My dad is a caveman.

My dad is the guy who welds stuff for all the other guys in the neighborhood, lends out tools, loves to barter, and workity work work. And eat my mom's food. And cruise Ebay for boat parts.

My dad has moved his body quite a bit in his lifetime.  He is somewhere in his seventh decade, has huge rough hands, and is crazy strong.  He all at once owned his own business, and worked a full time job as an metal model maker at Chrysler, one of the Big Three automakers in Michigan.  He has always had a wicked strong work ethic.

He built our house from the ground up.  He taught me how to lay brick and reroof a house like all the other ten year old girls.   He even knows how to operated the scoopy move-the-earth thingy and a high-lo.

One thing he is not, is a life long exerciser. In the past, work was his exercise.

As for other family members and exercise habits, I have always enjoyed sports and body moving, from age of 5 to the present day, it is my therapy.  Working is when my dad is happiest.

My brother, also a caveman, is instantly good at everything he tries (annoying!) and is more of a sit-ups, push ups type guy, who weighs exactly the same as he did in high school (double annoying!) and has a permanent six pack, eats whatever he wants, AND is a smoker.  We can talk about that another time...

My mom has always kept moving and "loves her Denise Austin", bikes, walks, yoga-cises, and works out with me online twice a week.  She is also crazy strong, but doesn't like to mess up her hair or get "too sweaty".

I never really thought my Dad would be interested in exercise.  But I was wrong.

He unfortunately had a whack EKG in 2008, and was immediately admitted for an angioplasty and had a stent placed in his heart.  We have a strong history of cancer and cardiac disease on his side of the family.  He is a survivor of bladder cancer as well.  

He came through like a champ, but it sucks to see your dad in the hospital.  He had the option to go to cardiac rehab but didn't go.  I remember feeling worried and really hoping he'd change his lifestyle but also knowing that lasting change has to be his idea.  That is true for all of us.

He had another catheritization and more stents in 2010, and lo and behold this tough-salt-of-the-earth-rather-be-working-than-doing-anything-else-guy... went to cardiac rehab!  Consistently, and no surprise to me, made connections and friends there.  

This inspires me because you never know when someone is going to change.  It is a reminder to always leave the room and possibility for people to make a different choice.  Always have faith, and be a cheerleader. 

Anyway, my dad is amazing, tough, hard working, and generous with his time.  

He has not been 100% consistent since 2010, but he always gets back to it.  He still works out and now has free gym access part of his medicare benefit, hooray for Silver Sneakers, and hooray for my dad!  Work still takes priority, but exercise is now something he calls familiar.

A GOOD YEAR: Keep on truckin'

This is one of Cathy's last blog posts for her GOOD YEAR experiment of finding health that is sustainable.  SO I am proposing a new challenge to her, but also looking for a new candidate for a year long health overhaul.  Are you or someone you know ready to make small changes over a long period of time?

Email me at beth@gotrainingwithbeth.com if you or someone you know is all in!

This is Cathy's May/June summary.  We did make a monthly plan that included travel plans and ideas, and how many days are fair to expect to workout out while away from home.May was a huge traveling month for Cathy, and June was a journey to take some next steps for her low back, read on!

In May, I traveled for almost three weeks. The trip took me from Kalamazoo, MI to Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, GA. I would apologize when I show up at a friend's house to stay because my suitcase was huge and ridiculous. Moving it was serious strength training in and of itself.

I planned super carefully before the trip to keep up with my fitness routine and even joined Anytime Fitness so I had access to a gym everywhere I went. Ironically, the locations in Charlotte and Atlanta that were most convenient were also closed for renovations. No matter! I still got outside and got outside to walk a lot.

The entire trip was fantastic but the Atlanta leg was big for me. I went down to visit my friends and test out how it felt to be back in a city that was home for a long time. I moved down right after graduating from Michigan State for a job at an aeronautics manufacturing company. The intent at that time was to stay long enough to get some good work experience and then move back to the Detroit area. Thirteen amazing years later I finally found myself leaving a city I love, not because I wanted to relocate, but because I needed a lot of propping up from my family (biological family and friends-forever family).

I came back down twice in 2013. The first time to pack up my apartment and move everything into storage and the second time to visit with friends. Across both visits I was incredibly tense and anxious and found myself reliving a lot of the darker moments in recent history in my head.

This visit, however, was 100% enjoyable - I saw friends, stuck to my healthy routine, and even got a lot of walks in!  My friends were amazing - they went out of their way to go on walks with me, plan hiking adventures, and make sure I had food that fit my plan. The trip helped me realize that how truly fortunate I am to have such wonderful people in my life across the country.

Sweetwater Creek State Park - Great hiking trails with a great family! (I didn't take this picture but it was totally that pretty!)

When I got back from my trip i had another gnarly back flare up in May... then three weeks later in June. By that point, I was pretty fed up. So I finally went to a orthapedic surgeon and now have two weeks of physical therapy under my belt. It's been three weeks since my last flare up - a new record!

I also reworked my work station to put myself in a better ergonomic situation after some confessions to Beth about working from the recliner. Working at home has a lot of benefits, access to casual seating, it turns out, is not one of them.

Feeling better physically has made a huge difference in my perspective. I've talked about the power of pain before. When my back is out, it is crippling physically and emotionally. I still managed to stick pretty closely to my sugar free/no processed food lifestyle but did have a few days where the need for ice cream was stronger than my will power. Fortunately, with this lifestyle makeover I no longer give up completely when I experience minor setbacks and yeah, so a Dairy Queen cone and sprinkles found there way into my belly (read = processed and high in sugar) - I'm back on my game and on track.

My weight has remained flat - both a surprise and relief - and my enjoyment of exercise remains. I'm doing cardio four days a week and strength training twice a week at physical therapy. I'm focused mostly on upper body but it's a start and that feels good.

In addition, I'm back to yoga again and even got through my first vinyasa class the other day! Vinyasa is a more vigorous form of yoga that left me sweating at the end of class with sore muscles the next day. I have really come a long way with yoga this year. When I began this adventure, I found it so difficult to quiet my mind for any length of time and could not mentally let go in order to enjoy the class. But when I went this past Sunday I noticed I didn't have racing thoughts while I was there. I am able to listen to my breath, hear the instructor's voice, and relax. If the occasional stray thought does appear, I simply acknowledge it and let it go.

My next goal is to start meditating briefly throughout the day. I'm still guilty of clenching up pretty much constantly and while yoga gives me a break, there are still 23 more hours in the day. I've found that when I do meditate, even briefly, I can let that go and in those quiet and still moments, find real relaxation.

With all of this, I've felt so good and feeling good translates to steps forward! With that, my latest milestone has arrived.. I've found a fabulous pet friendly apartment that is walkable to a really nice litte downtown area here in Michigan. I move in August and can't wait for this next step. I was really, really torn between staying in Michigan and going back to Atlanta. This was especially tough after my trip in May because it really felt like home to be there. Having said that, Michigan is where I want that to be for the next step and I'll see what comes after that.

So where does that leave me? Careening toward then end of my GOOD YEAR! I began this adventure back in July of 2013 and I can't wait to reflect on all that can happen in 365 days!

Blue Lake Triathlon and Hagg Lake Swim RACE REPORTS

Double Race Report coming at ya!

Race List this year:
March 16 - Shamrock Run 8K: DONE!
April 6th - Beaver Freezer Duathlon - 12 mile bike, 3 mile run : DONE!
May- might have to look for a 10K in here. I had lots of stuff to do this month, including 2 vacations and a little cold. Glad in retrospect no races here.
June 7th - Blue Lake Sprint Triathlon: DONE!
June 15th - Hagg Lake Olympic Distance Swim: DONE!
June 27th - Pacific Crest Triathlon Olympic Distance Triathlon
July- Going to work something in this month!
August 22-23 - Hood to Coast Relay (Each person runs several legs and each runner does anywhere from 16-26 miles total…unique event to train for) If this doesn't pan out that's ok…
September 21 - Half-Marathon Beat the Blerch in Washington
October - hmmmm. Maybe need to scout out something here.

Two more races under my belt for the summer!

I had to through the fear quote out there, because this is the FIRST TRIATHLON I didn't feel a fear nugget at the beginning.

I felt able.

In the past, I was totally intimidated but pushed on anyway!  I am so proud of the Beth that plunged into the water for the first time in 2004.

And the difference is all the swim help I have had.  I believe this was the 12th outdoor triathlon I have done. My usual approach to race season would go as such: I just barely get in enough swimming to remember what water was and how you move in it.  This season I really wanted to improve and I have been swimming pretty consistently since late February, and a lot of those swims had coaches.

For my first triathlon of the season, I chose a sprint. This is the shortest length of race in the world of triathlon and a great intro to the season for me.  This particular race is considered one of the season openers here in the Pacific Northwest.

Sprint triathlons consist of a swim between 500-800 meters, then take a 12-15 mile biker, and end with a 5K.

The Blue Lake Triathlon had an extra grand feature:  a My First Tri division, with a shorter but still challenging swim that was 400 meters, or a quarter of a mile.

The biggest hurdle for any new triathlete who did not spend time on a swim team is the first leg of the triathlon.  Offering a slightly shorter swim let's first timers get the challenge, but not be overwhelmed.  Well done, Blue lakers!

Other fine features of Blue Lake:

• Super duperly well organized
• Pretty much closed to traffic fast and flat bike course
• Cozy water temp!  I wore a wetsuit but was quite comfortable
• Kept announcing swim course over and over again, which is helpful!
• Nice tree-filled park with shade 
• Parking close to race so didn't have to haul goods to far
• Covered pavilions close to transition area nice spot to stretch and warm up prior to race
• Not too overstimmy, sometimes a race site has jock jams so loud your nervous system feels overloaded!

This year I joined the Portland Triathlon Team.  Not my first tri team experience, but definitely my best!  I bought a kit this year which is just a name for a tri-suit.  You can wear ANYTHING to a triathlon really but a kit can be nice if you are serious enough to do several in a year and see yourself continuing in the world of triathlon BECAUSE it is the only gear you will need for the day working as a swimsuit, and has built in bike shorts, and pockets for fuel.

Here I am decked out in my gear!

Let me tell you all the reasons I am so glad I joined the tri team here in Portland.  

1.  Wearing this get up you get extra boosts of verbal encouragement from the 300 other members of your team.  I may not know all their faces, but their is a cheering reciprocation that is so nice to have and give! And abilities range from sponsored to first timers, but mutual support and respect flowing every which way.

2.  Having access to info on coached swims has been really great for my swimming! I have shaved off a few minutes and GAINED a lot of confidence in the world of swimming.

3. Lots of workouts in Portland to be a part of!  Many bike rides, run, and swims to join.

Breaking down the race, my goals included a good set-up, and warm up, to PR my swim, and to finish on the super amazing end in 1 hour 30 minutes, and the super proud end 1:45 minutes.  I was hoping for an 18 minute swim and came close! I was also hoping to start moving towards the top ten in my age group and was thinking top 15...and I came in 16th...by 5 seconds!

The SWIM!

Swim start was great, headed straight for the first buoy with a good line, with buoys 2 and 3 I got off course a bit and lost a little time.  Too stay calm and focused, I break down my swim buoy by buoy, just thinking about my next mini goal in the water.  One of the biggest challenges is staying calm at the start and hitting that first buoy and it seems once I round buoy one I get into a nice rhythm. My swim time was 18:29, about a 2:20 pace per 100 meters,  in the past my swims have been 22-24 minutes in length.  I know I can better that with some better sighting and staying on a good path from buoy to buoy.

The BIKE!

Fast and flat is this course! OOOH yea! There is another triathlon here later in the summer and I may do it to see if I can best my time.

Biking into a head wind, I maintained about 15-17 miles an hour going out the first six miles of the bike course, and on the way back with the wind scooting me along my speed was 18-20 miles an hour.  Felt great but my toes were going numbskiddle-do, because of my tiny shoes!  My average speed was 17.3 miles an hour and I feel really great about my time.

The Run....mwah mwahhhhhhh!

SO I forgot to start busting out my new biking shoes because I had to put the cleats on.  In my mind, this seemed like a daunting task, but it took less than 5 minutes with the assist of the You Tubery. Essentially, I had the same issue I had during my April duathlon: a very painful foot calf region for the duration of the run.  My elfin bikers really limit toe spread, which was not to much of an issue until I started wearing a more "barefoot"type  shoe that is foot shaped with a wide toe box and zero drop.  I also am using correct toes to head off the beginnings of a bunion in my right foot.

Oh, need a little pedi love, but really, LOOK HOW THEY ARE sooooo POINTED!
Not a foot shaped shoe! See how my fourth and fifth toe are looking at it angrily!

Look at the angle of the left side of my new shoe on the left!
They are a little bigger period, so much better!

I am not sure if the picture shows the outer angle of the right shoe but...ouch!  Anyone know an elf in need of riding shoes!

I have corrected the issue and am enjoying better post-bike ride runs.  But that day, it felt bad, just felt like my lower leg was filled with rocks and mud, and there was no free and easy to be found.  Thank goodness it was a 5K, I broke it down and peeled off the painful miles.  At the 1.5 mile turn around a BUNCH of Portland Tri Team volunteers cheered me on and up, and I pushed through the last chunk to take it home.  My time was 32:00 minutes for the 5K, not terrible, but not the pace I have seen in my training runs.  My running pace was a 10:17 minute mile.  That's fine!

I have also had a lot of ankle-ish issues with my barefoot transition, consistently doing too much, too fast. Now I see spending any time at all in my riding shoes has been not good for my feet period, especially running.  MY next move to make my tri life better is to snag beefier shoe that has a less of a drop and to throw it into my quiver of available running shoes.

Muppet smile!

I was grateful to be done and to make it so this doesn't happen again!

Here is a summary of my overall time, and transitions.  I was 5 seconds away from the top fifteen of my age group!   My swim to bike transition was slow because I was trying bring life to my feet, room for improvement there.

HAGG LAKE 1.2 mile SWIMMER!

A very chill, very sweet atmosphere at the open water swim.  No air horn to start, 5 second countdown and I finished a 1.2 mile swim! My longest distance ever! Sorry no at-the-race pics, but kinda ran out the door to get to the Hagg Lake sight, little less than an hour outside Portland.  Here is sleepy face before hitting the road!

Wake up in front of house before the ride out to Hagg Lake.

There is also a tri out here in July, which looks to be a hilly but beautiful ride.

I finished in about 47 minutes, had to stop completely due to another swimmer edging me off course, and just let them go in front.  I also let that frustrate me a bit.  Good one to learn on. Once again, better control of my line would help a lot here. But I am pumped I wasn't too far off my pace in the Blue Lake Triathlon.  I am just over a week away from a great race, the Pacific Crest Olympic distance, and hope to keep up that 2:20-ish pace or, OR even a bit better!