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Showing posts from June 20, 2010

Off I go....

Heading to Lake Lanier, GA today for Iron Girl Atlanta. Looking forward to the un-matched, Iron Girl experience. Nothing compares to racing with women and seeing pink EVERYWHERE! In addition to our 3 furry little ones, we have 3 fish tanks. Karel just re-did our 55 gallon fish tank and it looks beautiful. We have 2 other tanks and dozen of fish in them but we just love the personalities of our chichlid fish. Oscar (the giant one) likes to re-arrange the tank after Karel makes everything pretty. It's funny to see the tank completely different in the morning (usually with all of the plants and rocks on one side of the tank) because Oscar doesn't like anything in his way. Eventually we will get a bigger tank for them but for now, we only have so much room in our apartment. Enjoy the pics! *In my next life, I will be a fish. What a wonderful life to just swim all day....

3 Simple Sports Nutrition tips

Tomorrow Laura and I will be on the road for a 7 hour drive to Lake Lanier, GA. This will be Laura's first Iron Girl triathlon and I am so excited to share this experience with her and all of the other future Iron Girl newbies. Although this is a sprint triathlon and may be "short" in distance, there is nothing easy about this course. I have done this race for the last 2 years and both times I finished the race I was wondering if I really did a sprint triathlon? The 1/3 mile swim + 18 mile bike + 3 mile run is not easy and you need to have your climbing legs ready for this event. Sure, there are lots of climbs on the bike and the out and back run seems like it just goes up and never goes down but let me tell you about the swim. No, no hills during the swim but to get from the swim exit to transition you run up the most steep hill I have ever seen in my life! I will be speaking at the pre-race expo at 1pm. Please come if you are doing the race or live nearby. Rather than t

Vegetarian pasta and Tuna stuffed broiled tomato

Karel will eat anything I prepare. I've had a few "not-worthy for the blog" creations but overall, I think I make his tummy very happy. Although Karel is not a vegetarian I always cook a vegetarian meal for the both of us. It is up to him if he wants to add "extras" to his meal or eat something after dinner but when he comes home from work, there is always something plant-based ready for him to try. Several nights a week I try to cook chicken or fish for him but on average, when I prepare an additional non-vegetarian dinner for him it likely tuna or deli meat inside a vegetarian creation. On most days of the week we have a salad w/ dinner or as the main part of dinner. Here are two easy dishes to please both the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian. Enjoy my latest creations! Vegetarian pasta 1/3 carton of firm tofu (cubed) 2 large handfuls of spinach 2-4 spoonfuls marinara sauce 1/4 - 1/3 cup sliced onion 1 cup sliced mushrooms Fresh basil leaves (mine were from a

Staying active

Sure, I want to improve with my training and I want to reach my full potential. However, I am not one to take chances when it comes training for an event and risking an injury. I realize that as an athlete, it is hard to know your limits especially when you train yourself to be physically and mentally strong. However, there needs to be an understanding of how much to train and how hard to push it so that "getting through" THAT workout doesn't turn into your last workout. I think there is a big difference between "slacking" with your training and having a quality training session. If your training schedule is designed properly to encourage recovery after your intense training sessions, you should not find yourself second guessing staying in bed or getting up to go train. Because the body is not perfect and you are human, there will be times when you need to listen to your body in an effort to maximize recovery and mentally re-focus. Here's how I see it. If yo

Garlic and Green Pepper stuffed tomatoes

Last week I mentioned that my preceptor gave me a bag full of fresh veggies from her garden. Well, those went by fast and I was in need of a new batch. Yesterday Karel and I headed to the beach w/ Campy and on our way we visited my preceptor and "shopped" in her garden. I think we have enough vine tomatoes to last us a month (well, more like a week if I get super creative w/ my recipes). Tomatoes are packed with nutrition. Definitely a must in the diet of a healthy and active individual. You probably know them to be a good source of the phytochemical called lycopene (which makes them red) but they are also packed with antioxidants. Did you know that cooking a tomato creates more antioxidants than eating it raw? Certainly, cooking may reduce nutritional content in many fruits and veggies (for example, oxidation during cooking causes tomatoes to loose some vitamin C) but a diet rich in plant-based foods (cooked or not) is going to provide your body with a variety of nutrients,