The week that was – getting moving

I have neglected to do a proper weekly wrap for a few weeks, I can attribute this to the fact I have dropped the ball a bit with my training and had not a great deal to report, so I got my head back in the game and managed to get myself moving this week and keep going.

Monday – I returned to my Indoor Rowing PT session and although not feeling entirely motivated I managed to do a workout that inflicted some pain on ye ole muscles the following day.

Tuesday – I tossed up between going on an expedition to IKEA and doing a session at the gym. I needed things from IKEA for our home renovations and being that it is an hour trip each way and about 3 hours to venture around the store it truly was an expedition with Miss 3.5 in tow. So the end result is I ditched a gym session and went shopping.

Sometimes IKEA is the winner.

Sometimes IKEA is the winner.

 

Wednesday – I really wanted to do a workout to make up for yesterday’s shopping trip but work got in the way, I should have no excuses but life does get in the way.

Thursday – Anzac Day I had a call from some friends to say they were at our local Café, so I rounded up the family on the bikes and we headed down and had a drink and a play at the park, then we headed off for a bike ride. Miss 3 was very whingy and I only managed to get about 3k before the whinging drove me mad and I turned around, so a 6k ride was all we did.

Friday – I had a late start at work so headed to the gym to tackle my new weights session, so I did a 10 minute warm up on the Crosstrainer and then managed to do 3 sets of 10 of my new program and even bumped 1 of my weights up.

Saturday – I could feel the pain from yesterday’s weights but I did make an effort to get to a 7am boxing class. I found a good boxing buddy of similar level and fitness which makes a big difference to the class.

Sunday – back to home renovations and moving boxes and boxes of stuff and furniture to rip up carpet in 2 rooms, we managed to get 1 room done entirely and remove all the nails and tacks. We have to get the other room done this week as the floors are being sanded next weekend.

So with 3 good sessions with my gym and PT and lots of incidental exercise I feel like I have got back on track.

My goal for this week is to keep this up and add in that extra session instead of shopping.

BirthdayTri – the gift that keeps on giving

Getting ready to start the swim. That's me in the RED cap 157 from the back left.

Getting ready to start the swim. That’s me in the RED cap 157 from the back left.

What crazy 39 year old decides to do a Triathlon for their 40th Birthday? Yep that’s me.

A year ago I tentatively marked the calendar with an event, Husky Triathlon. It was very very tentative booking, but what caught my eye was that it was 4 days before my 40th Birthday and I had a crazy idea that maybe in some alternate universe I may just be able to do this.

You may or may not know from my previous post about my 1st triathlon, that a year ago I was in no shape to tackle any of the Tri elements on their own let alone doing all 3, (I may have managed the cycle). So doing a “proper” triathlon was a freaky thought. I say “proper” triathlon because 1st one I did was Triathlon Pink which was a women only fun event fundraising for Breast Cancer, plenty of people in fancy dress and a more relaxed atmosphere.

The Husky event was from the Elite Energy series with a variety of different distances ranging from the Long Course (half Ironman distances) to the Enticer which I was having a go at. The Enticer distances are 300m ocean/bay swim, 8k cycle and a 2k run.

When I arrived I headed off to register and collect my timing chip and numbers and was pleased to see they gave you a free swim cap. I preferred to swim in my own yellow cap, so grabbed what I needed out of the pack and handed the rest to my mum to mind (good ole mum’s handbag still being used even at my age). I went to the bike area with my dad and racked my bike and set up all my gear and then wandered back to all my supporters (mum, dad, hubby, Miss 3 and Aunty Mar Mar) to give them a kiss before I headed off to the start.

Mid swim, rounding the last turn.

Mid swim, rounding the last turn.

I ran into some friends at the briefing area and got chatting and noticed they all had their matching caps that came in the pack and I said I was going to wear my own, they then informed me that I had to wear the “coloured” cap that I was given in order to start at the right time. At this point I had no idea where my family were, I needed what was in mum’s handbag desperately. I found myself an Event Marshall and explained my situation and he confirmed I needed my swim cap to start, so I kindly asked if I could borrow his mobile phone and I called dear ole Dad to bring it over to me. So he sweet talked other Marshall’s to be allowed through restricted areas, hurdling barricades to get to me quicker with the red cap. Success! I got it just in time and missed the race brief but at least I was able to start.

So everyone competing in the Enticer headed down to the beach for the swim start and they had groups starting at about 5 minute intervals corresponding with their cap colour (pretty important to have the right colour cap now that I think about it). The gun went off and I went out fast and then settled down a bit and I was remembering my pep talk from Miss 3, “big arms and lots of kicking” and from Hubby “if you get crowded in, use the People’s elbow”, I do tend to use mostly arms so the pep talk came in handy to remind me to kick. The swim was hard but I felt good, my arms were tired at the end. As I was coming into shore I overtook a lady wearing flippers and as I ran up the stairs to my bike I looked back at the water and there were still a lot of red caps, so I must have done ok.

I took it easy heading back to the bike, it was up hill and stairs and I heard my trainer yell out to take it easy so my decision was right.

I took my cleats off my bike before the event because I didn’t think there was enough advantage for an 8k ride to warrant using cleats and a 2nd change of shoes, so I put my socks and joggers straight on, sunnies and helmet and off I went. I wanted to go hard on the bike and try and get as much advantage as I could, but my legs felt like concrete stumps, the ride seemed to take forever until I got to the turning point and by then my legs had limbered up a little bit. By the time I headed back down the main street of Husky I was going hard and overtook a few people, rounded the last turn and I heard my family cheering me on and it spurred me on to finish hard.

The last turn on the bike leg, I look happy..... happy to be getting off my bike.

The last turn on the bike leg, I look happy….. happy to be getting off my bike.

I threw my bike back on the rack and headed off for the run, my leg muscles were burning, I had really lacked the transition training leading up to this event and I was feeling it now. I wonder if I went too hard on the bike or if I would have felt like this anyway, it is hard to know. I ran (so slowly) as much as I could but it did walk a bit, I think my mind let me down in the run, I need music to keep my mind off the pain and next time I will be packing my Ipod. Once I rounded the half way mark my mind joined the event and I managed to run more on the home stretch and even had a sprint to the finish line. I was exhausted and a bit wobbly.

So my personal goals apart from finishing this race was to not come last and to complete the race in under 1 hour, the official times and placings are on the web and I came 3rd last in my age group 35-39 year old females and I scraped in with a time of 58:01, yay.

Finally about to cross the finish line, the run felt like the longest 2k.

Finally about to cross the finish line, the run felt like the longest 2k.

My one regret was having Gatorade a few hours before I started and I sipped the last of it on my bike leg, By the time I hit the running leg, my tummy felt like it had a rock in it, not a good idea, next time will be water all the way.

After getting congratulated by my family I headed back to collect my bike and they were not letting anyone in yet as there was still a cyclist out on the course, it was announced that it was a 79 year old lady who was competing in her first triathlon, so inspiring and she got the loudest cheer as she got off her bike.

My biggest supporters.... love these 2 with all my heart.

My biggest supporters…. love these 2 with all my heart.

We were staying in a house nearby and the plan was to have a little birthday gathering. When I arrived back some friends of mine had decorated the house with Fit Fab Forty picture collages and it looked amazing. My brother also arrived with his 3 kids and my family and friends prepared a fantastic seafood feast with some salads and after guzzling some water, having a shower I had a well-deserved glass of champagne, in a specially selected glass.

It was a lovely relaxing meal, great company and I received some of the best presents. I had a fantastic birthday weekend, I am one lucky girl.

The Week That Was – as normal as normal can be

Monday – would have been my first week back this year to my normal Monday night session which mainly focuses on Indoor Rowing, however hubby was running a little late back from a course he has been doing and it would have been a tight squeeze to get there on time, I opted instead to have some quality time at home, something that hasn’t happened a lot lately.

Tuesday – headed off to my gym EnVie to do a cardio session and wanted to start getting some incline on the tready. So with some guidance from my new program I was doing to do a 30 minute interval. With the incline between 1 and 2, I did 5 min warm up, 2 mins running, and 1 minute walking, initially I found the incline quite difficult and had to reduce my speed, after a few intervals it started to get easier, so I upped my speed, then a few intervals later I realised that the incline was not working, hence why it was getting easier, I had a little chuckle to myself. Anyway I still did the 30 mins and completed 3.2k.

Wednesday – I was wracking my brain to remember what I did and then I remembered; my poor little munchkin was sent home sick from Daycare with a vomiting bug. When I went to pick her up she was asleep quarantined to the far end of the room and I picked her up and she was very cuddly. As I was taking her out of school she started vomiting again. Once I got her home she had 2 more upchucks and after the last 1, she said, I’m hungry and she was miraculously better. They say it goes as quick as it comes and luckily for her and all of us that was the case. I didn’t even contemplate abandoning the family for exercise; I wanted to make sure she was ok and to be readily available for cuddles.

Thursday – another session at EnVie and I did a 5 minute warm up on the treadmill and then I had another go at a 1k time trial, my last attempt just over 2 weeks ago was 6min45 I managed to beat it and did a 6min38, gotta love a mid-week PB. I finished off with some of my new weights program but only managed about 30 minutes before someone got a bit whingy in the unsupervised kiddy area. I snuck in a few abs including planks before I left.

Friday – I got out of the house a bit late in the morning and after Daycare drop-off went to the Continental Pool (where naked old ladies have a chat with you in the change room – read about it here) and did a quick 20 minute swim. I wanted to get in and do 300m straight off (same as the upcoming Triathlon) and then I did another 300m and tried to speed up a bit every 2nd 50m, not a big workout but I was contemplating not going at all.

Saturday – I had a busy day out and about no time for exercise

Loving the Tag-along bike, only her 2nd ride and she is getting the hang of it.

Loving the Tag-along bike, only her 2nd ride and she is getting the hang of it.

Sunday – Miss 3 and I got up and went for a bike ride with her new Tag-along behind my bike, we had breaky at a Café and then had a big play at a park and then some more riding before heading home, when we got back we headed down the beach for cool off. A lovely morning. Later in the afternoon when hubby got home from a weekend of Paintball, I headed out to go for a swim (too windy for another ride), drove to a nice ocean pool only to find it was empty and being cleaned, then I drove to another pool and it was really dirty and so windy that the car was getting blown around in the carpark, I know there is a saying “if you wait for the perfect conditions you will never get anything done” but it just didn’t look appealing, I felt a bit guilty for not just diving in, I might have another attempt in the morning.

480876_537072856314040_2105479346_n

And so this now begins what all those in the know call “taper week” leading up to my triathlon next Saturday. Now I don’t have a real clue about tapering and I think for my distances it’s not extremely important. My understanding is don’t overdo it this week with hard exercise sessions and especially not eat too much food, slow and steady workouts and my personal thought (from all I have read) is no workout after Wed, which means 2 full days of rest before the event.  

The Year that Was 2012

To look back upon a year it is often hard to remember what you did, how you felt and just how far you have come, especially when you have mothers brain (yep blame the poor child for my lack of memory). Thankfully in this era of gadgets, social media and mobile apps it can help to trigger my memory.

The year started with some very vague ‘gonna lose weight and get fit’ resolutions, just like every other year.

January my trainer starting me on running in our regular weekly session – hell but I wanted to try.

When February came around and I had my 39th Birthday I think a bit of impending OMG I’m 40 next year hit me and I wanted to achieve more than just lose weight and get fit, I needed some goals. So apart from wanting to be able to run, I wanted to be able to do a Triathlon like my trainer had been bugging me about.

I was not in a great state mentally, my relationship with my husband was not all rosy, it was not all bad either (probably difficult to be perfect when you are comparing it to my daily half hour of Bold and the Beautiful). I had not been diagnosed or medicated for anything but I was a little bit sad a lot of the time which was very unlike me. I had seen a counsellor a few times which helped, basically I talked (a lot) and she listened and gave me some non-judgemental guidance on how to turn negative thoughts around. It’s not something that is easy to tell people, but it should not be taboo to talk to a professional, without which I would say was a potential trip to the loony bin. We seek out professionals them out in all other aspects of our life so why not our mental health.

Exercise also became an outlet as did my reconnection with music once I figured out my gadgetry. I went from running/exercising with my Android phone for GPS/distance, Ipod for music and Heart Rate monitor and managed to get it down to HR monitor and phone with music/GPS on it.

Some people will say why all the gadgets, I am a numbers person, I need to know my numbers which is why I have enjoyed my Indoor Rowing for the past 6 years, it is all numbers in front of you and you can constantly adjust to improve your time/speed/distance. So I wanted the same from my running and cycling. We have all this modern technology so why not use it.

I know that exercise has all the medical benefits of improving your heart, lungs blah blah blah, but I was also enjoying the improved mental state. I am pleased to say that this year and my exercise has improved my ‘head’ and I am back to my happy self (most of the time).

So continuing on with my training and goal of doing a Triathlon, I won’t bore you with all the details of how I got to be able to run you can read about that in my Couch to 5k post but it was a big achievement to do and if I can do it anyone can, you may do it slower or faster than me but just keep trying.

As the year cracked on so did my desire and panic about doing the Triathlon, I had bought myself a new bike, I went from a super cruiser heavy weight to an ultra-light racing bike with the skinny wheels and those hanging down handles (yes very technical I know but upon researching bikes I realise it was like learning a whole other language, I don’t have time for that). I loved the new bike, once I got used to it and again plugged into my music would enjoy going for a ride. I have not really ‘trained’ for the bike, I just get on and ride, I assumed that all other training I am doing would improve my cycling as well.

The 1 thing I left til last was my swimming; it is such pain to swim, shower, wash (long) hair, style hair, get ready for work not in the comfort of your own bathroom and if I didn’t get it done in the mornings then I wouldn’t do it. Not to mention I found it boooring, no music to keep me company. I started back swimming in June 2012 and only did 1-2 swims each month, my goal was to just get through the swim leg of the triathlon alive, awesome goal setting. So I would dive in the pool, swim 300m and then go, ok I’m alive, do a few more laps for ‘training’ purposes and call it done. I am pleased to say I can now do 500m no problems (not fast) and a training session usually consists of 1500m before I get bored, I have been swimming in Ocean pools, indoor heated and outdoor heated Olympic pools and 1 time in a harbour. My next challenge is to do some Open Water swimming to train for any Triathlons that may not be in the luxury of a Harbour and certainly very very few are in the “Princess” comfort of an Olympic pool.

So to look at my milestones this year:

Running – I could not run more than about 200m without stopping to walk and have now done numerous 5k training and even a 6k training run. Even managed to do some treadmill running which I vowed I would never do.

Swimming – I used to swim 50m and stop every single lap for a rest, can now swim 500m non-stop, probably more if I tried and can do 1500m in a training session.

Bike – New bike, much faster and easier to go longer distance, my cleats and I are having a love hate relationship. I don’t train for the bike, just get on and ride. Biggest ride was only 24k from memory, I just lack the time to do more. Mostly my bike ‘Juliet’ and I are happy together.

Indoor Rowing – Held onto my State Championship title in the 500m and 4 minute distances and at last glance I still held my World Rankings of 22nd and 4th respectively (the Rowing year has not finished yet). See more about that here.

Weight Loss – I dare not go there but I will, I have to. So according to my weight tracking app and cross referenced with my own spreadsheet, it would appear that I started the year 2012 at around 110.5kgs, I dropped down to about 105-106 at my lowest throughout the year but finished it off after the Christmas binge at 109.8, however I am please to report that the Christmas Kilo’s are coming off almost as fast as they went on and I am really trying to eat well.

Goals – when I actually put my Goals out in Blogland in August 2012 I had already started working towards them, but never fully believing that they will all happen and like anything need to be tweaked.
No.1 was the work, life, workout and family balancing act. I am hoping I have done that Ok (I won’t profess to being mother or wife of the year), perhaps I should ask Miss 3 and hubby to comment on this.
No.2 was the Pink Triathlon, read about it here, but in short I DID IT!!.
No.3 was the National Indoor Rowing Championships, my training was not optimum for this event, too much focus on the Tri but I had a good crack at it, read about it here.
No.4 was the Mud Run a 7+ klm trail run with mud and other obstacles, heaps of fun, I finished it, read about it here.

Full length photo taken in Dec 2012

Full length photo taken in Dec 2012

I am pleased to say that apart from my weight loss goal I have achieved all my others, through many ups and downs that life throws at you and battling my own emotions and insecurities.

I must say I have never had as many compliments as I have had this year regarding my appearance and I appreciate every single 1 of them. I know with all my training I am changing body shape, however it is sometimes hard to receive a “you look great, how much weight have you lost” compliment when you have lost only a miniscule amount or nothing. Weight loss is something I hope to seriously tackle this year (yes I’m saying it again like I have for the last 20 years).

Happy New Year to all my friends, family and followers and I hope 2013 is your best year yet. Set some goals, you never know what might happen.

Try Tried TRIATHLON

I did it I did it, I completed my first Triathlon, here is my story.

The 2 nights leading up to my Triathlon I had great difficulty sleeping. If I woke up in the middle of the night, either of my own accord or by Miss “Almost 3”, I would have great trouble getting back to sleep. I had so much doubt in my mind. Would I be able to do it? What if something went wrong? Will my ankle hold up? Will I look fat in Lycra? Well I know the answer to that last 1 is “yes” but I had to ask the question.

The picture I was reluctant to publish, but this is me wearing Lycra. The suit was really good for the event, just not good for hiding the lumps and bumps.

To de-stress a little I arranged for Miss “Almost 3” to go to my Brother’s on Friday night for a sleep over with her 3 cousins, whilst hubby and I got a hotel room right where the triathlon was being held, walking distance. We had a very rare relaxing grown-up meal and I was alcohol free and in bed early.I got organised early and headed off to the marshalling area, as I was walking over I saw the start of the kids (under 10yrs) Fun Run 1k event, I was so inspired by the kids, 1 little girl was either exhausted or scared running towards the crowd and the Event Marshalls got her moving and helped her and it brought a tear to my eye and a giant cheer from the crowd.

All set up for transitions before the event.

It was a bit daunting not knowing what to expect with my first Triathlon; however once in the arena the organisers were very helpful and guided me to where I had to go. There were over 700 competitors in the Long Course event which involved 300m swim, 9k cycle and 3k run. What amazed me was that there were all shapes and sizes ages and abilities and to be honest there were some quite large ladies. Before the event I asked Hubby what he was going to yell out to cheer me on and he said “Run Fatty” which I thought was amusing, however once I saw the variety of competitors we both agreed this may not go down well.

With my Facebook friend Christine who I only met IRL a few months ago because of our like-minded goal of doing a Triathlons.

I was very pleased to run into a friend of mine who I met IRL a few months ago from a Facebook Group so we stuck together and headed to the briefing poolside. The swim was in an Olympic pool, zig zagging around buoys to complete 300m, at the start you could dive off the side of the pool, it was staggered at 2 second intervals however once in the pool everyone seemed to bunch up, the water was really choppy. Before I got in I noticed that plenty of people were doing breast stroke, back stroke and doggy paddle and some even stopped at each end to catch their breath. I don’t propose to be a great swimmer however I managed to mostly keep my head down and did freestyle the entire way, even though I was very slow, I was happy with my result when I got out.

Pounding out the swim.

I had no real plan of attack, however once I got out of the pool everyone was walking to the transition area, I decided there would be no harm in running a bit, so I got moving and ran what felt like an eternity to get on my bike. The bike leg is my favourite, I feel like it is more of a cruise, with more of a muscle burn than a lung burn. The first lap of the circuit my legs felt like concrete stumps struggling to get moving after the swim but the final 2 laps of the course I felt better. The weather was a bit drizzly so I was really really careful on the corners not to wipe-out. I really enjoyed the cycle.

Exiting the bike leg to hit the run.
Oh look I’m winning ………….. oh no I’m not, but I am still smiling.

I jogged my bike back off the road and parked it ready for my nemesis “running” leg. Because of my sprained ankle I had not run for 4 weeks until 3 days before the event so my running fitness was not as good as it should have been. I took the extra second to put on my Lorna Jane sweatband “Never Give Up”; it is funny how looking at that can truly inspire you. The first part of the run leg was horrendous, straight up a long gradual hill, legs still getting the hang of running after the cycling. I wanted to quit almost straight away, I just thought to myself, don’t keep up with everyone else and I shuffled along at my own pace. I had to tell myself I could do this, the first 1.5k just felt so long, but when I hit the turn-around I was a relieved to know it was half over and managed to find a spring in my step for the last half. I ran most of the way, only a few walk steps after the water table to have a quick drink and about 20 steps up a hill near the end, I picked up the pace again to run up the long gradual hill which was just before running back into the Athletic Centre where the finish line was, it felt like I was finishing a marathon, running down the straight of the athletics track towards the finish line, once I shuffled into the arena I had my trainers voice in my head which said, “leave nothing in the tank” I sprinted the last 150m to the finish line, even overtook some people.

Sprinting down the home straight.

I freakin’ finished, I was still in disbelief that I had done it. I was a little teary after the finish until I found hubby and gave him a big cuddle (he gives great hugs).

To be honest when I got the idea in my head earlier this year to try to do a Triathlon I had so much doubt I never really thought I would do it and I seemed to have a stack of obstacles thrown at me in the last few months, with a never-ending cough, full on sickness, 2 funerals with friends and family, hubby away for a few weeks and a badly sprained ankle, I think these things were sent to test my dedication.  Once I registered for the event I was not going to let myself down.

I am pretty pleased and surprised with myself for finishing and now I know I could probably push myself a bit harder next time.

Finished and pretty proud of myself.

 Update 9 Oct 2012 – So the results are in for the Triathlon Pink I came 681 position out of 774 competitors in the Long Course with a time of 1:09.57, pretty happy with that, I achieved my goal of not coming last, woohoo.

My #2 Goal – my first Triathlon

To complete my first triathlon in Oct 2012 and not come last. Check out my post on Goal Setting.

How does 1 just decide to do a Triathlon?

Well in December last year I was encouraged to participate in a Relay Triathlon at the local Triathlon Club and I did the cycle leg. I did this on my heavy weight “Cruiser” bike which is an Electra Townie. Simply put it is a slow poser style of bike, it has 21 gears so you can get up and down hills but it is certainly not optimum for speed or longish distances. I even wore a skater style helmet with pink flames on the side, I was definitely going for style not speed. I had to do 14k which was 6 laps of the course and was being overtaken in rapid succession and to be honest I lost count as to how many laps I had done, I also had in my head that it was 7 laps, ie that it was a 2k circuit. Some of the organisers thought I did 7, oops.

My “Cruiser”, built for looks not speed.

Anyhow I came last by a LOT, my poor runner who had to finish off with her leg of the race didn’t even get on the track until most of the other competitors had finished. She was a good sport about it. It was a fun event and a really well run. I remember a lady from the club talking to me before the race, saying watch out you will get addicted to “Triathlon”. I laughed at her. I was truly thinking she was a “nutcase”.

My personal trainer said I should train for a short distance Triathlon event and made me start running during our sessions. From when I started running until the event he wanted me to compete in was about a year. I was thinking “I will just come up with an excuse and not go, but I will humour him and train a LITTLE bit”. And once I started running I began to think that I COULD do this.

I will do a later post about my “Couch to 5k” journey, but let me just say the day I ran my first 1k without any walking was a HUGE achievement and I really shocked myself. Obviously my trainer had a lot more belief in my abilities than I did.

I also had not been in the pool doing laps for a few years and I was shocked that with all my other training I had been doing had definitely improved my stamina in the pool. I jumped in and did 300m (slowly) but I was able to do it non-stop which is the distance I have to do for my Tri.

With the excitement of my progress I decided that I would do a Triathlon earlier than the 1 my trainer had me earmarked for. I started training (sort of) and thinking about doing this in Feb 2012 and my first event is 6 Oct 2012.

Last week (before sprained ankle) I could swim 300m non-stop (and probably more if I had to), cycle 20k relatively easy (still quite slow), and run 6k non-stop (very slow). The distances that I have to do for my event are 300m swim, 9k cycle and 3k run. I have also done some transition training and managed a 10k cycle and 3k run straight after. I was confident that AT LEAST I could finish the damn race. My goal is not to come last.

I love this “Quote”

So now that I have the “sprained ankle” and my training is limited, I don’t know if I should revise my goal to just “finish” or if I should stick with my original goal. For those who don’t follow me on Facebook I went to Physio the other day and he suggested I not do any running for 3 weeks, so with 23 days until the event it doesn’t leave me any time to train all 3 legs consecutively.

I am still thinking I am slightly crazy to even attempt this but dare I say “WHY NOT”.