Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Poem Inspired by Joy

One of the blogs I have been reading is   Joy Tanksley's  You can also find her on  Facebook  on the fierce love for every body page. 

Joy's post today is a poem contest - A Poem for Mrs. Tanksley   I can't remember the last time I wrote a poem.  I do remember writing one in high school about my love of swimming. So with trepidation and going with my first instincts, no editing, here it is:

Sonja like Lasagna

With so many layers to explore, sweet, soft, spicy and hard

Who loves butterflies, swimming and exploring herself

Who feels sad and glad, disillusioned and enlightened, scared and strong

Who gives too much and not enough

Who fears discovery, being vulnerable and losing herself

Who seeks acceptance, love and peace

Sweet Sonja

Triathlon Results

So my official time listed was 2hrs and 10 minutes.  In reality it was 2 hours and 30 minutes as they had me in the wrong wave on their official list.  This was a triathlon time to be happy about. 

Especially when you consider that it was my first, you have to finish in 3 hours and I walked the 5k, stopping to use the restroom too. :)

So it has been just over 5 weeks since then. I thought I would take the 5 weeks, work on weight loss, and strength training.  Ironically I have had more issues with body image since finishing than I can remember having in a long time. 

I started reading various blogs and am working through these issues.  This week was my first back in the gym (consistently).  So far I'm doing well except Saturday I did weights, low weight, high reps and my biceps HURT yesterday so bad it made me want to weep.  My tush and legs hurt all the time after training, but this really bothered me for some reason.

So far swim/jog this week, looking good.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

1st Indoor Triathlon Completed

So this indoor one did not go as expected.  But I did well and feel great about completing the next one.

I knew that we had 15 minutes swim, 30 bike, 3 miles around Green Lake based on the web site.  What I didn't know is that 30 minutes on the bike was really 30 minutes after getting out of the water.  So that included my transition time.  So take away 5 minutes, also I shifted and lost my chain!  Thank goodness for Skin-So-Soft towelette that got all the grease off my hands.

I had a Gu on the bike because I thought I might need the boost later, I drank a whole bottle of water in the short ride.  I was aiming for 7 miles, but did 5 during what amounted to about a 20 minute ride.  Then it was off to do the walk.  My sister came and I was very happy to have the support, she actually walked the 3 miles with me.

That was awesome!  I was ready to listen to the Ipod.  The wave after me passed by about the 2 mile mark which I expected.  I was excited to see the finish line and actually jogged/ran the last little bit, picked up my way cool medal, an XL shirt as they were quite fitted and the L was a little tight on the girls.

I felt great that day, stayed in Seattle so I wouldn't get too stiff.  (I was getting stiff just sitting at sister's house and had to keep getting up every 45 min and move/stretch).  Stayed up til 9:30, slept until 9 the next day and came home.

Things I would do differently?  Nothing really, I am proud of the completion and the times.  Can't wait to see what the official time is after calibration to the outdoor distance.  I finished in 1 hour 38 minutes.  10 laps, 5 miles and 3 miles. 

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Less than 12 hours!

Ok, I tried to do this through my phone and it didn't work.  But I was excited. Had picked up my packet and was ready to go.

Monday, March 14, 2011

5 days, 13 hours, 3 minutes

My first triathlon is coming up in less than a week.  I am both excited and nervous about this.  I met someone on plenty of fish about 2 years ago, they peaked my interest in cycling.  Shortly after that I purchased a new Orbea, fitted to me.  I bought road shoes based on his advice.  But have learned that I like to actually be able to get off the bike and walk like normal, so I bought some sport shoes recently.


After buying the bike and starting to ride a friend made the comment "the next thing you know, you will be doing triathlons"  My first instinct was NO WAY.  Of course, when I thought triathlon, I was thinking Iron Man.  Being the inquisitive person I am, I started researching.  The shortest triathlon is a sprint.  This generally consists of a quarter to half mile swim, 14 mile bike ride and 5k.  Needless to say the seed was planted.

I was a swimmer in high school, so I wasn't worried about that.  But I had to commit to a gym in order to actually practice, that took awhile.  So far the 5k will be my weakest area in that I am not running.  8 weeks of training and every time I do something I am faster, stronger.  So really the goal is just to finish at this point.