Pumpkin Pudding and Ice Baths

Sunday workout: Brick
Bike – 35 miles
Run – 5 miles
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Whew, there is a lot to catch up on!  How did this weekend go by so fast?  I blame daylight savings!

Saturday after the race I did some cooking, yay!:)  I made some more mango salsa soup (I think it’s officially a favorite now, so I’ll post the recipe soon!) and some pumpkin pudding!!  Yay for good food for the week!

The pumpkin pudding was a recipe my friend sent me because I told her I had a ton of leftover pumpkin from the pumpkin and chocolate chip granola bars.  ZOMG it is sooooo good!!  It’s like eating (a healthier version of) pumpkin pie!!!  How have I never had this before???

Then on Saturday night I got to go out with some friends to celebrate my birthday (for the 800th time:).  We went to CHEESECAKE FACTORY because I was craving their Thai lettuce wraps…mmm.

And of course you can’t go to Cheesecake Factory and not have CHEESECAKE!  (Especially when it’s your birthday!:)

Mmmmmmm.

Sunday I had an English muffin with Laughing cow, strawberries and cottage cheese, and grapes for breakfast!  Pretty and delicious!

Lunch was another Flat Out pizza and some taco soup.  So delicious!

In the afternoon Eric and I went on a HORRIBLE bike ride!  Ugh!  The day started out so promising–it was 55 and sunny…but I totally did not realize how windy it was until we got out on the bikes!

Actually, we didn’t notice how windy it was until we turned AROUND on the bikes.  I guess we didn’t realize how much of a tailwind we had going out, or how downhill the ride was…until we had to come back.  Ugh, I was in so much pain.  My IT bands were hurting, my hips were hurting, my back and neck were hurting…I think because I was leaning forward so much to climb the massive HILLS!!

It was actually really not fun:(.

Despite how yucky the bike ride was I was determined to get a decent run in.  Surprisingly I actually felt a lot better going into the run than I expected (considering my whole body was crying on the bike).  Maybe it was the Gu I had 15 minutes before the end of the bike ride?  Chocolate Gu’s are magic!

When I got back from my run I was in a LOT of pain.  I have never done this before, but I decided to take an ice bath!!  I have always heard about runners (and other athletes, like football players) that take ice baths, but never felt the need to brave them before.  When I got back I quickly looked up an article on Runner’s World about ice baths.  The article and my screaming muscles/joints convinced me to give it a try!

So I turned the tub on (cold!), dumped the ice tray from the freezer into it, put on a fleece, and jumped in!!  After some serious screaming and a lot of complaining, I settled in and after a couple of minutes I was actually enjoying myself.

And yes, all the cool people wear fleece sweatshirts in bath tubs full of ice!!  Oh the things we do for this crazy running/triathlon sport!

While I was running/bathing myself in ice, my WONDERFUL husband was cooking me an awesome dinner!!!

Roasted broccoli, garlic and parmesan potatoes, and shrimp with warm mango salsa (made from Bonefish Grill’s recipe–it was almost as good as the real stuff, too!).  Soooo what I needed after a long workout!

A husband that comes to my races, goes on horribly painful bike rides with me, and cooks me awesome dinners–how did I get so lucky!?!

Okay, I gotta run, my friend Aura is coming over to watch the FINALE of The Bachelor!!!!!

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Have you ever taken an ice bath?
-This was my first one, but I might be hooked!

Are you watching the Bachelor tonight?!? Who do you think is going to win (or if you’re reading this after it’s over, were you surprised by the end!?)?
– I feel like I am the only one in the whole world rooting for Chantelle (spelling?)!  That being said, I still feel like he is going to pick Emily.  He is so in love with that girl!