Goooooaaaalllllll

Goal Weight

There it is folks, 145.0 pounds.

5 years, 8 months and 25 days.  That's a long time to work toward a goal.  Admittedly I wasn't working toward it the entire 5+ years, I did have a couple of kids during that time.  Well, I suppose even during those times I was in some ways still working toward my ultimate goal of lifestyle change, if not actively trying to lose weight.

I got on the scale this morning expecting to see 147 point something.  When the 145 popped up I was shocked!  Goal weight, and right on the money.  I weighed myself two more times.  Yep, it's real.  I guess the TTOTM bloating went down overnight!  I even weigh less than Miguel now.  First time ever.

I went to my weight watchers meeting and hoped I would be under 147 with all my clothes on.  147 is my official WW goal since I'm clothed.  I was shocked to be 145.8 on the scale there.  So I got my goal star and have started the 6 week maintenance phase until I reach lifetime.  I'm excited to stop paying for WW. 

I was giddy all morning knowing that I had finally arrived.  I know this number doesn't really change anything, but it just feels so good to finally hit it.  So good.

As far as eating I plan to keep doing what I'm doing.  I don't really feel like I'm "dieting" per se.  I think I'm eating a healthy, balanced diet.  I'll just have to see what happens with my weight. 

I'll close with a picture I took the other day when testing out outfits for the triathlon.

Happy with my body.

And one I took of myself before going out with the girls a while back.  What can I say?  I'm feeling good about myself these days :)

Moving Right Along (and Tri Pictures!!)

After my incredible experience at the Marin Triathlon this past Saturday I took Sunday off to rest.  We used our day to run errands and get stuff done around the house.  I've been focused on keeping my eating in check, hoping to make goal tomorrow.  But two days ago TTOTM started out of the blue and, of course, my weight jumped up as a result.  Not this week.  But I'm trying not to let that be an excuse to go snack-crazy.

My workouts this week have been good.  On Monday I went to the gym and ran 3 miles on the treadmill.  I'm still doing this plan:

3 minute warmup walk
5 minutes @ 6.0
2 minutes @ 7.0
3 minutes @ 6.0
2 minutes @ 7.0...continue the 3/2 intervals until I get to 3 miles, which has been taking around 28.5 minutes total (not counting the warmup walk).

After the run I did legs/shoulders/core.  The workout was a challenge given that I'd just done the tri two days prior, but nothing I couldn't handle.  My old trainer was there working out, the one I started with when I made my post-Myra fitness comeback.  "You are so tiny, I can't believe how small you are."  Wow.  I wish I could see whatever he's seeing when I look in the mirror.  It's not like I still see myself as "big" but I sure don't see "tiny" either.  But that's ok, I'm happy with what I do see and sometimes I catch an unexpected glimpse of myself and get a little perspective.

Tuesday I rode the bike for 25 minutes, level 8.  My legs were not happy.  Not happy at all.  But I promised them no more work until Thursday if they hung on and finished the ride.  Success!  After the bike I did chest/triceps/core and am still really enjoying the new tricep stuff I'm doing.

Wednesday is a normal day off from the gym.  I spent time with the kids all morning and then my mom visited in the afternoon.  I took the opportunity to go shopping.  Most of the pants I have now are a size 8 and are too big.  I went to my favorite store, Goodwill, and scored 3 pair of pants and 2 pair of jeans.  The are all size 6 except the jeans - one are a size 4 and the other are a size 8.  The pants are going to be great for winter, which is good because it's starting to get cold here!  Well, by California standards.  It was 50 degrees when I picked up the kids from pre-school at 5:30pm and I thought snow would start falling any second - I was freezing!  I also found a few cute tops and sweaters.  I spent $65 and got tons of clothes (and all quality brands too!).

Today at the gym I started with 25 minutes on the treadmill, but I increased my pace to 6.1mph and my fast intervals to 7.1mph.  I ran the three miles in 27:49 with an average 9:23 minute miles.  With a 1% incline.  Nice job Michelle!  After that I did back/biceps/core.  I was able to do 3 neutral grip pullups!  I love doing them, just wish I could do more.  I'm going to work my way up to three sets of 8.  That should take, oh, about 5 years.  Good thing is, I've got nothing but time.

So the pictures are out from the Marin Triathlon.  Without further ado...

Swim, Bike, Run

These are the three I purchased.  I'm really happy with them.  Of course my overly-critical self sees flaws but my generous self sees 100% amazing.  I try to give the most airtime to my generous self.  She's more fun to be around anyway.  Ooookay, getting off course here.  How do you like the new wetsuit, pretty spiffy huh?

Marin Triathlon 2012 Race Report

I kept my week fairly normal in terms of exercise, hitting the gym on Sun, Mon, Tue and Thur.  After the 1/2 marathon from two weeks prior, I just wasn't in the mood to taper again.  So I decided to exercise as if nothing was happening, other than taking the day before the race (Friday) off from exercise.  I also did a fair amount of eating on Friday in the name of carb loading.  That's almost too good of an excuse to eat for me.

I'd had a lot of reservations doing this triathlon on nothing but run training and in the back of my mind I was considering not doing it altogether, though I didn't say that out loud to anyone.  By mid-week I hadn't rented a wetsuit.  I tried on a friend's and I could get it on but it didn't feel right.  So at the last minute I ran to Sports Basement to rent one, unless they had a deal I couldn't turn down to buy my own.  Turns out they did!  They had a Women's TYR Hurricane Category 1 wetsuit for...wait for it...wait for it - $70.00.  Seventy. dollars.  Dude - the thing retails for $290.  The category 1 is an entry level wetsuit, perfect for my needs.  I only have to wear it two more times for it to pay for itself in saved rental fees.  And I can't tell you how comfortable this thing is.  I hardly feel like I'm wearing a wetsuit!  And SO easy to put on.  Happy, happy.  But now, I have to do the tri!

So I hustled home to get my stuff out.  I'd not done a thing, thank goodness Miguel had prepped my bike for me.  Love that guy.  I got all my gear packed up and ready for the morning.  I'd had a huge thai curry lunch with rice so wasn't very hungry.  I ended up having a bowl of cereal and a couple of dinner rolls before bed.

Up at 5:30am and I had my normal breakfast, cereal and coffee.  I only had a bit of coffee, I didn't want to be peeing all morning.  I got on the road and arrived near the park with more than an hour to spare before the race.  Not to mention my wave start was 20 minutes after that. Put my pack on my back and rode into the park (with my headlamp, it was still dark).   I got marked, 242, and started setting up my area.  The biggest difference from last year is that I wasn't freezing my ass off.  It was a going to be a nice day weather wise.


I chatted up the people near me for a bit.  The woman next to me was a first-timer (which also happened last year) so I kept busy answering her questions and assuaging her fears.  The guy across from me, Mike, is a regular so we talked about local triathlon options and how great the Pleasanton Tri for Funs are.  We are so lucky to live in an area filled with these types of events - the options are many and varied.

And then I noticed a woman who was wearing her wetsuit inside out!  I finally decided she was probably not doing it on purpose and someone had to tell her.  Fortunately she had enough time to change it.  And then it was time to head to the start to watch the early waves take off.  Oh the excitement, I just love it!  Now it's my turn.  In the water and waiting for the horn.  Neil from TriMore Fitness was there to lead out the swimmers - it was nice to see a friendly face.

So I'm swimming along and before too long my arms start to hurt a bit, "A little bit of training probably would have been a good idea" I thought.  But I just pushed on, telling myself I wouldn't need my arms for the rest of the day so just go for it.  I bumped a few people and got bumped some but nothing bad.  And I had a mouthful or two of water, but again, nothing awful.  I made a bad turn around the last buoy and got a little off course, though not too astray, probably only lost a minute or so if that.  And my wetsuit was awesome, kept me plenty comfortable and I hardly noticed it, which means it's working, right?  Out of the water and off to T1.  Swim time: 10:53.6

I changed into my bike gear without incident.  I tend to take my time though, I dried off my feet, put on some sunblock, etc.  I probably value comfort over time.  Just as I was heading out Mike comes in from his swim.  His wave was 5 minutes behind mine.  I note to myself that I should probably try to finish before him but I really didn't know how fast he would be on the bike or the run so I don't get too serious about it.  T1 time: 4:17.2

Head out on the bike, which starts with a nice steep uphill out of the park.  And then the rollers of hills just keep coming.  The good thing is I had no issues with my gears like last year.  And I even passed a few people, though mostly I was getting passed.  About halfway through I had an AccelGel just because it sounded like a reasonable idea. And then I realized that I messed up my Garmin and had paused it after 58 seconds on the bike.  Must have bumped it while putting on my gloves.  Good thing this wasn't my first tri, details aren't as important.  My legs were hurting but I just kept pushing myself, and it was kind of liberating not paying attention to the Garmin, I would just do what I could.  And my butt was hurting from no time in the saddle.  I exchanged a few friendly words with fellow racers and then next thing you know, back at the park.  I never saw Mike on the bike so I had no idea if he'd passed me or, if not, how far behind me he was. Bike time: 37:43.2

Back at transition and Mike's bike was not back, so he was still behind me.  I changed out of bike stuff and into running stuff.  Things went off without a hitch.  I was just taking off when he arrived.  Better hustle!  T2 time: 1:51.5

On the run (duh).  Why am I still so wet?!

I took off with no Garmin.  I was feeling free and decided to just run on feel and hope for the best.  Heck, it was only 3.1 miles, right?  Just out of the transition area and I decided to have the AccelGel I was carrying, mostly to get it out of the way.  I made a horrible decision to have it right at the start of a hill.  WTF?  And worst thing, the gel squirted right into the back of my throat and instantly my throat was burning and I had to cough a lot.  That made me stop running and start walking up that hill.  Oh well, it is a pretty steep hill so I probably would've had to walk at some point.  At the top of the hill I started running and, while my legs felt kind of weird (can't really explain it, just different), the running was going well.  No idea of my pace without a gadget.  I had a few moments here and there that felt hard and I questioned if I'd be able to run the whole way, but for the most part I felt good.  Not too long after the turnaround I saw Mike - he was only a couple minutes behind me!  That put a pep in my step and I did all I could to gather my strength to speed up. My calves threatened to cramp up a couple times but nothing ever came of that.  I got back to the hill to re-enter the park and hoped to run up the whole thing but I petered out during the last hundred feet or so.  But I walked as fast as I could - I knew Mike was close behind me.  And then the hill was over and it was all downhill and flat to the finish line.  Woo-weeeeeee!!!  Run time: 29:51.3

It was so nice to cross that finish line!  I'd made a little sprint at the very end...and good thing, I squeaked in under 30 minutes on the run!!!!!, which felt amazing.  That means I averaged 9:36 minute miles, or 6.24 miles per hour.  And that includes some walking.  Go me!!!!!  I am so happy with my running this year.  Who knew it could get so good?  Overall time: 1:24:36.7

W40-44: 12/18, Women: 76/129, Overall: 181/265

So that means I beat last year's time of 1:39:57 by over 15 minutes!!  I was faster on the swim this year, which makes little sense since I didn't train at all.  And I was a few minutes faster on the bike too but the big news was the run - I cut nearly 10 minutes from my run time.  The only thing in which I was slower this year was T1.  Amazing!

A few post-tri pictures...

Is this seriously my life?  So good!

More bling for me!!

What a great day.  Can't believe I considered skipping it!!

I got my free lunch, a lamb shawarma, and then walked around a bit while I waited for my massage.  I checked my time and was so pumped to see that sub-30 minute run.  The massage was pretty good.  Oh man, I was on a serious post-tri high.  I couldn't imagine being in a better mood.  I finally packed it in and headed back to the car.  I was wiped out yet barely noticed I felt so good.  And I cannot express how thrilled I am that I switched to the sprint distance.  It was the difference between a fun day, in which I could push myself, and a suffer-fest.  Show me the fun!!!  Smartest. decision. ever.  And the Marin Triathlon remains a great event - well organized, friendly atmosphere, beautiful surrounds and so much positive, supportive energy.  I love it.

Next year I'm a gal with a goal and I will do that Olympic distance.  I started an Upcoming Races page here on the blog to assure I don't screw up my schedule for 2013.  I first registered for the Olympic distance in 2008.  I ended up being too pregnant to do the event so I relayed it and just did the run.  2013 will be five years later.  So I think it's a good year to do it.

I came home and spent some time with the kids while getting all my gear cleaned up and put away.  And then my girlfriend Michelle called about going to see Kelly Clarkson play at a free concert put on by Microsoft.  She'd gotten wristbands that morning.  Score!  After some cajoling Miguel agreed to let me go.  I was still on a bit of a high and figured I could ride that for the rest of the day.  The concert was fun and it's always fun to hang with the best mommy friends around.  We were scheming up future dance outings, yay!  We got to take a bunch of fun pictures and enjoy one of the best voices out there.  Kelly even sang a couple country songs, which I particularly enjoyed.

Rock Stars!

The real rock star :)

You can imagine I slept well last night.  Today I spent time with the kids and did some much needed grocery shopping.  I have added lunch making for the kids to the routine.  What a joy that is...not.

A small piece of business before I sign off.  At weigh-in on Friday I was 146.2.  At my WW meeting my leader pointed out that I am basically maintaining.  Bouncing around the same weight.  She said if I just hit that goal weight I can start counting all these weeks toward maintenance to hit lifetime and stop having to pay for WW.  Maybe that will motivate me this week?  I am looking forward to a week with almost zero social events.  I have a mother's club board meeting on Wednesday, which does not need to involve indulging (though I usually like to have at least one glass of wine to take the edge off).  Saturday night I am headed across the bay to dinner at a friend's house (but that's a day after weigh-in so it doesn't really count yet).  Maybe, maybe I can hit goal this week.

That's all I got.  I hope you had an action packed weekend as well.  Take care of yourself, you deserve it!