Dedication

Why yes, that is me cycling in my family room.

The last few weeks I've been trying to stick to my training schedule for the duathlon. The three running sessions are easier to squeeze in than my two cycling sessions each week. Jill and I usually run after the kids are in bed, and we just run around the neighborhood. But the cycling is a little trickier. I'm not really comfortable with riding on the roads because every road around here (outside a subdivision) has a speed limit of 45. And riding around the neighborhood isn't really good for training. I did find a nice straight-away that isn't too busy and the speeds aren't too fast. But if Brian gets home from work too late, I can't go because I won't ride in the dark.

I know. I'm very picky.

So my valentine got me a trainer for Valentine's Day! I just plop my bike on it and ride like I'm out on the road. Except I get to watch TV. And I don't have to watch for cars or wear a helmet or get muddy and wet. Too good to be true,you say? Well, admittedly it is a little boring, but if the Olympics or Modern Family are on I can ride all evening.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

I haven't been baking much lately. It's a combination of being way too busy with everything else and the fact that I was becoming too doughy myself. Hence the increased enthusiasm for exercise. But I did decide to bake some Valentine's Day treats for my family. Except no one really liked them. Okay, Brian and I like them, but the kids do not. Apparently my children are not sophisticated enough for shortbread and dark chocolate. Good shortbread and good dark chocolate, that is. These are very grown up cookies.

I used Martha Stewart's recipe for Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Hearts. They are delicious and so simple. However, because they are so simple, you should use good butter. I like Challenge. For the chocolate, I used a 70% Lindt Excellence bar. The shortbread just melts in your mouth and the dark chocolate is...well it's dark chocolate. Every cookie is better with dark chocolate! And as you can see in the photos, I was a little more generous with my chocolate than Martha.

Partners in Training

Here I am with two of my partners in training, Jennifer and Jill. We all belong to the new Chandler Women's Tri Club, and our first official ride was 8 miles. Every Sunday we're riding like the wind. We're running on empty. We're taking it to the streets. Have I forgotten any songs of the 70s that would be fitting?

SMART Goals

I remember that corporate mumbo jumbo about advancing your career by setting SMART goals. Maybe I can use it now. I'd like to look like Kristin Armstrong someday. It's specific and measurable. The time-frame would probably have to be more than a year. I'm not certain it's realistic and attainable, though. And I'm sure I'd have to cut out the sweets.

25 Minutes & Counting

Jill and I made it though a 25 minute run tonight. We took our time, but we jogged for 25 minutes straight. I'm so proud of us!

So I'm training for my first 5K run in March, but I decided to kick it up a notch and sign up for a sprint duathlon in April. Basically it's a 5K run with an 8 mile bike ride, except it's split up like this: 1 mile run; 8 mile bike; 2 mile run. I'm very excited about it! Jennifer started a tri club for women and a few of our book club friends have joined. So we can all train together! Although they're all doing the sprint triathlon. I need time to get used to an idea before I run with it so I'm skipping the swimming part. Though I'm not ruling it out for next year.