next up.. Ironman Coeur D'alene

So Ben and I decided to sign up for Ironman Couer d’alene about 2 months ago. We decided that an Ironman every other year is reasonable since it is such a sacrifice in every aspect of your life: Physically, emotionally, and financially. After taking the last year to get my body in working order again, I was eager to start training. We each took our experience from the last time round, and we each made our own training programs to suit ourselves. The funny thing is our training programs are COMPLETELY different. Not even a little bit the same. Which goes to show how those generic training programs on the internet are probably not the best approach. One major difference between out programs is that I have chosen to maintain going to Hot Vinyasa Flow yoga once a week. I went to my first hot yoga class when my chiropractor suggested it back in May, and I find myself seriously looking forwards to the class each week. If I miss a week my body feels it: my body feels tight, achy, and my asthma worsens. Hot Yoga is very addicting, and feels so good. Personally I think it has helped with my running a lot. Along with Yoga, I found my chiropractor this past year. I go once a month to get myself all aligned again, and seriously that is another aspect of my training that I think will become pivotal to my success. It’s been 2 months of base training where I’ve been working primarily on my running, with some biking and strength thrown into the mix, and I have NEVER felt so strong and so good. It is pretty exciting, and I attribute this to both Yoga and my Chiropractor.

I find that compared to the last time I started training, I have much more of a mental focus. I know how hard ironman is, I know my goals, and I know what it is going to take to achieve them. Also, Ben and I have both ditched the twice a day workout which I think definitely helps. Last time we trained for Ironman I think we just got way too burnt out in the first month and never really recovered. We learned there is a fine line between training and over-training and it is a tight rope that must be walked every day by every athlete, since normally we all just want to go out at the same intensity as the race every workout. But realistically that isn’t possible. I’ve learned rest days are important, and every training day cannot 5 km race pace. I find I have been relying on my heart rate monitor to hold me back, and I have really focused on warming up and cooling down.

I am really quite excited about this race. More excited than last Ironman where I was just SUPER nervous. I know I can do the darn thing, now I just want to do it better, and with less of a roller coaster.

Dear Pinterest

I haven't been inspired to write a blog lately, but I finally feel like I have something to say. Just like every other female, I have spent countless hours on Pinterest, mindlessly scrolling through "pins". My favorite thing to do on it is just click on "everything" and flip through all the stuff that other people have pinned.

Then today it dawned on me, Pinterest just illustrates everything that is wrong with the society we live in. It is a collection of people posting about the perfect home, the perfect wedding, the perfect love story, the perfect parent, the perfect body all while eating delicious food. I mean, really, is it ever possible to have all that? And what is perfection? does that make you happy? Because I don't know about you but I kind of like my not so perfect, but amazingly wonderful life.


So here is my letter to pinterest:


Dear Pinterest,

I have to admit, I have re-pinned countless recipes, home decorating ideas, and crafts from you. But here's the thing, you kind of make me feel bad about myself. The other night as I was scrolling through all the wonderful pictures, I was mesmerized by everything christmas (even though christmas is nearly 2 months away, I found myself getting lost in the christmas pins.) I was Imagining myself surrounded by christmas decorations that I will have created perfectly, while entertaining a small christmas party with wonderfully delicious appetizers on perfectly matching place settings, and I realized that right beside that recipe for delicious chocolate pound cake(that I was clearly going to make for my perfect christmas party)was a pin about how to loose 40 pounds in 40 days and it dawned on me: Pinterest, you promote the impossible image that the media imposes on society. This perfect life that everyone should strive towards. You're not entirely to blame, however, because the worst part is we all embrace it and seem to find it so important that we pin these images to an online board to come back to time and time again, and to share with others. Mostly things that we will never attempt to do or make. We create this board of pins which illustrate the perfect life, with hours wasted in our real life. The funniest thing is people post an exercise board right next to a recipe board. Now here is the thing, I am an athlete. I have had a hockey scholarship in the US, and I have completed Ironman Canada. I can swim 4 kilometers, bike 180 kilometers, and run a marathon.. all in the same day, but I will never look like this:

My husband and I eat healthy, and I workout 6 days a week, however, if I do happen to make have desert that others make I often feel guilty about it. Why? because like most females in society I want to be thiner, like those pictures on pinterest. Typically this is how it goes, wow I wish I could have a body like that oh but look at that delicious carmel popcorn recipe mmmm... foood. By no means am I over weight, infact typically I am quite happy with the way I look. But I can do lunges around a track and yet I will never have legs that look like this :

Life is short, and I shouldn't feel guilty about eating all some of this:

So pinterest I am breaking up with you. I am tired of seeing half naked girls, with shredded abbs beside the "tastes just like olive garden fetecinnie alfredo" 120000 calorie meal. I'm not entirely sure what I will do with those hours in the day I waste spend scrolling through all your glorious pins, but i'm sure it will be alot better spending time in my real life than pinning pictures about a perfect life.

Sincerely,
a recovering pinterest addict