It’s my third week of Ironman training, and for some reason I’m dragging, even though it’s a moderate week. I’m chalking it up to sleep deprivation and less-than-stellar nutrition, and I’m determined to turn those things around and get my energy back up where it needs to be. #ithinkican

Now that my never-ending birthday is over and I’m no longer sweating champagne and sugar, I’m re-focusing on power foods like spinach, kale, sweet potatoes, avocados, and almonds, and adding protein “recovery” powder into my green smoothies. Time to resist all that “sweet” love that was showered upon me and get back on track. #iknowican

And then I’ll be mastering the art of the nap. Does one ever get over feeling like a total slacker when napping in the middle of the day? It’s so not my style to take a load off, but I think I may just have to start embracing it. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. #yeahbabyican

Here’s what this week’s schedule looks like:

Monday: rest, core & stretching pm
Tuesday: Run 40 minutes, Kate’s strength class, core & stretching pm
Wednesday: Swim 1600 y, 2 hours indoor cycling (spin class), core & stretching pm
Thursday: Run 30 minutes, strength, core & stretching pm
Friday: Swim 1700 y, core & stretching pm
Saturday: Run 60 minutes, core & stretching pm
Sunday: Bike 2 hours with hills, then run 30 minutes, core & stretching pm

My favorite piece of equipment right now: My big blue foam roller. I think I need to name it (besides #%!#) as we’ve become BFFs–especially after Killer Kate’s leg workouts.

My other favorite piece of equipment: My AudioFlood waterproof iPod. Adding music to my swim workouts has added more joy than I could have possibly imagined. Listening to David Bowie’s hypnotic Under Pressure got me through a tough morning in the pool yesterday. It’s the little things.

Gratitude: My peeps are so freaking awesome (sorry, don’t mean to brag, but I can’t help it). Endurance athletes know that training can often feel selfish as it affects the entire family, upending schedules, putting a heavier workload on loved ones, but my husband and daughter have been nothing but supportive. Jeffrey is always cooking good stuff for me like oatmeal with fresh fruit and almonds or killer homemade chicken soup on a cold, rainy day. He’s also being uber supportive when I need to be gone for hours and he’s left to manage our constantly in motion household. And my daughter is my biggest cheerleader, even when it means sometimes she has to make her own lunch in the morning or I can barely keep my eyes open when I read to her at night (yes, I still do that!).

Highlights: Having a great 3-hour ride last Sunday in the cool misty morning, getting comfortable with my aerobars, enjoying the journey, knowing it’s really only getting started. Also feeling strong during this week’s Tuesday morning run after having a day of rest. Recovery days are the bomb.

Challenges: Swimming. Don’t get me wrong, I can swim, but I’ve never been super fast and it has never been easy or terribly enjoyable for me. In fact, I often chuckle when people gush on about how relaxing it is, and think, “What are they on?” BUT, with the help of Coach Whitney, the knowledge I’m gaining from watching tons of YouTube videos and the book I’m reading, Total Immersion, I’m slowly making progress. I’ve discovered that I’ve been swimming the hard way my whole life–trying to use mostly my arms to get me where I’m going, when in fact our power comes from our core, especially our hips and glutes. No wonder my shoulders often ache! I have many, many more hours ahead of me in the pool, but hopefully come November, I’ll be swimming like a fish and enjoying it!

My favorite quote: “Progress is the audacity to think big and the discipline to start small.”

Resources to share with you:

Books I’m reading: Triathlete’s Bible, Total Immersion, Nutrition for Endurance Athletes.

YouTube videos I’m watching (too many to list, but here are a few): GoSwim, Speedo technique, iSport.

Facebook group I’m thoroughly enjoying and probably spending way too much time enjoying: Women Who Tri (Thank you Jenni Miller for this recommendation!!).

Looking forward to:  Hearing legendary, six-time Ironman World Champion, Mark Allen, speak tomorrow night at the New Vic in Santa Barbara. If you’re in town, join the fun… Here’s the link for tix and more info: MARK ALLEN.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. Your support and enthusiasm are like the chocolate chips in my cookie (wait, I mean the protein powder in my healthy smoothie). So awesome and very much appreciated!

If you missed any of my previous posts about how this big adventure started, you can click on the links below:

Kicking off My Journey to Ironman Arizona
Week One of Ironman Training: Believe
Week Two of Ironman Training: The Power of Friends

Finally…exciting news…we’re 23% of the way to reaching our goal of funding 20 kiddos to have life-changing cleft palate/lip surgery from Smile Train. Thank you Christina and Krista for your recent contributions! If you’d like to help support me as I raise funds for this awesome organization during my Ironman adventure, please click HERE to donate.