Breakfast of Champions

So, in order to get myself in a positive frame of mind this morning for swim class, I decided to take some actions to warm my heart and put me in that "happy place"--which is hard to do at 5:15 am. One of the ways to get better at anything is to FEEL GOOD about what you're doing. If I get up every morning and dread practice, how am I going to get better? It's all about your conscious mind telling your subconscious mind what to do. I did a couple of things that made me feel warm and fuzzy...things I don't normally do before swim class. I actually started the coffee pot and had a warm cup o' joe on my way to the pool. Coffee just has a way of making me feel splendid! (who knew it was that easy?) I also had a 1/2 bagel with peanut butter and nutella...not a whole lot, but enough to taste the chocolatey decadence that nutella offers. Yes, I basically had dessert for breakfast. There's nothing that puts me in a better mood than having the equivalent of a Reese's Cup before a workout!

So I get to the pool and I'm feeling all kinds of full and happy as a result of my culinary feats of the morning. This all felt great until I got about midway through the warmup and my tummy started feeling a little "disturbed." I normally just have a few sips of water and 1/2 of a balance bar before hitting the pool. I'm definitely not used to the caffeine and sugar jolt that I granted myself in this new pre-dawn ritual :-)

At first, I thought, "Uh oh...you really did yourself in this time!" However, I eventually settled in, settled down and had a damn good workout.

I also had a damn good breakfast! Could this be my new pre-race ritual?
Forget about Kashi Go Lean Crunch. I'm all about nutella and coffee.

What next?? Cotton candy and Mountain Dew before Sunday's Columbus Marathon?

(just kidding Kashi...I could never leave you)