I’ve spent entirely too much time today reading Caitlin’s site Healthy Tipping Point. What completely sucked me in? Her ‘So You Wanna Do a Triathlon’ series.

So…I wanna do a triathlon. Or at least, a sprint  or ‘mini’ triathlon.

It’s on my list of 30 things to do before I’m 30, and is something I’ve kept in the back of my mind since I was a teenager. Now that fitness and health is finally clicking for me, I think it’s something I can actually do.

I’ve always loved swimming, and still hold a minor grudge against my mom for making me quit the sport in the 3rd grade (as an adult I learned that we couldn’t afford our YMCA membership so I’m not actually angry, but still). Cycling I have no experience with. I mean, I know how to ride a bike, but riding a bike and cycling are not exactly one and the same.

A few minor obstacles to tackle before I can start training for my first triathlon:

1. Buy a bike. This will be a pretty major expense, but I’m hoping to find one on Craigslist or Ebay to save some money.
2. Buy biking gear including a helmet, gloves, biking shorts, and a tire repair kit. All of this information is coming directly from Caitlin‘s advice.
3. Join the YMCA. It will cost me an extra $30/month for the gym upgrade, but I think it will be worth it. I need a pool to practice swimming in, plus there’s the added benefit of more group class offerings.
4. Buy a bathing suit, swim cap, and good goggles.

All of these obstacles = $$$$!

Deciding to train for a mini triathlon is not a decision I’m taking lightly. I’m not the type of person to throw my money away. OK fine, occasionally I get sucked in by the Target eye or go a little crazy at TJ Maxx, but in general, I’m pretty frugal.

(source)

But in all seriousness, I’ve thought a lot about this and it’s important to me. So it’s time to take the plunge and do it! I already started by cancelling my current gym membership. I’m gonna head to the YMCA tomorrow!

Work it Out

My last workout at Planet Fitness, I was a little teary and nostalgic.

Ha, not at all. I’m not crazy. I decided to give my legs a break from running, and headed straight towards the elliptical. I actually worked up a great sweat, who says the elliptical has to be easy? Check out what I did:

This workout is very customizable. Excluding the 5 min warm-up and 5 min cool down, I basically followed a pattern of 2 min low resistance, 2 min medium resistance, and 1 min high resistance. Or jog, run, sprint. You could do as many of these 5 min intervals as you want!

After finishing up on the elliptical, I did a quick 10 minutes of cycling just because I wanted to envision myself all badass biking through my first triathlon.

I gave my muscles a rest from strength today, so when I got home I showered and started working on dinner!

French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese
Adapted from Joy the Baker. Serves 1.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion (I used 1/2 red onion, 1/2 yellow onion because it’s what I had on hand)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of sugar
1 oz goat cheese
2 slices of bread (I used Udi’s Millet-Chia Gluten Free Bread)

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in a medium sized non-stick skillet (with a lid) over medium heat.
2. Add the sliced onions all at once, and stir to coat with the oil.
3. Allow onions to cook, undisturbed, for about 5 minutes.
4. Add thyme, salt, and pepper and stir.  Place lid on the pan and allow onions to cook. Remove the lid to stir the onions every so often.  Lower the heat if the onions are browning too quickly. The onions will begin to break down and caramelize.
5. When onions are entirely browned and completely soft, remove pan from heat and allow to rest while you assemble the sandwiches.
6. Crumble half the goat cheese on one slice of bread, top with warm onion mixture, then top with more crumbled cheese and the final piece of sandwich bread.
7. Cook sandwiches over medium heat in the same pan used to caramelize the onions.  Flip and cook until golden on the outside and melty on the inside.  Serve immediately.

Nutrition:

This sandwich was YUMMY. Sweet, carmaelized onions with tangy goat cheese, it totally hit the spot!

I have the next week off from work (staycation 2012) and am super excited to have extra time to relax, spend time with family, try new recipes, and get things done! I’m gonna start now by catching up on some reading. The July issue of Cosmo has been sitting undisturbed on my coffee table for way too long!

Questions of the Day

Has anyone ever completed a triathlon? Words of wisdom or encouragement for me?
Anyone else an avid Cosmo reader?