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?
I’m off to do some bakery training! :)
Ugh, I am so grossed out by public pools, too. In college, I worked for a pool/water testing company and I could tell you horror stories – sorry, not make it any worse!!!
ahahaha noooooo stop it stop it!!!
I am the same way – I’m totally cool with open water, but I haaaaate pools! Grossss!
LOL! I am the opposite! Aleady being pretty water-phobic, open water freaks me out. I’ll take a pool any day…but I always make a bee-line for the shower and use extra soap when Im done. And I never shave my legs within 24 hours of attending a pool…not too keen on cellulitis.
I have an unexplainable phobia of hair…in the shower- I tip my head upside-down so it doesn’t touch my body. yes I’m a freak. Swimming pools/Japanese onsens…not helping my fear. BLEH…oh and on the bike seat note Angela- I’m no expert, but my friend is an avid bike racer- yes, he shaves his legs (supposedly if you fall and have no leg hair, you won’t peel off all your skin?!)…he would know…but he said that bike seats should actually be hard (he rides on plastic only! (ouch), but says that too much cushion doesn’t allow blood flow in the butt. However he does have a little padding in the shorts I believe…Like I said, I’m no expert, but I find that after a long winter of no biking, it hurts my butt for a good week- then I’m okay after that! Good luck with your training!!!
I’ve recently heard some horror stories of some the Vegas casino pools. O. M. G!!! Let’s just say you will never find me at the pool at the Hard Rock!!
Not to mention the fact that people pee and poo in public pools like its a giant toilet.
POO?
Haha I have actually seen poop in a pool in person. But! You can usually see it before you get in so… you know, be on the look out. They clean them daily, I hope, so it should be cool.
I just started running, so I’m constantly learning new things about clothes, injuries, etc. It’s exciting! Good luck with your training!
I have been using a public pool for my tri-training and it’s actually super nice and clean! Hopefully you guys will be as lucky.
ughhhhhhhhh pools ew ew ew, I don’t even like the private ones. and don’t even try and get me in a natural body of water because I will shriek like a little girl and run away. I seriously am grossed out by bathtubs even.
As far as the bike I wonder if it would be better to just tough it out? I know when I started spinning I was sore for about three weeks and then it went away and I haven’t been sore since ( a lot of other people say the same thing ) but I don’t know if a real bike is a different game, I’m sure some other cyclists on here will know :)
I have recently taking up swimming and the way I am getting used to it is kind of crazy. (My workout buddy says it’s pretty standard though.) The first time I swam I couldn’t get through 50 yards without need to rest. The second time I felt the same way about 100 yards, and now (after my third swim) I feel that way about 150 yards. :) I try to do 800 yds. for a workout b/c that’s half a mile and I like nice neat numbers.
Soreness after biking is a big issue for me as well. I think my main obstacle to doing a tri is that my bottom hurts SO much after I ride a bike- and I do have the padded girly seat. I am really reluctant to buy a pair of bike shorts though b/c if they don’t work, I’ll have spent the money for nothing. I have a bike, but currently I just use it to get around during Mardi Gras in New Orleans b/c a lot of the roads are blocked off to cars.
the padding on seats is mostly useless (the squishier it feels, the less it will help your bum) whereas the padding on your shorts will make a HUGE difference. you should invest in a pair. they’ve got some cheaper ones out there that you can start with
I have Pearl Izumi bike shorts. PADDED IS A MUST!!! Don’t get cheap shorts either. It makes a difference. Bibs are more comfortable than shorts.
Padded bike shorts are a must! But my crotch still gets sore from all of the bumping. I need to toughen up!
I participated in a century ride a few years ago (100 mile bike race) with no previous cycling experience. I prepared myself by taking spinning classes regularly and rented a race bike a couple of times to do longer (30-40 mile) rides. The race went fine for me and was a great and challenging experience!
I would recommend to let yourself get used to the bike seat before buying padded shorts. They might help a little but your body will adapt to riding and you won’t get sore after a while.
Good luck!
My butt hurts the first day riding of the season no matter what – and I have a really great seat/shorts. You’ll get used to it, but I do think the bike shorts still help a bit.
I think there’s a big learning curve at the beginning for everyone! When i first took up running, I could only go for 30 seconds before feeling like death was imminent. Just last weekend, I ran in a 10 mile race and crossed the finish line feeling like a million bucks!
Recently I’ve taken up Yoga and I am not very flexible so I feel VERY behind the ball about it. But I’ve already noticed some subtle improvements in my flexibility and am looking forward to making major strides over time!
Public pools really gross me out too. I hope you have a good experience though! You are commited so you’ll be fine!
Your butt will get used to the seat. Give it a few times, and then it will be conditioned for seat shape and firmness. But some shorts would probably help and and extra pad on the seat if you don’t already have one on their.
Hair and band-aids are the least of my worries. But I won’t go into why I am freaked out by public pools.
Those oats look great. I love the syrup. It all sounds pretty filling, too!
oh my… I do water exercises 4X a week and I am currently fighting a RASH from the pool! The antibiotics are tearing up my tummy too! :( But I still go to the pool! lol
I knew absolutely nothing about running when I first started. :) I’m so wanting to check out a tri now but I need to learn how to swim and ride a bike first. ;)
Hey,
As a spin instructor, I don’t use my shorts unless I will be on the bike for longer than 1 hour; they help but not as much as you want them too. After a few more bike rides, the soreness will go away! If you do get some, MEC has a good selection. Oh, and a tip, you gotta commando in them or else, you may chafe…
Don’t stree about the public pools!
I lifeguarded at various city public pools in Ontario for 5 years and, honestly, I think the grossness of public pools is a bit overhyped. Public pools are heavily chlorinated so any real bacteria grossness is taken care of, and everything else is mostly psycological.
Try out some padded shorts but I don’t think they make much of a difference! Plus, unless you want to change from bathing suit to biking outfit in the middle of a crowd, padded shorts would be awfully soggy after a swim ;). The sore backside issue eventually just goes away, I think it takes a few days to get used to it. Even with spinning class this happens! Good luck with your training, it seems like you have done lots of great research.
I agree.. those bike shorts can kind of give you a ‘diaper butt’ look. Tri shorts have enough padding without going overboard. And you can wear them while you swim to cut on transition time. First triathlon is so exciting!! Way better than a first road race..
I’m doing my first tri in July! Can’t wait!
My favorite bike shorts are made by Performace and they’re called “ultra”… I like the length, fit and amount of padding (which happens to be pink, plus for this gal HAHA)And they’re on sale right now on the website!! :)
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&langId=-1&catalogId=10551&productId=1014392&cm_mmc=$(referrer)$-_-Clothing-_-PERFORMANCE-_-10-0634-BLK-L&CSE=GooglePS&mr:trackingCode=92549846-A681-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA
Oh man Angela, I too have a MAJOR hatred of hair. It doesn’t scare me per say but it grosses me out to no end!!!! I hate it so, so, so, so much!!!
That said, I never thought to be weirded out by pools for that reason, but now I’m not sure if I ever want to go into a public pool again… haha thanks for that ;)