If Sugar is the Devil... Then I was Surely Headed to Hell

I am pretty sure this is what the devil looks like!

It’s been a long time since I blogged... last year when I was training for the Augusta Half Ironman I wanted to share the ups and downs, but there were so many, I lost control of time.  This year, I am determined to keep more control,  fit in as many workouts as I can and share some of the successes and challenges.  If I did have time to write last year, I might have complained here and there about the weight gain.  Yep.  I gained a few pounds while swimming, biking and running.  And it wasn’t muscle.  Unless muscle settles in your rear end!

How??  Well, I recognize one thing I didn’t do last year was focus on my diet.  I worked on my nutrition while I was biking and running, but never focused on the rest of the day.  Once upon a time I thought if I was  working my tail off,  I’d be able to indulge.  I know I am not alone because you’ve seen  those shirts -- I run for wine/beer/chocolate...  But for me, that theory just isn’t working well.

So with the recommendation from a Facebook friend who amazingly transformed herself - I’ve started to do some serious reading.  And guess what?  Sugar is the devil.  This isn’t news to me.  Not at all.  I’ve been told I need to cut sugar and carbs several times -- and the thought alone made me quiver.  I’d almost get angry at the thought of it!  But last week, something clicked.  Call it an Aha! moment.  And the thought of not pushing myself to be as healthy as I can reasonably be depresses me.  Why would I not at least try?

I hesitated to write about this, because I am just starting this journey.  And it is going to be done in baby steps.  Not sure how far I will get, but already I am starting to feel better by making different choices.  I still ate a Little Debbie Zebra Cake the other night -- definitely the devil’s spawn!  And there will be wine and coffee in my present and future, but maybe fewer mojitos and more glasses of herbal tea.  

Even though I don’t carbo load on bagels and pasta daily, or eat cookies and cake every day -- I consume far more sugar than I realized.  Fat free milk has 12g of sugar per glass - the same as a serving of fat free Fig Newtons!  And a serving of Zebra Cakes - 32g!  I only had one and I wondered how they fit 16g of sugar into two bites!  Basically, from everything I have read, you should aim for less than 5g of sugar per serving. (And probably stick to one serving!) That Zebra Cake just wasn’t worth it.

Have you cut sugar from your diet and seen results?  What’s your motivation?  Like I said, I am taking baby steps.  I have a lot of devilish behaviors, and some I actually need to correct!

Life After Augusta

It’s been more than a month since I crossed the finish line in Augusta, and I am still sitting here catching up on LAA (Life After Augusta). I learned something about training for a Half Ironman – that weekly schedule doesn’t leave time for much else in your life. Clearly that includes blogging!

For some reason, not having the time or energy to blog bothered me more than the dozens of other things that got pushed aside (things like house cleaning, yard work, appointments…) Why? I guess it’s the same reason I took more than 500 pictures during training and maybe as many during the race weekend. It’s a chance to document the incredible journey, but also to connect with others who have either shared similar experiences or hope to someday.

I can’t tell you the number of blogs I’ve written in my head during weekly three hour bike rides in the hills! And they were good! But by the time I finished riding, drove home, showered and finally sat down at my computer, all I could usually muster was a Facebook update – or a 140 character Tweet! And usually a couple of pictures!

My energy level was definitely at the Facebook and Twitter level after most training days, but the experiences were larger than life.

• The day my rear derailer cracked in half as I was climbing Sugar Loaf Mountain – and I was saved by my hero in the Prius (Sheri!) and Prince Charming on his Yamaha!
  
  
• Finishing the Puzzle Run 10K and the Moss Park Olympic tri with new personal records…
  
  
• Crossing Lake Conway with Megan guiding me across on the kayak – and returning the favor on the way back..

• The hundreds of miles I shared with Megan and my incredible team mates – including a very fun Sunday (Sept 4) at Vision Quest singing and dancing while riding our stationary bikes for 3 hours! I recapped that moment many times during the race!

• And of course finishing 70.3 miles – and meeting my goal of still standing and smiling at the end…(There was a moment when I skidded out on the bike, got run over and had a flat…I think I may have stopped smiling for a few minutes. But the second I was back on the bike – I was smiling again!)

Just recapping each of these experiences makes me miss the routine of training, and the time shared with my teammates. But LAA has a lot of positives to it. I remember minutes before my swim start, my friend and teammate Terri looked at me and said, “if we can do this, you know we can do anything.” She is right! It’s proof that if you put your mind to something, it’s absolutely yours for the taking. That’s a lesson I hope will resonate with my children – and give them the confidence to reach further than they think possible... Leaves me thinking, what's next?