A Relaxed Approach

I'm still signed up for a tri later this summer but I've decided to completely overhaul the training plan. I put so much pressure on myself to do well at each event that training for something like this has become unfun. The nerves/anxiety/worry I feel months before a race and especially the night before are crazy! I make myself sick to my stomach!! The sleeplessness and added dehydration from a night of stomach illness is not good for race day.

And for what?

This is supposed to be something I enjoy doing. Exercising is something that I need to do to be healthy but the pressure is not healthy. I know that I love to bike, run and swim so when I'm in the midst of training and find myself dreading all of it I know, something's wrong. And that's what has been happening.

Since my decision, I've been running, biking and swimming but my plan isn't always followed and sometimes I forgo a workout to go on a walk, do some yoga or sit on the couch - no regrets. I'm going to show up on race day knowing that the training I've done was enjoyed. If I truly don't feel like I'm in good enough shape to be there on race day, I won't. Life is supposed to be enjoyable, right?

With time, I'll find the healthy balance between enjoying and pushing for a goal, for now I need to slow it down and enjoy this relaxed approach.

And now back to some more regularly occurring blog posts :)

Blueberry Gluten Free Pancakes

At last! It's time to share a new recipe with you.

I whipped up a batch of these a couple of weekends ago. Unfortunately, I ate them before I could even snap a picture but you could just Google image "blueberry pancakes" and they'll be about the same :)

3/4 Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/4 Cup Coconut/Almond Milk
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup of Frozen Blueberries
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup (Plus a little extra for topping)

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl. Spray a pan with a little stick-free spray and set the pan on medium heat. Once heated, pour about 1/4 cup of the mixture onto the pan and flip when ends are bubbling and brown. Serve with maple syrup and more fruit.

Anyone else already dreaming about the weekend?

Tri Training Continues

I was expecting to come out of my last tri and immediately continue my training for the next race. Thanks to a week long stomach bug and a week (or more) of flat out laziness, my training has not been so grand. I've snuck in a swim and a couple of runs but no biking. Uh...

The one thing I have been consistently doing is adding strength training. Have you checked out the befit channel on Youtube? It's awesome.

Here are my workouts this week:

Monday: Befit Yoga Beach Body - This was a 30 minute circuit workout using yoga, I loved it.

Tuesday: Abs

Wednesday: 20 Minute Yoga

Thursday: I'm not sure yet.

I'm hoping to go for a nice run this weekend and get back on my tri-training bandwagon.

It may only be Thursday but... what are you looking forward to this weekend?

Green Smoothies

This weekend while the hubs was hunting, I got to spend some much needed time with my little sister. After a quick breakfast of blueberry g-f pancakes (recipe coming soon!), we decided to check out the Downtown Artist and Farmers Market.

Perfect Weather, Perfect Weekend

The weather was amazing, I think summer is really close. After trying a few samples and checking out some cool crafts, we decided to finally try something from the Grooovie Smoothie food truck. My sis and I have seen this truck at so many events and have been so curious but a little scared to try it.

Grooovy

We each picked out a smoothie and then had to pick out a base (coconut water, spring water, almond milk, etc.) and an add-in (chia seeds, flax seeds, etc.). We ordered a watermelon and apple-lemonade. The watermelon drink was made up of watermelon, romaine, rainbow chards (which we kept pronouncing as churds...turds hehe) and some more tasty all-natural ingredients; the apple lemonade had apples, lemons, cilantro, sprouts and more. Both drinks were incredible!! We felt so hydrated and energetic all day. I typically try to add spinach or broccoli to my smoothies but this opened my eyes to the greater variety of veggies and herbs that would taste just as great.

Apple Lemonade

The smoothies inspired us to hit up the grocery store on Sunday in search of similar ingredients for our own smoothies. We left the store with watermelons, cucumbers, coconut water and so much more. Here's what I whipped up and enjoyed this morning:

1 Cup Spinach
1 Cup Watermelon
1/4 Cup Cucumber
1/2 Cup Sprouts
8 Ice Cubes
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

It looks like I drank salsa verde, but it was SO good.

Good Til The Last Drop

I hope your week is starting out great! I have a recipe to share with you later this week as well as an updated list of workouts (tri training is still going on!).

Mighty Mujer Tri Race Recap

Time for a race recap!

I signed up for the Mighty Mujer Tri because it is a super sprint and early in the year – a great kickoff to the upcoming race season. The race would consist of a 300 m swim, 15k bike ride and a 2 mile run. All of these distances were completely doable but the hang up? The course is hilly!!!! Here’s how it all broke down for me:

Swim: This was my first real swim competition (I did a tri back in September but due to a gas leak, the pool was shut down mid race!!!) so I was nervous – would I be able to pass people, would they be able to get around me, would the swim set the tone for the whole race? To compete, we had to get our swim time certified at certain pools in the city. I was aiming for a sub 10 minute time and was happily surprised when I certified at 7:03. What?! I knew I had fallen in love with swimming and worked hard but didn’t think I’d surpass my expectations. Come race day, I lined up with all of the other women in the order of our swim times. Unfortunately, the swim was set up so that for 5 laps you had to swim down one side and up the other, only allowing for passing in the middle of a normal size lane. No bueno, my friends. Most of the women around me said this was the first tri and after seeing so many women almost (and a few that actually did) run into each other, everyone was petrified. I heard so many saying they wouldn’t want to push themselves in the swim for fear of getting hurt. This portion of the race was the only thing I heard negative comments about and I agree. I don’t know how to correct this for future races, maybe allowing more time in between swimmers? I know that I ended up swimming 20 seconds slower than I had at my cert. a month before due in part to getting stuck behind another swimmer with no room to swim in the middle because of oncoming swimmers and because I had a brief freak out in the water for my first couple of laps. 
 

Bike: I’m really glad that I incorporated bricks into my training and followed the hubs advice for setting up my transition area. I was able to take in my favorite watermelon flavored Chomps, drink water and grab my gear with ease. I took a second to shake off the not so great swim so I could just focus on the next step. This course was tough! You can check out the bike profile here.
 

One of the things that helped me keep moving was the cheering volunteers and spectators – including my own family! I cannot thank everyone enough for the support, it really made a difference! I was aiming for a time of 1:15:00 but managed to pull it in under 50 minutes. Yahoo!

Run: The run consisted of 2 laps around Memorial Park, it was hilly but not nearly as much as the bike course. Brick training bike/run was the easiest for me; lo and behold this was also the easiest portion of the race for me. I had one of those moments where things just clicked. I was moving my tired legs as fast as they’d go but I felt like I was just on a cloud. I was aiming for 20 minutes but ended up at 21, fair enough.

Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of me competing but maybe when the race website uploads some I’ll share.

I had never thought about signing up for an all-women’s event and after I did, I kind of worried that it would feel like everyone had their group of friends and I was the loner or it would be catty. But it was not like that in the least bit. There were some groups of friends, mother/daughter/sister teams, etc. but there were also a lot of people like me – nervously excited to take on the new challenge of a tri. It was a bunch of athletes competing with and supporting fellow athletes. Along the bike and run, I would pass someone and they’d say something like “go for it! You can do it!”, it was so kind I thought it was only right to say the same to those passing me.

And you have to enjoy a race that gives out wine glasses in lieu of a medal, right?

Bottom Line: Would I do this race again? Maybe. I really dread that swimming situation but the event itself was very organized, fun and a challenge.

What is your favorite or least favorite race? Anyone competing in a tri this summer?