Tri Training + Nutrition

I've been getting better about my triathlon training. So far, I've only missed 1 workout this week. I'll probably just write it off. The weather here has been less than desirable, so I'm giving myself a "win" for getting most of my workouts done!

I've decided that I'm going to start Whole 30 on Monday. Monday only to give myself the weekend to prep food, menus, and my mindset. I HAVE to do something. I did ok on "just" Paleo, but this past week & a half has been horrible. I think this will really kick start me to get my nutrition under control a bit more.

I have some left over shredded turkey and/or chicken in my freezer that should help with "quick" meals like chicken salad wraps (lettuce wraps, of course) and things like that. I'll report back with what my plans are after I make them for the week.

First Indoor Brick of 2014

Got my first indoor brick of 2014 done today. I need to allow myself to be ok with putting the dog in his pen & getting my workouts done.

Today, I did the Clingman's TrainerRoad workout. I missed all of my "week 1" workouts for the Traditional Base - Low Volume II plan. I figured I'd just pick it up on week 2 instead of rearranging my workout plan. Makes sense, right?

After the bike workout, I knew I also needed to get a run in. Thank goodness for our new treadmill. Given the snow & windchill, I wasn't leaving the house to workout! I got in 30 minutes, 11:19 per mile pace for 2.65 miles. Not my fastest by any means, but I'm getting back into the swing of things.

I'll cover the Paleo stuff in another post. Last week wasn't too great & this week has been nuts.

How is it already Wednesday?!

First, update on Paleo week 2. It hasn't been all that great. I've been clearing out more non-Paleo foods than we've been having Paleo. So, I'm going to get back to it today.


Breakfasts:
Mostly non-paleo stuff. Need to get it out of the house.
Larabars
Sweet potatoes & maple apple chicken sausage - my favorite for breakfast

Lunches:
Leftovers

Dinners:
Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots - surprisingly good!
Old School Italian Meet Sauce with Zoodles
Chinese Hot Plate (chicken & veggies)
Best Ever Chicken Strips (Honey Mustard Sauce) with Sweet & Salty Broccoli Salad
Deconstructed Gyro with salad
Thai Lime Coconut Shrimp with salad

Snacks:
Dried fruits (no sugar added)
Nuts
Fruit
Veggies
Applesauce (no sugar added)

Second, workouts. I'm getting back into the groove. Monday, I did TNT & a 30 min walk/run. Yesterday, I did a 20 minute swim. 10 minutes continuous swim, 30 sec rest, 10 min continuous swim, hot tub. I was supposed to bike, but didn't. The reason? That bike ride is supposed to be an FTP (functional threshold power) test and my legs need to be kind of fresh. And they're not. I may skip that workout all together and just go on to the next workout in my cycling plan. We'll see. Today, I did TNT & skipped my run. I could barely move after TNT (leg heavy day!) and I know I *should* have done it.

Third, we're getting our treadmill TODAY! My pain cave is turning into a true pain cave. I'm so excited. This treadmill communicates with iFit, so I'll be able to put courses into the software & run them on the treadmill! This makes me beyond happy. Another thing that makes me happy is that this treadmill declines. Yay! As much as I hate the "dreadmill", I'm hoping that the ability to have Google maps give me the "view" of where I'm running will help. Also, there are programs that are available to run in different places. I'm excited to do the program for Venice, Italy.

Paleo Week 2

Week 1 went pretty well. We knew there'd be some non-paleo foods in there as we clean out the pantry, fridge, & freezer. Then, yesterday happened. We'll just ignore yesterday & start over today.

Week 2 looks like this:

Breakfasts:
Mostly non-paleo stuff. Need to get it out of the house.
Larabars
Sweet potatoes & maple apple chicken sausage

Lunches:
Leftovers

Dinners:
Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots
Old School Italian Meet Sauce with Zoodles
Chinese Hot Plate (chicken & veggies)
Best Ever Chicken Strips (Honey Mustard Sauce) with Sweet & Salty Broccoli Salad
Deconstructed Gyro with salad
Thai Lime Coconut Shrimp with salad

Snacks:
Dried fruits (no sugar added)
Nuts
Fruit
Veggies
Applesauce (no sugar added)

I feel like one of the meals should be a veggie only meal & I didn't plan for that this week. I may revisit the menu to add in a veggie only meal. We still have leftover Roasted Tomato Soup from last week, so that may get worked in.

Looking forward to week 2! As the weeks go on, we'll have less non-paleo food in the house, so it won't be as much of a distraction. Guess It's time to take weekly pictures!

Cycling

I've been slacking on my workouts. Of course... This needs to become less of a habit. That being said, I finally got myself on my bike today. Yay! I did the "Morrison" ride from TrainerRoad. I love a good TrainerRoad workout. I had planned on doing 3 rides this week, but thank to the battery part of my laptop charger dying, that was out. Now to make up for lost time!

The yellow line is the power measurement. The red line is my heart rate. I'm happy with the ride, overall. I had some issues keeping my power where it was supposed to be, but it is what it is. That'll get better with consistency.

I'm working on coming up with my cycling plan from now until when my 70.3 training kicks in. I need to establish a base, so I'll be using TrainerRoad's awesome workout plans.  First up, Traditional Base - Low Volume II. After the 4 weeks of that one, I'll switch to Sweet Spot Base - Intermediate Base I. Now, to get all of that into my Training Peaks account.

Paleo - week 1

So, we're 3.5 days into being on a Paleo diet. We're doing OK with it. We're cleaning out the pantry of non-Paleo things a little too, so a couple of snacks & breakfasts have been non-Paleo. Until those things are gone, we'll continue to do that. We won't replace those items, just don't want to waste the $$ that was spent when we bought them. 

Here's a quick review of the recipes I've made this week.

Breakfasts:
Banana Bread French Toast - so yummy, haven't made it into french toast, but it's been awesome!
Chocolate Cinnamon Sweet Potato Waffles

Lunches:
Cashew Lime Chicken with salad - so good
Chicken Sausage with Spinach and Apple Slaw - quick, easy & tasty!
BLAST Sushi with Paleo Ranch Dressing (BLT sushi?! Yes please!)

Dinners:
Chicken with Mushrooms and Balsamic Cream Sauce - good. 
Roasted Tomato Bacon Soup with salad - oh so good & very filling!
Pineapple Teriyaki Wings with salad (make Paleo Ranch Dressing for dipping purposes) - just ok, may or may not make again
Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs with Grilled Squash and Pineapple
Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots

I'm working on next week's menu. 

I realized when I went to bed last night that I managed to not have any veggies yesterday. Oops! Both chicken dishes I had were supposed to have a salad with them. I didn't have either one. Guess I'll be eating lots of salad today then!

I finally got my laptop charger fixed, so today, I'm getting on my bike & planning on working pretty hard. I think I'm moving the swim to tomorrow, along with the run I missed on Monday. I need to get into a full groove again!

Snow Covered Workout

I've been slacking (already) on my cardio workouts. This week's just been weird. I've gotten in a couple of workouts, but not nearly enough!

This morning however... it was 15º out and I got my butt to the gym. Yay! Had an awesome workout with my trainer, Steve. I was super glad to get it done. Now, with the snow on the ground, I'm going to chill out for the rest of the day.

I've also managed to put together a Paleo eating plan for next week for my hubby and I. It'll be a huge change for him, a bit of a change for me. I'm looking forward to it. I'm still waiting on Well Fed & Well Fed 2, but recently got OMG that's Paleo, Make Ahead Paleo, and The Fresh 20. Combined with the eMeals Paleo, Gluten Free, and Clean Eating plans, I'm hoping that it'll be a tasty week! We'll also be working on cleaning out the pantry of non-Paleo foods (especially breakfasts), so those foods may be incorporated in the first few weeks to clean out the pantry.

Here's next week's menu.

Breakfasts:
Banana Bread French Toast
Chocolate Cinnamon Sweet Potato Waffles

Lunches:
Cashew Lime Chicken with salad
Chicken Sausage with Spinach and Apple Slaw
BLAST Sushi with Paleo Ranch Dressing (BLT sushi?! Yes please!)

Dinners:
Chicken with Mushrooms and Balsamic Cream Sauce
Roasted Tomato Bacon Soup with salad
Pineapple Teriyaki Wings with salad (make Paleo Ranch Dressing for dipping purposes)
Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs with Grilled Squash and Pineapple
Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots

Welcome 2014!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2014! I started the year out "right" and got on my bike yesterday. We'll see if I can get the rest of my workouts in this week.

I stepped on the scale today, which was a "woah" experience. I need to get back on track with the food for sure. On Jan 6 (so, 4 days from now), I'm going full Paleo. Not Whole 30, but Paleo. I got a few new cookbooks (OMG that's Paleo, Make Ahead Paleo, Well Fed, and Well Fed 2) to help with this (as well as Practical Paleo and the eMeals subscription). I'm excited to be starting up & looking forward to what will come of being Paleo & training for a triathlon.