Honestly

Honestly, I think about updating this blog often, but you know, things like time and energy get in the way. Here's the latest on the training front: Better late than never!

I am 20 days away from my Triathlon. I am nervous but excited (pun intended). Nervous could easily be replace with terrified if we are being honest. I still feel confident that I will be one of the top women out of the water, my swimming is as good as it is going to get. I am freaking out a little bit that I don't have a road bike, and of course (this hasn't changed) I am still a bad runner.

As far as my body goes I have relented to the fact that it will never be what it was. I have managed to put on 20 pounds since January while dropping my body fat % during that time. I guess all those days in the gym are paying off huh? The extra weight has not hindered my swimming, in fact I think the muscle mass has made me significantly faster in the water. My arms and legs have progressed as well as I could have hoped. My 'problem area' remain my stomach. I have seen improvements, definitely, but the realization that a 6 pack, or even a 4 pack will not show has become a fact. And don't get me started on my chest..... It is such a double edged sword for me. My pec muscles and shoulders look great; probably from all the swimming. The flip side of that is the 'deflated little baggies' and someone once said......

Training is becoming harder and harder as school is out and life has gotten summer busy. Vacations, baseball, work, play...... I don't want to miss anything, but I think that is just my wiring. Lifting has gotten quicker, bike rides are being combined with swimming, runs are a little shorter. I don't want to slack, but I also want to enjoy my summer. Blah blah blah.....

There's the scoop. Stay tuned as the race gets closer!

Still plugging away!

It has been a while, but I have been busy. Seriously. The little guy has a big birthday in a few days and I have spent a lot of time planning nothing. I did however buy him a fish. It died 4 hours later from being pet too much. Honestly.

I biked to the pool, swam, then biked home. I am pretty tired right now. I haven't lifted since Thursday of last week, I am going to try to lift tomorrow but I don't know, time seems to be evaporating so quickly these days. I blink and it is bed time!

This week brings B's birthday on Thursday and then we leave Friday for a long weekend in Saugatuck with our friends. Maybe I will brave the waters of Lake Michigan for an ice cold swim in preparation for the race?? Brrrr.......

One month and 3 days until the TRI.

Inside all of us is HOPE.

Fun and Mental is Fundamental

Ok, wow. So, let me give you you quick little s'up date. I am really loving lifting again. I mean loving it. I am in a great routine, I feel amazing, and am lifting more than I have since college. My protein intake is high so I am building decent muscles, and that feels wonderful. I am enjoying it so much that even if I only have a half hour to spare I go down to the FC real quick to lift. My goal is to wear a whitey tighty v-neck T-shirt and have my bicep definition noticeable, and my pec definition a little noticeable. Yeah, I am working on it.

I swam tonight in my tri shorts and under armour. About half way through I took off my UA long sleever and couldn't believe how much faster I was in the water with out it. Great drag! My shorts were perfect, the seal held tight and the pad never got water logged. I am pretty exhausted today, but Mondays are like that. I lift, run, and swim, and it is a Monday after all.

I am beat, and have been trying to get to bed early as of late. My plate is pretty full and I am terrified of getting sick due to lack of sleep. Good night!

Inside all of us is HOPE.

It must be this weather

I am feeling overwhelmingly lazy. LA-ZEEEEY. I have a million excuses to go along with my laziness too; It is too cold to run. I am lacking sleep. I have to get the house in order. Well, okay, the last one is so true it's not even funny. Re-doing the family room has been one problem after the other, from the paint to the furniture. But I digress.....

I need to lift and swim tonight but at 1:15 I know I am not doing both. My goal is to do one or the other, I hope I can motivate myself to do one thing today! The main thing on my to do list is nap, and I am not even joking. I have a ton of work to do, a ton of housework to do, and I want to nap. It must be the weather!!

One thing I have been thinking a lot about is shoes. I have enjoyed running in my vibram fivefingers, but they take a few minutes to put on. Will I want to use that time during the Tri to put shoes on? Should I just bike and run in my Nike's? I don't know.... I just don't know. With the fivefingers if you don't thread your toes just right they can be a little painful, so you need to take your time and get your toes in perfectly. I ordered some running shoes today, they are call dual lights, they are very light weight, and have the creases for extra bending. I am going to give them a try and see if I like them. Anything to save 5 minutes, right??

Inside all of us is HOPE.

Shakes, Football, Ice Cream and Micro Brews. Not in that order.

As with everything (everything I do anyways) I have ebbs and flows. Moments I am extremely proud of and moments I would rather forget ever happened. The bottom line is that I am working my butt off. It hurts, and I love it, then I hate it, I often feel as though I am starving, then I over indulge, then I go out and have too many micro brews, then I work out too hard. I mean really as we all know balance has never been my strong suit. But I know that, and I am working at it. *Surprise* I am not perfect. One of the things I have been consistent with is drinking my protein shakes. I have invented some wonderful recipes, and actually have grown to love them. Seriously, I do. The best part right now is that I am using fresh farm milk. What do I mean by fresh farm milk? Non-pasteurized, right out of the cow's boobie milk is what I mean. Why is that so great? WELL.... because there is a bit of fat in it, when I use my magic bullet knock off to make my shakes and blend it for a long time, it turns into almost like a whipped cream. Seriously. Imagine this; Chocolate protein powder, SP complete powder, a few ice cubes, a banana, and a scoop of natural peanut butter. Add 1/4 pint of Farmer John's milk, and viola! It is like ice cream? Like iced whipped cream? I don't have the words for it, but it is SO yummy. So that, that is what I am indulging in these days.

2 weeks before the big race I think I am going to do the Michigan Women's Football Camp, it sounds like fun, good exercise, and a little healthy competition! My first thought is, CRAP, I hope I don't hurt. My second thought was CRAP that's the same day as Michigan PRIDE! Football beats PRIDE (considering I am going to MotorCity Pride the weekend before). So, that's that. I think I need to raise some $$ in donations along with my entry fee. The money all goes to the Cancer Center, so think about donating some money to the event: The 2010 Women's Football Academy will support initiatives within the Patient and Family Support Services Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Swimming and lifting and biking tomorrow. I hope to swim with drag again tomorrow, either tomorrow or Wednesday, probably not both days though. I need to have my body fat % taken again soon, my weight is down a little, so I am interested to see where my % is at. But I try not to get too wrapped up in all that, even though it interests me.

That's that. I am still plugging away. Working harder at this than I ever thought I have the guts to do.

Inside all of us is HOPE. (Inside of me is a protein shake that was like ice cream!)

Ouch!

Where to start, where to start? Let me begin this story with swimming Wednesday evening at the community pool. It was a night like many other nights, well, actually, like all other nights. I am, remember a creature of habit. I decided to swim with some drag Wednesday night and wore some Under Armour. It was a great idea because it definitely made swimming more difficult. I see the same people when I swim, give or take a few here or there, but Wednesday night brought 2 new girls to the pool. At most 15 years old and there to goof around not so much swim. I like to swim in the same lane every night, I find comfort in that and see no reason to move lanes. Does that sound crazy? It's not actually. Everyone I swim with swims in the same exact lane every night. It is just how it is, and I love it. But these young girls start monkeying around in my lane with their masks and flippers on. I crash into them once, and they crash into me once before I stop and glare at the lifeguard with smoke coming out of my ears, waiting for her to do something. Just as I am about the flip out one of the guys I swim with says, real cool and casual, "Before you get upset, just think of it as practice for your Tri. You are going to be dodging people left and right, getting kicked and pushed under. This is nothing!" Dang, he was right on the money, wasn't he? Then I just felt silly and selfish for freaking out. Swimming is supposed to be my fun exercise and almost let it stress me out! And God forbid I would just move to a different lane, right?

So, I pulled my self together and ended up rocking almost 2 miles with drag. Not a bad night. My body definitely felt the extra pull of the drag, my shoulders more so than anything.

I spent my Friday night at the Fitness Connection lifting and stretching and stretching, and STRETCHING! And lifting some more. I bought milk from John the Farmer to combine with my protein mix in hope his milk will give me a little boost. I need a little boost. My legs hurt, my arms hurt, I hurt tonight. It is 8:00 and I am heading to bed so I can refresh and hit the soccer fields bright and early. I love spring soccer, but I love spring soccer even more when it is nice out. 8-2 you can find me on the fields, B plays at 10:15, P plays at 12:15. Stop by.

Inside all of us is HOPE.