New Year, New Goals
It has been about 2 years and 4 months since I started my weight loss journey. Over that time, I've had ups and downs. I've had drastic weeks of weight loss and weeks of big gains. As of now I'm down 60 pounds from where I started which is amazing. I've become a regular runner and a regular at the gym. I've changed my eating and drinking habits. I'm very proud of myself.
That being said, with the new year comes new goals. I'm not as worried about a number on a scale. I'm more concerned with exercise goals and eating right, regardless of the weight they produce. With that in mind, 2017 I'm ending the weekly weight update. That isn't to say I'm ending the blog. Far from it. I'm just changing the focus since I no longer feel the need obsess over weight.
So, what can you expect to see here on Sunday? A little bit of everything but my biggest focus will be to report on my triathlon training. That's right, I plan to participate in a sprint triathlon on June 4, 2017.
Over the past two years I've been able to reduce my 5k time by about 5 minutes from just over 33 minutes to just over 28 minutes. Over that same time, I've run my first sub 10-minute mile and my first sub 9-minute mile. I'm pretty pleased how much my running has improved.
Rizzo has suggested that I try a longer distance like a 10k or more but that just didn't hold my interest. Then one day she was talking about a sprint triathlon and my ears perked up. I've really enjoyed running but adding something different sounded like fun. So, I made a resolution with myself that if I could run a sub 30 minute 5K that I would start training for a sprint triathlon.
Now, I've never been on a swim team. I know how to swim and I'm a competent swimmer but I've never swam for exercise or in a race. I've also never had a bike with more than one gear. I learned how to ride a bike so I'm perfectly comfortable riding but I never had a bike with more than one gear as a kid. So, it's going to be a big challenge learning some new skills and using them in a race.
New wheels
To help get me started Rizzo gave me a gift card to the local bike shop (which is an awesome place because it is also a coffee bar that serves craft beer) so I could get me first bike with multiple speeds. I walked up to the shop on Wednesday morning and biked back on my brand new, 24 speed bike. I'm not knowledgeable about bikes but I'm told it's a decent bike for beginners that will work well for commuting and the level of rising I'm going to be doing. I've already taken my back downtown on multiple occasions and I'm very excited to ride it more.
The next thing I need to do is get a membership to the local pool so I can get in some swimming workouts. My full-on training for the triathlon doesn't start until early March (yes, I already have a calendar with all my workouts written down) but I'm going to start adding some biking and swimming to my exercise routines starting this week.
That is what you have to look forward to, folks. Lots of stories if me trying new types of exercises, biking, swimming, and running. No more reports of pounds lost or gained but more reports on numbers of miles biked or laps swam. Enjoy the new year everyone.
The Bring It On! challenge has come to an end. It has been a long and hard road. Months were won and months were lost. #TeamRizzo ran a 10 miler and a 20K race. #TeamClark ran a 5K and then another 5K. #TeamRizzo walked 26.2 miles in support of the Avon Walk to End Breast Cancer. #TeamClark walked to downtown in order to grab some coffee. #TeamRizzo woke up at 4:30am regularly to run with her running group. #TeamClark woke up at 5:00am regularly in order to re-watch the entire series of Frasier. It was a close competition throughout the year. To wrap up the month of December, I was able to pull out a nice 5.1-mile victory with 168.3 miles to Rizzo’s 163.2 miles. That earns me a much deserved (in my mind) massage. Rizzo dominated for the year traveling 2,058.9 miles compared to my mediocre 2,008.7 miles. That means Rizzo gets her choice of rewards, as well. To give some perspective, this year we each would have traveled to Utah, on foot. That is a really long way and something we can both be proud of. It was a good year of exercise but I know we will both be happy to not be tracking our miles down to the tenth. Congratulations, #TeamRizzo.
P.S. Here are some extra pictures from the week.
Cece cheering Rizzo's 5K personal best time.
Trip to Dirt Farm Brewing. Not a bad place to have a few beers.
What the picture would have been if I won the Bring It On! challenge.
