Busy day... Finding time to train?

I believe finding time to train when you have a family is way more challenging than registrering to the event itself, whatever that event is! :)
I am trying to spend between 1 hour & 1 hour 1/2 a day for my training (in the evening) but sometimes I just don't feel like it. I have the motivation for sure, but the energy left at the end of the day is another story! :)

5:30-5:45 AM - Alarm is going on... Shower, Waking up Leila, Dressing up Leila...

6:15 - 6:30 AM - Breakfast, I love spending time with her in the morning, she's always waking up in a good mood, so cute!

Then I need to make sure Mathieu is waking up... often he does, but then he would go back to sleep... Teenagers!!! :) 

6:30 AM - Leaving the house. Coming back, forgot the basket for the Easter Party @ the day care, grabbing the strawberries & the chocolate bunny for the teachers as well... 

When Remi is waking up because we are too noisy... & wants to go with me as well,... it's another story... But it is not often, hubby is dropping him at the day care so he can sleep a little bit more in the morning.

6:45 AM - Leaving the day care.

8:00 AM - Work, day was crazy enough: no lunch, too busy, I decide to leave @ 5:00 today, files would still be on my desk in the morning anyway...

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5:00 -5:15 PM - Leaving Work (it's a good day...)

6:15-6:30 PM - Picking-Up the monkeys at the day care.
6:30 PM - Preparing dinner for the monkeys - They are starving! Picnic outside, then they play in the sand box, making a mess on the patio... :) I'm watering the plants, my little veggies garden (if we can talk about veggies yet...)... taking a few minutes to relax, building sand castle. It's warm & windy today, feels really nice to be outside. Then I end up weeding around the patio with Leila sitting on my legs, stretching time! :)
7:45 PM - Hubby comes home, he takes over & I jump into my sports pants & running shoes. Tonight I decided to try my new shoes without socks.
7:47 PM - I'm out!!! Feels so good!!! 5K, shoes are fine, really light but I'm not flying yet... still a snail!
8:30 PM - I'm back... I'm happy I didn't walk this time, first time since I started running again. Cooling off... Putting the kids to bed...
8:40 PM - I must be crazy but Remi is not eating lunch @ the day care... cannot blame him, the food is not so good... so I was thinking when running that if I bake a quiche for dinner tomorrow night, I will bake a little one for him for his lunch... Then I think about hubby... then I'm baking a cake with "fruits confits" for him, his favorite... so he could have it for breakfast in the morning... then I think about myself & I really want an apple pie... Yeah... Crazy... Mathieu is coming home from the fitness center, looking @ "MY" apple pie in the oven... Yummy... "Is it going to be ready tonight?" Nope... Maybe I'll share with you tomorrow if I don't eat everything in the morning... :)
9:15 PM - Shower, then dinner with hubby... Salad, yogurt & a little baby apple pie I baked with the left over pastry...It's like a reward! :)

10:30 PM - Looking @ my training plan... blogging...

11:00 PM - Checking the monkeys before going to bed, kissing them, priceless...

11:01 PM - Good Night! Already thinking about the 3 days week-end coming up! :)

Carbohydrate intake...

Endurance Sports Nutrition - Suzanne Girard Eberle MS, RD 

At first, let's be honest, I felt like I was in health science @ school... Again! Why & when did I buy this book again?
Must have been one of an evening where I didn't sleep good the night before because some little monkey woke us up... 10 times... in the middle of the night... Thanks to nightmare! Since when do we sleep good or enough when we have toddlers anyway? But that will be for another post later on... :) So that book, after not even 3 pages put me to sleep & was collecting dust on the floor since... 2 months ago I believe... :)
Anyway, that book must have been near my computer bag last night, so when I grabbed my stuff this morning I took everything with me. Since when do we have time to look around when we have toddlers to get ready, feed & drop @ the day care in the morning & rush to work? :)
But that was a wonderful lunch, yes today I actually took lunch! I went out to pick-up something to eat & sat outside with my book. I could even hear the birds signing! Peaceful moment! :)

I read about carbohydrate...

Carbohydrate is critical for an endurance athlete. Athlete who consistently eat a carbohydrate-rich diet have greater muscle glycogen stores to draw on during training & racing efforts. Adequate muscle glycogen stores help delay the onset of fatigue as you pick up the pace or exercise more intensely (10K, Sprint triathlon) or when you exercise longer than 90 to 120 minutes (Marathon, Olympic distance triathlon). For fitness enthusiasts working out consistently for an hour a day or those athletes training purposefully, eating a daily training diet approching three to four grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight (six to eight grams per kilogram) will speed recovery from daily training bouts so that you can get out the door the next day. You'll also reduce your chance of being sidelined, because athletes who exercise with low muscle glycogen stores tend to incur more injuries.

Breads, cereals, pasta, rice & other grains, fruits & vegetables, dried beans & lentils, and milk & yogurt are the best options for meeting your daily carbodydrate needs.

To be continued...

March 2011 - Recap Training

BIKE Training - 9 - 238 Km


Best time: 10 Miles @ 21.05 Miles/Hour - 03/07/2011


FITNESS
Chest press & Squats - 0:52 Hour


I feel really good on the bike now.

Tax season in March, not much time for training. But I will be taking it to the next level in April. :)

Every Tuesday evening, I will plan on going training @ the Memorial Park - It would be my weekly "Me Time". I just don't know how to take the bike in my car yet! :)

When I go there, it reminds me the forest I was going every week in Le Havre, Foret de Montgeon - Except here it's 20 degres C more... :) 



Memorial Park - Houston, TX

 

February 2011 - Recap Training

BIKE
Training - 10 - 355 Km
Best time: 20 Miles @ 20.87 Miles/Hour - 02/27/2011

FITNESS
Squats - 1:48 Hour

Focussing on strength & stretching, my right knee had to take a break from running after the marathon.
Didn't have much time with work either...

January 2011 - Recap Training

BIKE
Training - 13 - 355 Km
Best time: 20 Miles @ 18.87 Miles/Hour - 01/29/2011


RUN
Training - 3 - 67 Km


FITNESS
Squats - 1:18 Hour

Well... that's not much but I was in recovery post marathon for 3 weeks.


I miss swimming but it's too cold!
Ice on the roof = No swim... :)

Minus 1 Pound... :)

Shoes... So many to choose from...

Just received today, they are so light & comfy! Thank you bunny, you're the best! :)

Never tried that brand before, I was an Asics fan but my knee is acting up after running 15 miles (and the next day everything is fine...) so maybe it's time to try something else. :)  

Zoot Womens Ultra Tempo+ 3.0

Performance Stability
We Dare you to feel slow in this shoe. I shall see!!! :)
BareFit - constructed for sockless wear, the linings are a Dri-Lex fabric with antimicrobial Smart Silver to battle moisture, odor and to reduce hot spots; Tri-Dry technology limits water retention in the shoe; Patented Quick-Lace system for speed of entry with a single-handed pull; CarbonSpan+ provides smooth and powerful toe-off; Asymmetrical perforated neoprene panel ensures excellent fit and quick entry while maintaining breathability.
Fabric W's Weight: 8.6 oz./243g
 

Cannot wait to try them, maybe Sunday for the 5K if it's not raining! :)

On Christmas Day...

Christmas day is usually a time for family get together & eat & eat & eat more... But here we are, Expats & for us it's just a quiet day this year. The kids are taking a nap & we are surfing the web.

I'm thinking of all the hours worked last year, giving up evenings, week-ends, sports, almost family... and for what? I had a reality check-up at the budget meeting, end of November. Let's just say to end the year on a happy note that consideration was not part of it. 

Sooooo I started to think about my priorities in life. Family will come first & sports because I'm a lot happier & healthier (mind & body) when I exercise. Not to mention I still need to lose those extra pounds from the pregnancies... 2007, 2009... ok 2011 is coming up, it's about time to get back in shape! :)
Since I ran my first marathon in 2004, the ironman distance amazed me! 
Then I started to ask myself: "How would I feel if I was to register for an ironman (not that crazy yet...) half-ironman?"

Looked on line & found one in Austin, TX - October 23, 2011. Was already hooked! :)

Ironman 70.3 Austin 

Then I went to see my hubby & asked him if he was up to give me more gifts for Christmas... Showed him the link: "I would love to register for it!" (Registration fee is not cheap!!!) :) He looked at me like I was crazy, asked me 10 times if I was sure of it... talking about the training time, the kids, work... "YES" was my answer... & since he knows I'm pretty stubborn... he stopped asking. :)
So here I was: registered on Christmas Day! Don't you just love Santa! :)

That same evening, I started researching information about some training plan, nutrition... & I realized that 10 months would go by really fast! Not to mention I completely forgot that Austin was hilly... Oops...

A week later, my excitement contaminated my hubby & he also registered... So at least we are a couple of crazy people, good thing we are together! :)