There are officially 3 of us Lazy Iron-people aiming for 140.6 miles in 7 weeks.
Liz and Chris representing the mountain states from Colorado and myself (so far) the sole lazy folk from the midwest.
The Totals:
Here is how the first week went:
Liz and Chris
It has been fun. Here is what we have learned - in order to fit exercise into our busy day/ week – we have to plan for it weekly, make it a priority rather than an after thought. Walking 2 or 3 miles doesn't really take very long and sometimes we can find 20 - 30 minutes in what feels like a busy day. Snow, cold, dark, and kids are a real impediment to exercise not just an excuse. We mostly walked outside but Liz biked outside today.
Chris: the kids get in on it…Mira scooted around the whole 3 mile lake. Word up.
Liz: Here is one from the day I walked to work – it was cold, snowing and windy – walked 2 miles in heavy boots. I was so sore!
Erin
I agree with Liz and Chris – the week’s been fun, but it totally took planning to fit in the time to get some miles. I’m realizing that I have to know the night before what kind of exercise I’m going to do the next morning or I spend waayyy too much time ‘deciding’ the next morning.
I’m trying to do all three sports. I’m loving the swimming, but am having to face my lifelong aversion to working out on equipment in a gym with rows and rows of folks spinning and stepping and running all on the road to nowhere It’s a bit of a head trip for me, but I’m trying to just get over myself and my opinions about the gym for now. I have to get some miles in!
I don’t quite have the gear to ride my bike outside in this weather – all my warm weather jackets are big and puffy which makes riding the bike a bit awkward. so the stationary bike it is and as much as possible the pool.
::Disclaimer: this is obviously not the pool. and those are obviously not actually on my feet. But they are awesome.
One of my goals for this upcoming year is to re-integrate regular exercise into my life. Exercise has been very sporadic for me over the past two years and my body, joints, muscles, squishy parts are all suffering the loss! I’ve always been a better exerciser when there was a goal ahead.
But right now I have nothing on the horizon and I need a little motivation. as well as some accountability.
A while back I started and fizzled out on doing a “Lazy Man’s Ironman Triathlon”. I was doing it alone and I am not such a great accountability-holder on my own. But I’m ready to try it again…but this time I want some company. And I’m inviting my high school graduating class to join me…will there be any takers? That remains to be seen. I hope so!
As you may know an Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2 mile run – to be completed all in one day.
The Lazy Man’s version includes all of the same distances*, but done over a longer period of time – say a month or 6 weeks.
Here is what I’m proposing to my fellow Wildkits:
* What if I don’t like to walk/swim/bike, but I still want to participate?
To be fair, since not everyone may have access to a pool or to a bike – or may just prefer other types of exercise – I would like to suggest that what has to be accomplished at the end of the 7 weeks is the mileage – 140.6 miles. Maybe you dance your way there, or box, or karate chop. Maybe you’ll walk the whole thing. The only way I can think of to track this would be to wear a pedometer that tracks mileage.
Each Sunday of the challenge you’ll email me with your totals and I’ll put up a post with the results from that week.
So what do you think? Wanna join me?
A little inspiration
We only need to be a fraction that bad ass.
I was on my own this year for Christmas. Not to say I didn’t have options or places to go or people to be with – just that the decision on what to do this year was solely up to me. And what did I decide to do with my own big decision? head to the beach.
I took off on Virgin Airlines midday on Christmas and landed in LA around 6:30 pm. It was dark of course, but I found my way to the hotel in Laguna Beach about an hour south. I couldn’t really see the ocean, but I could hear it and it was LOUD. I am lucky in that where I live, I can hear waves crashing nearly every night – but this was different. like a roar.
Falling asleep was easy – staying asleep was a bit more difficult I awoke with the first peeps of light.
I ordered room service
And hung out with a new friend while I waited for my pal Beth to arrive
We spent most of the 3 days we were in Laguna sitting on this deck, or walking on the beach and also eating. The food was not so awesome, but the views made up for it.
Look closely..I think there are a couple paddleboarders also watching the sunset
Every night at low tide these rocks would be revealed and groups of folks could be seen poking around them looking for something. We could never figure out exactly what they were looking for…mussels? One guy filled a bag each night with whatever treasures he found.
Our hotel with the ocean view.
Not everyone survived the holiday unscathed,
So – my first Christmas on my own or w/out family was a success. The trip was great and I loved spending a few days with a good friend in a new town.
I will always miss spending Christmas with my parents. It will always make me sad that I will never get to experience that again – but I will keep on trying new things, making new traditions and enjoying every sunset.
I hope yours was a very merry xmas!
xo
Erin
I didn’t mention it, but when I was in Maine we went to a party. It was one of those ‘hey-pals-let’s-finish-those-leftovers!” kinds of parties. My friend Wynn calls it “Thanksgiving Rewind”. The hosts were good friends of my host. It was a nice enough party in a cool house with cool guests. Like really cool guests. Like no-offense-maine,-but-where-did-all-these-hipster-cool-people-come-from? cool.
What I’m trying to say is that they were cooler than me. Which isn’t hard to do, but I thought maybe in Maine, coming from the greater-chicagoland-area – i thought maybe that would give me some leverage. not so much.
Turned out I had met a couple of them before – the last time I went to Maine when I went to see entirely different people. There were people at this party who were from Brooklyn and from Berkeley and from Maine, of course.
I was feeling shy and tired so mostly I hung out with my nephew who was also feeling a little tired and shy. For a while we sat on the couch with a guy who looked just like this guy:
In fact, it was this guy.
Michael Chabon. Pulitzer prize winner, O.Henry award winner. He wrote The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Wonder Boys and The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.
But he was just at this party with his wife and their kids, hanging out with their friends and for a brief moment sitting on a couch with me and my nephew.
And it’s silly now, to feel so excited to have not exactly met a writer I really, really admire. You’d think I’d be disappointed that I didn’t know who he was by face, but I’m not. I’m excited to know that he was just a nice guy at a little party in Maine playing with his kids and snuggling his wife and eating leftovers.
But now when that conversation comes up when people rattle off the famous people they’ve met, I might add this one to my list – right after the one I tell about meeting John Wayne on an elevator.
Another story for another day.
:: Me and Dad, Cliffs of Mohr
::Dad and Megan, Cliffs of Mohr
My dad would have turned 69 years old this week. He will never be older than 55.
I spent sometime looking at photos this morning to find the one I wanted share in this post. When someone that important has been gone so long it can be difficult to look long at their face in photos. Not because you don’t want to, but because it is so obvious that they are so….gone. I haven’t seen his face in a long time outside those photos.
These photos were taken on a family trip to Ireland when I was 9 years old.
maybe it’s because of the cliffs, maybe it’s because we both look so serious and they look so happy and we all look so much like ourselves. Maybe it’s because I’m drinking a huge 7Up through a straw with a dandy sweater tied around my neck. But I think it’s because it’s us and our dad and I could imagine these photos being taken today and maybe everything would look the same.
Happy (belated) birthday, dad!
I spent Thanksgiving this year with my sister and nephew at their friend Paul’s place up in Brooklin, Maine. Both my flights were long ones (to and fro) because Maine is at the end of the world. (People told me this – Mainers told me this – someplace has to be). And there there was the little business of a snowstorm! 6 inches I believe. But I made it there and arrived to a blanket of snow and a cozy home. I was grateful to be with family, in a new place with new friends.
In Maine, the guest room resides above the woodshop and double’s as practice space for the Bad Daddy’s
On the walk up the driveway and back:
Don’t sneak up on Emmett in the winter. He is always prepared.
That driveway is a1/4 mile long. Maine is spacious
snowpants = bliss
The rest of the day was all food all the time. just like for the rest of you
My contribution: A Maple-Apple upside down cake. I forgot an after shot, but this is the recipe. It was a big hit and will be a keeper. yum
Before: After:
That first bird looks a bit indecent. my apologies. The second bird looks as good as it does thanks in no small part to this golden delicious flavor bomb
The chef hard at work
My sister’s handiwork
And my favorite dish every year. or every meal. i love a good mash.
Hope your Thanksgiving was healthy, happy and warm!
Recent Comments