Oh...I hurt!!

It's not what you think...I hurt NOT because of my leg. The leg is good and thankgoodness I can complain about something BESIDES my leg!!
I have a blister. Yes, I am complaining about my blister. Out of all my endurance races (2 Ironmans, 2 70.3 racess, Boston marathon, Miami marathon) and all my sprint distance tri's I never forget the blisters. I just got new shoes so I had to break them in. I switch from Mizuno's and Brooks so I am on a new pair of Pink Mizuno Wave Riders. This morning after my spin class I jumped on the treadmill for some intervals. After a 10 min-warmup I did a set of 5 min hard, 5 min easy, 4 hard, 4 easy, etc. which gave me a total of 6.5 miles. The "hard" was only 7.5 but I am totally cool with that. I haven't been wearing my heart rate monitor because I need to judge my effort by how my leg feels. Right now my leg feels good so I just see what I can sustain without feeling the burn. Not quite ready to feel the lactate yet but I can tell today's workout was just what I needed. I got off the treadmill and was spent. I liked that feeling but my blister is all I can think about now. I am super sore from yesterday's plyo workout and now I am trying to gather myself to be alert for my class at 11am. Karel and I were both hobbling around this morning and as I was leaving for my spin class at 5am he was getting himself ready for 5x10 min at LT. Ouch! When I came home from my workout we were both moving pretty slow. The cat ran out and neither one of us wanted to catch her. She enjoyed the grass and I will probably pay for it later when I am cleaning up her throw up :)
Ok, off I go. I'm feeling sandals this morning because of my blister and I'm thinking nothing nice in terms of clothes. Lounging around today for two classes and lots of studying. Ahhh...so good to be back with training. I'll complain about blisters any day..over my leg!

For your viewing...

As mentioned in previous posts, Karel and I do plyometrics twice a week. Most of the exercises are on a BOSU or step bench but we also do plyo's in a gym (basketball court) with no equipment. I really believe in plyo's for improving power and there is nothing like a 30 min. high intensity workout of plyo sets to get your heart rate going.
I came across this website which has great visual aids of plyo's. Karel and I mostly do exercises which involve jumping but you can check out all the different plyo's from lower body, to upper and medicine ball.

Plyometric exercises

After reading about plyo's also check out the links under "are plyo's really that effective?" to see the examples. We usually warm-up with a 10 min run on the treadmill and then do 2-3 sets of 2-3 plyo exercises. We do the 3 different plyo's which last 45 sec - 1 min (I do 45 min before I pass out and karel usually does 15 sec more than me) and rest about 1 minute. There are plenty of exercises out there so browse around on the net for other exercises. I am working on a video for BT.com for a plyometric workout so I will let you know when I am finished with that.

Also, Karel and I watched a fantastic movie last week. It is called Fast Food Nation and it is a big eye opener. I am not saying it will make you become a vegetarian but it is a great documentary-like movie. I had the book from some years past and when I saw this movie on HBO on demand, I just had to watch it with Karel. It was really well done and I recommend watching it to learn about our fast food industry. It isn't like Super Size me where it talks about the nutritional value (or lack thereof) in fast food but Fast Food Nation depicts how some industries are run by immigrants (or below minumum wage workers) which are not respected, how the meat you are eating is really made and how companies will do almost anything to make $$.

Fast Food Nation

Click on trailors and clips and you can watch the promo.

Monday morning and already tired...

The week has officially started and the weekend is officially over. After my BT.com chat last night (which was absolutely great...what wonderful questions people had!) I had trouble falling alseep. I was up pretty late (10:30) so I slept in a bit until 6:45am (no alarm). Ahhhh, monday's are so nice. Not sure when people take a day off from training but I call them recovery monday's and no alarm is set and I just do whatever my body feels like doing. Sometimes I don't need a full day off to recover (I'm not quite sure what I am recovering from right now with my training routine :) but it is nice to get a little extra sleep every now and then. Last monday Karel and I went for an evening jog (yes, Karel can run...fast!) so that was enjoyable. Sometimes we take a walk in the morning or I will go for an easy 1500-2000 swim at the Y. As for this morning, it was 45-degree's out and I went for a 30 min. walk. The walk lasted about 15 minutes since walking is a bit too slow for me if I am not on a treadmill on an incline, so the walk turned into a jog. It is so nice to be able to just pick up the pace with my legs and jog. 2 months ago I wished I could move my legs fast enough to call it a jog...without that stupid limp or a nagging pain in my groin. Oh, I feel so happy that I am recovered. After the jog I got myself ready to head to John Chesnut park to train someone. Utlizing park benches and an open road, I can come up with great exercises to get the heart rate going. I brought my stretch cord today and I think her arms were burning a bit :) I am now in the library at St.pete college waiting for my Biology class at 11. Once again I will learn about cells and try not to think about how tired I am already. After class I will head home, grab something to eat, study and then head to the pool for coaching. Then to class one more time at 7-10 and my day will finally be over. As much as I wish it was the weekend, I actually like being busy and having a schedule. I think if I wasn't so busy I wouldn't be so disciplined. Plus, when I train/coach people I get so excited to offer my help that I just forget about all the things I have to do that day. Well, I better get going so I can get to class. I'm not too concerned that someone will take my desk in the front row (Yes, I am a nerd..even when I am 3-7 years older than most of the students I still sit in the front of the class :).
My best advice for a busy life (in order to not become stressed) is to just live day by day. So...enjoy the day and have a great Monday!

What a beautiful day!

The morning started out just wonderful. Dressed for a comfortable 50-degree morning run and not to my surprise, I should have dressed for the 65-degree temps when I returned home. Karel left early this morning for his hill ride in San Antonio and I was out the door soon after (around 7am). Feeling good when I wake up is a great thing and I can actually do the workout that I plan to do the night before. I ran 9.5 miles this morning at a slow 9 min/mile pace but that is ok. I am just fine with that. I think with my Ironman mentality, you can give me any destination to run to and with good running form, enough energy and no injuries I can keep running and running. The ironman really teaches you to "just make it" so you pick out light poles, streets or trees to run to and then you tell yourself it will be ok to stop or slow down. Do we ever stop or slow down??? Probably not, but the mental games really keep you going. This morning I didn't need any mental games. I had my radio and I just got in my zone and ran for an hour and 20 minutes. After a 45 mile ride yesterday my legs felt good but I still jumped on Blue for a little spin. I like to ride my run route after I run but it always seems to go by SOOOO slow on the bike compared to running. Kinda weird. After a great morning workout the day was looking beautiful outside but even with the windows open and a cool air keeping me awake, the studying was quite boring. I reviewed my medical terminology chapters and studied biology. Ever want to know the difference between a Eukaryotic and a Prokaryotic cell? Didn't think so. I have a super busy day tomorrow with personal training at the park in the am (I love training people outdoors!) then class, then home for lunch and studying, then to the pool for one-on-one swim coaching (love that too!!) and then class in the evening from 7-10. Boo. Tonight I have a meeting at the Y where I work and right after I have a beginner triathlete nutrition chat at 9pm. I get to answer people's nutrition questions in a chat room on BT.com. I just love the questions people ask me!
So I am seriously writing so that I don't have to look at my books anymore. Karel is outside washing his bike and I am hoping that he cleans mine as well (maybe if I put it by the door he will get the hint :) hehe. By the way, Karel did amazing at his training race. Without a warm-up due to rain, his team worked well together during the crit and although there was a 4-man breakaway, Karel won the sprint for his team and came in 5th. Great job Karel! I can't wait for future races..how exciting!

Morning Ride

I rode in the afternoon yesterday and after a week of not being on my bike, I was so happy to actually WANT to ride my bike. I rode Blue and with my new women's handlebars (which Karel put on) I feel really comfortable on my bike. With my old bars, it was kinda like having aerobars which are way too far apart and you just feel awkard when you ride. I just rode for about 28 miles and listened to my radio but it was a great way to finish off a Friday. I am almost all bundled up for the 50-degree temps out here in clearwater (i know, very sad how pathetic we are in the cold) and the tires are pumped up for a morning ride. I am planning to get a couple hours in of riding before I start studying for the day. Karel safely arrived in Jacksonville with 3 other guys from his team and this morning the team is training together before they head to Gainsville for the "training" race. I hope Karel really enjoys this first "training" race with a team. Only in Europe when he was racing for a Junior Elite team, he hasn't had the opportunity to ride with other teammates and have others working for you while you work for others. Karel's season officially starts in Feb/March and after that it is race after race almost every weekend until Oct (w/ a couple weekends off in the hot summer months).
I started putting together a training plan because I will be training for an event this year....I signed up for Ironman Florida 70.3 for the 3rd year in a row. I absolutely love that race and I knew if I was healthy and didn't sign up I would be sad. Now that I am 99% healed (self-diagnosed) I needed something to train for and keep me sane. After 4 months of just exercising and hoping to walk without pain (oh, and one Ironman in Kona :) hehe) I can finally get up in the morning and look forward to my workout instead of wondering if I will even be able to work out. Thank you all my blog readers for keeping me going through the last 4 months!!! I am very thankful that I have triathlon and sports nutrition enthusiasts who check out my blog to hopefully get motivated or become more educated.
I'm off to ride.....

Working out or training?

This morning Karel did a warm-up ride so I was without my plyometric partner at the Y. I was ready to get on my bike for a nice ride but the 48-degree weather and wind wasn't encouraging so I decided to go to the Y. As for working out I guess I am starting to train again. I don't have a training plan created yet but I feel like I'm starting to get more disciplined with the training (Rather than exercising). The running is going great! I'm not running fast but I am running. I did an easy 6 miles yesterday at an average pace of 7.1 mph. I was talking to another girl next to me about wedding's and triathlon's so I did a couple extra miles more than planned. This morning I did 5.8 miles with a 10 minute walk warm-up and 5 min warm-down. Again, the run was very comfortable and I even stepped up the speed to 7.2-7.8 mph (I did several intervals). Swimming is going well and I can tell I've been pushed a little harder by swimming with a few guys at the Clearwater Y on tues when I occasionally swim there. I just can't believe the changes in my running. I'd say once or twice a day I can feel something in my groin but it is nothing like before. I am just concious of it so I notice everything. Out of all the months and weeks of slowly building back into running, I could say that strengthening my adductors (where your leg goes towards your body), doing plyometrics, weight lifting (especially glute exercises) and walking before I run has helped the most. I will keep working on my speed as I slowly increase endurance and I hope I am not out of at least racing the local races this season. I think I'll get Seduza ready for a ride this weekend. I am missing her :( (yes, I talk about my bikes like people)
I was really glad to train this morning. Again I put on my favorite running shorts and I was ready to run and lift. After seeing Karel go out at 6am in the cold, I had great motivation to get my out of the door in the morning. Karel is heading to Jacksonville today to meet up with his team and on sat they all head to Gainsville for a "training" race. This is the first race that the team will ride together. As for me, I'll be home with the cat, studying away and starting to work on my training routine for the next couple of months. Since I have been really bad about writing on my blog this week (Being busy is no excuse for my blog readers) I hope to get lots of posts going this weekend :)
Enjoy the weekend!!

New Art

I wanted to show off our new art on our wall. Karel had been wanting to do something with our bikes for a while now and this took all of 10 minutes to put up the bike rack. It kinda makes you want to come in the room now. And even better, I have my bikes up as my winter bikes and summer bikes (Summer up on top). Karel is riding his cervelo right now and I think the pinarello will stay on the wall..since that is will always be his beauty. His colnago is the only bike that is missing in this room. If we get more bikes, the couch is going to go :)

Feeling Flat

I thought this cartoon was pretty appropriate since I am full of excuses right now :)
Karel and I were up at 6am on saturday morning. Waking up to wet roads and misty air outside. As we both got ready to get on our bikes I was thinking about all the things I needed to do this weekend. Hoping to relieve some stress, I was looking forward to ride this morning. Karel is finishing up his recovery week so he was planning on riding with the guys whereas I wanted to do my own thing. Now that I am finally healing w/ my leg I am trying to get in some kind of base training without going ridiculously fast right now. The wind was strong this morning but the air felt nice and cool. I wouldn't call it rain but there was a mist in the air which felt like a light rain. As I was riding I started to blame my slow speed on the wind but when I looked at my rear wheel I noticed I had a flat. My first flat on Blue so it was bound to happen. I called Karel just to let him know what happened and that I was fine changing my tire. But unfortunately I forgot to put my CO2 adapter in my Blue case (from the case on Seduza) so I had to call Karel again to have him bring me the adapter. I was impressed on how quickly I changed the tire and how easy it was (compared to my 650 wheels on seduza) and i just sat and waited for Karel to make his 6 mile trip on his bike to come and get me. Just before karel came, someone stopped and offered his adapter. I didn't get a chance to talk to this person but he told me he was just getting into triathlons (long distance). I wanted to share my excitement with him but I was distracted by the itching feeling on my left ankle. Apparently, as I was sitting and waiting for Karel I was being attacked by ants which were enjoying biting my ankle. So, as I am trying to inflate my tire with my CO2, trying to have a convo w/ a future triathlon friend and trying to get the ants off my shoe, Karel rides up to the scene and asks why my shoes and socks are off. I quickly introduce Karel to Don (the person who stopped), handed off my wheel to Karel to put on my bike while I proudly told Karel I changed my tire...all while doing an itchy-dance to try to get all the ants off my shoes, socks and feet. After the wheel was back on and ants cleared off my foot, Don left and Karel and I headed to meet the group at CVS, hoping that they didn't leave yet (it is now 8:10am). Well, the group decided to take a different route to start the ride so Karel took off solo to try to catch them. I ignored the flat tire/being bitten by ants situation and laughed it off but I just wasn't feeling my bike...once again! Errrr. I rode home and decided that 8:40am was way too early to start a saturday so I drove to the Y and had a solid 7.5 mile run (10 min walk warm-up and warm-down) on the treadmill. For some reason, I feel completely at ease on a treadmill. Even though there are people everywhere, I put on my headphones to my Sony Radio Shack Radio and just get into my zone. Although I didn't get a bike workout in, I got in a good run to release some endorphins before spending my entire saturday studying.
Karel is in San Antonio today braving the cold and wind, while riding the hills with group out there. As for me, I dressed for a bike ride but after walking outside to feel the air, I ended up running (after changing into layers of running gear) instead. 8 mile run (WAHOO!!) followed by a 10 mile spin (BURRRR). At least the running is coming back. Now if only I could get that cycling back into gear and stop feeling so flat all the time. Oh well. Just super happy I am running again!
Have a great day everyone!!!

New article: Check out Hammer Endurance News!

Hammer Endurance News

pg 16

Some thoughts of mine....

It's pretty obvious that I think Karel is amazing. He is so strong on the bike and he puts up with me :) Karel was unable to ride in the am due to rain so he jumped on the trainer in the evening. I sat on the couch as Karel did his workout and we both watched the Tour '06 for motivation. Karel absolutely hates riding his trainer so he is usually braving all kinds of weather conditions to not miss his workout. As for the rain, we both feel that starting a workout in the rain isn't a safe idea. However, if it rains during a workout, I just feel like a little kid riding my bike in the rain. Because of my evening classes and busy Monday through Wednesday schedule, I've been in need of a little extra sleep and "sleeping in" on mon, tues and thurs. Wed I have to get up at 4:40 to go and teach my spin class but tues and thurs I have found it really hard to be productive after waking up at 4:40am for a morning swim. If I have an extra hour in the morning, I'd rather sleep in and workout on my own than being extremely tired all day. Now that I'm in class, retaining information is a lot easier after a good night sleep. I have been able to get in some great runs and swims but the cycling has slacked a bit. Although Blue is infront of Seduza, my side of the bikes are being neglected this week. Seduza is on a vacation for a while. I let her rest after Kona :)


This morning Karel and I did our normal Friday lifting together. I usually head to the Y 30 minutes before Karel to get in a 3 mile run and karel joins me at the end and we run together on the treadmill for a 10 min warm-up before our plyometrics. As coach/personal trainer Marni, I've been coming up with great circuits for us by using the BOSU and a medicine ball. What a great workout! we end with a few upper and lower weight training exercises and then always add in the core exercises during the workout and at the end. I just love the core!
So after my workout this morning I hoped in the pool for a refreshing outdoor 15 minute swim. I started thinking about my season and then asked myself..what season? I haven't signed up for any races, I have no training plan and I don't even know why I am staying so disciplined to work out? As "Marni the triathlete" it is hard to have a conversation with my triathlon/cycling friends with out the question of "what are you training for?" coming up. Amidst my writing, studying, planning the wedding and working out, my leg is starting to heal and I should probably starting thinking about a race. I had mentioned to Karel that I wanted to do some cycling races with him this season but it has been hard to motivate myself to ride my bike without having a triathlon to train for. It just seems as though cycling is just a component to triathlons. After our workout this morning, Karel took a moment to tell me that I would be racing this year and to not tell myself that I won't race. He is right and I appreciate his truthful words. I guess I have been scared to sign up for a race due to the disappointment of not being able to race competitively. I consider myself a very competitive person but I think just having a goal and a training plan would really get my life into gear. I just feel like something is missing. It's that goal that drives you to be the best at everything you do and I am ready to work towards that goal again. As for the races I will do this year.....I will call them events and those have yet to be decided :)

Did you hear the news?

FDA Issues Documents on the Safety of Food from Animal Clones
Agency Concludes that Meat and Milk from Clones of Cattle, Swine, and Goats, and the Offspring of All Clones, are as Safe to Eat as Food from Conventionally Bred Animals http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01776.html

Hummmm, makes me think about the food I eat....and thankfully don't eat. I really try hard to eat natural and fresh food. I don't do 100% for a few reasons. I feel fruits (with eatable outsides), most veggies and meats should be organic. However, I don't have a high enough disposable income to invest in all organic products. I look for organic brands whenever possible (especially peanut butter, which has hardly any ingredients) but I always look for foods which have to be refrigerated. Karel and I have a shelf which holds all our processed/boxed foods. We always have Oats, instant oatmeal (Weight Watchers Quakers, my favorite), nuts, dark chocolate (Karel would kill me if I didn't let him have his chocolate..which is heart healthy for you in moderation) and a big container of a mix of 3 cereals on our shelf. I find having a mix of cereals is better than having just one. I combine a high fiber cereal, a low calorie puff cereal (which takes up space) and a regular cereal (cheerios, special K, Life, Total, etc.). By combining the cereal you get a lot more variety (I'm all about a little of everything) and you can cut back on calories with the puff cereal taking up most of the space. In our 'fridge, however, I always have veggies, fruits, eggs, egg substitutes, cheeses, lean meats, soy and skim milk, PB, healthy condiments (salsa and hot sauce are our favorite toppers), fat-free cream cheese, spray butter, high-fiber whole grain bread, raisins, Lit n' fit yogurt, string cheese, sugar-free syrup and low-sugar jelly. I'm sure I forgot some things but I keep the same foods in our fridge all the time. I absolutely LOVE cooking and presentation of the food is everything to me! If it looks good, you are more likely to take your time when eating. I am also an experimenter so I'm always up for trying new recipes, in a healthy fashion. When Karel buys the food, he usually gets an educational lesson about the food he bought but he is always a good sport and he loves to learn about food. At first I was worried about talking to Karel about food but I was quick to learn that he actually wanted to know about food labels, ingredients,etc. I'm not trying to be obsessive about food but I really enjoy educating people. For example, the other day Karel brought home a plastic container of Muffins. First thought...plastic container means "this product can sit on the shelf for a while!" However the product had a label which read "No trans fat". So I went to the ingredients to see if hydrogenated oil was listed. There was no hydrogenated oil in the muffin. According to the FDA a product may have .5g or less/serving of trans fat and still list zero trans fat on the label. So check the ingredients for Hydr. oil. If it is there, there is an addition of trans fat (liquid fat turned solid through the addition of hydrogen. Not heart healthy!!). Karel said he bought the muffin because of the label which listed "high in fiber, no trans fats". I went to the nutrition label and there was a lot of fiber but when looking at the calories, there were 280 calories in the small little cranberry, bran muffin! That's almost a meal and hardly filling enough to keep you satisfied for an hour. I absolutely love when Karel brings home new foods because it is an opportunity for me to educate and become open minded to new foods. There is a time for everything and I'm not the person who will tell someone to NEVER eat x-food. However, you must always look at labels to become aware of calories, serving sizes (another big problem in foods when the calories are listed for 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4 of the serving of the food you want), ingredients and nutrients. My best advice for athletes is to break down your daily total calories (around 2000-2600, considering you are only exercising moderately 1-2 hours a day) into 3 meals and 2-3 snacks. This way you can break down each meal (ex. 400-500 calories per meal) and focus on healthy macronutrients which are healthy, filling and advantageous for your workouts. Next, add 100-200 calories to your daily intake for each exhaustive hour of exercise you are doing that day. And lastly, add 100-150 calories for pre training and post-training snacks for each hour you are doing a day. By having a starting number and then timing your snacks with your training and not overeating at meals, you should be using the right fuels at the right time to fuel your workout. I won't digress about carbs and proteins at the moment but if anything, I'd be weary to eat anything with the word "cloned" in front of it!

One word.... disgusted!

After a fantastic 50-mile ride this morning I was looking forward to going out to dinner with Karel tonight. I accomplished a bit of studying but spent a good amount of time on the computer for nutrition stuff. Karel and I don't eat out very often so it is always a treat when we go out. I love going to new places but I'm quick to check an on-line menu to make sure it is marni-friendly. I usually look under the salad section for something vegetarian friendly but at the same time, I don't want to spend $8 for a bowl of lettuce and a few tomatoes. I like a salad that is a filled with lots of vegetables, nuts or fruits. Karel is a big Italian lover so a couple times a month (and before his races) he really craves his pasta. As for me, I like thin crust pizza but I usually enjoy it in the summer after a weekend of hard training. Karel wanted to go to an Italian restaurant tonight so I was thinking that we would go to a chain restaurant. My choices were Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden or Caraba's. All places with great bread so I know I won't leave hungry with only eating a salad. I always check on-line nutrition menu's when I go somewhere, especially if that somewhere is a new place. I also pick what I will eat before I get to the restaurant so I'm not triggered to order something unhealthy. As for something unhealthy, I usually stick to simple foods when I eat out so if eating too much from the bread basket is unhealthy..I guess I am guilty of that!! :)
Anyways, I checked the nutrition menu at Macaroni Grill for Karel. His racing season is approaching quickly and he is in great shape with only a month or so to go until his first race. I've worked on his nutrition since we met and he's really seen an improvement in his recovery, a better body composition, more lean muscle mass and a decrease in his fat mass. Also, he has learned how to use the right fuels during training and I think we have found his no-fail pre-race meal (because he races in the morning, afternoon or night he has to be strict on his meals one or two days prior to the race as well). Ok, back to tonight's dinner. So I'm looking at the Mac. Grill menu and I couldn't believe my eyes. I found myself a good salad but for Karel, I honestly couldn't find something under 900 calories!!! 900 freakin' calories!!! Seriously! So the simple options would be Spaghetti & Meatballs w/ Tomato Sauce, although Karel loves chicken parmesean. Well, 1 dinner serving of the spaghetti had 1430 calories, 81g fat, 41g sat fat and 4540g sodium!!! I'm sure you know some of the daily recommendations but the sodium itself is enough for 4 days! OUCH! I just couldn't believe it! we ended up going to olive garden and Karel got a nice vetables and chicken mix and I had minestrone soup and salad. Dressing on the side and dry breadsticks. It was a great dinner and we really enjoyed our healthy options. So I decided to do a little looking around on the internet for a few more shock factors. I know people enjoy eating out but it is really important that you cook for yourself. Even if somewhere has a healthy, light or low-fat option, you need to check online to really see what you are eating (and how bad you are clogging up your arteries). Also, even if you find something healthy to order, based on the nutrition online, how do you know that the person preparing the item is using the same portions and quantities as the ingrediants in your food. There is nothing wrong with going out everynow and then but follow these tips: Use online nutrition menus, know what you will eat before you get there, have a small protein snack 20-30 min. prior to eating (stabilize blood sugar), eat slowly, drink water and skip desert. When cooking at home, find your favorite restaurant meal and prepare your own healthy version at home.
Macaroni Grill:
Primo Chicken Parmesan, Dinner 1 Serving 2220 calories, 148g fat, 52g sat. fat, 126g carbs, 4440g sodium.
Vanilla Ice Cream w/Chocolate Sauce (And this is recommended for kids!!!) 1 Scoop 400 calories, 23g fat, 14g sat. fat.
Chicken Florentine w/ out dressing 1 Serving 490 calories, 19g fat, 4940g sodium!
Then I see a commercial for healthier items at steak and shake...so, let's look up those "lighter" items at Steak and Shake:
Light Black Cherry Fruit 'n Frozen Yogurt shake 681 calories, 113g sugar, 11.5g fat, 7g sat fat, 0.5g trans fat. I guess that is better than the regular yogurt shake:
Vanilla Frozen Yogurt Milk Shake 904calories, 130g sugar, 21g fat, 11.5g sat fat, 1g trans fat, 78g cholesterol. I don't think any workout validates drinking that shake!
And lastly, one of my favorite places, Panera . I eat at panera as my fast food choice, next to Subway, and I like to choose the half sandwich and half soup. As for some not-so, you may think they are, healthy items:
Whole Grain Bagel: 340 calories, 2.5g fat, 0.5g sat fat, 410g sodium, 66g carbs. Add 2 ounces reduced fat cream cheese and you can add another 140 calories, 14g fat and 8g saturated fat to that bagel!
Frontega Chicken hot panini: 800calories, 32g fat, 8g saturated fat, 0.5g trans fat, 100g cholesterol, 2150g sodium, 80g carbs.
Fuji Apple Chicken salad, 570calories, 30g fat, 7g sat fat, 1010g sodium, 25g sugar.
Caffe Mocha Espresso 370calories, 15g fat, 9g sat fat, 50g cholesterol, 42g sugar.

I hope these typical pre and post training foods were eye-openers to why you might not be losing lbs with all that training. And even if you are at your ideal weight, give your body nutrients which it can use. Of course there are healthy options out there but search for the right treat or meal and enjoy every bite!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

I'm busy. Studying, nutrition, working out, going to class, coaching/personal training. I'm some how doing it all but the weekends are going to be a blessing to my crazy schedule. Just to have two days of not having somewhere to go will really allow me to get a lot done. let's start with school. I have my first quiz on wed in medical terminology so I will be studying plenty over the next couple of days. The class is really interesting because I am learning how to break down words by their roots, suffixes and prefixes and figure out what the word means. Really cool to learn but SO many words to learn. I just received an email from the Dietetic program at UNC (University of Northern Colorado) where I am starting my online summer program. I will be taking nutrition courses online until I complete the classes I need to receive a dietetic degree. Afterwards I do the dietetic internship, then take the Registered Dietitian exam...and one day (hopefully in the near future) I will become a registered dietitian. I am so confident in my education, research and knowledge within sports nutrition but as our society goes, the more credentials the more you are taken seriously. And to achieve my dreams of being on the Today show, being on Ellen and writing a book.....I am willing to do as much as possible to keep on learning for life.
As for the other things I am doing, my nutrition consultations are really exploding. On beginner triathlete, I've been working with several athletes who are noticing dramatic changes in their body composition. Since I believe your best scale is the person you see in the mirror, it is a great thing to hear that my athletes clothes are falling off :) As for the locals that I am helping (through my website), there have been so many success stories that I couldn't be more excited to see how they perform this summer. I specialize in sports nutrition so I see food as fuel in order to perform. Therefore, I look at your diet and make changes in order to change the timing, quantity and sometimes food choices in order to use the right fuels at the right time.
Oh, and I am happy to say that I am running again...actually running! I am starting off around 7 mph on the treadmill (haven't taken it outdoors yet) and after around 10-20 minutes of speeding up the pace, I ended up todays workout with 6.5 miles and the last 5 minutes were at a comfortable 7.8 mph. I have taken the time to observe the things that have helped my almost completely heal with my leg (a little soreness every now and then...but sooo small!) and walking for 10 minutes before I run and doing hip and core exercises has helped a lot!
Well, I better get back to my stuff. I am finishing up a Gatorade Athlete of the Month Article for Triathlete magazine and guess I will study....after I watch Ellen :)

New Article!

I'm writing a monthly column for Judy at Iron Girl. I couldn't be more excited. Here is the first published article! Enjoy.... http://irongirl.com/tasteFeature.php

Thoughts on school

It is now my third day of classes. Biology seems to be an easy class and the lab will be enjoyable. Global Marketing is going to be an interesting class and as a new area for me, I'm really looking forward to it. Aside from being 3 hours and starting at 7pm on Monday night, I think I will survive. Tonight I have Medical terminology which I have been looking forward to all week!
As far as being a non-degree student, I have caught myself comparing graduate school to st.pete college. I've listed some of my generalizations....IMPORTANT: I am not suggesting that people shouldn't get a master degree but it was one off the most stressful and difficult times of my life. I wouldn't take it back but I would have to see on the incentives if I were asked to do it all over again!
1) In graduate school you have all night classes, the staff is made up of 4-6 professors and you have class in the same room for all the classes. At St.pete I actually get to pick my classes, teachers and campus.
2) At st.pete college you leave class with a good understanding of the material. Quizzes are announced prior to class and the exams cover 3-4 chapters. In graduate school you leave class confused and stressed and your brain hurts. There are only 1-2 exams which make up your entire grade, quizzes are random suprises and the exams cover 12-15 chapters.
3) At st.pete college the teachers have office hours and encourage students to ask questions. Extra credit is offered. In graduate school, you do not want to ask questions during class because there is so much material to cover in a 4 hour class that you risk staying at school past 10pm (class ending time). Extra credit???..ha!
4) At st.pete college the classes vary from 1 hour to 3 hours. Exams are multiple choice on scantrons (no essays) and they take less than 30 minutes to complete. In graduate school the classes are 3-4 hours, not including laboratory time. Exams are multiple choice, true or false and essay. No question is without a trick answer and the exam takes 3-4 hours if you budget your time well and hope to finish all the questions. *My exit exam took me 6 hours and I wrote over 15 pages to answer 4 questions.
Well, those are just some of my thoughts on my courses right now. I know things will become much more time consuming and difficult come this summer when I start my online dietetic courses but with applicable information, I have a feeling it won't be too hard to enjoy studying.

I found these quotes and thought these were appropriate for all those students (at one time) out there:
A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in the students.

A professor is one who talks in someone else’s sleep.

College is a place to keep warm between high school and an early marriage.

Does college pay? They do if you are a good open-field runner.

The purpose of primary education is the development of your weak characteristics; the purpose of university education, the development of your strong.

The average Ph.D. thesis is nothing but a transference of bones from one graveyard to another.

Back to School!

I was a little nervous this morning. After a relaxing weekend of lots of running on the treadmill, watching TV and finishing up some nutrition consultations, I anxiously awaited my first day of school!!! I have been up and down about my decision to go back to school and well, I finally committed. More so, my credit card committed and I signed up for 3 classes and a lab at st.pete college. Still working on telling myself I can invest a little more $$$ on books (those things would come in handy for my classes) but it's tough when I'm just getting by as it is. Hey, I'm 25, I have no kids, the wedding is in 9 months and a sports nutrition career is the driving force for everything I do in life. This is the time that I do this and I'm actually looking forward to this next journey in my life. To start off my morning, I decided to swim. The cold weather last week kept me away from the chilly air last week. The weather was beautiful w/ a nice cool breeze so I decided to swim outside at the Palm Harbor Y. Only crazy marni was there before the sun came up so I enjoyed the pool all to myself. I guess I was super motivated with school on my mind that I actually committed myself to a swim set. I usually play around in the pool w/ a 1000 swim and maybe a 500 pull or kick and then I call it a day. This morning I did a 500 warm up and a great set of 300, 2 x 200, 3 x 100 and did that two times. The 300 was pull and the rest was swim. I even did IM on the second set of the 200's and 100's. I finished with 4 x 50's of 25 no breathe under water butterfly kick and 25 backstroke. Just working on the lung capacity. I guess this morning I started a new chapter in my life. Back to time management, discipline, balance and happiness. For some reason I feel like school is an important part of my life and I've been without it for over a year. Not sure if many people love school as much as I do, but beyond the stress, exams, late nights and sitting in class I absolutely love learning. I couldn't be more excited to have someone educate me! Maybe that's why I love educating others so much. The classes I'm taking right now are Biology (w/ Lab), global marketing and Medical terminology. Because I have always been a chemistry/exercise science nerd, I don't have any biology classes in my education background. I have a small list of pre-req courses which I will combine with the online accredited dietetic courses that I will be taking this summer. The courses at St.pete college are a big change from graduate school (my bio class actually has extra credit!!! There was minimal extra credit in grad school...let alone an opportunity to bring up a grade after 2 exams) but I'm excited to be back in class. Well, I hope my enthusiasm keeps up during the next couple of months. Just like a new training plan, a new nutrition change or a new job, things look great at first but it takes a positive outlook to stay committed to your new changes. Well, time to get ready for my evening class.... Now this is a change I will really have to get use to!

Foods I like!

Seeing that is it 2008, 2007 has past and we can all reflect on the good and bad. With most people resolving to lose weight or get in control of better eating habits, I thought I'd provide my insight on some of my favorite foods and why I eat them. As far as dislikes, I believe everything should be eaten in moderation. I always think about my heart and what my body needs to be an active, healthy women and I don't enjoy having trans fat, processed, high fructose corn syrup, high fat, sugar alcohols and high calorie foods in my diet. I eat in moderation and if I want something, I just eat a little of it..very occasionally.

1) Bread-YUM!!! The perfect carb for me. I stick with high fiber, whole grain and low calorie breads. My favorite is Nature's Own which is low in calorie and offers a good helping of fiber. I suggest going low in calories for bread because when making sandwiches, eating toast, etc. the calories in bread can add up. There's nothing wrong with bread but I live by the theory a little of everything is better than a lot of one thing. Therefore, rather than having 1-2 pieces of 120 calorie bread, I'm better off making French toast with 3-4 pieces of 50 calorie bread. I suggest eating a little protein before and with your bread, especially if you are eating from a bread basket at dinner. In order to prevent a fluctuation in blood sugar, have a piece of cheese, a few nuts or a small glass of milk before eating a meal. Insulin will be released from the pancreas at a much slower rate than by just eating bread alone. Same thing applies when finishing a workout. When you are in need of carbs for refueling, help yourself to some protein immediately after the workout to help you from overeating at the next meal, while preventing a rise and drop in blood sugar.
2) Nuts- Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts and cashews. Those are my favorites. Again, I love nuts to help stabilize the blood sugar between and with meals. Nuts offer great nutrients and are packed with good fats. I'd avoid the macademia and pecans which can be a little higher in fat and calories than the other nuts. Either way, portion control your nuts and avoid eating directly from the bag/jar. Grab a handful (or pick out the almonds like I do) and enjoy. I also like to eat nuts and raisins w/ my yogurt, oatmeal, salads and fruit. Again, combine protein w/ carbs to stabilize the body. Also, combining a little good fat (mono/poly unsaturated fat) with your meals will keep you fuller longer.
3) Fruit-Of my favorites, ripe bananas (less sugar than brown or bright yellow), honeydew, strawberries, oranges, pink lady apples and nectarines. And my #1 favorite are blueberries!!!! I could guzzle a container of berries in a second. When I buy fruit, I wait to wash it until I'm ready to eat it. Be careful when keeping fruit out in a bowl because some fruit spoils if it is left to react w/ oxygen in the air or if it touches other fruit. Same goes for veggies, wait to wash when you are ready to use. Usually when I buy fruit, I wash and cut it up into small slices right away. I make a big fruit salad and divide the fruit into two Tupperware containers. I put one in the fridge to be eaten fresh anytime and the other I put in the freezer. Frozen fruits are perfect for smoothies but they are always great in the evening for a sweet frozen desert. Just put a bit in the microwave (remove container from freezer for 5-10 min. to help thaw before scooping) for 10-15 sec. to melt a bit. As far as fruit which can be sliced (apples and pears), cut up fruit and put in baggies. Fibrous fruit works great to eat on the way home from work or after a non-exhaustive workout. Eating a little (50-100 calories) before dinner will help you from grazing the pantry and from overeating at your meal.
4) PB-yes, I eat PB. I stick with organic or natural brands which have very few ingredients. Have you seen the label on some brand-named PB's??? SO much in there, including high fructose corn syrup and/or hydrogenated oils which are two ingredients I try to avoid in my foods. Even if a food lists 0 trans fat, check the label and see if hydrogenated oils are in the ingredients. The FDA allows .5g trans fat in the food to be listed as a zero trans fat food. Therefore, go to the label and see where hydrogenated oils are listed. The ingredients which are in high quantity are listed first and get smaller as the list goes on. I suggest a PB which has omega's or flax seeds added. I don't do 100% organic but PB is one which I have debated about saving a buck or two. But when I compare labels (which I do for everything I buy and eat) there is no question that I always want a food which has few ingredients. Ever check out the label on fresh veggies and fruit??? Trick question..there isn't one!! Enjoy foods which are fresh and natural, rather than processed and loaded with additives.
5) Egg whites, cottage cheese, light soy milk and yogurt- I love my protein! As a vegetarian athlete, I'm very strict on my protein. First with the egg whites, I have nothing against an occasional yolk. There are great nutrients in the yolk but just one yolk has your daily recommendations of cholesterol (200 mg). Because I eat at least 4-6 eggs a day, I try to limit my yolks because I consume eggs on a daily basis. If you only eat eggs 1-2 times a week, no big deal to eat the yolk. I always suggest 3 egg whites to one yolk when cooking. Therefore, if you are making scrambled eggs, throw in some yolk. I do that just to give some extra nutrients, fat and color to my eggs. If you are wondering about brown eggs and health benefits, the egg is brown due to the chicken. The egg has no extra nutrients unless the label reads "added w/..." and it is usually added with omegas. You can buy egg beaters but I suggest looking for a discount on the egg substitutes. But then again, I'm pretty frugal with my money and food. Always looking for the healthy option and at a good price. I also suggest shopping at a fresh market for fruits and veggies. Great discounts too! OK, cottage cheese is a must. The casein in cottage cheese is very slow digesting so just like whey protein, it is perfect for rebuilding tissues and muscles. I suggest a reduced fat or fat-free cottage cheese but there is hardly any difference in the low-fat and fat-free kinds. I am picky when it comes to cottage cheese so I love my Breakstone Cottage fat-free cottage cheese. This is where I draw the line on saving for an off-brand. Karel doesn't mind the generic brand so we each have our own cottage cheese :) hehe. Cottage cheese is another great protein to have for snacks and before meals. My mom likes chocolate chips and pineapple w/ her cottage cheese. I like fresh peaches and cinnamon. I love my soy milk and since Silk has a light option, I can save on sugar and calories. Therefore, I can have the same amount of protein (what milk is best for, with the calcium) as regular milk and save on calories. Milk is perfect for a post workout drink and it is great for meeting protein recommendations. Try skim or soy milk and keep your milk less than 90 calories a serving. As for almond milk, there is only 1-2g protein so you are better off with soy milk if you are choosing a lactose free or non cow milk version. As for yogurt, always choose a low sugar, low calorie yogurt. Check out the labels of yogurt and get ready to be shocked on the sugar in yogurt. 20,30+ grams of sugar!! OUch. Sugar is a big thing to watch when looking for healthy foods for an athlete. BEcause we ingest so much sugar when we are training (and after) when we are in need of quick energy, it is very important that you control your blood sugar levels in the body. have your sweet treat immediately after a hard workout and be sure to combine protein with carbs during the day. You hear of all the pros eating super clean and healthy before a big race and although I think they are trying to stay at a healthy weight weeks before the big day, it is more so because the body needs to be clean and regulated. You have to think of the body as a machine and it requires the best fuel on a daily basis in order to perform the best. When it comes to yogurt, which has great healthy bacteria and a good source of protein, I suggest keeping your yogurt less than 80 calories. You can opt for a 80-120 calorie yogurt after an exhaustive 1 hour workout but otherwise, keep those yogurt calories low to reduce your sugar intake. The body will appreciate it. I also suggest low sugar and sugar free items. However, be careful not to overdo your intake of sugar alcohols. I avoid bars and diet water/fruit juices as much as possible. I don't do sweeteners but when it comes to sugar alcohols, you may experience GI distress and bloating if you try to eat everything sugar-free. Also, you might be better off with several reduced sugar/low sugar items for fullness rather than eating sugar-free foods and always being hungry. Sugar-free will generally be lower in calories but you will have to decide which foods are worth eating with more calories.
Well, there's my list of my staple foods. The one thing I didn't mention is whey protein which is a must for my endurance and high-intensity athletes out there. My fingers are tired so I'll save that LONGGGGG blog for another day. Protein is my area of expertise (so I believe) so I'll leave you waiting until another blog one day.....

Happy New Year!

It was a great 2007 but I have a feeling 2008 will be filled with lots of exciting events. I hope everyone enjoyed New Years and I would like to admit that I did stay up until midnight to see the ball drop on TV. I applaud Karel and I for keeping our eyes open until the late hours of the night and sleeping in until 7:30am was a blessing. After several late nights and sleeping-in, I am trying to get back to a routine of going to bed before 10pm and waking up at 5am with a good solid workout. My leg is better but sadly I haven't ridden my bike since Sat. A good couple days of no riding has really done the trick. I hope this is the last time I have to write about my leg and I can get back into a training routine. New years morning was a typical day for Marni who has no training plan. Although I create my own plans w/ me being my own coach, if I'm not training for something I am just clueless on what to do each day. I love exercising but it takes a little extra motivation if I don't have a goal or an upcoming race. I didn't sign up for any races this year because I didn't want to put any stress on the healing of my leg. Trying to make my leg heal for kona was so stressful and I'd rather enjoy my recovery and just keep my heart healthy and jump into a sprint tri when I'm ready. As for now, swimming has been great and I'm able to run/walk (still don't want to run too long w/ the fear of feeling the endorphins and running through the hidden injury). I always tell people to just walk if you don't know what to do or you have no motivation to train. It is the easiest thing to do to get your body going. And I must admit I did just that on New Years.Funny story...Karel planned on riding easy for 90 minutes on Tuesday. As for me, I had no idea what I wanted to do. My leg was so-so but the day prior it had been bothering me. I told Karel I was going to take it easy for a couple days, but you know how that goes when you live with someone who is so passionate for training and pushing hard. As Karel was getting ready I knew I couldn't just sit at home. I called the Y to see if they were open and I planned on swimming a good 2-hour swim workout. Well, I put my suit on and as I'm walking around with a bathing suit and my running shoes (I looked silly) I really felt like running. The bathing suit came off and I decided to walk on the treadmill. Karel told me I could ride with him since he was going easy but I know how that goes...hum, his easy or my easy??? Well, I decided that would be fun to ride together so the running gear came off and the bike jersey and shorts were on. Now I'm walking around in my cycling shoes and I just look at my bike. The one thing I told myself not to do for a couple days in order to rest my leg. I looked at Karel and told him I would just stay at home. What a morning! I dressed for a triathlon in less than 15 minutes and changed my mind at least 3 times on what I would do that morning. I ended up walking and jogging on the treadmill for 90 minutes and luckily, no pain and still feeling good. Thanks goodness I made the right decision!
The weather is cold right now and the wind is blowing. I think tomorrow morning will be another day on the treadmill. Or maybe I'll swim indoors? Oh jeez. I guess I new an injury-recovery, motivation training plan for the New Year! If anything, I'm living vicariously through karel who is training his butt off right now. I'm so excited to see him race this year!
I hope everyone can reflect on last year and look forward to the upcoming year with new goals and aspirations. Have a plan but carry your road map. Always prepare for setbacks and have alternatives for obstacles along the way. And most of all, don't ever give up!