…the title works in more ways than one.

• I am on a training plan for triathlon now. It might not include running, but it is still important and I am going to take it seriously. In the past, even last summer when I was working with a coach, I’d take liberties with workouts, add stuff in, skip core work, etc. and I know that’s silly. What’s the point of having a training plan if you aren’t going to trust it? So today was a rest day and even though I had the urge to go to the gym, sweat a bit on the elliptical and read a magazine, I decided to tackle my messy apartment and to go to yoga with my energy instead, referencing this quote Alex sent my way a few weeks ago…

“You’ve got to have the mental toughness and confidence in yourself where you believe that you can take those days off and you can recover and you can run great,” Salazar said. “A lot of what we see in athletes that just train all the time and never give themselves adequate recovery is often portrayed as toughness. What I’ve realized over the years is it really is a weakness. It’s an insecurity that you’re not good enough to recover like other athletes: I’m not good enough to do that; I need to keep training; I can’t take time off; I can’t take easy days.” - Alberto Salazar

…Sticking to the plan. That means I’ve got some core work to do this evening–and we all know how important it is for me to actually do that core stuff, since I seem to lack one….

• I want to make things from scratch and if I’m going to talk the talk–which I did yesterday–then I better walk the walk. So tonight I went for it and made my own croutons. Something about eating two pieces of bread instead of crappy processed bits of junk was hard for me at one point–admitting I needed that starch at night? telling ED to eff off?–note: I am RECOVERED. but this is one of those habits I’ve held onto for no good reason–but I did it no problem via toasting two ends of my Ezekiel loaf, tossing them with some olive oil and garlic salt, and putting em in the oven. With my leftover tempeh, some dressing, parmesan cheese, and romaine, I had a healthier twist on my go to caesar salad dinner! On a rest day no less. Yum.

• I’ve been complaining to my friends about a due date of midnight tonight for a personal essay paper I have to write. My teacher just gave us all an extension to Sunday — but since I’m already settled and comfy with my computer at Starbucks, I’m going to pretend it doesn’t exist. There’s lots on my to do list (both blah–papers, and fun–training, kin formal, sunday funday) so I think I’m better off NOT pushing this back. I’ll just pretend that extension didn’t happen…
• My commitment to eating more whole foods and trying more veggie options. I read an awesome post on No Meat Athlete about his one rule for nutrition success: eat whole foods. So I had a snack of carrots and almond butter this afternoon, an apple this morning, rice cakes again this afternoon, and tried to broaden my diet by eating a hummus and alfalfa sprout and carrot sandwich for lunch. Um, I remember telling my friends a while back that I wasn’t feeling the hummus. I must have been delusional–this was AMAZING and so freaking easy! I can’t wait to make my own (this was just an original type of hummus I bought on sale last week at Loblaw’s, figuring if I wasn’t feeling it I’d pawn it off on a hummus loving buddy).

• Staying balanced. I’m not nixing processed foods or jumping into a totally animal product free existence. Rest assured that any changes I’m making are gradual. This morning I had a yummy breakfast with yogurt (half vanilla, half plain), all bran buds, grapes, and pecans. Yum. I love pecans!

That’s all folks. I’ve got an essay to write (or to fix–the rough draft I attempted this morning before class is painful so I might just start fresh) and a decaf coffee with my name on it…literally. Coolest. Friday. Night. Ever.

What are you doing this weekend?
Do you like hummus?
Do you ever struggle with rest days?