Testing, testing, 123...

Hello out there!  So I've decided to venture into this big bad world of blogging. 

You might be asking yourself why Melnic?  Well, most of my family calls me Melnic along with some friends.  It all started when my cousin Jess was calling me by my first and middle names and then BAM!  Melnic was born. 

So a little bit about me... I work in Higher Education, putting my Political Science Degree to good use (sarcasm), I do really enjoy my job though. It's a great fit for where I'm at in my life right now.  Let's see, I just started triathlons this summer and absolutely love it!  I did five in total, Mooseman Olympic, Black Fly International, Black Fly Sprint, Timberman 70.3 and Wallis Sands Sprint.  All of them were so much fun. I've met so many people in training and racing. 

My first love, of course, is the Dave Matthews Band.  This summer was the first summer since 1997 I was not able to see them, big sigh.  They did not do a normal tour, instead a caravan consisting of four music festivals.  All four fell on weekends that were a weekend before a race or the weekend of the race.  I can't even begin to tell you of all the great friends I've met while going to see DMB.  They all know who they are.

I enjoy good beer, which is not on my nutrition plan (see below).   I'm trying to have less of it.  My favorite brewery so far is hands down Laguinitas out of California.  Little Sumpin' Sumpin' is a hoppy deliciousness.  It's pure bliss.

I'm also a huge lover of food, who doesn't love to eat?  Yesterday was National Pumpkin Day and I found a delicious pumpkin smoothie recipe online -- courtesy of Lava Magazine.  Here it is with a few tweaks:

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
Ice

skim milk or water -- I like my smoothies extra thick, similar to a Frappe, so I use very little milk. 
1 stalk celery -- just another place to get some veggies!
1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie mix, although it is tempting!)

1 tbsp ground flax seeds -- great health benefits
dash of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of ginger
small piece of dark chocolate (optional) -- antioxidents!

With this recipe, it brings me to my diet I'm trying to follow -- http://www.thecorediet.com/   Man, is it tough!  This is in conjuction with me starting training with http://www.qt2systems.com/   In past years while training on my own for half marathons and a full, I've always just taught myself and learned from others around me.  After Timberman 70.3 (actually the week before), I decided I needed to hire a coach.  Now, I have a coach I can ask questions at any time and I have a training schedule to follow.  No longer are the days of just winging it.  QT2 includes heart rate zones -- annoying!  I've never trained with a heart rate monitor before, and has it been a struggle!  It takes so much patience, and patience and me do not go together.  I'm a mission plan athlete which means I get my whole training plans up front and can view the entire thing at once.  My next plan starts this Monday October 31, I'm uber ecstatic and cannot wait to see what's in store for me over the winter months, especially snow shoe racing which I started up last winter.  Talk about a fun time!  This particular plan will take me through the first week in April for a half marathon, which will be a great set up for tri season!