Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Obsessed.

 Guys. Jolyn makes the BEST swimsuits ever for swimming laps and also for looking gorgeous laying by the pool. I have their triangle top and scoop bottoms in watermelon and highlighter yellow, respectively, and out of all the two pieces I've swam in over the years this one is my favorite. The tie straps allow for a perfect fit and the bottoms have a built-in drawstring so they don't budge while you're swimming. I've been lusting over their vent tops and misfit tops and gah, its killing me not to buy another set. But, alas, bills. Bills always win. Maybe if I actually complete Tone it Up's entire bikini series a new suit will be my reward.

Where do you get most of your suits? Please tell me I'm not the only one with a serious swimsuit addiction ;)

photo credit: Jolyn Swimwear

Friday, April 25, 2014

The Happies

When you have a rough week I think one of the easiest ways to turn your attitude around is to make a quick list of all the simple (or not so simple) things that make you happy. Here is my list for the week:

-Setting up an appointment for a couple new tattoos next week(!)

-Coming home to a clean and organized house (because I have the world's best boyfriend)

-beef flautas from a tiny Mexican place on the river 

-summery nails

-a fresh hair trim

-sleeping wonderfully in hotel beds

-getting my tan back

-a happy, better adjusted cat

-finishing a good book and immediately starting on the next one

-warm, spring weather

-Easter dresses

-gopher snakes on the trail

-getting to watch one of the world triathlon championship races

What are your happies?? I know Lauren got a new job and I have a good friend racing in her first olympic tri this weekend! Good Luck Erin!!


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

31.9


Done and done. You know, that Olympic distance triathlon thing I have been worried and stressed out about for the past 3 months. On April 12 I showed up at Boulder Beach in Boulder City at approximately 6am and was mostly ready for it. Actually, I was stressed and just plain excited about the fact that in a few short hours I'd be able to cross 'Olympic tri' off my list and be able to eat lots of delicious food. Sadly, it didn't really go as planned and now that I've had a solid week to think about it and talk about it and get over it I'm more than happy to discuss it. 

I swam 2 days before the race in the lake hoping to get a feel for how cold it would be. I thought that although it was cold, it was nothing I couldn't handle and that it wouldn't be too big of a deal. HA. Not so. The swim portion was cold. So very cold. I am a good swimmer, I've considered myself very comfortable in the water forever and yet in the last 10 or so minutes of my swim I was DONE. I was sick of being cold and my hands and toes had gone completely numb. All I could think about was being warm and being excited to move onto the bike portion so that I could be in the sun.

As I made it out of the water and up the hill to my transition spot, my family was there to cheer me on and while it helped, I was also a bit of a mess. I made it to my spot and was shaking so badly I could barely get my socks on. I had trouble standing and I just wanted to stop. I was having trouble taking deep breaths and although I knew I needed to hurry and keep going I was a little over it. But I made it through my transition, up the never-ending transition hill and thought to myself, 'enjoy this.' HA. This marked the second time that the universe decided that this tri was not going to be my best. Within a couple of minutes of being on my bike I developed a side stitch that ran the entire length of my right oblique. I swear to you I could not take a deep breath to save my life. No breathing means that the portion I look forward to the most was going down the drain. I will tell you now, more tears were shed on this tri that I have ever shed on any workout. It was hard, it sucked and while it eventually got manageable, it was the worst ride I've ever had. 

Now that I had a 1500m swim out of the way, and a 24.8mi bike ride done I only had one portion left: the 10k run. You should know, while I have made the most improvements on my running since I began training, the run has always been the hardest. I'm just not the best runner. I came to terms with it a loonngg time ago and now it's just the way things are. I knew that it would be a difficult run but that I'd be fine. And let me tell you, the run portion was rough. It was HOT and the first 3 miles were completely uphill. Thankfully, I had a girl doing the exact same pace as me in front of me and I simply focused on keeping her close. If I could keep her in my sights, I was doing fine. After an hour and a half (again, worst time I've had) I finished and you get that picture up top there as the result. After seeing that picture I thought, oh it was obviously better than I remember it, look how happy you are! But really, I'm smiling because I'm done. Because I don't ever have to do that again if I don't want to, because Chris was at the end with 4 tylenol and because I was going to get a medal saying that I finished instead of giving up (which, I did not get). 

This was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, hands down. It was painful; emotionally, mentally and physically. And yet, I'm grateful for it. This race taught me that no matter how bad it gets, I can do it. I am strong enough to not give up and no matter how many tears are shed during that race, it's all good. It's nothing I can't fix at the next one ;-).


Tuesday, April 8, 2014

March


So, let's discuss March. Because although my last post was written at the very beginning of the month and it SEEMED like everything was going to go along swimmingly it most certainly did not. However, I promise this will not be a giant rant. If there is one thing that tops my list of pet peeves it is constant complaining, no long negative train to hop on here, not at all.

But, back to the joy that was the month of March. Let's start with the fact that I was out of town for work every.single.week. That starts to wear on a person real quick. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if I wasn't attempting to train for a triathlon OR if I hadn't had several 12-14 hour days followed by less than 6 hours of sleep. To say that I was a little frustrated with my job by the end of the month would be an understatement. Secondly, on the third weekend of the month I crashed on my bike. Not just a little fall, a CRASH. I still have a hematoma in one arm and bruises/scars on my arms and legs. YAY for bikes.

And then to round out the month of fun, I got food poisoning and spent the better part of a weekend being violently ill and losing several pounds. You know, all lots of exciting things. I cannot tell you how excited I was that March was ending and April was soon to be upon us and let me tell you, April has been SO much better!

For example:
-I got to actually train for an entire week and feel slightly less worried that I'm going to die this weekend on the tri course


-I took some "after" pics to see whether I changed at all from the start of training to the end and was pleasantly surprised by a tiny bit of muscle change

-Chris and I moved into a townhouse we are renting and we are LOVING it.

And last but not least, after not riding my bike for upwards of 3 weeks I got back on it and did totally fine. Let's keep up the awesomeness April, I could get used to it.