A Spanish Triathlon

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I started working on making a photo book from my recent trip to Spain with a group of 8th graders. It has already been over a month since we’ve been back and I’m trying to get a 50% coupon, so the clock is on! It brought back some fun memories and many reasons to want to be back!! I went running 2 different times, one while we were in Madrid and once while we were Benalmadina along the coast. I’ll get around to posting some pictures eventually! On my run along the beach I went West as far as the boardwalk would take me and then ran as far East as it went. It ended in a marina. As I was running I noticed a lot of markers and signs. So I grabbed a quick picture of one and even with my limited Spanish knew what it was… a triathlon! 50f767ff-852d-4a0d-b1b6-c09d01126612_pIt started later in the day and I was doubtful that we’d get to see any of it. It was actually a free day, so if I had known about it and had been training, I might have been able to compete. Nevertheless, I did some research and found it online. It was the II TRIATLON DE BENALMADENA, a 750 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike, and 5 kilometer run event. As we left our hotel to begin our events for the day, I noticed policia up and down the main road and they were beginning to block off the course. I was hopeful we’d get to see the bikers as they came past. We weren’t able to find a cambio to exchange our dollars so we ended up wasting a lot of time, which turned out to be a good thing. Just as we reached the turn around point the lead motorcycle went zooming by. I was fretting the decision of trying to get the kids to stop and stand around a bit to watch, but they all seemed happy to do so. We waited and watched for 10-15 minutes as the riders came by. We probably left before the mid-pack triathletes came by, but it was fun to watch and cheer them on! It definitely made me want to compete and think about getting back into swimming.

Rest

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Today’s message at church was very timely, on the topic of rest. Not just sitting on the couch rest, but the need for Sabbath rest. Taking time regularly to recharge and reconnect not only with God, but also yourself. 

A friend recently posted about rest on her blog. With two young children it is hard to find time of quiet rest. Additionally our crazy schedule with Christy’s work makes rest that much harder to truly find.

Rest is available we need to make time to find it. The Bible promises rest to the faithful. Maybe not the rest we think we need. We need to find margin and quiet and not fill it with noise or distraction.

I think one of the challenges of our schedule is the lack of consistency. Each week brings a different schedule and it is hard to find routine. I find routine and discipline refreshing, maybe not restful. With routine you can carve out your time and space.

Matthew 11:28-30 has helped me through other times like this. Here it is for you:
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Uninspired – $1,000,000

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I’m feeling pretty uninspired right now. I need to write a post to keep the the 30 day challenge. I really should write more about my Superior Hiking Trip, but that seems like a lot of work to sort through the pictures to post. I could write about this morning’s run, or something we did today, but none of that seems very post worthy or exciting.

I looked through a couple of sites I found that offer daily prompts. None of them seemed very exciting today. Until I found this simple question at dailypost. It is a no-brainer.

If I suddenly received $1,000,000 from an unknown aunt the first thing I would do would be to pay off all of our debt. So much of our life and energy is controlled by that debt that we could make some drastic changes to our life and feel a lot more comfortable. I know money isn’t everything and it won’t buy our happiness but getting out from the shroud of even our “good” debt (house, student loans, and a car) would return our lives to a more normal existence.

No more night shifts, no more endless weeks, more family time together when we aren’t half asleep!! What to do with the other $800,000 is a tougher question. Doing the math of Team World Vision that would provide clean water to 16,000 people! We could probably get our siblings out of their debt too… Who knows.

What would you do with an unexpected windfall?

Last Day of School!

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Today was the last day of school for me. It was a pretty good day celebrating with the 8th graders who somehow managed to survive 3 years with us!! It is amazing how many memories you can garner in 3 years. One of the speakers at the promotion ceremony figured out that it is over 3,000 hours together and I don’t think that includes things like the Wolf Ridge trip or Spain where we are together longer than the regular school day!!

There could be so many stories to share about this group of kids and watching the annual video brought back lots of memories from not only this group, but from others as well. It is amazing to see how the tiny 6th graders grow and mature into “big scary” 8th graders! Each year it seems like it gets harder and harder to say good bye!

One of the unique characteristics of my job is that I work with all of our almost 800 kids and support all of the teaching staff which is close to 50 people. So while we were celebrating the 8th graders I was also preparing for the other 600 kids to have an awesome last day too. Groups went to local parks and to the local movie theater.

I also had the privilege of taking 6 of my Bike Club kids on a final bike ride for the year! We went to Dairy Queen, saw the Minnehaha Falls, and Wabun Picnic Area. I also let them ride down the huge hill next to the Lock and Dam. One of the kids on the way back to school said, “Mr. Cross sure knows how to end the school year!”

My only regret is that I don’t have the time or energy to reflect back with many of the kids on their progress and growth during the year or the last few years. But all in all it was a successful school year.

Bike Commute Route Options

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A co-worker recently got a bike and we’ve talked a bit about bike commuting. She actually lives pretty close to me so some of our conversation has been about what route to take. She showed me a new route this week and I Strava-ed it so I could compare it to other routes I’ve tried.

I’ve now tried 5 different routes that probably represent the most direct routes. There are obviously thousands of options out there! The Greenway is our own little freeway and takes in a large chunk of these routes.

My traditional route has 2 variation depending on a stoplight at Lake and Snelling. It isn’t necessarily the friendliest route for biking as it takes in the busy intersection of Hiawatha and Lake, but it mostly on the Greenway and bike lanes on Minnehaha. Once Minnehaha is redone it should be pretty nice.

My other normal route is pretty much all Greenway. I use this a lot when I have to take the kids to daycare as the Greenway is by far the safest place to ride with the trailer. The Sabo bridge isn’t super fun with the kids in tow, but safety first!! I also started using this route more when I realized it wouldn’t hurt to add some mileage and the hill into my commute leading up to Almanzo!

In pursuit of Almanzo glory, I also started making some longer rides on the commute home when it mattered a little less if I was sweaty/smelly! This is by far the longest of the options that could still be a “commute” before stretching it into something more like training. Adding the West River Road definitely makes it more scenic!

For the fun of it I switched things up and took the 24th Street Bridge to LRT trail to the Greenway the other day. It is almost exactly the same distance as the Greenway – but 24th St isn’t as nice. In the fall they posted (and covered) signs for the new bike lane on 24th. They just started painting the lanes. I still think the Greenway will be the better option.

Finally, the new option my co-worker showed me. It isn’t terrible and is surprisingly pretty much the same distance as my traditional commute. I probably won’t use it as I prefer not waiting for long stoplights to make an at grade crossing of Hiawatha. Some of those waits can be stupid long!!

Cyclopath recommends the route I take with the kids.