January Rewind ...

Miles Run: 98.91 miles. Probably should have jumped on the treadmill for a quick 1.09 miles just to round it out.

Bike Miles Rode: 126.4 miles. All on the trainer.

Swim Meters Completed: 12800 meters or 7.7 miles.

Rest Days Taken: 7. Travel kind of threw me off this month.

Highest Run Mileage Week: 1/1-1/6: 23.6 miles

Highest Bike Mileage Week: 1/21-1/27: 37.3 miles

Highest Swim Volume Week: 1/1-1/6: 3600m or 2.24 miles.

Long Runs Completed (10+ miles): 0. Third month in a row. I'm currently building my run base again and with this whole HR training, I did get to 9.9 miles. This weekend's long run should put me over 10.

Current Book: Right now, I am reading Days of Blood and Starlight by Taylor. But I also finished a few other books in January. (Note: For those of you who have asked, if it's on this or any of my lists, I would recommend the book. If I don't like the story or the book doesn't grasp my attention, I don't bother finishing it, thus it wouldn't be listed here.) 

• Matched by Condie
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Taylor
• The Bar Code Tattoo by Weyn

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Jumpin' Jack Doritos. I probably haven't eaten Doritos in 10 years, but I saw this throwback flavor (which was my favorite as a kid) at the store the other day and I had to have them.

Current Colors: Charcoal Gray, Yellow and Pink
 
Current Drink: Hot tea with a touch of sugar. It's freaking cold here right now.

Current Song: Try - Pink

Current Triumph: I ate 3,000 calories yesterday. Without splurging on cake. Be inpressed.

Current Goal: Be a better me. Each and every day. And tackle my 2013 To Do List head on.

Current Blessing: Health, happiness and love. I've got all three.

Current Excitement: I'm still riding high from making (and subsequently meeting) Team Rev3 Tri. I registered for my first 140.6 this week. And my birthday is in 6 days. It's like a giant freaking party over here right now.

2013 To Do List:

Fitness:

• 140.6. That is all. - Registered.
• Make time for strength training. Don't let training loads eliminate strength workouts completely. And stick to strength training in a group, it keeps you accountable. - CrossFit membership ended today, so I'm gonna need to motivate myself to keep up the strength training this month.
• Switch to time-based/HR training. Despite my knowledge of training paces, I have a hard time sticking to them. I'm hoping this will help me train more effectively. - 32 days in and adjusting quite well.
• Log 4,500 cumulative run, bike and swim miles. Up 485 from 2012. - As of February 1st, 233.01 miles logged.
• Race a 10K with a finish time much faster than your very dated current PR of 53:17. I never managed to register for a 10K in 2012 and I'm not sure where it will fit in this year, but it's on my radar. - No progress on this one.
• Set a new PR in the Half Marathon, currently 1:57:06. I totally blew this one in 2012 and will likely only have one good shot at it in 2013.- Registered for Flying Pirate Half in April.
• Run a 5K with Dizzle and Doodle, even if that means tricking them into it. - The kids have been running quite a bit recently. Probably going to aim for the fall.

Nutrition:

• Eat like a gluten-free athlete. After struggling with health issues much of 2012, removing the gluten has been key in alleviating the symptoms. Don't be swayed by the lure of wheat. Or cake.- On point, like usual.
• Find the race day (and training) nutrition plan that works for me.- Eventually ...
• Consume no more than 18 desserts from Shyndigz. This number worked well in 2012 and helped me cut back on my serious cake addiction. Plus, their gluten-free menu is limited, so I shouldn't be tempted as often. - As of February 1st, 2 desserts consumed. Both from Dilly's birthday cake.
• Drink at least 100oz of water per day.- Oh, heck yeah!

Personal:

• Only say yes to the projects you REALLY want to work on. An honest no is much better than a halfhearted yes. - Check.
• Stick to our budget. We've lived credit card (and credit card debt) free for three months. No reason to go back now. - Double Check.
• Ignore your impulses. Take time to process the true value of the things you are filling your space/life with. - Yes and no. Although TigerBlood rocks my socks, I might just be in the market for a sweet Quintana Roo ...
• Figure out what to do with my hair. Keep the mohawk or grow it out. I'm taking opinions on this one.- I'm growing it out. For real this time.
• Continue to balance family life, training and now, work.- Check.
• Prioritize and be a good example for the people in your life. - Like quadruple check!
• Help and support J and the kids in reaching their goals. We are a team and that must always be the primary focus of our lives. No one should have to sacrifice so that someone else can reach their goal. If a balance can't be found, it's not worth pursuing.- I would never waiver on this one!

Two Things Thursday (because three would be too much) ...

Let's get this party started. - I know that some people really hate their birthdays, but I have never been able to figure out why. There isn't anything wrong with aging and if you do it right, like a good cheese, you get better with time. Plus, with each day that passes, you gain more and more memories and moment to make your life fulfilling. Really, I'm not seeing the downside here.

In exactly one week, I will celebrate my 31st birthday. And it's going to be amazing. Even if we do nothing but eat cake. Also, I'm considering starting my birthday week today and continuing it for the week after my birthday as well. This should open up the opportunity for more people to celebrate with me. Also, it gives J some leeway, considering he's traveling on my actual birthday for like the 20th year in a row.

Calories in. Calories out. - So, back in June I got my RMR tested. Long story short, my metabolism is crazy fast and I burn 2500 calories BEFORE you factor in normal daily activities and exercise. If you add in what I burn from cleaning the house, walking around and all that stuff, as well as 30 minutes of exercise, I need around 3500 calories.

Truth be told, I NEVER eat that much. I might hit 2,500 calories on a day when I workout for 2 hours. Maybe. When I first got the results, I did attempt to eat more, but started to gain more weight and stopped. I know in my head that this is just my body correcting itself, but it's hard to get over that number on the scale.

Anyway, I know that as I start 140.6 training in the coming weeks, I have to eat enough to fuel my workouts or I am never going to survive. I am doing my best to ignore the voices that are telling me to eat less and I am trying to embrace the sheer amount of food I am eating. The real problem is that 3500-4000+ calories of REAL FOOD is a ton of food. For example, yesterday after eating dinner, I had 1600 calories remaining and I was in pain from the amount of food I ate at dinner. I couldn't have eaten another bite.

So, I need some tips for how to get more calories in without feeling like I am constantly going to explode AND without eating a bunch of junk food. And it would be epic if someone could tell me that they've upped their calories like this and haven't gained a million pounds in the process.

confessions ...

I'm not going to pretend like it didn't happen.
I'm not going to pretend that I am superhuman.
I'm not going to pretend like I stopped at just one.
I'm not going to pretend that it's still not calling my name.
I'm not going to pretend that I'm OK with my actions.
I'm not going to pretend it didn't send me into a downward spiral of bad eating.

I am going to confess that I couldn't resist this ...

Piles and pile of Easter candy. Oh, yeah, and the cookies and the fudge ...

I thought I could resist. I thought that my 30 day ban on sweets would survive. But it didn't. Yesterday, I broke into the Easter candy. And I didn't stop at one piece (hence why I need a 30 day ban).

In the last 24 hours, I ate ...

• 20 Cadbury Mini Eggs
• 1 package of Swedish Fish
• 2 packages of Runts
• 2 Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs
• A unknown amount of Fudge
• A peanut butter and Nutella sandwich (2 tbsp of Nutella)
• Copious amounts of cereal every time I walked into the pantry

On top of all of the food I usually eat in one day. I'd say we are looking at 1000-1500 extra calories yesterday. 1000-1500 calories of sugar. See, once I start I really can't stop.

So, today, I recommit.

30 days. No candy, ice cream, baked goods, sugary cereals, chocolate spreads masked as food. Nothing.

Ready. Set. Go ...

i am food obsessed ...

I have mentioned once or twice or 8,000 times that I have a slight case of OCD. I need order and structure and I thrive on discipline. I mean, it's not like you run 50 miles a week or reduce your wardrobe down to 35 items without discipline.

It's also through discipline that I managed to get my eating habits in check. And it's how I dropped 70 pounds. When I was in high school, I ate a Burger King Bacon Double Cheeseburger with fries and a Dr. Pepper EVERY DAY. I'm not kidding. We were allowed to go off-campus for lunch and BK is what I chose (Note: You couldn't pay me to eat at BK now.)

At some point, I decided to change my ways and my discipline kicked in. I changed my eating habits and kicked my exercising into overdrive. Eventually, I got to this point. I became a pescatarian, endurance athlete. Or as the people around me would say, "an exercise addict."

The thing is, though, I'm not addicted to exercise. I love running. I love being active. But, it in no way controls my daily activities. I don't sacrifice anything but my free time and sleep to get my workouts in. I don't miss out on anything because "I need to workout." And I most definitely do not freak out if I miss a workout. Yes, I would prefer to complete my entire schedule, but I know it's not the end of the world to skip a few sessions.

I am so NOT obsessed with exercise. But, if we are being honest here, I think I am totally obsessed with food. I am positive that if I wasn't so disciplined with my exercise, I would balloon up quickly. Portion control is not my strong suit. Food is always on my mind. I plan out what I am going to eat for dinner before I've had breakfast. I don't like to share what's on my plate. I calorie count with the best of them. I NEVER eat out without checking the nutritional facts first. I measure or weigh the vast majority of what I eat. I have zero self control when it comes to indulgences. If there is junk in the house, I will eat it. Even if I am already full. And I am 100% aware of this fact.

I know being obsessed with food is completely crazy. But, I know I can't possibly be the alone in this. We've all got our thing, right? So, what are you obsessed with?