Dana Burland

Woo! First race of 2023 in the books. Today I competed in my local YMCA's indoor triathlon for January. This race is 1 in a series of 3. I'll compete in another at the end of Feb, and again at the end of March. My race went great! This event was time-based. 15 min swim, 5 min transition, 15 min bike, 5 min transition, 15 min run. Participants got points based on their distances in each discipline which equated to an overall score. I came in with no expectations since I have no comparables to an indoor/15-min tri, but did want to push it (per usual). Swim At the start of the swim the woman in the lane next to me was pacing slightly faster than I was comfortable with, and my competitive drive kicked in. I backed off slightly, correctly assuming I had more endurance from years of competitive swimming than she did, and ended up passing her and keeping a super strong pace. In 15 minutes I swam 42 lengths (1:26 /100 meters), which was good for 1st in my heat and 2nd overall women. Bi...

The sun (!!!) is shining, the snow is glistening and an open late-January weekend lays ahead of us. We're in a nice groove, I'm in a happy mood and not interested in rhyming anymore but do have to tell you a few things: 1. A&C on SKIs! This past weekend was our annual family ski trip up north. B and I split skiing one day each with my dad and brother while the other parent hangs back with my mom and the boys. We planned for C to ski, but newly 3-year-old A was adamant he ski too. I'm so glad we listened to him because he did AMAZING! It was an explosion of joy to see those boys on the bunny hill. The cherry on top was hearing A mid slope yell "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" Ugh, off to cry again... see you next week. 2. This cream blush I'm sure there are other good options but I first picked up ULTA's Too Cheeky (color Mood) and am such a fan. It stays on longer than powder blush and the color is A+. 3. Translation station Oy, with the rhyming. ...

There’s the 70% of parenting–asking for the 357th time where they put their other boot, fetching the wrong snack which will cause An Issue; there’s the 25% of joy, love, fun; and then there are those moments that get you… …when you have to deliver the Ultimate Threat of separation for a brother’s sleepover that won’t simmer down, and the three year old pleads: but Coco is my best friend! …when both young boys are skiing down the bunny hill at the ski hill you learned to ski at and they yell out mid slope: I’m doing it! I’m doing it! …when the kindergarten teacher recognizes your son’s love of doing magic tricks and lets him bring in his magic hat and rabbit to do a small show for the class. Ooof. Gut punch. Emotional tears in eyes while smiling face emoji. These are the sweet-like-a-cavity moments. The I’m-not-worthy moments. The maybe-we’re-doing-something-right moments. I enjoy these moments so much when I’m welled up with love. I’m also starting to turn them over, crack th...