Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts

Sunday, September 11, 2016

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

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

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!


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Barbells for Boobs


This Saturday, October 19th, I'll be participating in the Barbells for Boobs event at White Mountain Crossfit! The workout is Helen Meets Grace which will be a challenge, but certainly for a worthy cause.

If you have an interest in donating to our team, please click Here.

Thank you!

~Laura

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

#WHITEMOUNTAINSTRONG Results

As promised in my previous blog entry, I am including my side by side lifts/workouts to compare my progress over a period of 6 weeks during the challenge at our local crossfit gym. I attended class consistently and continued with my frequency pushups; however, I could have stuck to the clean eating far more. I'm sure that would have pushed my to some even better results. I'd been in a food slump/coma for much of the summer when I saw Sara over at House Bella wrote a great entry on Why She Eats Paleo. I know I was one of the people she had originally spoken to about going that direction with her food choices, so her affirmation of its effectiveness (not to mention amazingly delicious looking food) resonated with me. I am only back to a few days of clean/paleo eating, but I do feel those benefits already. Sara, as usual, you are an inspiration. I can't wait to hear how her marathon goes while following the paleo lifestyle!

Challenge Results-

Week 1 (July 22- July 26th) & Week 6 (August 26th- August 30th)

Back Squat 1RM = 125lbs
Back Squat = 140lbs
"The Chief" 17 rounds
"The Chief" 18 rounds

Bench Press = 95lbs
Bench Press = 105lbs
500m row 2:06
500m row 2:03

Power Clean = 90lbs
Power Clean = 95lbs
"Helen" 11:24
"Helen" 10:41

Push Press = 90lbs
Push Press = 100lbs
1 Mile Run 8:14
1 Mile Run 7:54
2 mins max pushups 40
2 min max pushups 57

Deadlift = 200lbs
Deadlift = 205lbs
"Fran" 6:05
"Fran" 5:36

*A note that many of these workouts were not Rx, but I did the same modifications for comparison*

Last week was a bit of a recovery week after pushing myself to the limits during testing week. I may have been a bit too lax in my training, but hopefully my upcoming races will not suffer due to the pause.

Workouts for Week of September 2nd - September 8th

Monday- Rest
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Short Jog/walk at lunch
Thursday- Rest
Friday- AM Spin/ PM Xfit (Brick #62)
Saturday- 10 mile run
Sunday- 2 Hour Walk

Pushups 5 X 25 for 6 days

Monday, June 24, 2013

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 :)