A Sense of Accomplishment

Welcome back!  Soooooooo yesterday was such an amazing day for me!  I didn't win the lottery, or get a new hairstyle, or even a pedicure, but what I did has made me feel just as great as any of those things.

The day actually started the night before when I had a fabulous talk with my wonderful husband, Mike.  I've been consistently working out for over 4 weeks now, mostly 6 days a week if possible. Mike and I talked about that and how it is not only changing my life, but our life, our marriage, and how it will impact the lives of our children.  Harrison and Heidi are going to grow up experiencing triathlon races as a normal, everyday event that families do.  They will also naturally eat correctly instead of having to undo all the bad things that Mike and I have learned.  We pray that they will never know or learn of our former bad habits of over eating and not exercising.  Since I've been working out it has stirred in Mike a desire to work out too. I am so proud of him for making this commitment to himself and to our family.  Our lives are changing for the better and it is a wonderful thing!

First off, all members of "Team Orange" were heading into the city together to purchase the gear we would need for tri training and race day.  While getting ready I received a text asking which drink I would like from Starbucks.  What a perfect way to start the day!  Mike was already preparred to be SuperDad today as I was likely to be gone nearly all day shopping and then doing our timed test. I am so grateful to have a hubby who is so loving and giving.  Thank you Baby!

We went to BowCycle and I got road shoes that will clip onto my bike pedals.  From there I also bought a pair of fingerless gloves so that my hands wouldn't hurt while racing.  Next stop we went to Tri It, a whole store dedicated to the needs of triathletes.  Here I was fitted for race clothing including swim suits, one pieces, sports bras, goggles and the list goes on.  I would have loved to buy a new bra but spending $85 is not in our budget at this moment, especially since the race is still 3+ months away and my shape should change by then, too.  Maybe in August that is something I can look forward too.  I ended up purchasing a new set of goggles with large lenses, and a biking jersey that was on sale, and just happened to be orange! YAY!

From here we went for lunch at Julios Bario, a somewhat trendy Mexican place in very trendy Kensington.  The food was ok, nothing to write home to, especially to those in Texas.  It is sad that for 3x the price it really didn't even touch the quality and taste of the food at Rosa's.  Too bad.  Our next stop in our power shopping was at Swim Co. to find new bathing suits since the one I was wearing was a maternity suit (my only one) and it was nearly falling off of me.  I swim at least 3 time a week, so this was an investment.  I found one that fit awesome, was an ok color (black & purple) but the price was great.  I was so happy with this purchase.

Last but certainly not least was our stop at Speed Theory, where I was fitted for my new bicycle.  It is gorgeous and is so light I can easily do bicep curls with it!  And guess what?? The entry level bike, the Felt F95, just happened to be... ORANGE!! (with a little bit of white).  I was fitted and ended up needing a 52cm because my legs and arms are longer compared to my body.  It's awesome.  I am so very, very thankful for my coach who bought the bike for me as motivation to stick with the sport.  He is proud of me for training and working so hard to lose my "training suit", aka all the extra fat I've been carrying around for years.  I can't wait to pick it up in 2 weeks time.  They are special ordering it just for me!!  Here is a picture of my new beautiful ride:

My new bike, a FELT F95

To cap off our day, Stan, Heather and I set out to complete my first triathlon.  We wanted to time each section at a race effort and pace to get a realistic look at how I can train to improve by race day (August 8).  We did not do all the events in order though simply because we had to work around the lane swim schedule.  We started with a 20km bike out on Horse Creek Rd.  What a beautiful (and challenging) ride.  The winds were high and at our backs headed out but very strong against us on the route back.  This road is nicely paved and the vehicle traffic on the road is so used to cyclists being out there that they are patient and friendly.  A great first bike.  I'd like to state here that I have not rode a bike for over 5 years!! And to do my test I was riding my old Canadian Tire mountain bike that is rusty and too small for me.  It took me 9 minutes longer coming back than going out did because of the winds, but I finished the 20km in 1hr and 3 minutes. I can't wait to see what I can shave off of that time with my new bike. 

the view along our bike route

We quickly loaded the bikes in the car and jetted over to the river path to start our run.  If there is an event that I am weaker at it is definitely the run.  Right now I don't actually run.  I walk at about 5.5 km/hr and when I do jog it is only until my heartrate reaches around 165 bpm and usually that's around a pace of 9 km/hr.  SLOW.  This is mainly due to all my extra weight and lack of endurance.  This will get better, too.  I finished my 5km "run" in 42 minutes.  Most elite athletes complete the same sprint distance race (triathlons that I am training for)  in just over an hour (for women)!!!  I certainly have a ways to go!

Off we drove to the pool to get changed and start our laps. On an actual race day it is swim, bike then run, plus you transition from one to the other immediately, no driving inbetween.  Thankfully Cochrane is a small town and we weren't in the car for more than 5 minutes between events.  I finished my 750m swim in 22 minutes making my total time for my first tri in 2 hours and 7 minutes.

I am very happy with my first time and it sets the mark for me to improve upon.  I absolutely love the sport of triathlon, I am just sorry I haven't done it sooner in my life.  I really felt like I accomplished something today.  When it is pure human power driving your bike up the hills, you body through the water and down the trail, it gave me such a natural high that I may never stop.  And that would not be a bad thing!

Thanks for keeping us with our family! We love hearing from you in the comments! God Bless.