I really haven't felt like myself in years. I finally feel good again, and I am so happy. I could chalk it all up to the right thyroid medication, but I really think it's a combination of that, regular exercise and a good diet.
This morning I was able to get up, get the kids ready, do a couple core exercises with my oldest son and then go to the gym after I dropped of my 5 year old at VPK.
At the gym, I jumped in the pool. I swam a fun warm-up of 50m breaststroke, a 50m freestyle then a 25m backstroke, followed by 25m of just kicking. As I began to recount my swim to blog about it here, I realized that I only swam 100m of my 200m freestyle swim today (oops!). I also only swam 50m of my 100m cooldown (oops again!). I wondered why my swim felt so short. I am tempted to rush off back into the pool, but I will refrain from doing so. I will just make sure that I remember to county by 25m not by 50m when I get in the pool for my swim next time.
Up next was a run/walk on the treadmill. I am pushing for a 10 minute per mile pace as I train, so the treadmill is really helping me with this. My NewBalance GPS Marathon watch helps me keep on track on the weekend when I run outside. I truly love running outside, but I can't bring myself to push the jogging stroller just yet while trying to keep that pace. I will eventually have to run with it when I run some longer distances, but for now, I am starting out without it!
All-in-all, I feel great, and I am excited about this great start to this new week of training!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Training Days 2 - 5
Day 2:
Thursday was a day of rest. I consider the idea of rest rather ironic considering that I have four children under the age of 10 that I chase all day. My youngest is pulling up and crawling around everywhere, so I find myself constantly chasing him. My 5 year old, 7 year old and 9 year old all play baseball, so I am running them to the ball field and back and chasing the ones who aren't currently practicing all around. This time of year isn't as bad as football season, but it is definitely VERY BUSY!
Day 3:
Today was much warmer, so the pool wasn't nearly as bad. I warmed up with an easy 200m, alternating breast stroke and freestyle. I don't know why breaststroke is my go to stroke. I then swam 150m freestyle vigorously followed by 50m breaststroke. Finally, I cooled down with 100m freestyle.
Next up was 3 miles on the bike. I did this upstairs in the fitness center. I really am thankful that I live somewhere with access to such nice fitness facilities. It really makes exercising routinely a lot easier.
Day 4:
When health and fitness are important to you, you can't make excuses. You have to find time. I want to lose weight, get in shape and complete an Ironman. I have, in the past, used overly busy days as an excuse. On Saturdays the majority of my time, for now, is spent at the baseball fields. We have three practices (at least) on Saturdays, and since the baby doesn't sleep through the night still, I find it hard to wake up early in the morning. I barely managed to find time to exercise between practices, but I did it though. I made the time. I am determined to meet my goals!
Today I walked/ran 2.5 miles outside. It wasn't too hot, and it wasn't too cold. It was a great and I felt extremely accomplished and wonderful.
Day 5:
Today I got up, asked my husband to pump up the tires on my bike for me, strapped the baby in the seat on the back and rode 4.5 miles. I don't know what the difference is between biking using my bike on the street and biking on the stationary cycle in the gym, but I truly felt rather exhausted towards the end of my ride and it took me a lot longer to ride in the fresh air than riding in the gym did. Maybe it's the mountain bike vs the cycle, or maybe it has something to do with toting an extra 20 lbs on the back. I don't know. Nevertheless, I completed my 4.5 miles, and I am proud to say that I did so!
I can't wait to see where next week takes me!
Thursday was a day of rest. I consider the idea of rest rather ironic considering that I have four children under the age of 10 that I chase all day. My youngest is pulling up and crawling around everywhere, so I find myself constantly chasing him. My 5 year old, 7 year old and 9 year old all play baseball, so I am running them to the ball field and back and chasing the ones who aren't currently practicing all around. This time of year isn't as bad as football season, but it is definitely VERY BUSY!
Day 3:
Today was much warmer, so the pool wasn't nearly as bad. I warmed up with an easy 200m, alternating breast stroke and freestyle. I don't know why breaststroke is my go to stroke. I then swam 150m freestyle vigorously followed by 50m breaststroke. Finally, I cooled down with 100m freestyle.
Next up was 3 miles on the bike. I did this upstairs in the fitness center. I really am thankful that I live somewhere with access to such nice fitness facilities. It really makes exercising routinely a lot easier.
Day 4:
When health and fitness are important to you, you can't make excuses. You have to find time. I want to lose weight, get in shape and complete an Ironman. I have, in the past, used overly busy days as an excuse. On Saturdays the majority of my time, for now, is spent at the baseball fields. We have three practices (at least) on Saturdays, and since the baby doesn't sleep through the night still, I find it hard to wake up early in the morning. I barely managed to find time to exercise between practices, but I did it though. I made the time. I am determined to meet my goals!
Today I walked/ran 2.5 miles outside. It wasn't too hot, and it wasn't too cold. It was a great and I felt extremely accomplished and wonderful.
Day 5:
Today I got up, asked my husband to pump up the tires on my bike for me, strapped the baby in the seat on the back and rode 4.5 miles. I don't know what the difference is between biking using my bike on the street and biking on the stationary cycle in the gym, but I truly felt rather exhausted towards the end of my ride and it took me a lot longer to ride in the fresh air than riding in the gym did. Maybe it's the mountain bike vs the cycle, or maybe it has something to do with toting an extra 20 lbs on the back. I don't know. Nevertheless, I completed my 4.5 miles, and I am proud to say that I did so!
I can't wait to see where next week takes me!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Training Day 1
For some people, a big goal, such as an Ironman might be daunting. I am not afraid though! I don't expect to go out and be able to complete it in a matter of weeks or even just a couple of months. I don't want to rush things for fear of injury. Instead, I intend to take small baby steps towards accomplishing my goal. I guess I see the Ironman as the grand picture and all the days of training just small pixels that make up the whole.
I have a lot going on in my life, being a mother to four small boys all under the age of 10, so finding time to train is rough to say the least. I actually spent quite a bit of time working and reworking schedules recently so I could figure out where to fit training (and everything else I need to get done) into my schedule. I am fortunate to have access to a daycare center at the community gym at a very reasonable price ($35/month for 2 hours a day).
So, I put my youngest son in the daycare at the gym and carefully snuck into the bathrooms to change. I slipped into my black and pink suit, pink swim cap and wrapped myself up in my towel. It was 47 degrees out, and our pool is outside, but it is heated, and I am determined.
The lifeguard sat wrapped up in her blanket on the stand while a woman in a wetsuit and another gentlemen and I swam in the pool. We must be the only ones crazy enough to swim this time of year. I warmed up with 50m breaststroke, then I swam 50m freestyle, another 50m breastroke and took a break at the end of the pool. I felt rather out of shape. Determined though I repeated that sequence once more.
Then, I got out of the pool and turned into a popsicle as I returned to the bathrooms to change back into my gym clothes and escape up to the treadmills. I drank some water as I walked up the stairs, put my bag down and there it was, the last open treadmill, and it was calling my name. I walked/jogged for 20 minutes, then I called it a day.
All-in-all, I think things are starting off well, and I feel accomplished!
I have a lot going on in my life, being a mother to four small boys all under the age of 10, so finding time to train is rough to say the least. I actually spent quite a bit of time working and reworking schedules recently so I could figure out where to fit training (and everything else I need to get done) into my schedule. I am fortunate to have access to a daycare center at the community gym at a very reasonable price ($35/month for 2 hours a day).
So, I put my youngest son in the daycare at the gym and carefully snuck into the bathrooms to change. I slipped into my black and pink suit, pink swim cap and wrapped myself up in my towel. It was 47 degrees out, and our pool is outside, but it is heated, and I am determined.
The lifeguard sat wrapped up in her blanket on the stand while a woman in a wetsuit and another gentlemen and I swam in the pool. We must be the only ones crazy enough to swim this time of year. I warmed up with 50m breaststroke, then I swam 50m freestyle, another 50m breastroke and took a break at the end of the pool. I felt rather out of shape. Determined though I repeated that sequence once more.
Then, I got out of the pool and turned into a popsicle as I returned to the bathrooms to change back into my gym clothes and escape up to the treadmills. I drank some water as I walked up the stairs, put my bag down and there it was, the last open treadmill, and it was calling my name. I walked/jogged for 20 minutes, then I called it a day.
All-in-all, I think things are starting off well, and I feel accomplished!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
My IRONMAN Resolve
I am not a phenomenal athlete. I would not even venture to say that I am in great shape at the moment. What I do have though is a mental resolve to lose weight, get in shape and, most importantly, complete and IRONMAN.
An IRONMAN, 140.6 miles; a 2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike race and 26.2 mile marathon all in less than 17 hours.
I'm not sure anyone I know except my sister-in-law understands this resolve. For me, it's a fitness accomplishment that I feel I need to complete. I want to test my limits. I want to be in the shape of my life. I want to be able to say I did it. Ever since I told my nephew I could and would do this over the summer, I have this unquenchable desire to succeed.
I am starting this blog, so others can see my progress and struggles and hopefully also find the motivation to succeed with their own goals. Plenty of people think about doing things. Plenty of people have dreams and and ambitions. I don't want an IRONMAN to be something I just think about and never do. I want to be the person that doesn't just think about it, but does it and hopefully does so well.
I have picked my race, IRONMAN Arizona 2014, and I intend to stick to it. Tomorrow is officially Day 1 of training. Wish me luck!
An IRONMAN, 140.6 miles; a 2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike race and 26.2 mile marathon all in less than 17 hours.
I'm not sure anyone I know except my sister-in-law understands this resolve. For me, it's a fitness accomplishment that I feel I need to complete. I want to test my limits. I want to be in the shape of my life. I want to be able to say I did it. Ever since I told my nephew I could and would do this over the summer, I have this unquenchable desire to succeed.
I am starting this blog, so others can see my progress and struggles and hopefully also find the motivation to succeed with their own goals. Plenty of people think about doing things. Plenty of people have dreams and and ambitions. I don't want an IRONMAN to be something I just think about and never do. I want to be the person that doesn't just think about it, but does it and hopefully does so well.
I have picked my race, IRONMAN Arizona 2014, and I intend to stick to it. Tomorrow is officially Day 1 of training. Wish me luck!
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