5 Big Rocks for 2015

Happy New Year!

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind with my job and the holidays and as a result my blog updates have taken a back burner.

But now, I have 3 glorious days freed up and I am ready to get back at it.

Let me start off with my training.  

I thought it was not going well but in the past 3 days, at the Snowdrop 55 Ultra, I covered almost 50 miles in 3 days.  And to my surprise, I am walking quite well today.  I am even tempted to go running today because my legs feel so good.  I was not expecting that.  Score!

On the other hand, my swimming for December was 4 for 7.  Which means, THREE times I skipped. Nope, not proud of this fact.  If I want to get better, then I NEED to get my ass in the pool.

Enough said.

My running this month I thought was so going poorly since I had hurt my hip in Louisiana.  I tried to do the 30K a week after Baton Rouge and ended up walking most of it.  I took it easy the rest of the month.  I still ran, but was a little leery of anything long mileage.  

I played the conservative card at the Ultra 55.  I did not set out to conquer 100 miles.  I had the goal to do as many laps as my body allowed in 55 hours.  I thought if I ran 50, I would be really proud of that since I had never run that distance in 2.5 days before. I ended up pretty darn close at 48 miles.

I ran when I felt good, walked when I didn't, and slept hard when my body was ready.  I drove home every night, put my feet up in front of the fire and returned to the park recharged and ready to go.  I loved every minute of this event.  The human spirit there will blow you away.  I am honored to have the chance to know every runner and volunteer at Snowdrop to bring awareness for pediatric cancer.

And I digress...back to the December training recap.

Finally the bike.  On the bike,  I have no pain.  So I could keep biking and I was able to do that as planned.

Okay, so now with the training update out of the way, it is time for my nerdy side.

For the new year, I bought a giant poster size sticky pad.  I am going to put it up on my bedroom wall with my weekly plan.  This is going to be my attempt to balance my family life, training and fundraising.  I will take a photo of it when completed.

Somehow I need to figure out the diet thing. This always seems to be my weakest link.

Working out, no problem.  What to eat?  Ugh.

As far as New Year resolutions go, well honestly, I like to do them all year long every month.  I always have areas I want to improve and the beginning of each month is like a clean slate. And a year, well, that is another ginormous clean slate.  So here are my 5 big rocks. Really, it should only be 3, but since 2 of them will drop off after July, I will still have a big three.

2015 Goals

• Food Planning.  I really need to nail down the diet thing.  And not diet, by means of only eating rabbit food,  but by finding a routine to eat something on a regular basis and stop eating out so much.  Having a meal plan and following it.  I am still trying to figure out how to unlock that code.
• Purge the Excess.  2015 will be the Year of the Purge.  I have too much stuff and not enough space.  Time for it to go.
• Prioritize Commitments.  Focus on not putting so much on my plate.  I try to take too much on. If it does not fit in to Family time, Training or Fundraising outside of my day job then I need to reduce these from my schedule.
• Training for another Ironman.  Stronger and better then Tahoe training. Be more consistent.  
• Raise Money for Multiple Myeloma.  I need to raise 5 grand and that is scary as shit.  I need to put my creative skills to work and not be afraid of this goal and to look it in the face.

Unexplainable Happiness

Today was a day of contentment.

Usually I notice days of sadness without really understanding why but today my heart was full.

It is rare to have an entire day like this.

My birthday is in 2 more days.  Could this be it?

I love birthdays.

Unexplainable happiness.

All day long.

I did not make it to swim at 5am this morning but I did go after dinner.  Nice long swim alone.

And I did make my run yesterday.  Yes, hip still sore but I ran on a dirt track with friends and that seemed to have helped with the pain.  It faded away after a mile.

33 weeks until Ironman Lake Placid.

21 days until the 55 Hour Ultra.

Week 1: 2 hours swim/2 hours bike/3 hours run (7 HOURS TOTAL)

2014 Baton Rouge "Chicken" Marathon Report

So my quest to complete a marathon in my 8th state was a fail.  

Lousiana. Baton Rouge Beach Marathon (BRBM)

On the bright side, I did get a half marathon medal.  

Somewhere between mile 5-6 I tripped on a sidewalk drop off.  To keep myself from falling, I did some cool matrix type moves but in the process of looking so bad ass, I tweaked my hip. 

The rest of the loop was a combination of walking and running because my right hip area was on fire.  At the rate I was going, I knew I would not finish the second loop under the 6 hour cut off.  I cut my losses and stopped after the first loop. It was somewhere around 2:47.  RESULTS FOUND HERE.

Forty five minutes later the skies opened up and the rain poured down.  But at this point I was cozy and dry in the shuttle headed back to the hotel.  Part of me felt sad that I did not finish what I set out to conquer but at the same time, I was happy that I was not suffering out in the rain in pain.

Regardless of not getting my marathon medal, I absolutely loved this race.  

The race started off with a little Expo, where I met and chatted with a few race directors and race buddies.  I learned there was a speaker who was the first lady to run the Boston Marathon that I had not heard of before.  

I was intrigued.  

When we came down to get a good seat, I was excited to discover we were going to be served dinner.  Homemade Cajun food and drinks (and pizza).  Then Katherine Switzer got up to speak.  I was mesmerized.  She spoke with such energy and intensity.  I did not want her to stop telling her story.  

She gave us some special takeaways.  Here are the top 3 I remember.

1.   Show up.
2.   Influence a young person.  Encourage them to do anything.
3.   Life is for participating, not for spectating. 

All time was suspended.  Listening to her speak made me feel so lucky to be there. I wanted to soak up every word.

Next her husband introduced Spirit of the Marathon II.  Another round of goose bumps. Gave me a new perspective on why we run.  I highly recommend it.  (Word of warning, it will make you want to run Rome.)  

So even though my run was not one of the best, the race organization was top notch.  The food was incredible, the event was so well organized, the course was beautiful, and I was able to enjoy it with two beautiful friends.  

Oh, and I did make it to swim last week.  I was so proud.  This week, I will do the same schedule, but this time, I need to keep up with my running.  After all, Ms. Switzer says running changes the world for the better. (I could just do without the clumsiness.)

Winning...3 day Streak

Whoop.  I have 3 day workout streak.  Spin. Swim. Spin.

Look at me now.

Well...let's just wait to see if I make it swim tomorrow morning before celebrating.

I still have not gotten my runs in this week and I am supposed to run a marathon on Saturday.

Yeah, so this one may hurt, but at least I will get another state medal. I am slowly working my way up to the 50 States Marathon Club.

1. California ('11) -Big Sur
2. Pennsylvania ('11) -Philly
3.Texas ('12) - Houston
4. Florida ('13)- Disney Goofy Challenge
5. New Jersey ('13) -Asbury Park
6. Virginia ('13) -Marine Corp
7. Arizona ('14)- Lost Dutchman

Louisiana will be number #8.  Baton Rouge Beach Marathon

I signed up because there is a cute little chicken that is on the shirt and medal.

Need I say more??

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

New beginnings.  This time I want to document the process from the first step.  Something I wish I did my first time around.

My training for Lake Placid 2015 started last night by attending an Indoor Cycle class.  Already I came home from work and felt lazy.  My morning running partner is out-of-town and so I already missed my Monday 5am run.  I had urges to skip the evening cycle workout as well and "start fresh tomorrow".

No.  Not this time.  I need to make changes if I want a different outcome.

Besides, what would I really end up doing if I skipped?  Sit on my ass and play on the computer.

Yeah, that is what I thought.

And it was such a great class.  I finally got an email from the coach last night and the plan for December and January is to start building a base. One hour of indoor cycle is equal to two hours outdoors if done correctly.  The instructor I go to at the YMCA gave us an intense 65 minute workout.  It was just what I needed.  I forgot how much I enjoyed his class.

My next workout was getting back in to the pool.  I made a deal with my friend Leslie that if I skipped for any reason, then I would pay her $20.  The only valid excuses was a doctors note, family emergency or pool was closed.

After 4 hours of sleep and feeling like hell.  I woke up and felt sniffly and throat scratchy.

Hmmm....I think I am getting sick.

Sick enough to go to the doctor and get a note?

No.

Damn.

Maybe someone pooped in the pool last night and the pool is closed?

Ew, why must you have that thought?  Just disturbing.

Maybe I will just pay up?

But then that would make it $65 for the month to swim in December.

Ugh.  No and no.

I dragged my butt to the pool and got her done. Day 2 goes down in the books.

Now must rinse, wash, and repeat on Thursday.

IMLP 2015 Support Page

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.