Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Biggest Loser

The premier of "The Biggest Loser" is on tonight. I love this show. Granted, I don't like some of the aspects of it (body weight percent rather than body fat percent, the high school-ish drama, etc.), but I love that it takes every-day people and shows the world that they too can lose weight and get in shape. Inspiring. I think it's awesome that there is such a huge focus on EXERCISE and not just diet. Americans seem to miss that part most of the time. I know I did for, oh, about 6 years.

Tomorrow, Ken and I are going to have our own Biggest Loser challenge. I've packed on close to 10 pounds since the half ironman (and hey, I've happily earned every pound!). Ken looks fabulous as far as I'm concerned, but he could probably stand to slim down a few pounds. Since I haven't sprung for a body-fat scale yet, we are going on body weight percent. Stay tuned for our progress!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Longest Run

The Portland Marathon is just around the corner -- exactly 3 weeks from today. When I signed up for the marathon, my goal was to get myself into half-marathon shape. So that this winter I could run any race that I felt like entering without planning ahead. Now that I can knock out 13 miles with no problem, I'm feeling a bit lost. My motivation has disappeared. I do not want to do the marathon. My heart is simply not in it. But I was raised by my parents to finish what I start. Damn morals. I called my Mom the other day to whine and complain about it. She offered me $100 to drop out. That was her way of telling me it was okay if I chose to not finish the marathon journey. But my conscious won out and I found myself waking up before sunrise this morning. Filling my nutrition bottles, donning my running shoes, and driving to the gym while the rest of the world slept in on a chill Sunday morning.

My good friend Sondra was a blessing, as she ran the first 11 miles with me. She has been sick and has not run in a few weeks. She also goes at a much faster pace. So for her to slog through 11 miles along side me was likely not easy. But I am so very thankful.

The next 10 miles started out better than expected. This first couple of hills were no trouble. Other walkers and runners gave me friendly waves and smiles. I smiled back...and I meant it. As I came up on mile 14 I was marveling at my rythm and enjoyment. As I came up on mile 15 I felt like I had been hit by a truck. My knees ached, my hips ached, and all of the bones in my feet crunched as they pounded the pavement. I started to cry a little. And then I saw an elderly couple in matching outfits riding their bikes past me. For some reason this lifted my spirits enough to keep going. Soon enough I only had 2.5 miles left to go. It's a route I run often and this is my mental hurdle point. Once I pass this intersection, I'm home free. And then my body started to feel lighter again. My feet didn't throb so badly. My back loosened up a bit. And I was done.

Today was an experience in digging deep and finding out what I have in me. It's been awhile since I've had to go there. I'm out of practice, I suppose. But I know now that I have what I need to get me through the marathon in an few weeks. And maybe even a little itsy teeny piece of me is looking forward to it. Just a little bit.

Monday, September 8, 2008

It Seemed Like a Fun Idea...

I've been rolling all around town with a "Dirtbag Kayaker" license plate holder for the last 2 years. Even though in those last 2 years I've only paddled, oh, 2 or 3 times? I know, it's sad. I do love to kayak. But I like to sleep more. And on my one free weekend day each week, that extra hour of sleep (and the 10 loads of laundry of training clothes, and overflowing sink of dirty dishes from the insane amount of food I consume, and the bike cleaning, and and and) has taken priority. Annnnnnyway, it was 'bout time to change up that license plate holder.

This is what it looks like. Clever, eh? When it arrived in the mail, I do remember thinking "hmm, those swim/bike/run symbols are a little small."


But...............this is what most people see. However, I did not realize this until my Mom was visiting and she asked me, "why do those truckers keep honking and waving at us?"

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Q: How do you know it's the end of the season?

A: You have a $3000 sports-bra drying rack sitting in the spare bedroom.