All I Can Say is I DID IT! NJ State Tri Round 1 - July 23, 2011

Yesterday I competed in the New Jersey State Sprint Triathlon, the event I have been waiting for and training for since the beginning of this year... and maybe my whole life. Needless to say, it was nothing short of AMAZING! Seriously, I kicked some ass, if I do say so myself. I was so much stronger than I thought I'd be. I woke up at 4:45am after a restless night and dressed for my big day. I was all packed and ready to go and was accompanied by my dad, my sister and her best friend to the race. As I arrived, got body marked (it tickles!) and prepared my transition station, I thought I'd be more nervous, more terrified. But I guess it's true what they say, success is when opportunity meets preparation and damn was I prepared! I then went to the shore of the lake to stretch, BREATHE and take it all in. I waited as they reviewed some course instructions and protocols and still, I felt in control and excited... not fearful. As they began calling the waves to start the race, I was amped up and ready. Long story short, I KILLED  the swim portion. In fact, I was lapping people in the wave ahead of me, which started 5 minutes before my wave!! Oh yeah! And my biggest fear was that my nerves and anxiety were going to get the best of me, that I was going to go out guns blazing and then exhaust myself before I even completed the swim. But, even though I had a killer pace, I was in control of my breathing and paced well to finish in a good time. As I finished up the swim, I felt surprisingly good. The roar of the fans kept my blood pumping and a smile on my face. I was already finished a third of my race! However, the good goin' didn't last for long. 

The bike ride was a little rough, but more because I was riding a mountain bike and was working twice as hard as everyone else on regular racing bikes. Long story short, mountain bikes are NOT designed for speed. Or for distance for that matter. Ugh. And after all that biking (a whopping 11.5 mile bike) all I could do was think as I approached the dismount line was "Dear God, my legs aren't working properly anymore; I'm totally gonna take out some innocent bystanders!" (Thank goodness I didn't!) Also coursing through my mind was "How the hell am I going to run 3.5 miles after this?" 

Even though it was friggin hot and mentally, I was running low on fuel, I did it. I DID IT! And not many people can say that! And best of all, let me tell you - NOTHING beats crossing that finish line. I'm not gonna lie, I cried. Like a baby. I was so friggin excited that I really did it; I finished strong and whooped my goal time by 45 minutes. Yup, I finished the race in about 1:45! Hot damn, I felt like I could conquer the world. Hey, maybe I will. Who knows?

Anyway, what an awesome experience! I don't know if it's that I'm high on endorphins or friggin out of my mind, but I signed up for another race August 28th! Let's see if I can beat my time. 

By the way, I can now claim that I am officially a TRIATHLETE! Now how many people can say that?!?

STATS:  Overall Place: 1234/1366; Swim Time: 11:42 - Swim Rank: 447; T1 Time: 3:37 - T1 Rank; 906; Bike Time: 52:22 - Bike Rank: 1290 (On a Mountain Bike!); Run Time: 39:27 - Run Rank: 1185; Total Time: 1:51:52

Memorial Day Pool Party? Run for the hills!

   Or at least that what i used to think. I mean, I can truly think of very little that could classify as more humiliating than strutting around in a swimsuit in front of people you know when you are pudgy. So I used to run for the hills at the mere thought of a pool party invitation. I would miraculously contract a rare form of Malaria or be laid out in bed with Indonesian measles... and then be instantly cured as soon as the party was over. Whew. Bullet dodged. But at the end of the day, who was I spiting?  Myself, of course, who was stuck at home while my friends were whooping it up, splashing around and enjoying their youth.  I'm pretty sure my friends could care less if I was 50 pounds or 500 pounds, but in my head, donning a bathing suit publicly was on the same playing field as kissing your cousin - you just don't do it!
    Fast forward a year and a hundred pounds and my outlook on swimwear has obviously drastically changed. Now you're lucky if I even wear clothes... haha BIG JUST KIDDING! But seriously, this past weekend, Memorial Day, I was invited to a BBQ complete with pool-time festivities and I wasn't apprehensive to go. In fact, I was looking forward to showing off my new bod. And boy was I well received. My friends, some of whom I have not seen in a while, were floored at my transformation. They were doling out compliments and expressing how proud they were of my hard work and how amazing I looked. I was on cloud nine and climbing. For the first time, in a long time, swimsuit season doesn't scare the ever-loving crap out of me. Instead, I am looking forward to being beach-bound all summer. And let me tell you, I can't wait!

HOLY CRAP... I HAVE A FOLLOWER!

Hello LewisFamilytexas! I am so excited to have my very first follower - I feel like this is a monumental benchmark in my blogging career! :) So thanks for following and feel free to say hello when the mood strikes ya! I wanted to write you a personal message, but as I have mentioned a few times I am technologically stunted and became confused when they asked me to sign-in and follow my own blog (all things I had to do before I sent you a message apparently). Anyway, I wanted to wish you the best of luck with your own weight-loss adventures. Let me know how it's going - you'll be in my thoughts and prayers!

Update on #5 on the Bucket List

    #5 - Join a sports team. For a former fatty and a lifelong unathletic awkward girl, this task seemed fairly insurmountable. I mean, first of all what sports team would want me? Second of all, was I up to the challenge of making a complete ass of myself everytime we'd have practice or a game? Well the answer to those questions came to me about four years ago when I was on one of my many weight loss kicks and was trotting (aka huffing and puffing at a mild walking pace) at the local high school's track. Below where the track sits are the school's softball fields and I observed people my age (and older) playing on the fields. Every time I looped the track, I'd crane my neck to get a glimpse of the action. And I said to myself, "I want to play softball; I might suck, but at least I could meet some new people and also have a new method of exercise that wouldn't bore me to tears." I returned home and told my dad (who has always been incredibly athletic and has played on numerous softball teams even in his older age) that I wanted to play and I thought that he and I should find a team and play together. We promised one another that we would look into it and get ourselves signed up to play the following year, and as luck would have it we didn't have to look too far. A friend of ours, a pastor at a local church, was attempting to start a team for his church to play in the league; now even though we do not attend his church, he was recruiting and we were dying to play. So in a serendipitous twist of fate, my dad and I joined the NCCC team for that following summer.
     This year will be my third year on the team and I have to admit, I'm still not great. But obviously, after having lost 100 pounds, playing has gotten a hell of a lot easier! We had our first scrimmage last night and I was AWESOME. And not just awesome compared to how I used to be, but awesome compared to the normal scale of athleticism! I was smacking the ball into the outfield, I was playing second base and right field, when I used to hide behind the plate as catcher. I was sprinting around the bases scoring one run after another - I was on fire. Now, instead of feeling trepidation for upcoming games and practices, I am super excited. To be honest, I guarantee I'll still have errors and flubs, but I'm out there playing better than I ever have and I'm having a blast doing it. I can't ask for anything more than that!

Kickin Ass and Takin Names...

   So I am a little more than two weeks into my intense Tri-training routine, complete with "brick" workouts (which are two segments of training back to back, like a swim and a run or a bike and a run, etc) and I am feeling GREAT! Last weekend I ran my first (unofficial) 5k and on hilly terrain no less, so I was pretty pumped about that. Forget the fact that when I got home I threw myself on the couch and took a BIG FAT NAP and was practically vegetative and useless for the duration of the day! Hmm... I gotta find a way to keep my energy up or else I'm gonna be laid out for a week after my Triathlon!
     But I have been consistently working out no less than 5x a week, swimming most days and alternating biking and running. Let me tell you, I am a sexy sight in a tight speedo racing suit, swim cap and goggles... if I didn't fear acquiring a stalker, I would post pictures of the beauteous sight. (Dear God, I hope you know I'm kidding!) Actually, I have a funny story - the first time I attempted a brick workout I attempted a swim/run combo. I swam .3 of a mile (about 30 laps in the pool) in about 20 minutes and then hustled to change and hop on a treadmill. So I start jogging mildly and out of nowhere I acquired the most WICKED charlie-horse in my leg, so help me god, I almost went right down. And all I could picture was me hitting the treadmill belt with the thud of a large water buffalo and then flying off the back and crumpling into a heap behind the still moving tread. So sexy.

100 Pounds Down!! WOOHOO! I Did It!

    Ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for... well, at least the moment that I have been waiting for (for a very, VERY long time): as of yesterday morning, I have officially lost 100 pounds. Holy Crap. It is unbelievable, even to me. In fact, I am waiting to wake-up and realize that I'm in a dream. 

    But you know what, it's not a dream because I worked my ass off (literally!) and I made my dream my reality. So yay me! YAY ME IN A BIG WAY! I feel like if I can do this, there isn't anything that I can't do. I decided that as much as I don't really want to, I am going to post before and after pictures. The reason for my apprehension is because it is hard for me to look at those pictures now and not be disgusted with how far out of control I let my weight (and my life!) get. But it's ok.... what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and maybe it can be a source of inspiration for someone else and hopefully continued inspiration for myself. (I'll try and get a full body photo up soon - I'm just not accustomed to taking any of those!)

It took me two hours to gather the courage to include this picture.
This is crazy for me to look at, just crazy.

Yup, I'm the rotund blonde on on the left next
 to my amazing and beautiful best friend, Christina.

Me and my svelte sister, Laura, on vacation.

ANNND NOOOOWWW!!! ... 

Woohoo!

My family - now I actually look like them!

Whoa... Where Did April Go?

    I wish I could say that I missed adding to my blog during the entire month of April because I have been too busy training for my upcoming triathlon - but I can't say that, so I don't know what happened. Don't get me wrong, I am training, but I feel like I've been talking more about training than actually doing it. Yikes - July 23 is going to be here before I know it.  Thankfully this epiphany hit me and as of the past two weeks, I have been getting more serious about training. I have been running 2 miles+ stints and feeling pretty damn good. This morning I ran a 2+ mile course with some pretty intense hills. Go me! On Monday, I am going to an athletic club to sign up for membership; this club has an indoor pool, hence my swim training will begin on Monday. Now I just have to get on a bike and we'll be good to go.
    I have also been reading a book called Slow Fat Triathlete by Jayne Williams (which has been pretty amusing and rather informative) and in it she discussed mental preparation as well as physical training. She said to develop a mantra to repeat when things become difficult, either in training or on race day. So as I was running today mine came to me: "I am never going back." I am not returning to a sedentary lifestyle. I am not going back to being a recluse. I am not going back to a time when I didn't step out of my comfort zone.  Look out bitches, cause this new me is here to stay.