August 2013 Goals

By the end of June I made some pretty big changes in my life.  After almost six years as a vegetarian, I started eating meat again.  I made other changes to my diet like eliminating sugar (unless from fruit), no more grains, and started eating more healthy fats.  That wasn't enough so I committed to Maffetone training for my run and bike work outs.  Like any good addict, I also added swimming to my work out plan.  I am sure some of you can see where I am going with this (maybe).  

As July approached I decided it was time to get serious and set some firm goals.  Posting them on the blog was meant to keep me honest.  I plan to add on to my goals each month.  Not to create a laundry list of things to accomplish but these goals are meant to form new habits.  So each month will be a build...an opportunity to create new habits.  Here is how July came together:
 

1. Continue with my heart rate training (I’ve GOT this!) - 
• UPDATE: what possessed me to take this on during the hottest and most humid days of the year?  I did the very best I could.  Some days were more successful than others.  Some days were euphoric.  Some days were soul crushing. By the end of July, I learned how to dream big; have faith; believe in myself; embrace fear; and be committed.  Somehow I emerged from July a new person largely due to my running.  I have discussed it previously on the blog here and here.
2. Complete FOUR 90 minute runs - 
• UPDATE: I fell a little short here due to a family vacation in Vermont.  I just wasn't prepared to tackle 90 minutes of mountainous terrain.  Optimistically I declare this goal a success.  I have worked my way up to 90+ minute runs.  I feel myself getting stronger each time and I look forward to the challenge.
3. Increase my monthly mileage by 10% - 
• UPDATE: While there was an increase in my run mileage, I fell just short of 10%.  I am going to take the liberty and say this is due to a MUCH slower pace in the heat and humidity.  Additionally, I have been running for time, not mileage.
4. Get in the pool - 
• UPDATE: OK, I rocked the sh!t out of this goal! Three weeks ago I could not string two lengths together for form a single lap.  As of my last swim, I swam 1500 yards consecutively.  I have been in the pool twice a week.  It is quickly becoming my favorite work out.
5. Keep the diet changes consistent so I know if the changes are working - 
• UPDATE: I have been very consistent but flexible.  I am experimenting to find foods that work for me and make my body feel good.  The reduction of sugar and increase in healthy fats have all had a very positive effect on my body.  The biggest change I have noticed is my mental functioning.  I seem to have more mental energy.

Sauteed shaved Brussel Sprouts,
Beets, and Salmon

I am trying a new format for my monthly goals.  I will be breaking them up into three categories: Family, Sport, and Life.  Here are my August 2013 Goals:

Family:

• As we wrap up the summer and camp winds down, i will be looking forward to my time off with the kids.  I take two weeks off to bridge the gap between camp and school starting.  Last year the kids and i really enjoyed our time together to slow life down and focus on what really matters in life...each other.  My goal is to be fully present with my children during these two weeks and make sure we cross things off our summer bucket list.

Sport:

• Here are my goals for the three disciplines:
  • • Running: I am going to continue with Maffetone training for a large part of my runs (and cycling).  However, I think I should also throw in some opportunities to run at my goal pace.
    • Cycling: use the bike to effectively cross train and work on increasing strength.  No hard numbers from x mph to x mph.  No pressure.  Just improve...for now.
    • Swimming: I am still working on getting comfortable in the water.  Since i know I can swim 1500 yards, I want to increase that to 2000 yards by the end of August.  No pressure here either.
• YOGA! I need to make the time for a regular yoga practice.  August's goal is to do 5 sun salutations a day (preferably in the morning) AND find one yoga class a week that I can attend.

Life:

• Organization:
  • • We are a busy family and life has been moving a little too fast lately.  I am going to slow life down, focus on getting myself re-organized, and settled in.  This means physically organizing my space to serve my family's current needs.  
    • As I look to set my family's fall schedule, I will NOT over schedule us.  I may have to say "no" to a kids activity here or there but we will all be better off in the end.
• Nutrition:
• Continue eating the way I have been these last few months: lots of vegetables, higher fat, moderate animal protein, no sugars, no grains.  I am not concerned with diets and dogma.  What matters most is how I feel.

Can't remember where I found this but
it pretty much describes where I am right now.

What are some of your goals for August? How do you plan on spending the rest of the summer?

The First 50 lbs Are Easy

At the time, I thought it was a mountain.  Vanderbilt Parkway, just west of 231 in Dix Hills.  Some of the locals may know this hill-a quarter mile, 8% average grade.  A good cyclist might get slowed down a little when making this climb, but I was a novice, carrying a little more weight than the average person.  I shifted into my lowest gear and put everything I had into the pedals.  I was not wearing a heart rate monitor at the time, but I know I was red-lining it the whole time.  Gasping for air, heart beating out of my chest, lactic acid burning in my legs and I was barely making progress.  I was absolutely determined to make it to the top without stopping or walking the bike up this hill, that would be embarrassing.

About halfway up the climb, I hear a very calmly spoken "Good Morning."  Another cyclist was passing me on the left.  To my surprise (and dismay), the polite man that passed me was easily twice my age.  He flew by me like I was going backwards, which at that point, I might have been going in the wrong direction.  I was the young buck here, how was he taking this hill with such ease?  Then my analytic, engineering mind kicked in.  The "X" factor here was mass.  He carried significantly less weight up that hill.  Although he was twice my age, he was half my weight.  That was it.  Game on.  I couldn't let a 60 year old man show me up like that!  I had to make a drastic change and lose this excess weight.  The question was how?

I needed advise and counsel.  I needed guidance from my wife Tara.  She had been successfully using the Weight Watcher's Points program for a few months.  My ego would not allow me to go to the meetings or stand up in front of strangers to bear my soul.  That approach works well for women because they tend to be more open-minded and cerebral when the walls come down.  Putting me in a vulnerable state would have reinforced the padlocks on my ego and not allowed me listen to good advise.  Although it sounded like it would work, there was no way I could partake.

Then I discovered the answer.  Weight Watcher's Online!  This was perfect.  I could follow the plan and hide behind the proverbial curtain of cyberspace.  There were no misconceptions going into this endeavor.  It was going to be difficult.  Simple math stated that I needed to take in less calories each day.  Less calories meant less food, and I loved food.  If I wanted to lose weight, I was going to have to give up something I loved for something I just started to enjoy, cycling.  Seemed like a sacrifice worth making.  Off we go!

May 2004 after losing my first
50 pounds.  Big improvement, but
a lot of work still to be done.

I had no idea how much I actually ate until I was recording the caloric values of everything that made it past my lips.  I would put a real "serving" of pasta on my dish and think, "Are you kidding me?"  The portion size part of this diet was a real eye opener.  Previously, I would have eaten half the box of pasta in one sitting.  Now, if I was going to have rice, pasta or other starches, it was going to be these little hockey puck sized portions.  I sure hope this works because it is much more sacrifice than I had anticipated.

Well, it did work.  My weight started dropping at a pretty decent rate.  Truth be told, starting at 230 pounds, I had an overwhelming amount of "low hanging fruit."  Speaking of fruit, and vegetables for that matter, I was still not a fan.  Corn, potatoes and apples.  That was pretty much it for me.  Weight Watcher's program gave me a tool to lose weight by restricting calories.  Remember, I am a math-minded person.  It made sense to me.  Eat less, burn more.  Simple math.  It took me the better part of the next decade to understand that this type of program was for weight loss only and it did not promote healthy eating.

Although the points system is still around, back in its heyday, every other package on the grocery store shelf had points values on it.  It was very easy to buy into the notion that if I was eating something with a low points value, it was healthy.  I now know that eating such highly processed "food" products, regardless of points value or caloric content, is simply not good for your body.

It took me about 8 months to lose about 50 pounds.  I increased the volume of cycling and held to the points system.  I got faster on the bike and slimmer in the waist.  I felt great, but I wanted to do better.  I really wanted to be slim, fit and ripped.  For the first time in my life, I could see the ability to take my shirt off at the beach without being embarrassed.  However, that was still some time away.  The first 50 came off in 8 months.  The next 20 took almost 8 years.

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It's a Slog but it's OUR Slog

Last year was my--Tara's-- year to get reacquainted with being a physically fit individual.  I had spent way too long making excuses about being a full-time working mom with two small kids.   

I had excuses galore but to me it was reality.  No time, no desire to leave my kids (after leaving them all day), no energy from middle of the night wake ups, etc.  I was just too tired to pull myself out of bed at 6:30 – forget about 4:30!

I used to enjoy working out and John had been prodding me (frequently!) to get back to the gym.  In January 2012, he suggested I run a 5K.  My perception was that he was calling me fat and lazy.  Not sure if I verbalized my response or if it was just in my head but it went something like “Fu#$ you and your 5K, I will run a 10K.”  I am sure he felt he was being supportive.  I just felt put upon.  I downloaded a Couch to 10K app and completed a 5K, a 4 miler, and a 10K by October 2012.  It felt good to be running again and have accomplishments to call my own.

The couch to any distance apps are designed to get you over the finish line.  That is it.  No thought to speed, heart rate, nutrition, pre-race nerves, etc.  I blew up on every race and felt like crap by the time I crossed the finish line.  I burned out after the (very hilly) 10K, and took a few weeks off.  I realized I wanted to take my running more seriously and increased my workouts, now getting up at 4:30 am, trying to stick to a training plan, and reviewing my diet.  I am not a natural runner.  This was going to be hard work for me but I realized how hungry I am for accomplishments to call my own – maybe a better time on my 10K or a half marathon in 2013 – something that tap dances on the fine line of unattainable (for me).   

After my first 5K in 2012

As the wife of a Triathlete, so much is about him – his training, his goals, his body’s abilities, his races, his accomplishments, etc.  I could easily allow this to consume me and lose sight of my own athletic aspirations.  In speaking to wives of Triathletes (Triathlon Widows as I refer to us), we seem to take a number of approaches to coping with our spouse’s unrelenting passion for their sport: hostility, fear, total disinterest, indifference, and “if you can’t beat him, join him”.  I have daydreamed about pulling into the garage and accidentally running over his bike.  I have referred to his bike as his mistress.  I have rolled my eyes so many times I can’t believe I am not permanently staring at my brains!  

So after the other approaches didn’t work, I joined him.  Let’s face it, Triathletes are pretty inspiring.  They do epic shit almost daily.  Instead of hating on John’s single minded focus, I could find inspiration in it.  I have tapped into my own inner athlete and have made peace with this crazy sport.   

Looking more like an athlete
one year later 2013

For sure I thought my training (running and cycling) would add a complexity to our lives but instead life got easier (not easy!)  We now had a unified battle cry.  Our family took on a greater purpose.  We became a more focused unit – where we spent our money, time, energy.  Our master schedule provides time for John’s training, my training, and family activities.  It’s not perfect but it is better. 

Now that we are both getting up in the four o’clock hour on most days, we are both going to bed early and neither of us complains about it.  No more glasses of wine to fog my mind the next morning.  No more heavy dinners, food is fuel. No more staying up to the wee hours on a Friday or Saturday night (unless built in ahead of time).  TV is watched sparingly. Training became a way of life.  Training is 24/7 around here, living with purpose gives life a beautiful energy.  People may read this and think “what a slog.”

It is a SLOG but it is OUR slog.  

Leave us comments below, we would love to hear how other families try to find balance...or not.

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