By Kim Hilsenbeck.
Being fit is a lifestyle for Carrie Isaac of Dripping Springs. As the wife of Texas State Rep. Jason Isaac, she always wants to look her best. But living healthy every day is her goal.
Some days it’s harder than others, she said.
“I definitely do eat junk. But we also juice every day.”
The “we” includes her husband and their two sons, Aidan, 10, and Landon, 8. The juicing includes kale, celery, broccoli, cucumbers and other green veggies, and maybe a little apple or orange juice for the kids to make it sweeter.
“They’re kind of just used to it now. They’ll tolerate it and they drink it without too many complaints,” Isaac said of her children.
Carrie Isaac credits her husband’s support, as well as his competition, for being able to participate in triathlons. It’s become a part of her routine now – always trying to improve her time. (photo by Christi Photography) |
During the week, Isaac said she watches her calories. She has also cut back on dairy and drinks almond milk. Grains and vegetables are a big part of her daily intake.
The weekends are more relaxed at the Isaac household in terms of eating healthy and getting exercise.
“We don’t want our kids to be the freaks at school who don’t ever get to drink soda or have candy,” Isaac said. “And the boys love computer games, but we have limits,” she added.
So the couple has established a balance between healthy food and exercise versus eating the “bad” stuff and playing video games.
“There is so much sugar in everything,” she said. “We don’t give them juice at night.”
On Fridays, the boys can buy school lunch, but Isaac packs their lunch the rest of the week. They don’t normally eat fast food, especially during the week.
To stay in shape and looking fabulous, Isaac runs, bikes, swims, lifts weights and does yoga. She started competing in triathlons with her husband several years ago.
“Jason suggested we do one together,” Isaac said. “In the first one we did, he beat my time by 30 seconds. But then I was like, OK, it’s on.”
The second go-round, she beat his time.
Her husband has even talked about their competitiveness on the campaign trail.
What started as a competition between them has blossomed into a more regular gig for her.
As a full-time employee at a natural gas company and an elected official, Isaac said her husband doesn’t always have the time to run and train with her, especially during an election season.
But competing in half-triathlons and full triathlons is something Isaac now does at least once a year. She even trained for and competed in an Ironman triathlon competition in 2011 in The Woodlands in Houston. She did a half Ironman in Austin first and knew before she finished that she wanted to step up her goals.
“I was really well trained for the half,” Isaac said. “I felt it was easy.”
So she thought, why not do the full Ironman triathlon?
“I couldn’t do them without Jason’s full support,” she said.
She usually does her training while the kids are in school during the week, but she said the workouts sometimes spill over into family time.
“Sometimes I need him to pick up the kids because I’m often out training for several hours,” Isaac said.
A triathlon, which consists of swimming, running and biking, pushes humans to physical fitness levels beyond any of the three sports alone. It definitely made Isaac tired during her training.
“I fell asleep reading to the boys a few times,” she said.
But for this 42-year-old mom, it’s a chance to improve her endurance and achieve a goal.
“Maybe it was a mid-life crisis thing,” she said with a glint of humor in her voice.
For Ironman triathlons, which are held all over the world, the event organizers set a time limit of 17 hours. Isaac finished in 15 hours, 52 minutes and 52 seconds.
“I feel pretty proud about my Ironman triathlon time,” she said. “But I would be really happy with 12 hours.”
Which means it’s likely that Isaac will set her sights on another Ironman triathlon in the future.
Meanwhile, you won’t catch her in the fast food line during the week. But on weekends – well, you just never know.
