It's about time for some foozbaw!!!

If you can't tell from some of my pics, I LOVE SPORTS!! My hubby & I will watch just about anything. He's a big X-games guy (used to be a skateboarder, now is more of a snowboarder - well, he's getting old) and I'm more of your traditional football, basketball, baseball kind of gal. The only thing that I just can't get into is golf which is sad because Clemson actually has a really great golf program (hello national title 2003), but its more of a fun sport to play, not watch. So since it's about to be my most favorite, but also my busiest time of year, I'd like to give an overview of what I love so much about this season.


Tailgating: if you've ever been to a southern state during football season, the one thing we know how to do is tailgate.

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well..... not like that....

I'm on the left in the overalls... yes... I'm wearing overalls

i don't even know any of these people... but we were tailgating

There's lots of food

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friends: 

and did I mention food:

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Gameday Atmosphere: Clemson has a GREAT game day atmosphere. We've covered the tailgating, but just to emphasize how much we love tailgating, both NC State and Texas A&M have written about how welcoming the people were at clemson and how they all got invites to join tailgates and eat some food. There is also a lot of drinking, but since I don't drink, I don't cover that as much. 

Tiger Walk: This is something that has been implemented recently by our head coach, Dabo Swinney. The players all dress up in suits, and walk through the parking lot to the locker rooms before a game. Tons and tons of fans gather around to greet and support our players pre game. 

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that's Dabo

Approximately 80,000 fans: even though we are an average football team (believe me, it's tough), we still manage to bring in a good crowd and we always wear orange. 

student section and I had so much fun here when I was in college. We really get into it. I miss it!

p.s. we're loud and we have broken some records. I almost threw up at this game

Our famous entrance: Clemson is known throughout the sports world for having a unique entrance. The players ride in a bus around the stadium to the top of the hill. Then Dabo along with the seniors stand at the top of the hill while our fight song plays. 

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night games are the best

The Actual Game: the thing about football that I love is that there are so many moving parts. You've got offense, which has your offensive backs, offensive line, and receivers. You've also got defense which has your line, your secondary and your linebackers. Then you've got special teams which consists of your kickers, your returners, snappers, etc etc. And you've got to be on top of every link in order to be successful. I am reading a book right now:

Amazon

I already know a lot of the basic stuff like positions, offense/defense, etc. What I really want to learn are the offensive/defensive plays. What's the difference between a 4/3 and a 3/4 (which I do know, but just giving examples), a nickel package, a wishbone offense, a slot receiver, a bandit (that's what we call our strong safety/linebacker combo person - I think), etc, It's very complicated. One blog that I absolutely love is Shakin The Southland. They are very real about our team which can be a little negative since we've struggled in the past years, but they will break down each game, play by play and give videos of what's going on. They address concerns of the team, where we need better players, etc. It's very informative and I love every minute of it, even if it's over my head sometimes. 

The good news: whatever you're a fan of, they have a website. Just visit SB Nation and find your team, college or pro. 

So with all of that, I am so excited about football season I can't stand it. I am watching the Carolinas Panthers vs Miami Dolphins preseason game right now... even though preseason kind of sucks :(

what are your favorite teams? mine are the Clemson Tigers (for every sport), Miami Heat (nba), Carolina Panthers (nfl - and secretly the Washington Redskins), and the Atlanta Braves (mlb). 

Y'all

I just don't feel like training right now. What is my problem? Like, I do NOT want to run, swim or bike. I have never felt like this before. I just absolutely do not want to do a thing that has anything to do with working out. :(

Random

So I don't have anything to write about today. I didn't do a thang when it comes to working out... which I'm glad because my legs are tired. Instead, i'm going to give a photo montage of random crap because I like to look at the pics anyway...

me with blonde hair. and some serious eye brows... not good

me with my friend Ronnie and a much better hair color - the eye brows match. Hmmm... I think I need to grow my hair out again

Clemson's baseball stadium... best one ever

my cat, Leggett. Named after Clemson's baseball coach. My brother in law asked if this was the opposite of d*** in a box

my hubby & I

me, meredith and justina at the RnR New Orleans

my stepdaughters & I at a baseball game

us again

decorated shirts for the cooper river bridge run

I dont' remember what race this is... 

you see a theme... yes, I go to a lot of sporting events... I LOVE SPORTS

and one more to finish... hmmmm... what should it be....

for my Michigan friends, that's in Michigan!!!! 

What's for dinner???

I am super excited because I went to Whole Foods yesterday and decided to grind my own almond butter. As I was looking through the choices, I found something very very special:

CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER!!!

I was SO excited and couldn't wait to add it to my (gluten free so paleo approved) oats this morning:

yums... and actually, I don't think it's paleo approved but it's wendi matt approved and it doesn't bother my tummy so I eat them. I added honey (local & raw) and dried berries. 

So tonight, I decided to make fajitas. I bought some tortillas made with spelt flour so it does not contain the type of gluten that typically irritates an allergy. 

home made guac

my fajita ingredients

the guy at whole foods said grass fed sirloin was good for fajitas

my gauc finished product

my fajitas!! 

seltzer water with lime to have something different than regular water

We have left overs too!!! 

You can eat this and you can eat that...

As I have mentioned before, there are SO MANY DIFFERENT beliefs about nutrition. Also, as I have mentioned before, I am in the midst of trying to figure out what is causing all of these issues with nausea and what exactly is bothering my body. 

First - there is Paleo which I have discussed. There are lots of different beliefs and versions of Paleo but basically, the main theme is that you don't eat any grains or dairy. Everything is fruit, veggies and meat. Grains are supposed to be poisonous and cause disease. Our bodies are supposedly unable to process grains and when trying to do so, we are actually poisoning our bodies. Same with dairy. 

Then - there's a book I'm reading called Skinny Bitch. 

Skinny Bitch

This basically says that you should take the information from paleo and do the opposite. Meat is the devil and our bodies have evolved beyond eating meat. The one thing they do agree on is dairy is a no no. The book is promoting a vegan lifestyle. It has scientific evidence, just as Paleo does, to support it's argument. 

So... where do I fit? I'm honestly not one to support extreme diets so i'm probably not going to follow either one of them fully. The issue I have is finding out what is actually irritating my stomach. Is it the acidic nature of meat?? or is it the irritating side effect of gluten? I have no idea. 

What is your experience with either one of these diets? 

Do you have any food allergies/intolerances? 

First time this has ever happened...

but I've lost my training motivation. Last week, I didn't do diddly squat. Monday - I ran 9 miles which was good. Tuesday - I swam. Wednesday - I did my intervals/tempo morning stuff. Thursday - i didn't do crap, friday - i didn't do crap, saturday - I swam and sunday - i did a short speed workout.

I was supposed to do something different but 1) I'm actually a week ahead of training for different reasons but decided that because the last two weeks haven't been great training, I'm going to start week 12 over again and 2) I just haven't felt as motivated to train. Normally, if I feel like I don't want to work out, I do it anyway because I know that I have a major race to prepare for but this last week, I didn't care. And maybe that's because I had that extra week so I'm hoping I can get off my lazy bum and work work work.

Which brings me to this week. I am now officially in week 12 of Marathon training. My training schedule says that I need to do this:

speedwork - 6 x 1/4 mile at 10k pace with full recovery between sets

temp - 5 x 4 minutes, recover 3-4 minutes

long run - 120 minutes run - simulate race pace

I have two cross training days but since I'm trying to do at least 2 days of swimming and 1 bike, I have 3 cross training days. My swimming workout that I got off of Beginner Triathlete says my workouts for this week are:

swim #1 - warm up: 100 m swim, 100 kick, 100 pull, 100 swim 30 second rest b/w each 100, 12 x 25 swim: with 30 second rest b/w each 25, swim #1 easy, #2 faster, #3 faster, #4 faster. Start over and repeat # 5-8 and # 9 -12, 100 m cool down

swim #2 - 200 m warm up, 4 x 75m swim with 45 second rest - swim the middle 25 back stroke, 3 x 100 pull with 60 second rest, 100 m cool down

and if I can get in a swim #3 - 100 warm up swim, 60 second rest, 4 x 25 kick - 40 second rest, 3 x 50m pull 20 second rest, 2 x 100 swim, 60 second rest, 3 x 50 pull 40 second rest, 4 x 25 kick, 20 second rest, 100 m cool down

Training for the week:

Monday: Swim workout #1, strength (probably Hope Solo's Nike Training Club workout)

Tuesday: Tuesday morning spin class with Leora

Wednesday: Tempo workout

Thursday: Swim workout #2, strength (maybe a xfit girl workout)

Friday: Speed workout

Saturday: Bike - i'm going to shoot for the donaldson center 20 mile ride

Sunday: 12 miles

*that's subject to change as it always seems to happen that way.

I hope I can stick to this since I've scheduled it. I can talk myself out of anything for whatever reason.



What to do, what to do

So... I'm supposed to be running right now. but  it's supposed to rain. My plan was to run out on the Swamp Rabbit Trail - an hour out, an hour back. The good news: I'm actually a week ahead of my training so I have the liberty to add in a week. And that's actually what I plan on doing. I don't mind running in the rain, but I do mind getting stuck on a trail with no shelter and no way to get back without just running back in the rain.

My new question is: What do I do today? Situation is similar for the bike, so i can't do that. So it looks like it's the pool. Swim, swim.

 Actually, I just saw this article/video on the Active Facebook page about proper swimming form.

proper swim form



So I guess I will focus on this today in the pool. and maybe use this week as a time for my legs to recover. Hopefully, it won't mess me up too much to skip a week of training in my 20 weeks. It may end up being a blessing!