Virtual Coffee Date: Ironman Waco, Women for Tri, & Free Meal Plans

Happy Monday loves! I hope you are all getting ready for a fantastic week after a festive 4th of July holiday! Today I’m sipping on a lukewarm vanilla latte because, well, my morning has just been chaos and caffiene > hot coffee!

If we were having coffee today I’d tell you that in the Askew home, the 4th of July also signifies my son’s birthday, the 5th of July. The two are rarely inseparable.They fall so close together that we’re often planning events simultaneously. This year the 4th fell on a weekday and for the first time in a while, we didn’t have to split our weekend between independence day festivities and birthday celebrations. Something I think my son really enjoyed. Most of his friends are typically occupied on his birthday but this year, we decided to host a paintball party after the holiday so that everyone could attend. My husband volunteered as tribute and took almost 10 teenage boys out for a paintball party in the dead-heat of Texas summer for over 4 hours. I don’t know how he did it! He came home limping, HA!

While the boys were out playing I was busy preparing a post paintball pool party so that they could come back, cool off and relax. My day was filled with baking, shopping, and prepping enough food to feed a small army. By the time the boys got home I was exhausted. We grilled hamburgers and laid out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon and it was exactly what I needed. Both my husband and I spent most of Sunday recovering from sore muscles and trying to be as restful as possible.

If were were having coffee today I would also tell you that I signed up for Ironman Waco 70.3 in late October and my 16 week training plan kicks off today! This is one of the newest half Ironman races in Texas and, as a native Texan, I felt that it was mandatory that I participate. Plus, who can turn down a late season race in the cool Texas fall?

I have spent the last month in “pre-training” just to get used to moving again. This last year has been really lazy for me. I went from working out 6 days a week to working out 1-2 days per week. Not to mention, it was rare that I was up before 7:30am unless it was for work. I knew that if I was going to be successful in training this time around that I needed to mentally prepare to start a new training program. I’ll be posting a ” How to become a morning person” post VERY soon.

A lot of people think that you’re either born a natural morning person or you’re not. I’m here to tell you, I’m NOT. I’m the kind of person that can sleep until noon any day of the week and I have to work really hard to get up and do those morning workouts. Despite my sleepy tendencies, I can still adjust my habits during any training cycle so that I’m up and at-em when I need to be. Believe me when I say, this last year after Ironman Texas was FULL of late mornings and sleepy days. I’m honestly ready to get back at it and feel like there is more to life than just work. When I’m training, my days are longer and more productive and I feel like there is balance. I feel good!

If we were having coffee today, I’d also tell you that earlier this year I had the pleasure of being accepted as an ambassador for Women for Tri, a chapter of the Ironman foundation that seeks to encourage women in the sport of triathlon. I cannot think of a better ambassadorship for myself. I was literally overjoyed to be able to put my passion to good use in this ambassadorship. It has not been an easy one either. Women For Tri boasts some of the the world’s most influential ambassadors, in my opinion. These are seasoned athletes, coaches, and leaders in our tri community. To say that I felt intimidated when joining would be an understatement. I knew going into this ambassadorship that I would have to work double time to keep up, but I welcomed the opportunity to grow and learn throughout the year.

When I started Askew Nutrition & Fitness in March, my ideal client was the average woman who just wanted to learn to love herself again and find a way to love food & fitness too. For me, triathlon was that bridge. I’d always hoped to help other women find the same path. As a nutrition entrepreneur, my clientele isn’t always interested in triathlon, but Women for Tri affords me the opportunity to follow my passion while helping others. I think it’s important to have hobbies that, not only challenge us, but allow us to pursue our passions.

Speaking of nutrition! If we were having coffee today, I’d also tell you that I have been working on free meal plans to share with you! When I asked people what they wanted from Askew Nutrition & Fitness, the #1 request was MEAL PLANS. While I’m not a huge fan of just pushing meal plans at people, I do think it would be helpful to have some samples out there so that you can see what a basic healthy week might look like. I hope to have them all completed in the next month and I’ll post them as free downloads on my services page, so stay tuned!

Each plan will include 3 meal ideas (with recipes), snack ideas, and a shopping list for the week. I say ideas because I want you to be able to use the meal plan as inspiration and not just as an end all be all, this is what I HAVE TO eat. There should always be room for the things you love when using a meal plan and I’ll go over that more when I post them.

I hope you’re all kicking your week off an a positive note and getting ready to kill it! If we were having coffee today, I’d ask all about what you’ve been up to so be sure to share with me in the comments below.