If You Love Someone...

(Coraline after her run/swim brick workout)

You don't HATE their guts, you Fix their guts.

IM training was taking it's toll on John but luckily I swooped in to save him with the BRATTY Diet. Click here to learn more.

Final push for IMLP - Week #2

Week 2 of our final push brought us to MA to visit SLB Norte and my family. It was awesome to see Sean and Jen AND I got to have a birthday party for my favorite mom. We had less control over our eating for this week because we were visiting people, but we still ate really well. We seem to end up on a Mexican food theme when we're training so much. Breakfasts and lunches were homemade but a few dinners were eaten at restaurants. I was lucky and my healthy Chef Mom cooked me some delicious gluten free meals with lots of veggies. My mom is also a holistic health counselor and it was nice to be taken care of. My favorite meals of hers were:

- grilled portabella, veggie risoto and salad
- brown rice pasta with broccoli, garlic and shrimp

Training continued to rock on. I didn't swim in MA, which was fine because I would be ending my week on an island. Then things started to get challenging... I did my long run once we got to Block Island and my big toe turned blue! It was something that started the week prior during my long run but I tried to ignore it. It's just badly bruised. It kept me from getting in one last ride for the week because I can barely put my foot into a shoe. Boo :(

John made the PERFECT training plan for my final push. It's perfect because its more of a training MENU than a training PLAN. I had a bunch of other responsibilities to tend to during this trip, including: work/clients, my family visit, and supporting John (which I am stoked to be doing). By having a list of things to choose from and being able to arrange and rearrange my schedule in a checklist fashion, I'm more likely to keep plugging away and get things done. When I showed John my blue toe and told him it hurts too much to put a shoe on, he said to skip the ride I had planned yesterday and not to worry because he never expected me to do all of the workouts anyway. That would be crazy. I don't need to train THAT much for the results I want at IMLP :)

Here's the summary of Week 2:

Monday- 3k swim in the lake before leaving VT
Tuesday- 75 min run, 90 min ride
Wednesday- rest and work
Thursday- "Death Brick" 120 mile ride/30 min run
Friday- travel day and work
Saturday- 2.5 hr run (with a 1 hour walk in the middle bc I got lost)
Sunday- 3k swim

Totals:

swim- 6k
bike- 144 miles
run- 30 miles

total hours = 16 hrs 45 mins (much less than last week - stupid toe)

And now I'm onward with week 3! I'm excited but also starting to get sad to see it end. Training is my favorite part. I'm just gonna have to be like my dear friend and CREWmate Miss Murder and race every weekend so that I can train all the time.

(My blue toe - ouchie)

The Protein Question

(High protein saute of soyrizo, black beans, carrots and kale - to fill veggie tacos)

Lately, there seems to be a theme in the questions I'm receiving from clients and through my website. Common questions are: 1) "I'm trying to switch to a vegetarian/vegan diet... why don't I have any energy?" and 2) "Why am I feeling like everything is taking so much more effort?"

It's not always the case, but the answer for several people lately has been protein related. Of course there are a lot of factors that can lead to a "depleted" feeling, including over-training, calorie deficit, adrenal fatigue, stress, lack of sleep, etc.

Macro-nutrients (like carbs and protein) are needed for very specific reasons. Carbs help fuel your body to function, train and race. Protein helps repair and rebuild your muscles to keep them in working order. If you think of it like owning a car, carbs are the gas you put in your tank and protein is the maintenance work, like an oil change. You need both to be in tip top shape. If you aren't getting enough protein you're not going to feel awesome. If you're not getting enough carbs you'll be dragging ass as well.

"Normal" or "average" americans get more than enough of both. As triathletes, we're neither of those things. We're nutso, type-A, health-obsessed freaks. I talk to people all the time who are calorie restricting or eating some type of an "extreme diet". If you think you might not be getting enough of one of these macro-nutrients you should talk to someone who can help. This can be a tough puzzle to solve because there are a lot of pieces to consider. I help my clients figure out their metabolic type and then look at lifestyle, activity level and of course, current diet.

As a general guideline, and as a jumping off point in assessing your needs, you can focus on getting a significant form of protein at each meal (including snacks). I'm talking to the athletes here... especially the vegetarians and vegans.

Vegetarian/vegan protein sources include:

- grains (especially quinoa)
- beans
- soy (including "transition" foods like soy milk, tofu, tempeh)
- nuts
- protein bars
- protein powders
- spirulina

Please feel free to email me for more info at christine@liveandeatbetter.com

Week #1 and VT to MA

Vermont was pure bliss. Everything about it was rejuvenating. Somehow the long hours of training even felt like they built me up on an emotional and spiritual level. I barely feel physically tired after a heavy week of training because life is just SO good. Everything we ate was prepared at home and eaten outside overlooking a gorgeous view. It was sometimes difficult to be disconnected from the outside world without internet, though we did have our bberries, but it was also part of what made it feel so cleansing.

And now we're in MA where its back to balancing work, family and training. Its harder to get the workouts in but also nice to spend time with family. And yes, I have plenty of work to do... but I LOVE the work that I do :)

Here is a quick list of some clean and yummy meals from week 1:

Breakfasts-

papaya with yogurt and granola


huevos rancheros (eggs, beans, veggies on soft corn tortillas)


gluten free mickey mouse waffles with eggs and fruit



Lunches-

hummus and veggie wraps/ sandwiches
veggie burgers and salad
Hammer nutrition (when we trained through lunch)

Dinners-

gluten free pasta with tomato sauce, veggie meatballs and broccoli
veggie hotdogs with sweet potato wedges and sauteed kale
veggie burgers with arugula salad
tofu sauteed with sesame kale and baked sweet potato
taco night with black beans, soy chorizo, kale and avocado

Dessert-

watermelon
chocolate hemp shake

And here is a glance of my training from week 1:

Monday- 45 min run, 2.5k swim, 45 min run
Tuesday- "Death Brick" 4 hour ride/ 2 hour run
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- 2.5 hour ride, 2.5k swim, yoga
Friday- 45 min run, 2.5k swim
Saturday- 2.5 hour run (18 miles at an 8:23 pace!)
Sunday- 4 hour mountain ride, 4k swim

(John at the top of one of the climbs)

Totals:

swim- 11.5k
bike- 140 miles
run- 44 miles

total hours = 21

I AM GETTING SO PUMPED FOR IMLP!!!

IMLP Final Push - Clean Eating in VT

One thing that John and I LOVE about training in VT is that its easy to eat super clean. We were here in May and we had a great training camp... partially because its amazingly beautiful, but also because we ate the perfect diet to support our training. Now we're back. Vermont is our first stop for our final push training camp for IMLP. John calls it "Ironmonk", which used to mean:

1) no girls
2) minimal distraction
3) clean eating
4) no girls

I told him if he left me for three weeks I might be married to someone else by the time he gets back, so he decided to invite me along to support him as his "personal assistant". Plus, I'm training a ton. I'm stoked because I love cooking and preparing healthy foods, I love supporting my triathlon man, and I love training. I also get to work from wherever we are. Its perfect, really.

So... what does perfect clean eating for a pro ironman and a holistic health nut look like? It's tons of veggies, clean and minimally processed vegetarian protein, just enough healthy carbs and very low sugar (when not training). The key here is simplicity. We aren't going to put time into making everything from scratch while we're both training so much. Instead, we found a store with a great health food section and we read our labels diligently. The less ingredients, the better. Our shopping list looked something like this:

- bananas, apples, papaya, pears, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, oranges, mango, watermelon
- broccoli, spinach, arugula, kale, beet greens
- cucumbers, carrots, corn, peppers, yams
- veggie burgers, veggie "meatballs", tofu, eggs, beans, tofu dogs, hemp shake, peanut butter
- brown rice, rice and bean pasta, gluten free bread, pumpernickel bread, healthy wraps
- puffins, granola, yogurt, gluten free pancake mix, real maple syrup, oat milk, soy milk, 53x11 coffee
- sesame oil, olive oil, umeboshi vinegar, turbinado sugar

This is everything we're eating. None of our meal prep takes more than 30 mins. I'll be posting some pics and meal ideas in the next few days... stay tuned to see how easy it is to eat healthfully while training yourself half to death :)

(My Loves both icing in the lake after a long trail run)

More Rev 3 Pics

Me givin' some love to my #1 training bud

Headed out on the bike

Go Team HFWT (and CREW)

Rev3 Weekend of Mayhem

(Me and Phil at White Pond)

I arrived at HFWT on Friday and Phil and I immediately headed to White Pond for a beautiful swim. Then I got in a fight with a dog. The doggie was super cute so I wanted kisses. We were playing and it mouthed at me (in a playful way) but it was a puppy and my lip got cut open. I thought it wasn't a big deal until I talked or smiled and saw that I clearly needed to be stitched up. I got 5 stitches, though the needle to numb it was the worst part. Doctor's orders were "No swimming". But honestly, this weekend for me was about being with my friends and having a great time. That's what triathlon is for me. It's Phil and Kate and the rest of the CREW. I love training and racing, but I love it because of them.

(My pretty lip. Now I'm like Sally from Nightmare Before Xmas)

Then I did the math... a 70.3 minus the swim is a 69.1. I could totally do that! So at race reg I cleared it with the director and was allowed to jump in after the swim for a "catered training day". I actually had a great time! I LOVE spectating and I got to see my friends finish their swim, then I hopped on my bike and went for it. I was already DQ'd so I decided to play with some of my racing strategy. I would normally have a somewhat conservative bike for a good run but I decided to test myself on my bike this time. Who cares if I walk on the run?! It's just a training day. So I employed "The Strategy", which I can't talk about because its top secret. I CAN tell you that the first step to the strategy was to go to Strong Like Bull. I cut 35 minutes off my previous time for that bike course. I felt awesome.

My run started out great. I ran the first 4 miles at an 8 min pace and was holding back. Then I started to get sick from the antibiotic I had to take for my dog fight incident. I had to stop, walk, try to run, walk, dry heave, then run again. I decided to tough it out because I'm sure I'll feel terrible during IM at some point and this would toughen me up. I made it through with the slowest half-marathon time I've ever had... but I'm very happy with it!

(The new CREW kits and gear look super hot on Miss Murder... contact me to order some)

I can't say enough about Rev3. The bike course was gorgeous and the run course was the perfect run for me. I really wish I felt better because its the kind of course where I can fly past people the entire time with the rolling hills. I'm a strong "hill shuffler" and a FAST downhill runner. I can't wait to do the whole race next year! The post race food was impressive too. There were plenty of healthy choices for an almost vegetarian, wheat free athlete like me.

I also want to say congrats to my buddy, Bill Risch. This was his first HIM and also his longest swim (by far) without dying. He killed it! I'm psyched that he's hooked and he'll be joining us for more racing asap.

And lastly, I'd like to thank my sponsors. I couldn't have done this without you... HFWT, CrazyBitchWater and JohnHirsch.org. Love you guys!

***

I asked for guesses as to why I didn't swim. You guys think I'm such a badass :)

" @ceco911

@holisticguru I heard u had swimmies and got caught with one of those hidden motors on the bike. U got away with the robot legs though"

" @tallgirlky

@holisticguru hmmm, two guesses: You wore a superfast, yet illegal, wetsuit? Your swimsuit was so cute, it was declared illegal!"

" @Ironmanjay

@holisticguru DQ'd for doping on whole foods and gaining a energy advantage on the compatition. Oh yea, then kicking the head ref u kno where"

" @TexasDevin

@holisticguru I heard you were DQ'ed because you lost your cool and punched an official in T2. Is this true? :)"

"@ dylmcnic

@holisticguru my guess is that you have no respect for the courage wolf."

" @romsfou

@holisticguru That sucks. They did not like your pocahontas look? ;-)"

" @bryanhammer

@holisticguru some kind of HTFU game gone wrong? wanted to take it easy on the competition and give someone else a chance to win the AG?"

"@DollarBillRS

@holisticguru you kicked a race official while doing a pas de chat"

"@austinslide

@holisticguru I'm gonna go with three guesses a) you forgot your wetsuit b) the organizers decided you were too awesome to swim c) you forgot how to swim :)"