SPIDERBYTE

Lily-palooza!

Guest post by SpiderDAD.

This weekend provided many highs in the house of Spiderbyte.  Every spiderbrat pulled in a blue ribbon in their respective swim meets. Bobby "Mr. Big Flippers" is tearing it up on the high school team this year!  Will-Da-Beast, The Incredible Puck and Lu-Zaney all won in the butterfly stroke for their team, the Sting Rays!  Pictures would be nice here, but we'll need to wait for the next Sports Illustrated to come out.  ;-) 

You would think that would be enough for SpiderMom to crush Molson cans on her forehead, but then the BRUINS played their first game of the season beating out the New York Rangers! Mom took particular interest in the Rangers goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, making a purring sound every time he was on screen.  Weird..  

Front row seats!

 

The icing on the cake, however, was a visit from our favorite visitor from Puerto Rico, Lily! Uncle Vin and Auntie Chipie had us over for some big time family hugs, snacks, stories, bike riding, skateboarding, y'know: Family Fun!  

Gifts from Heaven (Puerto Rico)

 

FAN-atics!

Las Hermanas

Las Chicas

 

Lulu & Daisy

Until we meet again Lily, in Puerto Rico we hope! 

 

The Party's Over

It's that time of year again!

I've adequately packed on a few winter pounds, my bike has accumulated a fine layer of dust, and most of my toe nails have grown back....all signs of a successful Off Season!

But sadly, all joyous things must end.  It's time to start training and planning this year's race season. They'll be some changes for me this time around, as we navigate through my first full season since being diagnosed with Crohn's.    But one thing that doesn't change....focusing my winter training on my weakest leg, which means way too many mornings spent here....

I have two new swim coaches this year, and they don't make me cry half as much as my last one...but don't worry, I still find plenty to gripe about.   I'll be posting about how things go, just tune me out as needed.

In other, slightly related news:  I've been doing some writing over on Hub Pages.  If you're interested in learning more about riveting topics such as Finding Time to Exercise, come on over to Hub Pages. 

Happy Wednesday!

 

Contact Sports

Ocean temps have dropped to 50 degrees, which means less time on the surfboards & more time in the pool...waah waah.

This season the kids have joined the springboard dive club in addition to our regular swim team...because we need another weekly commitment, right?

I was originally planning to shower this whole post with various niceties about the sport of diving...

...but about 5 seconds after I snapped that photo, we had our first dive casualty...

And do you know what seems to bother people more than a kid with a massive bloody nose in a public pool?

That kid's mom taking photos of the massive bloody nose.

 

Going for Gold

Summer isn't just about lazy days at the beach!  

The kids of Spiderbyte & their dedicated teammates have been hitting the pool every morning, training hard towards their ultimate goal of defending their Narragansett All Pool Meet Champion title.    

They had an amazing summer season, going undefeated for the first time in decades.  But it all came down to this weekend, when they met eleven other teams to go head to head for the BIG championship title...

One day of dive competition plus two full days of swim races which meant we pretty much lived on the pool deck...

And we still managed to have plenty of fun...

So are you ready for the big reveal?  Did they defend their Championship title?....

Let the Showboating begin!....Congratulations to the 2012 Narragansett League Champions!

The best part of the day is their group cannonball/impromptu victory party which inevitably breaks out following the announcement of results...

Coach's attendance is required....

We're so proud of you all!....Now spend the rest of your summer loafing like normal kids, ok?

Mom is kicking assphalt

(Renegade post by SpiderDad)

It’s been Olympics fever here at Spiderbyte HQ.  We’re loving the FREE HD TV coverage and the groms have been training hard all summer for their own version of the Olympics: the All Pool Swim Meet going on this weekend. (Stay tuned for complete sports coverage!) 

With all the kids’ training commitments; the swim meets, tennis matches, fencing competitions, Awful Awful hydration breaks.. it’s easy to forget the brains behind the operation: SpiderMom!

As you may know, Mom found out she has Crohn's at the start of the summer.  She’s making some big sacrifices not the least of which impacts her athletic training and diet. She’s not out of the woods and there is still much to learn this year but I’m so proud to report that SpiderMom is kicking its ASS out on the race course! (pun intended)

SpiderMom has always said, after years of training, “I just want to place in the top three of my age group once! Is that too much to ask?”  The closest she’s ever come is fifth, UNTIL NOW.

• On June 3^rd, she earned 2^nd place in her age group at the Title 9 Escape the Cape Triathlon at Onset, MA.  
• On June 24^th, at the Oh My Goddard Triathlon in scenic Warwick, she placed FIRST in her age group and SECOND OVERALL!  Say it with me, "Oh my Goddard!"
• On July 8^th, she placed 2nd in her age group at the Mattapoisett Lions Club Triathlon.  
• Before her most recent triathlon in Narragansett we knew the odds were against her since the field included elite athletes. I affectionately recited one of our favorite war cries, “Don’t bother coming home if you don’t place.” ..and sent her on her way. On July 29^th, she placed 3^rd in her age group!

SpiderMom is probably going to kill me for posting this, but she’s too modest to brag and the Spiderbyte crew couldn’t be more proud of our fearless leader!  Go you crazy Canuck!

run MOM run

 

nobody puts MOM in the corner

 

Life Aquatic

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.

Let me summarize the goings-on....with two weeks until the much anticipated All Pool Meet, the kids have been spending 90% of their time at work....

And the other 10% of their time at play...

Which isn't so bad for me, because if my high school math serves me correctly, that equals 100% of our time being spent on/near/or in the water.

Happy Summer!

The A Team

Part of the magic of summer swim league is that it's the only time of year when all of our kids actually swim for the same team.  In all it's corny glory, it's just a beautful thing to see...

There's a whole lotta warm, fuzzy team spirit...

But still with enough competition to keep 'em on their toes...

Unexpected highight:  It's the first year Puck's been on the summer team, and he's killing it in the fly...

Here's to a great 2012 summer season....Go Team Spiderbyte!

weekend, part 2 of 3

We had such a busy weekend, I'm just chock full of recap posts.  Consider this part 2 in the trilogy.

While Spiderdad and I enjoyed some triathlon glory this weekend, oldest grommet Bobby enjoyed a competition of the more dignified sort....

Sure...Bobby takes a lot of flack from his sibs for all the time he spends working out in fancy knickers, but we're still super proud of his accomplishments.  And as he like to remind us, if we find ourselves in a situation requiring hand to hand combat (zombie apocalypse perhaps?) we'll all be damn lucky to have Bobby on our side.

And all Bobby's hard work paid off on Saturday, when he placed 2nd in the RIFAC Championship. Tally ho my good man!

wild & crazy

Would you believe Spiderdad and I had two days all to ourselves this weekend?  As in, without kids?

And as it turns out, our kids really know how to whoop it up at Nona & Papa's house...as in beach time, boat time, and 6 chocolate sprinkle donuts for breakfast with a Yoohoo chaser.    

As if we needed any further proof of our kids' ability to live la Vida Loca when they're not under our roof, we received plenty of photo messages throughout the weekend along the lines of this...

So what do two wild & crazy parents do with a free weekend?....

Sure, why not refrain from all things fun, hit the hay by 9 pm, and head off before dawn to a triathlon?

Let's just say we were quick to realize the error of our ways as soon as the alarm went of at 4:15 am. Duh!

Anyway, all seemed worth it when I was able to nab another spot on the podium, 1st place in age group and 2nd place overall...which might sound like a shameless brag to those who don't remember my dismal season last year and 10 months of hamstring rehab.

And I'm never too shameless to pose for trophy glamour shots...

I can have these made into wallet size if you wish.

 

ugly trophy/sweet victory

 

Me & My Bitches

It was a busy weekend in the House of Spiderbyte!

While Spiderdad got the grommets up before sunrise for a dawn patrol surf session, I was hitting the road with a couple of my favorite training bitches to officially kick off our tri racing season!

I spend lots and lots (and lots) of time training year round with these broads, and beyond the blood, sweat, and tears, we've also shared plenty of laughs, hugs, high fives, and kicks in the asses when necessary.  So when race season finally rolls around, we're downright giddy.

Today we kicked things off at the Title Nine tri....but I've been warned by teammates that I'm only allowed to brag until midnight eastern standard time, so let me be quick about this...WE CLEANED HOUSE!

Fuel Belt Race Team was well represented on the podium...me & my girls took 1st/2nd/3rd in our respective age groups, with two of us finishing in the Top Ten.  

And for the record, you're allowed to brag when you've also logged hours in the back of the pack.