What a Joke

I have been so bad about training for the upcoming tri in June...
like crazy lazy and
it's-going-to-actually-kill-me-this-time
bad about training!

a friend and I have planned to go running this morning around 9...
and if I don't flake on her (this is the 3rd run we've scheduled together and I flaked on the other 2)....
then if I actual meet up and run with her this will be the 3rd time in the month of April that I've actually gone running!
What?
yeah, you read that right....
I'm 'training' for a triathlon and I have only run 3 times this month!
well, not 3 times...IF I run today that will make it 3 times...and I have till Saturday to make it 7 times...IF I were to run EVERY day this week I will have only run 7 times the entire month of April...
yeah I blogged my training goals back in Feb...and I was supposed to be running 3 times a week...NOT month!

one of those runs WAS a 5K that I did...
without running almost all winter I signed up for a 5K.
knowing that it would force me to 'train'...
and guess what, I didn't, I totally flaked
showed up the day of the race planning on just walking the whole thing...I actually ended up running most of it and felt pretty good minus the shakes from taking one too many 'hits' from my inhaler....
yeah...my allergies, asthma and overall 'winter lungs' have put a major bump in my running!

My training goals also included swimming
crazy me...I have swimming down in my tri training...
was supposed to swim at least 7x in April...still have yet to swim ONCE...not once..
I WILL go tomorrow...I PROMISE....

oh, and biking...
yeah, but I don't have a bike...
I will also make a call on that today, I have a lead on a bike I might be able to borrow, need to get in into my possession!

okay...so my purpose in today's blog was to embarrass myself into training for this tri.
Or maybe it was more of a confession of my non-training sins and then my penance
(is that the word, I'm not sure since I'm not Catholic)
is to now kick it into gear and over train in the 6 weeks I have left until the actual event!

and if you have stayed with me while I drone on about my failing to train...
your job as my friends is to please keep my accountable...
ask me if I have been running...
if I have hit the pool (at all) or the lake (CRAZY)...
if I have found a bike...and ridden said bike...
please keep me accountable because if I actually die in the triathlon then I will hold all of you as accessories in my death!

getting back into the program

training for another Mermaid sprint triathlon...

I feel much better about it this year, not nearly as scared,
I've been there,
my 'what if's' and 'how does this work' have been answered...

and now I'm almost lazy about it...
I have always said I was doing this for 'fun'
not to beat any records or win anything
and we know that wasn't going to happen anyways...
but now that I know I can do it I feel like I might be lazy...

so I need to figure out a way to stay motivated to train harder...
I might need to set a weight loss goal or a time goal...
I have set a goal that by the end of April I want to run/jog around my 'block' 3 times...it's just a little over 1 mile once around, but it's a hard mile with a long grueling hill that kills me!

I just need to get into the program and stay focused...

so my 'program' that I need to get with...
for Feb...
run at least 3 times a week, at least 1.5 miles up to 2.5 miles depending on the day/temp/location, etc...
bike at least once a week, and want to bike at least 10 miles each time and up to 15...
     need to step into the Y for that since 'my' bike got stolen...or need to get a bike!
and swim 3 times this month

running for the remainder of training...just want to keep up with the same...maybe push it to 3 miles once a week
biking will go up to twice a week in April and probably stay with that for the duration...maybe 'riding' a few 20  miles here and there...
and swimming will up that to 5x in March and 7x in April and lots more in May!)

and lets just say for the weight loss...I'm setting a 'goal' of 4 lbs by June...
tri date to be exact...June 11th...
4 CRAZY lbs...
seems like nothing I know, but I went all last year without dropping 1 lb...
so 4 is going to be hard for me...I might actual have to do more than exercise for that to happen...I might have to cut down on my food intake...YIKES...this girl likes to eat!

and a 'before' picture for you...the only one I could find from within the last month, but probably not the most flattering wearing snow pants and all...but the face and torso are free of added padding...

Tri Dreams

Okay, so last year I took a huge step and committed myself to doing my first Sprint Triathlon...

and now I'm signed up for my 3rd one...only number two turned into a 'Fin-to-Foot' rather than an actual Tri...but I DID sign up for a triathlon!

anyways...so now I'm signed up for event #3 and pretty excited...not nearly as many nervous as the first one or the second...
just lots and lots of weird dreams...

the tri is over 4 months away and I can't stop having weird dreams about it...
so I should say I WASN'T nervous about this one until the dreams...
yikes,
I keep getting out of the water and my wetsuit has come off...

or I forgot to bring my bike and I don't realize this until I get done swimming and then decide to run the bike portion...

or someone has taken my shoes...

or I get there a day late...

or I sleep in on the morning of and show up right when my event starts with no time to set up my transition area...

or I fall into the water on the rocky entry, cut my legs up and then have to do the swim without my inhaler...oh, wait, that WAS my first tri...

and the list goes on...
and this is just month one...
so stay tuned for more versions of my Tri Dreams!

Who Am I?

has it really happened?

okay, so they say if you do something for 28 days it becomes a habit....

well exercising isn't something I can do EVERY day...but I can try to do it at about 5 times a week...

so I had a vision last January that I shared with you guys...
a vision about the woman I wanted to be...
that I never saw myself becoming...

so maybe my vision has changed some...
I wanted to be the woman that got up early and went running...
well I'll get up early and run on a Saturday...
but school mornings are just a little too crazy...
and this summer I would take the girl to her swim team practice
     and run the track while she swam laps...

I wanted to be the woman that ran in all different types of weather...
and I can say I've ran in the ran...
...the POURING rain....
pouring so hard my pants were being pulled off by the rain....
and I've ran in the heat...REAL honest to goodness HEAT
     I live in Redding, CA...don't think I need to say much more on that!
haven't ran in the snow or fog...but that's just because as I said...I live in Redding.

I do grab my cell phone...not sure you want to know where I 'hold' it while I run...
I also...
when I remember...
which I'm getting MUCH better about...
grab my inhaler...I 'hold' that on the other side...

haven't ran past the doughnut shop, but that's not in the direction I run...
I do run past a school
and a park
and a dog park
and an airport...a very small airport...but it counts
when I'm running in my neighborhood...
but I really really love to run the river trail near my home...
yes...I drive to a place to run...but it's beautiful...

I don't run with my ipod...but I do have a MP3 player and when I can figure out how to make it work and not keep repeating songs and driving me crazy I do run with it...but only with one ear bud in...don't want no cars or bikers hitting me!

I learned that I can run on a treadmill if it's 110 outside...
I don't like to run on the treadmill but sometimes it the only option when you live in Redding...

I have learned that when I run I should probably eat a banana or yogurt before I go and NOT to pound that cup of coffee otherwise I will have to pee before my run is over...and if I'm running in my neighborhood...well there's no place to stop to pee...and if I'm running the river trail it's a nasty out house!

and guess what happened...something that I didn't envision when I had the vision of this woman I was hoping to become...
I never thought about how I would feel about doing all of that...

not sure when it happened...
it wasn't that long ago...
maybe a month...
I stopped doing all of the running...
and biking...
and swimming...
because I was training....
I started going out because I wanted to run...
needed to run...
had to run...
I haven't ran all week...I have had a crazy busy week with too many things to get done and not enough hours...and I haven't ran all week...and every morning on my drive back from dropping the kids off at school I have been sad knowing that I can't just go home, put on my running shoes...grab my cell phone and inhaler and hit the pavement...

I never realized that the woman in the vision needed to run...
I figured that she did it because...
well...because that's what the skinny girl does, she runs

but now I get it...now I know that she needs to run....

her kids were driving her crazy and fighting and annoying...so she needed to run

she had no idea what she was going to make for dinner because she hasn't had time...or the money...to grocery shop for over a week...so she needed to run

she had a frustrating thing happen at work...so she needed to run

she had way too much laundry to fold and put away...so she needed to run

she needed to just have an hour without thinking of anything else...
breath in...breath out...breath in...breath out....

I need to run
I have to run
I want to run
I like to run....

A Fin to What....where's my Triathalon?

So, many of you might know that I was planning on competing in my 2nd Mermaid Sprint Triathlon yesterday...

Well, that wasn't the case...
CHP notified the Mermaid officials last week that due to the state of California's budget they were not going to be able to provide Mermaid with the required 15 CHP officers needed to help keep the bikers safe on the bike route.  Mermaid tried everything they could to figure out a solution and keep the tri and duo going, but things were out of their control and they had to cancel the bike portion...so now what?

They decided to make it a "Fin-to-Foot" race and increase the run from a 2.5 mile to a 5K...(3.1 miles, so about .6 more miles...not bad)....the Duo was changed to a 10K...

When we all got the email (or call from a fellow Mermaid) on Friday evening..and some not until Saturday Morning...about the change of plans we were all very frustrated...
angry...
sad...
disappointed...
...relieved that the scary "challenging hills" course was a NO GO....

I have to say I was all of the above...
I really wanted to finish my second tri
and was really excited for the group of ladies I was going to be doing this with...
and then I saw the bike course...
THE dreaded "challenging hills" was even worse than I had imagined!
...and I was more than a little relieved that I wouldn't have to be facing those...
not yet anyways...
maybe if I change my training for next year...
maybe not...

I was also so proud of all the ladies in our group that had signed up and planned to do either the Santa Cruz Sprint Tri or the Duo-athalon all decided to go through with the change of plans and just go for it...
(amazing for our one and only Duo-athalon Jennifer who was informed that rather than a run-bike-run she'd be doing a 10K...a 10K...she hadn't even trained for a 5K let alone a 10K...she rocked her first 10K and had us all doing the ugly cry in tears when she crossed that finish line!)

So...

now that we know the bike portion has been canceled and wrapped our brains around the change of plans...

the family and I go and check out the location for the swim and run...

a beautiful beach with sea lions hanging out at the end of the pier and ship that we were swimming around (the cement ship at Seacliff State Beach in Santa Cruz)

...

"Are our mommies REALLY going to swim out there?"

Brandi's son Sammy on the left and my son Wilson on the right.

wait...
did you say sea lions....
as in the lions of the sea....???
swimming with large lions????
not sure I signed up for THAT!

oh, and wait...
what is that hanging out a few 100 feet off the pier?
a whale...a full grown WHALE....
yep...
okay so the morning of the race the whale was no where to be seen, but she'd been hanging out in the area for the 3 days before....

the lump in the water to the right of the cement ship is the whale

oh, and what is that?
There's 7 flights of stairs from the water to the transition zone...okay so I know that I live in a stair master, but I was not prepared for THAT many stairs after just swimming 1/4 mile with sea lions!

from the top looking down the stairs, you can see the pier and cement ship too

 at the bottom of the stairs...you can see them in the background...that's just the 1st "flight"

OH...AND now I have to get to run a 5K
and so cool...the finish line is at the TOP of a killer hill!...
yep a hill...
how fun, I get to finish a race running UP a hill!

me smiling at the top of the killer hill

so lets recap....
*bike portion of my tri canceled
*running portion turned into a 5K
*sea lions
*whale
*7 flights of stairs (150 stairs to be exact)
*5K ending at the TOP of a hill

a few months ago...or maybe a year ago...
all of this would have been more than I could wanted to handle and I would probably have opted out of the whole race, blaming it on the fact that the bike portion was now canceled...

and I will say there was a few minutes during the drive down (we got the call at the half way point of the 5 hr drive) that I was considering turning the car around and heading home...
it would save of us $ if I just opted out...
still haven't paid for the hotel
and the remaining gas
and all the food that we would not have to buy...
etc...

but I've said this before and it's SO true...when you train with other ladies...in person and via facebook...you are part of a team that you know you HAVE to do this...and I know that anyone of us had lots of reasons why we should, could, and would have decided to not compete in this Mermaid event...
but EVERYONE that was planning of doing the race as of Friday morning (before we learned of the change of plans) all bucked up and took the change with a great attitude...
I was praying about my attitude during the drive down
praying that I would have a decent attitude about the new plan.

a few of the ladies early on race day cold and nervous about the swim

lf-rt Me, Diana, Michelle, Yanna, Rayna, Gail

more ladies...sun is up and the swim is getting closer...

lf-rt back row-Amy C., Rayna, Me, Leslie, Michelle, Yanna, Riki, Amy B, Maddy, Kerri

front row-Diana, Brandi, Gail

and I have to say that not only did God give me decent attitude, he went above a beyond and by Saturday afternoon I was just so excited that we were doing this new adventure...

at first I was angry at Mermaid for not letting us know sooner (they were notified the beginning of the week)
shouldn't they have told us then...but maybe just maybe they were trying to find a different solution...(okay God)

I was upset that I had put out all this money...(hm...I got this race for free and I didn't buy a new bike like a few other fellow Mermaids did...)...and then Mermaid sent out an email saying that they would give us a free...FREE...race in the future...(okay God)

I was mad that we had these CRAZY scary stairs at the end of the swim that were going to mess up my swim time...I REALLY wanted to beat my Alameda swim time and NOW I was going to have to add a nice little climb up 7 flights of stairs to my swim time...SO NOT going to do better now...maybe Mermaid had thought of that and the stairs would be timed separately...(okay God)

I prayed that God would change my attitude and he did...
...and it's almost like he knew all my fears and frustrations BEFORE I did and helped me see thru all of them...

I had the most amazing time for my FIRST 'Fin-to-Foot' race...
I swam out in the ocean...next to sea lions...and I took it all in...
I kept saying, "wow ladies, look around, look at what we're doing!"
I was so much more relaxed during this swim...I was down right chatty!
I didn't break any swimming records*...expect my own from Alameda!  But I enjoyed the whole swim it was so amazing for me...okay so the slight smell of dead fish at the end of the cement ship I could have done without, but the rest was just so fun!
and I LOVED my 5K...I did better than I thought I would and I even held myself back because I was scared of the killer hill at the end...and boy, it was a killer hill...but it felt good to reach the top and run across the finish line.

a few of us at the finish line

lf-rt Jennifer, Becca, Rayna, Michelle (front), Amy (back), Me, Yanna, and Brandi!

showing off our ages on our legs...

lf-rt Yanna, Rayna, Gail, Maddy (she's 12!), Kerri, Me, Brandi, Michelle, Jennifer

and I couldn't do races like this without my husband and kids supporting me...love them!

*two of the ladies on our facebook Triathletes-In-Training group came in 2nd (Amy Brown) and 4th (Riki Copeland)...

Am I REALLY Doing THIS Again?

Okay so today's the day...

I'm doing my 2nd Tri...

and I am thinking that with these two things I might shave a few seconds off my time

yep...do you see that I got Adult goggles this time...
I was using the girl child's goggles last time and these are "hydrocurve" and "advanced"....
so, not sure what hydrocurve means but sounds fancy, thinking this might shave like 2 seconds off my time...
and then really important...I'm planning on ACTUALLY using this

my handy dandy inhaler....lets see if that improves my time any...

I'll keep you posted on if either of these actually help my swimming...
because I, "look like I'm swimming in Jello when I swim"...an actual quote from my loving husband!

could i feed them cookies for breakfast?

YES...
Yes...
yes I can...

I NEEDED to make some cookies for a meeting at my house...
a meeting of triathletes...
and I was thinking just regular ol' cookies aren't the best thing to serve triathletes...
hmmm...so I got to thinking...
I have a few bags of shredded zucchini in the freezer (like a few 100 bags)
and then thought some more...
what if I added oatmeal to it?
...hmmm this is sounding healthier and healthier and more like something that should be served to triathletes!
so I hopped onto the world wide web and goggled "zucchini oatmeal cookies"
and thru the magic of the internet I found a few 1000 different recipes for zucchini oatmeal cookies

they turned out so very yummy and even better than serving them at my triathletes meeting was giving them to the kids for breakfast the next morning...
hey don't judge me...they had both oatmeal (a morning food) and zucchini (a veggie) in them...that is totally a breakfast cookie!


Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour (whole wheat or white)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups zucchini, grated
3 1/2 c. oatmeal
2 cups dark chocolate chips (optional raisins would also be good)

Beat shortening, butter and sugar together well. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together and add creamed mixture. Stir in zucchini, oatmeal, raisins and nuts. Drop onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.

blog edit...
just FYI...these cookies are so thick that they hardly change shape when you bake them....I'm totally okay with that, makes them nice and chewy...but you can squash them down if you'd like!

I made these again and served them at book club...I also put in dried cranberries, along with dark chocolate chips and raisins...they were loaded and YUMMY!

Before and After

Okay, so those that have followed my blog since January you might have heard that I did this little Triathlon thing...that I started the journey back in January...and reached my goal and finished my first athletic competition  EVER on June 6th and became a Mermaid!

I posted a "before" picture back in January and decided that I should follow up with an "after" picture...

Before

editors note...I "trained" for this after picture by scarfing down a snickerdoodle (see previous post) and pounding a cup of coffee...and then I felt a little guilty and did some push ups...

After

I don't see a big difference except that I might have learned a different pose...

WHAT was I doing in the before picture?!?

and DO NOT let the shortest member of your family take your picture because the perspective is horrible!

So did my body shape/size change lots during the training for the Mermaid?

...I would say no...

I lost a total of ...

drum roll please...

ZERO lbs!

but I do feel healthier...

and I'm now packing...

small, but legal guns...

very small...but 6 months ago I had NONE!

I can do a healthy set of REAL push-ups...I've done 30 in a row, but average about 20...Beau says I'm giving up too soon on them and need to push thru...

but...I don't want to fall on my face 

AND I have no desire to have huge guns...

just nice tank top arms...

and I also am now sporting true war wounds!

not surprising to ANYONE, I ended up visiting the first aid tent after the tri because I had a pretty rocking entry into the ocean...

my leg on the left

and now have true scars to prove that I'm a Mermaid...a clumsy Mermaid

and the biggest change is that I am planning on doing another one...YEP....you read that right.

I was so scared back in January when I went "blog public" with this challenge...

I had never done anything like this before and I was so scared that I would fail...

and I did come in DEAD last in the swim...

but I finished the swim and I finished the entire triathlon...

I FINISHED...

running across that finish line made me so happy and hopeful for my healthy future...

I came home, processed thru the experience by doing what I do...I blogged about it...

and started thinking about next year...and doing it again...

and then thinking about doing the Mermaid in Santa Cruz in September...

and then a fellow Mermaid's husband (thanks Tim) encouraged me to send my 100% Mermaid blog into the Mermaid people...

and then I got an email back asking me if they could share my blog on their website...and they would give me a FREE entry into the Santa Cruz Tri...

did you read that?  they asked if they could post MY blog on THEIR site...

UM...

okay...so I had my answer...

so within 2 weeks of completing my first ever Sprint Triathlon I was signed up to do another in 4 months...

We (the other Mermaids and I...there were 7 of us locally that participated in the June Alameda Tri) also held a meeting and have a whole new group of ladies signing up for the Santa Cruz Mermaid Tri and Du...

(Let me know if you are interested in joining our team...the more the merrier...)

I'm so happy and thankful that Julie invited/challenged me to this event back in December.  And I'm also thankful that I had friends that joined me in the adventure of challenging ourselves and how we look at being healthy.

It's not a number on a scale

It's not a size of clothing

It's not an age

It's not even the time it takes you to finish the swim leg of the triathlon

Healthy comes in all shapes sizes and ages...but it FEELS so much better!

100% Mermaid Athlete

or at least that's what the shirt says

swim, laugh,

ride, sweat,

run, celebrate, 

repeat.

I DID it!  WE DID it!....

we ALL finished our first triathlon

we all started this for different reasons

but we all finished it!

it's all still pretty surreal that I...

ME....

Kiera Colleen Chambers....

I....finished a triathlon!

a sprint triathlon...

400 meter swim (about 1/4 mile)

12 mile bike

2.5 mile run...

yep...I DID all that...

there were 8 of us...7 doing the tri and 1 doing the duo (run, bike, run)

NONE of us had ever done something like this before

7 of us...missing Amy..L-R

Diana, Becca, Natalie, me, Rayna, Rosie, & Michelle

all 7 of us triathletes are moms...

moms in different stages of mommy-hood

we had a mom with one child 9 months old...(still nursing!)

three moms with toddlers, 

a single mom with a teenager and a hearing impaired child,

a mom with five kids ranging from 5-14

     (she has one going into kindergarten and one into high school next year!...with a pair of twins in there also...)

and then me...with my two kids...

we all overcame the difficulties of "training" and being a mom...

we're all different ages 28-46

we're all different sizes (not going to share that info)

and we might have set out to do this to prove something to ourselves

but we also proved to our kids that we care about them

we care about our kids by taking care of their mother

we proved to them that mommies can be healthy

...healthy NO matter what size...

and we ALL finished...FINISHED!!!

my daughter, me, Diana...we FINISHED!

Diana, Me, Michelle, and Amy

welcome to the gun show! 
back row Becca, Natalie, Rosie, Rayna
front row Diana, Me, Michelle

and that we can have a blast doing it!

I even had to learn a really STUPID lesson that helped teach my daughter a really important lesson in life...

I have asthma...

I learned I had asthma when I started training for this tri back in January...

...needless to say I'm still new to this asthma thing...

and I tend to forget that I have asthma...

so I tend to forget to use my inhaler

...I did NOT want to forget my inhaler for my tri...

I brought 2 of them with me!

I set up my transition zone* with my inhaler right were I wouldn't miss seeing it...

pic of transition zone

(*transition zone...TZ...is the area that the triathletes set up all of their gear for each leg of the race and change in and out of their clothes for each leg...and ONLY the triathletes are allowed into the TZ)

...and then in the chaos of getting ready I couldn't find my swim cap...(all of the divisions are separate by color and your swim cap must match)...I went back to the car to look, still couldn't find it...then went to the booth and picked up a new one...no big deal...race back into the TZ to leave for the swim with my fellow triathletes...who have so kindly waited for me...then we all anxiously leave the TZ to head down to the swim start (400 meters from the TZ)...with me never going back to my area...me not seeing my inhaler that I put out so I COULDN'T forget it...

we all walk nervously to our start...

we greet our friends and family that have traveled from all over to support and cheer us on...

we start to make our way into the water...

I realize at that moment that I have forgot to use my inhaler...

and NO ONE can go get it for me...all my fellow athletes are also getting in the water and my friends and family aren't allowed into the TZ...

I made the decision to do the swim without my inhaler...

...

side note...

I was participating in the "Friends and Family" division a group that isn't divided into age categories so friends and family members of different ages can participate together...

the Friends and Family division (yellow swim caps) was starting at the same time as the 50+ age division (green swim caps)...

...

I told myself and WAY TOO many others...

"well, I'm starting with the 50+...so at least I won't be the last one out of the water!"

...

hmm

ever heard of pride cometh before the fall...

so there I was having to swim the 400 meters (the swim was already my weakest leg of the race)...without being able to breath...

...so I just laid on my back and did the back stroke...

...I was very upset at myself...

turning and watching the group grow farther and farther away from me...

watching the yellow swim caps get farther and farther away..

and then the green caps get farther away...and seeing the struggling yellow and green caps pass me by

I laid on my back huffing and puffing 

sounding like a dying seal...

with a cute life guard on a surf board telling me I could do it...

encouraging me along the way, telling me to relax and take deep breaths 

(easy for you cute, young guy with two healthy lungs...SITTING on a surf board!)...

listening to my family on the sidelines cheering me on...

I kept hearing my kids and my husband telling me I could do it...

...

I wanted to tell the life guard I was done...

pull me in...

and then I'd hear Beau yell, "way to go Kiera, you can do it!"...

I'd think of all my friends that I had trained with

...who were now on their bikes and would be looking for me on the bike path...

I just took my time...

and YES...I WAS the LAST one out of the water...

but I GOT out of the water I finished the swim...

my husband and kids were standing there encouraging me...

got a big kiss from my husband....

went to my area in the TZ and got my inhaler and took some nice deep breaths...

...got out of my wet suit onto my bike and finished.

...then finished my run...

but the whole time I was so mad at myself...

mad that I forgot my inhaler...

mad that triathletes 50 and older kicked my tail in the swim...

beating myself up that I was just stupid!

than later that night I was having a nice moment with my daughter...

she was asking me questions about the tri...

and then telling me how she was scared to be on the swim team this summer...

"Mom, what if I come in last?"

she just asked me...

ME..."what if I come in last?"

HMMMM

what if...what if I'm the last one out of the water even with a group of women 50 and older...

is the world going to end...

I asked her if she was embarrassed that I was the last one out of the water...

she was shocked...

she told me she was so proud of me because she could tell that I was having a really hard time out there, that she was scared that I might not finish...and that not only did I finish the swim but I went on and did the ride and the run...

She decided that she didn't have to be scared of finishing last, but that she would finish!

wow...

so I may have been a little too prideful...

but one of the most frustrating moments of my life may have turned out to be the best thing my daughter could have seen me do!

and even though I'm still a little disappointed that I forgot something so simple

I'm proud that I finished...

and I am so thankful for all the friends that trained with me, even though a tri may be an individual event it is 100% team...without those other moms I would have given up a few times during the training and I might have given up on the swim...

I am also so thankful that I have been blessed with such a great family...I know without a shadow of a doubt I couldn't have done this without my husband...

my family greeted me at the finish line...

Beau with a kiss and a hug telling me how proud he was.

Madison (9 yrs old), saying, 

"MOM, you did it, you did it...I'm so proud of you!"

and Wilson (4 3/4...wish you could hear him say his age...so cute)...

saying, "Mom, I'm thirsty, can I have your water?"

Is This is Really Happening

wow...is this actually happening?  are we really doing this...

I'm not an unhealthy girl...

but I'm no athlete...

I'm not overweight 

(even if the Wii Fit keeps telling me I am!)

I'm just built different than some...

I have never done or been tempted to do any major, 

or non major athletic event in my life 

(okay so I ran like a 3K in high school...or maybe it was 1.5 K)

when I've heard of other that do major events

100+ bike rides, marathons, triathlons, etc, I respect them for doing it

(all the while thinking in my head that they must me slightly crazy)...

but then, back in December my sister-in-law invited me to do the Mermaid Sprint Triathlon...

Mermaid...

it's all women (I like that)

it's a tri (three events, swim, bike, run)

it's a "sprint" meaning that all three events are short...and when I say short, I mean short for typical athletes...which I am not...so this doesn't feel so short to me...

so thinking that I'd talk myself out of it if I invited some friends and we all bow out gracefully....

so that's what I did...I invited some friends to join me...and I must have sent it to the wrong friends 

because rather than getting 100% , "No thank you!"

I got a few, 

"YES, lets do this!"...

oops...

now I'm in...

can't get out now...

I had a few hundred excuses reasons I couldn't do it...

very valid excuses reasons

and a very few reason why I could...

but somehow the "coulds" won over the "could nots" 

and now it's less than a week away...

YIKES

did I just type that...

6.5 days to be exact!

it's been a very wonderful experience training with these women...

we've become a sister hood

the mamas that didn't think they could...overcoming and are DOING!

working around out of shape bodies...

old equipment...

families...

sick kids...

school schedules...

different gyms or no gyms...

dietary restrictions...

work schedules...

financial limitation...

and the list goes on and on

we all had reasons why we couldn't do this...

but we all made the choice...

the choice to challenge ourselves

the choice to become healthier

the choice to support each other

to have fun 

to do something outside the box...

two Saturdays ago we went out and did a mini version of the already short triathlon...but it was still fun to "test" ourselves...and we went out again this past Saturday

editors note...a major difference between men and women...how many men would have tried to figure out a way to get a picture of themselves in their wet-suits...this was done by hanging the camera on a branch from a tree and hitting the self timer and hoping the camera didn't twist in the wind...only took 4 times....

can I just tell you how freezing cold that lake water is!...YOWZA!...it's freezing...it was snow minutes before it was in that lake!  do you see the snow in the upper left corner...the water we are swimming in was at the top of the mountian just minutes before we were swimming in it!

...look for my blog in about a week and a half when I'm home and recovered from the real thing!

Projects I FINISHED This Week...

okay, okay... so I finished them LAST week...

I guess one of the projects I DIDN'T finish was blogging about them...

okay, so many times in my life I start projects, get frustrated and put them away...

or with a baking project, I just don't take pictures and end up serving it to my family rather then the intended purpose....

but I had a good week...

a snapshot of my week...

Mocha "Birthday" Cake for MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) end of year "birthday party"

Door sign for a friends grandparents, grandma likes giraffes.

Operation-Beautiful-Living Room...getting closer...new Old World Map wall hanging created for FREE above the TV...

close up of the old world map wall hanging thing I made for FREE

"No Girls Allow'd" and the ABC plaque are both signs I made from scrap wood and hope to sell at a local kids place...

oh, and I also did a mini triathlon run threw with some of the ladies that are doing it with me...we had a great time and can't wait for the real one in two weeks...

wait...

did I just type two weeks???  YIKES....

The S'wet' Suit...

Okay...so if you've been reading my blog, you might have guessed that I've gone and signed myself up for a triathlon...

(it's a Sprint Triathlon so don't freak out...

even though I am!)

When I went "blog public" with my triathlon commitment the location was TBA...

no biggie...

I knew the distances so I could still train...

and then they TBA...was announced and the swimming portion, we all discovered, is in the ocean...

okay, actually the "Bay"...(that's San Fransisco for those of you not familiar with the "Bay"...Alameda to be more precise)...

side-note for all of those readers not familiar with the Pacific Ocean from San Diego north...it is COLD...it's not a warm ocean...and north of LA we don't even call it the "beach"...terms like "coast" and "ocean" are used so as to not confuse young children with visions of warm sandy, beachy waters....

my sister-in-law had warned me that this might be the case...and had even warned me whatever the water I would probably want to look into getting a wet-suit...

Sure...a wet suit...I can do that...

Wait...a What?  A WET SUIT...

like a real Wet Suit...

like those things that add 30 lbs to my body...(well I'm assuming they'll add 30 lbs...I've NEVER in my life worn a wet suit!)

Sure, a wet suit, I can do that...

and I go on my happy way...

oh, now I need to buy this wet suit...

okay, so did you know that you can't buy everything at Target...sad day...

I was so hoping that I could pick up my toilet paper, some flip flops, toothpaste and my new wet suit!!!

NOPE...I started looking online...sure, yeah...I can pick myself up a "cheap" suit for around $200...

yeah, only $200 what a deal!...

okay, so I started looking at craigslist...found some used ones for around $100

(you know you're desperate when you're willing to buy something that you're pretty sure someone else has most definitely peed themselves in...and pay $100 for someone else's peed in suit!!)

then miracles of miracles Costco has wet suits...on sale...

for $37.99...that's better than paying $100 for some old peed in suit!

Okay sure, the suit is probably made for water skiers and isn't designed for triathlons...

WHO cares...it's $37.99

oh,  and then there's the sizing....

so nice of the wet suit companies to decide that women over the height of 5' 7" don't need wet suits...or that weigh more than 140...

the horribly degrading 'sizing' chart for women had the largest size marked at 5'7"+ & 140+....I'm thinking that I am outside the "+" unless "+" now means infinity!!!!

oh, and the chart for men...apparently men under the height of 5'7" don't need wet suits, unless they want the ones with pink stripes!...

so happy day, I had got to purchase the XL wet suit for men!...

and I'm going with the "I'm too tall" for the women's not the "I'm WAY more than 140+" for the women's size excuse, and please just nod and agree with me instead of pointing out the truth that we ALL know!

So now I'm home with this lovely XL Men's wet suit...

I lay it on the bed and wonder if I could bedazzle anything onto it to jazz it up some...

I sit down and look at it...wondering how many 140+ women had to buy the men's suit...

will the XL Men's suit have enough room for my "girls"...

will it have "extra" room in the "man region"....

I strip down to the undies and decide to humiliate myself and try this thing on...

couldn't be worse the the "Option 2" moment back in January

...or could it...I'm now remembering myself trying on the "running support" ordered online for my new triathlon adventure...I'm remembering how I almost had to call 911...

who's idea was it to get a wet suit...

who's idea was this triathlon thing...

YIKES...I'm signed up for a triathlon...and I have to wear a WET SUIT...in public...

I'm also VERY thankful that Costco does not have dressing rooms, because I may have been tempted to try this on in public!...

okay...now I'm standing in my undies looking at my none-cute, very XL Man looking wet suit...and I power thru...I step into it, pull it up over my shoulders, pull the zipper up the back

(side-note...love the zippers on wet suits, those long zippers that you don't need help pulling up...totally need that for some dresses, but probably not so cute to have the long strap hanging down your back..maybe if you added some beads...humm...)...

Brace myself...the moment of truth...

...

I'm in the wet suit...

...the "girls" aren't smooshed beyond recognition...

they look like "girls" and not like tumors pushed into my armpits!

the "man region" isn't extra roomy...thankfully for my extra long torso that has used up the "extra" room that was designed for the "man region"...I was imagining the extra room looking like I was carrying something between my thighs...

...This isn't so bad...

I look like a women in a wet suit...I felt like jumping up and down...I wanted to grab a surf board and catch a wave (only me on a board in an ocean would most likely = ER visit!)...

so what if it added 30 lbs...I have myself a wet suit...and I don't look like a whale or any other large aquatic mammal....

oh, and now my bum is all wet...the "wet" suit does not breathe and it makes my bum sweat...so I have now decided to call it the S'wet' suit...and that I should probably not wear it around the house because I think I look cool it in...I will save the suit for swimming only...

oh...and that's another thing...I think I now need to try to swim in this thing...YIKES...

who talked me into this triathlon thing!

Lucy & Ethel Go Running

Okay, spring break knocked me out of my rhythm...

my blogging rhythm...was going strong with 3-5 blogs a week...and "real" blogs at that, not posting contests and what not...but then off we went on a trip north and then I got all off track and it's taking me about a week to get back into this thing...

and my training rhythm...

I didn't run/bike/swim/exercise ONCE during spring break...unless you count the jog that Beau and I did around a rest area lawn that the kids were chasing birds on...on the last day...but it wasn't for very far, and it was at a VERY high elevation so it killed our lungs (and that's our story and we're sticking to it!)...

so, I'm back...getting my rhythm back...

...

the beat goes on

....

So my running/training buddy Rayna and I decided to walk/run our favorite loop/hill here in Redding on Tuesday.  The sky was overcast but the forecasters/people that make up things for a living had promised sun...

Trusting in our local forecasters we drive to the bridge (our starting point).  We have now noticed that it is slightly sprinkling so we decided to drive back to Rayna's a pick up a blanket for her son who gets to ride in his fancy new stroller.  We are now confident in both the forecasters prediction of sun and Murphy's Law that states since we've gotten the blanket there will be no rain!

We blissfully stretch our muscles and walk over the rain soaked bridge, still okay with the slight drizzle...yes we've upgraded from sprinkle to drizzle at this point, a good spot for us to question both the forecasters and Murphy...but no, we continue on.

We then cross the second, smaller bridge that leads us to "our loop" and we decided to take the shorter side that leads straight to the hill just in case the rain gets heavier...also a good spot for us to stop & question this outing...but no, we continue on in the rain...yes it's now raining...but really, what's a little rain, right?

I think I've forgotten to mention that Rayna had her hair dyed the day before...and Rayna ...who also likes fun color's in her hair like me...has lots of dark, vibrant purple..PURPLE...highlights in her hair, and her hairdresser (hey Brenda) told her NOT to wash her hair until Wednesday (it's only Tuesday)...but really, it's only rain, and she's not shampooing it, right???

Rayna and I continue on our walk/run in the slight rainy drizzle that the forecasters didn't forecast...but no big deal.  We get to "The Hill" and continue up, not thinking too much of the rain, at this point we really don't notice it too much...then we hit the half way point of "The Hill" and we start laughing at how "hard core" we are that we are doing this in the rain, but still...we don't rethink and turn back...we power through and make it to the top of the hill.  We have also noticed a huge lack of other people on the trail today, but it is mid-morning on Tuesday, who hits the trail at 10 am...it has NOTHING to do with the possibility of rain!.!.!.

As we take a breathier and stretch before our run down the hill...this is when it hits...when the heavens open up and laugh at us...when there is NO TURNING back, we are committed and we have no other option than to finish because there is no out!  About half way down the hill is when Rayna mentions her hair...and how she wasn't supposed to wash it until the next day...and how it feels like it's running down her face...so I take a look, she was a little purple running down the sides of her neck, no big deal, just wipe it up right...but the more she wipes it the harder it runs, and the harder it rains, Purple Rain...

And I begin to notice that the rain has soaked my pants so much that they are about 5 inches longer and I'm now running on my pants under my feet, oh, and they are too heavy to stay up so they keep falling off my bum.  We are, quite a pair, with Ms. Purple Rain and my pants falling off and under my feet.  We stop at the bottom of the hill for Rayna to take off her jacket and shirt so she can wrap her shirt around her head so the purple dye stops running into her eyes, and then we continue on our run.  We felt like an episode of I Love Lucy...Lucy decides to "train" for a triathlon and drags her friend Ethel into the fun and before you know it the two are "training" in the rain with Ethel's hair dye running down her face, neck, back and Lucy having to run holding her pants up because she will trip if she doesn't...by the way, we now notice that we are the ONLY people out in this weather...

We get back across the two bridges and to the parking lot and this in when Murphy and his law comes to play...the rain stops...just stops...

here is a picture of us post run...I allowed Rayna to clean up the Purple Rain that had covered her face, neck, and chest, before I took this picture, but you can see how drenched our clothes are...and if you look closely you can see that the puddles behind us are still, because the rain has now stopped...

And Murphy laughed at us all day, by the time we got home and out of our nice hot showers Mr. Sun had come out and stayed out ALL day!!!