Trying for a Tri

Guess what guys? I ran today!! Nothing huge, just a short jog on the treadmill. I’m just happy I ran and lived to tell the tale! Which I’ll get to, but first, my morning oats

My oatmeal and yogurt parfait.

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp soy protein powder
• cinnamon
• fresh strawberries and blueberries
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt w/ stevia and vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Fiber One cereal

I love having this when it’s warm out. A great way to get some hot oatmeal in the summertime

Just a quick time-out, I’m watching the Ellen Show right now (gotta love time shifting!) and Portia de Rossi is on. Holy cute!! Ohmygoodness… Anyone else see this today?

What’s a post without a few random thoughts??

Moving on to a fun new snack I had today…

Iso Femme chocolate decadent almond delight bar. This caught my eye because I’m currently using Iso Femme chocolate whey powder. I don’t have a “usual” brand, I typically just buy whatever is cheap and doesn’t look scary. I’ve been liking the powder, so I wanted to give the bar a shot!

 

Sorry they’re not great pictures, you can click to enlarge them. The only iffy thing in the ingredients in partially hydrogenated palm oil. The bar is only 160 calories and with 14g protein and 17g carbs, that’s pretty good. But what’s most important here is how it tasted.

My first thought was that it tasted like a protein powder. But I actually like the taste of protein powder, so I eventually started to enjoy it. I don’t think this is something I’ll start eating regularly, but I can definitely see myself buying it again. For 160 calories, it filled me up nicely. Much better than some of the higher calorie bars out there (ahem! clif!).

The bar also gave me lots of fuel for my first run in almost a month! Can you believe it’s been that long? Today was a scheduled swim day, but the heating system is down at the university. Which means no heated pool, and even worse, no hot shower afterward. So I swapped it out for my run + strength day. Yeah, I’m a wuss, but at least I’m a non-hypothermic wuss

First, the run. Or I suppose, jog. I did 20 minutes at 5.6 mph at a 0% incline (with a 5 minutes of walking for both my warm-up and cool-down). At first my hip was in shock as to why I was doing this to it. But then it eased up a little, and the jog was actually enjoyable My hip is a little stiff as a result, and I’ve been getting slight shooting pains. But definitely nothing to get concerned about. I stretched and foam rolled like it was my job after. Makes me optimistic that I can at least do a few treadmill jogs for the running portion of my tri training.

I also hit up the weight room today, which hasn’t seen me in at least a couple weeks. I did only upper-body and core as not to aggravate my hip any further. Unfortunately, I’m losing strength. I can’t use the same weights I could when I finished New Rules of Lifting for Women. Ho hum. I already can’t wait to start a new lifting program in the fall.

Incline dumbbell shoulder press:
3 sets @ 25 lbs x 4 (I’m down two reps with this!)

Dumbbell prone Cuban snatch:
3 sets @ 10 lbs x 8 (this was actually borderline too easy. I think swimming is strengthening my shoulders)

Wide-grip lat pulldown:
2 sets @ 55 lbs x 6
1 set @ 50 lbs x 6 (that’s down 10 lbs from last time!)

Cable row:
1 set @ 60 lbs x 6
2 sets @ 55 lbs x 6

Back extension:
3 sets @ 8 kg x 8

Horizontal woodchop:
3 sets @ 40 lbs x 8

Swiss ball crunch:
2 sets @ 6 kg x 15

Reverse crunch:
2 sets @ bw x 15

Elbow-to-knee:
2 sets @ bw x 20 (each side)

Total duration: 1 hour and 3 minutes
Calories: 326
Max HR: 144
Avg HR: 117

So not an intense workout. I’m sure I’m in less pain now because of that

I was pretty hungry when I got home. Strength training always stirs up my appetite! (okay, what doesn’t…)

A fried egg and a PC meatless deli slice on an english muffin. With an orange and PVL cranberry-raspberry whey cooler. Yummmy!!

I also did some more de-cluttering. Today’s victims were a few old shoes.

I’ve got a ridiculous number of shoes for a person who wears the same two pairs over and over. I’ve never been much of a shoe gal. And now that I’m trying to keep my body in tip-top shape for training, I don’t want anything that hurts my feet or gives me blisters!! Sayonara old shoes…

I also had an old man snack.

The cantaloupe was super ripe and so easy to dig into with my spoon. Mmm…

Besides running, the most exciting part of my day was finally buying some bike shorts!

  
They’re Louis Garneau women’s request plus. I tried on some multi-sport shorts, but I liked the bike specific ones much better. Plus, they had more padding. My crotch is going to be a happy camper on my bike ride tomorrow!! I’m also considering getting a new saddle for my bike since the one I’m using now is meant for men. Not a huge deal right now, but will probably be good for the longer bike trips I’d like to do later in the summer.

Supper was quick and satisfying.

Hummus stuffed chicken, steamed broccoli and sweet potato chips. I was too impatient to wait for the sweet potato to crisp up in the oven, so I cooked it between paper towel in the microwave for 5 minutes, then broiled for an additional 2 minutes. Actually made for a nice chewy texture

I can’t believe the day is over already. Where did the time go?

Question time! What is your favourite type of workout/activity? I think throwing dumbbells around may be my favourite. But I also love my spin class and ice skating!