About

I’m a 29-year-old working a full-time desk job and living with my fiance.  I try to balance my love of baking, bread and delicious food with athletic improvement and healthy living.

Background

I love food.  It basically all starts with that.  Initially I wasn’t all that interested in cooking or baking so much as I was interested in the ability to have rice pudding any time I wanted to.  Unfortunately the acquisition of my own kitchen in which to experiment and expand my delicious food-making abilities coincided with my transition from a relatively active college lifestyle to a full time sedentary desk job.  I gained a little weight, but mostly I just felt like crap.  I was tired but had horrible insomnia, and felt depressed, moody and unmotivated most of the time.  I went backpacking and nearly wrecked my knees because my joints were so weak.  I had never been athletic or even a very regular exerciser but I knew I had to make a change.

In December of 2006, I picked a local triathlon to train for, although I didn’t sign up until the last possible minute.  Part of me was convinced that someone like me would never be able to do something like that.  But following a training plan with a goal in mind completely changed my outlook on exercise and on my own capabilities.  I had a blast at the race, and by then I was already hooked on the process of training, both for the physical benefit and the soothing rhythm of daily and weekly planning.

Now I can’t imagine not exercising, and I’ve become one of those loathsome overachievers who gets antsy after a single rest day.  I’m simply not and will never be a food purist, but I’ve also come to the bitter realization that it’s probably not the healthiest to bake cookies and cake every night, even if I am training 10 hours a week.  My overall goal and philosophy is to find a balance between expanding my baking, cooking and eating horizons while maintaining good nutrition for athletic performance and improvement.