Wednesday, May 26, 2010

AFLAC Iron Girl

Logan with his cheer sign.

Harry was a big help during the bike rack day!


Port a Jane...cost me extra time during transition...if only I could pee in my wetsuit at the end of my swim!


Girls Gone Iron!


Deanna and I...minutes before the race start...
I have always been intrigued by triathlon event such as Iron Man but always thought "No way, those are for the hard-core, I could never do anything like that!" Wrong...sorta... In 2003, I had heard about "Sprint Distance Triathlons", although they have varying distances, they are similar to the traditional "Tri" events. First you swim, next you ride, and finally you run. I began training in late 2003 and in late March I decided that perhaps it wouldn't be wise to continue, I was pregnant with Logan and running was miserable with the extra load up front. Two years later I thought I'd give it another try but as luck would have it...I got pregnant, this time with twins! Anyway, early this year I decided that no matter what, I wanted to do it Before I turned 40! Now with the race behind be I've come to the realization that anyone could do it as long as they have the desire and discipline. The third finisher was 50 and there were a few 60+ gals out there too. Shockingly, there was also a majorly pregnant gal, she had to be at least 8 months! In retrospect it was probably a good idea that I didn't do it whilst pregnant. However, if it was something I was doing regularly and then became pregnant, that may have been fine. I'm guessing the lady I saw was probably a seasoned triathlete, at least I hope that was the case!
My total time was 2:00:14, my goal was to finish in 2 hours or less.
The first modern long-distance triathlon event was the Hawaiian Ironman. It included a 2.4 mile (77 laps) swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run. The idea was conceived during the awards ceremony for a 5 person team running race in Oahu in 1977.
My event only consisted of an 800 meter swim (1/2 mile), 18mile ride and 3 mile run.




Sunday, April 11, 2010

Amazing

It's amazing the amount of time that has passed since I last blogged. Almost one year...
Facebook has taken over the little time I had put aside for blogging and I really don't participate in that deal too much. I just haven't felt like sharing every detail of my life with all my FB friends.
I'm super happy though that I've been an active participant in my life! I've been spending tons of time with my family, working on connecting more with my spouse, trying to nurture our relationship and keep it alive. Amazing how the kids take up so much time and space all at the expense of the thing that brought them here in the first place. Crazy. I really try to keep them all busy and active: exploring the outdoors, going with me to the gym, playdates at the park or a friends home, visits to the Natural History Museum, weekly trips to the library, swim classes, choir, dance, soccer and a clay sculpting class for Logan. I've also been practicing more yoga in front of them, sometimes they join in and other times they just use my asana as a prop - a tunnel, bridge, pony or whatever they need during imaginative play at that moment.
The newes addition to my life is that I began swimming two months ago and love it. I try to get in 3 days/week and swim a minimum of 24 laps or 800meters. So far my personal best swim was 1800meters - that happened because I left my dear friend Keela in charge of my workout. It was awesome! Swimming is like yoga in the water. You get to clear your head, focus on your breathing, be alone with yourself just as you are, move and flow in the moment, some days you feel strong, unstoppable...and other days you're wondering what's stopping you...no two days are the same, it's a beautiful balancing act of effort and surrender. Mentally and physically stimulating all around. Today, I picked up a road bike to borrow for an event next month, tomorrow I go for my first ride with my coach. It should be interesting.
We will go for 11 miles, he wants to check my form, posture and comfort level. He will be teaching me the basics...I can't wait!