While listening to A Life in Parts, read by author Bryan Cranston, he said he always gives the same advice to aspiring actors before they start a big job, “Get your house in order.” Cranston means structuring your personal life, clearing your mind of noise and mitigating outside stressors so you can completely focus on your goal. This past week I have been getting my house in order so I can focus on my singular goal of qualifying for the USA Triathlon Team in 2017.
Playtime is now over.
I need to get back to this game face…
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 28, 2016
RUNNING
My runs, as you know, have been feeling a little “off.” Since I’ve been getting my house in order, I needed to get my ass in gear and do a lot more stretching, rehabilitation work (I’ve been in PT enough times to know what to do!) and start each run with a dynamic warm-up and then a stretch and foam roll. No excuses.
Guess what? My runs have improved. Shocking.
Since I’m in the pool almost everyday now, I use the sauna as a warm-up area and then do my dynamic warm-up in there before I run. It’s been working like a charm.
Tuesday – 6 mile run after swim with 15 x 15 second pick-ups throughout
Thursday – 6 miles after swim with 2 mile warm-up, half-mile @6:30 pace, 2 miles @7:30 pace, half mile @6:30 pace
Sunday – 4 miles easy after bike
Total = 16 miles
SWIMMING
For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to meet with my coach for a swim evaluation on the Monday after Thanksgiving. I was nervous heading into the pool but happy to see CRS. I had been having shoulder pain on my right side and she immediately knew the cause and, even pinpointed the area of pain with her finger. She really is a genius.
Sipping on some Tailwind in the pool while listening to my WaterFi – life is good.
She made some small tweaks to my stroke, head position and core and I actually was able to execute the changes and improve my stroke on the spot. This is the first time I have ever walked away from a pool session with her feeling more empowered than confused. I AM A SWIMMER! < – – I yelled this in the pool area after we were done. And yes, even after all this time I have to reaffirm this in my brain!
Monday – meet up with CRS for swim | 1800 yards
Tuesday – 400s for form | 2,200 yards before run
Total = 4,000 yards
CYCLING
I was finally able to get to my local bike shop, get another tube and fix my flat tire, despite my kids having three half-days this week.
I was mostly on the trainer due to time constraints from the half-days as well but, I really don’t mind the trainer and it’s helping me mentally focus since you can’t really do that on the road. I know my outdoor riding days are numbered so I’m hoping to get at least a few more in before the snow!
I’ve also been throwing in strength work, in the form of Barre and whatever is laying around the house, after my cycling workouts…
Wednesday – 1 hour ride with 10 x 30 seconds in Z4 and then off to Barre | 14 miles
Friday – 1 hour ride with 6 x 5 minutes in Z3 (grueling!) with core work afterward | 15 miles
Sunday – 1 hour 2 x 20 @88% + 15 @110% cadence work before run | 15 miles
Total = 44 miles
CROSS TRAINING
I’m adding this in because CRS gave me this specific workout called The Craig “Crowie” Core. It’s fantastic and I highly recommend it for runners and triathletes!
FUEL
Look out world – – I have been cooking! I tried two different Pinterest recipes this week and both were a hit! Best of all, they were both super easy to make. Who am I kidding? If they were not easy, they would not have been made!
Pictured are the Stuffed Peppers (obviously) and I also made easy Chicken Tacos. YUM!
I also joined the party and bought Run Fast, Eat Slow along with the rest of the running world. I’m tired of seeing photos of mouth-watering muffins at Happy Fit Mama and Fuel Your Future with Tina and not being able to indulge. If you can’t beat ’em…
I’ll report back on my findings.
THINGS I LOVE
My coach knowing exactly what I need, when I need it.
CRS showed up to the pool with this…
She has no idea that I’m a Momentum Jewelry Ambassador, and just thought it was the perfect gift. She was right.
THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH
Did I mention the half-days for the kids? Seriously three days of the boys being out of school at noon was a tough pill to swallow. I’ve been overrun with writing assignments, holiday planning and getting back to two-hour training days, just at the wrong time.
This is the only way I get things done and I have not one speck of guilt about it.
I’m sure he’s on a very educational site that is expanding his mind and teaching him to be a better person.
READING
As always, there is an abundance of great reads!
I’m currently reading Megyn Kelly’s book Settle for More. Although I’m not a huge fan of Kelly’s, I’m getting a lot out of the book. A friend suggested I read it since Kelly lost her dad around the same age I lost my mom. Kelly’s writing on her refection of that time, describing exactly the pain and the coping mechanisms she devised, really rang true for me.
There are other great lessons too about not having to be a genius to rise to the top of your field (she went to Albany Law School and had many setbacks in her career as a lawyer), to never give up and not take shit from basically anyone….like say someone who basically calls you clueless because you have a menstrual cycle and then terrorizes you on Twitter with a merry band of sexist morons. I’m just guessing…
Before anyone thinks for one more minute about how to burn off calories from holiday parties, please (PLEASE!) read what my very wise and very wonderful friend Sarah has to say on the topic of food and our complicated relationship with it:
Here’s Why You Should Indulge This Holiday Season | Women’s Running
“What if instead of trying to avoid indulging during the holidays you changed the way you looked at food in general? Instead of categorizing foods as “good” and “bad,” “clean” or “unclean,” what if you simply looked at all food as potential fuel and accepted life with its ebbs and flows, instead of a consistent progression along a linear path?” Sarah Canney
RANDOM PICTURE OF THE WEEK
My mother is rolling in her grave. I would have never been allowed to wear clothing like this to meet Mr. Claus. But, here are my happy children in the clothes (and other randomness) they selected for the day. My only defense is I did not know about Santa’s presence…he just showed up!
[Tweet “The Rundown has big #goals for 2017, great #reads and coping mechanisms for the #holidays”]
How was your week?
Are you getting your “house” in order for anything?
I have no doubt that you will make the USA TRI team? Other than the fact that you are a dedicated phenomenal athlete, you quote Brian Cranston and make it all flow. Lol! I’m still in the process of cleaning my house. I have lots of ideas about 2017, I just need to put a plan into place.
LOL! You just never know where the quotes are going to come from but you certainly don’t expect them from Walter White!!
I think I may be more excited about your 2017 calendar than mine!! I just hope we get to race together at least once…
Relaxing this Holiday season is so important. If you stress over food 24-7, (or even at all), it’s going to hinder life. I enjoyed that article on Womens running a lot.
Exactly!! I see all that delicious diner food you eat so you know just what Sarah is talking about. Keep doing what you’re doing Hollie 🙂
Yes! Yes! I need to get my house in order and have been thinking about that this weekend. Thanks for the core workout and love those exercises he does. It’s a weird crazy time of year and I’m with you on the no guilt parenting. I mean, pick your battles right? PS I have no doubt that you will make the team because there’s no messing with you when you have your game face on!!
Pick your battles for sure!!
So glad you like the core workout. It’s super easy to just do what he does – effective too.
#gameface
The holidays are such a hard time to get your house in order….. but maybe having it in order will make all the holiday activities more manageable. I’m going to try to have some semblance of order at least for M-Thurs through december and then focus on the whole week in a month
Good for you! You definitely have to make it manageable. I’m refusing to stress this holiday season. I know everything will eventually get done and, if something falls short, I’m ok with it. Cheers!! 🙂
That is great wisdom! get yourself in order to tackle other challenges, I like it.
Aw, the kids meeting Santa in jeans is awesome! I have taken my son in sweat pants! and Santa was ok with it. He might have been more concern about my son asking for a Black Widow toy, Santa was not up to date on Avengers toys.
That is hilarious!!
The boys were going to ask for a drone and I told them to be prepared to tell Santa WHY and what they intend to use it for. They did not ask for the drone 🙂
I love this theme this week! I have been getting my own house in order by pressing the reset button a bit, building muscle and NOT running any marathons in 2017 🙂 I could NOT deal with three half days in one week, what kind of torture is that?! I love that the kids randomly met Santa and I also love that your genius CRS pinpointed the pain right away. She’s incredible!!
I noticed you are on the same reset program I am and I love it! Your body and mind need a change after two years of marathon training!!
I seriously think the school is trying to kill us. Send help. 🙂
I love that idea of getting the house in order. It’s almost like setting up home base, a safe haven, so that we can go out there to conquer the world knowing that we won’t have to come home to chaos. Our kids had a 4 day long weekend last weekend and then this weekend they have Monday off, so it’s been a bit bananas around here. I think I’ll just collect their iPads and phones and iPods into ziplock bags, drop the bags off in some remote area about 5 miles from home and tell them to go find them. That should buy me a couple hours of freedom anyway.
That is EXACTLY what it is!!!
I love your plan and, if I use the boys iPads and some Sour Patch Kids candy, they will be gone for hours!! Thanks for the idea 🙂
That’s awesome that running is already feeling better! I have been getting more intentional about the roller and stretching again too… I seem to have tweaked my knee a bit this weekend (non running) and all those little things make such a huge difference. Can’t wait to see you go for the US tri team!!
I also started switching out my shoes and use one pair for shorter more intense runs and another for the longer hauls. I know a lot of people already do this but I never thought it mattered that much until now!!
I hope you can work out your knee kinks!! At least you don’t have a race coming up 🙂
That is a great video, thanks for sharing. Loved all of the exercises and will definitely try to incorporate more of those in my strength days!! Seriously, I love those boys, and seriously, I use the TV and Ipad way more than I like to admit, you are NOT alone!
It’s great, isn’t it?? Glad you can use it and THANK you for your honesty. It always feels better knowing I’m not alone in parental slacking. 🙂
My friend!! YES, YES, YES to everything!!! Where in the world would we be without some Ipad time? I mean how did parents survive before? Sometimes, I just need 10 minutes of silence and I have zero shame about this. 🙂
OMG, I was cracking up at the boys in their jeans to see Santa!!! I love it!!
That VIDEO!!! YES. I am all over it. Serious core work in the house…
Sarah’s article – YES. Just eat all the food and be done with it. I haven’t owned a scale in like FOREVER.
xoxoxo
OMG I say that all the time about the iPads!! I used them so much just to get stuff done and I haven’t a clue what my mom did. TV maybe?
The core work in that video is definitely serious but so perfect for running…and swimming…and cycling 🙂
I need to throw my scale out. I don’t use it that much but, when I do, it only causes mental issues!!
Thanks so much Nat!
I love all of this – your honestly is always appreciated. And I LOVE That you yelled “I am a swimmer!” (Though I’ve always thought of you as such.)
You actually have me interested in Megyn’s book… not a fan, but I had no idea she’d face those struggles. Having lost my dad at a young age, I tend to be drawn to those stories.
I think we were made to dress up unnecessarily for Santa. My dad made me wear skirts to even fly when we were kids. Blech!
Thank you for saying that about my swimming…and yelling 🙂
I’m not a big fan of hers either but I think you can get a lot out of it, as I have, just on the chapters when she talks about losing her dad and how it affected her life. I didn’t know you lost your dad at a young age! I’m so sorry. There truly is nothing worse then losing a parent.
And OMG yes, my mom made us dress up constantly which is why she would be appalled at this picture. Oh well…I have to pick my battles!
My theme is getting my health in order! We have had a sickly household for almost 5 weeks now and I’m honestly over it. I’m so behind on everything that it’s just gonna be a very impromptu season. Lulu caught this cold virus on November 6 and we caught it and literally it’s been this haze of nose drainage and coughing ever since. I think a week actually payed where I have no idea what happened lol. Oh and I had arm surgery. Last week. No big deal. I tell yeah being a mom makes me feel like everything else is just no biggie. Arm surgery or having a respitory infection might have made me moan and groan before but now I just don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. Too many things to do!
Catching up on reading my emails will take till the end of the year but thankfully your posts are worth the time and energy.
Getting my house in order as far as my new teaching gig is all I wanna think about but clearly that’s not realistic. Too bad I can’t postpone the holidays for 4 weeks but I’m allowed to wish! I’m just glad that our baby is a baby and doesn’t mind that I haven’t decorated our house at all nor do we know where the decorations even are. Oops.