Say Something

"Say something. I'm giving up on you." 

Ah, if blogs could talk, that is what mine would say.

My life has been so full of change that I do not even know where to begin.

I have taken the year off from Ironman.  By doing so, my perspective on life has been a kaleidoscope of colors.

What do I do next?  What do I focus on?  What is my weakness?  What do I work on?  

Don't you just love life?  The world is our playground.  I used to name my blog "My Sandbox"  because that has always been my philosophy of life.  We are here to create. To play nice with others.  To take full advantage of the toys (a.k.a. our blessings) that we are given. We get this one life in this exact body.  I do not want to look back when I am on my deathbed and wish that fear did not hold me back from my fullest potential.

Taking a break from the Ironman journey gives me some extra time to explore other avenues. 

Spinning class is what started my triathlon journey, so I was feeling the calling to give back.  Maybe my class will influence the journey of at least one person like it did mine. 

In my very first Spinning class ever, I wanted to jump off the seat, run out of the room and never go back.  But instead I stayed and then my crazy self came back for more.  Maybe it was the music that had a magnetic pull?  Or the amazing toning it did for my legs?  Or maybe it was because it was a challenge to push myself to another level and I wanted to get better at it.  I also noticed my running improved.  And I had less injury.

Never in my life did I think I would teach it.

In February, I signed up for an instructor class with Mad Dawg in Austin, TX (the closest location for me at the time).  Thanks to the help of some dear friends, I started subbing and now I have my own class.  I have been leading class now for almost 2 months and the butterflies are finally gone before every class.  So what did I do next? 

I signed up for another certification: PiYo.

Now why PiYo?

Well, first I have a confession to make.  I have another big hairy goal.  An audacious goal as in "crazy off the charts how in the world will I make this happen and is really she all kind of serious" goal. 

 Well, at least to me it is. 

I want to compete in a NPC competition in bikini.  Just Google the words of "NPC bikini" and you will see images of the direction I am headed.

Now keep in mind, Ironman was one of those goals to me because I could not swim a single stroke of freestyle. All I had was a $99 Walmart hybrid bike (you know the  type with the big fat tires).  I had not even run a marathon before. The thought of swimming scared the living bajeepers out of me.  So where did I start?  With Basic Swimming 101 lessons at the YMCA. 

I know it seems insane now, but there is something about these crazy goals that light my fire to learn the skills needed to pull them off.

So for the past month (starting on week 4 tomorrow, yes, a new record for me), I have been hitting the free weights. A shocker for me since I have always avoided weight training.  Just was not a fan. Endurance sports have always been my favorite fitness activity.

Bottom line: I am starting from ground zero in this sport.

So I started with a book recommended by my sweet friend Lillian.  It is called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto.  I have also been working with a personal trainer at the Y to help me get my nutrition habits down. I have been reading and studying everything I can about the subject. 

Now dropping body fat has been a huge challenge. Apparently there is a learning curve to the body and it is not happening as fast I thought it would. So my original target date of November 8th competition may have to change due to my body not responding as quickly as I hoped.  I will know for sure by June 30th where I stand.  I am going to keep focusing on meal planning and lifting weights until I get the right habits down.  If it takes me a year, that is okay.  I want to be ready.

I want the experience of giving this my best.

So back to the PiYo certification.  I have been so sore with this new weight training routine that it feels so darn good to stretch.  I need to add a good stretching class that will strengthen my core to my regimen.What perfect timing that Chalene Johnson is going to release a home edition of PiYo on June 23rd.  I took this class a couple of years ago on the rooftop of a YMCA in Seattle.  I came home looking all over town for this class and eventually gave up looking.  Now it is coming to my home.  And if I can teach it, I will be motivated to work as hard on it as I do with Spinning class.  It will force me to have accountability too (my P90X3 journey fell flat after 4 days...(ahem)).  Now I just need to practice my choreography and set a target date to teach.

So in a nutshell, that is what I have been up to.  I plan to share the ups and downs of my journey, just in case, 2 years from now, someone is in my shoes wondering if they can do this, too.  I have my before photos ready to post on the day I succeed.  I am going to prove that with the proper discipline that this goal is definitely possible.

Most importantly I want to one day be able to answer the same questions I have had, most especially the one I when the idea was first born...

Where do I even start?

Day 1 of P90X3: It Begins

P90X3.  It begins.

Charlie and I started it earlier than January 6th since he is out of school.  We figured we might as well get the stiffness out of the way while he was still on vacation.

We get into our workout gear.  We take the obligatory photos.  You are not supposed to suck it in. I cheated and sucked in.  But it was all in vain.  The photos were still scary.

We move out one of our TVs to the garage and I spend 30 minutes on technical difficulties getting the DVD hooked up.

So much for starting at 8:15pm.

Finally, 2 TVs, 4 different connector cords and a mini- DVD player later....8:45PM start.

Bellies jiggling.  Pause button.  Gasping for air.  Falling over.  Pause button.  Groans.  Cries.  3 inch pull up (that was Jenny).  Drunks trying to keep our balance.  Light headedness (that is word, right?). Hot messes.

Longest 30 minutes EVER.

I am sure we were entertaining.  Thank the heavens it was only the two of us in the privacy of our garage. It definitely has to get better than this because it certainly can not get any worse.  Or so we hope.

Bottom line. It was not glamorous and it was tough but we did it.

30 minutes may have turned into 90 minutes with all our technical difficulties, pausing the DVD for air, and re-doing a couple of workouts.  We were supposed to keep a log of our weights but the printer malfunctioned.  We could have thrown up our hands at all the obstacles and just say it was not meant to be.

BUT...we preserved and got 'er done.

And for that I am proud. It may not have been pretty but we took a step forward.

Total Synergistics complete.  1 day down...89 more days to go.

P90X3: Boom Goes the Dynamite!

It finally arrived today.  And I bought it.  I plan to start on Monday, January 6th.  It will be discounted for the entire month of December. So if you are interested in joining me in my challenge, you have some time to get it here: CLICK ON ME FOR P90X3 DETAILS

Why do I want to try this?

1.) It is 30 minutes a day.  We own P90X, and I have watched my hubby do it and it looked so intense.  I am intimidated to start off with 45-60 minute workouts at that intensity.  30 minutes is more my speed.  I am not a big fan of strength training.  I just want to do enough to get results.  I need to max out my results in the least amount of time. And on the bright side, it is not a graduate program.  Which is good because even though we own P90X and P90X2, I can start with this one.

2.)  I must redeem myself.  I went to a live workshop with Tony Horton to try P90X3.  The workout sadly kicked my butt. This dude knows his stuff.  I was so impressed with his knowledge.  So even though he is silly with a crazy sense of humor, he means business.   I have some serious work to do.

3.) I need serious body sculpting.  Hell, I will be tickled pink to do a pull up.

Yes, one pull up.

I need upper body strength. Plus, I dont want to stop my running, swimming and biking.  I need something where I can do two disciplines in one day because I am not giving up my first loves.  Just not going to happen.

If you get these DVDs let me know.  You will get a calendar and a nutrition plan.  Some box sets come with bonus DVDs and fun extras.  Everyone that buys a DVD set in December will get a cap.

I am going to form a group so we can hold each other accountable. Plus, we will all be pioneers together.  I have never tried P90X before and I want to test it out and see if it lives up to all the hype.  We will have before and after photos.  We will be the proof to see if it really works. We will blazen the path and lead the others to glory.

Ok, so now I am getting carried away.

You get the idea.

Here is the link again:  BUY P90X3 HERE

Cold November Rain

Funny, how life can feel so crazy  that I think all I need is a full day to get caught up on life. When that day finally comes where there is nothing on the calendar, all I want to do is sit and watch the rain fall.  I have no motivation or desire to complete the tasks I need to move forward.  Why is this?

But when it gets busy again, which it will get over the holidays, I will long for another day like this.

Post Ironman reflection.  2013 was not my year for another 140.6 mile Ironman medal.

Will I try again?

Yes, but I need to take at least a year off.

2014 will only have a couple of 70.3 races in it.

So I have been doing some reflecting of where I am at and where I want to be. I have been attending quite a bit of seminars and submersing my mind in new knowledge.  I have been searching for a new direction and programming my brain with fresh thoughts and ideas.

So of course, being the visual person that I am, I found an illustration to sum up exactly where I am at on a figurative map. Here is the cycle of life, courtesy of what I have learned from Dani Johnson.

First, I had to let my previous crop die.  This precious harvest was my goal of completing an Ironman.  I accomplished what I set out for in 2012 but I did not want that glory to end in 2013.  I tried to make the crop live forever and by doing so I have felt empty and lost.  The drive that once was pushing me was gone and I was trying to force life into something that was already dead.  It took me almost the entire year to realize what I was doing.

I have finally accepted that my crop is dead.

I am now focused on selecting some new crops.  I am looking to plant 3 of them, as a matter of fact, and I am at the point of preparing the earth for planting.

I am going to focus my crops on three main areas.  Business. Wealth. Health.

Business.  I am ready to be my own boss.  Set my own hours and work from home.  I do not want to depend on a corporation to put a cap on my salary. To do this, I need to focus my time on education on some business skills.  I am giving this crop 7 years to be ready for harvest in other words, this is my longest term goal that will take the most time.

Wealth.  I no longer want to be slave to Mastercard and Visa.  I will learn how to manage what I have now So I may be entrusted with more. The crop will be ready for harvest in 2 years.

Health.  So yes, I have learned to swim and conquered 2.4 miles.  I did this 2 more times in each of the Ironmans I did not cross the finish line.  I am officially out of my comfort zone with swimming.  So what is the next thing I dislike doing?

Weight and/or Strength Training.  

I also dislike cooking.  One huge thing I learned in Ironman training is that you can workout out several hours a week....but weight does not fall off (as a woman at least) unless the diet changes too.  So the question is, can I be in the same shape I was while training for an Ironman but with less time I invested doing cardio?   Well, I will not know for sure unless I try and focus on my diet and building muscle.

I am going to be experimenting with several workout DVDs until I find something that calls to me and I want to get certified in.  It seems crazy right now to become a P90X instructor but not impossible.

My health goal will be set in shorter increments.  Every quarter I want a harvest and be prepared to plant again.  Each  quarter, I reevaluate where I am at and then up it another level.  The body must be at its optimum level in order for the other 2 harvests (goals) to come to fruition.

Lake Tahoe Ironman Race Report

September 22, 2013

Since I achieved the dreaded status of DNF (Did Not Finish) of Ironman Lake Tahoe, I have not exactly been in a rush to put my experience in to words.  It has been a roller coaster of emotions since I have been back, and my saving grace has been to act like a corn ball to make other people smile.  Hearing the laughter and seeing the smiles on others helps me to stop focusing on little things like not finishing Ironman races.

The reason I signed up for this race was to see as much of the beauty of Lake Tahoe up close and personal.  I wanted to swim in water that was crystal clear and actually see the bottom.  I wanted to ride my bike surrounded by the smell of the tall pines and run to the sound of a water rushing around the rocks.  When we arrived, I was so overtaken by the beauty that the actual challenge of the course seemed irrelevant.  Somehow I was going to find a way to make it to the end.

Boy, did I ever underestimate that challenge.

I thought I was as prepared as I could be.  I ran through my list over and over.  I bought booties for the swim for standing in the cold sand.  I bought arm warmers for my sleeveless wet suit so I could have full mobility of my arms.  I borrowed wheels so I could shave a few minutes off my bike to make the cut offs.  I borrowed a climbing cassette to tackle those hills.  I had my running clothing strategy planned out complete with my little headlight for when the sun went down.  We drove the course and I attended a race strategy lecture so I could mentally prepare for any surprises on the course.  I listened to my mental training MP3s over and over so I could focus on how to overcome my nerves.  I laid everything out 2 days prior so I would not forget a single thing.

In Ironman Village

I was set.

My race plan.  I had it in my head, that if I could only get through the swim (I put the least amount of training hours in the swim), I could definitely tackle that bike and make it to the run. 

I HAD to at least get to the run because....

A.) I enjoy running in the cold and…

B.) The run course was supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful. 

I wanted to make it to that run. 

Snowing. Yup it rained and snowed the day before.  We were soggy for bike and gear drop off.  

The unofficial Ironman underwear run was in 40 degree pouring rain.  Those poor brave souls.  The only line in the sand that I had drawn was I was not going to ride if the roads were iced.  We were reassured that the race organizers were never going to let it get to a level where it was unsafe.

 

Yet, I was still uneasy.

My cutie friend Jessica and I are ready to ROLL

Race morning was 27 degrees.  It helped my nerves to focus on my transition and set up.  Luckily, they had an expo center open so we could keep warm.   

For the first time in my three Ironman races, I was not alone at the start. 

This time, my Charlie was able to be with me.  It felt amazing to have him by my side and it was an added bonus to have him help me smoosh my butt into my wet suit.

This was also my first time to be in a rolling start.  This means instead of a mass exodus of us all starting the swim at the same time, we got to seed ourselves in a corral according to pace.  I met a couple of people from Houston in my wave as well as a lone first timer.  We danced in place in the sand to keep warm to the beat of the music by the DJ.

Finally the gun went off and I was looking forward to how the lake was going to “feel like a hot tub” compared to the outside air. 

They lied about the hot tub.  It was COLD.  It took me a long while to get my breathing normal.  I had to flip on my back several times.  My favorite moment (once I could get my rhythm) was to turn my head to the side to breathe and see the snow-capped mountains turned pink with the sunrise.  It more beautiful than my dreams.

Unfortunately, the moment was short lived.  I was cold and uncomfortable and wanted to join the others around me who were grabbing on to jet skis and getting pulled to shore.  But I wanted to get to that run.  I kept swimming and somehow I made the swim cut off again with 45 seconds to spare.

I was so light-headed and numb when I climbed out of the water and into transition.  All I could do was just focus on each step to the changing tent.

I had made it.  And now I was ready for the bike.  The transition volunteers were nothing short of amazing and I was on my way with enough time to pee.  I am on the bike course and I am on cloud nine.

Until, I hit the first famous hill.  Dollar Hill.  It is a 7 percent incline.  Not the worst hill on the course, but it certainly was not "easy" by any means.

No problem, right?  I love to climb hills.  That is, until I need air.  

Yeah, I SUCKED air.  I pulled over to catch my breath.  I recovered quickly and tried again.  I did not make it very far.

The locals that I passed earlier leisurely toting around town were now passing me up the hill like it was a cake walk. 

“Where ya from?” one shouts at me as they pass.  

“Houston” I reply.

“Ah…enough said” the man retorts back.

I am now stopped for a third time gasping for breath.  This time, when I tried to get back on.  I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to balance.  I sat there and waited awhile for the dizziness to go away, and it was at that point I started to doubt I had what it would take to finish just one loop of that bike course. 

My view of Dollar Hill if I would have looked behind me

I had to do that Dollar Hill 3 times to finish the bike.  And I had a hill in front of me called Brockway Summit, which was a 3 mile climb (equivalent to 30 minutes  if I was lucky) to the highest point of the course 7200 feet or something like that.  I was so screwed.  I began to walk my bike and started to feel so defeated.

Of course, there is a camera man at the top of Dollar Hill while I am walking my bike, of course.

With head down and my tail tucked between my legs, I pedaled to Squaw Valley.  It had an aid station and it was also where the final loop turns off to the finish line.  When I tried to talk to the Ironman official.  I could not put sentences together.  My brain was working…but why weren’t the words coming out of my mouth in the way I wanted?  I turned in my chip and climbed inside a van to thaw out.  It was only then when I realized how numb I was.

That is when the tears came. It just hit me that I had lost the battle with Mother Nature.

In the van, a man saw me crying and asked me to roll down my window. He shared with me that he was one of the ones pulled out in the swim.  He told me there was a lesson in this experience and soon I will see it.  I was surrounded by beautiful people with the kindest words to lift my spirits.  

I felt heartbroken but somehow I knew I made the right decision.  Since I am well aware of effects of the lack of oxygen (flight attendants are thoroughly trained on how to identify oxygen deprivation during a decompression), I knew that what I was feeling was only going to get worse.  I spent the rest of that afternoon and evening feeling like I had a horrible hangover.  In retrospect, I wish I asked for oxygen.  It probably would have helped me feel better later.

And there it is. My race in a nutshell.  Really a nutshell.  It reminds me of a quote that used to hang on my friend Danielle’s wall as a kid by T.S. Eliot.

“This is the way the world ends…Not with a bang but a whimper.” 

My Lake Tahoe Ironman was pretty anti-climactic.  It is not at all how I pictured.  Of course, I played Monday morning quarterback and questioned my decision to pull out when I did but the bottom line is...  

I did not train once in altitude over 6000 feet….not on one hill (and what we call hills in Houston does not even come close).  I was not prepared physically to whoop those hills.  I took a full swing at that hill and that hill swung back so hard that it knocked me off my feet like I was a rag doll.

Ouch. Game over. Do not pass "Go" and do not collect $200.

I underestimated the power of Lake Tahoe’s beauty and it definitely put my ego in check.

Squaw Valley, also known as the finish line

But again, in the words that T.S Eliot also wrote:

“If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?”

Houston, I think I found my lesson.  Over.

Charlie and I in Squaw Valley before the snow

MIA

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