So here is my schedule, in all its glory, hanging on the bulletin board in my office. The best satisfaction comes from highlighting each day upon completion of the day's workout.After the inaugural Trail Run Club run Sunday I sat down and mapped out my daily workouts from now 'til the end of the year. The focus for the next 3 months will be the NFEC 13.1 trail run, with a double minor in cycling and weight training. The cycling is training for the Kickapoo Dam Challenge October 3rd which is like a sprint tri, but with canoing rather than swimming. (The bike portion is like, 15 miles of hills, which brings back painful memories of Devil's Lake.)
The weight training is because it's my most favorite and brings the best results, plus I want to get in the habit of it for my Nov/Dec focus which is all heavy weights fat-blasting cardio, with no focus on endurance sports. I will do some run intervals for cardio, and I want to keep up with running so I can jump into February outside runs and gear up for the local fun runs like Shamrock Shuffle and Crazylegs with ease.
Hah! Check out my blurry (thanks iPhone) zoom-in on race day-- and the day after reward...Spa day! :) ------------->
In other exciting news, I've signed up as a volunteer for Ironman WI this year. I chose what I wanted to help out with based on the location and time of the options available. I ended up picking to be on the run course at the corner of State and the Overture Center, because I can ride my bike there, plus the time is ideal- 12:30-4:00 PM, so I can get my long run in in the morning before spending the rest of the day being awed and inspired by amazing people.
So this evening has been spent making up another batch of delicious bok choy chicken salad, a recipe I copied from the Willy Street Co-op deli. I just read the ingredient label, and recreated it myself. It will be perfect for lunches the rest of the week. My dinner tonight is salmon, sweet potato fries, and asparagus:
biggity bam!
Clean eating is fantastic, it just takes time to prepare. Besides always pairing a good carb with a protein, another key is to eat small meals several times a day (about every 2.5 hours) to keep your body's metabolism burning. This works so much better than just 3 meals or less, it makes your body a fat burning furnace. Plus it stabilizes your insulin levels throughout the day so you don't get that late afternoon dip. I really love the energy it gives me- not like the life-draining refined foods.biggity bam!Here's my basic menu this week:
8:00 AM Breakfast: 1/4 cup oatmeal, 4 egg whites, 1 yolk
10:45 AM Pre Workout Meal: 1 peach, 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese mixed with a scoop of protein powder and flax seed meal.
1:15 PM Post Workout Meal : salmon, yams, veggies (sauted zucchini, eggplant, and spinach)
3:45 PM Late Lunch: Bok Choy Chicken Salad, or celery with PB
7:00 PM: Chicken or Fish, and veggies.
9:15 PM Protein shake, maybe sugar-free jello.
There's lots of flex room and constant fine tuning and experimenting. I taper my carbohydrates, meaning I eat the bulk of them early in the day for energy and to help boost my workouts, and immediately following my workout for restoring my glycogen stores. Some people can get away with more carbs than I can, but my body hates them.
Please enjoy one of my favorite songs to workout to, not to mention hilarious video, here.
