Go Mommy Go!

...when they are bored...
Thanks Courtney. :)

I received the official photos from the Tri. Guess I'm still celebrating inside. :)

Recently, while taking my daughter Cassie to Gymnastics class, I got a wake-up call that could not be ignored. I sat and watched 3 year old Riley, a classmate, attack each tumbling obstacle without fear and full of spirit. You might think that this is no big deal for a 3 year old, but Riley has only one arm. 6 months prior, Riley lost his arm to an extremely rare form of Cancer.

I was quickly reminded of the scare we, as a family, experienced when Cassie was 3 months old. She had one pupil more responsive than the other. We were told it was symptomatic of either Neuroblastoma (Brain Cancer), or a harmless birth defect (Anisicoria). Going through the process of diagnosing Cassie was one of the darkest times experienced as a family.

There in the waiting area, as I became acquainted with Riley’s Mother, I could only imagine how their life was turned upside-down as a result of Riley’s diagnosis. My eyes became weepy, remembering what we went through with Cassie, and realizing that it was me…

The Very Good Question Section
http://www.protraineronline.com/past/july2/fruit.cfmBy Patrick Gamboa B.S
The old adage that your body is a temple is well known and still has relevance today. Without a solid foundation a temple can not be successfully constructed and will eventually collapse. The same holds true for the human body. We at ISSA strive to educate our trainers regarding the synergism between proper exercise, nutrition and behavior modification to effectively draw their clientele into not just a good lifestyle, or even a better lifestyle, but the best way of life; a fitness lifestyle.

The importance of nutrition is imperative as the foundation of any successful fitness program. The core of this foundation should be based around food. Just as certain compounds are necessary to build a solid foundation in a building, specific foods are necessary to build a solid nutritional foundation. Since we have already discussed which foods aid in building this foundation throug…

And I'm not talking about the "enhancing" kind.

Hubs got my XM Radio working again in my car (thanks!) it makes my work commute so much more bearable. I love listening Dr. Oz in the morning, but man! I think being armed with too much information is just as bad.

This morning he had a couple toxicologists on. They were discussing, among many other offensive environmental challenges, the ongoing issues of plastic bottles. They shared a little poem which helps you to remember which are the bad and which are the good.

4, 5, 1, 2, all the rest are bad for you.*

*1's have some ?'s surrounding them, but they're not necessarily terrible.

So, if your bottles is labeled 1, 3, 6 or 7 -- figure out what you want to do. The Camelback bottle I lifted from my Husband is a number 7. Ugh.

Take it for what it's worth -- depends on how militant you want to be about eliminating the plastic from your life.

I am certainly no professional... I'm just sharing this info that…

"Pain is tempoary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."

Lance Armstrong

Darren found this in his one of his Men's Health mags...

I did it! I finished the tri. We could not have asked for better weather, but by the time the run started it was getting HOT!

The lake was fairly calm and instead of an in-water start, they did a time-trial start, every 5 seconds. I really liked that. The swim was a challenge, but not nearly the chaos I had prepared myself for.

I crossed the swim start and had to wait as the lifeguards were actually bringing an athlete back. This guy was cut and buff... I was so curious as to why he didn't make it to the first bouy; of course it could be anything. That kind of made me a little more nervous. Anyway, my time had started, but I couldn't get in the water until this guy was in.

Darren took some video of me swimming; I couldn't believe it was me. Except for my droopy elbows, I was doing pretty good. About half-way I back-stroked it to get a rest to try to pull it out the last third.

I didn't try to speed through my transitions, I was just steady and took my time.

The bike... not …

Legs are still super-sore from Tuesday's workout. I decided I would rest yesterday, and watch Cass at gymnastics and just plan to swim today. I'll only do the distance needed for the tri, to test out my tri suit.

Speaking of which, I know it's been the ongoing saga. My Husband thinks I'm nuts and my debit card doesn't know if it's debiting or crediting my checking account anymore, since I've bought and returned so many pieces of tri-apparel it's downright silly.

So I tried on the pink and gray Orca (pictured in the previous post) for Darren, and he could see through it! It is gray, and I guess that will happen if you have it s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to capacity (it is a UK size 14)! I did find a size larger, 16 (yay!) and that will work just fine. It is black and white, so let the "Shamu" jokes begin. And if it doesn't, well, it just has to!

That said, I am finally feeling confident about it. My new Orca will show up today and I will test it to…

I might regret today's workout, but it felt really good. At the moment there's a whole lotta twichin' going on. I decided to forego swimming since the leg workout was challenging:

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Alt'd Hack Squats (new for me) and stationary lunges (active recovery)
Hack Squats *all the way down*
25 x 55 lbs.
15 x 100 lbs.
12 x 145 lbs. (barely... thought I was going to fail at 10, but somehow did 5 more?)
Lunges
3 sets 15

=======================

Alt'd leg curls and SLDL's (active recovery)
Leg Curl
15 x 70 lbs.
15 x 75 lbs.
8 x 85 lbs.; 10 x 55 lbs.

Stiff Legged Dead Lifts
25 x 50 lbs. (I told him I did more than 50 on my own *shrug*)20 x 60 lbs. (he got the picture)15 x 60 lbs.

=======================

Squats w/35 lb. weight
1 set 30

Crunches
3 sets of 25

Swiss Ball Raises (for lower abs)
3 sets of 25

Today I'll be swimming. Go figure.

Being larger than your average triathlete has it's challenges with finding the appropriate gear. Just ask Darren... he's had to hear me stress over it all weekend.

It's just not cost effective for companies to manufacture plus-size tri-suits. As for me I'm in the land of the lost; no longer plus-sized, but still larger than the average athlete.

I've had challenges finding plus-sized athletic wear. I remember how good it felt to find quality equipment. I remember how excited I was to be able to walk into the average sporting goods store and buy shorts and a top for working out, right off the rack. It's not about fashion or vanity, but rather having the right gear, and being comfortable/ It gives you more confidence and more enjoyment. It was like a dream come true. I know there are other plus-sized athletes with the same challenges, as whenever I Ebay'd any of my pieces they always sell!

So I visited a store today,…

My tri is next weekend. Yesterday I managed to get out the entire swim/bike/run (or *wog* in my case). I feel pretty good about it now. The swimming, as suspected was a challenge, but I'll just float to recover if needed.

Today I did a swim and bike brick. I will be laying of the weight training this week, with the exception of Tuesday and all my cardio will be in the pool or on the bike. That's all from me!

I stressed yesterday about finding the right gear to wear for the tri. I Don't really know why I put it off for so long. I raced around yesterday and found a ZootSuit top -- in an XXL which fit perfect on the upperbody, but around the hips, the lycra-on-lycra, slips up and bunches at my waist. Not. Attractive.

Why is it I can't find a sport with more flattering clothing? like tennis... with those cute skorts? LOL Just when I start feeling good about my progress, I have to slap my fat into lycra from head-to-toe and bare all the rolls in the bakery! :)

So, today I…

Okay, so there's just 7 days until the tri. Aaaaaack!

Today is a day of "rest" from the gym. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to do all three events. I will bring my bike to the gym, on my car. I will swim at the gym, run out to do the bike, come back to the gym and do the run/walk. If I can get through it tomorrow, I know I'll be good to go next weekend.

I've had a couple "WoW" moments in the last few weeks; mostly shopping related. I can shop in the misses department totally. XL's always fit, and most L's are fitting now. Bought some shorts at Macy's... size 16! Not 16W and NOT pull on; tailored chino shorts. Even bought a 14 misses top. Women's sized tops are just too big now, as are the bottoms. I can't really believe it, and I feel like maybe the sizing changed, or something, and that it's not my body getting smaller. LOL Tried on a 38 DD bra and it fit. That freaked-my-freak, but still haven't had the courage to walk into a…

My trip to Dallas to visit my best friend was fun and relaxing. The main reason for my visit was to go see Sex and the City (and a little self-indulgent celebratory shopping). Of course, like all the reports say, it was fantastic. I have to say though that if you never watched the series, you 'd probably enjoy it, but you'd miss out on the nuances of the characters and the significance of some of the one-liners.

Of course the fashion was great as usual; the couture bridal gowns... my God! Don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but they were gorgeous!

Heard today that SJP was a little peeved at designer Nina Ricci's people for telling her that the silver number she wore for the NYC opening had never been worn. On the contrary it had been previously worn by one of the Lohan girls for a mag shoot, as well as worn by some socialite attending function.

Of course none of it is about the dress being worn, it's about the deception. Still though, while I'm pumpin…