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!
after suffering from running injuries and having to listen to my workout friends talking about triathlons all the time, I am jumping in with two feet! 3 months ago I could not swim from one end of the pool to the other and after taking swimming lessons, I can now swim 12 consecutive laps, my biking is coming along as well. I am signed up for 2 sprint triathlons and I am thinking of doing an Olympic distance later in the fall. i think you will love the cross training!
you guys could benefit from swim lessons
I’m currently training for my first Ironman. I started doing Tris 2 years ago and haven’t looked back since then! Honestly, swimming in a lake during a tri is nothing like real swimming. It’s more like surviving and moving your arms in the general direction of the finish line. If there are waves or a lot of people, you can’t get into a good swimming rhythm. The key is to get a solid understanding of the strokes (free and breast) so you feel comfortable with them. I’d suggest getting someone to coach you both a couple of times just to make sure your swim strokes are decent. Then, it’s just a matter of feeling confident in the water with 50 sets of legs and arms hitting you in the face. It sounds like you both already do some lake swimming so that will be a HUGE advantage. GOOD LUCK and I think it’s AWESOME that you’ll be training together. So much fun!!!
So Exciting!!!!!!!!
I;m actually a fairly good swimmer (have my bronze medallion) and cycler… but I’ve always been way too scared to sign up for a tri.
One day.. maybe ;)
I personally have a fear of open water. I will swim in a pool and play near the shore of a lake, but I’m not partial to swimming in deep open water.
When I was a child I went to a small lake to swim and I was pulled under by another child who had gone into the deep area and panicked. Luckily nothing bad happened from it, but it is a fear I’m trying to get over.
As far as swimming ability goes, I’m ok, but I’m not a very strong swimmer.
I’m currently training to see if I can do a 5 k this year, but I have to be careful because I’ve had surgery on my knee when I was younger and I don’t want to over work it. I would LOVE to be able to do a triathalon, I’m just not sure how realistic it is for me.
that is so awesome!! i love running 5k’s with my hubby so i can’t imagine how fun a tri would be. alas, i can’t swim.. or ride a bike. so i’m outta luck ;)
xoxo
Aww, how great!! I’m a fairly good swimmer – and I def have a swimmer’s build…pools/shallow, clear water…I’m good to go – but deep, dark water…no way in hell. haha
Right on, Training for a triathalon together would be a great thing to do!
I can’t swim, i sink like a rock haha
I do plan to do a 10k this year, not sure if my significant other is going to participate with me or not, he’s talked about it however.
Way to go Eric!
I’ll probably be too shy to say hello if I spot you – but I’m 100% sure my Boyfriend is racing in that tri. I go to all of his races.
Way to go, you two.
How exciting! I love training/ excersizing with my husband… Such a great bonding experiece.
How awesome, I can’t wait to read about your training!
I am a bad swimmer, I love water but I am afraid of emptiness beneath my feet. I intend to tackle this fear soon and go to a swimming pool at least :-)
Hi Angela,
As you might have guessed from my blog, I have lots of advice on triathlon. First, congrats on making the decision to do your first. I only have one quick suggestion for now – if the wetsuits at Costco are not for swimming, don’t spend the money. You’re better off renting a wetsuit for the same price, that is made for triathlon. You are welcome to give me a call anytime for a chat about getting started in triathlon.
Julie
That’s great advice!
This is so exciting!!! Congrats on your decision! This will be great for you guys. Can’t wait to read all about the training!
I am an AWFUL swimmer and can’t imagine training for such an event!
Clearly you are such a good influence on your hubby!
Some coworkers tried to get me to train for a triathalon with them, but I don’t own a bike, and I am a HORRIBLE swimmer. All I can say for myself is I am unlikely to drown in a pool or lake or shallow ocean, but I cannot actually SWIM more than like 2 pool lengths. I love racing, but I plan to stay on terra firma.
Awww you two are so cute! I think doing it together is going to make it so special and also help with those rough training days :)
I haven’t done a race where there’s an open swim component (maybe because I haven’t even done a race at all- hehe!), but I do consider myself a good swimmer. I was born in Florida so I’ve known how to swim since I was 2 and loved the ocean so I don’t think I’d have a problem with it.
WOW! I know what you will be doing on my birthday! :)
I miss spring weather. I woke up to snow! @#$%^&U(*I&^%$#$%
I’ve been considering doing a triathlon, but since I need to learn proper swim form and buy a bike it’s more of a long-term goal. We have a sports store here that hosts a triathlon club which has a program specifically for beginners so I’m going to look into that.
That’s great news! I wish I could get my significant other to be motivated about a race. I would love to participate in a triathlon. It’s on my to do list. I have a strong swimming background so I am anxious to put it to use! Good luck to the two of you as you start training!
Very exciting! My girlfriend mentioned wanting to do a tri ‘someday’ in passing…I’m planning on bringing it up again soon because I found a small one in our area that I think we could manage!
I definitely do NOT consider myself a strong swimmer. Luckily we had to take swimming lessons when we were younger (thanks, Mom!), however I have only swum a handful of times in my adult life. Now is as good of time as any to try my hand at it, though!
OMGosh – that’s so exciting and very SOON! We were going to do a Try a Tri here, but with school there was just not going to be any time to train. I’m so excited for you guys.
Just got back from Costco myself. Had your spinach experience with the frozen berry mix. I might have to have a frozen berry party to use up the 6 bags I now have!
PS. Our Costco had awesome single kayaks for only $330 (or something like that). Verrrrry tempting!
I consider myself an average swimmer and I did have a fear of swimming in deeper open water, not anymore.
OMG, I am so excited you two have decided to delve into the triathlon world…just a word of warning…you will get hooked. How fun for you two to do this together. I’d love my hubby to do one with me as well, but he can’t get past the swim part or the running (like Eric he does not like running…retired from Army and hated it then). I did my first, what we call in the states, sprint triathlon (300m swim, 14 mile bike, 5k run) back in August of 2006 and have done several distances, open water, pool, backwards (run/bike/swim), etc. I started out as a runner and am still passionate about running, however, triathlon is my 2nd passion. My dream is to do a half ironman some day, I’ve done several sprints and an Olympic distance aka International distance. I’ve swam in lakes, pools and the ocean. Believe it or not, I was like Eric in that I wasn’t much of a competitive swimmer. I knew how to swim but not competitively just mainly for fun. So I searched around the Dallas area and found what is called a Masters Swim program, don’t let the name fool you, it’s a swim program for any level. Don’t know if Canada has anything like that but both of you could check into a local swim class at the Y or recreation center. Also, check out, www.swimplan.com, it’s a great swim website where you can create your own swim workouts from beginners, on for free. As you can see, I love triathlon and there are so many websites out there to help you along, www.beginnertriathlete.com, is a great one to get started with. One more little tidbit about triathlon, if you get to do your first when the water is at a temp that makes it wetsuit legal, just remember, not only does it make you more buoyant, but saltwater is buoyant as well, so the fright of sinking should be minimal. :) Pretty soon, you won’t worry so much about the funny little creatures below you because you’ll be so concerned about finishing the swim…teehee! You guys might even try a duathlon at first, which is a run/bike/run, my hubby and I did a couple of those together as a relay, where I did the run, he did the bike and then I did the run….fun stuff!
Another newfound love 2 years ago and counting, mountain biking aka MTB, is one thing me and DH love to do as well! It’s quite a challenge on some of the trails but it’s so much fun and adventurous at the same time. I think you and Eric are a younger version of me and my DH…LOL in some aspects. :)
Okay, so have I said enough, I think so….sorry for writing a novel, but it’s obvious where my loves lies, next to my DH…lol! Please keep us posted!