Week 1 Weigh In

5.8

 

Sorry....I got a little excited there. Yup....5.8...that is the lucky number this week! Week 1 weigh in this morning....down 5.8 pounds! As I said last night I was really hoping for 5lbs, but wasn't really thinking I'd get it. I was especially worried with how running, drinking water and fueling during my run would effect the scale. Apparently not at all! :) Or, if it did, maybe that means next week I'll for SURE be down again!

 

Of course, after such a big loss, I'm nervous about what the scale might do next week. But, I am going to try not to worry about it and just do what I did last week!

 

So, my goals for this coming week are:

1. Track my food every day no matter what!
2. Get in at least 3 days of activity (starting today and I started today with an 8 mile run so that's one day already done).
3. Stay within my points range for the week.

Simple...right? Yup. It's exactly what I did last week and that resulted in a 5.8lb loss. Of course I know that isn't going to happen 2 weeks in a row. Yes, I know that it was "water weight", but I don't frankly care. I weigh 5.8lbs less this week than I did last - doesn't matter to me where that weight came from. My goals will NEVER be weight related. I can't control what the scale says. I can control what I do during the week. My HOPE is that the scale will continue to go down next week. I'd obviously like more weight (who wouldn't), but I'm going to try to be realistic and say that 1lb would be fantastic, but as long as that scale is down I will be happy.

 

As far as the fitness stuff..I'm still focusing on the marathon now. I did 8 miles today with a 3:30/1:30 interval. I kept the interval the entire time. I'm trying to decide what interval I will do for my 21(!) mile run coming up on Saturday. I've done 3/2 for my long runs before, but this 3:30/1:30 seems to be working - I just don't know if it'll work for 21 miles! We'll see how that goes.

 

Here's to another successful week! :) 

Tomorrow's The Big Day

Week 1 weigh-in is tomorrow. I think I've had quite the successful week so I'm totally anxious to weigh-in and see what the scale says. I thought I'd blog some of the crazy thoughts that are going through my head as I prepare for my week 1 weigh-in.....(what was that I said about not over-analyzing?? Yea, I must not have been feeling myself that day....back to what I do best)!

• I think last week's initial weigh-in was on the high side because I ran 6 miles that morning, then went and ate (A LOT...almost purposely)...and then weighed in. This makes me think that I could have a REALLY good week 1 loss (like 5lbs). However, that is a LOT of weight to lose and I need to remember that anything down - no matter how little is a step in the right direction. I've talked before about my scale sabotage and I really don't want to do that. (That being said, it's going to be VERY hard to be OK with a maintain or gain).
• I'm a little worried how working out prior to a weigh-in is going to effect the scale. My plan tomorrow is to go run 8 miles BEFORE my weigh in. That means water and GU will have been ingested during the run, but I'm also burning calories during it. I am NOT going to eat prior to the weigh-in this week though (other than whatever I eat before my run, which will be 4 hour before the weigh-in, and then the GU during). So, we'll see what happens. Next week I'll be running on Saturday and weighing in on Sunday so we'll see what kind of a difference it makes (of course next Saturday I'm also doing 21 miles so...). Frankly, it shouldn't make that big of a difference. I mean, if I'm consistently losing weight the scale should show it. Perhaps if I didn't run I'd be down 4lbs, but because I did and am retaining some water maybe it'll only say 3lbs. Does it really matter? Of course I know the answer is NO, but these are the things my crazy mind goes through when trying to lose weight.
• Although my week technically should have started on Sunday last week, it didn't. I started Monday. So, really, technically, if I ate ALL my points this week (daily, activity and weekly) then I really ate MORE than allotted because Sunday I didn't track. Hopefully for week 1 that won't really matter and there will still be a loss on the scale.
• Here's how my week went down: I am allowed 33 points every day. I can also earn activity points for exercise and I have 49 weekly points I can use however I choose (all at once, throughout the week, not at all, etc):

Monday: Ate 34 points - used 1 weekly point
Tuesday: Ate 42 points - earned 9 activity points and ate all 9 points.
Wednesday: Ate 35 points - used 2 weekly points.
Thursday: Ate 37 points - earned 9 activity points and ate only 4.
Friday: Ate 44 points - earned 2 activity points and ate them + 9 weekly points
Saturday (today): by far my biggest eating day...ate 56 points - used 23 weekly points

So, in the end, I still have 14 weekly points remaining and earned 20 activity points throughout the week. I think that's a pretty successful first week on WW! Regardless of what the scale says tomorrow I am going to be happy with my accomplishments this week. I ate more fruits and veggies than I've probably eaten all year! And, it's not even that I don't like them - it's just that when I was counting calories I could easily find other things I would rather spend 100 calories on than a banana. Each week I would buy bananas thinking I was going to eat them after my run or something. And each week I would throw most (if not all) of them out. This week I think I bought 6 and they were gone by Thursday!

I still have to work on the feeling of guilt. Looking back on my week, I see that during the week I only went a few points over my daily allowance, unless I had activity points to use. However, I remember feeling guilty on the first day to even eat 34. I have it in my mind that I don't want to use my 49 points because I want the buffer there for a day like today....when I eat a lot and am not certain of the points. However, I tracked all my food today using things that were similar. So, that's another success this week - I have tracked EVERYTHING I've eaten since Monday. Even though fruits/veggies are free, I've tracked all of them. I do want to have a good record of what I'm eating so I'm armed with knowledge if the scale isn't moving (i.e. if I don't lose this week, perhaps next week don't eat 6 bananas in 3 days just because they're "free").

I'll write again tomorrow with my week 1 weigh in results and my goals for week 2. Wish me luck! :) 

Feeling Good!!

I think yesterday was the turning point of this week! Well, at least I HOPE it was. Yesterday was a tough day. I was hungry....ALL DAY. I couldn't seem to eat enough to get full. I would eat and feel satisfied for about 10 minutes and then I would be starving again. I know it is just my body adjusting. I also know that I'm not actually starving. I mean, with fruits and veggies being "free", I've eaten more of those in the last 4 days than I have in probably the last week. But, they don't do it when I'm hungry. I need something that is of more substance. I think that's the problem...waiting too long to eat anything. And I swear if I drink any more I'm going to float away!

But, today has been significantly better! I had a big breakfast and then didn't even get hungry until much later in the day. It was after 2 before I realized I hadn't had a snack or lunch yet. I ate some fruit and decided that I would wait until dinner to really eat since with football happening we eat around 5. I felt really good most of the day today. I didn't really feel very hungry until this evening. Again, within 30 minutes of dinner I was hungry again. But, definite improvement over yesterday.

And guess what I did today?!?!? I ran 3 miles in the treadmill with NO walk breaks! I also finished it in an 11:45 minute/mile average pace. This is huge progress for me. Yes, last year in October I ran 3 miles on the treadmill with no walk breaks in a 10:06 minute/mile, but we won't focus on that! We will focus on the fact that my mental game was on today with the running. I didn't feel like running today at all, but knew that the only commitment I made to myself this week was to get all my runs in for marathon training (which is only 3x a week - much less than I've been working out). So, I had no reason not to get off my butt and do it. And once I did I made the decision to push myself through 3 miles no matter what. I started at a slow pace and tried to push it up each mile....and I did! I kept telling myself it was all in my head - because I truly believe I can do more than I am currently doing, but I'm not pushing myself enough for some reason.

So, a good day all around.

Lots of things I obviously still need to work on. What I've realized this week is I don't really know how to eat in a "normal" way. I often eat 1 big meal a day with snacks and a smaller (more normal sized) meal. On one hand I feel like I should change this, but on the other hand it's what works for me. One of my weaknesses is that when I start eating I don't really want to stop. That's why eating a big meal is good because I eat until I'm quite full and don't really want to eat anymore. When I eat smaller meals it is significantly more difficult for me to stop. So, for now I'm going to try not to over analyze! I'm going to simply focus on staying within my points. That's supposed to be the wonderful thing about WW...if you stay within your points you should lose weight. Right now - main focus is to stay within those points...then I'll start to worry about changing some of my poor eating habits.

Good night all!

The First Day Back.....

....on track is always the easiest for me. Whenever I TRULY decide that things need to change and decide that a certain day is "day 1" - it's usually the easiest day. Today has been no exception. I feel pretty awesome about today.

Since I have no pics that really relate to today's topic I'll just bombard you with pics from my kids first day of school today!

With the new WW PointsPlus system, I am allowed (and supposed to) eat 33 points a day! In addition to those 33 points, I get 49 additional weekly points and then you can also "earn" more food points when you exercise (called activity points). The way it works is you are supposed to be able to continue to lose weight whether you just eat your daily points (33), eat your daily points + some weekly points, daily points + all weekly and all activity points. Basically this program gives you the freedom to decide how much or how little you're going to eat with an idea of what is too much within the week. You can use your "extra" points any way you want. If you want to just eat your daily points every day and then have 1 big "splurge" day and use all your weekly points and activity points - you're allowed to do that!

Here's how Mary felt about the first day of school...

It's funny to me that the science has seemed to have caught up with what I did in the past. Sounds like a smart alec comment, but here's what I mean. I've done WW several times in the past. I usually would be REALLY good and "on program" for 5-6 days of the week. Usually it was 6 days and the day that I weighed in I would usually eat light all day and then totally gorge myself after weighing in. Yes, I admit, perhaps not the best thing to do; BUT it kept it actually under control....and I would still lose weight! What would happen is that it was truly one meal (usually + dessert). And I would actually lose weight BETTER (more, faster...whatever word you want to use) when I did this than when I ate only my minimum points each day (which of course were calculated differently back then)But, in this new system, I would likely stay within my points for the week even with doing something like that. I do want to work on getting away from the binging mentality, but I like that I have the "freedom" to do this if I want. Or, perhaps I should say that I like that this is "allowed". If it's "allowed" it takes the guilty feelings away and that makes all the difference in the world to me. If I feel guilty I go the complete opposite!

And how Robbie felt about the first day of school....

Right now my plan is to really focus on my food. I still have to get my running in because I am still training for the Columbus Marathon. However, the training program I am following only requires 3 days of running per week. For right now (this week at least), I plan to get my 3 days of running in, but otherwise simply focus on the food. Obviously over the years I have found that diet is 90% for me! If I'm not paying attention to what I'm eating, I'm NOT losing weight...and frankly I'm gaining. This time around I think the gain has been at a slower rate due to my activity level, but it's gaining nonetheless even with the crazy amount of activity I was doing. So, right now I'm going to scale back the exercise and focus on the food.

Time to get on the bus!

Today was GREAT! I was able to fit the points system around my eating today (instead of the other way around). I LOVE programs that give me the flexibility for when I'm perhaps not making the best decisions. I figure as long as I can still limit my calories, than it's all good.

So, today I was still able to have my favorite big breakfast at a local diner. It cost me 21 points, but I figured it out the night before and was well aware of it. I wanted that breakfast and it was worth it to me....today....but it's not going to be as often as it was before when I was counting calories. In the past when I've eaten this breakfast I would usually not eat lunch or eat a small snack (like a hard boiled egg or something). Today I packed some pineapple, grapes, a banana, and an apple. Fruits are "free" with WW so this was awesome! I ate some of these fruits around lunch time (noon) and then the rest on my way home from work. Was I hungry? Yes. But did I make bad decisions because of it? No. My kids decided they wanted to celebrate the first day of school with a dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup. This meal isn't completely "diet" friendly, right?? Well, last night I figured out the points values for this meal and found that I could fit it in without even having to limit my meal (i.e. just eat the soup). We sat down as a family and all ate the same meal. It cost me almost the rest of my points at 11 for the meal. I had 1 point left this evening. So, I measured out 1/4 C of guacamole (my addiction of late) and dipped celery, radishes, and carrots into the guac! And actually....YUM! That snack cost me 2 points, which resulted in 34 points on the day - so I used 1 of my weekly extra. Not too shabby for the first day back. I have also had so much water to drink today that I've been peeing a LOT! ;) That's good...that means perhaps I'll have a great week 1 weigh in with a nice water weight loss!

A successful first day!

Day 2 is usually just about the hardest day for me. I'm not sure why. I need to remember how I feel after today. I'm hungry as I type this, but I'm not eating or falling off the wagon (already). I know that these first few days are going to be tough. I've been eating a LOT lately. Part of the reason why I used to not eat lunch or eat a small snack after eating my big breakfast in the past was because I was legitimately not hungry. However, lately I've been eating the big breakfast, then a big lunch (late around 2), plus a big dinner. It's been a LOT of food. So, naturally cutting back is going to cause hunger pains and I realize this. I just have to get through this first week (or so) so my body can get more acclimated to eating less.

First day DONE (in more ways than 1)!

Disclaimer: I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but I feel like I should point out that all of the comments in this post (and entire blog) are my own thoughts and opinions. WW is not paying me to say anything about their program. I chose to re-join on my own and am simply providing a recount of my experience with the program. Also, I am in no way a medical professional of any sort. Anything I talk about on this blog are my own personal experiences with diets and exercise programs.

18 miles, Birthdays, A CRAZY week, & a New Plan!

Whew! That title just makes me tired thinking of all the topics that I need to catch up on in this post.

Lone car in the parking lot on a rainy Friday morning!

First things first...last Friday (like WAY back on August 10th Friday), I conquered my longest distance run yet. My absolutely awesome mother came out at some unGodly hour on her Friday to not only push me through 18 miles on her bike, but to do it in the rain. Oh, I'm sorry....did I say rain?? I meant TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR! It was about 6:30AM when I started at one end of the trail and she parked at a different end (about 7.5 miles away). The plan was for her to start biking towards me and we would eventually meet up and then continue through the 18 miles. It was not yet raining when I started and it probably didn't start raining until around mile 4ish. I was starting to get worried as I thought for SURE my mom would have met me by now. Of course horrible thoughts started to go through my head and I was afraid I would find her somewhere on the trail having fallen off her bike or something. But, thankfully that is not what happened. Apparently she had to go back home after already leaving to get her helmet (or so she thought, it was actually already in the car). Anyway, we met up around mile 5ish in a perfect spot...under a bridge! Good thing because now it was raining pretty convincingly.

The end of a soggy 18 miles.

I don't quite remember, but at some point it did stop raining. I believe we were still going away from my car, so some time between mile 5 and 9 it had stopped raining. During this period of time it was the most perfect weather to run in! Then, we were probably around mile 15-16 and the skies decided to open again....and this time for REAL! It just kept getting harder and harder until I was done with 18.11!! We then went to breakfast (lunch) in our soaking wet clothes! Definitely an adventure, but I did 18 miles! :)

Then, Saturday was Robbie's 6th birthday so we had a little party for him. He was disappointed at first that it was too cold to swim, but I think he got over that!

Monday was my husband's birthday,  but we knew we wouldn't be able to really do anything to celebrate it because of Robbie's football practice. So, we went out to dinner Sunday night instead.

Monday started an absolute crazy week for me. It was just one of those weeks where there weren't enough hours in the day. Work was crazy. After work I had to get the kids something quick to eat and then take to practices (football and cheerleading). We would then get home after 8, get the kids in to bed and then around 9 I would finally be thinking about eating (not good). In addition to that, I had things for work that had to get done so I would start working again around 9 each night. So, between working 10-12 hour days + trying to get the kids to their things, I was feeling a little overwhelmed.

Last week was probably THE most horrible eating week I've had in a LONG time....perhaps even this entire calendar year. I was totally thrown off schedule because of his football practice being Mon-Thurs from 6-8pm. I didn't handle it well at all (obviously).

I started thinking about what needs to be done to really make another change. I say another change, but really I should just say change. Clearly I did what needed to be done during 2011 to drop some of the weight I needed to drop. However, had I actually made a CHANGE, then I wouldn't be typing this now. I'd be talking about how I'm working to maintain my weight loss....instead I'm talking about how I need to figure out how to get back on track or actually change so I can RE-lose the weight I've gained...and then actually keep going.

So I made a decision this weekend. I decided to re-join Weight Watchers. I haven't done WW since around 2008. It has always worked for me in the past, but (obviously) never made the permanent change in eating it was supposed to. I stopped and re-started several times. The program has changed several times throughout the times I have participated. Well, it has changed once again. The program now is supposed to focus on helping to shift your mind to want to eat healthier. I actually think this will work for me. When I'm just counting calories everything "counts". I find myself not having as many fruits or veggies because why have a banana when I can have some other thing for 100 calories? Yes, it's stupid, but it's how my messed up mind works. However, with the new WW, ALL fruits are "free". I am pretty certain this will help to change my thinking. Why would I want to use 2 points on something when I can eat a banana for 0?? So, we'll see how it goes. I'm trying to keep an open mind about this. Right now I truly just need something to help me get back on track. I have a relatively short-term weight loss goal that I want to hit in the next 14 weeks and then we will see what happens. I figure that the amount of money that I'm spending on WW in a month is 1 dinner out for my family of 4! We should be going out less anyway!

Be warned...posts are probably going to get more frequent and perhaps more boring (or not). I will start blogging about how I'm doing with my re-joining WW as well as continuing to train for the Columbus Full Marathon. I've always worried that with WW it's not enough food for someone training so hard, but I'm realizing that it IS if you are smart about it. You earn activity points to swap for food points and if you're training a lot you should just make sure you're eating at least some of them. Anyway, we'll see what happens. I'm committed to at LEAST one month since I signed up for the monthly pass!

Greater Cleveland Triathlon Race Report

This is taking me a while to get done. Part of the excuse is that Robbie has started football and he has practice Mon-Thurs from 6PM-8PM! Let me tell you the new challenge that this has introduced into our life right now! And what has taken a backseat to this change in schedule??? Yup - exercise. Oh well.

Couldn't talk about Robbie's football without showing an absolutely adorable picture of him! Tell me this isn't the cutest darn thing you've ever seen?!?!

But, without further ado I will start my race report. I will warn you that this will likely be VERY long winded. This was a very emotional race for me and became 100x more emotional after I finished and was informed that someone was pulled from the water. We'll get there.....

Pre-Race
Granted I've only done one other triathlon before, but it seems to be becoming a tradition to have an awesome pasta dinner with my entire family at my parents house the night before! This time it happened because my awesome parents were taking the kiddos for the night so that Drew could leave early in the morning with me the next day. So, my mom invited my sisters and their families as well and fed us some yummy pasta, bread and ice cream! Mmmm...carbo load! I suppose I may not really need to carbo load as much as a smaller person, but I still have fun doing it!

Drew and I left my parents house to get home at a reasonable hour. We got home and I started putting everything together. I didn't necessarily feel nervous...just the normal anxiety of whether or not I'm going to forget something in the AM.

Race Day
I got up around 4:45 and started to get ready to go. I got dressed and ate some cereal for breakfast. I started to load my bike in the car. When I came back upstairs I had a message from SIL because she was worried we lost power and I wasn't awake! :) So, she got here and we loaded up into our 2 cars and headed out to Mentor Headlands.

We arrived a little before 6:30, I believe and the skies actually looked beautiful. It seemed like the rain that they were forecasting was going to hold off. But...the lake was a different story. You could tell by looking at the lake that a storm was brewing and even though they sky was blue it obviously wasn't going to stay that way for long.

After setting up my bike and gear in transition I was just hanging out with SIL and Drew. I then saw Heather from the blog that got this all started for me! It was really cool meeting her in person. I could see the fear in her face about the swim, but she assured me that her friend said we would be swimming with the current pushing us in the right direction. Yea, he was wrong!

Then, it was time for the athletes meeting. At this point we were told that the swim would be shortened due to hazardous conditions. The international (i.e. olympic) distance would swim 600 yards and the sprint would go 400 meters. At first I was slightly disappointed...thoughts of does this mean I can't really count this as my first oly tri entered my mind. It didn't even take me getting in the water to decide HELL no! This was my first oly tri regardless and there was a reason the swim was shortened! Those 600 yards were probably the most difficult 600 yards ever! (and probably the equivalent to 1200 yards in calm waters)!

Swim - changed to 600 yards. Official time: 29:59

I'm the one in the pink (which is funny because I don't really like pink, but I LOVE that it's so easy to spot me)! Those waves were seriously no joke. I really wish one of these pictures would do them justice, but they don't!

So, I walked down to the swim start for the international distance (fyi - international and olympic are both used to describe this distance race). I got there just in time to see the wave right before me start. I immediately became a little nervous when I saw a) that most athletes were wearing wet suits and b) the "elite" group that started before me seemed to be taking quite a while to get out to the firt buoy. But, the horn blew and I was in the water. Immediately the current and waves were pushing me in the WRONG direction. I wasn't nervous though. I love swimming. I have always loved swimming. I know I can swim and I'm very confident in my swim. I know I'm not fast, but after this swim I have decided that speed doesn't matter. The ability to make it through a swim like that does matter.

Here is one reason I'm having a very hard time with this race report.....

I was in the water and working hard to get through the course. I was doing a lot of breast stroke because it helped to keep me focused and to give me plenty of time to breathe and relax. All of the sudden I hear someone behind me yell HELP! I briefly tried to look behind me, but didn't think a lot of it. First of all, I'm a strong swimmer and not a small girl - but there is no way I could have actually helped someone in those waters that day! In addition, I thought when I turned around there was a kayak/lifeguard in the same vicinity. Honestly, in the moment, I didn't think much of it and just kept going. If we fast forward to after the race, my husband and SIL informed me that someone was pulled from the water. At that moment they thought he died. I have since found out that he has survived thus far, but is in the hospital in a medically induced coma with swelling on the brain and internal bleeding.

Needless to say, all I have been able to think about since Sunday is this man. He is 34 years old, which means he started in the same wave as me. Which also means that was probably him yelling for help. I know that I couldn't have done anything. I know that me drowning to try to help him would be stupid. But, it's disturbing nonetheless. My thoughts and prayers remain with his family.

T1 Official Time: 4:54

I finished the swim and ran the distance to the transition area. I'm sorry...I walked the distance!  I never realize quite how out of breath I am swimming until I get out of the water! There was no way running on sand was happening! I know that I'm not going to be fast anyway so to me there's no rush! I rinsed and attempted to dry my feet, ate some GU and got my socks and shoes on for the bike. I put my helmet on and I was ready to start the 23 mile bike.

Bike - 23 miles Official Time:  1:38:54
I started on the bike and looked down at my Garmin noting that it was 8:20. I was a little put off because if my wave actually started at 7:33 like it was supposed to, I was estimating that I must have been in the water for 40+ minutes! Obviously this wasn't true and the waves didn't start on time. I remembered that my goal for the bike was less than 1 hour and 40 minutes....so, I was keeping that number in mind.

The bike started out OK. It was relatively flat and I was keeping a nice pace. Then, the constant inclines started. I wouldn't call these hills perse....more like constant small inclines so that you have to continuously work. Then, after working up hill for a while, I turned right and there was an actual hill! I hit it going probably less than 10 mph so I had nothing to work with. I was feeling totally defeated at this point and got off my bike and walked. It was tough. But, I will say that every person who passed me while I was doing that was so supportive and nice. I got back on my bike and started back up. I believe this was somewhere around mile 10ish. About 2 miles later I hit a period of downhill that was INSANE! I mean, white knuckle insane! I was proud of the way I handled these downhills. I wasn't totally thrilled with the support of this race. There was one intersection in particular that I was ticked that no one was at. Things aren't exactly clear after covering 30 miles, but I believe the road I was on had a stop sign and the road I was turning left onto did not. In a race, you usually don't stop at stop signs. I mean, some people are actually racing and trying to come in first and such. I slowed WAY down because I saw no volunteers there and NONE of this is worth getting hit by a car.

So, the first 12 miles were a challenge....the next 11 were pretty nice actually. It's amazing what goes through your head through the process of a triathlon. There were times on the bike when I was thinking...why do I do this? This isn't fun....this sucks....ugh...I didn't train enough....I suck. But, then there were times when I realized if I kept going I might beat my time....You got this...you're almost done...home stretch....there's the park! I wasn't sure how close I would be to my goal,  but I thought I had made it!

T2 Official Time: 4:13
My transition times were actually slower than last year. But, I didn't rush...at all. I really took my time and at some point decided that I didn't really care. I think I decided it was about crossing the finish line...period...the end!

Run 10K Official Time: 1:35:31
The run....ahem...the walk...the struggle...the constant mental fight. This is by far the hardest part of a triathlon for me. Running is also the most difficult mental game for me. I had my watch set to do 3/2 intervals. That is 3 min run/2 min walk. However, the minute I started running I hurt....I couldn't breathe...I didn't think I could even last 3 minutes. So I didn't. From the very beginning I didn't pay attention to my intervals. However, I kept going. I didn't stop. I didn't give up and I didn't stop trying to run. I would walk...more than I wanted to..more than I planned. I would try to convince myself that even if I walked the entire 10k, I would still finish and it would be OK. But, then, I would convince myself that it wouldn't really be OK and I would be mad because I can push myself! So, I would start to run again. Then, before I knew it I hit the turn around. I realized at this point that I might even finish not much longer than my goal of 1:30. That motivated me to keep trying. It wasn't easy. Lots of thoughts went through my head during this time. The main one was...what the HELL am I thinking with 70.3!!?!?! And of course, DAMN my mom is right! (I hate that! HA). Perhaps I need to get significantly better at sprint and olympic distance triathlons before I think about tackling70.3. Perhaps I should be able to get off the bike and actually run (or run/walk consistently) for 3.1 or 6.2 miles before I try to do 13.1 (after a swim and bike).

A hug from Mom after a long morning!

During the second part of the run I noticed that I was keeping more consistent intervals. I felt better during the run intervals. My legs loosened up. And then, I was back in the park. I was behind an Ironman who was walking with an umbrella (clearly a spectator). I commented that I didn't know how he does this for140.6 miles! He said...same way....just for a longer time! :) He was supportive and helpful. Then, I saw SIL first....she told me my family is just up the way. And then I saw them (it'd be awesome if I had a pic from my perspective). And then I had to focus because I hyperventilate when I get emotional while running. Robbie ran towards me and said he was going to run me in. I told him not this time (I know USAT frowns on things like that so I didn't want to risk it). I crossed the finish line and immediately started hyperventilating because I was starting to cry! They got me a seat and I calmed myself down. Whew....this was an emotional day.

FINAL Time: 3:53:28! UNDER 4 hours!

I met my goal of finishing in less than 4 hours. This was a very intense and emotional day for me. I pushed myself to limits that I've never quite done before. I doubted myself (ALOT), but yet, never doubted that I would cross that finish line. When it started to rain during the run I became concerned that they might make me stop. I asked at a water stop and he assured me that they would not make me stop. And I didn't want them to. I was determined to cross that finish line.

70.3...maybe in 2013....maybe not. But, what I learned was I need to work even harder. I need to get better and I need to lose some of this weight before that can become a reality.

Now to focus on training for the Columbus Full Marathon! Currently I'm trying to decide if I do a sprint triathlon "for fun" in September while gearing up for the marathon! But we can discuss that in another post!

For now, I'm exhausted and going to bed. Good night all.......

Greater Cleveland Tri (GCT) Teaser...

Official results are not up yet and I think I need a day to digest this event and provide a detailed race report. We all know how long-winded I am anyway, so I think this one would be record breaking! Therefore, I decided to break it into 2! :)

The very hard earned medal! (not sure what's up with the expression on my face)

Lessons Learned:

• Waves...SUCK!
• Wind...BLOWS (ha! I crack myself up...pun very much intended)
• And Running...well, running is not so much running as walking with brief periods of shuffling

About to finish...and approaching a small stretch of sand!

The Positives of the day:

• I finished my first Olympic distance (well mostly*) Tri!  *they cut the swim in half because the waves were so high and the water conditions were too dangerous.
• According to my Garmin, I believe I was within my time goal for the bike and only a few minutes over the run...but we'll see what the official results indicate.
• I have come to appreciate the fact that I may not be fast, but I am a STRONG swimmer! The swim was TOUGH, but I did it. I did it without hanging on to the kayak's or stopping to take a rest. I passed many people doing this. I also did not have one ounce of fear in that water with those waves...just thoughts of - wow! this is tough...where's the finish!
• Although I felt like I struggled through the start of the bike, I did better than I thought I might on the crazy downhills! Talk about white knuckles!
• And, although I struggled through the run (ahem...walk), I pushed through and never gave up. Did I walk more than I wanted?? Absolutely! But, did I give up and walk the entire thing? Nope. In fact, I negative split the run (which means that 2nd half was faster than the first)! And, even with the amount that I walked, my Garmin indicated an average rate of 14:36 min/mile - only 36 seconds per mile off my goal.
• And although listed last - for sure most important...I have the BEST spectators! Both my SIL and husband got up with me at some unGodly hour in the morning to then sit around for hours on end....in the rain...just to support my efforts (and take pictures)! My parents then came later with my children (who also had spent the night so that Drew could come early with me). My sister and her family were also there today. And my other sister immediately called my mom after lunch to see how I did. I am forever thankful for my awesome support system!

An emotional finish!

Negatives:
Well, I could list a ton of these. Or, as I was struggling through the Tri I could have listed a ton. But, then my family (specifically husband and SIL) informed me at the end of the race that someone was pulled out of the water and it didn't look good. They are thinking the worst, but based on some information I'm seeing now (on Facebook) perhaps there is hope. Regardless, this put everything in perspective for me. It's sad that it took such an incident to make me realize that all that matters is I'm doing it ....and I lived through it. Triathlons are no joke. They are a test of endurance, strength, and so many other skills. Who knows what happened to that man who eventually had to be dragged out of the water by fellow triatheletes? But what I do know is that I may be slow, but I have worked very hard to ensure that I can DO this. I can cross that finish line, even if it takes me longer than most people.

Oh...and another positive I forgot to add....I wasn't last! :) There were at least 3-4 people who came in behind me! All I need is 1!

Official race report (and probably a novel to bore you out of your skull) to come later......

Greater Cleveland Triathlon Goals

Wow! I mean, really, WOW!!! It's here. I can't even believe it. I feel like it was yesterday that I was THINKING about doing my first Olympic distance triathlon this year. And now it's here and I kind of can't believe it. Hmmm..perhaps that's because I haven't really put in the training necessary to really be doing this race. Perhaps it's because instead of weighing considerably less than when I did my tri last year, I actually weight MORE. Perhaps it's because I've been struggling to find my motivation this entire calendar year. BUT guess what?? I'm doing it! I don't back down. When I say I'm going to do something I DO it. That's why when I previously talked about 70.3, I was/am hesitant to say I am going to do it for sure in 2013, because as soon as I say it to myself it's a done deal. It isn't even about the blog or about saying it to other people..it's about me. I guess it was the way I was brought up. If I commit to something, I follow through with it.
So, it's time for me to think about some goals for this little race on Sunday. Obviously the only REAL goal is to cross that finish line. It doesn't really matter what time or if I'm running, walking or crawling! It's the same finish line regardless and I plan to cross it! But, I like to put time goals to what I'm doing just to give me something to strive for. I don't know..maybe I just feel like it's what one does! :) But, this time I'm trying to be smart. I'm setting the bar low....and I mean LOW. I would like to set goals for this particular race that I can likely meet. I don't deal well with not meeting my goals. I find it ends up taking away from the moment of the entire race. If I put a goal to, say finish a half marathon in 2:30, and come in at 2:41 when I know that 2:30 was in no way a reasonable goal....I find myself not really being excited about 2:41 because I'm disappointed that it wasn't 2:30. Following me?

Ok. So here's the deal.....this an Olympic (also called International) Distance Triathlon. (side note - I find it extremely cool that I will be completing my first Oly Tri on the VERY same weekend that real Olympians are competing in the same type of race)!

Swim: 1200 yds....Goal = 34 minutes or less.
T1 - 4 min.
Bike: 23 miles (although the map says 23.88, that's a whole lot closer to 24 miles in my book!) - 1:40 or less.
T2 - 3 min.
Run: 10k (6.2 miles) - 1:30 or less.

Let's see...if we do the math we're looking at....3:51 or less (gee, I hope I did that math right)! We could just round that way up and say that I'll be happy if I finish in under 4 hours. I did my sprint tri last year in 2:15, so finishing a race that is double the distance in less than double the time will be an improvement, right??

I feel like these are doable. However, as slow as those are, they will be a challenge.

Swim
The fastest I did 1200 yds in the pool was just around the 30 min mark. Open water is different. And Lake Erie could have waves. Nothing huge, but more than an indoor pool has! I only did 1 open water swim, but even though I'm slow, I feel like the swim is my favorite part. I'm also not sure how far you have to run from the end of the swim to when we start transition (which will effect my time because you don't cross the timing chip until you enter transition).

T1
I think 4 minutes should be no problem. Last year I did it in under 4 min so this should be OK.

Bike
I'm most nervous about this one. I really think 1:40 is more than enough time. During training I did a pretty hilly 20+ miles in 1:29 and a flat 30 miles in 1:50. My 22 mile rides were around 1:26. I watched a video of this route a while back and remember thinking it looked "pretty flat", but as I was looking at the map on the website it appears that there is one climb that is INSANE. I think it was going from something like 650 feet to 1150 feet in elevation. So, we'll see what happens. I think 1:40 is enough buffer to deal if this is truly the only hill.

T2
Last year I did this in 1:16, but I also didn't change shoes because I wasn't so fancy! So, I'm adding the time to allow for having to change from my bike shoes to my running shoes. Should still be a pretty quick transition.

Run
Ahhh....the LAST leg of the race. For as much running as I do, one might think this is my strongest event. I don't feel that way at all. However, I based my goal time on a 14 min/mile pace. I struggled with my run in the sprint last year, and still ended up averaging around a 12:50 min/mile. Now granted that was only 3.1 miles. So, we'll see. I've also been running considerably slower this year it seems. I honestly think the 14 min/mile might be a struggle, but it's a goal!

Well, those are my goals. Only time will tell how it turns out. And after Sunday my entire focus is shifting to the marathon!

Good night all....