I "TRI"ed!

I completed a triathlon today! It was great! The distance was a 5k run, 17 mile bike, then 175 yards in a pool. I actually had FUN because I wasn't worrying about time at all and it was cool to switch it up and not just run the whole time. It rained so hard on the last part of the bike portion, but I was still enjoying every second. I was so emotional when I finished that I actually started crying because i had wanted to do a triathlon for so long. Yay my dreams came true today! And Bernie did the 5k and placed 2nd in his age division! And I didn't come in last in my division =)

I felt so great after my race. I think I see why triathlons are addicting. They are way funner than half marathons.

So we're crazy, we signed up for the La Jolla Half. I totally hated that race last year. I'm not quite sure why i'm doing it again. Maybe from peer pressure from Bernie and my friend that did the Carlsbad Half. I hope I have fun with this race although I don't think I've ever considered any of my half marathons as "fun". Just brutal.

I guess I'm just a masochist, haha.

Here I Am

What I've been up to:

1) I decided last month that this is the year that I'm going to complete a triathlon. So I've signed up for a super sprint on March 22nd: a 5k run, 17 mile bike ride, and a 175m swim, IN A POOL. Yup, it's a reverse tri! I am having fun training because I don't feel like I am getting bored of any one activity. Although sometimes I am a little frustrated with the swimming part since I'm not that great. But I am getting better and I can somewhat swim 175m without stopping or touching the bottom of the pool, but that is a combination of freestyle, hanging out on my back, and doggy paddling.

2) I just recently started running with my husband's iPOD. Seriously, where have I been? This is the greatest invention ever! That and the fact that I can get free dj hip hop mixes online! I could run every fricken day!

3) I've had this chronic shoulder pain since I was in high school. I am so serious about getting rid of it. I've tried physical therapy before but lagged on doing the recommended exercises. So now I'm in physical therapy and I love my therapist, she's a triathlete! I know it is going to take some hard work, but I know I will be pain free!

4) I think I've already read at least 8 books so far this year. Not having cable TV is actually pretty cool. Now I really have free time.

5) I'm doing such a great job on menu planning. Every Monday, our CSA puts out a list of what is *most likely* to be in our box. So I write down the list and find or come up with something that will use what we are going to get, and put this at the bottom of my list. Then I have this binder with all my recipes but in the back, I keep one plastic sleeve for each month. And after each week, I put the list with the titles of the recipes I have made with that week's CSA produce into that month's plastic sleeve. So in the future, I can go back and see what I did with that week's food. This is going to make my life so much easier hopefully because the farm does grow things seasonally. I've been averaging 2-4 recipes per week to cook. And this has been totally manageable. I usually label and freeze half of what I cook. Whatever we don't cook gets used for salads and smoothies.

6) Enjoying my life!

2009 Book #1 - "Remember Me?"

This is the 2nd book I've read by Sophia Kinsella. The first one was "Undomestic Goddess" which I really enjoyed. "Remember Me?" was no exception. The author is funny and witty. I don't want to say too much, but basically it is about this woman who wakes up from a coma and discovers that she cannot remember the last 3 years of her life. From what she can remember, she was pretty much an ugly duckling and she wakes up and is beautiful and married to a super gorgeous man and is living the good life. There is a funky twist in the book that I don't want to give away, but overall, I would give this book a 10, on a scale from 1-10.

My next book is "Angels and Demons"!

Stronger

Today was my first day back at the gym in over a week. I was a little disappointed because I had wanted to take a step class, but the instructor never showed. So I ended up hanging out on the elliptical runner, then stretching and doing push-ups. Real boy ones! I can't do that many but I always feel strong when I'm done. I do hope to increase the amount this year =)

I started my new work hours so now I am working 2nd shift and I am pretty excited about it because now I can go to all the morning classes at the gym. I've worked 2nd shift before at my previous corporate job and it was hard at first because I didn't know a lot of people in SD and it is hard to socialize when you work while everyone is ready for happy hour. But it feels different now, I'm not drinking like I used to and I have friends who like to socialize in other ways, like working out together. Or meeting for lunch.

The only somewhat sad thing is that I won't be able to see my husband as much, especially if he starts working the early shift at his new job. But I tell myself that this isn't forever, and one day I will have what everyone considers a "normal" job, but for right now, I am happy with my unstressful job and hours. What I like the most is having the mornings all to myself, quiet and unhurried.

Best of 2008 and Goals for 2009

I have been inspired by Chocolate and Zucchini" to create a "Best Of" for last year. So here it is:

******************** Best of 2008 ********************

Best Career Moment: Getting a new (less stress, more $$$) job at one of the best companies in SD to work for!

Best Vacation: Tie between trip to Costa Rica in January, trip to Hawaii in April, and my friends' wedding in Playa del Carmen in October

Best Race: Carlsbad Half Marathon completed in less than 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Biggest Physical Accomplishments: Completing the Triple Crown Series with my husband and friend Micah (Carlsbad Half, La Jolla Half, and American's Finest City Half) and learning how to swim better (and with confidence)

Best New Healthy Habit: Green smoothies and eating with awareness (ie. accessing my hunger level and watching portion sizes)

Best New Treehugging Habit: Using reuseable shopping bags more and reducing trips that require multiple stops (blech!)

Favorite Health "Toys": Blendtec blender, Polar RS200sd Heart Rate Monitor, and Klean Kanteen

Favorite Proof That I Make a Difference: Convinced my friend Cynthia to start doing road races (we did the Iron Girl 10k in June) and she is doing her first half marathon this month!

****************************************************
And with that, here are are my goals for 2009. I realized that I prefer the word "goals" to "resolutions" because to me, the word resolutions indicates that there is a problem and that you are going to resolve to make it better, which is probably true. However, "goals" are much more powerful and challenging to me, and if there is anything that I learned these past couple of years is that I do like challenging myself and reaching goals. Plus goals, to me, means you have at least some game plan in place, some type of list or road map on how you are going to achieve that goal. And I am all about lists and plans. Really, as much as I hate to admit this, it really boils down to me really liking, needing, and thriving in a lifestyle that has structure. I don't know if that makes me anal or not, but I am glad I know what it takes me to make me a better person.

And without further ado:

*********** My Goals for 2009 ***********

1.       Communicate more effectively and patiently with my husband.
2.       Read at least 12 books.
3.       Live simply by reducing unnecessary spending.
4.       Eat with awareness (yes, this is ongoing).
5.       Be good to myself!

I had this converation with my BFF Maria last year on how we prefer years that are even, because odd numbers aren't that pretty. But I am optimistic about this year because I got a new job, my husband has a new job, and now we feel confident and ready financially and physically for babies! So I was thinking of ways to like 9. Well 9 is a nice number because it's 3 squared. And I like the number 3.

So I am really optimistic about this year, and I feel like it will only get better for us. If babies are not in our future this year, then I will probably attempt a sprint triathlon or perhaps the California Dreamin' race series. And also plan a great trip somewhere.

Happy, healthy 2009 to you!

Side note - I am still going to try and not eat refined sugar this year. It will be easier if we eat most of our food at home, so that is also a goal but I didn't include it because I feel like "living simply" somewhat covers that endeavor. =)