Good morning!
Thank you so much for all of your amazing comments in last night’s Kicking the Coke habit!!! Eric and I read through all of them together and we were blown away by your encouragement and personal stories. I think he definitely feels like this is something he can conquer!! :) If you are looking for some encouragement to kick the soda habit or to just stick to a healthier lifestyle, I suggest reading over the comments because they are super motivating!
I purchased two huge bins of organic spinach at Costco on the weekend only to come home and realize that I already had two bags of spinach in the fridge! Opps. This week has been deemed SPINACH week in our house.
My morning consisted of a beautiful Green Monster packed with as much spinach as I could fit…
[Winter was hard on our Ikea outdoor table this winter!!! Guess we should have brought it inside…oops]
Enjoyed outside in the sun. I love Spring!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 ice cubes
- 4 cups spinach
- 1/4 cup pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon Artisana Raw Almond Butter
- 1/2 teaspoon raw maca powder
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate Meal Powder
Eric wants to tear out our rotting deck this summer and build a new one (not sure if the budget will allow for this however!). We are also talking about building a vegetable garden!
Exciting Announcement!
Yesterday Eric and I had quite the interesting discussion on our hike!
We got on the topic of fun outdoor activities that we can do this summer and Eric started talking about how he wants to get into Mountain biking. We have so many conservation parks within a few miles of us and there are so many challenging trails to tackle. He also wants to get clip-ins for his mountain bike which is something I wouldn’t mind getting myself, especially if we were going to do it on a regular basis.
THEN…we started talking about swimming in lakes. Saturday at Costco, we came across these awesome wet suits for just $33 (don’t you love Costco?). We’d love to get some to wear in the lake up at Eric’s parent’s house (the water doesn’t warm up until about July or August!).
We chatted some more and then Eric said it would be fun to train for a triathlon!!!!!
[source]
My jaw dropped. I have never heard Eric say he wanted to compete in a sport. He used to play sports in high school (football, basketball, volleyball, etc), but he was turned off by the overly competitive nature of it. He really dislikes when people take sports too seriously and he says it took the fun out of it for him.
Here’s the thing.
Eric is not a swimmer (from his lips, not mine!). He never took lessons and he considers himself a very poor swimmer. He loves swimming in lakes, but as for actually doing strokes and whatnot, he says he is horrible at it and really doubts his ability.
He also really dislikes running.
So you can see my total shock at him saying that he wanted to try a triathlon! This is bringing him WAY out of his comfort zone.
I told Eric about the Subaru Triathlon Series with TriSport Canada that is really popular in Ontario. I know about it because I was going to train for a triathlon last June (and didn’t tell you guys!!), because I chickened out and never signed up! I just couldn’t bring myself to try it. This time last year I was also scared to run in a RACE and after my first 10k race I discovered that it wasn’t scary at all!
The Subaru Triathlon Series offers an entry level race called ‘TRY A TRI’ for beginners doing their first triathlon.
We checked it out online last night and Eric told me that he wants to SIGN UP! GAH!
The great thing about this Subaru Triathlon Series is that they have several locations in Ontario and different dates to chose from. We decided on the Milton Kelso location because we will be able to do some of our training on the actual course as it isn’t too far from us!
The TRY A TRI is VERY beginner friendly and I think anyone could do it:
- Swim 375m, Bike 10km, Run 2.5km
Course Map [click to enlarge]:
Eric and I will be not only competing in our first triathlon on JUNE 6th 2010, but we will be doing it TOGETHER!
I am just so excited that he wants to do this. I would run to Yukon and back if he asked me to. I want us to support each other during our training and conquer our fear of swimming in lakes! I can’t believe we are really signed up!!
Today’s question- Do you consider yourself a good swimmer? Do you have a fear of swimming in open water like we do? Would you ever train for a triathlon or have you ever competed in one?
I consider myself an OK swimmer. When I was young I used to take swimming lessons and I swam competitively in grade 1, however I have not done any lessons in over 12 years and I feel really out of tune. I have always had a fear of swimming in lakes and not being able to see all the wonderful creatures around me…I’m hoping with some practice (and a wet suit) we will feel more comfortable.
Enjoy your day!
Congrats! My husband is a duathlete (running and biking) and I train with different levels of triathletes so I see their accomplishments and am in awe of their training.
Have fun!
Wow, that’s amazing!
I consider myself an ok swimmer, but in reality, I can only do that girly swim :D I can’t do that breath stroke really well ’cause of my lung problems, I’d probably suffocate while putting my head in the water every two strokes!
Wow! This is so exciting! I wish my hubby was into my type of sports! This sounds like an excellent experience. I am celebrating my 10 year anniversary of doing triathlons with my first ever Olympic Distnace Tri in June! Watch out they can be addicting!
What exciting plans! I love swimming but have never raced or “tried” a tri– it’s definitely on my fit list, though. Best of luck with the training (and to Eric on kicking the Coke… I am a Diet Cokeaholic, so I know it’s not easy). :)
hey-
I’m in the Try a Tri….my first one too!
See you there!
whohoo!
Eric is on a roll! :) This is so exciting for you guys! I could see you and him, and your little childern years from now all doing little family races together! :) haha
That is amazing! Go for the tri! :)
Awesome! Good luck with training :)
This is sooo cool! What an exciting event to train for. I am a HUGE swimmer, always have been. It’s my favorite sport, and the exercise I did to lose 100 pounds.
FYI–check Goodwill and Value Village/thrift stores for wet suits. I got a wetsuit for $2 recently!
I consider myself a decent swimmer. Not awesome but not bad either! I don’t really fear swimming in open water but I think that’s because we don’t really have sharks or alligators or whatever here ahah At least it’s not common AT ALL.
I wouldn’t do a tri right now but mostly because I’m aware that I’m not fit enough to do that right now and I very much doubt that I have the resistance to do it. It does sound like a fun challenge. :) Good luck with the training!
im afraid of fish hahaha and leeches
That is so exciting! I swam competitively in high school, but I would be afraid of the biking, I haven’t biked since I was 10!
congrats! Have fun – I have done multiple tris but I don’t swim so I either do a team tri or I just skip it (making it a bi??) but people are always sooooo nice at them!
Wow, this sounds so exciting! I can’t wait to follow your journey to this race!
And Eric: congrats on deciding to kick the coke habit. I think the decision is often the hardest part, and I’m sure now that you have something as exciting as a triathlon to look forward to and train for, you will have no problem staying away from it!
I am actually on the verge on signing up for a sprint triathlon myself. I used to be a competitive swimmer, so I’m not worried about that, or about the run, but I’m unsure of my biking abilities… maybe it’s time I face my fears though?
That’s so great! I did a sprint triathlon 5 months after having my second baby, and if I could do it, anyone can! I took swimming lessons as a kid, but I tend to get freaked out in open water. With all of the adrenaline and people swimming around me, I had to turn over on my back and swim that way for a while. I felt stupid, but looked around and found A LOT of people doing that. You just get too hyped up and can’t breathe as well. So, my advice for the swimming part is to just get through it, even if you have to glide on your back the whole time. I also didn’t train extremely hard for this (even though I should have) because I wasn’t allowed to work out for the first 2 months after having my baby and then I was just tired and not as motivated as I wanted to be. I’m just letting you know, SERIOUSLY, if I could do it, you and Eric will breeze through it. Good luck!
congrats! Love your story and tips.
June 6th is our 4-year wedding anniversary :-D so hopefully it will be good luck for you guys!! haha!
I have always wanted to do a triathalon but I’m a chicken when it comes to swimming in lakes with sea weed and fish!!!
I am not a swimmer..havent swam for years. water does kind of scare me…which is odd cuz i grew up around it, etc. I am so amazed at u and Eric – that is so so amazing for u both to do.
And that “hot chocolate” link looks amazing – so going to try that.
Just recently one of my blogger friends was wondering what to do with quinoa and since she is vegan I suggested your maple syrup/almond butter/quinoa breakfast. Your recipes are so attractive.
What a fun thing to do! I love to swim, but open water kind of freaks me out. I have thought of a triathalon, but I think Nick and I are going to try mountain biking this summer, so I think I’ll start there- my biking skills are worse than my swimming skills!!
xo
K
I actually signed up for my first tri a couple weeks ago. I will most likely do another before the one I signed up for though….. as I’m a crazy person and signed up for a half iron. :-) (will find a sprint tri to do first)
I’m really excited though. I’m currently training for my 13th marathon, but just running all the time has gotten a bit old. I do other workouts but training for a tri will mean I HAVE to bike and swim, running will no longer take priority over them.
I was a lifeguard back in high school and have always been a fairly strong swimmer…. but never raced. I’m happy I’ve committed to the race as it will give me a great goal to work towards all summer (half iron is in September).
I am also training for my first tri (olympic length). However, I swam for a division 1 school in college, so the swim is not a worry. Im more worried about the bike. I would stongly recommend joining a club or getting lessons for swimming (even ask a friend who is a strong swimmer). Swimming is by far the shortest section of the tri, but seems to tbe the most difficult for most people simply because they do not know proper technique. Technique is KEY in swimming. It is just WAAAY more important than in biking or running. Goodluck
HOW COOL!!! This is on my bucket list (as well as running a race)! I can’t wait to follow you along. It’s so great that you two can enjoy this together!