Never not training

So 2 years ago I took up running with Couch to 5k and I’ve done quite a few races; 5ks, 10ks, half marathons as well as 3 super sprint triathlons. I have 1 more of the latter next month and then a sprint tri in October and then I am done for the year. It’ll be weird to be done with the race season so early but I made the decision in March that I was done with long distance running for a while. My last 2 half marathons were torturous at best and I realized I preferred mid distance so 10ks mainly. So I may try to pick up one of those. Anyway. My training this year has felt fairly relaxed. I went hard for so long but I gave myself a break for the most part this year. I’ll have to pick it back up for the sprint since that is going to be longer and my first open water swim. I will admit that there is also something lacking in my training. It’s like the challenge has gone out. I’m not motivated to push for longer distance though I have resolved to do a full marathon at least once after my 42nd birthday. So I bought myself 2 years on that. So what do I strive for? I wish I knew the answer. I do know that I refuse to give up. I never want the day to come where someone says “Do you remember the time you were a runner?” I want it to be “Do you remember when you started running and never looked back?”

I do work hard at being injury free. I’ve found that not running back to back days helps. That the swimming and cycling help. One of the things that has been good is adding strength training but that is one of the areas that I need the most guidance and help.  So I guess there is a challenge.

All this training is interesting in a way. I leaned into it hard as a coping mechanism for my husband’s illness. And not to say that I don’t anymore but that I don’t need it quite like that anymore. I escaped into it but now it’s less of an escape and more of a routine. And I am very attached to my routines. That has become more coping strategy these days though not necessarily a good one since flexibility is becoming more important as time moves on. But exercise and time to maintain a healthy body is necessary for a healthy mindset.

(And if anyone is interested, my instagram is primarily sports related if you want to follow along.)

Do or do not. There is no try.

So I have a second super sprint triathlon this coming weekend. If you don't know what that is, triathlons come in different lengths and a super sprint is the shortest they come. So this one is a 200 meter swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run. I've been training for it, probably more than completely necessary but really mostly for the fitness level. I could probably do a sprint pretty easily at this point (1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3.11 mile run) but I think I'm going to hold off on that length until next year. Something to strive for and give me a reason to get back to triathlon next year. I'm thinking next year and maybe the year after for sprints and then if I'm still up for it I can go for an Olympic.

When I first started running I did the Couch to 5k thing so the first race I ran was, naturally, a 5k. After that I decided to work my way up the ladder, so to speak. So I got a 10k plan and worked through that and then a 15k plan and worked through that. And what ended up happening was I ran a lot of 2 mile runs. I got a really good at running 2 miles without stopping and honestly I think having that base has helped me in so many ways. Because I know 100% that 2 miles is that not that far. And the 3 miles is just one more beyond that. And I break down a 10k and half marathon the same way. So I'm approaching triathlon in a similar way. I can do a super sprint fairly easily and once I'm good at that then I can move up my distances but with having a decent base to start, it makes it easier for  my mind set.

Once this tri is over, then my triathlon season for the year is over. I had initially planned on doing a sprint in October but the timing is wrong and I'd like to have a bigger goal for next year anyway.  I'm going back to running as my main sport but with at least one bike and one swim a week for cross training and conditioning. Now my goal is to train for speed and endurance for a 10k, the longest race I plan on having for the rest of the year. I'd like to run the 10k without stopping and run it faster than I have been able to go lately. So we'll see. I'm going to pick out a plan and get started on that as soon as this triathlon is over. I'm anxious for some reason to get started on that and get running more.

Just keep swimming

So I went to swim class. I've been twice at this point now. The first time, last Wednesday, I was super nervous but I drove over there anyway. The pool they are using in the winter is pretty far from my house. The coach is extremely nice and I think if I set a goal she will get me there. So far she's taught me how to breath plus the rhythm of swimming and the correct form. I think I'm going to like it. Swimming feels nice and it's fun learning something new. Although as I'm crawling along last night trying to piece it all together, I thought man, if my (former) swimmer brother-in-law and triathlete sister-in-law could see me, they would just laugh. After practice yesterday I had a little conversation with a few of the other ladies and one asked how I liked it. I told her swimming is hard but I think I'm going to like it. Another one replied that Coach is good and she'll push you to your goals which is exactly what I need although I don't really have a goal right now with swimming. Mostly I just want to learn something new. Mostly I want to do a low impact cross training. And I want to be fit and in shape. But you never know one day I may have a swimming goal. Never say never anymore.

I have had this thought for a while. When I started all of this, my son has just turned 9 and my daughter was about to be 4. Now in his lifetime he's seen me exercise on and off but never with the dedication I've shown in the past year. I was never a runner, never a swimmer. I did 30 minutes 3 times a week of workout videos and that was it. And there was nothing wrong with that. But it didn't bring much satisfaction and it didn't last long. But this is different somehow. Somehow the running flipped a switch I didn't know I had and the results of that make me keep going back. It's nice in a way that my daughter won't remember the old me. When she grows up she'll just remember that her mom ran in races, that her mom is an athlete and she won't know that I wasn't for a very long time. But honestly I don't do these things for anyone else. I'm not trying to be an example or teach them any kind of lesson. I think the minute I tried I would fail. Because this is for me. It has to be. I need something that is just mine, especially now with everything that is going on. But if the end result is that my kids see me doing something new, being brave and learning. If my daughter thinks I've always been athletic. If they feel inspired to do the same. Then I count that as a good by-product of all of this. I know I am an example whether I intend to be or not. I'm happy that I'm a good example just not to them but to myself.

Take me out of the ball game

Sportsball. So Bub has been playing soccer since he was 3 and baseball since he was 4. We are big supporters of team sports around my house. I'm pretty much of the mind that it's good for my kids to do something. Sports is a good something but I would accept music or art or something similar. Just get out and do something. And while he still likes soccer, baseball has become a struggle. I don't know if it's because they play so many more games (18 this season) or if it's because he's not as good at baseball as he is as soccer. He lacks focus and baseball is not a game where the action is non-stop so I think that is a contributing factor. If he practiced more I know he could be better but we are struggling just to get him to go to a game. He wanted to quit basically after baseball started. But the lesson I think he should learn is that if you tell someone you are going to do something for them, you have to finish it out. He signed up for this, he has a team so he has to play out this season for his team. It's the right thing to do. Right now I'm thinking that he is going to sit out next year. That even if he says he really really wants to play, I'm not going to let him. I rarely deny my kids this kind of thing. Like I said, I want him to get out and do something. But I want it to be something that he loves. And he doesn't love baseball. If, after sitting out a season, he thinks he wants to play again then fine. But I want him to want to do it. I'm not going to make him. We can always look into other things to do.

Game on

Sometime this baseball season it dawned on me that we are a sports family. I know that should have occurred to me at some point before but I think it was the immediate switch from soccer to baseball that did it. See, I'm not a sports person per se. I've only recently gotten into watching football and I was never interested/good at sports as a child so they were never really my thing. BT, on the other hand, has played his whole life and was a great track runner in high school. So when Bub turned 3 and I noticed a sign that said a local club started soccer at 3 years old I texted BT and asked if I should sign him up. Hell, yeah was the answer I received. So Bub has been playing soccer in the fall since he was 3. Then t-ball started at the age of 4. He missed playing when he was 5 since it started right after I had Button and I couldn't handle a newborn and baseball at the same time (weak, I know). So it's been 3 years of baseball and 6 seasons of soccer. He seems to enjoy playing and we all like going and watching. It can be a lot of shuttling around with practices and such but I know that it will get to be more and more as he gets older.

Eventually, I'm sure, Button will want to do as her older brother does and she will start soccer too. I'm thinking I will sign her up for the 3 year old soccer even though Bub doesn't play with that club anymore. His current one starts at age 5 but the 3 year old soccer is the cutest thing ever so I want to see her do that. If she wants to play ball too when she is old enough than I will sign her up for that too. But part of me hopes she takes after me and wants to do dance as I did for so long. I would love that so much. Whatever she wants to do, we will make it happen. I think it's important for kids to do at least one other thing outside of school and I think team sports are great. And I may not understand everything that happens out on the field but I sure enjoying watching the kids get out there and play!

Day 10: End of Soccer (The Grateful Project)

Today I am grateful for the last soccer game this year. I know yesterday I was grateful for team sports but I am mostly grateful today for getting my Mondays and weekends back. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy watching him play and think it's good for him to participate in team sports. He's getting good at soccer and seems to have a natural instinct for it. But Mondays are the night he has the most homework and it was a struggle to get everything done without losing my mind. So while I enjoy Bub's sports, I'm also happy to get a break for right now. We can start again in the spring.

No TV, no football

I've never really been a huge football fan. And I'm still not to a certain degree. When I was at LSU for graduate school they won the National Championship and it was around then I started to pay attention. I think my problem was I didn't understand the rules of football. It always seemed to me they would take forever to play one minute and it took a long time for them to set up for less than 10 seconds of play. But once I understood the rules better, I started to enjoy it more. Now I will seek any LSU or Saints game and try and watch it. I don't try to watch other teams so I wouldn't say I'm a football fan, just a Louisiana football fan. I will root for my team but very few others. My husband is a big football fan though. He plays fantasy football and will watch just about any game.

But we canceled our TV service if you remember and now there's no football at our house. It's a little sad actually and I think if anything breaks us and makes us bring back TV it will be football. How sad is that? Surely we don't really need sports. We get along fine without it most of the time. Luckily my parents will invite us over so we can watch with them. Football is always better as a social activity, right? Right. Well we will just have to see how this goes.

What my day will look like today

Playing bocce with my family. I am yellow.

Sports

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I don't do sports.  I don't like to be dirty or sweat or really go outside that much.  I started t-ball at 6 and then moved onto softball for a little while.  But I also did gymnastics starting at age 5 and then moved to dance and gymnastics at 6, then I quit gymnastics and danced till I was 13 when I gave it up, something I deeply regretted as soon as I did it.  And my mom wouldn't let me rejoin after we moved to a new town because I had quit.  So out when any interest I had in physical activities.

My husband, on the other hand, loves sports.  He played hockey, soccer, baseball from elementary to middle school and ran track in high school.  He loves sports.  He plays fantasy football every year which leads to him watching lots of games.  We are such a stereotypical couple.

But I don't want my child to be one of those kids that never goes outside and doesn't do anything.  So I have signed him up for soccer this fall and will sign him up for t-ball in the spring.  I think this is a good start.  And so far the soccer has gone well.  The first practice or game or whatever went ok.  Bub was nervous and unsure but the second session he did much better and wanted to keep playing beyond the hour session.  This is a good sign for sure.

Today

I signed up the little man for Pee-wee Soccer and I can't wait to see him play.  It will be so cute.  They don't really play a game or anything with the 3 year olds.  It is more to get them use to the idea of soccer and team sports.  Still I think he will like it since he will get to run around with other kids and kick a ball.  It will be good for him and he is happy about it.

We also went swimming and I got to try out my new Lime Ricki swimsuit.  It was really comfortable and I liked it.  I didn't feel exposed like I did in my other ones from Old Navy.  So I'm happy to have a good swimsuit now.


Today is my dad's birthday and we went out to eat at Longhorn Steakhouse and it was delicious and we had fun.  Bub fell asleep at my parent's and so he slept over there.

In which I post random things about clothing and tiny children playing soccer

My clothes that shipped on Monday still haven't come in yet.  Which is stupid, right, because they will probably be today.  It's just that this seems to be taking abnormally long and I don't even have a tracking number from one company.  Remember when you'd get a catalog in and it had a mail order form and you either had to call or mail the form back to order clothes and stuff?  Yeah, I think I just showed my age.  I would like obsess over the Delia's catalog over and over and mark it up, but I only bought a few things.  Same thing with Victoria's Secret.  My cousin and I had an obesssion with that catalog.  I always like how everything matched.  I'm big on matching.  And now I can't stand Victoria's Secret.  Their bras are really bad for someone like me.  They gap too much and the straps don't stay up. 

In other news, I was driving to work today and at a four way stop there was a sign for soccer starting at age 3!  Yeah.  I texted BT and asked if we should sign Bub up for soccer and he said Hell Yeah.  So the registration is on Saturday and I will go sign him up for "Turf Tykes."  It will be so cute.  I hope he likes it.  I'm thinking it will be a good way from him to run around and maybe learn something about rules and sports.  And they get a uniform.  So precious!

Olympics so far

o I'm trying to blog everday in February and I've done a fair job so far.  There are only 6 days left and I've posted something everyday.  It might not be good, but it's up.  And I had actually thought of a good topic for today and then promptly forgot about it. 

have been watching the Olympics every chance I get it.  I'm big on the ice skating/dancing and I like snowboarding and curling.  I haven't watched any curling though, but snowboarding was on before ice skating so I got to watch it then.  I missed most of ice dancing last night since I was bone tired and it was impossible for me to stay awake.  It turns out that the Canadaian team won gold, and the American team I liked won silver so good for them.  The crazy Russian team that don't seem to understand cultural sensitivity won bronze and were apparently poor losers.  Tonight is the ladies' short program which will probably be on against Lost and so I will have to watch it later.  I can't give up Lost for anything, not even the Olympics.  Thank God for the DVR.

Olympics today

I'm trying to watch the pairs figure skating but they keep cutting away to other things.  I like skiing and all, but I'd rather watch the figure skating.  And Bub won't let me watch it too much because he is not interested.  I got him to watch a little because of the lifts and the throwing.   The only thing that is going to stop me is Lost on Tuesday.

BT likes curling in the winter Olympics so he set the DVR to watch that. *eyeroll* Whatever.  I mean I like it too but I doubt I'd tape it.