How to Finish a Half Ironman...

What an experience this has all been! From the planning to the training to the nutrition - it was all a new learning experience. My goal was to train in a way that didn't overtrain and injure my body before the race, and to feed myself the best nutrition available for both the training and during the race...in essence make it to the end with sufficient energy and without physical injury. I'm a believer in Crossfit Endurance. Never have I been as physically strong in my life as I am now, and I believe it the foundational muscle strengthening and building this time that gave me the base for injury prevention. I also believe the other and equally important part of the equation was my nutrition throughout training and the race. I passed machines of muscle-bound men who were doubled over on the street with cramps, or who couldn't finish at all because they bonked - you get to the starting line because of your fitness, but you finish the race because of your nutrition. I've become the firmest of believers in Shaklee's sports nurition.

Before each training workout I took a Shaklee Energy Chew to help with a little pre-workout energy boost (also great for road trip sleepiness and boring lectures where you tend to nod off). During each workout I stayed hydrated with Shaklee's Performance hydration drink mix. After each workout I took Shaklee's Physique to help recover faster and build muscle more quickly. I completely cut out all of the artificial crap and processed sugars from the grocery store standards like Gatorade, Powerbars, Power Gels, Gu gel, and Heed...and I fed my body with the clinically tested and all natural good stuff.

During my half ironman race I followed a similar regimen albeit a bit revised to fit the nature and length of it all. I had a Shaklee protein shake for breakfast, then had an Energy Chew before I jumped into the water for the swim. After that, I took one Energy Chew every hour during the race (I went for six hours total) to provide bursts of energy with green tea caffeine, Vitamin D and natural sugars. I also replaced my depleted body with natural electrolytes (six kinds) and carbs from Shaklee's Performance Drink Mix througout the 3 hr bike ride. By the time the run came, I restricted myself to just water at the aid stations and continued to eat the Energy Chews on the hour.

Not only did I feel better throughout and after this whole experience compared to my first race, but I bested my previous time by 14 minutes!! I remember after my first race, I could barely move from muscle cramps and fatigue...but after this one, I was already thinking about when my next race would be as I walked around and appreciated the fact that my only pain was a pinky toe blister and a sunburn on my back from the bikeride. I'm now fully convinced that training and eating smartly are KEY to a good and even (dare I say) enjoyable race!

A Second Chance at Love

Looking back on original posts...

I look back on my original posts of this blog, and the change with which my life has undergone is unfathomable from the place I was back then. That should teach me a little something about life and how much we know about ourselves and what we think is best for ourselves. I am continually humbled in life by how at any given point I think I know what's best for me and how I think I've finally learned it all...then not a year or so later it's all changed - including me. I don't pretend to be all-knowing - not even close. I don't even pretend to have my own life together. But what I can do is write from a point of honesty to myself and be real about the lessons I learn along the way, and how I can become a better person from those hard lessons. I am still married - happily actually. No divorce was filed or executed. I believe I'm falling in love with my husband all over again - or maybe for the first time if I'm really honest with myself. I have a lot yet left to learn in this life, but letting myself love and be loved is finally something I'm starting to enjoy. Check-mark. Letting myself enjoy life is something I'm still working on, however. I try not to create drama just to have something to complain about in order to feel sorry for myself in life. There doesn't always need to be something wrong to feel like I'm living a solid life, and I'm not sure where I got that notion...but it's there nonetheless. I take life as it is, not as I try to make it, and I will try to appreciate it with all of its beauty and frustration that it contains today. I take today as a new chance to keep living out the lessons I've learned so far, and I commit to be a better person today than I was yesterday.

Step Two: Discover the Details of the Dream

...I'm going to be on my own with no means to accomplish this goal. If I want to do it safely, I need to sign up and go on a tour. My favorite one I've found is Cycle America, Coast to Coast. And the cost of my dream?? A mere $6,200. YIKES! Yet I will not be deterred. I need this bike ride and this life check-mark at this crossroads and early onset of life and self-identity crisis. I suppose my next blog should be a magic solution of how to make the money to make this two-wheeled country trek.

Step One: Define the Dream

Jan 1, 2010.

Year of the Tiger...it's supposed to be a fierce year...I hope that's true. I'm starting out the year filing for divorce, quitting my job, moving to a new place and starting over again. In that process, I have decided that I need to pause long enough to pursue a dream. The particular dream I've chosen is to ride my bike from one coast of the U.S. to the other...from Seattle to New York.