Day 5

I did the run on Monday... and then proceeded to slack off a bit during the week. Today, I got up and did a swim (which was a great reminder about why I need to get my butt in the pool more often). Then, I "rested" a few hours and had a run with a friend. That was great... I feel like death come over. Sigh. So much work to be done. And now, I'm going to shower, write some workouts, and relax a bit.

Day 1 - Back at it!

I DID IT! Even though there's 4 inches of snow on the ground, I got myself to the gym and ran. I actually did the Couch 2 5k day 1 workout today. Two reasons why:

1) I'm still trying to kick the last of this cold.
2) I haven't really run consistently in a while.
3) BONUS REASON: There were 4 inches of snow on the ground, so I had to be on the treadmill. C25k is a great way to keep me occupied instead of a straight up run.

Tomorrow, Jon and I have a "date" at 5:30am to get to the gym. I'll be swimming. Not sure what he'll be doing. Silly to be excited about a "date" that we won't be spending together, but we both need it. After the swim, I'll come home and ride my bike for a little bit.

Today, I ordered the supplies to make salad in a jar and vacuum seal it. I'm excited about this. It seems silly, but I am.

I weighed in today too. 150.1 this morning. Hmph. Well, it's a starting point for my journey to get healthier again. I'm beyond frustrated, but it's ok. Just need to take it a day at a time!

Ok, ok...

Training starts this week. There are 90 days until my half iron-man and I HAVE to get moving. Otherwise, it's going to HURT!

Tomorrow's workout is a 20-40 min run. We'll see how it goes. It's supposed to be snowing here (Really Spring? Where are you?!) in the morning, so I'm not sure if I'll get outside to run, but I'm hoping to. Since it's so short, I could do it inside without too many problems. Headphones in, music going, treadmill on.

Thankfully, it's a lifting cardio week (so no lifting) and a triathlon recovery week - perfect for getting my butt back in gear.

I'm still trying to figure out the lack of desire to train this year. This is so unlike me. I'm hoping as the weather gets better (if it ever does...) that I'll get my mojo back!

I need to stop reading...

I really need to stop reading things. The more I read, the more angry I become about what our government (USDA and FDA) is allowing to be put in products.

Before triathlon and becoming a personal trainer, I could've cared less. In fact, Jon and I once had a conversation about GMOs that we both agreed they were probably fine. Fast forward a couple of years and I'm angry about the fact that we allow one company to rule so much of our seed market & control our farmers. Monsanto is becoming the government of the seeds/farms. I don't like it one bit. I want to know that my food is whole, safe, and tastes as it should.

This year, I'm starting a back patio garden. I've been wanting to for years now. I've got the time this year, so I figured "why not?" We'll see how well I do. For starters, we don't have an actual back yard. It's our driveway. Since the HOA says I can't grow things in my front yard, I have to have my garden on my patio. I discovered something called a grow bag. I bought 2 potato bags, 1 garlic bag, 1 carrot bag, 1 tomato bag, 1 herb bag, 1 lettuce bag, and 1 onion bag.

Next up, figure out the seeds. A friend posted an article on Facebook about non-GMO, non-Monsanto seeds. I took a look at it and decided I really liked Seed Savers Exchange. I went ahead and ordered the following:

Potatoes: Yukon Gold
Carrots: St. Valery
Tomatoes: Tomato Sampler (no idea which 6 plants I'll get)
Herbs: Stevia, Basil, Cilantro, and Chives
Lettuce: Lettuce Sampler; mix of Australian Yellowleaf, Forellenschluss, Pablo, Red Velvet, and at least four more of our favorite varieties
Onions: Red Wethersfield
Sweet Potatoes: need to keep looking for some...
Garlic: Can't be ordered until July

I can't wait to start my backyard garden and see how it goes! I'm not usually great with plants, so we'll see...

In triathlon related news: I've been sick with a cold all week. It's been just bad enough that workouts aren't a good idea, but just "good" enough that I could at least do other stuff. I REALLY need to get back on board next week or these races are going to majorly suck.

Trigger Point Therapy Class

I signed up for this Trigger Point Therapy class in January. As today got closer, I was more and more skeptical that this class would actually help or be able to teach me much. I've never been more wrong. This class has made me a believer in Trigger Point Therapy.

No doubt, this class was definitely a "teaching class". It was not only teaching us how to use their products on ourselves and how to teach our clients to use their products, but also teaching us to sell sessions using their products in hopes that our clients will buy their products.

Here's the class I took:

MYOFASCIAL COMPRESSION TECHNIQUES (MCT)

Trigger Point Performance Programming for Professionals (8 hour workshop):

Take your knowledge of Trigger Point Performance products to the next level by learning how to incorporate Myofascial Compression Techniques (MCT) into your personal training business! In this training, you will learn how to teach others to use Trigger Point Performance products. You will learn how to effectively demonstrate self-massage manipulations to your clients and other trainers. This training works through the ‘Ultimate 6’ areas of the body that most impact overall biomechanics – as well as the ’plus’ applications. Personal trainers and fitness professionals will leave with an in-depth knowledge of how to use and how to teach MCT in order to increase mobility, improve performance, and increase results that your clients get in your sessions. This training is hands-on, focusing on the practical application of Trigger Point Performance education. Earn continuing education credits and become a Trigger Point ‘approved’ trainer!

I can't even begin to describe the crazy stuff we did and the before/afters that we were able to see. It was amazing. I hope to be able to include it in my daily routine and after learning it well enough, to start incorporating it into my clients' routines!

Last week & This week

Last week, I got in 3 of my workouts for the tri training. That's better than I have been about it. I'm not quite sure what I was thinking by signing up for an early season half iron man distance race!

I also got an email from TriRock Annapolis saying they were moving the date from May 4 to July 20. So, I scrambled to find another local sprint tri as a season opener. Thankfully there was one that's still open and is a team race. Should be fun.

I decided that ALL of my races this year are going to be B/C races and I'm not going to worry about times for them. I'm trying to build a business of my own and help build another, while completely forgetting how to train for triathlon. So, the goal is just to have fun.

The week has started off well. I got to the gym and did my lifting workout and then rode the stationary bike next to my girlfriend while we caught up a bit. I also decided to take the refund for TriRock given the new date. I'm not all about swimming with jellyfish, so no thanks! Plus, July is pretty miserable to race during, so that's a double "no thanks".

My goal for tomorrow is to get a swim and run in.

On another note, I'm having my business cards designed. I'm super excited about it and can't wait to see what they look like. This will be the first time in my professional career that I have "real" business cards. Kind of sad, but true!