Triathlon done intentionally

I had such a great break! It was so nice to relax and not be rushed to do anything or go anywhere. I tend to get a little high strung, so living in a frenzy of constant movement and change doesn’t sit well with me. I can adapt, but…I like to ease into it. 🙂

Thursday we ran some errands and had an awesome (early) dinner on the Miami River. It was just what I wanted to do on New Year’s Eve; low key and relaxed, in the sunshine. We were home by 7:30 and I was snoring by 11pm.

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Friday we literally didn’t do a thing. We rode in the morning, but then took naps and caught up on Homeland during the day. Again, an awesome day. 

Saturday we went to the Miami/SU game in town. My poor Orange lost a heartbreaker. They were doing so well…until they weren’t. It’s going to be a looooong, slightly painful, season.

Yesterday I spent all day in the kitchen. I did my long run (yea me!), and then it literally seemed like I was in the kitchen from 1-7 pm. JJ did laundry the whole time, too. How are we that inefficient? That’s not sustainable and needs to be evaluated.

All this new years stuff has me thinking about what I want to do for 2016 and what I want to accomplish. Erinne sent an article about DUMB goals the other day, and it’s kind of cool.

I’ll start off by saying that I hate SMART goals. It’s so bad that I don’t even do them at work anymore. I think they’re lame, boring and overdone. And, so predictable. Of COURSE we’re going to do xxx, because our business is zzz. It annoys me that we have to put down a timeline on things we’re going to do anyway because at the end of the day, of course something is going to happen and things will change. It’s like setting yourself up for failure by putting a random date on a goal and thinking you need to meet that otherwise you FAIL.

DUMB goals – I like. I can get excited about this (and not just because the dude in the YouTube is really great). I like the idea of putting a Big Hairy Audacious Goal out there and setting up behaviors and micro-steps that bring you towards it. I like that there’s not really a timeline associated with it – it’s more about sticking with the behavioral changes that bring you closer to your goal. Because ultimately, that’s what will get you to where you want to go.

I feel like DUMB goals resonate with my theme for the year too, about it being All About Me and Giving Zero F(*^s. Why shouldn’t I have I big goal out there?  My anxiousness about it is that I won’t get there. It’s a possibility. I get excited about stuff and lose interest after a few weeks. It’s one of the challenges I know I’ll have to overcome and figure out a strategy for how to do it.

Erinne asked us to write down our DUMB goals and send to her. I wrote some stuff down, but I’ll get her to refine it. After all, one of my promises is to listen to what my coach tells me, so I’m trying to do that. I’ll share once I refine them, hopefully later this week. I’m going to ask her about what to do when I ‘lose interest’, too.

I’m off to swim after work. I hope the pool isn’t too cra-cra. Students aren’t back until next week, so I think that will help.

I can’t believe I’m swimming after work. Or, that I’m swimming. Maybe crazier things have happened…

 

OMG, the dinner and cake last night was insane! We celebrated JJ’s birthday at Swine – it was such a great night. The food was amazing. Normally I think barbecue is a bit heavy, so I don’t like it eat it out a lot, but it wasn’t like that there. The ribs were great, and the brisket was amazeballs. I had a salmon plate, but I nibbled a bit of the birthday boy’s stuff too. 🙂

The cake. OMG, the cake! It was beyond. I’ve been eating ‘non-traditional’ cakes and cupcakes for awhile now, and I’m to the point where I’m not really a fan of a Costco/Publix/WinnDixie off the shelf cake. It’s just too sweet, and to be honest, fake tasting, to me. This cake was the exact opposite. It was rich and decadent, but in a clean and not overpowering way. It was worth every cent! Plus, I think JJ loved it.

I think most restaurants use some forms of vegetable and canola oil, and I definitely feel it the next morning after we eat out. It’s not terrible, but I feel more bloated and groggy than normal. I’m feeling it a bit today, so I’m going to be super clean the next few days to try and get rid of some of the bloat.

I’m psyched for today because all the holiday celebrations are OVER! I can officially dive into my prep for the year. Not that it’s impossible to stay clean and focused over the holidays, but there’s so many distractions. Plus, I hate having to turn down something that’s offered to me because I don’t like offending people who I know just want me to enjoy something they love. I’m so blessed with a great family, so if I have to indulge in a few extra sweets because of it, so be it. But…it takes a toll.

I meal prepped for yesterday and today in the mornings, but I have to get out of that. It’s not sustainable during regular weeks. This weekend I’m going to figure out the menu for next week. This is ‘work day’ food for today, and then I’m going to make a mix of Halibut and Sablefish from the Sizzlefish pack tonight for dinner.

This is:

Smoothie: one bunch of organic kale, Vega One Vanilla Chai powder, 1 cup organic strawberries, 1 scoop wheat grass, water

Breakfast: 2 organic eggs, 1 link chicken sausage, 1/2 cup white rice.

Lunch: Leftover bacalao (Puerto Rican cod), orange pepper sauteed in 1/2 tsp coconut oil, 1/2 cup leftover yellow rice

Snack: 4 ounces Applegate farms turkey, 1 small organic apple

Did another lunchtime workout. I’m a little concerned that I’m not using enough weight, but I have a 1:1 session with Erinne next week, so I’ll get into it more then.

I can’t lift to save my life. I should do CrossFit for a few months just to learn how to properly lift. But, I can run in a straight line at a moderate pace for a very long time! 🙂

I’m so excited about having four days in a row off! I’m going to ride my bike and run a lot, and maybe take a dip in the ocean. I’m not sure what the jellyfish situation is, so it’ll be dependant on that.

Until next time!

A lot of folks I follow on the Interwebs are getting into Periscope lately. I really like Periscope as a consumer, but I just don’t think it’s the right outlet for me. I don’t think I have that much interesting to say off-hand, and I like being able to choose my words more carefully. I also like the process of putting words on ‘paper’ and having to go through the process of sussing out what I want to say and how I want to say it. It helps me understand what’s going on in my brain. 🙂

Today started off a little slow, so I didn’t get out and run this morning. My workout was supposed to be on the track because Tuesday’s are normally track days, but I was going to settle for intervals on the road. I did manage to prep my meals before heading out for work, and brought my stuff for a lunchtime run (since the office is soooooo quiet).

Here’s a link for my food diary for the day. There was almost no good food left since I just got back yesterday from my parents, but JJ brought leftovers from Christmas at his mom’s house, so for lunch I had some pork shoulder, rice with pigeon peas and then I lightly sauteed a random orange pepper I found in the fridge.  Breakfast was the usual chicken sausage, eggs and white rice.

My lunch workout wasn’t great, but the treadmill never is for me. My form always feels off and my RPE is always higher than it would be outside. I warmed up for about 10′ and then did 6 x .4 miles @ ‘mile’ pace with 2′ (or so) intervals between. I did the first three intervals at 8′ pace and the last three at 8:30 pace. At least I got them done.

I get frustrated with running a lot because I used to be a good runner. I really did! My half marathon PR is 1:42 on a hilly Caesar Rodney Half Marathon course. I so want to get back to being that athlete.

I think I’m supposed to do some core/plank stuff this afternoon, but we’ll see. I have to stop at the store to stock up on some foods and then we’re going out for JJ’s birthday dinner at 7pm. The core stuff might have to wait until later. I already scoped out the restaurant and planned what I’m going to order.

This is the cake I got him – omg, it smells amazing!!! It’s all vegan and organic, except for the marshmallows (I think they have gelatin in them).  He’s going to flip out when he sees it. I can’t wait!

I originally started this blog thinking that I’d be good about writing about my journey in the 2015 year of triathlon very diligently, being thoughtful about what’s happening, what happened and what I see in the future.

The truth is, I was just overwhelmed. With everything! There were so many firsts in 2015 – first full year in Miami, first year with a new coach, first year in the new job (and then another new job), first year with the boyfriend – in retrospect, it was too much to process at once. I had to let myself be ok with just getting used to my new reality.

Which, I absolutely love. I LOVE my life. I have tremendous friends, a great job, a bright triathlon future and my absolute favorite human to share it all with. That, in and of itself, is new for me, I realized. I just wasn’t used to having so much happiness! What a terrible thought!

Any way, I had to adjust. I had to adjust to not being depressed or sad or worried all the time. It’s a good adjustment, but a significant change.

With that behind me, I decided that 2016 is going to be the year of (pardon my language) “Giving Zero F*&(s”. It’s my year to focus on me and do the things I know I can do, but have always held back on, for whatever reason/excuse/bs.

I think I get too concerned with my impact on other folks – I don’t want to inconvenience anyone, or stand out in anyway (yes, shocker…I’m an introvert!). This year, I’m over that. If I want to do something, I’m going to find a way to do it, and if people have to adjust to it, so be it.  I’m going to completely focus on me and my goals and outcomes, and not worry about what anyone thinks about my plan and what anyone else is doing to get to the same place I’m heading towards.

I realize that this is probably close minded, but I think I need to be like that for a bit. It’s not in my nature to be that way, so I need to work at it. My tendency is to drift from idea to strategy and not stick with anything because I’m so curious about the potentials and possibilities. This year, I’ve chosen my path and I’m sticking to it. In order to do that, I have to force myself to focus and not be distracted by other (probably good) ideas and strategies and focus on the ones I’ve vetted, chosen and invested in.

This year, I’m going to:

1. Do what my triathlon coach tells me to do
2. Eat what my nutrition coach tells me to
3. Keep the long-term strategy as my guiding light, but…
4. Take it day by day when it gets overwhelming

And I want to:

• Lose at least 25 pounds before Ironman Lake Placid. This is going to be my last Iron-distance race for awhile, so I want to make it count.
• Race under 5:30 in a Half Ironman, probably either Miami 70.3 or MiamiMan. I know I’ve got it in me, particularly with the weight loss. In order to get there, I need to:
  • Improve my run pace so I can run about 8:30’s in a HIM.
  • Actually be able to race my bike race wattage of 200 watts.
  • Swim the way I know I can, in the high 1:30’s/100y.

It feels a bit odd not to use a first blog post to explain what I want for this blog, what I plan to write about and share, and what any readers can expect to see.  The truth is, I don’t know those things.  I created this space because I want a landing place to chronicle my journey as a triathlete, and as you can probably imagine, sometimes the unexpected happens along those journeys. I find that writing is cathartic for me and helps me process whatever is going through my brain at any given time, and since I’m definitely more of an electronic versus paper kind of person, I thought a blog was the appropriate space.  I feel like I need to do some type of introductory post before I can really get into anything, so I guess this is what this is.

Just a little background about myself:

• Age group: 35-39
• Gender: Female
• Location: Miami, Florida
• Distances: Focus is Ironman, but I do shorter distances in my build-ups
• Race plan for 2015:
  • Key West Sprint (Done!)
  • HITS Naples Sprint (Done!)
  • ING Miami Half Marathon (January 24)
  • Bayshore Olympic (March 1)
  • Florida 70.3 (April 12)
  • Miami Man Speedway Edition, Olympic race (May 24)
  • Escape to Miami, Olympic (September 20)
  • Augusta 70.3 (September 27)
  • Ironman Florida (November 7)
• Equipment:
  • Swim: Blue Seventy Helix, assorted goggles, swim caps and suits
  • Bike: Specialized Transition, Cycleops PowerTap, Garmin 510 computer
  • Run: On Running shoes, Garmin 920xt (which is really all three sports)
• Guilty Pleasure:  Any show on Bravo.  All of them.
• What do I want out of this sport?:
  • To be GOOD.  Really Good. (I’m sure more will come on this later)
  • To stay fit and active for a long, long, long time.
  • To travel to great destination races.

I called this blog the Intentional Triathlete because that’s what I’m striving to be/do – act intentionally and mindfully (Mindful Triathlete was already taken, too!).  This is something I’ve struggled with in the past; I would do things either out of habit or because it’s what I thought I was supposed to do.  In the end, most of the time that worked out ok, but there was a chunk that I felt a little hollow about and needed to change.  But, it’s hard!  Particularly for a busy triathlete who works during the day, trains the rest of the time, and attempts to manage life between those two things (I give working parent-triathletes all the credit in the world!).  It seems like I’m moving so fast, from sleeping to workout to work to workout to eat to packing bags (all the bags…so many bags!) to crash and burn because I’m so exhausted from it all.  Since I’ve started being more mindful, less judgmental and more present, I feel I’ve been able to cope with the load much better.  It’s still very much a work in progress, but at least it’s that.

I have a camp scheduled for February 18-22 in Clermont, so my focus for now is on that.  I’m really trying to nail down my body composition and FTP before camp.  I’ve been trying to do this for oh…..five years now, and since I haven’t been all that successful I’ve started working with a nutritionist to help me break some of the bad habits I’ve started up.  Mindfulness and intention is a big part of this process as well.  I’ve created so many ‘food rules’ for myself that it’s become a detriment at this point instead of a helpful guide.  I’m working on being mindful of what my tummy is telling me at any given moment and paying more attention to those cues versus the ones coming from inside my head.

(That sounds really messed up just reading it, but it’s surprising easy it is just to pick up something out of habit.  For example, I used to always stop at the store and get a treat on the way home on Fridays.  Not because I particularly wanted it, but because it was my reward for making it through the week and it’s what I’ve always done.  My nutritionist is really helping me work through some of those issues, which I think is going to ultimately help me get down to my prefered race weight.)

So, this is the start.  Hopefully more to come soonish.  I don’t know how often I’ll post because I want to make each of the posts interesting and insightful, so we’ll see how often I have something interesting and potentially insightful to share!