Taking the Reins

I’ve finally reached it.  That point where I’m fine with the number the metal devil is spitting out at me.  I’m fine with it, because I’m pretty darn happy with the way I look and feel!  Yes, the tummy pudge is still there, but it’s slowly, ever so slowly, creeping back.  I can wave hello or goodbye and not worry about jiggling in shame.  I wear tank tops and shorts without worrying what people think.  I can EAT stuff in front of people now without feeling ashamed…..yeah, I had a cookie.  I also burned 800 calories in my workout last night— what did YOU do? 

I never thought I’d get there, but I am.  I’m happy with myself.  I know I’m not perfect, but I’m healthy, and I’m fit.  And it’s only going to get better from here if I continue on the path I’m on.  I’m only 2 1/2 months into my beginner triathlon training program, and I’m already reaping huge benefits.  I’m so excited to see what is next!

 So with that satisfaction is the admission that I haven’t been counting points lately.  WW helped me lay a foundation for how I can eat, and what I can eat.  This is my baseline.  I know that I can’t eat pizza, donuts, or Chinese takeout like I did back in the day.  I get that deserts should be a rarity at restaurants.  And I’m fine with that!  But with all this working out, I have to eat a heck of a lot more points than I’m used to counting.  Today, for instance…..I had a 7-point breakfast, a 5-point protein shake for lunch with a 2-point bar, an 8-point PB&J after my workout, and 4-points worth of nutrition for my workout.  And then 2 points worth of snacks.  I think.  You see, I just don’t remember…..but I’m not eating excessively, and I’m staying in the healthy range of foods.  I think I’m going to go along with this for a while and see where it takes me.  I’ve held steady at this weight, plus or minus 1.5 lbs, since April, and clearly I’ve swapped some fat for muscle mass since then.  While I’ll have WW as my fallback, I don’t think I’m going to do my tracking tables like I once did……it just doesn’t work for me right now. 

 Anyway, there’s my confession. 

Tonight, I did 60 minutes of hill repeats.  We have a heinous trail outside of my house that has a continuous hill for 2 miles.  I literally bike up it at 11 mph…it’s that slow and painful.  I went up and down 4 times tonight, covering roughly 16 miles.  Wowzer!  It’s peak week.  I took it a little slower than usual so that I could sustain my pace, and aside from the rattlesnake crossing my path on the uphill on the 3rd climb, it was pretty uneventful.  Knees held up great, I didn’t feel nauseous (made sure to drink protein shake and eat a bar 1 hour before— really helped to get more than 100 calories down the hatch for this one), and I mostly enjoyed myself….except that my girl parts hurt again.  Why I can’t crack the code on this is beyond me.  Those crazy Ironman women are riding their bikes 108 miles after a 2.4 mile swim and before a 26 mile run—- if they can bike that long on their girl parts, surely my measly 16 miles should be painless?!!!

Thanks again for all the congratulatory posts on my tri race report.  I’m still really happy with my performance, but #2 is less than 2 weeks away and I’m already nervous.  It’s much longer and more difficult— just my luck!