Dealing with a bad workout!

I just returned from my gym today and hate to say it but I had a not so great workout. I went in with a new week of workouts that I printed from week 4 of Jamie Easons LiveFit trainer. I LOVE having a plan. I feel it helps me to have a more efficient workout. Well there were a few exercises that I wasn't sure about and had to text my husband for an explanation. The gym was crowded with other males and I was the only female. Not that it usually bothers me but when I'm unsure and I can't use the mirror to check my form I become aggravated. I made myself push through the exercises but left feeling very discouraged and feeling like I didn't have a good workout. I despise that feeling. I have to remind myself that sometimes that happens and that if I would have looked up the exercises or asked my husband the night before I probably would have had a better workout. So it all comes to down to piss poor planning and I can only blame myself. Yuck! But on a happier note it's back to the gym tomorrow! :)

We Call Him BLACKTOP!

We Call Him Blacktop!

We knew this would happen one day but little did we know it would happen to our leader and COACH! It was a normal bike training day for us. We had most of our crew together after church and we headed off for a few hours of riding. After a certain point Jason and Manual broke off from the group. They are the "pros" you know and had to ride a longer and faster 30 mile route. The rest of us(me, Jami, and Robert)... rode our normal 24 mile loop. With the 2 guys riding much faster they were not far behind us once we got home. As Jason came into the door he uttered the famous words "Don't Freak Out But" and of course I didn't . As Jason tells the story of what happened he explains to us that almost 3 miles away from home he and Manual were riding when Jason turned back to look for a car. As he did his front tire veered just slightly and clipped the back tire of Manuals bike. That's all it took and Jason was meeting Ol Mr Blacktop! Manual says that Jason blacked out for a few seconds then jumped up and ran to the side of the road. Jason explains that he was thinking, get the heck out of the road before you get ran over. Manual attempted to convince Jason to sit in the shade and that he would ride back to the house to get us but Jason is a stubborn creature and rode all the way back home.

I began to check out the damage. All I could see at the time was his elbow, which was bad and his knee which looked bad but not an emergency type bad. Our friend Robert, who happens to be an volunteer fireman helped me get Jason in the bathroom and remove his shirt, which was painful for Jason and got him into the shower where we were able to wash him off and see the damage. We both came to the conclusion that he would probably need stitches in his elbow, he had a hematoma on his shoulder and the road rash looked TERRIBLE! (see pic below) We mad the decision to take him to the ER. Once we got to the hospital they got us back to see the doctor really quickly. They ran lots of test and stitched him right up. What took the most time was making sure there was no damage to his head or neck, which there wasn't. Of course the first questions Jason asked the doctor was when can I get on my bike and when can I swim.

We were very lucky in this whole ordeal. No major damage to Jason or the bike. 

Just battle scars ;)

Jason's New Ride

Jason's New Ride

Jason recently purchased a new tri bike. Well his first tri back really. He's had a road bike for a couple of years now and it was time for him to get a new one. Of course if anyone knows Jason he was a little apprehensive but in the end he purchased it and got a sweet deal at that. We are hoping for big things to happen with this new bike! 

Being Prepared Makes It Easier!

Being Prepared Makes It Easier!

Here is a picture of our kitchen counter Sunday night. What you see here will last us most of the week. These items include fresh veggies, fruit, boiled chicken, protein powder, salad and boiled eggs. We add to it usually on Wednesday. This is what we carry in our lunches and includes our snacks. We use some of these items for dinner as well. With our busy schedule we don't always have the time to come home and cook. So it's great to have something already prepared that we can just reach into the fridge and grab. On days that I'm home at a decent time I'll cook something. I find that it's easier for us to eat clean and stick to a healthy diet when we are prepared. If I find myself without a healthy snack available I'll make the wrong choice of eating something sweet or carb loaded. Being prepared makes it easier!

On it again!

Last week was rough for me. I was traveling and didn't have my kitchen with me to provide those clean meals that I needed to stay on track. I did pack a little lunch kit with clean snack items but my meals, when I was able to eat, were not clean like I would have liked. I wasn't able to eat 5 times those days either. My advice is, if you are going to go to eating clean you MUST be prepared. Have a plan for eating out. Know what items you should consume and don't get carried away with what others are doing. (not that they were to blame, it was my decision to eat those things) I'm so happy to be back home were I have the safety net of my kitchen. I'm back on it this week. I had a great vegetable soup for lunch, some almonds and an orange. I'm drinking LOTS of water. I hope to be back to my old self in no time. :)

Our adventure to Clean Eating!

Many has seen on our facebooks pages that Jason and I have adopted a clean eating lifestyle. This first week we are detoxing. This gets rid of all those toxins polluting our bodies at this time such as SUGARS and all those additives that you can't pronounce. Our detox consisted of a detox supplement, veggies, fruit, nuts and eggs for protein. We did this for 3-4 days. After that we added turkey into our meals and continued with the veggies, fruit nuts, eggs and the occasional protein shake. I have to admit that Day 1 was rough. Its really a mental game. Your mind thinks you need all those "no nos." It was a battle! One good thing is that we didn't have a lot of those items in our house so we weren't too tempted. Day 2 it seemed easier. Granted we were at work and for me being at work helps. I stay busy so I don't have time to think about it. By Day 4 I couldn't wait to have some Turkey. But something was starting to happen. I was waking up with energy. I was sleeping at night. I was handling stress better. Jason was noticing that he wasn't having headaches anymore. Who would have thought that this detox and clean eating would do all of that for us. We did have a cheat day that Friday night which included a steak, 2 rolls, an adult beverage and some ice cream! It was great but I became disappointed. Those things I once loved and thought I couldn't live without didn't taste the same anymore. Should I dare say that coffee and cookies and cream blue bell ice cream didn't taste good to me any longer? :0 We have decided to continue on with the clean eating. I actually liked what I saw happening with my body. Yes I saw a little decrease in my waistline but MORE IMPORTANTLY I saw a change in my emotional and mental state. I will continue to write about our adventures and add some information about what we specifically eat throughout the day.

My First Tri!

What a feeling of accomplishment! I know that as usual I didn't train like I should for this event but anyone that knows me knows that is just how I "roll." I did practice some in the pool at the gym with Jason and at home. He coached me on my form and proper breathing techniques in order to have an efficient swim and to be honest I felt the MOST prepared for the swim. I've always felt confident about being a strong swimmer thanks to growing up with a pool in my back yard and years of swimming lessons. I had also rode my bike some with Jason riding beside me giving me pointers on changing gears and "continuing to peddle" no matter what! I've been dealing with some back pain when riding my bike for a while now and on my last 18 mile practice ride with Jason he noticed my handle bars needed to be tilted forward a little in order for me to be able to ride with a flatter back and he also tilted my seat down just a bit. After that my back didn't hurt near as bad and I truly believe this helped me have a great ride on Sunday. But the "none runner" that I am I did very little running to prepare for this race.
We got up early Sunday morning, around 3:30am, just like every race day, to get ready and load up. Jason took care of me the best he could by making me my breakfast of choice, a bagle and our usual pre-workout drink, NOxplode. Today was his day to sit back and cheer me on. Being the competitor that he is I was surprised that he was doing so well with it. :)
Our crew for the day, Tammy and Manual, showed up around 4:15 to finish loading and head out to Pearland. Tammy was her usual self. Full of energy and excitement. Me on the other hand, just the opposite. Everyone knows I am NOT a morning person so it took me about 45 min and a few gulps of NOxplode to become alive. We made it to Pearland in plenty of time. As we walked to get in line for our markings the excitement finally hit me and I was truly ready to do this! Tammy and I were happy to find that our transition ares were close together and so we set up what we needed for the race and went to get in line for the first part of the race, the swim. However,I was disappointed when, as we got in line, we were toward the back of the pack. This was because we had put a time that I assume was slower than everyone elses. I think we were just being realistic. But as I watched the swimmers get in and start their swim, every 10 seconds, I realized I should have put a faster swim time. I could swim a lot faster than some of these people and I had to WAIT, and WAIT, and WAIT. As it became my turn to get in the pool I was jumping with excitement. (thats what I do before I perform or compete. I jump around) I started my swim and felt great. I was actually singing a song in my head as I swam. (advice from my husband) It didn't take long before I was running into the person in front of me and I knew I needed to pass so when I saw my chance I took it and passed. WooHoo I felt good! I passed several other people along the way and soon was out of the water and into the transition area where I would dry my feet, put on my socks and shoes, helmet and sunglasses. Grab my bike and run out! All the while Tammy was right there with me. The bike ride, surprisingly, was easy for me. Tammy and I stayed together and we helped push one another. We turned into the final stretch of the 11 mile bike portion, one behind the other. Quickly took off our helmets, grabbed our race belts and took off for the final leg, the RUN! :( It didn't take me long to realize I had a rock in my shoe and as I passed our cheering squad- Jason, Kate, Jackie and Hank I shouted out to Jason that I had a rock in my shoe but kept going. Then it hit me! I was tired, my legs felt heavy, my feet were soaked along with my socks and shoes BOY was it HOT and I had to get this DANG rock out of my shoe!! :) Once it was out I start back running again.  I knew this 3 miles was going to be the hardest 3 miles I had ran.  I was tired but I wanted to get a good time and was hoping to reach my goal of under 2 hours. So I decided to go with my 4:1 pace. Run for 4 minutes and walk for 1 minute. All the while I'm calculating in my head and hoping to get 1:50 as a finish time. We ran through several neighborhoods and I was delighted that several families had put out sprinklers for the runners to run through and cool off! It was just what we needed. I loved that close to the finish line, before we could see it, we could hear the crowd cheering. Manual was just before the finish line shouting and encouraging me on and telling me "Jason is right at the finish waiting to take your picture! you can do it!" As I ran toward that finish line I looked for that bright orange shirt and saw my coach waiting for me with his phone in hand ready to take my picture!  I crossed that line and felt a little light headed and at one point thought I might puke! But I also felt accomplished and strong! Tammy had finished a few minutes ahead of me, she's a strong runner. We met and hugged feeling proud to be WOMEN! :) I still didn't know my time but I wanted to get out of my wet clothes. So I gathered my things and went to change. Jason met me at the transition area and said "I think you are going to be happy with your time." I was thinking "Yes, maybe I got around 1:40." He said "Honey, you got 1:24 and Tammy got 1:20." I said "YOU ARE KIDDING" he said "Nope it's posted" I was so HAPPY! I asked what was your time last year and he said 1:14. I couldn't believe it! We did great! I was so proud of us. Now the question is....... WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE!

Happy Summer,
Holls