weekend update (and dang, it's Wednesday already)

I last posted showing off my elated emotions on a great week of training (at the time) with hopes of continuing it on Saturday morning....I was successful!

Saturday morning I woke to a very cloudy, almost foggy with a very slight mist, 45 degree day. Perfect. I strapped on my Fuel Belt, grabbed a Gu (Vanilla Bean, and should have grabbed two), put on my favorite hat (sunglasses on top just in case; never needed them) and out the door I went with my Garmin too. My plan was at least 1:30 and to not look at my pace. I wanted to run by feel. This was easier than I thought it would be as I am usually obsessed with my pace. I ended up going 10 miles and my average pace was slightly faster than my last outdoor run (two weeks prior) which was shorter and my average HR was 1 BPM (a lot, I know ;) ) slower on the 10 miler. Progress? I believe so. I did not get in the 3rd weekly swim on Sunday, but I did force myself back on the bike for an easy 60 minutes to get my weekly total to 10 hours. This helped me mentally but may have affected the quads a little...

Moral of the story: long ride on Friday morning followed by ice bath followed by long run the next day (no ice bath post run, sadly) = good chunk of training.

I did have some mild quad soreness Monday morning which I sort of shook out with a 15' jog on the TM and also did some UE TB exercises. I've been sort of lacking in the strength training lately. My plan for the week is around 13 hours total - by far my biggest week in as long as I can remember. These are the workouts I want/need to get in (time followed by actual workout) and next to that is the day/time I have planned to do them based on my work schedule as well as how my body typically responds to training.

SWIM
1:00 Form (Thurs AM)
1:00 E2 (Sun AM)
1:15 E3 (Tues AM) DONE!

BIKE
1:15 E2 (Wed AM and part of a BRICK by choice) DONE!
1:30 S4 (Sun PM)
4:00 (will be happy with 3:30) E3 (Fri AM)

RUN
1:00 M2,3Z (Wed AM and part of a BRICK by choice) DONE!
:30 S2 (Mon AM) (just did an easy :15) DONE!
1:45 E2 (Sat AM)

Today's BRICK was great - perhaps another BT workout I believe. I want to go hard and get the ~13 hours in this week, recovery/easy next week and the week after is a RACE week!

To be successful with this I need to remember the following:
*Ice bath OFTEN
*No Garbage IN = No Garbage OUT
*Rest and Recovery as needed

To end - I would love one of these vending machines in my kitchen!

an interesting week

It has been a week of ups and downs. Aren't most weeks this way? Which should I start with? I'll get the downs out of the way - and I will spare the details.

*Ever think you know the truth about someone close to you only to find it it has been mostly lies and manipulations for years? When you find out the truth you are left feeling utterly humilated and with an ache so strong it physically hurts? As of this past Wednesday I can answer yes to both of these questions.

OK - on to the ups!

*Three weeks from tomorrow is my first race of the season. I would like to add that this race is the cheapest race of the year (or, anywhere) at $17.00. Yes, $17, not $170.00 or $1700.00. Of course, you get (or, don't get) what you pay for. I can't wait.

*Part of the reason I can't wait is that I have had a great week of seriously awesome workouts. In the big picture, I am feeling rested and healthy. I haven't felt this great in all honesty for MONTHS. It took getting really sick (my sicky week) to realize how bad I really was - I compare it to how I feel now and it's incredibly different. I rather like it.

Monday was off: forced off just to not overdo it. My legs took a little beating with a double day ride on Sunday.

Tuesday I swam 4000m in the pool - first set was a sort-of 1000m time trial. I felt great and I do think I am getting every so slightly faster.

Wednesday was my mini-du workout. AKA sweat fest. AKA crash and burn workout Wednesday. I feel this was an honest BT (breakthrough) workout. It was basically the distance of my #2 race this year. Therefore my confidence is soaring right now. I did a 15' TM warmup followed by 60' on the spin bike (45' in class 15' on my own after) followed by 45' on the TM with 1-3% incline and some up-tempo intervals as well. What really made this workout so awesome - other than feeling good during is - is that I felt really good on Thursday morning!

Thursday morning I was a little groggy and late getting out of bed (sleep is good) and got to the pool for 2700m of which I worked on my endurance and felt really good again. I love the pool so much; always have; hopefully always will. I just wish I was faster. I did have a few teeny tiny BT moment though. I did 5x100m on 2:00 as my last set and each one got faster than the one before. Yessss.

Friday (this morning) I plopped down on my trainer and rode for 3 hours. Yes, 3 hours...another honest BT workout, another confidence builder as well. Most of the ride was in zones 1 and 2 with 22 minutes in zone 3. Perfect training ride. Practiced my nutrition too. Two Vanilla Bean Gu's (one at 45' and the 2nd at 1:45), one bottle of Accelerade Hydro and one bottle of water. No stomach issues the entire ride, but the last 30 mintues I could have used some more calories. I could/should have had a snack BEFORE getting on the trainer, but I had to get going as I was running out of morning time. (I ended up 15' late for work anyway - oops.) I was able to get in the ice bath about an hour later and I am feeling very good right now.

My plan is an easy long run tomorrow morning. If that goes well (the whole "long run following a long bike" is something I only tried once last year... and I wasn't too honest with it) then I will be feeling better about myself than I EVER HAVE in terms of fitness and being prepared for my A race (Kansas 70.3). To say I am pumped is an understatement.

In case you were wondering what I do during 3 hours on a (practically)stationary bike: The first 60 minutes was spent listening to Mike & Mike in the Morning on my laptop as they were broadcasting live from Target Field. After their broadcast was over at 9am I turned on Friends and watched 4.5 episodes....I am currently paused in the last episode of Season 7 (the one where Chandler and Monica get married).

That's the week so far - been continuing to work on patience and confidence and my overall health. Ups and downs - and happy to have more ups than downs. Happy to be able to swimbikerun :) :) :)

playlist and sleep and sweat

My playlist for 2011 continues to grow...please offer your suggestions. You know I enjoy almost all music...really depends on my mood, but for the most part, I truly dislike country music.

Three adds today - two courtesy of Sean D.

Nelly - Heart of a Champion
Roy Jones Jr. - Can't be Touched
Eminem - Till I Collapse (Eminem gets me fired up like no other artist)

Yes, I am finally admitting....I have been sleeping. I don't want to say it too loudly, but yes, I am. About 10 days now. Last night was stellar. In bed with the sun still going down with two Benadryl to help (my alarm was going off at 4:45). A little magazine reading and I melted into my pillows. I love that feeling of utter smoosh into bed. ahhhh. Woke up once around 1am and felt like it was morning, probably because I had already been alseep for almost 5 hours and worried I wouldn't fall back asleep, but I did. It is amazing what a solid nights sleep will do for me. I am so happy to be sleeping again....but, again, don't want to jinx myself. I'll keep drinking my tea at bedtime and refraining from caffeine during the day and oh, doing the two things my doctor told me to do last week....maybe I'll share those with another time.

My workout this morning was my favorite mini duathlon runbikerun- which I have not gone hard on for a few weeks now. I think part of the reason I slept so well was due to the anticipation of a real-live crash and burn Wednesday - a Wednesday I have not been able to do in awhile :)

I did a 10 minute treadmill warm up - started slow and built up a little speed. Went right to spin class for 45 min on the bike - I didn't tear it up like I had hoped, but overally it was good. From there straight back to the treadmill for another 45 min. I started slow again and built up to about zone 3 and even through in a total of about 10-12 minutes of hills too. A good cool-down, stretch and even 95 abs (thank you for very little dizziness today) followed by some lats, med ball chops, tricep pushdowns and OH med ball throws. Ooooeeee. I am good to go for the day. I really need an ice bath, but (no buts, Erin) okay, I really would like to get in the ice bath; I hope I can make time for one today.

I wore my FR today - looking briefly at the totals before I left for work I am pleased with what my HR looked like during the bike and the runs...nothing in zone 5 (yay) and mostly zone 3. Good deal. Avg HR on bike 130 with a 161 max (on the climbs, love the standing climbs) and on the second run an avg of 137 and a 154 max. The whole run workout was below 80%max - yessss. Maybe the new "easy" is working out for me - I think it's too soon to tell, but....maybe not.

Did I mention I ran OUTSIDE on Saturday morning? Holy cow - yes, I ran OUTSIDE. To make that report brief here are some stats for you:
8 miles
Easy with a hard finish last 1.5 miles
COLD
DAMN COLD
Purple parts of my body post run - oops
Frozen hydration - oops
Cold
Happy :)

snow day, sugar and stats

I started the day out pretty nicely...this was the earliest I have woke up in well over one week (5am), I got ready for spin class and headed out the door with a hunch...that yes, my sad thoughts came true for the first time ever: my Corolla wasn't going to make it out of the garage and out the driveway due to the snow drifts. I was a little bummed - and I felt badly because I signed up for the class and now my spot wasn't going to be used. I didn't feel too badly since the weather was the reason and I am confident I wasn't the only no-show.

Insert big :) here: I could rectify my situation because I own a CycleOps now! I saved my pennies for 3 months and used a giftcard from Christmas as well as my REI dividends (this was all planned) and was able to walk out the store with it in my own arms last Saturday.

Snow drifts? No biggie! I could ride in my apt and then go downstairs for a little high intensity, yet short, run on the TM. And I did just that. And it was sweaty and lovely and better than I imagined. And then I had some cheerios with soy. And then a fruit smoothie. And then a little nap. And then lunch. And by then it was only 12noon of my snow day.

And then my snow day went downhill - long story short because of the stupid details related to "the big dance" (and no, not the NCAA tournament, the SAAC Semi-Formal). I thought I adverted the crisis at 8:30am with an email, but nope. Just because campus IS CLOSED that did not stop anyone from wanting everything from me! I ended up having to go to campus and had to lock myself in the training room and yes, I actually ignored knocks at the door of S-A trying to get in. The door even has a window and I just ignored them out there. And I do not feel bad about that. Once I got home I went to the bag of peanut butter mm&m's that was reserved for making krispie treats for work. Once I start I cannot control myself. Ugh.

I hope, hope, hope that I got everything taken care of...I have not received an email back yet as I am sure "she" finally went home so now I just hope this doesn't keep me awake at night - and that tomorrow it actually IS all taken care of. More m&m's. Sweet snow day.

I had to do something to try and combat all the sugar I had this afternoon so what better than a huge bowl of oatmeal and flax to try and absorb all the sugar I consumed.

I can feel the oatmeal and flax in my stomach turning and grooving and hopefully sucking up all the sugar from the m&m's and taking it with them when they leave :)

How about some non-food related stats?!

Since January 1, 2011 ...
Swim: 60,800 yds in the pool (approx 20h 55min)
Bike: 28 hours (no idea on mileage since it's been all indoors)
Run: 179.5 miles on two feet

Last week was my sicky week and I managed to put in 1h 35min in running and elliptical towards the end of the week. Looking at the totals I am pleased. It seems like a lot, but it's all relative...My first race is April 29, only about 36 days away. It will be a good challenge and more like a hard workout as the race is a modified sprint triathlon. I'm looking forward to it despite still trying to figure out how to train now that I had that life-awakening sicky week. I will modify as I go until I find what works best for me. I realize that may take all year and maybe even longer, and I am totally okay with that.

I do know what key workouts (i.e. two 4-5 hour rides, couple of long bricks, etc.) I need to do before my A race in Lawrence. Which BTW is only like 80 days away - HAHA!

With my North Star goal of a full IM in 2012 I am prepared to work on the details as I go. I now know that "easy" needs to be easy-peasy and that my definition of "hard" is changing as well :) :) :)

Damn sugar...I usually allow myself one "eat" day each week - today looks to be that day. Who wants ice cream tonight? We could sprinkle some protein powder on it to make it feel a little less non-healthy ;)

My fantastic parents and I at Granite City - June 27, 2010

 

Couple of funnies...

Here is my new favorite!

down but not out

As I write this I feel my waistband expanding - my latest "treat" is doing a very good job of covering up any abdominals I might have been working hard at exposing lately. Golden Grahams. (I blame Sheena, she told me I deserved a little treat from Target when I was there the other night.) Golden Grahams are so good and sooo sugary a pregnant woman could consume a bowl full instead of the syrupy "drink" they give you for a glucose tolerance test. Yes, this "healthy" cereal that is a "whole grain" vitamin-fortified cereal is THAT sugary. In fact, (of course I did the math) consuming 3 servings of Golden Grahams dry (that would be 2.25 cups, not a lot really) yields nearly as much sugar as one can of Coke or Mountain Dew. Gross. For the same amount of sugar you can have 33 cups of Cheerios. I did the math.

So mentally I am struggling - if you haven't picked up on that yet. But, the real reason other than eating Golden Grahams is that I am "sick" AGAIN. I was put on an antibiotic on the 3rd of March for a sinus infection which seemed to be effective at reducing the number of times I needed to blow my nose, the amount of drainage down my throat, and the pain that hung out across my nose and forehead. I was also able to resume my training schedule.

Wait...look at the calendar...that means I went two weeks without major problems? 2 weeks? Well, shit, it must be time to having something else go haywire....enter a new issue.

So last week Wednesday night and into Thursday and Friday I was feeling mildly nauseous. I chalked it up to too much PB Wednesday night and called it a stupid mistake. My workouts were going fine and in fact I felt better during the workouts than I did after. My neck had been a bit stiff, but I figured it was due to one of my 2011 goals of 100+ sit-ups/day and perhaps due in part to my super 3700 yd pool workout on Friday night. I was thoroughly convincing myself that it wasn't "a touch of the flu." Flu? Not on my agenda. Not my style. I had 5 workouts to do Friday (2), Saturday (1) and Sunday (2) and I would reach my weekly goal of 11h45m of total time. I was so pumped. The super pool workout was #2 for Friday.

Saturday morning (workout #3) I got up feeling less than great, and shortened my planned workout by 15 minutes mostly due to running short on time for my big day out with friends and partly due to not feeling super. I threw in the white flag while biking and running that morning. At that point I arrived at the concept that this level of training would REQUIRE me to get more than 7-8 hours of sleep/night. Okay, okay, I get it. I will do that. Now...if I could only sleep at night...but, that's not the point here....

I finished my workout, drove home, ate, stripped down for a shower and noticed that I had some sort of red rash on my torso - just the front of me. I figured it was due to my workout shirt/sweat. I showered and made my way down to the MOA to have lunch with my BFF, her husband B and her brand new baby O! Ate a ton (like my appetite ever goes away) and then made my way back up to MG for dinner (like 2 hours later, ugh) with K and A. I was cranky and I apologized to them for my crankiness, but I figured I was just tired and full and sort of irritated with the conversations we were having. We were rushed too - which never helps conversations with good friends. Drove home and CRASHED. Planned on sleeping in...

Woke up Sunday morning with what looked like a sunburn all over my face, my chest, parts of my arms, my hips and upper legs and my face was swollen. I looked sunburnt and I felt like it. Hot. Literally and physically. PANIC. Being someone that normally does not eat out much, let alone two meals in one day, I was trying to blame the swelling on all the sodium I had consumed on Saturday. I called my mom again. (I called her Saturday night before I crashed to ask about the rash - she thought it could be due to the antibiotics. I had one dose left which I took before I crashed.) As I was talking to her I found the Rx sheet that came with the antibiotic and read it to her - I had about 5 of the "CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS." So, naturally, PANIC time. I went to the ER since an urgent care facility didn't open up for another 90 minutes. My BP was 147/86 holy crap! Much to the amusement and curiosity of the 2 nurses and 1 doctor that saw me, I did not have a fever, but I sure felt like it and looked like it. My neck pain was getting worse, my throat was sore, I felt nauseous, and so tired. I felt like I could have just passed out right on the green ER bed sheets. After a lot of questioning I left with the following diagnosis. An allergic reaction to the Bactrim (yes, I now have my first official allergy) with possible meningitis. WHAT!?!?!? The deadly virus!?!??!?! PANIC. The stiff neck is the #1 symptom of the meningitis along with a fever and sensitivity to light. I was told to take a double dose of Benadryl along with ibuprofen, monitor my symptoms and come back to the ER if any of the symptoms worsened. Monitor my symptoms while passed out from the Benadryl? Ok, sure. I took my temperature about once/hour for the rest of the day. No fever. I made sure I could touch my chin to my chest about once/15 minutes. No problem there; I just look goofy doing that. I did take a little nap around 3pm which was sandwiched between watching....14 episodes of Friends (Season 5). Yes, 14 episodes on Sunday. That is more TV than I have watched in the last 3 weeks combined.

I woke up feeling a lot better on Monday, but the rash was spreading down my legs and arms. Fortunately my face was not as red - so I took a little field trip to BN in the late afternoon to read some magazines and get out of my crazy apt. That helped a lot. My neck pain was practically gone and the nausea was gone too as far as I could tell. I slept another 9-10 hours last night and woke up with no neck pain (yay), no throat pain (yay) and itching like a FREAK. This itching woke me up several times during the night (damn it), but thank you to Benadryl that helped with it. I was so miserable from the itchy I don't care how much Benadryl I had to take. I thought I would shower and straighten my hair to help me feel better about myself as I am starting to feel like a fatty from not working out the last two days. WRONG idea. I could barely stand up to straighten my hair - it literally exhausted me. All day today I have had zero energy. I can barely walk up the stairs. The elevator is for wimps - and I'm not a wimp. You know how much I HATE being contained inside, let alone in this tiny stupid apt, when the sun is coming out, and all I want to do is go for a little workout, and I can't. wow. Just writing this I am struggling to keep my eyes open.

I am looking at what I can do to revise my workout schedule - as I wasn't able to finish last week's plan and this week is already shot. At this point I am not sure what I will be able to do tomorrow. Just getting out the door for my 10:00 meeting (rescheduled from Monday) sounds like a chore.

I admit - I am down. But, I am NOT out. I look at my race calendar and am so excited about it, but again, just thinking about a race exhausts me let alone worrying my workout clothes don't fit me anymore. I worry about being "ready." I get sad about it. Again, I was doing so well again for two weeks only to meet another bump in the road. I need to recognize how I could have prevented this past 6 weeks - particularly the past 4 days - from happening. I'm sure some of it was out of my control, but what could I have controlled? I just don't know...

Yes, I am down. I am finally admitting defeat. I am throwing in the towel - I need more rest - I get it. I get it. I will rest more. I will make a short nap part of as many days as my schedule will allow. I used to be more resilient. I also used to be 27. I'm 32. I'm not out. I am not out.

But, I am going to take two more Benadryl and go back to bed.

Just to get in the mood...

 

Day of Awesomeness

So, today is International Day of Awesomeness!
Awesome!

How about I focus on what was awesome for me today!
*1*I was able to sleep decently last night (and since that includes past 12:00midnight that falls on 3/10 - Awesome.

*2*My workout was a planned 60 min run - which of course I did on the TM because it's too icy outside to even think about running in the dark yet. I forgot to pay attention to what my focus was for the run so I figured I would just go as I feel.
-Started out at an easy pace for 30 min and figured at that point what is the use of paying attention to my HR when I have been feeling like I am now training to run slow - argh. I could also tell that I was wasn't feeling super, so I needed a plan for the 2nd half of the run.
-I was damn determined to push the whole 60 minutes. Think, Kansas.
-So, my plan went to run intervals with incline. Last night I read an article on the benefits of hill workouts. Not the first time I've read this. I need to do it more. I did 30, 45, 60, 75 second intervals at 1% and 2% with a pick up in speed at 0% right after and then 1-2 mins of easy running. Changing the speed/incline often helps the time pass. Watching another news story on Charlie Sheen was NOT up my alley this morning.
-I was feeling good!! So, I pushed it a little more till I was running at the 55 min mark at 6.9 which is up there. yay me! Now...to get my sluggish padunkadunk to the pool tonight...

*3*I had to be at the clinic at 7:30 this morning (in my smelly, sweaty glory post run, like literally 7:20 I got off the TM) for a consultation with a student at CSB and TJ, my ol' boss. So the Awesome part was seeing 5 of my ol' coworkers - which was super! I should add that while at the clinic in my smelly, sweaty glory I seriously got sick of my own stink - lol - that's what I get for not showering after yesterday's brick workout. It was baaaad.

*4*I've been craving something with substance lately...imagine that. I gave in and I had a freshly made for me hamburger! I dunked it in ketchup and it was Awesome. This was the first burger I've had at our new eating establishment at school. Everyone and I mean everyone, has tried the burgers and raves about them. I gave in. No cheese and no fries. Perfection.

*5*I was asked to do some personal training with a high school girl I knew from my days at SHS. We met this afternoon to go over some goals that she has and to discuss what our plan was. I really enjoyed doing this - and look forward to working with her over the next couple of weeks.

5 items of Awesome on 3/10 is pretty good, I think! Right now I'm thinking no on the pool tonight. Sleep would be a better idea. I'm on day 6/10 of antibiotics, I want to make sure I stay on the up and up. I looked at my schedule and if I do 2 workouts tomorrow, 1 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday I will come very close to meeting my goal of 11h45m for the week. I will fall short of my goal of 3-2/day workouts, but I am okay with that as my other goal of one brick workout was a huge success yesterday and Sunday is looking to be a monster day of workouts. I'm hoping...and I can't wait :) :) :)

"Fail to plan. Plan to fail."

A-Z

One thing from each letter of the alphabet that has to do with me. ("B" is an exception)

A: Apples - An apple a day keeps the doctor away. I have believed in this for as long as I could believe.

B: Baseball, Barnes & Noble, Berries, Bananas - Baseball is my all time favorite sport to watch. B&N is my favorite store to browse, wander, kill time and spend any extra money I have in. Berries, particularly strawberries, are an absolute essential in my fridge (in the middle of winter I struggle...too expensive so I go frozen). Bananas are a gem of a recovery food and are fantastic frozen.

C: Corolla - My reliable, efficient Toyota. I love my car and all that it does for me. 73K on it as of last week.

D: Divorce - It's over with. Is there someone else? "No, but there is a Dream of someone else." *(see "Y" as well)*

E: ESPN - The cable channel for the sports maniac in me. If I could only have one channel this would be it.

F: Family - A pretty sweet group of individuals mainly consisting of my dad, mom, sister, two grandmas, an extra special aunt and uncle, three cousins and their two kids, a handful of great-aunts and great-uncles and second cousins. Love them all.

G: Gratitude - Everyday, I am thankful for everything on this list, and more.

H: Hawaii - I have spent one week on Maui (with a brief stop in Honolulu) and would go back tomorrow if I had the chance. The beauty is beyond what you see on tv or on paper. The laid-back lifestyle is incredible. I will get there again soon. I just have to.

I: iPod - Currently holds over 8600 songs, several movies, tv shows, podcasts and photos. I am lucky to have 3 of them (classic, nano and shuffle) and they each serve a special purpose. To say I am obsessed may be putting it lightly.

J: Jack - This is my favorite and first choice for a baby boy name.

K: Kamakawiwo'ole', Israel - My favorite musician from the great Hawaiian islands. His music puts me in a place like few other artists can.

L: Lefse - A staple on the Miller-family Thanksgiving table. Supposedly my great-aunt Helen would make it. I've always loved it. With just a little butter.

M: Music - I love almost all music. Save for the "angry" sounding music, I am a fan of everything. Soft rock, hard rock, hip hop, classical, christian, alternative...it's all on my iPod. I also love playing music which lately only consists of playing the piano when I am staying at my parents in Duluth.

N: Nuun - I tried Nuun (pronounced "noon") for the first time over a year ago. I'm hooked. It's an electrolyte replacement tablet that you drop in water (it fizzes). Provides electrolytes without any sugar (like Gatorade or PowerAde). I drink it daily. They introduced about six new flavors recently and I would like to get my hands on them.

O: Oboe - Not gonna lie, I was a decent musician many years ago. The oboe was my primary wind instrument. It has such a live sound compared to the clarinet, which was the first instrument I started playing.

P: Peanut Butter - I will never be without. Interestingly, my dad is severely allergic. I am grateful my parents let me eat it regardless. Just always lick the knife (or spoon) clean before putting it in the sink.

Q: Quinoa - A whole grain that contains all essential amino acids (which other grains do not). Easier to prepare than rice, it has become a staple in my diet. It sits better in my stomach than rice does as well.

R: Running - I run. I have actually started to enjoy running even. I have never ever considered myself a "runner." I started running track in 7th grade and since then have completed many races from 5K to Half-Marathon including triathlons of varying distances....so, I'm not sure at what point my brain will allow me to consider myself a "runner." I wonder if there is a "speed" I need to attain or, a "distance" I need to cover before I think of myself as a runner?

S: Shoes - I'm not a typical girl with a closet full of shoes. I've never gone into DSW shoe warehouse, started drooling and left with 3 boxes. I've done that in a running shoe store - left with multiple boxes of the same shoe. I can't remember the last pair of non-training shoes I have bought other than a pair of Chacos sandals two years ago. I have my favorite brands: Chacos, Asics, Dansko - that's all I need to be happy.

T: Triathlon - This is my dream. This is who I am. After getting my first taste of it in 1997 (14 years ago? yikes!) I have really started focusing on training in this lifestyle the past year and a half. When I am training is when I am the happiest. It's a lifestyle and it suits me well at this point in my journey called life (AKA My Rockstar Tour). swimbikerun :) :) :)

U: Undies - Boy cut or hipster are the best. Bikini style for workouts. I don't care for cotton - ever. Can't live without them so you might as well find cute ones and yes, I have been known to dance around in just undies on my own time.

V: Vegas - I'm not a vacation every six months or every year kind of girl. I wish. On a complete whim I bought a flight to Vegas last July and never regretted it. If you haven't been there I highly recommend it. It is as hot as they say it is. It's awesome.

W: Water - Blessed to be raised on Lake Superior I was spoiled with the great "taste" of water straight out of the tap. I drink it non-stop and I swim in it. I love the stuff.

X: XT - My Canon Rebel XT camera. I bought it about 4 years ago and I imagine it has captured well over 20,000 images during that time. An investment that has not let me down.

Y: "You've Got Mail" - In my top 5 movies of all time. Probably top 3. I love love love Tom Hanks and I love Meg Ryan. I have it on VHS, DVD and it's on my iPod. I think there was a stretch of time that I watched it (or until I fell asleep) every night for close to a month. I have it memorized start to finish.

Z: Zoot - My first triathlon racing kit. It's black and teal with a just a little yellow on it. The company makes awesome training and racing apparel.

what's in my fridge?

In general, my fridge and cupboards are quite bare in the eyes of many. It's not because I live alone (well, that's part of it), it's more that I don't stock my kitchen with too much "junk" food. I buy what I eat regularly with an occasional treat and that is it. One rule I live by: if it's not in the kitchen, I can't eat it. I struggle with self-control occasionally - and usually with treats. Remember: the food in the house is the fuel for my body during training. Unleaded fuel works best....diesel, not so much :)

I just returned from a much-needed trip to the grocery store and Target. This is what was on the receipts. See if you can guess what my treat was this time!

Oranges - for a vitamin C packed snack
5.39 pounds of bananas (that was 13 bananas and 6 of them were HUGE) - I peel and freeze most of them for protein smoothies.
Apples - Braeburn to be specific. An apple a day keeps the doctor away - I have believed in this for as long as I can remember.
Green leaf lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Strawberries - a bestie in my kitchen - and spring/summer is coming so they are coming down in price and going up in quality. Yay for summer!
Frozen berries (all kinds) - for smoothies
Canned pineapple, peaches, pears, mandarin oranges - I love fruit.
Frozen waffles - the least processed kind I can find. I will eat these with peanut butter, just one at a time and usually paired with a smoothie for lunch or dinner.
English muffins - Whole wheat or multi-grain with peanut butter!!
Blue Corn chips - organic usually or whatever is cheapest at the time.
Black beans
Cannellini beans
Quinoa - super quick to cook and much tastier and healthier, actually than brown rice. I will prepare a whole pot that will last me about a week. I pair quinoa with beans and then add it to a pile of lettuce with a little ranch. This is one of my favorite meals the last several months...no lie, I have it about 6 days/week.
Peanut butter - Jif, sometimes creamy, sometimes natural. I would eat peanut butter at every meal...but that's excessive they say. Give me a spoon and I'll eat it straight out of the jar. I also put it in my protein smoothies.
Pretzels - I buy the sourdough nuggets which can easily be dipped in peanut butter or spread with peanut butter- a serious weakness for me.
Pistachios - snack time - but I have to portion out how many I am going to eat or I would seriously eat 1/2 the bag without even noticing.
Almonds with sea salt - portion control, again.
Dark chocolate almonds - super tasty - again, I portion these off as well.
Toasted Oats cereal - Food Club brand cheerios cause I had a great coupon - this will be my breakfast with some soy milk...only one other cereal has lower sugar and that's Shredded Wheat.
Tuna- canned and prepared with a little light mayo gets some serious lean protein in my diet. I try to eat it 1-2x/week. I would eat it everyday if I wasn't worried about mercury poisioning and the smelly can opener it creates to prepare everyday. I usually make this into a sandwich on a toasted english muffin. Tun is a very heart-healthy protein source.
Light Soy Milk (Silk) - I have not bought skim milk in a few months...who knew I would turn into THAT girl. I really like this stuff on my cereal and in my protein smoothies too. I buy the Light Chocolate Silk too - which is very good.
Dark chocolate - research shows this helps recovery :) - again, moderation is key. I prefer milk chocolate, but the darker the chocolate, the better it is for you.
Cottage cheese - I usually buy fat-free and pair it with canned pineapple. The cottage cheese is also a quality protein source for me as I don't eat a lot of meat (if you couldn't tell).

What did you pick as the "treat?"

It's the blue corn chips! I love these things...so good, and again, in moderation, they have a lot of heart-healthy fat. I eat them plain, with salsa or with hummus. Truthfully, they are so dang good just plain.

Other items you will find in my kitchen:

Soy protein powder (vanilla) - Trader Joe's - mixed with plain or chocolate (or both!) soy milk
Whey protein powder (chocolate) - Trader Joe's - mixed with plain soy milk.
Usually a couple Boca or Morningstar Farms frozen vegan "meats." I really like the Spicy Black Bean burger from MF or Boca's Original pattie.
Diet Coke - liquid crack - my caffeine source - my saving grace at times.
Coffee beans - this is a newbie in the kitchen thanks to my more recent taste bud acquisition and a coffee grinder for Christmas thanks to my mom! - again, a caffeine source.
A few other boxes of cereal - I don't eat it as much as I used to...again, who knew I would be THAT girl. Cheerios, multi-grain Cheerios, Oatmeal Squares, Shredded Wheat, Life are a few I have on hand right now.
Whole Oats (oatmeal) - Trader Joe's makes a Multi-Grain which has 4 different grains in it (oats, barley, rye and wheat). I really like this stuff and it cooks in just a few minutes on the stove.
Ground flax - heart "food" - sprinkled on my oatmeal or a little thrown in withe smoothies.
Canned veggies- mostly green beans - and I actually like these cold, straight out of the can better than I like them warmed up.

That's about it...most of my friends know I am pretty picky and particular about what I eat. They also know I can enjoy myself occasionally with a cheeseburger, lots of fries and a beer with some tasty ice cream for dessert. And when those days come around I usually endulge myself :)

giddy x3

This was a chosen blog title last week - and since I never got a chance to blog last week I feel that since the word "giddy" was such a part of last week that I still have to use it.

Monday last week - known to most as Valentine's Day - was a monumental day for me. I finally got the D filed. I cannot describe how I felt that day - I had no idea that I could possible feel as giddy as I did. I could barely drive to the courthouse....seriously. It was nuts. But, it was good. It was also sad, but certainly about time that it happen. It won't be final of course, until the findings are received from the judge, in the snail mail. We will each receive a copy. It's been a week - and all I am doing is hoping that the judge who reviews our case does not find anything "wrong" with it. Be prepared, if the judge does find something unacceptable with our case, that I will fall down and will struggle to get back up. I don't think I can handle doing this paperwork again, and I am sure that will cost money, which I don't have, since I put forth enough for this already. We won't think about it...anyway, the lady at the courthouse told me to expect the findings in 2-3 weeks and it's been 1 already, so it's coming soon. Giddy me.

Giddy #2 came a few days later when I found out I had won a contest I entered on FB! LOL - I am still laughing about it. I'm not actually sure how funny it is, but I am laughing anyway. Ok, I will tell the story. So my favorite magazine, Triathlete, had a V-day contest "tell us your worst Valentine's Day date story" on FB and one boy and one girl would be chosen the winner of a TYR (my favorite swim brand) string bag (the kind like all the kids carry). I seriously never comment on these things, but I figured, what the heck. I wrote, "I have never had a Valentine's Day date. That makes for a bad day." It's true. Even though DK and I were together through several V-day's we never once went on a Valentine's Day date. Whaddyaknow, I was chosen as the winner (the girl winner, I hope). I will post a picture of the bag when I get it - hopefully soon as I have the patience of 40 week pregnant woman. They asked me for my color preference - not only do I lack patience, but I also lack decision-making ability - black, blue, red or pink. Oh, for the love. I have to choose between those 4 colors? They are all like, my besties. I responded with "My preference - black or red." They responded, "You got it." I can't wait!

We have to go back a few more days (Feb 11)to giddy #3 - I signed up for my "A" race of 2011. With the help of miss EW in the training room one night at work- whether she knows it or not - she helped me decide that a road trip to Lawrence, Kansas was the best decision. The rationale for this race goes like this:
1-the race is June 12 - much earlier in the fabulous summer than Racine (which I still want to do) which makes training in the prime pool months not (less?) of an issue.
2-Lawrence, KS is drivable - 8.5 hours according to trusty Mapquest
3-Lawrence is a new destination - and the course seems quite fair (note: no monster hills)- plus Lawrence is a cheap place from what my research tells me.
4-a June race makes it more likely that my mom will be able to go - not going to explain this any further at this point
5-this race is IM 70.3 branded - which means steep entry fee lol - but it means it will be a spectacular venue! Lots of racers, the chance to see several pros, tons of course support, etc.

I am so giddy for it - and my training has been going very well. Until Saturday afternoon when I developed a horrible sore throat and stuffy nose. Ugh. Again? Why? I won't get into this here...I promised myself. This is a "giddy" post, so no crying.

My parents are fully on board, which means more to me than you can understand. My dad is pumped to be my "caddy" again. Apparently after I told them he started discussing how long it would take to drive there. (I am grateful that my familiy has never had issues with riding in a car for long distances). Not once has my mom speculated that she might not be able to go. I think they are finally "getting" me when it comes to my dedication to this sport. I love them!

My friends who know me and understand this sport (at least understand as much as I have bored them with details) have sent well-wishes already and I am so grateful. It makes training so much more fun to have friends and family supportive of my decisions to spend what free time I have working out. Especially since just about all of them are not involved in the sport - lol!

Due to the timing of Kansas I think I will also register for "Fruit at the Finish" on April 30th-it will serve as a high intensity brick workout that day and just so happens to fall at a GREAT time in my training schedule. This is the SJU PRP event that I have done many times over the last several years. It was actually my very first triathlon race ever - I did the bike leg of a relay my sophmore year at CSB...so...1998? 13 years ago?! I may also register for the Apple Duathlon here in Sartell. This is May 28th...some things to consider before signing up for this one however.

I am working on my training plan nearly everyday. Excessive? Yes. I known my fitness levels are much higher at this point now than the same time last year, but that only makes me want to train MORE. Not such a good idea - as I got a little taste of overtraining a few weeks ago. This week is a scheduled recovery week (thank goodness, due to the stupid cold). My plan is to do the recovery week just as my plan states and complete next week (week 1 of a 3 week build), week 13 in the plan as it states. I will stop myself from doing MORE than what it tells me to do. I have been reading several articles as of late that indicate that doing TOO much can be detrimetnal to your performance. Less is more. I need to remember that. I know that. I need to practice what I preach. I need to remember that ;)

104 days til Kansas...Giddy me :) :) :)

My age group F30-34 entering the Lake Michigan at IM 70.3 Racine last July.

kerfuffled consistency

I saw this word last week and immediately wanted to use it somehow - "kerfuffle." I have never come across a word I wanted to incorporate into my smallish vocabulary as much as this one! So much that it is written on a bright yellow post-it at my school desk.

From dictionary.com
— n
1. informal chiefly ( Brit ) commotion; disorder; agitation
— vb
2. ( Scot ) ( tr ) to put into disorder or disarray; ruffle or disarrange

I saw the word used as a verb when I fell in like with it, but since investigating the definition I feel I could use "kerfuffle" to describe how I am feeling as of late. Agitated and disordered.

You see, I am a girl of order, consistency, a creature of serious habit. I am very independent and strive for as much consistency in my life day in and day out. Many friends and family would probably agree that if I am thrown for a loop in my regular planning I tend to be very out of sorts for quite some time. While this past week was a good exercise in returning to consistency I feel I have fallen off the consistency wagon again today. And really, would lump the past two weeks into the wagon.
My workouts last week were decent - certainly better than the previous week when I couldn't get my padunkadunk out of bed much less workout. This past week I was able to get a workout in every day and even had a few "awesome" workouts. Today - meh. I have no drive, no energy, no motivation, nothing. I feel I am living in commotion. I have no answers to items on my plate. I feel very disordered. I feel kerfuffled. I HATE IT. I ate 3 bowls of cereal at 8pm last night - now you know how disordered I feel.

Naturally, I am trying to figure out what my problem is and this is hard to say, it seems like I am just unhappy. I mean, I am generally a very happy go lucky person...so, pardon me, but WTF?

Normally my workouts are my motivation, my significant other and my solid ground - the backbone behind my consistent life. When these are not consistent I find myself thinking more and more about the other aspects of my life that are in a state of kerfuffle. The lack of a significant other in my life to share my thoughts, desires, dreams with, my lack of children that are mine, the future of my mom's health, my own ticking uterus and ovaries, my nearer-than-ever (thank God) expensive (relatively speaking, imo) divorce, my taxes that have to be re-filed, what I've lost over the past couple of years, NOT what I've gained which is what ideally I SHOULD think about (what have I gained anyway? besides a increased love for caffeine and coffee and not necessarily in that order), my lack of any DRIVE, ABILITY TO LOVE, MOTIVATION, PATIENCE. argh.

It's actually starting to worry me. Should I be seeking help? No, that's not what Erin does. She is fine...or, is she? I tried starting to tan again - for the mental aspect (what else is tanning for, really?!) While that is helping, it's not the answer. Is the winter starting to actually GET to me? Is it still not accepting my living situation? Is it struggling to be happy for those who have what I want? Do I need vitamin D supplements? Should I be sleeping more? Less? What if I broke down and subscribed to cable tv? Even if I had to put it on a credit card, would that help? Should I seek help of a professional? Should I pay for a race registration instead of dreaming of signing up so that I have an event/something to look forward to? Should I get out of town for a day or two? Well, that costs money, so that won't happen. Should I tell people to go to hell?

I DON'T KNOW!

And that's the problem. I'm disordered. #226 is in a kerfuffle.

Stay tuned...meh.

PS Now that the Superbowl is over we can look forward to something better than football....baseball!

Recovery and Restart

My last post was on the last day of 2010 - and practically the following day my laptop went kaput, donezo, blank, byebye. After a recovery stint in the hands of the Geek Squad (seriously, could their name be any dorkier) I have my trusty laptop back. And what's even better is that to my surprise, nothing was lost! Geek Squad informed me they had to replace the hard drive (bye bye data) and following the restart the screen was BLANK. The laptop took a little trip somewhere unknown....and they had to replace the motherboard. The only thing I know about the motherboard is that it's important (what mothers, aren't?) and that Carrie lost her computer to a motherboard problem as well (and she had a MAC....anyway). Turns out that ONLY them motherboard had to be replaced and NOT the hard drive. Imagine my surprise when a family picture was in front of me (my desktop background) when I booted on. My first check at reality. My second check was the icon of all icons...the one I griped about a few days ago following an 11 mile treadmill run, all my Garmin workout data from 2010 would be gone, byebye. NOT SO MUCH! Yay!! So, my laptop had a bit of a recovery period for about 25 days and now he is back and better than ever it seems :) It's a restart :)

It's now January 26th and I still don't have a 2011 race plan solidified. Argh. I'm training and preparing and reading and well, I need to get it planned out.

I started using a new planner for my workouts. I have tried several different notebooks, journals, spreadsheets, etc to log my workouts in the past, but thought what the heck, how about start a brand new one on January 1st (Jan 3 technically, as Jan 3 was a Monday). So I have been using that fairly successfully. My primary goal for LAST week was a minimum of 10 hours of training. I reached that weekly goal with the help of the 1:45 run on the treadmill at Gold's (thank you, tv)mon Saturday followed by a 1:45 spin ride and about 30 walking and backwards lunges on Sunday. Yowza. I was done. Not good. Mentally this workout was ridiculous. I could have given up at almost ANY point, but I didn't (maybe should have lol), but for battling through the mental part, I have never been prouder of myself.

I was ramping my training up and have normally been recovering appropriately. That weekend may have put me over the edge. Not good. Sunday I was exhausted-combined with football game eating, and drinking, and it was a bad bad combo. Monday morning came and went - no workout - the afternoon came and went - legs are sore, especially my left one - no workout. Stupid lunges. I cursed myself for my inadequate nutrition over the weekend and cursed myself for doing the damn lunges. I need to move on from this. I need to restart.

The normal pattern of a training plan that I follow is a 3 week build followed by a 1 week recovery. Physically, this works very very well and is well-supported in the literature. Mentally, this is normally ok for my brain. Well....if I continue on the training plan for IMSG this week is a recovery week. I can't seem to get this into my head. I want to crash and burn so badly. Mentally, I do! Physically, my body is saying NO. I won't even go into the fact that I went BACK to bed following spin class this morning.....So, Monday was a no-workout day. Fine. I needed it. Move on, Erin. Yesterday I wanted to run and bike and swim. I ran 45 easy on the treadmill (don't even get me started on the cold spell we had while the laptop was in recovery mode) ending the run with about ten 15-second pickups at 6%. This felt good! Yay! I finished with some body weight strength exercises I found in a new book I am reading. Fine, Tuesday was done. Nearly every hour I have to tell myself, it's okay, Erin, you are supposed to be recovering. Not that I need the mental reminder, as if my quads aren't reminding me enough as it is. And I had to work til 10pm....Restart on Wednesday, right?! Wednesday rolls around and I am signed up for spin class - remember normally Wednesday is my crash and burn day. I have started to REALLY be pumped for these days. I wanted to run off the bike so bad today, but I told myself NO, this is a recovery day. I could just cry. This is so silly too. The spin class was high intensity (and yes, my legs are still recovering from the weekend, still, still.) which is what I want to do during a recovery week. Low volume, high intensity. I wanted to swim today as well, but again, told myself NO.

My plan for the rest of the week is to continue to NOT overdo my workouts. I promised myself that if I behave this week next week will be even better.

Optimal Stress + Optimal Rest = Optimal Progress

I need to really focus on this. Overall, my training is at a point much higher than it was this same time last year and for that I am pleased with myself. However, if I increase the stress I place on my body without increasing the rest in a proportional manner it's not a matter of IF I will get injured it is a matter of WHEN I will get injured. As I explained my case above... Too much stress + inadequate recovery = greater time recovery needed = boo

Every day is a new day - and chance to restart. I need to recover and I need to restart. My laptop did it. So can I.

Stay tuned...