What is this all about?

I started this blog to keep me accountable in my fitness and clean eating journey. My first post was in March of 2007 and I've been posting ever since. As you will see I've had many highs and lows...but this is all about the journey...not just the destination

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Sore on my 39th birthday

Ok so the cartwheel and walkover were probably not the best idea. This morning I woke up too sore to run . I couldn't go to the gym today (or yesterday) because hubby had to leave by 7am. I did an ok cardio workout -- walking up hill and running on my mini trampoline, but it wasn't half as intense as I would have done at the gym. I also did a few weights and abs. The reason I had to take it light today was because I was trying to be a hot shot last night - by doing cartwheels and walkovers. Now my body is letting me know that I am not young and flexible anymore. Old and rusty is more like it
Lesson learned:
  1. It is good that I can still do gymnastics
  2. It is bad that I think I can still do gymnastics without warming up for at least an hour and taking an Aleve before and after.
  3. I should never try to do this when I have 6 miles left in the week to run.

As far as progress on my weekly targets: I can only add 1 mile to my run. I think I may have been a bit aggressive - but I will do as much as I can to finish strong.

For my birthday - our plan was to go see Spiderman 3 (not my choice). Little guy was so sweet about this. He said - we can go see Spiderman only if I want to go. What ever we do , it's ok as long as we are a family. I really wanted to either stay home and catch up on shows I've Tivo'd or go to the gym. I thought it would be pretty lame to be on a treadmill/or swimming laps on a Friday night especially a Friday night that is my birthday. As lame as it sounds , I would have had fun. I decided not to be a loner and to go to the movies with the kids and hubby. Well the movie was sold out so we ended up walking around a shopping area and hanging out at the game store. It was so hard not to make the night about food. The first choice I had was to go to a restaurant - a really delicious seafood restaurant. I wasn't hungry so I said no.

A year ago I would have never turned down dinner out on the town - no matter how full I was. I would have found room to just "taste" a few things. Today I opted for walking around and we ended up at a game store. We stayed there almost 90 minutes playing chess and other games. it was a blast.

So that is my Bday wrap up, sore from the cartwheels and hanging out a game stores. Just 30 minutes of cardio and strength. Nutrition - not terrific. 1385 calories : protein shake, tomoto soup and tofu, small salad, an Onion, Turkey patty , Tortilla chips and cottage cheese. Problem today was that I did not drink enough water. but it could have been much worse. The victory was figuring out how to celebrate in a way that does not revolve around food.

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Thursday, May 3, 2007

A cartwheel on the eve of my 39th bday

So the week of my birthday is always and interesting one. I usually start thinking about where I am in my life and where I'm going. Well this year was no different. This whole talk about goals and targets is part of it. What is interesting this year is that unlike previous years when my goals targets have been more career/professional focused, this year my goals and targets have nothing to do with work. As I approach my birthday - my goals for this year are around family lifestyle and physical accomplishment. For some reason , Passion is my guiding theme these days. I'm very much focused on living a life that is full of passion. Everything I do I want to do it with passion and if it isn't with passion - I'm not going to do it (at least not for long). What I realized yesterday in my mini triathlon workout is that my knees really hurt when I start running after a long bike ride. It is exactly the pain I felt while doing the Danskin. Passion does not equal pain (at least not in this context) so I have to really think about how hard I want to push my body... I love biking , like swimming (could love it) and don't love running . I also don't love the way when I have this knee pain. I feel weak and like I'm pushing through not finishing strong. Anyway - I'm thinking about all this in the context of what I want to accomplish this year. Turning 39 is really all about almost being 40. So I am really thinking about what I want to do/accomplish by the time I am 40. That brings me to the 1/2 Ironman in 2008. In order to be physically ready for this - I would need to train about twice as much as I do now and my running would need to significantly improve. Plus I'd need to really ask myself if I am passionate enough about it. I'm not sure.
What I am sure about is that -- my kids are runners and I am a cool mom. Here's why: today I took my kids to the track. They both said they wanted to come running with me. Well they did very well. They both ran almost 3/4 of a mile and sprinted for a good 400 yds or more. I was so excited. When we were wrapping up, Papita decided to do gymnastics. Well I couldn't resist the soft grass and open fields, so I got out there with her. I did a couple of cartwheels and a few roundoffs and even did a front walkover -- (Oh yes I did!). I almost did a backwalk over - but I need to stretch before attempting that one. Well there were a few girls playing soccer and they said " Is that your mom? Wow I wish my mom could do that" . Well on the eve of my 39th birthday , it is good to know that I still have a few tricks left.
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Wednesday, May 2, 2007

A taste of victory

How is it that I can be so convicted and disciplined in some ways but such a saboteur of my own efforts. I've finally accepted that I will have these struggles every day. I won't be surprised by them - I will be prepared for that little nagging inner voice and be ready to fight. Each battle I win is a character building experience. I want to have as many of these little victories as possible. Today was a victorious day.

  • Last night I went to bed at 1:30 am and knew that I needed to be at the gym at 5am for my mini triathlon workout. I woke up exhausted - wanting to stay in the bed
  • Victory: I slept a little more but made it to the gym and got in a nice mini tri workout.
  • When I finished my bike workout - my legs were throbbing and I thought I could not run any faster than a light jog at 5mph.
  • Victory: I jogged for a bit then really pushed it. I ended up doing the fastest mile I've ever done at 7mph (8.57 min mile) and I didn't feel like I was going to die. This is really not a big deal to a runner, but to me it is huge. I've only pushed above 6.4 when doing 1 minute sprint intervals.
  • I was starving in the morning and wanted to have some of the kids delicious bagels and cream cheese.
  • Victory: i made a protein shake and prepared and packed my clean diet for the day. I had an awesome day with my nutrition. I ate clean all day.
  • I thought about the chocolate jar a few times and thought about having a piece.
  • Victory - I totally resisted and had nothing.

Weekly target status : run- 3 of 8 miles done, swim-18 of 65 laps done, bike-10 of 65miles . I have a ways to go - I think i'll need to workout 2x a day for 2 days between now and Sunday.

diet- breakfast: Protein shake, Lunch: roasted veggies, tofu, Snack apple/Peanut butter, Dinner: Tomato and onion stir fry , Snack : 9 cashew nuts. 1232 calories

Workout- 30 min swim, 30 min bike, 15m run burned 809 calories

Deficit: 1662 ...

Weight: down 1lb from lowest so far -- cumulative loss 55lbs

It was a good day.

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Tuesday, May 1, 2007

what is love......

  • coming home and seeing 2 cartons of egg whites in the refrigerator (so that I can make my healthy omelette)
  • Looking out the window and being surprised with new lights around the pond
  • Looking in the fridge and seeing a really yummy flavor of diet dr pepper "caramel creme" with a sticky on it that says for you babe.
  • Seeing not 1 but 2 bottles of my favorite spice "coriander" seeds and crushed
  • Getting in the bed with my side of the electric blanket preheated to the perfect setting
  • coming home from work and having 2 little people run up to me screaming "mommy" every single day

feeling a little mushy -- and incredibly grateful that i have these moments.

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Targets not goals ---- no go on the chocolate

I have been reading a book called Magical Running - to help me embrace my inner runner (since I hate it so much). One of the chapters talks about the difference between targets and goals. Goals should be about who you want to become (aka a lifelong exerciser, a running enthusiast, an ironman finisher, a person with 20% body fat etc.) and targets are more specific (ie finish a 5k in 20 minutes, finish in the top 1/2 of the Danskin Triathlon, etc.). Interesting. I can buy that. So today I did a little more thinking about my goals and my targets. I've decided I'm going to set weekly targets for speed and distance/time for each sport. Here is my first stab - since it is Tuesday:
For this week - run 8 miles at 6mph, swim 50 laps and 65 miles (indoor or out) . I will also have at least 2 brick workouts per week- I have to in order to get all this in. I need targets for weights as well - I'll build this tonight - after I read some more. Oh yeah and I also want to eat clean 5 days out of the week.
So here is where I stand. 2 miles down - 6 to go. no swimming and no biking.
Today I ended up doing work most of the early morning (##%%&%&:<) and managed to get in a bitty bitty workout. Too bitty to mention. AND I was not able to resist the chocolate jar. I had 4 pieces- ok 8 . AND I was famished today and ate like a wild banchee. Not bad things just a lot of them. I had sushi for breakfast and early morning snack, Tofu and tomato soup for lunch and 2 grilled chicken breast for dinner. 1340 calories but I burned practically nothing so no deficit today. Tomorrow my plan is to burn it up.
On the plus side-- my daughter said to me that she wanted to go running with me. I cannot believe it - -just like that out of the blue. What is so amazing is that I have been thinking about how I can get both kids into running - because if they are fast they will be better all around athletes. Who knows - we'll need something to fall back on if the academic scholarships don't come pouring in...
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About Me

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West Coast, United States
I am a christian woman, wife, mom to 2 great kids, a member of Delta Sigma Theta, A Jack and Jill mom, sister, daughter . I am also incredibly fit but wasn't always. I am a recovering fat girl - who takes it one day at a time.

Alonda the Triathlete!

Alonda the Triathlete!

The backstory-----How did I become a triathlete...

In February 2006, I went on a ski trip with my new colleagues from work. On the way back, I sat next to a girl named Wendy - a really friendly woman who talked about her experience as a newcomer to Seattle. She told me how her main source of making friends was through her workout buddies. She also mentioned that many of her friends participate in triathlons and that (get this) I should consider doing one too. I thought she might have been delirious from all of the skiing. I assured her that I was not the one. She obviously had mistaken me for someone else. Perhap my heavy coat prevented her from seeing what was underneath (50 lbs of extra weight and lots of evidence of no exercise). She continued with this crazy talk, speaking of how fun it is and how supportive the Danskin Triathlon is. I wanted to be sure that she and I were thinking of the same thing... Triathlon (swim bike run -some huge number of miles -all on the same day right after each other). Yup this was it. I chuckled and told her to have fun.
A few weeks later at the office, she mentioned it again. Now at this time, I had been contemplating joining my company sponsored health club (PROCLUB) and in particular the weight loss program called 20/20. After all, I had really packed on the pounds. I arrived in WA 50lbs overweight and pretty unhappy with myself. I actually started to think that completing triathlon would be a good goal...impossible but a good goal. I decided to go for it. At the same time I also decided to join the weight loss program. My first meeting with my trainer ..Anthony Parker was on 3/14/06. I told him ..in all of my fatness, that I wanted to do a triathlon. He looked at me and said hmmm, ok.
I began this really intense workout and nutrition program and began building my endurance. My first meetings with Anthony consisted of walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then doing stairclimber or eliptical for 15 minutes. Followed by a bit of strength training. I did this 3x a week (between 6am and 7:30) and then worked out on my own 2 other days. I had absolutely no endurance and could not run for more than 1 minute. Over the months, my endurance grew ..slowly at first then more rapidly. I also figured that I needed to improve my swimming skills if I was going to swim for 1/2 a mile. I took a Total Immersion Class.. which teaches swimming efficiency. Let's set the record straight here... I could swim well enough to save myself if I was thrown off of a boat. I was a decent (not great) swimmer. At the start of the class, I could do 1 (that's right ONE) lap and then I started breathing heavy. At that point I new the triathlon was totally out of reach. After all 1/2 mile was equal to 20 laps. I left the 1st day of class feeling scared and dismayed that I was too aggressive. Maybe I should have set my goal for 2007.
The next week's class, I asked the teacher what I needed to do to build my endurance. He said just keep at it, it will come. You know what, it did. Each week I got better and better. 4 weeks later I was able to swim 9 laps. I then started swimming before my workouts with my trainer (a little crazy but hey). My trainer was pretty impressed. I also started biking on the weekends. In fact in May I did a 30 mile bike ride as a part of the Tour De Cure for Diabetes. I really love biking...:)
Ok so I still had not tackled the most difficult part, the running. Not only could I not run but I absolutely hated it. I started adding running to my treadmill work. Anthony suggested intervals. We started with 2min run 2 min walk . I did this for weeks extending the time and the speed. I was up to running at 5.5 and walking at 4.0. Then Anthony said ..let's see if you can run a mile. I thought he was kidding. I did not think I was ready for that. This was May 5th (a day after my birthday). Guess what I did it. And I didn't feel like I was going to die. I was on top of the world. All day I had a little extra spring in my step. I just kept replaying in my head the "goal attained" message on the treadmill. I just could not believe it.
I kept it up, continued working out 5x a week. I took another swim class "Triathlon Swim Training" to help even more. This class was filled with drills and specific swim workouts. I really saw progress. By the end of the class, I was able to swim 28 laps. Now the challenge was to swim in Open Water. That's right. The triathlon was going to be in Lake Washington.
I finally felt like I could really do it. I didn't have a specific time goal , my goal was to finish. The week before the race I was sooo nervous. I was doing mini triathlons with a few really good girls. I kept up with them during the swim but one bike ride was particularly hilly and....they left me in the dust. I felt so bad and really began to rethink whether or not I should do the race. I spoke to one of the girsl about my bike performance , and she said that my bike was holding me back. That day, I decided to retire my 35lb mountain bike for a 19 lb feather light road bike. Boy what a differnce. This was a risky thing to do so close to the race but it worked for me.
The other thing to mention is that I met up with a wonderful group of women called the Soul Sistas. They are a group of African American Women of all ages who participate in triathlons and bike races. They are so awesome.We (the soul sistas) took pictures the day before the race... I'll post when available.
So the day of the race..... Everybody in the house is excited and up. My kids and my nieces - who were visiting from NJ are all up and ready to root me on. I left early so that I could get ready.The goal was to meet me by the swim finish. This was alll pretty tricky because there were 40 waves of swimmers starting every 3 minutes. All I can say about the swim is that it felt much longer than 1/2 a mile. I kept focused and didn't get nervous. I focused on keeping my breathing relaxed. It worked ...and by the way I wasn't the last swimmer in my group YEAHHH. I don't know how it all worked out but as soon as I finished my swim, I saw them. Byron , Tyler, Paris, Ahlia and Ivy were all waiting there for me with the most beautiful handmade signs saying GO MOMMY, Go AUNTIE, I love you. It was so terrific. Once I saw them I was energized.... Now on to the bike.
The bike was the best part of the entire race. I love my bike and I love to fly down the road. The entire 14 miles of the race was closed to traffic. Our longest stretch was on the express lane of one of the largest highways. Imagine flying down a highway with nothing in your way (but other riders on your right). It was so amazing. I was going pretty fast but could have gone faster - but wanted to save my legs for the run.
Now the run... I hate running and I am really bad at it. I am slow and not terribly efficient. After biking hard for 40 minutes, your legs are really worked up. During the after bike run, your legs turn into "bricks". They are heavy and hard to move. If you push through , you can get over the feeling and get into a stride. Well I also felt pains in my knee. So instead of running the entire 3.2 miles I decided to walk run. In the end it was actually fine - but while doing it I was a little disappointed. Danskin is great because there are so many supporters on the way. Cheerleaders who are yelling "go for it" from their back porch. It was just what I needed. In fact I heard Destiny's Child Im a survivor , on my way and that was what I used in my head to keep me going.
So when I realize I am about 1/2 mile from the end, I start getting super excited and very emotional. It is all coming together now -- all the training, the visualization of actually crossing the finish line and my waiting family. I got on my cell phone to cal my husband, just to make sure he was at the finisth line. He cracked up that I called:)
When you come close to the finsih line, there are all these spectators lined up waiting for you. It is so great! I ran through a narrow entry to the wide finish line area. And there they were.. my family (My hubby, kids and neices) - with signs and smiles. When I crossed the finish line, my name was announced and the official put a medal around my neck. Well I just lost it and started crying. I could not believe that I had just completed a triathlon. I was officially a triathlete.

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