Rev 3 Portland Half-Ironman PR!

(A celebratory brew for a Rev3 Joy Ride PR)

Portland was a kick-ass trip. We stayed with CREW's Annie and her hubby, Jimmy. They were super fun to hang with, which we already knew from hanging with Annie at SLB.

The day before the race was the usual Rev3 party time. We had lots of friends to hang with and we got to watch some of the kiddy tri. I love that Rev3 is such a family friendly event. We cheered, said goodnight to our bikes, then hit Portland for a bite to eat and some people watching. That night, Annie (she's incredibly competent) and I cooked a healthy pre-race dinner of brown rice pasta, veggie burgers and salad. Then there were surprise gluten free cupcakes, which of course, made me drop a giant F bomb.

I wasn't nervous about the race because I'm taking a "sure, why not?" approach to racing this year. I was excited to be there for Annie's FIRST HALF-IRONMAN and to see John on the new ERC bike and to check out another Rev3 race (my favorites). Just total blissful enjoyment. Yay!

(Dear ERC bike, Someday you will be MINE.)

Race morning was the usual... the cool people all forgot at least one thing. For me, it was my water bottles, for Annie it was deodorant. No big. I was VERY excited for my first race in my new Xterra wetsuit, and as Annie and I were suiting up, the announcer said "it's like suicide girls of triathlon!" Then he said, "I saw you and your Team Continuum roll in here yesterday with your tattoos and mohawks and thought 'there's my people'". So that got us pumped!

(Suicide girls in wetsuits. Sizzle.)

I got to watch the pros swim start, then my wave got in the water. There was enough time that *just before* our wave went off I got to see John exit the water. I knew he had a great swim because he came out in the top half of the pros and he tried to bite the underwater camera on his way out. DREAMY!!! And I was off! My new wetsuit felt super flexy compared to my old one, plus my new wetsuit energy (NWE) gave me confidence to stay with a big group and get beat up while I swam. I finished in 39 minutes, which is exactly 5 minutes faster than I was at Rev3 Quassy. Was it my new wetsuit or my swim training? (hint: I have swam, like once, since Quassy). Swim PR for me!

The bike was an out and back that we did twice. It was super flat, and I'm bad at courses where I can't use my ant-like strength to weight ratio for climbing. This was a test for me, to see how I could push. It was beautiful with floating houses, a lake and mountains. My favorite part was that I got to spectate WHILE I raced. I knew where John was at all times! I loved that. The course was windy, like College Station, Texas but I toughed it out for a 20 minute bike PR. I'm still weakest on the bike but I'm definitely getting stronger.

Then it was time to run! My favorite (yes, I play favorites). It was a mix of trails and road running, while still having the perfect view for spectating. I counted girls as I passed them and recognized most kits from when they passed me on the bike. Only one (count them, 1) girl passed me but I caught her in the last 1/4 mile and beat her to the finish. And wouldn't ya know it... a half-marathon PR!!! (I'm pretty sure).

(SimplyStu got to have his photo taken with me)

What a day! When I finished John was waiting for me, the girl of his dreams, at the finish. We hung out with the CREW and got ready to cheer Annie in. I knew she was having a killer race because she was all smiles out there every time I saw her!

Congratulations to Annie for an outstanding HIM debut! You can read her race report here.

(Annie's family made a super cool sign)

And now we have a giant CREW headed up to Rev3 SC. Life is the sweetest! Join us!

#i8this Summer Eating - Winner #3!

And our third #i8this photo contest winner is @gardenTRI with his Watermelon Gazpacho. I bet its the perfect dish for a super hot day and I can't wait to try it!

Watermelon Gazpacho

- 6-8 cups of thickly cut, seed free watermelon

- 1 cucumber, diced

- 1 orange bell pepper, finely diced (green or yellow will work, do not use red)

- ¼ cup Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar

- 2 TBSP Chile Infused Olive Oil ( or regular olive oil and a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes)

- Bunch of flat leaf parsley, for garnish finely diced (optional)

- Salt and Pepper to taste

1 – Place watermelon, ½ of the cucumber, ½ of the bell pepper, oil and vinegar in a large bowl.

2 – Put 2-3 cups of the mixture at a time in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

3 – Once everything has been pureed, stir in remaining cucumber and bell pepper and correct salt and pepper.

4 – If your texture is more like a paste than a soup stir in 2 TBSP of Bragg’s Cider Vinegar at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Chill for at least 2 hours to let the flavors combine and enjoy! No need for any crunchy garnish, the bell pepper takes care of that.

#i8this Summer Eating - Winner #2!

And the second winner of the food/photo contest is @Libationguy with his Golden Beet Salad with Fennel, Celery and Citrus Marinade! I'm sure the photo doesn't do it justice, but people were asking for the recipe when it was posted. You can find the recipe here.

And @Libationguy wins a free consult with me. A prize! Yay!

Let's see more photos people! Today is the last day to win a free nutrition consult with me! (not that that would be the only reason to play along).

#i8this Summer Eating - Winner #1!

Lots of people chimed in for the #i8this challenge yesterday. I love going through all the photos because I get ideas for new things I can't wait to cook! Its also pretty cool to see which foods are trending. Yesterday everyone was using avocados!

Druuuuuum rooooollllll...

And yesterday's photo contest winner is @anniezanolli with her simple and pretty and delicious looking Herb Salad with Grilled Tofu:

Annie's Grilled Tofu Salad

Jimmy wanted burgers last night, so I threw this salad together from what I had in the fridge and pantry.

Mixed greens w/ dill and cilantro

Canned artichoke hearts

Canned chickpeas

Black Olives

Avocado

Extra firm tofu - I used italian herb flavor

Tessemae's Lemon-Garlic Dressing (http://www.tessemaes.com/) - or olive oil, lemon juice and a little crushed garlic

Press the tofu to remove as much liquid as possible. Lightly coat with oil then throw it on a hot grill. Grill ~ 5 min per side (don't move it around much so you get nice grill marks!).

Put it all in a pretty bowl, top with salad dressing and enjoy!

*****

I also have to share another awesome food photo from yesterday, Vegan Rustic Pizza by @selil:

#i8this Summer Eating Challenge! You might even win a free consult with me!

(Here's where I'm hanging this weekend. Check out that view!)

Okay you buncha show-offs!!! It's time for the next #i8this Challenge! This time we're going to be sharing photos of our Summer food. Some of us are celebrating a holiday weekend, but even if you're not, you should be celebrating life and yummy food. I don't care if you're posting photos of healthy food or junk. Just jump in and play!

#i8this Summer Food Ideas:

- Show off your grill skillz! If you're out there slaving over your hot grill anyway, we want to see what you're making. Fa shizzle!

- Set a healthy goal. Do you want to clean up your diet? Are you trying to eat less processed foods? Tell us what your focus is. *Tip: choose only 2-3 specific things to focus on so that you can keep track. I call these action steps.

- Are you tapering for a race? I will be! Share photos of what you eat during your taper.

#i8this is AWESOME because we get lots of motivation and ideas for ways to add more variety to our diet. We also get a sneak peak of what everyone else is putting in their pie holes.

How do you play?

It's easy! You're gonna eat anyway, right? So from July 2nd - July 5th just take a photo and:

a) post it on Twitter using the hashtag #i8this
b) post your photo on Facebook and link to the #i8this facebook page. Don't forget to become a fan!
c) blog! And be sure to tell us to check it out. You can use the comment section here to link to your blog
OR
d) all of the above

Click here and here for past #i8this challenges.

*** As an added bonus I'm going to choose one photo per day to share on my blog, along with the recipe, for everyone to see! That person will also get a FREE phone consultation with me. That's one person per day for 4 days, 4 people get FREE consults! Aren't I generous? To enter to win, just tweet your photo using the #i8this hashtag. If you're not using twitter and you want your photo to be considered, just comment on the blog with your link.

Who's with me???

How to Eat Like a Pro During Your Taper

(I made my Rev3 Quassy tattoo even cooler!)

With high training volume comes high caloric intake, and honestly, isn't that one reason why we love being endurance athletes during a training push? "Ugh. I've only had 2,5oo calories today. I still need to get another 1,500 by the end of the day!" The trick is to focus on well-balanced macro nutrients that adjust according to your training phases. This will help you preserve your precious "race weight" AND with the right food choices you can use your taper as an opportunity to get closer to that number you're obsessing over.

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I'm going to use John as my example because he's dreamy. John is in the third week of his final push for IMLP. His current diet is comprised of high calories, high protein, well-timed carbs and coffee. A typical day looks like this:

Wake up - COFFEE - then get out of bed

Breakfast - whole grain cereal, toast with peanut butter and jelly, or fruit with peanut butter (pretty light breakfast unless its before a long ride)

Workout #1 - calories from Heed and Hammer gels, apples and bananas (if riding)

Recovery meal - omelet with spinach and cheese, yam or whole grain toast (like Men's bread), COFFEE

Workout #2 - same as above, depending on S, B or R

Snacks - protein based (hemp shakes, protein bars, hummus with bread and veggies, etc) and COFFEE

*Lunch often happens while training with training foods and pb&j and COFFEE

Dinner - ALWAYS with whole grains from brown rice, brown rice pasta, quinoa, etc/ also high protein from vegetarian sources like beans, tofu, tempeh and lentils/ usually homemade/ generously large portions

Dessert - Protein shake with chocolate, peanut butter and banana

Two things that John does really well when it comes to fueling for high volume training:

1) He times his macro-nutrients very thoughtfully
2) He prioritizes vegetables, especially leafy greens

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When the taper begins (Saturday, July 2nd for our subject) there will be a major shift in this diet. This is the time that you can see your "race weight" numbers balancing out... IF you are thoughtful about your diet. John will focus on the following:

1) Remove dairy products completely in order to avoid asthma symptoms on race day.

2) Lower total caloric intake to reflect the drastic reduction in training hours and calories burned. This can be done without calorie counting by focusing on smaller portions, adding more fruits and vegetables, switching to lower glycemic index carbs, and PLANNING AHEAD.

3) Coffee detox. Yes. He will slowly wean himself off of coffee for a few days and then stop drinking it until race morning. The benefit is that you feel a greater energy boost from caffeine after not having it for a couple of weeks. The drawback is that you will want to die and you will be highly unpleasant. It's a great way to learn who your true friends are because once the fog clears you'll see them still standing there, making fun of your sorry state.

4) Promote nutritional healing by using mealtimes as opportunities to load up on nutrients. When you're training for hours and hours, day after day, your body is working hard to keep you healthy and repair the damage you are causing. Your taper is a great time to treat food as medicine to boost your immunity and repair your muscles.

5) Choose carbs with a lower glycemic index.

Finally, I'm not racing IMLP but I am going to use this taper schedule to refocus on healthy goals. Stay tuned for the Mid-Summer #i8this Challenge...

Cajun Kale Salad is So Very Pretty

I wanted to try something fun with some kale the other night, so I whipped out this recipe. You're gonna love it. It's pretty.

Cajun Kale Salad

4 ears sweet corn, shucked
¾ pound kale (about 6 cups, chopped)
1 large red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 small Vidalia onion or red onion, minced
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
1 to 1 ½ teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix or to taste
sea salt to taste

Cajun Spice Mix (or use an already mixed mix):
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (optional)

1. To cook corn, bring 2 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Add corn. Cook for 5 minutes until bright yellow. Remove corn from water with a slotted spoon, saving a cup of the cooking liquid. Cool corn and cut kernels off the cobs. Place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Wash kale and strip the leaves off the stalks. Discard stalks and chop kale leaves into medium-fine pieces. Bring saved cooking liquid to a boil, add chopped kale leaves, and cook for 4 minutes, or until kale is tender and still bright green. Remove from cooking liquid with a slotted spoon to a large plate to cool quickly.
3. To prepare Cajun Spice Mix, combine paprika, peppers, allspice, thyme, and white pepper in a small bowl or dish.
4. When kale has cooled, toss with the corn, red pepper, green pepper, onion, garlic, and desired amount of Cajun Spice Mix.
5. Just before serving, sprinkle on the lemon juice for a nonfat salad, or whisk together the lemon juice and the olive oil and toss with the vegetables. Season with a pinch of sea salt.

(Recipe from Greens Glorious Greens by Johnna Albi)