Rebecca isn't gonna be happy...

Well, slacker-season is officially over.  December wasn't great.  I didn't really expect it to be; it was the last month of off-season and I knew I was going to take it easy.  What I didn't plan on was taking almost 2 full weeks off, and 3 weeks away from the pool!

Who's got time to make it to workouts when there are fun things like the Winter Classic to go to?!
That's me, Ted and Jon :-)

Moving forward, it's time to really start focusing on hitting all of my workouts and really tuning into my nutrition.  During my last appointment, my nutritionist, Rebecca, told me she wanted me to lose 12 more pounds before my next visit.  Suffice it to say, that didn't happen.  I'm just crossing my fingers that I at least stayed the same and didn't gain anything (yeah, right).  Don't worry, I have my excuses all lined up, from the holidays (does anybody eat healthy over the holidays?!) to life getting in the way of hitting my workouts, to it being so cold and dark outside.  I mean, this is clearly not my fault!

Except..... yes it is.  If there is one thing in common with all of the items on my excuse list, it's that Ironman doesn't care about any of them.  Ironman won't care that I was sick with a bad cold or that my dogs were restless and kept me awake too late.  Ironman won't care that it's freezing outside or that it's raining.  Ironman doesn't really blink an eye to the fact that my refrigerator broke and I had to wait 5 days for a new one.  And Ironman really couldn't care less that I wanted to get my PMP, and that there are several other certifications I'd like to get in the near future.

So, I set up Xena in the dining room (can you still call it a dining room if you no longer dine there?) facing the television (hello Scandal and Downton Abbey!), and dusted off the treadmill in the basement for those days that I just can't bare to go outside (though honestly, I'd rather brave the weather than spend more than 90 minutes on that bike trainer!).  I did some research and found a boot camp that meets at 4pm at a nearby high school that I can run/walk to, and a small yoga studio (for recovery weeks) that is also in running distance.... this is key because I know myself.  Once I'm home, I want to be in pajamas and sweats, and the very last thing I'm going to do is leave the house and drive any sort of distance to do any of this (this is why I swim and run track in the mornings... to each his own!).  I am getting back into the swing of things!

Look at that training volume from last week compared to all of December!
I'm well on my way towards my attempt to out-run/bike/swim a mediocre diet :-)

As for this week, I will put my tail between my legs, go see Rebecca and confess all of my nutrition sins.  It's actually easier to face what you did wrong when you have already started making improvements.  I'm looking forward to my next nutrition post that will detail all of my successes (I hope)!!