Lately...

I've been out of the sun...taking the personal trainer course at the Cooper Institute here in Dallas for the past week (8am-5pm). It was a small glimpse into full-time job hours- conlusion: I don't like it ;)
But, this was actually really fun, the instructors were very knowledgeable and passionate about fitness & nutrition. Our class was lucky enough to have Dr. Kenneth Cooper (founding father of Aerobics) be in town and give us a lecture! It was remarkable. He showed slide upon slide of undeniable research of the profound effect that working out and eating right has on every part of our body. As well, he cited overwhelming evidence on children's lack of health and fitness in this country today. His life purpose is inspiring and his constant actions to carry out that purpose only made me want to help kids, teens, and adults who are overweight or struggling to get started toward a healthy lifestyle all the more! Hopfeully his Fitnessgram testing conducted in elementary through high school students will be carried out in all 50 states in the near future. Next week he's in South Carolina trying to get it established there.
Anyway, it was good that this week was still a mellow transition into what coach called "going to hell and back the next 3 months" and I was able to get away with one or two morning/evening workouts to complete the course. Today we took the exam and got out at 10am. I did my weights in the morning and then rode outside on the trainer around noon, took a nap and headed over to SMU outdoor pool for my swim after. This weekend's pretty good volume- hour run tomorrow, followed by a 3 hour interval ride and Sunday hour swim, 30mins run, 2hr ride. All rides with efforts above training pace I'll be doing based on power on my TT bike, and all others based on HR on my road bike. This should make it more interesting...I guess, ha.
I've been feeling great. After Lubbock, I drove down to San Antonio to be with my family for the week which was great. Sleep has been AMAZING. I usually have interrupted sleep where I get up once or twice and can't fall back to sleep for about30mins...UGH! But now it's continuous 9-10hrs!! I love it. Also, I discovered the power of stretching!! haha...all my life I've been told how beneficial stretching is but frankly I hated it, it was boring and stupid I thought. But now I'm addicted. Since I can't do anything in moderation, I took up stretching a lot. 15mins as soon as I wake up, 10mins before and after each workout (a little lighter on the befores) and 15mins before going to bed. OMG I can touch my toes now!!
On the racing front...I'll be doing the Irongirl sprint out in Irving next weekend. Then Rivercities at the start of August and then CHICAGO!!!! Using the law of attraction, I've been attempting to bring hot/humid weather to Chicago for race day :)
Well, off to read some book I got at Borders and then sleep.
Ciao