Snow for Days (Weekly Recap)

Well, this week was anything but predictable.

Snow on Wednesday (yuck)...snow day on Friday...Broncos win the AFC championship!

So on the whole, not bad little surprises.

 

Totals: 3:35 hours, 26.9 miles, 2,174 calories

So while the quality of some of my workouts went down, I managed to keep the overall workout time about the same. 

Best Workout

The snow really put a wrench in most of my plans for the week. Monday it was bitterly cold and, since I was off in observance of MLK day, I hit the treadmill. It wasn't very exciting but "Making a Murder" definitely helped pass the time. Tuesday was a nice rest day and I definitely felt like my body needed it. By Wednesday I was ready to run again but it was snow and ice outside. So I opted for the trainer and thought maybe Thursday would be better. Thursday was super cold again and we were prepping for a huge snowstorm. Knowing we'd be inside for the weekend I opted to take Ellie for a snowy walk and I'm glad I did. Friday was probably the best workout of the week with a "long" trainer ride. I can't believe 45 minutes seems long but it sure did! My "Long" 5 miler on Saturday was  dreadful on the indoor treadmill at a crowded Y. I got there late and I was kind of grumpy about it but I'm super proud of myself for getting it done. 

Best Meal 

Tonight we had "homemade" pizza (meaning I bought a pre-made crust and put it all together). It was actually really tasty. Friday night we had pancakes and sausage and that, actually, was probably the best thing I made all week. Super boring on the food front but I"m trying to keep it boring and predictable! The real win was last night: I was on my way home from the Landshark Kickoff event and was able to bring Hubz dinner. He asked for McDonalds and, since I hadn't had dessert, I figured I could get a McFlurry. This would make 2 McFlurries in just about a week. Oh my. I pulled up to the drive through and, to my surprise, their ice cream maker was out. A sign from god if there ever was one! I had yogurt instead and it was (almost) as satisfying. 

No meal prep this week - I'm living dangerously! Hopefully I'll have a mid-week update to fill you in on everything but for now - Downton Abby and my true splurge....a Diet Coke. Oh lord, being an adult is hilarious. 

Happy Running!

Back in the Swing of Things (Weekly Recap)

This is going to be a quick one because it's halftime in the Broncos/Steelers game. Go Broncos!

Great job this week logging miles! Managed to space out my rest days and got in a swim!

Best Workout of the Week
Probably my long run yesterday. It was cold. I had every intention of getting up and going to one of two group runs BUT when my fitbit started buzzing at 7 I just knew it wasn't meant to be. Friday night I was feeling really run-down and exhausted. I've been on the edge of getting sick all week & I think I've only avoided it because I've been chugging water and Emergen-C. So I let myself sleep in. Great decision, at the end of the day, and I slept until about 8:30. Then I totally lounged on the couch until about 11:30 when finally got my biscuits off the couch and out for a run. Even at 11:30 it was still pretty cold. Temps in the low 30s and some snow flurries. Did a nice little out & back loop type route from the house. This time I decided to include the nice big hill instead of avoid it. I'm proud of myself for that. Really, I'm proud of myself for going out at all. It was a really nice, zen run. Also a pretty fast one! I did a 4:1 run:walk interval and none of the runs were over 12 min/miles. Woohoo!

Post-Run Recovery Accelerator - YUM!

Met my goal of getting in 3 runs and a swim - Boo Yah!

Best Meal of the Week
We had some good eats again this week. We had my favorite Trader Joe's pasta one night and sloppy joes another. I LOVE sloppy joes. Don't ask me why, but it's better than meatloaf on the 'comfort food' scale for me. I freakin love it. And it's so easy. I can cook it on a Tuesday night and feel like Betty Crocker.

Focusing on eating a bigger breakfast & dialing up the protein

Managed to stay away from the work candy again this week (for the most part). I'm also finding that I'm not snacking as much when I get home. Same goal for next week!


What's up for next week?
Since tomorrow is MLK day it means no work for me! Well, no court anyway. I've got a trial set Wednesday so I'll likely be working tomorrow but thankfully in a much more relaxed setting. Food this week looks like:

Based on what I hear from the other room halftime is over. Also, it must not be going very well. Oh well. Whatever the outcome, no work tomorrow!

GO BRONCOS!

Happy Running!

Looking Forward to Looking Back

The past few months have been challenging. In looking through the blog, I can tell that my frustration and  negativity has spilled out from my every day life and onto the interweb. For that, dear reader, I am very sorry. The truth is that this blog is designed to let me talk openly about this crazy athletic journey I'm on and the truth isn't always sunshine and unicorns.

As I've begun thinking about the year ahead I've found myself thinking more and more about the year behind. In the weight of all of the negative energy plaguing my life this fall I haven't taken time to really look back and appreciate what 2015 brought me. After all, the only way to figure out where I'm going is to really appreciate where I've been.

So lets see...What happened in 2015? 

I Became a Triathlete

As an adult I don't think there's anything harder than trying something new. With all of the struggles that "adulting" brings it can be hard just to do the things we do ordinarily, let alone add in something different. I learned this year that 'new' can be good. New can be fun and exciting and scary and challenging in a truly amazing way. That's what triathlon has meant for me. I wrote in October of 2014 about feeling underwhelmed with myself. The sweet sweet highs you get after finishing your first 'X' just don't seem to come after your 8th. Triathlon brought that back for me. Each new race, new distance, new experience made me feel excited about my own possibilities. That, friends, is a great feeling. 

I Raced - A Lot!
I didn't set out to race a lot in 2015, but I set out to race Muncie. Part of that meant building up the triathlon ladder. I did that by racing and it was awesome.

Rhoades 10K

Papa John's 10 Miler

Shelbyville Sprint Tri

KDF Mini Marathon

TriFest Olympic

Race the Bridge Olympic

Muncie 70.3 

I was a first timer for four of those races. Each one brought it's own challenges: from the rain at the KDF 13.1 to the heat at Tri Fest or the congestion at Race the Bridge, but each was a great experience. Because of my training and planning - and mental approach - I didn't have a single negative experience at a race this year.

I Stuck to my training plan
When I decided to do Muncie I started reading everything I could get my hands on. The first Tri book I read was Don Fink's, "Be Iron Fit 70.3". I credit my success to this book and the "Just Finish" training plan I got from it. The plan was 16 weeks - longer than most plans I'd attempted before. It included workouts 5 days a week with two-a-days on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. It was challenging, of course, but it never really felt impossible. I missed some swims, of course, but I think at the end of it I'd only missed one or two long workouts. I consider that a huge win. I remember putting the plan up on the fridge and thinking, "Oh God. Can I really do this?" It was intimidating!! 8 hours of training a week while working 50ish? I stuck to my guns and embraced the 'hard' and got it done. This mindset and planning really helped me tackle other challenges in my life. The mental fortitude you get from making a plan and executing it is really something. I'm proud of myself for putting in the work to accomplish my goals

I Learned to Bike
Anyone who followed the blog in 2015 knows what an odyssey this was. I hadn't ridden a bike since I was 12. At least. Learning as an adult has a brand new sense of "ugh" because....well, it just does! Your sense of fear is heightened, I think. There are real consequences to breaking your arm/leg/collarbone in the adult world. And also, it hurts.When I toed the line at Muncie I'd had my bike less than a year. I spent the winter getting comfortable peddling the damn thing, but then in the spring I jut rode. I rode a lot. I got comfortable riding in groups, going out with the Louisville Bicycle Club on Saturday mornings. I completed 3 50+ mile rides at the end of 2015. I didn't have any serious crashes. 

I logged a lot of miles
I often find myself comparing my athleticism or my fitness to prior years. Back in 2009 when I did the Flying Pig I ran long and fast often. I've never been able to get that fast again. In 2012 I logged a ton of miles and dropped some serious weight in anticipation of a marathon and a wedding. Looking back at 2013 and 2014 it's no wonder the weight came back on - I wasn't committing to anything! Just comparing 2014 to 2015 I seriously upped my game.

I increased my swim and bike miles 10 fold while still logging more running. Obviously that's a natural consequence of training for a 70.3. Still, looking at the raw data and seeing in black and white my improvement is pretty spectacular.

I had a lot of fun
I did. I really did. It was hard, and there were tough times where I thought, "Fuck it". But I really had fun. I met a lot of really neat, nice people. So many folks in the Tri Club were so good to me and I look forward to repaying that this year. Most of all, I think I got reacquainted with me. I don't think I realized how bogged down and stressed I was. I don't think I realized how miserable I was. My day to day work is filled with so much negative. So much "No". So many limits to what I can do. To be able to leave here every day and push past my limits was a god send. 2015 put me to the test and what I found that underneath I'm not the lazy slob I thought I was.

I am confident, I am capable, and I am a rockstar.

Thank you, 2015. You were a lot of fun. Now lets see what 2016 had for me.

Starting Off Right (Weekly Recap)

Happy 2016 indeed!

First week of 2016 and first week of a new training plan for my spring races. Altogether I think things went pretty well.

Best Workout of the Week

This new training schedule is gonna take some getting used to. I liked my Iron Fit plan and it's Monday/Friday off-day scheme. That really seemed to work and keep me rested after harder workouts. This plan has me resting Tuesday, Thursday & (sort of) Sunday. The best workout was probably Wednesday's run with the work girls. Rania was feeling crappy so Emily and I headed out together. She was totally sandbagging, talking about how she hadn't run in awhile yada yada yada. She smoked me! She was really moving, but I kept up just fine. I like running with her and with Rania. It's really nice to run with someone else and it's great to get to chat with ladies I like so much. 

Best Meal of the Week

We had a lot of pretty normal meals this week. Friday night we had drinks at a new(ish) restaurant in town called "Le Moo". There was a cow theme which I loved. Neither one of us were super hungry - having each eaten out for lunch - so we went for appetizers. We had Prince Edward Island Mussels steamed in white wine and sriracha and double "dunked" fries with a ranch and sriracha ketchup. Wow. SO good. I love mussels and these didn't disappoint. They were a bit spicy but great otherwise. Plus some good local bread for sopping up the rest of the broth. 

I also had their variation of a Moscow mule. Yum.

I also happened to lose almost 2 lbs this week - Huzzah! Now granted it was probably just christmas weight BUT loss is loss is loss and I'm happy about it. 

Next Week

Here's what I'm gonna eat for the week

I'm hoping to get in three runs and a swim. I did really well last week with snacking and work candy - a trend I'd really like to keep up. Discipline and lots and lots of tea seem to be the trick! 

Time to get to it.

Happy Running!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Folks! Sorry for the absence - the holidays tend to get crazy. From the 17th to the 2nd I felt like I was non-stop. For once, it was good busy though. Holiday Parties, my birthday, three random days of work and then 11 blissful days of vacation. It was marvelous. I wasn't completely sedentary either, check it out:

Week of 12/21 - 12/27

Week of 12/28 - today

Favorite Workout
Difficult to decide. The swim today was pretty good - mostly because I got to play with all of my new gear! (and it just happened and the 12/21 run was damn near 2 weeks ago..) Anyway. I got some awesome new gear for Christmas and a lot of it was swim related.

Out with the old - in with the new!

I also got a sweet new AudioFlood iPod to replace my H20 Audio set. The little lock on it busted the week before Muncie and I've been tunes-less ever since. I was super excited to try out AudioFlood after reading Swim Bike Mom's awesome review. It didn't disappoint! It's literally just an iPod shuffle and it clips on your goggles. Technology guys, it's real. It's awesome.

I also got some new fins - yay kicking! I forgot I'd ordered short blade fins. This means that they're more about fixing your kick technique and increasing strength then they are about helping to propel you through the water. Oy. My hamstrings were screaming during the first couple of 50s but subsided after awhile. I noticed that when I swim with fins it allows me to be super intentional about my upper body and body positioning. Guess that's what happens when you're not relying solely on your upper body for buoyancy and propulsion. Who knew!

I also loved my birthday run. For the last few years I've made it a point to get in a run on my birthday and it's a really wonderful tradition. This year I got to run with Rania since Wednesday was a short day. It was kinda rainy and chilly but it was a good run nonetheless. I'm really looking forward to sunlight sticking around later so we can keep running

Favorite Food
Super hard to pick. Not necessarily because everything I've eaten in the last two weeks was good. It's just...oh lord everything I've eaten in the last two weeks.

For starters, there was this amazing vat of ham salad my mom brought me for my birthday.

I.Love.Ham Salad. Not a huge ham fan otherwise, but this stuff is golden. And this particular variety comes from a lady she works with who has a farm. Thank you, Wilbur, for your delicious salad-y goodness.

Christmas dinner was good, Christmas brunch was good. Christmas dinner at my mother in law's was good, as was everything else we ate. I tried not to over do it. My goal at my in-laws was basically just to stay hydrated. Drink as much water as possible and run every day. I basically got that done. AND this year I didn't have any tummy troubles over the holidays, which is huge. I owe it to Good Belly (and some to my good sense, but not much).

So what's next?

- Currently setting my training plan for the Run the Bluegrass and Kentucky Derby Festival Half Marathons! I can't for the life of me find my training plan from last year. Must've gone without one #Beast
- Finishing a post to sum up last year. I have a lot of thoughts about last year - some good, some bad, and I should probably put them down before...
- Finishing a post about next year! Time to set down some goals and plan ahead for 2016

So there's the plan for the week. Lets get to it.

Happy Running!

Recap and What Have You

There's so much pressure to come up with blog titles. It's really daunting. I'm totally lacking imagination tonight, as I look out onto this imposing week ahead, so you get what you get.

Anyway, last week

So I didn't actually set a goal for activity this week, I now realize. But last week it was 200 and I almost doubled that this week! Granted I had an entire day off work...no, actually, I'm still proud of myself. 

Best Workout of the Week

Maybe not best by athletic standards, but my favorites are probably either of my walks with Ellie. The incoming Governor declared Tuesday a state holiday (or state of emergency, we'll see) so I got the day off work. The weather was really nice so I decided after some lounging about to take Ellie to cherokee Park to walk. We listened to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History and climbed some hills. In all we did 5.04 miles and my legs were killing me Wednesday!

Saturday it was a balmy 70 degrees here. No kidding. Kentucky is very midwestern in that it gets 4 separate seasons (usually....almost always). 70 Degrees is just rude on December 12th. Also it was stupid humid. Anyway because it was so nice I decided to take Ellie out and then ride my bike. The combo was actually really nice. We did a loop around the park while I listened to the first episode of Serial Season 2 (which was fantastic, despite my prior skepticism). After we got back I hopped on the bike for a 30 minute spin session. The combination of the walk and the spin really got my legs eased up. 

Food of the Week

My relationship with food this week was mixed. After last week's ineffective stomach episodes, I decided this week to try to rebook the system. So instead of talking about "best" meals of the week, lets talk about what I actually ate. My Stomach reboot called for some rules. These included: 

- Absolutely no nuts (including peanuts...and peanut butter)

- No popcorn

- No granola or oatmeal

- No Spicy Stuff

So typically my breakfast has been overnight oats or a whole wheat English Muffin with Peanut butter. So yeah, I had to improvise. For breakfast I had 1/2 a Belvita package (so 2 crackers) and a Special K Protein Drink. I didn't really notice myself getting super hungry or anything. I typically ate my crackers with my morning coffee and drank the special K on my way over to court. Lunch was soup every day (Except Friday, when I got Panera, duh). Dinner wasn't too eventful with a frozen Tika Masala one night and a sandwich another. 

Where I can improve? Eating out. Tuesday night we got BBQ in celebration of having the day off. The BBQ was a little spicy and I got onion rings with it. I was appropriately punished for making this decision as The Belly decided to cramp and gurgle for the rest of the night. Thursday night, after 3 hours at the Volleyball Gym I broke down and got Chicken Nuggets and some fries from Wendy's. The Belly, however, did not reject this. It think at that point I was just too hungry.

So how do I feel after upping my activity level and controlling my diet?

Awful. Wait, is that not what you were expecting? I gained 3lbs. My stomach is super distended and angry. At the end of today's run I felt as though I was running in one of those pregnancy simulator vest things. With a big sack of weight not connected to me but still me. It was frustrating to say the least. 

BUT - that's just how things go sometimes right?

This week I will:

- Eat more protein (Even if it means eating more calories) 

- Maintain my activity schedule

- Stay Positive

 Here's my meal & activity plan as proof. 

And here's Ellie because why not?

Happy Running!

The Unexpected and a Belated Sunday Set up

So very little about last week went as planned. I didn't end up in trial (thankfully) but my body decided a full on revolution just to keep the week stressful. Lets take a look, shall we?

Goal for the week was 200 minutes. I'd planned on doing 4 days with 30 minutes of activity and another day of 60. I guess I totally forgot there are 7 days in a week because when I charted it out there was only one rest day. Oh well. After a difficult start to the week I managed to hit my goal

Best Workout of the Week
Probably yesterday's walk/swim. I knew I wanted an hour of activity and a swim but didn't want to swim for an hour. I hit up the Y near my folks and did half hour on the treadmill with some Tudors. It felt good just to walk at a nice 15 min/mi pace. Afterwards I suited up and hit the pool. I did the same base workout from last week but did the entire main set instead of half. It looked like this

200 Warm up

6x50 (3 drill, 3 kick)

4x

   25

   50

   75

   100

200 cool down

 It's a really good workout for when you have very little swim base. On the 3rd or 4th time through I threw in some backstroke, but did free for most of it. My neck and shoulders are definitely thanking me today (not).

Best Meal of the Week
Food has been a banned subject this week. Monday I felt really nauseous all day but wrote it off to stress. Monday night I felt so achy I thought I had a fever. No joke, my legs hurt so bad. I took a bath and everything. Tuesday the nausea continued but again, I thought it was stress. I headed home early and laid out on the couch trying to relax a bit. The rest of the week followed similarly; no food really sat well in my stomach but an empty stomach was worse. Essentially I'd get so hungry my stomach hurt, so I ate something, then felt nauseous and over-full. It was oddly gall-stoney.

Check out all those peas

Last night after my swim I made a Bertolli pasta meal that I think will take top honors this week. I love their "Meal for 2" series. This one had shrimp and asparagus. There wasn't a ton of asparagus so I added some peas. Pro Tip: Always keep frozen peas or mixed veggies in the freezer to add to frozen meals! It was really good and just the right amount and texture.

I'm putting the finishing touches on this at work (sorry boss!) so I don't have my meal plan to share. However, this week's meal plan is going to be very spur of the moment. I'm basically trying to re-set my stomach. I want to stick to mostly liquids and easy solids if possible so I loaded up on shakes and soups. I've got some good crackers too. I'm hoping that by going back to the bare bones my stomach can rid itself of whatever has offended it. At the end of the day I'm hoping it's just a really really really  bad bout of PMS. Thanks a lot, Eve.

The other plan for the week? Tea! I loaded up on some good herbal tea while out Christmas shopping this weekend. Not only do I think it will help my stomach but I think it will come in handy around 2:30-3:00 when the headaches and chocolate cravings his the hardest. Here's hoping celestial seasonings can save me from myself.

Happy Running!!

How do you deal with mid-day cravings? 
Ever had a week you just want to go back and start over?

Hello December!

I'm not really sure how it happened, but November is behind us. It seems like it happened really fast but I know that December will only go faster. This fall has been a whirlwind of activity, both personally and professionally. I'm quite ready to get the hell off of this ride and slow down for a little bit (though I don't think that's going to happen).

So lets talk about last week.

Yuck! Yeowza's. Disgusting. I'm not quite as disappointed with my miles as I am with my Minutes of activity. Particularly since last week was damn near double

Oh well. We knew that this week would be lower, didn't we? I managed to get in a short run on Wednesday before we got in the car. I desperately needed it but my body hurt. Everything was creaky and sore and just didn't feel right. Maybe I've been pushing it too much without a plan? I think I need to get some variation back in the mix to keep my body happy.

Thursday was the annual Gold's Gym Turkey Trot! I think this is my fourth or fifth year running it - I love it! More and more of the family has gotten in to it and this year we ALL had funny hats!

The Teenagers are just *so* excited

It was too freakin hot to run in them - 55 degrees at the start! - but my sister in law made sure we got our pictures! 

Hands off ladies - he's all mine

The race itself was ok. We had Chinese food late when we got in on Wednesday and it was fighting me. I decided to run slow and then about 2 seconds after the horn sounded decided I just wanted to get it over with. I negative split the race in a big way, which is exactly what I was going for. The pace overall was....slow. I was almost 5 minutes slower than the previous year, which was super disappointing. I guess I need to keep in mind that last year at this time I'd just run the Urban Bourbon 13.1, so I was definitely better trained. Oh well, there's always next year!

Then it was to the couch for football watching and complete and utter relaxation. I'm happy to report I wore stretchy pants the entire weekend and ate pretty much whatever we wanted. I made Hubz stop at Kroger for some Good Belly before we got home and I hit that pretty hard. It seemed to really help the discomfort from the Chinese food AND help me get hungry for dinner. 

I'd taken extra workout clothes so I could run Friday but...my knee was not happy. In fact it was less happy on Saturday after a day off than it was on Friday. So Friday & Saturday were big fat 'ZERO's'. 

Today I decided that I could avoid the office - and the trial I'm set for on Tuesday - so long as I cleaned up and went for a swim. With extra time on my hands I headed to the suburban YMCA that has the super nice pool. It felt really good to get back in the water but I was quickly reminded that it has been 5 months since I swam. Seriously? Good lord. I did 1500 meters of a 2000 meter set and 

called it a day. 

Now I'm just working on the Cleaning Part and...

Last week was the first week I'd flat out ignored my meal plan. With Thanksgiving I decided, eh, F*&@k it. I was right to do it. This week, back on track. 

This week I'd really like to aim for 200 minutes of activity. I plan to break that up with 30 minutes x 5 week days and 60 minutes for Saturday. It's ambitious given the fact that I'm going to start this trial Tuesday BUT I think I can make it.

I got to the grocery after my swim today and tried to just keep it to the list. It was hard!

Tonight we're having sausage and potatoes - Hubz request! - so I'll pre Tuesday's Mexican Chicken soup & my overnight oats for the week.

Primed for a good week. In the midst of all of the work chaos one positive thought has really helped me through:

Happy Running!!

Are you prepared to have a successful week? What'd you do?