A Whole Other Level of Fitness

I was told by a friend of mine that triathlon is a whole other level of fitness. He sure was right! Yesterday was my first two-a-day workout for my triathlon training. Swim in the morning and run after work. Exhausting just about sums it up!

Tuesday morning I attended my first Master’s swimming session at NAU. Wow! I knew it had been a while but I didn’t realize my technique was that bad! I took hours of swimming lessons as a child. I am not afraid of drowning, I feel as though I am a confident swimmer, I just may not swim well. That sure made light of its self on Tuesday.

The coach pulled me aside and told me that if I keep my head up like that it’s only going to exhaust me (I was already exhausted at this point). He pulled me off to the side in the kiddy pool and had me doing exercises to work on breathing. First I started by holding onto the side of the pool and practicing exhaling under water and then lifting my head to the side to inhale, then by doing the same while holding onto a kickboard and going about half the length of the pool and back. On Thursday, he told me we’d incorporate strokes into it. The hardest thing is trying to tell your mind you aren’t going to drown. I hope to get the hang of this sooner than later! After practice I calculated that I had probably done about 6 laps in the pool, which was great because I was only on schedule to do 3 per my workout calendar.

Unfortunately NAU’s pool is closing next week for 10 days for some renovations. I plan to go to the Aquaplex here in town while they are closed. They have the smallest lap pool on the planet (Theirs is 16M, NAU’s is 50M) but it will do the trick for breathing technique practice. Hopefully when NAU’s pool opens back up on the 15th I will have my breathing under control and can focus on building my stamina and getting faster in the water.

The rest of my training is going awesome! I have really enjoyed getting back on my bike! It’s probably my 2nd love after running! We went home last weekend for my sister’s baby shower and I had to figure a way to get my bike into my car. I discovered if I take off the front and rear tire as well as the handlebars it fits! Yay! Plus it forces me to learn more of the bike parts. I went for a ride on Sunday in Eagar/Springerville and overshot my route by 2 miles. I was only to do 10 and ended up logging 12! I felt great! The wind was in my face most of the time but the thin road tires really help with the drag! The running portion of the training is quite simple, I look at is as maintenance more than anything. I am running about 3 miles 3 times a week. Much easier than my half marathon training but it gives me the ability to focus on the other parts of my training that need it, swimming!

Besides that, all else seems to be going well. I am still working on my clean eating. The last week or so I’ve had to cheat here and there but the weight is slowly coming off again. I believe it’s due to the combination of good nutrition and increased training. As of today I am about 8lbs from my new goal weight. It’s awesome to put on clothes that I wore in High School and they fit! Once I pass the 8lb mark they should fit like a glove. At 185, I believe that I will have hit my high school weight and I plan to surpass it by race day! Even if it’s only by a pound.

Clean Eating Update #1

Strawberries in Greek Yogurt

The last week and a half have been quite busy. On the 4th, the hubby and I started our clean eating lifestyle. It has been a learning experience thus far. Our initial grocery shopping experience was quite pricy and involved Sam’s Club, Safeway, Fry’s, New Frontier and Natural Grocers. Now that I know who carries what, hopefully the next shopping trip won’t be so colossal. At least this week’s shopping bill was cheap, I bought WAY too much for last week!! We only needed more spices and vegetable stock. 



Steel Cut Oats with Berries,
Coffee, Hardboiled Egg


I’ve learned to eat a lot of things that I have hated. In the last week and a half, I have had: nuts, fish, oatmeal, carrots and quinoa. If prepared right, anything can taste good. I have found amazing marinades for meat, dips and toppings for veggies and oatmeal. The major thing I have noticed is everything tastes SO good! None of this has been a lack of flavor!








Baked Sea Bass
with Golden Couscous


The first week we followed Tosca Reno’s Cooler 2 program, just substituting a few veggies here and there. That was a bad idea! All of the food was good, however, it was too much work! If you knew anything about my cooking habits, you’d know that I don’t have any! So taking on a program that has all home cooked meals was more than overwhelming. I didn’t make it to the gym or take off on a run all week! This week, I’ve tried to scale back a little: we did some cooking and prepping on Sunday, now we just get up in the morning and fill our lunch boxes. It’s much easier! We are just going to have to adjust our weekends to accommodate some Sunday prep time.



Mixed Greens, Chicken,
Raisens and Almonds

Next week I start my triathlon training; I’m so excited and nervous! I can’t wait for the next chapter of my workouts to begin! I need to get myself ready for two-a-days, which is what my training regimen requires. I have been trying to get myself up a 5 a.m. all this week and so far all I have done is wake up, sit in bed and fall back asleep. I am thinking of setting an alarm in my bathroom to force myself up out of bed! I also have yet to get signed up at a pool! I plan to head over to NAU this weekend and get something set up. I never heard back from them regarding swim lessons, like I had hoped, so I guess it’s time to take matters into my own hands.


Baked Pork Tenderloin,
Golden Couscous, Cucumebers
and Cherry Tomatoes

So far I’m only down about 1 lb. but I did have a cheat day this weekend, as we were visiting some friends in Phoenix. I will update you in a few weeks on the benefits of clean eating. I’m told/have read it takes about 2-3 weeks to really start to feel and see the difference. I do have a feeling though, this clean eating lifestyle will help me achieve goals I never thought to be possible!