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Showing posts from May 23, 2010

Training with power

Over the past year and a half my cycling training has improved dramatically. Although I am finding myself more and more comfortable and confident on my bike I am also training more efficiently and making the most out of my time on the bike. I am able to push hard when riding with others and I am able to stay consistent when I train alone. Sure, I have good and bad days on the bike but overall, I find myself improving on a weekly basis. I am a firm believer in HR training but for cycling, nothing has been more beneficial and valuable with my training, than training with power. I have to be honest, I was a little hesitant to convert from HR training to power training but after a week or so of training with power, I was hooked. Karel sent me a great explanation of training with power and I thought I would post it for your viewing. If you have any questions, please let me know. Karel has been training with power for several years now and knows a lot about power training. A power meter is

Zucchini casserole and pineapple spinach salad

I LOVE summer time food! But as much as I love the variety of fruits and veggies at great prices..... my grocery bill has gone up!!! Of course, rather than spending money on ice cream, soda's, chips, frozen pizza, lemonade and other popular summer time treats, Karel and I are going through our produce like crazy!!! In addition to going through a gallon of skim milk every 4-5 days and at least 10 low-fat yogurts a week, it's not cheap feeding two endurance athletes in the summer. However, I wouldn't think twice about buying fruits and veggies because based on how we feel on a daily basis, I love our diet of wholesome and nutrient-rich foods. Of course, I still buy on sale (finally...a carton of blueberries at wal-mart are less than $3!) and try to shop in season. I hope you enjoy my latest creation...talk about loads of nutrition in a casserole!!! Zucchini casserole 1 zucchini (shredded) 1/2 medium onion (chopped) 2 cloves garlic (chopped) 2 large carrots (peeled and shredd

Media and obesity

I enjoy watching TV in the evenings....well, more like watching recordings on my DVR. I just don't have time to watch 2 hours of the Apprentice or American Idol so I record the shows I want to watch, wait 'til I have a little free time (typically I am multi-tasking while watching TV) and fast forward through the commercials. I think we'd all agree that a big growing problem with the American culture is the daily number of hours that people are sedentary. More so, with 7-8 hr work days behind a desk or computer, many people are so exhausted from working that exercise is the last thing on the mind when there is a nice comfy couch at home and lots of entertaining shows on the television. I would be a hypocrite if I told people to not watch TV but I believe that watching TV, in place of staying active or cooking, is a major contributor to an unhealthy lifestyle. Certainly there are many people who are not at a healthy weight and don't make the time to exercise due to work a

Guess who???

First we have to celebrate my birthday on MONDAY at the beach.... and then Campy will be signing autographs all next week. (Thanks Kent L. for scanning Page 31 of Hammer Endurance News, May 2010 Issue #69) Look at my furry little one.....he is such a celebrity! BTW-The new line of Hammer clothing is amazing! Of course, I personally LOVE the cute gear designed for women. All of the clothing is SO comfortable! I have 3 hoodies from Hammer and I can't get enough of them! It's obvious that I love the line of nutrition products (which have kept me racing/training without GI problems for the past 3 years!) but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my hammer clothing. If you'd like to purchase some Hammer products/gear be sure to mention my name and customer number for a discount!! Customer number 97495

Oatmeal Chicken Parmesan & Veggie Omelet

I receive a lot of emails regarding diets. I'm not talking about the Low carb diet, South beach diet or Paleo diet but rather diets within a household. For example, "Marni, my husband is a meat and potato eater and exercises 15 hrs a week and I'm trying to lose 10 lbs and I can only squeeze in 5 hrs of exercise a week...how do I cook for him and eat to lose weight?" Another comment I receive a lot is "I'm a parent and I find it so hard to resist all the sweets and snacks that my kids are eating. How can I stop snacking on their food all the time?" If you are embarking on a new lifestyle of increased activity and healthy eating, I strongly recommend to encourage others to "try" or "appreciate" your new or improved eating habits. Regardless if your friends are or aren't on board, it's important that you have support from your family members/relatives. Considering that most of us either care for someone blood-related younger than

Monday...recovery day!

As much as I enjoy the weekend, I really look forward to Monday. Since I have been an athlete for much of my life (I started swimming when I was 12) I really don't know what it is like to not workout. Sure, swimming at least 15 hrs a week wasn't "exercise" for me but rather my "sport" I absolutely LOVED swimming and would throw a FIT to my parents if I had to miss a workout. I'm sure I looked forward to the boys in speedo's and the locker room gossip, rather than the main sets like 8 x 400's IM or 20 x 100's butterfly, but I loved my lifestyle of swim, school, swim, piano, homework. From the age of 12 until I graduated from college I swam 6 days a week and had off on Sunday (unless we had a swim meet). I absolutely LOVED Sunday's..I was able to sleep in, get some homework done before midnight and hang out with my non-swimming friends. When I was in college, I never once considered that a day off from swimming (Sunday) would reduce my fitn

The work is done....

What a weekend of training...more like 3 quality days of training. I had to switch around a few workouts this week to make time/have energy for many meetings, apt's and assignments. Things are coming together for my internship but there are so many little details to get squared away before I start on July 5th. Finding preceptors has been on the less-stressful side because Donna, my mentor, knows every dietitian in Jacksonville. The stressful part has been and continues to be all of the paperwork, logistics and liability issues that come into play with an intern. From orientations and background checks to orientations and paperwork, my life has been very busy lately. I am trying to take things day by day but I know things are going to get a bit interesting as I embark on my first rotation for my internship (community - 272 hrs) all while training for IMWI. Although July and August will be my "peak" months for IM training (IMWI is the 2nd weekend in Sept) I seem to have bet