Summer, Triathlon and Football!!!

Well Summer has come and gone. I look back and think what did I do this summer? Well a large part of the summer was spent training for my first triathlon. I had so much fun doing the Never Quit Challenge, I decided to conquer my fear of bikes and start training. I joined a gym and started doing spinning classes. I love them!! As time got closer to the Tri, I started getting out on my 1980 bike I bought last summer and it was so difficult to ride. I decided to go out and buy a new bike. NO, I haven't invested big bucks into a road bike yet. I wanted to see if this was something I really wanted to do. I bought a hybrid bike,
which is a road bike and mountain bike combined. I love riding it, it is definitely much easier to ride than my 1980 bike!! I decided to name my new bike, Hullabaloo, since it is maroon. Hopefully, Hullabaloo will treat me well!!!

After a

fun June and July, which by the way I dont know where they went or really what I did during them. Ryan came to visit for a week in June and then a few days in July since the NFL had the lockout ( which I will get to later). It was so great to have him here for those weeks. We had a great time on fourth of July with some great friends. I took Ryan to see Fireworks and the Falls lit up at night on July 3rd. We had a blast. Also, in July i went

recruiting in Cleveland and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

Well now here we are in August. The first weekend in August I went to Pittsburgh for a swim meet to recruit and also watch some of my current swimmers race. It was a great experience because I got to see alot of fast swimming including one of the girls making her First Olympic Trial Cut. It is so awesome to have that experience as a swimmer and a coach. In Pittsburgh, I discovered a new yogurt place I think every city needs. It is one where you serve the flavor of yogurt you want and then put on your own toppings and the charge you by the amount it weighs. Trying to be healthy, I had mango yogurt with blueberries, strawberries, mangos and kiwi! Yes, I had this on more than one occasion since it was right down the str

eet from the pool and on my way to my hotel. I think I worked it off in the walking the mile to and from the pool every day with THE HILL!!! I also had Permanti Brothers in Pittsburgh, ( a place featured on Man vs Food). That show definitely grosses me out but since i was there I had to try the sandwich with coleslaw and french fries on it. It was alright. I cant say that I would eat that again.

Now onto the second weekend in August. Boy! the week leading up to my first Tri, I was so nervous. I don't think i have ever been that ner

vous even with the many years of swimming. But there I was on Grand Island last Saturday morning ready to plunge into the water. Mom came up to cheer me on and spend the weekend with me. Well the swim went really fast, I was like really that is it! Then a

fter hopping out of the water, you ran up a hill and into the transition area. I quickly( or so I thought ) changed into my biker shorts, shoes and top and hopped on my bike. After looking at my transition time, i was not so quick, oh Well something to work on for next time! The bike was the most frustrating part. I was pedaling as hard I possibly could and getting passed by all these people , QUITE Frustrating!! But I made it through the 11 miles on the bike and transition to my run! i actually enjoyed the run! I was scared bc I am so used to running with my ipod and couldn't do that on this one. But I was GREAT! Well I finished the whole thing in an 1 hour and 17 min. Definitely setting some new goals for my NEXT ONE! and yes everyone was right, I think i am a

ddicted!!! It was great having people I knew there as well and of course my number cheerleader with me that day as well! Well Next up is the DIRTY GIRL MUD RUN!! Mom is flying up here in a few weeks and we are going to share some quality Mother Daughter time in the mud! 5 K race with 11 obstacles. I cant wait to show pics! Then Maybe the Jax Half Marathon on Thanksgiving. Sometimes I think I have lost my mind. It defintiely keeps me motivated because I have lost 27lbs since April!!!

One last note: I am so excited Football is back!! Hence the Background! I don't know what I would have done without being able to see my Jags!! I know Ryan enjoyed the time off because now he is putting in about 12-18 hours a day! But I say at least you have a job!!!

Cant Wait to see watch my Aggies as well!! Ranked 8th!

School starts next week and I am excited to have 17 new faces on our team!! Plus New Coaches to our Staff! ( I will miss our old coaches terribly as they made it a GREAT first year in Buffalo!)

Here we go! Let's GO BULLS, AGGIES and JAGS!!!

Cookie Dough Bites- delicious!!!!

So I came across this recipe and thought I would give it a shot considering I always crave something sweet after dinner. Here is the recipe for the Raw Cookie Dough Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a food processor, add all ingredients (except chocolate chips) until well combined.
2. Remove into a large bowl and add the chocolate chips. With your hands, form small, bite size balls.
3. Store in the freezer.

These were delicious. They taste like real cookie dough!

Then I attempted to add them into a blizzard type dessert. This was just alright!

Ingredients:

2 small or 1 large frozen banana (cut into pieces)

Splash of almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)

2 tbsp cookie dough (from above)

Directions:

1. In a food processor, Mix bananas and Milk.
2. Add cookie dough (before stored in freezer) and process until combined. It should be like soft serve.
3. Top with more cookie dough bites if you would like.

No More Diet COKE!!

Last week I was browsing the nutrition section of Barnes and Noble and came across Jillian Micheals " Master your Metabolism". With trying to lose my last 15lbs, I wanted to try something new. So I bought and started of reading this book. The first part of the book that talks about all of the body's hormones and how different things can effect them. This sparked my interest because I want to go back to school to get my Masters in Nutrition and these things interest me for some reason. I read about leptin and how it basically ( to give you the easy version) affects how hungry the body thinks it is. I also found out aspartame ( ingredient in Diet Coke) causes the body to release more leptin which in return causes our body to think we are hungrier so we eat more. SO I Decided on Wednesday night, that i was going to CUT OUT DIET COKE. For those of you that know me very well, know that this would be VERY DIFFICULT for me. But i have gone 8 days now !!!! I am very proud of myself. On Monday, I came across the article below. I have cut out all artificial sweeteners. It is tough because basically everything diet has artificial sweeteners. Oh well! I am learning to try new things.

http://www.fitsugar.com/Diet-Soda-Leads-Weight-Gain-New-Studies-Find-18073646

Also, by reading this book, I have started eating more organic and natural products. I have come across some recipes that I like and some that I do not. i will keep you posted on ones that I like!!! Feel free to contribute.

Never Quit Beach Fest

Well the race I have been training for came and went. There was a lot of hard work and hours of swimming and running that went into a race that took a little bit more than an hour.

Just a little information on the Never Quit Beach Fest : This event was inspired by Captain Gerard Petroni, his family and the local health and medial community that helped Gerard cross barriers that most believed not possible. The community watched a man overcome and defeat the odds with a Never Quit attitude, strong faith in God, and the unending love and support of his family. Out of Gerard’s stroke and brain bleed, bad turned to good and a story of hope and prevention developed that can now be shared so that all my benefit.

After approximately 5 months of not being able to adequately communicate, Gerard Petroni was asked if he could write anything on a piece of paper, what would he write? Gerard wrote the words..."Never Quit."

This Event was founded on five principles:

Faith: Encouraging people to live a Purpose Driven Life.
Family: A day of great fun for everyone to come together.
Healthy lifestyle: Healthy foods, challenging physical activities, and preventative health check-ups.
Our Armed Services: Honoring the spirited people who both support and serve our country
Take on a Never Quit approach to Life: A day of challenges: no matter what life throws at you, a Never Quit attitude will allow you to finish life’s race.

I loved the time I had with this race because I did something I had never done before by doing a triathlon type race and I enjoyed it with my family. It meant so much to have our family come together to enjoy this race. I will Never QUIT For my family!!!!

This race has inspired me to continue on training for a triathlon. My fear of riding a bike since my freshman year of college has hindered me to get back on my bike. Last year, when I moved to Buffalo I bought a cheap bike off craigslist knowing that I didn't want to pay much for a bike if I didn't ride it. Today, I got back on my bike and rode into campus. It is about three miles. Nothing big but you have to start somewhere, Right?

This could be a start of a new adventure!!!!

Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend my mom came up to visit me for the weekend. I am so thankful we have such a wonderful relationship. She is my best friend. On Friday, we were going to PF Changs to enjoy some lettuce wraps( my favorite ) and wine. However, they told us it was an hour and half wait. we decided to go to Bravo, where neither one of us had been before. We have 3 different appetizers that was quite a meal. We went to the movies and saw " Something Borrowed". This was definitely a chick flick! I loved it now I need to read the book. We finished off the evening with Caramel Macchiato martinis back at Bravo.

On Saturday, We went for a run because we are training for a race in two weeks!!!! After the run, we went to Elmwood Village. It was such a beautiful day, a little chilly out of the sun but we went to all these unique shops, it reminded me of Five points in Jacksonville( a little arts district). We stopped into a restaurant called Cole's to enjoy the derby and some dinner. They were having a derby party there so we enjoyed watching all the ladies dressed up in hats and the men all in their suits. We kinda wished we had a hat. We were definitely cheering for the woman jockey in pink, Pants on Fire!!!!

On Sunday, after church, we went exploring for a brunch place and found a place on the marina that has been closed for two year for renovations. It was a wonderful brunch place right on the water. It was a little too cool to sit outside but we sat by the window looking out to the water. We enjoyed a full brunch and mimosas.( Our favorite holiday drink). Our exploring did not stop there, we went down to the harbor and drive on the edge of Lake Erie. It was such a beautiful day! Unfortunately, mom had a flight to catch so Scobee and I took her to the airport and then went on an adventure ourselves. We went walking down in delaware park and elmwood village( where we visited yesterday). He is definitely tired from the excitement of the day and meeting other people and dogs! I had a great weekend! I cant wait to go home in a week and half for the never quit challenge. This is a 5k run, 500 swim and 1500 paddle.

Valentine's Day Weekend

This past weekend, Ryan came up the Tundra to visit me for Valentines Day. I was so excited for his visit because of what Valentines day surprise I had for him. On Saturday, we went to Brick House for Lunch and watched the A&M vs Tech basketball game. Texas A&M Won! Whoop!!! Then we went to get a manicure and pedicure( Ryan got a pedi too!). Later that night, we got dressed in our Best red and went to a restaurant called " Black and Blue." The atmosphere was great and they had a clear wine cellar in the middle of the restaurant that reached from ceiling to floor. The surf and turf I had was not that great however Ryan enjoyed his NY strip. I just enjoyed the time I had with him. On Sunday, we slept in and went to brunch at Empire Grill. They had a huge buffet and bottomless mimosas. Now it was on to the valentine surprise. I bought Ryan tickets to the Buffalo Sabres vs NY Islanders game at HSBC Arena. I had never been toa professional hockey game. We had a blast. I got to see a hat trick ( where if one player scores three goals, they throw hats onto the ice). It was a pretty high scoring game and we had to leave for Ryan's flight when it went to overtime. However, we enjoyed every minute of our time together!!!! I think there will be more Buffalo Sabres games in our future. When Ryan came in November, he bought me a Ryan Miller jersey( number 30) the goalie. At the stadium, Ryan got a Tshirt jersey that was St Pattys day inspired of Tyler Myers( number 57). It was a great weekend to spend with my valentine. The next few weeks will be crazy! I travel to Athens. Ohio to see our Women make it happen at MAC's then the following week I go back to Carbondale , IL to watch our guys rock at MAC's, Cant wait to see some fast swimming!!!!