tire

We live near the beach. We belong to a beach club. I own about 3 bathing suits that I wear to the club. All 3 cover my stomach. One is a two piece but tankini. Recently I have noticed that many of the other moms are in bikinis. Some look great and some look just ok. I know I am smaller and in better shape then some of these moms.

The other night I figured I could use some new suits, I ordered from Athleta. One is a tankini. The other is a bikini. Let's just say I am a bit depressed. The bikini looks fine on me in every sense except for my mid area. It seriously looks like I have a tire. I know we all have body issues, my used to be my flat chest. Now it is my mid section. Right after I eat a meal, you can literally see it in my tummy, it is like I am 3 months pregnant. I feel like my food has no where to go and sits there ?? I am tempted to post a photo so you can all see this. I workout all the time, cardio, strength ? I eat better than I ever have ? I am thinking about going off the pill b/c i know that is supposed to add some weight.

I realize I sound a bit obsessed, I think I am just confused about what is going on. I am going to really focus on fueling my body with food, not putting crap in it.

What is up with all the stupid ants ????

Did an ocean swim this AM and the water was balmy compared to the other day. loved it. I am hoping to get a brick in tomorrow. Next weekend I am doing a tri.

rain makes a change in workout

This am I was planning on doing a swim and then a nice long bike ride outside. I had a sitter for the girls.

I went to the swim and it was FREEZING, and i don't have a wet suit. I believe the water was 69 degrees. Somebody said something about westerly winds that blow the top of the ocean off out to sea and the cold water from the bottom comes to the top. All I know is it was icy cold. but I did it. It took a while for me to be able to put my face in the water without gasping. I have to say it was empowering that I did it.

As we got out, it started raining. My towel was sopping wet. I was so bummed b/c I really want to get a long bike ride in and I didn't want to rush to a spin class. So I figured I would get an interval run in on the treadmill at the gym. However, as I was driving it stopped raining and I thought hummmmm, i could go to the track and do my interval workout there. It was great !!! I was so happy to be able to get a workout at the track done.

Tomorrow I will do spin class - since the little ladies have no sitter and will have to come to the gym with me.

Nutrition front. A good snack is whole wheat toast with peanut butter. we have not had pb in the hosue b/c my youngest is allergic. i have used other nut butters. but hubby bought some PB into the house and i had some toast with it.....yummmmy. i forgot about the taste of PB.

isolate muscles

No news on house stuff.

Worked with trainer today. did you know that while i was doing leg climbers, one knee bent other leg out and you do sit up, my hip was cramping. When she heard me say this she said I use every muscle but my stomach. She help my feet and put my legs together and then i did it and wow, hello tummy muscles where have you been. Why on heaven's earth has my bottom compensated for my lazy tummy ????

i interrupt this tri blog to stress about something else

putting an offer in on a house. STRESS. It is already effecting me. I planned on going to gym to get 4 miles or more on treadmill, but now I start thinking I could squeeze in less mileage outside while girls at storytime. back and forth in my head, back and forth.

it is all good. if we get it, great, if not no biggie, something else will come along. this needs to be my mantra. this is a good thing to have to deal with not a bad thing.

Foam roller

So I used the foam roller this week, twice. It seems to have helped with my knee pain. Go figure. Most folks i discussed my knee pain with said it was probably IT band related and that the foam roller would help.

I used the one at the gym and plan on buying one for home. Anyone recommend where to get a foam roller cheap ? Do you use one ? I swear it is torture, but that is also how the deep tissue massage I had felt and that worked wonders.

Ocean swim was great this AM. The water was actually much colder than it has been and it took my breath away. It took me a good while for me to get in the rhythm, I kept catching my breath b/c of the cold. I have really been trying to focus on all the darn technique that I learned from ironlady. Pulling, rotating, fingertip, reach and glide. It is hard but at least I am getting it in there in the ocean.

Tomorrow is a brick. I have not done many of them and really need to focus on them. I plan on trying out some nutrition as well.

friday

So the ocean swim was awesome. The lifeguards had to leave after we did one swim but about 7 of us stayed and did another one. It was too perfect to not take advantage. On the first swim, their was a pirate ship sailing by us...it was crazy and felt very surreal. One of the lifeguards said he saw a sea turtle ??

Then I rushed home and got my bike. Went to gym to work out with trainer. Had a good workout and I am feeling much stronger. Of course I am sore today which is a good thing. I used the foam roller trying to massage out the IT band and see if that helps my knee. I have to buy one for home, i had the magic stick (sounds like a sex toy huh) and due to the girls playing with it, can't find it.

Straight to get my bike fitted. Wahoo. He made some adjustments and I am looking forward to taking a ride and seeing how the new fit feels.

Today is one of those we have nothing to RUSH to days, which actually stresses me out. I plan on heading to gym to do intervals on the treadmill. I would like to head to the beach but it is not 100% beach day and a storm could be passing through.

So glad it is friday, get to actually see and talk to hubby.

busy day

ocean swim

workout with trainer

bike fitted

inpiration inspired

This weekend hubby inspired me as he completed the NYC tri.

I was also VERY inspired by the blind athletes and the para athletes. Seriously - I saw this image a whole bunch and I was thinking how amazing their spirit must be.

My younger sister has started running. My older sister emailed me asking how long it would take me to run 3 miles. She wrote back saying that she was walking x amount of miles in y amount of time and she felt if she trained she felt she could do a 5k. My brother in law was down and watching hubby prep for tri, he txted me saying he was inspired and rode 15 miles yesterday and was doing 20 today.

I have always taken inspiration from others. In various ways, people and places. Never have I felt that I inspired anyone. I truly hope that the little push I may have given others turns into a positive and healthy journey.

My sisters both have said that they would run a 5k race with me, and I believe my brother in law is in as well. I would love this !!!

Who inspires you ? Who have you inspired ?

ps - that is not my husband or someone i know in the photo, i borrowed it from the nyc tri page.

boot camp

my trainer is on vacation this week so i decided to do a boot camp at the gym today. i knew i would not motivate myself to do weights so i figured this would be great. ironlady was teaching. yikes. it was great and i felt good, although i see myself drinking water long enough to not start a set and just catch up, i see myself cheating and i hate it. but it was good and there were some areas that i knew i was stronger in from working with the trainer. tricip dips, i used to never be able to do these in boot camp, i rocked it. also some ab work, i would not be able to do and i was doing it. granted my butt bone has a sore on it but it was all worth it. i am sure i will be sore tomorrow but i am hoping to wake up and get a brick done. i have a tri august 8th and i really ahve not been doing many bricks yet. i also want to try out a some nutrition - i bought some hammer stuff and want to see if it is ok with my tummy.

my knee hurts when i extend it and i am thinking i might need to see a doc and get some pt. arghghghghgh.

hubby does NYC tri on sunday and i am watching sans kids - can't wait to attend the expo !!! woot woot. i am so proud of hubby and his training. he works all the time and has NO time for himself, so i am impressed how he fit it all in. to anyone else doing the nyc tri - good luck !!!

race report

Finally sitting down and will go over the race.

This was a sprint tri, 300 yards in the ocean, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run. I have done the course twice before. Hubby was doing the long course that day so we arose at about 5, had a sitter come at 6 and headed out the door. We had offered to take our neighbors as well as their bikes. I told hubby to do it the night before but they didn't and sure enough we had to put one bike in the back (removing our bikes from the rack to do this), this put us a bit later than we would have liked. By the time we got to set up there was not much room left, but I knew they had said 8 bikes to a rack so counted 5 and moved myself in. I admit I had not stressed much about this. I was looking at it as a workout, a test on how I did on the clipless pedals, an overall let's see what works and doesn't. So setting up my area was pretty quick and easy, one thing I did have and was glad I had (it was in my bag from last year ) was baby powder, this really does help get sand off and fast.

It was pretty much off to the beach for the start. I did not plan on wearing my garmin, and I did not even think of using my watch and doing splits. I was depending on the advertised 5 time splits and was confident I would have splits. NO such luck(more on that later). The long course went off first and farther down the beach. The short course had a good 30 minutes to wait, I hate waiting. If I had been in a wetsuit I would have passed out from the heat. The surf was rough. I am talking tall waves and they were breaking on the shore, it was crazy, the lifeguards had to call us in and have a little safety chat with us. Finally they asked us to get in a single line so we could all run over the timeing pad, this was a bit of a pain but it did help with a civilized start. I ran through the pad and then stopped short as I had to wait for a good entrance into the surf. I swam through some big waves and got out and tried to keep free style, but I did have to resort to breast stroke. My sighting is getting much better, it was purely the fact that it was rough surf, getting tired, and some good ol fear. I actually heard someone asking for help ???

i tried to really focus on free style and pulling, not sure how i did but as i got more in the surf i just tried to focus on swimming as hard as i could when that wave came, b/c it did pull you back. I kept swimming and did not try to stop and touch the bottom, instead i swam until i could feel the bottom with my hands, that way if a wave came I could hold on. Basically a wave came right when i felt the bottom and it pretty much tumbled me on shore. That is where I acquired mussels galore in my trisuit. I started to run up the beach and then I just lost it a bit and realized I needed to walk. Got myself together and started running again.

Once I got to my bike I started with drying feet, powder on feet, socks on (holy cow this was hard), shoes on. I was NOT rushing. I was being lazy and enjoying the fact that I was not on a bike, swimming or running. I admit it. After the shoes were on, number went on with belt, helmet and glasses, got my gu chomps and heading off. Now here is where the concern was , the pedals, would i clip in ok, would i stay on. I got to the cone where we could get on the bike and up I went and in went one clip, rode a bit and the next. I felt good. I was ready to ride. I am still confused on the bike a bit. I want to drink and eat, which means I have to slow down, yet I want to keep going fast. I tried to get some water in and then ride, but i feel as if i get distracted and go btw fast and then slow. I did get into a groove and was keeping my speed over 17 which I was happy about. I was familiar with the course so that was helpful and kept my mind in the game instead of wondering where the hell is the finish to this. Since we all started the swim at different times there were plenty of fast men whizzing by me. I was passing some mountain bikes. Saw the finish and proceeded with much caution, i unclipped a bit early b/c of the anxiety but the good part is i didn't fall, unclipped fine.

Racked bike and put sneaks on, gulped some more water, put a hat on (wasn't sure if i wanted it but figured better have then NOT have), and off. Oh the run. Again my mind starts to wonder, how long, where is the finish, where is the turn around. I did catch a few ladies and men, but when I saw the folks i could catch they looked so slow, so was i going slow ?? no idea b/c no garmin. A few ladies passed me and they kept cruising, couldn't keep up. I tried so hard to push myself, to get focused and count and just run. The turn around was a bit different then the past and it was very clear, I was happy about that and tried to work wtih the good feeling. After that it was a straight shot to the finish, of course i was doubting and thinking oh wait how far. I tried to put it out of mine and push myself THEN instead of waiting till i saw the finish and pushed. I have no idea if that helped time wise but at least my head seemed more in the game. My time was an hour and 22 minutes. I have done this course in a better time, but the swim is always different - both distance wise and due to surf.

I felt good but as usual I felt like I could have pushed harder. will i always feel this way ? do i have to puke or collapse to make myself feel that i gave it all ??

I saw hubby on my last stretch home on the run, he was about 10 minutes behind me. He did great and felt good, he has the NYC this weeknd so it was great practice for him.

tomorrow ocean swim. today i backed out of any workout, hate that. friday doing a boot camp class, and sat. a brick.

first tri of season

yesterday i did my first tri of the season. i didn't set goals, since i really just wanted to get comfy with how i would be feeling. the big goal is that it would be the first time i used my clipless and not fall. check. no fall.

i ran naked(meaning no garmin) i did not time myself at all, the times are up but not the splits and i am dying to know my splits to start analyzing where i did well or not. the swim was rough - the waves were the biggest I have ever swam in - I am talking HUGE. I rode one in at the end and it literally washed me on shore and after the tri i was able to make my own mussel marinara with all the mussels that feel out of my suit.

full report later

UGHHHH - just learned that they did get splits for the tri, it was a new system and didn't work. damn...........

much easier to get back in the game

we spent the night away - me and the girls, just about 30 minutes away at a friend's house, but it was away, out of our element, it was vacation type, beach, ice cream, playing. it was all VERY fun. the girls did amazing. I realize how long it has been since I have done something out of my habitual life.

I woke this morning at someone else's house, i had instant oatmeal with apples, no ice t. my normal bfast is oatmeal with berries and an ice t. my point is, normally after NOT being on my normal routine I would bag working out and go load up on bacon and eggs to REnormalize myself. NOT this time. I went to the boards and did some interval work and felt great. I felt strong and I realized my mind set has started to change. I didn't use a cop out. I stuck to a plan even though my daily routine was thrown off. I am so glad I did.

i just followed badwater race on twitter. seriously these people are insane.

heat

I am going to assume that it is the heat that has literally sucked the life out of me. I did a short bike ride, and I mean short, 8 miles, does that even count ? It was not bad on the bike because I felt a breeze. Yesterday and today when we got back home after swim camp I was wiped out and wound up napping while kids watched TV. Nothing makes you feel worse than napping while your kids are up. Seriously, how can I do this ??? I don't think I drank enough water today, that is for sure.

I just let the girls outside and they came right back in, too hot. So we have been in for quite some time. However, my one little lady (has OCD) is quite hard to take to the beach so it seems like too much effort to take them after 3pm.

I am venting for sure

- the house got cleaned this am and it is already a mess b/c of the girls

- i am cranky and want a vacation

- even though i have had them in swim camp for the past week and this week, i have used that time to work out which is glorious - but I realize that it still feels a bit like work, chore, task. get up, get them ready, get them to camp, do workout, pick them up. I am trying to think of the last day i had zero plans, not one task that i had/need to do ??? To wake up with no agenda and just go ???

ok, enough boohooing ....tomorrow i workout with the trainer, thursday i will do ocean swim, and friday i want to run intervals. wahooooooo

electrolytes, salt, sodium

talk to me folks. I do not like recovery drinks. I tried one a while back and let's just say it had an run effect on my system.

I also get a sour stomach from many of the drinks I have tried. I stick to water and I enjoy luna moons or other stuff like that, the sports beans. Recently hubby has been feeling nauseous after his ocean swims, or after a day at the beach. He is training for an olympic tri. He sweats a LOT. He is thinking that he is losing too much salt and not getting it back in time, and it just gets worse with the heat and being at the beach. So he bought salt pills, and he explained to me how it is not just salt, but electrolytes and sodium. I was thinking I don't do any type of drink with electrolytes so am i not getting that back in my system ???

Any knowledge about salt pills _ when, where, why, how ?

workout date

tomorrow hubby has off but girls still have swim camp, so we plan on dropping them off and going for a workout. I plan on running but I think hubby wants to bike then run.

I did a 16 mile bike this am. I normally do about a 10 mile bike ride, so today I wanted to go longer - my plan was 2o but i went into a park area and it was just too crowded. I have to say I didn't think the more miles would make a difference but it did. I tried not to worry bout how fast and just get the miles done. My ass was starting to hurt, and i thought how the hell do folks do more then that and not break their ass.

We are in for a heat wave. I should probably do ocean swims every day !!! I am missing out on my tri groups first ocean swim tomorrow am. I could go and let hubby take the kids to swim camp on his own but i thought we rarely have time on our own that I would rather take some time with him sans kids. I plan on using the heat wave as some good mental toughness training. Pushing myself through the pain and going past what I think I can do.

Do you have any favorite sunscreen you use while working out ? for face I use Neutrogena every AM workout or not BUt for body I am wondering if anyone uses something specific for any reasons.

I finally did a food shopping at whole foods and got lots of veggies and fruits that i plan on using !!!

good swim, bad addict

This am swim was great. Ladies were super nice, all various levels, me being in the middle and feeling good. The best part of the swim was my googles DID NOT FOG UP !!! wahoo. i used the baby shampoo dilution and it is the bomb diddty bomb bomb.

I am an addict. I can't stop. I hate myself. I am seriously addicted to sugar. I have to talk myself away from the stuff. Why do I have such little self control ? I know it is what keeps me at 128 and I really want to be at 120 .....and get my body FAT down. but i keep going back, it calls my name. tonight after my subway sandwich (at least i have kicked mcdee's to the curb) i needed something...and i knew just what to do. I had no sweets in the house worthy of this craving. So my lazy ass whipped up some nestle toll house cookies from scratch....and guess what ? i have no chocolate chips, so they are nothing cookies ? NO chocolate chip cookies ? what would you call them. Well no matter it was the cookies themselves i wanted, no it was the doughy stuff that is not cooked, i ate spoonfuls straight from the bowl. oh the heavenly taste. i just kept shoveling it in. not even thinking about it. i finally put the shit away and now of course my tummy aches and i am disgusted in myself - only to do it again tomorrow I am sure. WTF. I really want to get off this shit.

Sugar rehab ??? help

swim

off to swim with a friend and some of her friends. last night i did the baby shampoo dilution for the googles. let's hope for NO FOG. I am not sure if the folks are serious swimmers or not. there is going to be a lifeguard. I really hope it is not all super duper fast suckas that will leave me in the dust.

here goes nothing