103 Days and Counting... And more fire!!

Okay, I may be taking the fire thing about one post too far, but the flames are funny lately....

Anyway, today was a pretty good day.

Nutrition:

-Breakfast: Cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Shrimp and asparagus fettuccini leftovers (homemade, no less!).

-Dinner: 4 pieces of pepperoni pizza.

-Snacks: Some chile/cheese and tostitos, half a bud light (wimpy, I know).

Training:

60 minutes on the treadmill. I thought I would squeeze in a bike ride as well, but never got around to it with the munchkin, who was FULL of energy this evening!

Started watching a scary movie with SHW, but had to stop it because she was getting a little worked up... I guess it isn't a good idea to have her watch The Shining for the first time at night in a 100 year old house! :-)

Back at it tomorrow!

104 Days and Counting...

I am feeling a bit of momentum lately! I've squeaked in several sessions this week, and am not feeling like I've neglected Smokin Hot Wife, the munckin, or school...

Yesterday was a 90 minute ride, RPE 5.

Nutrition:

-Breakfast: Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: 2 granola bars dipped in yogurt, one handful of trail mix.

-Dinner: Chicken Teryaki and white rice.

-Snacks: 2 cans of ensure.

I haven't gone back and calculated my total volume in the last few weeks, but I know this is the time it needs to start picking up. I haven't been too nervous about my fitness to this point, but I want to make sure I ramp it up over the next couple weeks to a higher volume. I am still glad we got the treadmill, but I am finding that this year the treadmill is more dreaded than the bike!! The bike the last few years has been my achilles heel so it is nice to feel more motivation there, but I am praying for some dry weather. Doesn't need to be warm (it's January, it won't be!), just dry enough to get outside in the neighborhood for some asphalt running mileage.

I also realize that the photo above makes me look demonic, I just didn't want to mess with the red eye in iPhoto (haven't learned that yet). Munchkin had fun talking to me while I was riding last night, and SHW snapped a quick photo!

105 Days and Counting!

So it's been a couple days since I posted, but I am proud to say the training has gone well.

-Tuesday was a 90 minute ride on the trainer, RPE 5.

-Wednesday was a 33 minute continuous swim.

Diet has been good so far as well, but I'm a few days behind so won't rehash 2 days of meals... Suffice it to say, it's been more chicken and rice than M&M's and Beer!

Legs are feeling a bit sprung this week, but in a good way. I missed this feeling, that I've pushed it a little bit in terms of volume, but that there is still more in the tank. A nice place to be 2nd week of January!

109 Days and counting... And no flames today. :-)

So a blog-buddy asked a question on my post yesterday on an issue that has to this point gone un-noticed by me... Apparently I am showing some pyro tendencies in my photos! I will claim that it is a subconscious effort for my "burning desire" to compete, and nothing more! But I will go at least one day without using a flaming photo... Instead we'll use a pic of the cutest kid ever!

On to the goods! Yesterday was a good day:

Nutrition:

-Breakfast: One Nutri Grain bar, one peanut butter granola bar, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: One bowl of vegetable beef soup, goldfish crackers.

-Dinner: Two small buffalo chicken sandwiches.

-Snacks: Handful of M&M's, string cheese, and some wheat thins.

Training:

30 minute run outside, with the munchkin in the stroller. Pace was slow (9:54), HR was pretty normal for the effort (159bpm). But considering I was pushing the stroller on a pretty hilly loop, I am quite happy.

Today, I squeaked in another good day.

Nutrition:

-Breakfast: bagel with peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Chicken/Sausage gumbo, with goldfish crackers.

-Dinner: BBQ pork, green beans and potatoes, and 3 pieces of corn bread.

-Snacks: Handful of M&M's, wheat thins, and string cheese.

Training:

-30 minute run at 6.5 mph.

-Off to complete a 60 minute ride at RPE 4...

Happy Training!

110 days and... Christmas!

WOW! Another long layoff... The holidays certainly are glorious, but it makes it WAY too easy to lose track of training!

We are back, and hoping (planning, rather) on picking up the focus again. I hate to say it, but I kind of expected to drop off my training around Christmas. We had our annual Christmas Eve party with the gang, a quiet holiday as a family, and then had my mom visit for a week between Christmas and New Years. Overall, a WONDERFUL time!

It also served as a good mental break going into training in 2010, and yesterday was an awesome restart. Good diet, good training...

Nutrition:

-Breakfast: 2 nutri grain bars, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Can of chicken/sausage gumbo, goldfish crackers.

-Dinner: Hamburger and some Fritos.

-no snacks today (working off chocolate and beer from the break!).

Training:

-90 minutes on the bike, RPE 5, solid spinning effort, good cadence.

-30 minute treadmill run, 6.5mph.

-Lots of stretching!

Today is going to be an OUTDOOR RUN! I am excited, as it seems Seattle has dried out for about 24 hours... This afternoon we'll bundle up the munchkin and get some fresh air in the jogging stroller. It will also give me a chance to try out the new gift from SHW, a Garmin Forerunner 305!!

I lost my previous GPS unit in an unfortunate car accident (okay, I left it on the roof of my Jeep when I was driving to a bike ride and it got smashed in the street). This one has more features, is more user friendly, and is SMALL! I am stoked... And kudos again to SHW for being awesome. :-)

Here's hoping you all gave/got what you wanted to for the season, and are focused going into 2010!

127 Days and Counting... GO UTES!!

Monday and Tuesday were off days... Not by design, just out of last minute changes in plans. Was feeling sick, got busy with work and housework, and just lost my mojo! Tough time of year to try and get into the routine, but I am glad I am trying a race earlier in 2010. It's a new wrinkle, and it really isn't bad to be training with all the awesome food temptations that come with the season!

Today, I got on the dreadmill for 30 minutes, 7mph after a "subtle" reminder from SHW that it has been a few days... I love that! She laughs in my face every time I try to talk her into a full IM, but she never lets me slack for long. :-)

It was also a joyous day in our household, as the University of Utah beat Cal in their bowl game!! 9 straight bowl wins, and a great way to close out the season... It was also gratifying to see that the PAC10 is 0-2 in their bowls so far, and the MWC is 3-0.

But the BCS works GREAT. It works almost as well as a drunk ironman, anyway.

My diet, as mentioned, has NOT been great the last week or so. SHW had her 27th (ish) birthday and we went out for a bottle of wine, and some awesome Italian. Veal parmegana, fried calimari, fried zuchini, cheesecake, and creme brulee. Cookies at home don't help, and we're currently working on a 5lb. bag of M&M's. Tomorrow is our annual Christmas Eve bash with the gang and their kiddos. Wing Dome, chocolate fondue, chips and dip, with plenty of beer and wine.

This is not a recipe for success! But it is a recipe for a great holiday season, and a pretty good reminder of what we have to be thankful for... Good friends, good family, good food to share with them.

I likely won't be posting tomorrow, so happy holidays to all! I hope you have fun with friends and family, and take some time off of whatever training takes up your days!

130 Days and LAZY!

Not about training, about blogging... What's happened to me!? I used to be so good about my daily ramblings... Wait, no I wasn't. I guess I just wasn't this BAD! So, to catch you up:

Friday was a 50 minute ride, 10 minute run.

Saturday was a 30 minute run.

Sunday was a 65 minute ride, 20 minute run.

Monday was off.

As is the custom this time of year, the diet kind of takes a hit. My meals have been fine, but the cookies and the chocolates in between meals? They are awesome (and hard to decline!).


Some of my delay in posting is due to some good news our family got at the end of last week, that has been a bit distracting... I've kicked around the idea of grad school for the last couple years, and stumbled across a really great program at a great school. Wasn't sure I qualified academically, but after all my stuff was reviewed, I got the call Friday morning... I'll be a student at Gonzaga University, beginning January 12th!

I know this is another big commitment, and I am not sure if I'll do full IM after St. George in May (we'll see how this year goes), but I know I will at least do 70.3 races.... I can't give up cold turkey!! What else will I blog about? :-) If this year goes well with time management, we'll keep up the full IM schedule, but it is honestly a question mark for me now. I think subconciously I want to see how this year goes with a more modest training load (read: training as little as possible!), and if the race is still fun.

I think it will be. :-)