Finding Motivation...

Sometimes it takes a quick lapse in reality to begin questioning the present and renew the future. When eating dinner last night at Rubio's and enjoying the $1.49 fish tacos, I ended up casually ordering a Corona with my meal.  It was the first time that I've done this at Rubio's but I find myself drinking just a tad more than usual.  I bet I can attribute my spike in weight to this new found casual drinking attitude  as well the fact that I've raised my normal dinner consumption to two beers or so per plate when just over a year ago, one beer would have been just fine!  What the heck is going on?

So, when I got home last night, a light bulb came on and I made a promise to myself and Adelle that starting the day after my 30th, I'll be giving it up...until after my next Sprint Triathlon. Trying to get healthier has been a bit difficult but so far, I've held off on sodas for almost the entire year with some exceptions of an occasional Seagram's Ginger Ale to quench the urge of bubbly.  When I finally move in September, I'm already certain, that it'll be a battle no more.  I'll be working outside in the yard tending the garden and doing it up farmer's style!

I've linked the picture of "No Beer," to a great article that listed these bullet points.  Read 'em and then check out the other referenced article aftewards.

Alcohol is a metabolized differently than other foods and beverages. Alcohol molecules diffuse through the stomach wall and reach the brain and liver in minutes. The liver then focuses primarily on the alcohol, leaving the carbohydrates and dietary fats to be changed into body fat. Changed into body fat?! After all those extreme jacks? No, thank you.

Alcohol is a diuretic. When your body loses water and becomes dehydrated, it loses important minerals that are vital to the maintenance of fluid balance, chemical reactions, and muscle contraction and relaxation. Right now, that glass of wine is not really as relaxing as you think.

Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram and offers NO nutritional value. Alcohol only adds empty calories to your diet. I don’t know about you, but when I’m busting my booty at camp, I want my calories to mean something. No vapid calories.

Alcohol lowers your inhibitions. After consuming alcohol, people are more likely to do things they would not normally do sober. Now stop dancing on that table and get your dirty mind out of the gutter, this is a fitness blog. Alcohol stimulates appetite and reduces willpower. Many people tend to overeat when they are drinking. At least that’s all we’re talking about today.

If you're in town tomorrow night and down for a good old fashioned BBQ and free beer, give me a call or hit my up on facebook or twitter @eejay!  Nothing like free beer to celebrate the next decade of fitness, life and family!

via btbfitness via sparkpeople.

A Beautiful Day for a Ride w/ Uncle

If you haven't already figured out by now, Adelle and I just moved to a Downtown San Diego apartment to start out our first year of marriage.  Why not live it up right?  Well, last night, I was finally able to grab our bicycles and port them to the tiny dwelling just in time for a ride with my Uncle Romy this morning.  It's been a little more than a year since I first started riding and what a great way to celebrate it with a ride to Pt. Loma.  I broke down my ride on my Garmin Edge 500 into two parts: Warmup and Actual Ride.  Off the bat, Downtown is a lot different than the hills of my old neighborhood but I was betting on the hill to Pt. Loma Lighthouse.  Casually navigating my way around Downtown, I quickly noticed the lack of an actual bike lane instead replaced with a bike path that is shared with runners who, if running in pairs, span the width of the route.  Suck really, but I made due.

Here's the warm-up phase. I kept the cadence up and you can notice my steady heart rate. The stop lights as well as roads kept me from a constant flow, but it worked out.

Meeting up with my Uncle, a quick warmup around the Sheraton strip followed by a ride along the Harbor then a direct shot to Canon Street then Catalina Blvd. up to Pt. Loma.  Down the hill towards Mission Bay, around back towards Old Town then back to the apartment.  All in all, it was a great ride.  

I went through areas of San Diego that I've been wanting to venturing out around and I got to do it with the guy who got me into it. Constant spinning & quick accelerations proved to be a great way to kick up the cycling again!  One more month till the San Diego Tri-Rock (Sprint Triathlon).  I probably might want to start working on the swimming portion eh?

2nd Brick in the Bag

Getting out to perform another brick was a little bit more of a task than the first. Motivation wasn't necessarily high but I knew that I should do it up so I donned my Saxo Bank Cycling Suit and headed out. I put on earbuds this time w/ my iPhone Quattro set to shuffle my 'Recently Added Music' Playlist as well as drinking a full bottle of liquid. That wasn't the best idea, but for nutrition, I had half a Costco pizza, polish dog and a chicken caesar salad w/ diet coke to boot. Mix in a couple of samples from the Sunday Costco Buffet and that was it. I can't say that it was good energy, but nonetheless, I was ready. I didn't have anything else to work out. I was making good time on the bike ride but near the end of the last climb, a weird muscle that I've never felt on my back start to pain me a little. It slowed me down tremendously, but I kept on rolling. This ride was definitely a lot more "boring" without a pace setter w/ me (ala @juanrcm) but it was a good ride overall. When I got to the house, I changed quickly and for the first time realized how hard it is to actually change from bicycling outfit to running shorts with all the sweat in between. I almost didn't make the change because it was like taking off a wetsuit and putting on another wetsuit. Gross I know, but seriously sucks!

I stepped outside and started jogging forgetting to grab my new Garmin Wrist Strap for my Garmin Edge 500 GPS.  I didn't want to delay further so I set out at a mild pace. At about .2 miles, I noticed how my legs felt as if concrete had dried up in my veins. It was a rough first mile, but I got through it. I'm definitely happy that this time around I was able to ride 12.9 miles and jog ~3.4 miles mimicking the full route for the San Diego Tri-Rock. I felt good overall but I'm still lacking in the swimming portion. I better get on that huh?

Here are my Garmin Connect Maps from yesterday's brick.

Books & My First Brick

As previously noted just a day ago, I signed up for my first Sprint Tri.  More specifically, I signed up for the San Diego Tri-Rock which is just under 58 days from the publishing of this post.  I have the bug and I can't deny it.  Buying a couple of magazines tonight and reading the last two editions of Competitor Magazine San Diego Edition, I'm all about getting fit and doing it right.  Well, starting off on the right foot at least.  I thought that I could get off to a simple easy start w/ more magazines so I set out to Barnes and Nobles in Mira Mesa and picked up a couple more.

One of my friend's had a book entitled "Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance" by Matt Fitzgerald which looked good so I thought of picking that up too.  Of course, the only one that they had in stock was on hold but I might as well just buy the book from Amazon anyways.  I also found another book by critically acclaimed trainer, coach and athlete Joe Friel conveniently titled "Your First Triathlon" so I added that to the cart too.  Expect reviews on adellelijah.com in the upcoming weeks.

Click on these links below to check them out via my amazon affiliate link!

Since I decided a couple of days ago to do this sprint tri, I thought that I should get a head start and do the bicycle and running portion of the race.  Apparently this is called a brick with whom I was enlightened by Mr. Espiritu (@ly0n123).  Today was the first full day that I was back in San Diego, so I made it my goal to do the 4S Ranch CC Loop (which conveniently happens to be a 20K (12.4 miles)) followed by a 5K (3.1 miles).  I also got to ride with a new colleague, Mr. Juan M. (@juanrcm)who found me on Twitter as a cyclist in his neighborhood.  I kept a great pace with a goal in mind to beat my previous 55 minute trial and riding alongside Juan made it easier and more enjoyable. Check them out here via my Garmin Edge 500 from Garmin Connect. note: I still have yet to pick up the Garmin Quick Release kit so that I can wear my G500 on my wrist instead of gripping it in my hand while jogging. Maybe I'll pick it up tomorrow at REI in Convoy.

I had a 10 minute transition which included changing my outfit + shoes and waiting for my sister. It all worked out in the end, but I copped out and only completed 2 miles. Here's my excuse if you care to know: It was getting dark and I decided that I should head in.

I still think that I did a pretty awesome job with it being my first brick workout and all. I'm going to be at Nite Moves SD tomorrow night anyways for a full 5K so I don't feel that bad. Come check it out!

If you're asking, I'm thinking about swimming tomorrow or sometime later in the week. Not open water just yet, but we'll see.