Is That a Regulation Flotation Device?

Thanks to everyone who is reading my blog! I've received some really positive feedback so far and I appreciate it a lot. This whole thing (training, blogging, putting myself out there) is still pretty scary, but it's also fun to think about what I am going to write about while I am training; takes my mind off of the pain and wheezing. When I was swimming today, for example, I was thinking that one plus side of being a plus-sized triathlete is that the extra flab on my ass helps keep my back end up so I don't have to use my legs quite as much and I can focus on working my arms instead. That will be helpful the day of the race so I don't have rubber legs starting the bike leg (that will come after the bike leg when I try to run 4 miles after a 14.5 mile bike ride). Is that positive thinking, or what?

The Batavia Triathlon is a "Sprint" distance triathlon, but is a little longer than a traditional sprint distance. In a traditional sprint distance triathlon, it's a 400 meter swim, a 12.5 mile bike and 5K run. The Batavia Triathlon is the same swim but a 14.5 mile bike and a 4 mile run; thanks a lot, Batavia. Now, you may be saying to yourself, "That's not that much difference", but you try it and then we'll talk. Anyone who has made any attempt at running knows that there is a big difference between 3.1 and 4 miles...even more so after swimming and biking. I'm sure it will be just fine though, right? Right?

I thought I would share with you some of the resources I've been using to help train. The first and most important one is the book, "Slow Fat Triathlete" by Jayne Williams. She really could have written that book just for me and was a huge inspiration for me to start this blog. She also wrote me back when I posted on her Facebook wall, which I thought was super cool of her. She really made me feel okay for wanting to do this again and being horribly out of shape. Jayne if you ever read this blog, I owe you a beer next time you are in Chicago. Thank you.

Another great resource is runkeeper.com. One of my dearest friends, Meg, who is a super runner, uses it and turned me on to it. It's a great way to keep track of your training and you can create a Street Team of other people who are doing the same race as you to keep each other motivated. I love it. You can follow my training (if you care at all, and truly, it's not that impressive thus far) here. It uses GPS on your smartphone for tracking your running and biking and you can manually input things like swimming or treadmill running. I just started using it and it has been a great way to keep track of my training and admire my Street Team's efforts, which are impressive.

Throughout this blog I will post other stuff I find useful which will hopefully become useful to you.

We're coming in to the beginning of Spring and this past week the weather was really beautiful. I did a "run" (in my world that is walking/slow jogging) outside in shorts and a t-shirt. It was heaven and it almost felt like I had the mythical "runner's high". Yes, all of you elite runners, I know it exists for you with your long gazelle like strides but I've never experienced it. Once. Ever. You all lie! No, seriously though, I've never experienced runner's high but it was so beautiful out Thursday night and I was so happy to have more than just my eyes exposed while outside that I could have gone twice the distance I did. I didn't though because I didn't want to injure myself, but I was a happy, happy girl.

My goal for this week is to run three times and swim twice. I may try to get a bike ride in there too but that is my strongest leg so I am focusing more on the swim and run for now to get some fitness back. I'll share one last thing with you today and then wish you farewell for now. This is a smoothie I drink after a work out and it is a total energy booster for me:

Post workout smoothie

1 cup vanilla almond milk (can sub soy or regular milk)

1 cup frozen fruit (I'm totally in to strawberries right now)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp honey or agave nectar (can sub any sweetener but may need to use more or less depending on your taste)

2 tbsp ground flax seed

Put everything into a blender and whiz until smooth. It won't be completely smooth because of the flax seed but I love the texture of it. Also, I make mine dairy-free because dairy makes me phlegm-y and while that is unpleasant enough on it's own, it's even worse after a workout for some reason. Isn't phlegm a funny word? Anyway, sorry for that ADD moment. Have a good week!