Random thoughts..

Here are my girls training with me for Ironman Arizona...they're fierce, fast and fearless..i'm really excited to train/and have fun with all of them!!! Back row: Me, Jen, Juls and Tina. Front row: Jess and Elaine

I've settled nicely into my masters swim program now and i'm absolutely loving it! I like that there are a lot of choices for swim times....five of them per day! I alternate between the 6:30 swim and the 7:30 swim. Now if I can just figure out how to make my goggle marks go away before I have clients, we'll be good to go.

I finished my swim yesterday (hard swim, 3000 yards and I warmed up on my own for 500 yards)..shorter than meters, but we were really moving. Anyway, finished the swim and I passed by the juice bar and it occurred to me to get a smoothie. So, I order the smoothie which was fantastic, it had some chocolate protein powder, banana, skim milk and flax seed in it. I don't know what all these things do but I know they help in recovery, so 250 calories later, I was feeling much better. However...one minor issue: I don't carry cash...ever. Dave is my cash cow and when he isn't around I avoid all things "cash only." Bad habits die hard. So, I had to charge at least $5.00 on my credit card for the transaction of the smoothie, so I looked around quickly and I saw a sign "Wheat Grass shots, $1.50".....Wheat Grass..i'd heard of all the benefits, but wasn't really motivated to run out and find some myself. Anyway, I stood there holding the 1 ounce little green stuff and the guy goes "do it now before you change your mind." Well said.

I say "so, like a shot, as in 'if this was vodka," i'd shoot it."

Such Mer speak, he laughed and was like "DO IT!"....it went down gross, but not nearly as gross as some other shots i've done like vodka, tequila, goldschlager (shudder).....wheat grass by far was the best shot i've ever done.

But..like other shots, it isn't something I need to make a regular habit of. It claims to give you more energy than 2 cups of coffee..than why was I dragging so much yesterday?? And it is supposed to suppress your hunger....right. I'm guessing if I did it more regularly it would have better effects. We'll see.

Speaking of food, I got my iron levels back and i'm super low on iron, as in rediculously low for a female in general, so someone who trains as much as I do, I need to get in more iron. Here is the kicker. Iron intake can be prohibited by other items. Calcium limits the ability to take in a lot of iron....what else was low for me? Calcium....so, now I have to figure out how to get both of these up without wiping the other one out. Anyone have ideas?? I'm thinking of meeting with an awesome sports nutritionist that I met back in March, she rocks, so hopefully I can get this squared away. It's really hard to train when your iron levels are low, i'm feeling a bit wiped out all the time!

So! I'm on the quest for iron friendly recipes. And yes, I know spinach is a good source of iron, as well as beans etc. The problem with beans is...well, you know, you take in too many beans before a run and you're in trouble. I'm also looking at taking a supplement for the iron.

My bandaid answer to my problem: filet mignon with grilled asparagus marinated in balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and red potato slices with a dash of chili powder....our dinner last night. YUM. I do love steak, but I usually avoid it, since it's hard for me to digest beef sometimes...I had no problems =0.

Another epic Saturday tomorrow: 90 minute swim; 4 hour ride (this time with 2 awesome girls..Super Sassy Shan and Elaine are joining me)...followed by a 30 minute run and sushi with Dave =0