Taking the Reins

I have to admit, I have not behaved very well this week.  In fact, after burning 3000 calories in less than 4 days, I decided that I’d partake in the hamburger and french fries meal at Disneyland yesterday for lunch.  (Salt….craving salt…..wonder why?!)

So today, I was an angel.  Oatmeal for breakfast.  Apple and banana for snack.  Measured my almonds.  Ordered a chef salad (the equivalent of 1 slice of cheese and a few slices of deli meat) and had oil & vinegar that *I* put on it for lunch.  Oh, boy, was I good.  And to top off my excellent day, I did my first 2000 meter swim set.  I’ve swum a mile before, but I’ve never gone over a mile, and certainly not after sprinting the majority of my swim time.  I was pretty darn proud of myself, I must say!

Tomorrow, hubby wants to hit the mountain bike trails and do a nice ride in the morning.  Then he wants to take photos on the beach at sunset while I get in my 4-mile aerobic run.  Sunday, I have practice, where we have a 90-minute bike ride on tap followed by a leisurely 30-minute run. 

While I may be feeling slightly guilty about my Disneyland indulgence, I’d like to think the weekend will take care of it all.  I hope.

Anyway, there’s my update.  Race day is now 9 weeks away.  Yikes!!!  I have 9 weeks to add 6 miles to my biking and 1 mile to my run.  And then to string them all together effortlessly.  I hope I can get there.

On Super Bowl Sunday, hubby and I were all by our lonesome.  I’m not one for making a huge event out of the Super Bowl, since I HATE football, but I decided to humor DH and clear the schedule for the day.  He bought Habanero Doritos, a frozen pizza, and other nasty, tempting goodies that surely are not on program.  So to counteract this, I went on a hunt for a recipe I could make for the week that would satisfy my junk food craving and also be somewhat healthy.  Miracle of miracles, I found Velveeta Light in my local grocery store for the first time since I moved from Washington, DC over a year ago!!!

Do you know all the things you can do with Velveeta Light?

Call me low rent, but I went to town.  I cooked some lean ground turky with some taco seasoning, sauteed some fresh green peppers and onions, added a can of TJ’s salsa, cubed 3 servings of Velveeta light, and then tossed in 1/2 box of cooked whole wheat pasta….put it in the oven for a 1/2 hour, and voila!  Yummy goodness.  Now, probably 8 points a serving if I really wanted to calculate that, but that’s a heck of a lot better than Doritos and frozen pizza.  And boy, did it feel good.

Life’s been crazy lately, but I have been weighing in.  In a month, I’ve lost 2.9 lbs, am back down below goal, and am 0.8 lbs away from the 140’s!  On top of that, my triathlon training has stepped up a notch.  We can now comfortably swim a mile, bike for an hour, and run for 4 miles…..now we are learning to go longer and combine those workouts together.  So last night was my first 90-minute bike ride on my trainer — I watched a whole movie!– and tonight I hit the gym and knocked out 5 miles on the treadmill at 6.5.  A year ago, I never could have imagined it.  But now?  Piece of cake.  Both workouts were very easy and I could have gone MUCH longer.  I’m psyched!

In more exciting triathlon news, our big Olympic distance race in April is being nationally televised.  I can’t remember if I’ve discussed this here or not, but this is pretty cool.  You usually never see anything on TV aside from Ironman, so this will be different…..every day women racing a distance that Olympians compete in.  I’ve booked my hotel room, booked my flight, and I’m ready to go!  (OK, need some more training time)

So, for now, back to my Velveeta Light creation.  Because I’m in love……..

http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2008/pdf/history/HB/HB0282.xml

Mississippi should be ashamed of this bill.  I thought it was a joke when I was directed to the site, but I really think it might actually be legitimate.  Some idiotic lawmaker thinks that it should be against the law to serve obese people food in restaurants.  Can you believe that?  And the kicker is that BMI is used to determine obesity, and we all know what a crock of you-know-what that can be!  I am beyond annoyed by this.  One of my favorite triathlon bloggers — an Ironman triathlete — is technically obese and linked to this article.  It’s so absurd I don’t think I have any other comments.