Swim Breakthrough & Kickass Brick

Good Morning,

I hope you all are having a great Friday, I am super excited for this weekend and am loving the warm weather we are having up here in Alaska - it is supposed to hit 55 today!!!

Before I get to the future fun I want to share an awesome achievement I had with you all.  It started last Friday at my swim class, something just felt like it clicked.  I have really been trying to reach my arms out and get that early catch with a strong straight forearm that doesn't wobble through the water.  I also have been thinking about my kick, I think its very weak which stems from it originating from the knee. 

So, last Friday I was felt like I got in a groove with some good strong forearms and an awkward but solid hip kick.  I told my husband after class that I think I made a good breakthrough because I just felt like I was on top of the water more but I wasn't sure.  Well this Wednesday at my technique class we did a 15 minute swim for distance in which our instructor would also mark down our 500m time.  So out I went trying my new technique not really sure if it was doing any good.  I was alone in the far lane so at times I couldn't even see people but when we finished and my coach went down the line telling us our times she got to me last and said "Kayse I think you made a big breakthrough" My heart just jumped and then she told me my time was 11:05!  To give some perspective I think one time I got a time that started with an 11, otherwise my fastest 500m in a race is 12:50.  I cut off about 45 seconds from my time and got very close to a time that starts with a 10!!!  That was my big goal that I didn't think I would reach this season.  I am so stoked and proud of all my hard work - making progress is awesome!

I also had a great weekend last weekend in terms of exercise.  On Saturday I did an impromptu brick workout with my husband.  We took our bikes out to a local high school which has easy access to the trail that is along the highway.  This trail is often used during races and is fairly flat so is a great spot to do some speed work on the the bike.  We left planning on training separately but ended up biking pretty close because I was killing my speeds.  My average speed was 15mph but I had some solid 20s on the way back where I got down in third position and just let it all out.  It felt amazing!  Well until I came home later and realized my lady parts felt like the
y had been hit by a baseball bat repeatedly - note to self - remember to use my bike shorts next time.

Need more bikes

After the bike I went out on some very hilly trails to work through that terrible feeling when you run after biking.  Not having any experience in this area I still maintain I think its close to what an epidural must feel like.  I know I have legs and I know they are moving but I can hardly feel them!  My trail run was 2 very slow miles on soggy hilly trails but it was good.  I was so proud of myself afterwards!

Snow free trails are so lovely!

The fun continued on Sunday with my first long run of the season.  It was only 5 miles and it was harder than it should be, but I did it and now I can move on to 6 miles next week!

First long run done!

After this exciting and successful weekend my week wasn't the best in terms of exercise and nutrition, lots of excuses that I will spare you from but suffice it to say I can do better :)

Foam rollin with Parks and Rec

This weekend however I am really excited to run my first race with my 4 year old nephew.  We are doing a 3k together on Saturday.  Then he is going to help me get things ready for my husbands birthday game night also on Saturday.  I think if I clean the house tonight after swim I can get a brick workout in between the 3k and the game night. 

My goal photo - looking good and strong Kayse!

Finally for the weekend its a long run (only up to 6 miles right now) and lots of work.  I have a project due on Monday that I have not had time to get to.  I am hoping that a miracle will happen and my new running shoes will come in before my long run on Sunday.  I tried on some cushy Aasics yesterday and loved them.  Unfortunately they run narrow so they had to order me the wide size.  If they don't come in before this long run they should be in before my race next week.  What is that you say about not trying something new for a race?  Ehhh whatever I have done it before...and it didn't work.  OK so I'm not a quick learner :) 

Happy Running!

The Important Things in Life

Hello,

I had intended to write this post about my progress on my goals but all I really want to tell you about my goals is that I am making progress and feeling good.  Am I hitting every mark? No.  Will I make my super strict weight goal before I turn 30?  Probably not, I didn't leave any room for error.  Is this important? Kinda.  But in the long run will it matter if I weigh 10 pounds less than I do now?  Not really. 

Why all the questions?  I have had one of those weeks that puts life in perspective a bit.  Without going into too much detail in a span of a week I found out a 2 year old relative was feeling a bit sick over Easter weekend and when his mom took him to the doctor on the following Monday they were told to go straight to the hospital because he has Leukemia.  Now their life and the lives of their other three kids has been turned upside down by transfusions, hospital stays and chemo.

The next Monday I signed onto Facebook to learn a friend from High School was driving with her husband and 8 month old baby when a large piece of concrete fell on their truck and killed them all instantly.

Life is so precious and can change in a moment.  I know that one moment I could be obsessing about how much my life would be better if I just lost 30lbs and then the next moment I could be wishing to be back in a space when my biggest issue was a jean size. 

I want to be the best me I can be, but I don't want to waste time fretting over things that are so insignificant in the long run.  I know I am very lucky that some extra weight is honestly the biggest issue in my life.  I am fairly certain that means my life is pretty smooth and I am extremely grateful for that.  I stress out over if I will be last at a race when I should be happy that I am able to participate in these events.

I will always continue to live the best life that I can live and love as much, and as hard as I am able, but I will also take time to enjoy the present and give myself a break once in a while.  In the end all my anxieties probably wont matter and I dont want to look back and wish I was nicer to myself and enjoyed life more.

Thank you for stopping by :)

Loving life

Week 2 Update

Hello,

Week two is complete on my plan and I am definitely starting slow but I would rather start slow and ramp up then start fast and fizzle out. So here is to consistency!

I didn't weigh myself this week because I started to obsess a bit and I am a firm believer that numbers are not everything.  But I have been running more and thinking about race plans this week.  I got a great workout at CrossFit this week so exercise has been ramping up a bit.

Anyone up for a slow fun run while listening to This American Life?

Food on the other hand has been tough.  Does anyone else have a hard time keeping themselves focused when their life seems unfocused?  My work is still a bit nutty and while I love it and want to be amazing at it, I still need to have my own  life!

I did make a bit decision this week which may seem a bit counter productive but stay with me, I quit my running team.  For two seasons now I have been running with a women's running team which I was actually a board member for last year.  But this year I decided that I was going to separate myself from the team.  Last year the team got quite a bit smaller due to some other local running options opening up and it seemed like the folks that remained were all fast.  Every time I went to practice they would try to pair us up to run together but nobody would be my speed so I would just feel awful about holding people back, or they would write paces on the board and mine wouldn't be listed.  I know I am a slower runner but the team was supposed to be open to all.  I just got tired of feeling bad about myself every week.  I had to avoid a handful of practices which were off the track because I couldn't run with everyone else so I just got left behind.  I cried at several practices last year, and this year I decided I don't need that.  I am never going to be a super fast runner, I honestly don't care enough, I actually just like to run and I don't want to start feeling bad every time I go out for a 36 minute 3 mile run!

Also I get to run in beautiful places, check this out :)

Running on Turnagain Arm

I love this trail!

Progress - Week 1 (Delayed!)

*I started writing this post last Tuesday the 31st, but it took me almost a week to finish it, look for week 2 shortly
 
Hello,


I am officially calling this week one.  Last week I had a partial week by the time I got started and while I started making some progress on setting habits, but this week I feel like I hit my stride and I am ready to roll.

Again I did a great job prepping my food and tracking my exercise and meals.  I am tracking food on My Fitness Pal and giving myself stars and smiley faces on my calendar.  I got my steps for about 1/2 of the week- I am still working on feeling motivated to get my exercise in.

Death was near at crossfit...

I also hit about 50% of my goals in tracking my meals, so there is progress being made!

Healthy Meals were had!

I did however get to see some scale victory as the 50% good part of my week has been the last four days, so that bumped me down a couple pounds.

I am finding journaling and the mental health part a bit tougher which is something I want to focus on as I think it is really important to my ability to hang with this plan!

I am finishing this update up because I realize its almost time for the next update, so Ill keep this short and say look for Week 2 coming tomorrow!

Tough Day

Yesterday I had a tough day, work was really long - about 11.5 hours- and I had 7 meetings where I spoke the whole time.  My throat was sore and my mind was stressed due to some huge financial deadlines coming up as well as having a couple more meetings this week that are contentious and probably going to be a bit heated.

But that's life, that happens sometimes.  Work gets tough, bodies get sick, minds get stressed.  How did I deal with it?  Well I'll give you a hint, it wasn't by exercising and eating healthy meals.  I did have a nice vent sesh with my sister and some red wine, but otherwise I "fell off the wagon" a bit. 

Later last night as I sat on the couch knitting and thinking about my day I didn't beat myself up.  I thought about my choices, I thought about how EVERYTHING I do is under my control.  I thought about how awesome I am and how awesome my life is, but also how I am letting things hold me back, and I am stronger than that.

So I went to bed with a calm mind and decided that tomorrow is a new day and I can do anything I set my mind to!

First Update on the Big 3-0 Plan

Good Morning,

This is my first update on my Big 3-0 Plan.  While I have only been working on my new plan for a few days I wanted to get in the habit of making weekly updates to see my progress along the way.

To lay it out so far the first few days were a bit rough as I was still sick and wondering if I should be making the large declarations I was making, but then with the support of some awesome folks I just decided to stop thinking and start doing.  So for today is day 4 of me kicking some booty!


Goal #1 - Improve Overall Physical Health
I made a one notable change to my steps under my physical health goal.  As much as I don't want to count calories my entire life (I was seriously scarred by Weight Watchers and tracking points all for a number on a scale that I didn't feel accurately represented my health) I did switch back to using My Fitness Pal to track my food instead of writing in in my journal.  The swap was two-fold, one I am more consistent when I use my phone to track things, lets be honest it is ALWAYS with me.  And two, while I hate the idea of diets, I am trying to lose some weight and while I'm not doing anything nutty that I wont maintain forever, I do need to find a good way to reign in my eating and focus it on healthy good foods and I think this will help.

Breakfast on My Fitness Pal

So like I said I am 4 days into tracking all of my food, and while I have definitely tracked a cupcakes and bacon I haven't had any big binges and have stayed mostly in my calorie range.  I am starting the habit of tracking and then Ill work to fine-tune the nutrients. 

This week I also set myself up for success by making an exercise plan and prepping my fridge with yummy healthy foods.  Today for lunch I am having sweet potato, broccoli and cauliflower, its so delicious!  I also tried a new lemon lentil soup that was so warm and yummy.

Prepped and Ready!

Lastly I also followed my plans and got some good cross fit and running in over the past few days.  It has been sunny which has made getting outside and getting my steps a lot easier!

Tracking my exercise

Goal #2 - Increase Positivity and Confidence
For my mental health goals I have been good about journaling daily but haven't started any mediation or affirmations just yet - coming soon!

I believe in Me!

Goal #3 - Increase Connections to Fun People and Groups
No real progress on my outlined steps in this area yet but I did attend a community event, and ask a friend to hangout this weekend but it fell through due to a sick kid.  More progress soon!

So as you can see I am getting the wheels turning and am really excited about the possibility of seeing some real change in these areas!  Keep thinking good thoughts for me and Ill keep you updated!

Scary Declarations

I am excited to have put my goal post up and and be making positive goals and declarations about my life.  Its really scary to put these in writing but I think its good to set goals and see where you go.  Failure is not an F-word, well it is, but not a bad one!

After posting my Big 3-0 goal post I thought more about what I wanted to do and my goals.  One thing I didn't post and maybe I should explain is that I have a couple larger long term goals that have been in my head for a while and I am starting to feel time pressure on them.

So in the spirit of laying it all out there.  You may have seen in past posts that a previous goal of mine was to run a marathon the day before I turn 30.  I had this whole plan to lose the 15 love pounds I gained after our wedding to make it easier on my body and run that race in homage to the end of my 20s. 

Then my husband started doing triathlons with me and I mentioned to him that some day (far in the future) I wanted to do a 70.3 Ironman.  I meant someday like when I actually do it I could die happy, way in the future.  He took that to mean next year.  He's very literal.  So I stated to think maybe this could happen. 

Time to get racing!

So another thing I should add is that my husband and I have summers off (ironmans require summer training and travel) and we had planned a big international trip to Africa or Russia and we wanted to do all of this including the race in the next two summers because as of July 2016 we are in baby making mode.

Aww are we such a cute race couple!

Okay again if you haven't caught on that I am a crazy planner, time to get on that boat.

SO after lots of swapping we decide Ironman 70.3 in summer of 2015 and Africa/baby making in summer of 2016.  This all coincided with a trip to race and see family for a reunion.  No we do not do things small.  Then our tri coach broke the news to us that we were nuts and while we were both capable of the distance we really needed some more open water experience and more Olympic distance race experience to make the ironman more enjoyable.

After this revelation it was winter and I started burning out so the marathon never came back around until now...

Now its March and I am thinking boy do I want to do a race.  But instead of spending the last 6 months trimming down to race weight I have gained about 15lbs - well done Kayse.

No possible way this contributed to my extra pounds...

So last night I decided I am going all in.  While I am not doing the marathon the day before I turn 30, I am going to try to lose all this weight I gained, a whopping 30lbs if you counted, run the half marathon the day before I turn 30 and then run a full either in August or back up plan in November down in Seattle. 

I will admit I love the symmetry, I turn 30 in three months and want to lose 30 lbs.  It feels meant to be!  Yes I am a person who can start a training journal mid week or tracking food mid day, or anything else that's not perfectly aligned, why do you ask?

See you at the finish line!

Long term plan (my family thinks I'm insane for my plans but I love them) is to do 1-2 olympic tris this year, get out in the one lake we have that you can swim in, and then do a 70.3 next May/June with my husband before heading to Africa to make babies. 

Writing it down seems insane but honestly I feel sometimes like I am waiting for life to start and right now (and always) I have an opportunity to take my life by the horns and do some fucking amazing stuff.  Or I could sit on the couch watching netflix and tear up over other people's race reports.

Push to the finish

Umm I choose option A!!!  Please don't tell me I'm insane (unless its in a good way) and cheer me on even if you think I may fail. And if I do, then cheer me on as I find Plan B.

Regardless of what happens I am all in - I'm doing this!

Excuse me while I go throw up...