Success!
Movement March was a success! Every day in March I worked out for at least 30 minutes! I’m really proud of this to be honest and I was also successful in 2 different races. I have taken the past 2 days off and just chilled out and am preparing for an epic peak as I move into this last month before Wildflower. I am going to be ON POINT this next month- great workouts, correct nutrition, and a huge focus on sleeping more!
That moves me to my next challenge for April- which I must do. First, no coming home from work, taking a nap, and then working out. This gets me to bed too late and just leaves me tired again the next day. Second, not getting up on a weekend, having breakfast, and going back to bed until I go workout. I will instead go workout in the morning which not only guarantee I go, but also leave me with time in the rest of my day to do stuff.
Something that I have been struggling with a little bit lately is the need to compare. To compare myself to other athletes, and more notably, other bloggers. I know this is something that a lot of people have written about before, but it really hits home. When I go on a blog and see that this person ate this (or didn’t eat this) and that they did this workout etc. Not a big deal if I’ve worked out that day, but if I’ve taken a day off it just makes me feel guilty and awful. I know that I like to Tweet the workout I did after I do it every day and now I’m considering stopping it due to that. The reason I do it is to keep accountable to myself and because I’m usually so happy after a workout… and Twitter is basically just a steam of consciousness anyway, but you see my point.
Do you ever feel the same way? Here’s what you’ve got to remember: First, everyone is different! Metabolisms, athletic ability, genes, preferences and so on. Maybe you see that some “did the elliptical for an hour” and you compare and feel bad for only running for 30 minutes or something. What I need to remind myself is that everyone is training for different things! Not everyone wants to do Ironman triathlons, Chuck, and that they probably enjoy a good session on the elliptical. I also know that I probably balled out on my run so there is no winner or loser- no one is better or less of a person or athlete based on how they workout! I can’t tell myself that I’m not as good as someone else based upon a workout! There’s more to life than clocking hours and miles and calories- “Chuck” is not defined by how much I workout, but instead by the person I really am, my desire, my passion, and the love that I can show to others.
In short, do you. Don’t let comparing yourself to others define you.
Saturday was my first day of going to the gym in the morning (in April, that is). This was because my friend Thadd and I were going to opening night for the Cincinnati Reds! It was an awesome day- I had a great workout that really tested me and I also finished it with a 3,100m swim which is one of the longest I’ve done in a long time!
Thursday was the Reds opening day and I got out to take a few pictures:
Reds fans on Fountain Square
My favorite float was the giant inflatable Chiquita bananas. Skyline Chili was also on hand to serve chili coneys… I MAY try the chili before I leave Cincinnati… but maybe not lol
Cheese Coney
Before the game Saturday, we headed out to get some food. The night before a bunch of us went to the Cyclones Hockey game as got some input on where to go. I was jonesin’ for some pizza so went to a place with a brick oven. Not only was the pizza great, it was so healthy too! Paper thin crust, fresh Roma tomatoes and basil, topped with double chicken breast!
My pizza
Thadd's meatball flatbread
The game was awesome, the Reds won, and there were fireworks after!
Great American Ballpark
Now, I also made an amazing new recipe this week! Bison stroganoff over homemade whole wheat biscuits.
- 8oz lean meat (I mixed bison and turkey breast)
- 1/4 cup milk (and more liquid as needed)
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp Greek Yogurt
- Sliced onions
- Sliced Mushrooms
Start by browning the meat with onions
Brown the meat
Next, remove from the pan and add the flour to the now empty pan. After letting it toast for a second, add is the milk and stir till combined. Then add in the onions and vegetables and stir till the sauce comes together. Finally, add your meat back in and let it heat till ready to serve.
Sauce ready to go!
I then plated up a couple biscuits and served the stroganoff over top! I even put some REAL butter on one half of a warm biscuits… killer!
2 biscuit halves
Yum. Serve with remaining biscuit halves and fresh vegetables
This was by far the best meal I had all week. Here is the biscuit “recipe” as well (if you want to call it that.) Makes 4 biscuits:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4-1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup pumpkin
Mix together, form into 4 biscuits and bake at 425 for 12-20 minutes or until they are done.
Since I made 4 biscuits, I tried a similar idea with serving Eggs Marinara over the biscuits:
Top the warm toasted biscuits with laughing cow cheese...
Eggs baked in marinara sauce, mushrooms, and onions! Atop the biscuits
A cool story from this week- through Twitter (Follow me @ChuckFeerick) I won a free entry in the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in Florida from one of my sponsors, GU Energy! Bummer though is that I am racing Wildflower the day before, so there’s no way I could get to Florida in time without help. I proposed a pretty elaborate plan to GU to help me chronicle the cross county adventure across the US in 2 days racing in 2 epic races. My friends over at JTwoFilms would have been able to film the whole thing and we could have made a sweet documentary! GU liked the idea but said they couldn’t bankroll it. Haha oh well, I tried.
On that note though, be on the look for more developments on the Feerless Food TV Show… we’re about to blow up!
Thanks for reading guys and have an awesome week!
- Do you every find yourself comparing yourself to other people or bloggers?
- What Easter goodies are you looking forward to? Cadbury Eggs… ohhh man…
