Did you hear the news? Three new CLIF BLOKS energy chew flavors!

Not too long ago, Clif Bar released 3 new flavors of CLIF BLOKS energy chews. These chews provide quick, chewable energy for athletes in training and on race day.

The new flavors include Salted Watermelon (2x sodium), Ginger Ale and Spearmint. This now brings the CLIF BLOKS collection to 11 flavors. Each chew still contains 30-33 calories and there are 6 BLOKS per sleeve of chews. One serving size is 3 chews. All of the CLIF BLOKS include 95% organic ingredients and depending on the flavor, contain between 50-100 mg sodium per serving and 0-25-50mg of caffeine.

Clif Bar sent me the new flavors to try out but I wanted to use this blog post as an opportunity to introduce you to the new flavors to help you decide on the best flavor for your fueling and tastebud needs.

Salted Watermelon - For the watermelon lovers, this tastes just like you would imagine - watermelonly delicious. It is sweet but it does have a subtle saltiness to it. Each serving (3 chews) contains 100 mg of sodium which is 2x the sodium found in the other BLOK flavors (except the Margarita flavor). 

Here are the ingredients:
Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Organic Maltodextrin, Pectin, Citric Acid, Watermelon Extract with Other Natural Flavors, Sea Salt, Potassium Citrate, Colored with Organic Black Carrot Juice Concentrate, Organic Sunflower Oil, Carnauba Wax.

While I can imagine that athletes will crave and enjoy the salted watermelon flavor on a hot summer day of training/racing (along with a few gulps of ice cold water), there are actually some health benefits to watermelon. Now I'm not saying to chew on CLIF BLOKS to improve your overall health but I thought it would be good for you to know that watermelon, although high in natural sugar and water (making it oh-so-refreshing in the summer), has high amounts of antioxidants, vitamin A, B6 and vitamin C. It is also rich in lycopene so the redder the watermelon, the more lycopene. As for watermelon extract, found in the CLIF BLOK Salted Watermelon flavor, research has shown it to be helpful for blood pressure control.

Ginger Ale - For those who just love a nice cold glass of Ginger Ale, or remember drinking it when you had an upset tummy as a child, the CLIF BLOK Ginger Ale flavor is not super strong. So this may be a let-down for those who absolutely love the taste of ginger but great for those who want to receive some of the benefits of consuming ginger oil during training. While I can't promise that you are getting a large amount of ginger oil with every blok, research does show that ginger has great effectiveness in reducing GI complaints, also helping with nausea and vomiting. As a sport RD, I don't feel that a CLIF BLOK Ginger Ale flavor will prevent GI issues in training/racing (especially since a concentrated dose of sugar especially without adequate water to promote digestion will increase risk for GI issues when training/racing), I do believe that those who enjoy a subtle flavor of calories, will enjoy this blok option.
Here are the ingredients:
Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Organic Maltodextrin, Pectin, Citric Acid, Ginger Oil, Natural Flavor, Potassium Citrate, Sea Salt, Organic Sunflower Oil, Carnauba Wax.

Spearmint - You may be cringing at the thought of chewing on a spearmint flavor energy chew but consider this....how many times have you been out training during a long workout (or long distance race) and you find yourself wishing you could brush your teeth or cleanse your mouth with a mint or mouthwash? Well, believe me when I say that the spearmint flavor will do just that! Both me and Karel found it incredibly refreshing (Karel says this one is his fav). You almost want to try to blow a bubble with it, it tastes so cool and refreshing!
Here are the ingredients:
Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Organic Maltodextrin, Pectin, Citric Acid, Spearmint Oil with Other Natural Flavors, Potassium Citrate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Sea Salt, Organic Sunflower Oil, Carnauba Wax.
With some recent research on the benefits of peppermint oil and athletic performance, you may be surprised to see the flavor of spearmint instead, but it's important to recognize that spearmint does not contain menthol, which makes it a bit less "bold" of a flavor which may be a little more gentle on the taste buds. But who knows, maybe one day they will make a peppermint flavor to cool off the mouth?
Although I could not come across any recent well-documented research studies on the benefits of Spearmint oil, you have likely heard that Spearmint essential oil may reduce fatigue and pain, help with digestive issues, help with muscle aches and ease headaches.

Well, there you have it - my sport RD/endurance triathlete take on the three new CLIF BLOK flavors. I always enjoy trying out new sport nutrition products, specifically powders, chews and gels (I'm not a pill/tablet type of athlete).

As for my feelings on sport nutrition products, it's all about function and convenience. You don't need to love your engineered products but you have to like them enough to consistently use them during intense and long workouts to help you maximize fitness and to build confidence in your race day fueling and hydration strategy.

Sport nutrition products make fueling incredibly easy as they take the guessing and calculating away from how much you need to consume of calories, carbohydrates, water and sodium each hour and they make it easy to meet your metabolic needs as you can quantify the consumption of your nutrition, in frequent intervals, during training and on race day. Plus, with a little creativity, you can prevent taste bud fatigue by changing up the flavors and textures of your sport nutrition products as there are so many safe and well-formulated products available to athletes. Sport nutrition products are also formulated in a way to be easy to digest IF/WHEN consumed properly.

As for when you are not training? Real, whole foods should make up the majority of your diet. When your heart is pumping and blood is being diverted away from the gut and to the working muscles to support muscle contractions, your body prefers to digest and absorb engineered products as they are formulated in a way to meet your needs and to be consumed quickly. But when you aren't working out, reach for real food as mother Earth has a variety of great food options, rich in the vitamins, minerals and nutrients that keep your body functioning well on a day-to-day basis. A well-nourished body performs incredibly well during training/racing and with an organized, balanced and wholesome diet, it's much easier to better understand your fueling and hydration requirements during training and on race day.

Any questions about sport nutrition and fueling/hydration? Reach out to a sport dietitian for help.

Fuel Smart!
Your body will thank you. 

Weekend training - training hard & fueling smart

There's a lot of training that happens between Monday AM and Friday PM but most of my training pictures happen over the weekend so that is why I am having so much fun sharing my weekend workouts with you.

The weekend started on Saturday morning when we woke up around 6:30 am without an alarm (only a cat alarm) and it wasn't until 9am until we made it outside as we had a few things to get done on the computer first. I enjoyed two mega sized Trmarni pre-workout pancakes loaded with maple syrup, some peanut butter and homemade granola, alongside a side of Sigi strawberry yogurt with a cup of coffee w/ water (I'm a one small cup of coffee a day girl). Karel had oatmeal w/ fruit and yogurt and a homemade orange cranberry scone with his double shot espresso (Karel is European and loves his coffee - let's just leave it at that :)

It felt SO good to ride outside in only arm warmers, light gloves, a base layer shirt, my cycling jersey and cycling shorts. It was around 50 degrees when we started and it was so nice to be outside without tons of layers on.

                                             

Karel and I picked the double bakery ride route for our 4 hour ride and I was really looking forward to one of my fav routes that includes a lot of climbing (about 5200 feet). Here's the route starting from Furman (we rode from our house which is about 2 miles from Furman).

Double bakery ride

We had some nice tailwind heading to Flat Rock and we made great time heading up the watershed and into NC. Of course, the wind hit hard on our way back home but I was feeling very strong. So strong that Karel kept telling me how great I was riding throughout the entire ride as I was able to stay on his wheel for the entire 30+ minute climb up the Watershed and on every climb for our entire ride. It wasn't easy for me but I refused to get dropped today. I only got dropped 3 times on downhills (on three sharp turn downhills) so this was certainly a ride to remember for me.

I kept myself fueled with 3 bottles of my Infinit Trimarni base fuel (2 scoops per bottle) + 1 Luna peppermint bar. If you know me, I don't like to eat solid food when I race long distance triathlons as I prefer only liquids but as I progress with my cycling fitness, I am finding myself feeling more comfortable training my gut to take in a little solid food here and there. Plus the peppermint bar is super tasty. I also tried out the three new flavors of Clif bloks that Clif Bar sent me, which included Ginger Ale, Salted Watermelon and Spearmint. More on these new flavors and my thoughts about them in a future blog post.

As I mentioned, I felt extremely strong and I have been intentionally increasing my carbohydrates in my diet to support this added volume. I never ever go into a workout without eating and I never neglect my post workout nutrition (which is either a recovery whey protein drink w/ milk or a real food meal). I am putting in a lot of consistent work and I really believe that proper fueling and daily eating can keep the body in good health and I have been using food and sport nutrition products (sport drinks) for fuel and for health for many, many years. I can't believe that this will be my 11th year of endurance racing and as crazy as it sounds, I feel stronger than ever before. I still remember my first long ride with Karel about 11 years ago, oh boy, it was SLooooooow. Thank goodness I never gave up during all those times that I wanted to give up because I was frustrated with my slow speed and fears of riding my bike on the open road (especially on hills).

After the 4 hour bike, which was extremely fast for us in our Gville terrain (18 mph!!), it was time for a quick transition run. Karel and I didn't run together off the bike but we both ran outside. We live on the bottom of a hill so I walked the 1/4 mile up to the top of our neighborhood and then ran on semi flat roads (the flattest that I could find where we live).

                                                       

20 minutes later I was back home and ready to enjoy a nice cold glass of OJ to bring back my appetite after the long workout. Karel made a recovery drink w/ yogurt, vegan protein powder (that we had, I was trying it out for some vegan athletes of mine), milk and fruit that we shared before it was time to clean up and enjoy a real food meal.

Karel found ourselves rather busy during the afternoon and before we knew it, it was time for run #2 of the day. We don't always do two runs on Saturday but it does happen once or twice a month. My legs were tired (as to be expected) but with good afternoon fueling (small meals of carbs and protein every 2 hours and adequate water), I found myself with energy for a 30-60 minute afternoon run around 5pm.

                                             

Karel ran outside for his run (he ran 55 minutes) and I stayed home and ran on our treadmill. I've learned to be mindful of my body when it comes to run workouts and I have to be careful of all the outdoor pounding with all my previous back/hip issues (thankfully, I haven't had any setbacks in the past 3.5 years). Since our treadmill has a little shock absorbing to it, I do about 70% of my running on the treadmill and I believe it's helped me out a lot over the past year as I've also gained more confidence with my running because I can now run a lot more frequently with better form.

I ended up running for 40 minutes (including a 5 min walk to warm-up). Of course, I warmed up with a bit of mobility work before the run to ensure I didn't go into the run with any tight spots.

                               

Finally, it was time for dinner! Karel made us pasta w/ homemade veggie packed tomato sauce while I took Campy for a nice long walk. Not to worry about Campy while we are away for our longer training sessions as my mom likes to walk over from her house (1 mile away) and steal Campy from our house and she takes him to her house (spoiled doggy!). And Campy has lots of furry friends in her neighborhood!

It was a relaxing evening for us and by 9:30pm, it was lights out.

We woke up to even warmer temps on Sunday morning but it took us a few hours before we made it outside as we had a few things to get done on the computer before our morning run.

To ensure that we could recover from the weekend training (and previous 5 days of training), we told ourselves that we would run for no more than 75 minutes today (60 min minimum). Instead of adding on extra run mileage on very tired legs, we spent extra time with mobility work in the morning (about 20 minutes) before our run. While we didn't leave together, we somehow met up just a mile down the road and Karel wanted to show me some of the Furman running trails that I haven't yet been on.

Well, surprisingly, with tired legs, I felt light on my feet and I was able to run with Karel. While he wasn't running super fast, I was still really excited to be running with Karel. This is a huge deal for me as my confidence for running has never been super high but I'm putting this run in the memory bank for St. George in May (I may pull it out early at Haines City in April). The trails were awesome and it felt so good to not pound the pavement for our entire run. About 70 minutes or so later, we arrived back home. And to conclude the weekend of training, a refreshing glass of tart cherry juice and a cold glass of milk with chocolate Clif Recovery protein powder (Soooo good).

                               

Then, it was time to EAT!!

Karel made a czech inspired dish of spinach and onions stuffed inside a crepe (all from skratch) and it was amazing.
                                            

We ate outside while enjoying the beautiful weather but the relaxing was short lived as Karel spent the next 5+ hours installing electronic shifting on an athlete's bike and I had some work to do on the computer, followed by hanging out with my mom for a little bit at our house and then I walked my mom back home with Campy and then I did a big grocery shop to get food for our meals for a big week of training.

Well, there you have it.

Lots of training. Lots of eating. Lots of sleeping.

I'm incredibly grateful to my body for what it allows me to do and I feel I owe it smart training, well planned and organized eating and fueling and consistent restful sleep. I never ever take a workout for granted. Is it race season yet???

Fuel for the mid-week long run

After an EZ form focused run with a few "fast feet" intervals on the treadmill on Tues evening, I made a delicious dinner for me and Karel of couscous, spiced with turmeric and salt, tossed with sauteed veggies (celery, edamame, yellow peppers, onion). Cooked tempeh was my protein of choice.

This dish didn't take too long to prepare as I was able to cook everything at once by using three of the burners on the stove. Karel was on the trainer, doing his bike workout as I was cooking, so by the time he was finished, it was time to enjoy this yummy creation, which left us with a happy tummy and well-fueled body.

After a great night of sleep (oh sleep, how I love you!), I woke up excited to run outside on Wednesday as this was the first morning in several days that it wasn't raining. Plus, I had a very specific build-run workout on tap and with a building confidence in my run fitness lately, I was excited to see what my body had in store for the morning run.

I started my morning with a cup of coffee with milk and then a chocolate chip waffle smeared with peanut butter, banana slices and syrup (yummy), and a glass of water.

After I digested my pre workout snack, I was got myself dressed in my run gear and was ready to go.

I started my run with about 10 minutes of active warming up inside the house to wake up my glutes and to loosen up my hips. I feel so much more springy on my feet when I take an extended amount of time to warm-up, before my run warm-up. After a few more minutes of dynamic stretching outside, I was ready to run.

(Karel left for his run a bit after me as we rarely run together)

With so many beautiful running routes from our doorstep, I let my legs lead the way. My run included no shortage of hills and climbing but that's my favorite type of running. After a 20 minute EZ warm-up, I stopped for a few minutes to stretch out again,  took a swig of my vanilla Clif Bar gel and a few sips of water from my hydration belt (2 x 10 ounce flasks) and then I was ready for my main set:

3 x 20 minute efforts, build from steady to strong w/ 1 min walk in between.

In reality, my workout was really 60 minutes, with the last 30 minutes slightly stronger than the first 30 minutes, but no harder than a Z3 effort for the stronger effort. But for my mind, I broke it down into 3 x 20 minutes as this was my strategy to best execute this very specific main set. Also, I wanted to include some walking to make sure that I could keep great form throughout.

I continued to sip on water throughout the main set and took a swig of the gel (about 1/3rd of it) every 20 minutes.

By the last 20 minutes, I was running strong and fast, which told me that I not only paced it well but I also fueled smart. I not only felt stronger as the run continued but my pace dropped with every 20 minute segment. I never looked at my watch throughout the run, as I went all by feel but it was fun to look over the stats when the run is complete.

After the run I had a smoothie made with milk, frozen fruit and whey protein and then it was time for breakfast (my first real "meal" of the day).

In total, the run was 1 hour and 24 minutes, 10.35 miles. 

 

It's a shame that we live in a society where so many athletes are afraid to take in calories during training, not to mention eat "enough" to support energy needs.

My body deserves calories, lots of them!

The way I look (body composition/weight) is never a focus when I eat or train. I don't train to look a certain way and I don't eat to look a certain way. The body I carry with me for every workout is the body that stays nourished and well-fueled, every day of the year.

I don't bash my body, I thank my body.

I don't workout or eat to try to look different.

And you better believe that I thanked my body a lot after the workout. I even told Karel after he came back from his run, that I was very impressed with my body that I could run so well this morning. I felt light on my feet, strong, resilient and fluent. I could not have asked for more out of my body!

This active lifestyle that I live is a fun one but it's geared toward performance. I expect my body to perform for every workout but never do I take a workout for granted. I feel incredibly lucky for what my body allows me to do and seeing that I push it, challenge it and destroy it through the many workouts that I accomplish each week, week after week, month after month, year after year, I owe it to my body to make sure that I eat and fuel smart.

I train to adapt to the stress that I intentionally place on my body. And since I want to be the best athlete that I can be (hey, genetics can only take you so far and in my situation, my body was not built for running so I have to work hard at it!), I never overlook the many nutritional strategies that I can take to help me get the most out of my body, while keeping my body in great health. 

Do you eat and fuel smart?

If not, why aren't you using your diet to get the most out of your body to improve your performance and to keep your body in good health as an athlete?

IM Kona '16: Day 9

Starting a Kona blog with little to no clothes on can only mean one thing.....

It's Thursday of race week!

Which means it's time for the 2016 Ironman Underpants Run!!

While this Kona spectacle has turned into a looked-forward-to event among, well, everyone on the island, there is actually a story behind the Kona Underpants Run. 

My day started early as I biked to the Clif Bar base house at 5:50 to arrive by 6:10am to lead the Clif Bar media group (and my contact Lisa from Clif Bar) for a 4 mile from to town. The miles went by fast and before we knew it, we were in town just in time for me to take off some clothes to join my Trimarni teammies. 

The walk to the official start of the undie run (behind the King K hotel) is filled with laughs as the streets are filled with lots of well designed (and some, not so much) underwear "costumes". 

Even the doggies came out to participate. 

The UPR (underpants run) is a mix of enjoying running around with little clothes on, taking pictures and checking out what other athletes are (not) wearing. 

The actual "run" is about 1.5 miles (if that) and is a mix of jogging, walking and running. 

And a lot of picture taking. 

Trimarni athlete Justine designed our Splish Trimarni suits (which I absolutely love) and Karel ordered his jean-inspired speedo from Shinesty. 

Ali'i drive has never looked so good. 

Thank you Justine's hubby Eric for these great pics!

After the run, it was time to cool off in the ocean for a swim to the coffee boat. The media girls (and a few others) from Clif Bar wanted to experience the fun of swimming to the Clif Bar coffee boat so I lead the group out to the boat (about 500 yards out). I was really proud of a few of the girls who had never swam in open water before!

While I just love swimming, this swim was extra special as we not only saw dolphins but the dolphins put on a show for us with lots of twists and flips. It was totally unreal and so hard to describe but it will go down as one of my top moments in life that I never want to forget. Thank you dolphins!

And if swimming with dolphins wasn't enough, I received some puppy kisses in the ocean. 

I love swimming but it's even better when you can get a little love from a furry friend. Thanks A.J. for making my day!

After the run/swim, it was finally time to head back to the Clif Bar base camp house for breakfast. 

Talk about a delish breakfast!

But then again, I'm not surprised at the goodness of our breakfast meal as Clif Bar takes pride in real, locally sourced, food.


These Acai bowls were amazing!

After breakfast, we were introduced to a few new Clif Bar products (coming out in 2017 - stay tuned!) and then I gave a nutrition talk at the Base Camp house regarding the diets of Ironman athletes, how Ironman athletes fuel before, during and after the race (and training) and a few tricks/tips of Ironman athletes. The media girls asked some great questions. 

Around 12:30pm, it was time for me to bike back to my condo to get a few things done before heading off at 3:30pm (on our bikes) to the PPF house for a pre-race talk by Matt Dixon. 

Matt gives the best pre-race talks, always filled with great advice. 

After the meeting, Karel and I biked down the hill to the Clif Bar base camp house for a lovely dinner with the Clif Bar family (including Gary Erickson and his wife Kit - the creator of Clif Bar)

Karel only stayed for a short time before heading back to our condo (on his bike) to attend the athlete banquet with Trimarni athlete Leigh Ann. Karel also stayed for the 8pm mandatory athlete briefing. 

When I finally returned home from a full day of activities around 8:30pm, I had a chance to unload my box and bag of goodies from Clif Bar, including a lot of items from ROKA, Under Armour, Hoka, Zoot and Garmin.

Thank you Clif Bar for being more than a company that makes "products".

You make great tasting food, made with organic ingredients, to fuel active lifestyles.

You care about the planet.
You care about people.
You care about farmers.
You care about food.
You care about athletes.

My 5th IM Kona, as a first time non-participating athlete, has been a special one thanks to being here with my Clif Bar family. 

Clif Bar Nut Butter Filled Bars - YUM!

In case you missed the breaking news, this isn't too good to be true.

Clif Bar has added a new organic energy bar to their line of products and yes, it's filled with a variety of nut butters.

Can we all yum together now?
YUMMMMMMM

Back in March, Clif Bar sent me a box with all four flavors (peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut butter and coconut almond butter). Each bar was wrapped in white paper with no ingredients listed as they were in the intro phase of making these bars (all pictures below are from my box received in March).

Clif Bar did not ask me to write a blog post (this isn't a paid sponsored post) but instead, they sent me the bars to try for some feedback. This isn't the first time they have sent me a new product or flavor.

This happened a few months before the launch of the bars (which are available now) so that is why I am just now writing about them as I wanted to see and learn about the product (on the website) before posting and sharing.
I'm very selective about what I share with you, my readers.

You'll notice that the picture above only has three bars in the box and that is because I ate the chocolate hazelnut butter bar before I took the picture. My tummy couldn't wait to try it!

Although I am now a Clif Bar ambassador, I actually fell in love with the company before incorporating their products into my active lifestyle. Although Clif Bar has been around for a very long time, it wasn't until I was invited to attend an RD Summit at the Clif Bar Headquarters in 2014 that I learned about the company - and that is what made me fall in love with the Clif Bar company.

"At Clif Bar & Company, we are a private, family and employee-owned company guided by five “bottom lines” or what we call our Five Aspirations: Sustaining our Business, Brands, People, Community and the Planet. These aspirations help us consider decisions from multiple perspectives that we value, and we choose the word “aspiration” in recognition that we’re on a journey and can always do more in each of these areas."

Not to mention that the employees get paid to race an event of their choice each year, paid to workout (having a well-equipped gym at the headquarters helps!), they are encouraged to walk or bike to work, they get paid to volunteer and you can bring your dog to work.

There's an in-house chef preparing healthy and nutritious farm-to-table like meals for the employees and there are RD's overseeing the product development.

So back to these delicious nut butter bars.

Seeing that this is the first of it's kind on the market to stuff a bar with nut butter, I think you will immediately find that the nut butter bar, compared to the original bar, is less sweet. This can be a major turn-on for athletes who primarily use sport drinks when training (or racing) on the bike but need to offset the constant sweetness of a drink with a more savory solid food option to nibble on throughout a ride. 

The bar is compact so this is what I call "energy dense." At 230 calories per bar, this isn't a bar that's going to leave you stuffed (which is a good thing for an active individual). Each bite will likely give you around 50-60 calories which is helpful for the athlete who needs a little substance in the gut when working out for long hours (particularly at low intensities).

This bar makes for an energy dense snack if you struggle to get in "enough" calories on your long workout days (especially if you are prone to losing your appetite but know you need the calories post workout). This also makes for a healthy option for a balanced snack when you just can't access real food (ex. traveling) in the 24-48 hours before a long workout or race.

Compared to the original Clif Bar, there is more fat but less protein, carbs and sugars. Because of this, I find this a more suitable balanced pre-workout snack if you just need something in your belly before a workout that will give you sustainable energy without causing GI issues.

Although I have provided some examples as to how to incorporate these nut butter filled bars into your active lifestyle, this is not a post asking you to stop eating real food. PLEASE (continue to) emphasize a real food diet.

In no way am I asking you to replace a real food option for a sport bar or add in sport bars to your diet just because they taste good. However, for very active individuals, there can be a place for bars as a supplemental form of energy.

There will come a point in an athlete's training regime (particularly for endurance athletes) when a real food diet will no longer give you all the energy that you need to support your workout regime. Not to mention, some real food don't digest the best when working out and we have to select our food options wisely before and after workouts to avoid GI distress. Sometimes the "healthy" foods/drinks consumed around and during workouts are not "healthy" when you consume them when sedentary - and this is why sport nutrition can be fun but also confusing. When you are fueling an active body that seeks performance gains, there are many exceptions to the rules. 

As for the taste, although they are less sweet then the original bars, the inside is creamy and delicious. Your taste buds will be happy as there is no strong aftertaste. Although Clif Bar has never been one for a chemical after taste with their products (like other bars), I think you'll enjoy the simplicity of ingredients found in these bars.

Here's a nutritional comparison of the nut butter filled bars compared to the original bars. 

Nut butter filled

Organic Peanut Butter, Organic Oat Flour, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Date Paste, Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Pea Protein, Organic Rice Starch, Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Organic Palm Oil, Organic Peanut Flour, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Organic Rice Flour, Organic Brown Rice Protein, Natural Flavors, Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Peanuts, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Mixed Tocopherols (Antioxidant). ALLERGEN STATEMENT: Contains peanuts. May contain soy, wheat, tree nuts, and traces of milk.

Original Clif Bar

Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Rolled Oats, Soy Protein Isolate, Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Rice Flour, Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour, Organic Oat Fiber, Cocoa, Cocoa Butter, Organic Date Paste, Organic Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, Soy Flour, Sea Salt, Barley Malt Extract, Organic Vanilla Extract, Soy Lecithin. ALLERGEN STATEMENT: CONTAINS SOY. MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF MILK AND WHEAT.

While you may see Clif Bar as a company that makes "sugar-filled candy bars," I don't see it that way.

Clif Bar is passionate about farming and organic food and fueling your adventurous lifestyle.
I'm pretty sure that Clif Bar would be disappointed if you lived a sedentary lifestyle but ate Clif Bar products on a daily basis.

Why?
Because Clif Bar wants you to be active!

Clif Bar doesn't sell weight loss products or a variety of pills claimed to improve health. Clif Bar wants you to eat real food in your daily diet but when you are going for a long hike, riding your bike for long hours, enjoying nature on two feet, going for a long kayak adventure, rock climbing or doing something incredible with your body, they offer a variety of products with organic ingredients (that you can feel good about) with the help of local farmers, to create a healthier and more sustainable food system, that taste good.

Again, I'm not paid to say this but as a sport RD, I feel it is in your interest to know how and why I select the products that I endorse and use and Clif Bar is one of very few other companies that meets my criteria of "healthy" sport nutrition to help fuel an active lifestyle. 

2016 Trimarni Clermont camp - pre-camp

Every year, Karel and I feel overwhelmed with all that goes into planning a training camp.
But as soon as we see our campers, we get excited to have the opportunity to spend several days of one-on-one coaching with our campers.

This year in Clermont, every camper is a Trimarni coaching athlete - either a one-on-one athlete or a performance team member (after purchasing a training plan, for only $50 a month extra they receive all team/sponsor discounts and benefits, access to our private Trimarni Team Facebook page and they receive detailed check-in educational emails every Monday).

Every camper knows our philosophy for coaching and understands our training methodologies. However, as the sport of triathlon continues to evolve, the athletes who have been coached by us for more than a year (alongside the new athletes) are learning new skills, tips and information at our camps.

Although we put a lot of attention and focus into our training plans, nothing can replace the immediate improvements in skills and fitness that can be accomplished in just a few days at a training camp.

Although our training camps are a lot of fun (there's a lot of laughing and smiling), there's no shortage of challenging workouts and education to ensure that every athlete leaves camp with the ability to train smarter to train harder.

After I shook out my legs with a short brick on Wed morning, it was time to get all the swag together for our campers. 

I feel so lucky to have Clif Bar providing sport nutrition food and drinks for our campers to ensure that they put quality ingredients into their body while training.
This year I am doing something that I have never done before and that is spending at least 45 minutes every evening of camp educating our campers on how to use sport nutrition properly and then how to best fuel for the next day of training. This educational opportunity provides our campers with information that is not overwhelming but also applicable to each workout. 

I also want to send a big thank you to Oobe for producing our team and camp shirts, Veronica's Health Crunch for providing our campers with all types of crunch flavors (be sure to try her newest flavor - cinnamon apple cranberry, it's so heavenly delicious!), Oakley and Oakley Women for providing bags, Justine (Trimarni athlete) for creating awesome Trimarni swimsuits (for guys and girls) and all of the other Trimarni team sponsors for supporting our team all season. 

After I was finished setting up the swag in the Team Duplex, Karel and I headed to the NTC to check out our camp and then we moved all our stuff to our rental Townhome to finally get settled for camp. 

Karel is always in high demand at our camps for bike mechanic work and RETUL fits so a few campers get to take advantage of his expertise at our camps (he would do more but there isn't enough time with all the training!)

After a long day, it was finally time to eat.
I was excited to finally cook in a kitchen so I made chicken for Karel (I had cottage cheese), roasted potatoes w/ melted cheddar cheese and a salad w/ oranges, strawberries and cashews. 

Stay tuned for my recap of our first official day of camp!
(or you can just follow the camp on my Trimarni Facebook page).

Hello from the Big Apple!

New York City is everything we are not.
(And I'm talking about the touristy segments of NYC.)

NYC is big, there are a lot of people and there is a lot of traffic.

We like quiet, small and being able to get to places quickly. 

NYC is stimulation overload with bright lights, non stop entertainment and media overload.

We like nature, wild-life and mountains. 

NYC is expensive.

We like affordable living, eating and traveling.

NYC is not triathlete friendly.

We like being able to bike or run out of our front door. 

NYC is busy. Everyone seems to be in a rush.

We like slow-paced, enjoying the moment. 

But....

We are loving NYC!! 

One of the best parts about traveling is experiencing a way of life that is not your own. Learning, exploring and immersing yourself into a different lifestyle.

Sometimes traveling makes you miss home and what is familiar but many times, traveling opens your eyes to a different way of life that you never considered would work for you or would be better for you.

Aside from a few touristy things in NYC that do not match how we live our life, the food options in NYC are endless and we love walking around everywhere! I wish we had more time in NY than 1.5 days but we knew it would be a quick trip.

The sights are amazing here and we could use a few more days just to eat!

This trip was not expected but when Clif Bar invited us to NYC to watch the NBC premier broadcast of the 2015 Ironman World Championship at NYIT auditorium, we could not pass up this opportunity. After returning home from PCB to watch our athletes in action at IMFL, we worked 2 long days on Monday and Tues to get a lot of work done for our business before flying out to NYC on Wednesday morning.

We will return home on Friday and then Karel is off to Jacksonville, FL for 4 days of RETUL fits.

Hmmmm.....maybe we do have the lifestyle of a New Yorker as we are always busy and on the go!

I will post more pics of our exciting day (Thursday) on the Trimarni Facebook page but for now, here are some pics from our 1/2 day in NYC on Wed. 

Veterans day parade. Thank you past and present Veterans!

We took a cab from the airport to our hotel on W 55th street. However, when we looked at our maps on our phone and saw that we had 35 minutes in the taxi to go 1.5 miles.

Well, that was just silly.

We asked the cab driver to stop when he could and then we walked to our hotel with our baggage. 

Walking is so much better than sitting in a car as we got to start our sight-seeing early. 

We checked in to the WestHouse hotel (thank you Clif Bar for the amazing lodging experience) and enjoyed afternoon tea, snacks and pastries before our room was ready at 3pm. 

We then walked up to the terrace (23rd floor) after checking into our room and then we were off to explore the city by foot for the next 5 hours. 

So many great food places!! I wish we had more time to eat!

After making our way 36 blocks to 19th street, and seeing so much of Manhattan, we finally hit our final destination. 

Cafe Prague

Karel was so excited to enjoy a meal (almost) as good as his mom's home-cooking. 

I ordered a delicious salad, packed with veggies, apples and goat cheese and saved some room for dessert. 

My favorite Czech dessert is poppy seed Streusel and they just happened to have it in the restaurant. 

After dinner, we walked back to our hotel for a total of ~6.3 miles of walking since we arrived in NYC.

Inside Macy's. 

Times Square at night. 

Yay - one of our amazing Trimarni sponsors, Oakley!

Yum! 

I love anything chocolate and peanut butter!

Our first official day in NYC was fun but I have a feeling that day 2 will be even more memorable. 

IM Kona '15: Day 8

Well, the "vacationing" is over as it's race week.
Aside from getting our workouts done in the morning, we are spending most of our time indoors (in the AC) and off our feet.
For athletes who love to work out, all this waiting around and eating is exhausting - is it race day yet???
There is a lot going on on race week in Kona and it's really easy to get wrapped-up in all there is to do. Also, if anyone needs motivation to workout - come to Kona during race week. There is no shortage of people swimming in the ocean or in the pool, riding their bikes or running at all hours of the day. We see people swimming in the ocean just after 6am and running on Ali'i drive after 7pm in the dark.
We are just a few more sleeps away from a 140.6 mile adventure on the big island.
Saturday will be a day that most of us have dreamed about for many weeks, months or even a year (or more). It's hard to believe that the big day is almost here!

Karel went for an ocean swim with Purple Patch Fitness at 7am and then went for a bike ride with Paul Buick (bike guru with  Purple Patch) and at 7:30am I went for a ride on the Queen K with my friend Laura. 

The wind was blowing at us and to our side heading north on the Queen K which is not the "typical" wind direction for Kona race day but that's what's so crazy (or should I say "magical") about Kona - the winds change all day long and so does the weather. 

Laura and I wanted to ride 2 hours so we headed out an hour and each took a pull for 5 minutes so that we wouldn't exhaust our legs. We kept the effort really easy and comfortable.

We then turned around and flew home. Sometimes, not even pushing on the pedals and seeing 30+ mph!

We did our main set coming home: 2 x 10 minutes at IM pace w/ 5 min EZ spin in between.

Then it was EZ spin on the way home. 

After our spin, I went back to the condo and met up with Karel (he only rode about an hour after his 20 min ocean swim) and then it was time for breakfast.

Karel and I had some work to do on Training Peaks for our athletes so we spent a few hours working before we decided to get some fresh air. 

It was super windy out but with a little cloud cover, it was not as hot. 

We met Cal (cupcakes with Cal) which was a lot of fun. Not sure if it is just selective with the professionals that we have met but every pro we speak with is so nice and personable!

Karel trying to get some speed from Olympic Gold medalist and 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Jan Frodeno's bike. 

A cruise ship in the distance from the expo. 

What an honor to participate in this historic event. 

Need a Garmin?

After our short visit at the expo, we walked back to our condo (just two blocks) and Karel was itching to get on his bike again (since the morning ride was not his typical ride warm-up but instead an opportunity to learn from Paul Buick) so he went for a 90 minute ride and I went to the grocery store (Wal-Mart) to get more water and a few other things. 

When Karel returned home around 5:15pm, we got ready and back on our bikes to ride just under 4 miles down the road to the Clif Bar house for the Clif Bar party. 

It was great to literally "run" into my athlete Colleen and to see her getting her run workout in after a long day of working at the Wattie booth.

(Yes - I was riding my tri bike in a dress ;) 

A few professionals were at the Clif Bar house - Tio (Tim O'Donnell), Terenzo Bozzone and Linsey Corbin.
We could have talked with Linsey and her hubby Chris for hours - so nice!
I met Linsey in Austria when she dominated the course last summer but this was my first time having a conversation with her. 

What a beautiful sunset!

Thanks Clif Bar!

A taste of San Fran

After two days of moving, unloading boxes and getting my kitchen Trimarni-ready for some cooking, I was off to the West Coast for the Clif Bar RD summit.

I will write more about this summit in another blog post but I was invited to the summit, along with 18 other RD's from around the US (many from NY) to learn about Clif Bar, the company and products. As a RD, I take my role as a health professional very seriously. Specifically, with my focus on sport nutrition and fueling a body in motion, this was a great opportunity for me to understand a  sport nutrition product company that focuses on sustainable fuel and taste products to better educate and inform the public and athletes.

As you know by now, real food is how I role. Bars are not my first choice when it comes to nourishing my body or when I need a snack but that doesn't mean I don't travel without them in my stash of traveling eats.

For this direct 5 hour flight from Charlotte to San Fran, I enjoyed a delicious lunch of Ezikiel bread cinnamon raisin bread with fresh smashed raspberries and PB along with a banana. I picked up a Chobani yogurt (all they had was flavored but I typically choose plain 0% and dress it up myself) at the airport for a perfectly balanced (and yummy) lunch. I also brought along some trail mix and an apple.

On behalf of Clif Bar, my trip was paid for and they selected this stylish hotel, right in the heart of downtown, for our lodging. I had my own room but spent little time there as I was always exploring the city. 

Our itinerary had us meeting in the lobby at 7:45am but seeing that I was still on East Coast time, I "slept in" until 5am (8am EST) and my running shoes were calling my name. 

As my first run since St. Croix 11 days ago, I could not have picked a better place to shake out my legs and to explore a new city.

6 miles later and several camera stops, I was ready to clean up and officially start the day. 

My hotel had these cute little maps in our room which was handy for anyone who likes to follow a map. As for me, I let my feet guide me along my own little journey around town.

I will save the pictures from my day at the Clif Bar HQ for another blog but let's just say that I LOVE the Clif Bar corporation and the foundation on which the company thrives.

I was given Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business: The Story of Clif Bar Inc. in my Clif Bar goodie bag and I am currently working my way through the book. I highly recommend this book - it is very inspiring to read about Gary, who is the creator of Clif Bar.

"In April of 2000, Gary Erickson turned down a $120 million offer to buy his thriving company. Today, instead of taking it easy for the rest of his life and enjoying a luxurious retirement, he's working harder than ever. Why would any sane person pass up the financial opportunity of a lifetime? Raising the Bar tells the amazing story of Clif Bar's Gary Erickson and shows that some things are more important than money. Gary Erickson and coauthor Lois Lorentzen tell the unusual and inspiring story about following your passion, the freedom to create, sustaining a business over the long haul, and living responsibly in your community and on the earth. Raising the Bar chronicles Clif Bar's ascent from a homemade energy bar to a $100 million phenomenon with an estimated 35 million consumers, and a company hailed by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. four years in a row. The book is filled with compelling personal stories from Erickson's life-trekking in the Himalayan mountains, riding his bicycle over roadless European mountain passes, climbing in the Sierra Nevada range--as inspiration for his philosophy of business. Throughout the book, Erickson--a competitive cyclist, jazz musician, world traveler, mountain climber, wilderness guide, and entrepreneur--convinces us that sustaining one's employees, community, and environment is good business. If you are a manager, executive, business owner, or board member, Raising the Bar is your personal guide to corporate integrity. If you are a sports enthusiast, environmentalist, adventure lover, intrigued by a unique corporate culture, or just interested in a good story, Raising the Bar is for you."

Clif Bar believes in sustainable energy and local, fresh and organic food. They are heavy into recycling, giving back to the community and taking care of the environment/earth. So what better place to eat at than at Central Kitchen. Local, fresh organic food enjoyed over 2.5 hours. With four courses and a room full of RDs, there was a lot of yumming going on!

YUM!

This was not Marni-friendly (it had fish in it) but others were yumming).

YUM!

Check out those carrots! And the bread was SO good! YUM!

It was getting dark but this was worthy of a pic!

The potatoes were SO good! Double yum for this plant strong athlete!

Desert - chocolate custard with warm cookies. SO GOOD!

I made sure to get some restful sleep to avoid suppressing my immune system with all that was (and has been) going on in my life so after waking up without an alarm, I had a little time to waste and what better than to use my free time for a morning run. 

5 miles later, it was time for breakfast with the group and then a scavenger hunt around the city! 

We were divided into groups of 4 and had check points at certain times as well as opportunities to get points along the way. We had a camera and a book of to-do's for points. So much fun - I love a good fun challenge with my body!

I think I need Karel to fit me.

If you are ever in San Fran, be sure to rent a bike - this was one of our activities/check points (we got the bikes for free and they were all ready for us) and it was a great way to see the city. We were moving our bodies for 3 hours that morning!

One of our activities was to be blind folded in a garden (sitting down) and to taste and identify 5 different herbs. Oh they were amazing! I felt like I was on Amazing Race!

I haven't put my Fit Bit to full use yet but I am so excited to try it out! I've heard great things about it.

My awesome team!

I was a little jealous  to see a group of triathletes swimming in the water but that's ok.....

We were having so much fun!

Oh bread...how I love you!

A stop at the Boudin Bakery was on our to-do list

And I can not resist a delicious slice of fresh bread. YUM!

A stop to see the seals...who were very chatty!

And what scavenger trip can not be complete with a market stop....

And ice cream!

Once the scavenger hunt was officially complete around 11:45am (points deducted if you were late), it was time for a delicious picnic lunch. 

And we got to try our own Clif Bar's that we made the day before at the HQ!

Our had cashews, dried blueberries and cherries, beet chips, chocolate chips and almonds.

Yay!! Our team won the hunt!!!

How cool are these awards? 

So great to meet Tara, the RD at Clif bar!

Once the hunt was over, it was time for our good-byes and see ya later.

I had a red eye leaving at 10:15pm so I had a good 6 hours to explore the city once more (after a little computer work was done).

Beer always makes me miss Karel when I travel.

My European hubby would have loved to try them all!

It was SO great to see my good friend Doris (and website designer, Trimarni athlete and creator of the Trimarni logo) in San Fran - she only lives 30 min away from this cool city!

We had Blue Bottle Lattes which were delicious! 

And then I got a meal to -go to enjoy around dinner time in my hotel lobby from The Plant - Organic cafe

There's something special about plant strong food that is so exciting for the taste buds! 

Well San Fran....you left me satisfied with a happy belly and my legs loved exploring the city. Until next time West Coast....

Now it's time to explore my new city of Greenville, SC!!!