Recovery Recovery Recovery

Surprisingly this week went pretty good considering it started off just recovering from a cold and the chilly cold weather! It was also scheduled as a recovery week for training. I still tried to keep my workouts a bit longer than my training plan called for, including adding a circuit to Wednesday's 30 min run! I did walking lunges, squats, kettle ball raises, push ups, tri dips and some skipping (times 3). Wow, was I sore afterward :( For swims I added extra 500 sets going easy at the end, and a bit of extra "easier" spins on the bike. Lately I've been feeling lower energy and really wanted to eat more, which meant more calories to burn (I think it's making me cranky at times).

I was down 2 lbs, not bad since I missed two workouts the week before from being sick and my workouts this week were a bit "lighter". Last night we played some Xbox Kinnect Fruit Ninja... so fun, and my biceps are sore from going crazy on the pomegranates :) Still have not beat Erin's score of 66!
This week's total, 6 workout days (2 swim, 2 bike, 2 run, one circuit, one rousing game of fruit ninja hehehehe).

This week I tried a new recipe for a sweet pea pesto (picture above). It was super tasty, but did upset my tummy a bit, so I'm thinking I must have over done it on the fresh garlic. I used it in a baked salmon sandwich with sweet pea shoots, and roasted coloured carrots.

This coming week I have two work lunches at the pub....eeek going to have to plan it well. Maybe I'll order salad and then have bigger snacks before and after.

This week's goals....

• I'd like to go for 3 lbs, just to be at nice even number before my road trip :)
  
• Therefore, I need to be aware of my intensity while I am working out, especially in the pool.
• Keep drinking my water everyday (which reminds me I haven't drank any today?!?!?!)
• Keep going good on planning my food/meals (maybe I should go and get groceries today, afterall!).
• Getting my sleep, and keeping stress levels down (sigh!)

Ended with a "Bang"

This week ended with a "bang". Not the good kind of bang either. On Thursday I felt a cold coming :( and by about 3 a.m. on Friday morning I knew I wasn't doing my trainer ride. And as it turns out Saturday's run was a no go either!!! So my competitive soul was dampened and I was tempted to squeeze them both in today, but just doing household odds and ends was exhausting me. I'm headed into a recovery week in my training, so I am super duper bummed that I didn't get in those two workouts. But what can you do! My biggest concern was that I'd get comfortable with 3 days off in a row and struggle to get back into the "zone".

This photo shows a pretty balmy day from this week, it was only -26, but most mornings it was -30 with windchills in the mid -40's Yowsa!

But my reward for working so hard with my training and my eating (especially the eating) was that I was down another 4 lbs!!!! The amount of time it took me to type that was about how long it took for me to realize that it is likely that after two great big drops like that, that this week will likely be meager loss. With it being a recovery week too.... gotta say, I love the long hard workouts as it allows me to eat more!! But I am making good choices and not squandering those calories on empty bad things ;)

This week I'll attribute my success to focusing on logging my food on myfooddiary.com. I find I don't eat a bunch of things and then go, uh oh, no more calories left. Usually I know the night before what my next day will be like for my main meals and snacks, and then I know whether I've got room for a skinny latte or a fruit smoothie or not :) Fruit smoothies are my favourite early evening snack. Eamon loves them too, so I usually do up a enough for both of us.
They're simple, a banana, a yogurt, splash of milk and then whole frozen strawberries.

This weekend was fairly quiet, Brynn had a bday party (sledding!!!) on Saturday and Larry and Eamon went into the city today for a movie and to pick up a few groceries while Miss Brynn and I napped :)

Oh, and I might get a chance to help plan the local tri this summer :) How awesome would that be? Does that mean I can't race??

I'm very close to being finished my plan for fundraising for the Ride to Conquer Cancer 2012....just need to find a couple hours of time to put it into action. Not sure it'll happen this week as I'm going to be super busy with work!! And in a few weeks time I'm headed on the road for work, so I'll need to get my training/eating plan ready well in advance for that week! But I'm super excited as I get to visit with some awesome friends in Spruce Grove and I'll also get to stop in Red Deer for a few days ;)

This week's goals

• stick with the controlled eating
• not overdo it during training for my recovery week (who me??? never!!!) maybe I could use the extra time to do a bit of strength training/stretching
  
• remember to eat my snacks at work and drink my water (love my new water bottle)
  

It's working ....

I was thrilled when I weighed myself yesterday and was down 6 lbs :) That's a rough estimate as it could actually be more. I stopped weighing myself for awhile ;(
I've been following my tri training plan to a "T" and have been logging my food and doing the planning part for two weeks, so there you go.

So for the last 2 weeks:
3 hrs 41 minutes running
3 hours 30 min cycling
2 hours 25 min swimming
For some reason that doesn't seem like a lot now :( But by Saturday I'm pretty tired so the long run usually does me in! Plus we went skating yesterday. But Sunday is my rest day from training :) So today I'm getting caught up on house stuff. I also made my second batch of "Cream" of Broccoli soup today!

A few triumphs from the week:

• Didn't completely hate my swims this week!
• On Thursday we had Erin and Amber, Brooklyn over for dinner, Larry made lasagna and I made some Eggplant Parmesan as a healthy option for myself :)

Sweet Brooklyn and Uncle Larry :)

I am amazed how logging my food really helps me keep within the correct range for calories, and from mindless snacking.

Tonight we are going to Erin and Kengo's for dinner, so I'm going to have to be EXTREMELY good for the earlier part of the day. So far so good :)


But I still have to make cake pops.... that's going to be tough! I will try chewing gum to keep me from nibbling. (** Update: It worked, I didn't nibble even a bit!)

I haven't really got my act together for my fundraising plan for the Ride to Conquer Cancer yet. I have to make up some posters and a plan for the cake pops. That's why I'm making some today.
Here they are in process.

















I'm going to include some recipes that I've been using....I'll add photos as I make them next.

Spaghetti Squash First I stab the squash a few times all the way through.
Microwave for 5-6 minutes
Then slice in half lengthwise and microwave further (open side down on a plate) for about 4 more minutes
Scoop out seeds from middle, then using a fork scrape out "noodles".

My favourite way of using the Spaghetti Squash is to saute the following in a pan:
1t of olive oil, onion, garlic, chopped zuchini, peppers, mushrooms, spinach, tomato

Then I mix it into some Spaghetti Squash, add some salt and pepper and 1 oz of crumbled goat cheese :) So Yummy! I also found that a bit of turkey bacon crumbled in puts it OVER the top YUMMY!

Eggplant Parmesan
Slice medium egglpant into slices about 1 cm thick (I slice them into rounds)
Spray a bit of PAM into a casserole dish.
I then lay slices of eggplant on bottom of pan, then top with some sliced fresh mushrooms and spread 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. Then I do it again, layer eggplant, sliced fresh mushrooms another 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. Top with about 1.5 cups of spaghetti sauce (I use Health Choice). Sprinkle top with 4 oz of shredded light mozzarella cheese. Cover with tin foil and bake for 60 minutes at about 375. Remove foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes. Makes 6 servings, although I always eat 2 servings in one go :)

"Cream" of Broccoli Soup
1T Olive Oil
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 sm onion
1 900 ml container of low salt chicken stock
1 cup cooked rice
4.5 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup milk

(1.5 cups is 164 cal and is very filling)

Saute carrots, celery, onion in the olive oil for about 5 minutes (I chopped it all up nice and fine in the food processor)
Add rice, chicken stock, broccoli, bring to boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Blend in food processor or blender and return to pot. Add 1 cup milk.
My blender is really big so I just put it all in with the milk and blend it up. I liked it thick, but if you prefer you can add more milk, you can also sprinkle with parmesan or white cheddar cheese :)

Phew! I made it.

My first week of training done AND with the holidays over, I returned to work for two whole LONG days days. It's always tough going back after a break, but I survived.

As for the training....well, I survived 2 swims (Monday's swim was the first in over a year!), 2 bikes and 1 run (2nd run is tomorrow).
Basically I am using my training plans from 2010. It is a bit tough because the old plan started at the beginning of December (2009) and I'm starting one month in. As such, I was right back in.... single leg drills, oh how I'd forgotten how evil you are. But truly, today I felt really great! My legs are fatigued, but I feel really good. Physically and mentally!

In addition to my training, I have had three really great "clean" eating days! Yay!
It's been tough, but I have found myself back on myfooddiary logging my food so I know I'm on track and planning too. If I have a plan for the day, and I have it ready to go for the morning, then it is easy for the time when I'm at work. As for at home, it does take extra effort (will power baby....lots of Christmas treats still around!) with lots of salads, and I'm back to drinking my mint tea. Still need to get better about my water drinking.

I still haven't weighed myself, avoiding it until the end of next week (so I can see some improvement). Although it'd be good to have a starting point...I know how I feel and how my clothes fit is the important thing. Plus I have a $100 gift card I'm saving for a special "treat"...

Finally, my sister committed to doing the 2012 Ride to Conquer Cancer with me :) YAY!!!
So the excitment and training begin!!

Best be off to bed, gotta get up for a run tomorrow (my least favourite kind of run...long and slooooowwww, oh yeah heart rate monitor I remember you... and I still don't like you!).

Where to begin?

I see it's been a VERY long time since I blogged, and although there's a lot of excuses I could use for why I've not blogged, I think I'll pass :) What I can say is that I very much enjoyed reading my older posts, and seeing the enthusiasm I had for my training and races. I am sad that I didn't blog in 2011 so I will try to do better this year as I think it holds me accountable :)

[For my own personal records, I'm going to do a summary of 2011 at the end. If you aren't me, you can probably skip it :)]

Here I am, January 1st 2012 and as I'm not one for really making resolutions let's suffice it to say that I've signed up for a race this May. I'd planned to start off with a nice Sprint Tri, one of my favourite races the "Splash, Pedal, Gasp" (it had been cancelled for 2011 due to pool renovations). Sadly it sold out (in just over 2 weeks!!!!!). So my choices were, give up (ha!), Super Sprint (ha ha!) or Olympic distance (ha ha ha! Crazy right?!?!?). Guess which I went with?!?!? Yup, Olympic Distance!!!!!! Not sure it was the sane choice, but nevertheless, it has been decided.

Now begins the planning. I suspect it'll be difficult getting back into the training without a coach as I really enjoyed having the structure, but I will look over my coaching logs from 2010 and use the resources available online. I'm also "toying" with the idea of signing up for the 2012 Ride to Conquer Cancer. I see a lot of cake pop selling in my future in order to raise the $2500!

This is what my 2012 looks like so far:
May 2012, Oly Distance Tri :: Lethbridge
June 2012, RTCC :: Alberta/Calary
July 2012, "Swam the Dam" :: Oly Distance :: Magrath

To borrow a quote from Kelownagurl
"Make 2012 the best year ever - it's all up to you!!!"

Tomorrow is training day #1. Here goes.....

A year in review::
Things that happened in 2011.

• Early in the New Year, I hired a personal trainer, Deb! She was awesome. I had been doing a lot of extra contract work, so thought I'd treat myself with some of the proceeds. It was well worth it and I felt great.
• In April we went on an amazing road trip down to Disneyland and San Diego, with a stop in Las Vegas on the way home :) So much fun... and I actually lost a few pounds (how'd that happen?? I made up for it later though!).
• In July we headed out to the West Coast, to visit family as I had some meetings for work. We had a great time :)
• The Fall was extremely stressful with my work at the University.
  
• For my mental health I had to give up all my freelance contract work. Phew! (but I miss the extra $$).
• I started to do a lot of baking, which was fun but probably not the healthiest of hobbies, but it did help me to master making "cake pops", which I hope to use toward earning $ for the Ride to Conquer Cancer this summer (2012).
• Sadly, we lost our dear Heather in September, oh such heartbreak for our family. She was my inspiration for the Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2010, and will be my strength for the ride in 2012.
• My dear Stacey returned from her Maternity Leave in November...she's an awesome gal and was my training partner in crime :)

Those are the main events of 2011. Lots of travel and lots of stress. I note that there is a complete lack of any RACES for 2011 :( In retrospect a major mistake, but 2012 look out because I'm BACK!!