Fitness Flash

I am getting excited for this triathlon.

Ryan and I drove out last Saturday to Cooperstown and did a little recon on the bike course. We must've looked at the map twelve times before we rode out and still had to look at it again during the ride. It was a bit of a warm ride but it's a great little course through fairly quiet roads.

As of today, there's only nineteen days left until the tri. While we were in Cooperstown we scoped out the lake where we'll start. I know we're both pretty nervous that we're going to be cold, but after touching the water and riding the course I think we're going to be okay. There's no lifeguards yet so we couldn't get in and test out our wet suits.

We trained pretty well last week (at least, I feel good) and here's how it shaped up:

It feels so good to swim again. But pool swimming is a bit different than open water swimming. Thankfully the first time we do an open water swim is before the triathlon. I always get weirded out by stuff touching my feet. For some reason I think my feet will get tangled, I'll be pulled down, and I'll drown. No better time for an irrational fear to get you than when you're competing in a race. So for Memorial Day we're going up North to visit with Ryan's family. While we're up there, we're going to try to swim in the St. Lawrence River when we visit his sister's family as they camp at Cole's Creek. 

Since we were out in Cooperstown and it was an absolutely beautiful day, we took a different way home along a scenic biway. The way there took about two hours but this other route took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Although a little bit longer, since I had Ryan stop a few times along the way. 

He's the bestest. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life.

2015 Recipe Chase | Candied Pecans

I'm pretty sure that when you combine brown sugar and cinnamon you're transported into heaven.

Like, wham, bam, hello Jesus.

These pecans are delectable. They would be my kind of drug. I mean, delicious? Check. Extremely addicting? DOUBLE CHECK.

You can pretty much use any nuts with this recipe, I just had pecans on hand. My sister-in-law made an almond version for Christmas. I ate the entire container. Poor Ryan had crumbs. Until I ate those too.

These would be the easiest and best tasting gift ever. Husband? Take note!

Candied Pecans

Makes: 20, 1 oz servings

Prep Time:  5 min          Oven Time: 60 min

Ingredients

16 oz   pecans (or your favorite nut)
  1        egg white
½  cup brown sugar
½  cup white sugar
 1 tbsp cinnamon
 2   tsp vanilla extract
½   tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or cooking spray).
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg white until foamy. Add the pecans and mix until the pecans look wet.
3. In the bowl, add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Layer the pecans onto the baking sheet in a single layer and bake for one hour, stirring every twenty minutes. The nuts will still seem wet after the first twenty, done after the second, but crispy after the last.
5. Allow the nuts to cool in the pan for two hours (or overnight) before eating.

Calories: 97 per serving

This recipe was inspired by my sister-in-law and Instructables.

Can someone figure out how much it would take to overdose on these? I'll eat one less.

Fitness Flash

Are you guys watching Married at First Sight? I am totally hooked.

I love, love, love Jaclyn and Ryan R. They're the most adorable couple. I know that Jaclyn wasn't all into Ryan at first, but I'm so glad she's on him like white on rice. I love love! Jessica and Ryan D. make me want to bash their heads together. He tries to be funny in a way she doesn't get and she doesn't say anything. HELLO. Communication is key! They both need to get over that hurdle and start gabbing. Davina and Sean are both cry asses. I have a sneaking feeling that they're not going to make it and I feel bad for Sean. Davina doesn't know how to compromise and it's so sad. Like he's a sweet guy. Holy crap, just give a little will ya?!

If I can put up with Ryan's shenanigans, these people can put up with each other. Geesh.

This past week was a rest week in our training plan. We were especially lax, I think. But we did go for a hike around a local island on Wednesday. The weather and sun were perfect. We moseyed but it felt good.

After riding to and from work on Thursday (1 out of 50!), I rode my bike to my first softball game of the year. Which, of course, was awful. We lost something like 28-7. I'm just going to remind myself each game that pitching is not as easy as it looks and I'm much better at right field.

Now that I'm cleared for swimming we added that back in. I was so happy to be back at it. I swear the warm up is the hardest part. The main part of the swim came right back. My technique is a little off but a good base is there.

Last but not least, we had an obligatory run on Sunday. Aaaand it was after about two hours of yardwork. What a joy. Halfway through the run I was psyching myself out and had to stop and walk to catch my breath. I'm going to blame it on the heat.

Here's how the week shaped up...

This is the last month of our training plan. In 26 days, I'll be waking up at the ass crack of dawn to swim 800 meters, cycle 18 miles, and then run three. I'm currently terrified and insanely excited. We've booked the hotel, ordered our triathlon suits, and my multi-sport/activity tracker watch and heart rate monitor are set to arrive sometime next week. I feel like it's just going way too fast. Can we just slow down a bit? Please?

Pretty please?

All the Pretty Colors

I am super excited that Spring has finally decided to arrive. 

It was like mother nature decided to flip a switch May 1st and bring on the color and the weather. A double whammy for putting up with that cold shit this past winter. I'm super happy about the change.

The days are getting longer, the nights are beautiful, and the air just smells nice. That fresh cut grass smell? One of my favorites. Somebody needs to bottle that up. They'd make a killing.

If all goes as planned, Ryan and I will be moving downstairs into a three bedroom apartment towards the end of the month. We'll have direct access to the backyard and I pretty much have free reign to garden to my heart's delight! We're also really excited for all the extra storage space. There are closets GALORE. It'll beat the three closets and attic we're currently working with.

I'm going to miss our apartment though. It has mostly south west facing windows with afternoon light that makes you want to curl up and cozy. It's just so pretty. And it was our first place as a couple. Our first home, you know?

I can tell you I'm not looking forward to moving though. All the boxing up stuff; getting all our crap down from the attic. I hate that part. And looking at the calendar, the weekend the move would fall on is when our first triathlon is. So that might get pushed...the move not the tri. We've already trained wayyyyy too much to give up on it now.

.

Part of the responsibilities that come with the downstairs apartment is cleaning the front hall and taking care of the lawn. The boys before us did a crap job last year and I'm looking forward to taking pride in my renter-ship. The fruit of my labors will actually bring fruit from the pear trees in the backyard. And now that we have a door right to the yard. there will be so much more outdoor cooking. There's so much I want to do and I can't wait to start on it all.

For now, I'll just be relaxing and planning. I have a feeling this to do list will be a few pages long.... You know, there's boxes to find, light fixtures to upgrade, rooms to be painted.... The list goes on.