Back into Swimming, Riding

A quick update: tomorrow I'm going to start swimming again to prepare for my mini-triathalon on 9.25.10. I've not been as active over the past couple of weeks, partially due to a busy schedule, but I'm a little nervous that I'm losing my drive to exercise. I'm also going to get my bike out of the garage! I have a really tough time motivating myself to get out and exercise when I'm tired or worried about day-to-day things. I know swimming will make me feel great tomorrow and bike riding is going to be necessary as I prepare for my 11-miler.

Hiding the Scale

I've done a good job of eating my 10-a-day all week, partially because I've been visiting the salad shoppe! Yesterday I had 5 servings in my salad (beets, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes) a banana, 2 plums, strawberries, corn and tomatoes from my garden. I had a little trouble on Wednesday because I was in a conference all day, but I had about 7 throughout.

I was so excited to harvest fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden yesterday. I was even more excited when Olivia was interested in them. I've had a bit of trouble getting her to eat vegetables lately. Of course, tomatoes are actually a fruit, but she hasn't wanted them since she was about 1 year old. She loved plucking off the stem and popping them in her mouth. She'd get a tart one and give me a "nose crunch" but then she was reaching for another. I love that she preferred the tomatoes to the pasta on her plate (whole wheat pasta, but pasta nonetheless).

I also hid my scale. I'm sick of it. I think it actually makes me less productive because I expect such big changes quickly. And that's that. :)

Monday's 10

As I said yesterday, I was going to post my servings all week...

My 10 servings yesterday...
1 Banana
2 apricots
BIG salad - 5 servings (bell peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, beets, mushrooms)
BIG heirloom tomato - 2 servings
dried mangos

So far today...
1 Banana
BIG salad & steamed veggies at conference - 4 servings (carrots, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes)

I'm staying at a friend's tonight (at a conference) who is a wonderful, fresh veggie cook. I know that she'll either make us a delicious, produce-laden dinner or we'll go somewhere delicious and healthy!

Finished in 3:30! Fastest time: 9:35

I had the Salinas Valley 1/2 Marathon this weekend. What a beautiful course, full of fields and local friends all out for a run. I ended up running the first mile (14:08 pace, 11:00 fastest), and then realized I wasn't feeling well. It felt like my chest/heart was struggling so I speed walked the rest, with a few running sprints here and there. My fastest time was a 9:35 pace - my best ever! We climbed 440 feet, went 13.1 miles and I had an average speed of 16:08. I was pretty happy with the results.

Now I'm gearing up for my mini triathlon on 9/26! It includes a 400-meter ocean swim, 2.5 mile run and a 11 mile bike ride: http://www.mermaidtriathlon.com/09/index.html. This is my perfect opportunity to cross-train and gain running speed.

I've had a hard time keeping up with my 10-a-day. I've just let life "get in the way" over the past few weeks. I didn't make it the priority it had been before, but now I'm completely dedicated to doing it again. To push myself to do so, I'm going to post my 10 each day all week. I'm also going to have breakfast again - I'd lived on coffee most days until noon over the past month. So of course at lunch I'm starved. Breaking bad habits is hard to do, but I'm exercising more than I have in 10 years, and I know I can change my eating habits for the better too.