If at first you don’t succeed, Tri Tri again?

My new years resolution is to run a sprint triathlon. There, I said it. And if I start to really train and rock it, then I’m going to do the Hy-Vee Triathlon in September.

Today is January 14, so that gives me a while. But listen kids, I need a good 3 months to prepare for a 5K! Let alone a swim, bike ride and brisk jog.

I’m looking at a few sprint tri’s but I’m leaning toward the Copper Creek Triathlon http://www.coppercreektri.com/ in Pleasant Hill.

It’s a 750 meter swim, a 20 K bike ride and a 5K run. And it’s Sunday June 26^th. That’s approximately 23 weeks away.

I’ve been swimming a few times a week since I moved to Des Moines because I feel really comfortable at the YMCA pool here. The bike ride doesn’t intimidate me because I’ve tackled RAGBRAI… But that 5K is daunting to me. After all that swimming, and a bike ride that’s not something to scoff at… a 5K isn’t exactly the thing dreams are made of.

The Hy-Vee Triathlon is 1.5 km swim, 40 km ride, 10 km run. Basically double the sprint. My plan- recommended to me by my coworker- is to plan for the full tri and I’ll be in sprint tri shape when the time comes.

Now let me tell you a little story about the last time I tried to attempt a physical feat… the 10K. I hated it. I was one of the last people to finish it… followed only by some little kid and his grandma hot on my tail. I got sick the second I started to run… before the first mile was even up I had to stop at the port-a-potty.

Not cool. And I swore I’d never do that again… well guess what, I’m gonna do that plus a bunch of other crap. GREAT.

I’ll let you wrap your mind around what an idiot I am and follow this gem of a blog-post up with my game plan. I did almost get a minor in coaching… so maybe I can spur myself on to a victory. Or at least a finish. Ok, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, lets just hope I don’t drown.

It's been a while...

So I was thinking of starting a blog... and then I realized I had 2 already... and one more somewhere hidden. I never post to any of them. So I thought I'd update. I realize my only follower is Kaysie and I'm 100% sure she won't read this... but who cares.

I've lost 10 pounds! I'm working out a lot and eating right

My workout regiment includes a day of yoga (monday nights with Joel!) 2 or 3 days of strength training (including one with Jake the trainer) and 3 days of my "couch to 5K" running plan.

I'm down a belt loop, I won one day of "cash for chunkers" and I'm between pant sizes.

After all of this I'd like to note that my pants are feeling a smidge tight in the thigh area and it's causing Superman Syndrome. Superman Syndrome is what I like to call the situation where your pants bunch at the hips in the shape of underwear, so you look like you're wearing denim undies outside your jeans.... Which is the look Superman make popular, only with spandex. (He was a brave man).

Anyways, I'm munching on tons of protein, trying to curb the carbs and get a little crazy with fruits and vegis.

My grandpa informed me that if I lost 50 pounds and kept it off for 50 days he'd give me $250... he also let it slip that if I lost 80lbs and kept it off for 80 days that he'd give me a grand!!!
Look out Kate Moss, here comes my spinal cord.

If I had one of those mood rings, the ring would indicate "annoyed"

Honestly, if anything goes wrong at work, I'll probably cry.

I got a facebook message from my "trainer" this morning (that I haven't even MET YET) that he left at 12:30am... I had woken up at 5am because I was SO EXCITED to go to the gym and workout with him... and then WA WAAAAAAAA

It said, "hey! can you come on Monday wit ur cuz? you will still get a discount big time through me! text me at ####### if u want! tonight has been crazy!!"

and then two texts from my cousin saying, the trainer, (we'll call him Nate) says he can't make it this morning, come with me Monday. REALLY?! REALLY?!

I was literally WIDE AWAKE. 5am...

And furthermore, I DON'T want to go to a GROUP session with my COUSIN. I texted him to say, "monday's fine"

But then I emailed his director who I had talked to earlier asking about the promotions, because I knew they were running out soon... GOOD THING I DID! Apparently, they run out TODAY. AWESOME NATE... trying to dupe me out of a discount I see... well I foiled that plan, because I called your boss lady and tattled.

Now, I know he wasn't trying to dupe me, and I'm sure he had a great reason to have his 13 year old sister draft a facebook messege... seriously? wit ur cuz? But I want to get down to work dammit! And I want to do it now.

So he called at 3:30 to schedule a "sit down" right after work. Done and done. I've printed up a copy of my calendar so we can compare schedules and I printed off my top 3 goals. Which are as follows: (unless he suggests better ones).

Goal 1. I would like to be held accountable for my cardio, both time and intensity, during the week.
Goal 2. I'm very interested in building a good strength training base to build off of. I have a degree in Health and Human Performance but I think I struggle with putting together a good program for myself that I'm interested in doing for more than 2 days...
3. Lastly, weight loss is a goal of mine, but I'm not interested in being thin, weak and unhealthy. Strength & health is my main focus.

Anyways, just incase you're wondering, I went to the gym and did strength training for the whole time. from 5:30am till a little after 6... and then I showered and treated myself to an iced chai and a muffin... dangit.

*** Second update****
I'm doing a contest on facebook with some girls I know through a friend called "cash for chunkers" It's "Biggest Loser" style. First prize is like $75. Booyah. That can pay for two training sessions... Oh! and the % winner each week gets $10. Sweet!

Dinners We've LOVED!

I’m living at home at the moment, and I was approached by my dad the other day a little frustrated. He is retired and my mom works. Since my dad is at home all day, he feels the pressure to make dinner and have it ready when my mom gets home. The only problem is that his recipe repertoire is a bit limited. Don’t get me wrong, he makes a great tater tot casserole and his just-add-water pancakes rival any… but strangely enough, he and my mom are pretty healthy. And I think he and my mom were getting a little tired of the same-old-thing.

My mom on the other hand has a more broad palate; however, her dinners usually consist of one thing from column A, one thing from column B, and a glass of milk. I really wasn’t introduced to FLAVOR till I started cooking myself. We never even kept salt and pepper on the table till we were given some bovine shakers by a foreign exchange student when I was in college. A typical “Mom dinner” is comprised of a chicken breast and frozen peas in the microwave. Lately we’ve sliced up some fruit to shake it up a little…

So I took the challenge and started to put together some easy dinners that I could make between when I got home (5:12) and when people wanted to eat (before 6:30ish).

Here are a few that we LOVED! There was really only one recipe that I didn’t love… an avocado potato salad, but that was because the avocado was CRUNCHY and it made me way grumpier than I really should have been.

Corn, Avocado, Tomato & Crab Salad

http://mangotomato.blogspot.com/2009/08/corn-avocado-tomato-crab-salad.html

Chicken Chipotle Burrito Bowls

http://www.grouprecipes.com/16577/chicken-chipotle-burrito-bowls.html/print

-MINUS the tortillas and PLUS Cilatro Lime Rice

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/03/chipotle-cilantro-lime-rice-4-pts.html

Both of these recipes are chuck full of veggis to get my “4-a-day”, and they’re all GREAT leftover. Nom, Nom!

Progress 6/23/10

Activity: Currently I workout pretty regularly in a group setting but I'd like to set some sort of strength and conditioning goal .

Right now I play softball on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday. And I play Volleyball on Thursday. Generally one of those days will be rained-out since it's early summer in Iowa.

I emailed the Fitness Center I belong to and inquired about a personal trainer and a nutritionist. I am committing at least the $40 per month I spent on WW to my new weight plan. And I have a fairly steady income and not many expenses so I may be able to "up" that commitment!

I'm going to wait for a few days to hear from the fitness center before I state my official "activity goals". But I'm going to commit to going to the gym if the weather prevents organized sports, and one extra day before next Wednesday.


Nutrition: According to WW I was right on track with everything... except one little thing. I ate about 10 points over my allotted points (about 500 calories) and I didn't get enough fruits and vegetables.

First thing's first, F&V: Now I want to make this a game, but I HAVE to keep it simple. How can I incorporate 6 or more servings of F&V into my diet?! oy. Lets start small. I get about 2. On a good day. So lets bump it up. 4? Yeah. 4 is my goal. Eat (or drink) 4 servings of F&V every day.

What's my reward? I get to shut up and do it again. Awesome. I need some different motivation. Stay tuned for a motivational speech.

Date started: 6/23/10
Current Date: 6/23/10
Weight Loss: 0 Pounds
BMI: 35

Do it or Doughnut

Well, I deleted my Weight Watchers account today after losing about 6 pounds in 22 weeks. I was up and down the whole time. I lost 5 pounds right away, and then gained and lost 2 pounds fairly consistently during alternating weeks.

I've done WW before with great results, but this time just wasn't for me. I was annoyed at meetings with people suggesting getting their healthy oils for the day on their morning cereal. (really! you can't taste it!) I'm sorry, but I have no problem adding a little EVOO to my veggis. Getting enough oil isn't my problem. Trust me.

The first priority at every meeting was to ask around to see if anyone found some great low point foods or had any great tips for this week... I hated the people who said, I found a great salad at applebees and if you get it without croutons, or nuts, or fruit, or meat, or anything, basically if you just get the lettuce, and take the dressing on the side, and then don't eat it, just sniff it before you take each bite, it ends up only being 6 calories! And it's a great way to get your healthy oils... Or, I found a recipe for celery water. You just puree the celery and strain the water and drink it. It's actually negative 10 calories and you get a point BACK every time you drink a gallon of it.

Clearly I went to meetings early on Saturday mornings when no one should talk to me...
But I'm gonna try and do it on my own. Research my OWN diet strategies, figure out what works for ME. And find some motivation that spurs me on.

Wish me luck!