Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Who knew 2 jobs would be so time-consuming??

This post is waaaay overdue! I have said that several times and usually it's because I'm waiting for something noteworthy to happen. But this time, it's because I've been too damn busy to keep up with everything. So the blog was the first thing to get neglected. Good news though - I didn't totally forget about it so I have a few good pics and stories that I've been saving up! 


My last post was February 9th. Since then I've spent:
- 2hr lifting weights
- 4hr 15min running (all in the form of intervals on the treadmill, which I loathe so I think they should count double)
- 4hr swimming
- 5hr 10min biking
That's 15hr 25min of workouts in 20 days, which averages about 45 min/day. Not bad considering I also spent:
- 1 day wine tasting in Sonoma
- 1 day liquor tasting in Alameda
- Over 28hrs teaching and tutoring [my other job(s)]


And since I'm listing things, my averages for the month of Feb:
Calories burned/day: 2,142
Calories consumed/day: 1,555
That's an average deficit of 587, which should be enough to lose almost 5 lbs! However, in my experience, the math of calories-in/calories-out does not usually work out how I think it should. Especially considering that I'm pretty sure the estimate of calories burned/day is on the low side. Anyway, at least I am on the right track and hopefully will lose some weight to make me faster and more aerodynamic! My clothes are fitting better, but I still haven't had the guts to get on the scale. Maybe in March.... 


And onto the sweet pics I promised! First up, the bike ride I did with Kelsey on the 18th. It was brutal! It was 16 mi total, the first 12 of which are straight up hill! But at least we were rewarded with great views at the top. 
A little hazy, but still awesome view of the city and bay.
The debut of the cycling top I bought at Vineman 70.3! It was perfect!
By the time we got to the very top the sun was making it difficult to take pictures,
but this is the outline of Kelsey!
The next day I organized a trip to celebrate the Uncles' birthdays. A ferry ride to Alameda for a tour and tasting at the distillery that makes Hangar One (undoubtedly the best vodka ever made). Again, great views of the city and bay, but I didn't have to work nearly as hard to get them as the previous day!
Nathan, Aaron, Alex, and Rex on the ferry!
I couldn't back up far enough to get everyone in one shot (for obvious reasons) so here's another one: Greg, Nathan, and Aaron this time! 
It's been 14 months but I still can't believe I live here sometimes!


I have a few more pics from the last couple of days, but I think I'll save them for the next post. I really can't beat this last one! My other job is over after Monday night so hopefully it won't take me as long to post again. 

Leave me a comment if you want to come visit me after seeing my awesome pics of the city!!


Thursday, February 9, 2012

Delicious dinner

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post! Time is flying by. Last week I started feeling sick so I didn't work out Wed, Thur or Fri. It was nice to rest, but the intense swim I did Saturday was definitely needed! I did 10 x 100s with 30sec rest between each. I was really happy that I was able to do all 10! You know how it is when you tell yourself you're going to do this amount and once you get half way done you think "this is boring, doing half is good enough". Well I pushed through that and finished! And all 100s were 1:49-1:54, which I think is pretty good. 


Today I had to get to lab early so I didn't have time for my usual morning workout. Instead, I had 2 workouts yesterday! I did some cardio and weights in the morning before work and then got on my bike trainer for 45 minutes and watched the Biggest Loser. It's really hard to get off the bike when you're watching people workout and lose weight! But when I finally got off, I was ready for dinner so I made this:
I thought it looked really pretty and colorful so I decided to share. On the menu: steamed baby broccoli (I've decided this is my favorite vegetable), grape tomatoes, salmon burger from Trader Joes, and a whole wheat english muffin (also from TJs). I dressed up the salmon burger with horseradish brown mustard and dill relish. It was delicious and filling!! And really nutritious - about 310 calories with over 30 grams of protein! It was so good that I had it again tonight for dinner. And I'll probably have it again tomorrow (the salmon burgers come 4 in a pack). 


On the docket for tomorrow: speed drills on the track. Ug. I dread that workout every week. But when I finish it, I always feel so good the rest of the day. I just have to remember that when my alarm goes off before dawn.....


Have you had an awesome healthy dinner lately? Leave me a comment!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

How I got into triathlons

When I read this article on CNN.com this afternoon it got me thinking about how I started doing triathlons. And at first I couldn't come up with anything. Then I remembered - it was Lydia!! 


How I got into triathlons: In the fall of 2006 Lyd and I were doing a boot camp class at the Vanderbilt track when someone started talking about doing a sprint triathlon in the spring. So Lyd and I thought, 'if she can do it, we can do it'. But then we started thinking about the logistics, especially the fact that neither of us owned a bike or had money for a bike, and decided that it was a silly plan. So instead we trained for and completed the 2007 Country Music Half Marathon (the first for both of us).
Us after the race in 2007. 
I was immediately hooked on racing! It's not that I was fast or good at it, but it was so much fun! Every week we were running farther than I ever had before. And of course, my running buddy was the best!!! After that I did many more races: 
2008 ING 1/2 Marathon
2009 Country Music 1/2 Marathon 
2010 I Run for the Party 1/2 Marathon in Nashville
2010 Cedars Frostbite 1/2 Marathon
2010 Country Music Full Marathon
2010 St. Jude Full Marathon
2011 Nike Women's Full Marathon


Wait, this is supposed to be about how I got into triathlons!  According to my records (ie: my shirt drawer. I have so many race shirts!!!!) I did the Music City Triathlon (Olympic distance) in 2008. But I have no recollection at all why I decided to do it. Training for it wasn't much fun because when I got the bike I had no idea how to ride and the bike I got was pretty shitty. I also didn't have any training in swimming so I had to teach myself, and I'm not a very patient teacher! Then when race day came, the weather was so bad that they cancelled the swim portion and it became a duathlon. But it was still super windy, and in the first 0.5 mile of the bike portion, a girl crashed and required an ambulance (this happened in front of me so I got to see it all unfold). Then during the run it started raining and the wind picked up even more. It was terrible. But all-in-all, I was still proud of my accomplishment since I had never been a swimmer nor had I been on a bike before.


But it wasn't until Lydia got into it that I started to love it! In the fall of 2008 Lydia bought a bike and signed up with Team in Training (TNT) to do the Olympic distance tri - Memphis in May. TNT raises money for a cause that is near and dear to her heart and in her words: " the only chance I had of people donating money to me was if I set myself a massive challenge: hence triathlon!" So she did it!!!! I was tempted to do it with her, but didn't, because I didn't think I could raise the money. But after watching her and how much fun she had with it, I was convinced!! So I signed up for their next event, the 2009 Alabama Coastal Triathlon (Olympic distance). And I convinced Lyd do it with me :)
The team (minus Emily. She trained with us but competed in a different race)
Training buddies - before the race

The first and only time I placed. 2nd for beginners! 
The TNT experience was so much fun! Our coach was awesome and getting her swimming tips helped me so much!! I really started enjoying swimming! My bike still sucked and I dreaded all the biking we had to do. But it was 10-times better than before because I could bike next to Lydia and we could gab. And I had a great race day!! I swam and biked faster than I ever did during practice (my run was just ok), and ended up getting 2nd place for beginners! After the race we went to Brusters and I had an epic chocolate peanut butter sundae!!! Best reward ever!!!!


The next year Lyd, Dawn, and I registered for Fall Creek Falls Olympic distance triathlon, but unfortunately Lyd got the flu the week before and wasn't able to race. But she did accompany us and was a terrific photographer.
Me and Dawn getting ready to race!
Before I left Nashville I convinced Lyd to do a half ironman with me in Sonoma. So last summer she flew to the bay area and we did the 2011 Vineman 70.3. She did not enjoy it quite as much as I did and she swore she would never do it again. I, on the other hand, did not hesitate to sign up for 140.6!! (btw, I have a new bike now that I LOVE so I blame the old bike for my previous hatred of the sport) 
I'm not sure what I'll do after completing the ironman distance race. Maybe take a nap?


Do you race? Leave me a comment and tell me how you got into it!!