Recipes..

I have been doing a lot of research on food and ways to eat and am still in search of the perfect combination for myself. The ways of eating that I have looked at the most are: Paleo, Raw Food, Vegan, Whole Food...the list goes on. I have been feeling a little sluggish and think that maybe what I am eating is not enough to keep up with what I am putting my body through every week. There are several blogs that I like and have been trying new recipes that steer away from anything processed or that uses extra sugar. One of my favorites is: loveveggiesandyoga.com. I tried this recipe over the weekend and it was a huge hit. David loved them. I am excited to try more. I think I will be making granola bars more often...huge success.
After making the mixture, I separated and shaped into 14 bars. I then froze them on a cookie sheet and then, once frozen, put in a plastic bag to keep in the freezer.
Awesome!

Monday, November 8th

Nothing really excited to post except that I got my first road bike! We purchased my bike from Mad Dog Cycles in Orem, Utah. We have been friends with the owner for over 10 years. It is a beautiful carbon bike that fits me great. We decided to take it out for a test ride on Saturday. The weather was almost 70 degrees and a perfect afternoon for a ride through the canyon surrounded by the beauty that fall brings. Well...I didn't make it out of the parking lot. I actually fell twice. My dreams of just hoping on the bike and going really fast along side my husband were halted when I realized the speed play pedal system was a lot more challenging to get used to that I thought it would be.
It was hard for me to get the hang of stopping and clipping out, without falling first. I have some nice bruises today to prove it and already ripped a whole in my seat.
Oh well..I guess everything can't go as planned. The bumps (and stupid falls) in (or on) the road help us to be more determined to succeed. I could have easily just given up and gotten in the car because I was so frustrated. I feel like I gave it a good first efforts and excited to try again.
The only problem is that our beautiful fall weather is quickly turing to rain..not ideal for me to practice.
I will keep training, keep pushing, and praying for some sunny days to get in the saddle for an outside ride.

Wednesday, November 3rd

I was gonna get up and run this morning, but was pretty tired after yesterday. I went to my tri class at Elevate. Jackie, the new swim coach was there. We did abs from 6-6:20 and then got in the endless pools for some swim work. It was pretty hard for me. She had the PSI turned up to 1200, which is a lot of water coming at you and with my shoulder still being sore, it was pretty tough. She had us practice with fins, kick boards, and also hand paddles (which we used when we were just practicing our stroke and keeping our feet still). Just before 7 am, she had us to a sprint...I only lasted 25 seconds.. Overall, it was a good class and I am glad I was able to get in the pool. I haven't really been able to swim since September, so it will be nice to ease back into it.
At 9:00, I went to yoga, which is taught by a lady at my church for free. It's hard to focus on my breathing and balancing when my two year old is running around, but it was helped my flexibility greatly increase in the last few weeks.

I drop off my girls at dance at 4:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I dropped them off and went to the gym. Tyler loves the kids club...so I thought we would try it today. I did a 2 mile warm-up on the treadmill, which was great because I was able to hold my second mile between 7.5-7 mph. It was hard, but I actually did it. I can feel my endurance increasing, which is great.
I then did a quick full-body weight work out and ended with some abs.

Needless to say, it was a long day and I feel asleep on the couch watching Castle with my hubby..but great. It is nice to feel myself getting stronger.

Monday, November 1st

I love this day. It is the day that my kids decide which ten pieces of candy they get to keep from Halloween and the day they leave the rest of it out by the fire place for the"candy fairy" to come and take. They get excited about this, because they will awake to a little present instead of all their candy and I have my children back...the ones that aren't strung out on a sugar high!
Being November 1st, I have decided to take a little challenge myself...no candy, chocolate or extra sugar for me until 2011. The next two months are the hardest to be in shape with the holidays and yummy treats around every corner. I decided that as I continue my training, I want to be my best...and not "weighed down" from the aftermath of a holiday-junk-overload.
I think a few people from my tri class are gonna join me.. we shall see. We did say that agave and honey are ok..so I am sure I will come up with some creative holiday recipes using those instead of white sugar.

After a weekend of Halloween activites, I am excited to start a new week. Today I rode the trainer for an hour. I did 2o minutes at a 15 mph pace, 20 minutes at a 16 mph pace, and 20 minutes at a 17 mph pace with a five minute cool down. This was a great way to start off my week. Here is my general schedule for the rest of this week and I will try to update daily what I actually do.
Tuesday, November 2: a.m. Core and swim class at Elevate
Yoga at church-free class (trying to do with a 2 year old, doesn't always go as planned.)
p.m. weights and run at 24 hour fitness
Wednesday, november 3: a.m. bike ride
p.m. run and core at 24 hour fitness
Thursday, November 4: p.m. swim and weights at 24 hour fitness
(as long as my shoulder is feeling better..if not..I will just do weights)
Friday, November 5: Bike Ride and run
Saturday, November 6: not sure yet..we will see.
Sunday: Day off

So excited this week has started. I am looking forward to the 65degree weather we should be having all week! Hopefully I will finally get my first road bike!