The nail in the coffin today: buffalo wings (mmmmmmm).
When I was in serious weight loss mode last year, I avoided these like they were a roving band of deep fried Hare Krishnahs at the airport. Too much fat and too many calories coupled with bleu cheese dressing and fries made these a dieters death wish. Since about November of last year, I've just been in maintenance mode regarding my weight - as long as I stayed below 150, I was happy and didn't sweat it.
Now I'm dropping weight again in prep for the tri (mostly without trying), so I haven't avoided them as much. In fact I had some last week at the same restaurant: this is where the downfall started. Last week, I ordered 12 wings for lunch, and when they got to the table, it looked like they'd raided the hatchery at the local chicken farm. Itty, bitty, pre-pubescent, under-developed, poor excuses for buffalo wings. I was hurt, but I still ate them. Workout result - no problem. Today, I went back to the same restaurant with a vendor and I asked the waitress if the wings were still pathetic. She said they were still very small, so I did what any non-thinking idiot would do, I ordered 24 wings instead - figuring 24 babies would make a decent lunch....and home fries. When the wings made their appearance they were full size, grown up wings - - HUZZAH!!! I dined happily on full size happiness.......too much full sized happiness. I over ate before I knew what I had done. By the time I realized it, it was too late - damage was done. I spent the remainder of the day burping hot sauce, and dreading my workout. I even skipped my afternoon snack in an effort to give it more time to settle.
Too much food is ALWAYS too much food - I have to get myself back into salad and small portion mode. Not that I NEED to loose any more weight, but I still wouldn't mind trimming down a little before race day - - AND I can't handle too many bloated workouts like this.
When I finally got to the pool, the local coach courteously cleared lane for me ( being a regular has it's advantages). I jumped in and knew I had a slow, short swim coming up (I forgot my watch, but it was only supposed to be 14 minutes, or 28 laps). Operative word here: SLOW. Part of my brain read right over that word - I hit the water like I was running from Jaws. I hit the wall and pulled off a spectacular flip turn, and was making waves again in the opposite direction...flip, repeat. This worked for about 6 laps before I realized that I was moving WAY too fast, and got heavy in the gut quickly. I did slow down, a lot, and finished my laps fairly quickly (without hurling in the pool - everyone was more appreciative than they ever knew).
Off to the weight room to pedal towards nowhere....Oh crap, there's a lady on the only working stationary bike in the gym...and she's reading a book..CRAP!!! No telling how long she may be there. Okay, I decided to turn into a weight training day, so I started my dailies, and by the time I finished the first route, the lady on the bike was done and wiping down the bike - - good, I get to pedal today. I finished my dailies, and mounted up. I dialed in 38 minutes and pedaled for 13 miles. Since I was going 'short' I dialed up the level from my normal of 7 to 11. About halfway through the ride, I realized I probably shouldn't have done that - - this is a 'recovery week'. I need to be going easy. I'm just trying to maintain a base while my body repairs - I know this, but I've got to incorporate it.
So, still many improvements to make, but I'll make them and get better.
I also need to start experimenting with some gels to decide how I want to handle fueling during the race. I'll check some local stores, but I figure I'll probably be internetting it. I've also starting hunting for aero bars on ebay, hopefully I can find a good deal and get them on the bike with some time to get used to them.
I've got a sneaking suspicion that this won't be my last tri...I'm kinda seeing one a year. I really want to get an Olympic length race under my belt (maybe more).
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