Hello, it's me again. Yes, I'm still alive. Yes, I've gained more weight. Yes, I could spend a lot of time making excuses and telling you how busy I've been.
But I won't.
What I came here for today is some advice. Now, of course I write this from a place after I've already discussed it with a few "in real life" friends, but I trust my blogging community so much I'm bringing it to you.
WAAAAAAAAAY back in December I registered for my first race for the 2013 Triathlon season - the Cedars of Lebanon Sprint Tri (200 y swim, 9.6 mi bike, 2 mi run), which is now THIS Saturday.
And although I started out ok, I haven't followed any sort of training schedule for FOUR weeks.
Sure, I've done a run here, swam a little over there, and a bike ride here and there in the last few weeks. But I would say I've been on a bike less than 4 times in the last 4 weeks and I've been in the pool maybe half that.
To say I'm not trained is an understatement.
I wasn't really worried until I hopped on the bike Sunday and it was SO HARD. The lack of training combined with the 40 or so lbs I've gained in the last 8 months had me walking up THREE hills. And they were piddly little hills. Now, I could blame it on the run I did the day before - 2 miles - since I haven't been running much more than 20 minutes a few times a week and my quads felt a little sore, but that's a cop-out.
So what do I do?
I'm really conflicted because I've never NOT completed a race I registered for. For awhile, I was confident the short distances at the race wouldn't be a problem for me, but MAN I've let myself go. After that bike ride on Sunday (during which I had my first bike crash), I just don't know if I CAN.
Which is better?
Do I go forward with my plan to do the triathlon knowing I'm not trained and I'm sorely out of shape, with the chance of either hurting myself or having to quit during the race?
Or do I bow out gracefully, plan some other moderate activity in place of Saturday and re-evaluate my health and fitness goals?
What would you do?
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
Still here
Just a quick post since I fell off the face of the planet for the last 3 weeks...
In that time, I'm on my second dog sitting "job", went to the beach, and gained about 8 lbs.
But my spirits are high and I'm trying to re-focus quickly to get ready for my first triathlon of the season in 12 days.
So, I'm trying not to focus on the scale too much (but I'll return to weekly weigh ins on Sunday).
There's a busy summer ahead of me starting now (I have 9 trips - both personal and business - planned in the next 3 months).
Hopefully the train doesn't completely derail, because right now it's just going along off track.
In that time, I'm on my second dog sitting "job", went to the beach, and gained about 8 lbs.
But my spirits are high and I'm trying to re-focus quickly to get ready for my first triathlon of the season in 12 days.
So, I'm trying not to focus on the scale too much (but I'll return to weekly weigh ins on Sunday).
There's a busy summer ahead of me starting now (I have 9 trips - both personal and business - planned in the next 3 months).
Hopefully the train doesn't completely derail, because right now it's just going along off track.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Weekly Menu Plan
I've found recently that having a menu plan for the week helps me not only eat healthier because all my meal and snack options are laid out and I don't "forget" what I have only to go get fast food. But it's helped me stay within my grocery budget.
Breakfast
Easy Egg Sandwiches
Muesli with apples
Whole Wheat Protein Pancakes
Lunch
Turkey Avocado wraps w/veggies and White Bean Hummus
Red Beans and Rice
Dinner
Homemade Pizza (recipe for best Whole Wheat Crust coming this week)
Mango Salsa Chicken w/broccoli
Chickpea Crockpot Pie (will be made Sunday for lunches next week)
I have several leftovers of the Lentil Soup and Whole Wheat Gnoochi with Sweet Potato Sauce I made last week and there are a couple lunches at work where food is provided, so this week's menu is once again skimpy, but I'm excited to try the Mango Chicken - it's something I haven't made before. And the turkey avocado wraps are the perfect compliment to the hot weather Nashville is experiencing this week - highs in the 80s all week!
Breakfast
Easy Egg Sandwiches
Muesli with apples
Whole Wheat Protein Pancakes
Lunch
Turkey Avocado wraps w/veggies and White Bean Hummus
Red Beans and Rice
Dinner
Homemade Pizza (recipe for best Whole Wheat Crust coming this week)
Mango Salsa Chicken w/broccoli
Chickpea Crockpot Pie (will be made Sunday for lunches next week)
I have several leftovers of the Lentil Soup and Whole Wheat Gnoochi with Sweet Potato Sauce I made last week and there are a couple lunches at work where food is provided, so this week's menu is once again skimpy, but I'm excited to try the Mango Chicken - it's something I haven't made before. And the turkey avocado wraps are the perfect compliment to the hot weather Nashville is experiencing this week - highs in the 80s all week!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Weigh in & A Dark Place
Weight Last Week: 264.6
Weight This Week: 263.4
1.2 pounds LOST this week
Lowest Weight Recorded: 232.2 on 4/22/12
66 pounds lost since June 2010
Sure, a technical loss, but it's been a sh*t pile of a week. Trying CrossFit on Tuesday left me more sore than I have ever being in my life - today is the first day I can *kinda* sit down without wincing in pain.
Is that an excuse? Sure it is. If I would have been out and active - even if my quads, shoulders and abs all wanted to die - I probably would have recovered earlier.
I just feel like I am in a vicious cycle of emotional eating and not wanting to do anything about it.
It's spring, the weather is nice, I should feel refreshed and recharged and instead I have to talk myself into getting myself out of bed in the morning.
I know this post is negative and it's not all "butterflies and puppies" so I'm sorry to those of you who are looking for inspiration. But this is what's real and I know I'm not alone, so I'd love for you to comment if you've experienced this vicious cycle of regaining weight-depression-emotional eating. If so, how did you get out of it?
Weight This Week: 263.4
1.2 pounds LOST this week
Lowest Weight Recorded: 232.2 on 4/22/12
66 pounds lost since June 2010
Sure, a technical loss, but it's been a sh*t pile of a week. Trying CrossFit on Tuesday left me more sore than I have ever being in my life - today is the first day I can *kinda* sit down without wincing in pain.
Is that an excuse? Sure it is. If I would have been out and active - even if my quads, shoulders and abs all wanted to die - I probably would have recovered earlier.
I just feel like I am in a vicious cycle of emotional eating and not wanting to do anything about it.
It's spring, the weather is nice, I should feel refreshed and recharged and instead I have to talk myself into getting myself out of bed in the morning.
I know this post is negative and it's not all "butterflies and puppies" so I'm sorry to those of you who are looking for inspiration. But this is what's real and I know I'm not alone, so I'd love for you to comment if you've experienced this vicious cycle of regaining weight-depression-emotional eating. If so, how did you get out of it?
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
This one time I tried CrossFit...
I had a moment of insanity and forgot all about my fear of CrossFit, and signed up for an Iron Tribe Nashville (ITF) class during the Nashville Scene Fitness Crawl.
It's never a good sign when your quads start to hurt IN THE MIDDLE of the work out.
The Iron Tribe Nashville franchise has two locations - Belle Meade and Brentwood. I chose to take my pain at Belle Meade location where Maxwell Jones and Eli Martorana are the co-owners.
The Belle Meade location has been open for a little over 2 months and is situated along one of the busiest roads in Nashville - Harding Pike. This is a great location for them and the place seems to be a hit.
I somehow coerced my co-worker and office mate, Megan, into joining the fun with me. I'm still not sure how I accomplished that, but GO MEGAN for going through with it!
I'm not going to lie - it was intimidating during the 10-15 minutes we were waiting for the class to start. I was clearly the biggest person there (guys and girls) and probably had twice the weight on me compared to the other women in the room. Most people already looked in shape and had arm muscles to prove it. More than once we talked about leaving.
But it was so hard to leave because Maxwell and Eli were so welcoming into their community and so we stayed. Can't say we didn't pay for it later.
Yesterday's WOD (or Workout Of the Day) was:
10 Burpees
20 Jump Squats
30 Crunches
100m run with weighted medicine ball (10#)
AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)
We were partnered up and went to work. Thankfully, I got a really nice ITF member as my partner (I regret her name escapes me). She was encouraging and didn't seem to get frustrated at how SLOW I was - especially at burpees - OUCH!
What I liked:
I loved the community aspect of CrossFit. I don't normally like group fitness situations, but the encouraging atmosphere and friendly competition aspect of ITF motivated me when I wanted to quit 5 minutes into the workout.
I also love that the actual workout was only 15 minutes. Yes, it was 15 minutes of intensity, but it was more mentally doable because I "only had to do it for 15 minutes".
What I didn't like:
The competitive aspect of trying to do "as many rounds or reps as you can" leads me to poor form, and I could see how I could potentially hurt myself.
I didn't feel like we warmed up or cooled down in any real way - and definitely not enough stretching at the end of the class.
All that to say, is if it was an affordable workout option, I would probably more seriously consider joining a CrossFit gym. The workouts seem like exactly what I'm missing (strength training) in my weight loss and fitness routine. However, it's just not in the budget as it stands right now, so maybe it's time to figure out how to incorporate strength training on my own?
It's never a good sign when your quads start to hurt IN THE MIDDLE of the work out.
The Iron Tribe Nashville franchise has two locations - Belle Meade and Brentwood. I chose to take my pain at Belle Meade location where Maxwell Jones and Eli Martorana are the co-owners.
The Belle Meade location has been open for a little over 2 months and is situated along one of the busiest roads in Nashville - Harding Pike. This is a great location for them and the place seems to be a hit.
I somehow coerced my co-worker and office mate, Megan, into joining the fun with me. I'm still not sure how I accomplished that, but GO MEGAN for going through with it!
I'm not going to lie - it was intimidating during the 10-15 minutes we were waiting for the class to start. I was clearly the biggest person there (guys and girls) and probably had twice the weight on me compared to the other women in the room. Most people already looked in shape and had arm muscles to prove it. More than once we talked about leaving.
But it was so hard to leave because Maxwell and Eli were so welcoming into their community and so we stayed. Can't say we didn't pay for it later.
Yesterday's WOD (or Workout Of the Day) was:
10 Burpees
20 Jump Squats
30 Crunches
100m run with weighted medicine ball (10#)
AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)
We were partnered up and went to work. Thankfully, I got a really nice ITF member as my partner (I regret her name escapes me). She was encouraging and didn't seem to get frustrated at how SLOW I was - especially at burpees - OUCH!
 |
| "Rug" burn and bruising from the burpees |
What I liked:
I loved the community aspect of CrossFit. I don't normally like group fitness situations, but the encouraging atmosphere and friendly competition aspect of ITF motivated me when I wanted to quit 5 minutes into the workout.
I also love that the actual workout was only 15 minutes. Yes, it was 15 minutes of intensity, but it was more mentally doable because I "only had to do it for 15 minutes".
What I didn't like:
The competitive aspect of trying to do "as many rounds or reps as you can" leads me to poor form, and I could see how I could potentially hurt myself.
I didn't feel like we warmed up or cooled down in any real way - and definitely not enough stretching at the end of the class.
All that to say, is if it was an affordable workout option, I would probably more seriously consider joining a CrossFit gym. The workouts seem like exactly what I'm missing (strength training) in my weight loss and fitness routine. However, it's just not in the budget as it stands right now, so maybe it's time to figure out how to incorporate strength training on my own?
Have you ever tried CrossFit? What did you think?
Monday, April 8, 2013
Weekly Menu Planning
Since I spent a lot of money eating out last week, I'm trying to use up things I have on hand for my menu this week - I previously had on-hand asparagus, lean ground beef, potatoes, lentils, and frozen veggies.
My grocery list this week consisted of staples - milk, bread. And fresh fruits and veggies - grapes, bananas, and spinach.
Not a very exciting menu this week, but everything is pretty healthy and I still have lots of veggies incorporated - two goals for myself every week.
Breakfast
Egg Sandwiches
Apple Museli
Scrambled eggs with black beans
Lunch
Leftover blue cheese burgers & asparagus
Potato soup with spinach
Turkey Sandwich w/grapes
Dinner
Chopped Chickpea Salad
Lentil Soup w/french bread
Whole Wheat Gnocchi w/Sweet Potato sauce and broccoli
Snacks
Carrots w/white bean dip
Bananas w/almond butter
Apples
Unsalted Almonds
Grapes
2% Fage Yogurt
My grocery list this week consisted of staples - milk, bread. And fresh fruits and veggies - grapes, bananas, and spinach.
Not a very exciting menu this week, but everything is pretty healthy and I still have lots of veggies incorporated - two goals for myself every week.
Breakfast
Egg Sandwiches
Apple Museli
Scrambled eggs with black beans
Lunch
Leftover blue cheese burgers & asparagus
Potato soup with spinach
Turkey Sandwich w/grapes
Dinner
Chopped Chickpea Salad
Lentil Soup w/french bread
Whole Wheat Gnocchi w/Sweet Potato sauce and broccoli
Snacks
Carrots w/white bean dip
Bananas w/almond butter
Apples
Unsalted Almonds
Grapes
2% Fage Yogurt
Weekly Weigh-in
Weight Last Week: 259.0
Weight This Week: 264.6
5.6 pounds GAINED this week
Lowest Weight Recorded: 232.2 on 4/22/12
64.8 pounds lost since June 2010
Still on the rollercoaster...
I went into last week knowing what I needed to do, and I didn't do it. Unfortunately, it continued through the weekend. The only thing I can do turn it around faster than normal and not let my patter of lose, lose, gain, gain continue.
Weight This Week: 264.6
5.6 pounds GAINED this week
Lowest Weight Recorded: 232.2 on 4/22/12
64.8 pounds lost since June 2010
Still on the rollercoaster...
I went into last week knowing what I needed to do, and I didn't do it. Unfortunately, it continued through the weekend. The only thing I can do turn it around faster than normal and not let my patter of lose, lose, gain, gain continue.
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