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.

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I am trying a new product called U-turn from uweightloss. This is the clinic I have been going to for the past year and a bit. I have had great success with the program. Food  logging, coaching, healthy homemade meal plans, natropathic supplements, step counting. Alas I have hit a plateau. I am trying U-turn and I think it will work, it involves a very filling supplement smoothie for snacks several times per day, three higher protein meals, and  a detox supplement.

I have adjusted my goal weight to be 168 which will give me 80 lbs lost, you can do the math to figure out my highest weight I think that will also help me mentally. My original goal was 160 which I think that I will eventually reach, especially if I keep up with the triathlon training. But for now 80 lbs gone will be a great achievement. Then I can get my tattoo, I have only been blabbing about it for 6 months or so. I think I might get three small stars on my left inner wrist and 5 stars on my right foot. That will be a star for each 10 lb lost and the three stars can represent my hubby and my two girls as well, reminding me to be a good example for them.

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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

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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

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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

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mark and macy

I am of course referring to the puppy in the picture. We all know that husbands can be quite time consuming as well, but the puppy is the new factor in my life. Her name is Macy. We have a Chocolate Lab called Hoha (Gogga in Afrikaans, he came with the name and the kids insisted we not change it). Sooo our new puppy needed a cute name and Mark researched Afrikaans words and came up with Meicie which means “girl or lass”  luckily our puppy is a girl. We simplified the spelling to Macy.

I am starting to wonder why we do this to ourselves? Do we love the thrill of the new?? Or do we let things come to us and accept them as they were meant to be. Originally we just admired this little pup at the SPCA but for some reason she kept coming back on our radar. We ended up picking her up the day before we went camping and she was a dream aside from her dew claws incision becoming infected (thank goodness there was a nurse around). She just chilled at the camp site, rode well in the car, and only peed in the tent once.

Some times things might seem overwhelming and too much but maybe the universe is trying to give you a little nudge. I suppose I would rather live a busy somewhat hectic life rather than look back on a completely calm and organized life with regrets.

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Balfour ferry 2009

It has taken me a long time to get excited about camping, especially with kids and dogs. You may wonder why I wouldn’t like to enjoy the great outdoors in all of it’s glory…I do not like to be dirty, there I said it. I do not like chaos. We went camping in the Kootenay’s for 4 nights and it was bloody awful, it rained and rained, the mosquitoes were having a population boom. Golly we were troopers, running from the tents to the shelter of the car and back again. Our big boy Chocolate lab Hoha was so afraid of the thunder he had to sleep in the back of the car, he is a bit of a princess.

 As I am trying to be and optomist, the great part of the trip were visiting family and seeing the really cool location for the Shambhala festival http://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/  my little sister Amanda is feeding all of the hard working volunteers and coordination the vendors.

wicked artwork at the festival site

Camping can be fun and it can be awful… for the most part I tried to make good choices but it is really difficult to avoid the chips and marshmallows. I do not like being deprived. I come back to the main lesson I have learned in this weight loss journey. Try to make good choices, if you slip pull up your socks and move on …get your ass to the gym, go for a run. It is not possible to gain 60 lbs over a weekend.

I have eaten really well for the past three days and I have my meals planned for the week. I had a killer workout last night. I am ready to kick some ass.

family, fitness, nutrition, organizing, Uncategorized, weight loss family, fitness, health, meal plans, weight loss

play together stay together

What did I used to think about running? Mark will tell you that I used to say…”Why run unless someone is chasing you” Is there someone chasing you with a sharp stick? a hot poker? I may have changed my tune now. I now believe that running is a great treatment for mental health challenges. I have struggled with anxiety in some form or another for as long as I can remember. I have coped with the anxiety for years by pushing down the feelings with food. I am gradually realizing that the feelings can be dealt with through exercise and I have the added benefit of losing weight not gaining weight.

I do not always love running, but I am learning to like it and it’s benefits.

There is a theory that those who play together, stay together.  I think there is some credence to this theory, not only do you get to spend quality time with your someone special you have a better understanding of their wants, needs, desires and challenges, trials and worries. I would  also like to explore other sports Mark and I could do together, such as kayaking.

What activities do you do with your spouse, partner, boyfriend, girlfriend?

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the image i found when i googled chaos

I am at the end of my rope with the paper that comes in to the house.  No matter how many times I sort, file, and recycle the frickin paper it is still drowning me. I find it so hard to focus on making me a better me when the house is so chaotic. I feel that the kids should be pitching in more, but then they get home from they are so exhausted, or there is an after school activity,and then before you know it bed time rolls around. I suppose I also don’t want to be a slave driver… but I am not doing them any favours but not instilling a work ethic in them. I am obsessed with Till Debt Do Us Part a money managment show on TV. Gail has articles on her website about kids and money.  http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/articles/article5.htm 

We have done the chore chart before with good success, but any program works only as well as the people behind it. I have struggled with paying the kids for chores or giving them an allowance to help them learn how to manage money and they have to do chores for no compensation because they are part of a family. For the most part when I as the girls to do something they are quite accomodating.

I wonder if live will be a continuous cycle of tearing stuff out of closets, leaving it in a pile for weeks and then finally stuffing it somewhere else because company is coming.

Do you have any ideas for keeping organized?

What does this all have to do with running? In the past I have let myself spiral in to a depression and give up exercise when I am feeling overwhelmed by the mess and chaos. So it is all related and needs to be address in order to be successful.

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