My journey

I wanted to share just a bit of my journey into the world of triathlons.

After the birth of The Princess, I slipped into Post-partum depression. Months and months later, after trying various drugs and therapies, I thought I was "cured". Better, so to speak. I got on with the every day routine of having 2 kids to care for, and a sweet, hard working husband.

But I couldn't lose the extra baby weight from the last pregnancy. I tried running and although I was successful (by my standards, not anyone else's) I didn't like it. Too hard on my knees, and honestly, it's boring. And I wasn't losing weight.

I tried a personal trainer for 6 months. We only met twice a week, and while she was good, it wasn't what I needed.

And still, I hated my body. It was a constant thought of mine-how overweight I was. It did not occur to me at the time, but I was fairly obsessive about it, which is not normal. Not normal at all. I went to bed every night thinking how I hated the way my pj's didn't fit like they used to, and I woke up every morning, thinking what am I going to wear that fits? It took Scott to point out to me that my obsessing was not healthy, or normal. That bit of advice, however correct he was, was not well received.

It took several trips to the OB/GYN before I realized what he had been telling me all along: I was depressed and I needed to be on meds. So I started on Lexapro.

And an amazing thing happened: I was interested in life again. I was able to start something and finish it. I wasn't so moody and angry all the time. Now, this wasn't an overnight change. It has taken months.

How does all of this fit into my triathlon training? I was ready to begin exercising again, and I wanted to do something other than running (whether on the treadmill or outside on the trail). Now that I had "me" back (welcome back, me!) I was ready to try something new and challenging.

The opportunity came up for me to join a group of friends who were training for their first (or second) triathlon. We were provided with a 12 week exercise guide and I jumped in. It was intimidating at first, as my friends are the type of people who enjoy running marathons. I enjoy sitting on the sidelines and cheering on the marathoners.

I discovered that I love to swim. In the beginning, it was my worst event of the three (swimming, biking, and running) but now it is my best and my favorite. I have worked my way up to 1200 yards at a time during practice. 1200 yards, people! I could barely finish half a lap when I first started!! Look at me! I have accomplished something and I like it!!

The bike leg is now my worst event, but I'm working on it. I think most of it is mental: I get out there on the road by myself in a race and I start telling myself how tired I am, how windy it is, how hilly the road is.

Physically, I can do a sprint triathlon. Mentally, I'm still working on parts of it.

I'm currently training for my third triathlon. It has even crossed my mind that m a y b e next summer I could try an Olympic triathlon (longer distances than a Sprint).

I have not lost much weight (which can be very distressing if I let it be) but I have toned up and slimmed down. I've lost a dress size, and now feel so much more confidence in myself.

I'm a triathlete! Me! The one who was so terrible in sports in high school. I held the title of "Benchwarmer" for several years. Me! Who has never ever ever been good at sports, has found something that not only I like, but I'm good at!

Which brings me to karate. I LOVE karate. It requires a lot of practice, but it's so much fun. Karate also led to my latest discovery, which is not so good.

I look like SpongeBob.

Seriously. The karate studio has floor to ceiling windows and I was staring at myself during warm-ups the other day. And I realized that I look like SpongeBob. Large shoulders (swimmer's shoulders), then I taper off. There is no distinguishing waistline--just my yellow karate belt where my waist should be. *sigh*

So, I'll keep training for tris, and hopefully, I'll lose my SpongeBob-ness.

Reflections on the Tri

I finished my first triathlon two weeks ago. It was a Sprint Triathlon, which means we swam (in a pool) for 275 yards, biked 12 miles, and then ran a 5K.

I had a BLAST.

Well, honestly, during the biking part I was ready to throw in the towel because it was so damn hilly and there was a terrible headwind. But, I persevered. I finished!

I was more nervous testing for my yellow belt than I was for this race. I knew that if I could perform in front of strangers for my yellow belt, swimming, biking, and running would be easy.

And it was easier than I thought (except for the biking part).

I started in the back of the pack due to my lackluster swim time, so I had plenty of time to watch the better swimmers. I chatted with the men and women around me as we waited our turn in the pool. There were people of all ages and all fitness levels there.

I had been the most nervous about the swim leg of the race, but it went so much better than I thought. A few people passed me; I passed a few people. Never once did I have to stop and walk or hang on to the side of the pool. I was so thankful when I got out that I walked to the transition area to get my bike. I WALKED (note to self, in next race, RUN to the transition area).

Managed to get my socks, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, shirt on. Walked to the mounting area, got on the bike, and I was off! I was on a friend's bike and hadn't spent enough time getting familiar with it, so that slowed me down a bit.

Like I said earlier, the bike leg was my worst. I was not prepared for the hills. And I was paranoid about crashing my friend's expensive bike. Don't even think I passed one person on this leg of the race. There wasn't much scenery to look at, and honestly, I was so focused on the road because I didn't want to hit any potholes. Those bike seats are NOT comfortable, and hitting holes in the road hurts.

Dismounted at the transition area, and my legs nearly collapsed under me. And I was just walking the bike back to the rack! I still had a 5K to run. Yikes! Took my time here, again, as my legs were recovering. Switched shoes, took off the helmet, put on my running hat, and was off!

I rounded the first corner and saw my sweet, sweet girls and husband, cheering me on. That gave me a boost of energy and made me smile throughout the run. It was such a good feeling to have someone cheering me on. The 5K was a circular course that we looped twice, so I got to see the girlies again on my second loop. This course was hilly, too, but wound through a neighborhood, so it was a nice distraction to look at the houses as I ran by.

As I approached the finish line, my girls jumped off the curb and grabbed my hands. I ran with them across the finish line and it was the best feeling EVER. Yes, even better than getting my yellow belt. I did it! I finished my first triathlon, and my girls helped me finish it.

The next day my quads were sore, but that was it. So I signed up for another sprint triathlon at the end of May. Can't wait!!