Weekly Ramblings - 1/3/2011

The holidays are over, hopefully all the sweet temptations are passed (outside of a few that are still on the counter tops), and it is time to get serious about training.  Welcome 2011!!!

Week-in-review:
What a week.  It started with looking for a new house, and finished with a partially postponed trip to visit family due to weather with some training in the middle.  We had been looking at houses just scoping out the market and seeing what is available when one day a great looking place came on the market.  We were going to look at places that night, and got a showing scheduled.  I am a firm believer in everything happening for a reason... we just cannot always identify that reason. 

We visited one place, a foreclosure, that was in pretty good shape all things considered, but the basement... YIKES!  It was like a mouse maze and hideous, we quickly ruled this one out as it would have taken a significant amount of work to get it to the point we wanted.  The next house was the one that just came on that day.  It looked nice from the outside and the pictures looked pretty good, all the numbers matched up to what we were looking for in a place.  We walked in and heard music playing, something that was also very identifiable when we moved into our current townhome... coincidence or a sign?  As we walked around, it only took a few minutes until I wanted to toss my coat on a hanger and call it home.  It was cozy and in the grand scheme of things, even more than we were looking for. 

After some working back and forth with the mortgage guy, we were able to make an offer and a little more work, and it was ours!  The inspection is tonight, and we are super excited to have a new place lined up... Now for the dreaded packing up of the townhome and getting it ready for renters!

Training:
Despite being busy communicating between everyone for the house, I was able to get some solid workouts in.  I am slowly getting back to the routine, but still having issues getting all self-prescribed workouts in to get my hours.  I had some good luck in the pool and have been working on a nice stroke with some power added.  I have not ever used a 'pool toy' but think that a set of paddles are in my near future.  I would like to start developing some stronger muscles to pull a bit harder. 

I am sticking with my cycling plan, although I have been omitting the longer rides on the weekends, they will start up soon.  As I keep moving through the workouts, I feel my legs getting back in shape and able to push a bit harder and a bit longer without feeling like they are going to melt!  

Running is one of the weaknesses right now, I am just trying to put in miles, and even that is a challenge, not due to fitness, not due to much else except I dislike the treadmill, and there is not a ton of daylight when I can run yet.  It will come around, I have faith!

Finally since the new year, I am down about 4.5 pounds.  I managed to make it through Christmas without any real weight gain, based on my weight when I got back from Africa... which was also higher than when I left... wtf?!?  I did not make a resolution to lose x amount of weight because I believe you have to enjoy what you are doing and weightloss is a perk to that.  This is why so many people fail in only a few weeks.  They are slaves to exercise and burn out when they do not see results. 

Find something fun, take the dog for a walk, occasionally jogging.
Walk around a lake or a park.
Play basketball or tennis or raquetball. 

If you are not having fun while being active, then it will be much harder to stick with it.  This is why they say do not make weight loss goals.

Moving Forward:
I want to race 2011 in a leaner state, a state that my body is still well nourished, better composed, and even stronger than now.  I was hovering around 170 pounds, last season I made it to about 165 during race season, maybe a few days at 163, but was dead tired.  I never want to be there again!  I could not push power, my runs were sluggish, and by the end of the season, I was losing motivation due to this lessened performance.

I weighed in this morning at 165.5, down 4.5 or 5 from 12/31.  My workouts are not where they need to be, but my nutrition is also not quite there yet.  I have found the types of food to help get me through the day, and I must say my energy levels are significantly higher than they have been.  I have not given up everything I liked, but I have taken a better look at what I put in my mouth. 

Breakfast: Oatmeal - Stay tuned for my recipes!
Snack: Orange or Apple/PB
Lunch: Tend to be leftovers of some sort, last week included (stuffed bell peppers using ground turkey and fat free cream cheese, Spinach and Asiago cheese stuffed chicken brats, and turkey burgers)
Afternoon Snack: Veggies with hummus or some veggie dip from fat free sour cream
Dinner: See lunches... also had a taco salad, with some crushed chips
Evening Snack: At some point I typically snack, this is usually involving 6-10 chocolate chips, a carmel, or a couple bites of fat free frozen yogurt to hit the sweet tooth.  Some days when I get home I will snack on a few turkey rollups (sliced bell peppers in the middle)

This has been the staple of my diet so far.  And it is working.  I do not feel like I am giving too much up, but I am seeing some great results.  I hope to continue and see where my body wants to level out.  I still have body fat that could go, and keeping a calorie deficit will hopefully shrink it away.  I am excited to see where my body wants to go with training and nutrition.... the fourth discipline, but probably most important. 

Trakkers:
I can pretty much sum up our team with one word: AMAZING!!!!  This group of people have so many great stories, knowledge, experiences, and insights, not to mention some pretty sweet give-a-ways!  I ordered my first pair of shoes this week.  The Avia Bolt-II... what a sexy shoe!  These things feel like slippers, cant wait to get in and run in them as my miles increase.

 

A huge thanks to Avia for being a great sponsor of the Trakkers team and providing an excellent product, look for a review to come in the near future as I break these bad boys in!