Cans and Can Nots

As the date to get-my-lazy-ass-up-and-start-training day approaches this is a few food rules that I am g0ing to *try* to abide by.

1. No more coffee (unless I am absolutely dieing at work)

2. Cut back on red meat to only two times a week. (This is going to be hard because I am WAY more of a carnivore than omnivore... but it IS better for me. Also, they say that reducing red meat and substituting it with things that are more easily digestable will help my body make the most of out my food while converting it into energy)

3. Eat more servings of fish. (Right now I am at about 2 -3 servings per week of fish. I think it would be a good idea to increase that amount to make up for the lack of red meat in my diet... it's not like I am going vegetarian here people!)

4. Drink at 4 - 5 liters of water a day

5. Up my legume, bean, tofu and chickpea intake. (Right now legumes are okay, but I should start to eat other energy rich foods too)

6. Reduce dairy product in take. (This will be the hardest because dairy products are the equivalent of gifts from god to me! Nothing is better than cheese... okay maybe bacon and avocados.... but few things can compete with the amazingness of cheese. I am not going to completely cut out dairy- that would just be wrong and mean spirited to dairy!- just reduce it a little and maybe cut it out totally a week before a large triathlon.)

Okay that is my initial list. Basically it is eat more veggies and try to be reasonable about what I put in my body. I figure it is no use to do all this training if I am just going to go home and eat stuff that is going to hinder my work outs and results.

On a side note, I am a big proponent of energy bars, i.e. cliff bars and the like, but I am interested in try out these energy gel things that are now on the market... they look totally gross, but maybe they won't give me that lump of coal stuck in my gut feeling that sometimes eating an energy bar and then running can do. I'll get back with more on that front later!

Calendar

Okay so in an effort to hold myself accountable for my tri training I have started to tell people about my training this summer. Hopefully that will help to keep me going and not totally give up at the first drop of sweat!

Also, I have joined a gym with a pool and created a calendar for myself.

I found this pretty nifty site: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/
And there I was able to use their simple tri schedule maker to make me a mock schedule for my training. In an attempt to spice it up just a bit in the first month and to tailor it to my schedule (i.e. I know I will NEVER go to the gym on a Friday night- please!)I created this June schedule for myself.

The one that they created was a bit different. Longer bike rides and less swimming. I am, however, a stronger swimmer so I felt that I would cut myself (and my ego) some slack and up the swimming in the beginning. I however kept the running amount the same because I am such a terrible runner any running advice is helpful! I figure that if I give myself a fitness out base in the first month by doing what I am best at- swimming- I will then have a better base for next month where I will do more running and biking instead of swimming.

We'll see how close to this schedule I actually keep! Ha!~

Swim-Bike-Run-Repeat!

Okay, so after undisappearing from my year in Thailand I am back in the good ol' usa!
I've been here for about a year now and am finally settling into life in the bay area and the states. I decided that after a year of being here I needed to get on the triathlon bandwagon and actually try and train for one. I have been saying for about two years now that I want to do an Olympic length tri and I feel that this is the year that I am going to make that happen- or at exercise until I melt into a puddle of my own sweat... either way really.

I am, however, cautiously optimistic about this since
A. I hate running with a passion,
B. I don't know anything about riding a bike on a competitive level,
C. After growing up in LA and living in Thailand I have NO IDEA how I am ever going to get in the water here since it is NEVER warm and
D. Did I mention my extreme hatred for running?- it is really quite extreme.

All of that aside I am willing to throw myself into this and really give it a go.

I told myself that I don't have to start training until June 3rd (the day my boyfriend leaves to go back to Thailand for a 3 month stint- I figure less distractions couldn't hurt!). So until June 3rd I plan to pig out, drink red wine and not exercise in the least. After that I am going to give myself two to three weeks at the gym getting myself back in order before I embarrass myself in front of a San Francisco Triathlon group training session.

I guess I will be seeing you back here on June 3rd to let you know how my first day of training went.

Ciao!