Hello my blog friends! I have been having a ton of fun in real life, but have not had the time/energy to blog about it! Without further ado, let's cut to the chase:
Running: In my last post, I said I had started half marathon training. This is still ongoing, but I'm not following the training plan to a "t". The first 4 weeks was on one physical page (and I was doing the modified plan) and then the one the second page, apparently the modified plan merges with the full plan. This meant jumping straight from 6 mile long run to 8, then to 10 with midweek tempo and even speed runs being at least/around 5 miles. I'm a slow runner - my speed runs are at 4.5 on the treadmill! Those take me over an hour.
Even Tri Coach Jeff said he thought the plan was "aggressive" and that if I feel like doing my long run at 7 miles instead of 8, then to go for it. Duh, I want to do less mileage! The training plan has us running 3 times a week (speedwork, tempo, and long run) and then cross training 3 days. I've been running my required 3 and, depending on the week, cross training 2 or 3 days, whichever I feel like.
I've kept the long run and the speedwork mostly according to the plan, but tempo I have had to make my own and I use it as a time to run a certain distance/time frame without stopping. I still haven't done a 5k without walking, so I'm working up to that and I think I'm pretty close. Last week I ran 1/2 hour without stopping TWICE. Once on the treadmill and once on the indoor track, the latter was 2.75 miles w/o stopping. Math is a lot harder when you are exercising (my excuse!) and I would have done 3 more laps (1/8 mile track) to get a 5k in if I had realized I had been so close.
Basically, my legs are tired most of the time.
Swimming: Ah, my love! I had only been able to go to one of the two practices that my tri team has each week because of work, but they move the second one to 6am on thursdays, so I will be able to go. It is early, but misery loves company, especially in the pool :) On my birthday swim that I did, I did a timed set where I did some 200s on 3:30. I didn't make a single one. Last week we got snow in the evening, so I did my swimming in the morning and was making the 200s on 3:20 and getting plenty of rest. Was it a fluke or did I get faster? I don't know, but I like the trend. I talked to Tri Coach Ellen (swim coach) and she said she would be interested in doing open water races this summer too. She's faster than me at the point, but we are in different age groups. It would be a nice friendly competition!
Biking: They say biking muscles are complementary to to running muscles. Which means I should do more biking. I really don't have an excuse. My bike/trainer is in my room. If i look up from my computer, I see it! I finally was able to make it to a Sunday afternoon bike trainer group ride and when I walked in (late) I was met with cheers. That's embarrassing to know that you haven't been there in so long that everyone cheers when they see you. ha. Of course I set everything up and get riding and they are like "uh, what's wrong with your bike..it shouldn't be making that noise". My bike trainer is apparently not supposed to make that noise, but I had only ever ridden it alone, so I didn't know the difference. Good thing it has a lifetime warranty! Tri Coach Jeff is awesome, so he put my bike on his trainer and he grabbed a spin bike from the adjacent room. I only got in like a half hour ride, but my hammies are so sore! Should have stretched....bad Melissa!
Triathlon: We did our indoor tri on Feb 1. I was tired from my long run 2 days before! And running late. I jumped in the pool, got my cap/goggles on and then they said go! This triathlon is for time, not distance. I did 625 yards in 10 minutes. Slower than I wanted to go, but I was tired by 150 yards! Basically, we did that in practice in December and i got the same distance. Oops! We did a half hour on the spin bikes and I think I got around 13...they said it was miles but personally I think its kilometers. That would make more sense. Then for 20 minutes on the treadmill I got 1.48 miles. I think I was too conservative for the first 15 minutes! haha I never really push it going fast on the treadmill and got up to 5.7, which was doable for a short while, but very fast for me. The good news is that I saw improvements in all areas versus my distances last year. A quarter mile farther on the treadmill alone!
Food: I need to write up my review of Diet to Go that I did in January! I won 5 days of food from Double Chin Diary and the results were great!
I'm currently doing Advo*care's 24 dayy challenge, which is okay. I learned a lot in the first 10 days (cleanse) about my food portions and my food urges (wanting rewards). Now I'm just kind of bored, but will stick it out till the end. But seeing the scale go down is a nice effect as well.
PS I'm cheap and would probably never do these two things on my own. I won the first thing (as stated) and then a friend bought my the second as a birthday present.
2014 is great so far...minus the 2 times I've had to get my car repaired :) haha
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
January Madness
Soooo...I have a blog :) My blog will be 2 in a few months and I just told one of my best friends about it a couple of weeks ago. That's the only IRL person I have told! I know she hasn't read my blog, though, because I told her in the midst of cocktails and shots on my birthday, so she likely has no recollection of that event!
January, January. The year started off with a 5k! It was supposed to be an event where you ran a 5k, got a medal, and then could get an extra medal for jumping in the lake, but apparently they nixed that. I 100% would have done it, but I'm not going to say I didn't feel relieved. My time was 41:08. I was going to stick to my plan to run the first mile, then walk. Well, they didn't have mile markers, only kilometer markers and I ended up running till the turnaround point.
My friend Laura from the bible study/running group that I attended in the fall did the race too and bless her heart she ran with me. When I stopped to walk, she went on ahead and as I was nearing what would have been the 3 mile mark, I saw her jogging back my way. I totally thought she had finished and then just come back as a friendly jog, but she went to the finish, turned around and came back to run it in with me. Super sweet and unnecessary, but I did appreciate it. Fairly certain that was her slowest 5K/however far she ran ever. (That was my second fastest time...first 5K that I had not PRed!). Honestly, my goal was to not to have any bowel emergencies while running. Check!
My tri group had a break over the Christmas/New Year holidays and only had informal gatherings. As YMCA "D" was completed in August, I took it upon myself to set up a little weight lifting routine. I would run/walk on the treadmill for about half an hour and then lift weights. It was a little intimidating at first, but I feel no shame in asking for help or demonstrations from the staff! Because the walls are mirrored and I would rather look at myself than make awkward eye contact with people, I was examining my body and came to this conclusion: chubby, but strong. I don't even like the word chubby (sounds like we're in middle school), but that's what came to mind. Happy with my progress!
My bike had a bolt missing on the crank arm (major uh-oh!) and I went to get it fixed the day before the snow storm/polar vortex. They said they didn't have the part and would have to order it and that my bike was pretty unsafe (on the trainer) without the bolt. Sullenly, I went to swim (which made it a little better!) and when I got home, I had a voicemail that they had actually found the correct bolt instore, installed it, and that I could come pick it up. I was so very thankful! I got in several bike trainer rides while snowed in and I know I wouldn't have lifted a finger to exercise otherwise. Plus, they only charged me for the price of the bolt...$6.75. AND the mechanic put on a spare tire on the back so my red/black one wouldn't get worn down. I was thinking about trying to change it myself, so I'm glad I had an excuse to take it in and have them do it. Pretty sure I learned my lesson about the bike shop - if the manager is not there, the bike mechanics will not charge me labor/tire change fees. And this particular one is not bad looking - always a bonus!
As my tri group is gearing up/changing things this year, there are a lot more opportunities for running. I've never really felt one way or another about running (other than "running is the worst!" when in the midst of the first mile). Tri Coach Jeff emailed us a few weeks ago and said that YMCA "C", where my tri group is based out of, was offering the half marathon training program to tri group members for free. It is usually $85, so I decided to check out the information session. The program is lead by an older gentleman named Cecil (love it!). Cecil told us his story. He used to be 220 pounds, got a YMCA membership for his kids, they didn't go, but he did. He started walking, then running and now he is super speedy and runs Boston every year. Sounds simple, but when he was telling us his story I was like "let's get out of here and go run RIGHT NOW". Inspiring!
The group is training for a specific half marathon in May. I got worried looking at the schedule, which is only running 3 days a week (cross training 3 more). I was so proud of myself for running over 2 miles at YMCA "D" before weight training. The runs in the very first week were all 3 plus. We all know I can't run a 5K. I laid out all my concerns in an email to Cecil and told him I wasn't running the half marathon, but I would give this training thing a shot. He was cool with it.
I did my "long run" of 4 miles last Friday, which was the longest I have run/walked unless you count the half marathon/1 training run I did in the fall. Today, I was supposed to do a treadmill run. Warm up, 3 miles at mid tempo pace, cool down. I wanted to run as much as I could of that 3 miles, but my mind could not get wrapped around the time it would take to do that on the treadmill/boredom I would encounter. I went back to where I did my long run - my local rec center (not YMCA) that has the free indoor track that is 1/8 of a mile. I didn't pay too much attention to my pace, but I can tell you that I walked a warm up lap, ran 12 laps (1.5 miles), walked 2 laps (0.25 miles), then ran 10 laps (1.25 miles), and cooled down with walking 2 laps (0.25 miles).
Holy cow I was so proud of myself! I mean, I've been able to run 1-1.5 miles without stopping before, but never the distance that I did after a walk break. Those 10 laps that I did after the walk break were hard. My legs felt fine, my hip was achy, my diaphragm/lungs were angry, but I freaking did it! The whole thing took me about 46 minutes, which was actually my first 5k time. If I'm ever feeling down about where I am currently, I know I can look back and see the progress I've made. And that my friends, is priceless.
January, January. The year started off with a 5k! It was supposed to be an event where you ran a 5k, got a medal, and then could get an extra medal for jumping in the lake, but apparently they nixed that. I 100% would have done it, but I'm not going to say I didn't feel relieved. My time was 41:08. I was going to stick to my plan to run the first mile, then walk. Well, they didn't have mile markers, only kilometer markers and I ended up running till the turnaround point.
My friend Laura from the bible study/running group that I attended in the fall did the race too and bless her heart she ran with me. When I stopped to walk, she went on ahead and as I was nearing what would have been the 3 mile mark, I saw her jogging back my way. I totally thought she had finished and then just come back as a friendly jog, but she went to the finish, turned around and came back to run it in with me. Super sweet and unnecessary, but I did appreciate it. Fairly certain that was her slowest 5K/however far she ran ever. (That was my second fastest time...first 5K that I had not PRed!). Honestly, my goal was to not to have any bowel emergencies while running. Check!
My tri group had a break over the Christmas/New Year holidays and only had informal gatherings. As YMCA "D" was completed in August, I took it upon myself to set up a little weight lifting routine. I would run/walk on the treadmill for about half an hour and then lift weights. It was a little intimidating at first, but I feel no shame in asking for help or demonstrations from the staff! Because the walls are mirrored and I would rather look at myself than make awkward eye contact with people, I was examining my body and came to this conclusion: chubby, but strong. I don't even like the word chubby (sounds like we're in middle school), but that's what came to mind. Happy with my progress!
My bike had a bolt missing on the crank arm (major uh-oh!) and I went to get it fixed the day before the snow storm/polar vortex. They said they didn't have the part and would have to order it and that my bike was pretty unsafe (on the trainer) without the bolt. Sullenly, I went to swim (which made it a little better!) and when I got home, I had a voicemail that they had actually found the correct bolt instore, installed it, and that I could come pick it up. I was so very thankful! I got in several bike trainer rides while snowed in and I know I wouldn't have lifted a finger to exercise otherwise. Plus, they only charged me for the price of the bolt...$6.75. AND the mechanic put on a spare tire on the back so my red/black one wouldn't get worn down. I was thinking about trying to change it myself, so I'm glad I had an excuse to take it in and have them do it. Pretty sure I learned my lesson about the bike shop - if the manager is not there, the bike mechanics will not charge me labor/tire change fees. And this particular one is not bad looking - always a bonus!
As my tri group is gearing up/changing things this year, there are a lot more opportunities for running. I've never really felt one way or another about running (other than "running is the worst!" when in the midst of the first mile). Tri Coach Jeff emailed us a few weeks ago and said that YMCA "C", where my tri group is based out of, was offering the half marathon training program to tri group members for free. It is usually $85, so I decided to check out the information session. The program is lead by an older gentleman named Cecil (love it!). Cecil told us his story. He used to be 220 pounds, got a YMCA membership for his kids, they didn't go, but he did. He started walking, then running and now he is super speedy and runs Boston every year. Sounds simple, but when he was telling us his story I was like "let's get out of here and go run RIGHT NOW". Inspiring!
The group is training for a specific half marathon in May. I got worried looking at the schedule, which is only running 3 days a week (cross training 3 more). I was so proud of myself for running over 2 miles at YMCA "D" before weight training. The runs in the very first week were all 3 plus. We all know I can't run a 5K. I laid out all my concerns in an email to Cecil and told him I wasn't running the half marathon, but I would give this training thing a shot. He was cool with it.
I did my "long run" of 4 miles last Friday, which was the longest I have run/walked unless you count the half marathon/1 training run I did in the fall. Today, I was supposed to do a treadmill run. Warm up, 3 miles at mid tempo pace, cool down. I wanted to run as much as I could of that 3 miles, but my mind could not get wrapped around the time it would take to do that on the treadmill/boredom I would encounter. I went back to where I did my long run - my local rec center (not YMCA) that has the free indoor track that is 1/8 of a mile. I didn't pay too much attention to my pace, but I can tell you that I walked a warm up lap, ran 12 laps (1.5 miles), walked 2 laps (0.25 miles), then ran 10 laps (1.25 miles), and cooled down with walking 2 laps (0.25 miles).
Holy cow I was so proud of myself! I mean, I've been able to run 1-1.5 miles without stopping before, but never the distance that I did after a walk break. Those 10 laps that I did after the walk break were hard. My legs felt fine, my hip was achy, my diaphragm/lungs were angry, but I freaking did it! The whole thing took me about 46 minutes, which was actually my first 5k time. If I'm ever feeling down about where I am currently, I know I can look back and see the progress I've made. And that my friends, is priceless.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Quick post!
Hey guys! 2014 is already flying by!
The year started off rough when I stepped on the scale, saw a number higher than I liked, got pissed about it and decided to eat 3 huge sugar cookies with frosting. Uh.... I've always said that if things like the scale start to effect my mental health, then I will drop it on the spot. My mental/emotional/spiritual well being is always my priority. So I stopped weighing myself daily, have been exercising regularly, and eating better. I have no idea what my weight is, but life is great right now!
I had a bday and it was a blast! I got in a morning swim with a special workout written by the tri group swim coach. My arms and legs were very tired from weights the evening before, but i managed to eek out a 2900 yd workout in an hour and five minutes. I then headed on over to the church for a prayer and worship service - life altering. So, so, so good!
I then got lunch, got a mani/pedi with my bestie, then we had some afternoon refreshments and a local watering hole (haha!) and hung out till we went to dinner with my family. I recieved some great presents like some of my alma mater's apparel and a mug, and a smart phone! Welcome to the 21st century, Melissa! lol
Things are getting set up for this next season to tri training group, so we shall see what that holds! I have been having a blast running on the treadmill (okay that part not so much) and lifting weights at the Y right across the street from my work. There's no excuse when you can see the Y from your office window. I've been using some free weights and some intimidating things like the 45 degree leg press!
I've been working on a 30 before 30 list that I will definitely share when it is complete - any suggestions? I only have about 23 right now!
Also, I made up a preliminary triathlon/race schedule the other day and my first tri is an indoor tri on Feb 1. Woot! I am looking forward to doing some open water swim races as well. It is obvious that I love swimming, but 400 yards during a triathlon doesn't really cut it. I'm looking at a 5k swim or two this year. I was looking into one in Chicago in Sept but I have a wedding to go to a couple of states away that day...bummer!
2014 is looking bright and shiny...all I have to do is keep my head up and stay injury free! :)
The year started off rough when I stepped on the scale, saw a number higher than I liked, got pissed about it and decided to eat 3 huge sugar cookies with frosting. Uh.... I've always said that if things like the scale start to effect my mental health, then I will drop it on the spot. My mental/emotional/spiritual well being is always my priority. So I stopped weighing myself daily, have been exercising regularly, and eating better. I have no idea what my weight is, but life is great right now!
I had a bday and it was a blast! I got in a morning swim with a special workout written by the tri group swim coach. My arms and legs were very tired from weights the evening before, but i managed to eek out a 2900 yd workout in an hour and five minutes. I then headed on over to the church for a prayer and worship service - life altering. So, so, so good!
I then got lunch, got a mani/pedi with my bestie, then we had some afternoon refreshments and a local watering hole (haha!) and hung out till we went to dinner with my family. I recieved some great presents like some of my alma mater's apparel and a mug, and a smart phone! Welcome to the 21st century, Melissa! lol
Things are getting set up for this next season to tri training group, so we shall see what that holds! I have been having a blast running on the treadmill (okay that part not so much) and lifting weights at the Y right across the street from my work. There's no excuse when you can see the Y from your office window. I've been using some free weights and some intimidating things like the 45 degree leg press!
I've been working on a 30 before 30 list that I will definitely share when it is complete - any suggestions? I only have about 23 right now!
Also, I made up a preliminary triathlon/race schedule the other day and my first tri is an indoor tri on Feb 1. Woot! I am looking forward to doing some open water swim races as well. It is obvious that I love swimming, but 400 yards during a triathlon doesn't really cut it. I'm looking at a 5k swim or two this year. I was looking into one in Chicago in Sept but I have a wedding to go to a couple of states away that day...bummer!
2014 is looking bright and shiny...all I have to do is keep my head up and stay injury free! :)
Monday, December 30, 2013
2013 Goals Revisited
What a year! I am getting lots of praise from those around me and it feels great. As one of my best friend's mom said the other day "Look who came to visit! Half a Melissa!" haha!
One gesture I'm sticking to comes from a sermon last Sunday where the pastor was talking about relationships and said something to the effect of "Praise people for how far they have come, don't berate them on how far they have to go".
Fitness:
1. Lose as much or more weight as I lost in 2012 (34lbs)
I only had 3 pounds to lose with a month to go, but I know that is not going to happen. I'm 100% fine with it...more on that later!
2. Swim twice a week, at least one morning a week.
Ha! Once in the morning! I'm pretty sure I became even less of a morning person in 2013! But generally I swam once a week, twice if I was lucky.
3. Strength train once the Y thins out (after new year's resolution-ers don't come as often)
I was dragging my feet big time on this! I started strength training in late November, but I have a good routine now!
4. Strength train at home in the meantime (as much as one can with light weights)
This probably happened once!
5. Do a race longer than a 5K.
I jumped from a 5K straight into a half marathon this year!
6. Swim in an open water race.
Yes! In place of a triathlon. Recap here.
7. Run a race/just plain run downtown
I walked a 5K downtown for a work related event. It was so uneventful that I didn't blog about it, but I'm counting it because I got to enjoy the downtown area!
8. Get a bike
BOOM!
9. Ride said bike
Eventually!
10. Ride bike w/o fear of falling off/losing control
It was longer than I expected, if we're being honest!
11. Do a triathlon, even if it is just by myself at the Y.
I completed an indoor tri in late January/early February, then went on to do several more this summer! Recaps: Indoor tri. First Triathlon. Second Triathlon. Third Triathlon.
12. Try some new, more hardcore workouts
Still trying to get into different workouts, but spinning was a big one...running on the treadmill (I had a treadmill fear), BRICK workouts for sure! Let's see what I can get to in 2014!
Financial:
Pay off credit cards – Yes! Paid both of them off by May.
Get student loans under XX,XXX – Sure did. But I’m slowly realizing how long it is going to take to pay these off, I will up the ante in 2014!
Accumulate X,XXX in savings. – I only accumulated about half of what I wanted to, but it might be enough to pay off another debt or go towards a new car in the future.
Only eating out once a week unless special occassion or asked by friend – First half of the year – this was great. Second half, not so much.
All money from church job goes toward debt – Except for a month or two, this one was right on.
No buying things on whims/bc they are on sale. – Surprised myself and did pretty well on this.
Only buy if you really need them – Hehe…easier said than done!
All purchases from CVS stay below $10 unless they are a need – I sorta stopped couponing at CVS, so this is not really all that applicable.
Keeping avg groc budget to $50 – I started shopping at Aldi, so this has been no problem!
Emotional/Spiritual
Keep doing things like working out/going on walks/run outdoors. (Things that make me happy) – Yes and no. What makes me happy in terms of exercise is continually changing. I just have to keep doing what I love!
Do something special every week that makes me happy (take time to watch a sunset, volunteer, get my nails done, read a book, etc) - Not every week, but yes I did take more time for me (instead of mind numbingly reading through my FB news feed!)
Find a church to go to, go regularly and get involved. – I’m going to the church I have previously worked at and starting to get involved – yay!
Have quiet time w/the Lord. – I am very proud of this accomplishment. Right now its only like 5-10 minutes a day. But I am getting there!
Count your blessings. – Not enough!
Don't be so introverted, keep in contact with family/friends. – The more you do it, the easier it is. This past month or two has been a lot better on this.
Make new friends by trying new activities. – Yes! Through my tri group and my small group at church I have been meeting people. Go introverted me
Back to goal #1 all the way up there. Even though it took me from early July to late November to lose 10 pounds, I am definitely okay with that! As I've said many times before on this blog, my focus is the to be healthy and increase my fitness level. In that span of early July to late November, I completed 3 triathlons, a 3K open water swim, a 20 mile bike ride, 39 mile bike ride, and a half marathon. What a kickass year! Last year at this time I would have NEVER thought I would complete all of those things, let alone in a span of a few months.
So, thank you, 2013. You showed me what strength and determination really are and that even if you are the slowest one in your training group, you are still swimming laps, riding circles, and running marathons around the people who are sitting on the couch. 2014 - let's do this!
One gesture I'm sticking to comes from a sermon last Sunday where the pastor was talking about relationships and said something to the effect of "Praise people for how far they have come, don't berate them on how far they have to go".
 |
| Definitely lost a chin or two in 2013! |
Fitness:
1. Lose as much or more weight as I lost in 2012 (34lbs)
I only had 3 pounds to lose with a month to go, but I know that is not going to happen. I'm 100% fine with it...more on that later!
2. Swim twice a week, at least one morning a week.
Ha! Once in the morning! I'm pretty sure I became even less of a morning person in 2013! But generally I swam once a week, twice if I was lucky.
3. Strength train once the Y thins out (after new year's resolution-ers don't come as often)
I was dragging my feet big time on this! I started strength training in late November, but I have a good routine now!
4. Strength train at home in the meantime (as much as one can with light weights)
This probably happened once!
5. Do a race longer than a 5K.
I jumped from a 5K straight into a half marathon this year!
6. Swim in an open water race.
Yes! In place of a triathlon. Recap here.
7. Run a race/just plain run downtown
I walked a 5K downtown for a work related event. It was so uneventful that I didn't blog about it, but I'm counting it because I got to enjoy the downtown area!
8. Get a bike
BOOM!
9. Ride said bike
Eventually!
10. Ride bike w/o fear of falling off/losing control
It was longer than I expected, if we're being honest!
11. Do a triathlon, even if it is just by myself at the Y.
I completed an indoor tri in late January/early February, then went on to do several more this summer! Recaps: Indoor tri. First Triathlon. Second Triathlon. Third Triathlon.
12. Try some new, more hardcore workouts
Still trying to get into different workouts, but spinning was a big one...running on the treadmill (I had a treadmill fear), BRICK workouts for sure! Let's see what I can get to in 2014!
Financial:
Pay off credit cards – Yes! Paid both of them off by May.
Get student loans under XX,XXX – Sure did. But I’m slowly realizing how long it is going to take to pay these off, I will up the ante in 2014!
Accumulate X,XXX in savings. – I only accumulated about half of what I wanted to, but it might be enough to pay off another debt or go towards a new car in the future.
Only eating out once a week unless special occassion or asked by friend – First half of the year – this was great. Second half, not so much.
All money from church job goes toward debt – Except for a month or two, this one was right on.
No buying things on whims/bc they are on sale. – Surprised myself and did pretty well on this.
Only buy if you really need them – Hehe…easier said than done!
All purchases from CVS stay below $10 unless they are a need – I sorta stopped couponing at CVS, so this is not really all that applicable.
Keeping avg groc budget to $50 – I started shopping at Aldi, so this has been no problem!
Emotional/Spiritual
Keep doing things like working out/going on walks/run outdoors. (Things that make me happy) – Yes and no. What makes me happy in terms of exercise is continually changing. I just have to keep doing what I love!
Do something special every week that makes me happy (take time to watch a sunset, volunteer, get my nails done, read a book, etc) - Not every week, but yes I did take more time for me (instead of mind numbingly reading through my FB news feed!)
Find a church to go to, go regularly and get involved. – I’m going to the church I have previously worked at and starting to get involved – yay!
Have quiet time w/the Lord. – I am very proud of this accomplishment. Right now its only like 5-10 minutes a day. But I am getting there!
Count your blessings. – Not enough!
Don't be so introverted, keep in contact with family/friends. – The more you do it, the easier it is. This past month or two has been a lot better on this.
Make new friends by trying new activities. – Yes! Through my tri group and my small group at church I have been meeting people. Go introverted me
Back to goal #1 all the way up there. Even though it took me from early July to late November to lose 10 pounds, I am definitely okay with that! As I've said many times before on this blog, my focus is the to be healthy and increase my fitness level. In that span of early July to late November, I completed 3 triathlons, a 3K open water swim, a 20 mile bike ride, 39 mile bike ride, and a half marathon. What a kickass year! Last year at this time I would have NEVER thought I would complete all of those things, let alone in a span of a few months.
So, thank you, 2013. You showed me what strength and determination really are and that even if you are the slowest one in your training group, you are still swimming laps, riding circles, and running marathons around the people who are sitting on the couch. 2014 - let's do this!
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