Back to my Roots

Happy Happy Friday, friends!  What's in store for your weekend?  The hubster and I will be racing a nice area tri on Sunday, the Sodus Point sprint triathlon.  This tri is near and dear to us for several reasons. 

Back in 2005, when we were a newly dating, this was our first triathlon. The hubster's brother in law did Ironman Lake Placid that year and it inspired the hubster to do a tri.  When he told me of his plans, I thought...well, why not?  So I told him I would do it with him.  I'm not really a sit n watch kinda girl.

Thus ensued the hilarity.  See, I hadn't been on a bike in 10 years easily, and I ran one season of cross country in high school because I thought a guy on the team was cute and I wanted to date him (it didn't work).  So I bought a 50 dollar target bike, a pair of running shoes, and a helmet and gave myself a 6 week crash course in training.

The first ride the then boyfriend now hubster took me on, I crashed into him at the first intersection (no, I was not wearing clip less peddles.)

I called a 20 minute run a "long run" and walked more than half of it.

I could not would not put my head in the water and timed myself at 28 minutes for a half mile swim.

Regardless, on August 19th, 2005, I toed the (really wavy) line at the Sodus Swim start, shaking in my non existent boots. 

Of course, this was what would be known as the "epic" race in the Rochester area.  No, not for the scenery.  For the 3 to 4 foot waves that caused them to pull one third of the participants out of the water during the swim.  Awesome first tri. lol.  But I kept my little (then reduced to) dog paddling self alive and made it out of the water intact in order to tackle the 13 mile bike and 5k run. 

Some things are just meant to be!

2 hours and one minute after depositing my breakfast into Lake Ontario (oh yes I did), I crossed the finish line of my first tri.  With the hubster (then boyfriend).  Yup.  We finished together...and the neat part was, neither one of us held back to do it!

Since then, we have become quite the adventurous triathletes, growing into Olympic Distances, Half Irons and full Irons, but every year we return to thei quaint family friendly triathlon, ready to have a great time.  In the 6 years that we've done it, we have crossed the finish line together 3 times, I've won my age group twice, and placed two other times.  I've also brought my time down from 2:01 in my first tri to 1:22 in 2009...my sprint PR (and it's not an easy course! :-P) (Fun note-in 2009 we did this race one week post wedding and wrote "Just married" on our calves).

 But regardless of PR's or placing, this little tri remains near and dear to my heart because it started out as a casual date between two people who were undefined, and grew into a race shared with a committed couple, an engaged couple, and now two old married farts a happily married couple!

  Sodus has magic.  It also has a crazy unpredictable Lake....from 3-4 foot waves (2005), a wicked long course (2008) and 52 degree temperatures (2010).  Who knows what this year will bring...but I do know it will be one more year where the Glaser's make a morning of it and remember why we love to "tri" and mostly, remember with fondness how we got where we are, both as athletes and as a couple.

2009-with our friend Bill!

Budget Fashion

Confession - I nearly choked when I typed this title.  See, I have zero fashion sense.  Nada.  Zilch.  None.  It's not on my list of fun things to do...sadly, I only know how to buy three types of clothes:  bathing suits, bike shorts/jerseys, and running outfits.  Fail.

Regardless, the hubster still loves me even though I am tragic when it comes to wearing clothes, and as a result, I probably wear the same 8-10 outfits in any given month.  Good thing I know how to do laundry, right?

Moving along.  It's not that I don't like to shop.  It's moreso that A:  I don't have time (Ironman training will do that to ya) B:  I am a frugal girl who hates wasting money on non-essentials, and C:  Since I work in an office and have 4 skirts, 3 pairs of pants, and ample sweaters/button downs/short sleeved shirts, I figure no one notices if I wear the same outfit every Tuesday.  (Ok, they probably do.  But I don't think my boss would give me a raise just to go buy work clothes, sadly :-P).

So what's a girl to do?  Well, using my frugal grocery shopping mentality, I decided to go shopping for some summer clothes.  Yup, in August.  End of season sales, people!  I found a 15% off coupon online for Kohl's, and gladly accepted a 10 dollar gift card from Mama TFB that she got in the mail for her birthday.  Sweet!  Armed with these "coupons" I headed to Kohl's.  45 minutes later, I declared success:

Work top, 3 sports bras

Button down for the hubster, two dresses (I have tights to add for fall fashion)

Score.  The best part?  For a top, 3 bras (yes, yes,I KNOW, exercise clothes...what can ya do), 2 dresses and a button down = $34.00 .  SWEET!!  The cashier laughed at me when she rang it all up-total came to 50 bucks, then they took off the 10 dollar gift card, then the 15% for $34.00  At the bottom, it shows how much you saved if everything was "normal" priced:  196.00!!

Now that's a success in my book.  Love end of season sales-Woot woot! 

Now maybe I can look untragic somewhat presentable at work again.  At least from the neck down.  Anyone figure out how to re-style hair or makeup after a lunchtime swim in 5 minutes or less...let me know.

a 50/50 deal

Win some, lose some.
WINNER:  Seeing an old friend last night for the first time in 6 years.  Shooting the breeze for hours like time never stopped.  Awesome.  I love all my friends, but the ones that knew me “back when” are so special because we can pick up right where we left off and they know me so well.  Perhaps, sometimes, too well .  Great to see you Dave!

LOSER:  Waking up this morning and seeing angry clouds and torrential downpours on the day of my 6 hour brick.
WINNER:  Powering through an awesome 60 mile ride and hitting the first half hour of my 2 hour run feelin’ amazing (like 8:30 pace amazing!)
LOSER:  Yet another torrential downpour at mile 3 of the run, dodging a crazy car, tripping over a rock, and doing a face plant on the gravel filled side of the road.

Fug.  (And my hands look just as bad….and my tights are dead ).  I might power through in a race, but I headed home, defeated.  Now, 2 hours later, I think I’ve gotten most of the gravel out.
Now I’m just a bit grumpy, as the workout was really kickin’ it, but I do suppose there are worse things then being sidelined on a rainy afternoon.  Especially since tonight is the SYTYCD finale!

source

Yeah, I know that was from last year. So sue me.  Go Melanie for season 8, but Robert is still my man . 

Purple Power

Time for Tuesday!!  Last night was an excellent anniversary celebration....a quiet evening with the hubster, grilling steak (him) and roasted veggies and chicken (me)!  YUM.  We also watched The Adjustment Bureau (really good!) and, of course, exchanged our "cotton" gifts.  My gift to the hubster: a cotton hammock for 2 for some lazy fall days.  He was pleased!  The hubster's gift to me: a cotton pair of jammies with a bathrobe..and in the pocket a gift certificate for a couple's massage for 2....SCORE!  I would say this was a successful year :-) Here's to 78 (or so) more!!

****



Eggplant-yummy!

 

Now, onto today.   How to follow a fun day like yesterday?  With more veggies, of course!!  Today's "veggie of the day" : EGGPLANT.  I used to eye this veggie with a bit of skepticism-what can one do with an eggplant?  They require too much work!!  But, after rock bottom prices at the Farmer's market, I stocked up, perused some websites, and found a few recipes that looked like they needed some "Rae-a-fying".  Yup.  I just made that up.  It works.

First, you need to  remove excess moisture from the purple orb.  To do this, you can either slice it up and salt it and let it set, or, broil it out.  The latter method worked best for my first dish-Eggplant Parm!

In order to make this dish a little more suited to my tendency to eat the whole thing waistline friendly, I nixed the oil, batter, etc. side of it and chose to use the basics:  an eggplant, a ripe tomato, a cup of organic tomato sauce, fresh garlic, and a smattering of mozzarella cheese (about 1/3 cup). 



Dish one: Eggplant Parm!



Step 1:  Slice up your eggplant, and arrange on a cookie sheet.  broil for 5 minutes, flip, repeat.  This gets rid of the moisture so you don't have soggy pants eggplant (cause that's just gross).  Slice up your tomato.  Arrange a layer of eggplant, layer of tomato, sprinkle of garlic, repeat.  Drizzle the sucker with your sauce, sprinkle your cheese on top, and stick it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.  Holy. Yum.  Super easy, super healthy, super filling!

(note-I did add in a turkey sausage patty for some protein, but you could always amp it up with some ground beef if that's your thang.

Up Close love:




Winner, winner, chicken eggplant dinner.  So, how do I top that?  Don't know if I can, but I decided to use eggplant two yesterday on the grill....this time I sliced it width wise and and sprinkled with garlic herb salt.  Gave it to my grill master hubster, on the grill for 20 minutes alongside some chicken breast and caramelized peppers and onions.  Yum.  O.





Grilled Eggplant with spices plus chicken and spices

Okey Dokey.  Eggplant = Success! Go buy one.  Now.  They are amazing.  You won't be disappointed :-D



Just the 2 of us :-)

Two years ago today, I married my best friend.  It was a whirlwind day filled with laughter, love, tears (of joy) family, and friends.  It was a day I will never forget.  It was, without a doubt, the best day of my life.  I might not remember every minute, but the joy of the day will last a lifetime....not only for those 24 hours, but the two years that have passed with the best guy a girl could ask for at my side!

First Kiss as husband and wife

Webster Park photo shoot (before Superman attempted to foil it)

Love and flowers-check out our awesome photographer!

First dance (fun note-the hubster turned this into a print for our "paper" 1st anniversary!)

Ahhh, what a day!

So,what to do for 2?  Well, there will be cotton (I'm told there is a napkin service waiting for me at home, bahahaha...see if I really give the hubster his fun gift!)....there will be cake (not wedding cake, that was devoured a year ago, and only because it was held for safekeeping far far out of my reach I have amazing self control and wanted to share it with my beloved) and some much needed quality time with my best friend, the hubster!  2 years down, 78 more to go....or so :-).

Tunes for Benincasa

Yesterday afternoon, the hubster and I were lucky enough to enjoy a few hours of music by Glaser and Spring, or my father in law and his buddy Steve, to benefit Benincasa Hospice care, a nonprofit in our area that is very near and dear to us as a family.
Sunny, gorgeous weather, a great band, family and friends, and munchies?  Sign me up!

Steve, Jim and Wayne providing the entertainment!

Uncle Alan and the hubster chillin'

Dad G. concentrating on the tunes :-)

Awesome time and major kudos to the guys for providing the entertainment!  Check them out online for music demos and to purchase a CD to benefit Benincasa!

Can't beat that :-).  Add in a solid double brick (25 mile bike and 3 mile run times two) and yesterday pretty much rocked!!

On tap for today- an 8 mile run in split pea soup weather....yikes.  I took a wrong turn into the run resulting in a massive 1 mile uphill challenge at mile 5 and then finished the last mile uphill as well.  Tough?  Yup, but chalk it up to mental edge workout for Ironman in 7 WEEKS, baby!!  YEAH!!
Workouts done now, it's time to relax a bit before the next fun time...tonight the hubster and I get to inherit the neighbor's 3 weeks for some fun times while Mom and Dad enjoy a much needed night out :-)  Can't wait!  Have a great Sunday friends.....stay tuned for a VERY BIG DAY tomorrow!!!!

The Rocky Relationship with Endurance Training

Or...the popular age old question "How do I avoid burnout??".  Good question.  I'm not sure that I am the best person to ask (the whole pot calling the kettle black thing), but I had a request for it, so here goes. 

Source

So...you signed up for an Ironman (marathon,triathlon, half marathon, pick your poison, etc.).  You picked out your training plan, got excited, and gave it your all for the first 6, 8, 12 weeks.  Then the workouts get longer.  Your free time is less.  You get tired.  And the race is still 8 weeks away!  You begin to dread your 20 miler, 100 miler, 6 hour ride, fill in the blank.  You can't sleep.  Or, you sleep all the time.  Food tastes terrible.  You have no motivation. 

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Welcome to burn out, friends.  It happens to the best of us!  And yes, it happened to me last year training for Ironman.  After 27 weeks of training and 9 to go, I hated the sight of my bike.  I didn't want to look at my running shoes.  And the pool made me want to just drown myself.  But my big race was still 2 months away!  AHHH!!

So what did I do?  Well, I got lucky.  I went away to training camp with 20 amazing people and took in Lake Placid for the weekend.  Amaze.  I returned full of life and ready to tackle Ironman training!!

However, I realize that's a bit narrow :-)  So, if you are feeling the signs of burnout/over training, here are my thoughts and suggestions (and clearly, I am not an expert.  Just have a few years of endurance training under my belt!)

How to Fall Back in Love with your Training

1.  Look at your intensity and volume of training.  How long has it been since you had a rest/recovery week?  Maybe you need to step back for a week to let your body rest.

2.  Look at alternate forms of exercise.  The world will not end if you set aside swimming, biking and running for a week.  How about kickboxing?  Pilates?  Personally, I turn to yoga,  It gives my body a good stretch and reminds me that exercise is more than just about moving my body.

3.  Find a good friend to do a run or ride with.  Oftentimes I find that I get stuck in a rut with routes and it helps to explore other areas.  Also, even though my tunes are good company for a long run, I did a 10 miler a few months ago with a friend in hilly Mendon without music-the hour and a half flew by as we dished about life, and I could have gone for another hour.  Awesome run.

4.  Look into other forms of training-you are doing an excellent job of training your body, but what about your mind?  Long distance racing is about fitness, sure, but it's also largely mental, especially Iron-distance racing.  And if the space in your head isn't in the right place, you'll be in for a long day.  I used this book and this book for my Iron day...and had great success!!  Nothing like fighting an "Epic Battle" on mile 17 of your Ironman marathon (check out the latter book for details-an awesome tool!!)

5.  Finally, look at where you've been.  It's so easy to think "Ugh, I have to cover 140.6 or 70.3 or 26.2 on race day...how am I ever going to get there??"  But let's take your first marathon for example.  Sure, the distance is 26.2...and you haven't ever run that far.  But 4 weeks ago, you might have never run 16 miles, and look at where you're at now!  And if you've done the distance that you are training for, remember that achievement and look back at how far you have come since then.  C'mon, did you really think you could ever do an Ironman?  (or insert your race).  I had my doubts about myself for my first time one year out!!

Well, there ya go.  Not expert advice, but it's worked well for me...I've ditched my training plan for as much as a week at a time (ok, ok, it was my honeymoon) but came back to race a week later with a huge PR!  Why?  I let my body rest and really got excited to race!  Trust me, it works!