Funny how all those mean something so very different. I've been meaning to blog and every time I pull out my computer... all hell breaks lose around here. I have about 20 minutes because Mark took all 4 kids grocery shopping after the bus stop pick up, so I"m going to type as fast as I can.
So here is my update: my contract has been bumped up to 83% (almost nearly full time) but with the added bonus of having Monday morning off and Wednesday afternoon off ! It has taken many months to finally iron out the kinks in the kids schedule, my schedule, Marks new work schedule - yes he is still home full time with the 2 youngest kids but he works on Friday night and Sundays' at Longo's still- and my workout schedule. I am officially starting to slowly get back into to "training mode" for my triathlon. I plan on doing my first one in June (brrr cold water) so that means 5 months to train. I have begun running on the treadmill, doing spin classes, adding in endurance style weights and resistance training (things called super sets) - they suck and make me want to cry and puke all at the same time - but it's all in the name of training.
I have been terrible at keeping up to date with this blog. I have this pressure on myself to be able to do all the things that I used to do before I was working, when I was home all day with kids. I know it sounds stupid, I mean of course I cant' do what I used to do! But I still feel as though it needs to be done. It's not like Mark is going to be making me a vegan/GF meal at night in addition to a regular meal (he is trying ... but it's all a learning curve also for him) So I'm still cooking, working out 5 times a week, eating healthy, being a mom (cooking for me, occasionally for the kids), cleaning/tidying/laundry - these are shared chores now at least, knit and watch Dexter on netflix and True Blood, I do read still and enjoy a glass of wine when I can find some! (aka afford it)
So many important dates... but the one that is stressing me out the most is Feb 11th, the day my report cards are due. I haven't done report cards in 5 years!!!! OMG I have nothing, no comments, nada/zip/zilsh... I have to write them out for the 10 classes I teach... oh man...I hate doing things like that where I will be judged, corrected. I could never be a writer, having someone constantly criticising you work... it would kill me!
And finally a date... wouldn't that be a romantic concept. I deserve one! Can someone please take me out!
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Day 7 meet Day 8! (with bonus rants)
I'm getting a little behind because I'm getting behind in everything around here. Yesterday Mark was fixing our dishwasher so the whole kitchen/dining room area looked like a tornado hit it, I barely managed to squeeze in the fridge to get my soup out to eat. So anyway, yesterday was in fact a lovely day! I had my Monday morning free from school, so I went to the gym and did a body pump class (and yes as I am writing this now, a day latter) I ponder the wisdom of that decision, as I can barely lower myself down unto a chair.. actually chair is fine because I can brace along the back part... the toilet bowl... omg that is agony... It's like squatting while someone is running daggers through my quads. ) and wow that was a tangent. Back to awesome morning, after pump I had a massage, then home for some lunch. Then it was off to school. Short and sweet :) I love my Mondays!
So here are my Monday's eats:
Breakfast
1/2 GF oats
1 scoop veg. protein powder
3 strawberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
unsweetened almond milk
water
snack:
1.5 cups carrot ginger chick pea soup
decaf coffee
water
lunch:
1/2 cup sweet potato humus
7 stalks of celery
water
snack:
pack of seaweed paper
1/2 apple
Diner:
-serving of tempeh (about 80gs)
- 1.5 cup athletes mix
-1/4 cup of the curry sauce
served with a scoop of sweet potato humus on top
water
decaf tea (a couple of ounces of the vanilla almond milk - yes it was sweeter)
Breakfast:
1/2cup GF oats
3tbsp hemp hearts
1 tbsp raw almond butter
3 strawberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
unsweetened almond milk
water
decaf coffee
I did have a few artichoke hearts (perserved in vinegar and olive oil) this morning when I was waiting for my decaf, they were imported from Italy and used in the panini sandwiches at the Longo's kitchen. My buddy Tony is very italian and he is always getting me to taste only the best condiments used in his signature sandwiches... Last week he opened up a 12$ can of Italian sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and herbs.... ahhhh mazing... I've never really been into antipasto... but I can always be converted :)
snack:
sweet potato curri hummus
broccoli and tomatoes
water
Lunch:
carrot ginger chick pea soup with about 3/4 cup athletes mix (mixed in while it was hot)
water
decaf tea
snack: (when I got home from school today I was dizzy and disoriented, I kind of felt drunk and this scared me so I decided to have some fruit with my protein and also some carbs in the form of popcorn with salt - I've had blood pressure issues in the past, my BP gets too low and I need a little extra salt to stop getting so dizzy) this is new from the summer time training...
-protein smoothy: veg.protein powder, frozen raspberries, ice, wheat grass, coconut water and a scoop of almond butter
-1/2 cup of air pop popcorn with about 1-2 tbsp of melted "Earth Balance" a vegan butter alternative
I did feel much better so I went to the gym for a combat class. drank lots of water again.
Diner:
BBQed Salmon with sun dried tomatoes
some broccoli and orange pepper
water
lots of decaf tea in the evening
Last rant for the day!
I know I'm not adhering to the cooler plan as strictly as I used to in the past, but I also can't believe how slow the weight loss is that this point. I am only down 1 pound!!! I still am literally 5 lbs away from pre-baby. Truly you see what I eat... what else should I do? more exercise? weights? This is really hard! I want to quit because I'm not seeing any changes in the numbers, and I guess I'm not sick anymore so that's a plus, but I just want to lose those last few... For goodness sake at the rate I'm going I'll have to keep doing this for another 3 weeks!!! ugh or more!
So here are my Monday's eats:
Breakfast
1/2 GF oats
1 scoop veg. protein powder
3 strawberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
unsweetened almond milk
water
snack:
1.5 cups carrot ginger chick pea soup
decaf coffee
water
lunch:
1/2 cup sweet potato humus
7 stalks of celery
water
snack:
pack of seaweed paper
1/2 apple
Diner:
-serving of tempeh (about 80gs)
- 1.5 cup athletes mix
-1/4 cup of the curry sauce
served with a scoop of sweet potato humus on top
water
decaf tea (a couple of ounces of the vanilla almond milk - yes it was sweeter)
Today I had a full schedule at school, so I packed my "cooler" but I'm wondering if I didn't eat enough at school today for the amount of running around I did? Could be. But again NOTHING off the scale this morning (however I've been reminded my a friend that weights are great for weight loss but terrible for water retention). And more or less to torture myself I made myself wear the jeans that "used to fit"... well that was just mean and cruel, because even by day 8, not enough changes have happened... not exactly a muffin top, but a little too tight for comfort. However I did receive complements on them??? So is it that uncomfortable jeans are the more flattering ones? Can someone please post the brand of jeans that will make my parts look amazing! Trying to fit into 3 year old jeans is getting silly!
Breakfast:
1/2cup GF oats
3tbsp hemp hearts
1 tbsp raw almond butter
3 strawberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
unsweetened almond milk
water
decaf coffee
I did have a few artichoke hearts (perserved in vinegar and olive oil) this morning when I was waiting for my decaf, they were imported from Italy and used in the panini sandwiches at the Longo's kitchen. My buddy Tony is very italian and he is always getting me to taste only the best condiments used in his signature sandwiches... Last week he opened up a 12$ can of Italian sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and herbs.... ahhhh mazing... I've never really been into antipasto... but I can always be converted :)
snack:
sweet potato curri hummus
broccoli and tomatoes
water
Lunch:
carrot ginger chick pea soup with about 3/4 cup athletes mix (mixed in while it was hot)
water
decaf tea
snack: (when I got home from school today I was dizzy and disoriented, I kind of felt drunk and this scared me so I decided to have some fruit with my protein and also some carbs in the form of popcorn with salt - I've had blood pressure issues in the past, my BP gets too low and I need a little extra salt to stop getting so dizzy) this is new from the summer time training...
-protein smoothy: veg.protein powder, frozen raspberries, ice, wheat grass, coconut water and a scoop of almond butter
-1/2 cup of air pop popcorn with about 1-2 tbsp of melted "Earth Balance" a vegan butter alternative
I did feel much better so I went to the gym for a combat class. drank lots of water again.
Diner:
BBQed Salmon with sun dried tomatoes
some broccoli and orange pepper
water
lots of decaf tea in the evening
Last rant for the day!
I know I'm not adhering to the cooler plan as strictly as I used to in the past, but I also can't believe how slow the weight loss is that this point. I am only down 1 pound!!! I still am literally 5 lbs away from pre-baby. Truly you see what I eat... what else should I do? more exercise? weights? This is really hard! I want to quit because I'm not seeing any changes in the numbers, and I guess I'm not sick anymore so that's a plus, but I just want to lose those last few... For goodness sake at the rate I'm going I'll have to keep doing this for another 3 weeks!!! ugh or more!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Three weeks in summary...
Ok let me see where to start. (In point form)
- I am still vegan and going strong (I did however enjoy some fish a couple of times in the last month though)! Meh. I'm only vegan to feel good and be healthy, and I feel good and healthy when I eat fish!
- I've created all sorts of fun new things, like chili cheese popcorn and cashew cheese.
-I stopped drinking caffeine before my last race and just haven't drank it since, only decaf and the occasional green tea. Mostly rooibos or herbal.
- We went to Sudbury for a week and I did some extreme open water swimming with my brother Ian (the varsity swimmer), mostly extreme for me because the waves were probably 40-50cm high.
-My knee has been seizing up and causing me a ridiculous amount of pain, so I had to cut back on my running to counter that issue. More biking and swimming to make up for that.
- This past week I have been in my school getting set up in my new office because I don't have a classroom, which I am very happy about!
- Not so happy to find out that my teaching assignment is literally to split grades the whole week. Get this I am teaching science (in french) to : a 2/3split, a 3/4 split, a 4/5 split and a 5/6 split. Yay me!~
But once I got my head around the copious amounts of science units I need to know (20 in total), at least only 5 at a time :) ha ha I got kind of excited because I get to teach the fun stuff. You know the outdoor lessons, the experiments, the field trips, the scientist/dorky stuff! And because I'm me, I'm starting with the units that I love the most, plants, ecosystems, habits and human body. I am going to have a blast this term. I selfishly choose these units because they are by far way up my alley and they will allow me to gain my teaching confidence back. Geeze it's been almost 5 years since I worked in a school.
- Topic change! I just made a butternut squash soup (squash, a few stalks of celery, 1 onion, 1 large carrot, a sweet potato and a handful of garden herbs -thyme, savory and sage) and the coup de resistance was that I added some coconut oil to it and some cremed coconut at the end, just a tbsp or so. And WOW! sooooo creamy and good!
-Topic change AGAIN! My big race! The culminating event of my entire summer's worth of training....was this Sunday and it wasn't what I was prepared for or anticipated. At all. The evening before the event they sent out an email telling us that we couldn't swim in the water due to bacteria levels, so they were changing the triathlon to a duathlon. So that meant I would run 2.5k, bike 20k then run another 5k. I was really upset when I found this out because I am a strong swimmer and between swimming and my fast biking I would have a good enough advantage to possibly place. The other thing that I found out was that most super fast runners are terrible swimmers (grrr) so I lost my advantage while the runners gained theirs. The day was hot (in the 30s) and it was a bit windy (not too bad). All in all I did ok. I placced 7th, the bike portion was amazing. I was flying and feeling really good. The first run part was awful, I felt like garbage, and the transition from run to bike was really sloppy (since I had never done it before). And the second run was better than the first, in fact I think I got negative splits (go figure, I gues it takes my body a while to get used to the idea of running).. Anyway, Mark and the kids tried to cheer me but they missed most of it because they didn't have an attention span long enough to stay in one spot. They saw me off. and that was about it. They missed the finish because I arrived before the mc was even calling out ppls names... ( I guess that was a good sign). But I now know that duathlon is not for me, 7th out of 49 I think. The other thing I figure is if I had done the shorter distance, based on my times from the last tri/and yesterdays times I would have come in either 2nd or 3rd! So all in all not a bad race day!
So that pretty much sums it up. My first day of work in 5 years starts tomorrow, Mark is home full time with the kids (the two that aren't in school full time) and I will be getting back into some type of gym routine again! With the addition of swimming, spinning and running at least once a week. OH that reminds me, my knee is much better since a week ago someone pointed out to me that runner's are in fact supposed to land on the balls of their feet NOT their heals... like I was. Duh I wonder if that was causing my knee pain. Well I worked on that and didn't feel a single twinge during my run on Sunday.
This is a picture from the Niagara race. For this race I got Scott from Rock and Road cycle to put red tape on my handle bars! (they have magic I've been told) Placebo or not, I loved the bike portion of the race!
- I am still vegan and going strong (I did however enjoy some fish a couple of times in the last month though)! Meh. I'm only vegan to feel good and be healthy, and I feel good and healthy when I eat fish!
- I've created all sorts of fun new things, like chili cheese popcorn and cashew cheese.
-I stopped drinking caffeine before my last race and just haven't drank it since, only decaf and the occasional green tea. Mostly rooibos or herbal.
- We went to Sudbury for a week and I did some extreme open water swimming with my brother Ian (the varsity swimmer), mostly extreme for me because the waves were probably 40-50cm high.
-My knee has been seizing up and causing me a ridiculous amount of pain, so I had to cut back on my running to counter that issue. More biking and swimming to make up for that.
- This past week I have been in my school getting set up in my new office because I don't have a classroom, which I am very happy about!
- Not so happy to find out that my teaching assignment is literally to split grades the whole week. Get this I am teaching science (in french) to : a 2/3split, a 3/4 split, a 4/5 split and a 5/6 split. Yay me!~
But once I got my head around the copious amounts of science units I need to know (20 in total), at least only 5 at a time :) ha ha I got kind of excited because I get to teach the fun stuff. You know the outdoor lessons, the experiments, the field trips, the scientist/dorky stuff! And because I'm me, I'm starting with the units that I love the most, plants, ecosystems, habits and human body. I am going to have a blast this term. I selfishly choose these units because they are by far way up my alley and they will allow me to gain my teaching confidence back. Geeze it's been almost 5 years since I worked in a school.
- Topic change! I just made a butternut squash soup (squash, a few stalks of celery, 1 onion, 1 large carrot, a sweet potato and a handful of garden herbs -thyme, savory and sage) and the coup de resistance was that I added some coconut oil to it and some cremed coconut at the end, just a tbsp or so. And WOW! sooooo creamy and good!
-Topic change AGAIN! My big race! The culminating event of my entire summer's worth of training....was this Sunday and it wasn't what I was prepared for or anticipated. At all. The evening before the event they sent out an email telling us that we couldn't swim in the water due to bacteria levels, so they were changing the triathlon to a duathlon. So that meant I would run 2.5k, bike 20k then run another 5k. I was really upset when I found this out because I am a strong swimmer and between swimming and my fast biking I would have a good enough advantage to possibly place. The other thing that I found out was that most super fast runners are terrible swimmers (grrr) so I lost my advantage while the runners gained theirs. The day was hot (in the 30s) and it was a bit windy (not too bad). All in all I did ok. I placced 7th, the bike portion was amazing. I was flying and feeling really good. The first run part was awful, I felt like garbage, and the transition from run to bike was really sloppy (since I had never done it before). And the second run was better than the first, in fact I think I got negative splits (go figure, I gues it takes my body a while to get used to the idea of running).. Anyway, Mark and the kids tried to cheer me but they missed most of it because they didn't have an attention span long enough to stay in one spot. They saw me off. and that was about it. They missed the finish because I arrived before the mc was even calling out ppls names... ( I guess that was a good sign). But I now know that duathlon is not for me, 7th out of 49 I think. The other thing I figure is if I had done the shorter distance, based on my times from the last tri/and yesterdays times I would have come in either 2nd or 3rd! So all in all not a bad race day!
So that pretty much sums it up. My first day of work in 5 years starts tomorrow, Mark is home full time with the kids (the two that aren't in school full time) and I will be getting back into some type of gym routine again! With the addition of swimming, spinning and running at least once a week. OH that reminds me, my knee is much better since a week ago someone pointed out to me that runner's are in fact supposed to land on the balls of their feet NOT their heals... like I was. Duh I wonder if that was causing my knee pain. Well I worked on that and didn't feel a single twinge during my run on Sunday.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Appreciation.... Motivation...Inspiration
I finished my race! sigh... I finished it, but it was just the first step on my journey. I'll get to that later in the post though. First and foremost I want to say a huge and resounding THANK YOU!!!! To everyone that supported me and cheered me on, and sent me special little surprises in the mail. (you know who you are) I can't beleive how many people are behind me on this goal. Unbelievable, you know... you don't need to be an Olympic athlete to feel the love and support, I felt it! Folks I didn't even know were cheering me on at the race, me (not the person behind me) but ME! How cool is that, strangers cheering me on! And all of you who sent me support via fb or in person, I used it, it drove me! I was racing for all of you!
Tonight I was chatting with a friend about motivation to exercise (she is pregnant and still given'er at the gym - can I hear a "woot woot"), and I think neither one of us actually wanted to come out and say it but we do it to inspire and we use that positive energy for ourselves, to drive us! Does that make sense? At first when I was working out the idea of motivating others, to motivate myself, I thought it made me sound full of myself, or full of pride... But that's not the case. I am fueling myself on the positive energy that I put out! And others are also benefiting. Either way it's a win-win. I keep going full tilt knowing that people are looking to me as an inspiration, but it's not stressful because I can go full tilt knowing everyone has my back with their love and support. Sheesh this is confusing, does it make sense to you?
Here is an example of when I was pregnant how I was driven by everyone's compliments: complete strangers would come up to me and give me sincere props for working out at the gym being massively pregnant, this made me feel good, so I would go back the next time. (I'm kind of an endorphin junky as well but anyway...) My close friends would "oohh and aaahh" at my strength and stamina, so I kind of used that as fuel/positive energy to get me through the tough stuff, knowing that I was also setting an example that "if I can do it, so can you!" But it's the feedback that felt really good, because fellow gym-bums would tell me how I inspired them to do more. Probably some type of positive feedback loop stuff (out of my realm of phych knowledge).
So back to appreciation, I want to show you a picture of what I keep in my kitchen in my most used cupboard (spices and tea)... These are little messages of inspiration that friends and family have given me over the last little while. (Not included are obviously all the emails and msg from family and friends),,, I should print them though!
Now onto the race. I did amazing (I'm waiting for the pictures from the race photographers) but here are a few silly shots from the transition area.
I didn't wear the purple MIM (Mommy's in Motion) purple shirt while racing. I just had my tri suit on. I opted for the shorter race, partially because I'm a wimp and was too scared to attempt the unknown with a bigger than usual sprint distance (it was like 3/4 of the Olympic distance), and I wanted to test the waters out on a race that I knew I could accomplish physically. I estimated that I would place something like 7th, based on previous results and my approximate times. But I did much better than that. I placed 4th out of a huge age group (women 30-39) 72 people! I placed 31st over all out of like 300. My swim time was a bit slower than I anticipated (because I didn't know they count the run out of the water to the transition as part of the overall swim time), but my bike time was faster than I had estimated, and the run was in fact a bit faster than I had estimated. I figured I would do a 6min swim/20min bike/15min run/and I figured about 4 minutes in transitions. So my estimation was 45minutes to do the super sprint triathlon. If you care here are the official results.
Place: 31/325
Official chip time: 42:39.7
Category: F30-39
Category place: 4/72
Gender place: 9/203
Swim time: 7:45
Bike: 18:52
Run: 14:01
T1 (first transition, swim to bike): 1:13
T2 (second, bike to run): 0:51
Just for interest sake, I studied the top athletes and my transition times are very much within the range of top 10 (overall), and in fact my bike time would have placed me 13th! (cool- yay to super fast new bike)! Anyway I'm sure I've lost some of you to all these stats, but I care because in 3 weeks I will be doubling my distance at the Women's Milton Triathlon. And I want a shot at some hardware! Or at least a good time with a good story! I will be training really hard for the next 2 weeks. Yesterday was my triathlon and today I already went out to train and did a 7k run. (I noticed my right knee is getting sharp pain so I will investigate strengthening my gluts to support my knee). Tomorrow is my hot yoga in the AM and 2 hour Tri-practise with MIM (Mommy's in Motion/Babe's in Motion) group.
So please keep sending me your love because sometimes I need it! Some days I don't want to train, but knowing that I've got all of you sending your positive energy and motivation, it is what inspires me to push out of my "comfort zone" and go full tilt. I am blessed to have the opportunity to train, I have an amazing husband who takes care of the kids, so when I leave the house with either my bike, running shoes or bathing suit (or all of the above) I work hard knowing that my time is precious! I appreciate so much what everyone has done so far! And I hope in turn I can motivate you, through my journey (mom of 4, returning to work after being home for 5 years with the kids) and my story!
Thank you!!!
Tonight I was chatting with a friend about motivation to exercise (she is pregnant and still given'er at the gym - can I hear a "woot woot"), and I think neither one of us actually wanted to come out and say it but we do it to inspire and we use that positive energy for ourselves, to drive us! Does that make sense? At first when I was working out the idea of motivating others, to motivate myself, I thought it made me sound full of myself, or full of pride... But that's not the case. I am fueling myself on the positive energy that I put out! And others are also benefiting. Either way it's a win-win. I keep going full tilt knowing that people are looking to me as an inspiration, but it's not stressful because I can go full tilt knowing everyone has my back with their love and support. Sheesh this is confusing, does it make sense to you?
Here is an example of when I was pregnant how I was driven by everyone's compliments: complete strangers would come up to me and give me sincere props for working out at the gym being massively pregnant, this made me feel good, so I would go back the next time. (I'm kind of an endorphin junky as well but anyway...) My close friends would "oohh and aaahh" at my strength and stamina, so I kind of used that as fuel/positive energy to get me through the tough stuff, knowing that I was also setting an example that "if I can do it, so can you!" But it's the feedback that felt really good, because fellow gym-bums would tell me how I inspired them to do more. Probably some type of positive feedback loop stuff (out of my realm of phych knowledge).
So back to appreciation, I want to show you a picture of what I keep in my kitchen in my most used cupboard (spices and tea)... These are little messages of inspiration that friends and family have given me over the last little while. (Not included are obviously all the emails and msg from family and friends),,, I should print them though!
Place: 31/325
Official chip time: 42:39.7
Category: F30-39
Category place: 4/72
Gender place: 9/203
Swim time: 7:45
Bike: 18:52
Run: 14:01
T1 (first transition, swim to bike): 1:13
T2 (second, bike to run): 0:51
So please keep sending me your love because sometimes I need it! Some days I don't want to train, but knowing that I've got all of you sending your positive energy and motivation, it is what inspires me to push out of my "comfort zone" and go full tilt. I am blessed to have the opportunity to train, I have an amazing husband who takes care of the kids, so when I leave the house with either my bike, running shoes or bathing suit (or all of the above) I work hard knowing that my time is precious! I appreciate so much what everyone has done so far! And I hope in turn I can motivate you, through my journey (mom of 4, returning to work after being home for 5 years with the kids) and my story!
Thank you!!!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Triathlon in T-2 days!
Hear me out now... Fair warning... This is a bit of stream of thought... Well yesterday I got reprimanded by both my husband and our marriage counselor about being to hard on myself and setting unrealistic goals. She told me I had to change my attitude before my triathlon or it would be a complete flop! Blah :p What's the point of applying yourself to something this time consuming and not set high goals?
Ok so maybe I looked at the results posted from last year! So? I just wanted to know what type of competition I'm up against? Nothing wrong with that right? And so what if I noticed I'm in the top 3 for swim/bike but my run I drop down to 7th or 8th. Did I mention I hate running and will only do it fast to end it sooner! (eyup great attitude I know)... I'm kind of annoyed with myself for not being able to run faster.
Yaaaa so perhaps the counselor and Mark have a point! I should celebrate the fact that I am actually doing a triathlon (please note I am not doing an Olympic distance race this Sunday, only a 1/4 of the real thing). My next one will be 1/2 the Olympic distance. Anyway I actually find it really really hard not to be hard on myself? Is that a type A thing? I also feel that since I've spent so much time away from my family and had to rely on Mark to pick up the extra slack that I want to "show" them that it was worth it. You know... that their toil wasn't in vain! I've been struggling with feeling guilty about doing this triathlon... and wanting to do it again next year. In fact I've got my heart set on looking for sponsors in late fall... Because the costs are so high and I don't want it to burden my family any more. But again more stress... I want to have a good "story" to sell right?
"Mom of 4 does her first ever triathlon and takes home hardware!!!!" How super awesome would that be! Mom of 4 does her first ever triathlon and places 7th...just doesn't have the same... You know "Omph" to it! Again I think I'm being hard on myself, but truly I want to rock this so that it's been worth all the effort, I want to rock this so that I can have an awesome story so that I can have some free equipment... I am totally fine being a walking advertisement for a company if it means I didn't have to spend the 60$-100$ on the bike jersey or shorts!
So here I am 2 days before the race, today I got in the pool and timed some of my splits! I am happy with the pace that I was swimming and the times I was making. Tomorrow I have a massage/ART (active release techniques) and I'm bringing my bike for a pre-race tune up! Saturday I plan on just chilling and getting lots of sleep and eating lots of healthy food. (well actually I've been eating super healthy food all week, plus added an iron supplement and cut out caffeine). My plan is to have a kick ass strong yerba mate tea a half hour before my race and hopefully enjoy the benefits! Ok I won't lie to you, it has sucked not having caffeine, for 2 days now I've been dealing with headaches, but I think tomorrow will be better. Wow that stuff is addictive! But I don't think I'll give it up, just try to minimize it near races dates!
Ok rant complete! I just felt like I had to share my stress with everyone! And I feel better now!
Thank you!!!
Ok so maybe I looked at the results posted from last year! So? I just wanted to know what type of competition I'm up against? Nothing wrong with that right? And so what if I noticed I'm in the top 3 for swim/bike but my run I drop down to 7th or 8th. Did I mention I hate running and will only do it fast to end it sooner! (eyup great attitude I know)... I'm kind of annoyed with myself for not being able to run faster.
Yaaaa so perhaps the counselor and Mark have a point! I should celebrate the fact that I am actually doing a triathlon (please note I am not doing an Olympic distance race this Sunday, only a 1/4 of the real thing). My next one will be 1/2 the Olympic distance. Anyway I actually find it really really hard not to be hard on myself? Is that a type A thing? I also feel that since I've spent so much time away from my family and had to rely on Mark to pick up the extra slack that I want to "show" them that it was worth it. You know... that their toil wasn't in vain! I've been struggling with feeling guilty about doing this triathlon... and wanting to do it again next year. In fact I've got my heart set on looking for sponsors in late fall... Because the costs are so high and I don't want it to burden my family any more. But again more stress... I want to have a good "story" to sell right?
"Mom of 4 does her first ever triathlon and takes home hardware!!!!" How super awesome would that be! Mom of 4 does her first ever triathlon and places 7th...just doesn't have the same... You know "Omph" to it! Again I think I'm being hard on myself, but truly I want to rock this so that it's been worth all the effort, I want to rock this so that I can have an awesome story so that I can have some free equipment... I am totally fine being a walking advertisement for a company if it means I didn't have to spend the 60$-100$ on the bike jersey or shorts!
So here I am 2 days before the race, today I got in the pool and timed some of my splits! I am happy with the pace that I was swimming and the times I was making. Tomorrow I have a massage/ART (active release techniques) and I'm bringing my bike for a pre-race tune up! Saturday I plan on just chilling and getting lots of sleep and eating lots of healthy food. (well actually I've been eating super healthy food all week, plus added an iron supplement and cut out caffeine). My plan is to have a kick ass strong yerba mate tea a half hour before my race and hopefully enjoy the benefits! Ok I won't lie to you, it has sucked not having caffeine, for 2 days now I've been dealing with headaches, but I think tomorrow will be better. Wow that stuff is addictive! But I don't think I'll give it up, just try to minimize it near races dates!
Ok rant complete! I just felt like I had to share my stress with everyone! And I feel better now!
Thank you!!!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Scattered Thoughts...
I am overwhelmed by the thoughts floating around my head these days. They are all bound and wound up together so I'm just going to put them on here and hopefully clear up some space! Sheesh.
Here are the random words floating around my head...
transitions....50 shades of hotness...cooler 1... argh... kids who don't fall asleep...tea...(oops, very strong tea now... it's been steeping for 10mins)...running shoes...GF beer (New Grist)...missing popcorn...cravings...shoes on or off...running in the rain...laundry (wet)...peaches...weight gain...
Here is the stream of thoughs... in real time!
I can't beleive so many women are reading the 50 Shades trilogy, is it every hot and totally educational. I mean I've read erotica but this is like hello Twilight meets Clan of the Cave Bear (by Jean Auel) with a spinkle of Anne Rice (her Sleeping Beauty trilogy). By the way when you read on an ebook, teehee no one knows what you are reading :) And insert baby crying again.... ohhh god who just made the 3 year old wake up crying.... who also doesn't want to sleep! Arrggg ever! It's like he has ants in his pants... He is twitchy at bedtime??? I mean I swear the other two kids didn't give us that hard of a time falling asleep. And yes we are doing everything to help. His room is like a cavern of darkness, no toys in the room, no tv before bed, he's been playing and running lots during the day. O... that wasn't bad they are now quiet. But in the brief silence I'm reminded of my trip this morning to Exhibition place in Toronto to watch the Toronto Triathlon. While I was waiting for the train, I could hear the birds chirping.... the birds! That is silence my friends! No screaming excited children, by the way I am actually looking forward to the end of summer vacation (3 weeks home with the 4 kids is long enough for me... I'm just saying)... Ah right back to the silence, I beleive I texted Mark something like "basking in the sweet silence".
So now onto the triathlon, before today I was really nervous. In all honesty I have never even watched a triathlon on tv. All I knew is that it involves 3 events with 2 transitions between each of these. But now I feel pretty confident. My first triathlon is Aug 12, something like 3 weeks away! I'm ready for it! Mostly because I've decided to do the shorter distance. Then the next one is Sept 2nd and it will be the sprint distance, which is 1/2 the Olympic distance. I was paying close attention to how the swimmers "look" in the water, are they kicking each other in the face, where would be the best place to position myself (either I swim fast and make it up front) or go on the outside of the group (that way I can pass as I want). Anyway then I watched them as they got out of the water (no one fell over!) I've gotten dizzy when I get out the pool too fast and start to run. They know where their bikes are, obviously they paid attention to the row and such when they were setting up. There were something like 1200 participant so that many bikes in the transition area... Could be confusing. Anyhow, I did observe many different methods of transitioning. Some people didn't have to do much, they were swimming in their tri-suits (no wetsuits) so they just took off their cap, while running to their bikes. Put on their helmets (some put on socks), and off they were. Some of these super fast athletes already had their shoes clipped into the peddles, other people ran in their bike shoes, some people ran barefoot up to the start. I think I'll run in my shoes. Even though it sucks to do that, better than falling on my butt trying to put my feet into my bike shoes as I'm peddling! Ok so that's transition #1, the second transition is from bike to run. Again I watched many different dismounts, shoes, no shoes...etc... I think if I will have enough time I will try to take the straps off my shoes while I'm biking (I've tried with success), peddle with my feet on top of the still clipped in bike shoes, then just jump off my bike before the LINE. This is a penalty line, at this triathlon if you missed the line you had to sit out for a 2 minute penalty. I thought that was funny! But anyway. Get to the bike rack to rack up my bike, take off my helmet and put on my running shoes. Which by the way I still don't have yet! I need shoes! So many options to choose from.
Next stream... food... drinks... ahhh beer. You know since going gluten free I haven't been able to drink beer. I've been drinking apple cider. Which is delicious with ice on a hot day. But that is the problem, I'm usually so good about keeping my diet really clean. But now I've been drinking a few "cold beverages" every couple of days. And when I do that I then get the munchies for my favorite -junk food- popcorn (smart food)... stupid name, it is not smart... it is absolutely terrible for me. Mostly because I always have like 5 cups at a time. Something like 900 mg sodium and 25g of fat. As I re-read this paragraph I realized I know why I'm drinking so much more, I'm spending all day with my kids and when I'm not with them I'm training (or doing yoga). I'm so wound up tight that the booze helps me chill out and enjoy the season. And then I found New Grist, a GF beer that is made with rice and sorghum (i think a grain?), it is sooo good! But again, not for me. I've consciously tried to tighten the belt with processed foods (or anything with refined grains in general). ps. I just checked wiki and sorghum is used for sugar. Ahhhh sugar! Evil sugar... It lurks everywhere! So here's the thing I can live without almost no refined sugar, very little salt (mind you I do have electrolyte drinks) but cooler 1 is so strict when it comes to fruit. And tis the season of the most amazing fruit/berries. Strawberries/blueberries/raspberries and peaches! ohhh the peaches are amazing right now! Our house is on our 3rd basket of peaches this week! I know fruit has tons of sugar, granted with a lower glycemic index than refined sugar. But how to say no to seasonal fruit??? Well I wonder if part of my weight problem, not that it's a really big problem, but the scale is very slowly climbing up. I'm up 4 lbs in 2 months. Is it the different training, the massive water retention because it's hot (my clothes generally feel the same), my friends have said I'm looking beefier?? (I know that's weird even for me to write it), or lets be brutally honest... Booze + smart food = weight gain??
Is this post too long? Ya I think so too! I should post more often! I'll get on that.
Cheers
ps. space significantly cleaned up!
Here are the random words floating around my head...
transitions....50 shades of hotness...cooler 1... argh... kids who don't fall asleep...tea...(oops, very strong tea now... it's been steeping for 10mins)...running shoes...GF beer (New Grist)...missing popcorn...cravings...shoes on or off...running in the rain...laundry (wet)...peaches...weight gain...
Here is the stream of thoughs... in real time!
I can't beleive so many women are reading the 50 Shades trilogy, is it every hot and totally educational. I mean I've read erotica but this is like hello Twilight meets Clan of the Cave Bear (by Jean Auel) with a spinkle of Anne Rice (her Sleeping Beauty trilogy). By the way when you read on an ebook, teehee no one knows what you are reading :) And insert baby crying again.... ohhh god who just made the 3 year old wake up crying.... who also doesn't want to sleep! Arrggg ever! It's like he has ants in his pants... He is twitchy at bedtime??? I mean I swear the other two kids didn't give us that hard of a time falling asleep. And yes we are doing everything to help. His room is like a cavern of darkness, no toys in the room, no tv before bed, he's been playing and running lots during the day. O... that wasn't bad they are now quiet. But in the brief silence I'm reminded of my trip this morning to Exhibition place in Toronto to watch the Toronto Triathlon. While I was waiting for the train, I could hear the birds chirping.... the birds! That is silence my friends! No screaming excited children, by the way I am actually looking forward to the end of summer vacation (3 weeks home with the 4 kids is long enough for me... I'm just saying)... Ah right back to the silence, I beleive I texted Mark something like "basking in the sweet silence".
So now onto the triathlon, before today I was really nervous. In all honesty I have never even watched a triathlon on tv. All I knew is that it involves 3 events with 2 transitions between each of these. But now I feel pretty confident. My first triathlon is Aug 12, something like 3 weeks away! I'm ready for it! Mostly because I've decided to do the shorter distance. Then the next one is Sept 2nd and it will be the sprint distance, which is 1/2 the Olympic distance. I was paying close attention to how the swimmers "look" in the water, are they kicking each other in the face, where would be the best place to position myself (either I swim fast and make it up front) or go on the outside of the group (that way I can pass as I want). Anyway then I watched them as they got out of the water (no one fell over!) I've gotten dizzy when I get out the pool too fast and start to run. They know where their bikes are, obviously they paid attention to the row and such when they were setting up. There were something like 1200 participant so that many bikes in the transition area... Could be confusing. Anyhow, I did observe many different methods of transitioning. Some people didn't have to do much, they were swimming in their tri-suits (no wetsuits) so they just took off their cap, while running to their bikes. Put on their helmets (some put on socks), and off they were. Some of these super fast athletes already had their shoes clipped into the peddles, other people ran in their bike shoes, some people ran barefoot up to the start. I think I'll run in my shoes. Even though it sucks to do that, better than falling on my butt trying to put my feet into my bike shoes as I'm peddling! Ok so that's transition #1, the second transition is from bike to run. Again I watched many different dismounts, shoes, no shoes...etc... I think if I will have enough time I will try to take the straps off my shoes while I'm biking (I've tried with success), peddle with my feet on top of the still clipped in bike shoes, then just jump off my bike before the LINE. This is a penalty line, at this triathlon if you missed the line you had to sit out for a 2 minute penalty. I thought that was funny! But anyway. Get to the bike rack to rack up my bike, take off my helmet and put on my running shoes. Which by the way I still don't have yet! I need shoes! So many options to choose from.
Next stream... food... drinks... ahhh beer. You know since going gluten free I haven't been able to drink beer. I've been drinking apple cider. Which is delicious with ice on a hot day. But that is the problem, I'm usually so good about keeping my diet really clean. But now I've been drinking a few "cold beverages" every couple of days. And when I do that I then get the munchies for my favorite -junk food- popcorn (smart food)... stupid name, it is not smart... it is absolutely terrible for me. Mostly because I always have like 5 cups at a time. Something like 900 mg sodium and 25g of fat. As I re-read this paragraph I realized I know why I'm drinking so much more, I'm spending all day with my kids and when I'm not with them I'm training (or doing yoga). I'm so wound up tight that the booze helps me chill out and enjoy the season. And then I found New Grist, a GF beer that is made with rice and sorghum (i think a grain?), it is sooo good! But again, not for me. I've consciously tried to tighten the belt with processed foods (or anything with refined grains in general). ps. I just checked wiki and sorghum is used for sugar. Ahhhh sugar! Evil sugar... It lurks everywhere! So here's the thing I can live without almost no refined sugar, very little salt (mind you I do have electrolyte drinks) but cooler 1 is so strict when it comes to fruit. And tis the season of the most amazing fruit/berries. Strawberries/blueberries/raspberries and peaches! ohhh the peaches are amazing right now! Our house is on our 3rd basket of peaches this week! I know fruit has tons of sugar, granted with a lower glycemic index than refined sugar. But how to say no to seasonal fruit??? Well I wonder if part of my weight problem, not that it's a really big problem, but the scale is very slowly climbing up. I'm up 4 lbs in 2 months. Is it the different training, the massive water retention because it's hot (my clothes generally feel the same), my friends have said I'm looking beefier?? (I know that's weird even for me to write it), or lets be brutally honest... Booze + smart food = weight gain??
Is this post too long? Ya I think so too! I should post more often! I'll get on that.
Cheers
ps. space significantly cleaned up!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Tri-training Update!
I realize it's been a while since updating everyone on my triathlon training. Today is a good day to update you since I did the equivalent of a sprint tri this morning. It was great! Ohhhh and I'm not sure if I told you either but I got a new bike (well used) but still nearly new. It still had the stickers on it. I got it for 880$ (which is a shit load of money, I know!) But since I'm going back to work in September I used that leverage to get a real road bike. I love it! It's a 2008 Trek Pilot 2.1... which basically means it's about 15lbs lighter than my old road bike! I've learned so much since starting this venture, words like carbon forks and seat stays. Which my new bike has. The bike weights 18lbs... hee hee! So awesome... anyway I digress...
Today I started off suiting up in my new tri-suit. (pretty much the cheapest one I could find) 90$. From Foot Tools They did a great job, I only had 120$ left after my bike purchase and they did what they could for me! I got a discount because I am part of the Mommy's in Motion group! So suit and a pack of socks (you know fancy shmancy running/biking socks) not cotton!
Sports bra (that is not cotton)... I wasn't paying much attention to the seminar on sports bars but I did remember the comment don't run in anything cotton! Those are my bike shoes which I got for stupid cheat at least, 1$ at the Mountain Coop Bikefest earlier this year, the clips were on another pair of shoes that I bought for 5$. Normally these things are about 75$+15$. Are you keeping track... I did not exactly pick the cheapest sport to get into. Anyway, got on my bike...
Packed my camel bag (a water bag to put my few things in and lots of water). It was hot today around 37C so I had about 2L of water on me. I rode to the outdoor pool and brought my bike right on deck (they were nice about that, because I didn't want to bring a bike lock).
I swam 800m pretty fast (well fast for me) in about 13mins, then got out, ripped off my cap and goggles, stuffed them in my pack, put on my shoes and helmet and off I went. It was actually the first time I swam in the tri suit, it wasn't that bad actually! It's a nice snug fit so nothing was dragging. Good investment for now, I do not plan on wearing a wet suit, so I should save some time on my transitions, going from lake to bike with only this suit on!
On my bike I did a nice loop around Burlington doing around 28km, I added a nuun
(electrolyte supplement) to my water bottle on my bike so that helped. I ended up at my house, scarfed a larabar, put on my running shoes, drank more water and went out for a 5K run. To be honest this was the leg that I was dreading, the bike was awesome, the water on my skin kept me cool at first, (I didn't dry off, no room for a towel) then the nice wind kept me going. The scenery changing was wonderful, biking on Lakeshore for about 8km then going up North and doing the same on quiet roads with rolling hills.
The run, is tough. There is a reason why we do brick workouts in training. It is because you are doing these perfect circles with your legs on your bike for a long ride and then suddenly you are off and stumbling into a running gait. Not so easy. (You feel like you are running with bricks in your shoes) At least I didn't fall! I've realized the key is to take a few really short steps until you feel like you can actually run! Anyway... I did it! Swim/Bike/Run
Sports bra (that is not cotton)... I wasn't paying much attention to the seminar on sports bars but I did remember the comment don't run in anything cotton! Those are my bike shoes which I got for stupid cheat at least, 1$ at the Mountain Coop Bikefest earlier this year, the clips were on another pair of shoes that I bought for 5$. Normally these things are about 75$+15$. Are you keeping track... I did not exactly pick the cheapest sport to get into. Anyway, got on my bike...
 |
| My swimming pass (for lap swimming) at all Burlington pools was 70$ for the summer months. |
The run, is tough. There is a reason why we do brick workouts in training. It is because you are doing these perfect circles with your legs on your bike for a long ride and then suddenly you are off and stumbling into a running gait. Not so easy. (You feel like you are running with bricks in your shoes) At least I didn't fall! I've realized the key is to take a few really short steps until you feel like you can actually run! Anyway... I did it! Swim/Bike/Run
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
A mid week training rant.
I had this great plan to blog about how I'm learning to run and how cool it is. But it's 10pm on Tuesday night, I just finished nursing the baby and cleaning the kitchen after doing my tri-training. Tonight we did a 15K bike followed by a 5K run (option to do half that distance). This morning I did a yoga class and last night I ran on the track, timing my splits. Well actually Mark was timing my splits for a 5K while the kids either ran around the track themselves or played on the near by park. So that was a very long winded reason why I'm not going to blog about running. I am dead on my feet, my eye lids are randomly dropping even as I type this. This Sunday I am running my first race of the season, the Canada Day 5K! I don't think I'll be doing much more running till then, not sure if that's the right training thing to do, but I will call it a "taper". I'll swim tomorrow and do yoga on Thursday! Rest Friday and then bike/easy run on Saturday morning. That is the plan! Wish me luck.
ps. tonight for my pre-workout snack I made a smoothy with protein powder, oatmeal, coconut flour, frozen berries and soy milk! It was perfect, not to heavy but definitely fueled the workout!
ps. tonight for my pre-workout snack I made a smoothy with protein powder, oatmeal, coconut flour, frozen berries and soy milk! It was perfect, not to heavy but definitely fueled the workout!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Triathlon training con't: step 4
Just to review steps 1-3 were,1- find a group to train with, because everything is always better in a social group, 2- find a bike (preferably a road bike, but doesn't have to be) and 3- get in the water and swim. Today I'll be addressing learning to ride a bike! Disclaimer: I am not a certified tri coach (obviously) so don't take my word as the law, at one point in my life I was a competitive swim coach, but that doesn't mean I know how to train for a triathlon! So moving along...
Step 4: Learning to ride a road bike. I guess because I had no idea what I was getting myself into, so NO preconceived notions of the difficulties in riding a road bike (really stupid of me, btw) I just bought a road bike, got the peddles changed, put on my spin shoes (the ones I had been using at Goodlife to do the RPM -aka spin classes) and got on the bike, tried to clip in annnnddd FELL! Soooo not the romantic start to my biking career that I had envisioned. Then I decided to back up a few steps, again I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before falling, but this time I got Mark to adjust the seat. From what I understand when positioning a bike (again from my RPM days) is that you want your leg that is pushing the peddle all the way down - while you are sitting- to be almost straight, and when your foot is up at the top, there should be a like a plumb line running from your knee joint down to your ankle. Disclaimer: I don't know if this is in fact the true measurement for a road bike, but it is for a spin bike. Now this time I took it for a spin around the block using my running shoes! Much better idea. I literally went around my block 10 times, playing with different handle bar positions, learning to change my gears.
Ohhhh the gears!!!! stupid gears! I was totally spoiled on my hybrid bike, because all you had to do was turn a little dial and voila! gears changed, nice and smooth. Well not so much on a 25 year old road bike. I have these two levers between my handle bars, and they like to stick, and make noise and they do not like me very much! so that aside, I rode in circles until I felt confident on my new seat position and bent-over-arms-reaching position. Then I put my spin shoes on (they have a little metal thingy on the bottom). I sat on the bike, holding onto the van door and just practised clipping in and out. I've done it a bit in the past on a stationary spin bike, you have to torque your heal outwards to unclip. However again spin bike..., stationary... road bike... being held upright by two tiny wheels and MY BALANCE!
Now I was ready to take my bad boy (because it's steel and blue) out for real test ride with shoes and clips. I was smart and did take off and practise getting in and out on our front lawn, then I just got on the road and went around the block another million times. In terms of speed I didn't notice a huge change. And I do remember seeing road bikers pull up the the curb to unclip so they keep one foot in and balance on the unclipped side, so I practised doing that!
Fast forward a few days and I am not setting out for my first "big" ride, something far from home! My plan is to ride to Mountain Equipment Coop because it's has a bike shop and they are open till 9PM. So shoes on - check, helmet on- check, water,phone and credit card in camel pack - check, cute lululemon shorts- check, MEC long sleeve moisture wick shirt on- check, black fleece overtop- check... I take off... On back roads to get to Brant street. Now little did I know how steep the freakin incline is on Brant street (here in Burlington), I've always been in a car! What a shock! My bike speedometer/computer was clocking me going nearly 50kms an hour!!! (ok really 47km and hour) but still. Holly cow! I was fn petrified I was going to die, seriously seriously scared. I did push my breaks a bit, but then I got scared they wouldn't work properly (which was why I was heading to MEC in the first place to get a tune up). So I did the only thing I could think of... flex my abbs like I was going to die... I just locked everything in, had a death grip on the handle bars, and hoped to GOD I wouldn't hit some grate in the road or something else. And finally I made it to the store! In one piece! So by now it's about 8:20, not dark out but overcast and rainy. I got them to look at my bike and do a half tune up on the spot (because for a real tune up, they would have kept my bike for a couple of days). Since I was at MEC anyway, I decided to buy a pair of bike shorts (because even that short 10K to mec- downhill) was enough to convince me of their value. Another thought that occurred to me was the fact that I didn't want to get hit by a car, so I looked for the brightest vest they had (I could have worn one of those orange targets - you know the crossing guard ones- but couldn't bring myself to the dorkyness factor of that) so settled on a really bring yellow one! Good heaven's, I bought the cheapest shorts and vest and the cost was almost as much as I paid for my bike!
Anyway, now I am the proud owner of some swanky bike clothes, a steel bike (aka... really heavy), and shoes and clips. As a side note, last weekend was Bikefest at Spencer smith park held my MEC so they were getting rid of bunch of second hand clothes and equipment,(you know returns and such that they didn't want to store anymore) and I totally scored a stupid amount of amazing gear for next to nothing. Got my bike peddles for 1$ (a 50$ value) just to give you an example. My camel pack was a prize won my my super awesome daughter for a bike runner race they had! Note to self!!! must return next year for Bikefest to stock up again!
Tuesday night was our first "official" practise for the tri-club. It was a 15KM hills ride and a 2.5K run. Apparently this type of workout is called a Brick workout, because after biking your legs feel like bricks! And as I mentioned before I didn't really notice the difference the bike shoes made, until this practise! They were sooo useful on the hills because they make the "up-stroke" so much easier. I was passing people going uphill on mountain bikes! And I'm not a very good cyclist remember I just learned to ride! But the clips made all the difference, and on the way back to the track, I continued focusing on the "up" motion of my feet and wow again a huge difference in speed! So much more power to be had. Everyone can push down that's the easy part, but now add in the element of pulling up and pushing down = magic. And I also had to force myself to shift down and stay sitting while going uphill. This was new because I like to muscle my way through stuff, but as Coach Nancy said "triathlon training is different because we are doing 3 consecutive races, we need to focus on saving our legs! So gear down down and increase your pedal speed while climbing a hill". (I think that the right way, still not sure of the lingo yet, gear so it's easier to pedal going up hill, and more difficult to pedal going down)
Step 4: Learning to ride a road bike. I guess because I had no idea what I was getting myself into, so NO preconceived notions of the difficulties in riding a road bike (really stupid of me, btw) I just bought a road bike, got the peddles changed, put on my spin shoes (the ones I had been using at Goodlife to do the RPM -aka spin classes) and got on the bike, tried to clip in annnnddd FELL! Soooo not the romantic start to my biking career that I had envisioned. Then I decided to back up a few steps, again I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before falling, but this time I got Mark to adjust the seat. From what I understand when positioning a bike (again from my RPM days) is that you want your leg that is pushing the peddle all the way down - while you are sitting- to be almost straight, and when your foot is up at the top, there should be a like a plumb line running from your knee joint down to your ankle. Disclaimer: I don't know if this is in fact the true measurement for a road bike, but it is for a spin bike. Now this time I took it for a spin around the block using my running shoes! Much better idea. I literally went around my block 10 times, playing with different handle bar positions, learning to change my gears.
 |
| 120$ for 25 year old steel road bike! Needed new inner tubes and tires! |
Ohhhh the gears!!!! stupid gears! I was totally spoiled on my hybrid bike, because all you had to do was turn a little dial and voila! gears changed, nice and smooth. Well not so much on a 25 year old road bike. I have these two levers between my handle bars, and they like to stick, and make noise and they do not like me very much! so that aside, I rode in circles until I felt confident on my new seat position and bent-over-arms-reaching position. Then I put my spin shoes on (they have a little metal thingy on the bottom). I sat on the bike, holding onto the van door and just practised clipping in and out. I've done it a bit in the past on a stationary spin bike, you have to torque your heal outwards to unclip. However again spin bike..., stationary... road bike... being held upright by two tiny wheels and MY BALANCE!
 |
| Gear shifters! I am not a fan! But can't complain for such a cheap bike! |
 |
| My 2 year old spin shoes that miraculously fit in the pedals I got at Bikefest for 1$ |
 |
| Took the old pedals off and put these on, you can still ride with running shoes too! |
Now I was ready to take my bad boy (because it's steel and blue) out for real test ride with shoes and clips. I was smart and did take off and practise getting in and out on our front lawn, then I just got on the road and went around the block another million times. In terms of speed I didn't notice a huge change. And I do remember seeing road bikers pull up the the curb to unclip so they keep one foot in and balance on the unclipped side, so I practised doing that!
Fast forward a few days and I am not setting out for my first "big" ride, something far from home! My plan is to ride to Mountain Equipment Coop because it's has a bike shop and they are open till 9PM. So shoes on - check, helmet on- check, water,phone and credit card in camel pack - check, cute lululemon shorts- check, MEC long sleeve moisture wick shirt on- check, black fleece overtop- check... I take off... On back roads to get to Brant street. Now little did I know how steep the freakin incline is on Brant street (here in Burlington), I've always been in a car! What a shock! My bike speedometer/computer was clocking me going nearly 50kms an hour!!! (ok really 47km and hour) but still. Holly cow! I was fn petrified I was going to die, seriously seriously scared. I did push my breaks a bit, but then I got scared they wouldn't work properly (which was why I was heading to MEC in the first place to get a tune up). So I did the only thing I could think of... flex my abbs like I was going to die... I just locked everything in, had a death grip on the handle bars, and hoped to GOD I wouldn't hit some grate in the road or something else. And finally I made it to the store! In one piece! So by now it's about 8:20, not dark out but overcast and rainy. I got them to look at my bike and do a half tune up on the spot (because for a real tune up, they would have kept my bike for a couple of days). Since I was at MEC anyway, I decided to buy a pair of bike shorts (because even that short 10K to mec- downhill) was enough to convince me of their value. Another thought that occurred to me was the fact that I didn't want to get hit by a car, so I looked for the brightest vest they had (I could have worn one of those orange targets - you know the crossing guard ones- but couldn't bring myself to the dorkyness factor of that) so settled on a really bring yellow one! Good heaven's, I bought the cheapest shorts and vest and the cost was almost as much as I paid for my bike!
Anyway, now I am the proud owner of some swanky bike clothes, a steel bike (aka... really heavy), and shoes and clips. As a side note, last weekend was Bikefest at Spencer smith park held my MEC so they were getting rid of bunch of second hand clothes and equipment,(you know returns and such that they didn't want to store anymore) and I totally scored a stupid amount of amazing gear for next to nothing. Got my bike peddles for 1$ (a 50$ value) just to give you an example. My camel pack was a prize won my my super awesome daughter for a bike runner race they had! Note to self!!! must return next year for Bikefest to stock up again!
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| Holds 2L of water! and it was FREE!!!! thank you MEC |
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| You can't really tell but I swear the yellow actually glows it is so bright in reality. |
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Training for a Tri: Step 1-3 (of many more)
Step 1: Find an awesome group to train with, and even better a group that has a coach! Sigh*** I love coaches, they just make me feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside, like everything is going to be ok! I imagine my affinity to "coach" comes from a decade of competitive swimming. I'm thrilled to share my group with all of you (it's not to late to join, all levels welcome) On facebook look up Mommy's in motion/Babe's in motion and the website is http://secondwindconditioning.ca/. I loved when they introduced themselves and then told us that we would be split up in two groups on the first day of training, groupA - been around before groupB- S (squared) - aka. scared shitless
Step 2: Find a bike (and make sure you have a helmet), and get on that bike... NO FEAR!!!! Ok so realistically I can ride a bike, I know how to use the gears, I know most road signals for turning, and I'm not afraid to bike in the bike lanes on the road, I am however nervous as hell to ride around other people. You know the Tour de France epic crashes, well I get antsy when I'm biking with my 6 year old because she could crash into me. I am also irrationally afraid of "curbs", not the big ones, the ones that are only about 2" high, those are the ones that freak me out because I've fallen off my bike trying to get up on one while I was biking. And now I've just learned about another "potential" hazard... Grates!!! Apparently your road bike tires can get caught in it. So right... No Fearrrr!!!suuurrre...
Step 2.1 Buying a bike. Oh lord, will someone just take my money and find me an appropriate bike, and by money I mean like 150$, which apparently you can only find a "ok" bike if you add another "0" to that number. Sheesh. So let me tell you what I've learned from two days of road bike research and shopping. Bike stores want you to buy "their" bikes, new ones of course. And the base model, or entry level model will be about 800-1000$ (but then you still need shoes and clips), these bikes have lower end parts and the bike is mostly made of aluminum (which is heavier than the carbon frame ones). The better version would be about 400$ more and that will get you better components but still not a lighter frame. When you get into the 2K range then you are looking at a carbon frame (which weighs all of 2-3 lbs less). So for an extra thousand dollars you get a bike that is a few lbs lighter. Wow!
I am not buying a new bike, I've scoured kijiji and pinkbike to find something more in my price range (next to nothing) that will suffice for this summer (and possibly next). Again the range for used is basically 100-750$ (that is for an entry level model). I've managed to locate, a bike that is going for 75$, but I'm not sure the seller will sell to me... Hello Kyle! please rsvp to me...sending out my intrawebnet-tellapathy vibes... He has responded once to my reply to his add, but nothing since. Ugghhh I am so impatient. I have actually checked my email 3 times since starting to write this post. I will let you know as soon as I get an actual road bike, it will be very exciting and interesting!
Step 3: Get in the water, so simple and yet still ridiculous. Today is supposed to be my rest day, but at about 8:50, while I was lying down beside Patrick trying to get him to fall asleep, I remembered someone from the training group mentioned that Tansley Woods Rec centre has lap swimming mon-thur from 8:30-9:30. So what the hell, if I decided something on the spur of the moment, then I don't have time to physch myself out, I jumped out of bed, put on my old training suit, stuffed a towel, some underwear, shampoo and goggles in a bag and ran out of the house. The rec centre is about 5 mins from my house, so I made it there by about 9:03, they didn't charge me but told me I could hop in and swim. COOL! free swimming, I need to remember that! So I just walked on deck, stripped off my pants and sweater, grabbed my googles (my hair was in pig tails because I don't have a cap) as a side note, did you know swim caps melt with age. Seriously gross! I walked up to the 'medium speed' lane, but noticed that the slow lane only had one swimmer, so instead of joining a group of 5 swimmers I had my own lane. The thoughts that raced through my mind as I hopped in, dunked and started up a rhythm of strokes.
1- wow I feel good, this isn't that hard, 2- don't forget to kick, don't just drag your legs and 3- WTF... why is my bathing suit nearly falling off!!!! Like we are talking butt billows here, and I'm sure a few times the girls came out, and I tucked them back in during a flip turn. I need a smaller bathing suit, oh great Mark is going to love the next expense to this venture. A suit that fits is pretty important. Even though I had no physical problems swimming 800m (the sprint tri distance is 750m) I was extremely distracted by my suit being too big. It never really occurred to me when I was putting on my suit that I needs to be tight (really tight) When I've worn it before it was tight, which was 6 years ago. I'm about 40lbs lighter now.
So if nothing else, when you buy yourself a bathing suit make sure when you are trying it on, it feel like you are trying to get into something that is way to small, drag is good for training but not good when you want to "feel" the water.
So these are the first few steps of my journey towards a triathlon.
Step 2: Find a bike (and make sure you have a helmet), and get on that bike... NO FEAR!!!! Ok so realistically I can ride a bike, I know how to use the gears, I know most road signals for turning, and I'm not afraid to bike in the bike lanes on the road, I am however nervous as hell to ride around other people. You know the Tour de France epic crashes, well I get antsy when I'm biking with my 6 year old because she could crash into me. I am also irrationally afraid of "curbs", not the big ones, the ones that are only about 2" high, those are the ones that freak me out because I've fallen off my bike trying to get up on one while I was biking. And now I've just learned about another "potential" hazard... Grates!!! Apparently your road bike tires can get caught in it. So right... No Fearrrr!!!suuurrre...
Step 2.1 Buying a bike. Oh lord, will someone just take my money and find me an appropriate bike, and by money I mean like 150$, which apparently you can only find a "ok" bike if you add another "0" to that number. Sheesh. So let me tell you what I've learned from two days of road bike research and shopping. Bike stores want you to buy "their" bikes, new ones of course. And the base model, or entry level model will be about 800-1000$ (but then you still need shoes and clips), these bikes have lower end parts and the bike is mostly made of aluminum (which is heavier than the carbon frame ones). The better version would be about 400$ more and that will get you better components but still not a lighter frame. When you get into the 2K range then you are looking at a carbon frame (which weighs all of 2-3 lbs less). So for an extra thousand dollars you get a bike that is a few lbs lighter. Wow!
I am not buying a new bike, I've scoured kijiji and pinkbike to find something more in my price range (next to nothing) that will suffice for this summer (and possibly next). Again the range for used is basically 100-750$ (that is for an entry level model). I've managed to locate, a bike that is going for 75$, but I'm not sure the seller will sell to me... Hello Kyle! please rsvp to me...sending out my intrawebnet-tellapathy vibes... He has responded once to my reply to his add, but nothing since. Ugghhh I am so impatient. I have actually checked my email 3 times since starting to write this post. I will let you know as soon as I get an actual road bike, it will be very exciting and interesting!
Step 3: Get in the water, so simple and yet still ridiculous. Today is supposed to be my rest day, but at about 8:50, while I was lying down beside Patrick trying to get him to fall asleep, I remembered someone from the training group mentioned that Tansley Woods Rec centre has lap swimming mon-thur from 8:30-9:30. So what the hell, if I decided something on the spur of the moment, then I don't have time to physch myself out, I jumped out of bed, put on my old training suit, stuffed a towel, some underwear, shampoo and goggles in a bag and ran out of the house. The rec centre is about 5 mins from my house, so I made it there by about 9:03, they didn't charge me but told me I could hop in and swim. COOL! free swimming, I need to remember that! So I just walked on deck, stripped off my pants and sweater, grabbed my googles (my hair was in pig tails because I don't have a cap) as a side note, did you know swim caps melt with age. Seriously gross! I walked up to the 'medium speed' lane, but noticed that the slow lane only had one swimmer, so instead of joining a group of 5 swimmers I had my own lane. The thoughts that raced through my mind as I hopped in, dunked and started up a rhythm of strokes.
1- wow I feel good, this isn't that hard, 2- don't forget to kick, don't just drag your legs and 3- WTF... why is my bathing suit nearly falling off!!!! Like we are talking butt billows here, and I'm sure a few times the girls came out, and I tucked them back in during a flip turn. I need a smaller bathing suit, oh great Mark is going to love the next expense to this venture. A suit that fits is pretty important. Even though I had no physical problems swimming 800m (the sprint tri distance is 750m) I was extremely distracted by my suit being too big. It never really occurred to me when I was putting on my suit that I needs to be tight (really tight) When I've worn it before it was tight, which was 6 years ago. I'm about 40lbs lighter now.
So if nothing else, when you buy yourself a bathing suit make sure when you are trying it on, it feel like you are trying to get into something that is way to small, drag is good for training but not good when you want to "feel" the water.
So these are the first few steps of my journey towards a triathlon.
Monday, May 28, 2012
My new Goal: Complete a triathalon by 09.2012
I must be completely insane. Well it's not enough that I do hot yoga a couple of times a week, or that I workout at Goodlife a few times also in a week... Now I'm running (ps, I hate running) and biking. Guess all I need to do is hit the pool and I'm well on my way to completing a triathlon. I was a competitive swimmer back in the day, so I do know "how" to swim. Doesn't mean my muscles are going to be used to that type of punishment, because if I learned one thing in my 4 years of Kinesiology at Mac was that you can be in the best of shape in one sport, but it doesn't transfer. You can still suck in another sport. (ie. elite swimmers can't necessarily run long and hard like they can swim) Muscular efficiency is something that training is for (mental note! should I get a coach?).
Now that said, I've made a goal. Complete a triathlon! I've since done a tad of research and realized I can specify what type of triathlon. So I've opted to compete a sprint triathlon. This is 750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run. Piece of cake! (or so I will keep telling myself over an over again)
So in order to train for this, with the very limited funds that I have available. Ahhhkkk did I mention I need to buy a road bike too! Do you know how expensive those are, good heavens, a cheap one is still 500$. Well technically I don't need a road bike, I have a hybrid but still...Ok so, back to the training. Obviously, I've found some online training schedules, that basically tell you how many minutes to train for, in what even and on what day. I've also asked my brother to bug his varsity swim coach to write up a few swimming practises for me. Since this is my first one, I'm not really too concerned about spending loads of cash on the gear, I'll probably train in an outdoor pool in the summer and when it's the actual race day, I'll put a pair of tight shorts over a bathing suit and Bob's your uncle. No worries. I'm sure my butt doesn't need fancy shmancy riding shorts or I won't need a wet suit to stay floating (I've been known to be pretty buoyant).
Do you think you would do something like this? Would you train with me? Bike around north Burlington and run laps around the block with me. The sprint tri is at the end of August. Who's in???
Now that said, I've made a goal. Complete a triathlon! I've since done a tad of research and realized I can specify what type of triathlon. So I've opted to compete a sprint triathlon. This is 750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run. Piece of cake! (or so I will keep telling myself over an over again)
So in order to train for this, with the very limited funds that I have available. Ahhhkkk did I mention I need to buy a road bike too! Do you know how expensive those are, good heavens, a cheap one is still 500$. Well technically I don't need a road bike, I have a hybrid but still...Ok so, back to the training. Obviously, I've found some online training schedules, that basically tell you how many minutes to train for, in what even and on what day. I've also asked my brother to bug his varsity swim coach to write up a few swimming practises for me. Since this is my first one, I'm not really too concerned about spending loads of cash on the gear, I'll probably train in an outdoor pool in the summer and when it's the actual race day, I'll put a pair of tight shorts over a bathing suit and Bob's your uncle. No worries. I'm sure my butt doesn't need fancy shmancy riding shorts or I won't need a wet suit to stay floating (I've been known to be pretty buoyant).
Do you think you would do something like this? Would you train with me? Bike around north Burlington and run laps around the block with me. The sprint tri is at the end of August. Who's in???
Thursday, May 3, 2012
What YOGA taught me today!
I have to tell you that tonight was the first time I've cried at the end of class. You know how in the Biggest Loser the contestants are always bawling at the end of their workouts. I've honestly always wondered, why are they crying? Is it to get out of doing more work? Are they in pain? Sheesh what gives.
Well let me tell you ladies and gentlemen... I know why they cry! It's because they are "broken", inside and out. Physically and mentally they are toast. Today at hot yoga, a 90minute stupid hard class with a famous instructor Pino (check out his website http://www.dcfcanada.com/dvd.html ) a couple of things happened. \
I went into the class feeling ready to "be free", I used my kids example at the park today as my intention. They have no fear, they defy gravity, they swing until the seat bounces (do you know what I mean by that?), they run around uninhibited by fear. I was going to let that guide my practise today. NO FEAR! Well first of all if you have ever done one of Pino's classes at PYC you already are kind of fearful, his classes are well known to be "nutty". Anyway I shared my intention with Pino before the start of class, basically solidifying it out loud and making sure I would be accountable for it. The next thing you need to know is that the room was exceptionally HOT, he even warned us before the start of class that "it was going to be a wet, hot and juicy class", no really he did say that. Ok ok,... so no fear, no fear, no fear... my mantra, my intention. That meant flying side crow, head stands (even though I did fall out and did a little roll and crash), but after about 60 minutes of No fear, translation... really hard practise, I was getting dizzy and nausious. Still I kept trying to keep it together, finally after fighting with my nausea, I caved and had to leave the class to puke in the washroom. On my way back into class I was told "well at least you are detoxifying your body", yup I guess all that smart food decided to kick me in the ass! I finished the class, barely!
In savasana (dead man's pose), I couldn't stop the tears. All at once I was overwhelmed by emotions. I was sooo happy the 90 minutes was over, I was disappointed I had to leave the room (unspoken yogi rule: is to stay not leave), I was proud that I had in fact pushed to my max (puking pretty much is an indication of that), I was sad that it was over (I know doesn't make sense), I was so so so greatful for Pino who was there to facilitate my practise and push me to the edge, who inspired me to have "no fear" and I was just so overwhelmingly OPEN! My heart was more open than it has been in a long time and I head something that he said... "Let yourself SHINE" Let the transformation happen, allow yourself to transform into the best version of yourself and others will notice and follow. I heard that! No hang on, more specifically my heart HEARD it! I got it. I don't have to Force the changes, I have to open myself up to them!
That my friends is what I learned, I can be healed IF I allow the transformation to happen. IF open my heart to the process, and be present I will shine! Tears were my body's physical way of showing me that I was opening my heart to the transformation and healing.
Well let me tell you ladies and gentlemen... I know why they cry! It's because they are "broken", inside and out. Physically and mentally they are toast. Today at hot yoga, a 90minute stupid hard class with a famous instructor Pino (check out his website http://www.dcfcanada.com/dvd.html ) a couple of things happened. \
I went into the class feeling ready to "be free", I used my kids example at the park today as my intention. They have no fear, they defy gravity, they swing until the seat bounces (do you know what I mean by that?), they run around uninhibited by fear. I was going to let that guide my practise today. NO FEAR! Well first of all if you have ever done one of Pino's classes at PYC you already are kind of fearful, his classes are well known to be "nutty". Anyway I shared my intention with Pino before the start of class, basically solidifying it out loud and making sure I would be accountable for it. The next thing you need to know is that the room was exceptionally HOT, he even warned us before the start of class that "it was going to be a wet, hot and juicy class", no really he did say that. Ok ok,... so no fear, no fear, no fear... my mantra, my intention. That meant flying side crow, head stands (even though I did fall out and did a little roll and crash), but after about 60 minutes of No fear, translation... really hard practise, I was getting dizzy and nausious. Still I kept trying to keep it together, finally after fighting with my nausea, I caved and had to leave the class to puke in the washroom. On my way back into class I was told "well at least you are detoxifying your body", yup I guess all that smart food decided to kick me in the ass! I finished the class, barely!
In savasana (dead man's pose), I couldn't stop the tears. All at once I was overwhelmed by emotions. I was sooo happy the 90 minutes was over, I was disappointed I had to leave the room (unspoken yogi rule: is to stay not leave), I was proud that I had in fact pushed to my max (puking pretty much is an indication of that), I was sad that it was over (I know doesn't make sense), I was so so so greatful for Pino who was there to facilitate my practise and push me to the edge, who inspired me to have "no fear" and I was just so overwhelmingly OPEN! My heart was more open than it has been in a long time and I head something that he said... "Let yourself SHINE" Let the transformation happen, allow yourself to transform into the best version of yourself and others will notice and follow. I heard that! No hang on, more specifically my heart HEARD it! I got it. I don't have to Force the changes, I have to open myself up to them!
That my friends is what I learned, I can be healed IF I allow the transformation to happen. IF open my heart to the process, and be present I will shine! Tears were my body's physical way of showing me that I was opening my heart to the transformation and healing.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
My Happy List
In an effort to "heal" during my time of ppd (postpartum depression) I am trying to create a "Happy List". The things that make me happy, well or maybe just less miserable. Of course winning a million dollars or going an a vacation without kids would make me happy, but I also need to be realistic! I am stuck at home or near home, we don't have much/or any disposable income and all other conceivable limitations due to my circumstance apply... yada yada yada...
So when the deep dark abysmal place hits me I can re-read this post and try something, anything that might help! So here goes!
My Happy List
1) Well currently I am in pretty good spirits and that can be attributed to:
- Tea
- Blogging
- A Gluten Free cinnamon treat
- (and who am I kidding, two peacefully sleeping kids that I successfully put down for naps, at the same time!!!)
2) I find I am very content when I'm at Indigo in AM with only the baby; this can be a combination of;
- Free refills on coffee and tea (at the Starbucks, because my card is registered)
- Ability to read my book (mostly uninterrupted)
- Some very friendly locals who know me and the baby pretty well by now
3) I enjoy myself when I am surrounded by like minded individuals like:
- Play dates with my kids/friends
- OEYC groups (my PPD group) -click for the link!
- Hot Yoga
4) I feel like I'm shining when I am teaching people about:
- Food (health tips,recipes, ideas for integrating health and clean food into anyone's current diet )
- Wellness
- Fitness
5) And last but not least my list of self-indulgences that do cost money and that are somewhat shallow but I'm learning not to care what anyone thinks;
- a nice long pedicure
- an hour long massage from Ed (at Goodlife Burlington, ask for him, I highly recommend him)
- dark chocolate (pretty much on anything, peanut butter balls, strawberries, bacon...)
- a meal at The Naked Sprout
- putting the kids in daycare so I can actually sleep for a couple of hours during the day AND not do the laundry!
I guess I could have added stuff like a hot bath, nature walks and cooking and baking! Those are free but do require alot of prep and work! Do you know how much work it is to actually take a hot bath when you have 3 kids who can hear the sound of a tub filling up from a 10 mile radius and all try to jump in at the same time, regardless of the poor mom who is trying to take a relaxing soak!!! Or packing everyone up for a nature walk? Snacks, availability of "potties", extra clothing, diaper bag, baby carrier... the list goes on... sometimes not even worth the effort! And even though I love to cook, I really truly love to do it when 6 extra little hands aren't trying to "help"!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Family Skating
Oh you would not beleive the effort that goes into 30 minutes of skating. Seriously first you need to round up the troops, and convince them that going out into the cold is a great idea... Not that mama is really thrilled at the prospect, however the alternative is the continued systematic trashing of the house... lesser of two evils I guess. So now that you have about 2/3 of the kids convinced, the other one is refusing to put on pants, much less the snow pants that need to go on top. "Have you gone PEE???" is a question that can be heard about a dozen times during the process of getting everyone ready. And finally 2 kids are ready and outside, one baby is bundled up, BUT doesn't fit in the car seat... which needs to be adjusted, and the potty training two year old is half dressed but refusing to wear a hat or mits. Uggghh "fine, no hat, put your hood on, and we will get your mitts on when we get to the rink."... Closely followed by, "I'm peeing..." By this point mommy is fervently praying to GOD to give her strength. Undress, "make sure it's IN before you pee.." Ok get dressed, strapped into van and OFF we go.
Pay for parking, convince the kids that we are actually here to skate and not play at the park, put on skates, watch the zamboni do it's thing and set kids on ice. Wow that was fun, skating lasted a few minutes before one kid didn't want skates on anymore and wanted to play at the park. STOP!!!! ask a perfect stranger to take a picture as evidence that we did, in fact, bring our children skating!!! Ok now skates off one kid, the other kid is still on the ice with dad.
So now, I've got a baby strapped to me, a boy who wants to play at the park anndddd a two year old who is telling me he peed his pants... I said "opps that was an accident, it's ok, lets go play"... Ohhh no, the two year old HAD to sit on the toilet. Sooo convince the boy, who is happily playing on the jungle gym, that he needs to go to his father, literally 2 minutes after starting to play... right!!! That done, take the two year old to the "potty", while still wearing baby... Ohhh soo much fun I've had up until this point. On my knees in a public washroom... sooooo not as kinky as I once would have thought. That done, go back to the park and play for about as long as we can handle... about 5 minutes.. It's really is getting cold now!
Gather the troops and GO HOME!!!!!
And see photographic evidence off all the mania...
Pay for parking, convince the kids that we are actually here to skate and not play at the park, put on skates, watch the zamboni do it's thing and set kids on ice. Wow that was fun, skating lasted a few minutes before one kid didn't want skates on anymore and wanted to play at the park. STOP!!!! ask a perfect stranger to take a picture as evidence that we did, in fact, bring our children skating!!! Ok now skates off one kid, the other kid is still on the ice with dad.
So now, I've got a baby strapped to me, a boy who wants to play at the park anndddd a two year old who is telling me he peed his pants... I said "opps that was an accident, it's ok, lets go play"... Ohhh no, the two year old HAD to sit on the toilet. Sooo convince the boy, who is happily playing on the jungle gym, that he needs to go to his father, literally 2 minutes after starting to play... right!!! That done, take the two year old to the "potty", while still wearing baby... Ohhh soo much fun I've had up until this point. On my knees in a public washroom... sooooo not as kinky as I once would have thought. That done, go back to the park and play for about as long as we can handle... about 5 minutes.. It's really is getting cold now!
Gather the troops and GO HOME!!!!!
And see photographic evidence off all the mania...
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| Getting skates on the two older kids, Patrick is watching the Zamboni,( thankfully not running off) |
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| Family shot I had to have... to prove that we actually did this! |
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| Annaliese skating! |
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| Mama wearing baby! |
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| Two year old who, in fact, did actually pee in the toilet and not in his pants. |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
It's been a while....
I feel like I would at confession... Father "or readers" please forgive me, it has been 2 weeks since my last blog post. Crazy how that happens. Life happens. My crazy life happened. I will be honest, it is my habit to stop blogging when I'm not "feeling right" when the universe and I are not on the same page. Normally I love to workout, I love the endorphins, I love the challenges and the satisfaction of accomplishment. But for the last week, I haven't wanted to go the gym. Clearly something isn't right. Hormones, chemicals and stress all play a part in this I'm sure. Last night I skipped the gym, stood up a friend (who thankfully forgave me), and read on my playbook while consuming way too much popcorn (not the good kind!). I get that it's ok to cut myself some slack and relax every now and then. But at what point do you need to give yourself a kick in the ass to get out of bed (in my case, since I like to read in bed and eat popcorn) to get back to a regular routine. Well thankfully I am blessed to have a friend who cares about me enough not to listened to my lamo excuses about not wanting to go to the gym.
I went to my hot yoga class tonight and even though I'm mentally exhausted and down on myself, I had the best practice I've had in like a year! I didn't listened to the crap in my head, I just did what I was told to do. Focus on breathing, go 3 inches lower, relax, breath, lower, let go of the crap... I did it. For once it was amazing not to be a slave to the voice in my own head... I just did yoga!!!!
Amen!
I went to my hot yoga class tonight and even though I'm mentally exhausted and down on myself, I had the best practice I've had in like a year! I didn't listened to the crap in my head, I just did what I was told to do. Focus on breathing, go 3 inches lower, relax, breath, lower, let go of the crap... I did it. For once it was amazing not to be a slave to the voice in my own head... I just did yoga!!!!
Amen!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
after a 2 hour work out...
I come home and eat! Tonight I had made (before leaving for the gym) an egg white omelet that consisted of mostly leftovers from yesterday's meal. Yesterday was our big fancy turkey meal, which was of course turkey, homemade stuffing (with sage from my garden), roasted rosemary (also from the herb garden) potatoes, and roasted broccoli and a mix of steamed veggies. So I chopped up some onion, celery and the roasted potatoes and fried them up in the cast iron pan. Mark also asked that I add some turkey so I chopped up cubes of turkey and added that as well as some rosemary for flavour. I took out about 1/3 of this and added chopped spinach and poured out 1/2 carton (well almost) of egg whites. I poured my omelett mixture into my smaller cast iron pan, added a layer of hemp hears and a bit of mozza cheese and covered it till it was cooked.
I am now totally savoring this meal as I write this! I did eat about and hour and half before going to the gym (which is probably too long before a workout) and after the first hour I had a GF protein bar. Thank goodness because ouch the second hour was pump (combat was first). This is my first combat/pump double since having the baby and I am going to be sore in the morning. But alas... no pain no gain!
Mark got me a new chest strap for my heart rate monitor watch and I'm pretty proud to share that I busted out 1150 calories. My goal for the next 12 weeks is to burn 7000 calories a week. So the math that I'm doing is sort of quasi-acurate but lets say I need 2000 calories as my base metabolic survival (it's 500 calories higher because I'm nursing), if I want to create a deficit of 1000 a day than I eat 2000 calories and burn 1000 at the gym or eat 1500 and burn 500 at the gym or eat 1000 and don't burn any at the gym... (I am NOT a fan of the 3rd method... I like food way way too much for that). The problem I have is that I'm not a calorie counter, but I guess for the next 12 weeks I'll have to try. Honestly I find it much easier to eat healthy and clean and just burn the calories at the gym. Yes I am lazy that way!
I am now totally savoring this meal as I write this! I did eat about and hour and half before going to the gym (which is probably too long before a workout) and after the first hour I had a GF protein bar. Thank goodness because ouch the second hour was pump (combat was first). This is my first combat/pump double since having the baby and I am going to be sore in the morning. But alas... no pain no gain!
Mark got me a new chest strap for my heart rate monitor watch and I'm pretty proud to share that I busted out 1150 calories. My goal for the next 12 weeks is to burn 7000 calories a week. So the math that I'm doing is sort of quasi-acurate but lets say I need 2000 calories as my base metabolic survival (it's 500 calories higher because I'm nursing), if I want to create a deficit of 1000 a day than I eat 2000 calories and burn 1000 at the gym or eat 1500 and burn 500 at the gym or eat 1000 and don't burn any at the gym... (I am NOT a fan of the 3rd method... I like food way way too much for that). The problem I have is that I'm not a calorie counter, but I guess for the next 12 weeks I'll have to try. Honestly I find it much easier to eat healthy and clean and just burn the calories at the gym. Yes I am lazy that way!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Because having a baby isn't enough...
You would think, having a baby, dealing with sleep issues, evil engorgement, cranky 5 year old, and a two year old is enough.... well I'm here to tell you NOPE! Not enough, last night I spiked a fever... I've been to the Dr's and it's confirmed I now have mastitis... bloody hell! However it's one of those things that knock you on your behind but you have to get right back up.
My kids have been bugging me to make rice crispies with the Christmas coloured ones so today I finally threw in the towel and used real marshmallows to make them...but alas they aren't your typical rice crispy squares... I've beefed them up a bit!
I used coconut oil rather than butter, I added chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, dried fruits and shredded coconut. My motto is, you've got yourself a blank slate with this recipe (or any rice crispy recipe) why wouldn't you add to it! Well it also helps that my kids think chia seeds are like sprinkles :D
My kids have been bugging me to make rice crispies with the Christmas coloured ones so today I finally threw in the towel and used real marshmallows to make them...but alas they aren't your typical rice crispy squares... I've beefed them up a bit!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Bringing home baby rant...
It's been a while since I had a good old fashioned rant... So here goes.
People asked me why I went to the gym so soon (today I did body Flow at Goodlife), they say I'm inspirational... ah bleh... I am not inspirational, I am in survival mode and when you are in a situation that you have very little control over you do anything that brings about the feel of normality. I can't control how much sleep I'm getting, or my overwhelming emotions due to lack of sleep or extra hormones, how engorged I'll get, I can't control my kids moods or how they feel...
But I can control the food I eat and the physical activity I get. Endorphins are my friends... I really need to watch out for baby blues, or postpartum mood disorder (not to be confused with depression)... I've already had a few panic attacks (when I think Patrick - the 2 year old- is unsupervised near the baby (while I'm going to the washroom for a few minutes) and anxiety about clutter, since bringing baby Ellie-Lynne home from the hospital I have donated about 10 garbage bags of stuff to the salvation army. Now if you think nursing is all roses and bonding... think again... engorgement is like a right of passage into motherhood, but let me tell you, it freakin sucks!!! Imagine the pain and discomfort of turning kiwi's into cantaloupe melon's... searing, blinding pain... Don't touch me!!! don't hug me!!! don't even think about "liking my giant sized breasts!!!"
Nothing like motherhood to un-leach the super bitch within... mother bear syndrome? Who knows, it's like 0 to 60 in nanoseconds. "YOU WHAT???" spilled milk... smashed the toy on the wall and made a new dent in the paint...hit your brother/sister, left a dish on the carpet stairs going to the bedroom....painted with the yogourt... ugh... Who knows what might set me off...
Relaxxxxxx "that's what you say". I relax when everyone is tucked into bed and sleeping soundly. That's about it, even then, I've always got an ear listening for puking or crying.
Also as I've been writing this I've been helping the baby with her hour long poop before bed. It's 11.. she's fussy but as long as she gets all the gas out she will have a wonderfully long sleep. Super swaddled and listening to white noise on the ipod.
People asked me why I went to the gym so soon (today I did body Flow at Goodlife), they say I'm inspirational... ah bleh... I am not inspirational, I am in survival mode and when you are in a situation that you have very little control over you do anything that brings about the feel of normality. I can't control how much sleep I'm getting, or my overwhelming emotions due to lack of sleep or extra hormones, how engorged I'll get, I can't control my kids moods or how they feel...
But I can control the food I eat and the physical activity I get. Endorphins are my friends... I really need to watch out for baby blues, or postpartum mood disorder (not to be confused with depression)... I've already had a few panic attacks (when I think Patrick - the 2 year old- is unsupervised near the baby (while I'm going to the washroom for a few minutes) and anxiety about clutter, since bringing baby Ellie-Lynne home from the hospital I have donated about 10 garbage bags of stuff to the salvation army. Now if you think nursing is all roses and bonding... think again... engorgement is like a right of passage into motherhood, but let me tell you, it freakin sucks!!! Imagine the pain and discomfort of turning kiwi's into cantaloupe melon's... searing, blinding pain... Don't touch me!!! don't hug me!!! don't even think about "liking my giant sized breasts!!!"
Nothing like motherhood to un-leach the super bitch within... mother bear syndrome? Who knows, it's like 0 to 60 in nanoseconds. "YOU WHAT???" spilled milk... smashed the toy on the wall and made a new dent in the paint...hit your brother/sister, left a dish on the carpet stairs going to the bedroom....painted with the yogourt... ugh... Who knows what might set me off...
Relaxxxxxx "that's what you say". I relax when everyone is tucked into bed and sleeping soundly. That's about it, even then, I've always got an ear listening for puking or crying.
Also as I've been writing this I've been helping the baby with her hour long poop before bed. It's 11.. she's fussy but as long as she gets all the gas out she will have a wonderfully long sleep. Super swaddled and listening to white noise on the ipod.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
I live in a FUN house!
The more I think about it,... The more I realize I live my life like a fun house in a circus. We are 5 people soon to be 6 crammed into a 3 bedroom house. I have a toy room that takes up the whole basement (minus the bathroom/laundry room). All our furniture is oversized and I am constantly rearranging it hoping to get more space (which I never get), just a different look/perspective. Sometimes the kids run laps around the kitchen, through the hall, around the living room for more than 30 minutes, I get dizzy just watching them. I let them jump on my bed because I love it when Patrick calls it "a bouncy castle" ( I leave all the pillows on - like 12 of them). We love loud music and dance like maniacs to songs like "I like to Move It" by crazy frog. It sounds like a zoo when all 3 kids are excited and screaming like banchies.
I am a lion tamer
I am a tight rope walker
I am a conductor
I am a zookeeper
I am a clown
I am the clean up crew when all the fun is over for the night!!!
Monday, October 24, 2011
A short angry rant... about a jerk!
Grrrr. I am so MAD right now. I just got back from the gym. Tonight's class was awesome but when I got back to my car some jerk had parked their giant suv so close to my drivers side that I couldn't even get by body between the cars, much less open my door to sneak in. So at 9 bloody months pregnant I had to crawl across through the passenger side to get to my seat. Oh man I felt like bashing my door into their truck! But I didn't! I just grummbled all the way home, felt sorry for myself... and then pondered if I would get in trouble from now on if I started parking in the handy cap spots! Because isn't that part of the courtesy, they have extra space on both side... I need extra space, my door has to be very wide so I can get in and out! Uhggg, of course the other option is that I park in the nose bleeds and take up two spots! Stupid people....
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