Community Events

I snapped a few shots of community event posters I found today. Click on a picture to enlarge. If you live in the Central FL area and are interested, here you go...

Another Rest Day

I decided to skip my run this morning to give myself another day of active rest. Since my yoga class wasn't until noon, I had a bowl of Optimum Slim topped with banana, blueberries, almonds & 1% milk shortly after getting up.

I promise there is cereal hidden under everything.

At noon I went to a yoga studio for a 75 minute class that got me nice and sweaty! I stopped by a local coffee house for an iced coffee right after class.

Then on my way home I stopped by a vegetarian restaurant and got two vegetable rolls with peanut dipping sauce and a side of quinoa to go.

A few hours later I was feeling snacky so I had a yogurt.

While making dinner my hunger really kicked in and I had a handful of pretzels and a handful of nuts. I was too busy making dinner to stop and photograph the snacking.

For dinner I made a vegetarian BLT with soy bacon on sprouted grain toast.

And a small cup of vegetarian french onion soup.

With kale chips on the side.

And a tired pup!

Breakfast Photos MIA

I made myself a wonderful breakfast and took photos that miraculously disappeared off of my memory stick??!!?? I have no clue how that happened.

Anyway, I made myself a late breakfast of blueberry protein pancakes. They were delicious! I used Hodgson Mills buttermilk whole wheat pancake mix as my base (ingredients: whole wheat flour, corn meal, buttermilk solids, baking soda). I added cottage cheese, egg, smashed ripe banana, milk, cinnamon, vanilla and blueberries. I topped the pancakes with sliced banana and fresh blueberries. They were delish and very filling. Sadly, I don't have any pictures to share of this lovely breakfast. Hmmm, good excuse to make them again really soon!

Those pancakes stuck to my ribs! I wasn't hungry again for hours. I got some work done, did some yoga, then scheduled a last minute massage appointment for myself. I decided to treat my body to a day of rest, yoga and massage after yesterday's triathlon. Near the end of the massage the massage therapist asked me how old I was and then said "you must take really good care of yourself." Is that a compliment? Even after my tri, she said my only tight area was my right upper trapezius (I blame the mouse for that).

After my massage I got a decaf latte and to go with my protein bar.

I counted the bar and latte as my lunch. For dinner I decided to finish off the last of the risotto with a French bread crust and 1/3 of a slice of swiss.

I didn't get in as many veggies today as I would have liked, so I'll make up for it tomorrow.

1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run

Translation: 1 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 6 mile run

Race day!

My early bedtime paid off. I woke up feeling rested at 4:40 am so I could be at the race site by 6:00 am. I made myself a breakfast smoothie for the road.

- container 2% Fage greek yogurt

- 1/4 cup raw oats

- 1/4 cup frozen blueberries

- 1 very ripe banana

- splash of milk

- ice

It was perfect pre-race fuel. Carbs, protein and easy to digest.

We set up our bikes in transition in the pitch darkness.

My Cliff shot blocks (energy gel blocks) that I was planning to eat during the bike leg were invaded by ants during the swim. The ants also decided to climb all over my helmet and bike shoes. Gross! Fortunately I had a back up gel in my race belt pocket. I ended up eating 1 gel and 1 Larabar during the race (and I didn't photograph either).

Leslee and I before the fun begins!

3 hours and six minutes later I was crossing the finish line. Whew! I didn't train for this race so my goals were to...

1. Finish

2. Not be the last to cross the finish line

Success! I was determined to beat the two girls behind me across the finish line. They were on my tail for most of the bike ride and the entire run.

Immediately after crossing the finish line.

According to my heart rate monitor I burned 1,876 calories, had an average heart rate of 161 and a maximum heart rate of 183. And here's the post-race coconut water I packed in my "cooler."

Leslee and I headed over to the awards ceremony and found these Sandhill Cranes trying to get in on the action.

Leslee won the women's Aquabike division! Go Leslee!

The aquabike division means that the athlete competed in the swimming and biking portions of the race, but not the running.

Here's her award. Pretty cool!

I was nodding off on the drive home so I grabbed a coffee at McDonald's. Didn't I just say you'd never see McDonald's on this blog? Whoops!

And I have to give a shout out to Neutrogena for my new favorite sunscreen. Their pure & free baby formula is my new sunscreen of choice. It contains none of the chemical sunscreens (like oxybenzone & avobenzone) that I try to avoid. The active ingredients are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, two ingredients I can slather on my skin with confidence. One liberal application this morning lasted all three hours of my triathlon.

I jumped in the shower as soon as I got home and then laid down for a quick nap. Around 2:00 pm Chris and I headed to Panchero's for a late lunch. I had a veggie and black bean quesadilla with a plain tortilla on the side. I adore their tortillas so much that I eat them plain.

After lunch we went to see Quentin Tarantino's new film Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino's style was evident throughout the film, which is what made it so enjoyable for me.

On the way home from the movie we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some food for the week. Once home I made myself unpack my dirty race bag before I could sit down and relax. Oddly, I really wasn't hungry for dinner. Intense exercise kills my appetite for hours. But around 8:30 I decided to have a light dinner so I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night with a screaming stomach. I opened a bottle of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc to accompany a small bowl of reheated risotto from last night.

And I had my Sunday night ice cream treat while watching True Blood.

Now my eyes are involuntarily closing so I will have to call it a night!

Pre-Race Carbo Loading

Chris and I went on a very enjoyable 3 mile walk around our neighborhood this morning. I wanted to take it easy today since I have the triathlon tomorrow. We decided to go for brunch at First Watch.

I'm trying to eat a lot of carbs today, so I ordered the Florida French Toast.

After running some errands we came home and I ate a yogurt for a snack before getting busy packing my race bag.

I found an awesome bag in the garage that I didn't even know we owned! It worked perfectly.

There's even an insulated side pocket! I have some all natural coconut water that I'm bringing as a post-race treat for me and Leslee. Coconut water is an excellent recovery drink. In the morning I'll add an ice pack before I leave the house so the coconut water will be nice and cold when we're ready to drink it.

For dinner I made veggie risotto (onion, zucchini, carrot and kale) with cannellini beans. It was SO GOOD. I love making risotto. It's delicious and so versatile.

And on the side Chris and I finished off the fruit and nut crackers with laughing cow light cheese.

Chris decided to cook up a chicken breast for Bella. Chicken breast is her crack.

Then after dinner I was in the bathroom when I heard a "thunk." I looked over and a lizard had just landed on the bathroom window. Hey little guy!

I'm heading to bed early tonight so I can try to get a good night's sleep!

Friday Night Delivery

I started my Friday evening with a lovely glass of wine.

Chris wanted pizza, so we ordered delivery from a local pizza joint that makes a good salad. I ordered this yummy salad that's topped with hummus! I didn't use any of the dressing.

And here's my husband's chicken parm pizza.

Good night!

ABT&J

For a light lunch I had an almond butter, tempeh & jam sandwich. Here's the organic flax tempeh I bought yesterday at Whole Foods, but I've also purchased it at traditional grocery stores like Publix.

I simply cut off a piece of raw tempeh and put it on an Arnold's 100 cal wheat sandwich thin with almond butter and strawberry jam. Very tasty and filling. Two carrots on the side rounded out my lunch.

Now it's very stormy outside so I'd better post quickly before we lose power again!