Great Beginnings

"Every time you stay out late; every time you sleep in; every time you miss a workout; every time you don't give 100%....you make it that much easier for me to beat you."- unknown

Sometimes I struggle with motivation, especially when I don't have a race in my immediate future. My triathlon season is pretty much done. I have a duathlon in Oro Valley, Arizona at the end of October.

So this week I struggled a little bit to get in my swim workout.  With one season done, I'm trying to catch up with some of my household chores. All week I have been coming home doing outside home maintenance before I do my workout.

So it was a bit later in the evening before I got to the pool on Wednesday night. I was really tired and thought about just doing some drills and going home. I thought what difference would it make since my next triathlon is not until May. Then I thought about the quote above.  If I want to stay competitive I have to be consistent with my workouts, even on days when I am tired.  I always say to myself, I bet Beth Price ( current National Champion) is swimming laps, or what do you think Beth Price is doing today. I remind myself that my competition is not taking the night off.

The race in Oro Valley is a paraduathlon and it is a National Championship. So I need every workout I can get in to be ready.

Today I had a triple workout scheduled,weights, some speed work on the bike and a tempo run. The bike and run would be a simulation of race conditions. I knew with temperatures climbing into the high 70's it would be a great day for it.  But to fuel triple workout, it takes some serious breakfast.

I started mine with Oat Pancakes with strawberries.  I do most of my cooking on the weekends. Those days are always a good time to try out a new recipe. This was a new one for me and it turned out great.  A great way to start the day and be ready for my triple workout.  I've included the recipe so you can try it yourself and maybe fuel your own workout.

Oat Pancakes
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla protein powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk (skim)
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  Make a well in the center. Combine eggs, milk, oil and lemon juice.  Pour into well and stir until just moistened.  Pour batter 1/4 cupfuls onto greased hot griddle. turn when bubbles form on the top of the pancakes.  Cook until second side is golden brown.
6 servings, 241 calories

These would also be great with sauteed apples as well.

*********Chris Wodke

Founder & Manager Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have 137 members in 27 states. We also have members in Canada, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland and Iran. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

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