Quiet on the blog..Can only mean one thing...3 week build!

Sunset at my house last week!



I am in my 3rd week of a 3 week build and for some reason this build has been more hectic than usual. I do think my trip to Panama left me a little fatigued and I went into this build not as rested as I would have like to have been.

I have found myself to be really whiny and annoying the last week. Poor Coach Jesse (Founder of QT2 Systems) has taken the brunt of my outbursts. Good for my family....not so good for athlete/coach relationship. But I have to give him LOTS of credit. He takes it in stride, reassuring me constantly that I am doing well and that I am supposed to be tired and just to stay calm and get the work done! I feel very fortunate to have a coach who is a triathlete as well and understands the emotions behind the three week build!

As I have said many times before, being a professional athlete, and a mother of two very active kids is busy but I love it. Some weeks I handle it better than others. As Jesse always reminds me in these heavier training weeks my recovery has to be perfect. But that isn't always the case as life does not just stop because I am in need of recovery. Now I know I would really benefit from a nap or two a week or some time off the feet after hard workouts. But unfortunately that seldom is the case. Most of my training is done between 9 and 3. School hours. Most of the time cramming a swim,bike and run into 6 hours. Then after comes homework,and the kids sports. Luckily my husband too is quite involved in my kids sports...football, baseball. But then their is the piano and singing lessons and both kids are black belts in Tae Kwon Doe...and Sydney's soccer and playdates etc..




Sydney got her black belt last week! Super proud of her!


Life just seems to get busier and busier.

Coach Jesse is still managing to keep most Sundays as an easy swim day and I have been enjoying the relaxing days with the family. As both kids are also very into the arts we often go into NYC to see some kind of show. Sadly the last show we went to I just could not keep my eyes open for all of it and of course the fam made fun of me after. Although this week Spring football games have started!! Not sure I'm loving this as it was freezing on Sunday!




Another way I can help myself recover is to try make sure I am eating a clean diet. Alot of my eating is based on the Core Diet. Coach Jesse's nutrition program. If you go to QT2 systems you will find more info on it. I try stick to foods rich in antioxidants...lots of fruits and veggies. But even that too sometimes becomes a battle as we have a kids snack cupboard that somedays is just way to enticing. Sometimes the snack cupboard wins.

Tuesdays are shopping day so I thought I would share some of my favorite finds this week.

... Oranges,Lemons, Ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper to chase away any sign of a winter cold.
...Beets, spinach,kale,carrots, brocolli to juice with.
...apples,mangos,clementines,raspberries,blueberries,cherries,strawberries to juice and snack on.






...squash,sugar snaps,zucchini, green onions,tomatos and sweet potatoes for dinners
....basil,mint,cilantro,horseradish,watercress to spice things up...
...jamaican chicken cutlets, salmon with pistachios,salmon plain, sundried tomato tilapia,vegatable burgers for dinners
....and my favorite snacks, Justins great powdered peanut butter for my smoothies,Better than Peanut butter for my bananas,Manuka Raw Honey....loaded with Vitamins and cocoa roasted almonds.



So I am starting off the week right which always makes me happy!

I was thrilled to receive a huge order from Power Bar last week. I am happy that Power Bar will be my sports nutrition for the next two years! Their single and double caffeinated shots have been a huge help on some of these long days!!!



Next week I will be heading to Costa Rica for the Rev 3 Oly race...I am really excited about it. I am looking forward to some beautiful runs on the beach and swims in the ocean...and of course I am really looking forward to racing!!!