Trip!

YAY!!! Going back to Clearwater. Actually, to new port richey since we are staying at my parents house. I will be there until wed and Karel is heading back on sun afternoon. My mom and dad are flying up to PA today to visit my brother for the next 3 days so Karel and I are "cat sitting" for my parents. Of course, we have to bring Smudla for her first road trip since we moved. This should be interesting.

I just got finished packing up the car. Lots of stuff for a quick trip. We each have a duffel bag of clothes, my transition bag of race gear and nutrition, two bikes, a liter box and hopefully I won't forget the cat. I have pick up Karel at the Trek store at 7pm when he gets off work and then we are on the road for our "short" 3 1/2 hour ride. I am going to try to squeeze in one more homework assignment in the next hour (due mon) and that should finish me up until who-knows-when and I can have a little break from the computer.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Wedding stuff!! This is really the big focus of the trip (besides Karel riding with his friends and me racing). We have a busy day tomorrow and sat but that's ok...part of getting married. Going to the reception restaurant tomorrow to go over the lunch menu and pick out colors for chair covers (which I think are so silly, but it is in the package) and other linens. Then to pick up my packet for the race and I CAN'T wait to see some familiar triathlete faces. Sat I have the race in the morning and then to cake tasting....yum! Karel and I both want a "healthier" cake and we actually picked a baker who specializes in dietetics. We are thinking something with berries and/or fruit around the outside of the cake and once we decide on the flavor of the inside (don't think Karel is going to go for my boring love of vanilla) I will let Chef Nelson go to work on making it "healthy" and yummy. Sat evening we have dinner plans with the Gearlink guys which I am sure Karel is going to be happy to be with his old cycling buddies. Sun looks pretty open for me but Karel is SOOOO ready to get to San Antonio for some hills. As for mon and tues when my mom and dad get back, I will be meeting with the photographer, discussing flowers and getting my dress hemmed. Then on Wed, back to JAX.

This morning I told Karel I had no time to save animals as I headed out the door at 6:40am. I was a little pressed for time this morning since I had to be at Jacksonville University at 9:30 to meet with my mentor for my Food Service course. I did a nice 20 mile ride with a few pacing intervals and then ran for 2.5 miles, with the first mile a little slower than my 5K race pace. I am excited for the race and I hope to have a good performance. The energy of being with my friends should be a great incentive to race fast.

I just got this email and I thought I'd pass the picture and story along...pretty incredible!



Meet Molly. She's a grey speckled pony who
was abandoned by her owners when Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana. She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled.While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected, and her vet went to LSU for help, but LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case.You know how that goes.

But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee,and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.

'This was the right horse and the right owner,'Moore insists. Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails,but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain.She made it obvious she understood that she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore, is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana. The little pony gained weight,and her mane finally felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM,
Molly's regular vet, reports. And she asks for it. She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too. And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. 'It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse,' she laughs.

Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay,the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people, and she had a good time doing it.

'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life,? Moore said. 'She survived the hurricane,she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.'Barca concluded, 'She's not back to normal, but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.'

This is a first

I'd like you to meet me new friend. This is Mr. Owl. I saved him today on my ride. Just another day in the life of vegetarian, animal-lover, why god put me on this earth (to save animals) Marni.

I was looking forward to this morning as my last training session to prep for the sprint triathlon on sat. I headed out at 6:45am (Karel was still in bed) for a 30 mile ride and then a 3 mile run. I took seduza out since she was feeling neglected and she was fast :)
As I was riding along mandarin, I spotted something furry by a mailbox. While my eyes are always on the road I seem to notice animals like I have eyes all over my head. I rode by Mr. Owl and then quickly turned around. Careful to not get close to him for fear that he would attack me, I started talking to him. Yes, I do this a lot to animals. Still haven't had any animal/creature talk back to me (except for smudla who meows when I ask her if she is hungry..which is all the time) but I am always the first to start a conversation with an animal. I asked Mr. Owl if he was ok and suprisingly he chomped his mouth/beak at me. His right eye was kinda closed and it looked like he was hurt. I kept asking Mr. Owl if he was hurt but no reply. I snapped a few pics with my camera phone and decided I would let him be....until I returned. I figured there was nothing I could do at that moment but I needed to call someone. I rode for 5 more miles and decided to turn back. I thought about who I would call. 911 probably wouldn't be the right phone call and I didn't want to ride 10 more miles home just to look up numbers. I dailed 411 in my phone and got connected to the human society in Jacksonville. Well, at 8am they were closed so I called the animal emergency line. I figured an injured owl was absolutely an emergency.
Mr. Owl was obviously injured because he started to shut his eyes and when I would get close to him to swat away the mosquitos (there were bugs all over his "droppings", probably from his injury) he stopped snapping at me. So, I waited for an hour and 15 min until I saw Karel riding by. I told him the situation and he was suprised I didn't name Mr. Owl. At that point I just thought he was a beautiful owl but when karel came by I started calling him Mr. Owl (more mature I think :)
Another lady (cyclist) had driven to the scene with her two young boys and she also called the human society, which no one answered.
I needed to get home since it was already 9:15 so the other lady stayed with Mr. Owl. I was sure to get her number so that I could find out what happened to Mr. Owl.
An hour later I heard from the lady and Mr. Owl probably has a broken wing. Who knows what happened to him but since it is his bedtime now, he is probably very tired, sore and stressed. I have a reference number to the clinic that is going to try to take care of him, so I will continue to check up on my new friend Mr. owl.
So, duty called for me to save an animal and the workout this morning was 27 miles on my bike in 3 hours :) No run this morning but no worries.
I think the beauty of life is just being spontaneous. Sometimes you have a plan and are determined to accomplish many goals in that plan. But, when scenarios change you must way the pros and cons and ultimately you must be happy with your decision. I will take saving an animal over training anyday :)

Interval Tuesday...RACE WEEK!

Mon was a busy day. I slept in until 7am (after getting back to our place at 11:30pm!!!) and had a zillion school assignments to turn in. The day quickly started at 10:30am with observing my food service facility for school and then before I knew it, with grocery shopping, errands and more work, it was time for dinner! I made a nice salad w/ apples and I cooked some veggies (mushrooms, string green beans, onions, corn) and added my veggie burger meat. I poured in 1/2 can of organic garlic tomato sauce after the veggies were cooked and I had 1/2 of a whole wheat sub w/ the veggie mixture. Yum.
Karel was super tired last night and totally exhausted. I am not suprised with his lack of energy after 4 days of racing. There really isn't anything magical that he (or we) do after races when it comes to nutrition. I take fish oil capsules (1-2) on a daily basis and Karel tries to have some type of fish the night after a hard race/training. Karel lives by his Optygen but for both of us, we love our aminos (Base nutrition by Chris lieto). The Amino Vital Pro didn't work for Karel. He said his stomach was a little upset with the sugars from the AV. I agree that it is a sweet drink so try it out before using. I haven't heard from anyone that they can't tolerate the base nutrition aminos and if anything, they mix really well with our HEED. Since we were in a hotel for 4 days in GA I did my research and we stayed at an Extended Stay. Although a micrwave and a mini 'fridge are great for 1-2 night stays, food gets a little borning if it can only be refrigerated and then microwaved. We had a stove, a medium size 'fridge, a coffee maker (that didn't work very well..errr) and a microwave. We spent $60 at Publix and only ate out once. We filled our fridge w/ coffee (freezer), natural PB, low-sugar Jelly, Sugar free Syrup, cheese, deli meat, eggs, soy milk, yogurt, berries, bananas, tuna and strawberries. We also had lots of oatmeal, bread and soup. Karel made his raisin bran muffins before we left so we had great food for the road. We never let ourselves get hungry or try to eat our money's worth. We knew exactly what we were eating and it was nice to be able to have a kitchen with a sink and everything else we needed. This is the way to go if you are traveling for a race for a couple days. I think the key to being able to race for days (or train hard) is to ensure that you are getting good protein in the body. It is easy to find good sources of carbs (bread, bagels, fruits, veggies, potatos) when eating out but lean and low fat protein is often compromised when eating on the road. Well, I know for me as a vegetarian it is hard for me to even get 30grams of protein when eating on the raod. I had 90 calorie yogurts with me for after my races and I always had a PB&J sandwich with me for Karel's races.

I have a sprint race on sat at Ft. Desoto and I can't wait to see all my triathlon friends! Karel and I are heading to my parents on thurs evening after he gets off work due to lots of wedding stuff. I know, hard stuff like cake tasting, finding Karel's attire for the wedding and then of course, he is super excited to ride with the Gearlinkers and ride the hills of san antonio. I will be staying until wed and Karel heads back on sun. Looks like a fun weekend for both of us.

So, now that tuesday is here it is time for another interval tuesday workout.
10 min warm-up at 7.4mph
5 x 40 sec. at 8.5 mph w/ 20 sec recovery
Main set 2x:
.5 mile at 8.9 mph w/ 2 min recovery
2 x .25 mile at 9.3 mph w/ .15mi recovery
5 x 40 sec. at 8.5 mph w/ 20 sec recovery
Total: 45 min. 6.5 miles (I think...I was anxious to get off that treadmill!!)

I did a few weights and core exercises and headed to the pool. I don't think I am getting any faster in the pool and I blame that on myself for not swimming with anyone and for not swimming more than 2500 yards a day. I think I will start swimming with one of the master teams.

500 warm-up
4 x 200 w. 10 sec. rest
3 x 150 w. 10 sec. rest
2 x 125 w. 10 sec rest
1 x 100
After each set I did a 50 butterfly kick.

Total w/ warm-down: 2400

My first circuit race

If you asked me to choose between cycling and triathlons, I would 100% pick triathlons. But, I can honestly say, there is nothing easy about just cycling...I would much rather swim, bike and run for an "easier" race.
I would like to say that I am not even close to putting cycling races behind me. If anything I can't wait until the next race. However, between now and Aug 9th I have a lot of work to do on my bike.
The work isn't about training. Of course I would love to be more powerful on my bike but I have another goal. I need some skills and to get rid of my fear of riding fast and with other people.

After Karel's road race on saturday I was in major mommy-mode because Karel looked like death. A normal look for him after these crazy fast and hot races but I am always ready to take care of him when needed. However, when we got back to our hotel room at 6pm Karel was fast asleep before I sat down with my computer to start some homework. We were both really tired and after a little evening snack we were out for the night.

So, here goes sunday. I started the morning finishing up homework. Of course school is the last thing on my mind when I am racing triathlons but in this case, it kinda helped me pass the time by until my race. Karel and I packed up the car, picked up a few gallons of water at the gas station and headed to the progress center for the circuit race. My race was at 12pm and Karel raced at 2:15. I warmed up for about 45 min just spinning my legs on the opposite side of the race course as the cat 3 guys were finishing up a few more loops of their race.

Rather than splitting up the Cat 1,2 girls and the Cat 3,4 girls we were all together. This was a big bunch. The funny part was when we were all on the line and the announcer said that all the Cat 3,4 girls can go to the front of the line (where the Cat 1,2 girls were standing) because "we" (cat 3,4) really raced the road race on sat. Hey, it wasn't our fault that we were going fast and we passed the Cat 1,2 girls after starting about 5 min. behind them.

So off we went. I was in a group of around 10 girls after the first loop. My category (3,4) had 16 people in it and the rest of the girls (around 10 maybe) were Cat 1,2. There was a quick breakaway of two and my group couldn't catch her. It was Rebecca Larson who is incredibly strong on the bike that was in the front with one other girl on her wheel. So after 2 laps we had 5 more laps to go. The scary downhill was nothing compared to the scary downhill sharp left turn. Each loop I had to fear that stupid corner. Errrr...
I kept getting dropped at that corner because i would squeze my breaks and I just didn't know how to turn quickly. So I would expend all this energy to catch up and then as the girls were climbing a roller I would think "they are going so slow". So it was a lot of catching up for me because well, I just don't have any skills.
The best part of the race was seeing Karel on every loop. Karel was there with our camera and his bike just picking spots on the course to cheer and take pics. He would yell "stay on their wheel marni" and it totally worked. Around the 3rd loop I attacked on a climb and just went. Karel was cheering loud to cath that 2 girl breakaway and with only one girl on my wheel (mary pat jones, who is also really strong) we were ready to go get the lead girls. Well, until my chain wouldn't shift. So I spent my "breakaway" move trying to change my gears from the small to big chain ring. I was just bummed about the situation that i could have had to be in the lead group but instead I had to get back to my pack and just keep going.
We were doing a total of 7 laps so I had a few more opportunities to make some moves. I tried my move again on a hill before the straightaway to the start/finish line (same as last time) but when I got to the downhill scary turn I lost my move. Errr...
So it wasn't until the last loop that I lost it all. I just got so scared at the fast pace down hill and I totally lost my draft at that corner. Each loop was 2.4 miles long so there was nothing else I could do with over 1 mile to go until the finish. MY group eventually caught up to a group in front of us and I sprinted to the line all alone. However, because I was in a breakaway group (out of 2 groups) I finished 5th in the cat 3,4 group out of 16. I was pleased with my performance but not as happy as Karel. He had a lot of fun watching us and he is ready for my next race.
Well, we spent the whole ride home discussing how I can improve on the bike and I am ready to work hard. I want to do these races as much as I can because really, it makes me a better triathlete. Even if I can't draft in triathlons I am able to be more confident on the bike. To me, it doesn't matter if you are fast...if you are not confident on your bike you can't excute your power. Well, at least that is the way for me. So, I will continue to work.

As for Karel. I took plenty of great pics and I was super hot. The race lasted 90 minutes and I am sure the riders were just dying out there with a 2:15pm start in humid georgia.
Karel sat in mid-pack and he said the pace wasn't too hard. I'm thinking all 70 riders were a bit tired from the last few days (or those who did all 4 races) but the heat totally exhausted Karel. The finish was exciting for the top 3 guys but Karel rolled over the line without a sprint. He said this was a first time for him to just see the mid-pack guys sprinting for the line in 30+ place. As for karel, he tried to stand up and sprint for the line to try for top 10 but once he stood up to sprint his body quickly told him "I don't think so". With nothing left at the end of the race, Karel summed up the weekend as a long, hot weekend.

We both had a great time in Ga and we heard that next year the race is 7 stages!!! Hopefully the races will be in the evening or early in the morning because Karel and I are both sunburned and super tired.
*I just don't know how Karel does it. 4 days of racing at your max. I really need to sign up for an IM cause I am feeling super lazy compared to him :)

Here are some pics from the weekend...














Scary Corner

Mind and Body...and everything else with Racing

Friday night 8pm: Criterium in Downtown Norcross.
The race was actually in a cute little neighborhood right near dowtown. There were cute restaurants and bars and live music for entertaining. Karel's race was 90 minutes and with the race starting at 8pm, there were large lights all around the course.
Karel said he felt good all day and after his 7th place finish, he was ready to give it all for the crit. The race started almost on time and the pace was fast. Too fast (and dark) for me to get many good pictures but with a .9 mile course I walked all around the course to cheer.
Karel was in a few break aways even though the lead group (of 5 guys) LAPPED the field! I think they were averaging 36mph (said a spectator) and there was nothing easy to this course. There were large climbs, descends and tight turns.
To sum up the race, Karel was in the front group with 3 laps to go. Although the race directors put up a little number by the finish line to say how many laps to go, the course was almost pitch dark and you could barely see anything. The announcer gave away a $100 prem for the 2nd to last lap but he really said "1 lap to go" at the same time as the prem. So, Karel and Chris Scott (who was in the lead group and had lapped the field) and many other riders were racing for the finish of the race. Well, as Chris and Karel come across the finish they both think they are done and just stop pedaling to start spinning their legs. The entire lap they were giving everything they had to finish the race. Karel was racing for 7th place and Chris was racing for 2nd. Well, the official messed up and boy was Karel and Chris (and others) upset. Now Chris ended up in who knows place and Karel was 33rd.
Karel and the other guys tried to protest (normal in cycling races after results are posted. You have an hour to protest if you don't agree with the results) but the officials said they made a mistake.
Karel wasn't mad mad, but he was upset. He was feeling so good the entire race and if he knew there were 2 more laps to go (and not 1) he would have waited until the last loop to breakaway mid-way in the loop.
Well, Friday night was a restless night for Karel after getting home at 10pm and full of endorphins. As for me, I went right to sleep since I had a road race to do the next morning.

My morning started with oatmeal, raisins, some banana and a piece of toast w/ PB. Karel and I left our hotel at 10:45pm for my 12:07pm race. There were a few sprinkles of rain in the morning but not like last year (my first road race here) there were not storms before the start of my race. And, not like last year there were about 15 girls in the Cat 3/4 race. Oh boy! Nervous!!! I kept telling Karel that the nervous hamster in my tummy was just running on his wheel. Oh I was nervous.
Well, the race started quickly and before I knew it I was in a break with 7 girls. I spotted Karel on the other side of the course and he was cheering and taking pics. What a good spectator. The course was 6.5 miles long and there were 4 big climbs. One steady long climb which was the KOM (king of the mountain climb) and then one BIG steep climb. We did 4 loops of the course and the pace never slowed down. The best part was that we lapped the Pro 1,2 girls! They had another loop to do after us (they did 5) but my group worked hard, rotated and raced the entire 4 laps. Well, the race came down to the finish and I was still with the 6 girls. The final sprint was around a corner and I kinda lost it at the corner. And with my lack of sprinting skills and very few fast twitch fibers and I came in 6th place. I was happy I finished because I wanted to quit before lap 3. These girls were strong and the race was not even rolling..there was so much climbing!
So I spun my legs and wished Karel good luck. His race was at 2pm and I had just enough time to change my clothes, grab my camera and run to the start.

Karel did this race last year and barely hung on. The race is only 65 miles, so it is "short" for a road race. However, there is nothing easy about this "short" race. Really, this race is all about attrition. If your body can withstand the pace and you can make it to the finish, you will place well. About 1/2 the field dropped out last year and with a mix of humidity and rain this year, I knew the race would be hard.
Karel did really well for the first 4 loops (of 10) and he was sitting in the front field. There weren't many breakaways so the group was just sticking together. A lot of the full-time pros were dropping out and I don't blame them. After 2 days of racing on non-flat roads and then having to do a very fast and hilly road race, this was goig to do be a sore group of riders. I was sore just watching them.
I made my way to the feed zone and fed Karel twice. He took both bottles of heed+aminos and by the 8th lap the field had really split up. There weren't many people left in the race (probably a little less than 1/2 of the starters) so I was just thinking "hang in there Karel".
Well, Karel hung on until the body said no more. Unfortunantly, the body said no more at the 9th lap. I wasn't really bummed for him because I was suprised he made it until the 9th lap. If anything, I was so proud of him. I couldn't believe that he made it for over 50 miles with these guys. Karel said his muscles were just shaking at the first loop and the entire race was hard for him. Well, the majority of riders were hanging out at the finish and a few guys were at my car w/ Karel just talking about the race. Finally the racers finished and I think about 30 people finished. Ouch....what a painful day.
Karel is still sore and I am trying to keep my complaining to a minumum. I am racing again today at noon for my first ever circuit race. I am very nervous because the course is fast, rolling and there are a few sharp corners. I'm sure the same girls will be there and it will hurt more than yesterday. Karel races at 2 and I don't know how he can do this for 4 days in a row. As I mentioned, I am not complaining about my one road race soreness and wanting to quit after the second loop :)

I have so much respect for Karel because he is so passionate about cycling. A little crazy that he likes this pain but I just think he is amazing.
1 more race to go.....

Road Atlanta Race Report

Since everyone is watching the tour (except us right now, without versus in our hotel room :( ) I will talk in "cycling" terms so I can sound just like Karel.
This race report is based on Karel telling all his cycling buddies what happened during the race as he was on the phone for our drive from the race until we got to our hotel and from just watching the race.
As for me, this was the race report I received from Karel....
"It was really hard, that climb was tough, I am happy with my performance, can you get me some cold water I had no fluids for the last 3 loops"

After a 7 hour drive, we arrived to the Road Atlanta car racing course around 5:30pm. We watched a little of the 35+ race and we both registered for the weekend. Karel for all 4 races and me for just sat and sun. I watched the girls race so I could scope out my competition. Karel relaxed for a bit and got ready to warm-up. I acted like a spectator so I just snacked on food and got my camera ready to take pics.
As Karel was warming up I prepared his water bottles (Heed + aminos and water and aminos).
The race started at 7:15 (a little late) and the race was 16 loops (around 35 miles of a 2.4 mile course). Karel placed 4th in this race last year and he absolutely loves this course. However, this year the course loop was backwards from last year so the crazy steep hill that the boys descending on last year was a crazy steep climb at the beginning of each loop. There was still a steep downhill with lots of windy roads along the way so this course is absolutely made for karel. All his intervals at his max would pay off at this race.
It only took 1 loop until Karel made his way to the front of the 50 Pro 1,2 field. Karel likes to sit in the pack and get a feel of the crowd until the race "gets going". However, this time Karel was all about action and instead of responding to moves, he was making them.
Karel and around 6 other guys formed a breakaway which stood strong for about 6-8 loops. There was one solo rider in the front that was totally TT'ing it the whole time. Karel and his group had the chase group trying to catch them for a few more loops and it wasn't until Karel's group caught the Cat 3 riders who started 2 min behind them. So the pro's lapped the Cat 3 riders and now the Cat 3's were hanging on with the Pro's. The Pro chase group got closer to Karel's breakaway group and there was no slowing down on the big climb.
I was enjoying taking pics and cheering but I knew I couldn't get too confident in karel. The race is never over until the riders cross the line. So much can happen in 1 loop and with the race only having 1 loop to go, I knew this would be a sprint to the finish.
The solo rider from a development team won the race by a min or so and then comes the big group of Pros and some Cat 3's. I see Karel in front of the pack but since he was first on the descend down the hill he knew there was no way he could keep up his pace. Karel had all the guys behind him as he was descending and then for a crazy sprint finish, Karel ended up in 7th place. There was a crash on one of the end loops which kinda shook up the riders but it wasn't until the end of the race that everyone looked like that had experienced enough pain for the evening.
So, congrats to Karel and a great way to start off the weekend of racing.
Tonight is the crit in downtown Norcross, GA at 8pm. Karel LOVES crits and hopefully he will have that boost in his legs for another great finish. Tomorrow (sat) we both do a road race and then on sun is the circuit race.
Karel and I rode 4 miles to the circuit race today and practiced 3 loops of the course which we will do on sun. Karel gave me some great pointers and I think he wants me to make some girls suffer...hopefully I won't be the one suffering :)

My computer at our hotel is a bit slow so I put the pics on snapfish for your viewing

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=232557097/a=49603030_49603030/t_=49603030

Crit tonight!!!

If you are in the area or are looking for something EXCITING to do...
come watch the crit tonight in dowtown norcross, GA.

Pro's race at 8pm!!!!

There will be food, vendors, ME and lots of fun.
Let me know if you can make...I know there are some georgia bloggers out there :)

*Karel's race report coming soon...

Heading to Georgia!

It has been a while since Karel and I have been in Georgia. I was telling Kate on our trip up to Lake Lanier for Iron Girl ATL that it is weird to not go to GA without Karel. However, the trip was super quick with two girls just chatting away.

Tomorrow Karel and I head to Lawrenceville, GA for the Gwinett cycling race.
This time, we are both racing. I will be doing the road race and for the first time, a circuit race. I thought about the crit but decided to pass on it. I will leave that crazy stuff to Karel. The first race is tomorrow on a car racing course. It is a crazy course which is about 2.7 miles around and goes up on one side and down the other. Cars race on it so it is super fast. I will take lots of pics don't worry!
Then on fri Karel has the crit in norcross, Ga. On sat we will both do a road race (mine is only 35 miles, Karel's is around 65 or 70 I think) and then on sun is the circuit race which is a 2.5 mile loop of rolling terrain in an office center. I remember last year I ran around the course about 6 times. I was always finding ways to train for Kona in new places :)

I'm looking forward to getting away for a few days. We are staying at an extended stay so we have a full kitchen. No bad meals for us! There is a longhorn near by so I can't wait to have some bread, nuts and a sweet potato!

I will keep everyone updated.

Interval tuesday....AND....Workouts!

Ok, so I'm not all about sports nutrition and Karel. Even though those are two of my loves in life :)

Training has been tough but good. Tough as in, I am sore, tired and moving slow. But good as I am loving every second of it....until I have to walk up 3 flights of stairs with my bike after a long bike ride just to get into my apartment.

Fri morning I did a nice 30 mile ride on my tri bike. After the ride I went to the pool for a good 2000 swim of fast 100's and 50's. Trying to get my swim pace a bit faster for an upcoming Olympic distance in the end of August.
Sat morning I headed out for my long run at around 7am. I think I made it until 7:15am before I was covered in sweat. My M-dot hat has to be deeply cleaned after my sat morning runs because it is hot, hot, hot here in Jacksonville, FL. I ran for 1:48 and covered a lot of ground. 13.2 miles of it. Not too shabby for a long run (mileage and time) but I am still moving my way up. Moving up for what? Not sure. My marathon isn't until Dec. but I just love seeing my body get a little stronger every week. I had to stop at the Trek store on the way home because I was SO thirsty and my fuel belt was done. I aways carry a gel with me but I have been good with just my two flasks of water + aminos and Heed. Now, if I was running a race I would absolutely want more fluid and on sat morning..oh did I need it! I filled up my flasks with water at the Trek store and the guys working were nice but I'm sure I looked just awful. Semi-depleted, sweaty and with only 1.3 miles to go, I was in la-la land and in need of fluids.
I made my way home and quickly grabbed my bike. Out the door for my favorite workout ever...my post-run spin on my tri bike. Oh, it feels so good to just spin my legs at 15 mph. I usually ride my run route to give me around 45 min of spinning my legs. Althought riding my bike after a long run is the last thing I want to do when I am standing in my air-conditioned apartment, it is always nice to have loose legs after the run-ride.
I wasn't able to rest much on sat because I had 3 assignments due on mon for school and a mid-term. I studied all day and then watched a movie with Karel once he got off work.

Sunday was a long ride with Karel and it ended up being me and Curtis, Jeff and Karel (Linder capital riders) for 35 miles of my ride. It was great just sitting on their wheels and since Jeff (karel's boss) just got back from Trek bike tour in Europe, Karel was enjoying listening to Jeff's stories of beer, food and riding in beautiful Czech. I made my turn home around 35 miles while the rest of the guys headed straight to give them 90 miles. For me, well I planned on doing 50 but I didn't realize how far out we were, so I ended up with 65 miles. No time to run, it was around 10 and I needed to start my studying. That's school for ya...a big reason why I am not doing an Ironman this year. Studying for school is one thing that you can't crame and same goes for long training. You miss one day of what you are suppose (school or training) to do and you feel the negative affects later on (exam or race).
That evening Karel and I went to the Cheesecake factory..one of my favorite "fine-dining" restaurants :), Second to Outback, the Cheesecake factory is upscale for me :) We met another couple (Chris and Sara) at my talk and invited them to come with us. It was nice to get to know another couple but with 4 athletes at the table (Sara is a runner, Chris does motorcross) we went through a few bread baskets and most of the talk was on nutrition :) Appropriate place right??...Don't make eye contact with the cheesecake Karel!

Monday was a well needed day off. I took my Food service mid-term in the morning, finished up my assignments to turn in later that afternoon and then walked to the Trek store (about 20 min. walk) to work from 4:30-7.

This morning I had a good interval tuesday. A little bit of everything this morning since my legs are a bit tired. But with watching the beginning of the tour on the treadmill TV this morning (Don't miss the tour today..it is a GREAT one of climbing! But we haven't watched the finish so don't tell me who wins!) I was entertained for all of my run.
10 min warm-up at 7.3 mph
5 x 50 sec at 8.5mph w/ 10 sec recovery
5 min run at 7.6 mph
5 x 30 sec at 9mph w/ 30 sec recovery at 7.7mph
5 min run at 7.6 mph
4 x 90 sec at 8.8 mph w/ 30 sec recovery at 7.6mph
2 min run at 7.7 mph
4 x 60 sec at 9mph w/ 30 sec recovery at 7.6mph
4 min run at 7.7mph
Total: 51 min, 7 miles

I did a few weights to give my heart a break from pounding and then headed down to the pool. I love my outdoor pool!

500 warm-up swim, 200 kick.
4 x (50 easy, 50 fast, 100 easy, 100 fast). cycle for 50's:50 sec, cycle for 100's 1:50.
Nice and easy, plenty of rest. 2000 yards with warm-down.

Phew...I'm tired just typing all of that!

Amino Acids

My first love of sports nutrition is protein (in the diet and for recovery) and the active individual (aka athlete/exercise enthusiast). My second love, is the building block of protein: amino acids.
Just the other day I was scrolling MSNBC.msncom and read something very interesting about Dara Torres, the 41 year old Olympic swimmer who is rumored to be doping. Now the talk is about a supplement she is taking.....long pause.....Amino Acids!
Hum...amino acids? I mean, can you tell me something new that athletes don't already know. Or maybe it is just one of the many supplements that is mixed with the many other supplements that are available on the market. You have heard of them, you've read about them, maybe you have tried them, but just aren't sure if they will work for you.
Time for me to step in.....
Take a look at almost any current nutrition products (hammer, GU, Accelerade, cytomax, infinit, base nutrition by Chris Lieto, first endurance and amino vital) and you will see one of the following ingredients:


The most common amino acids are glutamin, isoleucine (BCAA), leucine (BCAA), valine (BCAA), Tyrosine and Arginine. These amino acids, among many other ingredients, help you feel better during exercise. So, how do they work?

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. These amino acids are similar to the proteins found in real food but in a higher percentage when found in sports drinks.
The branch chain amino acids, leucine, isolecuine and valine and the many other essential amino acids can be viewed as brain fuel. During endurance exercise your brain increases its level of tryptophan which is a precursor to serotonin. You all know of serotonin right? That feel good, boy I’m tired for no reason chemical in the body? As serotonin levels increase, BCAA levels in the brain decrease. This isn’t good. The brain begins to fatigue and performance, exercising or competing begins to suffer. Through the supplementation of BCAA’s (around 3-6 grams per hour during exercise) you will feel more energized during the workout, use fat more efficiently and you will also think more clearly.
Another sport fuel that people love to use during training is sport bars. Anything liquid will get into the bloodstream quickly. Anything solid must be digested, absorbed by the small intestines and then taken up into the blood…if it is properly digested. If you are exercising, where do you want the blood to go? To the muscles of course. Not to the stomach. I like to view solid food, like bars, sport beans and gel blocks as accessories to your liquid fuels. They are stomach satisfiers not fuel givers. I recommend having a bar if a workout lasts longer than 2 ½ hours and not having that bar until you reach the 2 ½ hr mark. Have ¼ bar will help you digest the bar a lot easier than eating it all at once. A lot of people look for sport bars with protein because of the muscle damage that occurs with long distance training. The BCAA’s are your best bet for reducing muscle damage during exercise and giving you fuel because they can be consumed in liquid form to get into the bloodstream very quickly.
Any protein that you consume must be broken down into amino acids in the small intestines, absorbed through the tissues and then taken to the liver where it is broken into ketones. At this point, amino acids can be used for repair. Since you don’t use protein for fuel during exercise, the protein that is in a bar or packaged food is broken down many times before it can be used to repair. So if you look at a bar that has 10, 15 or 20 grams of protein, think about how much protein you are actually getting into the muscles and tissues after it is broken down? Not very much. However, BCAA’s are not broken down in the liver. They go right to the skeletal muscles and after they are metabolized they can actually be used for immediate fuel. I think everyone would benefit from amino acids during exercise to help you go longer and to delay fatigue. Even for the short workouts, a scoop of base performance with 30 calories may help you increase your running or cycling pace and help you get in a high intensity hour workout.
If you want to use protein in food to receive amino acids in the diet, choose milk/soy milk, lean meat, eggs, whey protein, cottage cheese, cheese or even beans and nuts which provide more of a complete protein than anything processed (whey, eggs, lean meat and milk are your best choices for complete protein.

Here is what I recommend:
Whey protein: 90-120 calories per scoop (around 18-22 g protein) around 30 minutes after long workouts. Choose an affordable protein powder (whey) of almost ALL protein. You can mix with water or milk if you can't get to a blender (working out on the road away from home) or make a smoothie after a long workout. Factor in smoothie calories into your post workout meal so you don't end up with more than 500 calories at your post workout meals. Aim for around 350-400 calories with your long workout meal even with a 200-250 calorie smoothie. Eat the meal around 1-2 hours after the smoothie. This way you don't overdo it and listen to your body who is incorrectly telling you that because you burned 1500 calories (mostly fat if you are working out long and mostly aerobically) that you need to eat a 1000 calorie meal. WRONG!
For those shorter workouts, 1/2-1 scoop whey protein with water (or a little milk) after 60 min. high intensity workouts or two a day workouts (either workout you can have it after but I recommend after the harder workout).
Two Amino acid products I recommend, in addition to HAMMER as your primary sports nutrition fuel (Maltodextrin as primary ingredient for your sports drinks):
Amino vital pro for your drink during long workouts. 1 scoop in a bottle. You can also choose amino vital endurance which has a little more calories.
Amino acids base nutrition (by Chris lieto) is what I totally LOVE and that can be added in hammer heed (add about 1/2 - 1 scoop of the aminos into 1 scoop heed) per water bottle.
Amino acids base nutrition can be added to water during high intensity workouts around an hour (around 1/2-1scoop), especially if you workout first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (which I recommend).

Good luck!

Tuna salad!

I just got a question from one of my BeginnerTriathlete.com nutrition athletes and she told me she loves tuna salad. She wasn't sure if she should cut it out or if I could suggest a healthier option. Never eliminate food, substitute when you are trying to eat more healthy.
Karel is also a fan of tuna salad as well as potato salad. Tuna salad seems healthy (fish right?) but it isn't until you add the mayo that the tuna salad becomes a fatty and calorie filled meal. You'd think the Tuna sub at a place like Subway would be healthy but with 530 calories and 31 grams of fat (1030mg sodium) for a 6 inch sub, you might think twice about how healthy tuna salad can really be.
I love to eat and I love to cook. I love making my own versions of food from restaurants or that I see on the food network. It is sad that the foods which we could eat without any remorse (many years ago) are now foods which are high in calories, fat and sodium because Americans want more and food manufactures are giving us more. When we use to go out for ice cream as a treat (this was a special time for me when I was young and my parents would take me to get ice cream as a treat for my good grades in school) ice cream is now a staple in the diet or the meal we eat after we have dinner. It is sad that we have to be so careful about how we eat but it isn't until you start to lose focus on what you are eating that you begin to put on pounds or the blood sugar sores out of control. I always say "eat consciously!"
Anyways, last night I wanted to make my own tuna salad for Karel and mix in something with potatoes. Karel makes a homemade potato salad which is super healthy and yummy which his mom would make for him all that time when he was in the Czech. Karel loves white potatoes (in addition to pasta) so I try to cut out some of those starchy calories to add more vitamins, minerals and fiber (there is nothing wrong with a white potato but leave off the sour cream and cheese). For those looking to reduce the amount of white starches in the diet, choose a sweet potato for more fiber (7g) compared to a white potato (4g).
I decided to make him tuna salad with canned tuna and then make a marni version. Ok, so mine wasn't anything like his tuna salad but I used some of the same ingredients.
For Karel's tuna salad I used 1 can light tuna in water (drained water) and mixed in 1 tbsp (1 little squirt) of fat-free mayo. I then chopped up 2 hard boiled egg whites and added 1/2 yolk. I added chopped scallions (you can also use onions) and added a little of canned tomatoes w/ chili's (from the other night). That's it..karel's tuna salad. I didn't taste it (the downside of a vegetarian cooking for a meat-eater) but Karel said it tasted just fine.
For me I used 2 egg whites and 1/2 yolk and added my vegetarian sausage, scallions and tomatoes. I also cooked about 1/4 cup egg beaters in the microwave (pour egg beaters in bowl sprayed with pam or butter spray and cook about 45 sec - 1 min for quick eggs) to give my marni salad some consistency.
For the rest of the meal I cooked the leftover chick peas (from my burgers) and mushrooms (I love cooked mushrooms!) and corn and I added some hashbrowns for the potatoes. Plan to cook the hashbrowns and corn first if they are frozen.
For our bread (we usually have some kind of bread at dinner) I bought whole wheat sub and I used half of one and covered it with a little swiss and mozzerella cheese. I used 1 sub for Karel and cut it in half and used the same cheeses (I used 1 slice swiss cheese and tour it into pieces to cover the subs). I put them in the microwave for about 25 sec. to melt the cheese and then sprinkled on some italian spices. This sub+cheese mixture would be a great start to a pizza if you wanted to add some sauce, veggies and a protein.
We both used our "salads" to cover the subs and filled our plates with the cooked veggie mixture. I also made a quick salad of spinach, carrots, strawberries and apples and crumbled rosemary and olive oil crackers (I bought them at wal-mart as an alternative to croutons). Another yummy and healthy meal!
*This is dedicated to all my non-vegetarians out there :)

Burger night!

I was overwhelmed with work yesterday. Nothing new. Two things in my life de-stress me: Training and cooking. Of course, spending time with karel will make me happy but I can't admit that I am always stress-free when I am with him (I'm sure he can attest to what I am like when I am stressed :0
I didn't work at the Trek store because I was busy, busy, busy with an overwhelming amount of nutrition consultations (not complaining!) so I made a quick trip .3 miles down the road to Food Lion to pick up a few groceries. Last night Karel and I had chickpea burgers.
When I start the day everyday I think about what I am going to eat for all my meals. Breakfast is usually oatmeal but occasionally I will have a yummy-filled whey smoothie with dry cereal in it (get it, instead of cereal and milk I have smoothie and cereal..a lot more filling than 1 serving of cereal). Lunch is usually some carb (wrap, bread, veggies) with egg beaters. A staple to my diet...egg whites as often as I can eat them!
Lots of snacks during the day, yogurt, string cheese, wasa cracker with natural PB, nuts, fruit and veggies.
Then for dinner I try to spice up the diet. I always have protein as the main part of my dinner meal: tofu, egg whites or veggie meat. Then I try to think about what I can make for both Karel and I using either my protein or something for me and adding real meat to his meal. I'm ok with touching frozen or deli meat but I won't cook a whole chicken or turkey.
Since I don't meausre anything I am fully aware of serving sizes. I love reading labels and it is just second nature for me to guess how much I am eating. Plus, I am aware of how much food i need to be full because I have trained by body to only need around 300-400 calories to be satisfied. Not only do I eat VERY slow (longtime habit) but I drink water with all my meals (starting before my meals) and I always combine protein and fiber with my meals. Just a habit now but it did take a while to make those changes.
Here's the chickpea burger.
Since I don't have a food processor (it will be on my wedding registry!) I blended 1/2 can chickpeas, 1/2 can diced tomatoes (drained) w/ chili peppers, some corn (probably around 1/2 cup) veggie sausage and a little water to get it going. I also added a little rice and veggies from Karel's risotto from the other night.
I then poured the mixture in a bowl and added a little whole wheat flour and an egg. I mixed it all up, added some hot sauce and made my burgers on a medium-hot pan sprayed with olive oil spray. I used a little olive oil for my veggies to increase the nutrient content.
I suggest using smaller plates for all those who like to eat with their eyes. I am use to recognizing my portions but for people trying to eat less, just use a smaller plate to make your food portion look bigger without adding extra food to fill the plate. I added a whole wheat english muffin to karel's and instead of making a sandwich he has an open face chickpea burger. I topped the burgers with cheese (real cheese when cheese is a topping, low-skim or reduced fat when cheese makes up all of the meal. Fat-free cheese is just too expensive for me and well, it doesn't really have much flavor after eating the real stuff). For the toppings (or sides) I heated up mushrooms and onions with chili flakes and topped the burgers with a tomato. We also had a nice salad with romaine lettuce, carrots and apples and for desert I made croissants.
This is a favorite of Karel and I. We take reduced fat pillsbury croissants and put sugar-free jelly inside before we roll them up. I also like to make breadsticks with them and I cut the individual croissants in half to make more with less calories for each stick. YUm!

Interval tuesday is BACK!

Ok, so I've been doing my intervals but my consistency of blogging about them hasn't been up to par.
On mon morning I prepared for my talk by walking on the treadmill for 50 min and practicing my talk in my head. Then to the pool for a 1500 swim to think about my talk some more.
Although I was nervous (as usual) the talk went great! After the talk last night at the trek store I was super motivated to train. There was around 23 people at the talk and the crowd asked some great questions. A lot of nutrition products (Hammer) were sold at a discount after the talk and I passed around my card. I received a number of emails this morning and I'm so glad that I impacted the people at my talk. There is nothing more that I love to do than to talk about nutrition and educate. I feel my take on nutrition is different from a lot of exercise physiologists and dietitians. I try to merge the physiology of the body with nutrition so that I can see food as fuel.
The best part of the talk was the beginning where Karel introduced me. This clinic was all about teamwork and I could not have had the opportunity to speak without karel. As the manager of the Trek store, Karel is always looking for more ways to bring people to the store. Besides good customer service, all the guys at the store are always looking out for the best interest in the customer. It isn't just about selling bikes. So for karel to want to put on a nutrition clinic, I jumped on the opportunity. Karel doesn't like talking in front of people, whereas the more the better for me. So a BIG thanks to Karel for introducing me and for the other Trek boys to stick around for my talk.
Karel and I got a ride home from the shop last night since we both rode our bikes to the shop and the rain was non-stop all during my talk and afterwards. When we got home karel was immersed in the Tour while I put on my headphones and studied on the computer. It was a late night for us but just another busy day for me.
This morning I set my alarm at 6:15am and I was up quickly. I made my coffee and then got dressed. I kissed karel good bye and I was out the door at 6:30am. I made my drive the Y (I am now a Brooks YMCA member!) for my interval tuesday run.
I got on my treadmill, plugged in my headphones so I could watch MTV as I run my legs off and started my run. To avoid my bonking experience from last week I decided to opt out of the bottle of water and I had a bottle of aminos for this workout. This totally did the trick because i felt amazing during the workout. Only around 15 calories and those aminos did the trick.
Here's the workout:
10 min warm-up
5 x 45 sec at 8.5 mph
8 x 90 sec at 9.0 mph w/ 30 sec recovery
6 x 45 sec at 9.5 mph w/ 15 sec recovery
4 x 20 sec at 9.8 mph w/ 10 sec recovery
Total workout: 50 min, 7.2 miles
I did about 3-4 min of recovery at 7.8-8mph in between each set and that recovery speed felt so much easier than the warm-up at 7.5mph.

I was so sweaty after the workout but felt so great. I did a few arm exercises and some abs and then headed to the pool. I was a little pressed for time since I needed to be out the door of the Y at 9:00am but I ended up with a 2200 swim.
500 warm-up
4 x 100 drill
2 x 400 swim
300 pull
100 kick
100 warm-up

I had to get to Jacksonville University at 9:30 where I am being mentored for my school Food service course. This is part of my online dietetic program so I have to observe a food service facility. I am observing the university cafeteria where I am learning a lot. Although I wish there were better food choices (now i know why people gain the freshman 15...or 25) the facility is top notch, clean and good with lots of healthy food choices (in addition to the fries and other fried food).

Well, back to work here. So much to do and the hours just fly by. I am looking forward to the weekend because this is Karel and I's last free weekend until mid Aug. We have races coming up and a trip to Dunedin (wedding stuff) in the beginning of Aug. Same old stuff here for me...super busy and trying to find time for everything!

Sports Nutrition Clinic!

NUTRITION CLINIC AT TREK STORE JULY 14

CERVELO SUMMER BLOW OUT SALE
15% off all nutrition products in the store!!!

Trek Bicycle Store
Mandarin, Florida
presents:

Nutrition Seminar
by
Marni Rakes, M.S.


Master of Science- Exercise Physiology
Certified Sports Nutritionist
USAT Level-1 Coach
Ironman World Championship Finisher

Fueling for the long workouts

July 14th at 7pm

COME EARLY FOR YOUR
FREE GIFT!!!


I know you blog readers live far away...but if you are in town, please come!!!
Maybe one day I will speak in your town!

Heavy legs

Karel and I are sore. Really sore. So sore, we had our whey protein, my blueberry and strawberry with chopped walnut pancakes, lots of water, fruit, brown rice and veggie mix (that Karel made), ice cream and more water....and we are still sore. But the pancakes tasted SOOOOO good, as usual :)

Yesterday morning I left at 7am for my long run. I had a piece of toast with a little PB a few raisins and a little banana. I stick with oatmeal for my pre-ride workouts. When I have trouble getting out the door, like this morning, I try to think about the people that i am coaching. This morning I thought about kate's sis (kelley) who I am coaching for her first marathon. As of now she has only done 2 5K's but as of this morning, she did her first 1:50 run!!! I've been working with her for 9 weeks and from not ever having ran a race, she is doing amazing! So for me, 1 hour and 42 minutes, 12 miles....and a lot of soreness was just what I needed to do that morning. I finished my two flasks in my fuel belt (heed and heed + aminos) before 90 minutes and I was so sweaty when I got home. Just as I got home, I grabbed a quick sip of water before I grabbed seduza. I headed out for a nice hour spin and passed Karel heading the opposite direction. My legs were a little stiff during the day but with no time for a nap (so much studying and work). I had to go to the Trek store to evaluate some nutrition products. I love it when Karel tells me they get new nutrition products cause then I become a happy little kid in a sugar-free candy store :)
After Karel got off work we took our weekly trip to the pet store to look at fish, fish supplies and fish stuff and then we had a nice dinner at the StoneWood Grill. YUM!!! I had a great salad for dinner but the bread was just fabulous :) Karel and I had a gift certificate from a friend of ours (thanks james sweeney!) so karel enjoyed his wine, grouper, rice and soup....I thoroughly enjoyed my bread basket.
Of course we watched the tour that we taped and before we knew it 9pm and we were out!
Ok, so this morning was just torturous! Riding with the group, only a few girls and a lot of ciaos. I guess every group ride is different but riding with the Gearlinkers I was trained by the best. Now I get to these group rides in Jax and I don't understand the rotation, their lines and what they are getting out of the ride. So for drafting, by someone who has trouble drafting, I guess I was exerted a lot of effort. Karel had to change his fork on his cervelo so I met Karel at the shop at 7am with our friend Cody. We headed up to the Open Road cycling shop where the ride started at 7:30. The ride was a bit slow at first with around 40 people heading out on the road. Karel decided to make a move and a few guys followed. I didn't want to get dropped by Karel because I didn't know where I was going so I decided to chase down the 5 guys in the break away. Ok, silly me. I can't catch them...but I tried! I was pushing in my hardest gear (I blame my slow twitch fibers) and I had a few other guys helping me out. Finally we caught them but not too long afterwards, some guy told Karel that they had to slow down until a certain part of the ride. Oh jeez...Karel just laughed that he was going too fast. Well, eventually the pace did pick up and I kept finding myself in the front 5-10 people, Slowly i would make my way up to the front and then Karel and I were pulling.
I had a few pulls as we were rotating on our own time but I didn't have much in the tank. My legs were just shot the whole workout and I really don't know how I hung out.
There was one flat and a small crash so the pace slowed down a bit. I noticed that Karel wasn't with the group after the crash and a few other guys and 1 girl had pulled away from the group.
We all met at the gas station for a refill on drinks and a bathroom stop. There was Karel and he gave me a quick kiss and off he and cody went for more miles.
I finally made it home....average speed 21 mph and I ended up with 67 miles. I finished off the workout with a good 20 min. run and that was the most enjoyable part of the workout. Well, maybe because I knew my pancakes were coming soon after I cleaned myself up.
It was about 90 minutes after I came home that in walks Karel. Glycogen depleted and hot. 95 miles....slacker..can't even make it to 100 :)
I am going to sleep so well tonight. After studying, doing work and trying to take mini breaks to check my email...I can't wait to go to bed!
hope everyone had a great weekend. :)

PIZZA!!!!

Who doesn't love pizza. Bread, tomato sauce, cheese, veggies, tofu, vegetarian meat....did I go too far??

I was in the mood for pizza last night and I think Karel craves pizza at least once a week. We rarely order out (maybe once every 1 1/2 - 2 months) but when we do I usually get thin crust, 1/2 veggies and 1/2 meat (for Karel). And I always make a big salad as the entree to the pizza. Instead of pizza with salad we like to have salad with a side of pizza.

Since I love making my own versions of restaurant/fast food items I like to make my own pizza's. I have made wrap pizzas w/ an open low-carb wheat wrap, sauce, veggies and cheese. Sometimes we buy a thin crust frozen cheese pizza (low in calories and price) at the grocery and then load it up with our own fresh toppings like corn, peppers, veggie meat, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, etc. and lots of spices. When we have a little more time, Karel buys fresh dough and he makes his own pizza. Although not thin crust to save on calories, I feel super healthy eating something that is all home-made.

I didn't work at the shop last night because I had a lot of work to do (mostly studying) but I wanted to go to Wal-mart to get some groceries. We are going through fruit like crazy here in our house and with blueberries and stawberries in season, I find myself going to the store at least once a week for a berry-run.
As I am driving to the store I am thinking what to make for dinner. Since it has been a while since we have had pizza, I thought I'd make my own. I contemplated about taco wraps and pizza for a while but since I entertained Kate with my meat-free tacos a few weeks ago, I thought I'd put the wraps back on the shelf. As usual, I made my way to the bread area and I just wasn't pleased with my selection. Nothing that would really make my pizza taste like a pizza. I headed to the fresh bread/bakery area and decided I would make French Bread pizza. Since I know how to save calories when I cook, I wasn't concerned about the big, white bread loaf.
I gathered a few other things for my pizza which we also eat regularly....
Mushrooms
Canned Tomatoes w/ spicy peppers
Firm Tofu
Meat-free sausage
Onions
Frozen Corn
Green Jalapeno Pepper
Nuts
Mexican shredded cheese (regular)


















First I heated two pans, one for my sauce and one for the toppings.
The sauce consisted of 1/2 can of the tomatoes w/ onions and mushrooms.
The toppings took a little longer to cook because the corn was frozen. I chopped up the tofu, pepper and veggie sausage and used a small portion of each. I also chopped up some nuts and added a small handful to the veggies for a little crunch.
Once the toppings and sauce were cooked, I turned off the burners and covered the pans with a lid to stay warm. I turned the oven on to 400 degrees for the bread.




I try to save calories when it comes to bread so I cut off a 10-12" portion of bread for both Karel and I. I needed to make 3 portions of the bread, 1 for me and 2 for Karel. I cut the bread horizontally into 3rds. I picked out a little of the dough from the inside of the two outside pieces so that I would have room to layer in the sauce and toppings. Plus, the best part of pizza is the crunchy crust so we didn't need all the extra dough (and calories) in the bread. I put the pieces in the oven for a few minutes until they were a little golden on top.




I sprinkled a little cheese on the bread and spiced it up with some chille flakes. I prepared my plate and I let Karel finish off however much he wanted. I'm not big in serving people nor do I like to be served. You never know if someone is super hungry or just a little hungry and if everyone can recognize how much food they needed in terms of calories, it is a lot more healthy to just serve yourself. I know, you have to be polite sometimes and hopefully in that case, you just eat until you are satisfied and not until you are finished with the plate.

I turned off the oven and put the bread w/ the cheese into the oven for a minute or two until the cheese melted. Then it was time to pile on the sauce and finish off my plate with the veggies. Karel and I both ended up topping our pizza's with the veggies but I wanted to put my veggies on the side of the plate to make my eyes think that I was eating a lot rather than just putting a small portion of veggies on the pizza and leaving half my plate empty.

My dad use to make me and my brother french bread pizza when we were younger and I think with my new healthy twists (yes, the tofu and vegetarian sausage tasted REALLY good, even according to Karel) I think you will love this pizza!
My dinner took me less than 20 minutes to make and when watching the Tour on TV, this was one GOOD meal.
Enjoy!

Recovery Week

As of today I am calling this a recovery week. My workouts have been great but I haven't been in the mood to do more than one sport a day. I work out hard for around an hour and then it is just a relief to be done with the workout. I didn't plan on this week being a recovery week but to make my ego feel better I am just fine with my one-sport-a-day workout. Tuesday was an interval running day and I did:
3 min at 8.5 mph w/ 1 min at 7.5mph
2 x 1:15 at 8.8 mph w/ 30 sec recovery at 7.5 mph
2 x 30 sec at 9 mph w/ 15 sec recovery at 7.5 mph

I planned on doing the set 3 times but after 2 my heart said no more. I went into the workout feeling a little tired and I think my blood sugar was just too low that morning. Especially after a long weekend of long workouts I am pretty sure I just had a little empty tank. That is why I always pay attention to my workouts and I try not to jump to the conclusion that i have to eat more because I am tired. I simply should have had a small snack prior to the workout or a sport drink during the workout and I would have been fine. For a 45-min workout, I knew I didn't have to overload myself with lots of food after the workout in order to feel better on wed.
Well, wed came and I felt great. A 30 mile bike ride and I averaged 18 mph. I felt strong and just cruised along my loop in Mandarin. This morning I ran my 8 miles, out and back and I ran it in 1:06. I just found out that the Jacksonville Marathon is in my backyard....my same route that I run most of my runs! The race is in Dec. and I'm visualizing my marathon run everytime I set foot on the course.

Karel has been training really hard lately but he has also been feeling really tired. Of course, pushing at 170+% of his power (around 500+ watts) for 30 sec to 1 min. would make anyone feel tired but he hasn't been like himself. I always look at nutrition first because working out is tiring. However, nutrition can make a huge difference in wanting to do the workout before it starts and being able to complete the entire workout.

When Kate and I did Iron girl atlanta, Karel was enjoying his last couple of days of a recovery week. No training for almost 5 days and then a Power test with his coach to finish out the weekend. As part of his recovery week, Karel enjoys a beer with dinner, wings and whatever else he chooses. To many people's suprise, no I am not controlling what he eats ever moment of the day. However, when nutrition begins to negatively affect performance, I must step in.
Last week was the first week for Karel to start a new set of intervals with new numbers, new zones and a new training plan. The intervals were incredibly hard and different from what he was doing but karel didn't feel the power in his legs like he did over the past few weeks (prior to recovery week).
I noticed that Karel was still enjoying some of the foods he was enjoying over his recovery week and ultimately, the body was not only repairing damaged tissues (thus making him feel a little tired, stiff and heavy) but his body chemistry had changed.
After I came back from my ride on wed I suggested to Karel to "clean up" the diet. Karel eats healthy and snacks on healthy food but I suggested to really think about how much he is eating at one time, to drink more water and to focus on controlling the blood sugar with less sugar and more complex carbs and lean protein.
Because of Karel's passion for cycling, being healthy and feeling strong he went right into action and started implementing the changes..yesterday morning!!! It only took him 1 hour to think about food for fuel and that was the missing link. I thought it may take him a few days to get rid of the cravings that he had been giving in to w/ sweets and his beer but he was ready to eat like he wanted to perform.
Karel, and I'm sure many other people, don't have to worry about body composition as much as performance. With so many people, there is so much muscle mass that calories just come in and then go out. But for the majority of people, food is fuel and ultimately, performance is reflected by the food you eat.
And to put my study of 1 to the test, Karel came back from 12 x 30 sec at 595 watts w/ 4:30 recovery and he said he felt good. Never great because those intervals are just way too hard, but he was happy that he was able to finish the test and feel good at the end.

My tips for recovery week:

Take off a week of whatever (exerice, nothing, unstructured activity) if you are coming off a marathon, half marathon, 70.3 or IM AND are planning on doing another race in the next couple of weeks or 2 months.

Take off 2-3 days after a half marathon, olympic distance or 70.3 if you are have no future race planned in the next 2 months. After the 2-3 days, get into some type of exercise routine, which doesn't have to be planned or structured.

Enjoy some of your favorite foods the day after a big race if you crave them. Be sure to focus on protein w/ your carbs, especially if the carb is high in sugar. The 3-4 days after a race be sure to clean up the diet by reducing your "sweets" and focusing on balanced meals and snacks.

The day after a race be sure to eat regularly every couple of hours for meals and snacks. If you aren't exercising, be sure to eat within 1 hour of waking (after your coffee is fine) and try not to eat within 1 hour of going to bed. A small snack is recommended around 1-2 hours after dinner of around 50-150 calories if you have to give in to cravings.

Always choose water as your main source of hydration during the day.

Listen to your body when you are eating. Are you hungry because your blood sugar has dropped or are you eating because your stomach is empty? By eating sweets, drinking coke and not drinking enough water you will find your blood chemicals altering and you may find difficulty controlling what, how much and when you eat when you do decide to kick up the intensity.

TAG...I'M IT!

Time to learn a little about me....

10 years ago I was.....
16 years old, finishing my sophomore year of HS. I was swimming around 15 hours a week for my USA Swimming team and HS. I was also playing piano, studying to maintain my 3.5+ GPA and dancing at the "club" on saturday nights with my girls. I was also really into boys but I didn't have time for a bf....luckily, they were all losers and now I have a keeper (karel). I wanted to be a reconstructive surgeon for the face and hoped to go to medical school after swimming in college.

5 years ago....
I just finished my senior year of college and graduated with a BA in Exercise Science and a minor in psychology. I also graduated with 4 years of collegiate swimming and 1 year of cross country (senior year). I worked the summer as a personal trainer at the Y and I completed my first sprint triathlon (which took me around 2 hours). I received a scholarship from FAU and I was packing up my stuff to make the solo move to Davie, Florida for graduate school. I completed an olympic distance triathlon and thought my Giant hybrid was the coolest bike ever.

1 year ago.....
I was enrolling in the online accredited dietetic program to become a registered dietitian. I quit my job at the YMCA as the wellness coordinator to pursue my dream of being a sports nutritionist and started writing, speaking and consulting on a daily/weekly basis. I moved in to my parents house until I was no longer broke from school. Karel and I moved in together and I got engaged to my best friend. My triathlon dream came true and I finished the Ford Ironman world championships.

5 things on my to do list....
1. Study
2. Make dinner
3. Clean (never gets done when it's on my list)
4. Call my mom (everyday)
5. Answer emails

5 snacks I enjoy.....
1. WASA crackers with Publix Crunchy natural PB
2. Blueberries, bananas, cereal, raisins and Lit n' Fit vanilla yogurt
3. Water
4. String cheese
5. Nuts

If I was a billionaire......
1. I would buy a house so I could start a family with Karel.
2. I would give money to the Human Society to be sure all animals have a home and are healthy.
3. I would help out any of my family members who needed help with money (even though it seems like I am always the one struggling with money....chasing my dream perhaps???)
4. I would travel the world with Karel.
5. Karel and I would do more races far away.
6. I would continue my education and get a PhD.
7. I would fly Karel's entire family to the US to visit us and I would visit all of my family more often.

6 people I would like to have lunch with tomorrow.....
1. All my good girlfriends from HS
2. My brother (who lives in Pitt, PA)
3. Karel's parents
4. My grandma (who passed away when I was 12)
5. My dog Misty who passed away last year. Well, I'd like to give her my left over food because she always liked to "cook" with me.
6. Anyone who I can pick their brain about sports nutrition research.

5 places I have lived.....
1. Lexington, Kentucky
2. Davie, Florida
3. New Port Richey, FL
4. Dunedin, FL
5. Jacksonville, FL

5 Jobs I have had....
1. Pool Manager
2. Personal Trainer/spin instructor
3. Graduate Assistant/researcher
4. Wellness coordinator
5. Sports Nutrition consulting/writer/speaker (current)

I wish....

I love the olympics!! How inspiring and motivating, watching all these athletes pursuing a dream. A wish for many just to make it to the trials but a lifetime of training to land on the podium in Bejing. Karel and I spent the weekend watching cycling and the olympics. The Tour is exciting and for the third year in a row, I love listening to Karel's comments on the race. I think Phil L. may lose his job to Karel if Phil continues to mess up on teams and the names of the athletes :) As far as the olympics I am reminded of all my 10 years of competitive swimming. I swam from the age of 12 (late bloomer for a swimmer) until I graduated from college. I remember going into all my races (100 breast, 200 fly and 200 IM) wishing for a win. I never won a meet, just a win for my heat or a win in pre-lims to make it into finals. I would wish for a great race, a great season or a great relay win. I see many of the athletes in the olympics thanking God (or a higher being) and I'm sure there is a lot of wishing prior to the events. Wishing to not get injured at the trials, wishing to place top 1,2 or 3 in order to make a team and wishing for a teammate to have a great race. While training your body to compete at a top level is one thing, having confidence and wishful thinking is what a race comes down to. Wishing and hoping come with every athlete before a race and I know that I've wished for things (no rain, wind or fast competition) and ultimately my wish doesn't come true. But wishing is always fun when it comes to a competitive event.
Well, then we get to the wishing of a loved one or friend. You wish they would not be sick anymore, you wish your friend/loved one didn't have to pass away and you wish that your loved one or friend didn't have to get an illness or disease. Again, wishing may not do any good but a wish to change something bad or to feel bad for a situation is just part of being sensitive and having feelings.
How many times have you wished that you could easily lose weight? When was the last time you wished that you could eat as much as your significant other or your friend? Did you find yourself wishing that eating healthy could be easy?
I hear from a lot of people that they wish they could just eat whatever they wanted and not have to worry about what they are eating. Wishing that they didn't have to feel restricted with food when trying to lose weight. I even catch myself watching Karel and wishing that I could eat like him. Eating as much as he wants, eating whatever he wants and just not worrying about what he eats. Well, I started thinking about how silly I was sounding when I actually "wished" that I could eat differently. I am eating for me and my body. If I could wish for anything, I wish that people on bikes wouldn't get hit by cars. I wish that animals wouldn't get hit by cars. I wish that there was a cure for all cancers. I wish that people could live to old age without getting killed by vehicles or guns. I wish that my parents, grandparents, brother and family members could all live a happy and healthy life. There are things that I wish for....not that I should be wishing that i could eat whatever I want.
I think people tend to wish for things to be easy. Well, most things. When it comes to training for a triathlon or a cycling race, you are ok with the fact that it won't be easy. Training your body to get stronger or faster takes time and a lot of hard work. Training for an event doesn't happen over night and it takes a lot of dedication. When it comes to losing weight or getting more lean, it is not easy. A lot of people feel that gaining weight is easy but when you think about increasing your risk of being sick/being ill, increasing stress, increasing sadness and the other many emotions that come with gaining weight, it isn't fun. However, losing control of good eating habits is what causes people to gain weight. Eating something or more of something is what puts on pounds. Losing weight does involve restriction but you are restricting yourself from foods which caused you to put on the extra pounds. Eating conciously and being smart with your food choices may be difficult at first but then you learn to eat for yourself. You no longer have to wish that you could eat like everyone else because you know you are eating to be healthy.
I know losing weight is hard and I know eating to fuel your training is hard. But rather than wishing to be like someone else or wishing for an easier option, enjoy the process of eating healthy and ultimately the rewards will be priceless.

4th of July

What a great 3-day weekend...so far. One more day to go but with my parents gone and school work to be done, boo for sunday.

My parents came in on thurs and it was so good to see them. However, they brought their cats so we had an angry house. Princess Smudla (hence the pink collar) was not very happy but she did very well with the two boys (midnight and rugby) in the house.


Friday morning Karel and I met the Open Road group ride and rode with them for 30 miles. It was a quick 30-miles as we averaged around 24-25 mph. I found myself making my way to the front in a single file line and with 3 guys to go, Karel rode up and told me we had to turn around. Phew...relief. I knew I couldn't keep that pace and I was just surprised I was staying on a wheel. On the way home, Karel pulled me in headwind and my legs never stopped pedaling. One of the downsides to riding on flats all the time. The roads were clear of cars which was great and I was really amazed that i could keep up with Karel. We were averaging around 20-21mph in headwind and I couldn't believe that Karel was not slowing down and still pulling me. I was really proud of myself for my ride on tired running legs and the blueberry pancakes w/ raisins I made tasted soooo good. We were back with 57 miles before 9:30am.
After we had our breakfast we got ready and headed to the movies. Something Karel and I NEVER do but we had a great time watching Get Smart. I love laughing so with Steve Carrell in a movie (from my favorite show The Office) Karel, my parents and I had a great time. Funny movie.
After the movie, time for lunch. Karel took a mini nap and I spent time with my mom talking wedding stuff. My dad enjoyed watching the fish.
We headed to San Marco which is a bridge away from Jacksonville and just 10 miles from our place. We had a yummy dinner at a Bistro restaurant and I had a great veggie wood-fired pizza. This was more like a salad on bread (two of my favorite things). The pizza had sweet onions, pesto, spinach, tomatoes and I substituted mushrooms for the shrimp that came with the pizza. YUMMM.
After dinner we headed to the water to watch fireworks. It was hard just waiting for the fireworks but we occupied ourselves by playing UNO. Karel and I got a little competitive but we were good sports. I think I won but we finished with both Karel and I winning a round. The fireworks were AWESOME at the Jacksonville Landing and it was worth the wait. We left at 10pm and I was in bed as soon as I got home.
This morning I ran for 1:28. My music kept me in a zone which was thinking about lots of stuff. Nothing serious, just thoughts of Marni.
I ran for 11.8 miles which gave me a super fast pace of around 7:30 min/miles which makes me feel great about the upcoming marathon in Dec. I wanted to call it a morning after the run when I walked in the door super hot and super sweaty but I do what I always do after a long run...spin my legs. Oh, it feels so good when I am finally finished with my morning of training.
After I cleaned myself up my mom, dad and I ran some errands looking at wedding stuff and then visited Karel at work. My parents loved the Trek store and my dad was picking up all the Treks and Cervelos trying to find the lightest bike. Of course, my dad thinks every bike needs a kick stand but I guess a light bike with a kick stand is important :) After my parents left at 3pm I headed to the Trek store to work for two hours. I almost sold a few bikes but I guess people weren't ready to spend the money yet. Oh well, hopefully they will come back.
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.
Good luck to anyone racing tomorrow.....Kate kick some butt at Lake stevens!!!
Karel and I are enjoying the Tour which is already proving to be exciting.