Oh What a Day!

Yesterday was the Ride to Remember 2016

We left Springfield, MA at about 7:00 a.m.  It was 102 miles to the Massachusetts State House, arriving shortly after 5:00 p.m.  We had a couple breaks during the day, so our actual riding time was  a little over eight hours.

I will write more about this year's experience, but I wanted to give you a peak at our day.

Dad came down to send us off.  I really appreciated him being there.

A sea of blue...this is where we started.

We had six rest stops along the way, where we were able to hydrate, get some nutrition and...

Use the restroom.  At Boston College, the only rest rooms available were the ones on the Peter Pan buses that came with us.  I had to go soooo bad.  Yikes!

Our ride was great all day!  Seriously, I had plenty of energy.  I felt good.  But the last few miles were the most exhilarating.  Look at the Prudential building off in the distance!  So awesome!

Boston Strong!  That's right!

The finish line of the Boston Marathon.

My riding buddy, Joe.  He and my husband did the ride together the first year.
Brian did it last year and said, "This is not for me."  So Joe & I rode together all day.  It was a good great ride.

We did it!!!  We made it!  And I felt great.

There is so much to say about the day and I promise to write more and tell you about this year's experience.  This morning I am exhausted.  My shoulder was in excruciating pain last night.  It's sore today, but I feel better.  I Stay tuned...

Body Beautiful

I'm working on a post about body image, and I'm hoping you'll give me some feedback for the post.  Please answer the survey above, or check it out here:  What Would You Change?   You can email me your answers if you like.

Questions for you (answer in the comment section below):
Have you ever dreamed the impossible and made that dream come true?  What was your dream?  How did you make it happen?
Or
Do you have a dream that really means a lot to you to accomplish?  What's keeping you from making it happen?

Subscribe to new posts!  When a new post is added, you will receive an email notice so you can check it out.  I promise:  no SPAM and I won't share your email address with anyone.  Look at the top right side of the page to subscribe.  

Follow me...

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TraceyGettingFit

Instagram:  @tracoleman99

Snapchat:  tracoleman993

Email:  tracoleman99@gmail.com

Riding For Her Life

The school district where I work published this article in the Springfield Educator.
It was released today.

The article is hard to read from this image.  Here is the body of the text:

By Cyrus Moulton

from The Winter 2015-16 Springfield Educator 

She initially thought completing a 100- mile plus bike ride was “a pipe dream.” But two years later, 80 pounds lighter and with support from students and staff at Springfield’s High School of Commerce, Tracey Coleman not only cycled 100-plus miles, but chronicled on a blog how she made that pipe dream come true in hopes of inspiring others. 

“The biggest thing preventing people from exercising, the thing that probably deters them the most, is they don’t see progress right away so they give up, or they have an obstacle that comes up, that prevents them with sticking to it, and give up,” said Coleman, a guidance counselor at Commerce. “So I write a lot about that— about nutrition and fitness, but mostly about motivation and sticking with your goals.” 

But it took a while for Coleman to see the rewards of sticking with her fitness goals. A self-professed bookworm growing up, Coleman “didn’t do sports in high school; I wasn’t good at them, didn’t like them, and as an adult I didn’t do them either.” 

She became heavy as an adult—or, as a student who recently saw an older picture of Coleman called it, “‘mad chubby”—and was bothered by arthritis that often crippled her with pain and prevented her from repetitive, high intensity activity, Coleman recalled. 

But in September 2013, Coleman’s husband Brian participated in the Springfield Police Department’s first Ride to Remember, a 106-mile bike trek from Springfield to Boston in memory of officers killed in the line of duty. 

That January, Coleman decided that this time—the heaviest she had ever been at 238 pounds—she was going to stick with her regular New Year’s Resolution of losing weight and eating healthier. So she began working out with a trainer. She did a Rugged Maniac obstacle course in September 2014 with her husband, and then thought that she might want to do the Ride to Remember. 

But that November, her trainer—a 24- year-old, healthy young man—suddenly got sick and died. 

“I was devastated,” Coleman said. “He was 24 when he died, and I was 45 and just wasn’t taking my life and health seriously.” 

So she kicked her training into high gear, working out six days a week with a new trainer and focusing on flexibility. It helped her deal with both the emotional pain from the loss and the physical pain of her arthritis. Her surgeon canceled an operation to help her arthritis and Coleman got a bike, joined training rides with a group from the local bike shop, and started pedaling to get ready for this September’s Ride To Remember. 

“It was threateningly scary to think ‘how am I going to do this, it’s going to be 100 miles, and really hilly,’” Coleman recalled. 

But she had support not just at the gym and bike shop, but at Commerce. 

Many kids participating in a dress-down day wore blue to support a fundraiser for the Ride to Remember. About a week before the ride, students made ribbons to sell, and helped Coleman sell t-shirts downtown to raise money for the event. The day before the ride, colleagues decorated Coleman’s office with messages of support, including many pictures of Wonder Woman in reference to Coleman’s nickname at the gym. 

And the pipe dream became reality. 

“It was really a proud moment to finish it and do it, and do it with my husband and show the support for the police department and the fallen officers,” Coleman said. “I was blessed by the outpouring of the love I got.” 

Plus, the reality wasn’t that scary. “It wasn’t too hard for me because I had done so much training,” Coleman admitted.

 So now it’s on to the next challenge: maintaining her weight and fitness (Coleman currently weighs 145 pounds) and inspiring and helping others by sharing her story through her blog “Tracey’s Getting Fit.” 

“We’ve all been trying to become healthier,” said Erica Lebel, a fellow guidance counselor at Commerce who credited Coleman with helped tone up her arms for her wedding. “We would make lunches for each other sometimes, we would go out to eat and make sure there were healthy things for her and us to eat.” 

Coleman said her fitness journey has also helped her be a better guidance counselor. She said she is able to relate better with students who worry about body image, she is more empathetic, and she is more willing to open up and share her feelings with students. 

“I can tell them at the least that I am human and that I have been through my own things,” said Coleman. “That I am a human, and I can persevere.” 

My thoughts???

Obviously I knew they were doing the article.  They interviewed me, I sent them some pictures for the article and they took my photo at school.  But seeing it in print really brings tears to my eyes.  This has been a long journey for me.  Thinking back on it is very emotional.  Thank you for  following my blog, for your encouragement.  I am blessed beyond words.

After the Ride to Remember, September 19, 2015 

Beautiful Day by  U2

It's a beautiful day.  

Sky falls, you feel like it's a beautiful day.  

Don't let it get away.  

You're on the road.  

But you've got not destination.  

It's a beautiful day.

Question for you: 

(Answer in the comment section below.)

What one thing are you most proud of accomplishing?

Now:  Subscribe to new posts!  When a new post is added, you will receive an email notice so you can check it out.  I promise:  no SPAM and I won't share your email address with anyone.  Look at the top right side of the page to subscribe.  

Follow me on Instagram:  @tracoleman99

Three things I learned

It's Tuesday.  It's been three days since the Ride to Remember.  

Before I start, make sure to read these posts if you missed any of them:

Wonder Women Fitness for Life
Ride to Remember posts (these tell the story about the Ride to Remember):
Feeling Loved
Sneak Peek
The Girl Picked Last

Since I am really tired, but I can't sleep, I thought I'd share with you three things I learned on the road to accomplish my goals.  I shared these with my Wonder Women Facebook group, and I thought I'd share them with you.

Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:3

1. Set your fitness goals for yourself and no one else. Others will let you down if you hinge the goal on them.  

I did this for me and no one else.  I had a lot of people I wanted to do it for, but the bottom line is that I did it for me.

2. Believe in yourself. You have more strength than you realize.  I shouldn't have, but I doubted myself every step of the way.  

3. Set your goal, do what you can to train for it, and know you have given it your all. When the day comes and you accomplish your goal. All the training will have paid off.  

I averaged between 60 - 100 (or more) miles per week this summer, training for the Ride to Remember.  I made sure to include climbing in almost every ride.  All my training paid off!

I've probably learned more but these three ring true today.  

To sum it up...

Dream it.  

Set a plan to accomplish it.

This is on the wall in the gym where I work out.  I had to take a picture of it.  It rings true for so many things, whether it's fitness, work, school work, or relationships.  If it's important, you'll make it happen.  If not, ...

Work towards it.

Achieve it.

You are a star!!!


Here's a REALLY cool YouTube video of this year's ride by Jeff Jo (I think I saw myself a couple of times in this, but it's hard to tell):

Follow me on Instagram:  tracoleman99

New:  Subscribe to new posts!  When a new post is added, you will receive an email notice so you can check it out.  I promise:  no SPAM and I won't share your email address with anyone.  Look at the top right side of the page to subscribe.

Feeling Loved

It's the last few hours before our ride.

I've been so busy this week, I have not had time to post anything.  I stopped counting down to the ride because the anticipation of it being so imminent was adding to my anxiety.  Last night I needed a talk off the cliff.  Then this morning on my way to work, when I saw it was 7:00 a.m., I got super emotional and had to fight back tears.  "This is it, this time tomorrow."  I pulled it together and walked into the office just fine.  Here's what the girls at work did for me:

Wonder Woman!

And then Liz brought me a present, which made me totally cry!!!

This is a quick :07 second shot...

Here I'm trying to hold it in!!!  I love you, Liz!

Not only that, but the principal sent out an email last night to everyone BUT me and asked them to wear blue to show support of my ride.

And they did!

At the end of the day, Ms. Femia made an announcement, wishing me luck on my journey and sending good wishes from the entire High School of Commerce.

I am blessed.❤️💙💚💛💜

As the nerves creep in, I keep putting them in the box.  Don't go there.  Just keep your eyes forward.

I have to drink LOTS of water and eat today.

I'll post pictures and tell you all about the ride soon.

Tomorrow is the day!

For a sneak peak of how the day went, make sure you read this:  Sneak Peek.  It's a quick look at how my day went.

Follow me on Instagram @tracoleman99

Passion

Throughout my life, I have enjoyed "dabbling" in this or that, but I would never have described any one hobby or interest as my passion.

Ready for a ride...

Last year, I dared to say I want to do the Ride to Remember (R2R) this year.  It was a long term fitness goal for me.  Saying it out loud scared me.  When I was a kid, I rode my bike everywhere because I did not have a car.  I remember my parents flipped out when they found out how far and to where I was riding.  When I was in college, a man from my church died in a cycling accident.  He was hit by a drunk driver.  I did not ride my bike again until after I had Mitch.  I knew it was a good way to lose weight.  I used to take him on the bike trail in Northampton after work.  We had such good times.  When Joey was born it was a lot harder to ride together because Mitch was on his little bike and Joey was tiny.  It just did not work.  And that was the end of my cycling.

This was probably one of the last rides we went out on as a family.

Until this year...I remember my first ride this year.  I did not have my new bike yet.  We had a miserable winter and it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Dmitriy saw me at the gym and was like, "Get out there.  It's nice out."  And so I did.

Read about this in Dmitriy Made It Happen.

It was freezing!  I thought I was in shape, but the 15 mile loop I did kicked my butt.  Still, it felt good to get it done, even though I had to walk up the last hill near my house.  I was glad to get out there and get riding. The R2R was in about six months.  I had to figure out how to ride long distances and increase my speed and not be in agony afterwards.  It was going to be a challenge, but one I was stoked to beat.

Today is 45 days until R2R.  I'm averaging about 100 miles / week on my bike.  I am disappointed if I can't ride my bike and I think about how I am going to make it happen when I am busy.  Sgt. Delaney posted this YouTube video on Facebook.  THIS really sums it up how I feel about riding:

I would say it's passion.  I love it.  I love how I feel on a long ride.  I love the feeling of the hot sun on your skin, but the cool breeze from riding that keeps you going.  I love the smells and scenery.  You can go for a nice ride in the car and enjoy the scenery, but nothing compares to riding your bike.

I try to take a picture on every ride to help remember the journey.
These horses were out feeding the other night when I was out riding with my husband and I just had to take their picture.  How often do you do that when you're driving in the car? 

If you are on a journey towards becoming fit, I highly recommend endeavoring in an outdoor activity that keeps you in nature.  Hiking, cycling, swimming, skiing - anything that encourages you to move your body and gets you outdoors.  You never know where you will find your niche...try something new.  You may surprise yourself!  I LOVE hiking, but cycling definitely rules since all I have to do is gear up and get on my bike.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

Colossians 3:23

Follow me on Instagram @tracoleman99

What's your passion?  Do you have something you love to do?  
Do you look for opportunities to go outdoors?  What do you do that makes you happy?  Answer in the comment section below.

Riding

On Friday, I posted, "Staying The Course" and wrote about what happened when I hit a wall.  I wasn't eating enough and my body couldn't keep up the pace of my training.

I took a few days off from riding to get ready for a wedding on Thursday.  I spent most of the day Friday driving my son and the youth group to Logan Airport to send them on their missions trip to Ireland.

My son, Joey.  We met at the youth pastor's house and prayed for the team before we left for the airport.

I relaxed all weekend, with a lot of riding.

Here are the pictures I said I'd post.  (I have been sort of photo-journaling my rides.  I try to take a picture on every ride to help me remember this journey.)

Friday, July 31,2015

Had a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich before the ride.  Simple carbs... Ended up with stomach cramps on the ride, so I'll have to pace my pre-ride meal out a little.

My bike!  I was going to name her Katana, but I'm leaning towards Wonder Woman.  What do you think?

My husband is tired of me taking all these pictures!

Liking my new bike shirt.

There are so many farms in Connecticut that we ride by.  This one is a sunflower farm.  It's hard to see them, but the entire field was sunflowers.

  

Saturday, August 1, 2015

I haven't really had a vacation at all this summer, so I took today as a "me day."  I did what I wanted all day.

This is how I feel after "Leg Day" at the gym.  Exhausted!

I went hiking at Soapstone Mountain, which is not too far from us.  This was my first time hiking there.  I like a little more rigorous of a climb, but that could be because I was not familiar with the trails. The graffiti added some flavor to the tower, that's for sure!  :-)  I left just in time to miss the rain storm that hit.

In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Psalm 95:4

New England is so beautiful. There are such pretty churches, stores, and farms everywhere.  Did you know that Connecticut is a big supplier of tobacco leaves?   When we went to the Dominican Republic a few years ago, one of the locals told us they roll their cigars with leaves from Connecticut.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

I go back to work (no summer school) full time in less than two weeks.  I really wanted to spend this weekend doing whatever I wanted to do.  I want to go to the beach, but my husband and my BFF's are not beach heads.  I may just take a day off my summer job and go visit my sister-in-law.  (That's definitely a possibility.)  What did I do today?

I went to the gym!!!  Core day today...

My son had my car, so I walked home with my cup of Dunkin'.

I went for a ride!!!!  Goal was 50 miles...I had it all mapped out.

Was doing pretty good...

Feeling courageous, I climbed Glendale Road, which is particularly hilly ascent on Wilbraham Mountain.

Intersection of Monson Road and Glendale Road.  The sun was high and it was hot, but I made it!!!!

On the way down the mountain, I popped a spoke.  Bummer.  Headed home, put the bike in the back of my car and dropped it off at the shop.  It ended up being OK because I got a horrible cramp on  the right side of my back and I could barely keep going.  Between the blown spoke and the cramp, I was just glad to make it home!

So......

I started growing my nails out in May.  They were doing pretty good until they all broke two weeks ago.  So I went in for a manicure on Wednesday and they redid my nails.  On Friday, the polish peeled off on three of them, so I took advantage of the extra time and got them fixed.  Pretty!  The nail tech said, 'You must work out.  You're in really good shape."

All in all, I got over 80 miles of riding in this weekend.  I took it easy and had a good time!  I didn't over-do it, so I don't feel worn out.  I feel like I'm in a decent mood.  I ate a LOT this weekend too, which I know helped.  I enjoyed the scenery and the cool breeze on my face.  Looking forward to getting my bike back so I can ride some more.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.
Psalm 96:11-12

Follow me on Instagram @tracoleman99

Here's my question for you.

What did you do this weekend?

How do you enjoy your "me-time"?
Put your answer below in the "Comment" section.