Pretty cool bean :)

TT results.

Last night was our final coached cycling class.  It's been a great one and I have improved which I thank the coach and the others for motivation and bringing me to a higher level.  This motivation has lead to so many things.  Mostly just getting out there and training with other like minded individuals.  When I first started in October, I sucked so badly as I hadn't had consistent training for almost 2 years.  Our first TT had me at an average of 15mph.  Which has not been my ability in the past years.  Fast forward a few months later and I managed to bring that up to 19 mph, more like me.  Then last night our final TT I averaged out at 21mph.  It was for only 20 min's, but it was a solid effort and I'm quite happy with my training and results with cycling at this point.

My nutrition has been pretty good too.  I quit sugar over two weeks now and I honestly don't miss it as I get enough sugar from fruits.  I have never been a big sweet person anyways.  My addiction is more saltiness. What does that say about me..LOL.  The other thing is that I've pretty much eliminated all processed foods.  So what does that leave? Just about anything that's not processed.  I don't need the crap and I'm confident I can maintain this for awhile until my weight is where should be.  From their I'll reassess. I'm not missing it, so why go back to it?

This a.m. I had a pretty good set at masters.  I had just less than an hour time-wise, but since it's coached he makes the best out of our use of time.

Tomorrow a.m. I'll be picking my son up at O'Hare airport and then heading downtown for our fun weekend in the windy city..can't wait!!

Happy training!

What greets at home :)

Indy blue !!
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My kind of town..Chicago is...

Yes attempt number two to hang out in Chicago this weekend.  It's good it's not too far from where we live.  We'll be driving up to Chi-town to pick up my youngest son who's flying in from Canada.  He has the week off from school for March break.
From there we'll check into our hotel which is the Essex Inn.  I'm assuming it's close to the waterfront area.  It has a swanky pool so I can get a swim in.  I'll run along the waterfront as I've never done that before.  Might even be a nice weekend up there weather wise.

I want to go to the Museum of Natural history as well as Millennium park.  Saturday night you know we'll have to have some real deep dish pizza for kicks.

Sunday night we have tickets to the Blackhawks game.  It's good to be my kid eh?  :)

New bag ME likey :)

My son's approved!

We filed for a USA visa petition for my youngest son as he will be coming here to live with us.  It was filed back in Sept. and now the petition has been approved.  We have a few more steps, $$ and paperwork, and hopefully all will be set by the time he comes here in June..I.CAN'T WAIT!!

On another note.  Training is going well so far.  I have a 30min core and 1:00 bike ride tonight.  Then another on Thursday and that concludes our winter cycling program.  I can't wait to get out on the roads..today it's going to be 60, but i'll be riding indoors..oh well.

Happy training!

Weekend fun.

Indiana had some scary weather this past Friday, we managed to miss it pretty much which was good, not so good for the other states and southern Indiana which was pretty hard hit.  So sad for the victims and their families who pretty much lost everything.

Saturday I was able to get a run in and have some fun with our girls tri-team night out.  There was plenty of food, drink and talk.  I like these get dinners as they happen once a month and whomever is hosting gets to pick a part theme.  This time it was Irish because of the upcoming St. Patricks day celebrations.

This a.m. it was back in the pool and getting some long stuff in, which I pretty much like.

Train hard!

Buckle your seats boys, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Week one no sugar

It's one week without sugar...unintentional sugar that is.  I know there is sugar in just about everything, but I have totally avoided any and all foods with processed sugar.  That means a whole lot of grains, fruits and veggies this week.  I did throw in some fish and chicken in and out for the week.  I have found a strange thing though, i'm chewing on ice cubes..a lot.  Not sure why.
I have super heavy duty cycling class tonight and swimming in the oh so early 5:15 a.m. darkness.

Tomorrow we're expecting some pretty bad storms with maybe even some twisters thrown in for good measure...it's going to be an exciting day!

It's a new month!

The clock keeps ticking so much closer to the 1/2 marathon in May and the 1/2 Ironman in July and then Ironman Louisville..yikes!!!! 
My swimming seems fairly well, so does cycling...I'll have no problem transitioning to those long miles on the bike.  It just seems to come easier for me on the swim and bike.  The run is my mental struggle..always!!! 

I am amazed at some people who just run and run and have zero problems with it.  Wish I could be that person.

 Can hypnosis help with that? :))

It's leap year..

Apparently this is a day where women can ask men to marry them...I watched the movie "Leap Year" and it was actually pretty darned cute...anywhoooo... This a.m. I completely slept thru my 4:26 a.m. wake up call to go to masters swim..I think I was exhausted from our cycling class last night and not sleeping very well.

So, tonight I'll do my longish run..except that there's this whole leap year run thing.  I can't run 29 miles, I want to run further than 2.9 miles and longer than 29minutes..what should I do instead?? Any ideas out there?

Back to cycling

Tuesday night core/cycling class tonight.  30min's of core and 1hr high spinning class. I like Thursday nights better as it's long, tempo-ish type class.  This high cadence stuff is for the birds.  I know it's supposed to be really good for us cyclists, but it gets old.

I am looking forward to being finished with these classes and out on the roads.  Tomorrow it's supposed to be 62 here, rainy, but warm.

This a.m. the birds are back and chirping their pretty hearts out.  Come on spring, I know you're just around the corner!
Tomorrow night is our 3rd class for puppies.

Here you can see our "Blue" attacking my husband....getcher a$$ outta bed he's trying to say!

Weekend workouts..

Well I was supposed to do 1.5hrs on the bike, that was a total fail as running around and then driving an hour each way to visit the in-laws and drop off our tax info took almost the whole day Saturday.
Sunday at least was better.  Got in a 5 mile run.  I suck at running and even that 5 miles was a huge struggle.  I do love to be out though this time of the year.  The sun is out, it's warming up, people were out riding, running, walking their dogs..just lovely!

This a.m. it was up at 4:26 and off to the pool.  We had a HARD workout.  Our main set was 8x125's on the 2:00's..my face was beat red at the end and I thought my arms were going to fall off :) 

Tonight it's an hour with my buddy Tony Horton on P90X2...really love those DVD's!

Hope your weekend was better training wise.

Lunch!

(see full image)

Shelley Laflin

Sent from my iPhone

Quit the crap

Yup so true, I used to know someone who ate that crap...

This is what real food looks like.
You don’t need to starve yourself in order to lose weight. And you don’t need to feed yourself crappy “300-calorie” frozen dinner packages. All you need are wholesome foods and balanced meals.

Rethink what goes into your mouth and how you fuel your body. Rethink how you’re taking care of yourself.

I'm going sugar free!

Sugar is addictive and is a low grade poison like any other addictive substance.

Refined sugar in particular provides only "empty" calories and lacks natural nutrients which are present at least in some degree in the whole sugar beet or whole sugar cane.

Such sugar is a refined and therefore incomplete carbohydrate. The body cannot utilize refined carbohydrate that has been depleted of all the proteins, vitamins and minerals that make a complete carbohydrate.

Eating sugar is worse than not eating anything because to digest, detoxify and eliminate it, the body tissues must give up precious vitamins and minerals which are vital to cellular health. Deficiencies occur and cells grow weak ­ causing the tissues and organs they compose to become weak and your health to deteriorate. 

Additionally, the body's attempt to use incomplete carbohydrate results in the formation of toxic substances such as pyruvic acid and abnormal molecules containing five carbon atoms. Pyruvic acid accumulates in the brain and nervous system causing all manner of problems. The abnormal molecules accumulate in the red blood cells causing a different set of problems.

These toxic substances interfere with the respiration of the body's cells. The cells cannot get sufficient oxygen to survive and to function normally. In time, some of the cells die off and are no longer replaced.

These permanent cell deaths leave missing areas that interfere with the function of parts of the body, its nervous system and organs and this is the beginning of degenerative disease.

Excess sugar of ANY kind swells the liver and is then changed to fatty acids and deposited as fat in areas of the body like belly and thighs etc. and finally in the vital organs which slow down and can't function as they need to and the entire body is then severely effected with deteriorated function and health.

In addition to these destructive effects, sugar of ANY kind makes the blood and body tissues acid which is perfect for the development, survival and breeding of harmful germs and viruses. You need to keep your body tissues and blood alkaline so germs and viruses will not take hold and breed and result in you becoming quite sick. You can't keep your tissue and blood alkaline if you are eating sugar of ANY kind.

Withdrawal from sugar must be done gradually while giving the body large quantities of the substances that sugar steals from body tissues.

The first step to cutting out sugar is to throw away all refined sugar and to refuse to buy any refined sugar - and to replace it with only unrefined organic sugar.

Next, if the foods you are eating and the drinks you are habitually drinking contain sugar then gradually cut down on them and switch to healthy food and drink.

If you drink 4 sodas each day, start by cutting down to 3 each day for a few days and then to 2 each day - then to one and finally don't put this liquid sugar-poison in your body at all. Cut out cookies. the same way.

Man-made artificial, chemical-sweeteners are not safe and are toxic to nerve cells and tissue cells in varying degrees, causing head aches, perception oddities and other physical problems that get worse and more permanent the longer the artificial sweeteners are used ­ so do not switch to those.

The next step in withdrawal from sugar is to gradually replace all sugar with only pure Stevia Leaf Sweetener. Stevia is a totally natural herb with no calories and no adverse effects on the body. (A tiny amount of Stevia is needed or the sweetness is so extreme it tastes a little bitter.)

While withdrawing from sugar and afterwards the doctor or technician may require that you take generous amounts of liquid minerals, potassium tablets and liquid vitamins or other supplements.

 

It's going to take 72 hours for me to "detox", but i'm looking forward to seeing how I do. 

Breakfast!

(see full image)

Shelley Laflin

Sent from my iPhone

P90X2..bring it!

Last night I worked late and had to miss my cycling class which is fine.  I'm getting so bored with it now and want to be outside! 
I did go home and decided to start using my P90X2 DVD's.  I did the core workout and man is it hard.  The thing I love about Tony Horton is that his focus is on perfect technique which I love.  I tried the Insanity workouts for a week and found my knees just could not take it.  Almost every move involves jumping up and down up and down, side to side, up and down.  I thought my knees were permanently toast after a week of doing that crap!  P90X2 is even better than P90X, I just love it and I know we won't be doing crazy stupid, sloppy moves.
So on to this a.m.  It was 4:25 rise and shine and off to the pool.  We had a great hard workout of 100's, descending, ascending, so I enjoyed that very much.  Tonight I'll try to run an hour and see how that goes...

Happy training ya'll!

What Lance is bringing to our sport.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-21/lance-armstrong-gives-ironman-impetus-for-first-live-tv-coverage-in-u-s-.html

I can hardly wait to see if this happens.  I love watching the live broadcast the day of Kona, if it's brought on TV, even better!

Training plans?

I've been following the competitive plan from my IronFit book.  Seems like it's going to be very manageable.  Last night we had our coached cycling class..we did lots of hard sessions.  My quads were killing me last night.  So the most intelligent thing was to get up and go swimming right?  My kicking even hurt in the pool, but it's a good sign that means i'm working hard :)

What's your training plan?

TGIF!!