me. triathlon. me. - wait, what?!?

yeah, I know . . . what am I thinking, right?

Well, I am now taking this opportunity to tell you what I'm thinking. Cuz that's what a blog is for. ;)

So, last week in my daily blog perusing I came across a blog giveaway for a free entry into this mini-triathlon. It's a women-only, non-competitive triathlon, where they say that beginners are welcome and that there is an attitude of helping you know what to do. That's the most intimidating thing for me. All the where-do-I-go, what-do-I-do-now, why-am-I-here stuff. haha.

I admit I've looked into the mini sprint triathlon idea before and kind of put it in my "bucket list" in the back of my head. Like, someday when I'm actually in a habit of lap swimming and biking and can run without being injured. (Haha - yeah, right.)

Well, but . . . this triathamom idea sounded almost tempting . . . and for free (!!!!) . . . hmmm . . . and I thought well, I'll just put my name on the list . . . and if I win it, then I'll just try it and see how it goes. Nothing lost, nothing gained. I ran the idea past Zac and we came to the conclusion that with all the back to school shopping etc, we couldn't afford the $70 entry fee anyway. So the only way I'd be doing it is if I won the entry.

And yesterday. of course. I found out I won it (out of about 21 entries)!! hahahahahaha.
oh, wait . . .
That means I'm doing a triathlon. HAHAHAHAHA.
(Nothing like winning an entry to push you into doing something you maybe want to try but probably wouldn't do otherwise)

Here are my thoughts:

- ok. It's a "sprint" distance triathlon. This means (for this race anyway): 300 yd swim, 12 mile bike ride, and a 5k run. I'm fairly confident I could do each of those independently - but . . . not too sure about about one right after the other.

- oh and the last time I've swam (swum? swimmed?) laps?!? uhhh, I think I went once last summer. uh huh. I'm a "good" swimmer, as in I know how to swim well. But an in-shape swimmer? Nowhere close.

- My bike. I have a cheap-ish mountain-ish type bike. A little while ago I bought a gel seat cover which is a bonus. But I'm just figuring out how to use even use all the gears properly. HAHAHAH. And I don't know how to change a bike tire. And I've gone on precisely 3 bike rides in the last year. (the last one though, I did make 12 miles! whoopeee!!) oh and I probably need a helmet that fits well. The one I have is a men's helmet I think. Ohhh dear.

- But I did run that 5K recently. I'm afraid to do too much running training since I always tend to get injured, but my zumba and 30day shred seem to getting me in good enough shape to run that distance if need be.

- I need good swim goggles. And a swim cap.

- And I need something to wear. I'm not going to be able to get any fancy "tri-suit" kind of stuff. But I either need something I can swim, run and bike in. Or be able to bike and run in my swimsuit. And have something to put over top. Hm. I'm not sure my walmart swimsuit is "supportive" enough to run in, so this will take some thought . . .

- oh and the swim is in an indoor pool. This is another plus of this race, as I will not need a wetsuit and open water scares me a little more.

- also, my running shoes have holes in the sides, along the little toe. Bummer. Add new shoes to the list.

- Anyway - I've got 8 weeks to train and most training guides I've seen basically have you running, swimming and biking about twice a week each. Not too bad. Hard part will be getting to a pool to do laps. We have a summer membership to an outdoor pool, but lap swimming hours are only for an hr in the evenings, and any thunder means no pool (which has been a lot lately). The indoor pool would require paying more but come Sept, that's what I'll have to do. I need to see how far I can actually swim without stopping. That's the first step, I guess.

- But I can do this. Right? Even if I have to hang onto the wall and catch my breath between laps. Even if I have to walk my bike. Even if I have to walk the entire 5K. Even if I come in very last. I think I can do this. That's worth something right? (Say yes, say yes, say yes)

- And . . . if I finish this, then this will be a kind of race that I can say I've done that Zac has never done!!! And that's saying something! (eh, so I can be a little competitive . . . so shoot me.) ;)

WISH ME LUCK!! (I need it)
And I'll take any advice, tips, warnings, etc . .. I need all the help I can get!!

aww, yeaaah

I also wanted to announce that upon completing the Healthier You 2011 Challenge, I tied with 2 other girls for earning the maximum amount of points for the entire challenge! We each won $74 - wohooo!!!! I guess that may not seem like much of a prize to some of you. But it was pretty nice for me to feel like I had that money all to myself (a very rare treat!). So, for doing 8 weeks of food journaling, not eating treats, sweets, junk food or fast food, drinking 64 oz of water, exercising, taking supplements, getting 7 hrs of sleep, having morning personal quiet time, and eating 5 fruits and veggies a day, I splurged on myself and got these shoes:

And this dress: (hehehe - makes me happy just thinking about them)

(I also utilized a $20 Amazon gift card that I got for free through Daily Deals and $10 of Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks for free) Awesome!!!

(and a sidenote: I didn't do those things continuously through the 8 weeks. We added a new part of the challenge every week.)

Anyway - it felt great to treat myself for treating myself well! It's not something I do very often - but something I should probably do more.

So, yay for me. ;)

yum

Tonight Zac made an incredible no-sugar-added pie with apples, a pear, frozen blueberries, strawberries and peaches, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey with a handmade pie crust.
It was soooo tasty.

I'm just glad he likes to cook and is good at it. I can't say whether I'm "good" at it or not really - but pretty much the only thing I enjoy making is muffins. I really love muffins. So anyway. Zac has a thing for pies. And our whole family benefits as a result. ;)

Today is the last day of the HealthierMe challenge. I have successfully made it through and for that I am very happy!!

The best thing I have gained from it is just a better sense of self-control. That's always a good thing. I didn't lose much weight as a result, which was disappointing . . . but . . . wellll . . . yeah it was just disappointing. I'll just leave it at that. For now.

Other than that, I am just feeling rather grumpy lately. Zac and I were able to go on an actual "date" last night - a real-live "dinner and a movie"-date. And I think at first I was so grumpy he might have wished he had left me at home. Some good food and some nice quiet time in the movie theater helped a little (by the way, we saw The Adjustment Bureau which was surprisingly intriguing and thought-provoking - we'd recommend it). But besides that, I am mostly just unbearable right now. So steer clear (fair warning). haha.

It might all just be in my head, though. Sometimes I can't really tell. Sometimes I can barely stand myself.

But . . . anyway. Enough of that.

more later

Love Your Body

One of the daily challenges this week for the Honor Your Body thing I'm doing (for Healthy Lifestyle points) is to list 10 things you love about your body. Huh. On first thought this seems like an exasperating task. If you're anything like me, what this immediately brings to my mind first is all the things you don't really love so much.

(nope, not my body)

Am I even allowed to love my body? This one? The 36 yr old, post-4-babies, out of shape and overweight one? Hello?!? ummmm . . . . yeaaaaah.

So.

It took some deeper thought.

But here goes:

1. I love that my body works. All these intricate systems, circulatory, muscular, nervous, digestion, etc - everything works more or less as it's supposed to. Isn't that amazing??

2. I love that my body can heal itself from most minor injuries and illnesses - and I don't have to do a thing about it!

3. I love that I have detached earlobes. haha.

4. I love that my body is capable of swimming and roller-skating and dancing. I'd even go so far as to say that I am, or was, even pretty good at those things. ;)

5. I love my longer second toe.

6. I love having blue eyes.

7. I love my 5 senses. My body can see, hear, taste, touch and smell. Isn't that wonderful?

8. I love that I'm left-handed.

9. I love that my body can do more, and push past more limitations, than I give it credit for.

10. And finally, the thing I love most is that this body could conceive, carry, birth and breastfeed 4 incredible little babies. It is nothing short of miraculous how most of the time, for most women through the ages of time, this entire process actually works at all. I am awestruck when I think about what my body has actually done in bringing these children here.

And for all of that, I will honor and love my body.

Wow. I didn't even know I could do that. :)

How about you? (You try listing 10 things and see how you feel afterwards. It's pretty good!)

10 things

Zac's work has a wonderful Healthy Lifestyles program where we (employees and spouses) earn points for exercising, getting a physical exam, etc and then we redeem our points for money every year. $$$$$!!! It's awesome.

Sometimes they even have extra little challenges for extra points. Wohoo! And this month they are having a Love Your Body challenge, and linking into the Operation Beautiful project. I love the idea behind it. And I love getting extra points. So I'm all for completing the little daily tasks and weekly goals they have set out to get the points.

Today's task is to list 10 things you are grateful for. So here we go:

1. the internet (!!)
2. my new sock solution so that I never have to match socks again (mesh bags and sock locks! amazing)
3. free zumba classes
4. my kids who bring me happiness just by the miracle of who they are
5. my husband who brought tears to my eyes the other day just by mentioning something random he liked about me, out of the blue
6. 6 free song downloads a week from the library
7. being able to get up the driveway despite the snow
8. getting packages in the mail (even from things I ordered myself)
9. people who know more than me and help me out without making me feel stupid
10. challenges and goals that give me things to work for and a feeling of accomplishment - even for simple little things.

What are you thankful for today?

(PS - the weekly goal is to avoid any Weight Related Talk. oooh, good one. So I'm working on that. Wanna join me?
oh and for the Healthier Me challenge, this week we are drinking 64 oz of water a day, along with food journaling, avoiding sugar and junk, getting 5 fruits and veggies a day, and exercising at least 4 days a week. Whew!! It's been really good for me. See? I'm a sucker for "challenges" to get me actually doing stuff. I really need external motivation sometimes.) :)

Healthier Me 2011: Week 2, being committed makes all the difference

(this is the post I wrote on the private Healthier You blog. This past week's challenge was to eliminate all white sugar, junk food, and fast food. Going into this next week, we are continuing food journaling and the sugar/junk elimination and adding 2 servings of fruits and 3 servings of veggies everyday. Who's in???)

(ps - hope you don't mind me adding this to the already somewhat eclectic mix of blogging topics around here . . . oh well.)

Hey everybody! Another week down. :)

I don't know why I never really realized this before, but being fully committed to an idea, a goal, a change makes all the difference for me. Knowing I just "can't" eat certain things, it's not that hard for me to say no even if other family members are eating it (yes, I know it would be better for everyone to be on board together - but, baby steps, right?).

This has made me thankful for the experience I had when one of my babies had a milk protein allergy and because he was exclusively nursing, I couldn't eat ANYTHING with any milk product in it at all, or he would have blood in his stool. Casein, whey, butter, milk . . . nothing. And it's in EVERYTHING. I ate an animal cracker once - just one - and he reacted to the whey in it. So anyway, looking back on that, I know that I can resist temptations if I have to!!

So, with this past week's challenge, I am just telling myself this is something that I have to do. That helps.

Another thought process that has helped me in the past and I am using again now, is to remind myself that yes, I know how good that tastes but I just don't need to eat it right now. And whatever it is, it's not going to go away. This is not a one-time-only chance to eat something yummy that I might want. Someday, I think I will eat treats again (in moderation . . . and only occasionally). But it can wait. It will always be available another time. So I can pass it up right now. (I don't know if this is the absolute best attitude to have about giving up sugar, but so far it's working for me, so I'm going to keep with it for now.)

So, I am finding that giving up sugar is do-able! Yay! The hardest part is paying attention to labels and planning ahead a bit to make sure I won't slip (at least that's how I feel about it today, we'll see how the coming weeks go). ;)

This past week I also started with trying to get in all my fruits and vegetables since I know this is a struggle for me. What has made it easier for me is to make sure I am getting 2 servings at every meal. Yes, that gets me up to at least 6 servings, but it's just easier to plan on 2 per meal to make sure I'm getting it, rather than thinking, oh I'll just eat that for a snack later or whatever. I am just making myself eat it at every meal.

I've been eating 2 cups of raw spinach with salad dressing every single day for lunch, with whatever else I am eating. And there have been a couple times I've microwaved myself a bowl of frozen green beans to eat at the end of dinner just because I needed another serving of vegetables!

So, as we go into this next week I'd like to hear how the rest of you make sure you're getting your 5 servings a day? What fruits and veggies do you eat every day?
And what do you eat for quick, easy, healthy lunches?? I hate fixing lunch. lol.
I'd love to hear some new ideas.
Thanks!!