Good morning!
Last night I got some exercise after all. :) Eric and I took our bikes out for a spin around the block. I am SORE though. Not from my groin muscle, but from sitting on the seat! I think I am going to need to invest in some padded bike shorts! Does anyone have any recommendations? The seat is even padded too, but it didn’t seem to help much.
Otherwise, it was a great bike ride!
Ahhhh…Spring, how I love thee.
Everything is just so fresh.
Including this juice I made…
I had some random things to use up in today’s juice: Celery, beet, carrots, ginger, grapefruit.
Along with a mix of delicious Four O’Clock Japanese Sencha and White loose leaf tea:
Cleaning out the loose leaf steeper is such a pain in the butt! That is why I love this huge loose leaf pot because I can make a huge batch of it at once. The tea gets cold, and yes I drink it anyways. ;)
I made another bowl of delicious Vegan Overnight Oats last night!
Coconut Maple Syrup Vegan Overnight Oats
Last night I threw into a bowl:
- 1/3 cup regular oats
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 mashed ripe banana, leave a few chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate Amazing Meal Powder
- Tiny pinch of sea salt
Directions: Stir the above ingredients and place in the fridge (covered) overnight.
In the morning, throw together this quick and delicious topping…
This is one of my favourite pancake toppings and it is so easy.
Reduced-Sugar Overnight Oats/Pancake Syrup:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Mix together and pour overtop!
I actually enjoy this topping much better than nut butter! It is soooo good. The syrup coats the oats and you get a taste on each bite. I highly recommend it!
Triathlon Talk
Last night Eric and I started to plan out our TRY-A-TRI training. :) We have under 6 weeks until our Try-A-Tri.
The course consists of:
- 375 meter swim
- 10 km bike ride
- 2.5 km run
The course is very hilly (think murder hill), but luckily we can train on the actual course and prepare ourselves.
Now that my groin muscle is feeling better, it is time to get back into the training.
It will be about another month until we are able to do open water swims (and even then the water will be frigid), so Eric and I looked up a local indoor public pool that is about 15 minutes from us.
Confession: Eric and I are both grossed out by public pools. We seriously hate them. I have a huge fear of hair and band-aids and it takes a lot to get me into a public pool! However, we are in this together and are going to support one another! We will get over our fear…
After looking at the Adult Length Swim schedule, we decided on swimming twice per week:
- Monday night, 8-9pm
- Wednesday night, 8-9pm
The days might vary here and there, but we are going to try to stick with Monday and Wednesday nights to have some consistency. There are some great swim drills/workouts online that we can try once we have built a bit of a base up.
I also need to get myself a swimsuit for swimming laps asap. A bikini will NOT cut it.
I was doing some reading on Triathlons last night and I came across the Brick Workout.
The Brick workout “refers to training on two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other with minimal or no interruption in between, just as you would do in a race. Usually when people talk about bricks they refer to a bike/run workout, but bricks could also refer to a swim/bike workout or to a run/bike workout.”
I will likely be incorporating some Brick Workouts into each week. Because I have a half marathon just 1 week prior to the TRY-A-TRI, I will need to make sure that I keep up with my long run each week and then incorporate some brick workouts here and there.
I feel like there is SO much I don’t know about triathlons and I feel like I have a lot to learn. It will be a huge learning curve, but I kind of like the challenge of trying something new!
Today’s question- Have you ever taken up a sport or activity and had a big learning curve at first? What was it?
Updates:
- New reader Green Monster recipes are up!
- Is anyone still having problems posting comments? Eric thinks he fixed the issue, but email me ([email protected]) if you are still having problems.
I’m off to do some bakery training! :)
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m grossed out by public pools too :/ I know they use a ridiculous amount of chlorine though so they’re probably pretty clean!
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point has a great page on cycling and all the gear you would ever want!
http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/tips/tips-for-cyclists
Your butt will get use to riding over time! Been there, done that, but it does get easier with time!
Oh gosh, I have SUCH a fear of stray hair(s)… the thought of a strand floating in a puddle of stagnant pool water is making me gag right now. Eeewwwww!
It’s probably been mentioned in earlier comments but here’s another one to gross you out. 3 years ago when I was training for my first triathlon I drove to the pool as usual and found out it was closed. The sign on the door read” Pool closed due to fouling” Found out the next time there someone did a #2 in the pool!
My learning curve was bigger than yours because I crazily signed up for the Olympic distance tri. Lucky for you you’re just doing the tri a tri because you only have 6 weeks till it? Maybe you’re both crazy too :-)
Bricks are great. Definitely try at least one swim to bike brick so you’ll have an idea of what it will be like in your first transition (T1). As for the bike issue – definitely get some bike shorts. I spent about $80 on mine and they’re fabulous. Buy ones with a thick pad! I also found bike gloves to be super helpful. The ones that have ulnar nerve padding helped the numbness in my fingers from long bike rides!
There are so many chemicals in a public pool, that it’s a miracle we don’t all get out pickled. ;) Really, there are some bad pools out there, but most of them (and I’m sure the one you’ll be using), are usually just fine. Good Luck! I’m exciting/jealous of your new challenge.
I’m not entirely sure they ship to Canada, but I think both of these do: performance.com and nashbar.com Both have great deals on bike gear, including shorts!
Yes! While not a fashion statement, padded bike shorts are a MUST, especially if you are looking at any distances over 15 miles! I will caution you, cheap bike shorts are NOT as good. The tush padding is thinner and the spandex can also be thin (aka SEE THROUGH!) and irritative! I have had tremendous luck with Pearl Izumi bike shorts and also Quest bike shorts.
Another thing to consider. Buy the smallest size bike shorts you can wiggle into. When bike shorts are too big, they move around while you bike. There is no need for that padding to make it halfway up your back on a 30 mile ride!! :o) Good luck and happy biking!!
your overnight oats look to die for! I definitely have to try this recipe this week.
The activity with the biggest learning curve that I have ever done was go treeplanting! Hubby and I planted for 2 years before having our baby girl. It is soooo hard at first but we both love it. It’s like an intense workout all day with so much to learn. We hope to make it back into the bush someday.
Your butt will get used to it, but padded shorts do help. Also my entire groin area has gone NUMB on a couple of really long, hard rides, it’s a little weird! lol
Hey Angela, I bought a seat specifically made for a woman from a bike store. It is pretty narrow and not soft at all but it worked! I was still sore for a couple days, but after that it was fine. Good luck!