The scale moved!!

243.2

Woohoo!!!! That's all I have to say today!

Wild Rose Triathlon report

The last few weeks leading up to the triathlon have been exciting and busy. In addition to work, clinical hours, and the boys' ball games, I made time for swimming, biking, running, and sessions with my trainer. I was excited, and had confidence I could finish.
Except for having to crap in the woods last weekend during my run.  That concerned me because I knew there were no porta potties on the run course. What would I do? Suffice it to say I stopped eating fiber the last few days before the race and all was well. I didn't even think about going to the bathroom. Yeah!

The Swim
Race morning dawned wet and overcast.  Arriving early, I received my registration packet and timing chip. They passed out cute pink tech shirts. Of course the largest size was an XL, why??? Did they not expect fat people to do the tri? So it will be another 20-30 lbs before I can fit into the shirt. Sigh....
This triathlon was a pool swim, which ended up being life saving because I stood up many times. It's one HUGE pool.

See me? I'm standing up like a real goof. What will I ever do in a lake? Drown.

As you can see, it was a huge pool- 100 meters long. We had to swim 3 lengths. I didn't think it rained during the swim, but Tony said it did. It was a time trial start, with the fastest ones starting first. Hence, I was the last handful of swimmers to enter the pool.

The Bike

Once out of the pool, I peeled off the swim cap and goggles and jogged over to the bike area. I put on my biking skort, socks and shoes, helmet and gloves, and I was off.  I was sad because while I was not the last one out of the pool, I was second to last out of the bike area. These photos are very humbling because I look so huge. It's a wonder I didn't crush that bike. Thankyou, Raleigh, for making strong bicycles!

I post this photo because it will be a good photo in the future (Gosh i was huge! What was I thinking??) 

The bike was my moments of glory. And nobody saw it. In fact, Tony and the boys went to Starbucks while I was riding in the rain! In the first 5 miles of the 10 mile bike, I passed 6 people. Yes!! Nobody passed me, but I passed 6 people!! The ride was mostly flat. Just a few gradual slopes, but mainly flat and fast. It was my fastest time on the bike-- 38:39. One little gal passed me in the last couple

Miles, but on a downward stretch my weight works in my favor for speed and I passed the little gal. Of course on the next uphill near the end she passed me and was long gone. I finished the bike with a smile on my face. It was fun! And fun knowing I was ahead of several others.

     As I got off the bike, my son Jimmy informed me that my awesome coach Lisa had just finished the race in 2nd place. She's a beast I tell ya.

The Run

I started the run with a fast walk while I chugged a Gatorade. I didn't drink anything on the bike, and I knew I needed some liquid and fuel in me. I no sooner ditched the Gatorade and started a slow run, when it began to rain again. Within a few minutes, it turned into a downpour! I trucked along, finding my slow rhythm and just enjoying the moment. All of the cycles behind me eventually passed me on the run. 

    The run was 2 loops, to equal 3 miles. As we approached the halfway point, it began to thunder and I saw a flash of lightning. Surely to goodness they will stop the race if it starts to lightning! I passed a race official and he didn't tell me to stop, so I kept going. Then the gal in front of me took a left turn towards the bike area. I told her she was going the wrong way. She told me she was dropping out, because of the storm.

    Looking back now, perhaps that was my moment of truth. Personally, I am terrified of storms. Just ask anyone who has ever known me all my life. When I was a kid I would take my Bible and my flute and a blanket to the basement whenever it stormed. And here I was, trying to finish a triathlon in a thunderstorm?? If I dropped out too, it would be wise. Nobody would blame me.  But all I could think of at that moment was the likelihood that the storm might blow over - and I would regret for the rest of my life dropping out. Plus, I felt certain that if it did get worse, that Tony would come pick me up. So I continued on. I wanted to finish!

       The pouring rain continued for the next mile or so. I had to take off my glasses because it was so wet. At some point another runner caught up to me and we ended up staying together until the finish. We walked and ran and chatted the rest of the way. She told me she has done 3 other triathlons and she's always last but doesn't care, because it's fun and keeps her exercising. What a positive attitude! At one point another lady passed us, and I began to realize that we were it. We were last. Well, atleast I had a buddy to be last with. Misery lives company. Ha.

      It was a great feeling to see my trainer Lisa and my son Jimmy waiting for me at one point to offer encouragement. And finally when we climbed the last hill and entered the little finishers chute, I didn't think I could keep running. The Hal said "yes you can. We can finish this!" and so we ran. I heard those crazy wonderful folks from the Chattanooga Triathlon club cheering me in. It was just fantastic. Best feeling ever!!!!!!

    My goal was to finish it in under 2 hours. But I was really hoping for 1 hour and 45 minutes. But guess what! I finished in 1 hour and 36 minutes!!! Yes!! So even tho I placed last-- I still killedy goal, and considering I'm still 80 lbs overweight, I really really am happy, pleased, and grateful. 

So what's next? Today is a rest day, but tomorrow I'll run again and get back into the pool. I have new a new goal. Having a goal- in my case-- registering for another triathlon-keeps me committed to the exercise. 

All in all, it was a wonderful experience.

My heart is grateful today.

34 days until I "Tri"

Omg-- I did it. Slapped the ole debit card down and paid for an entry to the Wild Rose Women's Triathlon on June 2. Sure, it's a sprint distance--merely 300 meters in a pool (approximately 6 laps)which is less than 1/4 mile swim. After the swim I'll have a 10 mile bike ride, followed by a 5k run. I'm excited and terrified. I know I can do the bike and run, just need to hone up the swimming skills. And then I need to put all three together and hope I finish before they close up shop and nightfall sets in :-)
So, I'm off to the pool tonight. Tomorrow it's back on the bike for 20 miles, and a session with my personal trainer. Fun stuff! But I really want to see the scale move down! Dangit!

250.6 the agony continues

Oh when, oh when will I see 249???

Perhaps when I stop going out to mexican restaurants for lunch.... But I've been really good and have only had water the rest of the day. I didn't exercise today. I was tired, and it was raining,so I took a nap instead. So I'm guessing and assuming that tomorrow will not be the day that I see 249.  Oh well. Tomorrow the exercise will resume-- not sure what I'll do tho. If it rains all day I'll have to ride my indoor bike, but I hope to find a break in the clouds for a 4 mile run.

I did run 6 miles last night-- the furthest I've ever run! yeah me! Thankyou knees and ankles! And thankyou God, for keeping me alive during and after. I'm super slow, it took 88 minutes. I KNOW people can walk 6 miles in 88 minutes, so don't remind me of that. Surely to goodness having a simple bounce in my step burns a few more calories. And even if it doesn't, it makes me feel better about myself. :-)

I'm going to make an effort tomorrow to eat more fruits and veggies. I have developed a habit of eating protein bars, which I know are laden with sweeteners and other sundry chemicals. So I do have the agenda of trying to increase my raw foods back into the diet.

Wednesday will be May 1 and I hope for 249 by Wednesday. I'm more than ready to bid the 250's goodbye. See ya, so long. This girl is movin' on. Slow progress is better than no progress.

Thoughts at 3:45am

252.2

I hate posting my weight when it goes up. Altho now I realize that my weight fluctuates from day to day, but it's still frustrating because I've been right at this weight for a month! What's up with that?? Wahhhhhh! Perhaps the running and working out with the trainer is building muscle and so it's not showing up on the scale..... Or it might be the Mexican lunches I've had the last two weeks... Might also be the food I consume at 8:00pm at night after long days at work. So yes I suppose there's good reasons why the scale is stuck.
      At any rate, I persevere. I love running and I find myself antsy and eager to get out and run. That's a miracle in and of itself. I haven't been biking in a few weeks because I need to buy an air pump and just haven't made the time to go buy one. And why aren't I swimming? Oh because I'm busy... And I'm doing a triathlon in 6 weeks!! Wow I better get swimming this week.
I'm very much looking forward to biking today with some friends from the Chattanooga Triathlon club. I'm sure it will be fun, and I really hope I can keep up with them.
   

Firing up the blog again

Weight: 251.7

I've decided to activate the blog again, thinking Facebook perhaps isn't the place to share all my exercise musings and updates. This way, those who want to follow along can do so, and those who aren't interested can move along. :-)
I'm going to post my weight here because I think it's another way to stay accountable. A year ago I was 274ish. So I'm pleased overall. However on January 1 this year I was 269, so my average of weight loss per month is crummy. Nowhere near 8-10 lbs a month like you always hear about.  However, it is working, slowly but surely. So complain I won't!
     Finally, I have thought about changing the name of my blog to something more catchy. Something about exercise or triathlon, etc. ultimately I decided to just leave it as it is. Because really, for me, no matter if I am a runner or a triathlete, at the end of the day, every day, it's about the food. I can't compete with what I eat. 44 years of comfort eating of sugary foods is a hard habit to break. And while I don't necessarily want to find my identity in the number on the scale, I do want to be accountable and work towards healthy food choices that will get my BMI down to a normal range.

So, today I'm off to my personal trainer, then a 5-6 mile run/walk, then clinicals in the ER later this afternoon.

I jogged 2 miles!!!

I jogged 2 miles!!!!!!!!

This is an exciting moment and I want to blog about it because I want to always remember these moments. I have been working on the couch to 5K program for 10 weeks or so. I have to keep repeating week 8 because I either slack and don't get my three jogs in, or I quit jogging and have to walk during it. So anyways, today was a major achievement! Never mind that it took me nearly 30 minutes... 13.5 min for the first mile and 15.5 for the second mile. But so what. I jogged. I jogged 2 miles.  3 months ago I wouldn't have imagined I would ever jog 2 miles. Therefore, I have hope that by next spring I'll be running 4 miles. Sure, why not?
    I haven't been blogging, but I have been exercising since July 1. I started swimming this summer and was up to 18-24 laps 3-4 times a week. Not all front crawl. I'd occasionally grab a kick board for a lap, or do back stroke, etc. Most importantly, I fell in love with swimming. Then at the end of August I started Couch to 5k. I didn't blog tho, because I didn't want my focus to be weight loss and dieting. I wanted it to be exercise and an active lifestyle. Ok, So now that I'm exercising, I have to come to terms with the fact that diet is important too. Perhaps more important to scale than exercise. So, here I am.  Celebrating a 2 mile jog today - and hoping for many more. I'm so thankful!