I need to do a race report, and I will soon but first I felt that there are a lot of emotions that I wanted to wrap up so that the race report can be more focused on the race.
A little background on me, I was NEVER considered athletic, in fact I was down right scrawny throughout middle and high school. My siblings were both extremely athletic and used to physically remove me from situations if they found I was annoying. It was very powerful to be called an athlete and feel athletic as well to have my brother call and tell me that he was proud of me (then he called me crazy :0)
2012 I turned 30 and my best friend talked me into training for a half marathon and so started my fitness journey. I HATED the entire process and I knew I would never do another race ever again, but as we all know you should never say never. We did the diva half marathon in October and the minute I crossed that finish line I was hooked on the race endorphin high. I have never in all my other races hurt as much as I hurt after this first half marathon, I was sore for DAYS.
When the opportunity to start my tri journey presented itself I was worried and concerned about swimming as well as the bike but I decided that my 30s were a time to conquer fears. The first tri I signed up for was a half iron distance, 70.3 miles of swimming, biking and running perhaps not the recommended first distance but I like to really go for it when I sign up. Eventually my friend Jo convinced me to sign up for a mini tri so that I could get a feel for transitions and the tri experience.
September 2014 is when the journey to Ironman really started because I signed up for Chattanooga and I was wearing a walking boot unable to swim, bike, run or even walk very well. This is not the ideal situation and I don't recommend unless you are prepared to really throw yourself into training. The nerves really got to me at certain points because I felt I was missing valuable time to be improving my skills but trying to ensure I recovered properly from my stress fracture.
Doing an Ironman your second triathlon season is not something I recommend to the faint of heart. I am not a strong swimmer or biker and although my skills have greatly improved they caused some heartache during training about time cut offs. I got the option to upgrade my bike by winning a raffle in April and instead of going with a time trial (triathlon) bike I elected to go with a carbon road bike and add aero bars. This decision was smart because adapting to the carbon bike and aero bars was still difficult, the bike is much lighter and tends to be harder to control. I took two spills, including one only a month out from Chattanooga which really shook my confidence and limited my swimming.
Leading up to the race I felt very calm and settled because I knew I had put in the work and the day would be what it was but the training had already given me such a thrill. There were so many days I didn't want to cycle one more mile, the pool was the last place I wanted to be and towards to end all I wanted to do was sleep but I stuck with it. Just getting to the starting line of an Ironman, uninjured and ready to give it your all is an accomplishment and I was feeling very proud of myself.
Race day is about execution, following the plan and being able to adapt when things don't go to plan. Fitness only gets you so far which is actually a good thing for me! :)
Showing posts with label #nutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #nutrition. Show all posts
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Six Month Countdown...Bye March
Wait, where is the calendar going? The days are FLYING by, what do you mean I will be doing an Ironman in less than 6 months?
March was a dicey month with travel and sickness. We were away at the beach which was FABULOUS at the start of the month and then in the middle drove down to my family's home to celebrate my birthday. While we were away for my birthday I wasn't feeling my best and turns out I had a sinus infection which severely hampered my training efforts obviously as I just struggled to breathe and work. I would love to have a solid month of training under my belt sooner than later.
I need to be better about blogging as well! I have tons of topics floating around my head but with work and trying to keep myself on my training schedule I'm stretched a little thin.
Nutrition changes are going very well and I need to sit down and write what I have changed up so far and how I think it is impacting me. I need to be better about this in the long run but I'm starting small to make sure I stick with it.
I need to stay healthy for April, hit more of my workouts and blog more! Updates to come :)
March was a dicey month with travel and sickness. We were away at the beach which was FABULOUS at the start of the month and then in the middle drove down to my family's home to celebrate my birthday. While we were away for my birthday I wasn't feeling my best and turns out I had a sinus infection which severely hampered my training efforts obviously as I just struggled to breathe and work. I would love to have a solid month of training under my belt sooner than later.
I need to be better about blogging as well! I have tons of topics floating around my head but with work and trying to keep myself on my training schedule I'm stretched a little thin.
Nutrition changes are going very well and I need to sit down and write what I have changed up so far and how I think it is impacting me. I need to be better about this in the long run but I'm starting small to make sure I stick with it.
I need to stay healthy for April, hit more of my workouts and blog more! Updates to come :)
January Totals:
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71
February Totals
Swim :18,756 yards
Bike: 123.5 miles
Run (Alter G) 13.5 Miles
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)
March Totals:
Swim: 8,625 m
Bike: 92.76 miles
Run: 24.8 miles
Total miles: 122.92
Saturday, March 7, 2015
The devil is in the details
How many times a day do you find yourself thinking, "I wish I was as skinny as that person" or maybe "I wish I was as fast or as strong." The risks of comparing yourself without the full details is that you don't know how often that person trains to be that fast, how many years it took them of 5am work outs, you don't know if that skinny person feels terribly about themselves or if they struggle to put on weight.
A few weeks ago I did metabolic testing to give myself some valuable knowledge as I forge ahead with Ironman training. I wanted to find out my exact heart rate zones so I could heart rate train properly as well as find out my body fat percentage and my metabolic rate just for extra information. I wasn't very shocked to learn my body fat percentage but when I shared the information with some friends they seemed very surprised to learn the number and the response was always "but you are so skinny."
Let's start with what is your body fat percentage? Your body fat percentage is your total mass of fat divided by your total mass. There is a certain level of essential fat in your body that is necessary for life functions and that percentage is different in men and women. For men they must have 3-5% for life functions, women must have 8-12% for normal life functions. Please note I am not a doctor, I did not stay at a holiday inn express last night and nothing I am talking about is intended to be medical advice!
My number is....drumroll...27.5%. This puts me in the average range for women and I would ideally like to be in the fitness range and I believe I can make the necessary changes to get there before Chattanooga. This is not my BMI, personally I don't think BMI is every really accurate because it only uses your height and weight not actual information about your body fat. Let's explore a little bit about why my body fat percentage is 27.5% and what it means. Where your body fat is stored is more important than the number of how much you have. Of course we have all heard "a moment on the lips forever on the hips" some people carry their body fat on the thighs, hips and butt, some carry it around the middle and some have visceral fat which is stored around the organs. Unfortunately for me I have the later so I'm what you might call skinny fat and now I need to make some changes.
Every day your body burns calories just to exist and that is your metabolism at work, I learned that my metabolism is 12% faster than the average person my age, height and weight. Essentially I burn 12% more calories just to exist and then add in all my work outs and I need to ensure I am taking in enough calories to sustain life. That my friends is how someone gets skinny fat, they don't eat enough calories so their body thinks it is in a famine and begins to store fat for when the food runs out. My focus in the coming weeks will be on ensuring I get to at least 2100 good calories per day, proper fueling before work outs and proper refueling with protein after work outs.
My avoidance of nutrition has gone on long enough and I need to take it seriously to make sure I get the results that I want from Chattanooga. Nutrition can make or break race day, the devil will be in those details and I want to make sure I set myself up for success.
My avoidance of nutrition has gone on long enough and I need to take it seriously to make sure I get the results that I want from Chattanooga. Nutrition can make or break race day, the devil will be in those details and I want to make sure I set myself up for success.
January Totals:
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 (if my math is correct)
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 (if my math is correct)
February Totals
Swim :18,756 yards
Bike: 123.5 miles
Run (Alter G) 13.5 Miles
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Peace out 2014, a year of major accomplishments and major setbacks!
2014 started as most New Years do, with promise and lofty goals. The year ended with many of those goals accomplished and some important lessons and learning as most do.
This time last year, if I am truly honest with myself and go back to my blog I was recovering from foot surgery and I was ITCHING to do something, I hadn't really learned to swim yet, hadn't been on the new bike I had bought and frankly wasn't so confident about my running post surgery. I had a long way to go before my first half iron in June but I was feeling excited mixed with the anxious feeling of needing to get off the couch.
Swimming proved to be an arch nemesis and I switched exclusively to swimming a 50 meter pool that was much further from my house in order to push myself. That worked wonders until I had a complete and utter meltdown at my very first ever open water swim in May, ok well maybe not complete because I didn't cry but let's face it I contemplated giving up MANY times. People always say to me, "Oh I wish I could do what you do but...(insert reason here, I'm scared, I can't swim, I freak out, I want to quit, I don't have time)." Well I have news for you and if you read my blog you know this, but I want to quit many days, I have meltdowns where I cry on the floor over something stupid because I have been training for weeks and I'm sleepy and sore and I've reached my limit, I get overwhelmed with my dreams and goals, BUT I don't give up, I don't quit, I stay the course. That is the important lesson to learn and that I hope I have conveyed in the last year. I was never a natural athlete, this does not come easily for me and this journey has taxed me more mentally than physically.
Looking back on 2014 I'm disappointed in myself for getting hurt and therefore not meeting the very high goals I had set for myself at the start of the year. I'm frustrated and tired of the injections, the physical therapy, the constant doctors appointment, and most importantly the lack of a training schedule presenting me with solid base and improvements as I head into an even bigger 2015. The injury has taught me valuable lessons and I need to focus on those lessons in my periods of frustration and self doubt. I know that if push comes to shove mentally I can make my body work through pain, not of course broken bone pain again but in the instance of a grueling race I can have mental toughness. I will never forget the words said to me by someone who has known me from the awkward first days of college, "You are way stronger than anyone has ever given you credit for". Those words have stuck with me since they were uttered in June and they have powered me through.
When I think to all the physical pain I have endured I remember Packy and the fact he suffered far worse and he never gave up and he never complained. I'm sure he had internal complaints and some hidden meltdowns but to the outer world he portrayed his strength and that is important. As far as me, I am going to endeavor this year to be more honest via the blog as far as feelings of doubt, being scared, etc so that you can see that I'm not Teflon, this process is hard and anyone going through it or thinking about it should have a real picture not puppies and kittens. I want people to say, "I decided to try it because after reading you try it I think I can do it."
Triathlons are hard, learning new sports is hard and sometimes demoralizing, long course events require extreme commitment and sacrifice. The benefits to me far out way the sacrifices, amazing friends, inspiring and teaching others, the feeling of crossing the finish line and let's face it looking pretty good in skinny jeans is a plus :-)
So 2014, I must say you were pretty positive. I'm so lucky to have the best parents/cheering squad in the business who followed me even to another country to support an endeavor that I am not sure they always understand. I have not had one major race without them and that means the world to me. I set a new half marathon PR and I set a new 5K PR during a sprint tri relay that my team won. I accomplished my goal of a half ironman race, I didn't get the time I wanted but I learned so much about race nutrition and myself, especially when I learned I did it with a stress fracture. I had my first DNF, I struggled with my feelings of being pulled for not making the bike cut off but realizing that everything in life holds a lesson and that was an important lesson for me. The understanding that you can only push yourself so far before you need to listen to your body and understand that rest is necessary. The understanding that a DNF is not a failure, it is not a negative but a positive message of a new goal and what I needed to work on. I accomplished the goal of learning how to take care of myself, rest according to orders and heal.
2015 is the year of the Ironman...more on that tomorrow.
This time last year, if I am truly honest with myself and go back to my blog I was recovering from foot surgery and I was ITCHING to do something, I hadn't really learned to swim yet, hadn't been on the new bike I had bought and frankly wasn't so confident about my running post surgery. I had a long way to go before my first half iron in June but I was feeling excited mixed with the anxious feeling of needing to get off the couch.
Swimming proved to be an arch nemesis and I switched exclusively to swimming a 50 meter pool that was much further from my house in order to push myself. That worked wonders until I had a complete and utter meltdown at my very first ever open water swim in May, ok well maybe not complete because I didn't cry but let's face it I contemplated giving up MANY times. People always say to me, "Oh I wish I could do what you do but...(insert reason here, I'm scared, I can't swim, I freak out, I want to quit, I don't have time)." Well I have news for you and if you read my blog you know this, but I want to quit many days, I have meltdowns where I cry on the floor over something stupid because I have been training for weeks and I'm sleepy and sore and I've reached my limit, I get overwhelmed with my dreams and goals, BUT I don't give up, I don't quit, I stay the course. That is the important lesson to learn and that I hope I have conveyed in the last year. I was never a natural athlete, this does not come easily for me and this journey has taxed me more mentally than physically.
Looking back on 2014 I'm disappointed in myself for getting hurt and therefore not meeting the very high goals I had set for myself at the start of the year. I'm frustrated and tired of the injections, the physical therapy, the constant doctors appointment, and most importantly the lack of a training schedule presenting me with solid base and improvements as I head into an even bigger 2015. The injury has taught me valuable lessons and I need to focus on those lessons in my periods of frustration and self doubt. I know that if push comes to shove mentally I can make my body work through pain, not of course broken bone pain again but in the instance of a grueling race I can have mental toughness. I will never forget the words said to me by someone who has known me from the awkward first days of college, "You are way stronger than anyone has ever given you credit for". Those words have stuck with me since they were uttered in June and they have powered me through.
When I think to all the physical pain I have endured I remember Packy and the fact he suffered far worse and he never gave up and he never complained. I'm sure he had internal complaints and some hidden meltdowns but to the outer world he portrayed his strength and that is important. As far as me, I am going to endeavor this year to be more honest via the blog as far as feelings of doubt, being scared, etc so that you can see that I'm not Teflon, this process is hard and anyone going through it or thinking about it should have a real picture not puppies and kittens. I want people to say, "I decided to try it because after reading you try it I think I can do it."
Triathlons are hard, learning new sports is hard and sometimes demoralizing, long course events require extreme commitment and sacrifice. The benefits to me far out way the sacrifices, amazing friends, inspiring and teaching others, the feeling of crossing the finish line and let's face it looking pretty good in skinny jeans is a plus :-)
So 2014, I must say you were pretty positive. I'm so lucky to have the best parents/cheering squad in the business who followed me even to another country to support an endeavor that I am not sure they always understand. I have not had one major race without them and that means the world to me. I set a new half marathon PR and I set a new 5K PR during a sprint tri relay that my team won. I accomplished my goal of a half ironman race, I didn't get the time I wanted but I learned so much about race nutrition and myself, especially when I learned I did it with a stress fracture. I had my first DNF, I struggled with my feelings of being pulled for not making the bike cut off but realizing that everything in life holds a lesson and that was an important lesson for me. The understanding that you can only push yourself so far before you need to listen to your body and understand that rest is necessary. The understanding that a DNF is not a failure, it is not a negative but a positive message of a new goal and what I needed to work on. I accomplished the goal of learning how to take care of myself, rest according to orders and heal.
2015 is the year of the Ironman...more on that tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Let's talk about FOOD, baby!
This is a blog topic I NEVER in a million years thought I would address. In fact my first day with my trainer last year I said, "I will NEVER change my food, don't want to talk about it." Luckily Rachel realized I was 1) super stubborn, 2) addicted to lucky charms and cherry coke and 3) dedicated and smart. After my marathon I started thinking about nutrition and got a couple books including the Runner's World Cookbook and also a Nutrition for Triathletes book. I don't eat terribly and I don't like to think about what I eat but I felt that my stomach/digestive system really failed me during the marathon and I wanted to start looking into it.
My goal for the New Year was to start making an effort to change and be smarter about what I was eating in order to fuel my training properly. Prior to the January I quit my cherry coke habit, only giving myself treats at the movies or once a week. Wow was that hard, and apparently I am the only one in my building drinking it because they took it out of the soda machine! My vacation to DR was the last time I had caffeinated soda until today, oh today. My vendor took me out to lunch and we went to BRGR to get burgers and sweet potato fries and a Barqs root beer. That's right after making such an effort to eat better today I decided sure I deserve a treat, hey a burger is protein and that is what I'm working to increase anyway. Rationalization, it is a beautiful thing my friends.
Flash forward to 2 hours later and I was tired not not tired, EXHAUSTED, sluggish, miserable. I did not equate it back to lunch I just figured it was a result of my late night up crafting my sister's shower invites. I headed to the gym for my training session after downing a bag of peanuts for some protein/ kick in the butt, ok and my bag of skinny pop ( I LOVE IT). After two rounds of a TOUGH work out I started feeling super nauseous as though I could throw up right there, even light headed and very over heated. I had to cancel my planned swim because I felt I was so tired/feeling off I felt the swim wouldn't be beneficial.
Talking with Rachel I realized the only thing that was different today was my lunch, my juicy yummy burger, french fries and my root beer. It was NOT worth it my friends and it screwed up my entire workout plan. Now the work out I did today was really hard but I should have done better and been able to move straight to swimming. No more jumping off the better eating bandwagon, especially on a planned double work out day. When I say better eating I'm not talking a fad diet, clean eating, paleo, carb free, or any of the million other options. I mean just thinking, taking a minute to plan more fresh fruits and vegetables, adding in protein more often and just making better choices, oh and still having my snack pack pudding for dessert at lunch!
Some Recipe Ideas:
Make Ahead Eggs (I have two of these for breakfast every morning)
PreHeat oven to 350 degrees and spray baking spray in all the cups of a muffin tray
-Crack an egg into each of the cups and add other ingredients as desired, bake for 15 minutes
(I have added ground beefs, green peppers, cheddar cheese, spinach...get creative! I recommend large eggs so they fill the cups but have enough space for add ins)
-Store in a tupperware for about a week or until they smell weird.
Quick N Creamy Chicken Lasagna Makes 12 servings Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
15 Oven Ready rippled styled lasagna noodles (two 8oz boxes)
4 cups shredded cooked chicken 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
12 oz cream cheese softended 1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cups marinara sauce (I used an entire jar of meat pasta sauce) 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Adjust oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put 2 quarts of hot tap water in a 13"x9" baking dish and add noodles soaking for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and put the noodles aside.
Combine the shredded chicken with basil, 8 ounces of cream cheese and 1/4 cup of broth. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 4 oz of cream cheese with the rest of the 3/4 cup of broth.
To assemble, smear 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, then assemble 4 layers in the following order: 3 lassagna noodles, pasta sauce, 1 cup of chicken filling, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese. Once assembled, top the lassagna with remaining three noodles, the cream cheese broth mixture, 3/4 cup of mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan.
Cover the lasagna with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until bubbly throughout. Leaving the lasagna on the same rack, turn the oven to broil. Remove the foil and broil for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the lasagna is spotty brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes then cut into squares.
My goal for the New Year was to start making an effort to change and be smarter about what I was eating in order to fuel my training properly. Prior to the January I quit my cherry coke habit, only giving myself treats at the movies or once a week. Wow was that hard, and apparently I am the only one in my building drinking it because they took it out of the soda machine! My vacation to DR was the last time I had caffeinated soda until today, oh today. My vendor took me out to lunch and we went to BRGR to get burgers and sweet potato fries and a Barqs root beer. That's right after making such an effort to eat better today I decided sure I deserve a treat, hey a burger is protein and that is what I'm working to increase anyway. Rationalization, it is a beautiful thing my friends.
Flash forward to 2 hours later and I was tired not not tired, EXHAUSTED, sluggish, miserable. I did not equate it back to lunch I just figured it was a result of my late night up crafting my sister's shower invites. I headed to the gym for my training session after downing a bag of peanuts for some protein/ kick in the butt, ok and my bag of skinny pop ( I LOVE IT). After two rounds of a TOUGH work out I started feeling super nauseous as though I could throw up right there, even light headed and very over heated. I had to cancel my planned swim because I felt I was so tired/feeling off I felt the swim wouldn't be beneficial.
Talking with Rachel I realized the only thing that was different today was my lunch, my juicy yummy burger, french fries and my root beer. It was NOT worth it my friends and it screwed up my entire workout plan. Now the work out I did today was really hard but I should have done better and been able to move straight to swimming. No more jumping off the better eating bandwagon, especially on a planned double work out day. When I say better eating I'm not talking a fad diet, clean eating, paleo, carb free, or any of the million other options. I mean just thinking, taking a minute to plan more fresh fruits and vegetables, adding in protein more often and just making better choices, oh and still having my snack pack pudding for dessert at lunch!
Some Recipe Ideas:
Make Ahead Eggs (I have two of these for breakfast every morning)
PreHeat oven to 350 degrees and spray baking spray in all the cups of a muffin tray
-Crack an egg into each of the cups and add other ingredients as desired, bake for 15 minutes
(I have added ground beefs, green peppers, cheddar cheese, spinach...get creative! I recommend large eggs so they fill the cups but have enough space for add ins)
-Store in a tupperware for about a week or until they smell weird.
Quick N Creamy Chicken Lasagna Makes 12 servings Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
15 Oven Ready rippled styled lasagna noodles (two 8oz boxes)
4 cups shredded cooked chicken 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
12 oz cream cheese softended 1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cups marinara sauce (I used an entire jar of meat pasta sauce) 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Adjust oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put 2 quarts of hot tap water in a 13"x9" baking dish and add noodles soaking for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and put the noodles aside.
Combine the shredded chicken with basil, 8 ounces of cream cheese and 1/4 cup of broth. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 4 oz of cream cheese with the rest of the 3/4 cup of broth.
To assemble, smear 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, then assemble 4 layers in the following order: 3 lassagna noodles, pasta sauce, 1 cup of chicken filling, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese. Once assembled, top the lassagna with remaining three noodles, the cream cheese broth mixture, 3/4 cup of mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan.
Cover the lasagna with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until bubbly throughout. Leaving the lasagna on the same rack, turn the oven to broil. Remove the foil and broil for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the lasagna is spotty brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes then cut into squares.
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