Raby Bay Club Champs 2013

Life has been a whirlwind of ups and downs, changes and challenges. I have only recently started to think about my old blog and decided to check it out today, wouldn’t you know the last post was on May 22, 2011…. I can’t even describe how fast the time has flown.

As far as fitness goes I am still trying to find my way. I have recently found a treatment that brings some relief from the IT band group of pain I have been working through. Bowen therapy, it works, it’s easy, it doesn’t hurt like the f’in foam roller devil. Now I just need to find another therapist as my guy has decided to go west for the winter, yes I said winter in May…. I have been living in Australia for the past 18 months.

I have been able to maintain a 30-35 lb weight loss since my big loss of 80 lbs. I am happy about that but I would like to crack the crust on how to get back down again and be able to maintain that loss in a healthy manner. Not that the weight loss wasn’t healthy the last time it is that the weight gain was caused by a slip back in to unhealthy habits.  I am vulnerable to stress eating and using food as a distraction. Trying to use old episodes of Gossip Girl as a distraction right now, just have to make sure I am on my bike on the windtrainer not on the couch.

We have moved to one of the most beautiful places on the planet, Australia. I will say that life is different when you move somewhere to live not just come to visit.  The realities of leaving friends and family sink in. I take quite a long time to connect to people so it was hard to leave the friendships I had cultivated. Australians I must say are quick to welcome you once you break the ice, especially triathlete types.

I have only done one triathlon since being here and that was a sub sprint. It was weird that everyone thought it was my first ever and I was such a newbie. I had this completely different life in Canada with some little successes in running races, mini triathlons but now I was back to being overweight and slow with no cred… Could it be a good thing? One thing I am not is a quitter. I was often the slowest person on the group rides with Impact Multisport, but they never made me feel bad. Why can’t I give it a go here? Early mornings perhaps, yuck 5 am wake ups.

There have been a few messages from the cosmos that I need to get my proverbial shit together. My beloved Dad passed away very suddenly of a massive stroke, no warning at all. Still working on that one. A friend recently passed away at a very young age and it has given me more pause to think about what is important. A perfect body is not something I have ever really been obsessed with but I would like to have a very functional one that moves well in space and wears clothes comfortably. Not too much to ask? I would also like to be able to run comfortably again but if that is not in the cards right now there is surely more activities that I can do with ease.

This is my 40th year and it seems a bit trite but I would like to have a few things sorted out by the end of it. Healthy body, career direction (that’s another long story), harmonious family life.

wi My proud Papa

Proud Mom

XOXO Betty Girl

cycling, family, fitness, goals, triathlon, weight loss

Here is the third and final portion of my harrowing first attempt at an Olympic distance triathlon, the run edition.

one last chug

After getting off the bike I knew how I would feel, my legs would be wobbly and feel like lead and my spirit would still be a bit down. Knowing these things I just got off my bike and started pulling off my cycling gear. I popped on my new runners with my “go faster” elastic laces, which are the total bomb by the way.

Elastic "go faster" laces

Off I go and the first part is an up hill, one of the few hills on this course. Hmmm not feeling too bad when are the lead legs going to come? … BOOM there they are. Just keep running, running, running. Got about a km in to the run and I needed to walk. Now I don’t like to walk in a running race, in fact it irritates me to walk and it irritates me when others walk and then end up beating me, but that is my own head trash. Part of the reason I don’t like to walk is that it is so hard to get myself motivated to get running again. For the first lap of the 5 km route I did a lot of run/walking. Near the end of the first loop Mark met up with me because he thought something had happened to me, like I had quit or something. He walked along side me for a while which just made me get choked up and I thanked him for the moral support but let him go on his way because I couldn’t stop crying. Weird!

Oh the stress of being a spectator, where is she?...

The second loop was much better. I was able to run a more than walk  and I even started to pass a couple of people. I kept a couple in my sights but I wasn’t able to catch up to them. All in all not a great example of my running ability, but then again it is not just a running race it is a triathlon and all of the disciplines influence each other. I wonder if I had not had such a brutal time in the swim if I would have had more psychological “energy” for the bike and run?

As I was coming up to the last corner I saw a mirage… One of my teammates (Gary S) was walking around the bend. He was coming to look for me. He stuck by me and encouraged me to keep running, bring it home. For some reason his presence didn’t make me cry.  He even called ahead to let someone know that I was almost at the home stretch. Coming down the finish chute was such a great feeling! I actually finished a race that I thought was over from the start. As I crossed the finish line I saw all of my friends and family there cheering me on and I teared up once again, such an emotional day, my goodness. I think I always have the best cheering group on any race. Mark, Mom, Dad, Meredith, Mike and Heather.

time should read 3:50:04 according to timing chip or close to that

If I ever wonder if paying for coaching is a good idea when I am such a newbie. I should just remember that my coach was at the finish line waiting for the very last one from the team to finish and gave me a big congratulatory hug. We are so lucky to live here in Penticton where we can train with great coaches and swim, bike and run on the Ironman Canada course.

coach Kev

I have a great post brewing about a confidence building race I just participated in. Stay tuned.

family, fitness, goals, running, swimming, triathlon family, fitness, goals, Mental health, running, triathlon

After getting out the the water at the WCOC Oliver Olympic triathlon and stumbling to the transition area I stood by my bike and sobbed. What do I do next… I am freezing, confused, demoralized. I looked up and there was Mark looking over the fence at me, encouraging me to get going, come on, finish this thing. I slowly flung my wetsuit over the rack, donned my bike gear, all the while blubbering. When I thought I was ready I looked up at Mark with a pathetic tear stained face and cried DO I HAVE EVERYTHING ON??? “Yes now get going!”

Of I went in a bit of a crowd with the Sprint distance athletes that had started the swim a considerable time after the Olympic athletes. At least I wasn’t completely alone starting the ride. All was well for a while until we reach the turn around point for the Sprint and all the sudden I was alone…, and I remained alone for the most part of the ride. It is difficult to ride alone, with nobody to catch or stay ahead of, you are truly racing yourself.

I did find that during the first bit of the ride I was still pretty demoralized from the swim experience, and I found myself having odd morbid thoughts. Like if I fell off my bike nobody would look down on me for having to pull out of the race. Having survived the harrowing swim I wasn’t going to let a silly 40km bike ride take me down. Besides I knew my family would be waiting for me along Blacksage road to cheer me on a take my picture. Better practice my smile.

As the ride went on I felt a bit more fluid and I even used the aerobars quite a bit. I even managed to catch up to a couple of people and pass them. I was super happy to round the corner to the transition area once again, but a bit concerned about setting off on the run course. Hello Lead Legs.

Stay tuned for the Run portion.

cycling, family, running, triathlon cycling, fitness, triathlon

The Before shot

I have been a naughty, naughty poster. I promise to make up for it with a fascinating post about my recent adventures in triathlon.

May 16th does that sound like a good time of year to go swimming in a lake, in CANADA? Well whether it is rational or not early in the morning on that chilly spring day I embarked upon my very first Olympic distance triathlon. The event is the Wine Capital of Canada Triathlon which is an Olympic distance triathlon, 1500 m open water lake swim, 40 km bike ride, 10 km run.

I need to give myself a bit of a break as I go on to describe the ensuing trauma created by the swim, since I had never really worn a wetsuit, only practiced open water swimming once this year and the water was frigid. I experienced things in the swim I totally had not predicted and never thought would happen to me. I had at least 3 severe panic attacks. To me a panic attack involves rapid breathing, rapid heart rate and a feeling of impending doom. Check, check ,check. I wasn’t sure what was bothering me the most, the restrictive feeling of the brand new wetsuit, the cold water, the mob of people at the the mass start, or perhaps all of the above.

This experience was defining moment of mind over matter for me. I essentially floated on my back, breast-stroked, floundered and did the occasional back stroke. There were moments of bargaining when I was asking a higher power to let me go through labour and delivery with twins again rather than continue on with this madness. I considered stripping off my wetsuit, throwing it at the kayaker and trying to continue on, I was sure death from hypothermia would have been better than finishing this swim.

But… I did carry on. Pretty much the only thing that kept me going was the fact that my family and friends were there at the crack of dawn to cheer me on, and I am a very stubborn person who does’t like to disappoint people. As I rounded the turnaround bouy the Race Director Joe grabbed my hand and encouraged me on. Okay I can do this, back in the water I go. The second lap was pretty tough but somehow a bit better than the first. I do take a while to warm up as I have mentioned before.

Encouragement from Race Director Joe

As I finished the swim, not last, I don’t know how that was possible. Some poor souls dropped out due to the cold and panic attacks. I am glad I didn’t really know of the prevalence of panic attacks before I signed up for an early season race.

What are my feelings about this first race in the open water?

A lot to learn, to improve on, a lot of time to shed. I will get back on the horse that bucked me, because it didn’t kill me, I am stronger.

Stay tuned for the Bike portion of the race report.

family, fitness, goals, swimming, triathlon blogging, fitness, goals, swimming, triathlon

My future is so bright...

I have a tonne of ideas swirling around in my head right now. All good things. As my last post indicates I need to find some focus. I do tend to overwhelm myself with projects, jobs, and new ideas. I don’t like to miss out on things and I think that can be to my detriment sometimes and to my advantage as well.

Some people might think I am crazy to have a family, full-time job, 2 casual jobs, write a blog, losing weight, trying to be a bit of an athlete, and an affectionate wife (no snickering Mark). I do have a natural tendency towards the lazy so I suppose I tend to over do it a bit in an attempt to override that tendency.

I am reading Jillian Michaels’ Master your Metabolism book right now (thanks Andrea)  and it really jives with the learning and supplements at U weight loss.I really ought to start getting a commission from Jillian, at least 4 or 5 people I know have bought her video now. Oh well good for her she must be putting out the right vibes to generate such wonderful success. Once I am finished losing the weight forever, I truly believe that I will have a better understanding of my body and how to better maintain it at a healthy weight.

I have found that when the time is right things just fall in to place for me. When I push things too hard and try to force outcomes, I always fall flat and end up seriously disappointed. I am struggling with the fact that I really want to get a website up and running that incorporates all of the things I talk about in the blog and a few more as well. It seems like a big undertaking but I believe that it is my calling and I am meant to provide a service to others trying to find their way to health and happiness. So I am putting it out there universe, let me know when the time is right and send a web designer to my door step.

Read more…

family, fitness, nutrition, ponderings, weight loss blogging, body image, health, Mental health, triathlon, weight loss

family photo 2008

family photo 2009

I have been working  hard at losing weight for the past year. Some weeks have seen harder work  than others. I could be a little bit disappointed that I haven’t reached my goal of 88 lbs lost yet but then again 70 lbs lost is nothing to sneeze at. Every time I slip up and regress a little I get right back on track now. Before it would have meant a weeks or months long slide in to getting fatter territory. I realize that I will not gain 70 lbs in one night as long as I get right back on the wagon.

I have 4 weeks left at U weight loss in the losing weight phase, then I will move in to maintenance. I would love to go all ” Biggest Loser” and say that I could lose 18-20 lbs in the next 4 weeks. I am also realistic and understand that it is getting harder to lose the closer I get to my goal.

I have officially lost 81.5 inches off of a multitude of places on my body. The biggest change is in my waist/midsection where I have lost over 13 inches.  This is big for me because I was really getting worried about the medical implication of the excess abdominal fat, linked with heart disease and early death. I was also concerned about the increase risk of breast cancer in people who are obese. My Grannie is a breast cancer survivor and one of my favorite people.

We took some lovely family photos this weekend (thank you Dad). I have been shying away from family pictures for the past few years. I really wanted to have a picture I could be proud. The photos have turned out really nice.  It feels great to like how pictures turn out now.

Luv Betty

family, fitness, ponderings, weight loss body image, diet, fitness, weight loss, weight loss rewards

one way to get your bacon fix

On the weekend Mark and I should have been doing yard work or sorting out the jumbled shed but the weather was just too good to not go for a bike ride. So Carpe Diem we did. We decided to ride out along Naramata road for a while and see how it went. Well we got to the first hill, not too far from our house, and I was struggling with my gears a bit and I looked down at the front ring, the handle bars followed my gaze and the wheel caught and edge… knee meets concrete. I felt pretty silly since I was at the bottom of a hill when I bailed, but kind of grateful that I wasn’t going 60km downhill when I ejected from my bike.

I sat there for a minute and pondered the sheer misfortune of an injury at the beginning of the bike ride. Mark was kind by suggesting we go home to either clean it up or wait for another day. Somewhere inside myself I found the internal fortitude to say “no, let’s go on”. We rode all the way to Naramata, down in to the village and stopped for a snack and knee clean up, then we rode all the way home. It was a total of 32 km. Not Ironman distance but pretty good for my second ride of any consequence.

The best reward for me was Mark’s comments. The old Betty would not have gone on after an injury, in fact the old Betty would have found every reason not to start the ride in the first place.  New  Betty sure has a lot more energy and spunk.

I find since I have lost weight I am less intimidated by things. Less scared. I have even fantasized about sky diving. Rollercoasters I might consider now, whereas before there was no way. I was too fat and too scared. Is it a chicken or an egg thing? Was the fat making me scared or was the fat a protective coating because I was scared?

Now that I do not have the weight to insulate me I am open, exposed to the world like a fresh wound. Some days the word is exhilarating and some days there is a bit of a sting. I need to continue to get more comfortable with feeling things and not trying to keep a barrier between me and the sensations.

The knee scrape has made exercising this week a challenge because the swelling makes the knee difficult to bend and the scab is painful to kneel on. I bought Jillian Michaels’ 30 day Shred DVD and I have been aching to try it. I  finally tried it today and it went pretty well. I wasn’t able to do the push up because of the knee but I modified and did wall push ups. I think this will be a good workout. It only takes 20 min and it gives you cardio, strength and core.

my new master

family, fitness, ponderings, weight loss family, fitness, Mental health, weight loss, weight loss rewards

Me with my beautiful girls on their 11th birthday

I am closing in on  my weigh loss goal and I am finding myself swinging between being totally on plan, focused and being chaotic and bingey. I think that I have reconciled with the fact that I will be exercising frequently,with intensity for the rest of my life. Exercise is not just for weight loss it is for creating and maintaining a healthy body. There I said it. I used to often wonder why “skinny people” were wasting their time in the gym. Hmm they want a healthy body.

I found myself in to the 170′s (barely but I was there) and then the weekend happened and then a week of 12 hour shifts slammed me in the face. The key to my success is preparedness. Easy enough said….I would love to make a weekly plan and then just stick to it, but alas my schedule is different every week and then there are kids, activities, weather changes, sick family members,commitments , extra work…. The planning and scheduling needs to be a consistent effort.  Some times I just want to stomp my feet and pout, but alas I must go on.

Goals for the week:

Exercise daily, 15 min walk upon waking and then 45-60 min at the or running or cycling.

Have meals planned and food purchased

Family doing their part

Setting boundaries re: extra work

I am going to set the timer for 20 min for house cleaning then off to the gym then eat lunch, then rest before the kids get home., then food shop, make dinner, then go to work for 12 hour night shift.

family, fitness, nutrition, organizing, ponderings, weight loss blogging, diet, meal plans, nutrition, organizing, weight loss

Jane's steady hand

I wasn’t sure if I should enter the Summerland Sprint Triathlon because my training was really slacking. I finally decided to just sign up and go for it. One of the factors that pushed my towards signing up was seeing my friend Liz when I was out shopping and she said she was going to do the race.  There are signs everywhere and we need to listen to them. So literally jumped in with two feet.

On the day of the race I felt organized, woke up on time, at a healthy filling breakfast, the kids and the dogs were well behaved. I didn’t really feel too nervous because I didn’t have too high of an expectation on myself. My main concern was the swim, and my fears were amped up when i saw the swells on the water. There were what looked like 2-3 foot  whitecaps . I really felt a sense of calm come over me I think it was because of the of the wonderful, spirited, kind women and men around me.  We struggled to enter the water because of the large slippery rocks we had to walk over to get to the swim start. Just as I was feeling a bit defeated my friend Bryn reached out and offered me her hand.

I breast stroked the entire swim. Every time I tried to front crawl I was hit in the face by a huge wave. I had to keep psyching myself up to keep going, it will be over soon…just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

 Michelle M. and Me before the swim. I was one of 2 or three without a wetsuit

The bike was just fine. I can’t say that I hated it or love it. There was a crazy headwind while we were riding south, but there was a great tailwind as we were riding back north so it all kind of evens out. The bike worked out great. I can see how having riding shoes with clip on pedals would be advantageous and gears that shift smoother. I need to prove that I like the sport before I upgrade to a better bike. As you can see from the photo, I did keep smiling all the way through the race. Why do it if you are going to frown and grimace.

Me, Bryn, Liz and Dave

I never thought I would call myself a runner. I totally rocked the run, if I might say so myself. I came off the bike with the wobbly legs that I expected. After transition we headed up a hill right away!! Not a big hill but a hill none the less. What made it okay was the gaggle of family and friends at the top of the hill cheering  for me. Golly I am a lucky girl, so much support. As I was heading off on the run my legs were feeling like LEAD. I kind of knew to expect this so I just kept moving and over the next kilometer or so they loosened up and I started to pass people. Hmmm. What a feeling that was. I was wearing my new Newton running shoes and I had to keep reminding myself to try to run on the midsole so I would be putting less stress on my joints and I would be less tired. For the most part I was able to maintain this type of running style and I do think it helped with the energy return and fatigue.  I was very happy that I had run the course a few times with my friend Heather, so I knew what to expect. I was so excited and not really too tired when I rounded the last corner to head up the hill to the crowd near the finish. The finish loop was on the grass at the park. I could hear Steve King’s voice announcing the finishers names and my adrenaline started pumping harder. In the home stretch I nearly caught up to the runner in front of me.

I finished with a time of 1:45:13. I am really happy with my time and I do think that there is a tonne of room for improvement. I wonder how much time I could shave off next year?

Thank you so much to my family, friends, volunteers, fellow racers. I could believe how nice everyone was at the race. I asked Mark if everyone was so nice because it is a Sprint Tri and there is a lot of beginners,and he said “no that is just how triathletes are” I think I might like this sport.

Congrats to all of the fellow first timers who did the race. Michelle, Collette, Taryn, Bryn and the girls behind me in the line up.

Jane it was so nice to see your smiling face went I exited the swim, I wasn’t sure if I died and you were an angel and Mike and Heather, everywhere I turned there you were cheering me on.

Great big sweaty hugs for all

Betty

family, fitness, ponderings, running, triathlon, weight loss family, fitness, newton running shoes, running, triathlon, weight loss

I am too tired to write a big post about the amazing experience that was the Sprint triathlon today. I will give you a little taste  now and write a more descriptive one tomorrow.

I am really happy with my time of 1:45:12 the exact time might be a bit different but it is within a few seconds.

The swim was pure hell, something to be survived. I will elaborate, when I write more later.

Thank you so much to my friends and family who showed up to make me the most supported racer there. Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who made this day possible. Much love to all.

Cheers

Betty

family, fitness, running, triathlon family, fitness, health, running, triathlon