Monday, April 27, 2015

New Sponsor: TriSports.com

            The newest addition to this season's sponsors is TriSports.com!  I will be competing for them as a part of the Champions Team.  TriSports.com has been ranked among the top online triathlon retailers.  They have been said to stock deep, have a wide range of products, ship promptly and have fair prices.  Triathlon Business International and Slowtwitch.com ranked trisports.com in the top 50 multi-sport retailers.  Their customer service has also been said to be top-notch!
            You can find everything swim, bike, and/or run related on their site.  They have small items such as swim caps, to big purchase items such as race wheels, bikes, computers, etc.  They carry nutrition items, apparel, and gear.  While they do not carry all brands of every item out there, they have done well to be a one-stop shop kind of place where you can get every type of item you could need.
            Most importantly – you do NOT have to pay full price either!  Contact me for a 20% OFF one-time use code (and you may request as many as you’d like, whenever you’d like!).  Because we all know that triathlons are not a cheap endeavor, but we can at least help each other out and make it a little easier on the wallet with some great discounted deals!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Give it a Tri!

            I feel like all too often, people come up with excuses of why not to try a triathlon.  If you don’t like to swim, bike, or run, then I understand.  It’s a valid reason because I don’t see how you would enjoy it if you don’t like any of the three disciplines.  However, thinking that you are too old, don’t have enough time to train, don’t consider yourself an athlete, or think that you can’t because you don’t have the fancy gear– these are poor excuses.
Here are reasons why you SHOULD though:
-      Health benefits
-       De-stresser – enjoy the endorphins!
-       For the personal challenge
-       Sense of accomplishment
-       Meet new people
-       Bragging rights
-       Variety of training
-       To see what you are truly capable of
-       It’s for everyone, of every age and every ability level
-       It’s fun!
You don’t have to know everything or to train like a pro before ever doing your first triathlon.  The most important thing is just to do it, to experience it.  My first triathlon was a sprint.  I ran, biked, and swam a couple days per week.  I sidestroked the entire swim.  In fact, I had never worn goggles at that point in my life.  I borrowed a road bike after “training” on my one-speed.  And I ran a few days a week.  I basically had no idea what I was doing.  AND IT WAS OKAY.  The race was at the beginning of August, and I used the months of summer beforehand to prepare for it.  My friend, on the other hand, signed up two weeks beforehand and started training then.  She kicked my butt.  AND IT WAS OKAY.  It was okay because we had a blast.  It was super tough and exhausting, but it was rewarding and fun!  That’s what it is all about!
First Tri Ever - with my favorite girls from college!
            You don’t need to be a young kid.  You don’t need to be a former swimmer or cross country runner.  You don’t need expensive equipment.  (You’ll see even mountain bikes out on the course, sometimes cruisers).  You can spend as much or as little time training as you’d like, and you can take it as seriously as you’d like or just have fun with it.  So when you’re making your summer plans, throw a race into the mix.  Just a sprint, or maybe even a super-sprint.  Recruit a friend to do it with you.  And after you’ve crossed that finish line, you won’t have regretted it.  Be prepared though – you might have so much fun you’ll want to do it again ;)
            Need some gear?  If you’re in the Northwoods area, check out Mel’s Trading Post in downtown Rhinelander, a Trek retailer!  Cycling or triathlon apparel?  Check out Funkier apparel!  Need an adjustment?  Head to Timber Land Chiropractic.  Need a good recovery drink for after a hard day of training?  Reward yourself with some ice-cold chocolate milk! 

Monday, April 6, 2015

Life With Two

            There was never a point at which we felt like our family was incomplete, and even though we knew we wanted more kids, and we wanted Baya to have siblings, we felt quite the opposite.  We had a happy little family.  I was afraid and saddened thinking I’d be losing out on my Baya time, stressed on how to juggle it all, and dreading the sleepless nights.  Over three weeks in – here’s how it’s really going with life with TWO….
            It seems longer than a few weeks, as if this new addition isn’t so new because everything just FITS and you can no longer imagine life with one less.  With all the visitors immediately after Myles was born and then having Andy home for a week, I did feel like I lost my Baya time, and that was emotionally tough.  I was used to having her next to me for everything, and I missed that.  Baya immediately grew up – size, height, weight, everything.  After Andy returned to work and it was us three, we found our new rhythm, and Baya grew up even more – as a big sister, as a big independent kid, a helper, and I felt she was less demanding, more helpful, and even at times was good for the sanity.  And somehow, Myles’ crying doesn’t bother her.
            With your first kid, everything is stressful.  You are clueless and have no idea what you’re doing, what to expect, etc.  And sometimes you get misleading advice and you’re made to feel like a bad mother if you don’t follow it.  The second kid is less stressful (so far) OVERALL in that you’ve “been there, done that” already.  It’s less scary and more enjoyable.  It’s also been awesome watching Baya interact with and care for her brother as much as she does!
Baya LOVES reading to Myles!
            This past week though has been a tough experience.  It’s always awful having a sick child, and then having a newborn on top of it makes it even worse!  Suddenly Baya was excessively needy, whiny, and while I love her cuddles, it is tough holding two when you are breastfeeding the one at that exact moment.  Needless to say, it took exhaustion to a whole different level!  Over the past week, most days Myles has been on a schedule for the morning and early afternoon so I’ve been able to get all of my swims, runs, and even bike rides in (while the TWO simultaneously slept)!  There have been high points and low points, but there has definitely been a whole lot of JOY!  Adding another kid has added new challenges, but overall, it’s been awesome!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Back At It!

            Waking up early 12 days post-delivery due to 2 little ones starting the day early, and discovering that I was physically ready to hit the pool again, was a big blessing!  Myles’ morning awake time goes from his morning feeding until his next feeding, which is somewhere around 9am, give or take, so I knew I could try to time out a swim (with him asleep in his carseat at the end of my lane) during his morning nap that followed.  Pool atmosphere is perfect for naps: warm, humid air and muffled sound (much like the womb in that sense).  I did it with Baya until she was 6 weeks old and old enough for the Y’s drop-in childcare.  So far he’s been doing great!  I’m back doing sprints with my aquatic director and it feels good to be back in the water, and finally hitting some splits that I haven’t seen in a while!
My little swim buddy keeping me company.
            I got back on the bike 9 days post-delivery.  It has been a faster recovery in terms of being able to handle a bike seat for an hour this time around.  I did sprints on the bike and it felt great to let loose!  During the week has been challenging trying to get a ride in during the time that BOTH are napping.  Some days just don’t work at all because he is unpredictable yet.  Some days I get a half ride in.  I finally got an hour ride in yesterday while both napped.  When I hit the hour mark, Myles was done, but fortunately so was I!  I’m working towards getting him on a schedule in the afternoons now too, so hopefully I have more good days than bad.  The weekends when Andy is home is the best, especially if I leave him with a bottle (just in case), then I know I can get a full workout in.  Between not being pregnant, taking some days off, and having a smaller overall training load currently, my legs have felt great and I’ve been able to bust out some tough workouts!
            I attempted running 3 days post-delivery (2.2 miles with Andy), only to discover I had unbearable pain from hip to hip in the uterine area as it continued to shrink down to size.  I tried again 3 days later, and gave up at a half mile, then tried again 10 days post-delivery and gave up even sooner.  It took until 12 days post-delivery for me to be able to run with less pain.  The track team was running hills, so I joined in, going at a much slower pace of course, but it was finally improvement!  I ran 4 miles a couple days later on the treadmill at the Y – with Myles sleeping next to me of course (I lucked out that not only was my favorite treadmill open, but there was even just enough space next to it for his carseat to sit!).  The next day I ran 3 miles outside, and went under a 10 minute pace finally.  Sixteen days post-delivery I ran about 4.5 miles outside.  By this point the pain was still existent, but it had moved down to my pelvis, giving my hips more range of motion.  So while I was restricted in how fast I could physically run yet, I was finally getting back at it!
            The first 6 weeks is the toughest, as I’m limited to one workout per morning at the Y during his nap, and with him still being a newborn, his afternoon naps are unpredictable, and I’m still getting up 2-3 times per night, leaving me tired already.  This is a good way, however, to build back into it and to focus on quality for now and try to not get frustrated.  For being only about 3 weeks post-delivery, I’d say I have a lot to be thankful for in how well I’ve been recovering anyway.  It has also been a huge boost mentally in being able to perform stronger on the bike and swim than I have in many months.  Running fewer days per week right now also keeps me looking forward to the next opportunity to run.  Motivation is back and so am I!