Recovery, and then what?

A couple first times....
1.  I did an early June HIM with no plans after....
2.  I didn't go straight to vacationing just to drink and eat myself into a coma for a week or two...
3.  I actually did recovery workouts and did walking around farmer's markets instead of a workout that considered walking in vineyards or walking to a bar in Sweden (all of which sounds awesome right?)


Last week consisted of:

Monday - Drive 7 hours home...
Tuesday - EASY spin for an hour while watching bad TV
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - EASY 3 mile run and stretching
Friday - OFF
Saturday - 40 mile ride with Yasi
Sunday - Outdoor yoga at Lululemon

Things have been very stressful with our family and lots of trips to the hospital back and forth.  My coping mechanism with stress is to make sure everyone is okay and to make sure everyone is properly fed with good food.  I stocked up with some great farmer's market finds on Wednesday and Thursday.

Okay, okay, I did still indulge a couple times in my basement with Weyerbacher Heresy and Dogfish Head Burton Baton

in case you are wondering that is a kangaroos scrotum bottle opener...a present from a dear friend...

Oh yeah, I also did a bit of shopping....(you know by myself a present or more for my race)

Top Left: Nordstroms including Paige feather shorts; Top Right: Lululemon

Bottom Left:  VS;  Bottom Right: Saucony Mesh Bullets and Sanuk

I decided to do a second week with some yoga, cycling, swimming and light running before I start another training block.  I need to figure out what I want to focus on, my brain is very scattered (my undiagnosed ADD).

Yoga followed by Froyo

I know I want to focus on speed, getting faster, since I feel the endurance is already there.  I signed up for NJ State Olympic in July and am deciding on another sprint, century and possibly another half-iron type of race possibly in September...I am working another week on my training schedule to figure all that out.  I have my sights on Poconos 70.3 since it fits into the schedule and has a nice mix of rolling hills and it's not too far away.  Part of this is that my Mooseman didn't go as planned, but I also feel like I have built a great base this year and feel really refreshed.  I thought I would be burnt out like I usually am when I do a later race in Sept. It's definitely a different feeling doing a bigger race earlier in the season, almost like you are not ending it in a bang!

When asked what my goal was by a family member, I finally came to the realization that triathlons are really a lifestyle and I just enjoy training!  So whether I do another half-ironman in September or not, I will be still be training, and giving Yasi a training partner as she takes on Ironman NYC (er...NJ I mean...)!!

Will the Real Miss FancyPants Please Stand up?

What happened to Heather, the Miss FancyPants that owns close to XX pairs of Premium Denim (we won't be giving that number -it's pretty much insane) ...the one that opts for the Juicy Couture bag or the Marc Jacobs sexy red shoes (I even did a presentation once on them...), the REAL BECKY of the Shopaholic series .... is she still there??

So, I have been looking for the ultimate motivation, I was tired of running a 10K or a half-marathon and not knowing if I could go faster. I have tried the Polar Heart Rate Monitor and broke on me twice. I wanted the ultimate watch machine, the Christian Louboutin, the Lanvin...the Garmin 310xt. I couldn't believe how much excitement one watch could cause.
Now I have to say, I debated a while because the 305 is now $130 bucks! The 310xt with HR monitor - $400. So I had saved some birthday money and some other savings and I guess technically I could have bought the 305 and still had about $300 (well the math is off but you get the point) to use on the Sam Edelman over the knee boats...

sigh...

but...when it comes to technology, I am a sucker for the best and well it had better satellite reception, longer battery life (although I am not using it to do an Ironman...yet...I never remember to charge things), it was lighter, wireless transmission of data, waterproof...and to top it off I had a 20% coupon to be used at Haddonfield Running Company from the 10K Bridge Run the prior week. I think that race gave me money - $20 for the race and $80 off of this beauty!!

The day I bought it, it was a similar feeling to when I bought my yellow leather Juicy bag, or when I went to Saks and bought my first pair of Marc Jacobs heels, I skipped (no I literally skipped) out of the store with my little bag and went home to check this baby out. I charged it the first day, registered the Garmin. The second day I went for a 4 mile run. OMG - the DATA!!!! I love data, I am in Market Research, right? This is really what I needed for my training. This was like a nerd's dream, there were graphs, numbers, heart rate charts, mile paces....ahhhh....

The old Miss FancyPants that saved $400 could have bought these dreamy looking boots by Elizabeth and James...

or maybe this Rebecca Minkoff bag...


but the NEW Miss FancyPants well she bought the Garmin 310xt...

So I know you are thinking - "what did you do with the $80?" "did you save the rest of the money? Maybe put it back in the bank?" WHAT??? Just so that you know SHE is still in there...because SHE (yes, I am talking in the 3rd person) bought these friekin awesom BCBG shoes...

All right, I didn't actually buy them then, I actually bought them a month ago and just found the reason to rationalize the purchase.

Don't worry, I'm still here - I finished my summer to fall/winter swap, re-did the closets, focused on what to get rid of and what I needed...
Over the past month, I picked up some cute (some more practical then others) things at H&M - I can't wait to wear this with nude dress with black platform booties and black leggings and a big ass belt...

Lululemon (the Anthropolgie of exercise attire) where I got some great winter running pants and a winter running jacket. This of course was practical since I did not own neither and would be useful for my training...

and a cute boutique in Montreal called Espace Pepin where I found a shirt, a dress and to die for CHOCOLATE SOAP....



I skipped again, because, even when you know you should not have bought some things and well, maybe that could have gone toward the tri-bike but you know what? Life is Short and a girl's got to look cute!

For all of you that think I have a problem, don't worry, I am on the saving wagon again...and am thinking of making a MissFancyPants ebay store so I can sell some of my jeans, purses and shoes that I don't use.
Stay tuned to next post - including some fall recipes, new beers and the trials and tribulations of cold weather running...

A Motivational 5K and Girls Night

An awesome training week last week. Got in some great bikes, runs, weights and swims.
So Saturday morning I had planned on doing a 5K with my sister and my friends. I was going to use it like a time trial for this summer's races and training.I got up with no big intentions, no big plans, but when I got there and the horn blew, I felt like I was flying and I couldn't feel my feet. First mile marker comes by and I look at my HR monitor, it says 7:30? Really??? Awesome, but my heartrate, is about 168 so I got worried that maybe I couldn't sustain this for the three miles, doubt started going through my head. I decided to slow down, and then I didn't see another mile marker. But when I did get to the finish line it said 25:30 - so for the first time in a long time I averaged 8:13!! My sister took a great picture at the finish line.
Nicole did great too!! She shaved off 2 min 30 sec from last year! Theresa did the walk and went 5 min faster!!

All in all a great start of the day to go to Wegman's for their tastings and liquor store opening...
I came out to find the Yellow Audi with an old lover...a red Audi...:(
BBQ at Angie's with some chicken on a stick - complements of Chef Quan...
On to Nordstroms...we won't repeat what happened there (new shorts, shirts...)
And then on to a Vampire themed Girl's night at Tanya's..complete with martinis, wine and yummy food, and shots of bubblegum vodka (recipe for disaster the next day).


where they attempted to teach me how the stars stand...wasn't working for me..
had a great time with great friends.

Unfortunately, I went for a 6 mile run on Sunday followed by a lost voice, and then felt sick for the past two days - thank God it's a recovery week for training.