So, the other day at work, I overheard two of my colleagues talking, and one of them said to the other, “Did you just say fruitile?” I had no idea what they were talking about, but I couldn’t stop laughing and resolved to use this new “word” in a sentence.
So, here, in this blog that is supposed to be about how I donated a kidney and then went on to continue doing triathlons and living a perfectly normal life… I have decided to use this “word”.
Given that kidney donors are not supposed to overload their diet with concentrated amounts of protein, I can say confidently that if you are a kidney donor and you eat whole foods, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, low-fat, and low sugar, and not too much heavy protein, you can be confident that your efforts to be healthy will not be fruitile. There, I did it 🙂
Aside from silly word play, I’ve also been thinking a lot about the progress I’m making in my Ironman training… So far, since the beginning of December, I have logged the following number of miles:
- 25 miles swimming
- 270 miles biking
- 176 miles running
I really don’t know if that puts me where I’m supposed to be with 8.5 months to go before the Ironman. But I’m pretty sure that I should start ramping things up now. Spring is almost here, and I will be getting out on the bike soon (not just riding my indoor trainer). Plus, I have a 3-mile swim on the calendar for the first weekend in May. This is a distance I have never done before. So, I really need to start incorporating longer swims. Plus, my first tri this year (an Olympic distance) is pretty hilly on the bike and run. So, I need to do some hill work, which I tend to avoid if I’m not motivated. Time to get motivated!
Speaking of that, I recently started reading a book about six regular people who train to do the same Ironman I’m going to do (Ironman Arizona). The book is called “You Are an Ironman”. Although the writing itself is just okay, the stories of the six people are really inspirational. Of note for this blog is that one of the athletes suffered from cystic fibrosis as a child and ended up having a double-lung transplant, then went on to complete the Ironman. Wow, right? … Here I am thinking I am cool because I donated a kidney and now I’m training for an Ironman. What about being a double-lung transplant recipient and then doing it?! So, I think the book will be motivational.
Another thing that I’ve been working on (with only a tiny bit of success) is losing a little weight. I just want to lose about five more pounds to get to “Ironman weight”. I don’t want extra poundage holding me back. I know from experience that losing just a little weight can really improve my performance. But weight loss is really hard for me, being the “big-boned”, “healthy” girl that I am. And, after tough, long workouts, I love to reward myself and eat whatever I want (not to mention that I’m pretty darn hungry!) I’ve been trying to find new, nutritious things that can be my “rewards”. For example, bananas. Normally, I try not to eat too many, because, as fruits go, they are high in calories and sugar. But if I have a banana instead of a muffin, for example — that seems like a better choice. Another thing is almonds. I love the “Handful of Almonds” packets that we buy at Trader Joe’s. But they are 200 calories — for just one little package of almonds! So, I’m trying to make them my reward, instead of eating two of them a day like I used to.
And then there are just weekends in general… I seem to go way off my diet on the weekends. Often, we do longer/harder workouts on the weekends, but then we also seem to eat back all the extra calories. I need to get a handle on this! Hopefully, my efforts in training and dieting will not be fruitile 🙂
Cheers,
Ookgirl
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