Wordless Wednesday is meant to be a simple post which features a photo to convey a message that speaks for itself without using words; well not a lot of words!

This past weekend I competed in my 4th triathlon. As I said on my Facebook wall “I didn’t drown and I didn’t come in last”. Success! This was the final chapter in my Go Green Get Fit Challenge which launched back in June. I worked on eating well all summer and worked hard at keeping up with my fitness routine. It wasn’t always easy, but overall I feel great.

I do this tri every year with my husband. We are in different waves -the men and women start at different times. We woke up at 5:00 am, which is unheard of in this house. Our kids had slept at a friends house so we just had to rally ourselves that morning. It was 50 degrees and I could see my breath. I tried not to think about it since I knew the first leg of the race was the swim.

I needed coffee and I don’t drink coffee.

This was the lake right before we got in.

I was shivering even in a wet suit. Don’t we look pretty in swim caps and goggles?

Ready, set, go. Can you find me? I can’t.

My husband’s wave finishes before mine, but he always jumps back into the race to finish that last lap with me.

At the end of the race plastic water bottles are handed out to everyone. Recycling bins were nowhere to be found. Maybe I missed them? I’ll have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Overall is was an amazing experience. My husband rocked it and our friend was a top finisher. We call him superman because he is.

Now it’s time to start training all over again for next year!

Have you ever competed in a race? Any races in your future?

Big thank you to Suzanne for documenting the day and being our one woman cheerleading squad. Thoughts go out to our friend BC who missed the race. You were missed and we are thinking of you.

Linked up with Better in Bulk, I Thought I Knew Mama, Dagmar’s Momsense, The Progressive Parent, Live and Love Out Loud.

I have been shooting videos a lot over the past year. You haven’t seen any of them because I shoot the video and that’s where it ends. The editing piece just doesn’t happen. Until now.

Finally, (with the help of many) I have my first Groovy Green Livin video production! I was inspired to create a video for the Go Green Get Fit Challenge as a way to motivate all of us to get fit and stay fit. I signed on to the challenge with a group of 25+ remarkable green bloggers. Throughout the summer I’ve shared with you my trials and tribulations with barefoot running and I am working hard to reach my fitness goals before my triathlon on September 16, 2012.

Sandy Morvillo, the Group Fitness Director at Summit Health & Fitness shares her three top tips for keeping fit.

How do you stay fit?

Well, what do you think? More video?

Big shout out to Greg of Bedford TV and our awesome film crew, Avery.

Instructor Taking Exercise Class At Gym | Stock Photo © Monkey Business #4785373

As many of you know,  I’m participating in the Go Green Get Fit Challenge presented by PlanetShoes.com along with 30 other bloggers. We just kicked off the challenge a week or so ago and I’m amazed by the inspiration and motivation that everyone is sharing.  We are all entering this challenge from different places. Some of us have been exercising all along and have ramped up our goals and others are just beginning.  One of my favorite posts this week was by Mindfully Frugal Mom. She showed us how to practice yoga with 50lbs of dead weight on your back. Been there!

Hopefully you’ll be inspired to join in the fun and motivated to set your own fitness goals for the summer and beyond.

My week of fitness

This week I focused on mixing it up and did a lot of different fitness activities. I’m working towards a triathlon at the end of the summer so this week at the gym I did some weight training, kickboxing and a spinning class. The weather was gorgeous for part of the week so I was able to run and cycle outside. I also took a killer yoga class.

Healthy snacks

Part of  being green and fit is finding healthy snack foods . The supermarkets are filled with aisle after aisle of snack food choices. Snacking on the wrong foods can add unwanted calories and make you even hungrier when mealtime rolls around. Long term, unhealthy snacks can also lead to obesity in children and obesity-related chronic diseases as adults.

My podcast with Peace Love and Snacks

This week I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Stan over at Peace Love and Snacks (don’t you just love that name??).  Our discussion was all about healthy snacks. Click HERE if you’re interested in hearing the podcast.

One of my favorite snacks is popcorn. I found out that Stan has his very own cookbook called Peace Love and Snacks: Take Revenge Against Junk Food – Look and Feel Great Deliciously. The snacks have no processed sugar or flour, are gluten-free and are made from fruits, nuts, oats – only the good stuff.  Stan’s cookbook has a few more simple snacking ideas.  There are so many great granola recipes out there. Stan’s cookbook has several pages dedicated to granola-and I love that they’re all simple to make.

Here’s a teaser from Stan’s cookbook:

Nutmeg Chewy Granola

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. While the oven is preheating, chop up the almonds and pecans; put the chopped nuts in a bowl.
• Mix the honey, coconut oil, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.
• Spread out the oats in a Pyrex pan. Take the honey mixture and stir it into the oats, until the oats are covered. Once the oven is done preheating, put the pan of oats in the oven.
• While the oats are baking, put the raisins in the food processor and process into a paste.
• After 10 minutes of baking, open the oven and add the chopped pecans and almonds, stirring the contents around until all of the nuts are covered with the honey mixture.
• Bake for another 8 minutes, then stir. Bake for a final 8 minutes and remove the
• pan from the oven.
• Fold the oat and nut mix into the raisin paste; push on the mixture with the back of a spoon and slide across the pan, applying pressure on the mix. Once the raisin paste is completely incorporated into the oat and nut mix, push down and spread the mix across the bottom of the pan, then shape the mixture into a block about 1/2-inch thick.
• Cut into bars.
• Relax and enjoy your homemade awesome granola bars

Have a groovy green weekend! Have you set your fitness goals for the summer?

Photo © blasbike #3127923