Breath of Life Triathlon - Ventura, CA

     This weekend, Leonie and I headed up to Ventura, CA for a triathlon.  Leonie was running the Olympic distance and I was doing the Sprint.  The weather was absolutely perfect (perhaps a bit chilly early in the morning, but warmed up by the time we started).  

Leonie and I pre-race

Getting her gear set-up

Final adjustments before heading into the water

And they're off!!!  This is the 34 and under Olympic distance group.

     Leonie took 2nd Place overall for females (that's 2nd out of 119 females!) and 1st Place in her age group!!!  She's pretty much a stud :-)!  I finished 7th out of 25 in my age group and 42nd out of 128 females overall in the Sprint distance.  

Hopefully the website will post pictures soon, but for now, the above photos are all I've got.  

For those that remember, I ran my first sprint triathlon back in November and below you can see how I did when you compare the races...though it's difficult because the distances didn't match up exactly.  

Bluewater Triathlon - 7 Nov 2010

Swim (.6k) - 13:07 (23:51 min per km)

T1 - 3:31

Bike (15k) - 28:27 (1:54 min per km)

T2: 1:05

Run (4k) - 24:27 (6:07 min per km)

Total Time - 1:10:35

Breath of Life - Jun 26, 2011

Swim (.75k) - 14:28 (19:17 min per km)

T1 - 3:42

Bike (20.4k) - 45:30 (2:14 min per km)

T2 - 1:44

Run (5k) - 25:37 (5:07 min per km)

Total Time - 1:31:00

So, better on the swim and run and worse on the transitions and the bike.  Guess I know what I need to work on now!

What works for me doesn't have to work for you

Ok, kind of a long title, so I better explain.  In a world where we share everything online in forums, chat rooms, blogs, and websites, there is a TON of advice out there for how to lose weight and get into shape.  Whether you choose from any one of the exercise programs out there...such as

or you choose to come up with your own personal workout plan (which is what I do), the important thing is that it WORKS FOR YOU!  While it would be nice to see the models that advertise these different workout plans and think, "hey, if I just do this workout, I'll look like her", that is most often not the case!  

      The other important thing is that you find something that you enjoy doing!  If you have a lot more will power than me, good on you!!!  But I know myself and if I'm not having fun doing the workout, then chances of me sticking with it are slim to none.  Although some people love P90X, others cannot stand it and would rather get in the gym and do 3 hours of weight lifting a day!

     So, find something that keeps you motivated, regardless of what works for everyone else, and have fun!

The next thing is what goes INTO your body...some people can get away with eating cookies and chips and never see the numbers on the scale move.  Other people look at a cookie and gain weight!  You know yourself better than anyone else and how your body responds to caloric intake.  While there are literally THOUSANDS of diet gimmicks out there, most don't work.  And if we would just be patient with ourselves, weight loss is achievable.  You need a little less

a LOT more

and a few more

(gotta keep an eye on the fruit intake though, since it contains lots of sugar)

The best piece of advice I think I've heard (mostly from my dear sister, Jen) is to DRINK MORE WATER!!

I think finding a cool water bottle makes it easier for me to drink more water during the day!

Again, whatever you do, it has to work for you.  Listen to other people's advice, but do so with the understanding that we are all different.  You might gain muscle faster than I do, even if we did the exact same workout.  I might be able to sneak in an extra cookie or two, while you can't even be near one!  We are all DIFFERENT!