Half Iron Kipper - Round 2

It has been an insane week at work and at home. Actually this whole month has been that way. It is just that time of year. I keep telling myself I just have to make it through the next 10 days and we are home free. Which is sort of a lie since the 2 weeks following that are crazy at work preparing for our first Associate Celebration. But everyone who knows me knows I wouldn't have it any other way. I have been really good about learning to say no and not over scheduling myself, but every so often old, over-committed Allie needs her fill and the spring never disappoints! And it doesn't hurt that I love everything I'm doing and have been having a ton of fun along the way. If it was yard or house work tying me down, that would be a different story!

But the real reason for this post - in roughly 72 hours Mr. Martin will be taking on his second Ironman 70.3, this time in Galveston. It is so hard to believe that it has been 6 months since Round 1 in Austin. 

I'm still not sure I can ever explain the immense pride and happiness I felt for Kipper that day.  To be a witness to him achieving a dream that he would have never imagined just four short years ago was incredible. Watching him cross that finish line made every moment of sacrifice to get him there worth it. Even having to wash all those freaking water bottles - it was worth it! 

This time has been a little different. Life has gotten in the way a little more than I think he would have liked. He has been working more, training for a new job and trying to get into nursing school (which he did by the way!)   Last year I wasn't really committed to my own training, just running as I saw fit. This time around I have been focused on my own goals and in turn not as helpful as I wished I would have been. We had to find a new balance and while it wasn't perfect, we made it work. 

Because I have been so busy, this weekend has sort of snuck up on me. Suddenly all the nervous that I had over the course of a few weeks last time have hit me today. I know he will do a great job, but it is my job to worry about him. :)  I will say the fact that I have nothing packed, that I currently have no shorts that actually fit and that I have done relatively no research on anything regarding this weekend does help me forget about the worry a bit! 

Plus this trip will be a lot of fun. Since he has done it before I think he will be able to relax a bit and there is a huge group going from Trident. We are actually renting beach house with a few other couples which will be a huge step up that our accommodates last go round. (Just be careful when you tell your husband not to spend too much on a hotel room you will never be in. I tend to enjoy a hotel lobby that has simple things like flooring...unlike where we stayed for Austin) 

Now for our friends at home! If you would like to follow along this weekend there are a few ways you can:

1. Follow my Instagram/Facebook posts #halfironkipper 
2. Follow the athlete tracker on the Ironman website. His bib is1362
3. Watch the live feed from the finish line 

I know I speak for both Kipper and I when I say how thankful we are for the love and support we get from our friends and family. We truly couldn't do it without that support. From training friends, to my sweet Momma for staying with the boys and our friends who always encourage and pray - thank you!  As always I ask that you keep Kipper (and the other athletes) in your thoughts and prayers this weekend.  His wave is slated to hit the water at 7:28 a.m. Sunday morning. If you don't mind, please stop and say a prayer at 7:28. Pray for a safe, injury free race. Pray for peace of mind. Pray for endurance. And most of all pray that God is glorified every step of the way. 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

One Hundred Days

Yesterday marked the one hundredth day of this chapter! 100 days of facing fears, pushing the limit on my comfort zone and truly learning to believe in myself. I figured it was the perfect time catch everyone up and reevaluate my goals moving forward.

What have I been up?

1. Tracking my food. As you all know, this was one of the toughest things for me. Tracking my food gave me such anxiety, but somehow I have survived for 100 days without missing a beat. I am talking vacation, busy weeks at work, even days I just didn't want to mess with it - I stuck to my plan! Now I would be lying if I didn't admit that there are some days that it still gives me a little anxiety, especially when I don't have control over what is being served. Yet it isn't nearly as scary as I built it up to be and it is so nice to be able to look at my daily intake with a healthy mindset. 

2. Breaking habits.  I wanted everything I was doing to be a lifestyle change, not just a phase. In order for that to happen I had to break some bad habits. First and foremost the one I am most proud of is my breakup with Diet Dr. Pepper! I gave up regular Dr. Pepper about 5 years ago but was addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper in a bad way. Before I came to work at Pier 1 Imports I would drink at least 1 Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper a day!! I had finally gotten myself down to one can a day by the end of last year but anytime I tried to go more than a day I would get a terrible headache.  After fighting through that I was able to get down to a half a can a day and then just a can every few days. I am now to the point that I am fine without them. That doesn't mean I won't ever drink another soft drink in my life but I certainly don't depend on them or crave them anymore. 

3. Setting new records. This has honestly been the most exciting part to me. In the last 100 days I have pushed myself harder than I ever thought I could go as a runner. I never thought I would get much faster. When I hired a coach I had a goal but I wasn't sure it was possible in the short time frame I had give myself, especially coming off an injury. Yet somewhere along the way it all clicked (get the full story here) and I have cut nearly 3 minutes off what I used to consider my normal pace. Before my goal was always just to finish because setting anything more aggressive made me feel like I was setting myself up for failure. Don't get me wrong - there will still be plenty of races where the only goal is to have fun and finish. As proud as I am of my the PR's I have sent in the last 2 1/2 months, I am ready to crush them with a new PR! 

4. Victories on and off the scale. While it was very important to me that this NOT only be about a number on a scale, losing weight was part of the goal. Since I have been tracking my food and increased my calories I have lost 25 pounds and nearly 2 pant sizes! What is even more exciting to me though is how my body is changing. I feel stronger than I ever have. When I look in the mirror in my mind I don't look like I have lost 25 pounds, but I love the changes I am seeing. And even more so I love how I feel! 

5. Finding balance. Balance is something that I have been working on for a year or so. Learning to say no and basically stopping the glorification of "busy." Even though I have been running for almost 4 years now I have never been good at balancing working out when life gets in the way. I would either ignore training or just be totally anti-social.  I'm still a work in progress here but I am proud of myself for maintaining some sort of balance between training, work, family, friends and social engagements. So far April has proved to be the biggest challenge. If I can keep some sort of balance the rest of this month I will consider that one for the win column. 

What's in store for the next 100 days? 

1. Eat more protein. Now that I have gotten the hang of tracking my food and eating enough calories I really want to start focusing on increasing my protein intake. 

2. Go to bed earlier.  I'm a night owl, always have been. The last few months I have worked on making myself go to bed earlier, but not consistently. 

3. Set a new half marathon PR.  I have a goal I want to reach by the end May - a 2:45 finish. That would be cutting nearly 14 minutes off my time so I know it will be a stretch in this short of time. Although I keep surprising myself so I know anything is possible. 

4. Prepare more meals.  Kipper is the chef in our family and too often I rely on him to cook my meals. With his work and training schedule it is sometimes hard for him to make that happen. I want make more of an effort to learn how to cook meals that I enjoy so that I can do all of my meal prep myself. 

5. Keep making myself uncomfortable. Either big or small, I don't want to settle. I am challenging myself to do at least one thing outside of my comfort zone each week. 

So what are you going to do with your next 100 days??