Snack Attack - NEW RECIPE

Ok, I found the most amazing snack.  I even have this for dessert occasionally.

Here is the link to the original recipe from GreenLiteBites.com...

GreenLiteBites' Roni calls it "Quick Apple-Walnut-Cheese Salad."  I just call it the AMAZING Apple snack.  It tastes exquisite, but don't take my word for it...  If you try this recipe, please let me know if you like it.  Even my picky-eater daughter enjoys it (minus the nuts).

Ingredients I use:
1 medium Fuji apple
1 Mini Babybel Light cut into lots of bite size pieces
1 small handful of walnut pieces (about 1/8 cup)
1/2 TBS honey
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg

In other news, I have been sick all this week - I don't know if it's a sinus thing or a cold thing, but it basically sucks.  I haven't been exercising given that I can't really breathe very well.  There have been days where I barely get 4000 steps but also days when I top 10,000.  I haven't gotten to the pool (still wary in that department) or done any purposeful aerobic activity though.  I just hope to kick this thing soon!

Book Review - "Triathlon for the Every Woman: You Can Be a Triathlete. Yes. You." by Meredith Atwood

It took a couple months, but I finally finished this book.  When you only read on the treadmill and at bedtime, it takes awhile.

I found this book to be very entertaining as well as informative.  I wouldn't say that it's a training guide, but definitely a guide into the world of triathlon.  Lots of basic terms are covered, but mostly it's about Meredith, the author, and her journey to be an IronMan.  And it is one hilarious, yet inspiring, journey.  I appreciate all her tips and tricks, and while I may not do EVERYTHING she suggests, I'll certainly be thinking and planning ahead.

I guess the most memorable tip I took from the book is to never, ever change anything on race day.  Train the way you race.  Don't get new clothes or especially new shoes.  Don't get a new bike or a new diet.  Not saying that you can't get new stuff, just not on race day (or the day before).

I enjoyed how real the stories in this book are.  Like the way she and her husband got into tiffs or full blown arguments during training.  Training can be stressful.  Throw in a relationship, kids and a full time job and it can be a recipe for disaster.  Meredith talks honestly about how she and her husband, a.k.a the "Expert," get through it all.  She also brings in some outside experts too.  There's a word from her coach and others she met along the way.

I like how she did not claim to have all the info, but just wanted to share and let other women know that they too can be triathletes.  Yep, even me.  And you too.

Btw, Meredith Atwood is also a blogger (imagine that) and can be found at SwimBikeMom.com. 

As for my training today, I did 20 minutes on the bike and then 20 minutes on the treadmill.  Tomorrow is a swim day.  I'm not looking forward to it as much.  Yesterday, I had some sort of reaction with the pool water and my skin felt like I was getting stung/bit by fire ants all night last night and all day today.  Not something I want to do again.  I even rinsed off in the shower at the gym and then took a regular shower at home.  I don't know if the pool was over or under chlorinated or what, but stinging red-dotted skin is not how I like to roll.

Anybody ever have a problem like that with pool water?

I guess I could just step in the water at the shallow end and see if it burns my legs at all.  That way, if it does, it's only my lower legs and not my entire body.  But then I wouldn't get my swim workout =(

Long workout today

I was so busy yesterday the I missed my workout time, so I wanted to be sure I got it today.  I'll probably regret it tomorrow, or at the very least feel it.  

Here's what I did:

30 minutes on the treadmill (HR in Zone 1)

30 minutes full body strength training

30 minutes swimming 

I started using a nose clip during swimming and it works so great!  My sinuses are not happy with all the water coming in and I also think it cause me to panic a bit.  I still haven't mastered breathing correctly, but I feel much better about it with no water rushing up my nose.  I have to figure the breathing thing out though.  I can swim like 6 strokes before needing air but I know that's wrong because I should be getting air every 3 strokes.  I don't know why, but I'd rather just hold my breath, roll over to my back for a good couple breaths of air and then roll back to free style.  Maybe I could just do the back stroke for the whole triathlon?

Anyway, I'm doing ok in the eating department.  Much better with water too.  Oh and I finally stepped on the scale and scored a one pound loss!!  Woot!  

Hideous drawing I did in Photoshop, but hey, I need some original stuff!

New Training Plan

Yes, after two months of using the beginner triathlete website, I have been working through a new and different training plan.  Maybe I should've gone to something more strenuous originally because I found it pretty easy.  I also have to say that, even though I made it through the holidays unscathed for like the first time in forever, I didn't lose much weight doing those particular workouts.  But it served its purpose and the price was right (FREE!!).  Since I probably can't afford my coach for more than a month or so, I'll probably head back to that site and maybe even join.  There are hundreds of workouts that I could compare to my current training and hopefully go on from there.

Speaking of current training, here's what I've done so far this week:

Monday: Swim 30 minutes and full body strength training - total time 1:15
Tuesday: 20 min bike / 20 min treadmill - total time 40 min
Wednesday:  Was supposed to swim 30 minutes, but I didn't make it to the gym

Thursday: 45 min treadmill and full body strength training - total time 1:30

Tomorrow is 30 swim and 30 min bike

Saturday will be 45 min bike and 15 min treadmill

With these workouts, I'm feeling a lot stronger.  I'm not sure about what the scale is doing, but I'll let you know.  Short term goal is to get under 200.

In the meantime, countdown to the June 28 TriBella Sprint has begun.

Frustrated - When the Scale Doesn't Move

Alas, for yet another week, my weight remains the same.  While this is great practice for the day when I reach my goal weight, it's not so motivating right now.  Six weeks and nothing?  Uh-uh.  Nope.  Not acceptable.

Guess I've got to do some dissecting...

I know that with the effort I put in this week, I built some serious muscle and did some serious cardio.  Here's a peek at my log:

Mon:  AMA Test
Tues:  20 min bike / 20 min tmill
Wed:  30 min swim / 30 min bike
Thur:  Full body strength training
Sat:  40 min bike / 20 min tmill

I tried to keep my HR in Zone 2 (about 120bpm).  That was difficult on the bike, but if I ride at like 90 rpm, then I can usually get it up there.  Problem is that 90 is hard to maintain.  Overall, a great week of exercise.

In the food department, I controlled portions and calories quite well.  Far too many processed foods though and definitely not enough veggies.  I started back on a multi-vitamin, so hopefully that'll help a bit.  But of course, I know nothing is a substitute for the real deal.

I also tried to focus on drinking a lot more water than I usually do.  I succeeded, but there's still room for improvement.  I had at least 70 oz per day and I'd like to see 100.  I typically get maybe 50oz?  Anyway, I know this is a weak area for me but very necessary for weight loss.

This coming week, I have an additional goal:  Bed before 9pm.  Last week, I don't think I was even in bed before 10:30 or 11.  My butt was draggin' all week long.

Ummmm yeah, I think there could be a few factors here as to why the scale and I are at a stalemate.  That's ok, I plan to kick the scale's butt this next time 'round!!

So... how was your week?

Active Metabolic Assessment (AMA) Results

Have you used Heart Zone Training?  I see lots of conflicting information out there, so I guess I'll find out if what I heard yesterday is true.  For now, I'll go forward with the idea that it is.  I've heard of heart rate training before, but never really paid much attention because I always figured I'd never get my heart rate up high enough to matter.  I assumed a heart attack would come first, therefore why bother?  Well, I received a whole bunch of more info from my gym yesterday.  Here's what I learned from my assessment:

We are told there are 5 zones for Heart Zone Training.  Zone 1 and 2 are the most efficient at burning fat and that's where I was told I should be to also build endurance.  This is sweet because I don't have to work my butt off to effectively burn the most fat.  If you want to checkout more on Heart Zone Training, you could try this link at about.com.

Here are my AMA results in beats per minute:

Zone 1:  103-112
Zone 2:  113-121
Zone 3:  122-130
Zone 4:  131-140
Zone 5:  141-151

The high number in Zone 5 is not my max heart rate.  My max heart rate is somewhere around 176.  To determine your ideal fat-burning zone, check out the following:

1) Determine your max heart rate.
If you'd like to see your max heart rate, this chart at active.com let's you determine your percentages.  For max, just enter 100%.  It also gives you a recommended target range.  My target range is 96-149.  Note the high number is 149.

2) Determine your resting heart rate.
If you can find your pulse, you can measure your resting heart rate (of course you can also use a heart rate monitor).  If you've never checked it here's how at ehow.com.  Do this when you first wake up or after you've been sitting for awhile - like now if you're sitting to read this post!  My resting pulse is 55.

3) Determine your Heart Rate Training Zones.
Keep in mind, results vary on levels of fitness.  The results from this site called "DigiFit" most closely matched the results I received from my AMA.  I used the high number from the results in step #1 instead of my actual max heart rate to get results similar to the assessment.  

The Karvonen results were the absolute closest being only a few beats different...

Zone 1:  102-111
Zone 2:  111-120
Zone 3:  120-130
Zone 4:  130-139
Zone 5:  139-149

My coach told me that I should shoot for 112-125bpm (so pretty much zone 2 on both charts) to efficiently burn fat and train for endurance.  If you just want to burn fat, you could train in zone 1, it just takes longer.  EX:  300 per 30 minutes in Zone 2 (120 bpm) instead of 240 per 30 minutes in Zone 1 (110 bpm).

So, why not just go to zone 4 or 5 and train for much less time?  Well, in those higher zones, we are burning more carbs than fat.  That's where Gatorade and Cliff Bars come in handy.  But more on that in another post.  Here are the fat burning percentages from my AMA chart:


Zone 1:  91-84% fat 
Zone 2:  84-63% fat
Zone 3:  63-52% fat
Zone 4:  52-0% fat
Zone 5:  100% carbs


Well, I hope this has been somewhat informative.  It was certainly a learning experience for me.  Have you ever done one of these assessments?  Trained using heart rate?  I'm curious to hear what you've experienced.

Triathlon Coach - CHECK!

Yes, I finally lined up a tri-coach.  I'm checking this out for a month to see how it goes.  I say a month because it's crazy expensive.  But I've gotta say that being accountable to someone other than me will be a welcome change.

I met with my new coach last week and he has already set some pretty different workouts than the path I was on with BeginnerTriathlete.com.  He wants to focus more on the endurance side of the sport in all three areas rather than on all the strength training I was doing.  Don't get me wrong, there's still strength training, but instead of different muscle groups 3 days/week, he's giving me full body strength training only 2 days a week (with a minimum 2 day break between the two days).  He also has me swimming, biking and running right off the bat.  Some days they're combos of two areas (like swim 500m then bike for 30 min) and some days it's just one.  

Tomorrow I go in for an Active Metabolic Assessment at my gym.  This is pretty cool.  It "identifies the optimal heart rate zone where your workouts are most effective." Basically, they find out where my heart rate is supposed to be for me to burn the most fat as opposed to carbs.  I was told that I should be prepared to sweat.  Yay.  Can't wait.  Hope I don't throw up.  Oh wait, it's a 9 hr fast prior to the test so no worries there.  Well, I'll let you know how it goes!