Disneyland Half Marathon 2010

This past Sunday I did something I never thought I would do... I ran 13.1 miles.  In one day.  All at one time.  Yes, that's right I ran a half marathon!  Amanda and I had signed up for this marathon months ago and to be honest, when race day came along, I wasn't feeling 100% ready.  The furthest I had run in my training was 9 miles and I think I would have felt so much better if I had just gotten to 10 or 11.  But ready or not, here it came and I woke up on Sunday (at 2:45 am!) to drive to Anaheim and be ready to race at 6am.  On only 3 hours of sleep I was definitely nervous.  But my adrenaline was pumping and I was ready to go.  For me, this race was all about me.  I wasn't trying to compete with anyone, I only had 2 goals: Finish the race, and to run the whole thing... no walking.  And I succeeded!  I ran for 2 hours and 35 minutes straight, through Disneyland and Angels stadium and when I crossed the finish line I has almost emotional with pride.  I couldn't believe that I had actually done it.  The girl who used to weigh nearly 200 lbs was now running 13 miles and feeling pretty darn good too.  Amanda and I both finished the run and we both ran the entire time.  I was so incredibly proud of us and even thought I said this would probably be my first and only half marathon, I think I may have to just try it again!  Amanda and I have decided to make this one a yearly tradition!

Amanda and Daylin on the day we picked up our BIB #'s

Our ginormous medals!

There were a ton of photographers taking pictures all along the course so I really cannot wait to see what I look like after running for over 2 hours =/ but as soon as those are posted, I'll make sure to post them here =)

Just an Update

Today was a milestone in my weight loss journey.  I have reached my lowest weight in 7 years and I weigh less than my drivers license weight (you girls all know that number is never actually accurate lol).  I have a much longer, detailed post coming complete with before and after pictures but I just had to toot my own horn here and celebrate!

My medal

Running my first triathlon in April completely changed my life.  I found something I was really passionate about and something I actually enjoyed doing as much as possible.  Just completing the triathlon was amazing but I was really looking forward to having a medal to commemorate my first tri.  Except, when I finished and went to get my medal I was told they ran out.  SUPER BUMMER! I was still on an endorphine high from completing my tri but was pretty bummed I didn't get a medal.  Apparently, a ton of people had signed up the day of the event and they didn't have enough.  My awesome cousin Dom even offered to give me his but I couldn't accept it, it was his first too! I figured I'd just have great memories of completing it.  

Until I told one of my customers who works for the Temecula Rotary which put on the Triathlon that I didn't get a medal.  Next thing I know, she was on the phone with Terry, the man who helped put the whole thing together.  Not one week later, she tells me that Terry was going to come and drop off my medal to me personally.  I was beyond shocked!  He felt so bad that it was my first tri and that I didn't have something to take home with me.  He actually came to my work, put my medal on me and congratulated me on finishing himself!  He was so awesome and gracious! And now I have my first (of hopefully many) medals!

30 Days Sober

Thats right people you heard it.  I'm an addict.  A Coca-Cola Addict.  I drink ENTIRELY way to much, sometimes multiple times a day and not just a glass here or a sip there, I'm talking about a Super Sized cup refilled at least one more time in one meal!.  Yes, it was that bad.  Just so we know what we are working with here, a large 32 ounce Coke from McDonalds (who FYI has the best Coke EVER!) comes in at nearly 400 calories!  That is equivalent to a healthy sized lunch.  So no matter how healthy I eat, throw in one Coke a day and that can pretty much double a meal calorie wise .  Not to mention what it does to your insides and your teeth.  So a week before my triathlon last month I decided that I wasn't going to drink any Coke to prepare for my Tri.  Then I didn't have any the next week, or the next.  And today I hit 30 days.  It has been 30 days since I have had even a sip of Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero or any other carbonated variation.  Just water and Minute-Maid light Lemonade for me.  Sometimes I miss it, but most of the time I'm just happy that I am one step closer to being healthier.

Temecula Challenge Triathlon

I did it.  On Sunday I completed my first (of many I hope) triathlons!  I can't even explain how much fun and how accomplished I felt afterwards!  Out of about 350 triathletes, I came in 261st and I was 12th in my age division.  Not bad for my first one I think!  This specific Triathlon was a reverse one so we started with the run, then the bike and finished with the swim.  I got a personal best time on my run which I was really excited about, since running is not my strongest event.  I told myself I would be happy if I did the 3.1 miles in 30 minutes and I ended up doing it in 26:36! I was so excited! The bike was a little tough, considering it was 17 miles but I did pretty well.  I lost some times there compared to the other girls in my age groups so I know what I have to work on.  The last leg, was the swim which I kicked butt on!  I was the third fastest swimmer in my age group!  I completed the triathlon in 1:36:55.  Here are a few pics from Sunday.... I can't wait to do it again!

The start of the run

Finishing up the bike portion

The swim

My friend Jackie with her medal for placing in our age division! She did awesome!

The best part was that my cousin Dominic and I did our first Tri together and we ran the 5k portion with our cousin Mo.  It doesn't get much better than that =)

So Excited!!!

I've been a little MIA lately especially when it comes to blogging about my triathlon training but it has been going pretty well.  My running is getting better and I have been biking about 10-20 miles a week.  The only thing that has been hindering my riding is that I was riding my dad's mountain bike that was a little too big for me.  Getting off of it was awkward and riding for a long time was painful on my booty and lady parts =D.  Anyways, I was starting to dread my triathlon, especially riding the bike for so long and was actually starting to panic.  But then, my dad came to the rescue!  He texted me telling me that he found a great bike for me on Craigslist, for a GREAT price and we needed to go see it... NOW... because it was going to go quickly!  So we met up with the seller and I fell in love!  The bike was incredibly comfortable and I bought it right there and then!  Here she is:

Another added bonus was the girl selling it was about my age, a pretty experienced rider and was looking for some girls to ride with!  I love riding with people more experienced than me because they make me push myself.  I took the bike for a little spin this evening and I'm totally excited now!  I'm taking her out for her maiden voyage tomorrow morning and I've got 10 days before Tri-time! Can't wait!!!

I may have found it...

Now I may be jumping the gun a little but I think I may have found something I really love to do... possibly a passion!  A few months ago I decided to enter into my first triathlon and since then have been training for it.  My running is coming along very well and my swimming has always been my strong point but I hadn't ridden outside in a very long time.  I take spin class about 2-3 times a week but it is not the same as riding outside.  After my first bike ride on Wednesday, I felt good but to be honest, a little discouraged.  I only did 5 miles and I felt like that took me forever.  Granted, I rode on a busy street with tons of stoplights that I had to stop at but still, I felt I should have gotten more mileage in the time I rode.  

So Thursday at cardio bag class, my new friend Jackie, knowing I was training for the tri, asked me if I wanted to go riding with her.  Of course I said yes and was super excited to ride with someone way more experienced than myself.  Having already done 4 triathlons, I knew Jackie would really be able to push me like I needed to be pushed.  And push me she did!  Before leaving cardio bag class, she told me to meet her at her house at 7:45AM on Saturday (EEK!) and that we would ride about 12 miles and then run 2-3 miles (DOUBLE EEK!!!) 12 MILES?!  I had only done 5!  And then a run on top of it??? I was definitely worried.  I even thought about canceling on her, but my great friends Cassie,  Mo and Lish and my incredibly supportive fiance all said they knew I could do it and their faith in my abilities kinda rubbed off on me.  

So Saturday morning, with butterflies in my tummy I woke up and headed out to meet Jackie.  We got on the road by about 8 and headed up 2 huge hills!  I had to stop twice, once because my gear was so hard that I couldn't even pedal and felt like I was gonna fall over and another time because my thighs were just on fire (cardio bag class 2 days before was probably not the best idea but hindsight I guess...) Anyways, we road up to the Santa Rosa Plateau which was just beautiful!  It was a little cloudy and cool but great biking weather.  

When we got to the top we stopped at a trail head, locked up our bikes and ran about 1-2 miles.  My legs actually felt great and the run was fairly easy!  After our run, we got back on our bikes and headed back down the hill and back to Jackie's.  The whole trip took us 2 hours.  I felt so accomplished, even thought I know I probably held Jackie back a little, I was so grateful for her and her pushing me.  II would never have ridden that far on my own. 

The first thing I did when I got back home was enter my workout onto dailymile.com (think of it as Facebook for your workouts).  It's linked up with street maps so you can track your runs/rides and see exactly how many miles you have done.  To my surprise, our ride today was 17.19 miles!!! I was shocked!!! If I can do 17 miles up 2 huge hills, my tri (which is also a 17 mile bike ride) should be great! I am so motivated now and I can't wait to get out there and ride again.  The best part was, even though I was tired and sweaty and a little scared actually, I had a blast!  I loved mixing up the ride with the run and I have never had so much fun working out before!  I think this triathlon thing could be something that I am really passionate about!  I even mapped out a new riding course near my house (with minimal hills lol) and I plan on getting on the road on Monday.  Its only 8 miles but I figure I could mix in short rides during the week and do one long ride on Saturday.  I'm thinking about conquering Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet which is a 23 mile loop with little to no hills.  

Is someone a little cocky? I think so =)

My Badge of Honor

Wednesday I embarked on my first outside bike riding experience and it was pretty awesome.  I did a short ride near my house and ended up doing about 5 miles.  Right when my ride was starting, I was standing at a stop light and couldn't get my shoes un-clicked from my pedals and I literally just tipped right over! I laughed, dusted myself off and kept on riding... so embarrassing! But I ended up with a nice little badge of honor.. my first road rash!

Run, Bike, Swim

I am OFFICIALLY registered for my first Triathlon! April 18th, I will be running a 5k, then biking 17 miles followed by a 150 yard swim.  I am sooo excited for this!  Its just what I needed to kick up my workouts and have something to work towards.  I have 9 weeks to train!  Wish me luck! =)

It wasn't a fluke!

Yesterday I ran 4 miles again! I beat my best (and only) time of 49 minutes and finished in 46! I am going to try and run 4 miles about 3-4 days a week and hopefully I can get to a 10 minute mile before I attempt to run a 10k in May/June! Oh and this was all after a full body weight workout!  *Pats myself on back*

I CAN RUN!

Holy crap I can run! Not fast, not slow but nevertheless I can run!  Friday at work I started thinking that today would be the day that I would run 4 miles.  Why? Who the hell knows, but I just decided it was gonna happen and that was it!  Have I ever run 4 miles before? Nope! I've never even run 3! But I was actually excited about going to the gym on a Friday night (for some reason, Friday is mentally the hardest for me to get to the gym) and I was ready to push myself once I got there.  I ran at a 1.0 incline (because no road is ever compltely flat) and started out at 5.0 miles per hour.  I was doing really good a little over 2 miles into my run and I couldn't believe that I had never pushed myself beyond my comfort zone.

My endorphines were just rushing through me and I was feeling amazing.  My pace was good but the last half mile I pushed myslef a little harder and increased my speed to 6.5! I saw the treadmill monitor reach 4 miles and I was so unbelievably proud of myself!  I ran it in 49 minutes, so about a 12 minute a mile pace.  I've never run that far before and I always thought I couldnt run.  So now its time to keep pushing myself.  Today I'm gonna try and run it in less than 49 minutes, maybe 46!  And I'm gonna start training for a 10k (6.2 miles) and see how well I do =)

Things that bug me at the gym

I spend a lot of time in the gym, about 10 hours a week, and as a people watcher, I have noticed some things that really bug me about one of my favorite places to go. Here is a random assortment of things that just irk me:

1.  If I have my Ipod in, that usually means I don't want to talk... so please don't try to strike up a conversation.
2. Please wear deodorant and bathe... there is nothing worse than working out next to someone who stinks.  I realize its a gym but please do your best to be clean and odor free.
3. Put your weights away.  Its not THAT hard and hey, you burn extra calories walking them back to their spot =)

4. Put your phone down.  There is no way you can get the  best workout possible if your chatting on the phone while on the elliptical.  If you don't need the workout, get off the machine because someone else probably wants to use it.
5. Stop hitting on people there, really its old and very cliche.  There is a difference between a casual conversation and a blatant pick up and most women can tell the difference so just let us get our workout in without having to reject you.  Oh, and another thing, stop checking us out in the mirror... WE CAN SEE YOU!

6. Grunting.  Really? Is it necessary? Last time I checked my gym was not jam packed with bodybuilders and I'm pretty sure you should probably be putting that energy into your lifting, not your mouth.
7. I am guilty of sweating A LOT.  And since I am aware of this, I wipe down every machine after I use it and I even bring an extra shirt with me just in case I need to change.  So please, don't sweat all over a machine and then walk away before wiping it down.
8. The narcissist.  Don't flex your muscles in the mirror right after working them out.  Your abs will not look noticeably different after one set of crunches.  Save that for the mirror at home.
9. The guy that goes around and tries to tell people, particularly women, how to workout... and the guy at my gym, is fat.  Seriously dude?  I wouldn't take financial advice from a poor person, I wouldn't take marriage advice from an adulterer and I most certainty would not take fitness advice from a guy with a beer gut.  If I have a question, I'll ask someone who looks like they work out.
10. Those people who think they are the shit.  Check your ego at the door please, we are all here for the same reason.

So those are just a few of my pet peeves about the gym... I'm sure I will have more as time goes on.

How do you find a Passion?

I think I've discovered that I don't really have a specific passion.  Luis is lucky enough to have found 2.  He played soccer for most of his life and was very good.  He was nationally ranked in High School and played College soccer.  He quit soccer about 2 years ago when he found a new passion in MMA.  He is so incredibly dedicated, training about 30 hours a week and making sacrifices to do what he loves.  I am very proud of him, but I do  envy the fact that he is so passionate about something.

I don't really have anything that I am that passionate about.  I like to do a lot of things but I wouldn't say I have a true passion.  I think I should try and find something that I could devote such time and energy into.  But how?  Luis didn't go out looking for a passion, he just stumbled upon it.  So I'm thinking that I need to dig deeper into the things I like to do to see if I can zero in on something that really gets me excited.  I really enjoy working out, testing my body and my mind so I'm thinking I should try things that are physical.  Maybe a triathlon, or long distance cycling or maybe even try my hand at boxing or Muay Thai on a more serious level.  To me this seems like a good way to kill two birds with one stone since I am really trying to get into really good shape.  So I am on a quest to find something that I am truly passionate about.  Hopefully, I find something soon =)