CPQ = Calm. Peace. Quiet.

I have made it fourteen days into Eight to Great.

DAY FOURTEEN (Sunday)

I woke up on Sunday completely unmotivated for my workout.  Not sure why. Maybe because sometimes 4.5 hours of training isn’t really what I want to do on a lazy Sunday morning. Maybe. Maybe.

Can’t imagine why.

So I whined.

And then I got a pep talk from the Expert.

Actually, it was the biggest Non-Pep-Talk-Pep-Talk I’ve ever heard and it went something like this.

Me:          I don’t wanna do this workout.

Expert:  Really.

Me:          What does that mean?  Really.?

Expert:   Well, if you don’t want to do the workout, then don’t.  Go to the nearest Hardee’s.  Order yourself a ham biscuit.

Me:         What?

Expert:  Better yet, go to the Waffle House.  Sit at the bar counter.  Order yourself a coffee, some ham and hashbrowns. Then tell your other seventy-five year old friends at the Waffle House about how you used to be awesome. How you once did an Ironman. Tell them allllllllll about the great things you did once upon a time.

Me:        (laughing)

Expert:  Or you can get your butt out there, and do you workout and continue to do great things.

[There it is. The biggest non-pep-talk-pep-talk ever.]

So I did. I got my butt moving.  I had a reverse brick. After 10 miles on Saturday, to lace up the shoes for a 4 miler the next day—-and before the bike—was tough. But I felt pretty good. Sore, but strong.  I even had a good pace during the middle two miles.

Pre-Workout:  scrambled eggs, fruit

Workout:  4 mile run, 3 hours on the bike trainer (fueled with dates and coconut water)

Post-Workout:  eggs, kale

Dinner:  Steak Kabobs with sides of veggies (From Zoe’s… they got it right this time).  Oh, and me and the Expert had a nice argument over dinner and the workout schedule.

DAY FIFTEEN (Monday)

I feel like crap today.

I didn’t sleep well. I’ve had a headache all day. I’m thinking it’s because I have re-introduced cashews after a few days break. Or maybe the kombucha.  Or maybe just stress. I am being pulled in a zillion directions in all areas of my life and my body is revolting.

#whatelseisnew

#stressjunkie

Great article on Whole9Life about being a stress junkie.  I don’t like to consider myself a stress junkie, but I am beginning to think that I must be.  It’s the only explanation.

The Expert is telling me that his main goal for the next year is to have calm… and peace… and quiet.

And I’m like, “WHAT!?!!? What does it mean? It’s like a freaking double rainbow.”

Oprah.com says, “Stress junkies are people who use their own physiological responses as a mood-altering device.  And just like heroin, stress hormones have side effects that can kill you. Pumped into the bloodstream at high levels for long periods of time, these chemicals contribute to ulcers and heart disease, weaken the immune system, and leave us vulnerable to everything from automobile accidents to depression.” —-from Whole9Life.‘

[And we know everything Oprah says is true, right?  Okaaaaay.]

Calm. 

Peace.

Quiet.

CPQ.

[Does the Expert know who he married?  I don’t “do” CPQ.] Time to de-stress, I know.

Workout:  Recovery Day  (I love recovery day.)

Breakfast:  2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 egg white, 1 organic apple

Lunch:  Left-over brisket curry from Saturday night.

Dinner: A cheapy version of cioppino (seafood soup).  Shrimp, calamari and mussels over vegetable stock, onions, tomatoes, red peppers.

And the kids ate the tentacles on the calamari.

Does this picture answer the “what do your kids eat” question? Lawdy.

And I think my body is very happy that I am feeding it “good” things.

But the overall stress (and perhaps my stress addiction, along with my cocktail of other addictions… mmmmm. Cocktails…..)

…. well, stress can’t be fixed by a nice broth and some tentacle-y seafood.

I have to work on the stress dragon as much as I have to work on my other demons.

Sigh.

But alas. Tomorrow, tomorrow. The sun will come out, tomorrow. [I know it is true, because Annie said so.]

To think I even considered adding another Ironman on top of my plate… what is wrong with me. 🙂

Bon Appetit! 

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What is SBM’s Eight to Great?

So I started the SBM Eight to Great to give us all some motivation and incentive to be better together.  Eight weeks of full commitment. So whatever changes are you are going to make, whatever eating regime you plan to follow, let’s do the healthy things together.  We already have almost 700 people on the Facebook group! You can join the Facebook group here.  And yes, you can start anytime.  This is about changing YOUR life. So let’s go!

The main tenets of the Eight to Great are:

1) Eat clean– no junk food, no (or very limited) processed food, low (or no) sugar, no booze or Filet-o-Fish sandwiches (written more with myself in mind here). I am following Whole 30, but there are many ways to get to healthy—-we all must find what works for us.

2) Train hard – work hard in your workouts with your big goals in mind. If you need a free beginner tri guide, go here.

3) Just Keep Moving Forward – if you fall down, you pick yourself back up and go!

Go here to sign your commitment to GREAT, and get ready for an amazing, life-changing 8 weeks! Go here to download an awesome goal-setting worksheet from Whole 30.