I mentioned in this post about my not learning to swim being connected to body issues. As a really young child I don’t think I was aware of body size and shape. And frankly looking at pictures of me when I was a kid I was not fat at all.

me and my brother circa 1979

me and my brother circa 1979

Maybe, once I reached the teen years, I would say I was plump. Nothing drastic but enough to make me self conscious about bathing suits and shorts. I dreaded the summer and beach and pool parties. I wore a tshirt over my suit and basically stood in the pool or the ocean. There was no learning how to swim. Or even enjoying the water in a relaxing way. I know that this is unfortunately the reality for so many of us.

So the elation I felt after completing Jersey Girl on Sunday was just as much for getting through the swim as it was battling the feelings of insecurity as I wore my super tight compression shorts and tank…and have it cling even tighter after exiting the water! Sports Illustrated model I am not.

Me and my "swim angel" Paul as I completed my swim

Me and my “swim angel” Paul as I completed my swim

With running, I can get away most of the time wear a looser fitting top and capris and feel less anxious about the body issues. And frankly, running is my element anyway so the extra boost in confidence comes from that I suppose.

I’m writing this post mainly in the hopes that when y’all read this you remember that doing fun things and trying things out of your comfort zone doesn’t have to wait until you are a certain weight or size. I was actually so impressed with the Jersey Girl event on Sunday because it was an all women’s event and there were literally women of all shapes, sizes and ages. I encourage you all to say yes the next time someone asks you to do something you want to do but have fear about. I have heard my 14 year old niece talk about how fat she looks in a photo and it makes me so sad. She is long and lean and athletic and yet she focuses on the teeny tiny belly that appears when she sits. My goals and achievements and self-confidence is only going to give her one more role model in life. And THAT is extremely important to me.

OK enough of that soap box. =) Here are a couple more pics from Sunday.

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Jane (who had already finished) came to run me in the last few hundred feet! I love this picture!

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time to hit the waves

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keepin it real….trudging up the sand to get to the transition

So Thursday I got stranded after physical therapy because my Jeep decided to have a meltdown again. I basically divorced her at that very moment. Grabbed my bike out of the trunk (which had been in there since the race on Sunday!), my running magnets off the back and called my dad to come get me. Thank god he was home.

my new mode of transportation

my new mode of transportation

I needed to be somewhere that afternoon and literally had no time to wait for a tow. My sis-in-law has been letting me borrow her old car for the week which is great. I went back to the scene of the meltdown yesterday to wait for the tow truck and bring Lady Liberty back to the mechanic.

photo 3

I was also supposed to be working and while i was able to complete some tasks remotely, there was one job that i couldn’t access files for so I ended up taking the train into the city.

While I was on the train the mechanic called to say they found nothing wrong with the car and i should pick it up. That’s not really the answer I wanted but whatever. It’s mysteriously working again and I’ll deal with picking it up later. Meanwhile, just before the train was ready to pull into the last stop it was held due to “police activity” at Penn Station and instead of arriving at 5PM I arrived at 5:45PM. I got to my office just before 6PM, banged out the work and then met up with my dear friend Donna for dinner at Mustang Harry’s (it’s on the same block as Mustang Sally’s and it’s BETTER!). I had not one but 2 glasses of sangria and in addition to my quesadillas I squirreled away some of Donna’s fries too. This was mainly because in the craziness of the day I barely ate.

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White wine sangria X2

photo 5

best pals since 1997

Donna and I talk all the time on the phone and via text and email but it’s been quite a while since we have been together in person. I was so happy to see her face I cried. Then she cried. Then we laughed and caught up on life. It was the first time in 2 days I was relaxed enough to eat unabashedly.

I’m dog sitting today so it’s double the doodle fun.

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And then I’m heading out to the Subaru dealership to hopefully buy a car.

Hope you are all having a great weekend! 

Holy bejeezus! I can’t even believe that Sunday really happened.

I completed the Jersey Girl Triathalon and managed to live to tell. Here’s how the day went.

3:40am Alarm clock goes off
I popped up and got myself together. I had packed all my gear the night before. I even put the bike in the car the night prior as well. My gear was all put into a backpack with 2 separate clear bags. 1 containing what I needed for my bike and 1 with my running gear plus a towel in each bag as well. Unfortunately I was too nervous to eat so I just put a few teaspoons of sugar in my coffee figuring at least I’d get some calories.

5:45am Arrive at race destination
I sat in the car waiting for Jane watching the pouring rain and wondering what the heck I was getting myself into.

bikes on a bike rack before dawn in the pouring rain...yup, they must be headed to the triathalon too

bikes on a bike rack before dawn in the pouring rain…yup, they must be headed to the triathalon too

5:55am Jane and her posse arrive
We start to unpack the cars and make our way to set up our transition area. I had planned on wearing flip flops to the transition area but I must have been half asleep and packed 2 right feet! (I have 2 of the same pair). Luckily this was the worst thing that happened all day. =)

two right feet

two right feet

6:00am-6:40am pre-race stuff
We first made a pit-stop to the ladies room and then took the time to set up our bikes and gear in the transition area and then went to get marked. I just assumed that they used wax crayons or something but they used sharpie markers! I still have some residual marker left on my skin 2 days later! Then it was time to grab a bunch of pictures since we all looked so sexy in our swim getup.

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I feel like a prisoner...but it's nice to be 29 for the day instead of 40 =)

I feel like a prisoner…but it’s nice to be 29 for the day instead of 40 =)

6:40am-6:53am Heats line up
We were the second heat and lined up waiting to go into the ocean. Not gonna lie, I was shitting a brick.

don't let the smile fool ya.. I was freaking out!

don’t let the smile fool ya.. I was freaking out!

The water was choppy I’m guessing due to the rainy weather we were having. The swim angels were all waiting to to buddy up with whoever needed assistance. As soon as they gave us the go I buddied up with Paul, my “angel”. He said to wait for the bulk of the girls to get in the water so we would have some clear space and then said we should wait for 3 big waves to come in before starting to swim past the break. I was so disoriented. The swim cap was squishing my head and the goggles had already become foggy and covered with rain drops and I think I just misjudged the waves and started into the water as a wave came crashing in. I panicked and of course opened my mouth and gasped in fear as I swallowed the wave (and this is not like eating hills for breakfast). After it passed over me I started hyperventilating (yep, keeping it real.) I almost made an about face until I heard Paul talking to me. He just kept easing my mind and instructing me on my breathing and told me to just point my arms toward the buoy. I told him I could only do the doggie paddle. Poor guy, probably had no idea what he was in for. I actually found myself enjoying the water somewhere around the 1/2 way point. Things were under control and I could see the second buoy was so close. Once I reached it I just had to make a turn and head toward the shore. Here’s where I really found myself chipping away at my fears. I now knew that the waves were out of my sight and I was freaking out that one would just come and knock me down. But I realized that you actually get a little warning as the water level drops a smidge just beforehand (oceanographist I am not. and no oceanographist isn’t a word but you get what I’m saying). Paul told me when I felt that to just let the wave push me forward. Before I knew it I could stand….almost done….but of course in the very last minute when I stood up and tried to walk gracefully out of the ocean a wave came and knocked me down to my knees. I laughed at this point. I was SOOOO freaking pumped that I made it through the scariest part of this triathalon and the rest would get easier. A volunteer grabbed my hand and helped me out of the water and I slowly trotted through the sand and up onto the boardwak where they hosed off my feet and I grabbed a cup of water. This was mostly to clear the salt water out of my throat. I wasn’t really thirst yet. =) The swim took me just over 10 minutes.

7:04am-7:08am T1
I spent 4 minutes here swapping swim cap for bike helmet, goggles for sunglasses, drying off my feet and shoving on socks and sneakers. I don’t have a road bike with clipped in style pedal/shoes so I just put my running sneakers on. One less thing to do in the next transition. I grabbed a couple of energy chews and a swig of water from my water bottle and then walked the bike out of the tranisiton and to the bike mount/start. The ins and outs of the transition was fairly foolproof and alleviated my fears of potentially being disqualified for missing a mat or mounting bike too soon etc.

7:08-8:09am Bike
The bike was fairly relaxing for me. It was along the same route as the NJ Marathon and I knew the ins and outs. Most of it was an out-and-back along Ocean Ave (parallel to the ocean). The roads were slick and it was still lightly raining but I tried to keep my mind off of that and just sang songs out loud (Sara Bareilles’ Brave and One Republic’s I Lived to be exact) as I heard the constant “on your left” coming from behind me. I averaged just under 11mph which was about 2 mph slower than I expected I’d ride. But honestly I’m still happy with my bike time. I wasn’t in competitive mode at all. I was euphoric about my swim completion and just processing the whole experience over and over.

sally-bike

Just cruisin’. Smiling and I didn’t even know I was being photographed so that’s a genuine smile

8:09-8:12am T2
This transition was much faster and easier for me (less than 3 minutes). I swapped the bike helmet for a baseball cap and pulled on a running skirt. Ate 2 more energy chews and grabbed another swig of water from my water bottle.

Photo courtesy of my surprise spectator Greg

Photo courtesy of my surprise spectator Greg

8:12-8:42am Run
Now the 3 mile home stretch was upon me. Just 1 1/2 miles out and then back. I was SO pumped for this. Just as I crossed the mat to officially start the run, I heard someone call out my name. I looked up and saw it was a surprise spectator…my friend Greg. I was so happy to see his friendly face. I felt like my legs were heavy but I finally had the chance to pass people. I was in my element and ironically the finish line for this is exactly the same as the NJ Marathon. And I FELT exactly like I was at mile 25 of the marathon. Exhausted, spent but exhilarated and so friggen happy!

closing in on the finish!

closing in on the finish!

annnnd DONE!

Happy Runner Girl (who swam and biked first)

Happy Runner Girl (who swam and biked first)

I was the last of Jane’s posse to finish and they were all enjoying massages and snacks at the post race festivities. Once everyone was refueled and relaxed we took some obligatory bling pics. Jane finished 3rd in her age group with a time of 1:11 (the overall winner finished in 1:02). And Jane’s mom finished in 1:27! Not too shabby for a 54 year old woman. She even had to stop to get one of her pedals repaired. I finished in 1:47 which is 13 minutes faster than I predicted. I know i can shave 15 minutes off my time easily if I just learn how to swim properly and get a little more confident on the bike (and maybe upgrade to a real road bike). But who knows what lies in my future as far as sprint TRIs go.

IMG_4610 Photo Aug 03, 9 28 45 AMThe entire event was just awesome. There were so many first time triathletes and so many supportive volunteers. It was the most inspiring and uplifting event I’ve done in a while. Girl power!!! I’d highly recommend this event for anyone who is curious about triathalons.

Do you know how to swim? Did you learn as a kid or an adult? Ever done a TRI? How about bikes? Do you own a road bike?

 

 

Hello,

I’m almost done with my Jersey Girl Triathalon recap and should have it up later today.

So how’s your week going? I battled a terrible headache yesterday and actually left work early. It’s actually still not gone 🙁 But things could be worse. I’ll live.

I came home from work and laid down on the couch for a bit waiting for the headache to pass. But eventually decided life needed to happen so I sucked it up and took the dog to the woods by my house for a little time to stop and smell the roses everything.

perhaps it should say "paw trail"

perhaps it should say “paw trail”

Then we watched the Country Music Awards and played tug because that’s how we roll.

photo 2

 

I found out that my insurance authorized more physical therapy visits which is great because I could use them but that means more $50 copays. And then at work we found out our premium for our insurance is going up an additional $50 a month and the coverage itself is not even as robust. Plus specialist copays will be $60 now instead of $50. I must never get injured again!

Anyone have advice for how to get rid of a headache. Even my teeth hurt!

 

Happy Monday!

I’m wrapping up at work and realized that unless you follow me in Instagram you are still in suspense about how I fared in the Jersey Girl Triathalon yesterday.

Well, good news is that I didn’t die in the ocean! I DID have a panic attack when the first wave crashed into me and I swallowed half of the Atlantic Ocean (ok maybe i’m being a bit dramatic) but Paul, my “angel” swam next to me and just encouraged me and coached me the entire time. He helped by giving me constant reminders to slow my breathing and point my arms toward the buoy to keep the shortest tangent and just basically kept pumping me with positivity. He had a noodle in case I needed it but I never did! I did the doggie paddle for 300 straight yards and can’t even begin to tell you how AMAZING I felt to come out of the water knowing, at 40 years of age I FINALLY faced my fear of the open water. Before yesterday the farthest I had ever gone in the ocean was about hip level and that was in Bermuda where you can see your feet because the water is so clear and the waves were quite calm. Yesterday, apparently the waves were intense (it was pouring rain in the ours leading up to the race and still raining when our heat began).

Swim: 300 yards 10:35

And while my bike was not the fastest, I was relaxed and just still riding high from knowing I finished the swim. Soooo many women passed me. I could hear the constant echo of “on your left!”.

Bike: 11 miles 10:86 MPH

And the run? Well that was cake =)

3 miles: 29:18

sally-results

So yes! I AM OFFICIALLY A TRIATHLETE!!!!! Pretty cool considering I had never even thought of participating in one until 3 days prior.

Jersey Girl Triathalon 2014

See Sally and Jane show off their bling

I’m working on a full recap to share which I should have up in the next day or two. And now it’s time to JUST SAY NO to any more events until September. MY lingering peroneal tendonitis is still hanging around. It’s not too bad today considering but I’ve gotta just get a little more serious about staying off it to heal once and for all! I’ve got lots of events planned for September, October, November and even December.

How was your weekend?