Have I lost my mind to consider a HIM? (Page 65)

Hi Guys -

Sorry I haven't been posting/postingInspires. I wanted to get caught up on all the posts I missed when I was away and then I got overwhelmed with the sheer number of them... so instead I'm just going to hop in.

I scanned through though, and I love all the pictures you guys have been posting! Both the scenery and those of you guys!

Makes me want to bring my camera on my first outdoor ride this spring. Its supposed to be BEAUTIFUL out the next few days so I'm going to switch up my schedule a bit and maybe go for my "long" ride (long at this point is only like 2 hours) either tomorrow or Friday. Supposed to be 70 here tomorrow! like 20 degrees warmer then normal. Anyway my ride area isn't nearly as picturesque... but if I ride to the top of the trail there is a really pretty water area.

Biggest loser thing is fine. Although I'm doling out the booty this time. Right now I'm about 4-5 lbs up since before my trip but I think a few of that might still be water weight. I'll start posting my weight daily in my workout log again on Monday.

I'm so excited that Leahs/Kates big race is so close. I know you guys are a bit nervous about it but really just try and think of it as extended training for IM. Wish I could be in CA with you guys!!

We expect pictures!


Edited by IdealMuse 2010-03-17 11:32 AM

So.. what is everyone's take on Tattoos for IM /Half IMs? Do you plan to get one if you finish?

I don't have any tattoos, but I've always kind of wanted one just never settled enough on a design and worried about my skin stretching as I gained/lost.

I think I'll probably get one for IM but incorporated into some other design. I know it's a bit lame and cliche, but to me IM is not just about IM for me but more about this long journey I've been on the last few years. IM is just sorta my graduation ceremony.

If I don't get up getting an IM one specifically maybe I'll just get a design I like with IM in it somewhere... cause for me it has NOTHING to do about letting the world know.

A bit early to think about it but I'm very indecisive so I want to start thinking about design.

Scott - you are so stupid!!! LOL..if that's the case then half my body is a government issued GPS!!! I've got 5 tattoos so far. If I make it through the HIM I'm getting the M-Dot tatt (that's what it's called, right?) but with 70.3 below it...should I actually ever attempt the full then I'll add 140.6 right below. Not sure if I'd design something around it or not. It will probably go on my other ankle...the clean one, without a tatt or surgery scar...LOL

Leah - great pics! That looked like an amazing trail to run!

Kate - Way to kick butt on the CT ride!!

Spin class today worked my arse off!!! I was drenched in sweat but I think I did reasonably well. We were doing sprint intervals with standing and sitting sprints...WOW I can really feel it today. Looking forward to this weekend for the reported 70 degree temps and my bike ride!

I'm hoping when I get home tonight I can find the paperwork to sign up for the Master's swim at my gym and start getting some advice on my swimming technique! I'm a bit nervous but I've got anxiety issues anyway and I usually jump in head first to conquer them....funny how I keep doing that and yet still have anxiety! ARGH!

I made Corned Beef & Cabbage in my crock pot Sunday soaked in Guinness...SO GOOD!! Should be finishing it off tonight with a pint of Guiness to wash it down!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Leah - awesome pics, that trail looks like a fun run!

Debb - tattoo for IM most definitely, not so much for HIM. There is no way i'm getting the m-dot logo tattoo! I have a bunch of fish tattoos on my left arm, i will either get a local fish native to whatever water the swim is in, or something related to the general area. I want something that is personally meaningful - not a brand. When you're ready to talk to the tattoo artist tell them about your journey and maybe you can come up with something meaningful together - that's their job, and it'll be a whole lot more fun for them than slapping on the m-dot.

Guiness soaked corn beef & cabbage - that sounds nom nom nom! Pinch o the irish to you all. (even though i'm scottish )

I just did my first east coast outdoor ride today. Weather has been nice, sunny and in the 60's. This morning I spent some time cleaning out the back of my car and put my Diva in it for the season. I drive around with my bike most of the time so I'm ready to ride anytime I can go for a ride as I am often driving around to some nice places. My favorite local ride is in Greenwich, I did a short ride there today.





Attachments
----------------
Diva.jpg (41KB - 3 downloads)

Noticed Bicycling magazine is $5.00 on Amazon right now.

Not much but eye-candy I assume... but I got it anyway.

My bike trail isn't nearly as picturesque as where you guys have been riding... especially when everything is dead around here, but I took a few photos from todays ride.

J - I couldn't get 50 in (I already exceeded what I was supposed to do) but if you add in my ride earlier in the week it's over 50 I hope that counts!

Debb - I thought your trail was quite scenic.  I went on a bike yesterday and couldn't find any place scenic enough to take a picture.  Now, come Sunday, when I ride Pacific Coast Highway, that is scenic enough to compete with any place on the planet.  I will take pictures.

I'm with Judi - tats are OK for some people, but really not my thing.  I don't want to do anything to myself that is permanent. 

Kiri - I tried for 40 miles yesterday, but only got in 37.28.  It wasn't a good ride as the wind was a real problem.  And, of course, that is very discouraging because I know there will be a lot of wind on the HIM course.  So, I am dedicating the first 2.72 miles of Sunday's ride to you and the next 50 will be dedicated to Judi.  The last couple miles will be dedicated to the idea of a taper!

Speaking of taper, Sunday will be my last bike ride before the HIM.  I will then take my bike to Steve, the bike guy, for a pre-race tune-up. 
Monday - run to Crossfit (5-1/2 miles) and Crossfit
Tuesday - swim in the morning and a run in the evening
Wednesday - run to Crossfit and Crossfit
Thursday - swim only
Friday - easy day at Crossfit and then drive to Oceanside

I did get a little sunburned on my ride yesterday.  I knew it was going to be a nice day and so all I wore on top was a tri top.  I didn't know it was going to be close to 90F, if not in the 90's.  I was a little more exposed than your average dermatologist would approve of. 

I am not going to be able to log on to BT during the workday.  I work for a governmental entity and there are rules against personal internet usage.  I am the chief of my division and it would just a a bad thing on a bunch of levels if I were to get in trouble for this.  When I go online, I tend to spend a lot (a whole lot) of time on personal stuff and that just isn't a good thing.  So, online at home only and with excessive exercise, I'm not going to be able to spend as much time here as I did before.  I may not log on every day, but I won't go more than two or so before checking in. 

Kate - bib numbers are posted for the HIM

I have been trying to lay low this week and rest pre half mary. Went to pick up my number today in the city today and walked alot. When I returned home to White Plains my power was off. All this week there was a big tree hanging into the street at a neighbors house three door down after last Sundays big storm. There were street barricades all week on our block. Today when Con Ed was finally removing it they shorted out our entire block. I am sitting in the dark with candles and flashlights on my mifi wifi card and about 3 hours of computer battery power. Our house alarm warning beep keeps going off, very annoying.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I hope Kate and Leah will be starting their taper, at this point there isn't much you can do to improve for next week.

What a pain.  I hope you get power before you run out of computer battery. 

Are you feeling pretty good about your HM?

I'm still going to do a long run and long bike ride this weekend.  As much for the mental exercise as any real training.  I'll get my peaches the rest of the week, but doubt if I will do anything much after Sunday.

Lisa - have a great HM!

Kate & Leah - I'm getting excited for you two!

Race season is heating up!

I'm going to try to get in some middling distance sessions this weekend and another swim. Having issues with my left leg (hamstrings) so have to keep it simple slow and short until this clears up, RICE and stretching are improving things nicely so don't want to push it.

Have fun training out there!

And oh yah, i'm at 213, still trying to lose that 1 pound of cupcake weight I gained I'm hoping I can be ~200 by my first race (mid-may)!


Edited by kirih 2010-03-19 11:09 PM

My legs are sore from yesterday while I wrote in my blog I walked an hour I actually was walking around NYC for over 4.5 hours but didn't want to enter that into my blog. I was carrying somethings too so my legs are tired and ache so I'm trying to rest. I may do a little biking with my 10 year old neice who is visiting.

Good luck with the OWS Kate, take it easy Leah and Kiri.
Everyone else have a good one!

You walked for 4-1/2 hours two days before your HM!!  Take it easy today and give your legs a rest.  An easy spin is OK.  Good luck tomorrow.

Who has a link for IM CA 70.3 athlete tracker? The link Kate posted was bad. I want to track Kate and Leah next week.

That was weird about Kate's link.  Let's try this.  http://ironman.com/ However, I don't believe it will be active until race day.  For instance, if you go to that link, in the middle of the page, at the top below the header there is a pink square that says something like Live Coverage Singapore 70.3.  At the second bullet point it says Athlete Tracker.  You click on that and put it the person's name or bib number or what you have.

I am Leah Davis and have bib 1857
Kate is Kate Rosier with bib 1577.

I just want to finish within the cutoff times.  And live. 

I blew off my run today.  Chuck works a lot from home so he is at home a whole lot and almost always when I am home.  It might sound funny, but I never have a chance to be alone, except driving in my car and that doesn't count.  Anyway, he went to Idaho this weekend to visit his mom and it was just so nice to have the house all to myself.  Just me and my little girl cat.  (The boy cat gets hostile and suspicious when Chuck is out of town and suspects me of having done him in.  By tomorrow Chester will have figured out that if he ever wants human companionship again in his life, he has to let me pet him and he gets back to normal, but for the first day or two, it is really kind of funny.) 

So, this morning I took advantage of the aloneness and just enjoyed my morning lollygagging in bed with my laptop and iPhone and biking books.  Then I went out and bought a couple new bras, which I hadn't done since losing the weight and it was getting kind of ridiculous,  And then my mom and I went to the theater and saw Dreamgirls.  Really a very satisfactory day.  I do have to still do something to get a peach, probably just situps and such.

What did everyone else do today? 

Wel apperantly I have lost my mind as well.

Without having done a sprint I have just committed to a HIM next year, and an IM in 2012.

Bet/challenge with buddies, so its gotta be fulfilled.

Yes, I have lost my mind. I am 276lbs.

1.  Today is my eleven year anniversary without a drink. 

2.  Lisa - how did you do on your race?

3.  Welcome, Garceau.  We are a nice little group of people who started this journey last summer.  We are those who, generally speaking, really ought not to be doing a HIM or an IM because we are not as fit or whatever as is thought to be necessary.  We are hoping to prove them wrong.  The first of our HIMs is coming up next Saturday, with more, plus the IMs throughout the rest  of the year.  We have provided encouragement, knowledge and advice to each other.  Sort of like a mentor group, but we are all the mentors.  You sound like you qualify for admission here.  All of us here have or have had varying amounts of weight to lose.  Some of us have been wildly successful with losing over 100 pounds. 

      As Queen Zip (Judi) please tell us a little bit more about yourself and the HIM that you have committed to doing.  Speaking as one for whom her HIM is just a few days away, I can tell you that (depending on your fitness level) it is a distance you need to respect and really ought to start training for now. 

4.  Happy birthday Kiri and Judi.  I finished off my Kiri ride and did my Judi ride.  I am bummed because I wasn't able to take any pictures, but the marine layer never lifted and it just wasn't going to be scenic enough.  I considered taking a picture of all the surfers dressed up in their wetsuits so as to closely resemble baby seals in an attempt to assess the sharks' mental acuity, but even that wasn't coming out all that well.  So, Judi, I will take some pictures along there when they will showcase the heart-stopping beauty of the place.

5.  The ride was the ride.  I then took my bike to Steve the bike guy for my pre-race check-up.  He asked which race and I told him.  He assured me that there weren't any hills on that course.  I told him that EVERYONE talked about the hills and he said that he was familiar with the course and did not consider those hills.  Grades, perhaps, but not hills.  I don't feel reassured.  Now that I have had a chance to think about it, part of the course (the least hilly part) is open to the public and maybe that is what he is talking about.  Or else he is such a good rider that anything under 25% doesn't get his attention.

      I did tell him that I was now ready for my tri-bike and he said he would start thinking about what I needed (he is that kind of bike guy).  I did tell him that the most important part was the cool water bottle between the aero bars. 

6.  I am now off to take my lavender-scented Epsom salt bath (with my cat, of course).  I will probably check in later tonight.  If I don't, you can assume that I fell asleep in the bathtub and drowned. 

7.  Looking forward to hearing what everyone else did this weekend.  You too, Garceau.