Health Journey- Sprint Tri and 9K

So...last January Bryan and I decided to take the leap and begin working out on a weekly basis.  We began working out with my second cousin/professional trainer, David twice a week.  Who else would you rather have pinch your rolls than a family member!!  Over the four months that we saw David we also began to see results.  He gave us an 'education' in the world of lifting weights.  He also led us to his nutritionist friend Barry, who convinced us to go on an all organic, detox diet for 3 weeks.  So, we gave up coffee, diet coke and alcohol.  Well...let's just say I did my best (which was better than I had done before the diet) and Bryan has the strongest will power of anyone.  Needless to say, I did have a few slips, a tall americano here and a small glass of wine there...but still a huge decrease in my caffeine and alcohol intake overall.  I did manage to stop drinking diet coke for 3 months.  Bryan was able to steer free of coffee for almost 5 months and still only has it occassionaly.  


We chugged our detox shake in the morning, drank a lot of green tea, ate organic fruits and veggies, grass feed beef, wild salmon and snacked on almonds.  It was difficult at first but we both lost close to 10lbs in that short time.  We have kept up a lot of the things we learned and of course we have the occasional 'splurge'.  Many thanks to David and Barry!! 


As our journey progressed, we felt like we were ready to go out on our own.  In May 2009 we left the safe little studio where David trained us and joined Lifetime Fitness here in Gilbert.  Since then we have kept up our twice a week strength training and much more.  During the summer with Bryan's flexible schedule, we were both working 6-7 times a week.  I am a total 'class junkie'.  I love barbell strength training, total conditional and spinning.  Bryan and I have been spinning once a week together which has been fun.  Now that school has started and we are busier we are working out 4-5 days a week.  


I know that we both feel better and look better too.  :) he he  
To date Bryan has lost 25 lbs and had to get all of his dress pants taken in.
To date I have lost 20 lbs and I got to go shopping too. 

OK, onto the Sprint Triathlon.  I would have never guessed back in January when I started with David that I would ever be able to think about doing a sprint tri, in fact I had never heard to one.  In July, a "Mama friend" of mine was recruiting other moms to do one with her on October 4, 2009.  So, I decided to start training for it and see how I felt when it got closer.  The race begins with a 300 yard swim (in a heated country club pool, which I have to say is NICE), a 15.4 mile bike ride and a 2 mile run.  The swimming part was by far my biggest obstacle.  Yes, I could swim when I was twelve years old and yes I can swim if I were in danger...but doing the front crawl for that distance is not my strongest skill.  When I first got in the water, the end of July I could not swim one lap without gasping for air.  Breath control was the hardest part for me.  I even bought a nose plug and threatened to wear it.  I took it to Roatan just to make Nate laugh.  

I have since been swimming twice a week (without the nose plug) and I am proud to say that I have much better breath control.  I can swim 12 laps (300 yards), serpentine (switching lanes every two laps) in 8 min and 58 seconds.  It may not be pretty but I can do it without having to take a break like I did when I began.  As for the biking, I count my spinning as my practice, which I do for an hour a week but I do not know the distance when I spin.  My fastest 15.5 mile bike is 55 minutes on the stationary bike.  55 minutes is a long time and I hope to be able to go much faster on the rode. Typically, I can run two miles in 19 minutes.  I can run a 9 minute one mile, so hopefully on race day I can do a 18 minute two mile.  

Sooo, according to my calculations...

My goal is: 

A ROCKEN TIME: 1 hour and 30 minutes or less (I have to take into account two transitions- one from swim to bike and one from bike to run) 

A REALISTIC TIME: 1 hour and 45 minutes 

A 'I HAD BETTER DO IT IN' TIME: 2 hours 

The best part of the whole thing has been training with Bryan and my girl Jenn.  Bryan was going to do it with me but it was just too difficult this year with the girls, so we will do one together in the future.  He has been training with me which has been great.  I have also been training with my good friend Jenn.  She had been wanting to do a tri so when this came up I sent the info her way.  She is a great swimmer, so she has taught me a few tricks.  It has been such a bonding experience and something I am so happy to share with her.  I can hardly wait until race day.  Two weeks and two days to go.  

We are coming into cooler weather here in the Valley of the Sun.  Bryan and I are looking forward to biking and running with the girls and getting out and about this fall and winter.  Love living here this time of year.  

LOOKING AHEAD- on November 8th we are participating in our first family run for charity. We are running in the Race for Maggie's Place with our Catholic Mom's group.  The race is a 9K (5.6 miles), representing the 9 months of pregnancy.  We will be pushing the girls in a stroller.  We hope to do it in an hour, but that may be pushing it with stops along the way to pass out treats to the girlies.   

http//race4maggiesplace.com 

Maggie's Place Mission
Maggie’s Place is a community of homes that provide hospitality for pregnant women that are alone or on the streets. We have a two-fold strategy in assisting mothers to grow. First, Maggie’s Place provides for the immediate physical and emotional needs of our guests including shelter, food, clothing, and a supportive community. As such, we are a family and a community! In addition, Maggie’s Place connects the mothers to the appropriate agencies and resources including prenatal care, health insurance, low-cost housing, and education programs. In doing so, we are supporting the mother in both her short-term and long-term goals!

I will keep you posted on our results.  Cheers to being fit, feeling strong and loving it.