Getting back on track and the West Point Tri

Well guys now that summer school is over, I'm determined to get back on track.  I didn't completely go by the way side during the past 8 weeks, but I will admit my working out and eating were not on point. I decided to set aside my working out for the sake of NEEDING to get through the first semester of Physical Therapy school.  I made sure to at least get in one workout a week but it was never consistent. It was enough to maintain a tiny bit and that's it.

Eating on the other hand suffered immensely.  I'm not perfect, I'll admit.  I emotionally ate.  I munched when I studied...(according to my histology professor it's okay to eat sugary foods while studying b/c the thinking process burns glucose!).  I might have taken that to heart a bit too much.  :-/  It's easy to go down in a spiral with food once you start eating bad.  I even stopped by the shopette the night before a test and purchased a Snickers bar, a bag of Reesens, a bag of Haribo sour spaghetti candy, and a bag of Laffy Taffy.  Ugh.  I ate the Snickers bar before I even made it home...and it's only a 60 second drive to my house.

To get my eating back on track my meals will look like:
*This is a very broad menu.  I will add things here and there, but this is the general gist...

M1:  1 cup non-fat greek yogurt sweetened with 1tsp of Truvia and berries; 1 slice cinnamon raisin Ezekial brand whole grain bread with coconut oil and a pinch of honey; coffee with one packet of Stevia and unsweetened almond milk
M2:  4 homemade protein bars and a bag of raw veggies
M3:  6oz of meat (either beef or chicken) and veggies.  We always grill/cook more at the beginning of the week for lunches.
M4:  Two 4-oz low fat cottage cheese containers and veggies
M5:  6oz of meat with veggies.  Occasionally a health carb, but not every night.
M6:  (before bed) Protein shake.

Of course drink water, water, water.
On days I workout, post workout shake with all natural whey protein, banana, and ground flax seed.

I need my workout schedule to be on track because then my eating will be on track.  With something to focus on, it makes me stronger to the food temptations.  I knew every time I put that sugar in my mouth that my tone would suffer, but I didn't it anyway!  So now it's time.  It's time to get back on track.  And you can too!!!!  Eat clean and train dirty.  Like I have always said, 80% of your results are from what you put in your body and the other 20% is from working out.  Don't be afraid of the weight room.  Muscle is beautiful.

Last weekend I participated in the West Point sprint triathlon.  It was a great race.  800m swim, 14 mile bike, and a 5K run.  I haven't been practicing my swim (or run for that matter) so 800m felt like a life time of a swim.  Every time I pulled my head up to check my direction I swore that buoy was getting further away.  Next time for long(er) swim distances, I must practice ahead of time.  I thought I would pull out a 17 minute swim or so.  I was surprised when I was in the 15 minutes range!  Great work Lar!  The bike course is the road I always ride.  I know the hills and everything about that road.  I felt like that was my advantage.  I had a good ride and finished in the length of time I typically always do that ride in.  There was another female on the ride that kept going back and forth with me.  I eventually left her behind me.  However, she caught me the last 1/2 on the run and beat me.  That was frustrating!!!  My 5k run was 24:28.  A decent time, but nothing spectacular.  After reviewing the results, I know I need to get my run time down in order to be more competitive.  Unfortunately, I know me and I know I'm probably not going to go out and 'run.'  I always pick weights and HIIT over just going out for a long(er) run.  I finished number 21 for overall females and number 144 overall males and females.  There were some 900 participants.  Going into the race my goal was to finish in the 1 hour and 30 minute time range (so if I crossed the finish at 1 hour and 39 minutes, than I was happy).  I finished in 1:29!!!!  Yahoooo!

Race set up.  I love my new Nike Free running shoes.  They are so amazingly comfy...and the color makes me very happy!

Pre-race.  This picture really visualized for me how much of my muscle tone I lost over the summer.... :-/

Coming out from the swim.  This was my first race trying out the swim suit and tri shorts for my race attire.  I actually really like it.  Until I find something more fashionable to wear that is...

First race on my new bike, Trek Madone 3.1.  Love her!

5K run.  You can see the girl behind me who I kept going back and forth with and she eventually beat me.  There is 1/2 mile left in the run at this point. I'm still mad at myself that she beat me!