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07 July 2012

Day 41: Fell in love with Cycling & the Power of the Team!

Be courageous!


Getting up at 3:30 am for my first bike ride at 5 was not a problem. I packed my shoes, knee pads, and two waters, and had some difficulty getting my bike on the rack. It was getting late and was glad to be able to fit the bike in the back seat. The roads were empty and I got to home base at 5.

Other cyclists were getting ready too and I let them know that it was my first ride. They shared stories about how they fell the first couple of times which seems to be the norm. Our coach helped me put air in the tires and went over some fundamentals. He asked if I brought my shoes and I realized that in my haste to bring the protective gear I left my gym bag with my shoes at home. One of my teammates had an extra pair so I was able to ride. It's interesting the things we put in our way.

Circling around a bit to practice clicking in and out of the clips, I struggled getting out of my left side, leaned my weight over and fell in front of everyone. I wasn't hurt and was relieved to get that part over with. Teammates offered bottles of water and we hit the road.

Our coach took me out on the road before the rest of the group to get me acclimated. The service road of the expressway is hilly and I learned a lot about slowing up for lights so I didn't have to unclip, changing gears while pedaling, and what gears to use when going uphill and down. The team caught up with us and the coach was pushing me to pedal faster but at 6 miles out I was tired and decided to ride the 6 miles back. That's good mileage for a first ride.

Two of my teammates escorted me back and I had the opportunity to gauge for myself what gears to use. At a light, I clicked out and clicked back in to get started, and fell in love. It was working and it felt great. I even stood up out of the saddle while pedaling uphill and held my balance. It got scary at one light at the bottom of a hill. I was going fast, lightly braking and uncertain if I would be able to stop. Panic set in and it worked out fine. It reminded me of skiing in the beginning. We got back to the house and it was a great first ride. My escorts thought I was very brave and would never have done what I did.

I am proud of taking a chance that paid off. I appreciated the help and support of my teammates.

06 July 2012

Day 40: Found rollerblading gear, baby clothes & wedding pics!

Getting ready for a 30 mile bike ride!


It's time to hit the road with the new bike and the team tomorrow at 5 am. Taking the advice of my new friend in spin class, I look in the garage for protective gear, especially knee pads. I found assorted pieces of football gear, shoulder pads and rollerblading equipment including two knee, one elbow and one wrist guard. My sense of security equals what was found - pieces are missing as is my peace of mind.

To be successful, I must trust that I can do this. Any hesitation can have detrimental effects. I am committed 100% even if I'm afraid of falling and hurting myself. Fear keeps me sharp.

That's what the knee pads are for. Nothing wrong with protection. The baby clothes and wedding pictures? -- well that's another life time. All good choices with 100% commitment and no guarantees. Just an open heart and a lot of faith. They worked out exactly as it was meant to be. No regrets.

05 July 2012

Day 39: "Triathlon Dreams" was a blog post from 2 years ago!

It took me two years to follow my dream again!


Some one commented on a blog that I wrote a few years ago and it struck me that I wrote about wanting to do a triathlon. My concerns were totally different back then than they are now.

Two years ago, I thought I was too old, worried about ankles, wondered if I had enough motivation, thought it would be too much work, wasn't sure if I had what it takes, and it made me tired just to think about it. If I thought that way now, I would tell myself to "Suck it up Princess!".

Well, it's two years later and I'm too years older, which was inevitable whether I did a triathlon or not. My heart was in the right place back then. I bought a great pair of running shoes at Runner's Edge, and recently, I ran my first mile in them. I joined an aquatic center two years ago, and didn't know what I was doing in the pool to train, and now I'm in a swim clinic with a coach who pushes me. My last count was 1,500 yards and it just keeps going up. My old bike in the garage has a baby seat on the back and my new road bike has cleated pedals. That's a lot of progress in two short months!

It's obvious that the dreams were always there, and for whatever reasons, I didn't follow through completely. Now, when I got a second chance, I grabbed it. Part of me remembered my humble beginnings in this journey, and if I really wanted to go through the finish line, I needed to step up my game.

I am not the person I was too years ago or maybe these two months of training, seeing results, and getting stronger has already changed me. I'm living my dream and that feels great. Age didn't even come up. In fact, I'm proud that I'm doing this now. It makes me even more of a rock star!



04 July 2012

Day 38: Happy July 4th Slides!

Independence Day in a diverse pool.


The day was supposed to start with a 30 mile bike run with my triathlon team, however, there were thunderstorms and I went back to sleep.

There was a surprise visit from my sweetheart who has been taking care of his chronically ill father. It had been several weeks since he could get away and spend some quality with us. We were so glad to see him! Why do we take time together for granted and realize how precious it is only when we lose it?

He had to leave to get back home to his dad and we got to go to the local pool with my sister. We had a heat advisory and everyone was in the pool. There were so many different languages spoken and people of various cultures trying to cool off in the water. Lounge chairs were a premium and people sat closely together as if we were all one big family. If you are uncomfortable in crowds this was not the place to be.

Two big water slides caught our attention. My daughter and I waited on lines with the over 48" inch tall people for the green and blue slides. The other kids were very helpful in letting us know how to go down faster (my choice), on your back with your arms crossed, or slow, sitting up. It was fun going down and getting water up my nose just like when I was a kid. My daughter enjoyed the slide too and we ran up the stairs again to go down the other slide. My sister saw us and decided to go down the slides too. It was a ball and it made me nauseous after the third time. Far cry from the roller coaster days.

We had a wonderful day at the pool, even if our neighbors spoke loudly in languages we didn't understand. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Then we went out for Chinese food. God bless America. Happy July 4th everyone!

03 July 2012

Day 37: My kids ate nothing today until I came home from work!

How skinny people eat.


Can you imagine? I left cereal and fruit on the kitchen table for the kids before I left for work. I was gone for 10 hours and they ate nothing else until I got home and they weren't even starving. These are not small children. They will be driving soon.

They do not care about food and will eat if it is in front of them if they like it. Food is almost always left on the plate. Even desserts! They do not live by the clean plate rule. They are alien children.

They eat when they are hungry and very slowly. It is not important to them. They could care less. One will eat anything and the other is picky. They are both skinny, skinny, skinny.

I make sure I eat regularly and not go too long without a healthy meal or snack or else I run the risk of overeating later. My body is fine tuned to good foods and reacts immediately to foods that are not healthy for me. I plan and portion. Every pound I lose is work and it is coming off slowly. I never leave food on my plate and forget that trick. Exercising has helped me eat less. I am not as hungry as before. I will never be skinny, skinny, skinny or if I am, it will take a long, long time. This is not an eight week quick fix. This is behavior mod to be more like my kids. Live and learn.


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