Thursday, October 23, 2008

wednesday weigh in

Up until I competed in my second triathlon on Sunday, I had not done any exercise for almost three weeks.

Since my race on Sunday, I have done nothing until tonight.

Tonight, while Charlie stayed home with the baby, I took the triplets and we dropped "Boo" bags off to several of our neighbors.

When I took off with three bags full of fun Halloween surprises for our unsuspecting neighbors, and three children who were dressed in matching Buzz Lightyear costumes (and whom happen to be sleeping in those very same costumes at this exact moment, but that's a whole 'nuther story), I didn't think for a moment I would be getting the most intense work out of my entire life.

But it seems that dropping off a Boo bag, ringing a doorbell, and RUNNING as fast as you can while your three children instantly and simultaneously lose all coordination and fall down, and you must RUN back and pick them all up and RUN away as fast as you can before your secret identity is revealed and then, you DIVE behind bushes and ROLL under a parked car and SSHH!!! your children because you hear your neighbors come out of their homes to investigate the origins of the goodwill doer who left a bag of surprises on their doorstep ... in the process of all that you will discover that you are straining muscles you didn't even realize you had.

You'll also realize that you might be getting a little carried away with spreading good cheer.

But oh, it's so much fun!!

Much like participating in a triathlon.

Also, so much fun!!

My race this past weekend was great. I had some serious reservations about participating because I hadn't been exercising and was still on antibiotics for strep. But it really surprised me that I was able to finish the whole thing. And unlike my previous triathlon, I was actually PASSING people.

In the water!

On the bike!

During the run!!

Sure, they were only nine years old, but it was like they were standing still.

I never did stop. Except for one point on the run when my iPod ceased operation.

See, during the first triathlon, Charlie convinced me not to bring my iPod. He said that it was against the rules and I wouldn't need it, because I would be so pumped by the crowd that was there, cheering me on. Based solely on my husband's description of the crowd enthusiasm, I fully expected to have unending energy. I fully expected that I would be inspired by the atmosphere and I would tap in to muscle and endurance reserves I didn't know existed. I fully expected that I would be so motivated by the crowd, I wouldn't even feel tired and I'd be accelerating forward, gracefully, magically, as if propelled on a moving sidewalk.

That didn't happen.

During my first triathlon, I was really tired. I was wicked pissah tired. And there was no way the crowd was going to pump me up, unless they broke in to the Village People's "Y-M-C-A" and shoulder carried me across the finish line. Or if someone morphed in to a giant Reese's peanut butter cup and took off running down the street.

But this time, I brought music and I cannot tell you how much of a difference it made. I felt totally energized. I ran the whole distance. Except for when "Mr. Blue Sky" spattered and went dead and I was instantly zapped of motivation and slowed from a jog to a walk while fumbling with my iPod. And then when I couldn't resolve the technical difficulty, I stopped, unclipped it - held it high over my head and shouted to the heavens "ARRGHHH WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME SO?!" before seeing that my ear phones had fallen out.

I plugged them back in, felt immediately rejuvenated by music and ran wee-wee-wee, all the way home. Right now, I am overcome with happiness just thinking about how a lucky some one is going to WIN one of these awesome beauties, next week.

It will CHANGE your exercise life.

So come on. How are you doing with your goals?

20 comments:

  1. Well my "health" goal was to quit smoking, which I mentioned in a comment during the last contest when I had just begun the quit. I am excited to say that I have now successfully made in 2.5 MONTHS completely smoke free!!!

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  2. Well, my goals are simple.... get in better shape, loose some of this extra stress I'm carrying around, and be able to run a 5K or 10K with my DH while he's home from Iraq on leave in Feb/March. We've started at the YMCA thanks to the Department of Defense, and on the days when I don't get there I climb on my eliptical. Exercise really is making me feel better.... less stress and better sleep. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  3. My goal was to lose the pregnancy weight and I have 8-10 left to go! Yay!

    Congratulations on the great triathlon!

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  4. Sounds like you did great during your triathlon, if you were passing people (no matter their age) after having been so sick that was real progress. Just think what whoop a** you would have done had you been 100%.

    I love the BOO concept, I bet the children had a blast.

    How am I doing with my goals? Better! I am totally doing great on the eating better (please forget the warm Krispy Kreme dear son brought home). Doing somewhat better on exercise, trying to work back up to where I was two months ago. I even had energy to get outside and work yesterday. I am at a better place about stressing over health so that is helping. I have a lot of weight to lose so I am very confident that I can lose the first 20 by Christmas. I don't think I have mentioned that I also have sleep apnea and I pray that when (not if) I lose this extra baggage I can get off of the C PAP machine. I will let you know pds lost when I weigh Monday. My goal is for at least 2# loss a week.
    Thank you for inspiring me to better my life.
    Kathy

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  5. COngrats on finishing your triathlon!

    My goal is completed...saturday I ran my (ok, ran and walked but FINISHED) my half marathon.

    And now I am crazy enough to think I want to do it again soon. Clearly I need therapy...and some new running shoes...

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  6. My goal was to lose atleast 10 lbs. I have not only exceeded that goal and lost 19 lbs, I have also been given a new lease on life! I was stuck in an abusive relationship which turned almost deadly when my ex returned from serving a year in Iraq with the Army. I motivated myself to save enough back from my paychecks to get out of his house and into my own apartment where I am now as free as a bird! It has taken many adjustments (new job, change of license plates on my car, etc) on my part, but it was well worth it in the end! Thank you for your blog...if you only knew just how much strength you have given to me! Thank you SO much!

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  7. Blood presure is much better. And I am taking steps to lower the cholestrol including , (fish oil, yummy, and Cheerios). I have also joined Jazzercise, it is a lot of fun and for now I am going 3X/week. I have a couple girlfriends that have done it for years, and I finally joined. I wish I had done it sooner! I am learning to shake it like a polaroid picture! HEHEHE. I am well on my way of reaching my goals to become more heart healthy for me and my kids, I want to be around to see my grand babies some day. I have got the blood pressure down, and with 15 pounds left to loose I am feeling pretty darn good!

    lilkatie52@aol.com

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  8. not so good with the "watch the sugar" goal. i really do better when i just say "NO sugar." it's sad but true.

    i didn't walk quite as much this week because we went out of town this weekend and i had to prepare for that and then recover from that. but, i did walk several days.

    i did yoga once or twice. again, not as much as i intended.

    so, my goals for this last week are to walk the babes 60+ minutes 5 days, do yoga/hand weights for 20 minutes 3 days, and pretend to regulate my sugar intake.

    i hope you all have a wonderful week filled with healthy living.
    katie

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  9. I missed a workout this week, but it's okay. I'm a bit worried, really, because I lost the last five pounds I wanted to lose only FOUR days after having lost ANOTHER five pounds. Losing weight that fast is creepy, not to mention unhealthy.
    So I'm adding a few hundred calories to my diet and probably cutting back on workouts a bit, because I want to mantain this weight. If I lose any more, I will really freak out.
    This is the least I have ever weighed in my adult life, the same as in high school. It's a healthy weight and I want to keep it.
    But the good news is, I met my weight loss goal!
    Congratulations on doing so well in the marathon!

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  10. @ a gracious plenty:
    I totally agree with you on the "no sugar" thing. The dietists keep telling me not to deprive myself, but if I have ANY sugar, I crave it ALL the time. It took me a few months to wean myself entirely off sugar this time (the trip to Germany probably didn't help) but I have stopped craving it and it is SO much better.
    It also helps me to avoid rationalizing any sweet intake, knowing that any sugar at all could set me off in those endless cravings.
    igsbeth.blogspot.com

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  11. Jen, You are so busy with your life, working, raising small children and every week, you encourage and inspire people to improve their own lives.

    Thanks to your challenges, I now watch what I eat and have started walking. I'm currently up to walking three days a week for one hour each time. It's only been two months, but I've lost 8 pounds. I feel good, I look good and I have more energy.

    Thank you much for openly sharing your life and in the process, touching so many people's lives. You are the amazing one!

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  12. Congrats on another tri! I'm sure just keeping up with your four is training aplenty....

    I am still on track with my 24 week training schedule for my goal of a half marathon in the spring. The weather up here is not so nice anymore.... so most of my work has been on the treadmill which is ok since you can change the elevation (we have some really steep but really short hills here.... so that isn't so much endurance etc.)

    Anyway, keep up the good work. What's next?

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  13. Oh My Gosh!!!!! I am so proud of you!!!!!!! That is so cool. Wish I could do a tri! I am just try - ing to get through a 5k!!!! Without eating to much chocolate pb cups! ;-)

    But... I have to ask...the earlier pictures....... What in the heck are you doing on the phone at 5:30 am??? on the day of the triathlon!! Really... who in the world were you calling that early?????? Was the person awake???? Just wondering. ;-)

    Congrats again!! Marg.
    PS Happy birthday to those adorable babies!

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  14. Margaret - that wasn't ME on the phone!! I was the one taking the picture!! ALTHOUGH, in all fairness, I did call Charlie about five minutes later to tell him that I was there, it was DARK and I was COLD.

    You must come visit me. I think you should train in SC, and then come to CA and we'll participate in a triathlon together, next year. I loved this particular race >> it was for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund and it was all women. I think we should do it in memory of Andrea. Maybe we could even do some fundraising for the cause??

    October 2009.

    You, me and ... Regina?? :)

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  15. I've put my goals on hold. I've rehurt my ankle for the 5th? time since starting training. I'm freaking tired all the time. Luckily the pain hasn't kicked in. (I've fibromyalgia and CFIDS.)

    There's another 5K in December that I'll shoot for. I hope my BFF will do it with me, since it's for MADD and her cousin was hit by a drunkie earlier this year.

    Congrats on the triathlon! That's pretty freaking impressive.

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  16. Hee hee! Motherhood is a workout in and of itself! We did Boos too and wonder if we suprised anyone al all.

    I am one week away from finishing the couch to 5k program. Hooray for me! And I've lost 6 lbs to boot - double hooray! And my jeans aren't so uncomfortable. Hooray Hooray Hooray!

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  17. Regina? LOL LOL LOL

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  18. I just laughed out loud when I read about you yelling sky-ward WHY ME?? Oand then to discover your earphones had fallen out - HILARIOUS.
    I went to go for a run 2 days ago after my loving husband had charged my nano on his NEW computer and of course all the songs had been wiped. I nearly cried - cannot run without my tunes!

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  19. Well, my husband and I had to make an executive decision a few weeks ago, and the funds just weren't in the right place for us to be able to go to our Marine Mud Run on November 8th. So, instead, we paid for my gallbladder surgery, I'm still recovering, but I was actually able to walk a mile yesterday without keeling over with pain! I was SOOOO proud of myself. So I feel like I'm right on target to participate in the March Marine Mud Run, and I'll definitely make sure that the funds are set aside and waiting so I'll actually be able to do it. My short-term goal is to complete the Body for Life challenge simultaneously with the Couch-to-5k plan by January 24th, at which point I hope my husband and I will be going on a cruise (we've got the tickets! we've got the passports! yea!). So those are my goals for now! Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be back to running and will be cleared by my doctor to start eating my normal diet. :o) I'm happy!

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  20. Chiming in to say that this week has been AWESOME. The new asthma meds seem finally to be working. I cut two minutes off my prior outdoor 5K time in a race last weekend, and have managed to twice in the last week run 5 kilometers in under 35 minutes- amazing!

    And I hear you on the music thing. I love the Nike+ thinger, but with the new iPod nanos, there is a software glitch that randomly causes your workouts to be deleted and to freeze up the iPod. And MAN, does that BLOW! All the sudden, NO MUSIC, and me, stumbling on a treadmill trying to figure out what went wrong. Grr! I still love the stupid Nike+ thing though. As a matter of fact, I'm giving one away on my blog. If Nike doesn't spontaneously offer me a sponsorship soon, I may just have to let them know how much publicity their product gets from me and BEG for one!

    Congrats on your awesome triathlon. Passing people always feels good.

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