TRI it

Triathlon: noun [trahy-ath-luhn]
an athletic contest comprising three consecutive events, usually swimming, bicycling, and distance running.


Well....it begins. As you may already know, I have a wonderful supportive husband and 3 kiddos. Ricky is my oldest at 5 years old. Then came Christian, now 3 years old. Now we have Kairi, currently 9 months old. I was introduced to triathlons when I was working hard on my VBA2C (vaginal birth after 2 cesareans). This is a very inspirational video (warning, kinda vivid pix of a homebirth, but a really awesome story!)http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=2a4e81fbf0f66accb8afce

I dabbled in the idea and thought about how "one day....". I never shared it with anyone. I would watch Teresa's video over and over and think that if she did it then i soooo could do it. Still never sharing it with anyone. Not sharing your dreams or desires makes them easy to ignore. When we share our desires and goals, others are able to keep us accountable. I NEED accountability, i get sidetracked or discouraged quickly at times if i don't see immediate results. This is probably something that will keep me in Sprint triathlons lol Shorter distance and quicker results. I don't always have much patience...however, training is definitely getting me to a patient point.

Well, after working my butt off to be healthy and fit for my birth of Kairi, it turned out my daughter was transverse...not coming out. I'm a natural birth junkie, if you can't tell already. This was upsetting but I knew I did all I could.

Fast forward to now. I never had too many problems losing the weight after a pregnancy, I didn't lose it quickly after Ricky but i chaulk that up to just not knowing better. I was 19 and i thought I could eat the way I had before having a baby, no one told me your body and hormones change! Someone could of shared that with a girl! I thought with how hard i worked out before during and after Kairi's pregnancy and birth (back to regular workout by 4 weeks postpartum after a cesarean), that I would surely have even less of a problem losing the weight. Instead it's been a nightmare and to the point that I felt like "why workout if it's not doing anything"...which I know is the wrong mindset. After months of trying to lose the weight and tone, and seeing no results, I stopped. I was depressed, discouraged, disgusted with myself. I absolutely LOVE breastfeeding and there were days when I contemplated weaning just so i could take phentermine and get my body back.

The Lord knew just where I was. He knew the plans he had for me. I prayed, Lord please help, help my body, help my mind...I'm losing it here! And what he did was bring triathlons back to the forefront of my mind, in a social setting, where i was forced to open up about these desires I had. A women at my mom's bible study gave me her prayer request card and it was about her first triathlon she was getting ready to do! The next chance I got, I picked her brain a little and opened up that I too have been wanting to do triathlons...until that moment I felt this desire was just a far away thought. I immediately opened up about this to my husband and some friends. Since then it has taken off full-swing.

Last week, my husband surprised me with a bike! He is such a sweetheart and so supportive. I haven't rode a bike in probably 10 years! My first ride (wednesday november 5th, 2008), I went 2.18 miles in 10 minutes. I hit wind coming back unfortunately, but i did another 2.18 back against 25 mph winds. I struggled with the wind but I did it and it felt so good. I went onto Mapquest.com and found a bunch of destination distances so I can keep track of how far I go.

Then the next day (thursday november 6th, 2008) it was run day. Running is my absolute WEAKEST. I'm not even kidding you, I suck at running, but hopefully that will be a thing of the past soon....or at least something I can learn to deal with. I ended up run/waling a mile in about 15 minutes. Running will definitely have to be worked on! I walk/ran to Sport Chalet and got a nice Speedo t-back bathing suit (on sale too! $25). Today I took a rest. I'm so sore, but I feel really good.

Even getting dressed today was better. No matter what weight I am, when I'm exercising I always feel better about myself. I feel that it doesn't matter what's on the outside because i know I'm working on a better me. I had that outlook for the past year until about June 2008...and I've been in an unhealthy non-active self-destructive mode ever since. Things are changing in my life, I can't afford to let them stay the same.

I WILL CROSS THE FINISH LINE. I may feel scared, a little self-conscious and intimidated...but I'm also stubborn, goal-oriented and strong. The latter will get me through this and I'm ready for my life to change.

Questions:
1. Should I train in cold water if that's all I have?
2. I have been starving since the bike and walk/run the past 2 days. Is that normal, would I be hungrier already?