Bestfriend Challenge

I met my bestfriend 2 1/2 years ago at a COMPASS meeting for new NAVY spouses. Both of us new to Japan, well she was fresh off the plane and I had been there a couple months (somewhat) , had stowed away on a MAC (military aircraft) flight back to they states while my husband was deployed, I did come back though.

The first day of this COMPASS course she sat across from me. Typically southern, loud, funny, wearing pearls, and a green preppy sweater. The perfect example of how a southern military wife should be. With me, the California girl sitting across from her wearing a ball cap, Adidas pants , some workout shirt and 5 months pregnant. To say the least I felt very undressed, but thats me.

First impression of my friend: CRAZY. She had a comment on everything, which she somewhat silently muttered to all sitting around her. I really had thought she had spiked her drink , she just had that " Ive had a drink or two and I dont care" attitude. Made me laugh but even made me think she was crazier than first expected.

Dont know how we ended up bonded together. But we were. With husbands deployed having a friend to relate to is essential on getting through deployments. We had sewing nights, dug around Japanese second hand shops, and sleepovers followed up with amazing waffles and sausage.

During our friendship together in Japan I had my first child. I felt as though she was my sons second mommy and my lifeline to being SANE. She was my lifesaver and support.

Military life constantly sends you down different paths. Eventually we had to part ways , as our new duty station was back state side. Moving and children can keep you from keeping up with friends. Its not that you dont want to , but when you can even remember why you walked into the bathroom, things get forgotten.

Why I bring up my friend is because even though at times things can be forgotten , doesnt mean they dont have a place in your mind and heart. Since the time I left Japan , she has moved back stateside and has a little boy of her own. And thanks to Facebook we can peer into each other lives.

Which leads to the reason I'm doing this post. Today I challenged my friend into starting and completing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. Of course her blunt southern personality wanted to know what I was doing with this Shakeology Mommy Experiment, and again her blunt southern personality pretty much told me she had better things to spend her money on :) That doesnt mean that she cant be on a 30 day workout program.

So Im putting her to the test here, she will follow all logs that are involved in my "experiment" with the exception of Shakeology of course AND stick to her 30 day shred. With the 30 day shred preparing her for INSANITY.

To you readers , some of you might think " ha no problem" but for my dear friend who when I asked if she liked fruit she replies " I only like clementines" ( in her southern accent) and what she call vegetables , are some kind of greens covered in butter and some cheese. ( Not that I'm hating, I always ate AWESOME at your house girl!). Now to stick to HEALTHIER eating might be a challenge. Now is my friend an obese rolling tub of lard , hell no. She just appreciates some good food , and after typing that out I'm starving.

But I'm on a mission people. To motivate and inspire my bestfriend with STICKING to this 30 DAY SHRED. I want her to feel the joy in losing weight, I want her endorphins kicking into gear so those happy thoughts are running all day long. I want her to feel strong and I want her to feel SEXY!

So now my friend , the world knows of our agreement. Take this opportunity to inspire others to take the challenge as well.

I Feed Off INSANITY

The last month of my training for IRONMAN CANCUN 70.3 started off with being told that I should lay off running completely and spend little time on the bike. Thats one of the worst things you can tell a aspiring triathlete. The IT BAND MONSTER that moved in with me won the battle of having to take time off. I somewhat welcomed it. If it promised results on stopping the pain in my knee then I'd do it.

It really had gotten to the point I would do ANYTHING. From stretches, icing, foam rolling, new shoes, to NO shoes, to chi running , to ACTIVE RELEASE TREATMENT, to praying 3 times daily , I was doing all that I could possibly do. Only medicine left was REST.

So fine REST won. But what would happen to my cardio? Oh man was I scared! I remember when I started running again after having my youngest ( a whole 10 months ago ) I could barely run a .25 mile. I knew it wouldnt get to that point , but at times like this you think the absolute WORST.

Keeping up with all my wonderful friends on DAILYMILE , I kept seeing INSANITY posts. INSANITY? What the heck is that? I'd read their crazy sweaty write ups and just wonder. So I put out a message asking what would be best to do at this time in training. I was bombarded with INSANITY suggestions.

So I watched the YOUTUBE videos, and I was intimidated. They looked so hardcore, but all the cardio was what I needed to keep me up in fitness, and the plyometrics would only make me stronger AND faster. Talked to hubby into doing it with me and I placed my order.

Until my package arrived I watched the infomercials and videos on YOUTUBE. I continued to read friends posts and got pumped up.

Then when the DVDs arrived , I unleashed the INSANITY.

Tough , challenging and sweaty. I LOVED IT. I dont think I have sweat so much in my life.

The last 3 weeks have been dedicated to INSANITY workouts , as I put my triathlon training on hold. Just this past week did I go for a run , without pain and without the slightest difference in cardio. I feel and look stronger and Im lighter. Losing 4 lbs in the first week! Yeah, didnt see that coming, but welcomed :)

Going for my first long ride this afternoon I look forward in feeling how the strength I've built up in my legs will come into play. I'd suggest this workout for anyone that needs that extra speed in their running. The workout feels as though it was designed for track stars and works those calves and quads to LEAN strong muscles. There are no weights involved. Only using your body weight as resistance. Its MAX INTERVAL training with short 30 second breaks. So it pushes you to give all you got in you at your MAX speed. I would also suggest this to people that are sidelined like I was . I felt it worked all the same muscles I needed as a triathlete , and then some.

Its a 60 day program and I'm really excited for the results at the end! Sticking as much as I can to the Elite Nutrition plan , which is pretty simple, inexpensive AND easy. Also found it to be somewhat toddler friendly. But then again I can barely get my 2 year old to eat anything , all I get is "Milk, PlEASE!!" **sigh** I try.

113 days till IRONMAN CANCUN 70.3 and I'm itching to get out there. Summer is on its way and this mom is going to totally BRING IT, Im slapping it on thick this summer , with INSANITY, children rearing , wife loving and triathlete craziness. Wish me luck as I kick my official training into gear. I thank all my supportive readers, Dailymile/Facebook/Twitter friends for you positive feedback and constant encouragement. My love goes to my family for supporting me and my radical habits and being there when the tears come down when things get to tough and I dont think I'll be able to push through. But as I say to myself daily "If you cant do this, you cant do IRONMAN".

** If you would like to know about INSANITY you can go here. Or can answer all your questions via email here**

East Bay Catfish Crawl 1 Mile Swim 2010

 Lets start at the waters edge.

10 am , beautiful day in Pleasanton, Ca. At Shadow Cliffs Lake in my wetsuit for the second time and this time actually entering water.
Before I step into the water I put on my gray swim cap given to me with my #544 written across the side. "Great, it doesnt fit " , So it ended up a little snug on the head , at least I got it on. Mark the hubby is next to me , of course his pea head fits perfectly into his cap.
Taking the first steps into the lake were COLD. But I thought , not bad , its just my feet the wetsuit will keep me warm. I hear a couple next to me say "Dont worry , its going to be fun" , I turn and ask if this is their first swim as well and it is , well their first WETSUIT swim. Feeling better that I really wasnt the only newbie out there we walk further out to get to the "deep water" start. Following my husband he stops and asks "Do you feel that?" , " FEEL WHAT?" ... then I felt it , the cold water starting seeping through the zipper into my wetsuit. BRR. Shaking it off and acting tough we get to the "deep water" start which comes up to my chest and we hover around for awhile. I had not been nervous until I was standing there freezing with water up to my chest and seeing the buoy WAAAAAY off into the distance.
A guy comes up on my right and asks "Do we swim out to that far red buoy?"
ME:"uh yeah"
GUY: " I need to tell them to bring that a little closer !"
We all laugh. Now that buoy didnt seem THAT far until the gun went off and we started swimming. I didnt even get 30 yards, with the shock of the cold water on my face, the wetsuit seizing my chest and glorious  exercise induced asthma, I stopped swimming came up for air and couldnt catch my breathe. So  here is when I have my freakout, I come gasping out of the water like I just escaped a submerged submarine , my heart was pounding I was cold and hyperventilating. Hubby stayed with me and kept me calm and urged me to continue moving forward. The doggie paddle was my stroke of choice , but realized it was to much work. Side stroke worked nice so we kept pushing. Then I started getting nauseous , I thought to myself "seriously? this is not the ocean" . GRAND!! Pushed through.
The best advice I can give anyone at this moment of hopelessness when you are or a mile swim and have only gone about 50 yards is to start counting strokes. So I chose a number, 22 to be exact and made that my goal. Why I didnt try to push further than that I dont know, I thought if I made it 22 strokes I deserved to stop look helpless at my husband , side stroke until I thought I looked like an idiot and go through it all over again. Then I started making lifeguards and buoys targets to get to.
Next thing you know I'm at my final turn. I can see the end. At this point my husband is just cruising next to me ( the whole time it was like he should have been on a floaty with a drink in his hand , while I'm trying not to drown) he says " I wonder if they have bass fish in here?" . As he looks at some kids fishing on the side of the lake. "Really baby? Your thinking about fishing now?" ... it did make me a laugh a little and viola push through to the end. I made it , I didnt drown ,  I didnt give up and amazingly I wasnt exhausted ( because I was to scared to swim to hard , and be exhausted and drown ). Stood up and walked up the beach to cheering fans, and one of my favorite Dailymilers Jody & Jacob ( you ROCK, and you dont know how happy I was to see you there at the end!).
So that was where I lost my open water virginity.

Big thank you to Marks high school buddy Alan and his beautiful wife Jessica for watching the kiddos!! Cheesecake Factory is the best way to celebrate!

IT BAND INJURY

Cyndie left a comment asking how my IT band was doing and if I had any pointers.

I had to jump on the opportunity to share what I have found out and what I am doing about it.

Heres what I have been doing:

1. Rest : I taken quite a bit of time off of my running and have seen no change. I can run but mile four hurts ALOT.

2. Foam Roller: I make sweet passionate love to the foam roller daily ;) Seriously, I try to roll out my entire leg 5-10 minutes 3 times a day. It hurt in the beginning ALOT , but the pain ( from rolling )has gone away. Im not sure if that means the knots in the band have gone down or that my roller is not as hard as it should be. They say the foam roller gets in like a deep tissue massage and helps break down the scar tissue that is causing friction on the tibia. I also make sure I get my butt on the roller and roll out that piriformis muscle.

3. Stretch , Stretch and Stretch : I stretch ALOT. They say that is the #1 thing you can do for ITBS ( IT Band Syndrome). Around 4 times a day, and whenever I'm on the floor playing with the kids.

Here are the stretches I do: ( click on name of pose for directions )

- Pigeon Pose

All stretches and exercises from RUNNINGTIMES

4. Ibuprofen Regime : To reduce inflammation where the band is rubbing on my knee I Have just decided to start this. I had been only taking ibuprofen after workouts but I think I need to do this seriously. Also just made an appt today with the Dr. to talk about a stronger dosage and how a cortisone shot could help with the area. I'll let you know how that goes. Appt is set for Monday morning.

5. Physical Therapy : Some of you know I did not want to go to PT because I thought it would be a waste of time ... it is. A already see a trainer that has me exercising my hip and my trainer and husband both (occasionally) give my leg a deep tissue massage. When I do go to PT that is all I do get, my massage and thats it. They only told me what I already knew :( Update 4/23/10 : Went to the physical therapist today and she showed me some hip exercises I had not seen. Why do they seem to know all the great exercises?:) Also got an intense DEEP rub. VERY painful, but its helping. Guess I have to give the PT more time :)

6. ICE ICE BABY : Have to ice after every workout out. Its a lil painful but then you get over it and it helps the knee.

7. Run To The Finish : Amanda at RuntotheFinish also posted a great blog on ITBS.

So thats what I have been doing. I feel as though I have been following the rules to the "t". Getting very frustrated though. Oh , I am also suffering from "short leg", the injured leg is shorter than the other. Due to pregnancy my hip bones are all over the place and do not stay aligned. So I have my hubby and coach "pull" it back into place before workouts. It really makes a difference. It has to be done alot and the only thing that will make it "stay" is strengthening the hip. Has anyone seen a chiropractor about that? Thats the next thing on my list.

I hope this helps some of you . Its the basics.

Tonight I'm going to start back up with Bikram Yoga, lets see if the hot and humid air with DEEP stretching will help. I'm positive that I will see some difference.

Do you do something different? Do you have the elixir to fix this? If so let me know asap, I've become a desperate runner!

Clowns Slowing You Down?

ahhh people. I took a late run , to come home to babies going to sleep and a fresh mind to blog away :).

Today was a happy day with the news of Our little Team DAILYMILE being selected to run in the NIKE Women's Marathon & Half. I was THRILLED, but at first I was confused. I opened the email to only say " what does this mean? Dude, Im so confused" . Yes, I call myself dude. I was doubting our luck of getting in only to think that the email was confirming that I had registered. But no, they have charged the credit card. It was official we were in. I loved seeing the outbreak of happiness on DAILYMILE posts that we had gotten in. I felt as though I couldnt type fast enough to spread the news. For some reason I am more excited about this than going to Ironman Cancun, I think Im more scared of that ;)

Moving on to training, it has been a SLOW week. I look at my weekly mileage and say "PATHETIC", but whatever I got a run in today with out TOOOO much pain and Im happy about that. Tomorrow I will hit up the pool and my bike (which has been lonely since this weekend).

What I have to look forward to this weekend is my first open water mile swim. Ive found a couple of sitters so there is no stopping us this weekend. We will head out to Pleasonton to participate in the Catfish Crawl!! Our wave of "wetsuit men and women" will take off at 10:20 am. You dont even know how thrilled I am that I will be able to swim with the hubby on this one. There have been so many times lately in the pool that I looking at the bottom of the pool and realize that in my triathlons I wont even be able to SEE the bottom. When I think of that I have a small heart attack in the pool... just a small one. So if I do have a freakout I know Mark will be there to keep me from drowning. We all have our weaknesses.... and clowns.....cant forget the clowns.

What does everyone else have going this weekend? What are you weaknesses?

GOOOS-FRA-TRI

egh , arrr , egh and one more EGH!!
Today was supposed to be my first triathlon. My first check in this magical world of triathlons that I have submersed myself in training for the past 3 months. That was not to start this weekend though. The hubby and I both registered for the Baby Ice Breaker Triathlon ( Hubby was doing just the ICE Breaker, no "baby") in Folsom, CA. Not till Friday did we realize that Folsom is 4 hours away. Now we are not wusses but traveling with family and 2 children under the age of 2 for a 45-55 min triathlon ... well the math was adding up. With babysitting issues and the drive haunting us we decided it would be best to NOT attempt to make it up there :(
Now we both have spent the weekend in a MAD/SAD attitude towards this. I mean it would be the first TRI of the year for both of us and we had money into it .... Since this is my blog I will say that there has been time (even today) that I have wanted to throw my bike shoes through my living room window and scream. What made matters worse was with this "mad/sad" attitude I hovered over DAILYMILE looking at everyones races and tri's and while I was so happy and inspired by other athletes posts I was pissed that I was not out there with my notch in my belt. I will admit, I just ready Heather's race recap from RunFasterMommy and I loathe her, yeah Heather I loathe you for the next 2 min. The competitive athlete in me knew she was doing her first tri this weekend as well and wanted to WHOOP her in the bike and swim portion ... she would rape me in the run :)
**breathe** GOOOS - FRA - BA **breathe
wait ... one more time
**breathe** GOOOS - FRA - BA **breathe
Must think positive thoughts ... like this all happened for a reason. Gives more time for my IT band to get over its mood swings. 4 more weeks to be faster for my actual SPRINT distance at the Morgan Hill Triathlon.
What did happen this weekend though was a GREAT and EXHAUSTING workout with my husband. I really wish we could be training partners but with 2 little ones, while one is being the triathlete the other is the babysitter or "parent" :)

Another thing to take note in my training is that I bought a new pair of shoes and POWERSTEPS, has anyone else tried those bad boys out? Its going to take some getting used to but hoping it will help my flat feet and overpronating. The sad thing to say right now is that I have no clue what kind of Mizunos they are , they are purple that is all I can say.

Now that I think to myself we did a lot of crap this weekend. Yesterday we spent most of the morning at the Sea Otter Classic. Which was intense! So many vendors I was totally blown away. Dropped some of the hubbies cash (which he calls anniversary gift) at the LUNA tent and cruised around picking up free stickers. Also I hit up a tent with people doing custom bike/tri jerseys, totally psyched about designing my own jersey :)

Ahhh... well Im rambling. I feel a bit relieved and while typing this my husband read the first part and decided to put on the movie ANGER MANAGEMENT for me, what a sweetheart, now let me go and give him a dead leg.

Mini Calendar Freakout

This post is TOTALLY going to sound like a valley girl typed it up (which I kinda am) but when Im really excited/nervous I sound like an idiot. But this is me.

There have been many posts which I have started but never have posted. The past 6 weeks in training have been EXHAUSTING and even MORE EXHAUSTING. I felt a little lame just expressing how tired I was. But coming to the end of the day that all I could think about. Changed things up a bit with eating a little bit more and then something happened to my IT band and really sidelined my running the past 2 weeks. I got through my hard headedness and with the caring helpful hounding of my husband and lovely DAILYMILE friends I just took the time off completely from running. 5 days later I feel great and havent had any pain in my leg at all in the past 3 days. GOOD, I really needed to hop back on the horse today.

So that is the roundup of how training has been the past weeks ... but this past weekend I kicked off my event season with my first 100k bike tour. I will recap later on that because I cant even think about that right now.


After naptime a short time ago , I grabbed my youngest and walked out to the living room, I dug out my planner and looked up my training papers which told me I would have a FULL week, then I opened the planner to this week and BAM on Sunday I have my first triathlon EVER. Now its a "Baby" Tri. 2o0 yd swim , 6.5 mile bike and 2 mile run. Its nothing and I probably blow right through it but HOLY HECK man this is really launching my tri "career" ( I couldnt think of another word) and IM WIGGIN OUT DUDE!! I mean the next weekend is a 1 mile catfish crawl and then 2 weeks later my first SPRINT then another 2 weeks later another SPRINT , 1 week later my first OLYMPIC.... there is more things happening but I will stop there cause I think you might have caught my drift on the small nervous freakout here!

****breathe****

Now that I typed that out Im weirdly over it. Now my worries are just getting through the day. I have to also promise myself to blog religiously from now on so I can look back at these moments after I officially have become a BAD ASS :)