Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Food Storage Goal

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a Mormon) and for a long time the Church has strongly encouraged everyone to have a year supply of food. My husband and I have worked on this every now and then, and we really haven't reached this goal... Not even close.

A few months ago, we had stayed over at a friends house and they have the ideal food storage. They even have a room dedicated for food/emergency supplies. Now, it may sound extreme, and most people have this view as us Mormons doing this for some kind of catastrophic event. Well, it's important to have this type of supply because you don't know what if. What if your husband loses his job, what if their is a gas shortage and you can't get to the store (or the supplies can't be sent to store), what if you just don't have enough money to cover living expenses? Food Storage is for preparation and to help us not be scared of the what if's. Just like the parable of the 10 virgins and 5 had oil in their lamps, and 5 did not. I would like to be one of those 5 that had oil.

So any hoo.. Our friends brought up a good point. They weren't being mean, it was actually a very concerned, loving remark. They stated, "You have been married 8 years, and don't have a supply of food." That's it. This is something not only our church encourages us to have, but the Red Cross and the government. This isn't old news. It really hit me that we have been married 8 years and haven't gone past 3 months of food supplies.

At the same time this epiphany came that we really need to take this seriously and not wait, I had a babysitting job lined up to watch my nephew 5 days a week. It isn't much money, but it is extra. My friend shared her experience of working outside the home and she says, she doesn't spend her money on frivilous things, but to put her money to good use for the family. She says, when work takes her away from being at home with her kids, that money she earns goes towards a need. And that need is supplies.

So, not counting Christmas presents :), I have been putting my money that I have been earning towards first 72 hour kits and now food storage. It is not easy, and does require a lot of thought and organization. I am proud to say we finally have 72 hour kits and the food is food we would eat, so we can rotate it without letting it go bad. So, my goal (and my families) is that we work on our supply of food. My goal is to have 6 months of food/supplies stored by the time I turn 30 this year. It is a sacrifice, but it is something that is useful and benefits my family in the long run, and protects any future struggles we may have.

My 1st Sprint Triathlon Results
























This past October I did complete one of my goals which was to compete in a Sprint Triathlon. It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again!

My stats...



  • I finished 19th out of 85 women.

  • 4th out of 21 girls in my age group (25-29 year olds)


  • Swim:9:54 36th place


  • Bike: 45:16 36th place


  • Run: 26:22 13th place


  • OVERALL: 1:21:32

My experience with my 1st Sprint Triathlon


I showed up real early and am glad I did. Spots to put your bike and stuff filled up fast and I felt like I had a good spot, close to the aisle to get out easier. I felt intimidated because everyone seemed confident and knew what to do, but was surprised to find out there were a lot of people who were first timers just like me.


I was nervous and stretched a lot, but I was more nervous because I had worn a one piece swimsuit and wasn't planning on wearing shorts with it, because I wanted to wear dry bike/running shorts and not have to struggle with pulling off wet shorts.. so I was more nervous with being self conscious. We all gathered around to hear directions and finally other women started to take off shorts and I didn't feel like I was the only one standing there practically naked. I do think next time I might invest in a tri-outfit with shorts, just to avoid that stress.


One thing I had not done before was time myself swimming. That is one thing that would have been very helpful. They have you line up according to your average time. They start everyone in 15 second increments, so it's good to be around swimmers that have the same time as you. I was standing somewhere between 10-12 minute people, and I should have been more like 9 minutes. I had to stop and wait a lot (you can only pass at the wall) so my time could have been a lot faster in the swim. I was surprised at the struggle of most swimmers (even the buff, fit people I did not expect them to look weak while swimming) so I was grateful for all the training I did to work on my endurance in my arms and shoulders. I struggled with getting out of the pool (you had to get out at the deep end, so I had no floor for support and to push) After swimming I felt crossed eyed and blurry and actually took a minute to just stand there at the bike rack to get my vision back. I have no clue what caused that but I wanted to make sure I had my bearings before getting on my bike.


I loved the bike ride, it was a giant loop and wasn't crowded at all and loved the peacefulness of riding and no interruptions of traffic and what not. I was afraid to switch gears out of fear my chain would fall off so I could have been faster on the bike as well if I was more comfortable with my gears.


Believe it or not, the run was the HARDEST event, and I thought I was most prepared for that. Grateful for the brick workouts I had done in the past, but I should have done more. Legs were jello and your body makes you run slow. It was impossible for me to get up to my regular pace. It was torture. The trail was horrible and that didn't help one bit. They had us run onto a desert trail, but the trail was for vehicles so it was all rock, so you had to run slow and concentrate on not rolling your ankle.


I finished hard with a sprint and was heaving horribly, but at the same time felt great for finishing. Overall, I was impressed with the organization and didn't feel totally lost. I know what I need to work on next time and what to expect.


Some things to be more prepared next time:


-Sunglasses for bike ride


-Be comfortable in what I'm swimming in


-When getting ready for the bike eat/drink something before you get on. I was to chicken to lift my hands for any reason so I didn't replenish during the bike ride. (Or practice the skill of drink/eating)


-Know my time for swimming


-Swim cap


-eyedrops



-back up goggles (just in case)


-Be comfortable in switching gears


-After bike ride, maybe take a few seconds to stretch out quads and hamstrings and then run