Electronic or Mechanical - The Benefits of Both

I own both electronic and mechanical shifting bikes. All that I own are Shimano (except my soon to be built tri bike), but I have also had the opportunity to work on and ride bikes with SRAM eTap as well. While I enjoy always being on the newest and best technology, I find that the decision of whether or not to ride electronic isn’t so simple.

The quality of shifting can be surprisingly similar between the two. I have Ultegra R8000 components on my Domane, and I was really impressed with the shift quality. My previous experience on my own bikes was Ultegra 6700 10-speed on my Tri bike, so this was a big improvement. I think the shifting in the end feels very similar to the Ultegra electronic shifting, and that the real difference is just being able to press a button instead of pushing the whole shifter. The place I have really seen this as a benefit has been with a customer who has wrist and hand problems who benefits from only pushing a button.

While the shift quality is similar, there is a lot less maintenance with electronic shifting. You don’t need to worry about things settling in and cable stretch, and if you’re on hydraulic brakes you really don’t have much to worry about for a while. As a mechanic, I have no fear of adjusting my derailleurs, but it is nice not to have to worry about as much maintenance.

With less maintenance though, you do have to charge batteries. With Shimano, there is one battery, and when it reaches a certain percent remaining it will stop shifting the front derailleur and only shift the rear to conserve power. With eTap, everything is wireless, so you have separate batteries for your derailleurs and shifters. The good news being that if the rear battery dies, you could swap it with the front to hopefully make it home. It would also be easy to carry a spare if needed as well.

The really big advantage of electronic shifting to me came in the form of base bar shifting on a triathlon bike. I raced Ironman Louisville in 2016, and I would have loved this feature back then. With Shimano Di2 the brake levers include shifter buttons or there are additional shift buttons available, and with SRAM eTap you can buy “Blips” or “Clicks” to add buttons wherever you want. The additional buttons are also useful for additional shifting options on road bikes.

Do I have a verdict on what is better? No. I still like my 2013 Felt B16W tri bike with mechanical Ultegra 10-speed just fine, but I am going to electronic on my new triathlon bike for the base bar shifting. I love my Madone with electronic shifting, but the Madone or Emonda I am planning to buy to replace it may be mechanical. For me, I like electronic shifting, but I can’t justify the price on every bike I buy.

Maybe Feeling the Comeback- Another Week of Training

It’s not like I’m having breakthrough workouts, but I am starting to feel like I’ve made progress. I also sometimes have to take a step back and remind myself that progress is typically slow, and while I may not feel like I am running faster, it is humid and getting pretty warm out, which means I am running slower at the same heart rates. I am biking faster though, which may have been my Madone and carbon wheels or my legs.

Monday - I started off with a run on Monday. I had to double check my workout stats to remember the workout. It was a 15 minute warm-up, 5 minutes in zone 4, 5 minutes in zone 2, 2.5 minutes in zone 4, and 2.5 minutes in zone 2. The goal was to begin to get comfortable being uncomfortable for longer going into this sprint. I have the endurance at this point that I can run for an hour no problem, but whether I can run faster for longer is the bigger challenge. I cooked dinner after the run before going to the gym to strength train.

Tuesday - I got out and rode my Madone. This was the second ride in a row that I’ve averaged over 15 mph, which five years ago was nothing, but this week it felt like an accomplishment. I’m riding 20 miles when outside, focusing on building speed before the sprint with plans to start a big (1 year) training cycle right after I’m done.

Wednesday - I felt a lot of fatigue. I decided that it was best to take a day off, since my body is still adjusting to training this much again. I haven’t been sleeping well, so I know I need some rest to make sure I’m absorbing all of the work.

Thursday - I was back out running for thirty-five minutes. I did a ten minute warm up with 5x1 minute in zone four and a four minute recovery. This is still all focused on getting some speed back.

Friday - I slept through my alarm for swim practice, and I felt like my legs didn’t need a run or ride, so I did a trail run instead. This got my heart rate up without the same impact as running on asphalt. I end up walking the hills and mostly running flats and smooth downhills. Nashville is very rocky, so there’s a lot of walking involved.

Saturday - I went for another 20 mile ride, and I tried to push my pace just a little to try to get used to being uncomfortable again. I ended up with a better average speed than Tuesday, but the important thing was the recovery estimate from my Garmin was only 26 hours. Previously when I tried to start to get back into shape I would have estimates of 72 hours, so this was a good sign to me.

Sunday - I got out for my run early, and I ended up having a little trouble keeping my heart rate down. I did a little over 3 miles with some 30 second sprints mixed in. After the second sprint I decided I needed to walk part of the recovery to make sure my heart rate came down before I went back to trying to run in zone 2. I was probably having trouble with my heart rate from a combination of fatigue and humidity as summer begins to hit here.

Overall, I feel like I had a pretty solid week. I also finished two Strava challenges for some free cookie mix and a $15 off coupon, so that was nice. I think that was about 7 hours of training with 5 sport specific hours in it, and I will probably be between 7 and 10 hours between now and the sprint. After the race is over I plan to reevaluate where I am and build a more structured plan in terms of base building and then going into next race season, but for now I feel like I am at least getting back into things to some extent.

I'm Calling this my Comeback - Last Week's Training

This past week has been a great week of training for me, and while I am still running in zone 2 primarily and keeping my pace down, I feel like there has been some progress in my running. I did make a couple changes from my prior week of training. I swam twice and only ran three days instead of four, and I ended up with only two bike rides instead of three. This is all based on making sure I have enough energy to get through my workouts and making sure I am getting adequate recovery before I go into my next workout. What I found in the prior week was when I ran three days in a row with a strength session the same day as the middle one was that I could not keep my heart rate down on the third run, even though I had planned zone 2 with just a few intervals of thirty seconds to one minute. This week, I didn’t run two days in a row, going back to my old college training plan, where I tried not to run two days in a row, because I feel like I recover most slowly from running.

Monday - I ran an easy zone 2 workout with no speed work and strength trained at the gym. My gym work is very specific to triathlon and injury prevention. I focus on compound lower body movements, like squats and lunges for cycling and running, and I focus my upper body movements around my bad shoulder, which also strengthens the muscles needed for swimming. I also limit these workouts, so I won’t be too sore to train the next day, because previously when trying to go back to the gym I would train to the point my legs would not move well the next day.

Tuesday - I rode on Zwift for an hour after I couldn’t ride outside due to work I had to get done that day. When picking my Zwift routes, I try to avoid pancake flat (like the desert) in favor of routes where I will be forced to train at different cadences and try to keep my heart rate where it needs to be over various terrain. This one ended up having one climb (the start of the epic KOM) and a lot of flat with a few rollers mixed in, which I like for trainer rides, because when I do ride flats I get bored.

Wednesday - I went to swim practice. We’re swimming long course part of the time right now, and we will switch over to entirely long course in a couple weeks. I slept kind of oddly the night before, so my neck was bothering me, and that definitely had me cutting my warm up short and not pushing too hard during the stronger portions of the workout.

Thursday - This mimicked Monday a little, except the run had hills and was an interval run. I typically make up my intervals and the workout once I have started, so on this one I was doing thirty seconds fast followed by two and a half minutes easy five times through in the middle of the run. One thing I noticed this week was that my calves were feeling tight, so I did extra stretching after the run and in the next few days to be ready for Saturday’s longer run. The strength workout was the same as the workout I did on Monday.

Friday - I was back at swim practice, and I felt better than Wednesday. Fridays are always speed work, and right now I need it, so for once I really committed to trying to go fast on the fast stuff, not just strong which is what I typically do.

Saturday - I ran “long” on Saturday, which meant a little over three miles. I stayed in zone 2 to warm-up, but starting at the fifteen minute point I did thirty seconds fast with four and a half minutes in zone 2. Going into the last five minutes of the run I kept the pace up in zone 4 until I hit the three mile point and then I stopped my watch and walked back to my car.

Sunday - I rode my bike outside after working at the shop. I took my Madone out, because after thinking I lost my Di2 charger when I moved out of my ex-husband’s house over a year ago I finally found it. I really enjoyed this ride, and I am thinking I may keep my Madone and sell my Domane, because the Madone is more comfortable.

Since I only have a sprint planned right now, I am focusing on regaining some speed over anything else at the moment. My plan is to drop some weight and regain speed over the next few months, then for 2022 I want to plan a couple half distance races where I feel like I can really perform at my best. I am also going to take some time to do things other than triathlon training. I had my parents bring down my tennis racket from Ohio this weekend, so I can start taking some private tennis lessons with the goal of eventually getting good enough I could find a group of people to play with to get out of the house more.

Building a new Race Bike

I got my first bike when I was a freshman in college. It was a 2013 Trek Lexa with 8-speed claris components. I then upgraded to a 2013 Felt B16W triathlon bike, with 10-speed ultegra components, and I love that bike. Now, I like my Madone and my Domane, but I love my triathlon bike, and I think that love has helped me begin to start training more again. The only thing I don’t love about the bike is the rim brakes, so I decided it was finally time for a new bike, and while I wanted to wait for a disc brake speed concept, with covid and supply issues, I knew the likelihood of finding exactly what I wanted from Trek or Liv was unlikely, so I looked around online and found a 2020 Felt IA Advanced with disc brakes that was new and never ridden from The Pro’s Closet.

The only problem with this bike is the mechanical shifting, because when I did Ironman Louisville in 2016 I found I would love shifting on the base bars. So, like any good bicycle mechanic, I decided to buy the bike, sell the parts, and I am going to replace them with Force eTap AXS components, except the brakes, because hydraulic brakes are expensive, and I prefer TRP or Shimano hydraulic brakes that use mineral oil. I may still swap to the Sram in the end, only because of base bar shifter compatibility.

This build so far has been interesting. The Pro’s Closet did an excellent job packing the bike, but I honestly wish none of the cables were installed, because it would make taking it apart easier for me, but I know most customers probably aren’t taking the bike apart entirely. I have some Allen keys and a set of cable cutters at home, so I was able to disconnect everything myself, but it was a pain to have to take the cables out. I also borrowed the remaining tools I needed from the shop and returned them the next day while they were closed, so no one was missing the bottom bracket tool or the little star tool you use to remove Shimano cranks.

The other difficult part of working on this bike is the seat post. It is very wide and requires a special adapter to fit in a work stand, so I have been leaving it on the floor for most things, except installing the front brake, where I set the frame in the stand, but did not clamp it. Since I am going with eTap, I don’t anticipate too much need for a stand, especially since I already removed the bottom bracket while sitting on my living room floor. The bottom bracket removal made me very nervous. The IA has an English threaded bottom bracket, so first I double checked which direction it threaded in, because I am always confused by it, and then I had to take my bottom bracket tool and rubber mallet to actually remove it. In the end I was very proud of myself for getting this done at home without a proper stand.

I like my older Felt a lot, so I am hoping for a similar fit when I get around to making adjustments, but it will probably be a while. I have the Blip Box on backorder from Sram, and it will not be in stock until September, and I have wheels on backorder that are not available until January 2022. The remaining parts will come in between now and the end of July, so I am going to hold off on doing much until I can get further along, and I will post progress as the bike comes together.

Vacationing and Returning to Training

I knew returning to training would not be easy this year, but my vacation a couple weeks ago actually made it easier. By having a week of no stress and no work, I was able to begin to find a little bit of consistency, so maybe my run time will be under 45 minutes in Chattanooga at the end of June.

I have always preached that consistency is the key to successful triathlon training, but whether or not I have successfully applied this concept has been hit or miss. Since my one full distance race in 2016, my training has not been organized, and at times I have not trained at all. The last two weeks of training have probably been the most consistent training I have done since somewhere in the middle of 2017, and that is okay. One of the masters swimmers I used to coach put it best when he said there is a time in your life for everything, and for me that meant the last few years were not for training and full distance races. In the last few years I started a new career and learned a lot about myself instead.

Vacation training was all about just getting out and doing something, so my first workout in South Carolina was actually a beach run, with no shoes, and I think it was probably my best run I’ve done in a while. There had been rain the day before, and it was low tide, so I had plenty of beach to run on as long as I avoided the shells. One other thing I noticed with this run was that my stabilizer muscles were more involved, because my abs were sore the next day. The rest of my consisted of two more runs on the road directly in the sun where I just ran based on feel and tried to enjoy it.

Cycling was a little different than riding at home, because I was riding on flat roads, which gave me the opportunity to really use my aerobars. I got in a couple 20 mile rides, and the biggest goal was just to go ride and enjoy it, and nothing more.

Swimming on vacation and now has pretty much been nonexistent. I did not have access to a pool, and I slept poorly all week, making 5 am practice a struggle, but I am hoping to get back to it soon. I did swim for 30 minutes in the small pool at the beach house, and I ended up with motion sickness at the end of it, so I don’t recommend swimming in a 15 yard or less pool.

Post vacation it has just been my goal for the last week has been to just maintain some consistency with training most days. I ended up making it four runs, on strength workout, and three bike workouts, which aside from not swimming is falling in place where I want things to be. I’m not overly fatigued, but I am just a little sore form Friday’s strength training right now. The biggest thing I have learned has been to take small steps when getting back into things like this, because I frequently try to make big jumps and end up right back where I started shortly after. It is kind of like starting training from the beginning. You don’t just go out and start with an hour run. I started with 20 minutes, and am running around 40 for longer runs while I work on building up some speed again.

Signing up for 2021 Racing

By 2021 racing, I mean I signed up for one race, a sprint in Chattanooga at the end of June with a pretty fast course, which will probably be pretty slow with the shape I am currently in, but the goal is to have fun with this one race and to see where things go. This was a slightly impulsive decision, but I think it is the right time. Some questions about my decision to race now after so much time off and where I am hoping to go from here are listed below.

Why did I decide to race now? I feel like I am slowly beginning to figure out balancing my life, so I decided having something to train for over two months would be a good motivator. I didn’t want some long far off goal right now, and I got an email about reserving a spot for the race, so I went ahead and did it.

What is training for this race looking like? I am not 100% sure about it, but the basic plan is to run 3-4 times a week, bike 3, and swim 2-3 times, while also beginning to incorporate some strength training workouts as well. Most of my training is staying in zone 2 with my intervals and hard workouts in zone 4 to replicate race pace and to get my body used to it. I did my first tempo run in zone four last week, and then I turned around and did my long run in zone two, and while it definitely becomes frustrating to not go as fast, I am finishing my runs without doubling over to catch my breath, which is where I have been in the past.

Is this the beginning of a bigger training cycle for something else? Hopefully yes. I definitely want to return to both the half and full distances, so I am going to use this to gauge how long it is going to take me to get into shape where I am ready to perform at my best for those distances. I need to get my weight down, which will help with efficiency on the bike and the run, and I need to get back into the gym to make sure I am not going to get injured when I start to increase my training.

Am I following a specific training plan or hiring a coach? Not right now. If I decide to go the route of doing another full, I will hire a coach, and I have a couple that work locally I am interested in working with, but for anything shorter I plan to write my own training. My plan is kind of general, because I am still working to make sure I have a good balance between work, training, and staying healthy.

I am also hoping I’ll start writing more as I begin training more. I just got back from vacation in South Carolina where I trained all days except my travel days, and I am going to put together a post on training while on vacation.

Week 1: Zone 2 Training

My first week of zone 2 training has been interesting. As mentioned previously, I have my spreadsheets to track my running and my weight to control for any weight loss, but I am not sharing any of that for a while, because I don’t have any results to share yet. What I am going to share will be my week of training, how it felt, and anything I noticed or found helpful.

Monday: Zone 2 run. I wrote about this with my first zone 2 running post, so I will not go into much detail. I walked a lot, and I let my heart rate settle down to zone 1 when walking.

Tuesday: Nothing. I felt tired, and unmotivated. I did a lot around my house though.

Wednesday: 45 minute zone 2 bike. It was sort of zone 2, but I was on a hilly route, so I let my heart rate climb up a little during the climbs and settled back into zone 2 on the descents and flats. I have to pay close attention on descents to keep it from dropping too much. This means shifting up a gear or two and keeping my cadence up.

Thursday: Swim in the middle of the day. I felt pretty good and had time to get in some extra distance, so I made it 3300 instead of my planned 3000. I also had another zone 2 run that afternoon. I felt like I ran a little more in the beginning compared to Tuesday, but less near the end. One of the recommendations I got from Triathlon Taren is to run more to improve efficiency on the run, so I am aiming for 3-4 runs per week right now.

Friday: Swim in the morning. This was another 3000 with some speed in it. I back off a lot on speed workouts due to an old shoulder injury at the moment, so anything “sprint” or “all out” is actually just strong. I also did 30 minutes of stretching and core work in the evening. As I mentioned in Triathlon Training and Tax Accounting I am planning on trying to focus on strength and mobility to prevent injury.

Saturday: I was super tired Saturday morning, probably from my early morning to swim Friday, so I slept in before working at the bike shop for the day. When I got home from working, sleeping in meant I had to get in my 1.5 hour bike ride. I picked a pretty hilly route for it, which I do a lot on Zwift, and I like that choosing hilly routes means I think less about speed and more about heart rate and the purpose behind the workout. My heart rate still got a little high on a couple hills, but it was returning very nicely when I slowed down, which is a good sign.

Sunday: My long “run” day. I have found a shuffle that I can stay in zone 2 under the right conditions with. I ended up with a few extra minutes past the forty-five I planned for this workout, and it went very well, or as well as a run/walk when I really want to run can go. The really positive thing that has come from all of this is that I can do longer workouts without feeling like I am dying at the end. The distance may not be there yet, but the time is, so as I get faster (hopefully), my distance should build up without increasing time. Of course I am increasing time as well.

Overall, this last week went really well for me, and it felt good. I haven’t actually felt this good training in a while, and my current week is off to a good start. I think not working for two weeks has something to do with it, but I have also made a few other changes, like trying to eat better and taking a vitamin D and B12 supplement. The vitamin D is under the recommendation of my doctor and the B12 is just what else was in the one vegan vitamin D gummy I could find online.

This week I am starting to incorporate some intervals into one of my run and bike workouts each week. On the run it will be on my hard run day and will be heart rate based, while on the bike I am just going to continue with hillier routes, but also push a little bit more for short periods of time.

I am Trying Zone 2 Training

Like the title states, I am going to work on more zone 2 training, which is pretty doable for me on the bike, and I throw heart rate out the window on swimming no matter what, but the zone 2 running is a problem for me. I have worked off some older, but still roughly accurate numbers to calculate that to be in zone 2, my heart rate needs to be under 158 BPM. To put this in perspective of difficulty for me, my average heart rate is normally somewhere in the 170’s.

The first question some people may have is why I am choosing to focus on zone 2 training. There is a lot of research on zone 2 training for endurance athletes. Zone 2 is where you will build aerobic efficiency. By training at lower heart rates, over time you should be able to put out a faster pace at the same heart rate. It also means you will be able to go faster at heart rates above zone 2. If you want to learn more about zone 2 training, I will link some videos and articles I have found helpful at the end of this blog post.

Like I said, zone 2 cycling is not as difficult for me, especially with my trainer, so I will be able to easily crank out those workouts at home, but zone 2 running does not come naturally to me. I have gone for my first zone 2 run where I setup heart rate based alerts on my Garmin to tell me every time I hit zone 3, and it challenged me a lot more than I expected.

It was cool out, so I at least didn’t have to battle the heat, but after my first six minutes of running, I had to drop down to a walk to get my heart rate back into zone 2. I was shuffling more than running even before I started to walk, but I am trying to really stick to this, because this run, and the effort I put in on this run, made me realize that I may have never really trained in zone 2. I’ve honestly probably spent more time training in zones 3 and 4 on the run than I have ever spent in zone 2, even when training for my Ironman in 2016 (which sounds like forever ago as I write this).

The one thing that happened that I expected was that I went longer than I had planned. I ended up with about a thirty-five minute workout, when I wanted a minimum of twenty. I know this is from staying in zone 2, because zone 2 should be a conversational pace, and as I mentioned before, I now realize I probably never have trained in zone 2 on the run, because I’ve never just gone out and felt like I could go forever like this. Of course I was also walking a lot, but hopefully I will see the amount of walking go down as I continue my zone 2 training.

As a data nerd who has both Strava premium and Training Peaks, I decided I need to track this somehow to see if I make progress, and my inner accountant decided Microsoft excel is going to be the best way. I have my spreadsheet and basic data I am tracking. Total time and average pace. The thing I would like to see is for the average pace to begin to drop over time, keeping in mine that it can take three to six months to actually see results.

There are some things that could also impact what I see on this chart beyond just my running. I am currently focusing on self-care and eating healthier, so if I lose some of the weight I would like to get rid of, I should also see a decrease in my run times, because each step would take less energy. Weather can also impact heart rate, so when I get into the miserable summer months in Tennessee, I usually see my average pace slow down. Because I am not racing until December, I am more focused on base building than anything else at the moment, so I am probably going to focus more on these slower workouts than anything else.

If you are interested in learning about zone two training there are useful articles here and here. The second one is from Matt Fitzgerald discussing the 80/20 rule for intensity in training, which I am planning on reading his book about. I also recommend checking out Triathlon Taren’s videos on zone 2 training and running. I’ve watched a lot of his videos about zone 2 training, and he gives a lot of good advice about how to get started with it and keeping your heart rate down.

Triathlon Training and Tax Accounting

No, I did not title this blog post just because I like the alliteration. I chose this title, because it best encompasses my two current goals, which are career progress and triathlon. An uncommon pairing, but I want to prove to myself that I can be successful at my job and be a successful athlete once again. Like many people do when things get tough, I let myself make excuses for why my training fell completely off track a few years ago, and work was one of them, so for 2021, I am not going to let my job prevent me from meeting my goals.

First, I bought a book. I like buying training books and reading parts of them sometimes, and when this popped up as a potential read on my Amazon account, it sounded perfect. I have not read the complete book yet, but I hope it will give me some idea of changes I may need to make to my training to be as efficient as possible.

Prior to opening the book, I am sure of one change I need to make. I need to decrease junk mileage. My best season where I trained myself I did a lot of junk miles, and it worked, because I had not previously been a runner or cyclist, so I progressed quickly. Right now, I don’t have time for junk miles, so I know each workout I plan needs to have a purpose. If I am swimming three times a week, I know what my three workouts are. Distance, technique, and sprint, so I need to apply this same thinking to my cycling and running as I plan my training schedule.

Next, I am blocking off my calendar at work for a few hours every week for two reasons. First, self-care. Wednesdays and Fridays I am going to be done working earlier than any other day of the week. Wednesdays I like to have dinner with my Grandma, and I figure Friday is the most acceptable day of the week to take time off in the world of accounting. I will still be working a lot of hours, but I like to work earlier in the mornings, so I don’t think this will be an issue. The second reason I am blocking out time is so I can train. My current plan is to use the time Friday evening for an outdoor run, and I will also be planning my Saturday hours around time to ride my bike on Saturdays, whether it is inside or outside.

I am also going to prioritize strength and mobility as a part of my weekly routine, where I have previously neglected it due to time constraints. Strength and mobility play an important role in injury prevention, and if I am injured, I cannot train as much, which would set me back on my goals, which seems obvious. For this reason, I am setting aside two workouts a week. One will be yoga and the other is going to be a more traditional strength workout. My plan is to try to make these workouts as efficient as possible, so they can be squeezed into my schedule without taking the place of a sport specific workout.

In addition to the above plans, I am going to prioritize self-care, which means I am going to be paying closer attention to things like how much I am sleeping, what foods I am eating, and the amount of time I spend staring at screens aside from when I am working. These are the things I neglect when I am working and training more. At my previous office I ate M&M’s as a snack and when I got home I would mindlessly scroll through my phone in the evening. Instead of eating M&M’s, I have access to Greek yogurt, granola, and fruit now that I am working from home, and instead of scrolling through my phone I need more books to read to decrease the amount of blue light I am seeing at night to help improve my sleep quality. I actually ordered and Oura Ring to see how I am sleeping, because right now I never wake up rested, and I will post my favorite roasted vegetable recipe later this week.

Overall, the big priorities I see for myself over the next few months are self-care and making sure everything I do has a purpose when it comes to training.

Above are some of the books available on Amazon that I either own already or intend to purchase once I actually start working again.

3 Things a Day: Fixing my Bad Habits

2020 sucked. In addition to COVID-19, I went through a divorce. Now, some good did come from it with moving into a new home, adopting cats, and getting an excellent job offer, but overall, 2020 sucked, and 2021 has not started great for me personally. I have barely trained thanks to the cold and moving, and I was immediately let go from my previous job when I gave my notice. This means I have two weeks of little to nothing to do and nowhere to go (thanks COVID).

I decided to take the advice I got from my mom, because mothers almost always know what to say. I need to get up each day with a plan of things that need to get done.

I am making it a challenge for myself, and I want to document the impact it has on my everyday life. I am hoping that being more purposeful will help me with getting out of this rut I am stuck in. I know if I don’t do anything, it will get worse, because I tend to thrive when I am busiest, so not working will not go well if I don’t do anything about it.

Today marked day one for me. I got up this morning with a plan.

First, I wanted to hang up my medal board that I never updated with my time from Ironman Louisville in 2016. When living with my ex-husband, I had it hanging right in front of my trainer, so that is where I am hanging it up now for a little extra motivation when riding my bike.

Next, I needed to buy more groceries. I do most of my grocery shopping at Kroger on the weekend, but they don’t have a good fish selection, and I am a terrible cook, so once a week I also go to Fresh Market to pick up a few things. This week, I bought a crab cake (their ultimate crab cakes are amazing), tilapia, a quiche, and peanut butter dark chocolate peanuts. I had already done the remainder of my grocery shopping yesterday at Kroger where I got mostly fruit and vegetables and a couple snacks,

Finally, I needed to set up my trainer at my house. I was without internet for two weeks after moving in, so I could not connect to Zwift, and my phone data was not strong enough to use it, so my trainer has been in a closet in my garage since. With the cold weather and no trainer, training has been nonexistent for the last couple weeks, and I need to get back to it. I was starting to actually see progress again running, but then I got busy with the holidays and it fell away, so I made it one of my things for the day. Even just 30 minutes on the trainer is a good workout, especially when I have not been on my bike consistently.

The biggest thing I noticed today, is having things to do makes it easier to get moving instead of sitting in bed all day on my computer. I am very good at it, but I know it is not good for me. I managed to get some extra things done, like running the vacuum over the rug in my living room, ordering felt pads to protect my floors, and beginning to plan out my work from home setup, since my new job will be remote until at least May.