Busy Holiday Season

Packed the Element with the Christmas Tree

So I think last week was the first week I didn't blog in the short year I've been doing this. Work has been crazy busy and top that with training and the fun family holiday stuff we've been doing, this month has been a blur! A lot has happened over the past few weeks training wise and I couldn't be happier with where my fitness is going during this "off season." The most noticeable difference is how quickly I'm recovering. Amy would pretty much notice me limping out of bed just about every week this past year. Now I hop out of bed at 4:45am and have fresh legs regardless of the workload the day before. I know James has some pretty killer workouts in the future and I know this won't always be the case, but I contribute the quick recovery to a few different things:

1. Just having a good coach to keep me in check and not going to hard.
2. Changing up my diet...more on this later
3. Fitness gains I've made over the past month
4. Recovering with Fluid.

Besides recovering quicker, I've also made huge gains on the bike. I wish I had a power meter to gauge it, but just by comparing past rides with ones I do now and just in general how I feel out riding now have been amazing. I've been on the trainer two days a week doing a lot of drill and cadence work and then on the weekends hammering out long hilly rides. I honestly can't remember the last time I went riding without climbing at least 3000 ft and it's making me strong. On the swimming front, I'm still working on form and hoping to hop in a swim clinic soon with James and former pro and local trainingbible coach, Jim Vance. I'm definitely getting faster on my own because I've been in the water consistently and working harder than I ever have but I still need some specific instruction and video to see what I'm doing right/wrong. As far as the running goes -it's the best shape I've been in since college. I've been racing/training effectively on fatigued legs and I'm especially stoked to see how fast and comfortable I'm able to run off of the bike.

If you haven't tried it...Do it!

One thing I have changed up a bit is my diet. I've been keeping a diet log and James has been giving me great feedback on not only day-to-day stuff but also my long workout nutrition which, come to find out -I was taking in WAY too many calories. I've just been eating way more good carbs (fruits/veggies) less bad carbs (bread, pasta) and incorporating good fats into my diet. I feel a lot better, especially DURING workouts. I used to have that bubbly stomach feeling a lot, but it seems to be getting less frequent when I stick to the diet. Lastly, I've been recovering with FLUID. I take their recovery shake literally as soon as I walk in the door from my hard workouts. Not only does it taste amazing (I use the chocolate) but I do feel like it gives me a recovery boost compared to a lot of other brands I've used.

Other than that, no big racing plans until the Rock & Roll 1/2 marathon in Arizona next month. I'll be shooting for ~1:15 and most likely I won't have fresh legs for it, but I think I'm still capable especially with the way training has been going. I'll be posting next year's schedule shortly as soon as I get all of the details figured out. Here's some pic over the past few weeks:

Some wine after setting up the tree

Hit up a Strung Out & Jugheads Revenge show...it's been awhile. FUN!

Made some homemade Kale Chips. Tasty!

Gingerbread houses with the kiddos

Plenty of good strong Winter Warmers and IPA's for the holidays at this house.