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Sunday, March 29, 2015

What I did this week: Two hours short


This was supposed to be a 12-hour training week, but I missed three workouts, so it was only a 10-hour week. Today's workouts were almost half of the week.

I feel tired, but also good about what I was able to accomplish.

Next week is an easy week -- only 6 1/2 hours of training. It will be nice to scale back a little.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Check-in: In a stuck place

I put up a snarky blog post this morning, thought the better of it, and took it down. I am feeling stuck in a lot of ways right now.  I got a cold which kept me from some of my workouts, and got stuck in a long work meeting, which took out another one.

Weight Watchers isn't going well either -- I'm just not tracking -- and I'm trying to decide whether to buckle down or quit. I'm going to wait it out and see if I feel differently by next week.

I'm feeling stuck and frustrated in a lot of ways. Hoping that by posting, I can move forward at least a little bit.



Monday, March 23, 2015

This could be the start of something big: Team Endurance Fusion



I have talked in previous posts about how I have been training with a group led by a triathlon coach, Lesley Kruzel. She has formalized this group into Team Endurance Fusion, a group of athletes who have two things in common: We are crazy enough to enjoy riding in Lesley's basement during the winter, and we all have big dreams for the coming season. We have some great sponsors who have offered us team discounts on things like helmets and nutrition.

I have been working with Lesley on a per-hour basis. She is the one who got me going with Training Peaks and set up an annual training plan for me. So far I have been making my own weekly plans (like last week's below), but at a silent auction recently, I bid on a reduced price on her monthly coaching, so the last three months before my big race, she will be working with me in a way that is more hands-on and directive.


Of course the reason I chose to work with Lesley is that she has been so generous already in sharing her expertise with the team, and I had a chance to see what she could do to help me improve as a triathlete. I have already doubled my training volume and am feeling better than ever, which makes me confident that I can have a great, injury-free season. 

I'm looking forward to the coming season, and I'm prepared to be surprised by what I will achieve. 



Thursday, March 19, 2015

Work harder, or move more?

Note: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. 



My employer-sponsored healthcare plan is going to give me a free  if I submit to a short screening and take an online assessment. Since most of the blood tests (triglycerides, glucose, cholesterol) and screenings (weight, waist circumference) are associated with extra weight, I'm guessing this is to get employees to move more and save on insurance costs.

Guess what the number-one thing keeping me from moving more is? You guessed it, my job.

Sometimes I think I should follow this advice from The Onion. Lack of a paycheck would probably also mean I'd eat a lot less...

Of course I agreed to turn over my privacy for a free Fitbit. I already have a Jawbone UP24, but I can't help myself, free stuff.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Triathlon training: Bad week, good week


Last week I was dealing with a possible eye infection and some serious work-related stress, so as you can see, my training week was a wreck. The gray box is a workout I did that was unplanned, all the orange ones are missed workouts, and the green boxes were the ones I did as planned (not many).

This week was spring break. My workout life were both more productive when I wasn't teaching.  The yellow box is a workout that was too long compared to the plan. The gray boxes are those coming up that I haven't done yet.

I also got a lot of work done this week. I'm about twice as productive when I'm not teaching and when all the noisy people who share my work hallway are out of town.  I really loved having this break to catch up on everything.

Next week it's back to the grind, but we only have about 7 weeks left of the semester. This year has been a harder one than usual, and I really have been finding myself counting down the days. I don't like it when I feel like that.

I'm really looking forward to summer racing, though. Last week's bad week not withstanding, I have been training more this winter than I ever have before, and I'm hoping it will show up in my race times.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Fit by FItbloggin' Week 3: Late but some good news

 I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that last week was so crazy that I hardly tracked at all. The good news is that I lost some weight anyway, both on my home scale yesterday and at Weight Watchers last Wednesday.


I still have a long way to goal, but it's nice to be making progress, anyway. My body fat percentage is down 3% since January 1, too, so even though I haven't lost much weight, it is the right kind of weight. My clothes are looser. I know those scales aren't 100% accurate, but you can see from the trends that the marks are pretty consistent. 

Weight change from last weekl: down 0.8 pounds
Days tracked last week: Maybe 2
At least 3/5 Good Health Guidelines met: Not tracked
Average hours of sleep: 7 hr 40 m (worse than last week)
Average steps: 8,505 (better than last week)
Hours of training: 1h, 45m

My training really fell off last week, a combination of terrible weather, some very big-deal things that I can't talk about here, and a corneal ulcer -- I didn't want to try swimming and risk irritating my eye more. I decided to let last week go and train more this week. I think the break did me some good, mentally, at least. 

This week is spring break so I'm trying to catch up on exercise, work, and housework.  I had a very productive day today but still have a ton more to do. It's nice to have a little break from the classroom.

Monday, March 02, 2015

New Enell Color Alert: Raspberry Zest!



It finally is launched, and it's lovely: The latest Enell offering is bold and beautiful. It almost seems a shame to cover it up. As an Enell Ambassador, I just got this gorgeous bra in the mail a couple of weeks ago and I have been waiting to wear it until it was official.

If you can't find Raspberry Zest or Scuba Blue at a store near you, you can always go right to the source and order it from Enell. These limited-edition colors tend to sell out quickly. These colors are all in line with the Pantone Spring 2015 colors, so they should coordinate well with your new workout wear if you decide to let them peek out.




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"Count your calories, work out when you can, and try to be good to yourself. All the rest is bulls**t." -- Jillian Michaels at BlogHer '07