Gym time

Yesterday, I got up and went to the gym. I was sluggish about getting out of the house and really wasn't motivated to go. Mariyn's didn't have school due to a furlough day/budget cuts. She and I rode our bikes across town to the gym. I missed all the classes so I worked out by myself on the floor doing the various weight training machines. It had been a while since I've used that part of the gym, maybe a month or so because I usually do bodypump classes for my weight training.

It's nice to mix it up a bit though. I lifted heavy and did a lot of reps. I did the intimidator (assisted pull up machine), squats, leg press, leg extensions, calf raises, hip and thigh machines, peck deck and tri press machines. All areas I normally work in body pump. I'm counting my bike ride to and from the gym as my cardio time.

Today, I am sore. Not terribly sore like I was last week from running but more sore than normal for a regular workout. I can feel my gluts burning, as well as my chest and biceps. A good reminder why it's important to vary your routine because even though I work these muscles regularly, the different machines work a different part of the muscles than the free weights do. Free weights are great too, I'm a huge fan of free weights. It's just nice to have a variety and change it up a bit.

Getting sore = progress = body change = results = success

I was talking to a trainer at my gym about my 10K time, weight loss and everything she was impressed. She complimented my shoulders and said they look really good. Which made me feel good. She said, whatever I am doing keep doing it because it's working. I don't pay for training but since I come so regularly I talk to the trainers a lot. They give good tips and are a lot friendlier than they appear. It's so nice to have a "professional" give you compliments as well as encouragement.

Marathon Week

So last week, I said I wanted to increase my running mileage. And so I did. When I realied how far I ran this week, there was no way I couldn't run tonight. I wanted to make it to 26.2 miles. So tonight I ran 4.5 miles. Which means, I ran a whopping 26.5 miles this week! That is equivalent to running a full marathon (actually a tad more). I'm so proud of myself.

I really had a great weekend. This weekend Mariyn and I had originally planned to ride the Princess Promenade but it just wasn't in our budget to do so. Mariyn and I talked about it, she completly understood and even said, "Mom, I don't think I'm ready to ride that far anyways, maybe next year." She was so very sweet and understanding about the situation.



Earlier this summer, I had heard about a lavender farm, just outside of town. I wanted to take the girls on a bike ride there but Rich said, it was too dangerous because of traffic for the kids. Mariyn and I decided that instead of the bike ride, we would go to the lavender farm, which is only open to the public this weekend and won't be open again until December. It was gorgeous! And this wasn't even prime lavender season. The girls and I enjoyed lavender lemonade, lavender apple cider, lavender pumpkin cake (1 serving shared between 3 people) and the beautiful lavender plants. The atmosphere was so lovely and quaint. Perfect for a girls day outing. We even came home with our very own royal velvet lavender plant. On the way home, we stopped at Oakdale Cheese and had fresh grilled gouda cheese sandwiches. The kids enjoyed petting farm animals and we picniced by the pound. It really was a lovely afternoon.

After we came home, I took my girls on a bike ride through town. Mariyn and I rode 6.5 miles as I pulled Amelia in her trailer. We had a lot of fun exploring different neighborhoods. We even discovered a fun new park . The girls stopped for a while and played. I promised them we would come back. The had a great time. Some where along the ride, Amelia fell asleep in her trailer. When we got home, I noticed she was all curled up in a very deep slumber. So cute!

What a difference a week makes. This week, I am optomistic and full of hope. I really feel and see all that I have been blessed with. God is so good, all the time. :)

No gym

I didn't go to the gym today. I woke up, mozzied around the house and really just decided I didn't want to go. I took Mariyn to the mall, we had stuff to exchange. Of course, I ended up buying her more. Then to walmart to get household stuff. I knew I wanted to take the girls on a bike ride tonight and go to the farmers market. I knew that since I was so slow to wake, I didn't have a lot of time to get the stuff I needed to get done and find the motivation to get to the gym. So, I problem solved. I decided early on this afternoon that I wasn't going to the gym. Yep, it's not going to kill me if I don't go everyday. I decided that I would get some exercise another way -- I would run tonight after the kids went to bed.

My friend Zamara came over and we ran 4.5 miles together. Then we swam 30 laps in the pool. Plus the bike ride I did with the girls. I figured out the mileage, I rode 3.25 miles (up two hills) pulling an extra 30-50 pounds in a trailer. I'm sure I got in my daily exercise, without the gym. And guess what, it felt good :-)
I just noticed I did everything I would need to do (on a smaller scale) for my tri-training. Run, Bike, Swim, right? ha ha Who needs a gym when you have beautiful weather!

I bought a bunch of beautiful strawberries and raspberries at the farmers market. They were incredibly sweet. I also stocked up on plums and nectarines. YUM. The girls were spoiled. I bought them a honey stick, a peach and a cookie from the best bakery in town. Plus, Mariyn got to bring her friend along :) So I'm sure I get extra points for that... Yeah life is good.

7/29

I slept in this morning until 9:30 am, when Mariyn came in and woke me up. I kinda wanted to get up early and get to body pump and cycle... but yeah that didn't happen. I was so warn out from swimming laps last night, I just couldn't get up and when I did, I was groggy. I swam until 11 o'clock last night. I did a lot of chatting to though but I think we did 70 laps. Zamara swam with me and helped me out a lot on my technique. I've never been taught to have proper form so apparently I waste a lot of energy and work a lot harder than necessary to get across the pool. Most of the time when I'm working on form or technique I don't really feel the difference but yeah this time I did.

70 laps x 40 feet = 2800 feet = 853.44 meters = 0.53 miles
I swam more than twice the difference I will have to for my tri. But I break it down into 10 lap segments.

It took me a long time to want to actually get moving. I got to the gym around noon and did an hour of weights. Daycare closes at 1 and like I said, my body was very warn out. I think someone was picking up on me at the gym. I noticed he was sort of following me from machine to machine, watching me, trying to make small talk. Then he asked me if I came here often. Uhh-- yeah nearly every day, lol. I was a little embarrassed and just kept working out. He so wasn't my type, even if I wasn't married.

I didn't do any cardio today at the gym. I knew I wanted to ride bikes with the girls this evening to the farmers market. We took along one of Mariyn's friends. I bought some plums and corn on the cob. We also bought tri-tip sandwiches for dinner. I feel so healthy just saying my girls and I rode our bikes to the farmers market. Exercise incorporated with fresh fruits and veggies - just makes me feel good like I'm giving my kids the skills they need to live a healthy lifestyle. We took the long way home on our bikes and road around the neighborhood. Of course we stopped at the park and I let the girls play a bit. Then I took Mariyn's friend home.

I talked to her mom for a while. We haven't chatted since the beginning of summer and school is going to start again soon. Her daughter was invited to go to the movies with a group of friends for the first time this week, parents drop off and pick up. She said she was so nervous. I completely understood. I remember being nervous like that back when Mariyn was in kindergarten, they invited her to go to Awana's with them. It was the first time she went somewhere with someone other than family. I shared about Mariyn spending the night with her friend the other day. She seemed just as protective as I am in regards to spending the night. So maybe, I'm not so crazy after all... ha ha

I can't believe summer is almost over. Next week really is our last week of summer before school starts. While I miss the routine of school, I really enjoy the time with my girls. Hopefully, I'll get to do something fun with them next week. :)

Opps!

I forgot to blog yesterday! My bad! LOL

Clare and I worked out. We did weights, I ran a mile then biked four. My stomach felt heavy and bloated again! My legs were tired it just wasn't going to be a good running day. Actually, all my muscles were tired and just felt week. I'm not sure why, perhaps I over did it the day before. I took Mariyn and her friend on a long bike ride through our neighborhood. I think it's official, in the eyes of my seven year old, I am the coolest mom.

Today I cleaned house. I swept and mopped almost my entire house. It was a lot of work but much needed. I ended up not going to the gym. I swam (more or less floated around the pool) and took a short bike ride with the girls to the farmer's market. My muscles are still tired. I think I needed a day off from the gym. Riding my bike tonight, my legs were still tired and sore. Weird!

You are what you eat:
Breakfast: Honey Bunches of Oats w. light vanilla soy milk
Lunch: Chicken, black bean and Salsa Spinach Salad
Dinner: Spinach Ravioli, Grilled Asparagus
Snacks: Skinny Cow, Peanut Butter, Cheesecake cupcake (darn farmer's market), Cookies (2), and lots of fruit

First Big Ride

I hopped on my bike this morning and set out on my first biking adventure, a ride to my sister's house and back. She lives about 10 miles away in a different city. A nice distance, fairly flat ride with a few rolling hills along the river. I was pretty sure I could ride the 10 miles because I do spin 1-2 times a week. Then I figured I would evaluate how I felt and either ride home or at worse have someone take me home.

Rich and I got in an argument this morning, to be honest we've been fighting a lot lately. I'm not going to go into our personal business here but I will say, I left the house very angry. I straped on my helmet, grabbed a bottle of water and left. I forgot my sunglasses at home, not a smart thing to do when your planning on riding any sort of distance.

It's a beautiful day, perfect for a bike ride. Sunny and warm, but not too warm and a little breezy. To get to my sister's I had to ride a long highway 108 for about 4 miles. While most of the route is flat, the distance along the highway has some rolling hills as it's next to the river. There is very little shoulder on the road and at one point no shoulder on the way to my sisters. A little intimidating for my first time out. I made it to my sister's house in a little more than 45 minutes. She and the kids were outside and seemed very surprised that I made the ride. Relaxed a little, got a drink of water (I lost my water bottle on the dangerous part of the highway and didn't think it was worth getting in the road to retrieve it) and ate a protein bar. Then I rode back home. I had enough energy that I knew I could easily make the ride back, I was tired but not as bad as I thought I would be.

The route was nice. It made me appreciate the beauty of where I live and to be honest, I've never thought this area was that beautiful before. But today it was gorgeous. I wish I had a camera to take pictures. On the ride I seen several cyclists, mostly going the opposite direction. But on the way back two were going the same direction as me and even talked to me a bit and gave me pointers. So cool. He said I got a really good deal on my bike and that my gear seemed perfect for my skill level. That was reassuring. Things that I can improve upon is my riding technique, looking out a greater distance as I ride (will get better in time I'm sure and with glasses) , I'd like a new seat or some sort of padding (my bum hurts), biking clothes including shoes (in time) and a water bottle that fits better. Today I just lost a bottled water, I don't have an actual water bottle for my bike, but I'd like to get one.

I asked the other cyclist about my helmet, I just bought one off the shelf from Target. I don't know if there really is a difference between that and one at a bike store, or if there were features I should have looked for. He said, not to worry about it so much as long as if was comfortable and had good air flow, which it does. Specialty helmets come lighter but he said that isn't always a good thing for a new-bie who might fall down a lot. Good to know!

Anyways, I'm back home feeling very accomplished and I can't wait for my next big ride :)

great day

We had a great day. I babysat my niece and nephew today. I admit, I was super sleepy this morning so I didn't get up and run. My niece and nephew got here at 7 am and Rich had several calls in the middle of the night, didn't make for the best sleep. So, I'm going to begin my morning mile on Monday.

We went to the gym this morning around 9:30, I worked out for about an hour. Ran about 2 miles on the treadmill then did weights. I'm feeling pretty burnt out with my gym routine. I enjoy going to the gym, I see the benefits and feel them too but I'm getting a little bored and my body feels tired day after day like I need some time off. I don't want to delay my weight loss anymore though.

After the gym the kids had lunch. Then I took them on a bike ride to the park. We went to a different park today, still around the corner but not our usual because I didn't want the kids to have to ride down the hill. I pulled Amelia and Victoria in the bike trailer. They loved it; while Ryan and Mariyn rode their bikes. Ryan is just learning to ride, so it took us a long time to get to the park. After we came back, the kids took their nap and then I let them ride their bikes out front until my sister picked up her kids.

Mariyn wanted to go on a bigger bike ride, so she, Amelia and I took off again. Mariyn rode down the hill today and didn't fall. She felt so accomplished. As we rode past the neighborhood park, she seen a few of her friends there so we stopped and played. A few of their parents commented on how much weight I've lost. It's a great feeling to be able to be active with the kids. Riding our bikes back up the hill was a challenge, especially with the trailer. Mariyn still can't make it and I was breathless at the top. So glad I can do it though and I'm thankful that I can utilize this small but steep hill to train with. Tomorrow, I plan on riding to my sister's house, about 10 miles away in a different city. I figure I can rest there and ride home. If not, someone can give me a ride. It's a far ride but close enough that I think it will be a good first distance ride. After that, I will build on what I can do.

The night is ending now and Amelia seems to have a stomach virus. Rich was sick on Monday. I really hope she is feeling better tomorrow. Poor girl, I hate to see her sick.

Summer

Summer officially starts today in this household! So excited for all it has in store. Mariyn had a half day today. My plan was to get her and then go directly to the gym for an hour workout. Well, that was until I couldn't find my keys! I spent a long while looking for them and ended up being a bit late to get Mariyn and even later to get to the gym. I still got to workout but not as long as I would have liked. Clare and I did about 40 - 45 minutes of weights.

I bought a bike trailer for Amelia from craigslist today. I'm hoping to get it all hooked up tomorrow and try it out. I'm sure Amelia is going to LOVE it and it will give me a great workout pulling her along. The lady I bought it from was very over weight. I felt the urge to share my story with her. I feel so bad seeing people that over weight because I know exactly how helpless they feel.

I went to the grocery store tonight and bought stuff for dinner -- Stir Frye. Yumm yumm... Of course, I had to walk through the bakery. My biggest weakness. I made it through with out buying anything. Well, until they had a display of two bite brownies in the middle of the store! AHhh... my weakness. I bought them and of course, ate a few too many. They're all gone now but I shard them with the family. After I ate more than my fair share! Opps! :-X Guess I should do better tomorrow!

Next Adventures

I went ahead and registered for my next adventure. The Nike Women's Fitness Festival. I'm excited. I know this is going to have a big race feel. Plus the details of the event look great! My only dilemma is it's on a weekend Rich is on call. It's early in the morning and nearly an hour and half away. I'm probably not going to have any family there supporting me, which is fine, I guess and I'm going to have to secure a sitter. I'm thinking this is my "trial" type of 5K. Obviously, I know I can do a 5K now, where do I go from here? Should I try a longer distance like a 10 k? Am I capable of that? Should I start other type of events? Training for my triathlon?

My goal is to be able to do 1 event per month. Triathlon is in Sept so really, I need a July and August event. So I got on active.com and started looking. I've looked up swimming events but really none of them spoke to me. I'm still on hunt for a good swimming event. . Now that I've got a bike, I can look up biking events. I Not even a possibility before. I found a great looking fun event in Cambria, 4 hours away from home a coastal family friendly event. I WANT to do it! The California coast is breathtaking! It's put on by the YMCA in the area and looks promising enough to be a little competitive to feel the race like experience but family friendly enough that I won't feel out of place. Oh you want a link of the event... of course! Here it is :)

Father's day is coming up and Rich loves to camp but we don't have a tent big enough for the family. We have most of the other camping supplies so Mariyn and I have decided to get daddy a tent for father's day. He is working father's day weekend so we won't be able to camp then but Rich and I have talked about going camping on the central california coast before. So I think this is going to be the perfect opportunity to register for the event and camp with the family! I haven't registered for the event yet, I need to wait I get another check but I did book reservations to camp there that weekend! Shhh! Don't tell Rich. It's going to be a surprise. I think I will be getting the tent soon, and print out an itinerary of reservations for this summer's camping trips. I want to pick places Rich would like to go too... I always prefer the coast but his preferences are sometimes different. I'm excited!

Riding Riding Riding

Mariyn really wanted to ride her bike to school today, so I got up a little bit earlier than normal. We rode our bikes together to school for the first time and when we got there Mariyn's face was full of joy. You could really tell she was proud as a peacock and all her friends noticed she rode her bike. Mariyn showed me where the bike rack was and I helped lock her bike up.

I noticed that the bike rack was small and virtually empty. Her school probably has 600 kids and maybe 10 rode their bike today. I recall the bike rack in elementary school ALWAYS being full. Mariyn was probably the youngest kid to have ridden their bike today. Most of the bikes were boy bikes and two other girls road today. To be honest, it is probably just as fast for us to ride to school as it is to drive and fight the traffic that backs up in front of the school.

This afternoon, Amelia rode her trike to pick up Mariyn. She did so good. We live close to the school but not THAT close. It's about a half mile each way. Amelia made it to the school without any major problems. She got a little tired just before we got there but was easily motivated again at the sight of the school. She and I parked our bikes in the front then walked to the bike rack. I know Mariyn doesn't know how to unlock her bike. She still needs practice. So we got her bike and met her in front of her classroom. You could see how happy she was to ride her bike home. On the other hand, Amelia was worn out and easily distracted. Getting her to ride her trike home was a challenge! I think I walked my bike more than I rode it on the way back but Amelia's learning. She is determined she isn't going to be left behind! I'm sure she will be able to keep up in no time. We still have the bike Mariyn learned on. Rich needs to put the training wheels back on it but I'm sure Amelia is going to love it and will be riding around in no time.

After we got Amelia home, Mariyn and I rode to Subway. Rich is home sick today, stomach virus kept him up all night last night and he really wanted Subway today. It's not exactly what I would have thought of for lunch but he's spoiled and can NEVER find anything at home to eat. Whatever - he's lucky he's sick. Mariyn enjoyed the extra bike time and I think she is learning her way around a bit more. She didn't fall down at all today.

Since Rich was home tonight, I decided to leave the kids with him and ride my bike to the gym for Cardio Kickboxing. It's all the way across town, but our town is small and I rarely get the opportunity to go to the gym alone, why not take advantage of it and ride my bike. The ride to the gym wasn't bad but the ride home was killer. I got a great workout, both at the gym and on my bike and my legs are extremely tired but in a good way.

Don't worry, I'm sure the new-ness of bike riding will eventually wear off and not be so blog worthy. But man, I'm really glad I got a bike. Riding has been so much fun, I wish I would have tried this long ago!

Morning trip to the school and back = 1 mile

Afternoon trip to the school and back = 1 mile

Trip to Subway and back = 1 mile

Gym and back =3.5 miles

My heart is so FULL. . . .

As soon as we were up and out of bed, Mariyn asked me to take her on a bike ride. Let me remind you, she fell yesterday at least 4 -5 times skinned her knee but got back up. She is so excited about being able to ride around the neighborhood on her bike. She said she felt like a scientist observing and exploring everything around us as she rides. Soon after breakfast, I got both girls dressed.

Amelia was bound and determined she wasn't going to be left behind and wanted to go on a bike ride too. Not to leave Amelia out, we took a quick trip around the block. It was the longest trip I thought Amelia could make and I knew if she couldn't it would be the shortest walk back. All I was worried about was her giving up, and me walking my bike, Amelia and her trike back to the house. You know what though, she made it all around the block. I didn't realize the street behind us didn't have a side walk, so she ended up riding her trike in the street a lot and the street was full of pot holes! It was no easy task. I pretty much had to walk my bike and push her out of a pot hole every few feet. Next time, we will pick a different route. But she made it and has greatly improved on her riding abilities. She has had her trike for about a year but just recently started to actually RIDE it. Before, she would just push with her feet. Since she can actually petal now, I've asked Rich to find Mariyn's old training wheels so we can put that bike back together for Amelia.

On our way back around our block, I noticed a yard sale sign. I'm still on hunt for a trailer to pull Amelia so I decided to go. Mariyn and I rode down there to check it out. We ended up spending $11. I bought my sister a few things for her baby boy due in July. She got a bouncer that matches the theme she was using, used but in REALLY good shape, a brand new fitted sheet same theme (can you ever have too many sheets? No, I didn't think so), and 2 brand new baby boy outfits. I was so excited to give them to her and I know she was appreciative. I probably looked pretty funny riding my bike carrying a baby bouncer. HaHa Oh well ;-)

Mariyn earned a free ticket to the Modesto Nuts Baseball game today as a reading reward from school. I've been wanting to take her to a real game for some time. The girls and I had a blast. Rich is on call this weekend, so he couldn't come along. He really missed out!

Of course, as soon as we got home Mariyn was asking to go on a bike ride again. She is so proud that she can ride. It's cute; plus I know she is holding me accountable to get use out of my bike. We rode a similar path to yesterday but I changed it up a bit so we won't get too bored. Today she only fell once. We were coming down the hill she fell twice yesterday. She made it all the way to the bottom made the turn AND turned to me and said mom I did it! Looking behind her, she turned her handle bars and ran RIGHT into a curb and fell. :-/ She skinned her knee up good. Crying she couldn't go on anymore, I helped her up and reminded her at this point she has only 2 options: get up and ride home or walk because there isn't much I can do about a fall. She wiped away the tears and got back on her bike. We made it the rest of the way home without incident AND she's asked to ride her bike to school. She is so proud of her new skill and I am so proud of her! I'm so glad I got this bike and can take her ridding now. I actually feel bad that I didn't do this sooner. :-/

Rich has an old cruiser style bike at his shop. We're going to get it down see what it needs and hopefully get it on the road so he can ride along too. I really love that my family is able to be active and healthy. I love that my children are going to grow up loving exercise and just being fit. Simple things, like ridding a bike, running and playing sports. are a normal part of their lives that they enjoy! My heart is really so full... We are so blessed

Bike

I've been watching craigslist and ebay for a while now looking for a bike. I needed a bike for the triathlon. I know participating in the triathlon is going to be a bit expensive. Equipment I need: Bike, Wet Suit, Appropriate Clothes and Shoes. Plus Registration costs and other expenses like hotel, food, etc. I know participating can be costly so I'm thinking of it as a birthday present since it's the day after I turn 29 and trying to get my family to pitch instead of buying me a gift. The bike, was a late mother's day gift.

I'm super excited about the bike though, it's a Trek 3700 white, pink and grey. I don't know a lot about bikes but from what I researched it's a good bike MSRP around $400 I bought it off craigslist for $100. It's in really good shape a few small scratches on the handle bars but nothing bad at all, just not brand new! But it is probably less than 1 year old... it's the 2009 model! It looks just like this:

and if you're really interested here are the specs:

I feel like I got a fantastic deal, it's not a road bike, it's an entry level mountain bike. Triathletes typically use road bikes but from what I've read is for the novice it doesn't really matter as long as if you can ride the bike the distance required and considering the triathlon I plan on doing is in Tahoe, I think this is going to work great.

The girls and I are super excited to go on bike rides together. I bought all of us girls new helmets today, cost almost as much a bike but they were necessary. I'm going to start looking for a used trailer to pull Amelia. She isn't really ready to ride herself yet and I think a trailer might be more practical than a seat. Mariyn and I rode together today, around my sister's block. She is in there cleaning her room now so we can go ride again. I love that my kids are active and learning a healthy lifestyle. :)

Thank you, heavenly father for knowing exactly what I needed and wanted and providing me with this bike. We are truly blessed!

ETA: Mariyn was so excited to go on a bike ride. I told her if she cleaned her room, we could go. It was a mess, her little cousins have been over all week and of course the room was very out of control. She got her room clean in enough time to go for a ride around the neighborhood. While she has had a bike for a while, she hasn't really been on a true bike ride ( I didn't have a bike to go with her and couldn't have kept an eye on her w/o riding along). Kinda sad, I know. Tonight we road around our neighborhood, approximately 2 miles. She crashed 4 times but handled it well. Good thing I bought those helmets! When we got home she asked if we could go again tomorrow and said that she had SO much fun! My heart is so full!!