Good race

...more later, but looking at a race time in the 01:29s I hope, given a watch time of 01:34 including up to 7 minutes non-racing.  *anticipating official results*

Cor!

Good gymmage today!  I upped my clean and press to 17.5kg and cleared all 3x 10 reps. :o) I was feeling so good after the routine I thought I'd try an assisted pull-up and managed one with only 10kg assist which is far and away the best performance ever.  I reckon had I tried it at the start, I would probably have managed one with no assist, through sheer bloody-mindedness.

The routine is now:-

• 1km warm up on the rower at L7
• squat and swing - 12kg dumbbell - 3x10 SUPERSET A
• pendulum swings - bodyweight - 3x10x2 SUPERSET A
• lunge with cable rows - 12.5kg - 3x10 SUPERSET B
• side plank with rows - 4kg dumbbell - 3x10x2 SUPERSET B
• lunge with crossed-arm raise/swing to knee - 4kg dumbbell - 3x10x2
• clean and press - 17.5kg bar bell - 3x10
• planks - 3x60s (60s recovery)
• 3x 30s sprints (>200rpm on L6 on the cross trainer) with 60s recovery
• 5 minutes cool-down and stretch

So, yay!  Good gym!  Feeling good and strong and almost ready for Monday's race (start postion #17!  *wibble*)

I also tried the Nakd Pecan Pie bar today and that was pretty much as nice as the Cashew Cookie, so both are very much recommended and fill a little afternoon snack place in the overall scheduling quite nicely.  So thanks loads to Laura for those!

Kangaroo steak for dinner..

Very mild flavour, probably because it is sooooo lean.  Juicy, cooked rare like this.  Very nice.  Will eat again :o)

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, fruit compote and Grape Nuts
S - banana
L - salad; lettuce, cherry tomatoes, celery, sweet peppers, pomegranate seeds, cucumber, chicken breast
*gym*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk
S - MP beef jerky
S - carrot and Waitrose houmous
D - kangaroo steak, roasted sweet peppers, couscous, peas and sweetcorn

Exercise 53 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1689 2203]
Protein (g)	173.9 (42.2%)
Carbohydrate (g)	162.3 (36.9%)
Fat (g)	38.4 (21.0%)
Fruit & Veg	10.9

Why is it not Friday yet?

This week is dragging soooo badly.  Dammit.  It's been Friday for the last two days already and it still isn't Friday yet!  I kind wish it wasn't a rest day, but I need to get rested up a bit now seeing as Monday is quite close.

The extended weekend really will be nice, little bike ride on Saturday, slobbing and carb loading on Sunday, triathlon on Monday and birthday celebrations on Tuesday (and a day off work).  I fully intend to get lots of sleep (apart from the early start on Monday of course) and hopefully that'll help with the recent tiredness.

Home alone this evening so noms for dinner :o)  Eggs florentine:-

and tomato with courgette:-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, blueberries and flaked almonds
S - banana
L - salad; lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peppers, celery, pomegranate  seeds, chicken breast
S - Tim's Dairy wholemilk cherry yogurt
S - carrot and houmous
D - eggs florentine with tomato and courgette ratatoullie

Exercise - rest day

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1343 1787]
Protein (g)	113.1 (34.4%)
Carbohydrate (g)	112.6 (32.1%)
Fat (g)	48.8 (33.4%)
Fibre (g)	26.2
Fruit & Veg	14.6

Midweek and it's dragging

I tried the Nakd Cashew Cookie bar today and it was absolutely gorgeous!  Slightly malty tasting and the only ingredients are "dates and cashew nuts".  It came out of the wrapper a bit oily-feeling but that's probably just a bit of juice from the dates.  Really tasty, would definitely get them in the weekly shop if Ocado sold them!

For a mid-week slump day, I did pretty well in the gym; increased the weight on the squat and swing to 12kg which was quite hard towards the last couple of reps so was probably due as the 10kg was getting a touch easy.  Next point of attack will be the cross swing lunge thing and upping the dumbbell weight to 5kg on that now that my left arm is playing ball a bit better.  Rest day tomorrow and then winding it down at the weekend in time for Monday's triathlon.

Also, almost all of that extra kg is gone so I'll be ready to carb load on Sunday and put it all back on again in glycogen and water :o)

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, blueberries and flaked almonds
S - banana
*gym*
S - Virgin Active mango and soya milk protein shake
L - salad; lettuce, celery, peppers, beetroot, cherry tomatoes, Food Doctor herb boost, chicken breast
S - Dr Karg cheese and pumpkin seed crisp bread with cottage cheese
S - Nakd Bar - Cashew Cookie
D - beef chilli with courgette, onion and pine nuts
S - Pie D'Angloys cheese with chutney and wine

Exercise - 50 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2234 2202]
Protein (g)	186.2 (35.5%)
Carbohydrate (g)	162.9 (28.7%)
Fat (g)	57.8 (24.4%)
Fruit & Veg	14.9

Not feeling it today

Had a swim, which I didn't want to do.  Ate well.  Crashed on the tube and didn't perk up after dinner.

That is all.

Rocked the routine!

I had planned to rest today, do 2x weights this week and 1x cardio but this morning I just felt good on the way out of the front door, so grabbed some freshly washed gym kit that was over the radiator and stuffed it into my bag and off to work.

So. This time I did every exercise on the routine to a full 3x10 without failure. Oh boy did it feel good! My shoulders looked amazing in the mirror when I was doing the clean and press and I managed all 30 of those which is way better than last time. I went really hard at the 3x 30s sprints on the cross-trainer at the end, so hard I felt more than a bit sick :o) Very very pumped and psyched after I got back to the office. All raaaarrrr! I'm so pleased to have improved so much since the last session.

Oh!  And my prize from Laura arrived today:-

The tubes of pampering smell soooo nice and I can't wait to crack into those nakd bars; cashew cookie is top of my list!  *dribble*

Speaking of food, breakfast salad again for dinner today :o):-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, blueberries and flaked almonds
S - Dorset Cereals bar; berries and cherries
*gym*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk
L - salad; lettuce, sweet pepper, cherry tomatoes, chicken breast, Food Doctor herb boost, celery
S - Dr Karg cheese and pumpkin seed crisp-bread with cottage cheese
S - MP Max beef jerky
D - salad; lettuce, new potatoes, boiled eggs, chorizo-style sausage, honey, wholegrain mustard, vinegar

Exercise - 50 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1708 2197]
Protein (g)	168.4 (40.2%)
Carbohydrate (g)	117.3 (26.3%)
Fat (g)	62.2 (33.5%)
Fruit & Veg	6.0

Day off formal exercise

Sunday I woke up feeling quite apathetic.  Didn't go for a run in the morning with Mr TOTKat (who was lovely and brought me breakfast in bed when he got back from his run xxx) and didn't go to see Prince of Persia at the cinema either.  I stayed at home and vaccumed like a demon instead.  Which was good and I like having really clean carpets, though I'm not so keen on how you get them that way ;o)

Earned a few kcals though as I really go at it hard.  Wore my HRM and got a nice 205kcals after background deductions for vacuuming the whole house.  Good for a glass of wine or two.

B - greek yogurt with Dorset Cereals muesli mixed in and a tiny bit of Bonne Maman apricot compote for sweetness
L - spiced butternut squash soup and a toasted Waitrose wholemeal pitta
*vacuuming*
S -Tim's Dairy cherry wholemilk yogurt
S - Dr Karg cheese and pumpkin seed crisp-bread with cottage cheese and Marmite
S -MP Max beef jerky
D - goat vindaloo and rice
oops - lots of wine

Exercise - 45 minutes vacuuming

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2267 2001]
Protein (g)	110.1 (21.1%)
Carbohydrate (g)	229.0 (41.1%)
Fat (g)	43.2 (18.6%)
Fruit & Veg	5.7

Really loving my new bike

Had a fabulous ride this morning; 21km with a few stops for going the wrong way and needing to re-set to the right route.  I totally made mincemeat of the South-bound approach to Wimbledon Hill, the one I used to run up when I was learning to run.  Steeper than coming at it from Wimbledon Broadway on the other side and with speed bumps for added fun.  I needed to turn right at the roundabout at the top so the last 100m I was slap bang in the middle of the road to be in the right position to turn right and to get in between the speed bumps. Obviously, as I was going up a hill, I wasn't all that quick.  And clearly, as the white van made pointed out by yelling at me, I should have "pull(ed) over! *incoherent unintelligible words*".  Er right then.  Bikes aren't road users and shouldn't position themselves correctly for the action they are about to take.  How about; fuck off, you twat, and go read the highway code, eh?  Anyhoo, I was utterly unfazed at the time 'cause I'd just thrashed the hill and felt great :o)

676kcals of lovely cycling and I actually wanted to go lots further, but had reached home and time for a re-fuel/re-hydrate.

Boerewors and mashed butternut squash for dinner:-

B - toasted Food Doctor wholemeal seeded bagel with butter, Marmite and a poached egg
S - apple with cashew butter
*cycle*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in semi-skimmed milk
L - sandwich; toasted Hovis wholemeal granary bread with ham, Monterey Jack, lettuce and mustard
S - White Magnum(!)
D - boerewors with butternut squash mash

Exercise - 70 minutes cycling

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2290 2382]
Protein (g)	116.0 (20.6%)
Carbohydrate (g)	173.2 (28.9%)
Fat (g)	126.3 (50.5%!!)
Fruit & Veg	7.7

First run of new routine

It was pretty fun and really hard on the upper arms, especially my weak left arm.  It feels quite light on the legs, this new routine, but there are clean and presses in there so it should maintain things at least.  As expected, I really pushed it and upped the sets all to 3.

• Squat and swing with 10kg (like a kettlebell swing) - 3x10
• core pendulum swings (lying on the floor, legs up, swing legs/rotate hips) - 3x10 each side SUPERSET
• Lunge with single arm swing opposite arm to knee (same side arm and leg working) 4kg dumbbell - 3x10 each side SUPERSET
• clean and press 15kg barbell (use box) -8, 10, 10
• reverse lunge with row (cable machine) 12.5kg - 3x12 SUPERSET
• side plank with row (4kg) hold 3s each- 3x10 SUPERSET
• 3x 30s sprints on cross-trainer (L6, 60s recovery)
• warm down 5 minutes and stretch

And tonight, one of my absolute favourites for dinner!  Chicken in black bean sauce with noodles:-

So high protein with the extra black beans in there as well :o)

Oh and my vegetables are starting to sprout!

Pak choi:-

Which look very much like they're going to need thinning out real soon now.

Spinach:-

The courgettes and sweet peppers aren't showing yet, so obviously I'm worried about them!

B - 1 scoop MP Max in greek yogurt with blueberries and flaked almonds
S - Dorset Cereals bar, berries and cherries
L - EAT soup, Smokey Bacon and Lentil
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk and an apple
S - beef jerky
D - chicken in black bean sauce with buckwheat noodles

Exercise - 55 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1479 2211]
Protein (g)	158.4 (43.9%)
Carbohydrate (g)	150.4 (39.1%)
Fat (g)	27.3 (17.0%)
Fruit & Veg	7.1

Slight slip again

Rest day yesterday and a surprise bottle of champagne came home with Mr TOTKat so slippage happened...

Dinner was a firm favourite of salmon fillet with potato and lettuce salad with quails eggs:-

For some reason, even though I'm spreading out calorie intake throughout the day, dinner is the highlight of the eating day still.

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, blueberries and flaked almonds
S - banana
L -salad; lettuce, grapes, celery, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers and chicken breast
S - carrot and houmous
D - salmon fillet with lettuce, potato, quails eggs, wholegrain mustard, honey and vinegar
S - champagne, buttered toast and Marmite

Exercise - rest day

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2396 1791]
Protein (g)	133.2 (23.7%)
Carbohydrate (g)	205.2 (28.3%)
Fat (g)	59.1 (23.7%)
Alcohol (g)	58.5 (18.2%)
Fruit & Veg	8.4

Things I need to think about

So my trainer suggested that maybe I'd like to have one session a week with him instead of just one a month, so we can step it up a bit and really get working.  I know he's on commission so he needs to drum up business, but I do enjoy the sessions and it might be good in the quiet period between triathlon numbers 3 and 4 where there's a 2 month gap and only the Thames swim in there.  It'd be nice to see if I can really get my body fat % down and get pretty strong while I'm not worrying about cardio training and tapering a week before the race.  So, I'll think about it.  It'll be expensive, but it is a priority for me, so it beats stuff like buying shoes and dresses.

The training session today showed up my weak left arm again.  I'm going to try to work on it a bit, but at the moment it is significantly weaker than my left arm and some movements are almost impossible to do many reps with any significant weight at all.  As it was a new routine session, it was lower intensity than a full run through of the routine will be; stops for form tweaking, discussion etc.

I felt really good this afternoon and was tempted to have a bit of a run when I got home, but decided against it.  It's not in the plan for this week and I'd rather not over do it (for me; yes I know plenty of people do loads more exercise than me and they don't keel over!).

Dinner was beef chilli with giant couscous, peas and sweetcorn; one of my favourites and I don't often get to have giant couscous (which I love!):-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, blueberries and flaked almonds
S - banana
L -salad; lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peppers, grapes, celery, the last of the roast chicken
*gym*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk
S - carrot and houmous
S - MP beef jerky
D - beef chilli with couscous, peas and sweetcorn

Exercise - 50 minutes gym (reduced intensity)

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1611 2105]
Protein (g)	157.4 (40.1%)
Carbohydrate (g)	157.1 (37.5%)
Fat (g)	39.2 (22.4%)
Fruit & Veg	11.5

New routine

More for my own memory as my trainer's handwriting is almost as bad as mine ;o)

• Squat and swing with 10kg (like a kettlebell swing) - 2x10
• core pendulum swings (lying on the floor, legs up, swing legs/rotate hips) - 2x10 each side
• Lunge with single arm swing opposite arm to knee (same side arm and leg working, 4kg dumbbell) - 2x10 each side
• clean and press 15kg barbell (use box) - 2x10
• reverse lunge with row (cable machine) 12.5kg - 2x12 SUPERSET
• side plank with row (4kg dumbbell) hold 3s each- 2x10 SUPERSET
• 3x 30s sprints on cross-trainer (L6, 60s recovery)
• warm down 5 minutes and stretch

I suspect most of the 2x10 will turn into 3x10 over time and quite quickly.

Lotsa cardio again

Swim and run today.  Ramping it up a bit for the next triathlon and hoping to hit the same amount of training as last week again this week; 3 weights, 2x swims, 2x runs and 1 cycle (5.5 hours exercise, 3,033kcals burned) before tapering next week.

The swim was so-so because my heart rate monitor went a bit funny for a while and reported a heart rate of 33.  No idea how long it was doing that for, but it cut the reported kcals down quite a bit).  Run was -GREAT-!  I've finally hit 11kph again (well, OK 10.976, but it's near enough for me!)  And I felt fine enough to do a bit of a sprint at the end :o)  And then there was a nommy omelette for dinner as cooked by Mr TOTKat:-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, Yeo Valley fruit compote and Grape Nuts
S - a rather green banana
L - salad; lettuce, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, celery and leftover roast chicken
*swim*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk
S - carrot and houmous
*run*
D - omelette; 2x eggs, gruyere cheese, chorizo, mushrooms and onion
S - slab of banana and pecan cake (still about 4 slices left!)

Exercise:- 30 minutes swim, 30 minutes run

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc.exercise)	1795 2344]
Protein (g)	139.6 (31.6%)
Carbohydrate (g)	166.9 (35.5%)
Fat (g)	64.5 (32.9%)
Fruit & Veg	11.1

New routine coming soon

I've got a session with my trainer on Wednesday so I reckon I'll get a new routine then.  Hopefully he'll remember most of the one we tried to put together just before I went skiing; that was fun and I felt amazing afterwards!  So, today was the last day of my existing routine and I ramped up the walking lunges a little bit, up to 10 per leg x3 sets and a body-weight only set of 20 at the start.

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, blueberries and flaked almonds
S - EAT Natural, cranberries, apricot and yogurt bar
*gym*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk
L - salad; lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sweet pepper, beetroot, celery, Food Doctor herb boost, 4x quail's eggs and leftover roast chicken
S - MP beef jerky
D - beef chilli, couscous, peas and sweetcorn
S - chunk of banana and pecan cake and a mug of tea

Exercise - 50 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1850 2163]
Protein (g)	166.9 (36.9%)
Carbohydrate (g)	180.2 (37.4%)
Fat (g)	51.7 (25.7%)
Fruit & Veg	12.2

<3 new bike

Just back from a toddle around on my new bike and it's GORGEOUS!  14.2km including some hills (100m climb in total, roughly) and it felt nippy, zippy and tight.  Tiny bit tricky on the back brake and a bit too much play in the gear levers but all totally live-able-with.  Overall it feels absolutely lovely to ride and made Wimbledon Hill a buttload easier to get up!

We checked out the other Virgin Active near the house and the pool there is much much better than the other one.  They're almost equidistant, but the traffic can be worse on the way to and from the one we went to today.  Still, very nice to find a decent pool near here (yes there are a couple of municipal pools but they're not very nice and they don't even have swimming costume spinners in the changing rooms).

Lunchies today was one of my favourites; spiced butternut squash, carrot and orange soup:-

To make 2 portions:-

• 310g butternut squash
• 200g carrot, 10ml olive oil
• 1/4tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 50ml orange juice with bits
• 450ml boiling water.

Cube the butternut squash (don't peel it, but do de-seed it), chop the carrot into chunks.  Place squash cubes on a baking tray, drizzle with half the oil and season.  Place carrot in a pan with the rest of the oil and the spices.  Bake the squash for 25-30 minutes at 175C.  Sweat the carrots with the oil and spices, then add the stock (make up with the cube and 450ml water, then add to the carrot pan).  Cook the carrots until quite soft.  Once the squash is baked, add to the carrot pan and cook a little together.  Remove pan from the heat and blend it all together with a hand blender.  Add the orange juice once it's all smooth and blend a bit more.  Return to the pan and heat until bubbling (add more water if it's too thick).  Serve!

And now, after my ride, I'm having a slab of yesterday's banana and pecan cake with a mug of tea:-

NOM!

B - toasted, buttered Food Doctor wholemeal seeded bagel with Marmite and a poached egg
*swim*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in semi-skimmed milk
L - spiced butternut squash, carrot and orange soup with a chunk of buttered ciabatta-style baguette
*cycle*
S - banana and pecan honey cake
D - roast chicken with roasted parsnips, boiled potatoes, peas and gravy

Exercise: 30 minutes swim, 45 minutes bike

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1973 2449]
Protein (g)	104.5 (21.6%)
Carbohydrate (g)	203.8 (39.5%)
Fat (g)	83.9 (39%)
Fibre (g)	27.3
Fruit & Veg	6.0

3/3 weights done!

Lots done today (for me); weights at the gym before lunch, banana cake baked, dinner cooked, 2x beds changed, 2x lots of washing put on and hung out.  Not bad really.

We had a load of bananas gone black and squishy 'cause they had funny-smelling skins which put us off eating them.  So I decided to use them up and make a banana and pecan cake:-

Ingredients

• 105g Butter
• 482g Banana  (5 over-ripe mashed bananas)
• 65g Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 Eggs, Medium
• 1 Tsp/2g Baking Powder
• 81g Raisins (I was aiming for 100 but had to crack into the snack boxes of Sun Maid which got annoying)
• 53g Clear Honey (supposed to be 50g, but with honey it's always a bit tricky to be exact!)
• 40g Pecan Nuts
• 250g Wholemeal Flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 23x13cm loaf tin.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter, honey and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour mixture into prepared loaf tin.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a knife inserted into centre of the loaf comes out clean. Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.

Mashed banana:-

Banana, egg, butter, sugar and honey mix:-

Everything mixed together:-

In the tin:-

Baked!:-

Makes 10 generous slices:-

Nutrition Data Per Serving
Calories (kcal)	309.1
Carbohydrate (g)	40.9
Protein (g)	6.3
Fat (g)	13.2
Fibre (g)	4.8
Fruit & Veg	0.8

B - toasted Food Doctor wholemeal and seed bagel with butter and Marmite

*gym*

S - 1 scoop MP Max in semi-skimmed milk

L - chorizo and Monterey Jack with English mustard and white, seedless grapes on white ciabatta-style baguette with a handful of cherry tomatoes

S - Costa skinny latte with half a Costa breakfast loaf

D - Waitrose Aberdeen Angus and cracked black pepper chiploatas, with butternut squash, potato and carrot mash

S - banana and pecan cake with a big mug of tea

Exercise:- 66 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2200 2263]
Protein (g)	115.7 (21.6%)
Carbohydrate (g)	242.4 (42.4%)
Fat (g)	85.6 (36.0%)
Fruit & Veg	5.0

3/3 weights, coming up!

On track for 3/3 this week, though weights will have to be tomorrow with Mr TOTKat as I'm at home for bike delivery - if it arrives this morning, I'll head into the office, otherwise I'm working at home all day.  Either way, I can't go to the gym during my "lunch break" today.

I decided to have a run this evening after taking a chunk out of the back of my hand on the big cog while taking the new bike out of the box.  Not really up to gymming with a sore hand, my grip is a bit off.  Nice run too, tiny bit faster again than the last one, which is always satisfying.

And here's the new baby (with temporary pedals on for now until I get more confident, when I'll put the cage pedals on):-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, blueberries and Grape Nuts
S - cottage cheese on a Dr. Karg cheese and pumpkin seed crisp bread
L - salad; lettuce, cherry tomatoes, celery, sweet pepper, beetroot, capers and chicken breast
S - latte made with semi-skimmed milk, with a sprinkle of maca root
S - fruit and nut mix (brazils, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds and raisins)
*gym*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in semi-skimmed milk
D - baked tilapia with broccoli and sweet potato wedges

Exercise - 29 minutes running

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1624 2093]
Protein (g)	156.7 (39.1%)
Carbohydrate (g)	148.8 (34.8%)
Fat (g)	46.6 (26.1%)
Fruit & Veg	11.4

Rest day

But it so nearly wasn't.  I nearly ended up going to the gym after work, but in some ways it's good that I didn't.  Today was always going to be a rest day, just because I ate/drank too much yesterday doesn't mean I should thrash myself to bits today to make up for it.  So.  Rest.  And I know I was going to eat to maintenance on non-weights days, but as I was about 500 over maintenance yesterday instead of 500 under it, I'm not going right up to maintenance today.

I was expecting my new bike to arrive today, but it's not coming until tomorrow now; photos as soon as it's out of the box, I promise!

Nice little evening snack; an after-dinner classic of (Pie D'Angeloys) cheese on (organic, wholemeal) biscuits with grapes:-

B - greek yogurt with 40g Dorset Cereals Tasty Toasted Spelt muesli
S - cottage cheese on Dr. Karg cheese and pumpkin seed crisp bread
L - salad; lettuce, sweet pepper, cherry tomato, celery, beetroot and roast chicken
S - MP beef jerky
S - 1 small tin of pineapple slices in pineapple juice
D - beef chilli with couscous, sweetcorn and peas
S - Pie D'Angeloys on Dove Farms organic, wholemeal digestives and white seedless grapes

Exercise - rest. YES! REST!

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1685 1801]
Protein (g)	136.8 (33.9%)
Carbohydrate (g)	193.4 (44.9%)
Fat (g)	37.9 (21.2%)
Fruit & Veg	14.0

Wednesday again then

And it all went a bit off track...

It started so well with good meals and snacks and a nice, hard gym.  Then we went out for a drink after school and ended up having dinner out (because I'm rubbish and I couldn't face going home to cook and eat later than usual).  I'm suffering quite badly from tiredness at the moment.  I think I'm getting enough sleep (though I'm going to keep a sleep diary for a bit to be sure) but I'm just exhausted when I get up, perk up a bit after a shower and breakfast, then crash out on the tube all the way to work, perk up a bit after a cup of tea and a snack, feel even better after an early-lunchtime gym, then lunch and a slow decline throughout the afternoon with no perking up after either of my afternoon snacks, crash out on the tube on the way home and really not feel up to much once I'm home.  By 9pm I want to be in bed again.  That's not fun.

None of the meal was excessive really; the only large portion size was the starter of country terrine with a couple of big bits of toast.  The main course was a medium sized steak with a handful of broccoli and a ramekin of dauphinoise potatoes and the dessert was a steel ramekin of a very small amount of lovely apple crumble and a teeny scoop of ice-cream.  I didn't feel overly full at all afterwards.  But.  It was way off piste and the wine was a bit much for a Wednesday.  It was lovely and I enjoyed myself, and I'm not feeling guilty as such, just a bit too soon after the last meal out.  I know it was my decision to eat out both times, so I've only got myself to tell off.

I'm very glad to be back in the gym swing of it, but the food/drink has to come with it too for it to be particularly effective at shifting that bit of fat that I laid down whilst laid up (so to speak).  I'm still in my target weight range, but I'd rather be back at the fat % I was just before we went skiing; that was nice!  (I really need to measure it, but I'm scared to find out how bad it is)

Wednesday:-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP max, Yeo Valley fruit compote, flaked almonds
S - Dorset Cereals bar; berries and cherries
*gym*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk
L - salad; lettuce, celery, peppers, cherry tomatoes, chicken breast, baby beetroot, Food Doctor herb boost
S - carrot and Waitrose houmous
S - mixed fruit and nuts (brazils, pecans, almonds, walnuts and raisins)
D - 2x glasses white wine, sourdough bread and butter, country terrine with toast and butter, beef steak with sprouting broccoli and a tiny pot of dauphinoise potatoes, tiny apple crumble with ice-cream and 2 glasses of red wine, followed by a cappuccino

Exercise - 52 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2739 2150]
Protein (g)	173.2 (26.4%)
Carbohydrate (g)	183.1 (26.2%)
Fat (g)	95.1 (32.6%)
Alcohol (g)	55.4 (14.8%)
Fruit & Veg	8.1

Keep on moving; don't stop!

Today is cardio day!  Little swim in the lunch break and a little run after school.  I'll aim for a fast 408m in the pool and a fast 5km on the road later.  There's not really time to do endurance runs/swims etc. before the next triathlon and they're pretty much the only disciplines I can make a difference to my overall time with at the moment.  But more on that to come :o)

Will report in on swim and run later...(and think about an evening snack to top up the kcals before bed)

...swim was pretty good; tumble-turns take a whole second of length times it seems and I'm doing rubbish ones at the moment, so it might improve :o)  And the run, apart from getting rained on at the start felt really strong!  Not massively quick (5.2km at 10.7kph) but I felt great (comparatively) and not totally dead at about 4km.  I could definitely have gone faster, which is very encouraging.  Maybe I should have gone further, but I ran out of route and I was thirsty!  I'm pretty sure that getting back to the gym is helping me on the strength side to make running a bit "easier".

I've evolved part of my recipe for Eggs Florentine; basically quadrupled the amount of spinach, doubled the eggs, doubled the butter and added seasoning.  What a difference!  It's soooo nice like this!  We had it tonight with baked tilapia and boiled new potatoes:-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, blueberries, Maca root and Grape Nuts
S -Starbucks skinny latte
S - EAT Natural, cranberries, apricot and yogurt bar
L - salad; lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sweet pepper, celery, capers Food Doctor herb boost and chicken breast
*swim*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk
S - carrot and Waitrose houmous and pistachios
*run*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in semi-skimmed milk
D - baked tilapia fillet with new potatoes and egg florentine
S - Tim's Dairy yogurt (toffee)

Exercise - 30 minutes swim, 30 minutes run

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2336 2359]
Protein (g)	202.3 (35.1%)
Carbohydrate (g)	205.7 (33.5%)
Fat (g)	80.3 (31.4%)
Fruit & Veg	9.3

Back into the swing of it

On track for 3x weights this week and I've got a strategy for dropping the remaining 0.75kg of that kg I put on over the last 2 months.  Eat to loss (including exercise kcals) on weights days, and to maintenance (including exercise kcals) on cardio and rest days.  So 3 days a week in deficit and 4 days at maintenance.  Slow loss, but mixed up and keeping the resistance high for those fat-burning muscles.  For 2 weeks and then I have to taper for the next triathlon ;o)

Nommy salad for dinner:-

Monday went like this:-

B - greek yogurt with Bonne Maman apricot compote, 1 scoop MP Max, flaked almonds and Maca root
S - Dorset cereals bar; berries and cherries
*gym*
S - 1 scoop MP Max in skimmed milk
L - salad; chicken breast, celery, lettuce, sweet pepper, pomegranate seeds, cherry tomatoes and Food Doctor herb boost
S - carrots and Waitrose houmous
S - MP beef jerky
D - salad; new potatoes, quails eggs, lettuce, peppers, chorizo, pine nuts, cherry tomatoes, mustard, honey and cider vinegar

Exercise 51 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1708 2179]
Protein (g)	156.7 (37.6%)
Carbohydrate (g)	152.4 (34.2%)
Fat (g)	52.3 (28.2%)
Fruit & Veg	8.9

Round up round up

Not done this for a while... mostly because of the shameful weeks while I was recovering from injury.

Last week's numbers:-
Exercise count: 3
Exercise time: 03:39
Exercise kcals: 2,170

Totals since 15th June 2009:-
Exercise count: 249
Exercise time: 160h
Exercise kcals: 87,563

It looks like I won't hit 100,000kcals in a year; I possibly could have done had I not had pretty much 2 months off due to injury.  Hey ho!

How?

I didn't really expect to get bad DOMS again so soon!  Legs are again a bit on the "ow" side today.  Differently ow to a couple of days ago though, mostly down the fronts of my thighs rather than in a band around the whole of the tops of my thighs.  I guess I really went for it again :o)  But still, this is the first time I've had DOMS from the same exercise routine twice in a row.

Teensy bit delicate today after dinner last night, but mostly just sleepy and we crashed out on the sofa during the second half of the Formula 1 until the penultimate lap.  We still got pretty much everything we wanted to do done this weekend; found my camera battery charger, put up new lights, measured me up for a road bike, went to the gym and planted some vegetables (sweet peppers, yellow courgettes, spinach and pak choi).  Nice.

And, woo, I won a competition on Laura's blog, so that's just the cherry on the top of a nice weekend :o)

B - toasted Food Doctor wholemeal seeded bagel with butter, Marmite and a fried egg
L -Sainsburys bakery wholemeal crusty roll with ham, Philadelphia, Waitrose mustard and iceberg lettuce
S - toasted fruity malt loaf with butter
D - lamb biryani with peas

Exercise - rest day

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1723 1789]
Protein (g)	96.6 (23.2%)
Carbohydrate (g)	187.8 (42.2%)
Fat (g)	64.3 (34.7%)
Fruit & Veg	2.4 (!)

Envigorated - and an incredible milestone

Today marks 4 years since I took the decision to lose weight and turn my health around.  4 years on and I'm still maintaining a 30kg weight loss (which took 6 months to effect purely through diet change and calorie deficit), having had a little hiccup part way through when my scales stopped working properly and I put on a good half stone.  That was worked off again and I've been working on lowering my body fat %, taken up running and got back into swimming.  I've done my first 10km running race (2 minutes faster than I wanted to do it), my first sprint triathlon (10 minutes faster than I wanted to do it; and 2 more tris to come through the year), done a 5km swim for charity (in less than 2 hours despite no training) and signed up for a 2 mile swim down the Thames later in the summer.  I've come a long way and am still moving forward.  I may well be very hard on myself most of the time, but I have done well and continue to do so.  So it calls for a little celebration.  Dinner out tonight!

Despite still aching quite a bit, I went to the gym with Mr TOTKat this morning.  And I really went for it.  Full body weights session with a good 15 minutes cardio at the end.  I feel great!   Mr TOTKat's trainer even commented on my walking lunges with kettlebells, which was pleasing!  My thighs ought to calm down a bit by the morning too. :o)

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop, maca root and some Dorset Cereals fruity muesli
*gym*
S - 1 scoop in semi-skimmed milk with water (we ran out of milk!)
L - sandwich; Sainsburys wholemeal crusty roll with ham, Philadelphia and lettuce
S - cottage cheese with pineapple and maca root
D - hot smoked salmon with beetroot and watercress, duck breast with pureed cauliflower and spinach and a portobello mushroom, chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce, champagne, dessert wine and coffee with Amaretto

Exercise - 65 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2570 2303]
Protein (g)	159.2 (25.9%)
Carbohydrate (g)	234.4 (35.8%)
Fat (g)	67.5 (24.7%)
Alcohol (g)	47.6 (13.6%)
Fruit & Veg	6.6

This is taking the doodah

I had DOMS yesterday, thanks very much.  No need for them to continue today and be worse!  Seriously!  I don't think I've ever had them this badly before.  My thighs are so sore!  So.  No gym today as they obviously need more rest.  And my abs and triceps and shoulders.

Mr TOTKat made an absolutely delicious dinner tonight; the best omelette I've had since ever:-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop, fruit compote, Grape Nuts and maca root
S - Starbucks Skinny Latte
L - salad; lettuce, celery, cherry tomatoes, capers, Food Doctor Salad Herb Boost, chicken breast
S - Nutberry's yogurt coated banana chips
S - carrot and Waitrose houmous
S - MP beef jerky
D -2 egg omlette with bacon, gruyere, onion and mushrooms
S - a teaspoon of peanut butter

Exercise - rest

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1748 1790]
Protein (g)	153.2 (34.7%)
Carbohydrate (g)	122.2 (25.9%)
Fat (g)	77.2 (39.3%)
Fruit & Veg	9.7

OMG DOMS WTFBBQ!

Ow.

Blimey.

2 months off weight training and I knew there'd be a bit of payback the day after my first session back, but... OW!  My thighs are horrible today!  And my abs a bit.  And shoulders.  And triceps.  Still.  At least it won't be this bad after the next session.

Thanks to a tipoff from someone at work, I'm signed up for some Thames swimming fun in August.  From Hampton Court to Raven's Ait (3,218m), there will be 1000 swimmers thrashing about for an hour or so each, in waves of 100 setting off every 10 minutes in the Nokia Thames Swim.

B - Fage greek yogurt with 1 scoop, blueberries, flaked almonds and maca root
S - banana and Oatland nut, seed and raisin clusters
L - salad; lettuce, sweet pepper, cherry tomatoes, celery, capers, pomegranate seeds and chicken breast
S - carrot and Waitrose houmous
S - MP beef jerky
D - Waitrose pork and plum tomato sausages with mashed butternut squash

Exercise - rest day

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1660 1792]
Protein (g)	142.2 (35.2%)
Carbohydrate (g)	141.4 (32.8%)
Fat (g)	57.5 (32%)
Fruit & Veg	11.8

Tri photos

So there is photographic evidence of my triathlon attempt:-

Looking a touch porky there, but that's after 2 months away from the gym and an extra kg fat going on. So, not too hard to fix, should take about a month back in the gym again. But still, not the prettiest sight.

It was my first proper gym session today, since before we went skiing and it was a touch hard. I had to drop the reps on some things and I missed out the jacknife on the Swiss Ball completely:-

• Warm up on the rower; 1km at L7 (took 04:30!)
• Dual arm lateral pulls; 2x 12.5kg, 3x10
• Walking lunges; 16kg kettlebell, 3x18
• Squat and clean to shoulder press; 9kg dumbbell, 3x16
• Reverse flye; 1kg on Kinesis, 3x10
• Dips; 3x12 (superset with below)
• Planks; 3x60s (superset with above)
• Reverse crunch; 3x12
• Bicep curls; 2x7kg, 3x8
• Cool down on the cross-trainer; 10 minutes at L7

Which clocked in at 52 minutes of exercise and 474kcals burned (including background).  Of course, my glutes started to make themselves known about 10 minutes after I'd finished so I'm going to really feel it in the morning!

Mm, tuna fishcakes with roasted veggies and a spoon of chilli sauce for dinner:-

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop, fruit compote and grape nuts
S - banana
S - Dorset Cereals bar; 3 berries and cherries
L - salad; Tesco Alfresco salad (lettuce, carrot and pepper), prawns and cherry tomatoes
*gym*
S - 1 scoop in skimmed milk
S - 2x mini Babybel
S - beef jerky
 D - tuna fishcakes with roasted veg (parsnips, sweet pepper, courgette) followed by Tims Dairy yogurt (toffee)

Exercise - 52 minutes gym

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1717 2205]
Protein (g)	182.3 (43.6%)
Carbohydrate (g)	178.3 (40%)
Fat (g)	30.4 (16.4%)
Fruit & Veg	14.2

04:50 shouldn't exist

...but it did this morning.  I woke up 10 minutes before the radio came on and that was it.  Up, breakfast, pack the car and out.

We got to the pool early so there was no registration queue, but it was -cold-.  6°C and a biting wind.  Shivering and prepared we waited to start, I was race number 50; nice and low and as it turned out exactly in the right place for my swim time.  I overtook the swimmer in front and that was it for the swim.  My transition time was, however, shockingly bad.  I glanced at my watch and it said 00:08:4x so I thought I was doing OK, but apparently there was some kind of time warp and by the time I hit the bike start timer I was at 00:12:17 (how!?)   And then there was the cycle.  I got overtaken.  A lot.  By much MUCH nicer bikes than mine.  And then there was the headwind.  Urgh!  But still, headwind on the way out on the bike stage meant tailwind on the way back.  Right?  Hah.  No.  The headwind on the way back was -worse-!  And the ruts and potholes!  I won't be able to sit -or- walk tomorrow!  Still, I actually overtook someone (#28 on a rubbish bike pretty much like mine :o)).  The last few km of the ride and the clouds decided to open and re-wet all of us who'd almost dried out by now.

Back in from the bike stage (passing poor Mr TOTKat who hadn't even started his swim yet, being in the "second fast wave", who cheered me on and yelled encouragement xxx) and I looked at my watch again; 01:11:xx  Argh!  NO -way- was I going to hit 01:45:xx at this rate (or so I thought).  I was a bit wobbly and weak such that I had real trouble lifting my bike back onto the rack.  Bleh!  Anyway!  Off out for the run and I felt like the whole front my my body was rigid; every single muscle tense and I couldn't un-tense them.  And my legs weren't mine and I couldn't really feel my muscles like I normally can.  My stride was phenomenally short and I was pretty sure I was staring a 40 minute 5km run in the face at that point.  The good point was that my feet felt suddenly a lot warmer and the sun had peeped out from behind the clouds.  And then I saw #53, who I'd overtaken and been overtaken by a few times on the ride... and that was it; I wanted to catch her.

Thankfully, with the run being flat, being a bit knackered already from swimming and cycling was less of a problem than it could have been (all of my runs near home usually have a hill or two in them so a flat run is pure luxury).  2km into the run and I saw #28 ahead of me!  How?  Eh, quite clearly her bike to run transition was -much- faster than mine.  Still, she looked catchable and by 3km I had passed her.  Yay!  4km passed and the final bends ahead and I wasn't feeling -too- awful.  A wave and a "nice shades!" from a tiny marshall was all I needed to throw myself across the line, stop my watch timer and inwardly be very very pleased for a moment that it said 01:41:17 -including- the (up to) 7 minutes "free" transition from bike to run.

Thereafter it was a cold trot back to transition to grab the tea flask and some clothes and then wait for Mr. TOTKat to finish.  Every single person who came over the line as I was waiting commented on the wind during the ride.  "That wind!"  "How could it be a headwind in both directions?"  "Very very sapping!"  Cuddles, quick chat with a Thames Turbo friend and then back home for tea and bacon sarnies.

And the provisional results are up (thanks to Mr Thames Turbo for pointing it out and well done on a super speedy PB!) and my official finish was in 01:35:02.  Which is incredible, given my huge lack of training; 1 bike ride in the last 12 months, 4 runs since January 1st, 6 swims (including Swimathon); and my heavy, cheap bike.  I am, despite appearance, quite pleased.  Carb loading worked well, there was no "bonk" and I felt, more or less, fine all the way 'round.

Carb loading really did work

Not even the slightest of bonks this morning! (more on that later)

Yesterday was carb-tastic (though not all the right kind of carbs, but still):-

Potato salad with cucumber, lettuce, sweet potato, chorizo and mayonnaise.  Followed by:-

Broken meringue nests with apricot compote *dribble*.  So, lots of carbs and carbs in excess of my maintenance calories, so it should get laid down at least some as glycogen (which does seem to have worked).  Potatoes with skins on and wholewheat pasta so complex mixed in with simple and some fats right at the end of the day in the chocolate to help slow down metabolisation of the carbs.

B - toasted fruity bread with honey
S - rice cakes with Marmite and grated gruyere
L - potato salad with lettuce, spring onion, cucumber, chorizo, sweet pepper and mayonnaise
S - Salt and Balsamic Vinegar Kettle Chips (NOM!)
S - rice cakes with Bovril
S - meringue nests with apricot compote
D - wholewheat pasta with sweetcorn and cheese sauce
S - Lindt 70% chocolate

Exercise - rest day

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2120 1796]
Protein (g)	73.1 (14.2%)
Carbohydrate (g)	293.5 (53.6%)
Fat (g)	73.6 (32.2%)
Fruit & Veg	4.7

Nom!

Tilapia!

You know, Ocado are really great.  Their new "Service Counter" rocks for fresh fish and meat and consequently we had some really good tilapia for dinner tonight (baked en papillote with garlic, lime and chilli), with roasted sweet peppers and courgettes and couscous:-

The chilli was palpably hot, but the taste really worked and it didn't kill the fish.  The sweet peppers were intense and honey-like after 30 minutes in the oven and the courgettes retained their texture nicely.  All in all, really good dinner.

We checked over the bikes today; given that I've not cycled since Autumn last year, I thought it might be a good idea to check over the bike and make sure I had confidence.  Heh.  Ohyes.  Definitely confident and strong.  Very pleased with that.  And the bike feels strong and tight, thanks to a once-over and a tuning from Mr TOTKat.

Oh and I baked a malt loaf... despite having lost the kneading blade for the bread maker and had to use the f-beater instead.  It seemed to work OK:-

All ready to carb load tomorrow now!

B - toasted wholegrain, seeded bagel with scrambled eggs and Marmite
L - sandwich; ham, cheddar and lettuce on wholemeal granary bread with mustard and a handful of cherry tomatoes
*cycle*
S - 1 scoop in semi-skimmed milk
S - cottage cheese with 1 scoop and some raisins
D - baked tilapia with roasted peppers and courgette, on a bed of couscous and Green and Blacks Ginger chocolate to follow
S - 1/2 slice of malt loaf with cranberries, raisins, walnuts and apricots

Exercise:- 30 minutes cycle

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	2075 2079]
Protein (g)	167.7 (33.1%)
Carbohydrate (g)	196.4 (36.3%)
Fat (g)	68.8 (30.6%)
Fruit & Veg	5.8

Patience is definitely a virtue

Yesterday was a bit messy.  Out for lunch and then out in the early evening.  Over-indulgence on the wine front and this after last weekend's 3 day enjoyment.  And I must not try to do anything about it until after Monday's triathlon.  Restricting calories and/or packing in the exercise so close to the triathlon would be a Very Bad Idea.  So I'm all stressy about it and grumpy and desperate to get back on track.  After that triathlon, I'll have a kg to shift off again.  Meh.  I know how to do it and I'll actually be back in the gym again after almost 2 months off it, but still... I don't want to be on deficit any more, those times should be long gone.  There are always going to be days here and there with over-indulgence, of course there are, but to have so many in a couple of weeks was unfortunate at the least.

Today I ought to be making sure my bike works, but I'm a bit hung over(!) so don't feel like doing much.