Thursday, November 17, 2011

Liar, Liar!

I don’t know about you but whenever I know there’s a work function or some social event I have to attend during the week, I panic. All I can think is, “dang, there goes my work out!” or “I hope there’s something healthy for me to eat!” Sure I could switch my work out to the morning and just try my best to eat before the event to avoid the inevitable, “I’m starving but that food is so bad for me”, but I just do so much better working out at night and sometimes resisting the temptation to eat something unhealthy at these events isn’t easy! Last night I had to resist pasta, brownies, carrot cake, wine, beer, garlic bread, nachos, and did I say brownies!? I succeeded but it wasn’t easy!

I feel guilty, but I must also confess that sometimes I lie to friends and tell them I’m working late or just staying in to avoid hearing the, “You’re not coming because you have to work out?” I know! It sounds awful but it’s the truth especially when you’re in training mode. Or how about if there's a race you want to do but there's a birthday or a wedding? Really?!? LOL! I know sounds even worse to say that.

I missed the gym twice this week due to work and traffic (traffic made me late to spin so I felt discouraged and went home), again my fault—could have switched it up to the morning. Not working out for two days has put me in a funk!


Does missing a work out put you in a funk? Do you ever have to lie or feel guilty for missing events because you prefer to go for a run/gym?



Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Back With Team in Training

I've been asked to come back as a fundraising captain for the Long Beach marathon team to help participants reach their fundraising goal. I could not be more happy excited to for this opportunity because it gives me a chance to give back to an organization that literally changed my life. Because of Team in Training, I am now the girl who LOVES running half marathons! I am the girl who no longer reaches for a cigarette after work and reaches for her gym bag instead. I am the girl who is out to help beat cancer. Today, I am part of something bigger and greater than myself and I have TNT to thank for that.

With the start of each season, TNT has a kick off event where all the LA chapter teams come together and meet their new teammates. It's a chance for the participants to meet their coaches and leadership. Our season kick off event was last weekend. It was great to meet our new team for the season and also see some familiar TNT faces.

A huge surpirse for me was meeting Virgina! In my Disneyland Half recap (first half marathon with TNT), I saw her sign at mile 7, "THANK YOU TNT, LEUKEMIA SURVIVOR." I went up to her, shared my story and gave her a HUGE hug. She told me that it was the Leukemia and Lymphona Society that funded a research study she was involved in several years ago. That study helped produced what we now know today as Gleevec, which ultimately saved her life and why she is here today. Thank you Virgina for sharing your story. It is people like you that continue to insprire me to help beat cancer!

I've taken that inspiration and am sincerely considering joining the OC Tri Team (because it's closer to work) to train for Vineman. We'll see...till next time!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Crazy, Clumsy, Yet Motivated

I’m still in shock about what I did yesterday. I turned 29 and as a gift, I asked my parents to help me with registration for the Ironman 70.3 Vineman Triathlon next year in Sonoma County. What's a 70.3 you might ask? You start with a 1.2 mile swim, transition to a 56 mile bike ride, and end with a half marathon (13.1 miles). I know...CRAZY!

Registration just so happened to open at 9 a.m. on November 1st…my big day! With great anticipation, I woke up at 8 a.m. got online and waited till it officially opened. Sure enough, I did it!


It’s now 24 hours later and I am going through the “WHAT THE HELL DID I GET MYSELF INTO?” mode. After I registered, I went to
Jax my new favorite bike shop to pick up my Lexa…the bike I plan to use for training and my event. For those of you in So Cal, Jax is a great place to shop for a bike. The general manager, Chris at the Huntington Beach store is a triathlete himself so he was great at helping me choose the right bike.

Trek Lexa SL or as I call her, Lexa


I shared with Chris some of my fears about the triathlon…one being the distance, second being my fear of falling off the bike. Sad to say, it didn’t take very long for that to happen…walked out the door with Lexa, decided to ride her to the car, and baaam!

My first bike injury
I couldn’t seem to get my foot out of the pedal and right . The knee looks worse than it was but it did hurt on impact. Truth is, this is the part of the triathlon that I’m fearing the most but I hope to get more comfortable as I go. We took Lexa home and I wanted to just put her in the garage and call it a day. My boyfriend stopped me, gave me a hug and said, “Come on babe, it’s just gonna take time.” Well, at first he said, “You didn’t spend all that money to not ride it!” So we did just that…we spent the rest of the afternoon riding our bikes (he has a beach cruiser) and having fish tacos at our favorite local spot. During dinner, we couldn’t help but laugh at my clumsiness. We ended the night with a little slice of chocolate cake to celebrate. It looks like that was all I needed to make me feel better.

Hey...don't judge! It was my birthday!
So the real question is WHY? Why did I decide to do this? Two words…Brian Boyle. I had the amazing opportunity to meet Brian at a conference I went to a few weeks ago. His story touched my heart! I always said I wanted to do a triathlon but meeting him and reading his book, Iron Heart, changed me. It taught me to cherish my family and to challenge myself to the fullest because you never really know who you are and what you have until it's almost gone. He is truly an inspiration. Thank you for sharing you story Brian. I'm not going for a full, but I'm certainly going to "tri" a half.
What’s your motivation?