Heaven

Today has been a good day ... well I take that back it has been a fabulous day.  I  weighed in today and I am down another pound! A total of 12.5 to be exact.  Now I have to admit I checked the scale three times to make sure.  After I celebrated i finished packing and got everything into the car so I could be prepared to head out of town straight from work.  Where am I going you ask?  Well, Heaven, my happy place also known as Lake Placid!

I am here to cheer on my friends, fellow tri club members and complete strangers as they compete in the IRONMAN Lake Placid. 140.6 miles of training, strength, guts and emotion! It is an accomplishment that many wish they could do and few can say they have.

I don't think there has been a time that I have said I will never do an Ironman but I don't have my calendar marked. This fall I start my doctorate so I don't think it is wise to do it for the next few years. My goals are weight loss, grad school, building my strength back up and doing more triathlons; doing another 70.3 and maybe after grad school I will think about it. Oh and I still need to work.

I don't think I have told you this story before but if I have I apologize. In 2005 I ran my marathon in San Francisco. After it was over my parents sent me a card to congratulate me and my father wrote a note to me and asked, "what's next, Ironman?"

I still have that card, I am just waiting for the day I can say yes!

Week One

A week ago I wrote about the 100 Day Challenge.  I decided to start it on Saturday, July 12th and over the last 8 days I have to admit I missed 2 days.  Monday was poor planning on my part, I had something going on in the AM before work, a lunch meeting and then the CNY Triathlon Club's monthly meeting.  I didn't get home until very late and I was too even try to do anything.  Thursday was the other day I missed which was a travel day for work and again way too tired at the end of the day.  However I don't feel defeated because I missed two days, I worked out 6 other days including today.  I didn't give up or throw in the towel.  I tried again the next day.  I will just add those two days on at the end.

This morning I woke up around 7:15, had a cup of tea, a half of a bagel and headed out for a morning workout.  I walked for over 30 minutes.  It was a beautiful morning and others must have agreed because the trail was busy in Dryden.  I am heading out again for workout number two...another swim.  You know I can't resist a good swim!

The stomach issues are still going on, I have my good days and my bad days and some surprise days!  I am taking each day as it comes and trying to make the best of it.  The scale moved again this week so I must be doing something right!

Each day is a challenge and you have choices to make. You can sit back on the couch and say I can't or you can accept the challenge and keep moving forward.

Today I accept the challenge!

100 Days

So at the end of June I ended up back in the doctor's office dealing with my GI track; acid re flux, the fact I was losing my voice (didn't want to get sick again) and a lovely female issue I won't mention.  While sitting in with the doctor I was telling her all my tails of woe but was most excited to tell her I was back running again (she is a triathlete too) and she was happy to hear that.  After I shared my good news we went one by one down the list of the problems.

She explained to me that the GI track issues could be a result of a few things stress, travel, all the antibiotics I was on etc.  She also explained to me that it could take a while for the inflammation to go down and for things to calm down.  So I have to just take it one day at a time.  We discussed nutrition and she advised me to take a fiber supplement.  We then moved on to the re flux and she explained that the reason I was losing my voice had to do with my acid re flux ... the acid was causing irritation in my throat which effected my voice.  Some people were probably thrilled that I had lost my voice, I was just happy to have an answer and excited that I wasn't sick again.

Since then I have been keeping tract of what I eat and how it affects me.  I have been dealing with my stomach issues as best I can and trying to not let it take over my life.  I am feeling better but not 100%.  I have been exercising and I have lost 10 pounds!!

So I am sure you are curious about the title "100 days"?  John "the Penguin" Bingham is a famous marathoner who has never won a marathon.  For years he was a columnist for Runner's World Magazine; he has written several books and he has promoted many of the Rock n Roll Marathons.  I have met John several times through his work with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Team In Training.  He is a wonderful motivational speaker as an average runner.  Through Facebook John started these 100 day challenges in which he challenges individuals to exercise at least 30 minutes a day for 100 days.

I started thinking about this last week.  Since this last year was a struggle with training, traveling and getting sick I hadn't signed up for any triathlons this summer.  And I couldn't tell you the last road race I have completed either.  So I decided that this summer and this coming fall will be a time to build my endurance and get in shape again.  I didn't want to focus on just one race and that finish line.  I want to focus on getting healthy and back in shape.  This will take discipline and motivation, which can be a weakness of mine but I know this is the only way I am going to get back on the starting line again.

So with that in mind I decided to start my own 100 days challenge (I hope you don't mind Penguin).  I started Saturday, July 12th with a great swim and then today I ran/walked for 33 minutes in the morning before the rain started.  During this challenge I have to complete at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.  The exercise can vary from swim, bike, run, yoga, strength training etc. And when I complete the 100 days challenge the date will be Sunday, October 19, 2014.  That will be the day before my 44th birthday ...

Challenge accepted!!