Fall Routine

Fall is all about getting into a routine. I’ve been working to find the right balance between family, working, and staying active/healthy. True is on a consistent daycare schedule which is very helpful in terms of getting things done on my to-do lists. September marked my return to Crossfit Ironborn and beginning the Health Bet Challenge for my friend Aimee’s Beachbody group. It feels great to have a bit more “Laura time” because it makes me a better mother, wife, and human being. I was once again considering quitting with my blog because it is just another thing I need to do. I also was discouraged by the fact that it is called “I Tri Training” and there are no triathlons planned in the near future. Nonetheless, I do glean value from holding myself accountable to a blog post. So, for now, I will continue to post when it seems relevant and time permits.

Working Out

My workouts in September have been consistent. I work out 7 days a week between PiYo and crossfit. Last week was my first 3 day week for crossfit. I was SORE! But it was a great feeling knowing some dormant muscles were coming out of hibernation. I love the community at Crossfit Ironborn. The coaches have been very supportive as I eased back in after a 4 month break (and about 5 months of scaled workouts before that). It is also motivating to be back with like minded people. The key to success in any goal is surrounding yourself with people who share similar motivations (even if they might be at a different level). I’m definitely just focusing on showing up and getting in a workout for the health benefit right now. This will most likely evolve as I get more comfortable with the workouts. However, I certainly find inspiration in athletes of all levels. The September accountability group is also going well. We are using the My Challenge app which is super easy for tracking workouts and fuel. I’m about to switch to the 21 Day Fix workouts as I just finished a 2 month PiYo program. There is no possible way for me to get to the gym more than 2-3 days a week right now, so the at-home workout options have been the perfect supplement.

Fuel

August was a loose month in terms of my nutrition (it historically is), but it could have been worse. I stuck with my morning shakes and did OK with lunch/dinner many days. With warm summer days. I found the draw to have a cool glass of wine overly tempting. So I indulged. Fall is generally a time where I can get back on track with food. I have a focused work, teaching, and workout schedule. Keeping my meals clean helps me accomplish things in other facets of my life. I am still finding the mornings/midday go very well, but I get lazy at night. Unfortunately, this is when it counts the most because I’m not working out in the evening (usually) and my metabolism slows. My goal for the remainder of September is to make better choices in the evenings for the weekdays and then give myself a little break on Saturday afternoons/evenings. Meal prep on the weekends is a challenge as I am teaching an online course and want to spend time with True. I may try out a meal delivery service sometime soon for some new options or just be better about allocating time to this task. Keeping it simple is essential.

Upcoming Races/Events

The only race I have on the horizon is the Turkey Trot 4 miler. I would like to start training for that the first week in October. I found, from the few runs I have done so far, my left knee is going to need time to ease back in. I’m also toying with the idea of trying a scaled (very scaled!) crossfit competition in the spring of next year if anything happens to come up for the gym. I’ll probably chicken out on that (I hate doing things in front of people), but I am considering it as something to work towards. Triathlons are on the back burner for now as it is not possible to fit brick workouts in right now. I also have swim lessons with the little guy on the horizon, so that will be my only pool time. Mark wants me to do an open water swim next July, so I will see if I can free up more time in the spring for that event.

~Laura

100 Bricks Complete!

In looking at my last post on 4/20, it would seem I am slacking a bit on the blog. However, the good news is that I have been dedicated to my workout routine and for the most part, to my dietary habits. My major accomplishment since the last post was hitting 100 perfect bricks for 2015! This means that for 100 days I woke up and did my fasted cardio, completed frequency push ups, and ate clean for those days. This is not an easy task, so I am thrilled to have hit the 100 mark prior to the summer. I have ambitions of completing the entire 150 by the end of the summer. June will be fairly easy as I am doing another round of the 28 day Arbonne detox and completing my third month of triathlon training. I already know that July will probably not add many bricks as we are traveling to New York for the triathlon and then heading to Spain for a week right after New York. Knowing these 10 days will be relaxed, I can prepare to eat as clean as possible before and after the trips. Vacation and relaxation are as essential as routine days--it is important to identify these necessities and move on.

Triathlon training has been going fairly well. I've just wrapped up month 2 of a 3 month training plan. The spinning and Thursday night rides have made a huge difference in my cycling this year. It could potentially be a better leg of the triathlon than the swim in the July race. My swim is fine, but I use the swim sessions as recovery from crossfit, running, and some of the cycling. The time I will be looking to beat is my 2009 time of 1:49:27. The 2009 Mini Musselman was my first triathlon ever and I was 23 years at the time. When I complete the race in July, I will be a youthful 34 years old ;) It will be interesting to see if crossfit, clean eating, and the training schedule make a difference. I still have some nagging pain in my left knee due to the patellar tendinitis. Unfortunately, it is something I have to manage and will probably never disappear. With stretching, rolling, and icing, I am able to keep it to a minimal amount. I do not expect that to be a factor until the last portion of the run. Hopefully, with a strong swim and bike, I'll have a few extra minutes to spare to take it easy on the knee. And, if it is a little sore after, no worries...it is the Finger Lakes wine region!

On another note, I've been quietly seeing gains in my crossfit training. In May, I hit PRs for several of my lifts. I completed the 1RM power clean @ 100lbs and the 1RM split jerk @ 100lbs. My strict press was 75lbs--not sure if this was a PR or not as I cannot find my old book! I am pleased with these numbers. While I try to get to crossfit 3 times a week, it sometimes ends up being just 2. Despite that inconsistency on my part, I am still making progress due to the incredible coaching and motivation of the coaches at Crossfit IronBorn. If you are in the Concord, NH area, this is a top-notch facility with friendly people and a no-drama atmosphere. We have fun, we workout, we support each other, and I always leave feeling a zillion times better than when I walked through the door at the beginning of class. Strength training is an absolute must in my training program and with crossfit, it is woven into my week in a way that best meets my goals.

Laura

June-30 Days of Clean

In June, I focused on cleaning up my diet and adding in plenty of morning cardio. As you can see from the photos in this post, I did  a lot of cooking. I'm glad it was cooler in June than now or I would have been very hot cooking all those delicious meals. I had 30 clean eating days and 29 sessions of fasted cardio. While I did not weigh or measure myself over the month, I noticed clothes getting loose, skin clearing up, and energy levels amped up.

Paleo Pizza

Wow! Just 30 days and I did not even go to the extreme of Whole 30 this time. I cut alcohol, most sugars, dairy, and grains. I stopped eating potato/starchy carbs and fruits by 2PM. Due to my knee injury, I did limited intensity for most workouts and focused primarily on upper body lifting. Morning workouts consisted of modified crossfit, swimming, yoga, pilates, and some interval training.

Egg, Sausage, and Vegetable Casserole

Zoodles

Despite the adjustments to my workout schedule, my knee continues to be a pain (literally and figuratively). Luckily, nothing is torn but I definitely have some funky tendinitis, etc. going on in my left knee. The physical therapist was able to pinpoint the cause to a weak core and weak hips. So, the next step is training my body to move in different ways to take pressure off the knee. I'll be in PT most of the summer and opted to switch from crossfit to pilates for a month or two. I'll still swim/yoga/walk in the AM, but since I can't run, squat deeply, or lift heavy weights with my legs, it seemed like I needed to change my emphasis for a bit. I am super bummed because I love crossfit (and running!) and the camaraderie of the gym, but this was the right thing to do in this moment. I earned brownie points with the physical therapist for signing up for pilates! Looking for a studio in the area? Try out Concord Pilates as it has some wonderful instructors.

Keep your eye (and social media feed) open for I Tri Training posts again in the fall as I am signing off the blog for the summer. I am going to focus on healing, enjoying some time with friends and family, and training our new Golden doodle puppy, Penny, who we bring home on July 27th! I'll be on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, so feel free to continue to follow me through those mediums. I'm also hoping to have a fresh look to the blog in the fall with the help of a fabulous graphic design friend. Enjoy a safe, happy, and fun summer--it is the most wonderful time of the year!

~Laura

Penny at 5 weeks!

FFMARCHMILES & 14.2 Recap

If you have been an avid follower of I Tri Training, you might notice a bit of an update to the space. I’ve been working on my social media presence through Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest (I have not yet given in to the requests to rejoin Facebook ). Since it is my fourth year of blogging, I wanted to change it up and hopefully draw in some new followers. I’ve benefitted tremendously from inspirational tweets and photos on Instagram and hope to share that passion with my followers. So, if you are so inclined, please join me in some or all of those forums!

Recently, I was selected to be an I’m Fit Possible Ambassador, which encourages a social fitness community. I am super excited to be a member of this awesome space for dialogue and inspiration! The next addition to my blog will be some race PRs and hopefully a race calendar. I need to commit to some 2014 races ASAP, but I want to choose them carefully so that I can put full effort into a training schedule. Some of the races I am considering are the Big Lake Half Marathon, Cape Cod Half Marathon, Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon, Smuttynose Half Marathon (to beat last year!), and some local 5Ks. How do you select your races for the year? If you have any fantastic New England recommendations, please share in the comments section.

Finally, here is my recap of the 14.2 Crossfit Open workout. After 14.1, I was thrilled with my standing and the fact that I had even earned some points in my first round of the competition. However, 14.2 quickly humbled me. Workout 14.2 consisted of 3 minute increments for as long as possible of 2 rounds overhead squats @ 65lbs and 10 chest to bars. Each 3 minutes you increased the reps by 2 and went as long as possible. When I read the workout the day before, I knew I was in trouble. I can’t do chest to bars. I don’t know a lot of women who can (but props off to those ladies!), so that was a discouraging element. My friend Erica suggested going for the overhead squats in round 1 to at least get 10 points. Not a bad idea—it gave me some type of goal. When I went to set up for the OHS and snatched the 65lbs up, I knew it was not going to happen. This was not a move I had worked on for the past 20 weeks. Had it been a back squat, bench press, deadlift, or possibly a military press, I might have had a shot. I had to scale before the workout even began which was deflating. Nonetheless, I made it through two rounds of the scaled version (35lbs and banded chest to bars). I made an attempt, but all in all, I was very disappointed with my performance. It was awesome to cheer on some of the other athletes at White Mountain Crossfit because they crushed the workout which helped the team overall. We are currently ranked 186th in the North East region.

To date, I’ve logged 16 miles for the #FFMARCHMILES Challenge, so I’ll need to step it up over the next week to hit that target of 100 miles running or walking by March 31st.

Milestones

This week I hit a milestone of 200,000 miles on my Honda Civic which I purchased new in 2003. In 10 and a half years, I have traveled up and down New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Most of the miles were from work commutes from NH to MA, but I also tacked a lot of miles visiting Mark up at Vermont Law while he was studying there. In the wake of this milestone, it seemed useful to reflect on some of my major workout milestones since it was not until about ten years ago that I started to seriously train and workout beyond some brief phases in college. During my senior year of college I dabbled briefly in lifting with machines and some light free weights, so it is hard to believe at 32 that I am more fit than I was at 21.

Highlights from 2004- 2013:

5 Half Marathons with a PR of 1:58:33 at Half at Hampton in 2012
6 Recorded (but several not listed in Athlinks) 5Ks with PR of 26:37 at Concord Rock N'Race in 2012
3 10Ks
7 Snowshoe Races
2 Olympic distance triathlon
4 Sprint distance triathlons
1 Half Ironman

Crossfit Gains from 2011-2013

Deadlift 130lbs --> 215lbs
Military Press 45lbs -->85lbs
Back Squat 90lbs --> 150lbs
Front Squat 65lbs --> 105lbs
Split Jerk 55lbs --> 100lbs
Power Clean 65lbs --> 95lbs
Push Press 55lbs --> 100lbs
Bench Press 67.5lbs -->105lbs


Being a Type A and an overachiever, I tend to think anything less than perfect is not good enough. Consequently, this past year has been a challenge because I focused on certain areas in my life more than others. We had a tremendous loss in our family, and I became a homeowner. Despite all of these changes, I still made huge gains in terms of my strength and conditioning. Last year, I hurt myself deadlifting and stopped doing that for about 6 months, yet now I am up to 215lbs for my one rep and am looking to top that in the next 4 week cycle. So, instead of reprimanding myself for failing at my 150 perfect bricks and nutrition, I think I should acknowledge that it has been a successful year in many ways. The failures are just opportunities to crush goals next year. I did hit #100 for perfect bricks in November and will focus on trying to clean up a bit on food for December before doing a Whole 30 reset in January.

Last weekend I participated in a partner workout(Erica and I pictured below) as a fundraiser for the Movember foundation. It is rewarding to give back while getting your butt kicked! I am so proud to belong to a crossfit gym committed to the clients and philanthropic causes.

The Week Before Vacation

Last week, I powered through my work week knowing that by 4:00PM on Friday, I'd be on vacation for a week! In my years as a teacher, I often had several weeks off (though not when I was nannying and certainly much less than most people assume teachers have), but with my advising job, I have to plan my vacation carefully. I had a week in June and a week in August planned ahead. Also, I took all Fridays and a few other days in July off. However, with the house purchase/move and my grandfather's funeral, most of July was not quite a vacation. A week at Squam Lake with the Beaudoins was exactly what I needed to relax and focus more on training. I was consistent with my crossfit workouts and pushups last week but again found the idea of getting up early for cardio daunting. I made it to one morning spin workout on Friday, which felt fantastic btw!, but forgot necessary clothing items for work and had to drive back to Hopkinton and then to Manchester for work. Not living in Concord has posed some serious inconveniences; although I am usually very organized, the lack of a routine in my every day life has thrown me into a tizzy many days. I am hoping this will all stabilize soon and I'll find a routine/schedule that is consistent and effective. Mark and I finished off the week with a 35 mile bike ride around Squam Lake which was difficult, but made me believe the century ride is obtainable in September! The highlight of my training this week was my 8 mile run on Saturday. I had a fast (compared to my normal runs) run of 9:33 pace. I attribute part of this to actually resting my legs a bit on Friday afternoon/evening and part to the obscenely delicious Ruben sandwich that I had on Friday night at Kathleen's Cottage in Bristol where we saw one of our favorite music duos--Tina and Her Pony! I am kidding about the sandwich, but it was a great run! I've found several running routes in Hopkinton that I enjoy so that is important as we start to settle into the new home.

Week of 8/12 Workout Summary:

Monday- Crossfit
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Crossfit
Thursday- Crossfit
Friday- AM Spin Class
Saturday- 8 mile run (9:33 average pace!)
Sunday- 35 mile bike ride

*Pushups 5 sets of 22 X 6 days*

I also want to congratulate the triathletes that participated in the Timberman Triathlon in Gilford, NH this past weekend. That is a very challenging course and it takes serious dedication to complete events like Timberman.

Half Marathon Training Week 1 Recap

Per my previous entry, I am dedicating more time to training and blogging. For the Smuttynose Half Marathon (which is on October 6th), I am using Hal Higdon's Intermediate 12 week training plan as a guideline for my run workouts. I might have to adjust by adding a few miles on run days to take a necessary rest day. Additionally, I will be balancing the WMCFStrong 6 week challenge and a century ride 8 week plan. I know it is a lot but usually I am more effective when my time is filled. In week 1, I had limited time due to travel for the funeral in Minnesota and our house closing on Wednesday. Therefore, I had to get creative and doubled up on some workouts over a few days. Today I had to finish all remaining workouts for the week so I ended up running 4 miles early in the morning followed by a 41 mile bike ride. This was my longest ride in awhile, but it was generally a flatter ride so that made it manageable. My workout buddy, Melissa, and I tackled the ride at 7:30 to avoid the heat. It seems we do have some relief from what has been a very humid and uncomfortable week. I am soooo excited it will be in the 60s tomorrow morning as those are great running temps.

Half Marathon Week 1 Wrap Up:

Monday- 4 mile run in MN
Tuesday- Rest (travel day)
Wednesday- Early morning run, Shuttle Sprints @ crossfit in evening, conditioning/strength evening
Thursday- Rest
Friday-Crossfit in AM
Saturday- 4 mile run + crossfit conditioning workout
Sunday- 4 mile run followed by 41 mile bike ride

Total Run Miles = 16
Pushups 6 days of 5 sets of 20

A Little Bit of Inspiration

I have been slacking in my blog posting again. I got a bit sidetracked by house hunting and working more at the restaurant on the weekends. Luckily, those things are calming down a bit and I wanted to share a blog post by my friend Sara over at House Bella. Her post is a reflection on her first half marathon. When she first told me she was training for the run, I knew she'd not only finish but she would do extremely well! Sara has embraced the Paleo lifestyle and is generally a fit and athletic young woman. I'm still finding out more about her strategies for success with the See Jane Run 13.1, but in the meantime, enjoy her review. Go Sara!!!

For a bit of added motivation, I finally committed to some fall events. The summer is going to be too much with moving and settling into our first home, but I wanted a goal for the fall. So for the fall I selected:

1. Seacoast Century Bike Ride

2. Smuttynose Half Marathon

I ran the Smuttynose course in February of 2012 so I'd like to beat my time for that race, but I'll need to step up the training as that was a fast run for me. My friend Heather has signed up for that race with me so I am giving her a shout out as an extra motivator. I believe my husband and my friend Melissa will be joining for the Seacoast Century ride which should be an enjoyable day of riding. I'll start posting training weeks as the events get closer. I'm still trying to find the best plans to mesh with my crossfit training as that is an integral part of my fitness.

Here are a few other blogs that I follow for inspiration/motivation:

Live Free and Run

Irongirl & Ultrarunning Boy

White Mountain Crossfit

What blogs do you read for inspiration? Please share :)

Whole 30 Take Two

In mid-April, I began another round of the Whole 30. This was something that I did last year just before my bridal shower to reset and focus on real foods. Take two was easier than the first round. However, I did find myself going a bit heavy on portions of nuts, fruits, and protein. I defaulted to some of my easy favorite recipes including breakfast egg cups, paleo spinach quiche, a detoxinista soup, and kale/mushroom stir fry.

Whole 30 can be challenge in terms of finding prep time to buy the groceries and cook the meals. But it is not something you can do well without the planning. I tried to brainstorm ideas during the week of relatively easy dishes to make on the weekend. I also needed to make sure the portions were enough to feed my husband. He did not do the Whole 30 but definitely ate most of the foods I cooked. We shopped on Saturdays if possible and cooked on Sunday/Monday. I also kept nuts, olives, pickles, and nitrate-free meats to snack on (did that a bit too often!)

In terms of exercise, the first week or two was difficult at crossfit as my body went through the detox stage. But after it leveled out, I felt incredibly strong and was able to Rx on some workouts. I picked back up with fasted morning cardio which I think had the most impact for weight loss and definition. I added in a 30 day squat challenge that I found on Pinterest and alternated between abs/chin ups during the week. And as I have done since last year, I continue to do 5 sets of 20 pushups six days per week. Recently, I returned to the GSRT track workouts to improve my running as that is an area that has been neglected over the past year. I have a desire to sign up for a triathlon this summer but house hunting on the weekend has made longer training challenging to fit into the schedule. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze one in fairly soon!

At the end of this Whole 30 (which ended up being 31 due to a road race on day 31), I feel clear-headed, fit, and healthy. The biggest challenge I faced this time was an allergic reaction to outdoor pollen. I've not had pollen allergies in years, but with dry weather on the east coast, my allergies flared up in May. I had to give in and take some allergy medicine and night time medicine to sleep. I was bummed about this because one contained high fructose corn syrup which is obviously not Whole 30 approved--nonetheless, I needed to sleep and it was a small amount.

The end results of the Whole 30 physically: 6lbs lost and over three inches gone. My clothes are fitting much better again. Emotionally and mentally, it seems highly beneficial to do this if you can make it through the first few weeks. I was able think more clearly and had more positive reactions to situations. It was easier to fall asleep and wake up during this time as well.

Therefore, I guess the question is not when will I do another Whole 30 but rather how can I make this a part of my daily routine? It is almost impossible to go to social events while strictly following Whole 30 (it can be done though!) so it seems keeping a short "cheat" window may make it easier to abide by the basic principles during the week. Knowing how much better I feel should be motivation to keep plugging away at the daily routine.

Cloudy with a Side of Rain

I basked in the opportunity to sleep in until 5:30 today. I knew that I would complete my workout later in the day, so I slept very well. Today was a rather dreary day; therefore, I had to do my run workout on the treadmill. I have to say the speed intervals were my least favorite workout so far this week! But I did burn 500+ calories--that is a plus I guess!
Tonight I had S2 yoga class at Quest Yoga Studio in Chichester, NH. I LOVE this class! I stretched, restored, and relaxed. The final relaxation pose at the end made the rest of the day disappear and I left feeling so much better than when I arrived. Tomorrow is my rest day and it is nice going into that after completing a great yoga class.

Namaste.

Nap, Swim, & Spin

Today I completed my workout in the afternoon following school. However, a little cat nap was necessary to get through the workout. After a brief period of relaxation, I completed a 30 minute steady swim followed by an easy 45 minute spinning/stationary bike routine.
During the swim, I recalled my experiences in 8th grade Phys Ed. class. I was an overweight, out-of-shape teen who could not stand swimming in gym class! The 20-minute swim was my own personal hell due to exercise induced asthma (aka out of shape and couldn't breathe) and my embarrassment from wearing a bathing suit. In contrast, today I loved being in the pool! I glided along with strong form and alternating breathing. It is wonderful to feel the accomplishment of coming so far and to know that I am in better shape at age 28 than I was at 13!

Swimming Etiquette Tip: If you are finished swimming, it is not polite to stand in a cluster with other swimmers still trying to complete their workout! I actually had to ask a group of people today if they were going to start swimming or get out of the pool because I could not reach the end of the lane to push off. Arghhh.

Day One!

Today I woke up at 5:30 (I got to sleep in because it was a professional development day!) and eagerly put on my swim gear and warmups. With groggy anticipation, I drove to the Concord YMCA for a 50 minute swim. I did an easy warmup (5 minutes), followed by 10 X 100s (timed with the hr monitor) and then finished the workout with a steady swim. I felt fantastic! Day 1 was a success--94 days to go!

I have enlisted the coaching of S2 to prep for the Big Lake half and the Mooseman and his enthusiastic attitude is inspiring.

This is my blog...I don't know how it will turn out, but at the very least it is a record of my journey...

Please comment if you have any suggestions, thoughts, or stories to share!