Friday Film #22

I never really "got" the Harlem Shake meme (and I usually love me a meme), but this one SLAYED me.  (Make sure you watch to the end.)

Harlem Shake - The Grumpy Cat version.



Meme over.

The Feed Zone (a.k.a Allen and Biju need to marry me)

Ugh...although I love the pink, not only do I still need to create a new header, the fonts aren't displaying on my iMac. Maybe because it's seven years old. Heh.

Just wanted to post a quick picture of what I've been eating lately. Last week I dusted off my copy of "The Feed Zone" (it really ISN'T made for off-season - too high calorie and high carb) and have fallen in love with it all over again.

Not a picture of my copy. MINE is all bent and stained, I mean "well-loved."

Last year I didn't branch out from a few favorite recipes, but in the past couple days I've been trying some new ones and they're all AMAZING. Last night I made the pork chili before my Bike Club meeting, and came home to a DELICIOUS hot, spicy treat on a freezing cold, snowy evening.

I also love that they can be prepared in advanced. Today I am in meetings all day (boo!) and have a ten-mile tempo run after work. This does not lend itself to cooking. However, some granola with almond milk, Orzo and Basil Salad (My book literally opens to this recipe. I ate it THAT MUCH during IMLP training last year), and Butter Lettuce, Chicken, and Strawberry Salad (or whatever the real name is)  in the fridge means I'm covered.

I mean, who WOULDN'T want to eat like this? That right there is bright, colorful, easy-to-make HEALTHY REAL FOOD.

I will kick this junk food habit to the curb if it KILLS me.

Work(s) in Progress

As you can see, the blog is a mess right now. My old header had me still in training for IMLP, which is obviously out-of-date. Since it's a picture and I no longer have the original one without text, I figured I might as well overhaul it. For now, well, I like pink. Sue me.

I'm still in overhaul too after nine weeks of off-season. I read somewhere that you need two weeks for each week off to get back to where you were, which is eighteen weeks, or FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS, to get back to where I was at the marathon. Yikes!

It definitely is showing. I'm still around 114 pounds despite training harder. My paces and heartrates are also pretty sad. A bit frustrating when the season is centered around PRs! I keep telling myself that it's only February, my first race isn't until the end of June, calm down. It's time to get serious, but no need to freak out just yet.

On a positive note, I really am putting in the work. Lots of tempo work, to be precise. It's a funny contradiction after two years of base building. My engine wants more volume, but my legs are constantly fried, leaving me both antsy AND hurting. LOL!

I'm putting in pretty good volume on the long days though - I'm already up to 10 miles of running and 45 cycling, all at race effort. Believe it or not. (Notice I said race EFFORT. Once again, fat and out-of-shape here isn't putting down anything near race PACE.)

So, it's February, or as Garfield called it, "The Monday of Months." We soldier on, and dream of warm days and fast races.

114

114.

After IMLP, I really didn't train. I rested for five weeks, then did the Vermont Half coasting on the base I had built up.  About six weeks later I did the Empire State Marathon, once again pretty much coasting.  I mean, my long run for that was 15 miles. Seriously.

114.

I never really changed my eating habits to compensate. In fact, I ate a lot more junk food.

114.

I stayed away from the scale, but could tell that I was getting softer and my clothes tighter. I broke the zipper on my skinny jeans, which used to be my normal jeans.

114.

That's what the scale said on January 1st when training started and I finally had to admit that the excuses were over - I was done recovering, off-season was over, and I'm going for some HIM PRs, one of which is on a hilly course.

That's nine pounds above race weight. Include fat loss and muscle gain and it's more like 15 pounds to get to my race body comp of 105 lbs, 20% bodyfat.

My coach gave me a laughably low volume of work to start out with (less than I had been doing during my self-coached off-season), so I knew I wasn't going to BURN those pounds off, at least not yet.

So for the past two days, I've been eating more of this:

And less of this:

Am I craving unhealthy foods? Hell yes! Am I cranky because most of the time I'm letting myself be a little hungry? Yeppers. But I'm also already feeling lighter and cleaner. The scale said 113.2 this morning. It could be water weight gone from dumping the junk, it could be a daily fluctuation. But it did make it easier to keep at it today.

114. Today 113. One pound at a time. Getting not just leaner, but healthier and full of good, clean food.

Quick Holiday Note

I just had quite the Thankgiving weekend - very busy for a Thanksgiving without any family get-togethers.

Thanksgiving was 60 and sunny - UNHEARD of for up here this time of year - so Dr. Z and I went on a Thanksgiving Day ride down in Keene. On our road bikes with just some UnderArmour. Insane. The only downside was that the 19 miles felt closer to 30. It was painfully clear I haven't done any real cycling since IMLP!

Friday morning started off beautiful too, although the weather went to hell in the early afternoon. Took a day trip up to Montreal for a little side project I'm not ready to fully disclose...yet. Anyway, we didn't get home until 9, so that was another day eaten up.

Luckily the rest of the weekend was quieter, although the weather all of a sudden dropped 20 degrees and turned to full-on winter. Yes, 60 and sunny to 20 and snowing in 24 hours. Welcome to the Adirondacks. Looks like this time winter is finally here to stay. 

And now I have to run to the pool because I haven't swam since last Monday thanks to the holiday closure.

Friday Film #21

I've been a huge Les Mis fan since I was in high school and have even read the brick (not to mention meandering...THREE HUNDRED PAGES DESCRIBING THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO? *REALLY, HUGO?!?!) unabridged book.

Anyway, I stumbled onto this completely by accident one day while browsing around YouTube and just LOVED it. Have since exchanged several Tweets with Andrew Varela (playing Javert and yes, actually plays Javert in the 25th Anniversary U.S. Tour cast for real) and he is a really cool, hysterically FUNNY guy. Who enjoys wearing thigh-highs (don't ask).

Stay after the credits to see Javert order tongue from a taco truck. And if you can't put "Javert," "tongue," and "taco" into a dirty joke, well then I just can't help you.

I Love This Product - Tri-Swim

I've decided to start a new series - "I Love This Product." It'll be stuff that really makes my tri life better.  None of it's sponsored - I'm not fast enough to have companies send stuff to me.  (Although any companies that WANT to send me stuff can feel free to! *G*)

So...between the swim being my weakness and living in a cold climate that only allows OWS for three, maybe four months of the year, I spend a lot of time in the pool.

It does a real number on my skin and hair - in fact my hairdresser started me on argon oil last winter because my hair was in such bad shape. In addition, I stank of chlorine no matter how well I showered. It would finally wear off....just in time for my next swim session.

To summarize: Dry hair and itchy, stinky skin.

The solution?

The Tri-Swim line:

Seriously guys. I had gotten samples from my tri club but when one of the booths at IMLP was selling the full-size bottles, I picked up the entire line (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion).

This stuff is THE BOMB if you spend time in the pool. Normal products (and I use the GOOD stuff) just left me feeling (and smelling) like I still had chlorine in my hair and on my skin. I don't know how it works, but the Tri Swim stuff just obliterates any Eau de Pool. My skin and hair also feel NORMAL instead of gross and gunked up.

Yes, me naked in the locker room with my beloved Tri-Swim Lotion. You're welcome.

My favorite has to be the lotion. The smell is INCREDIBLE. It's this wonderful, clean scent.

The only downside is that each item is $10-$13. I don't mind that for the shampoo and conditioner, but it seems overpriced for the body wash and lotion. Despite that, it will remain a staple in my pool bag because it works so darn well.