Anaticula - (Half) Ironfish in the making

[Anaticula]

This challenge will end just before the Half Ironman I signed up for.  Now, I have realized that I most likely will not be able to finish the race, however, I have the time between now and then to train and see just how far I can make it.  So for this challenge I will focus on training.

 

Goal One: Swim, Bike, Run - Each day (with the exception of a rest day) I will do one of these three things.  The weather is warming up, so I should be able to swim outside again without it being too cold.  The sun is setting later, so I now have time to run or bike after work.  I'll likely also attend a class here and there, and I will let myself count RPM or spin class as my bike ride, but the goal is to push myself enough to be able to go as far as I can when April 19th arrives.

 

Goal Two: Mindful Eating - I have a bad habit of eating while I do other things, read, watch tv, etc.  For this challenge, when I eat I will focus on eating.  I will (whenever possible) actually sit down at a table and enjoy my food.  I will think about what I am eating and I will stop eating when I am not hungry.   

 

Goal Three: Post - I find that the challenges where I posted daily were the ones I did best on. This challenge I had a lot going on in my life and I let my posting slack.  By not posting here I lost track of my goals a few times. Posting here daily (or at least 5 times a week) will help me to keep a better eye on how things are going for me.  I'm also going to keep up with other people's challenges this go round.  I find that reading how others are doing is very inspirational and I've missed seeing what you all have gotten up to over the last challenge.

 

Side Quest: Moving Day - If all goes well with the house purchase, I will be moving half way through this challenge. My side quest is to toss out the things I don't need before I move, so that my new house will not be full of clutter. After the move I will actually unpack everything so that I am not living out of boxes for the rest of the year.

 

Races: Here are the races I currently have signed up for

• Q50 Marathon - March 1st
• Shamrock Run - March 14th
• New Orleans Triathlon - March 29th
• Color Run - April 4th
• Half Ironman - April 19th
• Grandman Triathlon - May 30th
• Girl Power Triathlon - September 27th

 

 

[elril]

Damn, that is a lot of races.  Good luck!  I scoffed when you mentioned "almost warm enough to swim outside" .   I was watching guys with 3 foot chainsaws cutting holes in the ice on the lakes this past weekend...

[Anaticula]

Haha, I'm from south Louisiana, I don't much care for cold weather.  On the few occasions it snows here my whole state shuts down in a panic,

[Hornbeam]

Wowzers. Big year and a great challenge! Subbed.

[blkhole24601]

Following for awesome, as always! And best of luck with all your races (seriously, you're an inspiration!!) and moving! Moving's always a pain especially when you're training, but it's not impossible!! Can't wait to see how you do this challenge!

[awesomesue]

So many races and great goals too!  I think you will do better than you expect for the half ironman.  Moving is so much fun.  We tossed things before we packed.  Tossed things as we packed.  Tossed even more when unpacking wondering why we kept this or that item.  

 

Stay focused.  You can and will do it!  I am excited to wee how it all goes.

[awesomesue]

Must have been thinking about your date post.  LOL  I am not excited to "wee" how it goes BUT I am excited to see how it all goes.

[Anaticula]

Haha, no wee on this date coming up I hope.  I'll post here about how it goes.  I figure even if I don't meet a guy I'd get in a serious relationship with I'll at least be entertained.

[Ambisagrus]

I just came over from the Druids and there were several of us discussing a mindful eating group for this challenge. I haven't seen it come up yet, but it looks like a common trend!

[Syren]

Yay Grandman! I'm still working on my ankles. Not sure if I will be up for that epic bike ride or run.

 

As for the swim... er, I have my apprehensions about Mobile Bay.

[T2sarahconnor]

Great challenge. Your race list makes me tired just looking at it! Can wait to read all about it.

[Anaticula]

So not much to post yet as day one is still early, but I'm determined to make a post.  I'll be going to the gym this evening, so nothing yet on the exercise front.  Food wise I've started paying attention to what I eat.  Had some marshmallows left over from the party and started to eat one this morning without thinking, but remembered that I'm trying to eat better, so I tossed it and the rest of them. No news yet on the moving front, and I probably won't hear anything for a while. I am planning to get some boxes soon and to start sorting stuff and boxing it up. There is no reason I can't begin tossing things now.

 

So this weekend was amazingly fun. I had my party Saturday and my date Sunday and both went really well. Saturday was the Murder Mystery Party and everyone seemed to have a blast. A few people were able to solve the mystery and find the correct killer. And everyone had a good time playing their roles.  It was interesting seeing my groups of friends get together, and it went as well as can be expected. One couple did have to bring their toddler along, and she got upset when we played the balloon stomp game because she wanted all the balloons, but other than that we all had a good time.  I'm going to host another one sometime in the future, most likely once I move to the new house, as my home was a little small for all those people. The last of the guests didn't leave till around 11 pm (the party started at 6) as we played Cards Against Humanity after we solved the mystery. I think people would have stayed later had it not been for someone spilling their drink on the table causing us to have to put the game away and clean up the cards.  On a side note, clearly the CAH designers expected drinks to be spilled on the cards, because they were super easy to clean and aren't sticky at all. Did a bit of cleaning after the party and called it a night at midnight.  The cats woke me up at 4 and wouldn't let me get back to sleep, so I finished cleaning up the house and put all my furniture back where it belongs. I had arranged to meet my date B at 10 at a coffee shop a couple of blocks from where I live.  Neither of us drink coffee, but we didn't know where else to meet. It was supposed to rain, so our original plan of meeting at a near by hiking trail didn't work out.  Plus as I only knew him from online my friends seriously advice me against meeting him at the trail, given my date the previous week, I agreed. (You can read about that date here, it was interesting even though he was a little off. ) I ended up getting to the coffee shop a little early, and grabbed a lemonade.  I then waited outside at one of the tables for him. He sent me a text when he arrived and I told him where I was.  He was cute, although as he's about 11 years older than me he's going grey. We ended up just talking about random things for an hour, then as traffic was loud because the coffee shop is near the main road I suggested we move to the nearby park to finish talking as it's quieter. We went there and chatted for another hour.  After that he headed back to his place and I headed off to meet with my D&D group. We talked about a lot of different things and seemed to get along really well. We didn't flirt any as quite frankly I've no clue how to flirt and he seems to be a fairly serious person, but we still had a great time chatting.  As we parted we discussed meeting one weekend at either the Tickfaw park hiking trail we originally planned to meet at or at the Tammany Trace to go on a bike ride.  He doesn't have a bike but there is a place near the trail that rents them and he said he's going to see if they rent bikes with child seat attached so he could bring his daughter along too (she's three). I enjoyed it and had a really good time.  I'm looking forward to meeting with him again. We didn't discuss when we were going to next meet.  Later that night when chatting with a friend she insisted I needed to ask him to a movie to see if he was actually interested or not. I don't know why it's more important to go to a movie and why just meeting for the bike ride isn't good enough, but I did and Tuesday of next week, we're going to catch a movie.  I've no clue what's playing and she's told me I have to wait for him to suggest the film. So I've no idea what we'll be seeing. I'm hoping this was good advice, as I've never really dated much. At any rate, I'm glad I'll be seeing him again. Even if it is for a movie instead of a bike ride or hike. 

[blkhole24601]

Wooooo!! Glad your party went spectacularly and that you had a good date. And no worries about the flirting -- sometimes it's better to let it happen naturally than to force the flirt, take it from this awkward panda! This is the best advice I can give; I'm no good at the whole dating thing, I just mostly make it up as I go along. ;;;;;;;

 

And I do think the CAH designers to make their cards as indestructible as possible given the nature of the game.  

[Anaticula]

I agree, haven't dated all that many people, and I tend to be a fairly straight forward person, so all her tips about don't text him first, make him chose the movie, he always has to drive to meet you instead of you meeting him seem kind of dumb to me. I figure he drove to meet me this time I can drive out to meet him next time, it's not a big deal, plus with traffic from BR to Hammond on a weeknight, having him drive to me would add an extra hour to his trip, where as it'll only take me 25 minutes to get to Denham. I'll just have to see how the flirting goes and figure that out as I go along. Personally I figured that as he mentioned bringing his daughter along on the bike ride, that was his way of showing he was interested, I mean I don't think most people bring their kids along on dates unless they actually like the person and want to see how they get along with their children.

[Anaticula]

Day One Check in:

 

Swim, Bike, Run: I meant to go jogging after work, but my mom asked me to come over, so I ended up at her house helping her on something and before I knew it it was dark, so yesterday has become my rest day for the week.  I have to make sure I exercise every other day this week.  Planning on RPM and Core Strength tonight at the gym.

 

Mindful Eating - I did fairly well.  Not great, but not off to a bad start.  I managed to stop eating when I wasn't hungry at supper last night and to not go for seconds because they were tasty even though I wasn't hungry.  At lunch I ate without playing on my phone the whole meal, which is unusual for me. Also, I spoke with a co-worker after work yesterday evening, and we ended up chatting about dieting in the halls for a good 45 minutes.  I have read up on the Whole Food 30 many times, but never had the will power to give it a try.  I was discussing it with her, and she's going to look into it.  We are considering giving it a try together as we will be able to offer each other support, because I hear the first 15 to 20 days on in are awful and want to make you quit so much. I think if we can support each other through it I'll give it a go. 

 

Post - Here I am, holding myself accountable today. I've also read a few other people's threads and added a comment or two.  I'm doing my best to get back into posting on other people's challenges, because I know that having people comment on mine, or even just liking a post, helps me out. Last challenge I didn't really get to keep up with anybody. Going to do better on that this round.

 

Moving - Nothing much on this front yet.  I'm still in the process of getting all my furniture and all put back into place after this weekend. I am becoming a bit worried about the house though.  I received my insurance quote and it's much more than I anticipated. Instead of being $100 a year it will be $600 a year.  And that's if I go with a $5,000 deductible. Although I'd love to have a place that is actually mine the price has jumped per month once more and I'm getting into prices I didn't want to consider. I'm now wondering if it is worth it or if I should look for a cheaper place, or maybe just rent for one more year and try again later. Going to really have to think on this.  I'd hate to back out of the deal, but with all the complications coming up I'm beginning to wonder if this is a sign I shouldn't be getting the place and should hold off instead.

 

In other news, someone at the party let it slip to my coach and his wife that I'm Wiccan, as they are very Christian, I'm worried this could end up causing problems. I usually keep my religion to myself because I live in the Bible Belt and any religion other than Christian is considered to be evil. Hopefully they will realize that I'm the exact same person I was before they found out my religion, and if not, well I can either find a different trainer if he feels this will cause problems or I can start training myself. Going to just wait and see how it goes.  If they don't bring it up I won't either.  In other, other news, the guy I met the weekend has been texting me less, and so even though I had a good time chatting this weekend I'm now wondering if he's decided he isn't interested and is trying to figure out the best way to tell me.  Hopefully it's just that he's busy, but if he isn't interested, again it's not something I can do anything about and I'll just have to keep looking. I know that neither of these things are actually an issue anywhere other than in my mind yet, but I often worry about things like this. Just going to have to wait and see what happens.

[blkhole24601]

If your trainer is as cool as you've made him seem over the past few challenges -- or at least if he's as professional as he ought to be -- I doubt it'll be a problem at all, but I do understand the fear being a non-Christian/polytheist myself! As for the guy, I wouldn't read too much into it. Like you said, maybe he's just busy.

 

Keep on keeping on!

[T2sarahconnor]

Waiting for someone to text or call is the worst. Hopefully he will let you know,if there isn't a spark. You will probably find out if he cancels before the movie. If he cancels put it on him to contact you. Guys aren't good at saying they are not interested. Most just ignore. The main thing is,that you are putting yourself out there. There is nothing wrong with having new experiences with new people even if you don't end up clicking. So proud of you! Keep being true to yourself and not playing games. This way someone wants to spend time with you, not who you are pretending to be.

[Anaticula]

Day Two Check in.

 

Yesterday was stressful, but it turned out that many of the things I stressed over weren't a big deal. Coach and his wife haven't brought up the Wiccan thing, and I actually ended up chatting with her through text for a while. She is trying to start a home business of cooking food for any of the clients who would like to order it, and she's doing mostly (but not 100%) paleo stuff. I've ordered a few things from her, and that's going to help me with my eating issues I think.  I'll have food at home already that I just have to toss in the microwave, so I won't be tempted to eat out as much. Plus I don't have to cook myself when I get home.  I think this is the perfect step to get me to eating better. I'm not buying every meal from her, but I've picked up enough things to cover a few days. My brother is really excited about it too as he is starting to try to eat a little healthier also. Last night after the gym I picked up my meals, I got whole wheat spaghetti with turkey meat balls and green beans, and it was awesome.  I have tortillaless tortilla soup ( ) for supper tonight, and I picked up oatmeal and yogurt from her for my brother.  I'm not a fan of either of those, so I got egg and mushroom muffins for me. So far everything has been really good. It would be cheaper for me to cook this stuff on my own, but seeing as I know I'm not likely to I'd rather pay her than continue eating out every night. I'm also doing better with portion control, and stopped eating when I was full as opposed to finishing off the bowl.  It is hard to think about doing nothing but eating while I eat, but when my brother offered to put on a movie while we ate I told him not to, I suspect that if he had I would have kept eating even though I was full.

 

I headed pretty much straight to the gym after work, and went to RPM class.  I actually managed to pedal with the music a few times, which I've never been able to do before. I wasn't able to keep up for very long each time, but to me the fact that I was able to keep up at all for a few moments was awesome. It was a tough class as the instructor used her favorite tracks from several different groupings, and she likes the hard tracks. I did debate skipping Core Strength and calling it a night, but I figured I'm already there, I might as well go the whole way.  Managed to make it through core class, even though it was completely exhausting.  There were a few exercises I simply was not able to finish and I simply lay on the floor breathing for a bit before trying them again.  I wasn't the only one who had to do this, and I know that if I keep going I'll gradually get better at it, so I'm glad I stuck it out. 

 

Ended up texting B (the guy I went out with) and chatting for a bit, so again, I was worrying for nothing, he was apparently just very busy. I know I worry needlessly over things, but after not dating for so long I can't really help it. 

 

Today will be a bit chaotic, as I've meetings and a company lunch to make it through, then a homework assignment to finish tonight. I think even with everything going on today will still be less stressful than yesterday.

[awesomesue]

Good idea with the food if it helps!  Eating with the tv on is challenging to being mindful.  We eat in the living room because the kitchen is so small.  So when I worked on eating slower and stopping when done I ended up focusing so much on what I was doing and not paying much attention to the tv.  I enjoy focusing on what I was eating.  LOL  Or I would use the tv to help pace out the meal.  Watch an entire scene before taking another bite for example.  Strange but it worked for me.  In general I ignore the tv while eating since I enjoy eating slower and paying attention to the food.  At the same time I find now if I do get absorbed into a show or scene I quit eating altogether.

[elril]

The voices in our head are either our greatest allies or worst enemies.  I just with the bastards had to wear their colors or something so I could tell them apart...

[18ck]

Well, you're certainly posting regularly! You seem to have a lot of momentum going on and you're making good use of your time. I like that you left your date to go and play D&D. That is the correct priority! Also good that your coach isn't being ridiculous about your difference of belief.

So... Marathon in less than a week eh?

[Anaticula]

Day Three

 

Didn't get to make it to the gym last night as I had a homework assignment I needed to do.  Managed to get a start on it, then my friends called me up to say they were doing an online D&D session.  I didn't finish the homework and am working on it today, but now I feel like I skipped the gym for no reason. Going to try to get a really long walk/jog in tonight to make up for yesterday. 

 

Food wise I am doing okay, the soup my trainer's wife made was awesome, and when I get to a point where I'm ready to start cooking I'm going to have to get the recipe from her. I do cook occasionally, but I don't do it very often. Mostly because I know that when I do cook I'm not going to be making anything healthy at all. It's something I need to work on.

 

Classes are very chaotic right now as I've a big project coming up and I'm now running behind on my regular homework.  I think that I'm going to have to go for my walk right after work, then put everything else I'd like to do tonight or tomorrow night on hold until I can get this project done. 

 

Saturday I'm working the water booth for the Q50 ten mile race.  I have to be there pretty early in the morning. As the race will start around 7 or so.  Some people are planning to make a weekend of it and camp out as there is another race the next day.  I won't be able to join them though, I was planning to grab a long bike ride and then head home to do more work on this project before heading out in the morning, but unless things go well tonight and tomorrow I'll have to skip the bike ride.  Sunday is my marathon I'm looking forward to it. Word is that it will be raining, and that even if it doesn't rain the trail has standing water in a few spots, so I'll be bringing extra socks and shoes to change into after the race. The loop around the park is 13.1 miles, so I just have to do it twice. I know that the hardest part will be convincing myself to start the second loop as I'll be tired after the 13 miles, but once I get started I'll have no choice but to finish as I have to make it back to the starting line. (In all honesty, if something happened that I could not finish there likely are places I could be picked up, or short cuts I could take, but I'm telling myself this isn't possible so that I'll finish.) At any rate, even with the rain predicted I'm looking forward to it.

 

And elril, God yes, I know about the seeming impossibility of telling the voices of reason and doubt apart. Wish it was much easier to do so. The colored shirts would help a lot.

[Anaticula]

Day Four

 

Eating - I did horrible yesterday. I was craving ice cream and tried not to give in all day, but when I hit the store to shop for supper I grabbed a pint and ended up eating all of it. I've got to find something better than ice cream for when those times hit.  I've heard of ice cream made with coconut milk, has anyone tried this? Is it any better for you that real ice cream? My second issue yesterday is that I was working on homework and watching a movie while I ate supper which resulted in me not paying attention to my food and eating after I was full. Going to put forth every effort to do better today. 

 

Workout - yet another day of missing the gym. It was pouring rain yesterday when I got off work, and rather than go to the gym to do something else I simply headed home to do my homework. This morning I seriously debated calling my trainer and canceling my session, but forced myself to go. I felt much better afterwards, (although slightly sore) and I know that if I can just get myself back to working out every day that I'll feel much better over all, but the stress between school, work, house, etc is getting to me. I downloaded the Zombies, Run! app to help me get through my marathon this weekend. I was supposed to help work the water booth Saturday then leave to go for a bike ride and do homework, but my coach told me they have enough volunteers for the water booth, and to not worry about it.  Instead I'll get a short bike ride in then spend the rest of the day on homework, and call it an early night so that I'll be ready for the marathon on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it.

 

In house news. I received some bad news yesterday. A couple weeks back while I was in the middle of doing loan paperwork my card number was stolen and someone cleaned out my bank account. I got it sorted and my money back, and my loan person told me she didn't think it would be an issue, but to open a new account just to be safe.  Well now she has called me and told me that it looks like it may be an issue after all and she has to try to get a different type of loan for me, one which will cost more. This is in addition to earlier this week when I found out the flood zones around the house had been changed and the insurance was going to be $600 a year instead of $100.  So now my monthly note for everything is going to be nearly $200 a month more than I was originally told. If I cut some things out I can still afford it, but I am seriously worried about biting off more than I can chew.  I know that having a home is worth it, and I know that if I don't purchase this place it will take a very long time to find another one similar to it for the same price. However, I'm stressing out over this. That $200 price difference is a lot of money each month. I'm going to really have to think on this over the weekend once I get the exact numbers and decide whether I want to go through with it or pass. If I do pass I'll be out some money as I had to pay for the inspection, the deposit on the house, and the appraisal, but I'd rather be out that money than purchase the place only to find I cannot afford it. I have a lot to think about. 

[Kaylya]

For the ice cream:

Buy a single serving quantity, maybe at a convenience store rather than a grocery store. For me, what I tend to crave is ice cream bars. But I've learned it's far better to just go out and buy one Haagen Daaz bar at a convenience store (that's like 350-400 calories) and really enjoy it rather than a box of 100 calorie bars, because I'll eat the box of 12 100 calorie bars over 2 days.

 

For the home:

If an extra $200 per month is really concerning you, then owning this home may not be for you at this time. Remember there are lots of unexpected (or less unexpected but major) expenses that can come up. If an appliance conks out, you have to fix or replace it, there goes a few hundred dollars. At some point the roof needs replacing, there's several thousand dollars, etc. If it's $200/mth on top of a generous plan for savings for that stuff that is concerning you then you might be ok. You'll also probably be spending more on utilities than wherever you are renting etc.

 

Insurance of even $600/year seems really low to me (particularly for an area that's prone to hurricanes & flooding), but I am not familiar with how much insurance usually costs in Louisiana. $100/year seems more in line with renter's insurance on the contents rather than home insurance. Is it a condo where there's insurance for the structure covered through condo/home owners association fees?

[Terinatum]

Hey Anaticula! Just in time to wish you luck on your race tomorrow! Have a great time and be the awesome you that we know you are!

 

The house stuff is crappy. Hard getting the hammer come down on you when someone else messes up. And you're right, if the monthly cost isn't doable, you're better off losing a little than losing almost everything trying to stay above water. You are being sensible about it so, even though it's an emotional rollercoaster, you will make the right decision for yourself.

 

Date Guy B seems good so far. Just remember how happy you are with yourself so that dating is more a bonus to life, not the end all be all of your life. You are number 1.

 

Good luck tomorrow!