Monday, March 26, 2012

a few kind words...

The alarm went off early this morning. 4:14. I told a friend I would meet her at spin class to give her my old cycling shoes. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I hit snooze. The alarm clock requires a delicate balance. If I hit the snooze once, all is right with the world. If I hit the snooze too many times, CR will wake up and probably not be able to go back to sleep. I roll out of bed at 4:24. Ugh. Never a good sign when you start off the week tired. I make a deal with myself that I can leave spin 15 minutes early if I am not feeling it. Grab my clothes, gym bag, laptop, food for the day and I am out the door at 4:55.

In addition to being tired, I felt like I was kind of ‘in a mood’. My confidence took a nosedive at tennis yesterday and one too many pieces of lemon cake with lemon buttercream frosting over the weekend led to the self-realization that this muffin top I have been carrying since January wasn’t going to get rid of itself. So I headed to spin to get back on track and start the week off right. You know, get rid of the zero on Daily Mile and all.

The 1 hour spin class seemed to stretch on for hours…. I looked at the clock at 5:50 and then again what felt like 20 minutes later and the clock read 5:53. True story. I actually wondered if the clock had somehow stopped. During spin, I had a thousand things running through my head, I was replaying the tennis match from yesterday and running through my mental to-do list. I never could get focused and just enjoy the class. My plan to sneak out early was cancelled when I realized the person I was bringing the shoes to was across the room in the front. There was no way to give her the shoes without walking directly in between the teacher and class. I didn’t want to risk public humiliation so I stayed for the whole thing.

As I was leaving class, I was walking down the stairs behind a man I had not seen in a while. He was someone I had seen at the gym before but we never really had a conversation until today. As we were walking, he turned around and said “I just have to tell you. I have seen you here for 2 or 3 years now and you have got it together. You really have figured it out”. The “it” being fitness. (I think to myself... Wha??? You talking to me? Figured it out? Don’t you see this lemon cake muffin top?)

Funny how someone who you didn’t even realize had been watching you (in a non stalkerish way I am sure) can throw a compliment at you that changes your whole outlook. I needed those words at that moment to shake me out of the ridiculous self-criticism that was going on. My tennis game may still need work and I could stand to back off the dessert buffet but my mood for the day is decidedly better now. Thanks spin class guy :)

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Meeting up...

It seems like meetup groups are the big thing now (or at least they are in my circles). I have come across quite a few opportunities for group rides, open water swims and triathlon training in general just by logging in.

A couple of weeks back, I spotted a new meetup group that was based out of my part of town which is rare. In Atlanta, it seems that most of the triathlon training either takes part in Buckhead (which is more or less downtown) or on the west side of town. Unfortunately, I live on the east side. I still partake in some of the groups around town but it is SO much nicer to have something right in your backyard.

Today, the group scheduled a ride from Stone Mountain over to Decatur and back. Perfect. I had been wanting to ride that route but didn't want to do it alone so was excited when the opportunity presented itself.

It ended up being a great day for a ride. We had about 5 people in all with varying riding skills. We had a lot of fun, a nice ride and I met a few new people to ride with. Thumbs up for the meet up! :)







Monday, March 19, 2012

Go Dirty Girl...

Good thing I haven't cleaned out my closet in a while. I will be needing some old shoes to wear. I just signed up for the Dirty Girl Mud Run on April 28th in Atlanta. I have only done one other mud run / obstacle course and can tell you from that experience that you don't want to wear your good clothes for such an event! Unless you just want an excuse to buy some new clothes...



The Dirty Girl Mud Run is an obstacle filled 5k for women only. The cool part is that a portion of all proceeds from Dirty Girl registration fees are donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. In each city of the 2012 tour, 250 Cancer Survivors will receive complimentary registration and special recognition. Sounds like a good reason to get dirty to me!



If you have never participated in a mud run before (or even a 5k), this is the event for you. The race is a 3.1 mile run with 11 obstacles like the H2 OMG, Get a Grip, Just Get Over It and the PMS (Pretty Muddy Stuff) thrown in. The race is all about having fun. No special skills needed AT ALL. You just have to be willing to get a little dirty. I hear there is even a special clean up area at the end so you can get the dirt out of your hair before you enjoy the music, food, adult beverages and festivities.



Check out the Dirty Girl website for more information. Maybe I'll see you in Atlanta!

Just as an FYI... FitFluential LLC compensated me for this campaign. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Friday Five...

1. I scratched my plans for the Shamrock marathon. It was going to be a four day weekend away from home and just couldn’t get away. Lots of exciting things on the horizon which I can’t wait to share if it all comes together. Fingers crossed while we wait… and I‘ll unfortunately have to leave you hanging on that one. Perhaps I will have to wear my new green sparkly skirt grocery shopping instead. That would be not be weird at all, right?

2. I signed up for “Fast Camp”. It is an 8 week FREE tri training program that is supposed to make you, well, fast(er). It is all relative, right? The idea is they want you to love it and pay for coaching after the eight weeks is up. It officially started this week but I put it off because of the marathon. I am going to kick it off this weekend. Hopefully it will be the little push I need to get back on track.

3. I have been playing a ridiculous amount of tennis in the past week or so. I used to play just about every day a few years ago but burnt out on it and backed off. Late last year I pretty much stopped playing altogether while I was training for B2B. In the past week, I have probably played 5 or 6 times. I really enjoyed it and hope I can work more tennis back into my life. I definitely like the swim/bike/run more but tennis gives me a social outlet that I had missed.

4. I need to get outside on my bike and ride, ride, ride. Maybe this weekend. It is after all summer (or at least it feels like it). It was 85 degrees yesterday. I fear the heat summer might bring. Especially since I signed up for a marathon in July. I am getting a heat stroke just thinking about it.

5. Anxiously awaiting The Hunger Games movie! If only I were able to keep my eyes open past 10:00 PM otherwise I would be at that midnight showing on the 22nd. :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Monday, March 12, 2012

The mystery of the disappearing blog...

I was a little surprised that it had been 11 days since my last post. It did not seem like quite that long. So long, in fact, that I think Blogger is secretly developing a plot to get rid of me.

I received a note on my FB page this morning from Swim Bike Mom asking what happened to my blog. Why whatever does she mean? Silly Swim Bike Mom has clearly lost her mind. Of course, I immediately go to the page and receive a message stating the blog HAD BEEN DELETED and was not available. PANIC.

I had been toying with the idea of giving up the blog for a while, taking breaks here and there but now it seemed I had been forced into retirement on someone else's terms. Someone had killed me off the web - if only I had Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys or maybe even Encyclopedia Brown on the speed dial...

I immediately began to locate HELP on blogger. Would you believe there is no way that I could find to contact someone to find out what was going on? No email, no chat, not even an old fashioned phone number. Their version of HELP was for me to post a question on the discussion board and wait for a user or a monitor to respond. As someone with a fairly low-key blog, I wasn't thrilled with that method of customer service, I can't imagine how someone who was using a blog for income would feel.

I posted my question on the help forum and waited. A little while later, I checked the URL again and it had reappeared just as mysteriously as it had left. So very odd.

I am taking it as a sign from "the internets" that I am being given a second chance. So thankful it reappeared! I can't say I am going to start posting every day but I promise to be better. :)

Thursday, March 1, 2012

February re-cap...

Since I managed to disappear from the blog world for a little over a week now, I thought I would give a February update just to prove I am still around. :)

Running Miles: 68.3.

Cycling Miles: 135.25. Oddly enough this is 50 miles higher than last month even though I felt like I had not ridden much at all in February. Go figure.

Swimming Yardage: 18,591. (it is an odd number because I swim in a 25m pool and the program I use to log my workouts coverts the meters to yards)

Races: Run the Reagan 5k. If you were wondering about the 10k I had planned, I decided to scrap it in favor of using this 5k as a qualifier. Mostly a scheduling issue. I will have to save pursuit of the a new 10k PR for next year :)

What I did to bust out of my comfort zone: Not much in thinking back on it. Surely there must have been something... I did sign up to be a mentee in the Atlanta Triathlon Club. I have had one call with my mentor but haven't made it to a practice yet. Their group rides start in April so am hoping to be more active with them going forward. I felt like getting a mentor would help me meet people within the group and make me more likely to go to group events. I have a bad habit of getting excited about group training and then just training on my own because it tends to be more convenient.

What I am watching: Trying to watch Biggest Loser but their cat fighting makes me want to turn it off. I might give it another week. I do love Emily - I cheered at the TV when she announced her stretch goal of doing an ironman to her Dad.

What I am reading: The Hunger Games. I am probably the last person on board with this one but LOVE it. I was afraid it was going to be like Twilight which does not interest me at all so I hesitated despite all the rave reviews. I listened to the first book on audio during my long runs and am currently on book two. So, so good.

Current excitement: Looking forward to the Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach (still). Also looking forward to getting back on a triathlon training schedule. I have been kind of in limbo which has given me a lot of freedom to do other things (like tennis) but I think I do better when I am working towards a goal.

What I am loving this month: E-meals. I love this program. Check out their website for full info but the short version is this... $4.99 a month for pre-planned menus and shopping lists. They have a variety of menu types so there is something for everyone(weight watchers, low fat, "normal", vegetarian, etc.). CR and I are on the low-fat for two menu. All the recipes have been really good. Here is the winner for me - I spend less $$ at the grocery store AND I only go to the store once a week instead of what felt like every other day. True LOVE.

My favorite product this month: Burts Bees Cuticle Cream. Chlorine kills cuticles, Burts Bees brings them back to life. That is all. :)

What is going on in March:
- Shamrock n Roll 10k, Atlanta
- Shamrock Marathon, Virginia Beach
- Atlanta Women's 5k