Journey of a TriAthlete part 1; They made me do it!

They made me do it! I am referring to my friends and family who talked me into signing up for a triathlon. I have always been a wishful dreamer, wanting some day to have completed such an event. Although difficult to admit, such a common and abused excuse, life seemed to get in the way. No more excuses. I have paid for my entry fee for a triathlon in September 2012 in Oceanside, CA. Now I start training! It’s an Olympic distance, which is not too long. I expect the ocean to be cold so I have acquired a wetsuit. I like swimming and biking, though running seems to strain the joints. Before starting training I felt I lacked the energy to really participate in a race that will require physical exertion for at least 2-3 hours. So I went back to one of my old main-stays, the green drink.

I immediately felt better. I went from having barely enough desire to walk a mile, to running straight for one hour within a week after starting just once daily green drinks. My wife tried it also and felt, within just a couple of days, so much more energy in her workouts and daily activities.

Our green drink recipe is made for two. Once weekly, Julie and I go to the store and by all the supplies for our green drink. We buy organic as often as we can and of course only fresh produce. We cut up all the fruit and divide it into zip-lock containers or baggies. When we make the smoothie we dump the container of fruit in the blender and then add all of the fresh vegetables before blending in our Vita-Mix blender until extremely smooth.

GREEN DRINK RECIPE

• The fruit portion for our green drinks for the week includes the following, you can portion the fruit as you would like, according to your taste and preference:
• 1 pineapple
• 5-6 apples (sometimes we get them already diced)
• strawberries
• peeled lemon (1/3 in a single smoothie)
• celery (1-3 stalks per smoothie)
• spinach (2 cups per smoothie)
• kale (2-3 leaves per smoothie)
• I also add some fresh peeled ginger
• 1 tbsp of flax or fish oil
• 1 scoop per smoothie of Greens First Berry/Red Alert or Greens First (this just gives it an anti-oxidant super push).
• Blend until smooth and enjoy the extra energy in just a few days.

I will continue blogging on my TriAthlon Journey, mostly for the enjoyment (laughter) of those same friends and family who convinced me to do this in the first place. I know in the end, I will have enjoyed the whole process. (Fingers crossed!)

Read part 2 of Dr. Porter’s journey