Zoo Run Run

Last Sunday was the Henry Vilas Zoo Run Run and Walter participated in the kids 1-mile Roo Run Run. This was his longest run so far and it took a little convincing to get him to believe he could do it. But he did do it, and he did great! A big confidence boost for this little runner. The event has come a long way in the past few years. What was once disorganized chaos is now a well-run event. And, it's at the zoo! Running, plus face-painting, turtle riding, trying on antlers, and photos with Henry the Lion. A pretty good day.

Like father, like son

We have another triathlete in the family! Walter competed in his first tri Saturday morning – the Middleton Tri 4 Schools. He did the short course which was a 25 meter swim, .3 mile bike, and .2 mile run. Coach Dad helped him train, doing practice races on the bike path and transition practices in our living room. Walter was totally prepared and had a great race. He's ready for the next one.








The Tri 4 Schools was a really great event. It was very well organized and there were tons of volunteers making everything go smoothly. Definitely something we'd do again.

Door County Half Iron Triathlon

It was another triathlon weekend for Nate – this time the Door County Half Iron. That's a 1.2 mile swim, a 56.3 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. That's a lot of miles to cover in one day! Walter and I went up to spectate and my dad joined us as well. It's a pretty great set up for spectators. While Nate was out touring the peninsula, we lounged on the beach, played frisbee, caught tadpoles, and when Nate passed by, we were there to cheer him on.

There's Nate in the water. See him? That splash out there? Great.
Ok, so yes, Nate is probably in this photo somewhere, but the real point is to show you how far out that buoy is. Yowza!


We did see him finish the swim and here he is coming out of the water and on his way to transition.

He was so fast in transition that we missed him going out, but we caught him on his way back in from the bike.



And again on his way out for the run. Walter was ready for a high five but got a big hug instead. :)

And here he is coming down the chute for his finish.
We're proud of you, Nate! You did it!

Go Billmeyers, go!

Three Billmeyers competed in the Verona Triathlon this year. Jim (Grampa) finished his first sprint tri and he did an amazing job. He said he didn't like the run portion, but he was all smiles on his way to the finish line.

Erin is an olympic distance finisher.

Half way through the run she said, "It's HOT!" But she had big smiles at the finish too.


And Nate was smiling the whole time. He competed in the the olympic distance as well.


We cheered for them all and gave high fives at the finish line.

Good work, Billmeyers! You're all awesome!

A farm report

Well, not really a "farm" report, but a little update on the goings on around here. 

Walter is loving kindergarten. He runs out to me after school with a big smile on his face and tells me he's "exhausted." And then continues to skip to the car and jabber on about this and that, filling me in on his day. I love picking him up from school. I love his energy. 

He's got soccer and swimming keeping him busy two nights a week, and those activities have given me a little extra knitting time. Knitting during chilly soccer nights is a great way to keep my lap warm. I've been working on a sweater and it's been slow going, but I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere. Just a couple of sleeves and a waistband to go!

The honey has been harvested and the bees have been put away for the winter. The harvest was smaller this year, only about 7.5 gallons, compared to last year's 10 gallons. Ramona was weak all summer long so we didn't take any honey from her. Both hives have plenty of honey left to keep them going through the winter. We'll see if they are strong enough to make it. Time will tell.

Molly is the same old Molly. Her hair has grown back from her summer cut and she's dropping tumbleweeds of fur all over the house again. 

The chickens are doing well. Black Licorice is finally off the nest – done being broody for now. We've got some molting and our egg production has been down a bit, but we hear that is all normal fall chicken activity. Susan, the owner of Cluck, the chicken store down the road, has been a great resource to us. We often go to her with our chicken questions and concerns. And she's taken a liking to Walter. She even let him name the new chicks she's been keeping at the store. "Friendly" and "Dorothy Vader" are pictured below. If you're in the area, visit Cluck! It's a really cute store selling all sorts of chicken supplies and chicken art, including some fun metal pieces made by the Billmeyer artists, Jim and Nate. 

We've already done a little pumpkin picking and carving, and since this pumpkin is already covered in mold, we plan to do some more this weekend too. Did you know that chickens love pumpkin guts? 

In the home improvement category, we can finally check the driveway off the list. Brand new asphalt makes for a fabulous biking surface. Nate's on the hunt for a new basketball hoop now that we have space and a flat surface.

And, I saved the most exciting news for last – Nate has qualified to run the Boston Marathon! Whoop! Whoop! Nate ran the St. George Marathon in Utah on Oct. 5 and finished with a time of 3:07:14. (To qualify for Boston he needed to finish in under 3:10.) He's been training hard for the last, um… well, a really long time, and managed to take 20 (TWENTY!) minutes off his previous marathon time. That's a LOT of hard work. We're excited to head to Boston in 2015. 

(Thanks for the photo, Jim!)

That's the news from our homestead. How's the fall been treating you?

So much for that plan...

Wouldn't you know it? The minute I say I'm going to try to be here more often, THINGS happen that keep me away. Things like the flu. Yes, that flu. The one we all got shots to prevent. Nate managed to escape it but it took Walter and me down. Let me tell you, it's miserable. Avoid it at all costs.

Once we got mostly past that little hurdle (I say mostly because we still have a cough that just won't quit), Nate and I set off for Arizona to run the Rock 'n Roll Arizona 1/2 marathon. The flu a week before the race was not really in the training program, but I have to say we both kicked butt!

Nate finished in 1:34:06. He's so speedy! And I finished in 2:00:32. A PR for both of us. I'm proud of both our times and we had a lot of fun running it. We also extended our vacation a little and spent a couple days in beautiful Sedona. We drove the scenic highway, hiked up a mountain, and ate amazing food.



And my list of excuses ends there. We're back. We're settling in to our normal routines again and I really will try to be here more often.
I swear.

He did it!

Nate's first marathon experience was not ideal. A disorganized race, a lot of pain, and he swore he'd never do it again. It only took about a week for him to change his mind. He had hoped to finish that race in less than 4 hours, but it took closer to five. He had a score to settle. He joined a local racing team and put in countless hours of training. He ran over 1000 miles (and went through a few pairs of shoes) gearing up for the Chicago marathon. Sunday morning he met his goal. No, wait. He didn't just meet his goal – he flew right past it! 26.2 miles in 3:27:45! His brother, Jess, and I were his early-morning cheering section. He sped past us so fast that this is the only photo I got of him:

The rest of the family met us to cheer him on towards the end. We saw him at mile 25 and as he ran past he shouted, "This is my last one!" Should we believe him this time?

Above: The view from the top of the Hancock Building, a handful of the 40,000 runners on Sunday morning, and my sign, so he could spot us in the crowd.

We're proud of you, Nate!

She "tri"-ed. She succeeded!

If you've never been a spectator at a triathlon, marathon, or any race event, I highly encourage you to do so. I'm not sure there is anything more inspiring than watching athletes put their hearts, minds, and bodies into their race. I love standing at finish lines and watching the victories. And it's even better when you have someone to cheer for! Erin, my sis-in-law, raced in the Verona Triathlon on Saturday morning. I admit, I grumbled a little when my alarm went off so early on a Saturday, but all I had to do was clap and cheer. Erin, on the other hand, woke up early to swim, bike, and run her way to the finish line. She did more before 9am than most of us do all day. Congrats on your great finish, Erin! It was fun to watch!

Did I mention that the Billmeyers make a great cheering section?

Hawaii – part two

Oahu – The Honolulu Marathon
Nate and I left Walter with Gramma and Grampa on the Big Island, and flew to Honolulu for the marathon. We had dinner with some friends and went to bed early. The race started at 5am, in order to beat the heat of the day. 

We both got up early and set off for the starting line. Let me tell you, if I had brought my running shoes, I'm pretty sure I would have jumped right in to that race. There's some great energy at the starting line of a marathon. The national anthem, fireworks, and a nervous crowd of 20,000 people – I was tempted to run in my flip flops! But instead, I wished Nate luck, kissed him goodbye, and sent him off running. 


He looped around and I gave him another cheer at mile four before heading back to the hotel. I treated myself to coffee and a stroll along the beach before going to meet him at the finish line. I ended up standing next to a woman, also waiting for her husband to finish, and also missing the race because of a stress fracture. We had a nice chat. :)

I'm happy to report that Nate finished the race with a time of 4:52:48! That crazy, huge crowd of runners slowed him down a bit, but he came in injury-free and ready to enjoy the rest of our vacation. He swears he'll never do it again. We shall see. Time has a way of changing your mind.
Next up, Maui...