Christmas Surprise: The best tradition ever

Alright guys, I officially took down my holiday decorations yesterday, so let's wrap up the holiday posts with the story of a little tradition my family and more recently friends have come to love, called "Christmas Surprise."  It is a random and goofy game invented in my weirdo brain.  However, it's become pretty fun and something that my family and friends all look forward to - especially gaining a following with my group of friends from high school, with whom a small but devoted following has formed.  So I decided to share.

It started 6 years ago when my brother and I were arguing one Thanksgiving morning about who would sit in the front seat on the way to my grandparents.  Sitting in the front seat is the coveted spot, as everyone knows, and becomes even more important when you and a sibling have different tastes in music.  It's only a 45 minute - 1 hour car ride, but we're from Rhode Island and this is like a full on, pack a cooler, road trip for us, so it is it therefore fight-worthy to figure out who gets the front seat.

To end the bickering and feeling like testing the odds, I finally grabbed three little pieces of paper and wrote a different option on each piece of paper.

1.  One was that my brother could sit in the front seat both ways and pick out the music in the car -- and I would not complain at all.

2.  Another option was that he would get a hug.

3.  The third was that I could punch him.

I folded up the different pieces of paper and told my brother if he wanted he could pick one, but the option was that he HAD to do whichever that he picked.  No negotiations. He apparently also loves to test the odds, so he agreed and picked a piece of paper -- which, of course, was that he got to sit in the front seat both ways, so he LOVED it.

When we arrived at my grandparents' house, everyone asked the typical "How was the ride up?" question that you ask when people arrive from a car trip.  My brother eagerly answered, "Umm it was AWESOME because I won Thanksgiving Surprise!!"  Which then prompted excited questions from my cousins and family members, "What's Thanksgiving Surprise?!  We want one!"

And thus, a tradition was born.

The first few times, including that first time, I would just write anything that I could think of on the pieces of paper, based on what I had in my purse or what I could come up with creatively.  "You get 2 hugs." or "A noogie!" or "A piece of gum" or "A hair elastic" or "Let's hold hands and jump up and down."

Some of the original creativity and randomness of "Christmas Surprise" has stayed with it, but I've also begun planning more and incorporated small gifts or random items into the options.  A full pack of gum, lottery scratch tickets, a $5 bill, or a random funny holiday-themed item I picked up somewhere.  Mixed in with those "good" gifts are the made up fun ones, "A hug for 10 seconds" or free ones, "hand massage," or what has become popular, "I will write a poem dedicated to you."  I also mix in some not so desirable ones such as "A spank" or "Pillow attack!" or "A pinch" -- and now that we're older, "Chug a Smirnoff Ice" or "Take a shot" or "A drink of your choice" when I am at the bar with my friends.  As the tradition continues I've had to get creative sometimes and have utilized technology, "I get to post whatever I want from your Facebook page."  Or "Post a selfie to Facebook."

Everything gets written on a piece of paper, folded up and put into a Christmas Surprise box and every member of the group must choose one, one by one.  The rules are that you HAVE to do what is on the piece of paper.  You take a risk by picking up a piece of paper -- you could get $5 or you could get a noogie.

After years of doing this with my family -- at all holidays, including Easter and Thanksgiving -- my friends started to catch on.  They heard the ridiculous stories, knew to ask about what everyone had gotten, and would laugh along in the aftermath at the things I had made my family do.  A few Thanksgivings ago, I met up with some friends from high school in the evening, ended up giving them a full history, and at that point was begged to do one for them.

This brought me back to the basics of throwing together a "Surprise" based on whatever I had in my purse.  Which was what I did and my friends loved it.  Thus, the friends edition was born.  And then two years ago I put together THREE different versions of Christmas Surprise, one for family, one for friends, and one special one for my brother who requested a "bucket of Christmas Surprises" as his Christmas gift.  This year we went back to two.

It is SUCH a goofy and fun little tradition, that I LOVE that people love.  It makes it really fun for me to organize and having new people participate -- with the "Friends" version, it is a whole new crowd that continues to grow too!  It does take some work and a little bit of a financial investment on my part, but then again, I get the power to make my friends do whatever silly and ridiculous things I can think of.  So, there is quite a bit of fun in that :)

Many people, when they hear about it ask, "I'm sorry, they had to do what?"

But hey, that's part of Christmas Surprise. A rule is a rule, and you put your hand in the Christmas Surprise box, you have to be prepared for what comes your way.

Until next year, happy holidays!

Half Ironman Chattanooga - Week 20 Recap

Hey guys!  Happy Sunday evening! I am curled up on my couch under a blanket with sweatpants, sweatshirt, warmest socks, slippers, and fuzzy bathrobe as if I live in a tundra and am here to recap my workouts for you this past week. I'm wondering if this will be a regular thing to do a week recap of my workouts rather than one by one, because I want to be able to recap my training for the Half Ironman.  As I mentioned, I also know that I am going to need to deviate from the "plan" that I have throughout this cycle, so I thought it would be interesting to compare what I do to what I have planned. This week we are 20 weeks out from Half Ironman Chattanooga and especially with how poorly the week started, I feel really good about the workouts I was able to get in.

As I mentioned last Monday, I was feeling like crap.  A week later, I am feeling like I am back in a routine and into a groove quite a bit although my paces are there for my runs. Let me recap my week:

Monday:

Planned - AM swim class and PM yoga

Actual - AM swim class (total 2400 meters) and PM yoga

As I mentioned last Monday, everything felt sluggish but I did stick to the plan and get in the workouts that I intended for the day. The yoga class was a bit of a bummer since the normal teacher that we usually have (and love!) was out.  The sub's style was a little different than I normally like, but I am still glad that I went.  The morning swim workout consisted of:

600 warmup

300 easy

3 x 100 (2:15)

300 easy

6 x 50 (1:15 - alternating hard/easy)

300 easy

12 x 25 (:40 - sprinting every 3rd)

Here's a selfie I took after class because the lighting was nice.

Tuesday:

Planned - 4 mile speed workout and bike ride

Actual - My workout in the morning was a bit of a more relaxed speed workout, which was great as I was just getting into the groove of maxing out my body and because I have been feeling crappy.  I modified a speed workout I had found online that was supposed to be full mile repeats, but turned it into a shorter treadmill work.  I also didn't cut the time as much as the workout recommended because I was still worried about how crappy I had felt running and during my workouts the past couple days.

1 mile warmup @ easy pace (for me I did a 10:00 minute/mile)

1/2 mile @ Half Marathon Pace (8:49 minute/mile)

1/4 mile easy (10:00)

1/2 mile @ HMP - :10 (8:41)

1/4 mile easy (10:00)

1/2 mile @ HMP - :20 (8:34)

1/4 mile easy (10:00)

1/2 mile @ HMP - :30 (8:27)

1/4 mile easy (10:00)

Total: 4 miles

In the evening, I set up my trainer and rode my bike at home for 40 minutes, there was no set workout or anything, right now I am just working on time on bike.  My friend Kristin who is a triathlon coach told me that I should really focus on building a base and getting into a routine for the month of January so that is what I am trying to do, which is why my planned workout wasn't even too specific.

Wednesday:

Planned - AM swim workout and 35 minute tempo run

Actual - AM upper body workout and PM 25 minute run with 15 minutes at tempo & boxing class

I slept in on Wednesday morning and unable to get out of bed to the start of swim class at 6:00 a.m.  Instead, I managed to get to the gym around 6:45 a.m. and did a 30-40 minute upper body workout.

 In the evening I returned to the gym to get my run in, which I actually sacrificed a little bit of because I really wanted to try out a new class at my gym, of boxing.  It's been something my friends at the gym have been recommending and I thought it would be a fun way to mix something up (a goal for this year!)  I loved boxing because it made me feel totally badass and was also a great workout.  The hardest part was that I was sweating so much and with those gloves on, couldn't wipe the sweat off my face!

Thursday:

Planned - AM 3.5 mile run and PM 20 mile bike ride

Actual - 3 mile run and PM 30 minute bike ride

Another sort of vague day.  I had originally started to map out  my bike rides based on distance, but knowing that I have a trainer now and can't track distance I am doing it all based off of time.  I also had originally planned the 3.5 mile runs in the mornings because that was the scheduled Movers + Pacers morning run.  However, now I am fine with just planning for a 3-4 mile run.

I met Janet in the morning for our first morning workout of the day and it was great to see her and catch up over the past month!  She was visiting her family, so it was awesome to hear about that, catch up on boy stuff, and talk about our running goals for the year.  These chilly mornings are going to make the motivation to get out of bed and into the cold hard,so it is 100 times easier to have a friend to meet for the runs!

Friday:

Planned - AM swim workout

Actual -  AM swim workout (total 2400)

300 swim and 100 kick warmup

Main Set (4x):

200 (on 5:00 minutes... 2 swim/2 kick)

8 x 25 (on :45, :40, :35, :30)

100 easy

Saturday: 

Planned - 25 mile bike ride

Actual - Leg day weights and boxing class and 75 minute bike ride

So I didn't originally intend to do so much this day!  I didn't know honestly what I was going to do with my day when I woke up on Saturday. My friends were doing their long run this day so I could have joined them, but want to get into a habit of biking big before running big.  And I also wanted to sleep in.  So I ended up getting up when I woke up, then decided to do this boxing class again at the gym.  I really loved it when I did it on Wednesday and wanted to try and get another one in this weekend.  I thought the class was at 10:00 a.m. so I arrived at the gym around 9:30 since I wanted to sign up for this "60 day challenge" that the gym was having.  However, I realized when I got there that the class didn't start until 11:00 a.m. 

Which led me to kill time by doing a lower body workout (squats, dead lifts, good mornings, etc.) before boxing class.  The class I love yet again.  I am going to have to keep this up!

Then came home to jump on my trainer for a 75 minute ride.  I tried to break up the ride a bit by calling the first 15 minutes an easy warm up and the last 15 minutes a cool down.  The 45 minutes in between, I tried to push things a bit harder and mix up different things that I've seen and done in spin classes.  Pedaling hard, pedaling fast, etc.

Sunday:

Planned - 11 mile run

Actual - 10 mile run @ 10:30 pace

To be totally honest, another reason that I pushed my run to Sunday rather than running on Saturday with my friends was because I was really nervous for it.  I felt so poorly the week before and I sort of wanted to run alone to be able to get into the mental zone and I also wanted to push it out as much as possible.  I had written on my plan 11 miles, but after how poorly last week went, I made the decision last Sunday to only run 10 miles this weekend.  So even though it says planned 11, mentally, I did exactly what I wanted to do today.  I went back and forth about whether or not I should call the "planned" 10 since it is what I had in mind all week, but I guess I originally thought it would be 11 so whatever.

It was chilly and the wind was brutal today!  I mapped out a course that was not an out and back and that also brought in some places familiar for me to run and also some of the neighborhoods that I used to run through last winter.  I have been lazy and doing all my runs on the Silver Comet Trail but  I actually really enjoy a run where I map a route ahead of time.  Today I ran through Midtown, Virginia Highlands, Little Five Points, Old Fourth Ward, and Inman Park and it was great to have that diversity on a run. I really enjoyed that rather than doing a boring route! 

It helped keep me going despite the cold and wind.  My pace isn't where I want it to be, but I am wondering if I am just not a cold weather runner?  I don't know, but we'll continue to work on it in the future.  Mostly, I am proud I was able to get myself mentally in the game and do this run.

Total Hours: Monday-Sunday 12 hours (ish) 

And now we move into next week!  Goal: take less selfies and more interesting photos related to my workouts.  Oh yeah, and crush the week.  Happy Sunday!

Recap of my holiday break 2015

Hey everyone! So I wanted to give a little recap of my holidays on here, while it is still socially acceptable to do so.  I also have my Christmas tree still up and lit in my apartment, because I'm just obsessed with how cozy it makes it feel.  I assume I will have to take it down this weekend, but I'm really enjoying it this week!  So as I sit here by the charming Christmas lights, let me tell you a little bit about my holidays!

First you know I went on a road trip.  I drove up from Atlanta to Alexandria, VA and then from Virginia to New Hampshire throughout two days, and then spent a few days at my sisters running after my niece and nephew and making them laugh.  On Tuesday I hopped back in the car in the evening to drive to Rhode Island to spend the next few days with my mom, family and friends.

I did some shopping and prepping for Christmas on Wednesday and ate dinner with my mom and brother at KC's Classic Burger bar, which I told you about.  And then on Wednesday evening I went out for Christmas Surprise, which is a celebration I throw for my friends every year.  I do it for my family as well, and it actually began as a family tradition that then expanded.  I actually have a whole post I am prepping about what it is and I am super excited to share it with you!

My friends and I did that on Wednesday evening and then Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were all family time.  From my Christmas Eve post I shared a little of what I did with my family, which involved lounging around and eating an "appetizer platter" for dinner which was a request of my brothers.  Ask and you shall receive, dear brother!  Yes, that is loaded potato skins, pizza, chicken bites, mozzarella sticks, garlic bread and pot-stickers all on one plate.

On Christmas Day, we did what we always do and head to my grandmother's to celebrate the holiday with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings.  You know the gang, right?  From the family music videos, of course, :)

It was different for us to have a holiday with such active little babies around but it made it so much fun and I cannot wait to see my niece and nephew grow up throughout the years.

Following Christmas (and a teary goodbye to my sister and the babes because I don't know when I will see them next) I had another girls day with my mom where we went out to see the movie Sisters (not worth it) and also went on a long walk, where we learned that my childhood dentist is not having an affair (long story...)  I love me some mama time.

I had one more holiday party with my friends to go to on Saturday evening, which was formal attire and I had a blast catching up with many of my high school friends.  We definitely didn't take enough pictures, especially with everyone dressed up pretty!  Especially myself...

Classy huh?  I did take a bathroom selfie that I didn't think was terrible, so I figured I would share that here.

From Rhode Island, I jumped back in my car that Sunday morning and drove a few hours to New York City, where I set up camp for the night at my friend KV's before getting dressed and heading out for a wedding!

Yes, on December 27th I had a New York City Christmas wedding for a good friend that I used to work with.  A few other friends came into town for the wedding who I haven't seen in ages, so it was wonderful to be able to all be together to see our friend get hitched and catch up with life.

From New York City it was back to Alexandria, Virginia for two nights and then I meandered my way back to Atlanta on the 30th after another long day in the car of about 12ish hours.  IT WAS GOOD TO BE HOME!

As you know, on the 31st I got out of the house to do a workout with my friends in the park of some running and cross training.  I had a bit of a girls day with Brick, getting our nails done, running some errands, and stopping for nachos and margaritas.  But then I just made my way home.

I spent my New Year's Even on my own, cooking dinner, writing my blog, and reflecting upon the year.  I don't make resolutions but I set goals and mapped out my year a bit.  I made some promises to myself and some things that I want to work on -- nothing magical of "This will start January 1st!" but some things I had already had in mind and planned and wanted the motivation to kick start.  It was great to eat a delicious meal, drink some champagne, set off some sparklers and spend my New Year's with the most important person in my life - myself :)

And with that, my holidays are officially over.  Except that my tree is still up.  And I still have to tell you about Christmas Surprise.  But we're getting there.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Overwhelmed and feeling crappy

My grandfather told me over Christmas that he doesn't like when some of my posts are sad.  And in my rosy colored hindsight, I was all, "What are you talking about?! My posts aren't usually sad!"  But then as I started to draft in my head what I was going to write about, I thought, "Hm, I wonder if this is one of the sad ones he was talking about?" So, in that case, pre-warning, Grampy!!!

The past few days I have been feeling rather cranky. Since I got back to Atlanta, my runs have felt super sluggish, my pace has been dropping, my workouts have all been a struggle, and I just feel gross and not well.  I spent the majority of the weekend on the couch and the majority of the other time prepping and cooking food.

I've sort of chalked my grossness up to how disgustingly I was eating over the holidays.  I went into December really strong, telling myself that I was going to be the first person in the world to lose weight in the month of December.  And turns out, I did the exact opposite.  Which I am not necessarily beating myself up over, although much of my over-eating wasn't just indulging in the holiday dinners but full on binges, so that could have been avoided.

However, it's ridiculous how off I feel after just a couple weeks of eating poorly and dropping out of a regular run schedule.  I still was being pretty active, so it feels weird to me to have such drastic differences in how I feel during workouts be due to just 2-3 weeks.  But maybe that's all it takes.

On Sunday I went out on what was supposed to be an 8-mile run, and I ended up quitting at 6-miles.  I felt like crap.  I could barely get my legs moving and my breathing was heavy and I was going a slower pace than usual.  It was my first really cold run and my fingers were numb and I couldn't push myself through the last two miles.  When I hit 6, I started walking and had to walk/run the last 2 miles since I had done an out-and-back course.  I was pretty defeated and completely out of breathe and worn at the end of that run.   I felt like I needed to lay down and nap afterwards.

This morning I swam and it felt like such a struggle to move my body through the water, it was terrible.  I felt so awful.  And tonight I did yoga and all I could think was, "When did I get so weak?" I felt like I could barely hold myself in a downward dog during yoga.

Everyone is telling me to just give myself a little time to get back into a groove and I hope that's all it takes.

The other thing I am questioning with how gross I feel is my eating choices.  This weekend starting on Sunday I have been trying to eat according to the "Whole 30" methodology.  Although I do not think I am going to make it 30 days on the plan, I challenged myself to a week to see what effect it would have on me to get myself back on track after the holidays.  So far, the eating on the plan hasn't been too hard.  I've been making myself some really delicious meals.

"Whole 30" means no dairy, no added sugars (I am still eating fruit), no grains (this is wicked hard), no caffeine, no alcohol.  I am not saying it is not hard, because it is hard, and one of the biggest challenges is preparing food in advance that I can take with me.  Over the weekend when I was home all day I cold make myself snacks of kale chips and veggies, but going to work all day is a little more challenging.  I am having a hard time figuring out snacks to have.  I'm really trying hard to stick to it and not have any processed foods.

The other challenge is mentally because this diet is tending to be a lot higher in fat than I usually go, which is a little scary to me but I am hoping it works out and I lose weight and feel better.  However, right now I just FEEL LIKE CRAP.  I have been eating this way since Saturday so I have done 3 full days of no sugar beyond the fruits I have had.  And zero grains.  I am hoping I am going through some sort of hump in this diet plan and that I'll round a corner and start to feel a bit better.  But it is a little defeating because I decided to do a week on a stricter diet to try and feel better after eating so much junk food, yet now I am wondering if I feel like crap and grumpy because of the ways I am eating now?

Plus, I keep researching online and finding so many different things and differing meal plans that all promise the same results.  Some say eat potatoes.  Some say don't eat potatoes.  Some say eat cashews.  Some say don't eat cashews.  Some say it is okay to make "mock" foods like fake ice cream from fruit or avocado, some say stay away.  Whole 30 strictly forbids "mock" foods like ice cream, but I have been politely ignoring that and made myself some mock ice cream with frozen bananas, strawberries, avocado and 100% cocoa powder the past two nights.

I get what they are trying to do by telling you not to do it, but I feel like I need more food at the end of the night and I like having something that is a treat.  I know, I know, that's exactly what they want to break you away from... but a girl is only human!

It's also only Monday and I also see myself running out of all the food that I cooked over the weekend!  I literally feel like I cooked all weekend and now I'm like, "Wait, I am all out of that?!" So tomorrow I am going to run to the store and grab more protein to cook.

And the final little thing in my rant is that I am trying to break free of Weight Watchers.  I should probably write a whole post about this and my decision around it and I will.  However, right now I am just saying that it is a mental adjustment and a big change for me.  It makes me nervous and a bit anxious and I am still on the phone/e-mail with them every day asking for my money back.  I'm sure they are super busy signing up all the new people with it being prime diet time and also Oprah's commercials are so convincing.  But, I am trying to step back, which is a bit overwhelming for me since I have literally been following Weight Watchers since I was 16 years old.  That is 13 years!!

Anyways, it is Monday after a holiday.  An overwhelming day is to be expected and I'm hoping that my grumpiness is just a "holiday hangover," return to reality, and lack of sugar.  I also really, really hope that my workouts start to feel a teensy bit better.  That would be really lovely.

Happy Monday!

Getting ready for Ironman 70.3

Hey guys, welcome to 2016!  We're 3 days in and I'm 3 workouts in, so I am feeling pretty good about that!  Especially, as I wrap up my "exercise streak" (that sort of fizzled at the end) by sharing that I did NOT workout on Wednesday the 30th as I spent 12 hours in the car eating a variety of fast food.  But then did workout out on the 31st, finishing the year with a 3-mile run in Piedmont Park and a cross training workout with a group in the park as well.

I continued on to run 3 more miles on New Years Day, a 70 minute bike ride on Saturday, and today went out on an attempted 8-mile run that turned into a 6-mile run with 2-miles of run/walking.  But let's get to that in another post...

The new year is here!!!!!

I have been working hard researching and setting goals for myself and trying to define my year as I felt so happy about how well my year went athletically in 2015.  I think a lot of it was owed to the fact that at the BEGINNING of the year, I had a year's worth of goals mapped out ahead of me.  So there was no room to get lazy, just to shift focus.  It also kept me from getting burnt out to go from working on speed, to cross training, to endurance.

Right now I am just heavily focused on the first half of the year as I work towards the Half Ironman.  I have tentatively scheduled races further in the year and have said I will do another Half Ironman in the fall if I like this one, and/or possibly a fall marathon... however, I feel uneasy having a less focused agenda for this year goal wise.  YET AGAIN... this Half Ironman overwhelms me 50% of the time that I start to think about it.  Some days it feels like it will be a piece of cake, some days I am terrified.  So I am trying to not get too far ahead of myself in thinking beyond May.  Goodness knows, I've got quite a bit to get through between today and May 22nd.  Including, two half marathons at the end of this month and the end of February!

But let's talk a little bit about what I have been thinking and planning and researching in terms of getting ready for this Half Ironman.  I apologize, because this is a bit long, but here we go:

First, a training plan:  I have done a bit of research online and have also talked with a few friends who are 70.3 distance race veterans about what their training plan has been like and have put together a tentative training plan for myself between now and the race.  It has been a bit of a challenge for me since unlike half marathons and marathons, there are not an abundance of free training plans available online for triathlons.  I think it depends so much on what you have access to, which sports are your strengths, what your goal is for the race, what amount of time you have, and a ton of other factors, it is difficult to just be generic.  Additionally, it seems like everything having to do with triathlon requires you spending a TON more money than with just straight running races, so it doesn't surprise me that most training plans you have to pay for!

I've put together a tentative plan that includes biking about 3 times a week, swimming 3 times a week, and running 3 times a week.  Yes, that means that there are days of double workouts, which I am very comfortable with.  The challenge is more around the fact that they aren't always as flexible as a running workouts because they require either going to a specific class, or involve equipment or facilities that you don't have everywhere, etc.  I have put together a "tentative" plan, but it is something that I will need to adjust week-to-week as travel, life, schedules, etc. change.  I don't feel I can print out a piece of paper and hang it on my wall as I have done for every half and full marathon I have done in the past because I cannot predict that I will have access to a pool or my bike every day I may want it.  So, that's a mental adjustment and work in progress for me.

Second, the idea of getting a coach or joining a triathlon club.  Because training for an endurance race with three different sports and so many different things to consider within it, having a specific coach is extremely common.  Even for just regular old people such as myself just trying to have fun and finish the race healthy and successful, it is not abnormal to have a coach.  The majority of the people that I know who do half ironman races have coaches and everyone I know who does full Ironman races has a coach.  It is common to have a personal coach that you hire, often virtually, or a way around that is to join a group such as Team in Training, which has you training as a group with a coach.

I have spoken with a number of friends, a number of friends have coaches and are coaches, have done a few information sessions, had lunch with a coach to talk about training, etc. and in the end have decided to make the decision to NOT have a coach for this race.  Some days I feel confident in that decision and other days I think, "What the heck, I have no idea what I am thinking!"  As I just merely get into this, I think it will be something I strongly consider or do for a second race, even at the half distance.  However, as I am just getting into it right now and already investing a ton of money since I am a first-timer, I am going to try and do it on my own.  I feel confident (sometimes) that my friends in this space will be able to help me out (thanks guys!) and that I can do research on my own (thanks Internet!) to help with questions that I have.

My friends who are runners who have helped me through decisions during marathon training of scheduling runs, whether or not to do a run, rest, nutrition, etc. know that I can be a very needy person.  I think I felt a little cocky coming into this race and forgot about that.  So hopefully will be able to get through this race on my own.  Oh, however, I forgot to mention that I have been researching the local triathlon clubs and am thinking of at the very least, joining a club to be able to have a bigger network of people to ask questions to so I don't just annoy the same people over and over.

Thirdly, a nutrition plan.  As I mentioned when I recapped marathon training, I spent more time thinking about nutrition during this marathon training cycle, which I think really helped me to improve.  And when I say I thought more about nutrition, I mostly just did what I was told by a friend. [Side note as I am writing this whole post out, I am like WTF why did I decide to not get a coach?!?]  And I have been listening to some podcasts, doing some research, and talking with my one friend who is a triathlon coach about what I should do with nutrition.  So far, I am planning to just approach it with what has always worked for me with running.  Or at least, what worked for me during this marathon - Gatorade, Water, Gu, salt tabs, etc.  Hopefully as I get further along I will see what works for me and what doesn't, but will be training with the same approach to nutrition as I did for the Chicago Marathon.

And lastly, I am now the proud owner of a bike trainer.  A trainer is a contraption that allows you to take your personal bicycle and turn it into a stationary bike.  It is pretty amazing as I set this thing up on Saturday and biked inside my apartment while watching TV.  It is better for training to have this specific training because it more directly simulates an outdoor ride than a regular stationary bike or a spin bike that has a weighted wheel on it.  It also is YOUR BIKE so you get used to the fit and the feel of the bike during training that you will be using on race day.  You can more realistically prepare yourself for race day by training the way - and with the equipment - that you'll use during the day of the race.

Even during my first ride on the trainer, I learned that there is more to just setting up the trainer though.  I mean, the whole sport of biking is just a huge money suck.  But I also need to plan for a new back tire, since that tire will wear more on the trainer.  I need to figure out how to raise up the front portion of my bike to level out the bike (since the back is raised), get some sort of fan or way to keep myself cool on the bike, I need to look into getting a computer for my bike, since I have no way to judge how many miles I have gone while riding indoors (right now I am riding based off time - I decided to do a 70 minute ride on Saturday) and then, I have to figure out ways to entertain myself while I ride that thing for hours (I don't think "Making a Murderer" is going to cut it for me.)

So this is a bit of what has been going on in my mind the past couple of weeks as I get ready for Half Ironman training!  I know I haven't written about it a ton, but it has been on my mind a ton and something I have been working on and preparing for a lot in the past month or so of "off season."  So, with all that said - get ready people because we're about to start the Half Ironman adventure!