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. 

Whew!

Didn't do my workouts yesterday, so I moved them to today and added a bike to tomorrow's swim. Went on a outdoor run and went out WAY too fast. Over the 30 minutes, I managed an 11:27 pace. Oh my that felt crazy fast. I know it wasn't, but wow! I need to download the data to see what my runs & walks were paced at. It felt good to get out and do the run though, I really needed that! I did 2.63 miles in the 30 minutes. Not terrible, especially for not really running in the past month.

After the run, I decided to go ahead an hop on my bike for a bit. I was originally planning on 30 minutes, but decided to do 20 minutes since I wasn't in bike shorts and that hurts while on the Adamo saddle!

Needing some motivation and reflection, I stumbled upon this picture. I love it. It's 3 days after Rev3 Maine 70.3. Yes, I was riding a bike 3 days later in Acadia National Park. I felt like I was on top of the world for so many reasons. I had just accomplished a huge goal and was now relaxing in a beautiful national park. What more could you ask for?!

I'm not sure what Rev3 Williamsburg 70.3 will bring for me next year. I can't wait to find out where the training takes me & what race day has in store!

70.3 Training Begins!

June 15, 2014 is coming faster than I'd like it to. I started my 70.3 base training... well, really just working out again... this week. This year, I'm going to try this without a coach. I'm putting 3 plans that I like the most together (swim, bike, run plans) and going to give them a go.

I'm not saying I know more than a coach, it's just that I wasn't following the most recent team's training plans, so it's not really worth me paying them a monthly fee for the plan.

Monday - I did a Galloway 30 min session on the treadmill. Ran a minute, walked a minute. Walks were at 15 min/mile pace and the first couple of runs at 10 min/mile, then moved to 9:40 min/mile, did the last one at 9:30 min/mile. Did about 2.8 miles.

I also updated my training plan for the 70.3. I wasn't really happy with the one I had originally put together, so I changed it. My new training plan starts in the beginning of March.

Tuesday - I swam for 20 minutes. I did two 100s and then switched to 50s. I got 700m in, not too bad for not having swam in a while. My 50s were anywhere from 57 sec - 1:01 per 50. Not terribly far off from when I was swimming consistently. Definitely room for improvement. Hopefully the plan I have in place will get me there!

Today - Yes, it's Christmas Day. Yes, I have 2 workouts planned. It's "just" J & I today (along with the furbabies), so I can do an hour of cardio without missing too much of anything. I have a 30 min run (Galloway) and a 30 min bike. Since they gym's closed today, the run will have to be outside. I'll do the bike ride on my bike (on the trainer in the house).

Update: I slacked & didn't workout today. Decided to chill & watch movies instead!

Race Report: Space Coast Half Marathon; December 1, 2013

Pre-race
With this race being Thanksgiving weekend, we did Thanksmas on Thursday & then traveled Friday. We arrived in Orlando on Friday evening and then drove to Cape Canaveral, checked into the hotel, & ventured out to find dinner.

One of the best restaurants for easy gluten free dining is Outback, so that's where we went. We were shocked at how short the wait was. After a good dinner, we headed to Walmart to pick up a couple of things (like a case of water) and then back to the hotel.

Saturday, we headed to packet pickup at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center. It wasn't completely obvious to us that we had to have a ticket to enter the expo. Thankfully, J saw the table where we were supposed to get our expo tickets & then we were on our way through security.

The expo itself was pretty small. We picked up our bibs, then in to get our shirts, and then wandered around for a few minutes.

After wandering around, we headed into the display area that was in the building where the expo was. Once we saw all of it, we headed back to the car to drop off the race swag and then back to get tickets to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center (proper).

We explored the KSCVC for the rest of the afternoon. I'll just leave it at that!

The Big Bang Series Medals

Love this shirt, but not enough to buy it/wear it

Race
The busses started running at 4:30am. We decided to head down around 4ish to be sure that we were there when the bus arrived. Imagine our surprise when the bus was already there at 4:05 and people were on it! By 4:15, our hotel's bus was full, so we headed to the race site. It was about a 15 minute drive.

Once at the race site, we wandered around a bit trying to figure out where the finish & start lines were (in that order too). After a while, we found a couple of seats on some steps & chilled out for a while. At some point, we decided to use the port-a-potties and then go back to sitting. The one problem with getting to the race site at 4:30am is that the race didn't start until 6am... meaning 1.5 hrs of sitting around!

Ready to go!

"Why am I up this early?"

Ready to race

Island Boost!

Around 5:45, we were told to start migrating towards the start line, which was about 1 - 2 blocks over. Super short walk. We finally figured out where the start line was (this is one of my complaints about the race!) and headed that way. Once there, there was no real organization. There were some signs showing general pace/miles, but otherwise it was a self-seeding corral. I actually don't mind races like this. It was kind of confusing and hard to find the section I wanted to be in.

I finally found the Galloway pace group for 2:30 and kissed J goodbye. He needed to find the 3:00 group. We stood there & waited for the start. People were chatting & reassuring the newbies that they could do the race! During the National Anthem, the microphone the singer was using kept going out and all of us started singing. I love runners. I was so moved (and had tears in my eyes... I mean, the National Anthem does that to me without everyone singing).

Not too long after the National Anthem, we were off! Our pacer went out super fast. I knew we were in for a rough day given her run pace. We all kept asking her "are we fast?" and she kept saying "nope, we're right on pace.". Up to mile 11.5, I stuck with the group. Right around 11.5, I just had enough. We ran 7 of the first 10 miles under our projected pace... with runs included. This includes the first 5 miles. Mile 10, we ran in 10:58. We were supposed to be doing 11:27.

On the way back (after mile 6.5 or so), we had a pretty wicked head wind. Nothing like that to tire you out a bit!

My calves started getting cramped & nothing was fixing the issue. I know better & should've had salt with me. That's ALWAYS my problem. Ah well. I walked/ran/limped to the finish line. The last 2 miles were miserable, but a lesson.

Awesome medals! Can't wait to collect the others.

I finished in 2:34:05. 4:05 slower than I would've liked. Ah well. Maybe 2014. I got to watch J come in, which is always awesome.

J coming in to the finish

Post-race

After the race, we got a few things to eat (bananas & oranges), got on the bus, & headed to the hotel. We showered & got on our way to the next leg of our trip - Disney! We got to meet up with some friends & had a couple of days to wander around. So much fun!

Geeking out wearing our race shirts & compression sleeves!

Results
Overall: 2:34:05
5k split: 35:13
10k split: 1:10:38
15k split: 1:46:17

Weather
Temperature: 66
Humidity: 52%
Wind: 8 mph NW wind

Placements
Division: 108/260
Overall: 1369/2938
Gender: 821/2038

Quick Recap

I'll write a detailed recap of the Space Coast Half Marathon soon, but wanted to give a couple of random notes.

1. Kennedy Space Center was pretty awesome. Glad we finally got a chance to see it.
2. The 2:30 pace group was faster than they should've been. For both the runners & Gallowalkers.
3. I really need to figure out why my calf seizes up on long runs. I suspect it has to do with salt and needing more of it.
4. I had the most random craving for a sweet potato after finishing the race. I guess I really have trained my body!
5. Walking around Disney the day of the race & 2 days after is a good idea... if one brings the right shoes. Blisters on the bottom of my feet + Merrells = ouchie feet.
6. There's nothing like your own bed.

Like I said, I'll write more later. Just had to get those thoughts out!

The Good News and The Sentencing

On Friday, I went back to my endocrinologist. It was the first time I've been excited to see him and I hate going to the dr. I've made some serious changes to my diet since February.

On April 6, we started a non-processed diet. In September, while at my grandfather's funeral, I talked with my cousin who is also hypothyroid (and Hashimoto's). She was telling me that she keeps a mostly Paleo diet. When we got home, I decided to give the grain free & gluten free diet a chance.

Originally, I was going to do it for 30 days. I didn't make it all 30 for the grain free, but continued with gluten free. I decided to go ahead & keep on with the gluten free diet because I was sleeping better and many of my other symptoms went away.

Friday, I told my dr about the dietary changes & how much better I was feeling. We talked about some other things and he told me what he considered "perfect" numbers to be. I got my blood drawn and he did the rest of his check up & I began the wait.

On Sunday, I got a call from Dr T. He told me he's surprised, but my numbers were PERFECT. My TSH is down to 1.2 and my antibody levels were next to nothing. He said it was the best turn around he's ever seen in a non-medicated patient and that I'm to continue what I'm doing. If I do that, I see him in a year or if symptoms come back.

I figured the numbers would be better, but I was shocked that they were SO much better. I was anxious to get home & check the values of my antibodies. When he said next to nothing, he wasn't kidding. My Hashimoto's indicators were almost all gone.

My sentence? Gluten free, non-processed foods lifestyle.

I know it's not really a "sentence", but I needed a few minutes/hours to grieve. There are several items that are on my "favorites" list that I can no longer have. It's not a big deal and eventually I'll get used to it. But it's hard. (Yes, you should read that in a whiney voice.) I'm OK with the change. It's better than being on medication for the rest of my life.

Now to get on with it & start adapting recipes!

Strive Don't Put Down

A few months ago, I wrote a post about Health at Every Size. Since then, I've finished my ACE weight management certification, but still have a lot to read and learn. I'm still struggling with accepting my body & weight. Almost every woman I know feels this way. It's kind of sad actually.

Recently, a friend & I have been chatting about running and how it's very similar. Most people say "I'm slow", "I run just a ... minute mile", etc. Why do we do this to ourselves in so many aspects of our lives? Why can't we be striving for a goal but also accept where we currently are?

We're continuously telling ourselves we're not good enough. But we are. We all are.

Whooo Hoooo!

I'M CLEARED!!!!!!! They said the mole is healing perfectly & if I have any problems then call and come back in, but I shouldn't have to. Yay!

Even better news? The mole wasn't anything to be worried about. WHEW!

So, back to working out! I did TRX Force Week 1, Day 2. Hard, but so rewarding. I love sweat & the way it makes me feel - just sayin!