Make it work

Its been an interesting week here in Houston. After Jeff and I took our spill last Sunday, I've really had to revamp my training schedule. My road rash was still a little too fresh to swim on Monday, and my trusty tri bike, Stabler, really got the worst of it in the crash. It looks like its time to get a new bike. As much as I would like to say I would be fine without a bike for a little while, we all know thats a lie. My new ride should be ready in a couple days, so stay tuned for that :)

In the mean time, I've been improvising. I've been doing a lot of running ( and surprisingly hitting my paces- even in the heat) and  A LOT of swimming with the masters team. Instead of biking I have added some pilates and circuit training.  Towards the end of the run on Monday, I hit up this outdoor exercise circuit, right along the running path

This was great for box jumping, lateral jumps/skis and other great plyometric exercises. The fact that I can probably use this year round is great. After i completely shattered my legs, I jogged ( hobbled) on home. 

With a 2 Ironmans year coming up in 2014,  I wanted a fast, cost effective, and healthy way to get dinners done. So from here on out, I plan on cooking a ton of food on Sundays - sides including beans, quinoa and leafy greens, and proteins that I can grill and freeze. 

Last week we ended up with this assortment of salads. 

Tabbouleh on the right ( my mom's recipe, you are not getting it) 

on the Left bottom is Cooking lights triple bean salad (add cilantro) and the other two containers are a Mango Quinoa salad that has chopped up mango, green onion, dried cranberries, parsley and a red wine vinager, oil and dijon dressing. 

This has worked GREAT. Lunches, dinners, snacks. This has made eating clean SO EASY.

Its been tough to keep things going this week after the crash but, I made it work. New Challenge that starts tomorrow? My first day of work at my grown up job. Now its time to learn how to be a full time epidemiologist with a side of triathlon. 

Welcome Back

I brought the blog back. Not sure I'm any more interesting or funny now,  but I have started a new life here in Houston, Texas and left behind a lot of family, friends and teammates in Chicago.

So I'm going to use this as a forum to keep people posted on my training and racing, and keeping myself accountable in a way. I don't have the awesome folks on the Well Fit  Elite team to push me anymore (These ladies ROCK, by the way, and I miss em a ton)

                                                                       but in an effort to meet local triathletes and make friends, Jeff and I have reached out to local tri clubs, and I have checked out the Houston Cougars. So far I've met some really awesome people, and gotten in some great workouts. 

 So from here on out, expect posts about training, racing, my new job, the humidity in Houston ( if anyone needs heat acclimation training, we have a guestroom with your name on it) and  what are likely to be weekly posts about how frickin' good the tacos are here. 

Because of the move to warmer weather my tri season is much later that my midwestern compadres. Lets forget the minor (major) snafoo at Leon's tri and just move on. Here's how my racing schedule looks for now

August 4th - Bridgeland Sprint 

Sept 2nd (yes, on Monday) - Houston Triathlon (Olympic) 

Sept 22nd - 5150 Galveston Triathlon (Olympic) 

October 27th Austin 70.3

This season is a lot shorter than usual (enough races to keep me ranked, but a couple short of ideal) and thats because 2014 is going to be BIG. Jeff and I have already registered for Ironman Brazil 2014, and plan on racing Ironman Wisconsin again that September. I can't wait to be at this starting line 

 Not bad for a one year anniversary trip :)        

             

Anyway, I am really excited to see how the next year of training is going to unfold in Texas! its a different game down here with year round outdoor training, and I am SUPER excited about that. 

                    

 Thats about it for now. Today was a tough training day. Jeff and I got a little banged up on our ride out with Bicycle world. Aimed for 60 miles on the bike + 30 min brick run, but crashed at 45. Long story, and it was a rough day.  Got the battle scars to prove it . Back at it tomorrow with a long brick.