Awesome Journey

Dude... Yup.

Summer time and the living is easy...

Been running and riding and swimming a lot.  Past week and next week off Boots and really missing it.  Not always keen on pre-dawn wake-up but man is it a great way to start the day.  Really jonesing for the workout and hard to make myself do it solo.  Easier to go on a run or swim.  Excited for next camp session.  Hilariously surprised on how much I enjoy the early mornings and the workout.  Need to keep up with the workouts to not lose the teeny tiny improvements I have made on being able to to a modified plank and push-up. Can't wait to do real push-ups and plank...hopefully in my lifetime :-)

Shoe Porn

As a runner.... This really does it for me. Zowie. New shoe day.

See Jane tomorrow in Alameda. Flat course, 75% ocean view, all women. Yeah!!!

Not trained at all but I have legs so I will run jog walk to my thumping tunes. Not a huge fan of See Jane, their FB posts are very corporate & all about champagne & chocolate & girlie stuff...a bit demeaning but I'm just picky.

Missed bootscamp today. Was up and almost dressed but really sore achilles & groin from squats .... Made decision not to go. Hard to do but didn't want to limp 13.1 for a fun dawn workout.

Can't wait for Monday 5:30!

Zooooom

Groove

Love BootsCamp. Hard to rise at 5am but so worth it. Amazeballs.

Getting stronger every day on lunges squats curls burpees hover plank

Love seeing the dawn

This week was a sad one for swimming, only went 2 times. Crazy busy & shorter lap swim hours in the summer, boooo

Half Marathon Saturday but stressed to get there & home for a party at noon. Not how I like to run an event.

Tired every night by 8 & up naturally at 4:30am

Need to eat more GREENS

Hydrate more

Stuffy head, cold coming on ... Ick. Hope it's a shortie.

Perspective

It's all in how you look at it.

3 laps on track
50 of each:
Push ups
Bicycle sit ups
Jumping lunges
Tricep pulls
Side leg raises
10 sprints jog back
1 lap

My goal is not time. It's cleaner stronger rounds of these!

My push-ups the start of second round were so much stronger than first set. Rad!

Goal~real push ups! Clean strong lunges.

Sooooo good

Camp for boots, rad!
Early to bed & up at 5am, super rad!
So sore, so awesome!
Geysers bike climb...gnarly hills. Felt insane & difficult & so glad I am a cyclist. So glad.

Drinking lots of water. Watching food. Eating enough. Not skipping meals. Fueling. No headaches. No late night sleep hangovers.

So far... Kicking ass and taking names.

Seriously in love with 5:30 bootcamp. Being up at dawn truly trumps night owling. Had no idea.

A month of living outside the comfort zone

Been away unintentionally from this blog for one month...life is still peachy in the meantime.

~swimming 5 days a week
~biking weekly (70 miler Backroads event)
~running, need to do it a lot more. Still have the zest for it, need to make the time

Tomorrow starts one month of bootcamp. Running, lunging, abs, weights... Old-school biggest loser workouts. A bit nervous/excited of the workouts, I've wanted a change from linear movemt (bikerunswim) for a while but I'm terrified of bootcamp time~5:30 AM...eeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkk!

This mighty night owl is freaking out. Should be good for me. Going to bed like an adult at 10pm vs college kid at 1am. Excited about watching the sunrises though ;-)

Going to track my process here with camp and eating well. Doing a month of herbalife tea/aloe/shakes as well as clean-ish eating.  Not going paleo (I like rice & beans too much) or dieting (I like honey & cheese too much) or anything like that, just trying to lay off the junk food I shove in my mouth when I am too lazy to make a meal. I have a bad habit of skipping breakfast then being low energy/hunger headache and hosing myself on a run etc. hoping the quick/easy shake in the AM will help me in realizing how much better I feel when I'm fueled and can continue after the month is up by making my own shakes or using Herba if I am addicted/too lazy. Ordered the allergen free shake option (no soy, gluten, dairy)...Not sure it'll be as tasty as the banana cream pie shakes at the Live it Up cafe.  Love the tea and aloe though, not sure which one it is but something in one of those two things makes me feel ZOWIE.  Might also just being hydrated and fueled :-)

Yup.

Life is...

So good.

Biking, swimming, running.

Need more: sleep, reading, John Hughes movies, cleaner eating & fuel. Greens.

Let the season begin...

Biker Booze

I need one if these.

Life is good. I'm alive. I hate violence & chaos (Boston broke my heart) but I see the joy & love of being alive for now & my loved ones safe for today.

Bikes Lake Sonoma Hills, awesome.

Love my bike. Love her.

Eating is meh. A balance of salmon/broccoli and steel oats with self medicating comfort food 'tortilla mayo cheese pickle' wrap :-). Doing ok. Could be tons better but there are bigger worries in the world than sugar in my coffee (I use maple syrup actually).

Loving life & my family today, always.

Beautiful bounty

Life

Hidden Perks of an Active Life

Love that this evening as I walked the dog & thought 'yahoo glad I'm getting out for some exercise today...' I was totally forgetting that earlier in the day I had ran 3 miles & swam 30 minutes.

Righteous.

Food is ok. Off the wagon a bit. Still trying to be clean but not nearly as good as a few weeks ago but trying....

Solo

Solo ride
Hit the road late, thought I'd do 30 min just to be in the saddle, then I said half the backroads loop (backwards), then before I knew it... I road the whole loop.

Yowza!

Saw a woman ~ lean tan long legs cute skirts gray hair and a face about 70-ish. I love riding=longevity.

Ahhhh Grasshopper

The problems: been a sugarwhore the past 2 days, no idea why or how but its been insane... Maybe 10-12 Hershey kisses, I lost count.

Dog craziness. Bad mood regarding school for Dude (excited for summer & lax routine) & him growing up way too fast.

The joys: walking swimming biking.

My Dude. He's been absolutely delicious & joyous, I want to just squeeze him forever and ever.

SUN!

Lazy calm nights at home.

Hitting the road on my bike again right now! Zoooooom

Lazy spring evenings...bliss

WW awesomeness

Thank you S!

Life

Today was a good day but also a mixed bag of good health and enjoyment.  I think I was tired from Saturday ride and also just hungry...for food, life, calm.  So I satiated myself :-)

Coffee soy maple

brown rice heated in almond milk cinnamon maple

1.5 hr dog stroll in the sunny wind

BIG italian sandwich from Fiesta, yum!

25 min Swim 

2 scoops sundae at B&R with Dude. Awesome

small portion spinach pasta & meat sauce

salad carrots

2 slices cinnamon raisin ezekiel toast & earth balance

Solo evening stroll with dog after dinner...beautiful outside at twilight

Left outside knee hurts like a bugger, aches.  I am sure it is a calf or hamstring issue presenting itself at the knee...STRETCHing needed.  More. Always. More.

Biking Tuesday and Run Wednesday...a sunny week of swimming daily I hope.

Evening Walk

Cinderella Ride Radness

Beautiful day...unsettled gray sun wind sun gray
Easy ride.  Felt the burn in the legs a few times up long inclines
New bike felt like BUTTER
Noticed new things on bike, my sit bones hurt and I felt higher on my seat.  A bit of a neck/high shoulders ache but I think that is the long mileage not the bike
Loved my new shifting and just new light bike.  Yahooo
Great people~love the tutus fishnets helmet art...so many fun people.
So many older ladies!
So many bike teams and groups
A few snarky ladies
A few people did not know or care to abide by the polite rules of the road...sigh...always a few turkeys out there
Strong, smart in riding, confident on the bike in big groups or traffic.
Felt guilty every time I blew a stopsign, I know if I encountered a crabby cop I would get a ticket but that didn't stop me from rolling with everyone through them. Felt a bit like cattle, following the herd.
Hard to touch down on all signs though, there were so many and no one was stopping unless a car was waiting. Again, herd.
Great food and snacks.  I was good and ate zero cookies & caramels etc even though it is justified to EAT anything on a long ride....stuck to bananas and PB & pickle sandwich :-) V8 and pretzels.
Next year I want to socialize more, chat up more ladies.  So many from so many places...love it.
Was channeling Big George (Hincappie) and pulling the big gear a lot, so fast & smooth on the new Honey bike.  I could have jetted away so many times on the straight aways if there were not so many people...fantastic.

Overall a totally righteous day.  So glad to be out there & riding.  Feeling lucky.

Tons of bikes...makes me giddy

Pockets full of caramels

Stripes & polka dots

Ladies

Awesomeness

Gutsy Earthy Full-bodied....

Gutsy earthy full bodied, yes please!  That's how I want my life to feel....

Coffee Soy Maple
Almond milk
1 hr dog walk
3 mile run...felt RAD
Swim 25 minutes, bliss

Big fueling lunch at Marys, broke the rules a bit but tomorrow is slated for 65 miles so I wanted/needed the fuel :-)
3 fresh baked breadsticks
Salad, italian & blue cheese
Grilled chicken & 'shrooms
half apple

Potato
Steak
Brocolli

Nervous about 65 miles, that's a LOT of miles on the bike when I've been riding about 20-25 miles but soooooo incredibly excited to spin all day.  Love to ride.  Will be awesome on my new ride, the Tupelo Honey.  Hoping it fits like my old bike, I know it might need to be re-fit/adjusted after a few rides but truly hope I have zero back or neck issues (never had any on my old girl).  Pondering wearing my new shoes.  Not like running, don't need to break in road shoes but not sure I want to wear them for 65 and realize I have an issue at mile 12....we'll see .....

Good Day

Running around rainy day but saw lots of wonderful friends, laughed my face off and snuggled my Dude. Great day.

Coffee maple soy dashes
Dog walk (2x today)
Two eggs
Go Rice ball
Coffee black, no soy or honey around...not bad
Huge peanut dressing coated veggie salad YUM
Small Bite of insanely awesome chocolate cake

SWIM 30 min. Needed longer, bliss

2 grandma chocolate chip cookies. Kinda forgot my no treats gig & just shoved them in my mouth. Oh well.

Rice & over-easy eggs for dinner, old college favorite

!Mantra: more water greens sleep!

Hike Festivus

Great day but a bit wackadoodle too (to quote the fabulous Miss Amber, hey there A :-)

Big emotional off day for kiddo, lots of energy into resolving that.  Then a few other ditty's for the day that just made me go 'huh...' at the day.  Overall, I can't complain. Well, I did get a minor migraine so I can complain but it went away & had a gorgeous afternoon hiking with a dear friend and then yummy dinner with two dear friends & tons of girl chat.  Life is golden, sometimes frayed at the edges but always golden.

Taking advil & traumeel for my knee which has subsided, woooot!

coffee soy maple
vegan apricot bar, dry but filling
coffee & honey
walk dog
very short swim, pretty proud to haul my ass there for 15 min though
Chiro worked on my neck & shoulder
banana
vegan coconut pasta with tofu and veggies
small green salad with cilantro dressing (may have been dairy but darn good)

Need: more greens sleep water....RUNNING.

Well, woke up after...

Life altering surgery & becoming a mama and realizing that LIFE is too awesome to piss away by being stagnant or complacent or bored or crabby.

Tupelo Honey

Good day

Good day but kinda odd. Moody maybe?

Steel cut Oatmeal & almond milk
Coffee
Sushi...a lot. No fancy rolls. Fish & rice

Brith
Tortilla beans Daiya (small)
Cantaloupe & apple
Sweets (2 bites banana tempura & small brownie)

20 min dog walk
20 min swim
45 min new bike ride

Got my new wheels today. Love it. Excited. A bit nervous. New & all.

Odd left knee pain, behind/outside if knee. Feels swollen & just uncomfortable. So weird. Hurts to bed, irritated...took Advil & traumeel. Will ice tonight.

Huh...

I have read these a few times...seems easy to follow but a few I struggle with big time. Hoping to be better as time goes by.

Wake up little sushi...

Found out the difference between nigiri & sashimi... No rice. Naked sushi. Got a side of rice :-).

Eggs
GF toast
Coffee
Hour walk dog
Big sushi lunch
20 min swim

Nuts
Dried peaches
Coffee

Soup~rice lentil broccoli carrot broth kale

oh and my oatmeal banana bars!  Had 4 mushy bananas to use but wanted to stay GF but had no spelt or almond flour for bread.  So I made an oatmeal bread: oatmeal bananas almonds, peanut butter honey and two eggs.  It is really dense but hearty & with a bit of earth balance butter & honey they are dang tasty!

Easter Baby

Great day all around. Storm, calm, repeat. Family fun love chill.

Coffee soy maple
Eggs
GF toast slice
Turkey sausage (4, opps. Oink oink)
Peanut butter
WW Bagel
Slice Tri tip
Potato
Cutie
Apple

Dude, where's my greens... Fail! Tomorrow!!!

Pool closed due to lightening, major bummer. Took an hour power walk with girl pup blaring music. Awesome.

Monday madness: run long-er and swim long!

Grasshopper Bars

Great day for Easter celebration.

No candy, butter, bread, snacks.

The two splurges were Tri tip & homemade by Babe grasshopper creme de menthe bars. Yum!

Two eggs
GF toast
Vegan butter
Deviled eggs (2)
2 slices BBQ Tri Tip (lunch & dinner)
Potato salad (lunch & dinner)
Beans (lunch & dinner)

Passed on soft bread rolls, butter, tons of candy, soda, etc....

Had coffee with sugar and it was soooo sweet. Prefer my coffee with dash of maple.

Rainbow

So much candy & pretty sweets... Didn't eat any candy! Whoop whoop!

Choices

The choice is yours. Always.
Great day.

Coffee
Steel oats soy maple
Dog walk
Run 2.5 miles. Felt great.

Redwood cafe~2 poached eggs, spinach, GF toast, apple & carrot ginger juice

Swim

Lunch at Mary's, so good~grilled chicken mushrooms & bruschetta on side. No bread butter salad pasta, yeah!

Three cuties
Thai dinner~coconut soup, tofu veggies, chicken & veggies, peanut sauce.

Feeling great.

Need more: greens sleep water.
This weekend~no pastry or chocolate, eeeks!

Need~ARM workout, push up, weights!

Stay the course

Pretty proud. Went to favorite family dinner place & stayed the course.

No sourdough bread & butter (that was rough)
Soup yum
Salad with oil & vinegar (no blue cheese, sigh)
No salami but tons of beans & antipasti
Grilled Sole
Smidge of tarter sauce, maybe 1/2 a tsp
Baked potato, no butter or sour dream only chives & marinara sauce

Did indulge in two big bites if chocolate mousse pudding.

Wooohoo. Didn't fall completely off the wagon yet!

Tomorrow~ run & swim!

Week in Review

Had a killer day of bike buying.  Didn't sneak in a swim like I wanted (swimming in the rain is the best) but gotta be OK with that.  Overall the first week of 30 days has been rad.  A few rough patches to start, still hungry a lot, still need to eat TONS more green veggies and drink more water and sleep more but overall, damn proud with everything so far.

Stuck to plan, making great decisions and creations to compensate for no dairy, sugar, gluten, meat.  Did have a frosting shot at Sift one day and two grandma cookies but other than that, nada!  Realized through this first week how much I snack and how much sugar I eat and just eat eat eat.

Standard breakfast is coffee, dash of soy and maple syrup.
Steel oats (best, new fav) and dash of soy & maple
Cuties by the truckload
Apples
Tortillas with beans and daiya cheese
Kale salad
Broth
Salmon
Gluten free bread/toast

Another favorite today, popcorn cooked in coconut oil (not canola), yeast and salt.

Might give myself a pass this weekend at Easter for a slice or two of tri tip at lunch BBQ but won't be eating any candy or cupcakes (that'll be rough)...

Ran with pup on Tuesday and that felt good, achilles was ok.  Need a run tomorrow, maybe not with pup, to be more streamlined and not as mosey.

Got on the scale today and have lost 5 lbs in a week, a solid 5lbs....yes please & thank you!

Awesome

Great day! Despite odd headache (change in air pressure)...stayed on food track! Swim!

Coffee
Eggs
Veggies
Honey
Apple
1/2 banana
Kale salad
Dash of ranch (too lazy to make evoo dressing. Ranch was awful but just a smidge)
Curry soup, potato coconut milk carrots lentils
Tortilla
Beans
Daiya
Smoothie bliss. Almond milk water berries kale pineapple honey. Sooo icy & fabulous

A bit too sweet

Had sugar yesterday. Frosting at Sift & then a cookie at night. Both yummy and way too rich. Have a headache today... Not sure if sugar or pms related. Glad I had some sugar yesterday, reminds me not to fall off wagon at Easter sugar fest!

Did a sprint Tri yesterday. So rad.

Run with dog, 2 miles
Bike, 1.5 hr hilly loop solo
Swim 25 min

Tired today!!!

Dinner:
Big stalk of broccoli
Mayo
Veggie broth
A 1/2 cup oats as snack.

Doing sooooo good

Sleep
Water
Steel oats refried/heated in vegan butter, soy & maple dash
Tortilla, beans, salmon
Run/walk dog 2 miles
Bike ride
Swim

Feeling groovy.

Good life

Great dinner with Dude listening to the Rat Pack & chatting about our day.

Beans
Tortilla
Daiya
Salmon
Evoo honey vinegar dressing
Tons of arugula

Yummmmmmmm

Feeling great

GF pancake
Eggs
Cukes
Salmon
Coffee
Honey
Steel cut oats snack
Soy milk
Maple syrup
Salmon
Beans
Greens
Corn tortilla

No exercise today just chores. Man I jones for my swim & run. Like an addiction. Tomorrow.

Hard to say no to all the lovely pastries at The TeaRoom. Sigh...again awareness that I used to indulge a LOT!

More water needed as always!

Have cycle yesterday and today. No migraine yet. Fingers crossed. Hmmmmm

Good day

Man I am a sugar & dairy addict. Been craving it something awful and realizing that I ate a LOT of both of those things daily.

Steel oats
Coffee
Cuties
Tuna capers pears mayo almonds
Seaweed

Need MORE water & sleep!

Day Three

Awesome day.

Woke crabby tired grumpy hormotional.
Awesome forced me to hit the road. Met ladies for ride. GLORIOUS!

Fitness Endorphins are an insane drug, nothing better! I thrive on exercise. Never would have predicted that as a teen or 20-something. THRIVE.

Gave myself a pass on a few food items today and feel cool about. For the most part, really sticking to the plan. Harder than I thought!

Steel oats soy milk & maple dash
Backroads ride
Cold steel oats (yum!)
Big side salad
Fresh cod cakes
Poached eggs on greens (no bread)
Hollandaise (not too much.worth it)
Coffee with honey (said no to 1/2 and 1/2)
One bite of hashbrowns. Had already eaten fries.

Didn't order beignet my fav :-( next time after 30 days.
Tons on menu I wanted but really tried (except h-sauce to avoid cheese tasties)
Felt great about not getting my fav ice cream at Mimi's, got sorbet instead. Small raspberry coconut. Only after 3/4 done did I realize it might not have dairy but had sugar. Haha. Too late. Oh well. refreshing!

Really hungry this afternoon~ normally it'd be cheese triscuits cookies. Easily.

Instead it's dried peaches.
Peanut butter. Apple & carrots.


Awareness is the name of the game lately. Awareness!

Day Two

Went ok. Still foggy and hungry despite eating tons.

Oranges steel oats (favorite) nuts eggs kale sushi salad oranges. plain breadstick. Water tea.

Said no to so much yum~pizza cookies cheesy breadsticks mayo cheese butter.

Smoking

Day 1.... Done!

Realized I snack a LOT. I eat a lot if cheese, mayo, sour cream. I didn't today and I'm hungry!

Ate tons of oranges bananas nuts salmon rice tea water.

Said no to sugar a few times. Harder than I thought to just 'not eat it.'

All in all day was great. A bit on edge from no swim or run (no kiddo care & then no motivation late in evening). I love my daily trek. Tomorrow somehow!