This post is in honor of the Great American Smokeout and the Quit for Life movement. It's a long one, but I want to share the darker, more tar-stained side of myself with you, especially if you're a smoker who is trying to quit. It's possible.
Oh, heck no, you don't. Until you do... someday. [via]
I started smoking cigarettes when I was seventeen to be rebellious (even though my dad was dying from cancer and heart disease related to his 30+ years of smoking), to calm my ever-present anxieties, and to look cool and detached. Plus, I loved the feeling of lighting up a cigarette after a day in high school. It felt adult. At the time, I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I start college."
Here's a timeline of my smoking from age seventeen to now, 'cuz I FER SURE didn't quit smoking when I started college.
Eighteen:
Everybody on campus smoked. How was I going to meet people if I didn't smoke?! [via]
College started and smoking was part of my life. It was a way to get away for a few minutes when I was waiting tables or needed a break between classes. It was a way to look "cool and detached" when meeting new people. Cigarettes tasted great with coffee. When I was eighteen and starting to smoke more than I did when I was seventeen, I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I turn nineteen."
At nineteen, I started dating the future Hubs. He didn't like smoking, so I told him I didn't smoke. I was a bad liar. There aren't any pictures of me smoking from the time we started dating because I didn't want him to know I smoked. If I knew I was going to see him, I would smoke and then chew gum and spray myself with Bath and Body Works spray. I really thought it worked-- Bath and Body Works spray is strong. In reality, who was I kidding? You can smell smoke on someone the minute you come into contact with them. I didn't know-- my sense of smell was not so good because, duh, smoking. I thought to myself, "I'll quit if we get serious."
Twenty came and I smoked for all of the same reasons as when I was eighteen and nineteen. As a someone who has always been a workaholic, the only way I would slow down and take a break was if I was taking a smoke break. At twenty, I moved in with the Future Hubs. After I moved in with Future Hubs, I tried to quit, but it was too hard. I was full of excuses. I just told myself I'd never smoke in front of him. He was, after all, playing with the band in smokey bars and everyone smelled bad when they got home. Like, smelled bad FOR DAYS. Twenty-one approached and I knew I couldn't quit yet-- beer tasted so good when accompanied by a cigarette. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I get a real job."
I got my first teaching job at twenty-two. My first year teaching was terribly stressful. My teacher friends and I would leave the school during out plan period and smoke cigarette after cigarette while driving around the block in one of our cars. We'd smoke and laugh and vent-- it was my favorite time of the day. I thought to myself, "I'll just smoke for the first few years of teaching and quit when I'm twenty-five. Then teaching won't be so stressful."
At twenty-five, I got married to the Hubs. It was beautiful. I was down to smoking one or two cigarettes at day-- did I mention I always enjoyed running for fun and had stuck to my habit of running three to five miles a few times a week this whole time? Running kept the cigarette number down. A few months after our wedding, I blew out my knee while training for a half marathon and settled in for a long year of surgery and recovery. Then the surgeon said no more running, never again. At twenty-five?! A piece of me died and I got really depressed. I smoked to relieve the stress of being injured. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I'm up and walking and less depressed."
I lost almost fifty pounds by not eating. No exercise was involved-- just very obsessive not eating. I decided to not quit smoking because I didn't want to put any weight back on. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I'm at my goal weight."
In the winter of 2010, I tried to quit because my best friend was quitting. I stuck to it for four months with lots of flavored gum and tins of mints, but I eventually quit quitting. I'd put on almost twenty pounds and I kept getting sick with sinus infections after I quit. It was too hard. In the spring of 2010, the Michigan Smoke-Free Air Law was passed. No more smoking in bars and restaurants meant I had to move myself outside during the Hub's shows and now everyone could smell it. I stopped smoking at bars and restaurants. One day, the Hubs pulled up next to me while I was smoking in my car. He called my cell. "Was that YOU smoking while I drove by?!" Busted. I quit smoking in my car. The real quitting had begun. Then it was erased when I went to Paris and everyone was smoking. I succumbed to peer pressure and smoked. It felt great. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I get home. When in Rome..."
Twenty-Nine: The Year of Becoming a Quitter
Thank you, swimming.
In August of 2011, at the age of 29 and a few months before I articulated all of my athletic goals on my 30b430 list, I finally quit smoking for real. After returning from my second summer in Senegal, I was sitting around and feeling extremely out of shape. I went out and got a gym membership. With the membership came a free health assessment. My weight was back up-- WAY up. The health assessment did not give my a glowing review of my health. And I was still smoking. WTF.
Ran a 10k last April. Boo to you, mean surgeon-- and he was mean. I'm not just picking on him.
So, I quit. It felt like my 1000th time quitting, although I'm unsure of what number the actual attempt was. I didn't do it with patches, gum, or e-cigarettes. I did it with swimming. I got into the pool and tried to swim one length. I couldn't. My chest was caving in. I thought I was having an asthma attack. I wanted to pass out. "OH, HELLS NO!!!!" I said as I finally reached the end of the pool lane. It sounded more like, "OH" sigh, breath, cough, phelm, "HE" breath, breath, "LLS," cough, wheeze, breath, "NO."
I can bike over twenty miles now. Without wheezing.
I quit cold turkey and started going to a water aerobics class with a feisty group of women over fifty until I could work out for an hour straight.
Not these feisty ladies. Healthier feisty ladies. [via]
Then I took swim lessons. Then I started swimming laps on my own. Then I decided to start biking, then I decided the rebellious thing to do as I approached thirty was to start running again (because EFF YOU surgeon), and then I decided that triathlons were for me.
What I Won (Besides My Age Division) by Quitting
August, 2014: Still tri-ing, still a quitter.
This list isn't from a quit smoking website. It's based on what I noticed about myself after I quit smoking:
1. I can breathe.
2. I can breathe.
3. I can breathe.
4. I smell nice.
5. My car smells nice and there are no burn holes in the seats.
6. I don't have to wash my jeans after each wear.
7. I don't have to brush my teeth to kiss the Hubs.
8. My teeth are merely stained from coffee, not tobacco.
9. I can swim almost two miles.
10. My body is healing itself from the years of abuse. I can feel it, I swear! It's awesome! Regeneration!
11. I don't sound hoarse after a night of non-stop smoking.
12. I get sinus infections a lot less than I did when I was smoking. I don't know if this is something that happens to all people who quit, but it happened to me!
13. If we have kids, our kid won't be the one whose worksheets smell like cigarettes when they turn their work in. It's a thing I noticed when I was teacher. Just go with it.
Check out the Great American Smokeout Tools and Resources if you're interested in quitting. It took me more than ten years, but I did it. So use the tools and resources. Or, just quit cold turkey. Or, get some gum. Or, get Chantix. I don't care how you do it, as long as you're doing it.
This summer has been a little difficult as far as my weight. I've been pretty stressed out due to my summer job and find myself eating my stress, but then I feel myself riding twenty miles to blow off steam and I know my old self wouldn't be able to do that. There's comfort in that!
Back to the race.
The swim was my fastest yet. Last year's swim time was just over thirteen minutes and this year I came in at just over ten. The bike was smooth, but the run was ROUGH. Last year, I came around twenty-six minutes and this year, I came in at twenty-eight and a half. It was so hot and humid that I felt light-headed and almost passed out near the end. My feet were swollen and fell asleep after the first mile. Longest 5k ever!
Despite the rough run, I beat my time of 1 hour, 23 minutes by two minutes!
Final time, 1 hour, 21 minutes.
My favorite group of tri friends!
Three days later, I swam my second 2k race of the summer. Perhaps I'll swim the 5k or even 10k next summer?
Despite my busy schedule, I'm making time for summer training and I'm having fun. I'm gonna keep moving at breakneck speed. Why not?
I was really proud of my ability to stick to my training plan this week. My body is less sore, I'm starting to feel faster, and fitting in the workouts has not been very difficult. I got my running mile back down in the nine minute range, so it's only a few more weeks before I'm back in the 8:30 range! I'm also down six pounds, which is making me feel a lot better about myself!
The Plan
Monday- 23 swim, 43 bike
Tuesday- 23 run
Wednesday- 2k Open Water Swim (ooooo, my first open water swim competition!!!!) I'm nervous!!!!
Thursday- 62 bike, 31 run
Friday- Off
Saturday-39 swim, 77 bike
Sunday- 31 run
The Real Deal
Monday- 23 swim, 43 bike- I fit this workout in during a two hour work break. Now that's balance.
Tuesday- 24 run
Wednesday- Did my 2k swim in just under 40 min. I signed up for another one in July because now I want to beat my time.
Thursday- 37 run- It was a HOT one!
Friday- 61 bike that I neglected on Thursday
Saturday-35 swim, 64 bike
Sunday- 32 run
This week will be a challenge because I'm starting my summer job. We'll see what happens. Luckily, it is a fairly light week because I have a race (the Gull Lake Triathlon) on Saturday. I have another race the next Sunday! My mantra needs to be ice, ice, ice, stretch, stretch, stretch, and DON'T OVERDO IT! I also need to remember to stay away from dairy as it REALLY messes up my tummy. I remembered this yesterday after my romp with a hot fudge sundae. I've got this.
This Week's Training Plan
Monday- 14 run (Edward Sharpe Concert!)
Tuesday- 14 swim, 28 bike
Wednesday- 19 swim
Thursday- 37 bike, 19 run
Friday- Off
Saturday- RACE!
Sunday- Off, yoga
Wish me luck this week! I'm feeling really anxious about my summer job and I want it to go well. I'm a (wo)Man on Fire:
Hehe... I'm really excited about this concert and had to fit this video in somewhere!
Empire Records is one of my adolescent self's favorite movies and over the last few weeks, I've been finding myself constantly making comparisons to Liv Tyler's character-- not the losing my virginity to Rex Manning part-- but the using every hour of every day to do something part... minus the speed. If I don't clear some space for myself, I'm going to FREAK OUT:
Oh man, that is some A+ acting... fer reals.
But seriously, I have been way too busy for the last two weeks. My expectation of what my summer was going to be compared to what it is is making me feel really overwhelmed. I just finished my eighth year of working in schools and teaching and I want to write down the lessons that took me six years to really learn so that I don't forget as I delve deeper into my summer work:
1. My family comes before my career.
2. My physical and mental health come before my career.
3. No teacher should strive to be a martyr.
Easy, right?
Bwahahaha
Anyway, onto tri training and my week of workouts...
Going back to clean eating was fairly easy and it made me feel awesome. I slipped a little lot yesterday when we had people over, but it was to be expected and I'm not beating myself up over it. Plus, I rode 36 miles on my bike (more on that in a minute) so I didn't feel too bad about eating like crap. Back to it this week!
Training this week was a bit brutal on my body. I'm left with these questions:
When will the day come when I am no longer sore?
What am I doing wrong?
Is my body just not meant to be athletic?
Should I stretch for longer than 15 minutes after my workouts?
Kind of negative, I know, but GEEZ. I think I've been sore since January.
The Plan
Monday: 23 swim
Tuesday: 46 bike
Wednesday: 31 swim, 62 bike
Thursday: 31 run
Friday: 39 swim
Saturday: 5K and 36 mile bike to South Haven
Sunday: Off!
The Real Deal
Monday: 60 swim
Tuesday: 90 bike and yoga
Wednesday: 31 swim
Thursday: 60 bike, 35 run
Friday: Off (my low back was KILLING me from my run)
Saturday: No 5k due to the killer low back, 36 mile bike ride adventure to South Haven
Sunday: Off
Conclusions:
I need to run more and stretch for longer afterwards.
Yoga is key
The better I eat, the more energy I have
Now, I'd like to expand on what I meant when I called yesterday's bike ride a "36 mile bike ride adventure."
I wanted to ride to South Haven to celebrate being what we like to call "Dirty Thirty." Here is the conversation I had with the park volunteer before we set out on the bike trail that gets people from Kalamazoo to South Haven:
Volunteer: Where are you riding?
Me: To South Haven
Volunteer: Didn't you read the signs? There are about 100 trees down between here and there.
Me: Well, we're gonna try it anyway.
And try it we did. It was truly a Dirty Thirty celebration.
The volunteer was wrong. There were 185 downed trees. And we traversed the wilderness to make it work. What is usually a two to two and a half hour ride became a four hour riding and hiking adventure:
I'm fairly certain this ride did not help my low back issues... however, it was so fun that I threw caution to the wind.
Getting our bikes through became a crazy obstacle course.
At one point we hit the road because the trees were too much. I may have turned to drink.
Then we were back to the trees!
We lost our man Joe when the derailleur was ripped off of his bike (the Hubs picked him up), Alyssa and I probably have poison ivy, Miche became a professional weight lifter to get her bike over branches, and DWebb lost a spoke and got stabbed by a branch, but it was all in good fun. I have really good friends, and despite the crazy overwhelming busy schedule, I got to spend a lot of time with them yesterday. :)
This week's the training schedule looks like this:
Monday- 23 swim, 43 bike
Tuesday- 23 run
Wednesday- 2k Open Water Swim (ooooo, my first open water swim competition!!!!) I'm nervous!!!!
I came in second in my new age group and was four minutes faster than last year, but...
...it hurt.
I need a training and eating plan to prep for my next sprint triathlon on June 29th. Honestly, I'm feeling A) out of shape and B) fat. I say "fat" not to be self-deprecating. My joints are creaking from carrying the extra ten-- or is it fifteen?-- pounds I gained while eating my feelings and finishing my Master's. I'm a curvy girl and always will be, but I refuse to be a knee aching, hip-hurting, lower back pain suffering curvy girl. Not gonna happen. I started thinking a lot about this sore joints issue after reading this article about Athena triathletes.
This week, I'm going back to clean eating and sticking to a training plan. Clean eating can be really hard for me because I have an intense love of candy, but I'm going to try to be clean because I've got to lose this pain.
Hey friends, I've got my potential race plan for this year. I'm trying to figure out exactly what I'm going to do so I can register early and save a few bucks. I've applied for a summer fellowship out of the country and on the very slim chance that I get it all of my plans for June and July will be completely different, but I figure that planning is a good idea. I just won't register until I find out in March.
I don't race to be competitive. Placing feels really good, but I'm really just thankful that I can finish a triathlon/trail run/5k/anything. I never saw myself as someone who was very athletic. Thankfully, I've got an amazing group of friends to keep me motivated! Doing all of these things is so much more fun when you are with a group of awesome people. I will never do a big run or tri on my own again. Let me give you a little 2012 fun-review to convince you West Michiganders to join me this year:
It's always good to finish a race!
My favorite ladies to tri with. It's a blast!
We really just complete triathlons for what comes afterwards. I kid, I kid, it's just a bonus!
The races with an asterisk next to them are races I did last year and will definitely do again.
Indoor Triathlons:
All of these are in my hometown. I do indoor triathlons on my own and don't see the point of driving all over the state to do one.
*3Rivers- August 17 (My favorite and hardest outdoor in 2012)
Open Water Swims:
A major goal I have this year is to swim a 5k!
Swim to the Moon (5k swim, hopefully I will find enough people to to the 5k Team)- August 11
Physically Strong (2k swim)- Late August
Runs:
I'll throw in some 5k runs and other fun runs whenever I can afford it. Runs are not my first priority. I will probably do the Color Run again depending on how many people will do it with me!
Yesterday I completed my last triathlon of the season-- The Three Rivers Triathlon.
This was the hardest tri I've done this season because of the hills! Let me illustrate:
Artist rendering of the emotional feeling of bike and run routes (who knows what it really looks like)
I had a great time yesterday. I wasn't expecting to place in anything-- mostly because my tri ladies and I went through the bike route earlier in the week and my hill performances were laughable. I decided my goal for this tri was to finish and drink a celebratory summer shandy.
The weather was perfect, although at 53 degrees it was a chilly start:
I kept my hoodie on for as long as possible.
The swim went well. I had no anxious freakout in the water and I felt like it went by fairly quickly. I had a couple ladies grab my foot which startled me, but it also kept me on my game. Plus, I caught up to the end of the men's wave so I felt like an Olympian. Hehe.
The bike was hard. Really hard. Over this summer of triathlons I've learned that I really like biking even though it forms calluses on my bootie. Yesterday's race taught me that I need to learn how to hill climb. There were two points where I thought I might get off and just walk. Then I got it together and just climbed the hill in agony. Maybe I'll sign up for a spin class in the fall?
Something fun about triathlons is that people are really encouraging. This woman and I kept passing each other on the bike every few minutes. After the first half of the bike leg she passed me again and we had a little conversation:
Me: UGH! I am trying to beat you but you keep passing me! Haha!
Her: Girl, I am 55... you can do it! Let's keep motivating each other!
Me uphill: I can't pass you on hills because I don't know how to stand while biking!
Her: Hahahaha! What?!
I ended up beating her after I squirted my Gu pack all over my hands because I also don't know how to bike with one hand. I've noticed in my first season of triathlons that most of the women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are way better than women in their 20s. I hope I am as fit as they are when I am their age! Maybe I'll even be able to stand while climbing hills and let go of the handlebars sometimes!
The run hurt, but I made it through. It was beautiful running weather but again, the hills were killer. My calves were screaming! I finished with a smile on my face, ate some pancakes (best post race breakfast ever), and drank my summer shandy. Our results were posted and imagine my surprise when I saw that I took third in my age group?
I was not expecting to place. Danielle tells me that I need to have higher expectations of myself. I'm getting there... slowly but surely. A year ago, I never would have thought that I would win a medal at any athletic event. It feels pretty cool. Plus, not to sound like a Weight Watchers commercial, but if I can do all of this stuff then ANYONE can do it. :)
Final times:
Swim (500m)- 11:45
Bike (18K)- 38:01
Run (5K)- 27.53
Final: 1:21:57
3rd place out of 8 in my age group (25-29)
What am I going to do now?
Maybe I'll scrounge up some moola and compete in a fall triathlon. I'm not ready to be done yet!
Yes readers and myself, that is three medals: A finisher medal (for being awesome), a third place in my age group medal, and a FIRST PLACE ATHENA MEDAL. YES! YES! YES!
It's a day later and I still feel like this dude...
...except slightly cuter. ;)
Before: Not as many nerves for my third tri. I was mostly pumped up for this race because I know I've been working hard and I was ready to show it. I set up my transition area with a five gallon bucket to sit on. I love the cheap bucket method! This whole triathlon thing is pretty expensive. Gotta cut corners when I can!
The Swim: I refused to panic before the swim like I did in my last tri. I stayed on the outside of the group (which was bigger than the last one) and even though my time wasn't as fast as I wanted it to be I finished strong. Now that I'm over my fear of getting kicked in the face I'm going to push it at my August tri.
The Bike: I hadn't ridden my beautiful road bike for a week because we were at the lake and I didn't want to trash it on dirt roads so I was little nervous about the clip-in shoes and balance. Everything was great except for three things: My cheap bike seat hurt my lady parts, I still can't balance well enough to reach down and grab my water when I'm super thirsty, and my legs were super shaky when I finished the ride. The bike seat and legs were remedied today because I finally got my bike fitted for me. The balance is just going to take practice. I can't wait to ride my newly fitted bike!
The Run: Since I didn't drink enough water on the bike, I chugged water during transition. I heard it sloshing throughout the whole 5k. It was kind of funny but it mostly felt gross. I ran in with this 58 year old BOSS LADY. Geez, can I please finish a tri in 1 hour 23 minutes when I'm 58?
After (in pictures):
Who looks this happy after a triathlon? THIS GIRL!
These are the amazing ladies I tri with (minus one Sue). We all medaled! I mean, talk about badass.
They are SO INSPIRING and hanging out with them is super fun. We are talking about starting a ladies-only tri party workout group in West Michigan. Doing triathlons with strong women is so motivating. Takers?
Afterwards we floated in Sutton's Bay with beer and cocktails. Summer rocks!
The Numbers:
Place: 3rd out of 12 in my age group, 1st out of 7 in the Athena category
Swim (500 meters): 13:07
Transition 1: 2:10
Bike (20k, 12.5ish miles): 40:10
Transition 2: 1:40
Run (5k): 26:14
Special thanks to this song:
I listened to it before I put my phone away for the tri. It was like having Oprah give me a pep talk before I started. Fer reals.
I don't think I can afford another tri this month, but we'll see! Now that I have a little mid-season triathlon hiatus due to lack of moola, I'm going to start attacking more summer goals on my 30b430 list. The Summer of Jen is definitely living up to its possibilities.
Anyone else having an amazing summer? You should tell me about it because it makes me want to do more fun stuff!
I got back from the breezy and wonderful lake today to 106 degree weather! Crayyyyy!!!
I'm heading back up the mitten tomorrow for the Inter-Rockin Triathlon at Interlochen State Park. I'm looking forward to this triathlon because it's a big one and I have a small chance of placing because when I signed up I decided to try the "Athena" division. I'm giving up my age group placing to compete in the Athena division because I weigh over 150 pounds and I figured I'd give it a shot.
Since I'm a triathlon newbie I didn't know that some people don't like the "Athena" and "Clydesdale" categories because it makes it seem like it's "skinny people" vs. "fat people." I've read some message boards about it and some people seem very touchy on the subject of these divisions. There was a lot of heated conversation on some of the triathlon message boards between Athenas, Clydesdales, and "fit people." Okay. We are finishing triathlons. We're all fit. Whatevs!
Listen. Look. I'm just going to put it out there:
I am 5'10 and I weigh 170 pounds. I am built for endurance, not speed. I have awesome blood pressure, my skin is glowing, I have a normal body fat percentage, and the doc says I'm no longer overweight or (eek!) obese like I once was. Let's review, shall we?
Unhealthy Highest in 2008: 205 pounds after knee surgery + a bad haircut.
Unhealthy Lowest in 2009: 155 after Weight Watchers once or twice a week, no exercise, one carb a day, smoking to curb my appetite, and obsessive food journaling. I would yell at the Hubs when he brought something home that wasn't an "approved food." I was cray like the weather right now.
Unhealthy Yo-Yo-ing in 2011: This picture was taken right before I quit smoking and started swimming at 200 pounds. This was the result of a rough school year with teaching and grad school. Weight loss isn't sustainable when you're always depriving yourself and making yourself feel bad.
Healthiest ever (3 weeks ago!): I am more active than I've ever been, my knees feel all right, I don't freak out when I eat a piece of chocolate or drink an IPA, and I'm working on not eating my feelings. Will I always be this weight? Who knows? I feel the best I've ever felt about myself, I'm trying new activities and foods, and I want to sustain this.
I'm never going to be under 150 pounds and I can finally say that I don't care, as long as I'm healthy and I feel good.
So I'm going to mark the box that says "Athena" because I'm a badass and I'm not fat. I'm fit and I'm awesome! Why not mark it?
Boo-ya!
I hope I place this weekend! Good luck to everyone who is doing anything active this weekend. Stay hydrated because it's gonna be a hot one. :)
I was so excited for this triathlon to begin. I've been training hard and I felt ready. Plus, with one tri under my belt (and crossed off of The List) I felt like I knew more of what to expect.
Before: My transition area set-up was so much better than the first one. I had clip-in shoes and my own bike this time! I bit the bullet and used some of my savings to buy my own road bike. It is used and beautiful and I am obsessed with riding it. I need to get my bike fitted (another expense... geez), but it is working for now.
Note to self: Bring a feather boa or balloons next time to mark my transition spot! I'm also bringing a bucket to sit on! The Swim: I panicked. There were so many ladies in the water because this tri was so big that I didn't know how to sight and I kept getting smacked in the face with people's feet! I also kept taking in water and swallowing it. I swim alone in open water all the time (with my SwimSafe of course) and I felt so ready for this distance. I know I lost time because of the first 200 meters of the swim. After my initial panic and feeling like I needed to throw my arms up in the air so a kayak could rescue me I feel into my groove and finished without drowning.
The Bike: I rocked it. Part of it was having my own bike. Part of it was having the clip-in shoes. I was only passed two times and the rest of the time I did the passing! Yeah! Me! I did the passing! I can't wait until I have the money for a real bike fitting. Maybe I'll go even faster!
The Run: I PRed! It was 3 miles and not 3.1 miles, but I finished in under 25 minutes! After the first mile it was all trail and I was ready. There is something so calming about running in the woods. I don't know if I can ever go back to road running.
After: After a scone, a banana, and a massage I felt on top of the world! There is nothing I'd rather do with my time and money on the weekend than a triathlon.
A note on wearing a one piece tri-suit:
I do not have high self-esteem about my body, so wearing a one piece tri-suit for this race was quite a big step for me. I had to put aside my insecurities about my beer gut, my thighs, my boobs, and my booty. I don't want people to see my jiggling and I get so nervous that people are looking at me and thinking, "Ew, what is she doing! She is a sausage!" To combat this, I thought of a video I recently saw by my new favorite: Leslie Hall. She owns a one piece spandex suit:
Tell yourself you’re a vessel of shimmy And activate your dance floor kitty
When I place my legs in a cage of spandex I dance like hell to release the madness Watch my feet pound holes in plywood Watch my hips crush plates of baked goods
Watch out for my body rolls! Watch out for my body rolls! High kicks! High kicks! This is how we do it!
Hahahaha! I've decided to own my body. I don't want to go into my 30s continually bashing myself when I am just fine! Yeah, I am curvy. So what? I'm going to keep wearing a one piece tri-suit because it makes my transitions and everything else easier!
Yep, I made a meme about it. If I had time to make a meme for every silly situation in my life I would!
After the tri I celebrated with a group of amazing ladies. I don't know if I will ever go to these events without other people. What fun is completing a triathlon if you can't celebrate your badassness with other badasses?
The tri buddies strike again!
It was like 10am here. According to Jimmy Buffet, it was five o'clock somewhere, right? Plus, did you know that the light pre-mixed Daily's bags are only 180 calories?
The Numbers
Place: 7th out of 23 in the 25-29 age group; 39th out of 279
Swim (.5 mile swim): 19:14
Transition 1: 1:15
Bike (10.7 miles): 35:15
Transition 2: 2:01
Run (3 miles): 24:59
I'm a happy girl!
I have nothing to compare this tri to because my first one was completely different. However, I'm just happy-- I've never pictured myself being athletic or ever completing something like a sprint triathlon. Focusing on this has saved my life mentally and physically. I can't wait to do this tri again next year!
Which events are coming up?
Only one tri in July, August, and September because these thangs are exPENsive!
If I can find the money I will try to add one more tri to August and September.
Let me know if you will be at any of these races! I'd love to meet up.
I want to exchange tri tips and talk to other ladies who like to train for and do triathlons. Does anyone know of an online community for that? Is there anyone out there who is a beginner like me? Also, does anyone else know of some great tri bloggers? My blog doesn't fully focus on triathlons and training, but I want to talk about this because I LOVE IT! Hehe.
