Race schedule

It's fun to be back to planning some races (although very frightening that I'm going to sign up for races and then find that training is either a) way harder with crazy pants or b) way harder than I'm physically ready for.  But I'm rolling with it.

I'm excited for our half marathon on the 31st of this month.  Now, with that being said, the longest I've run is 8 miles (on a treadmill) and I'm dead to the world the rest of the day, but it'll be fun (and of course by fun, I mean painful and horribly hard).  Our friends Robin and Scott are coming in from South Carolina for it though so it'll be fun to have a little group running it.

Oooh... and then we found a half marathon in April in Savannah that has two AMAZING features.  I had a discount that made it $20 a person.  And they allow strollers.  That's like my dream race.  So we are going to do that, push Abs, and enjoy Savannah.  Savannah was where we drunkenly decided that we wanted a family so it's fitting that Abby sees the city. :)

I'm very excited about Gulf Coast.  It'll be great to get back into the tri scene again (okay, who am I kidding?  It's all about the beach for that race). I've been biking more and more and can finally get through an hour trainer ride without my hooha being on fire (sorry if that offends anyone, but it's true).  I really want to get to the pool.  I need to get to the pool.  I will get to the pool.  Eventually.  Tom starts 30 minutes after me and will be hot on my trail trying to catch me (which won't be that hard but I like pretending that he's going to have to work super hard to catch me!)

But then after those two races, I've got nothing.  We were going to go to Ohio and race there in September but it's just too much.  After our Christmas adventure, it's going to be a long time before I drive to Ohio. Like really long time.  And I won't fly there, with child in tow and two bikes.    So then I thought about doing Augusta.  I would be all-in-no-questions-asked because of the swim (hello current), but the $350 price tag with all the fees and whatnot is stopping me.  Tom is looking at a 40 mile trail race for his 40th birthday in North Carolina and if he does that, I will most likely relay the 40 miler with his mom and run about 21 of it with him.  That would be enough.  I don't know.  What are y'all doing for the fall?  Anything I should jump on?

Okay... so here's the scoop

I realized that many of you know what's going on in our lives simply because I'm addicted to Facebook and Instagram.  But for those of you who don't know (or just want to read it) here's the update...

Family:
We'll, it's just the three (four if you count to furry four legged one) and we couldn't be happier. Seriously when people say that you don't understand the love of a child until you have one, it's so true. I always heard "blah blah blah" when people said that (usually when I told them that I was choosing to not have children and then needed to defend my stance), but I get it now and am continuously blown away by the love my heart feels for Abby.  Don't get me wrong, she's a ton of work, but man... she's totally awesome!  Now as far as having another (because I guess when they hit the 16-18 month mark that's the next questions)... we'll just leave it at we are super happy with our little family of 3. :)

Work:
So a lot has changed in the last year.  Tom got his real estate license back in November of last year. He was ready for a change and jumped in with both feet to a new career.  Knowing that the first year for most agents can be a tough one, we had many talks about back up plans and how long we would give it before moving on.  Well... needless to say it's been AMAZING.  So much so that I got my license in May of this year and we have been running with it non-stop ever since. And we sold Captain, the company we started back in 2005.  That was huge for us.  There were times in the last few years where we considered walking away from the company and doing something new for various reasons.  We took a chance listing it with a broker this past spring and within 4 weeks we had a buyer.  It's been such a blessing to us to have to stay alive under new ownership (for so long, this was our baby) but it's also been a huge blessing to have it off our plate.  And how many 34 year olds can say that they started and sold a company by my age. (really all the credit goes to Tom because he did it all, but I "technically" owned the majority of the company so, you know...).

Athletics:
It's not easy balancing everything and I have always struggled with this.  Now that Abby controls when I eat, sleep and go to the bathroom, working out has been super difficult.  We run outside thankfully as much as possible with her in the BOB, but man... I thought that I would eventually get used to the hills of Georgia and I haven't.  I struggle a lot.  And it's frustrating.  I have brought my bike out of hibernation and have it on the trainer.  I love riding my bike so I'm hoping that I start loving indoor training too.  It's funny how your perspective can change about riding on the roads once you have a child and well, it's just a really scary place and I'm terrified to ride around her outside.  So the trainer it is.  After the first of the year I'm hitting up the aquatic center and joining that too.  So what does that mean for racing???  I'm itching to get back into it, which is funny given the fact that I have no clue how I'm ever going to train.  But, we are doing a few tris and running events in 2015 and I'm excited.  First up will be the Inaugural Suwanee Half Marathon on 1/31.  I'm sure it's going to pretty much kill me and that's alright.  Then we are doing the Gulf Coast tri in May in PCB and I'm excited about that.  Finally my big hairy goal is a PR at the HFP Deer Creek Half in September back in Ohio.  I have a long way to go, but I'm ready to get back into racing and feel like a triathlete again.

Life:
So that's pretty much it.  We sleep, we work, we try to play.  And then we repeat.  Life is good.  We had some rough times in the last two years or so and I can finally say that life is good.  We are happy and healthy and see great things for 2015!  What more can a girl ask for?

Well, hello there

I'm still alive.  The child takes up all of my time these days.  No seriously, she's crazy fun but if I were to try and type a blog post when she's awake, I would get no where. She loves typing on my computer, specifically if I'm on it trying to get something accomplished.  Which usually leads to me giving up and going to play. Then when I think about what I was working on, it's too late and I've moved on (or done it on my phone in between peek-a-boo sessions or while she's eating).  Ha... such is the life of a mom I guess.

I'm getting back into training and racing.  Maybe I'll give this whole blogging thing another shot.  I mean, why not just do it all? :)

Am I ready???

Rev 3 Knoxville is 5 weeks away and to say that I'm unprepared is a bit of an understatement.  Yikes.

Swimming has been non-existent for a long time.  Like a really long time.  Like since before Abby was born.  Okay, even longer than that.  I think the last time I swam was maybe September.  Of 2012.  I wish I wasn't kidding.  I didn't swim when I was pregnant.  And since having Abby I've longed to get into the pool (because I'm one of those reeeeealy slow swimmer who actually enjoys every minute of my slow pathetic workout), but I just haven't found a way to make it work.  We have an awesome pool, but there is no child care.  Finding an hour or more to get to the pool, swim, get changed and get home just isn't in the cards.  Heck, I have a hard time going to the bathroom alone, let alone getting time to get to the pool.

Biking is another thing that I've put aside.  I love to bike.  I especially love biking on rolling country roads, when Tom and I can spend all day exploring, finding little sandwich shops or gas stations where I can buy Little Debbies and not feel the slightest bit of guilt because I'm riding 5+ hours that day.  That's heavenly.  But again, it doesn't bode well with a 10 month old.  Or where we live.  To get to country roads worth biking, we'd have to drive about an hour.  The roads around here are scary and since having a baby, my life seems to have even more value.  I have heard of far too many careless "accidents" where a biker has been hit, many time left and then dies.  Cars and bikes are no equal on the road, no matter how much we'd like them to be.  My 15 pounds Kestrel isn't going to fare well against a 3000 pound car.  So I find myself on the indoor trainer which is great and fine, but after about an hour, I call it a day.  Biking nowhere is hard.

Running - ah yes, that third sport.  I do it.  About 5 times a week.  I have zero speed.  I whine a lot about it.  I want it to be a zen experience and it isn't most days.  I can't tell you the last time I put on my headphones and just got lost in a run.  I can't tell you the last time I wasn't being pulled along by a 37 pound 10 year old dog who thinks she's 1 and has one speed - fast. 

So I get it - if you have read this far you are thinking "Colleen, you have no business doing a tri in 5 weeks".  And I probably don't.  But I will.  And I am excited.  I want to push myself.  I want to be surrounded by my teammates and other triathletes that are gungho the way I used to be.  I want to feel the excitement and the nervousness standing at the waters edge, know what's ahead of me and not knowing how I'll fare.  And the best part... about 3 hours after the horn sounds and I have my annual panic attack in the water (let's face it... I've been at this long enough to know that will happen), I'm going to be wrapping up my 6.2 mile run and I'm picturing grabbing Tom's hand as he holds Abby.  We will run down the finish line together.  We will smile.  I might cry a little.  And I will have that moment stuck in my mind forever - it's the first tri I've done as a mommy.  Now that's a pretty cool thing!

This girl will get me through it!!!

My why...

My mom sent me a text the other day saying that she wishes I see what she sees when she looks at me.  She wrote "You see yourself so different than I see you.  I see a beautiful woman, confident, focused, happy and who looks amazing to me".  Now granted, she IS my mom, but I want to see that person all the time too.

I have a big hairy goal of looking at myself in the mirror and seeing what other people see.  Easy peasy, right?

I started on a personal journey two weeks ago in hopes of learning to love me a bit more (remember, that?  I wrote a post about it).  It's something that I have been thinking about for a while now and trying to figure out how I would tackle feeling better about me.  Is it what I eat?  Is it how I workout?  Is it who I surround myself with and what I do with my free time?  The thing is, it's a little of all of that.

Being a new mom, I think we sometimes get into this "everything is about the baby" mindset and we lose sight of other things that are important, ie, ourselves.  It's not that I have let myself go... I just haven't given me the attention I deserve.  You know what I mean?

For the last two weeks I've consciously cleaned up my diet.  No more soda (gah).  I'm shopping on the perimeter of the grocery store.  I'm buying stuff that doesn't have an ingredient list that's a page long.  Today I officially started TWO challenges.  Two.  Two challenges that I'm fully committed to.  The first is called 21 Day Fix.

It's a very clean eating plan couples with 30 minutes workouts that focus on the whole body and a shakeology shake each day.  I'm packing my body full of nutrients, aminos, and vitamins.  I'm taking care of me from the inside!!!  The second challenge is a No Sugar Olympic Challenge.  No added sugar in my diet and workouts provided to me every day but a friend who's a personal trainer with a focus on Olympic sports.  Both are fun, exciting and SUPER hard for me.  But I need to step outside of my comfort zone a little.  It's good for the body AND the soul!

And in these challenges, I'm surrounded by amazing women - some I know and some I don't.  They are all on a personal journey of their own, for whatever reason and we are there to help each other every step.  I'm wanting to come out of these groups with not only knowledge about nutrition that I didn't have before, but maybe some new friends.  But most importantly, I'm hoping I leave these challenges equipped to be a better me.

My daughter deserves to have a mom that doesn't compare herself to others.  She doesn't need a mom who constantly complains about her weight and her thighs and her muffin top.  She doesn't need to grow up wondering how she looks and feeling like there is a list a million miles long that she would like to change about herself, a habit she learned from watching her momma.  I mean look at her, she'll always be beautiful!

My husband deserves to have a wife that believes him when he says I look beautiful, instead of rolling my eyes and listing the top 5 things that day that are bothering me about my body.

My mom deserves a daughter who can look at herself and say "I AM a beautiful woman, who's confident, focused, happy and looks amazing".

Instead of complaining, I'm asking myself - WHY NOT ME?

**Have questions about either of my challenges or think maybe I can help with your journey to feel comfortable in your own skin too?  Email me - thekingerys(at)hotmail(dot)com.  I'd LOVE to talk to you about taking that journey with you!!!**

 

All you need is love…

I’ve often thought that loving someone else was the greatest gift that I could give.  I love my husband more than life itself.  My daughter… there’s just no explaining that love.  I love my family, my friends, even some of my neighbors.  And it truly is a gift to love these people.  

But I'm starting to realize that the best gift a person can give themselves is love - loving who they are, what they do, what they look like, what their limitations are, what they fear. And really, once you love yourself, you are giving those around you a gift as well - the gift of someone who is comfortable in their own skin.

Think about it – do you truly love yourself?  

That’s not a trick question. I hope you can answer that honestly, but if you can’t answer it with a resounding “YES!”, then you aren’t alone.  A lot of people aren’t 100% happy in their own skin and it affects so much of their life – probably more than they even know.

Sure I joke, “what’s not to love about me” but why is that so hard for me to answer myself?  There’s just something, deep within, that judges ME more than anyone.  I’m so critical of myself. I'm not skinny enough, fast enough, rich enough, patient enough.  Many days I feel blah at the image staring back at me.  Many days I feel like I don’t have a purpose, that I’m kind of empty.   And that’s gotta change.  I’m a smart woman.  I’m an accomplished athlete.  I’m a darn good mommy.  I have a great big heart and definitely jumped into the caring gene pool. 

Today I turn 34. While that’s not really a big deal, I have decided that this is my year.  I’m going to learn to love the most important person in the world that needs love – ME.  That starts with loving me from the inside out. Yes I have "flaws" but why not take those "flaws", change the ones that I can, accept the ones I can't and move on.  So I'm not a size double zero - really, that shouldn't be a size because really 00 just means two times nothing.  So I'm not fast... I get more race for my money by finishing in the middle of the pack.  So I'm not rich... money doesn't buy happiness (yes, it buys cute workout clothes and vacations and stuff like that, but there's more to life than money alone).  So I'm not patient enough... okay, see, that's one of those that I can work on!

What I'm getting at here is that I'm going to start looking at myself differently.  I'm going to take what I've been given and learn to love it.  If I can change something that I don't like, then I'll work hard to change it.  Because really, I can complain about it or I can change it... simple as that.

I’m going to challenge myself in ways that I haven’t done in the past and I will see results. (sounds convincing, doesn't it?)

One of the things that I have decided to do is join a 21 Day Fix challenge.  A super successful friend and someone I admire greatly for the love she has for herself, is heading it up and I’m committing to 21 days of nutrition, fitness, accountability, vulnerability. This is outside of my comfort zone a little bit.  I have to take pictures of myself (yikes) and I have to be honest about what I'm doing.  It's three weeks... three weeks which will hopefully lead to a lifetime of change. 

It takes 21 days to form a habit - I'm giving this a full 21 days.

I think it’s going to be the jump start that I need to tackle my next challenge – becoming a Beachbody Coach with Team Courage.  I’m really excited to start create an environment for others that struggle like me in their journey to fully love themselves to come, be a little vulnerable, and let me help them.  I think this is going to be a very fulfilling career and it will just help me become a better me.

And really, I need to learn a thing or two from my daughter.  I mean, she loves herself enough to kiss her all day long! :)