and buy a sports car, change your appearance or have an affair. How can that happen? How can the world look different all of sudden.

Well, I'm starting to understand MLC. Not sure why, I'm starting to wonder if there is somekind of on/off switch or chemical that is released once the body reaches a certain day on the calendar.

I used to be mistaken for 17, for the longest time. Really, it was almost annoying but lately, hmmm. Well, I told you about the Sam's Club grandma thing and it hasn't stopped. My doc is asking about menopause, I'm getting weird illnesses like a fatty tumor and pains in my legs. Pre-school mom's are asking me about motherhood "over 40".

I've been away from my endurance workouts for 4 weeks now. I've run a little and swam a little but my desire to jump back into it isn't what I thought it would be. Sure, I talked to that mom at that birthday party a while back. She was so smug, I wanted to show how it's done. But, I'm gonna make a fool out of myself if I don't get rid of the excuses and get my butt in gear. I'm actually missing the Galena tri tomorrow. Part of me could careless and the other part is yelling what the hell is going on here?! I have a 1/2 Ironman in less than a month. I'm I trained for it. Nope. But, I'm gonna do it and this is what I'm hoping.... that it will be my spark. It will light the match that reignites that desire to get out there again.

I know that somehow, there is a way, to balance training, family and life. I know I can do it all. Why all of sudden, at 43, I'm believing in "Crisis" instead of "spirit". UGH!

Get Well Soon

Happy Mother's Day

Pre-kids mother's day was never a good day for me. Depressed doesn't describe what I would feel during this time.

The hubby was so patient with me. For those who don't know, he's this funny, funny man - one of the reasons I married him was because he makes me laugh. Well, nothing could make me laugh when mother's day rolled around - that is until he came up with another way to celebrate the day about 12 years ago. All I really remember is him handing me a bunch of cards and I shook my head and started to cry. He told me to just open them. I did. I couldn't stop laughing. They were quirking and stupid and just plain old "Scott" funny. It made the day a little more bearable. We celebrated "Get Well Soon Day" every mother's day after that.

Grace and Zak are now 5. The official last GWSD was celebrated in 2002. I was indeed pregnant when we celebrated it but didn't know it.

Happy Mother's Day - to all who are mother's - and Get Well Soon to all the mother's patiently waiting :)

This is Living :)

Friday night Gracie had dress rehearsal. Scott had to work on Saturday and miss the official recital so we all took her and went for ice cream afterwards. She was so happy her dad got to see her dance up on the big stage. She kept waving to him. :)


Saturday morning was cold and wet. Just the kind of weather that can completely melt a little ballerina and her costume. Thankfully the weather took a break long enough for me and Grace to get in the school. I then quickly headed back home to pick up the grandmas, Zak and auntie to go and watch my daughter perform as a little wooden puppet. She was amazing of course. And, Zak was really good just sitting and watching the entire 45 minute performance. Afterwards we were off to the restaurant of Gracie's choice (Applebee's) for a celebration lunch.



Sunday Scott worked so the kids and I woke up at 5:30 and headed off to the half marathon to watch 14 of our closest club members run the local half marathon. We had an amazing morning for it. Perfect weather for a half. Was feeling a little sad for not doing it but actually had a great time taking pictures and cheering everyone on.


This is a pic of me and kids shadow waiting for the club to meet us for a group picture. Zak's got his arms up, he said he was flying like a raptor - of course :)





Had a good talk with Scott i about taking some time off and just enjoying everything I've been missing because of all the training I've done over the past year and a half. It's funny cause part of me misses being out there with the gang but part of me is really content just hanging with the kids and cheering from the sidelines.


After the race I took the kids over to my favorite trail spot. I think Gracie has trail running in her blood. She started out using the bridge but before the afternoon was over she was running through the creek. :) Zak just wanted for find a lizard to take home. Thankfully, one was never found - phew :)




I think it's time to get back to things. I'll be starting out slow for sure but I'm sure the pace will pick up in no time. Hmmm, maybe I'll be ready to do the DU - Didn't say I was racing , just thinking I might be ready :)