Halfway There...

Jen!  

  It's JUNE!   We started writing this blog six months ago as a way to share our goals, hardships and triumphs in regards to our health and fitness.  I can't believe we are already here, halfway through the year.  This weekend I took some time to reflect on my "Goal List" from January and to evaluate my progress thus far.  It was actually really awesome to see how far I've come on some things and to also refocus on some others! 

Here are the facts:

1. I was hoping to run 3) 1/2 marathons by next January.  Next weekend is my 3rd and I'm already registered for 2 more by September.

2. I planed to run a full marathon and was aiming for October... I can honestly say, I'm not to sure I want to do it.  I am really enjoying running half's and being able to set new goals for time... I may want to play at this distance a bit more.

3. Incorporate yoga in my every day... I don't know why I haven't... This will help me to refocus and realize how often I chose to stare at the wall when I'm stressed than do what is truly helpful.  

4. Drink more water... I have to say, on the whole I am doing MUCH better... although I sometimes will go almost the entire day and realize I haven't had any water... those are super stressful days.

5. Use my bike for transportation: CHECK! 

6.  I am toying with the idea of doing my first TRI next Wednesday or just volunteering and waiting until next month... it sort of seems like I should just go for it! 

7. Hopes of becoming a confident swimmer: I start swimming lessons next week! 

8. Wear sun screen while outdoor exercise: CHECK! 

9. COMPLIMENT MY BODY!  I have to say, this has made the biggest difference of all.  I am so much happier and strangely, so much faster, stronger and ballsy than ever.  (I even went sea kayaking this weekend with Everett and surprised us both with how brave I was... more on that tomorrow)

So, have you taken the time to reflect now that we're at the "halfway mark"?  How do you feel?  What have you accomplished?  What have you learned?  What do you need to refocus on?  

Now, keep making goals and demolishing them!  I sure hope to!  

xo

Jeni 

  

Comfort Zone or Adventure?

my new favorite snack: carob chips and almonds!!

Hey Jen,

  I really admire your ride of silence; I have yet to get on my bike and not think of Diva.  I hope some day that the US will be a much more bike friendly country.  How was the ride?  Do people outside of the riding community know about it?  How does it help to spread the word of "sharing the road"?  I think that's a really important message.  

  So I have been gearing up to do my first triathlon this summer.  I'm really looking forward to a new challenge and becoming a part of such a cool community.  Today I met up with a girl who's a member of the local tri-club.  She has a half-Ironman at the end of next month- let me tell, that is impressive- 1.2mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run- ALL IN A ROW!  I was really happy to train with someone who is such a badass!  Tonight we did a bike/run sequence.  We started with a 13 mile ride.  The distance isn't all that far, but it was the longest ride I had done at such a consistent pace.  Last week, E and I  covered double that distance but in a much more leisurely fashion.  Until today, I have used cycling as a gentle form of cardio with running as my main focus.  Today was the first time cycling felt like actual exercise.  We covered all 13 miles in an hour.  Then we hit the 5k (3.1 miles) loop on foot.  I have been planning on doing a Sprint tri in September- 0.4 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike and 3.1 mile.  But after tonight, finishing with ease I know that those distances might be too much in my comfort zone.  So I now wonder, should I push myself to go for the next level?  The Olympic.  If I worked all Summer on the Sprint distances I bet I could be pretty competitive or I could push myself and do something more challenging- i.e. more adventurous.  What would you do?  

  After our workout I grabbed my new favorite snack.  Carob chips and almonds.  Now I am reading female triathlete blogs and researching distances...  Do you like to "geek-out" over things the way I do?  When I get an idea in my head I like to read all about other people's experiences to determine if I think I'm capable.  My new friend Devon, who I trained with tonight is so gutsy, she has only done one Sprint tri, years ago and is now going for a Half-Ironman.  She makes me feel so inspired, like I should just go for it!  

What do you have going on the rest of the week?  Can't wait to tell you all about my upcoming weekend!  

sleep tight, fit dreams!

xo

Jeni 

A Better way to Fuel (meet my new belt)

Hey Jenne,
  My computer hasn't been working the last few days and so I haven't been able to tell you about all the fun things happening or comment on the amazing things you've been up to...  Technology can be frustrating.

  Let me start with my run last night.  My half is in 9 days and I am now focusing on speed in my long runs.  In the past I have only cared about covering the miles and it didn't matter how fast or slow I went.  This round of training I have found that I have been comfortable running at an 8:30/mile pace in my shorter distance runs but I wanted to see if I could do the same at longer distances.  My goal for my upcoming half is to be running no slower than 9:08/mile, this would bring me in at just under 2 hours. (This same half last year I finished in 2 hours and 9 minutes- so I'm looking to cut off a big chunk of time this year.)  I have found that fueling and hydrating every 2 miles makes a HUGE difference in my performance.  So recently I bought a fuel belt to keep me prepared.  Last night I took my new fuel belt for our first run together.  I chose a new route that added extra hills to my run.  I remember a few years ago when I started running again after 4 years of not running (thank you broken back) I avoided hills.  Now I actually find them to be exciting..  I completed 9 miles last night at an 8:55 pace.  I am happy with the outcome but I know it could have been a lot better.  There were a few things wrong last night: 1- I felt slightly dehydrated, 2- I had not consumed enough calories beforehand, 3- my feet started blistering around mile 7, and lastly, the most painful, 4- I have this one spot under my right arm that rubs against my right armpit area that causes the most terrible chafing rash. At mile 8 I didn't think I could take another step the chafing was so painful... but I pushed myself home and hit 9 miles.  I have to go out and buy some body glide this week.  I can't possibly do that again.  The course for the Steel Rail Half is completely flat, only one DOWN hill!  So I have no doubt that I will meet my goal and possibly come in under my goal!

Now, let me express all of my excitement about your week!  First off, Jungshin class looks like the coolest thing EVER!  I can't even imagine how much fun that must be!  Do you feel like one of Charlie's Angel's?!?  I bet I would get a little too into that class! I really have gym envy when you talk about the awesome classes you can take.
  Now, tell me about yoga.  I know you said you had a difficult time letting go of thoughts... which is something I'm known for too... but what was your favorite part of the class?  Did you learn anything new?  Try a new asana or go deeper in a pose than before?  Did your teacher say anything that struck you as profound?  No matter how anxious or distracted I feel in a class I always leave with something new.  Which is an incredible feeling.

Oh my gawd, I almost forgot to tell you that I made your chia seed pudding and it was so stinkin' good!  Everett and I devoured it!  I mixed mine with almond butter and some fresh berries to give me a real shot of protein.  Delish!  E said we should always have it on hand in the fridge.  Thanks for the inspiration!

Can't wait to read more of your adventures!
Au revoir!
xo xo
Jeni

Post Challenge Check In

Hey Jeni! 

I am having some serious bike envy reading your last post. Please send me all details about this lovely bike ASAP! I am still in the process of seeing where I want to go with a commuter bike. 

It's funny you ask about goals and goal setting. My challenge ended on April 5th with some pretty solid results. I decided to go a little extra with my fitness goals, but I really felt like I needed some downtime. 

I had been focused on my diet for three months (with a healthy serving of chocoIate, gelato and mallo cups everyday), but I needed some donuts, Moe's queso and a little time for reflection on my achievements. I tested the waters, I ate a lot of the foods that I cut I out for the purposes of limiting inflammation in my body and I pretty much gained a lot of inflammation weight back! I wasn't surprised. I also had some pretty poor sleeping habits. All and all, I think I convinced myself to jump back on the wagon :-) I felt so much better without nuts, beans, corn and dried fruits. In the end it's about what works for me and how I feel. I realized I feel so much better without the foods that are not friendly to my system. I went light on exercise for a few reasons (a little bit of overachievement on the bike last weekend) but I seem back on track. I still feel my progress, but I want to take that the next step further! 

So where am I at with goals? Here they are:

1. Century bike ride

2. Consecutive days of longer rides on the bike (at least 30 miles)

3. Continue toning specific areas of my body

4. Challenge myself to a bit of abdominal definition (can't be bad for summer right?!)

5. Sleep hygiene

6. Food hygiene (ie. focus on fun, new, fresh recipes that enrich my body without inflammation) 

What are your goals? Anything specific? How will you plan to incorporate the bike into these goals? 

Xoxo

Jenne

Progress is a Great Reward

Jenne,

  What great progress you made in your challenge!  You set a goal and you reached it- that is so impressive!  I love goals.  I find they keep me focused and motivated.  I also love reaching goals.  I ran my 3rd half marathon on Sunday and I loved it.  It was such a different experience than my other races. At the end of my first two I was depleted and begged for the finish line.  This time around, perhaps because I had several more long runs in my training or maybe my dietary changes, it felt different.  I felt strong the entire race and I didn't need to distract myself from pain or discomfort.  Talk about progress.  I ran this race with my friend Melissa, it was her first race ever.  I registered to run this race WITH her which meant I let her choose our pace, we ran at a pace of 9 minutes and 35 seconds per mile, which is somewhere around a minute faster per mile than my last time around.  I also finished feeling as though I could have kept going, I could have sprinted.  It was such a show of progress that I felt elated all afternoon.  I registered for another half next month where I plan to run sub 2 hrs- which is a pace of 9 minutes and 8 seconds per mile- which I now know I can obtain with ease!  I plan to spend the next 5 weeks with varied training, adding sprinting and weight training, to really give myself some reserve power.
  As for your ride- I am so impressed by your strength and progress.  Now that you crushed the first part of 2014 with weight loss what is your next goal?  Do you have a goal time for your tour de cure ride?   Everett got me a bike for my birthday (yes, back in January) that arrives tomorrow, finally!  For months we have talked about our hope to start a weekly tradition of riding to a little breakfast spot we like called Murray's in Tivoli every Sunday morning.  I think we get to start this week!!  I can't wait.

Congrats on your hard work and results!

You amaze me friend!

xo
Jeni

Progress

Jeni, 

Question for you... What is you definition of progress and how do you recognize it? 

Today I recognized progress and thought hard about what it means to me.

I had two interesting bike rides this weekend. One short and mostly flat ride and another long ride with some more hills. Overall I'd say I rode about 45-50 miles this weekend. 

A picture of my ride group:

This makes me feel joyous. What makes me feel even better is the changes I saw while riding. I rode faster and with more energy. I took some risks on the bike to see what would happy. My thoughts moved to the progress I want to make this season. 

Risk #1: Starting the season riding two days in a row

Risk #2: Additional miles to my longer ride by biking to the ride itself instead of driving. 

I feel like both "risks" show my increase in confidence from last season to this season. To me, increased confidence on the bike is definitely progress. 

Overall, this weekend was an A+ in my book. Don't these types of weekends make you feel great?!

How was your weekend? Have you noted any progress? 

Jenne 

Lucky Number 7

Hey Jeni!

How have you been? It seems like its been forever since I wrote! 

I have been having a great time since I climbed out of my funk a few weeks ago. In fact, I've met one of my challenge goals and I also had a "7 day week" as I like to call it. 

My goal was to be halfway to my goal weight and I did it and held it steady over the week! I was so excited! I feel like the work is paying off and it motivates me to keep on going. 

My 7 day week was awesome! I did something active everyday and I feel great about it! I haven't had a 7 day week since last summer. What is even better is that I feel like I had some diversity in my workout, which is important. 

Here is the breakdown:

Monday- spin class

Tuesday- weights and bike

Wednesday- yoga

Thursday- Zumba

Friday- Jungshin and bike

Saturday- weights and bike

Sunday- skiing

I am so happy with my week. I can't wait to keep working towards my goals :-)

How have you been? An fitness milestones lately? 

Xoxo

Jenne