Sometimes being unmotivated leads to greatness

Posted on May 28, 2012 by | 5 Comments

Yesterday I woke up feeling a bit unmotivated and sore due to my Brick workout on Saturday.

Bill left bright and early on the group ride and I mulled around the house a bit.  I knew that if I got my running clothes on I would be golden.  I really wanted to get out and get a long run in.

So I turned to my trusty Lululemon clothes to get me feeling good.

Nothing like a cute outfit to help with motivation.

Works every time!

I ended up getting in 10 miles and I felt pretty good.  I tried not to focus on speed and just cruise.

Today after this wonderful cup of joe and this fabulous vegan oats Bill made us (recipe to come!) we are off to conquer some more miles.

Lately, I have been averaging about 35 miles of running a week with one decent bike ride thrown in.  I have been feeling good :)

How have you been feeling on your workouts?

Anything fun planned for your memorial day?

We are lying low and enjoying the good weather.

On a side not, if this old bloggy goes dormant today, it is because she is finally getting her face lift!  Emily at Emily White Designs has been the working genius behind the scenes. Hope you like the new look when it pops up!

Also, if you are subscribed to my blog, you may have to resubscribe when the new site goes into effect.

Happy Memorial Day friends!

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Posted in running, vegan

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First official brick workout

Posted on May 27, 2012 by | 5 Comments

In a recent post of mine, I mentioned that I was thinking of competing in a Duathlon on June 10.  Well I am still thinking about it fairly seriously.

A duathlon is like a triathlon except you just bike and run instead of bike, run, swim.

Since I have been biking and running I figured why not give it a try?

Now I am not a complete newby when it comes to multi sport events.  WAY BACK in college I completed a triathlon and a couple of years back I participated in a practice duathlon.

Well I am in much better shape then I was a few years back and feel I could try a real duathlon.  Not sure if I will do the sprint distance (1.5 mile run, 11.6 mile bike, 1.5 mile run) or the olympic distance 3 mile run, 19.5 mile bike, 3 mile run) yet though.

Yesterday I decided to complete a brick workout.

What is a brick workout you ask?

According to this website, “Bricks refer 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 (I am sure you knew this). Usually when people talk about bricks they refer to a bike/run workout.”

So for my brick, I road my bike 30 miles.

And then ran 4 1/2.  I wanted to go longer but boy that was tough!

I also had a gu in-between my bike and run.

It was fun though and I have to admit I felt like a stud while I was running :)

I also hope to go out for the practice duathlon this Tuesday night to help prepare me even more for June 10th.

Have you ever done two different workouts in a row?

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Posted in cycling, running

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Worth the price

Posted on May 26, 2012 by | 7 Comments

This morning Bill and I are both up bright and early to enjoy the day.  He just left on the group ride and I am getting ready to meet Marianna for a ride up the coast and then a run.

We have already had some coffee with some Giro watching and some pumpkin oats in a jar.  Yes I know it is not pumpkin season but I still love my pumpkin oats :)

Last night we broke in our new find.

I have been coveting a Yonanas machine on Open Sky for far too long.  But I kept weighing the price (40 dollars) with the necessity for it.  Bill and I have made banana soft serve in our magic bullet (major pain!) and food processor ( a bit less painful).  So I kept wondering if the Yonanas machine was necessary.

I think it is!  It works so much better than anything else we have tried (now granted we don’t have a vita mix).  Bill whipped up banana soft serve with some almond butter and vegan chips last night.

MMMMMMMM.

Best part?  It is easy to clean :)

Hope you have a great day planned and hope you have great weather like we do!

Enjoy

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Posted in running, cycling, shopping, vegan

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Grateful thursday

Posted on May 24, 2012 by | 14 Comments

Just when the hustle and bustle of the end of the school year is upon me I try to take moments in each day and savor every hectic second. 

You see this is what we all wait for-the end is near and sweet reprieve from the everyday humdrum of life is ending and summer is almost upon us.  Time to play is near.  Now I am not a teacher anymore so I don’t get the WHOLE summer off but I do get more time to play with weeks of time to savor the ocean, my home, and Pepsi.

Until summer vacation is officially here I want to be grateful for what is going on now.

I am grateful for bloggie gifts that come in the mail.  Thank you Nancy!

My mail box has been running over with fun stuff and it makes Bill and I very happy :)

I am grateful for the Boogie Nights 5K running series that only happens in the summer.

We had our first 5K race last night and it kicked my booty.  Great speed work. 

Here are our results!

I am grateful for a soon to be revealed Blog Makeover.  Emily has just been so awesome to work with and I thank my lucky stars I have her.

And of course I am grateful for a long weekend ahead.  I am very tired and am looking forward to some rest, some house stuff and some rejuvenating runs and rides.

What are you grateful for?

 

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Posted in beauty, dogs, running

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Ten things tuesday

Posted on May 22, 2012 by | 12 Comments

Glad you all enjoyed Bill’s post the other day.  I did too! Hopefully he will be writing more posts in the future for us :)

I thought since today was Tuesday (well almost over now) it would be fun to write a quick Ten Things Tuesday post.

These are Ten Things that are going on in our household as of late.

1. We are enjoying big salads (no surprise there!)  Why change something that works?

2. We are getting out more and breaking through our comfort zone.  This last weekend we headed to Santa Barbara (on a whim) where we shopped and ate.  It was fun and something we need to do more.

3. Running is still taking top priority for me and is slowly taking more of Bill’s time too.  I ran a speedy 6 miles this weekend and I was proud of myself :)

4. Lately there have been lots of time on the ocean.  We live so close!  So I have been taking out my cruiser bike and enjoying mother nature more.

5. Bill and I are thinking of signing up for a duathlon!

6. Another half marathon is on my agenda for June.

7. This little old blog is getting kind of old so she is getting a makeover thanks to EmilyWhite Designs.  We are so excited!

8. We have been graced with many blog “gifts” as of late.  Most recently for these perfectly simple bars.  We love how few ingredients they have in them and they taste so satisfying.

9. Also we got a whole load of these probars.

 

They taste like fruit roll ups with nuts.  FYI – PROBAR is also glad to extend a special one-time discount to ALL our readers… just go to http://theprobar.com/shop and enter code “BLOGGER” at checkout and you’ll get 40% off your first order.  AWESOME deal if you ask me!

And last but not least……….

I am addicted to photo apps!

So fun…….

Happy Tuesday-Almost Wednesday!

Hope your week is going well.  Anything you are especially enjoying as of late?

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Posted in running, shopping, travel, vegan

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Passion vs reality vs happiness

Posted on May 21, 2012 by | 16 Comments

Hey guys it is Bill here.  I’m sharing a post with you all on something I have spent a lot of time thinking about.  Hope you enjoy it and please comment if you have anything to add.

I’ve never understood why some people (including myself at times) can’t come to a realization that we are who we are.  I say this with a great deal of hesitation, because I’m a firm believer we all are hypocrites, and not necessarily in a bad way.

For example, I feel in love with cycling at the young age of 20.  After a few months of spinning around the local hills, I signed up for the Davis Phinney cycling camp in Colorado.  A coach by the name of Skip Hamilton was there.  After a week with Skip, I asked him if he thought I had what it took to become a professional and earn enough money to put a roof over my head and food on the table.  He said no!  ”You have enough talent to become a good category 2 racer and Bill, never mind what other say, it’s all about your genetics.”  What did I do, I went and got some testing done to see what my genetics said.  Skip was right. Damn!  Right there and then, I came to the realization I am who I am, and I will be happy with that reality and continue to enjoy my passion for cycling but just not take it that seriously.


Over the years, I’ve seen men and women who continue to not come to that realization, and pass up countless opportunities, because they think they still can become the next World Champ. I do however admire the ones that get their education, decide on a career all while training for Olympic Gold.

I know this is a tough subject because we are brought up in a society that says you can do anything you set your mind to.  Well, this may be true for somethings, but not athletics.  Just like Skip said,  first comes genetics, and then comes all the other stuff.

I guess at the end of the day, we all have to balance our Passions, Reality, and Happiness.

Right now I am enjoying taking a bit of a break from cycling and competing locally  in running events.  It is a lot of fun and with no pressure from myself I am ending up doing pretty well and enjoying it.

Plus I get to spend more time with Kalli which is always a win-win!

Thanks for reading!

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Posted in cycling, fun, health

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Pics from the weekend

Posted on May 20, 2012 by | 11 Comments

Oh weekend why must you go so fast?

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Posted in dogs, food, fun, shopping

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