The Almost Family Bike Ride

The plan was to get home from work, pick up the kids, eat dinner and then go for a family ride.
I left work.                                Check
I picked up the kids.                  Check
We all ate dinner.                       Check
We got our bikes all ready.        Check
Everyone in bike helmets.           Check
Two year old in the bike trailer.   Fail
There was a small meltdown that occured when the front net of the bike trailer was being put on which resulted in Dad staying home with the two year old while my son and I went out for a bike ride. We completed 5 miles. He just learned how to ride his bike a few months back and recently got a much bigger bike. He is a great rider but is still getting his bike legs and practice. Instead of going around the nearby school a zillion times we decided it was time for him to tackle riding in the neighborhood. We have a pretty busy neighborhood so we rode a little slower to make sure everything was good. I believe it was a win win for both of us. He got another milestone under his belt and I got a 5 mile ride. We both wished the whole family could have enjoyed it but maybe next time will go better.

My Plan for Week 3 of 15

Here is the plan for the week:

I Conquered The Day

Early this morning I did a mile walk. It was a relatively nice morning and I wanted to get out and put in some milage before it got scorching hot. Check mark for the first part of my day. After I got everyone fed for dinner this evening we went out for a very quick bike ride. The whole family...It was awesome to ride all together. I can't wait to do more of it. I love when we all get active together. We did about 2.6 miles. Nothing spectacular distance wise but the sun was going down so we had to hurry. My two year was so excited to ride in her chariot again she did not want to get out once we got home. On my schedule for the day on the triathlon training plan was a 35 min run/walk, so after the family got home I put on my running gear and went back out. It was much muggier on the run than the ride. My weather app said it was 85° degrees outside but it felt like 95°. I can believe it. I have to be honest I haven't run since the mud run the first weekend in May. I was afraid that I wouldn't be up to the challenge tonight. It was a walk 4 min then jog 3 min day. I was doing pretty well when my phone ran out of juice so I had to end my run 5 minutes short of my 35 minute plan but I did 2 miles in 30 min. I know that is super slow for most of you but I am just getting back in to this and running is still a work in progress for me. I must say that at the end of my run when I was dripping in sweat I felt like a million bucks, so I took a picture so you could experience my post run glow. LOL

And the BEST part of the whole day is when i got home and my two year old daughter asked "Mommy where you been?" I replied "I was out running." She looks and me and says "Mommy I proud of you!" Melted my heart and is the reason why I am getting off my duff and giving this all another shot.
I hope each of you have a day like this one real soon and I look forward to even better ones to come.

Questions: What makes you feel accomplished? Do you run/walk? Do find listening to music makes the time fly in a workout?

My Plan for Week 1 of 15

If I am going to do this race in October here is what my plan is for this week. SWIM - I have moved all of my swimming to the weekends so that it has a shot at getting done. I am not as worried about the swim as the other parts of the race so even if I just swim once a week I will feel pretty good about being able to cover the distance needed. In order to race I have to swim 400 meters which is 12 laps of a 25 meter pool. My goal is to build up to a 600-800 meter swim so that way I am covered. So far I have done a 200 meter swim in the pool but that wasn’t serious training. SWIM SCHEDULE - SAT & SUN - Warm Up 100 meters - 400 meters Freestyle - Cool Down 100 meters. BIKE - Now that I have the trailer all ready to go and a daughter that doesn’t mind riding in it the bike part should be easier. I am also going to set up the bike trainer in the garage. I am thinking that the bike will be the easiest part of the training to complete. We shall see. BIKE SCHEDULE - TUES & FRI - 6 miles SUN - 10 miles RUN - The run this is where I will need all of my willpower. I am not a huge fan of running. It is getting better bet the Texas heat sure doesn’t make me want to go outside and get my run on! At least it starts out with a nice run/walk. I think that I will be doing a run/walk no matter what. I get a little bit better times believe it or not with that short amount of walk recovery than just my jog plod along without stopping to walk. RUN SCHEDULE - MON & WED - Walk/Jog 35 min (4 min walk/3 min jog) SAT - Walk/Jog 50 min Hope you all have a great week! Questions: Are you training for an upcoming race? Do you have a partner to train with, a group or are you going it alone? What is your favorite exercise?

First Time In The Trailer

We finally got our bikes all tuned up. My son got a new bike as an early birthday present since he was in desperate need of a new one. Since he learned how to ride without assistance this year he wants to ride all the time now. Bike riding has always been my second love after swimming. So he doesn't have to twist my arm to get me to ride. The only thing usually holding me back is what to do with my two year old daughter. We have a bike trailer that we used when my son was little but the tires were flat and it needed work. In part of our tune up we got the trailer ready to go as well.

Tonight was the big night to try it out. We pulled out the helmets, bikes and the trailer. I assembled the trailer and my daughter was excited to try it out. I was nervous that she wouldn't like it. If she didn't my plans for training while bringing the kids along for some of my rides would be ruined. She thought it was really cool. She asked if it was her bike too. She has a red tricycle. I told her it was not her bike but her carriage. She couldn't quite say the word but she tried. She did let me know when she thought I was going too fast though. She liked the slow leisurely pace best and to repeat everything I told her brother along the way. Overall the ride was a success. Brother was happy to get time on his new wheels and my little lady enjoyed her first ride in the carriage. We only went 2.2 miles but the sun was fading fast and I was worried the trailer and its occupant would turn into pumpkins.

To Tri or Not To Tri...That Is The Question!

There is a triathlon at the end of October that I am seriously thinking of entering. It has been 4 years I believe since my last triathlon and that one was really hard. If I decide to sign up for the one in October I will have 15 weeks of training. Not sure that is enough. Right now I would consider myself slightly above couch potato but not by much. I have been trying to get more active. I have swam a few times lately and although it isn't pretty with atleast 1-2 sessions per week I am sure that I can knock out the 400 meter swim no problem. On the bike front I have gone on a couple of short rides with my son and it feels good to be on the bike. I just recently got my hybrid bike serviced so it is in shape to train. I plan to do a lot of my riding on it and build up to riding my road bike on the trainer for a while. It has been forever since I used my clips I want to get comfortable on them. My biggest fear is falling with the clips. Running was going really well the first part of the year and then life happened and it got hot here and I have had zero desire to run in the heat but I need to start up again. The running is by far my weakest part of the triathlon. Anyone got any good running tips for a non runner? Questions to ponder - If you were me would you do it? Anyone have any clip tips? What is a good running program for a non-runner? Anyone want to train with me virtually?