Checking In

Hi! It's been a while since I've checked in here.

For a while I was trying to go to 3 classes per week at the gym. That was working fairly well for a while, and then some other stuff came up. One of the things that came up was my trip to the Grand Canyon!

Yes! I did it! Starting on the north rim, we did a loop down to the Colorado River, along the river a way, and then back up to the north rim. It was challenging but doable. It was strenuous, yet relaxing. Pushing myself to go, go, go, (slow and steady) every day was not so hard without the mental burdens of kids, house, phone, computer, etc. I could just let my mind go, enjoy the scenery, and will my feet to keep moving! I will be posting some pics and/or a video on my other blog shortly.

Next up are the 2 sprint triathlons that I've signed up for this summer. Today I went to the pool for the first time. I'll never be a strong swimmer, but hopefully I'll get into a swimming groove that will get me through the 1/2 mile in a reasonable time. I need to do a little maintenance on the bike, but hopefully my spinning classes will have paid off once I do get on the bike. (I need to keep going to those classes.) I have some training routes planned out for the bike -- I just need to put some dates on my calendar to do them. I've been running. Not enough, but some. I still maintain my 11+ min mile, but that's just my pace. I'm able to keep going for a whole 3 miles. My next step with the running is to do some slightly longer distances so that 3 miles seems like cake. Next Monday I'm going with one of my Tri buddies to do the run route from one of the races. It has a large section off-road that is rumored to be challenging because of rocks and roots. We'd like to have done it once.

If I could just watch my eating more, perhaps I would lose weight. Even though I'm definitely stronger, I'm really not losing my big bowl-of-jello belly. Sigh. Will-power. I need some.

Finally, I've got to start thinking about a goal to put on the schedule after my races. Historically, once my event is over, I give myself permission to relax a bit, and then I never get back to the workouts. I will be a member at the gym until next January, so I at least need to keep the classes on my schedule. If you have any ideas for goals, let me know!