SD TRI

san diego international triathlon- what a fun weekend for the queen bee gals!! a big congrats to Deb, Terry and Lisa for awesome finishes!!  Lisa completed the sprint distance with a top ten finish in her age group.  Terry completed the international distance and went under her 2:30 goal finishing in 2:27!  Debbie finished first in her age group with a 2:15 PR finish!  wahhoooo! some fun pics below that justin took on his bike as he was "watching the race."  the last pic was the best one of our cute QBS tops (not so much of my face), the one of beth and i is mile 3.5ish... where i am looking back!?! and she is passing me.  congrats to beth- the gazelle- with her top amateur finish.  i finished second to her in our age group respectively with a 1:53 PR!  a fun and beautiful day in san diego.

almond milk

not any kind of almond milk.  homemade, raw, organic almond milk. so good and so easy to make!  i did my best with pictures but of course they are in a backwards order and could not take pictures while actually doing the steps... unless of course we wanted almond milk all spilled all over the camera.  here we go:

1)  1.5 cups raw almonds, soak in water over night

2)  drain almonds and put into vita mix (or high speed blender) with 4 cups water

3)  blend until smooth

4)  drain the almond/water mixture in a cheese cloth or fine strainer (mine below in a picture)- save both the almond milk that you are straining and the left over blended almonds

5)  bowl should be filled with almond milk, put back into blender and add mix in your choice of sweetener if desired.  ie. agave nectar, maple sryup or vanilla extract (thats my choice lately)

wahh-lahh- homemade almond milk!!

the ingredients on the top picture- are for almond cream!!  yuummmm!  i got this recipe from chef ursula- raw chef from OC.  a perfect addition for a fruit dessert!  of course i do not measure anything so it tastes a little different each time.

1)  take almonds that had the water drained from them (should be just over 1c.) back into the blender

2)  add a scoop or two of coconut oil (probably 1/4c.)

3)  add 1/2-1 lemon juiced, a little vanilla extract, a little almond extract and again your choice of sweetener- agave nectar or maple syrup (ive done both and both are awesome!)

4)  blend on high until smoooooth!

swimming

swimming is an odd sport.  when you leave in front of or behind someone in the pool at masters swim the distance/time between one another is around 5 seconds apart.  average number of swimmers per lane is 4-6 people.  we swim down one side of a lane only to flip a short 20 seconds later to come back the opposite side of the lane.  this pattern is put on repeat for 4000+ yards on any given day at masters.  that is 160 lengths, somewhere around 160 flip turns and 80x down and back.  we swim in circles.  what if we did this pattern with running?  imagine 6 people, 3-4 yards apart, on a long treadmill, all told to run 8 min/mile pace for 3 min. intervals.  its absurd.

swimming masters means responsibility.  you have to swim in the correct order based on speed and pace.  if you lead the lane you have to swim fast enough to not slow everyone down.  you are also responsible for the clock, intervals and usually keeping track of where the lane is within the given set.  if you are last you cannot go so slow the people leading catch up.  swimming masters is a lot of responsibility.  sometimes can create anxiety or frustration but more often then not it allows you the opportunity to give your lane mates your gratitude for keeping the lane in check.

today at masters, main set: 10x200.  since i have lagged on getting to masters in the past 2-3 weeks this set sounded like eternity and i was not about to jump in front to lead it.  our fearless leader dan announces to our lane mates that he is going to pace the main set to allow us about 5 seconds of rest on the wall.  sounds like a great plan.  somewhere between 200's #3 and 4... dan was no longer the leader.  i somehow ended up in front.  this creates a big conflict in my head.  noon masters (in my head of course) presents me two options: 1. be into it (it being the workout) 2. country club it (no question i am sand baggin it and am getting out early).  i like to chose the latter of the two choices.  however today i decided to be into the workout and ended up having a great swim. 

i think i need to start swimming with sheila.  she sprints her little heart out every time she steps her paw (or jumps her little paws) into the water.  if only i had her motivation...

 

to you health,

C

method to the madness

anyone could have asked me a year ago if i'd ever start a garden... yah right.  every plant and flower in my house is fake.  i can barely keep succulents alive.  not only that but every little bug makes me uncomfortable... that being said- this blog post is part 'props to me' and to share what i have been consumed with in my so-called free time.

i felt like a farmer getting ready to harvest when i was talking to my friend beth last week on a ride.  went something like this: me- 'oh yah- im growing zucchini, tomatoes, egg plant, cucumber, bell peppers, corn!?!, swiss chard, carrots, spinach, strawberries... oh and pumpkin, watermelon and cantaloupe in the front yard.'  beth- 'how do you have time for this?'  me- 'i don't know.'

the method to the madness is that usually when i get home from a ride or run i am already sweaty/dirty.  i make a quick protein smoothie and head out to the back yard to water, weed and de-worm (ugh!?! the worst part) all of my little veggies.  doing this post workout means one less shower and one less change of clothes because i always get dirty workin in the garden!  and it means fresh veggies for later in the day!!

first two pics here are the second series of pictures i took a while back, the strawberry pot here:

the herbs here:

the most current picture of it now-- swiss chard in hand for my green shake later... and proof i garden in bike gear.  the nerd in me- confirmed!
these are the very first pictures i took... when the garden wasn't so big yet...

we have so many zucchinis right now... i tried making zucchini chips... was not a great success- will have to post the recipe when i figure it out.  the tomatoes are getting ripe- i can hardly wait!  and there are baby corns growing!!

to your health,

C

Why I LOVE...

my  JOB!?!

YES people.  my job.  it is a rare occurrence.  one that i am proud to admit.  my job doesn't feel like a job.  it feels like something i seriously do look forward to everyday... okay... maybe not always at 5am but after a cup of coffee its not so bad.

two weeks ago i gave a swim lesson to jim.  an adult swimmer of only 2 years without any type of formal lesson.  in 60 min. of me babbling "swim chinese" jargon to him, he transformed his stroke!  not only did he look like a whole new swimmer i could see that he really felt he made huge steps in the right direction.  so awesome when progress is so visible for both coach and swimmer!

one week ago i got to race in hawaii.  that is technically vacation but i knew i had a web full of support from my friends, family and clients!  i do not like taking time off because i feel like i am cheating my clients of their workout time.  however when i do need va-ca time i have the flexibility to take it with my job and i do love that.

3 days ago i got to celebrate the end of high school swim season with all of my kiddos and parents at our LCC swim banquet.  there are few times as an adult that you get recognized professionally and for both coach hux and i it was a fun night.  more fun recognizing the kids and all they have accomplished.  even more fun is to see their friendships that they have developed with one another over the course of such a short season. a ton of fun all the way around.

2 days ago i got to ride with my queen bee gals!  while our sunday rides and runs are a normal occurrence... this past sunday was something more special.  torrey pines.  i got to be part of two women's first time experience riding up torrey pines hill!  what an accomplish for vicki and lisa!  both cruised up the hill- as much as you can cruise i guess... =)  lisa even had the quote of the day "is there anyway to not go up the hill?"

yesterday i got the pleasure of working with a new client.  71 years young!  and kicking butt in the gym- so awesome!  today i had a short break mid morning- just enough time to post some blog love.  and tomorrow i get to look forward to a full morning of clients with the afternoon open for a bike ride.

i love my job.

to your health,

C

the offical race report

*pics in no particular order* don't want you guys to think i was out paddling before my race... or right after my race- oh wait... =)

the start is my favorite at the 70.3 HI because it is a mass start meaning everyone in the entire race starts at the same time. it most of my races we have wave starts where we start with only our age group. the mass starts allows us faster paced swimmers to get a draft! drafting saves a ton of energy- pretty much means you get pulled along behind someone just as fast as you would swim on your own but using WAY less energy. so i drafted some guys and some women pros! so much fun! not to mention everything that is going on under the water... although i didnt see any manta rays this year... =( i ended up swimming a 27. min. swim... that was okay for me and a very competitive time overall- but it was a controlled swim because i knew what was still ahead of me once i got out of the water.

got into transition and right out on the bike. legs felt terrible! oh my gosh- what happened to my strength? that is all i could think of!! it felt horrible. i made a quick decision to eat some shot blocks (sugar energy) and about 10-15 min. later i felt much better! legs underneath me and a long highway ahead! the bike is always my favorite part of these half ironmans. when else do i get to ride 56 miles as fast as possible without stopping?? it is so much fun! i killed it up the hills and stayed in my aero bars the entire way up and down Hawi! a first in my short lived triathlon life- i was only passed by 3 amateur girls on the bike!! yah yah! although my actual bike split was probably not as fast as a lot of gals i only got worked by 3! one of which was ray shaw who ended up 3rd overall- she rocks on the bike! off of the bike- still in first for my age group!

the run. oh the run. getting off of the bike after 2 hrs and 41 min.,going for a 13 mile run would not be my first choice of activity. i must say however, despite not feeling great off the bike, i had a good attitude for the run. i had my garmin on so i knew exactly where i was on the run in terms of miles/pace. i was running 8:00s to start but settled in around 9:00-9:30 pace... for me is slow but in the heat you really have to take what the body gives you. it was hot. i drank water/coke/gatorade and more water at every aid station. i got passed by 2 gals in my age group the first half of the run. still just sticking to my plan- to race my own race- was going as well as it could for the heat.

just before the last 3 miles there was a turn around spot where i saw my friend brandy. i knew i was in 4th at this point but she was moving and coming up behind me faster then on previous turn around. the competitive side of me got the best of me... i decided that i did not want to get run down... so i picked up my pace. i was back to running 8:00-8:30 pace. where that came from i do not know and don't know why i thought i could hold that. the last quarter mile- seriously could see the finish line- i fell. my legs collapsed on me. i really don't remember what happened... there were a few spectators that gave me gatorade and told me i had been on the ground for about 3 min. i slowly got up and asked one of them to walk next to me in case i fell again. but i had to finish! i walked in so slow, got the sympathy cheers and layed right down in the medical tent. 1000mg of saline (1 big bag) and about 10 bags of ice on my legs i left the tent to find my friends and family.

i am bummed about my time. had i stayed with my more comfortable pace on the run i probably would have finished just fine. i found my limits on saturday. that is a first for me because usually i do not want to get to a point where i collapse or risk injury. a good lesson learned i suppose! all in all a very fun day! i got to catch up with a ton of friends after the race and scored a spot to clearwater FL for the 70.3 world championship!

post race we did a lot more swimming, snorkeling, paddling and hammock-ing!