Inspiration Showcase: Episode 1

Inspiration. Dedication. Motivation. Perseverance. Kindness. Willpower. Innovation. Determination. Bravery. Human Spirit.

Since starting this thing called running in May '07, I've come across people and athletes that display a few/some/all of the above.

The idea behind my story and my blog is to show that if I can do the little things I do, anyone can. I'm not fast, I won't be first or win a race, but that's not what it's about for me. I've taken a life-changing 'something', and turned it into something I would never have thought of doing. Think I'm the only one? NO WAY! My story and accomplishments are very little compared to most that I've seen.

The mileage that I'm tracking is putting distance between the new me and the old me-- the one that wouldn't have had any desire, interest or strength to try any of it.

Do you realize the power that running/cycling/swimming/endurance sports/being active has? I've been looking to add something new to my blog, a theme, a series of some sort, something that is consistent with what I've always tried to convey.

One memory that will always stick out for me is when I was waiting for my first Try-a-Tri to start last August. I was still in the transition area, while the Sprint Triathletes were coming in from the swim. Across the timing mat comes a man, maybe in his 30s or early 40s, wetsuit on, with the aid of crutches. He had one leg, just finished a swim in a triathlon, about to get on his bike. Amazing. What is it within a person that makes them want to take on such a challenge, rather than watch life pass them by, using negative past experiences, disabilities or anything for that matter as excuses to not bother with 'living'.

These are the types of stories that move me. Keep me going, and leave their footprint on me. Now I'm taking my footprint (a picture of my 3d looking foot??! that I took a few years ago on vacation) and starting an 'Inspiration Showcase' so that I can share their stories with you. I've sought out some of amazing stories, some are well known, others, not so much; a lot of them are people like you and I, that have done some pretty incredible things.

Motivation is as much a tool for me as my running shoes, my bike, my Garmin or my goggles. I hope you get the same warm fuzzy feeling.

Thinking of those that are doing the Philadelphia Marathon this weekend, and as a late tribute to Veteran's day/Remembrance Day, I found this clip (only the first 2 and a half minutes really...):

Haven't we all been called crazy at one time or another?

Good luck to those racing this weekend!

ultimate strength?

one thing about being part of the blogging community, with an obvious interest in running, swimming, cycling, triathlon, there's no shortage of motivation and inspiring stories.

While eating lunch, I turned on the local news channel, airing from a nearby hospital to raise funds to support a Rapid Diagnosis Center for breast cancer. They've been speaking to patients and survivors, some that have had the opportunity to participate in the one-day diagnosis pilot program, and others that had to wait several weeks to find out results. My ears perked, but heart sank even deeper as soon as I heard the word triathlete.

Sharon Ingle appeared on the screen, swimming and triathlon race medals around her neck of races she's won since being diagnosed with breast cancer, while in treatment. WOW. What a phenomenal lady. You can read more about her story here.

Composition and comparison

Fat. Weight. BMI. Lean muscle vs. fat. Water retention. Bones. Organs. Skin. All combined, it produces a number that stares you back at you on a scale.

But, it's just that; a number. I know, I get it. I'm more interested in being healthy, active, and able to open a jar by myself, than being stick thin. I'm not a slave to the scale, and rarely weigh myself, I go more by how my clothes feel. (there's my disclaimer so that you know I'm not going anywhere unrealistic here...)

Since the beginning of November, I've been tracking my food, keeping an online diary of what I'm eating. I'm doing this for 2 reasons... 1) I want to see how many calories I'm eating in a day and 2) Trying to figure out how many calories I need given the amount of exercise I'm doing. I seem to have plateaued where weight loss is concerned, even though I'm much more active, and am wondering if it's because I'm not eating enough. Slowing down my metabolism? I have some weight to loose, but I assure you that my goals are realistic.

Funny that the battery in my scale dies now as I wanted to measure my progress after a solid week of weight training, monitoring my food, and a new training plan... literally, died. We replaced the battery, still dead. Boooo. It's one of those digital scales that measure weight, body fat (lbs & %), BMI, water and bone weight.

I'm eating breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, small meals, every few hours. I'm trying to be diligent with drinking my water. I'm eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, choosing whole grain/brown bread and rice any opportunity I can.

Am I the only one that does this? Find out someone's weight, then think of yourself in comparison? I hate to admit this, but I did it again last night; I've done it before, and have ended up in tears!

I'm writing this post not because I'm proud, or because I'm having a pity party. I really just want to understand.

For those of you who watch The Biggest Loser, Rebecca was voted out last night (hope I haven't spoiled it for any of you who may have DVR'd it)! She looks great after 10 weeks on the ranch, and after a make-over; I think it's unbelievable how far these people have pushed themselves, how hard they've worked, and the weight loss they've been able to achieve. She weighs 157.

I then watched her on Jay Leno. Again, I give her all the credit in the world -- she looks fabulous.

But I'm struggling to understand. When I look at myself in the mirror, I don't see me like that. I don't see a 'fat' me. I'm comfortable in my skin. It's just that she's 2 inches taller than I am, and (now) weighs less (no, i won't divulge by how much...lol). Do I just have better mirrors, or shaded glasses that I'm looking through that make me not see something I should?

I know muscle weighs more than fat, and yes, I have thick legs. Thank you years of gymnastics and figure skating as a child. (this is yet another reason why I will never be stick thin, I like what muscles I have), and am continuing to strength train to increase my lean muscle, and tone.

What is it in my body composition that makes me weigh more, when she is even taller than I? Muscle? Water retention? I'm sure it's not my ass since Jay is always complaining I no longer have one since I started running! lol

Any thoughts? What am I missing or doing wrong?

oh, how i've missed you

here I sit, on my couch, under a comfortable blanket. It's 11:30pm, mostly caught up on blogs, thinking I should really go to sleep. Jay is out for a beer with the boys after playing a game of hockey. Typically this wouldn't be an issue, but tonight it is.

I hurt. Everywhere. (But it's a good hurt... I really really missed it.) Last Wednesday, I started my new training plan, a 12 week base building triathlon for the winter (a wednesday start is weird, I know, but the swim days on the schedule matched the Master's swim sessions, so I decided to work everything around that, since that's not in my control).

Figured that it was also the perfect time to get back to my strength training too, which I let slip away during the 'freshness' of triathlon training. Also, after some procrastination, I finally committed to Lisa's group challenge of 100 pushups. I've tried it once before, and stopped after a few weeks. Anyone that knows me knows that I ♥ my iPhone. Since "There's An App for That" maybe I'll be able to stick with it.

It'll all help with RunToFinish's HBBC Challenge! Starting Nov. 23, there's still time to sign up if you need some additional motivation to stay active during the holiday season!

So, after one week of a new training plan that includes swimming, cycling and running, 2 challenging swim sessions as the newest member of the Master's swim team, another swim session with the soon-to-be-completed-triathlon-clinic, weight training x 2 and week 1 of the 100 Push Up challenge.... I, um, cannot take off my bra right now, and am not sure how I'll even get my arms up to take off my shirt. I might have to sleep with what I have on tonight unless Jay comes home to my rescue here soon. Gah!

negotiation, decisions, and choices

With this year's triathlon season completed, I've been stalking browsing the race sites see if the 2010 dates have been posted. They've been up for about the last 2 weeks, so I put all possible events (no, I won't be doing them all, but haven't yet decided which ones I want to do!) into my training plan spreadsheet in a bold blue font. With an italic orange font, I've repeated the process with events posted on TriKids!

Gone are the days that I'm planning only my races, I'm having to consider and think about Terron's triathlon dates! How crazy is that?! There's already some overlap of days, races in different cities. There's no way I'd miss one of his events to do one myself, so while it hasn't come down to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors... yet, we've done some negotiation.

There are 5 consecutive weekends of adult events starting June 6th, 2010, but regardless of which ones might interest me, June 20th will be Terron's day... no negotiation necessary.

He honored his dad 3 weeks after he passed away by completing his first triathlon, wearing a t-shirt we made together.

June 20th, 2010 will be his first Father's Day without his daddy around... when Terron and I were checking out the dates, and realized the significance of that date, he asked me if he could participate in the triathlon wearing the shirt again, then head over to the cemetery to tell his dad all about it and show him his medal. My heart still breaks for him.

Terron has also inspired Jay's daughter so much that she will doing her first triathlon on Father's Day too! There will be 3 triathletes in this household!

Seeing the reactions of people when they find out I'm doing triathlon is one thing, but when they find out that my 11 year old is too, I can't help but smile! Tonight was parents night at his swimming class, his instructor was impressed that he's so interested in triathlons at such an early age, and his swimming is improving! I love it! By the way, did you know that Lance Armstrong had a 2nd place finish at the age of 13 at an Ironkids event!

Runnerdude wrote a great post the other day about being a healthy role model for our kids... This time, I'm inspired by my kid. A caring, polite, funny, loving child that has suffered a loss greater than anyone his age should have to go through; yet, he's embracing his opportunity to re-write potential chapters of his life later on.

I know that since I started running, then cycling and swimming, I have an even greater motivation to take better care of myself, making better food decisions to fuel my body and take care of myself. With heart disease in his family history, we will obviously have to stay on top of his health more than ever. But, the fact that he's excited about being active in swimming, karate and triathlon, knowing that an ACTIVE lifestyle is a HEALTHIER lifestyle, makes me feel more confident that he understands the importance.

Triathlon seems to have become part of his own way of healing, and hopefully will continue to provide motivation towards a healthier and longer life than his dad. I'm inspired!