Food and nutrition have always been a pain in the ass for
me. I mean, seriously, I needed to have
medical intervention to stop stuffing myself with food. Even though my weight loss has been
successful, thanks to exercise, I still struggle with eating. Here’s the funny part. Before, I only worried about what to eat so I
didn’t gain weight. Now, I worry about
what to eat so I can be a better athlete.
When I eat what I’m supposed to, I feel great. I have energy all day, my mood is better (at least
I think so--you may need to confirm with my husband), and I sleep like a
baby. My workouts also benefit from my
food choices. I’m faster, I’m stronger,
and I don’t feel like I’m running on empty all day. But when I don’t eat smart, it all goes to hell
in a heartbeat!
So now, with Galveston 70.3 in my future, it’s time to
consistently make better food choices. I
recently visited with a nutritionist, and she advised me to start with
breakfast. This is easy for me because I
love breakfast! My typical breakfast
used to consist of a waffle, peanut butter, and honey. Now, it’s hardboiled eggs, bacon, and an
avocado--and if I’m working out that morning, I’ll throw in some carbs too. So far my breakfast is on point. My next meal to tackle is lunch. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
My workout week started with a terrifying bike ride. I’ve been riding for a while and this Sunday
was the first time I was chased by dogs.
Not just any dogs, but big Twilight wolf looking dogs who may or may not
have been foaming at the mouth. While
these vicious beasts were trying to bite my ankles, I panicked, but then
remembered what someone once told me: “if you don’t want to get bitten by dogs,
just pedal faster.” So pedal faster I
did. After what seemed like miles, but
was more like yards, we finally lost those wild dogs!
The dog experience prepared me for something even scarier:
my lactate threshold heart rate test.
This test helps determine my heart rate zones for when I’m
training. On Tuesday I went to my spin
class, strapped on my heart rate monitor, and set up my bike computer. I warmed up for 10 minutes on the trainer and
then the pain began. The clock started
and I had to ride hard and keep my cadence at 90 rpm for the next 30
minutes. I felt pretty good at first,
but then my legs started to burn and I started looking for a bucket. Thankfully, with the help of my coach and my
team encouraging me, I finished the test.
The bad news is I have to do it all over again in September. See y’all next week!
Workout song of the
week: Kick Start My Heart, Motley
Crue
Inspirational quote
of the week: “If we let our head drop,
our heart drops with it. Keep your head up, and your body is capable of amazing
feats.” --Chrissie Wellington
1 comment :
Looking forward to following your blog. Thanks for the motivation!
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