Tuna bowl

Each week my eating improves a little. I have found that while I'm studying at work I do a whole lot better if I have protein for breakfast as well as lunch. This bowl tides me over quite nicely. I steam the veggies the night before, then throw in a small can of 4 bean mix and about 75g of chili tuna. I also like a bit of avocado in there if I've got some.

Swim: 10m | 500m | 2:00m/100m. Relay races in PE. Fun!

Time keeper

If it were my choice, I'd never wear a watch. I didn't for 11 years while at my old job, because when I did I'd sit staring at it wondering why on earth time was at a standstill. However with new career come new requirements, one of them to accurately record the time. Oh and to be on time!

My choice was the Polar FT40 and I don't regret my choice. I wanted something a little less full on than my Garmin 310XT (which I still love) for the pool, stationary biking and any other physical activities asked of me.

I was initially skeptical that the white rubber wrist band wouldn't stay white for very long, but five months down the track it looks like it did the day I got it.

I love the ridiculously easy to read numbers and the fact that you have the option of having the day of the week included in the date format.

For the most part it records my heart rate accurately. It can be a little dodgy in the pool - like most HR monitors I've ever used, but it is far more reliable at recording my HR than my Garmin 310XT is.

For every session it logs calories burned, the percentage of calories burned as fat, how long you were in fat burning zone vs fitness zone, average and max HR.

There's also a fitness test application within the watch to measure aerobic fitness. But lets face I haven't made use of that yet.

Sat; run: 17:06 | 3.07km | 5:34/km. Vibram run. Short & sweet.

Fri; swim: 18:00 | 1000m | 2:00m/100m. Part PE part my own doing.

Thurs; run & strength:: 30:11 | 5.5km | 5:29/km. There's nothing like healthy competition to push the pace. This was in PE class! Half an hour of strength after the run. Shoulders & abs focus.

Wed; strength: 40m. Included 5 min on the bike to warm up. Hard legs session. I could feel my quads burning.

Tues; bike trainer & strength: 55m spin class + 40m back, biceps & abs in the gym.

Choc Berry Protein bars

I also made these chocolate protein bars featured in Jamie Eason's Live fit trainer series. The change I made surrounded the pureed baby food that I've never heard of. Instead I subbed in ~220g of frozen berries. Worked a treat! They are easily portable and make a great pre or post workout snack.

Agility; 25m. Included some pylometric work. 
Bike trainer: 10m | 4km. Warm up. 5 min easy, 5 min of 30s climb, 30s easy.
Strength: 30m. The gym was packed tonight, I did what I could on the equipment and then headed home to finish off the rest of the sets.

Failure to plan

...is planning to fail. So very true when it comes to my eating habits. 
I have to be organised. I have to be prepared, otherwise it leads to poor food choices. Last week proved that. I want to give myself every opportunity to make the right choices. So this weekend, with no study commitments I got into the kitchen.

Hello sweet potato and tuna patties! I based it on this recipe, but made some changes.

• 1 medium (about 400 - 300g) orange sweet potato, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1 x 425g can tuna chunks in brine, drained
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• freshly ground black pepper 
• handful fresh herbs (basil & parsley from the garden)
• spring onion if you've got it
• Chili flakes if you like it spicy (I forgot and ate mine with tabasco sauce)

Basically cook the sweet potato until it's mashable (either by boiling or microwave) then add everything else & form into patties, then lightly fry in your preferred oil.

The recipe said it served four, but I'd say I'll get five - six lunch servings.
They're in freezer ready to grab during the week. Score!

Sun; ride: 34:30 | 14.8km | 25.9km/hr.
Sat; strength: 20 min

Not a bad week

Compared to the few last weeks I've been so much better with my food intake. Being committed to logging my food on Fitday helps. I've managed to cut back on the mindless eating. It's still there to a degree, but I've really been asking myself if I'm hungry. If I am, I give myself permission to eat. If not, and I still want something I go for a cup of green tea.

I've packed satisfying healthy lunches (hello, veggie filled wrap!) and taken enough snacks (almonds, capsicum, banana) to work so that I'm not so ravenous by the end of the day.

Thurs; commute: 1:00 | 16.7km. Took the slow bike into the city and loved every moment on a reasonably warm Autumn day!

Wed; boxing & strength: 30m & 15m. PE boxing class, love it, it was at the end of the day and we went hard. Additional strength because I could.

Tues; spin class & strength: 43m & 20m. HR based training in spin class. Loved it, reminded me of my hardcore triathlon training days! Additional strength because I could and also because during the day we did 5 mins of burpees. Seriously, 5 minutes. Try it one time. Ouch!

Great Train Race | Puffing Billy

Run: 1:20:40 | 13.2km | 6:07min/km

Pre-race routine:

Drove out to meet P & M at Ferntree Gully station, on the way I ate breakfast that consisted of two crumpets with peanut butter and a coffee. Because M was spectating we decided to carpool to Belgrave, the race start. We stood around for a bit before they started calling competitors.

Run comments:
I could not believe how quickly the first 3 kms went. It was pretty much all downhill, past cheering spectators and beautiful forest.

At about 5km there was a hill that was a real giver. It just kept going and going and going, I ended up having to walk for a little bit.

We were held up by the second train at the last crossing. I wasn't overly disappointed, it was quite fun having all the passengers wave at us. The community involvement in this run is pretty impressive too. People were cheering from their picnic tables, or chairs that they'd set up outside their houses. There was a huge Country Fire Authority and Police presence too.

Running into the finish line was spectacular, the park and trees in all their Autumnal glory. There's a little kicker to the finish line which made it difficult to sprint finish.

Two things struck me about the run - I was surrounded by people the entire time. For so long it was just me at the back with very few other people running as slow as I.

The second was that I estimated I'd come in at 1:20 and actually did. Usually my expectations far exceed my talent.


What would you do differently?
About 30 seconds before the race start I remembered I'd forgotten to eat my clif shots.

Not really knowing the course I held back a touch - not a whole lot, but I wish now I'd pushed harder in the last couple of km. I'll know for next time. There will be a next time. A fun run indeed.

Warm down:
Mmm blackberry gatorade, I'm a fan.

What limited your ability to perform faster?

I've not done a whole lot of run training, let alone hill training. I was buoyed by the fact that I ran a 9.6km last weekend, that had it been extended to 10km would have been a PB. My form appears better without training ;)

Other places: Fitocracy

Fitocracy. I found the app first, then realised there was a full site. Earn points, unlock achievements, beat quests, and slay the laziness dragon is the general gist. It's a great place to log strength. I've never really logged strength at Beginner Triathlete, only the time spent doing it. Fitocracy makes it worthwhile doing so! I find myself doing one more set so I can get the extra points. And on the days I've done nothing, it usually entices me to at least knock out a set of push ups or sit ups. Better than nothing.

If you join, come say Hi!

Other places: Beginner Triathlete

I wanted to do a little feature on other places I log my training. It cycles through, but I glean motivation from each site at different times.

Are you a beginner triathlete? Are you a seasoned triathlete? Whatever the case there is a gluttony of triathlon related information to be found at Beginner Triathlete. I've been logging there since September 2004. I don't love the site design but I absolutely love the amount of information I can get from my training. I can look at that calendar above and know that in April I had 5 full rest days (yellow squares). That looking at the graph my exercise has been tapering severely over the last five weeks. That I have not been consistent at all.

It is an amazing and supportive community there. There's forums, race reports, gear reviews and plenty of people to answer whatever question you may have about triathlon. I can't imagine ever not logging there.

Bike trainer: 30min | 12km | 24km/hr. I totally sweated it out one of the many Biggest Loser episodes I've missed.
Strength: 15m. Arms & chest.

Finding my groove

Post ride/strength lunch. An egg scrambled with cottage cheese, avocado, tomato, onion and spinach on a wholemeal wrap, with a banana, coconut milk & protein powder smoothie. I'm going to find my groove again. Next week is all about sliding back into the usual routine. Study is required, but I should also be able to balance it with plenty of exercise.

I also signed up for a cycling challenge to coincide with the Giro. With no races planned for after tomorrow I should be able to be bike focused!

Ride: 1:02:00 | 25.25km | 24.4km/hr. A little slow, but riding with lots of lights/slow points and didn't really get a chance to get going. 45min of this was in the rain, but with a jacket and warm gloves I was ok. Enough cannot be said for the right gear!

Strength: 10m. Focus mainly on the arms and shoulders. Trying to save my legs for tomorrow's Puffing Billy/Great train race run.

Good things Friday

• I harvested this pomegranate from our tree this morning and plan to enjoy it with some yoghurt later.
• I'm on afternoon shift so I've got the whole morning and a little more to do as I please.
• Part of my morning was spent running. Awesome for two reasons (a) it stopped raining and (b) gosh running, hard but so so good.
• Looking forward to the Puffing Billy run on Sunday.

Run: 53:03 | 8.41km | 6:18/km. 4km of flat, 4km of hills.
Strength: 15 min. Crunches, push ups, shoulder presses, dumbbell flyes, lateral raises.

Wed; strength: 35m. Ahh strength, you save me on rainy days!

Tues; strength: 30m

Mon; strength: 30m

Monthly totals: April 2012

Bike: 5:35:52 | 126.84 km

Run: 7:06:21 | 65.6km

Swim: 29m | 1400m

Agility: 48m

Strength: 1:55

Bike trainer: 2:53:30

Horseriding: 3:00

Mountain bike: 4:40

Walking: 1:23

Weight: Same. 62kg. Stayed the same and I can pretty much repeat last months update of: I struggled with my eating this month. I don't eat a lot during the day due to the discomfort it causes, I then find myself lacking energy to workout after work/class and I go home and eat far too much. Where far too much has resulted in binging.

Access to the free pool saw my swim load diminished, but I'd say April has seen my highest riding and running totals for the year. Happy times! As it gets cooler I foresee even more strength and bike trainer.