Treats and Trainers

There is a rainbow in there somewhere!

Monday's ride at T's on the CompuTrainer was AWFUL. I felt like I was at my max training watts (227), I couldn't do the 1-legged drills, and I got off at 60 minutes because I just couldn't fight to stay on any longer. But, 60 minutes was in the middle of an interval, so I also couldn't stay off the bike. Val asked if I was OK, and I said, "Yeah, I just have to decide whether I want to finish." I went into the bathroom, stood in front of the mirror, and told myself I could do it; it's only 5 more minutes, I'm strong, and I'd better get back out there and finish. I did. I got back on the bike and finished that interval, but I was DONE after that. Thankfully I got in a hard 65 minutes, though, considering today we have a kitchen full of treats at work:

Chocolate oatmeal cookie for breakfast, please

Then I dug into the veggies...so far, so good!

My plan is that I can have 1 of everything I want but not more than 1 of anything. Except veggies, that is...unlimited of those! After work I went to the Opryland Hotel to check out the Christmas decorations. I parked at and walked through the mall, then I went through the Delta, Magnolia, and Cascades lobbies.

Delta

Magnolia

Cascades

Tuesday's ride at T's was actually worse than Monday's. The first 20 minutes were OK, but then I went down 10% for the next 20min and another 10% for the final 20min. Then I was done. T said stay on for 60 minutes, and that's about all I had.

Wednesday I went to PW after work for a 5-mile hike. The first 3 miles were as the sun was setting; the last 2 were in the dark. I had a headlamp so I could see somewhat and I know the trails, but it was still a strange sensation, not being able to see much more than 10-15 feet ahead! Then I headed to the family's house to say a quick Merry Christmas and pick up a few presents my grandparents had sent to them for me.

Thursday's ride at T's was MUCH better than both Monday and Tuesday. A day off on Wednesday was obviously the right decision.

This is part of a white elephant gift; I had a
little trouble thinking of good ideas for a fun
gift for this group, but Aunt Renee, Lauren,
and Valerie came to my rescue!

We lost power right around lunch time at work, so I headed up the road for an 850 swim. Not super fast or slow, but pretty consistent after the first 100. Also I decided to alternate open turns and flip turns every hundred to make it even easier to count: 1:44 open, 1:49 flip, 1:53 open, 1:51 flip, 1:53 open, 1:55 flip (and pause because I thought I heard the lifeguard's whistle), 1:50 open, 1:51 flip, 2:01 kick on back/cool down.