Easter Candy and Ironman training doesn't mix

This week kicked off our first week of brick workouts and intervals on the bike. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are bricks. Wednesday will probably be our toughest, most tiring day of the week----a brick that morning, then a swim that afternoon/evening. Tomorrow will kick off longer mid-week runs with hills............ask Matt about my love for hills. No comment. But, I keep telling myself: Power/hill intervals + hill work = stronger legs!!!!

Last week was a recovery training week for us, which means that our workouts were cut in half----so nice and needed!!! We have become Lost addicts, so every night last week consisted of eating dinner, then laying in bed to watch Netflix back-to-back episodes of Lost............yeah, we're old......and spoiled. "Wait till kids come along. There won't be any more of that laying around." Yep, we know. That's why we are enjoying it now and getting it all out of our systems, because I plan on being a baby-makin' machine in the next few years ;).........with some training thrown in there between babies, of course ;)

Work is crazy this week!!! I got 6 patients today---I think the hospitals are discharging everyone home before the Easter holiday, so they are all coming today and I'm sure tomorrow.

Tomorrow night kicks off the first team group ride of the season----I hope we have a good crowd. I am still enjoying being president, although this last month has been extremely busy trying to get all our 2010 season apparel, sponsors, etc. complete.It feels nice to see it all come together every year though.

I am excited for the weekend!! We are going to my mom's and taking the puppies!! Contemplating a 5K in Meridian, and a long bike ride after with a few Meridian friends for training. I love Easter sunrise service. It's so special to me.

Matt and I are trying to lean up a little this month, since New Orleans Ironman 70.3 is in 2 weeks. Restricting our carbs at night has been a little tough, to put it lightly :) We both love our carbs, not to mention it makes nightly meals a little difficult. "What would you like tonight dear, grilled chicken or baked chicken? Brocolli or green beans?" That about sums it up every night. We dream of Easter candy and carbs on a daily basis. Right now, until racing season is over, we are trying to restrict it to weekend nights. You should have seen me in Fresh Market, raiding the candy bin aisle last weekend. BADNESS!!!!!!!!! LOL :) What is it about candy I love so much I will never know.................see ya later. I'm headed to bed to dream of Cadbury mini eggs and Peeps ;)

Manic depressive cyclist?

Matt and I were about 30 minutes into our 70 mile ride Saturday when he turned around on the bike and stated, "I feel like I'm manic depressive!!!---one second, I'm feeling good, the next second I'm about to die to get off this BIKE!!!!" It was chilly, windy, and boring. We were alone the whole ride along the Natchez Trace, and neither one of us was quite, uh, feelin' it this morning.

Ohhhh, the joys of long bike rides----------the one reason we said we might never do another Ironman again ;) And, yep, here we are in the middle of another Ironman. Will we ever learn ? :) They say you have to forget the hurt of the race before you are ready to race again. Hmmmmmmmmm. This was our longest training week so far for Ironman Canada. We had two 2hour,5 minute trainer rides on Tuesday and Thursday, two 8 milers on Wednesday and Friday, and I lifted leg weights Thursday. How do ya think the legs felt? I'll give you a hint------------not like a "spring chicken" ;)

So, let's fast forward to Sunday. Hail and snow? Seriously?!! 70+ degrees the day before and then snow? Wow!!! We decided to make Sunday morning our recovery ride on the trainer and swap around our long run until that afternoon. We headed to church, and afterwards while we were eating at Newks, we noticed the 20+mph gusts as we were leaving, all while the snow flurries were picking up in intensity. Seriously? Mid-march and snow?? Did I mention that already?

We debated back and forth for a little while on our long run vs. being lazy bums the rest of the afternoon. The decision?

Long run completion-0
Lazy bums- 1

I have never quite enjoyed laying on the couch so much....mix that with eating brownies (hey--they were "healthy" brownies at least ;) and cinnamon pita chips, while we watched back-to-back episodes of Lost from Netflix, and you have a perfect day. Man, was that a much needed mental and physical relaxation day!! We knew we wouldn't appreciate getting our long run in before work, but that didn't stop us. We only got off the couch to grill dinner, and then get in the bed for more episodes of Lost. Ahhhhhhhhh laziness, how I've missed you ;)

The run this morning was brutally tough with ice/mist and heavy winds, but we perservered through it and the lunch time swim, so now it's all recovery for the week!!!!! YES ;) The little things that make me happy :)

Today's forecast? 32 degrees. Tomorrow? 78 degrees. As they say, if you don't like Mississippi weather, wait a day. It will change ;)

Wetsuits optional but encouraged ;)

---The image that comes to mind when jumping in our gym pool for the last week
Just to prove my point, we wore our wetsuits for our swim this morning. Ugh!!! The pool heater is out and they had to order a new part.........they say it should be in within the next few days. I know I'm sayin' a prayer ;) 70 degrees in a pool first thing in the morning is NOT my idea of fun!!!!

What IS fun, however, is Easely Amused, a painting place where you design your own painting ;) I took my friend, Staci, for her 31st birthday on Monday night and we had a good time!! We made a Family Tree. SO fun!!



Flashback to the past weekend: I had such a good weekend with Matt. We went to Nagoya Friday night, and then did a little SUV browsing. I have the itch to buy an SUV within the next year........maybe my early nesting to prepare for a baby? ;) Anyway, we "slept in" Saturday morning and met friends for a bike ride on the Trace......a lil chilly and a LOT windy, but we ended up helping a friend survive her first 84 mile bike ride that day, so it was motivating seeing her tough it out in not-so-fun conditions. Way to go Mel!!! We were so hungry by the time we finished biking that we decided to bust up in Sweet Pepper's deli at Renaissance. Oh the funny looks you get from random people when you're dressed like a cycling freak ;) I couldn't help but laugh, because the image that came to mind when we were walking around the deli was this:

Heeeheee heeee ;)

On to the rest of the weekend-----We had a good lunch, then came home and relaxed a little more. I was having a craving for Mexican queso dip, so we went out and got some take-out queso at a restaurant, then swung by Penn's and got some boiled shrimp (another craving-------no, I'm not pregnant ;) .........just tri-trained like a mad woman who hasn't seen food in months ;D We rented 2012 and had a little picnic in bed while we ate and watched the movie. Fun!!

Sunday was a long run morning, followed by blueberry muffins (Matt's Sunday morning tradition that has formed over the last year) and church. we took the puppies for a walk around the subdivision after lunch. They LOVED it and it was such a beautiful day!! Even though it was windy again, we decided it was worth it to go on our recovery bike ride outdoors to enjoy the weather a little more!! We biked around the rez area, from our house, came home, and I grilled out that evening to enjoy the daylight savings time. These are my FAVORITE types of weekends!!!!!!! We're such homebodies, and I wouldn't change a thing ;)
Monday morning, we decided to sleep in and Matt got up to leave for work a little bit before me. In the kitchen was the perfect end to such a great weekend ;)

Triathlon Training helps with Parenting :)

I must say, I am growing a bigger and bigger baby-itch every passing month. I try to dimsiss it, but like that little itch on your leg that starts off small, the more you ignore it, the more that itch starts to grow. I told my mom to prepare herself, because for Christmas 2010, not only does my wish list for her include a sewing machine, I am expecting HER to re-teach me how to use that thing from years ago, along with monogramming/applique ;) I'm sure she's excited!! ;) I have high hopes of making lots of cute baby clothes, etc. once I am pregnant. I'm positive I will wonder what I was thinking once I get knee-deep into it. I tend to take on big projects, and not finish them until they are perfected. Just ask my husband-----once I get my mind on something, there's NO stopping me until it's done. A gift of determination or a curse of stubborness? Let's go with the determination one. Yeah, I like that trait better ;)

Let's fast-forward to the article I ran across today. Everyone says our lives will change when we become parents----no doubt. I am not questioning that at all. I do, however, think this article is quite humorous, in a triathlete-sorta way.

P.S. You will only find it entertaining if you are/were a triathlete ;)


Triathlon Training Helps with Parenting
Posted August 23rd, 2006 by Jim Kaese


After 7 years of trying to have a child, we were blessed with our first this past June.

As most mothers and fathers will convey, the initial 8 weeks of parenthood certainly does pose quite a few challenges. However, I’ve noticed that my triathlon and marathon training–believe it or not–has helped me adjust to life with a newborn. How? The similarities between raising a newborn and training/competing in marathons and triathlons are surprisingly numerous:

1. Early morning wake ups…real early
I always dread the 4am alarm-clock-buzzer race day wake ups that are requirements for any triathlete or runner. But, I must admit, experiencing those ridiculously early rises at Hampton Inns across the country made getting out of bed for my daughter’s 2am and 4am overnight feeds much easier. Each night, it was a relief to know that after 30 to 45 minutes of bottle sucking, I would be snuggling under my warm and soft covers again instead of jumping into a freezing lake for a raucous swim. Piece of cake!

2. Transition Area For those of you not familiar with triathlon, the tranisition area is the place at a race site where all partipants are assigned a small, 3 foot wide by 8 foot long, space to put all of your gear. Your bike, running shoes, towel, cycling shoes–everything you’ll need for the different stages of the race goes here. As you can imagine, organization is key. Most triathletes will tell you that it takes at least 3 or 4 races to learn how to organize and arrange all of your gear: helmet upside down on top of the aerobars, sunglasses inside the helmet, cycling shoes attached to the bike pedals, running shoes on the opposite side of the bike as your swim stuff, etc.

During the first few nights with my newborn daughter, I found myself using the “transition” skills I learned from triathlon to help minimize the amount of time she was awake out of her crib. Before I went to sleep, I layed out a swaddle on the floor, put a burp cloth on the chair, opened up a disposable diaper checking to make sure the tape was on (every so often you’ll get a disposable diaper without the sticky tab on it), poured her formula into the feeding bottle, and scanned the nursery to make sure everything was in place for my next 2am arrival. It was just as if I was looking at my transition area spot for the last time before returning after the swim.

3. Pee and Poop
Some people are grossed out by this with babies, but I gotta tell ya, after competing in Ironman races where I’ve pee’d on myself during the bike (5 hours on a bike, what else you gonna do?) and having #2′d in some porta-potties that required holding one’s breath, seeing, smelling, and cleaning baby-sized poop and getting sprayed with a little urine is hardly a big deal.

4. Eating quicklyI find myself eating meals a lot faster now because neither Mom nor Dad know when baby is going to wake up. It takes only one or two times of getting caught in the middle of breakfast or lunch having to attend to your child (and thus ruining your meal) to learn that eating quicker is better.

Fortunately, thanks to triathlon, I’m used to eating on the run…and on the bike…and even on the runs in between the run and the bike. So, learning to eat quickly and efficiently (e.g., a Clif Bar while baby is burping on the shoulder) was a simple task.

5. More to come
I’m sure as the weeks progress, I’ll find more aspects to child rearing that are made easier by triathlon and marathon training. Maybe I’ll try using her Formula as a recovery drink?

"I'll have what he's having"........

Apparently my husband took some kind of stimulant this morning, or else he's been cheating on me with his bike at night when I fall asleep. Should I be worried? Hmm.

I am not sure if there was an extra shot or two of Monster energy in his Gatorade this morning, or what. (or maybe I'm just a weenie........Charlie, you backin' me up on this one? ;)

We decided to bike outside for the first time since, ohhhhh, last August. Yeah. Trainer rides were becoming a LITTLE, ughhhh, OLD, and this was the first chance it might actually turn out to be a beautiful day, so we wanted to take advantage of it. We had a 3 hour ride scheduled, and the Ride for Orphans didn't start till 8am. It was chilly at the beginning, but we layered well and my hands/feet were the only thing that actually got cold, even though I think the ride started out at around 35 degrees? The longest option was 62 miles, so we took that option.

8am:

Off we went. The "really fast" group started off and we hung with them for oh,
maybe 2 minutes :) I was going to just draft off whoever was around Matt. The
first 20 miles were ok. I knew I wasn't used to hills, and expected a few hills
since we were in Madison. I DIDN'T expect my husband to fly up those hills
QUITE as swiftly as he did, however. He forgot his heart rate monitor/watch at
home, so he couldn't go by that. Well, buddy, I could, and my heart was
screaming "STOP child!!!!!! You'll never make it 62 miles up these hills that
fast, especially after the tough week you've had and the tiredness you've been
experiencing!!!!" But, oh no. It was either draft like a crazy woman from hell,
or get left and be out on my own. I chose option A. Bummer. I know. I was the
only woman around and didn't even know it until around mile 35 or so, when we
took a water/food break. Hmm......this isn't good. Where's girls to whine with
when you need them. I just whined to Charlie since Matt was so far up ahead
there was no way he could hear. Sorry Charlie ;)

I kept reassuring myself, "This is how you get faster. There is NO hope for you
on the swim, but you can make up for it on the bike and the run." My legs just
didn't want to agree with me at the time. I hung in there pretty well,
for our first outdoor ride with hills since last year. I gotta lot of work
to do before Canada though ;) I think I said to Matt once we got up Lake
Cavalier (my FAVORITE hill in Madison, by the way) "Canada is going to chew me
up and spit me out." I don't remember his reply. Or maybe I didn't hear his
reply b/c of the loud nostril/mouth breathing thing I was experiencing after
Cavalier. Ok, I am exaggerating. A little. ;)

The thought of doing this up Lake Cavalier DID cross my mind ;)


So, thanks dear for one heck of a ride in Madison today. In a few hours, I may
forget the visions of you ahead of me on the bike that I saw for 3 1/2 hours.


But,hey, I WILL thank you for it this tri season when I am a monster just like you on the bike. Maybe. Don't hold your breath. I love you dear ;)...........except when you're Satan on the bike ;)

......And the word for the week is TIRED............

Everyone say it with me. T-I-R-E-D. Let's say it together: Tirrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeedddddd. Wow. I think Ironman training is starting to take its toll on me. Combining two-a-days with early morning wake-up calls, craziness at work, and a change in my diet routine have really made me a whiney butt. (Just ask Matt ;) The saying, "Train. Eat. Sleep. Repeat." is no joke when you train for an IM. Throw work in the mix and any part of something that resembles a social life and you are one tired cookie.

Tiredness is about to break me this week. BUT, I am hanging on!!!! I know this is part of the word called IRONMAN. I have gotten through it before. I will get through it again. The day-to-day training is the tough part. This is what makes you an Ironman. Not race day. The non-motivated, "train when I would much rather be lazy" kind of days that you push your body through are the days that prepare you for this one big day called an Ironman. If can make it to the day of the race, you have already succeeded in my opinion. Race day makes it all worth it. All those months of training, sacrificing, exhaustion. It all fades away when you accomplish your big goal ahead and cross that finish line. With that being said:

MOTIVATION WILL COME.

Sometimes you don't know when it will come. BUT, it always comes. Sometimes all it takes is that first race of the year!!! The tiredness will pass. I just have to hang along for the ride. And no better to person to hang on with me besides the man I have ;) He pushes me to do my best, understands me at my worst, knows when I am exhausted and truly understands that, because he trains right beside me most of the time. It's a feeling that you can't truly understand unless you have been there. I know it must be very difficult as a spouse that isn't a triathlete. The early mornings, the two-a-days, the early nights to sleep, the mood swings from exhaustion. I know that must be VERY difficult if you aren't along for the ride with that person. That's why I realize that I am blessed that we BOTH enjoy this sport. For example, last night I came home exhausted. We woke up at 4am to get a 2 hour trainer ride in. I drove to Meridian for work, had to give a nutrition presentation that night, then drive back late.We were supposed to run yesterday as well, but both decided to put it off until today. He bought dinner, folded and put away the clothes, AND washed the dishes. I am a blessed woman, I say ;)

We have 7 weeks until New Orleans 70.3. My goal is to have a more controlled swim (I tend to add distance on the swim, due to my horrible lack of sighting. MUST do better this year than last........don't even get me started ;), perform with a better bike time, and with stronger legs off the bike, perform a better run than last year (which won't be too difficult--the heat last year seemed to kill us all!!!)

Let's focus on the positive for a moment, shall we?!
1) I AM getting the workouts in. 2)I AM seeing improvement in my stamina in the pool, along with a timed 400m Matt and I did last week that showed improvement in times since last year (with less swimming.) 3)I am not having the delayed soreness from leg weights that I got in the beginning. 4) My runs are still exhausting, but that's to be expected with the increase in biking our coach has prescribed this season. 5. I have succeeded so far with restricting my "candy addiction" during the week. I have replaced it with more healthy snacks throughout the day and I am keeping myself full enough through extra protein/fiber so that I don't actually crave it as much!! This is HUGE success in my world ;)
6) I haven't weighed myself yet, but plan on doing that next week. I don't like to be a "slave to the scale", because I think it sets you up for disappoint if you don't hit a number you may be wishing for. The negative side of weighing when you are a triathlete is , in my opinion, the fact that the number on the scale can fluctuate tremendously on a daily basis, depending on your fluid intake, food intake, training sweat rate, etc. When you throw weight training into the picture, you might not see a budge in the scale at all, or even might see a gain, which women especially are not happy with ;) I DO know that my clothes fit more loosely and I feel like I have toned up a little. We shall see next week. I plan on weighing 1-2 times per week just to get a perspective on things.

MS Heat tri team planning is coming along well. Headsweats visors came in yesterday. They look SWEET!!!! ;) We are in the process of sponsorship for the 2010 year, as well as planning Soak Up the Sun tri 2010. Bill is doing an excellent job this year as our race director. Planning is coming along nicely, and we should have some very exciting sponsorship opportunities this year!!

New Orleans getaway ;)

Matt and I both love New Orleans...........mainly for the food!(Ok,almost entirely for the food ;) We got to visit for a couple days last week due to Matt having an oncology conference there. We got to visit the Melting Pot restaurant, which we have never been to, but always wanted to try. I must say that I fell in love with the dessert fondue!!!!!!!!!

"Honey, you have a little chocolate on your face" He doesn't care.....he's lovin' it!


Pure BLISS :)



I told Matt that we didn't have to ever come back to eat an entire meal, but every time we are in New Orleans from now on, we can make it a habit to at least come for the dessert ;) You can create your own chocolate fondue---we created a version that involved milk chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, and Oreo crumbles. The plate they bring you consists of: marshmallows covered in Oreos and graham cracker crumbs, cheesecake bites, brownie bites, rice krispie treat bites, and pound cake bites, along with a few strawberries for dipping. I was in HEAVEN!!!!!!! As I mentioned earlier in my blogs, my weakness is sweet foods. I am trying for tri season to cut out my candy/sweet treats during the week completely, and only splurge on the weekend nights. Oh man, was this weekend worth it!!!!!!!

We also tried Mother's restaurant for breakfast/lunch, and decided that we might try to make another visit the morning after New Orleans 70.3 next month. The biscuits sure were tasty!!!!



This little sign hung on the wall at Mother's cracked me up ;)

We went shopping on Magazine Street, made a visit to Whole Foods, and then shopped a little more around Cafe Du Monde area (can't remember that street name!) It was a fun little getaway that we both needed!!!