In the vein of my “Add, Not Subtract†mentality of healthier living (a no-stress way to focus on the positives, not the negatives, especially when it coming to healthy eating), this week I am doing a NO EXCUSES shift when it comes to exercise.
Step 2: Plan out my workouts for the week. If it’s in the calendar, it’s happening.
Step 3: Have a talk with Henry that when I say, “We’re going to see the ladies at gym childcare!†he can’t scream, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!†and dramatically throw himself on the floor. Well, he CAN, but we’re still going regardless…
Step 4: Register for a race to stay committed. I’ve chosen a 5 miler on October 17. Wahoo.
Step 5: Do it. Seriously. just do it. Stop making excuses (too tired, too much good TV, would rather sit here and stare at the wall) and just work towards the BIG goals that I actually want to do.
Here was yesterday’s gym workout with Brandi!
5 minute warm-up on the rowing machine
Two Rounds of these Strength Moves:
20 weighted squats (15 pounds)
20 twisting, weighted lunges (10 pounds) on each side
I flew into town for an Operation Beautiful event – my first of the 2015 Fall season! I’m going to Tufts University next (in October). If you’ve been reading for a while, you may remember that I use to jam in a lot of events, sometimes flying to 6 schools in 2 weeks! I’ve spoken at over 100 colleges. But it’s a lot harder now with two littles at home – I don’t like to be away and it’s hard to coordinate. Still, I really do love it when I get to travel to speak and spread the Operation Beautiful message. It feels extra special these days!
Also, sleeping ALL BY MYSELF is a nice bonus! I lay horizontally in bed and soak up the peace and quiet as much as I can. And then I do hotel bed angels (like snow angels, but even better).
My first flight was painfully early (7 AM – ouch) but once I got a huge coffee in the Atlanta airport, all was right in my world again. Caffeine to the faaaace.
And a pretty decent breakfast bowl – rice, eggs, veggies, sour cream.
As an aside, I wasn’t very sore from Saturday’s triathlon. I seriously thought my muscles would be destroyed, but I survived. Walking through the airport actually felt like a nice stretch. Maybe I wasn’t out of cardio shape as much as I thought I was? Or maybe it was because I took the race slow? Regardless, it sure was nice not to be suffering for days after the event!
So I arrived in Terre Haute, checked into my hotel, and explored the ISU campus for a bit before three events – a workshop with residence life staff, a dinner with key student leaders, and finally – the main event! We had a good turn out. Every school does it differently, but I loved how ISU had Post-It notes out for students to decorate (Operation Beautiful is about leaving positive notes in public places for strangers to find).
It was a great group of women! So much love and positivity out there in the crowd.
And on a random note, I ate at an off-campus restaurant called Roly Poly… they had pretty decent gluten-free wraps.
I picked a quiet table to sit down at and, while waiting for my wrap to arrive, was thinking about how I really missed the kids and the Husband…
And I look up and see this photo of a peregrine falcon…
Henry is super obsessed with all animals but really is into fast/scary animals in particular. Like cheetahs, alligators, sharks… He thinks peregrine falcons are the best birds ever because he once watched a nature TV show that described how they’re the fastest divers in the world (they reach speeds up to 200 MPH!!). Anyway, when I saw this at the restaurant, I broke into the biggest smile! How random, right? It made me so happy – like my babes are always with me, even when I’m away for work. I love little moments like that.
This race had long been Brandi’s end-of-season race – mine was supposed to be Lake Logan International, which was about 7 weeks ago. Since then, I’ve been taking it easy. But I was motivated to sign up for the race when Brandi encouraged me – I figured I could take it easy and it would be a fun way to spend a Saturday morning. I was right!
First things first: Strip off the old race numbers from my helmet and bike – I haven’t ridden at all since Lake Logan (side note – obviously, it’s way better/safer/more fun to train for an event than just wing it…).
I knew going into registration that this race was going to be chilly and rainy, but I hoped that it wouldn’t be too cold once I warmed up (and it actually felt hot and muggy by the time I hit the run, as evidenced by the sports-bra-finisher pic above). I don’t think I’ve ever done a triathlon entirely in the race, so I hit up Instagram for some last minute advice and opted to keep all my transition stuff in plastic bags. Luckily, the rain was more of a constant drizzle than a downpour, so it wasn’t too bad.
Transition was a Ghost Town – lots of last-minute drop outs due to the weather, I think.
Race Recap:
Swim – 750 meters + a long run to transition in 19:02. Totally unprepared for the distance (haven’t been in the water at all since Lake Logan) but after years of freaking out during the swim, I have learned that this leg of the race is at least 80% mental. The water was COLD, which made me swim a little too fast at the start. I flipped to my back a few times to catch my breath, and then I got weirdly dizzy, which was pretty disconcerting. I started to have all these unbidden thoughts of drowning – AHH! I was very happy when the swim was over.
T1 – I took my sweet time getting to transition – it was a long way up a hill. I walked the entire time (something I would never normally do). I saw Brandi leave T1 just as I was coming in. In transition, I sat on my butt to put on my shoes, redid my braid, etc. I took off my wet tri-top and put on a dry shirt. I even walked all the way across transition to give another racer a heads-up that wearing earbuds would disqualify her. In short, I was in no rush.
Bike – 14 miles that seemed to go on forever and ever. Actually took me 1:02:13. It was raining harder and my shirt got soaked immediately. Boo. The bike was a nice course, but as usual, I just want the bike leg to be OVER.
T2 – I hurried up a bit this time around. Grabbed a hat, my race belt, and changed my shoes. And I was off.
Run – The 5K was two rounds of an out-and-back route, so I passed Brandi twice. She told me to try to catch up, but I knew she was too far in front. I managed to not walk at all (!) and finished in a respectable 29:23.
Grand Total: 1:54:33. WAHOO – 6th in my age group (but out of 6, hah!).
I just looked through some of my old race recaps and my time was pretty decent, all things considered. I’m so glad I did that race. Especially when I got to hit up Chipotle afterwards!
I feel more motivated than ever to get back into the swing of things, workout-wise. After all, the end of triathlon (sad face) means the beginning of winter running (happy face)!! Wahoo. I love running in the fall and winter – don’t you??
The disease is real. It makes you do all sorts of crazy things. Like… I decided two days ago that I was going to do a triathlon on Saturday. And all joking aside, this spontaneous decision has me really excited!
I did an biiiiig triathlon in early August – it was called Lake Logan International. It was my “A Race†of the season and was a lot of fun. I performed much better than I thought I would. Race day was a very positive experience…
…BUT training for that event was not so positive. I bit off more than I could comfortably chew with training for the distances (a 1500 M swim, a 25 mile bike, and a 10K run), and I felt pretty overloaded while preparing for the race. I really HATED being negative about training because I love racing and I love triathlons. But knowing I was committed to such a long race was tough – I underestimated how work + two small children would impact my mental and physical reserves. In the end, I was glad that I did the race (it was also a fun girlfriend getaway for me and Brandi) but the experience as a whole left me feeling a bit burnt out.
For the past six weeks or so, I’ve been taking it easy with exercise. I needed a mental break from it, truthfully. In the past, when I’ve chosen to put workouts on the back burner, all aspects of being healthy tend to fall apart (I can be SO all or nothing!). But this time around, I’ve been pretty good about eating my veggies, getting enough sleep, and not overdosing on sugar (I think Vegetarian Whole 30 has played a huge role in that!). Sure, I’ve had some ups and downs with those areas too, but on a whole, I feel pretty great.
When Brandi mentioned that she was definitely doing Cane Creek Sprint Triathlon on Saturday (and yes, she’s actually be training for it like a good triathlete should!), I decided that I’d hop on the bandwagon. Why? Well, I think I’m ready to get back into the swing of exercise-things. Although I normally put the race at the END of the return-to-fitness process, Cane Creek will be my celebration/kick-off of a renewed effort to exercise on the regular.
It’s a sprint distance and I plan to put my focus on having fun, not really “racing.†I’m not in race shape! I doubt I can do the 5K at the end without significant walking. But I know I can comfortably plod along and complete the distance with a smile on my face.
Obviously, this is the LAST triathlon of the season – it’s getting cold out there – so I’m pretty pumped. It’s going to be a lot of fun… I just hope it doesn’t rain the entire race!
When’s your next race? How are you feeling about it?
Yes, I stereotypically love pumpkins and am not ashamed to admit it. Call me basic, call me mainstream – whatever. BRING ON THE PUMPKIN. Seriously. Bring it on. I had my first Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season this weekend and it was better than ever (thanks to the addition of actual pumpkin… hmph).
Anyway – I’ve been making PUMPKIN SPICE COCONUT OIL CHOCOLATE and am officially obsessed. If you have not had my coconut oil chocolate, please stop reading this immediately, run to your kitchen, and whip up a batch. They are so easy and so delicious (and also pretty healthy to boot).
These are very similar to the original recipe, but I use a Special Dark cocoa + pumpkin spice (you can easily make your own) + almond butter (instead of peanut butter).
Hah! Blog photography problems. Moving on…
Pumpkin Spice Coconut Oil Chocolate
Ingredients (for 10 chocolates):
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 tablespoon honey
Directions:
Set out 10 cupcake wrappers on a plate.
In a microwavable bowl, scoop in coconut oil and peanut butter. Microwave for 30 seconds or until coconut oil is melted. Mix well.
Mix in chia seeds, cocoa powder, and honey. Mix well.
Pour equal amount into the cupcake wrappers. Place plate in freezer. Cool until hard. Transfer to a sealed container and store in the freezer.
You know what I’m really looking forward to doing this year with the kiddos? Making Baby Hand Print Pumpkins! This is a totally fun DIY project if you have children.
