A little announcement

After completing the last post, a month after the previous one, I realized I haven't let all 3 of my readers know (via the blog) what my June 9th plans are.  There is a fantabulous reason why I've been slacking on the blogging here lately.  Well, maybe not a fantabulous reason, but at least really good explanation.

You see, here lately, I have been on a pretty good sleep schedule.  I actually get tired around supper time, can feel my body start to slow down, and by the time children are in bed, the kitchen is cleaned and after whatever pressing matter has been addressed, I'm ready to crash.  And I've been crashing pretty soon, rather than watching TV for a couple of hours hoping to fall asleep any minute.

No, I'm not pregnant.  I might just be crazier.

Back in November, I randomly made a comment to Jim about setting a goal.  An exercise goal.  I am not an exerciser.  Periodically chasing children around the house, driving to and from school twice a day, sitting on the front porch while encouraging the children to play and an occasional trip to Wal-Mart walking up and down the grocery aisles because I can't find Knorr's seasoning does NOT constitute exercising.  No matter how much I've tried to convince myself that having 3 children is exercise enough, it just isn't.  And I finally came to that conclusion.

I also realized, after paying $10/month for a gym membership we had for over a year that I visited twice, exercise was not practical in the evening.  We turn into a single-family household which isn't fair to either one of us nor the children.  So, as much as I didn't want to admit it, a membership to the gym a mile away from our house, that offers childcare, was the only answer to my lack-of-exercising dilemma.

November 15, which I like to refer to as the Ides of November, was my Join date/Begin torture date/Hope to change my lifestyle date.

So back to that goal...

Jim, who is usually sooooo steady with his emotions, just about bust a lung when I mentioned my desire to participate in a Triathlon.  Now, I can tend to be a bit spontaneous, not thinking everything through, so I can see why he thought that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard when I mentioned it last year.

Well, I wasn't kidding, and he quickly realized that I had completely thought it out.  Race date, training schedule (which didn't mean more work for him), missing equipment, cost, time commitment, etc.  He was surprised I had done most of the planning quietly.  (I tend to blurt out ANY and ALL thoughts that remotely cross my mind, way before I've had time to think them through).  So, he quit laughing, sat up straighter, stopped what he was doing and said, "Ok, I support you."

Whoo hoo!

I think.

Oh that's right.  One thing I forgot to tell my husband was how convenient it would be to not tell anyone, that way if I get a month or two into this ordeal and I'm not really feeling up to it, I can just back out.  Right?

Oooops.

He must be secretly really proud of me because he has managed to tell 95% of the people we know that his wife will be participating in a Triathlon.  So guess what that means... Can't just back out because I don't feel like it.  Too many people know and will be questioning me if I don't.

At Christmas time, my sister-in-law was concerned I was going to kill myself.  No, that's not the plan.

I would say my "training" (and I use that term lightly) is going well.  Of the 3 days/week I make it to the gym, one of those days is what they call a Functional class (I consider it a strength training class), another day is strictly for running since that's my least favorite, and the third day is dedicated to cycling.  Swimming while cold outside is out of the question, so that's just now starting to get cranked up.

It's crazy what a little exercise does for the body.  I feel like I have more energy, my sleep patterns are fairly normal, Nathan gets a chance to socialize and get some energy out and I have noticed a slight change in my body.

So there you have it.  The reason my beloved blogging has been put on the back burner.

Just to clarify: I'll be running what's called a Sprint Triathlon which is 0.4 miles of swimming, 10 miles of biking and 3.1 miles of running.  This ain't no IronMan Tri (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26 mile run).  I haven't completely lost my mind.

June 9th is race day and my goal is to finish it, not win it.  I'll keep you posted.