When Reactions Turn Into Hurricanes

Without really trying I have not had a single piece of meat for over 24hrs.  As part of my “2 vegetarian meals” a day experiment I had planed a vegetarian breaky (really not THAT hard) and lunch.  When I got home I realized that I had no meat in the fridge, but plenty of good food.  I had even contemplated either going out for dinner or getting delivery and I wanted to keep it vegetarian if I went either of those routes.  I ended up staying in and having one of my favorite dinners (more on that below).  So there it was, completely vegetarian diet for the entire day.  I have to admit I am quite surprised that I didn’t even crave meat at all during the day (or even as I write this the next morning).

The last time I did a complete vegetarian 24hrs was in college.  But the moron that I was tried to do it on spring break while we were driving up the east coast.  Pretty stupid idea to try it then.  The reason was that there was this guy on my team, I played ultimate frisbee (i know but please don’t go there), that ran circles around me for an entire week.  I had been to every practice he had, played every tournament that he had, and he still destroyed me.  I thought, “it has to be his vegetarian diet.”  I gave it a shot but it was a horrible failure.

I never even considered going vegetarian (or leaning more towards a vegetarian diet) until the other week.  I have to admit I am really enjoying this new diet and will do my best to stay with it.  I feel better and lighter, even if the scale doesn’t show it.

Here was my diet for the day:

Breaky: Greek yogurt with honey, gluten free granola and blueberries, a banana, and a cup of coffee

AM snack: string cheese and trail mix

Lunch: teriyaki tofu, string beans, quinoa

Dinner: Trader Joe’s Mildly Spicy Vegetarian Burrito with some Salsa Verde on top.  Things things are my favorite.  I would eat them every day if that was a rational thought.

1 red onion
Garlic (lots)
2 squash
1 eggplant
2 carrots
2 green peppers
A few small sweet yellow peppers
Sweet potato
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomato
Vegetable broth
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Coriander
Sweet paprika
Chili powder
Cheddar cheese to grate on top

too funny not to share

something awesome from a friend http://holisticguru.blogspot.com/.  I’ll be doing this and so should you

No, really. Why?

I’ve realized this evening that the only meat I’ve eaten in the last 48hrs is a tuna salad sandwich and a turkey sandwich for lunch on each of the past 2 days.  The rest of the meals have been all vegetarian.  Truth is, as much as I LOVE MEAT, I’m not really missing it right now.  I’m considering trying to vegetarian for the next month or so to see how i feel.  I’ve tried before but that was on a college spring break trip so that was just a pointless effort that lasted less than 24hrs.  I’m not sure that I could go fully vegetarian right away.  But I think i’m going to try and eat a lot less meat and if I do it’s going to be super clean and lean meat.  Fish, and sushi, will definitely be on the menu.  My goal is going to be to only eat meat at one meal per day.  Wish me luck.

A NYC triathlete’s weekend is not complete without the following: training, booze, and drama. I successfully had all three this weekend. I got 5+ hrs on the bike, almost 3hrs of running (including a 90min long run), a bunch of beer watching the JETS win, and drama rama on the lady front. Needless to say I’m totally tired from everything and can’t wait for Montreal next weekend. Now it’s off to dinner with Geoff and Jody for some vegetarian Indian food.

(Pic: Mike doing his rendition of Singing in the Rain on Stone Street after the Jets game)

After a 2 month hiatus from swimming I’m back in the pool again. I’ve decided to swim at the Community Center @ Stuyvesant High School. I’ve swam there in the past but only paid for day passes ($12ea). The facility is really nice and really clean. This year I’ve decided to pay for the entire year which cost $300. The times are not ideal but I figured that I only need to swim there 26 times to break even. And as I write this on the train home, I’m not really bothered by the slightly later swim. It may actually be beneficial for me because it forces me to stay in the office for another 1hr30min.

Tonight was the first official workout of my 2010 training plan and it didn’t come easy. First, I almost forgot that I really do enjoy swimming. Second, I forgot how much swimming hurts like a bitch, especially after time away from the pool. My goal was 2700yds. I only made it 2300yds. After a 400yds and a 300yds in the main set I was hammered. I could barely lift my arm out of the water. I ended up cutting out a 200yds and 100yds in the main set and cut the cool down in half. Figure that 2300yds was pretty good for first swim back.

Things I noticed that need work:
Form – I felt sloppy as I got fatigued
Endurance – a 200yd hurt
Speed – not there without #1 & #2
All this will come back in due time. First I’ll try to focus on form knowing that endurance will follow with just being in the pool. Speed…not for a LONG time.

Brian and I took Day 3 off. We were beat from the 2 previous days and my dad came down to see me in the afternoon so I wanted to spend some time with him. We saw a beautiful sunset at Top of the World and on the beach in Laguna. Great colors and the sun setting over Catalina Island. Spectacular sights!

Day 4 and were back in the saddle today. Final day of on the bike as I had to return it to Rock & Road Cyclery in Laguna Niguel (thanks again for being so awesome with us!). Today we rode 3hr40min (HR=146/176) down the coast to Oceanside and back, probably 50+ miles. We got to ride through Camp Pendleton which was pretty cool. They have warnings for tank crossings on the road (pic attached). Unfortunately we didn’t see any tanks out there. We also rode by the surf spot Trestles. Pretty cool spot (pic attached). We ate some serious winds on the way home from Oceanside. I only had 200 calories and 2 bottle of water on the day. Could have used a little more than that.

Hopefully I can get a run in along the beach tomorrow before I head to the airport.