Third (fifth?) time's a charm

I've started and stopped this blog so many times, that I have lost count at this point.  But, yet again, I'd like to use it to keep track of my fitness goals and encourage myself to keep my focus on the positive.

Some things have changed since my last post 3 years ago.  A little lady joined our family in May 2012 and I've found a new fitness love: Crossfit.  It has fueled me through the last (nearly) two years and brought so much joy to my life--physically, mentally and emotionally.  The community I have found at our box is something I haven't experienced in a long time (or perhaps ever).

While Crossfit has afforded me the opportunity to make and meet many goals, I have decided to return to a goal from 2009--complete a half iron triathlon.  My sights are set on this summer (July or August 2015). And, the time has come to start building base.  I'll still be WOding 4-5 days a week (and it's winter for the next 6 months here in NH...), so I'll be trying to work in runs and time on the trainer in addition to my morning workout.

Today is Christmas.  It was a delightful and chaotic day with the children.  By mid-afternoon, I was crazed and needing some time to sweat it out.  So, today: 45 minutes on the trainer.  My computer is on the fritz, so I have no idea how many miles I got in, but I was nice and sweaty after.

Well, here's to 2015.  Hopefully, many more posts to come!

Moody

Pregnancy does some crazy things to your body--and even 18 months later, I'm still feeling a little out of whack! Pre-Sean, my moods didn't swing wildly through the month. Now, I feel like I'm an emotional roller coaster. This weekend, I was happy and giggling about a prank I pulled on a friend (loading random appointments into his calendar). Today, I am a mix of weepy and "come too close to me and I will rip your face off". It's days like today I need to really be mindful of all the wonderful things around me.

I started the day off with a run, despite the fact that I was feeling totally exhausted and dehydrated. It wasn't a stellar run by any means (20 minutes, with 5 minutes of power walking at the end), but I had to go. I didn't run yesterday, and if two days go by without hitting the pavement in some way, I fall out of the routine and turn right back into a couch potato. I finally feel like I'm making some progress on my fitness and strength, so I really don't want to lose my momentum right now.

My parents are visiting right now--soaking in some quality time with the little man and helping with a few house projects. It's tough to find a good balance of getting things done and having fun--and I feel like we always spend too much time on the former. However, yesterday, my mom and I took Sean to a local farm that advertizes itself as a petting zoo. What fun it was to see all these crazy goats trying to scale the fence to get to the little cup of feed in Sean's hand! I'm not sure who had more fun amongst the three of us--and I am pretty sure that we'll be stopping in again soon!

So, what's good right now? Here's three:
1. Just finished a lovely cup of coffee at my desk.
2. The air conditioning my office feels good today!
3. P90X should be arriving today or tomorrow! Jeremiah and I will be Drs Diesel by Thanksgiving!

(although, I would still keep your distance. I might still rip your face off--unless you approach with chocolate in-hand!)

Hopping back on the wagon

Months ago, I promised to blog every day to celebrate the positive--in a way, to force myself to see the good things in my life. I failed. I'm not sure why, but I did.

But, now, I'd like to hop back on the wagon for a few reasons. First, this summer has given me chance to see that we really do have it good. I know it feels hard a lot of the time, especially during the academic year. But, the truth is, we have a roof over our head, meals on the table, money in the bank, and most of all, a beautiful little boy who is filling our house and our lives with contagious giggles and boundless energy. I never expected parenting to be simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding thing I'd ever do in my life.

Second, I'm really making a commitment to get my butt ( well really my whole body!) back into shape. I was reading through previous posts about training for the half iron--and I miss that. I miss pushing myself to accomplish something big. I'm lacking that in my professional life right now, and I need to diversify my personal life. I love being a mother, but I've been feeling too one dimensional for a while. I am making a commitment to put myself first every once and while. As Jeremiah says, "Be selfish. I'll let you know when you're crossing a line." So, there you have it. I'm going to be selfish for a while. I will get back into the damn Seven jeans. I will feel good about the way I look in pictures. I will feel sexy in my own skin again. It's going to take a lot of hard work and some compromises, but I am motivated to make it happen.

Thirdly (is that even a word?), we're not content here in NH and I feel negative a lot of the time. I need to find the joy in the little things--so that I can handle the big things without feeling overwhelmed and defeated.

So what's so good today? It's in the upper 70s and sunny. I had a great cup of coffee and the little guy didn't run into the street when he wanted to see the dog across the street. He reached up to hold my hand and pointed. It's so amazing to watch him learn things.

And on the fitness level:
Ran 3.4 miles/35:44 minutes. Not a great pace, but I'm getting stronger. The hills here are killer and certainly slow the pace. I'm looking forward to a flat run someday to see just how much fitness I've gained!

I'll be looking into running races for this fall--and some tris for next spring/summer. It feels good to be focused again.

keep your eyes peeled

It's true that life totally passes you by if you are not paying attention. On Saturday, Jeremiah and I drove over to Hanover to watch Cornell Women's lacrosse play Dartmouth. On our way there, I noticed a car pulled off on the side of the road. Thankfully, Jeremiah was more alert. Lo and behold, this guy was standing in the woods by the side of the road.


I made Jeremiah turn around and go back so I could get some pictures. It's not everyday you see a moose.

every day? really?

Maybe I should shoot for every week instead--since I've already failed miserably at posting. But, the beauty of this new outlook is that I can't beat myself up for imperfections. Mistakes happen--and sometimes take you places more beautiful than you were going in the first place.

What did this week have in store for us? Jeremiah didn't get fired. I should probably explain that....

On Wednesday, when I made my first post, Jeremiah was presenting to the faculty at PSU about a little project we're calling "Plymouth Pick-upPalooza". After 6 weeks of collecting garbage in our neighborhood, Jeremiah weighed the bags (that have been collecting in our garage, basement and foyer) to reveal that one man, on one 20 minute dog walk per day can collect 117.5 lbs of recycling. I'm not sure what's more frightening: Jeremiah presenting this information to the faculty or the fact that there was that much garbage on our streets. I thought it was crazy to collect all this garbage. I thought it was crazier to present to the faculty, fearing he would be flamed for revealing the flaws of our students. But, when you love someone, you have support their dreams--even if you think doing so will result in them getting fired and you having to sell the house. Ultimately, the faculty embraced him and now he's a man on a mission.


Look for "Plymouth Pick-upPalooza" on FB and like him. And, for those of you keeping track--yes, this means that Jeremiah has a Facebook page!

year 34

Today is the first day of my 34th year--well, I guess it's really the second day since it's the day after my birthday. This blog has laid dormant for a long time (which is apparently what happens to a lot of blogs) and I decided that for this year, technically my 35th (in progress), I'll post every day.

So much of life passes by without us really taking stock of what's happening around us, to us, for us. This year, I want to know that I experienced every minute (to the best of my ability). I know this is not a novel idea, and there will be plenty of people who do it better than I will, but I need this right now. I need to make sure I'm not wishing away days and waiting for the-end-of-the-semester-when-I'm-thinner-or-more-in-shape-when-the-weather-is-better days.

I thank Kelle Hampton and her amazing blog and outlook on life for helping me to see that, yes, it is the small things in life that make it worth living.

A three sport day

ugh.

Thanks to yesterday's cold and windy weather, I shuffled around my workouts so I could do the brick today. Unfortunately, it wasn't really that much warmer. And since I couldn't squeeze in a trip to the pool yesterday, I had to make today a three sporter.

The pool was EMPTY, which was totally awesome. I love not having to share a lane, especially on my long days. However, I will never understand why the Nat can't make the water just a little bit warmer. I definitely stand on the pool deck for a few extra minutes, dreading the coldness I am about to plunge into. Today's workout:

250 yds warm up
1800 yds main set
250 yds cool down

Main set took 29:50, meaning I am still maintaining a 1:40 pace for the 100s as the swims get longer. I'm pretty satisfied with that and I felt like i probably could have pushed myself a little harder today, but since I had been dreading the pool workout, and since I still had a brick ahead of me, I didn't push to exhaustion.

brick:
bike 1hr, 16 miles.
run 23 minutes.

The wind was okay...not great, but I was able to maintain speed most of the time. I also have gained back a lot of confidence staying in aero. I nearly hit a bunny rabbit who dashed out onto the bike path. Thankfully, I avoided him...and the lady that was riding slightly in front of me. I would have felt pretty dumb if I had caused both of us to crash, in order to avoid hitting a rabbit. silly rabbit.

The run felt terrible and I never really hit a groove until I was about three blocks from home. Around the 11 min mark, I almost started to cry. I mean, in 9 weeks, I have to put this all together, and finish 70.3 miles. I feel so far from ready right now I can't imagine how I'm going to get there.

And, I may be suffering from a little bit of overtraining. I'm dreading workout, frustrated with my performance and feel kind of down. Today, I even picked a fight with Dear Husband because he stayed at the lake later than he had said....even though it didn't affect me directly. Tomorrow is a day off--both physcially and mentally, as I am taking a day off of work too. I hope that Tuesday I return with a renewed enthusiasm that will push me through the next 9 weeks.