Home Sweet Home with a Case of the Mondays

So many of my posts over the last six months have somehow related to travel. Neighbors and people at church have begun frequently commenting on my adventures and I'm happy and proud to have another activity with which to identify.
For the past few years, doing triathlons has been a big part of my identity and a source of pride. It's funny how quickly things can flip upside down as this year, without the aid of a team to train with, I feel woefully unprepared for the one sprint race I registered for. It's this Saturday and I have had a stomach ache all day in anticipation. 4 more days of this feeling??! Somehow, I need to convince myself to not worry about the numbers and just enjoy the event. We use to placate ourselves with thoughts of it being more than most people do but it's still hard not to make comparisons, if only with your former self.
Identifying with travel as my hobby of choice slightly softens the blow of not being proud of myself for triathlons this season. At least I have something else exciting to fill the void, right?
That was all a tangent, though. My main focus when I started writing this blog hours ago before I got sidetracked about 419 times was to write about the mixed blessing of coming home again. After another week away, I really wanted to be at home.
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to spend 4 days at a friend's beach house on the Maine coast followed by 3 days at a different friend's Cape Cod house. Both were relaxing, filled with good company and conversation, and wonderful venues to follow my own volition; to choose how I wanted to fill my time instead of sticking to frantic schedule that is my normal routine. With one night at home in between, I found it hard to leave again. I wanted to spend time with Hubby, to pet the cats, to clean the house!
When I finally arrived home last night, it was welcomed as I enjoyed my familiar surroundings, my own comfortable couch and bed, the TV shows I had recorded, the husband and the cats. However, it also brought a to-do list both at home and, today, at work as long as the neck of a giraffe. After a week of ignoring responsibilities, it feels like they have reproduced Gremlin-style, seemingly exponential in growth.
This post isn't profound or even amusing but it was really cathartic for me. I just needed to "say" that I'm glad to be home and glad to have a break before my next extended stay away from home but also that this kind of stress that I'm returning to is exactly what makes me want to drop it all again and lay in the sun without a deep thought in my head.

Glacier Hike and Climb

During a week in Boston where the temps have been hovering around 90, I am slightly fascinated by these pictures from my trip to Iceland. I have never really shown pictures from that trip here and I think it's about time they start surfacing! Trouble is, trying to spell any of the places I saw there is near impossible. The combinations of letters is way more than my simple English only brain can comprehend.

This ice arch was dripping ferociously and the guide said it probably wouldn't be there the next week. He pointed out the fissure, which you can see in on the right, sloping down from the top. He then proceeded to walk us under the arch:)

The black lines are from volcanic ash. We drove by the volcano that had erupted the year before (and I think just had another, less major, eruption in May, perhaps).

These black lines, again volcanic ash, show all of the volcanic activity that has occurred during this ice's lifetime.

I strongly suggest you use a guide if you plan to hike the glaciers. Sink holes and other crazy crevices like this one can be lurking under what you think is snow. Isn't this pretty, though?

I had only wanted to do a glacier hike but one of the tour companies offered a climbing experience as part of the hike for about the same price. This was seriously one of the coolest things to do!!

Rappelling down was even more fun, though!

Blue Lagoon this weekend?

How magical does this sound??? A Midsummer Night Walk and Live Music on a Mountain and at the Blue Lagoon? An easy moutain hike, a campfire, live music and the amazing blue lagoon (which I will post pics of asap from a different computer). If you are even remotely considering a trip to Iceland....GO!! The landscape is just magnificent. It's such a unique place. It was green before being green was cool and the natives are all so proud of their country, which I adore. More to come on Iceland soon but I wanted to get this out in case you still need to make your weekend plans:) I will be hiking Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts this weekend so stay tuned.

Mmmmmm

Skyr: A miracle food

Skyr

I try to make my posts entertaining but sometimes it's more important to just get down to business. I am pretty sure I have found a miracle product and I think it's only right that I share the news. On a more selfish level, I figure if more people buy said miracle product, maybe it will get easier to find.
Skyr is one of my finds from Iceland. It was one of the only things I could eat, actually. It's very much like yogurt but it's technically a soft cheese. That sounds gross but go with me on this one. It's 150 calories and 16 grams of protein!! (Actually I found one that is 100 calories and 14 grams of protein).
I don't love to eat meat so getting that much protein in one place is pretty amazing to me-that's more than tuna!
The best part is that it's really yummy. I don't love most yogurts. The whole Greek yogurt movement is totally lost on me. Skyr is smooth and creamy and filling. I prefer strawberry, fyi.
So, here's where I have found it: the brand I prefer is Skyr.is and I found it at Whole Foods. I couldn't find any brand at Trader Joe's, another healthier grocery store. It's not carried many mainstream places but I stumbled upon a brand called Siggi's at Stop and Shop this week. They didn't have any plain strawberry; they had more exotic flavors. I will be trying that later in the week.
Oh, I think I forgot to tell you why it's a miracle food. Everyone in Iceland looked like a Viking to me and Hubby. The first day we were there, a group of high school kids was on a field trip to the same tourist attraction as us and they were ALL (no exaggeration on this one) taller than us. Then, one day while watching Icelandic TV, since we didn't get anything else, we saw this competition they do there with 12-15 year olds doing like 100 push ups and rope pulls and other beastly feats. Natives eat tons of skyr and they can do this stuff. I ate some on Monday for breakfast and lifted weights for an hour that night, increasing my weight on almost every body part. I also ran 2 consecutive miles, which I haven't done in a couple months due to my laziness. I just felt like Thor!!!
So, I think you should run out and buy some and try to scale a building or run a marathon-it will help.

Health and Fitness: Splurge or Save?

I come from big people. My family is intimately knowledgeable about procedures such as gastric bypass. I'm not a hater but it's definitely something I have to be aware of for myself.
I was not an athletic kid. I didn't do much by way of teams in high school. I have what famous female triathlete Sally Edwards coined "adult onset athleticism". I have had very positive experiences training for things with groups. First, I raised funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and hiked in the Grand Canyon (I'm strongly considering fundraising and hiking with them again). I met great friends that I still see frequently five years later. The best thing about those friends is that we share an interest in hiking so we can get together on the trails instead of just going out to dinner.
Right on the tails of that experience, I signed up for a training group for my first triathlon. I paid for the training group, which I attended twice a week. I went the all women route for comfort for my first race and I loved it and was totally hooked. I have been a volunteer workout leader with the same coach every summer since then. Again, I have made a wonderful group of friends who I can meet up with swims, bikes, and runs, as well as a few dinners.
Through my experiences, I came up with a little list of things I think are worth splurging on and other things I think you can save your money on.
Splurge:

• Gym membership. I currently have two. One I love for it's classes. I, myself, am more motivated to get to the gym if there's a specific time I have to be there. The other gym I go to for it's total convenience. There are no classes but it's open 24 hours a day and I can walk from my house. Of course, you can totally do amazing workouts without a gym but I think if you are just starting out, a little structure can help.
• Healthy foods. Produce can get pricey but if you love strawberries so much and you know you will eat them, they are worth buying even if they are not on sale. Since for me the alternative would be snacking on something that will make me need to go to the gym for, it's better to just spend the extra dollar or two.
• Fitness magazines. I get three of these sent to my house. The articles and tips give me new ideas and help get me back on focus. Just seeing the cover of my Runner's magazine reminds me that I need to schedule a run.
• Proper footwear. I get fitted for my sneakers to make sure I am buying the kind that best suit my run/walk. Knock on wood, I have never had a foot/knee/leg injury thus far from running.
• Music. I get excited to workout if I have new songs to listen to on my Ipod.
• Race entry to an event you really want to complete. Having a day on a calendar that you have to work up to is extremely motivating. Don't set an unrealistic goal; start small. But it's doable!! Races can be expensive so don't go overboard and sign up for a ton. Pick wisely-read up on what kind of goodies you get, look at pictures to get a sense of the race environment and pick something that fits your style. I think women's races are super supportive and I try not to do a race that doesn't have a shirt I want:)

Save: 

• Fancy workout clothes. Unless buying a snazzy new outfit motivates you to go, I find I have collected a ton of wicking fabric shirts from the races I have done. You will likely find there are a few specific items you really want to purchase. For me, it was tri shorts, which are like bike shorts with a little less padding but they really help the comfort on the bike. But the first year I hiked, I didn't go out and buy fancy moisture wicking underwear and gear. I wore wool sweaters and casual swishy pants instead of the high tech zipper pants. 
• Supplements. If you do a tiny bit of research, you can find natural food sources that replenish you as well, if not better, than workout products. For example, chocolate milk after a muscle workout. I now use a powdered drink mix on my bikes and runs that I love but it took a good amount of learning about what my body needed before that was a good purchase. When you are starting out you don't need to load up on products.
• Fancy equipment. Again, don't spend a ton of money on a hobby that you aren't sure you love yet. If you start biking and love it, you can buy last year's model for a cheaper price. I started on a cheaper bike my first season and only upgraded year 2 or 3, when I knew the hobby was going to stick around.
• Name brand stuff. Kind of back to point one, you can get a good sports bra at Target for a fraction of the price you would spend at one of the specialty stores in the mall.
• Workout videos (if you don't actually use them!!). You can also try a bunch of them out on Netflix.
• Personal training. Ok, this one is controversial. I think personal training is great and motivating. I just think that you should get to the gym and try out some of the cardio machines to see if you can really roll with this environment before you spend big money on something you don't want to stick to. 
• Low fat foods/Frozen yogurt/diet products. Low fat foods tend to have more sugar than the original. Get the foods you really want, regardless of whether they are low fat or not and eat in moderation. If you deprive yourself of something entirely, you will go nuts focusing on it. And diet products are generally not healthy and are just gimmicks. I knew a woman whose sister dropped dead in her 30s from appetite suppressants. They mess with your heart. Do it the healthy way and load up on fiber and water.

I hope this helps some people who are starting out! I'd love to hear from other people about what works for them, too.

Born to Run

I'm having trouble posting from my cell today so I can't share any pictures with you but here's what I have coming up: pictures from my Etsy shopping spree and pictures of Stella the model-cat with my new curtains. If that doesn't pull you back to read my next couple of posts then I don't know what will. Haha.

So have you read Born to Run? It seems like people everywhere I go are talking to me about the book and the concepts behind it. You can learn more by clicking here. In the shortest summary ever, it's about the history and rationale of the barefoot running movement. Despite the obvious goofiness of the appearance of the five finger shoes, the movement has a lure akin to a charismatic leader (and there are other versions of shoes that don't outline your toes). My chiropractor (Dr. Chris) was one of the more recent people to talk to me about the book and he offered to let me borrow the book on CD. With a couple long car rides under my belt to visit my bestie who is in town for the week, I have gotten to the second disc in as many days. Point being, I am still a novice to the concept of barefoot running but am very interested in it.

Another thing Born to Run mentions is the benefit of chia seeds. A few of the ladies I do triathlon training with have mentioned chia seeds in the past and two of them sell Mila, a form of them which you can find here if you are so inclined. I think I am going to give this a try, as well.

The point of this post is not to bore you to tears with running theory if you are not a runner (which I can barely identify with because I am horrible at it and slow but it is part of my training when I am doing that). The point is to 1. talk about what is on my mind 2. set forth a public proclamation that I am going to get back in gear in terms of fitness and want to set the stage for me to follow up on that here 3. potentially recruit some like minded friends who would like to check in with me, too, about fitness goals and how they plan to achieve them.

From May-early October, I usually do a pretty good job of staying active. Winter in New England takes a toll on me and gets me a little too comfortable staying warm on a cushioned surface than it should. So it's that time of year to get motivated again. Who is with me???

Peeing in the Water and Blowing your nose on the Bike

http://www.cracked.com/article_19164_5-things-that-are-apparently-ok-to-do-in-name-sports.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fanpage&utm_campaign=new+article&wa_ibsrc=fanpage

I usually reserve passing along articles for things I think are though provoking but sometimes it's nice to just have the truths of the world pointed out in a humorous way. I couldn't help but want to share this article from cracked.com about how much you can get away with in the name of athleticism. My favorite was a line about peeing at a family bbq being a social taboo but peeing anywhere you want during an endurance event means you are focused and driven. Hahaha.
When I do triathlons, I try really hard not to think about how many people peed in their wetsuits in the water I am now gliding through. Runny bike noses, as mentioned in this article are so problematic to me! Even on a bike, I have the imaginary audience going on, sure that someone will see me wipe my nose on some article of clothing if i so dare. And let's face it; we all workout so we can eat, no matter which way you cut it, so the article hit that one spot on. In fact, Honey Stinger makes these fruit gels you eat on your bike/run that are so good, I sometimes go for a run just so I can have some. They are like fruit snacks on speed.
Enjoy the article! Then go for a workout so you can live how you really want to: dirty, well fed, and breaking all the rules.

Danger: Ice. That doesn't scare us!

One of my favorite activities in the whole wide world is hiking. I used to hike throughout the winter but I didn't get out as much this winter. Maybe because it was Snowmaggedon, perhaps. I was super excited to hike with some of my triathlon buddies and a friend from nursery school on Saturday. Yes, I said nursery school-pretty impressive that someone has known me that long and would still go into the woods with me, no?

Weighty Issues

I usually only weigh myself at the gym on the same scale on the same night each week. This week when I went in the locker room, all they had was the real, move the weights by hand scale, not the digital one that I like. The guy at the front desk told me that the digital ones can be off by as much as 5 lbs but that's what they use on "I used to be Fat" on MTV and it has always seemed to keep me happy. I recognize that a problem might lie within that happiness.
So at last night's weigh in, I was 3 lbs heavier than I usually am. Is this the Muddy Buddy issue rearing it's ugly head again?? Or does that scale need to be recalibrated? 
I don't know the correct answer so I am going to take matters into my own hands and buy me a scale. I hate the idea of spending a minimum of $20 for something that might ruin my day sometimes but I  need a consistant, reliable measure.
There's some good news that comes out of all of this, though. I most often do my grocery shopping after said gym trip on Monday nights. The tragic weigh in convinced me to buy some healthier than normal foods such as Arnold's double protien bread (which I slathered with my natural, fresh ground peanut butter) and I have to say, after having just finished it as a snack that it was a thumbs up experience, all around!! 

http://www.arnoldbread.com/Products/Description.aspx?sSku=7341001374

Happy Commercial Love Day!

What kind of girl would I be if I didn't write about Valentine's Day? Although I haven't had many of those single Valentine's Days where the unpaired of the world are supposed to lament, I can totally understand that sentiment. Why do we have a day dedicated to coupledom? For those who are happy, we should celebrate our love every day! For those who are not, paired or not paired, I don't think we need a day to commemorate that. And don't get me started on boxed chocolates!! So not a fan.
I think, nationally, we should take Valentine's Day back as a kid's holiday. It was so fun to write and receive cards in a paper bag I decorated at school. And who doesn't need a reason to make and eat pink frosted cookies?
But since I'm supposed to celebrate it as an adult, let me report what I did to celebrate. Monday night is reserved for BodyPump, my favorite class at the gym so activities tonight were off limits. We were kind of planning to do something for Valentine's Day on Saturday since it was the only night we both had free. Then Hubby's sister announced she was going to be in a play and we planned to go. At the last minute, Hubby decided he couldn't handle the play so we went out to dinner instead. We tried a new place in town and it was pretty much an epic fail. I even gave the leftovers to my Dad because he will eat anything. So, the best thing to come from my holiday so far? Hubby downloaded a bunch of songs that Adam Duritz of Counting Crows had recorded this week for fans for Valentine's Day. I truly couldn't ask for a better treat!!!

Lululemon Manifesto:Aspire-ations

 If you would rather read in a more linear fashion, you can see it here http://www.lululemon.com/about/culture

Two of my favorite suggestions from the manifesto are:

 Dance, sing, floss and travel.

Aren't you excited when you get to see new places and cultures? Don't you feel proud when you remove particles from your teeth? And speaking of dancing, have you tried the Just Dance game(probably not the actual title) on Wii? It's awesome!

Write down your short and long-term GOALS . Two personal, two business and two health goals for the next 1, 5 and 10 years.

This is huge in the company's culture. I interviewed for a part time position there (which I am still nursing a wound from not getting-I didn't realize my graduate degree didn't qualify me to hang sports bras in an aesthetic manner) . Regardless, I still love the message and culture Lululemon embodies. I saw something similar in one of my SELF magazines a couple years ago and cut it out to glue into my journal. It really helped me to focus on getting where I wanted to be. I set a goal to be a homeowner in five years but just sitting down and coming up with that goal put it at the forefront of my mind and we bought our own place within the year! Ok, that goal might have been pushed to the front of the list because we were living in a school with 20+ teenaged girls to look after, just saying.

Anyway, this is nice, concise list of little tidbits of things to aspire to (which are cutely placed on all of their reusable bags) .  I have exercise on my mind after my first long-ish run in months last night and the resulting sore legs today. I still wish, though, that some of those New Years resolution folks would give up, already, and leave some space in my gym classes....