Good As New!

Great news! I went to the doctor yesterday and he is says my hand is ready for my cast to come off. Finally I'll be able to do dishes and type and put my hair in a ponytail. I'm thrilled, but it gets even better than that...

I'm racing the HIM at Rev3 Cedar Point! I got back on my trainer last week and had to dust my bike off. Like, for real. I've been running all along but I haven't been swimming and have only been on my bike once since IMLP. My coach/ best boyfriend in the world, John says I can take the next several days as a mini training camp and I'll be all set. He also says I'll get some post IM strength that will be timed perfectly with the race. So I kicked it off with a long run with John last night.

I'll admit, it has been hard to be away from my training for the past few weeks. It was a reminder of how important exercise is to keep me feeling grounded. I'm beside myself with excitement and gratitude that I can jump back in.

Also, I'm even more excited that I'll run through the finish line and, without stopping, continue running back out to the course to cheer for John and watch him finish the full. He's killing it this season and I know he's gonna have another great race. And I get to race and spectate. Its perfect!

(Pic: Me after an awesome group run with Team Continuum)
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Things Like This

(Pic: Cathy and her doggie on the Jersey Shore)

Make me feel like I've chosen the right work for myself...

Here is a recent blog post from a new client. She used to eat Pop Tarts EVERY morning! She's kicked that habit along with making some other healthy changes.

Yay!

Broken

(Pic: My cast looks pretty with my skirt and prettier with the skull rug)

So yeah, I finally did my first ironman. As soon as I finished I was starving for the next one. I'm a tough little cookie. I train my ass off. Once I crashed my bike pretty badly and then got up as quickly as possible so that I wouldn't waste my time to flirt with the firemen who came to my rescue (Anna - mmmmm firemen). But apparently I'm not invincible becauser after ironman I came home, unpacked, and did the laundry. THE LAUNDRY. On my way down the stairs, with 2 huge bags of smelly triathlon clothing, I tripped and fell. I broke my right hand. Are you kidding me?! Ugh.

That is the last time I do anything as dangerous as LAUNDRY.

So here I am, in a splint - which is a half cast held on by an ace bandage. At least I can take it off to shower. The bad news is that I have to be disciplined about wearing it all the time. I can't type or use a knife. I can't do the dishes. I'm useless. At least I can still talk on the phone so business isn't entirely put aside.

That said, I'm very positive about this. Imagine if it happened before IMLP? All I can do is laugh at my own crazy clumsiness.

I need to be kept in a bubble.
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Healthy Snacking

(Pic: wild blackberries picked on Block Island - note the bracelet on my right wrist)

I received a question from a twitter follower last night about healthy snacking and I thought it would make a useful blog post for my adoring fans.

The question:

What are some healthy snacks I can choose when I start to get brain-dead, tired, and restless around 3pm? A piece of fruit doesn't do it for me anymore and I've fallen into the habit of getting an ice cream instead.

Answer:

1) Your lack of energy could be a hydration issue. One of the first things that happens when we start to become dehydrated is a decrease in energy. We don't actually feel thirsty until we're dehydrated so its important to keep drinking water to avoid feeling thirsty. Also, our brains often misinterpret our body thirst signals as food cravings.

Step #1 to wake yourself up at 3pm... "do a little dance and take a sip of water" -Red Hot Chili Peppers

2) Also, when you crave a snack try deconstructing that craving and identifying the specific qualities of the food in mind. Are you craving creamy or cold food when you get ice cream? Can you find something healthier to have instead, like a creamy and cold smoothie? Or a blended frozen banana? Most people tend to crave certain types of foods all the time. Identify the common qualities and come up with a list of snack ideas that have these qualities.

3) Another way to increase your energy in mid-afternoon is to move your body. Try going for a short stroll, doing push ups, a 5-minute core workout or a few yoga stretches. Any yoga pose that inverts your head will refresh your energy. Try a standing forward bend or a few sun salutations.

4) Create your own healthy snack list. Try making a list of healthy snack ideas based on 4 categories: crunchy, creamy, salty, sweet. Here is an example to get you started:

crunchy

apples
frozen grapes
carrots with hummus
celery with peanut butter

creamy

fruit smoothie
yogurt
frozen, blended banana
avocado

salty

olives
peanuts or other nuts
pickles
steamed veggies with tamari

sweet

wheat grass
baked sweet potato or other root veggie
apple with almond butter
dark chocolate chips

Feel free to leave comments with the snack ideas from your own healthy snack list!

An Exciting New Adventure (which happens to involve racing)

(Pic: yummy acai bowls with granola, banana, and berries)

I'm very excited to announce that I'm going to be a guide for a triathlon. This is something I've always wanted to do and it recently just fell in my lap. I got an email from an awesome woman interested in health counseling. She is legally blind due to a condition that developed several years ago, called macular degeneration. Health counseling with Cathy will involve some interesting problem solving and I've really been enjoying the process with her already. She's very dedicated to her nutrition goals and she's also a triathlete!

Here is her newly created blog that she has dedicated to her journey. I'm very excited to be a part of it! We've already chosen our race, The Trifitness Fairfield Triathlon in CT on September 25th.

This is gonna be fun!

Block Island Tri

And here's another race report...

Last year I came to BI for the first time to do the BI tri with John. I won my age group and had a blast, especially with the barefoot beach run. It seemed crazy to race only 6 days after IMLP but John had a title to defend and wanted to line up and see what happens. I was more than happy to oblige.

Amazingly, I felt great. We did a warm up ride before the race with some pick ups and I felt strong. I didn't know how, or why, but I was ready to race. I was in the first wave for the choppy ocean swim and got out pretty quickly. It was hard to breathe with the waves so sometimes I just held my breath. I swam hard, wanting to get the hell out of there, and ended up having one of the fastest swims I've ever had. Go figure.

I felt pretty good on the bike. Not great, but not terrible. Honestly, I felt much worse trying to ride a week after Am Zof. I've definitely made huge improvements this year with cycling and its the one area I really want to focus on improving in. This race is hilly and windy. Its also beautiful.

The run was on the beach. The trick is to not wear sneakers. The run here is my favorite part. Its somewhere around 4 miles, who's to say for sure. I was definitely feeling physically exhausted for the run but psyched that nothing hurt too bad from IM. I settled into an almost comfortable but fast-ish pace and was able to pass a few women. At the first turn around I counted 7 women in front of me. I went on to pass 2 more and then in the last half mile was passed by a girl in my age group. After she passed me, I had a crazy spectator running alongside me, screaming "block Island Sport Shop!" "John Hirsch dot org!" "Go Guru!". The crazy guy was James :)

I finished 2nd in my AG and 6th overall woman. Awesome day!
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