Two Ears One Mouth

I should probably confess that I don't hate Mondays. I guess I don't like them but I definitely don't hate them. Today has actually been fun though because this morning I met with my new dietitian and she says she's going to make sure I stop breaking bones. I don't want to turn that into a bad habit. How was your weekend? I actually had a pretty good one and don't remember a lot of it. Not because I was drunk but because it wasn't terribly eventful which is just the way I like them. I went to the movies Friday and saw Lucy which did a great job of making my life seem inferior then I met up with a new person for a Saturday long run. I haven't talked about it much but yes, I'm still doing that marathon running thing. And I love, love, LOVE long shorts. No thanks 4 inch inseam! I'm always super nervous about new people or even doing new things with people I already know so I was up bright and early from anxiety alone. I tried out my ...

I'm pretty sure my first words as a baby were "I can do" which was a good indication of who I'd grow into. I'm super stubborn and hate hate  asking for help. I have no idea why. Maybe I always saw it as a sign of weakness or just thought I was a superhuman genius but I was always so incredibly embarrassed to need help with anything growing up. source As I got older I learned that needing help was necessary because I didn't (and didn't want to) know everything about everything. I finally accepted that there were people who were experts and that those people weren't me. But what I also realized was that I too could become a so-called expert in something! Now I have issues with the use of the term "expert" as nobody ever really knows everything  about something but for today's purposes we'll go with it. Nobody knows everything but there are definitely people out there who know a lot  about one thing and that was who I strived to ...

Since I'm fresh off of a relay race I thought it would be a fun thing to talk about today! I've only relay raced twice and both times were super fun and made the race day experience a lot different than I expected. There's good and bad to relay racing so I'm going to talk a little about both and then wait by the phone for you to ask me to partner with you. The Good: For anyone who isn't so sure about longer distance races, relaying can be a great option. Marathons are scary but a lot more doable when you split the work. My first relay race was at the Indianapolis Marathon almost 2 years ago. I was back into running and playing with the idea of another marathon. I had a few friends who were also looking to race but not taking things too seriously. I'm not sure when I came up with the genius plan to relay this race but once I had the team on board it was relatively smooth sailing. Running the last 7 miles of a marathon is also a great self-esteem boost! Af...

Just in case you aren't subscribed to my Facebook page , Twitter or Instagram or obsessively stalking either of those for constant updates on my life, I thought I'd share that I am now officially a certified  personal trainer! For many months I've been quietly studying for my certification exam, stressing and studying some more so that I could actually give this fitness career thing a try and see if maybe just maaaybe I could help someone who was/is like me and become a credible source for advice and feedback. Unfortunately for you, that means I'm no longer free. Just kidding! But now I might actually be able to say things that matter and are backed by science instead of my own experience. Stay tuned because I'll be launching my official services soon but there's just a minor issue of insurance. Unless you all just agree not to sue me.

I hear protein is pretty important. I also hear that shakes and smoothies are a great way to get in some of those much needed calories without having to constantly chomp on things. I trust those sources I've heard the crazy claims from so I decided to once again try out the protein shake. With my sensitivity to food textures I've always had trouble with shakes because the powders tend to be gritty or leave a weird after taste. I'm also not a fan of powders filled with nothing but sugars and weird crap. I came across the PlantFusion brand a year or so ago and tried the Vanilla Bean flavor a few times. I followed the directions (add powder to water, shake and drink) and just didn't like it. Since I'm now taking my nutrition a bit more seriously I decided to give things another shot and come up with something I could stand. Enter their new flavor, Cookies 'n Cream! There's no way that can go wrong, seriously. I tried it out and the flavor was great but the wa...

Good Morning! I've been making a big effort to step out of my comfort zone more often lately (see swimming 1.2 miles in open water) and I have to say it just about always turns out well. Yesterday in a continued effort I headed out to meet a friend from the tri club who puts together weekly trail runs. I've never been much of a trail runner but I do it here and there and always have a good time. I was really nervous since the woman who puts it together is a big time trail runner and I knew her friends were the same way so I recruited my sister to come with so I'd at least have someone to bring up the rear with. Everyone was really nice which I expected although for some reason always doubt and we headed out as a group. The 2 guys shot out of a canon and we didn't see them again until the end but the other 2 ladies (and dog!) hung with us and said they'd go as slow as we needed. Most of the trail was single track so we ran single file with the 2 vets getting som...

I have to start things off with a confession. I ate a  second lunch yesterday and I'm not even sorry. source I love training. I love needing ridiculous amounts of endurance activity that require copious amounts of glycogen storage just to stay sane. I unfortunately don't love replenishing those stores which is why I'm now the proud client of a registered dietitian! With that in mind, it occurred to me that I may finally have the proper team in place to make a few really BIG fitness related dreams into realistic goals that can actually be accomplished. I know a lot of people have crazy awesome goals (fitness related or not) but there are often a series of perceived barriers that get in the way. Speaking from a fitness perspective (since that's how we roll around here) no man is an island. If you have big goals, you're going to need help. The number one most important part of making a dream come true is to assess the barriers and put a full team together ...

Let's Tarentino this report. I finished the swim! Our cyclist finished the ride! Our runner finished the run! We finished the race (and in less than 7 hours!) So how did it go? Let's go back...and I'll warn you, it's a long one. Much like every race report. I bought new goggles with better tint since everyone in the Muncie Facebook group who had raced before said if the sun was out it would be blinding after the second turn. I drove to the pool and did a quick 20 minutes to make sure they fit and shake out a little energy. Thursday night I got everything packed up since we were leaving Friday afternoon after my much needed massage. As usual I had a little help getting things together. But he's generally more into directing since he doesn't have thumbs.  Friday afternoon my sister and I hit the road for the 3 hour drive. We opted against using the highway the whole way since construction is crazy and unpredictable. The winding country roads kept things int...

Can somebody please explain to me how it's July 11th? If I feel this crazy before a half iron relay it's probably for the best that I wimped out of Raleigh! I've been cruising along all week feeling pretty ok, even this morning I was alright. And then I got on the internet. It's that typical pre-race panic that accompanies every race but this one is on roids. Probably because this is something I've never done before. So it's like the first time all over again, except I think I'd forgotten what it felt like. But then I find a calm when I think back to my very first open water swim. I can now look back on it with a smile and a sense of pride unique to that experience and swimming in general. I posted yesterday on my various social media accounts about how far I've come as a swimmer. I still have trouble typing that without quotes. When I first tried this swimming for fitness thing out I couldn't make it 25 meters. I couldn't tread water w...

Good Morning! I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend! I'm not a huge fan of holidays in general, being a creature of habit and schedules and all but 4th of July is particularly troublesome for me because I also don't like staying up late or loud noises. I'm beyond old lady status. But on the bright side the incessant noise scored me some extra cuddles with my pup who after a full day of just being angry and barking at the noise gave in to her fear. I tried to carry on as normal as possible all weekend but I've got big things happening this July and it's making me totally CRAZY. Saturday is the Ironman Muncie relay and if you recall, I was dumb enough to claim the swimmer spot. I've raced a lot so it's not like I'm not used to training, tapering, carbing, butterflies and being generally insane but this is different. All of the races I've done have been on land or at least had a land component but this swim only thing is just co...

As a follow up to my last post, I still have no idea what that random crazy pain was. I'm feeling pretty much back to normal and had a follow up with my doctor. Waiting for more test results and "hoping" it was maybe just a one time freak incident. So in the meantime, we'll return to regular programming. I have had a series of crappy runs to start off this training cycle. So far, I haven't gotten terribly discouraged but I know that I can only continue talking myself off the ledge for so long before I'll need to start really seeing better days. source There are a couple of reasons I suspect my runs have been less than stellar. First, I haven't been running. If you follow me on dailymile you'll notice I've been working out a lot but not doing any sessions dedicated to just running. Before training I was running maybe twice per week as part of my Orangetheory Fitness circuit workout which would average maybe 5 or so miles per week, swimmi...