The Post-Ironman Bender

Ocean View from my bike ride

There are few things in life that are better than the post-Ironman bender... until you are so stuffed with doughnuts, caramel corn, homemade hot fudge, ice cream, and chocolate cake and suddenly find yourself at a bar taking shots, drinking sangria and wonder if you've suddenly reverted back to your college ways and all that's needed is a packet of Easy Mac and chopped up hot dogs to complete the picture - and you hope that fruits, veggies, exercise start calling your name so you can return to a semblance of your regularly scheduled routine.

But everyone needs a departure from routine once in awhile, especially after a hard effort, and an opportunity to indulge in treats.  It's departures like these that rejuvenate and refresh and recharge your batteries so you feel ready to get back to your usual training.  I figure if you eat Dunkin' Dounuts munchkins to the point of never wanting to see another one again, it's a successful bender and you won't mind going back to fruits and veggies.

After loading up the car with multiple bags of kettle cooked chips, a 1.5 foot long hoagie, and a giant bag of Mini Eggs, we were on our way to Cape Cod for a few days to visit my Uncle Charlie and Aunt Karen.  When I was a kid, they would have all of the cousins down for a week at their house every summer.  It was every child's dream - right on a lake, next to a bike path that led directly to a general store with penny candy, multiple trips to the beach, etc, etc, etc. Mr. Sweetie and I had a great trip to "Camp Beggs" as adults - complete with bike rides, trips to the beach, Four Seas ice cream, and visits with family.  And lobster.  Lots of lobster.  I slept a ton and slept hard - probably the result of a combination of post-IM fatigue and fresh ocean air.  It was perfect.  I read books (need to catch up if I have any hope of reading the goal 50 books this year).  I baked.  Charlie and I demolished the bag of Mini Eggs.  We took the boat out towards Nauset beach and I had my eyes peeled for sharks since Great Whites have been hanging out in the area (I opted NOT to go swimming at this beach since there were seals.  Don't want to be mistaken for a seal).  THANK YOU Charlie and Karen for an awesome vacation, we can't wait to come back next year!  I'll be sure to bring more Mini Eggs for you Charlie!

See that shark bait right there??

Pushing off, hoping not to get swamped.  Always an adventure boating with Charlie.

We made a little tour of our favorite places on Cape Cod during our stay.  Mr. Sweetie and I got married in Centerville almost 6 years ago, at the church right down the street from my grandmother's house, so we stopped by to wave hello to the church on our way to visit my grandma and go to lunch with her.  And teach her how to use her brand new cell phone (can I tell you I almost fell off my chair when Grandma told me she bought a cell phone).  My next goal is to get her to text.  

Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Centerville

I slyly took this picture of Grandma and I

 We stopped by Four Seas Ice Cream shop (otherwise known as: Home of the Best Ice Cream and Hot Fudge on Earth).  Four Seas ice cream was the very first stop we made as a newly-married couple (much to my mother's chagrin and worry that I'd spill ice cream on my wedding dress).  Four Seas is a Cape Cod staple - everything is homemade, from the hot fudge to the multiple flavors of ice cream.

After Cape Cod, I spent the weekend in NYC with my friend from high school, Kim.  We had a fantastic time catching up and she showed me a good time in the city.  Oh lord, I even found myself doing shots at a bar (tame, girly shots, of course - and I drank plenty of water to combat any of the effects).  Sunday morning I was brought back to reality by a Training Peaks e-mail letting me know that Monday was back to the grind with my regularly scheduled swimbikerun workouts.

Hehe, speaking of workouts, prior to today, the only sweating I did was an easy bike ride around Harwich and Chatham on the Cape and a two mile run that had a quick jump into the ocean thrown in the middle of it.

Bender is mostly over.  There are still remnants of chocolate (hey, I can't leave a container of chocolate frosting to rot in the fridge, that would be a crime), but at least there's some swimming and biking and running mixed back in as a counterbalance.