What's a Ramblin' Rose Triathlon?

A Ramblin' Rose event is a women only sprint triathlon.  There are several Ramblin' Roses each year throughout North Carolina. I'll be training for and participating in the one held at the Finley YMCA in North Raleigh on May 19, 2013.

A friend had told me about the Ramblin' Rose and sprint tris in general, I'd never heard of one until last year. Until them, whenever I heard triathlon, I pictured muscle bound jocks swimming the ocean in Hawaii in pursuit of an ironman win.  My friend and those associated with the race  insist that it's doable, that people are supportive, and that some of the swimmers are at a level where you may see people walking in the pool. So I figure I can handle this - 225 meter swim, 9 mile bike ride, and 2 mile swim.

Did I mention that I'm not a good swimmer and just learned how to go under without holding my nose two years ago?

Surprisingly low carb soup and snack

My endocrinologist diagnosed me with polycystic ovarian syndrome and started me on glucophage.  I find that the meds have helped tremendously with carb cravings and my appetite in general. Still, I like my carbs.  Since the doctor suggested I drop my carb habit, I've been working on finding recipes that fit my health needs while satisfying me.

I found that I really missed crackers and couldn't find a good low carb cracker on the store shelves.  I came across a low carb cheese cracker recipe that tastes very much like your regular carby cheese cracker and is very easy to make.  The recipe is very simple - cut up a slice of Kraft deluxe American slices into 16 squares, put the squares in a big circle on a piece of parchment paper and microwave until they are a bit brown.  The slices should form a circle, don't put any in the middle of your circle.  Peel off paper, let them cool a minute or two, and enjoy carb free crackers.

I made this recipe for delicious cauliflower soup tonight, to bring for lunches next week.  It really does taste like potato soup.  Nice creamy texture.  I've made it three times, twice with great success, once I used too much broth and it was runny.  I ended up having success with a whole chopped head of cauliflower and two cups of broth.  Err on the side of less liquid, you can always add more in when you purée it.

Starting over...

Well, its been awhile. I'm going to make an effort to get this thing actually rolling.

I went to the kickoff for Tri It For Life's first Raleigh chapter at the Endurance Magazine expo on the Duke campus on February 2, 2013. I've joined the program and plan to complete the Ramblin' Rose triathlon at the Finley YMCA this May.

Since June, I've completed a group Couch to 5k tile program called Fittastic, started working out woth a personal trianer, participated in the Monster Dash 5k, and dropped about 30 pounds. I've slacked off since Halloween, motivation is hard.

I'm looking forward to Tri It For Life being a kick in the ass to get the running started again.