40 steps to 40: Nine months update

The last update I did on my personal list of goals for this year (called "40 steps to 40") was at three months because I forgot to write one at one month, and also at 2 months. You'd think that I'd remember to write one at 6 months at least? Well, nope. It's been now 9 months!! But better late than never...

1. Finish Ironman Mt. Tremblant.
10 days!!! Enough said. Fingers, toes, eyes and hairs crossed.

2. Clean up my diet
I'm doing my best. I am still eating grains and carbs and sugar, but in lesser quantities. I no longer try to limit these to the morning like I attempted for a month. I eat everything in moderation, and I still stay away from fast food and everything that is deemed unhealthy because of the usual crap that it contains (chemicals, colors, additives, HFCS etc). My carbs to vegetable ratio is still very bad (veggies every other day if I'm lucky), and I know that this is the reason that I have not been losing weight.

Baskin & Robbins "Rainbow Sherbet" kiddie scoop. One of the few treats that I can still eat.

I also found that I'm allergic to cow milk and derived dairy, but only the North American kind. I can eat French and Swiss cheese all day! (looks like everything makes me feel like death, regardless of the country of origin). It is not lactose intolerance in the sense that I cannot digest it, but 90% of my asthma seems to come from this type of dairy, that I was eating/drinking with every meal as butter, cream, milk in my coffee, yoghurt, cheese, iced cappucinos, whey protein in my energy bars and salty balls, pizza, bakery goods made with butter etc. I realized that I was triggering my asthma and thus making it worse constantly. I since eliminated most sources of dairy and my asthma has completely disappeared (when in absence of other triggers like perfume, cold AC air or exercise). I used to need my puffer twice a day, but in the last month I've only had to use it once, and it was at the end of a race.

I consider this to be a bigger win than "cleaning" my diet overall. What does that mean anyway? It's not like I am eating garbage. I think I may be ready to striking this one as done. I made significant changes that led to an improved health and less need for medication. Big Yay!

3. Lose weight to reach 125lb
What a joke. Why on Earth am I so attached to this number? I don't know...It's a nice number. I love this number. Is it realistic for me? Maybe not while I train for an Ironman. I wrongly assumed that I would shed all this weight due to the amount of training that I would put in, but not only my training hours did not pile up like I feared (my biggest week was 16h), but it seems that I may have replaced some fat with muscle as well. I wear the exact same clothes as last year when I was 8 pounds lighter and they still fit the same. I feel healthy. Yes, I do have chubby arms and some fat spilling out of my spandex tights and tri kit, but I can look at myself in pictures and not hate what I see. Do I want to be stronger and more toned? To have a 6 pack? Muscle definition on my legs and back? Sure I do, but I'm soon to be 40 and I've only been doing this sport for 3 years. I may get there eventually, or not... it all depends on my level of commitment to strength training (which I hate with a vengeance). But given all my injuries this year, I think that something MUST be done to strengthen some parts of my body (glutes, hamstrings, core) that are obviously not cooperating.

We'll see what happens after the Ironman. Until then, I leave you with my weight and fat mass as measured over the past year. Numbers at the top left are from today. I don't understand Withings' "normal" range by the way.

4. Run a 5k race under 25min - DONE! (as part of the 10K race. It counts because I make the rules!)
5. Run a 10k race under 52min - DONE!

6. Run a half marathon race - DONE!

7. Complete a duathlon - DONE!

8. Complete a 70.3 triathlon - DONE!

10. Swim 4x50m medley non stop - I feel that I'm going to do this after the Ironman when all I'll be able to do is swim. Ha!
11. Swim with fins in open water for fun - DONE! It was NOT fun.

13. Bike to Niagara Falls and back - DONE! (from the other B-town, Burlington) It was A LOT of fun!

14. Bike to Blue Mountain and back - hubby has this one planned for after the Ironman. I'm thinking birthday ride, maybe?

15. Bike the Caledon Trailway - I wanted to do this with my boys... They need new bikes first. Hmm. That's a pickle.

16. Climb a mountain - Mt Tremblant, here I come!!!
17. Volunteer at a race - DONE! I volunteered with the office folks at the Race for the Kids and I will also volunteer at Muskoka 70.3 in September.

19. Read 5 books - still stuck reading Cmdr. Chris Hadfield's book. I will bring books on vacation, I hope to finish at least this one!

21. Find 100 new geocaches - I plan to find a good number of them on vacation. It's my only hope. I miss geocaching so much!!

30. Try paddle boarding - I've scoped out 2 locations, I just need to set aside the time. This will happen!

32. Express gratitude for at least 40 days - *sigh* that is all. I am so grateful.... ALL THE TIME. Writing it down though...  I think I'm still at 10 or so.

Everything else is either not on my radar yet, has been postponed or has been completed. Will do a complete tally after my birthday I guess... Let's see how many I can strike until then. I am not holding my breath on completing them all though. But it's fun to have something to look forward to!!

40 Steps to 40: Three Months Update

I wanted to do an update after the first month, then the second, but they never happened due to brain failure. I simply forgot and then it was no longer the right time because I'm perfectionist like that. Even now, you have no idea how I am beating myself up for not having published this on February 10. I'm 4 days late, unacceptable!! Oh well, I'll just blame it on my dying neurons.

If you are not familiar with my "40 Steps to 40", take a look on the right... scroll down until you see the list. This is it. It all started with this post because why not? I crossed a few things off the list already and blogged about them. To recap, this is what I've been working on, or at least I think I will, soon:

2. Clean up my diet

Yeah, right. The "no carbs after lunch" regimen lasted for a month. Then I injured my hip (cue in emotional eating), my mom came over for the holidays, we all let loose during the end year celebrations and to make matters worse, we received a huge amount of chocolates as gifts... and we're still trying to finish them as I speak. Rocher anyone?

The best chocolate candy in the world, period.

However, I bought 2 new cooking books: Racing Weight Cookbook and Feed Zone Portables and I am trying to learn new recipes and introduce them into our diet progressively. Everything in moderation is the key. And maybe one day I'll finish those chocolates and declare myself sweets-free for another month or so... I just need to blissfully ignore Valentine's Day and then I should be good until Halloween.

3. Lose weight to reach 125lb
Which weight, this weight?

This is what injured/not training and the Holidays did to me. I own every single bite I put in my mouth and pound on that scale. For reference, my lowest weight - on race day - 131.5. Today 140.5. But I look at that last little hump and tell myself that I'm finally over it. It can only go down from there, literally!! I am closing on week 4 of Ironman training, there are 26 to go. Who knows what will be my weight on race day this year?

9. Swim 1000m with flip turns*
Done with a pull buoy. Will attempt again without a pull buoy when I feel a bit more comfortable with all the tumbling. Will keep working at them even though I still don't believe they are a necessary evil. But I bet my coach will be pleased.

10. Swim 4x50m medley non stop
Not there yet. I threw in a length of fly or backstroke whenever I felt courageous/bored, but I haven't worked on endurance yet. Especially for fly, I can do one length, but I'm not sure I can do two one after another. I already feel like death after the first. Is Zombie level next?

19. Read 5 books
One done, four to go. I started with the easiest one, it had lots of drawings. If you never read Allie Brosh's blog Hyperbole and a Half, you have to. Just trust me. She doesn't write very often these days, but I loved reading her book, which contains most of her blog content and more. Next is An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Cmdr. Chris Hadfield. It promises to be a page turner for sure.

20. Dye my hair at home
Done. I don't need to redo it yet, but I went as far as trying to buy a new box, but it was all sold out. Everyone likes my color!

21. Find 100 new geocaches
I thought about going out many times, but with the cold and so much snow covering the ground, I am not ready to freeze for DNF after DNF (Did Not Find).

22. Make a jar of something
I know what I want to make a jar of! I just need to buy the ingredients and arm myself with enough courage to cook them.

23. Make 12 new dishes
I made 8 new dishes so far! I will reveal the full list once I've made all 12. Almost there. With the new cookbooks, it should be easy.

25. Do something fun on New Year's Eve
Not quite my definition of "fun", but it was "different". We played Guitar Hero and drank champagne. Happy New Year everyone! Too late?

26. Go on a date night x 4
Ummmm.... 0 for 4 so far. Come'on, hubbs, we can do better than this! Biking side by side watching True Detective or the Olympics does NOT count.

27. Make something with my cork collection
I took the corks out of the box, but then I realized that I didn't have enough corks to make what I wanted. I counted 81 wine corks and 17 corks of champagne/bubbly in 13 years of boozing at home. Bottom line, we need to drink more. A lot more. At least I took a photo. It may not count as art, but it's the best I have so far.

29. Use my 10 classes Yoga pass
I went to two classes, I gave it my best, then I busted my hip. Many people believe that it was because of Yoga. I didn't shred the pass to pieces, even though I wanted to. I may use it for more "gentle" yoga classes. Do they have anything for pregnant ladies or seniors who had their hips replaced? Not that I'm pregnant or something... Don't get any ideas. But you get the idea.

32. Express gratitude for at least 40 days
I did it for 10 days, all in my written journal. I could have definitely done more, and I could have finished by now because there is plenty to be grateful for, but I didn't take the time to write. My bad. Maybe I'll get to 20 or 30 by the next update.

33. Host a party/BBQ with friends at home
We are organizing a run-and-brunch at my place this coming Sunday. This counts!! I will make sure to post pictures of the food spread and the courageous folks who will be braving -10C to get their run in and socialize with strangers.

37. Try a new food
Give me ideas!!

That's it, next one in three months. ;-) Or maybe I should aim for next month and the one after.... and forget again.

Advice to live by

A few days ago I came across a great list, originally published on the website Mind Body Green. It resonated with me instantly. As I was reading each of these "20 Things to Let Go Before the New Year", I kept on shaking my head. Yep. Yep. Yeppers. Again and again. I thought I'd share because I feel that it may help others who find themselves in the same funk as me at this time of the year. Enjoy!

No worries days with the ones you love are the best

1. Let go of all thoughts that don't make you feel empowered and strong.

2. Let go of feeling guilty for doing what you truly want to do.

3. Let go of the fear of the unknown; take one small step and watch the path reveal itself.

4. Let go of regrets; at one point in your life, that “whatever” was exactly what you wanted.

5. Let go of worrying; worrying is like praying for what you don’t want.

6. Let go of blaming anyone for anything; be accountable for your own life. If you don’t like something, you have two choices, accept it or change it.

7. Let go of thinking you are damaged; you matter, and the world needs you just as you are.

8. Let go of thinking your dreams are not important; always follow your heart.

9. Let go of being the “go-to person” for everyone, all the time; stop blowing yourself off and take care of yourself first … because you matter.

10. Let go of thinking everyone else is happier, more successful or better off than you. You are right where you need to be. Your journey is unfolding perfectly for you.

11. Let go of thinking there's a right and wrong way to do things or to see the world. Enjoy the contrast and celebrate the diversity and richness of life.

12. Let go of cheating on your future with your past. It’s time to move on and tell a new story.

13. Let go of thinking you are not where you should be. You are right where you need to be to get to where you want to go, so start asking yourself where you want to go.

14. Let go of anger toward ex friends and family. We all deserve happiness and love; just because it is over doesn’t mean the love was wrong.

15. Let go of the need to do more and be more; for today, you've done the best you can, and that's enough.

16. Let go of thinking you have to know how to make it happen; we learn the way on the way.

17. Let go of your money woes — make a plan to pay off debt and focus on your abundance.

18. Let go of trying to save or change people. Everyone has her own path, and the best thing you can do is work on yourself and stop focusing on others.

19. Let go of trying to fit in and be accepted by everyone. Your uniqueness is what makes you outstanding.

20. Let go of self-hate. You are not the shape of your body or the number on the scale. Who you are matters, and the world needs you as you are. Celebrate you!

(by Shannon Kaiser)

Winning at life!

Because I like making lists: 40 steps to 40

Did you know that in less than a year I'll be turning 40?

Yep, no matter what, 40 is happening. But how I get there, it's a different matter altogether. I want to turn 40 with a bang!! (I'll make sure to put that on the list by the way). Yes, I know that I've signed up for an Ironman, but I need some backup plans because shit can happen and then what?
Besides, if you dedicate your whole year to the Ironman and put on hold everyone and everything else, most likely you (that's me) will get alienated by the monotony of workouts and the constant focus on fitness. I think it is important for your psyche to keep a somewhat normal life around Ironman training because you never know when you're going to need to look back and say "this was not a complete waste of time". I've learned some lessons along the way...

I'm a big kid now

So I've made a list of 40 challenges, goals, stepping stones, whatever you want to call them, which should be enough to keep me busy in all situations. Half of them are fitness related because it just made it easier to fill up the list. The rest I got with help from friends, Pinterest and my bored mind. I want my 40s to be the best decade yet. Here we go. Deadline is September 18, 2014.

1. Finish Ironman Mt. Tremblant
2. Clean up my diet. I have a plan for that.
3. Lose weight to reach 125lb
4. Run a 5k race under 25min
5. Run a 10k race under 52min
6. Run a half marathon race
7. Complete a duathlon
8. Complete a 70.3 triathlon
9. Swim 1000m with flip turns
10. Swim 4x50m medley non stop
11. Swim with fins in open water for fun
12. Go skinny dipping
13. Bike to Niagara Falls and back
14. Bike to Blue Mountain and back
15. Bike the Caledon Trailway
16. Climb a mountain
17. Volunteer at a race
18. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
19. Read 5 books
20. Dye my hair at home
21. Find 100 new geocaches
22. Make a jar of something
23. Make 12 new dishes
24. Spend a whole day at the movies
25. Do something fun on New Year's Eve
26. Go on a date night x 4
27. Make something with my cork collection
28. Make a dreamcatcher
29. Use my 10 classes Yoga pass
30. Try paddle boarding
31. Learn how to roll sushi
32. Express gratitude for at least 40 days
33. Host a party/BBQ with friends at home
34. Ride the Leviathan rollercoaster
35. Ride the Behemoth with my younger son
36. Go fishing with my boys
37. Try a new food
38. Go to the reflexologist
39. Get a mani/pedi or a spa treatment
40. Turn 40 with a Bang!

This is a method to my madness. (I also put the list on the side so I can keep track more easily).
Everyone say hip hip hooray!