Simple September = Slackerville?

I feel like such a slacker for only doing one workout. Isn't that ridiculous? I think so. But, since I am making sure to keep September simple, I'm trying to avert my eyes from my inner over-achiever's (and my outer over-achiever's, too) temper tantrum and pretend like its no big whoop.

I stumbled into the two-a-day workout routine by accident, I promise! I always do my morning workout, rain or shine no matter what because the alternative is unacceptable to me, but lately I've also been popping the baby into my Kelty Kids hiking backpack and going for a hike for a few miles. When I looked up to see how many calories that burned, I was shocked: over 300 calories for an hour of walking! So that was a nice little boon to my day.

And before I knew it, two workouts a day became the norm. The morning weights/plyo/run or elliptical routine, and then the 2 or 3 mile hike with a 25 lb pack. And I started getting tiiiiiired.

Plus the baby's not sleeping AT ALL so that doesn't help. Grrr.

Anyway, this morning I didn't hike because we were doing other stuff. I felt kind of like a slacker. So I told myself we would walk later. But we haven't done it yet. Then I realized how ridiculous it was that I was feeling bad about not working out twice a day.

Hey, isn't September supposed to be simple? In honor of that idea, I am declaring it okay to not work out twice a day, and its okay to not feel guilty about it too. I love my two-a-days. I love how I feel when I am really active, and I enjoy the extra calories I get to eat as a result. But I'm not going to beat myself up over it!

It's okay to not feel bad about only exercising one time today.
www.freedigitalphotos.net

Get out there and get healthy. Even if you only workout once a day. :)

HH

The Clutter-Free Workout

Like most people, one of the big reasons I like to exercise is to clear my head.  People talk at me all day long and to be honest, I love you guys but sometimes it just plum wears me out.  So I center myself through exercise. 

And I throw stuff out.

Way back in the day, my husband proposed marriage by saying he wanted to have "a garage full of junk" with me.  Well, mission accomplished.  Over the 13 years of our marriage we have done our patriotic duty of accumulating lots of STUFF.   We have a small house.  I like my small house.  All of the stuff?  Not so much. 

So for the past couple of years, I have done periodic PMS-fueled closet purges, bringing carloads of stuff to Goodwill or leaving it out for neighborhood dumpster divers.  It feels amazing.  The less stuff I have, the happier I am.  

This is me after decluttering.
Except I wouldn't have the
scarf-thing because I would
have decluttered it.

And, as it turns out, my workouts are better as a result.

I've started noticing a pattern: whenever I declutter, the next week's workouts are absolutely exhilerating.  I'm sure there are other bigger-picture things going on at the same time that contribute to it but I have decided that this is the reason and it's my blog so get over it.  My runs are better, I am more flexible, I lift heavier, and I am faster.

I am happier.  Instead of focusing on stuff, I am focusing on life.

The clutter-free life is leading to clutter-free workouts.  Clutter-free workouts lead to a happier me.  I am totally in favor of that.

But don't worry, the hubs still has his garage full of junk.  It's called the Man Cave.  The Man Cave makes a happier husband. A happier husband means I can train more.  Me training more makes me happy.  Everyone wins. :)

Want to declutter your life to declutter your workouts?  Check out these tips. 

Just don't print it out. :)

That Dang Learning Curve!

Okay so blah blah blah I'm training for a triathlon, its hard, wah wah, I'm having to do all sorts of different stuff, blah. You already know that.

But that being said, the triathlon is less than a month away. Eeek! I am getting pretty excited about it, but have realized in the past few days, as people tell me stories about their first triathlons and the lessons they learned, that, well, I still have a lot to learn. I feel confident with my ability to do each of the legs with competence (especially since I looked up the times from last year's race and figured I was at least faster than the slowest person there...I think), but I've started to get apprehensive about the transition stations.

I have a lot of questions, most of them revolving around the issue of whether I will be able to eat. I have this thing where I get nervous doing endurance sports on an empty stomach, which of course would lead to low blood sugar, which of course would lead to me passing out on the course, lying defenseless and alone for a rabid animal to drag me into the woods and devour me before anyone even noticed I was gone. So if I could stash a banana somewhere that would be cool.

But I have other questions, too, like...what do I do? Luckily the internet is FULL of helpful people who are so friendly and eager to share their expertise with me! Actually, I was pointed in the direction of some really great resources that helped answer some of my burning questions.

1. Can I eat in the transition area? If so, should I? And what?

This article recommended putting some energy gel in my station, but I prefer to eat actual food. So I plan to pack a few Lara bars, which are small and all-natural. I may also need to eat a bunch of pancakes the night before just to be sure I have an adequate storage of glycogen.

2. What should I do to make the swim-to-bike transition easier and faster?

I found some great tips on TriNewbies, like having a bucket of water to get sand off of my feet, and Active.com suggested wearing shoes with elastic laces to save time with tying them. Other tips like hanging my bike helmet on the handlebars, making sure my tires are inflated, and having plenty of water may seem like no-brainers but could easily be overlooked in all the excitement of nerves, adrenaline, and carb-loading. And I'm pretty much expecting to be no-brain by the time I get to the starting line anyway. A great example is provided at FitEgg with a walk-through of a sample swim-to-bike transition, which is the one I am most concerned about.

3. What do I wear?

I have a borrowed wetsuit for the swim, but after that I am at a loss. I assume I'll wear my speedo and tug on some shorts for the bike and run. This article suggested slathering up with BodyGlide, which sports a website featuring pictures of intense-looking athletes unburdened by chafe. Naturally a hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses will be required...although my prescription aviator glasses might not be quite what I need.

4. How can I maximize the limited training time I have left?

I've been invited on a few "brick" workouts, which I've passed on partly because they were not at convenient times and partly because I still have nightmares of a swim coach that made us tread water holding bricks over our heads as he sat on the diving board eating doughnuts. For real, that actually happened. But I don't feel so bad now that I realize I've been doing them on my own. A brick workout, from my interpretation, is pretty much a practice run. I've done a couple of bike-to-run workouts and felt the burn of trying to run a 5k after biking 15 hilly miles (not fun). This article at Active.com explains how to do a much more technical version than my homemade practice session. I don't know if I am going to get that intense; I mostly just want to finish the run without throwing up or collapsing.

There are a lot of people out there who are really passionate about triathlons. It makes me excited to be planning my first one; the energy, enthusiasm, and encouragement I've received adds a whole new training element to the workouts themselves.

Okay, enough blah blah, time to go practice my transition....to bed. :)

Regina Benjamin Sweats Off Her Makeup and You Should Too

You may recall a few months ago when President Obama announced the appointment of Regina Benjamin as Surgeon General and her charge of tackling our nation's obesity problem, and the subsequent questioning of her ability to lead an overweight nation into a healthier place when she, herself, was not exactly channeling Denise Austin in her stage presence. Nope, she was a regular old American - overweight, over-scheduled, and just as vulnerable to the siren song of a Grande Java Chip Frappuccino (460 calories and 19 grams of fat, justsoyouknow) as a soccer mom on her last pick-up of the day.

But I guess the nation eventually realized that they didn't really have much room to be judgemental. In a nation where one in three U.S. children and 67 percent of adults are considered overweight or obese, finding someone to tackle the job who didn't have a weight issue would be a challenge. And, her credentials are solid.

But more than that, she's a straight-talker who has a pretty sane perspective on where we've gone wrong and what needs to change in our country to reverse the statistic that estimate that by 2015, nearly 75 percent of the U.S. population will be overweight or obese. In a press conference this week, she described some of her plans for making sure "Wall-E," with its blimp-like mush-people happy to sit in recliners and eat cupcakes in a cup for the rest of their lives, remains a work of fiction.

In this msnbc.com interview, Surgeon General Benjamin focuses on practicality, some tough love, a few reality checks, and her reasonable expectation for Americans to take personal responsibility for their health and realize that when it comes to getting (and staying) fit and functional, there isn't an app for that. You have to do it yourself.

Some highlights that made me a fan:

1. She calls out the food manufacturers on their aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods, and the practice of offering healthier options as an alternative, not a first choice. Educating people about the value of eating healthier food only goes so far; more communities need access to fresh produce at an economical scale that can compete with the dollar menu so people can act on the knowledge they have gained, not just know it.

2. She debunks the role of genetics in our obesity problem. It's true that some people suffer from genetic disorders that make maintaining a healthy weight more difficult than others. But by and large, obesity is more related to lack of activity and chronically poor nutritional choices due to a over-indulged sense of entitlement in our country. We work hard, and we deserve a 650-calorie Blizzard, God-dammit. No. No, we don't.

3. She calls for the reinstatement of recess and physical education in our schools. Not only does research show unquestionable links between regular physical activity and the reduction of stress, take a look around at kids today. Enough said.

4. She talks like a normal person without a personal agenda. I love that she references going dancing and "sweating off her makeup," her personal elliptical workouts, and her admitance that if she didn't pay attention to her nutrition and exercise she would be a "big blimp." To see and hear a national leader be frank about what they are personally doing to be part of the solution, without placing blame or promoting an agenda, is refreshing and inspiring, and I applaud it.

I'm a fan of Regina Benjamin. I'm encouraged by her perspective and am on board to help her achieve her goal of creating a healthier nation. Read her Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation for more information on what you can do to join in and yeah, blah blah blah, make a difference.

And then go sweat off your makeup. :)

New Locker Room, Same Butts

Since I've been following my triathlon training schedule, I have been back in the pool swimming laps a few days a week. And you know, wow, I had forgotten how much I love swimming until I snapped on my goggles and pushed off the side of the pool, gliding through the water and finally being alone with my thoughts. One of my favorite parts of lap swimming is the solitude. It's impossible to carry on a conversation, you can't really see anyone, and its virtually silent except for the splish-splashing of the other swimmers, too caught up in their own little world to notice you. The pool where I swim has a cover on it for the winter, so it is even more quiet than it usually would be. As a chronic yabbermouth, having this forced quiet time is really therapeutic for me. Thirty minutes practically fly by, and at the end of my workout I feel relaxed, calm, and at peace.

And then I go into the locker room.

I've dressed in many a locker room, and over the years I have learned that each one has its own set of etiquette. As a newbie in this particular scene, I wasn't sure what the rules were. I am specifically referring here to nudity - each locker room has its own unwritten rules. Some locker rooms are full of women who stand in the corner, face the wall, change as quickly as possible, and make a stealth escape. Others have women who stand in the middle of the room, naked as a jaybird, and exchange recipes for bean dip. You just never know what you're going to walk into. I'd put myself somewhere in between. I don't mind being naked, but I do realize that not everyone wants to see me that way.

So I was halfway between getting out of my suit after my swim when I realized...I didn't know if this was a naked locker room or not. I was in a bit of a pickle.

A quick scan of the room provided no help. It was practically empty, with just two other women who were already dressed. I was going to have to just go with my gut, pun intended. I walked nonchalantly into the shower area and saw my first clue - there was no obvious place to hang my towel. This was a naked locker room, it was clear to me now. If people brought towels which which to hide themselves post-shower, there would be hooks. There were no hooks. I left my towel behind.

As I tried in vain to get the chlorine smell out of my hair and skin (it never works), I had to laugh at the absurdity of it. I mean, we're grown women, we know what we've got. And trust me, none of us has anything to be ashamed or particularly proud of. We've got c-section scars, stretch marks, cellulite, real boobs, and back fat. By the time we get back into our cars and drive back to our respective workplaces, all of those things have been effectively camoflauged, but in the locker room, its all the same butts.

So I walked my butt back to my locker (naturally I had chosen the one furthest away) and dared someone - anyone - to imply that my choice to go toweless was anything other than practical. No one did. No one cared. They'd seen it before.


The ear infection has sidelined any swimming for a while, but I still have my suit and goggles in my gym bag, ready to go when my ears return to normal. I'll remain camoflagued until then, but hopefully soon I'll be back, keeping it real in the naked locker room.

Have a healthy day, naked or not.