PrincessZippy

I looked into making my own cat food a few years ago. Apparently to do it right you need to grind up bones into the meat, which requires a serious grinder! Plus they do need, based on my research, some veggies and berries We decided it wasn't worth the time or expense of the grinder. Plus where to store it all! Our kitties eat a high quality canned chicken food which could be served to humans. We switched from the good dry they were on when we adopted them because Tucker couldn't handle the corn that was in it. It made him fat and lethargic when he was only a year old. I was worried it would make their box nasty, but that hasn't been an issue for us. Hope you babies like their new menu! Cassie Tucker Love to post pics of my cat babies.

Not really a trick - but I did 3 one minute sets of jumping with the weighted rope as part of my leg routine today. Set a new personal record of 150 jumps with it - previous best was 136. Veronica

I'm lucky that he's a morning person too. Maybe I made him that way - we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this year. He doesn't need quite as much sleep as I do, so he goes to bed a little bit later. No kids, which certainly helps. He commutes 90 minutes each way to work and by the time he gets home, he's beat. Getting up that early gives him time to practice the piano and work out too. We do sleep a little bit later on Thursday and Friday. We sort of front loaded his work out schedule so that as the week went on, we could sleep 'til 4. Our cats think we should be up at 3:30 though. I get up that early on the weekends too. Yeah, most people think we're crazy. Veronica

I'm 44, 5'5", weigh 143 and have 16% body fat. I'm a triathlete and don't follow the Paleo diet. I eat anywhere between 1800 - 2000 calories a day and I generally work out twice a day - weights, running, biking, swimming and yoga. Pick two Generally about 40% of my diet is my protein, 35% carbs and 25% fat. Everyone is different, but you could certainly get leaner. Adding a lot of muscle takes work, but you can do that too! Veronica

I arrange my entire life around getting enough sleep! I teach 5th grade and I am NOT nice when I'm tired. Herding 32 two cats (students) is tiring. I start heading for bed around 7 and usually asleep by 7:30. I'm really a morning person and get so much done before I go to work. Ran intervals with a full moon out this morning - took 6 seconds off my previous best time!, graded my reading tests and made lunches. I like the quiet in the world before the raucous commotion of humanity is awake. But it's not a schedule for everyone. Sounds like an awesome mountain bike adventure, sorry about the fractures. Veronica

Hey, the bed mate needs to knock it off with the sleepy death threats and be more supportive. Maybe your partner should get up with you. Works for us and our alarm goes off at 3:30 and yes that is AM. Veronica

I like Patagonia's bras. If you really don't want any movement try a Zoot Ultra bra top. I only wear mine when I'm racing because it's SO tight. They're pricey because it's a tri top, so it dries really fast after the swim. This year I've started wearing long sleeves for all my running and cycling. I am happy to say I have not gotten a sunburn all summer. Altheta has some really nice tops that wick well. I like to wear tri shorts for most of my runs because the hip pockets give me a convenient place for my key, cell phone and a gel. Veronica

Weighted ropes make for a wicked good workout. The light ones are fun because you can go super fast - I can get over 300 jumps in a minute and be breathing hard, but not tired. The weighted ones for a minute make me tired. Veronica

I use a set distance in my neighborhood. When I started doing intervals a year ago I sprinted for 3 tenths of a mile and walked 2 tenths. Tremendous improvement in one year in my running times. Last month I upped my sprinting distance to 6 tenths of a mile with a couple of hills in it, and I walk about 2 tenths of a mile. Veronica

Is the swim portion of your tri in a pool or in open water? My times for open water are always a bit slower than my times in a pool. I think it's because you can't swim in a straight line in a tri - all those other bodies get in the way. If your legs were tired, maybe you're kicking too much or not from your hip. I barely use my legs during the swim of a race. Are you going to be wearing a wetsuit for your race? BTW it's okay to do breast stroke if you need to. Just be careful not to kick the person next to you. It is a good way to sight if you are in open water. Veronica

I'm a nose and mouth breather when I run, probably because I was a distance swimmer in college. Why would you want to lower your oxygen intake by keeping your mouth closed? Veronica

The right trainer is definitely a good investment in yourself. I started with my trainer at a big box gym and followed her when she decided to branch out on her own. I've lost 13 pounds since I started working with her and dropped to 16% body fat. Check out the credentials that your potential trainer has. If you're serious you want someone who really knows their stuff - not just how to use the machines or the free weights. I'm a serious triathlete and the workouts I do with my trainer are based around my goals of getting faster on the bike and the run. I'm already a good swimmer. My husband also trains with her and his goals are more about building strength. His workouts are VERY different. I really like the variety of things we do and that she pushes me much harder than I would ever push myself. I would never balance on a Bosu ball and do work with a kettle bell on my own. Veronica

Did my longest continuous run with no walking on Saturday - 8.5 miles. We went out for a bicycle ride with the local club on Sunday. I was hoping to stay with the fast guys for five miles or so. I stayed with them for ten - and that's when my husband got a flat. I was absolutely thrilled to be able to stay in the paceline - averaged just about twenty miles an hour on VERY flat roads. It was wicked hard staying with them when they pushed it up to 24 mph though. But the big woohoo - my trainer took my measurements today. Since last Feb. I've lost 4 pounds overall, gained a pound of lean mass and dropped to 16% body fat. All my measurements went down - except my waist. Biggest loss was chest, hips and quads. Next goal - 5 more pounds and two more percentage points of fat. Veronica

I've done Barb's Race four years in a row. It's a women's only Half Ironman in CA - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13.1 mile run. I also did the World's Toughest Half in May of 2010. I don't know if it is really the toughest, but it was freakin' hard. Both the bike and the run have a lot of hills! For shorter races there are a couple of groups that put on monthly events throughout the summer, pretty close to where I live. I pick the ones that fit with my schedule. The whole reason I do yoga is because of a nagging quad injury. All the stretching seems to really help it. What I've read about tendinitis, and I'm no expert, just do a lot of reading... is that to really get rid of it, you need to find the cause,not just treat the symptoms. Of course, finding the cause can be a real pain in the neck. You know... is it shoes, is it a muscle imbalance, which muscles, is it technique... Of course if you can't run, there are events called Aquabikes - you just swim and bike. Veronica

Thanks! The trick is to keep it that way. It would be great to start next season building on where I'm at now. Veronica

I turn the number of reps I've completed into simplified fractions. Veronica

Probably not. I lost 30 pounds more than ten years ago, just by no longer stress eating. I had gained 15 pounds in a year, from job related stress. I really got into cycling and in 2006 (the year I was turning 40) decided to do double centuries - 200+ mile bike rides completed in one day. I did 3 of those in 2006 and 3 more in 2007. At the end of 2007 I developed an overuse injury to my right quad and for some bizarre reason, decided that was a good reason to start doing tris. I did my first Half Ironman in 2008. I've been training for them every since. I do three or four tris a year, usually a couple of sprint distance, an Olympic and a HIM. This past year, I really upped my training, finally became a decent runner and dropped my body fat down to 16%. I don't like weight training - that's why I work with a personal trainer. She keeps me motivated and is constantly changing things up. I have no brain cells at 5AM when I'm working with her. I do love doing plyometrics though! Jumping is FUN!!!! I'm not trying to build mass - I have to move this body 70 miles on race day - so all my weight work is more about muscle endurance. I don't swim much - was a distance swimmer in college, once a week is my plan, but usually ends up being once a month. I run three times a week - one interval session, one "Fun Run", one brick (bike/run) or long run on Saturdays. One interval session on the bike and a long ride on Sunday and yoga three times a week. Makes me tired just writing it all out. Veronica

Hacky sack is a lot of fun and is good for coordination. The 5 year old will probably struggle with it. I'm buying some for my classroom this year - hoping to get my 5th graders a bit more active. Veronica

I'm a former ultra distance cyclist, now a serious triathlete. I just completed my 5th Half Ironman. I'm at a lull in my training right now. Recovery week is sweet! My goals are to keep getting faster and to have fun while I'm doing it. Veronica