Tri'ing Harder

My personal journey to a healthy lifestyle - running, triathlon, training logs, travel, and positive, realistic thinking

[mbear489]

Inspirational Movies

(Not in any particular order) 1. Hector and the Search for Happiness 2. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 3. Cloud Atlas 4. 127 Hours 5. Eat Pray Love 6. The Way Love the wanderlust

[umibenome-deactivated20200801]

If you want 2016 to be your year, don’t sit on the couch and wait for it. Go out. Fucking make a change. Smile more. Be excited. Do new things. Clean your room. Throw away what you’ve been cluttering. Unfollow negative people on social media. Go to bed early. Wake up early. Kick ass. Every damn day

My opinion on 2016 (via umibenome)

Boom. Words to live by.

[mbear489]

A little post-run tub with a homemade protein shake

[mbear489]

[mbear489]

[mbear489]

Challenging and easy runs

Today, did an easy 4mi. Yesterday, did 4mi which were much more challenging. My pace has been lagging this last year so I found a friend who pushes me... We kept up a 9min/mi pace through a tough wind and slushy roads. Woo! Lots of stretching to prepare for 3 more tomorrow and Zumba. Keep up the motivation!

[mbear489]

Sunday Run Day!

[mbear489]

Wish on a Northern Star

Running!! Yes, a dear friend and I are running from Duluth, MN to Pigeon Creek Crossing, Canada in April/May. Approx 155mi in 12 days. Crazy? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely. This adventure is for Make A Wish Foundation, as a fundraiser to hopefully help an ill child in our state get their wish. Questions on how you can help? Feel free to email [email protected] to inquire! More on this soon! In the meantime, I'm training for that and Grandma's Marathon. Woo for winter running!

[mbear489]

Europe

Post Munich... An amazing trip! The mysteries of Europe took me away from my phone (as it should) so I didn't post... But here it goes. A brief note about my stops along the way. Ulm, Germany - stop in at the church. The climb to the top of the steeple is a doosy, but so worth it. The tallest church in Germany! Constance, Germany - a beautiful old town, on the Bodensee and the border of Switzerland. The Christmas market felt more small town, delicious food and wine. Stuttgart, Germany - a huge Christmas market! So many people! But so much fun and so much to see. The booths competed for the best decorations on top of their booths... Some pretty epic competitors. Frankfurt, Germany - this was a wonderful city. It is the apple wine Capitol of Germany, and man was it good (can't you tell yet that I'm a foodie?) and the schnitzel! Some beautiful architecture, different from the Black Forest region. The Goethe house is worth the stop. Amsterdam, The Netherlands - the public transportation system was a little confusing, but that could be because I was new to it. What a different place though... With the Anne Frank House, the canals, the buildings, Zaanse Schans... All pretty cool. And the sex museum was worth the euros haha! Paris, France - what can I say, it was Paris! Public transportation was sooo easy, quite accommodating. And so much to see! In my opinion, it was worth it to go to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, but not worth the long queue to go to the top. And the wine and cheese... Delicious. The Paris Nomendum hostel was the best yet, even being on the outer edges of the city. All in all, everyone needs to visit Europe at some time. So much to experience!

[mbear489]

München (or Munich to Americans)

My traveling companion and I had a wonderful day exploring the Christmas markets, drinking glühwein and really taking in the sites that central Munich had to offer! If anyone is thinking of visiting Germany just before Christmas, do it. If the mulled wine won't do it for you, the generally festive air should! We stopped by a soup restaurant within the festivities as well. Let me just say that if you like ginger and carrots, it is the thing to eat. Wow! After sampling some of Munich's brew house lager, I am comfortably tucked away at Wombat's hostel and planning my run route for the morning (Meadow of Therese anyone?) A fabulous start to this adventure!

[mbear489]

Back at it

First of all, I am horrible at blogging. But, I feel the need to do it and write things somewhere, hopefully help someone else in some other small way!

I spent the last 10months studying and studying for my personal trainer certification through ACE Fitness. And I passed! I am now a certified personal trainer. I have a full time job already but I have this new found passion for fitness I wanted to explore and needed to keep my brain engaged. I miss school terribly (yes, I’ve heard this is slightly out of the norm) and this was the affordable and flexible way of getting my fix while working full time. BOOM done, now I know slightly more about working out than I did before.

Since I last blogged in the Philippines in November 2014, I have been a busy bee. Competed in another 70.3 tri (PR’d), ran Grandma’s Half Marathon again (an abysmal time, but I was also fairly ill), and signed up for Grandma’s Marathon for next year. I can also proudly announce I was able to clinch another sprint tri this summer, placing in 2 different categories again. 13 half marathons since 2012, 2 70.3’s, and 3 sprint tri’s. I feel quite accomplished and have some lofty goals in the future.

Speaking of the future, I’ll hopefully be posting (Wait yes I WILL be posting) about my journey into personal training, training for my first full marathon, AND an exciting adventure a friend and I are undertaking to raise money for Make A Wish Foundation. 4 words: Running Duluth to Canada. It’s happening.

In the meantime, I am waiting for a rescheduled flight from Reykjavik, Iceland to Copenhagen. Hopefully getting to Munich, Germany by the end of the day.

#triingharder Over and Out. Choose to have a great day!

[mbear489]

Beautiful beach and cliff jumping at Crystal Cove :)

[mbear489]

Adventure in the Philippines

It's been awhile since I've written anything, with being busy and traveling, but I finally have a moment to say how beautiful the Philippines are! Especially Boracay, where I've been staying now for 3 days. And if you do your research, it can be a cheap stay.

[mbear489]

I don't like the use of 'skinny' but this is a great list of 'healthy rules!'

[mbear489]

Natural Facial Regimen

I've had problems with acne for years and years. While reading theBerry a few weeks ago, I stumbled across the use of apple cider vinegar as a toner (thanks Scarlett Johansson!). I have spent so much money on facial products, I thought what the hell! Here's what I've been doing: -Wash face with honey, olive oil, and cinnamon (switching to castor oil as that was better recommended than olive oil) -Tone with 1 part apple cider vinegar, 1 part witch hazel, 1 part water -Moisturize with coconut oil Since I started, my skin is softer, I've had a lot fewer breakouts, and less in 'hormonal' breakouts! And it is SO MUCH CHEAPER! Thanks Berry for the awesome tip!

[mbear489]

10/25/14 Monster Dash Half

1:56:16, 13.2mi, St Paul. I had a goal of 1:50 for this one, despite being sick. Well that didn't happen! I rocked the first half, going way faster than I thought I was going to and feeling good! Then I got about halfway and I slowed way down and had no perceptible reason why. Struggle struggle, but ultimately I wanted to finish under 2hrs. Got that one covered! Lessons learned!

[mbear489]

11/1/14 Bike

29:51, 7.11mi, house to Munger and south. Didn't think I'd have time, but I squeezed this in! The wind was strong and it was a little cold... I think it's almost time to hook the bike up to the trainer. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful bike ride. I tried out my Nishiki leg sleeves, love 'em!