Pics

I borrowed my mom's camera and finally was able to upload some pics. I've still got a lot of work to go, I know and these aren't traditional progress pics, just pics that were taken of me. I notice I'm still very critical of myself in photos and I'm almost always behind the camera. . . making it a little challenging to get a pic of me! ha ha

Mariyn took this picture of me yesterday at Cherry Lake. Self portrait earlier in the month. Total boob shot, I know wasn't intended but I really do like the way my top half is shaping up, notice you can see my muscle tone and bones. I'm hoping to get a full body swim suit pic up as a better progress picture soon!

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!

Running Goals

Yesterday, I ran at the gym with Clare and worked on abs. Unless I'm having a bad knee day (old injury), I can easily run for the entire 30 mintues! Amazing for me, I know. I want to increase my running speed and distance. My plan to do this is seems easy. Mariyn's last day of school is today so now that I don't have to worry and rush to get the girls ready every morning, I am going to still get up in the morning and run 1 mile while Richard is home and getting ready for work. I can work on my speed at this time, plus getting active first thing (before breakfast) will help burn fat. The longest I can spend running is 10 minutes (which should be plenty of time to do a mile) because Richard is often on call and can have to leave at any time. Wednesdays are my running days with Clare currently we run for 30 mintues. We have an about an hour we can workout together because of the time daycare closes, so I am going to gradually increase our running time and gain endurance. Since I can run for 30 minutes already, next week I am going to shoot for 35 minutes. This fall, I am going to look for a longer running event, 10K or half marathon. I see a cute slogan today that said, "If you can run a mile, you can run a marathon." I'm not so sure but I think I would like to try - someday :)

Being Active

Since I've started getting in shape, I've really enjoyed life so much more. I love being active. Don't get me wrong, I really do not love working out but I love the way working out makes me feel. The tougher the workout, the more likely I'm going to love it. It's a hate me now, love me later sort of thing!

Now that I can be active because I am physically fit, still over weight but capable of you know umm. . . - running, I keep finding different activities I would have never dreamt of doing before that I want to do now. It's hard to decided what to do because there are SO many possibilities and SO many things that sound fun. Of course, the problem is time and money! Errr...

I just found this other great triathlon event, See Jane Run Triathlon. It's a lot closer to home than Tahoe. About an hour away, maybe hour and a half in traffic. Elevation wouldn't be an issue. It's the week after the Tahoe Tri though. I really want to do the Tahoe tri, it's my birthday weekend and it's the inaugural event and it just seems really cool. The See Jane Triathlon is going on my to do list. Right now, it's a back up plan if I can't afford Tahoe.

I've also found two duathlon that sound fun and interesting and the bonus, one is local!
The first event is in August in Cresent City. It kid friendly and host both a triathlon and duathlon for adults. I think I would choose the duathlon because I want my first tri to be the Tahoe one and I think it would be good preparation. The other duathlon event in in November in Knights Ferry. It would be an ideal event to stay in shape, more than 1 year after I decided to change my life last October 5th.

So much fun and exciting possibilities. I think I need a calendar just to keep track of all the events I want to do. :D

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!