Triathlon Recap!

So. I completed a triathlon! (Over a month ago. Sorry.)

What a wonderful experience! There were hiccups, of course, but it is definitely something I’d do again!

For the hiccups…. Of course, having a stress fracture and being under-trained didn’t exactly give me warm fuzzies. We drove down to St. George a day early to celebrate the husband’s birthday weekend, and as we drove the course, we realized how bumpy the road would be for the bike portion of the race. Since I am allergic to vibration, this was NOT a good thing. My body freaks out on roads less bumpy than that – turning purple and white, getting hives, experiencing unbearable itchiness…. Not fun.

Sooooo I was mildly freaking out haha. Luckily Kip bought me some compression sleeves, and our pharmacist friend recommended a combination of Claritin, Benadryl, and caffeine pills that worked wonders!

As far as race day, it was chilly in the morning, but the water temps were warm, so my whole group decided to go without wetsuits. We set up transition areas, got our bodies marked, and generally tried not to freak out. The boys’ wave was before ours’, and once they started, everything is a blur! Haha

The swim went well, it was just one big loop. I even saw a girl with a snorkel! Genius haha. T1 was really slow for me, since I was trying to get those dang compression sleeves on wet arms. The bike went really well: that combination of meds plus compression was the best thing to ever happen to me haha. I made some friends on the bike, and despite the rough climb at mile 3, the whole thing was quite pleasant. The run portion was definitely the hard part. The sun was unforgiving in the desert heat, and my untrained legs had a hard time haha. Towards the very end, a nice girl passed me, and I could tell by her body markings that she was in my age group. She cheered me on, telling me I could sprint to the finish line. I dug deep and sprinted past her, and ended up getting third place for the age group! Which I was both proud of and slightly guilty over, since she would have placed if she hadn’t been so nice.

I can’t wait for the next one – injury free! :)

I’m so lucky to have a husband that gave up his birthday weekend to do a race he wasn’t even interested in, and that he stuck to the training and did so well!

Little Red Riding Hood 2016

It’s funny, for every person who says, “that’s awesome!” when they find out that I have a road bike, there’s another person who says, “ugh, I would never do that!”

They have all kinds of reasons – they hate cardio, the seat is uncomfortable, they dislike physical activity, they think the spandex outfits are stupid, they think it’s boring, they think it’s scary…

But, how strange is it, that people’s initial reaction to something that someone else loves is instant negativity? I’m certainly not immune to this – my friends that do ultramarathons and other crazy-long running events get an, “oof that sounds AWFUL!” from me. So, why? Why can’t I just go, “wow, that’s truly amazing!?” When I tell people about my latest half-century, why are so many of the reactions negative? Why do we make it about ourselves at all?

Food for thought :)


Anyway… I did the Little Red Riding Hood last weekend! I have an amazing aunt who lives up in Logan, and I LOVE this ride and this distance! I chose the 50 mile event, and it was simply perfect – warm weather, pretty scenery, delicious food, amazing (cross-dressing) volunteers, attentive support, fun and supportive participants (all women!), and a great opportunity to socialize and shop after crossing the finish line (okay, okay, I bought all the things. Not even sorry.). It gives me an opportunity to spend time outdoors, be alone with my thoughts, encounter wonderful people, be extremely grateful for my life, and generally appreciate things :)

Hands-down one of the best races/events that I have attended, I’ll definitely do this one for many years to come!

Thoughts on Yoga Teacher Training

Yoga Teacher Training is one of those things that I always kinda wanted to do.

Though my personal practice over the years has been inconsistent (no longer, however), I’d get that feeling each year that teacher training was something I should look into. So, each year, I’d look into options and get all excited, but things always got in the way. Schedules didn’t work out, mostly, since I do work full time. So I’d write it off and shove it into the back of my mind yet again.

Well, this year was different. Last fall I decided that it was time to make things happen. I did my usual do-a-ton-of-research-online thing, checking out different programs, schedules, prices, expectations, and teachers. I sent out a bunch of feeler emails, I started trying different studios around the valley, and I decided that Salt Lake Power Yoga was the perfect option. I made arrangements at work, jumping through a lot of hoops, and I bucked up and paid the fee. Then the nerves set in :)

Teacher Training lasted through March and April, landing on every other weekend (ALL weekend). It made life super full and busy, but it was such a great time! I learned a ton, met some wonderful people, deepened my personal practice (hello, headstand!), and, now that I’m done, have started teaching a few (2) classes a week to get started down this exciting path!

If you love yoga and want to share that passion, I highly recommend making YTT happen. The time, the money, the scheduling… they’re all so worth it in the end :)



A few things to share:
-You don’t have to be “ready” or “good enough” for YTT. I’m naturally inflexible, don’t have a handstand (yet), and struggle through plenty of poses. That didn’t matter. As long as you’re willing to learn, you are ready now!

-I learned a lot about self-care through the long days and arduous practices. Hydration, eating small-but-nutritious meals, plenty of sleep, and comfort items like blankets and tea were essential for getting through the training…. And the same applies to tough times throughout life in general :)

- I highly recommend doing your research beforehand, since you’ll be buying into your studio’s philosophy and “flavor” when you do their trainings. If you want to teach a gentle, relaxing yoga class, a power yoga studio might not give you all the tools you want. Knowing what I was getting into helped a lot :).


So thankful for this experience and opportunity!!!

Another year, another adventure!

A brand new year! What a time for reflection, progress checks, and planning.

I got my new planner (adore), signed myself up for some challenges, and set some goals.

One concept that's been going around is to choose one word that will define the next year. I chose "Free." I want to be free from doubts, free to pursue my goals and dreams, free from chains that bind, free to do what I want and love within my career, free to make choices, free from negativity, free from bad habits or addictions... I just want to be free :)

I also set some goals, breaking them into smaller pieces, to help me improve physically, spiritually, academically, and in my career and marriage. I love the planning stage, where I get to think about an area in which I would like to improve (for example, building my endurance and physical capacity), set a measurable goal (complete an olympic triathlon), make myself accountable (sign up for the race, tell my family about it), break it into achievable pieces (sign up for a sprint halfway through training season, write myself a training program, oogle new gear), and get started on the first few little steps. It's not too overwhelming, but it's so fun to dream of the possibilities :)

My First Half Marathon

The half marathon. 13.1 miles.

For a self-proclaimed non-runner for SO many years, this was such an intimidating distance. However, training for it and completing my first half last month was SUCH a positive experience for me!

I started small. VERY small. A couch-to-5k app helped me progress from being unable to run for 5 continuous minutes to completing my first 5k in March. My surgery took me out for a while, but I slowly increased my mileage. At first, every run was torture. Everything hurt, my lungs burned, and I felt like 13 miles would never, ever happen.

I’ll never forget the day I ran 4 miles. It was the first time in my life I’d ever run that far. I never thought I could. But after slowly building up to it, I just went out one morning and did it. And you know what? It felt good. Better than good. I was hooked! How could my body go from 1 mile being excruciating to 4 feeling so casual? It was the turning point that transformed me into someone who actually enjoyed running. All those months of torture finally amounted to something.

After that, I increased my mileage weekly. I would do shorter runs a few times a week, and I mapped out my training plan so I would hit my longest distances a few weeks before my race (allowing me to taper). It went really well. The morning (before work) I ran 9 miles, I wanted to shout it to the world! I was loving this! Running was still hard, but suddenly it was a challenge I wanted to take on – I wanted to push my limits.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. The week of my 9-miler, I hurt my ankle. I figured it was something I should just shake off, so I continued with my shorter runs, but I eventually realized it was a bigger deal than that. I ended up having to discontinue my training plan for a few weeks, missing the Dirty Dash as well as all of my longer training runs.

The week before my race, I was able to do a pain-free 5-miler, so I knew that taking a break was the right decision, but I was terrified that I would struggle through my upcoming race due to lack of preparation. My anxiety was at an all-time high, but I knew I couldn’t back out at that point.

The event, put on by Goldilocks, was in Las Vegas on October 17th. We got started bright and early, and despite some women who got us nervous about the “hard course” we had chosen, I got off to a nice and easy start. The first 7-8 miles were uphill (ugh) and the sky was cloudy. I took things nice and slow, not wanting to burn out. Honestly, after hearing about the hills that I didn’t prepare for, I was just hoping to finish in under 3 hours (2:30 as a stretch goal). I felt really good, though, so I started to pick up the pace as I went.



It did end up raining, which felt amazing, and despite the major (ew ew ew) toe blisters that resulted (still got those suckers), the whole thing was quite pleasant. I never felt that gotta-die sensation I was expecting, and my splits were very negative (I’m talking minutes per mile faster). I finished strong with a sprint, I passed a ton of people in the last half mile, and I pretty much loved every second of those 2 hours and 17 minutes.



I’m so thankful that I’ve had this experience, and I will definitely do another half in the future. :) :)

My First Triathlon: Camp Yuba Sprint 2015

Guys. A triathlon has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I signed up for this sprint last year, but my car accident happened 2 weeks before the race, so this year was the year.

I wanted to test the waters with a sprint, and it was the perfect distance! 1/2 mile swim, 12.5 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run.



We camped down by lake Yuba the night before (so awesome!) and got a bright and early start. I set up my transition area and even got a spot at the end of the rack. People were so nice and encouraging, and I pretty much loved everything about it. They did consolidated age groups since it was a small race, and I got 4th place for women under 35! (technically I was the second woman 25-29, soooo I'll take it haha)



I had so much fun! I definitely learned a lot (don't start in the back of the pack on the swim, sit down to take my wetsuit off haha, go faster! :)) and I will definitely be doing more of these!

8 mile run

Yesterday was a milestone for me.

I've always complained about running. It's always been hard for me. From ankle pain to lack of endurance, it's just been plain unpleasant.

Last year, however, I decided I was going to try it for real. That meant getting running shoes (who knew it would make such a huge difference??? :)), sticking to a training plan, and actually running for longer than 15 minutes at a time.

I know. Earth-shattering. I'm super ahead of the times.

So, after finally applying myself, I was able to run 8 miles yesterday (only stopping at the water fountains along the trail). I know that, for many people, that's not a very major accomplishment... but, for me, that was huge :) :) :)



Next week is my tri, so no long run... but I'm excited to keep adding mileage! :)

Whole 30: Days 5 & 6

Welp. I think I survived the hardest trial of the 30 days and came out on top…. So I’m golden from here on out, right??? :)

Today, I (1) went to Costco and (2) handled white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies (arranging them on a plate as a gift) without so much as a single taste.

I never knew I had it in me. Seriously haha.

In other news, a new favorite breakfast addition: sweet potato! I did this one in the microwave because I’m already burned out on cooking, but I just nuked it for 5 mins, flipped, repeated, peeled, chopped, and added ghee (clarified butter), cinnamon, and unsweetened coconut flakes. Soooo delicious.




Also, I usually make this as pasta, but I just left out the pasta part (recipe at the bottom). Yum, yum, and yum.




So far I think I'll live. It's definitely a sacrifice - treats get brought to work, Costco ladies offer you free cheesecake, you reaalllllyyyy want caffeine after waking up at 3:45 am for work - but I keep telling myself that my health is worth it :)




Pasta-less deliciousness (or sausage in spicy, fresh tomato sauce):
Ingredients:
-1 pkg compliant sausage (got mine at Whole Foods)
-grape tomatoes, halved
-a few cloves of garlic, minced
-onion, sliced or chopped
-fresh basil, torn
-salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes
-olive oil
-like ½ cup water

Directions:
Cook sausage until about halfway done, add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, cook until done.

My recipes are so fancy, I know.

Life Checklist: Progress?

I came across this article (which I liked much more than most of the "30 things to do by 30" that mostly involve traveling or breaking up with that idiot or having your own credit card.... thanks for tips) that's a mid-twenties checklist for your career and it got me thinking...

What does my checklist look like?

There are many many things I'm sure I'd include, but these are a couple that I think make good measuring sticks (for me):

--Am I happy? Why or why not?

I'm not saying that life should always be rosy or that being happy is the only goal, but figuring out why I feel the way that I feel about my life at the moment is generally a good way to help me figure out if I'm on track.

--Where do I want to be in 1, 5, 10, 30 years? Is what I'm doing now taking me down that path?

While this is common career advice, I also like to apply it to other aspects of my life. What kind of person do I want to be when I "grow up?" Am I doing things to take me there, or am I wasting my life with things that don't actually matter to me in the long run?

--Am I progressing? Do I have goals and am I working towards them?

If I'm enjoying my time, that's great. But when I look back a few months or years, have I made progress since that point? Or am I letting myself get stagnant, forgetting to take steps forward? (This is something that terrifies me. What if I wake up one day, and my life is half over, and I haven't accomplished or experienced any of the things that I wanted to?) It's so easy to just go through the motions of life, and having something to work towards helps keep me moving in the direction that I want.



Those are just a few of mine.... do you have any? :)

My competitive side and my crafty side

A few things.

Occasionally, my competitive side comes out. With my FitBit, you can see your friends steps, and you can challenge them to daily or weekly contests. I get challenged all the time, but I don't usually check on them/care about them all that much.

For some reason, though, when I got home from work yesterday and saw the competition (as well as seeing my name on the feed), it really struck me that I needed to win. So, out came the Zumba videos on YouTube. Over came my friend, and we went on a long (cold) walk.



And victory! My intense little competition fire burned out after my win though, maybe it will return in a few months haha.


On another note, I'm working on my wedding scrapbook! When I first got married, I made one, but I gave it to my parents (they asked, okay? I'm not that narcissistic) and I haven't yet been motivated to repeat the process.

Until now.



I'm still in the organizational stage, but at least it's progress! :)

Reaching a Major Goal

Goals. I love em. They drive me, they direct me, they sit in the back of my mind and tell me what to do when I have down-time.

I am so much more focused when I am working toward something I can check off a list. For example, if I tell myself, "I'm going to get into biking this summer," I don't usually get past drooling over gear. If I sign up for a race or ride, however, then I'm much more motivated to get out and prepare for it.

Well, 2 years ago (almost exactly) I made a goal to read all the talks given at General Conference between 2000 and the present (that list has obviously grown between 2012 and 2014). I don't think I quite realized how much of a commitment that would be, but once I set out to do it, there was no turning back. I've been chipping away at that goal almost daily for 2 whole years. And I've loved it.

Last night, I officially read my last talk on the list. When I realized I was reading it, my heart rate rose, I could hardly focus... I even called my husband in so I could tell him! I almost didn't want to read that last talk!

While it was so awesome to realize that I was accomplishing such a major goal, it also felt strange. Something that had been such a part of my life for 2 whole years was about to be... over. In a great way, but... now what?

Anyway, I read the talk, loved it, feel really great about setting out to do something and actually DOING it... and now I've already got a new goal in mind ;)

Yay for goal-setting!