Month: December 2015

OMG, the dinner and cake last night was insane! We celebrated JJ’s birthday at Swine – it was such a great night. The food was amazing. Normally I think barbecue is a bit heavy, so I don’t like it eat it out a lot, but it wasn’t like that there. The ribs were great, and the brisket was amazeballs. I had a salmon plate, but I nibbled a bit of the birthday boy’s stuff too. 🙂

The cake. OMG, the cake! It was beyond. I’ve been eating ‘non-traditional’ cakes and cupcakes for awhile now, and I’m to the point where I’m not really a fan of a Costco/Publix/WinnDixie off the shelf cake. It’s just too sweet, and to be honest, fake tasting, to me. This cake was the exact opposite. It was rich and decadent, but in a clean and not overpowering way. It was worth every cent! Plus, I think JJ loved it.

I think most restaurants use some forms of vegetable and canola oil, and I definitely feel it the next morning after we eat out. It’s not terrible, but I feel more bloated and groggy than normal. I’m feeling it a bit today, so I’m going to be super clean the next few days to try and get rid of some of the bloat.

I’m psyched for today because all the holiday celebrations are OVER! I can officially dive into my prep for the year. Not that it’s impossible to stay clean and focused over the holidays, but there’s so many distractions. Plus, I hate having to turn down something that’s offered to me because I don’t like offending people who I know just want me to enjoy something they love. I’m so blessed with a great family, so if I have to indulge in a few extra sweets because of it, so be it. But…it takes a toll.

I meal prepped for yesterday and today in the mornings, but I have to get out of that. It’s not sustainable during regular weeks. This weekend I’m going to figure out the menu for next week. This is ‘work day’ food for today, and then I’m going to make a mix of Halibut and Sablefish from the Sizzlefish pack tonight for dinner.

This is:

Smoothie: one bunch of organic kale, Vega One Vanilla Chai powder, 1 cup organic strawberries, 1 scoop wheat grass, water

Breakfast: 2 organic eggs, 1 link chicken sausage, 1/2 cup white rice.

Lunch: Leftover bacalao (Puerto Rican cod), orange pepper sauteed in 1/2 tsp coconut oil, 1/2 cup leftover yellow rice

Snack: 4 ounces Applegate farms turkey, 1 small organic apple

Did another lunchtime workout. I’m a little concerned that I’m not using enough weight, but I have a 1:1 session with Erinne next week, so I’ll get into it more then.

I can’t lift to save my life. I should do CrossFit for a few months just to learn how to properly lift. But, I can run in a straight line at a moderate pace for a very long time! 🙂

I’m so excited about having four days in a row off! I’m going to ride my bike and run a lot, and maybe take a dip in the ocean. I’m not sure what the jellyfish situation is, so it’ll be dependant on that.

Until next time!

A lot of folks I follow on the Interwebs are getting into Periscope lately. I really like Periscope as a consumer, but I just don’t think it’s the right outlet for me. I don’t think I have that much interesting to say off-hand, and I like being able to choose my words more carefully. I also like the process of putting words on ‘paper’ and having to go through the process of sussing out what I want to say and how I want to say it. It helps me understand what’s going on in my brain. 🙂

Today started off a little slow, so I didn’t get out and run this morning. My workout was supposed to be on the track because Tuesday’s are normally track days, but I was going to settle for intervals on the road. I did manage to prep my meals before heading out for work, and brought my stuff for a lunchtime run (since the office is soooooo quiet).

Here’s a link for my food diary for the day. There was almost no good food left since I just got back yesterday from my parents, but JJ brought leftovers from Christmas at his mom’s house, so for lunch I had some pork shoulder, rice with pigeon peas and then I lightly sauteed a random orange pepper I found in the fridge.  Breakfast was the usual chicken sausage, eggs and white rice.

My lunch workout wasn’t great, but the treadmill never is for me. My form always feels off and my RPE is always higher than it would be outside. I warmed up for about 10′ and then did 6 x .4 miles @ ‘mile’ pace with 2′ (or so) intervals between. I did the first three intervals at 8′ pace and the last three at 8:30 pace. At least I got them done.

I get frustrated with running a lot because I used to be a good runner. I really did! My half marathon PR is 1:42 on a hilly Caesar Rodney Half Marathon course. I so want to get back to being that athlete.

I think I’m supposed to do some core/plank stuff this afternoon, but we’ll see. I have to stop at the store to stock up on some foods and then we’re going out for JJ’s birthday dinner at 7pm. The core stuff might have to wait until later. I already scoped out the restaurant and planned what I’m going to order.

This is the cake I got him – omg, it smells amazing!!! It’s all vegan and organic, except for the marshmallows (I think they have gelatin in them).  He’s going to flip out when he sees it. I can’t wait!

I originally started this blog thinking that I’d be good about writing about my journey in the 2015 year of triathlon very diligently, being thoughtful about what’s happening, what happened and what I see in the future.

The truth is, I was just overwhelmed. With everything! There were so many firsts in 2015 – first full year in Miami, first year with a new coach, first year in the new job (and then another new job), first year with the boyfriend – in retrospect, it was too much to process at once. I had to let myself be ok with just getting used to my new reality.

Which, I absolutely love. I LOVE my life. I have tremendous friends, a great job, a bright triathlon future and my absolute favorite human to share it all with. That, in and of itself, is new for me, I realized. I just wasn’t used to having so much happiness! What a terrible thought!

Any way, I had to adjust. I had to adjust to not being depressed or sad or worried all the time. It’s a good adjustment, but a significant change.

With that behind me, I decided that 2016 is going to be the year of (pardon my language) “Giving Zero F*&(s”. It’s my year to focus on me and do the things I know I can do, but have always held back on, for whatever reason/excuse/bs.

I think I get too concerned with my impact on other folks – I don’t want to inconvenience anyone, or stand out in anyway (yes, shocker…I’m an introvert!). This year, I’m over that. If I want to do something, I’m going to find a way to do it, and if people have to adjust to it, so be it.  I’m going to completely focus on me and my goals and outcomes, and not worry about what anyone thinks about my plan and what anyone else is doing to get to the same place I’m heading towards.

I realize that this is probably close minded, but I think I need to be like that for a bit. It’s not in my nature to be that way, so I need to work at it. My tendency is to drift from idea to strategy and not stick with anything because I’m so curious about the potentials and possibilities. This year, I’ve chosen my path and I’m sticking to it. In order to do that, I have to force myself to focus and not be distracted by other (probably good) ideas and strategies and focus on the ones I’ve vetted, chosen and invested in.

This year, I’m going to:

1. Do what my triathlon coach tells me to do
2. Eat what my nutrition coach tells me to
3. Keep the long-term strategy as my guiding light, but…
4. Take it day by day when it gets overwhelming

And I want to:

• Lose at least 25 pounds before Ironman Lake Placid. This is going to be my last Iron-distance race for awhile, so I want to make it count.
• Race under 5:30 in a Half Ironman, probably either Miami 70.3 or MiamiMan. I know I’ve got it in me, particularly with the weight loss. In order to get there, I need to:
  • Improve my run pace so I can run about 8:30’s in a HIM.
  • Actually be able to race my bike race wattage of 200 watts.
  • Swim the way I know I can, in the high 1:30’s/100y.