Weekend training recap - the cold couldn't stop us!

It was so nice to sleep in until almost 7am on Saturday morning. We were in no rush to get up since we had planned to ride indoors on our trainers. Another reason why we could sleep in was because our cat Madison let us sleep in way past her normal internal alarm clock (aka "feed me now!") went off (which is usually around 5:30-6am).

After getting some work done on the computer and eating a yummy pre-workout snack, it was around 8:30am when I went to our workout room to get myself ready for my bike workout. As I was writing my bike trainer workout on the white board, Karel looked outside and said "it's sunny, let's ride outside." What a relief as I wanted to ride outside but with the temps nearly 30 degrees, we both first thought it would be too cold to ride outside but without a cloud in the sky, we decided to bundle up and enjoy a few hours on our road bikes.

Although our toes were a little cold even with our shoe covers on, we both dressed well and stayed rather comfortable throughout our entire 3 hour ride. Of course, it helps to have lots of hills to warm us up. 

With  no set plans as to where our bikes would take us, we made our way onto roads that we had not ridden on in over a year. It was so nice to be outside and to enjoy what felt like new roads in Greenville. Since we have so many options for riding, every ride seems like a fun, new experience.

Karel lead the way for our ride and I followed along. I felt really strong during our ride thanks to so much trainer work (and variable cadence sets, with lots of heavy gear riding) so it was a big confidence builder for me to be able to stay on Karel's wheel for most of the ride, even on the climbs. Plus, I love riding my road bike so this was one of those rides that I just didn't want to end. 

With it being so cold (temps nearly breaking 40 degrees), I knew that I would need something solid in my tummy in addition to my bottles of sport drink (a bottle of Infinit Trimarni base fuel and a bottle of strawberry Levelen). I went with this yummy Luna bar as the chocolate peppermint stick was just perfect on this cold morning of riding. I snacked on it throughout the ride, along with drinking my sport drink at frequent intervals throughout the ride.  

A nice 4400 feet of elevation gain in 3 hours and 6 minutes of riding. We only covered 48 miles but that is pretty typical in Greenville as our terrain is very challenging so the miles go by very slowly, despite us working hard for every mile.

I finished the ride with a 25 minute treadmill run just to keep myself comfortable with running off the bike whereas Karel didn't run off the bike and he was just fine with that decision. 

After a good night of sleep on Saturday evening, Karel and I started our long run around 9am in 40 degree temps. Although we started and finished the run together, we didn't run together. Without a plan as to where I was going to run, I let my legs lead the way. Since I don't enjoy running on flat roads, I stayed on the hills and Karel went to the flat Swamp Rabbit Trail for the majority of his run (he warmed up on the hills first). We both ran for 2 hours but Karel covered almost 3 more miles than me due to his speedy legs.

My run workout included a 40 minute warm-up of nice, form focused running followed by 1 hour of endurance running, broken into 1 mile at a time, with the last 1 minute of each mile as a surge to fast effort followed by a 30 sec walk. It was a nice way to add in some speed into my legs but nothing too hard that would damage my body more than what was done with 2 hours of running. I was able to keep good for throughout my entire run and it was another confidence builder. I have been very patient with my run fitness and extremely diligent with my run training and strength training this season and it's finally all coming together. 

It's always fun to recap our workouts to one another after we train so I was really happy for Karel that he had such a great run. 

Here's my run recap, which includes the walk breaks. I sure do love my Greenville hills! 

Like usual, Campy was SO excited for us to come home. We just love the feeling that after 8.5 years of having Campy in our life, he still gets so excited to see us and showers us with kisses and hugs. We feel so lucky that we rescued this little 9 year old, golden (with a little white hair) nugget. 

As for the weekend eats, Karel had to run some errands on Sat afternoon so he stopped by the European Market (new to Greenville) and enjoyed finding some of his favorite European eats. It's fun when Karel finds a food that reminds him of his upbringing in Czech Republic as he always has a great story to tell with that food. 

After our Sunday afternoon swim (2300 yards), we made a stop at the grocery to pick up a few items for our Sunday night dinner which was homemade grilled pizza. We buy the dough at Publix and then grill it up on the outside grill and top with veggies and protein. It was SO good like usual!!

I also made this European-inspired salad with thinly chopped onion, tomatoes and cucumbers dressed with a little vinegar, olive oil and salt topped with crumbled farmers cheese.

It was another great weekend of training and we could not be more grateful to our bodies for allowing us to stay so consistent with training this season. I wouldn't consider us obsessive with our eating and training but we do place a lot of attention on proper fueling and hydrating during our workouts, effective eating before and after our workouts and healthy eating throughout the day. With good daily nutrition, the body can perform to its full ability during workouts and there's a good chance that it will be easier to stay consistent with training. Consistent training = performance gains. 

Homemade grilled pizza

Last weekend we had our friends/athletes Anthony and Peggy in town (and their furry child Brutus) and we had a lot of fun. The primary reason for traveling from DC to Greenville was to get a RETUL fit/re-fit from Karel on their new tri bikes but we also did a little working out (exercising) and a lot of eating. With every meal, there was a lot of yumming.
Like us, Anthony and Peggy share a love for home cooking but we couldn't resist going out for crepes at Tandem Creperie on Sunday morning after an hour run (our longest and 2nd run since IM Kona).



After our "brunch", we picked up the doggies and we headed downtown for a few hours. 

The dogs were almost exhausted as we were (we all hiked at Ceaser's Head on Saturday morning so our legs were a bit tired) so by 3pm, we drove back to our place with a quick stop at Publix to get some ingredients for our pizza dinner.

Here are a few pics from our beautiful hike: 

Anyways - back to food. 

Anthony had the great idea to grill our pizzas and since Karel and I have never used our grill for pizzas, we couldn't resist!

After letting the pizza dough sit out at room temperature for a few hours, Anthony went to work on the dough (with some flour) to form the pizzas.

We then started up the grill (and by we, I mean Anthony and Karel - Peggy and I were having too much fun in the kitchen)

First, Anthony coated the grill with some olive oil.
Put olive oil in a baggy and then dip a paper towel into the baggy. Use tongs to hold the towel and then rub the oil on the grill.

Then place the pizza dough on the grill.

Let the pizza dough cook (covered in the grill) until golden brown and firm on the bottom. Depending on the pizza thickness and shape, this will vary from pizza to pizza. It's a good idea to just hang outside with the pizza and check on it after a few minutes with a grill spatula.



To make the "waiting" easier, Karel suggest some appetizers and an IPA beer....along with your furry best friend to protect you from the birds in the sky and the squirrels in the trees.

An important tip: Because you will be putting on your toppings on to partially cooked dough, it is a good idea to prep all of your toppings before grilling the dough.

I sauteed some veggies, heated frozen corn, grilled some peppers on the skillet and chopped the meat (Brutus and Campy helped me) and Peggy made the sauce (chopped tomatoes cooked down with a pinch of sugar, chopped basil and garlic). 

After the pizza dough is cooked on one side, flip the dough and it's time for the sauce. 

Spread a layer of sauce on the dough.



You can certainly used bottled sauce if you'd like. 

Next it was time for the cheese.

And then the toppings. 

We made three different pizzas - a meat lovers with ham and sausage (not Marni friendly), a veggie lovers (pictured below) and a Margarita pizza with basil, mozzarella and sliced tomatoes (this one was my favorite - pictured at the top of the blog). 

It only took a few minutes for the bottom of the pizza to cook and to melt the cheese. 

Anthony and Peggy gave us the great idea to use leftover paper grocery bags for the pizza as an easy way to slice the pizza and to collect crumbs for an easy clean up.

We didn't even bother with plates as we were standing around in the back watching the doggies chase each other.

Our friend Meredith came over with her silver lab Gabby to meet silver lab Brutus. Campy served as the referee of all the fun.




In honor of Halloween, check out some of the cool spooky pizzas on the internet that you can make for your friends, family, kids or yourself.
Just Google "Halloween pizza ideas"



Source

Feed me...I'm training for an Ironman!!

How much food does it take to fuel two triathletes training for the Ironman World Championship? 

A lot!!

With almost 9 weeks left until Karel and I use our bodies for 140.6 miles on the big island of Kona, the training is getting a lot more specific....and a LOT longer. 

There is a lot to juggle every day with work/business, training and the rest of life and a lot of food must be consumed to keep our bodies healthy and well fueled. 

As for our weekly staples (we make at least two grocery trips per week):
Milk
Eggs
Cheese
Yogurt
Deli meat/meat (for Karel)
Tempeh/tofu
Irish butter
Cottage Cheese
Veggies - all kinds
Mixed greens
Fruit - all kinds
Potatoes
Waffles
Oats
Fresh bread - all kinds

Saltine crackers

Pretzels
Rice cakes

Cereals
Maple Syrup/honey
Peanut butter
Jam
Soup
Rice
Whole Grains
Coffee

I think that's it for the weekly staples and there are always "extras" based on what we make for meals, what we are craving and what is accessible and convenient.
But regardless of how much we train or how busy we are with work, there is always time for home cooking. 

A big time saver for us has been preparing a big batch of food and eating twice (and cooking once). One skillet dishes work great for less clean-up but on the days when we have more time, we plan for leftovers and load-up the stove and oven. 

Here are a few of the many dishes that have helped fuel our extremely active and busy lifestyle over the past week. 

A delicious combination of lentils, basmati rice and a stir fry of red peppers, celery, corn and onions (cooked with olive oil) topped with cheese. 

Store-bought DiGiorno spinach, mushroom and garlic pizza dressed up with extra mushrooms and served with a large salad. 

Maple-syrup drenched french toast made with fresh local bread and free-range eggs.
Served with fresh fruit...and did I mention a lot of syrup? I stocked up when we were in Lake Placid! 

We love summer fruit!! Berry, cherry overload!! 

Keeping it simple with Amy's Organic soup dressed up with frozen veggies. Served warm with a dollop of Greek Yogurt. 

The egg salad requires a little patience to prep but it's always worth it!

3 eggs, 1 egg white 
3 large radishes chopped
1/4 cup onions chopped 
3 stalks celery chopped
4 red sweet peppers
Large spoonful Fage 0%plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp horseradish mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

An overflowing taco stuffed with lettuce, cheese, Greek yogurt, veggie meat, kamut, edamame, peppers, mushrooms, onions and corn.

And while we emphasize a real food diet throughout the day, it's all about sport nutrition "products" when we train to help meet the metabolic demands of training.  

AND to help keep our body in good health by supplying our bodies with the fluids, carbohydrates/sugars and electrolytes that we need.


I hope you enjoy fueling your body in motion just as much as we do! 

Family-style meals - pizza and tacos

                                           

Growing up, my brother and I were on different schedules all the time. Whereas my brother had gymnastics practice for a few hours every day in the evening, I started my day super early with my dad driving me to swim practice at 4:30am most days during the week. After school, my day would finish with another swim practice, piano lessons and perhaps some after school activity squeezed somewhere in there. Oh, and then there was time for homework in the evening before it all started over again and again and again until I graduated High School.

Then I re-created my similar lifestyle in college with swimming, school, studying, swimming and studying....with eating throughout the day with my swimming teammates.  

Although eating was not scheduled with my family growing up, I always enjoyed the times when we could eat together. And still today, I not only enjoy eating with Karel but also with friends and family. 

Why should we eat together with others? 

Regardless if it is with family or friends but we should all be able to enjoy sharing our day with others. Whether it is first thing in the morning or in the evening (or somewhere in between), eating with others is a very meaningful and powerful to connect with others.
We all need to eat so why not enjoy your eating time with someone else who also is eating.

(And this should be a big message that we all should slow down and take time to sit down and eat a real meal. At a table. Eating slowly. With minimal distractions.)

I'm sure many people could not imagine eating alone on the holidays, even if it does happen every now and then. So, why should we limit the wonderful experiences of eating together to just the holidays? 

Laughing, smiling, smelling, tasting and listening. 

In today's society, with so many food intolerances, allergies, preferences and dietary habits, perhaps some people feel as if there can not be a positive eating experience with friends/family or if tried, it would be too difficult to enjoy special diets around others.  Well, I want to prove you/them wrong.

As a 22-year lacto-ovo vegetarian (since the age of 10 yrs), I have never once felt as if I need to eat alone, I can not eat around others or if my dietary preferences are extreme compared to my friends and family. Yes, it was a little challenging for the first few years as there were a lot of new eating experiences for me (especially as an athlete) to get use to but once they were all achieved, eating time became much more enjoyable for me and my family/friends and now I don't even feel as if I am eating any differently than others. 

Eating together is an opportunity to connect with others over food. Not every meal needs to be the same for every person (or be super complicated) to be enjoyed. 

Part of the fun of eating together is preparing food that everyone can enjoy. Not always do you have to eat everything that is served and never should you put yourself in a food-centered experience with friends and family and feel as if there is nothing for you to eat.

Conversations around food can certainly be about food but I find that the eating experience should be more about being together and celebrating the day, the past and the future. 

To create the most positive and healthy meal-time experience, it is important to make meal time a happy, relaxed, fun and non-stressful time. So to help you out, I will give you two delicious meals that the entire family (and friends) will be sure to enjoy!

FAMILY-STYLE PIZZA

INGREDIENTS

Fresh dough (from your local pizzaria or grocery store. Plan 1 ball of dough per 2-3 people)

Pasta sauce

Mozzarella cheese (chopped)

Fresh basil

Chopped garlic

Tempeh

Cooked/seasoned chicken

Broccoli

Zucchini

Onions

Mushrooms

Corn

Artichokes (canned/jarred)

Asparagus

Peppers

1. Roll out dough on floured surface. Preheat oven to 430 degrees. Place dough on pizza dishes.

2. Every person get his/her own personalized pizza to decorate with sauce, cheese (optional) and basil and then with individual toppings. 

3. Bake for 20-40 minutes.

4. Yum together!

 FAMILY-STYLE TACOS

INGREDIENTS

1 package taco shells

Cabot cheese (Shredded)

Black beans and chickpeas (rinsed from canned)

Brown rice

Tri-colored quinoa

Boca veggie "meat"

Cooked/seasoned chicken

Sauteed mushrooms/zucchini/onions

Chopped romaine

Steamed mixed veggies (from the bag)

Plain Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream)

Salsa

1. Every stuffs their own taco with warm ingredients.

2. You may also omit the shell and create a taco salad in a lettuce bowl.

3. When your taco overflows, use your extra toppings for a side dish

4. Yum together!

Semi-homemade - Veggie pizza on TJ's Garlic Herb Dough and soup

 Soup and Pizza. YUM!

I just love pizza - the combination of sauce and cheese on warm bread, topped with a salad makes my taste buds and tummy, incredibly happy. 

What I love even more than just eating pizza is making it. Don't get me wrong, I just LOVE trying local brick oven pizza and it something that's on my Ironman race week to-do list for I just love pizza two nights before my race. It's a great comfort food that makes me yum and smile. 

Karel and I made a shop at Trader Joe's here in Greenville SC a few days ago and we came across a variety of pizza dough's. There was no hesitation to throw the garlic and herb dough into our cart for we never have specific days when we are allowed certain foods. Wednesday (yesterday) just happened to be a great day to enjoy semi-homemade pizza after our evening interval hilly ride (eventually I will omit the word hilly when I talk about our rides because no ride that we do is without a few thousand feet of climbing). 

Before our 2 hour ride, we removed the dough from the 'fridge so that it would be room temperature to roll when we returned home. 

To save some time for meal prep if you are ever making your own pizza w/ store-bought dough, chop your toppings ahead of time. This saves some time so that you have a salad bar of options to top your individual pizza. 

Karel and I split the dough so that we could each have our own personal pizza and we had a little left over for bread sticks. 

So sweet. Karel made me a heart out of the dough. 

Don't cut any corners when it comes to pizza sauce. Choose plain pizza sauce and add your own fresh basil (chopped) mixed in the sauce for a really great tasting sauce. 

For our toppings, I used mushrooms, sweet green pepper, asparagus, garlic and onions.
Karel added corn on his pizza. 

For our proteins, I had tempeh for my pizza (far back picture) and Karel had seasoned sausage that he got from TJ's.

After we dressed our pizza with sauce, cheese, toppings and protein, the 400 degree oven was ready for some pizza cooking!

What a delicious meal that was ready in less time than if we drove to a pizza place, waited to get a table, sat down and ordered pizza at a restaurant and then have it served or had it delivered to your house. We reserve those times for traveling when we get to enjoy the full pizza experience (smells and all!).  From start to finish, it took around 40 minutes for us to prep our meal and then cook it. 

As we prepped our pizza, I also prepared some soup using Trader Joe's low sodium vegetable broth. 

Because I love leftovers, I used the entire container (which was only 4 servings) and then added my own ingredients:
chopped asparagus
chopped mushrooms

chopped garlic

cooked lentils (leftovers)
chopped celery

I brought the soup to a boil and then covered (with lid tilted) to low heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables were soft. I served with a bread stick from our dough. 

These two dishes are super easy and you can purchase the ingredients at almost any grocery store (and veggies from the farmers market). 

Have fun with your meals - dress them up with a variety of ingredients to maximize the nutrition density of your meals.

And don't forget to yum!

Rethink your plate - indulge in a healthy way

 

 

My body is nourished by a real food, whole food, balanced, plant strong diet.

This is how I stay healthy and well, it's how I am reducing my risk for disease and it's how I choose to fuel my active lifestyle.

 

As a clinical RD who specializes in sport nutrition, I enjoy helping others learn to appreciate a more real food, plant strong, balanced diet but also how to let food enhance life.

 

Above all, a healthy relationship with food is a top priority when it comes to living a quality life with a healthy body and mind.

 

I am very passionate about life for I only have one chance at it. I want to live a good life...no, I want to live a great life. I absolutely love using my body for sport but also to be productive in my career and to make memories as I age.

 

So to help me live a great life, I do not support an off-limit food list. I have to enjoy food in order to enjoy life for food is part of our society, not to mention we need to eat to live.

 

 If there is anything that can assist in having a healthy relationship with food, I am a firm believer that food should make you feel good when you eat it and after you finish eating it.

 

How many times or when was the last time you said "Oh, I should not have eaten that or that much?"

 

So if you are currently seeing a food as bad or off-limit for whatever reason, I want to make sure that your relationship with food is what's helping you use food to enhance your life.

A good place to start is rethinking your plate so that you don't feel restricted in your diet.

 

There are many ways to eat "healthy" and many ways to describe a healthy diet. I think that's great that we can all live our own life and discover our own ways to live a healthy life.

 

What works for me may not work for you BUT as a health professional and licensed RD, I have absolutely nothing to hide when it comes to my diet and what I feel may work well for others.
There is great research showing what "works" when it comes to healthy eating

When it comes to eating, I'm an open book. I share my pics on social media because I am so proud of what I choose to put into my body but also what helps me live a healthy and active lifestyle.

I love to eat around others and I never lecture others about food (I am not the food police). You will never hear me say "don't eat that - it's bad". EVER!

 

Practicing what I preach allows is important to me but also, I can help others, treat others as individuals and also relate to many real-world situations which involve food.

 

A common issue for many is indulgences. Often times, these indulgences - pizza, cake, ice cream, cookies, candy, chips, pastries, etc. - are found on a "bad" food list and often times, people feel "bad" or guilty when an indulgence is consumed. Perhaps an individual needs to recognize that the food is not "bad" but instead, the relationship with food can be changed but for many, it's very easy to overeat something that tastes oh-so-good and not feel so good afterward.

Because many of these calorie dense foods are often found on an off-limit food list when it comes to diet plans, I want to help you learn how to indulge in a "healthy" way.

 

Although, we do not want to treat ourselves every day because then when a special occasion does come (birthday, anniversary, wedding), we may not feel the same about the indulgence that is often consumed in celebration for something special.

 

Compare eating brownies on valentines day versus eating brownies in your office because they were on sale at the grocery store.

 

 

So when you find yourself about to indulge - for whatever reason - think about creating a plate that will leave you satisfied, feeling nourished and great when you finish and allows you to indulge without feeling guilty.

 

I have so  many great ways that I maintain a healthy relationship with food, nourish my body to reduce risk for disease and illness, fuel my active lifestyle and live an awesome life as a travel and make memories with Karel.

 

Here is one example as to how I enjoy one of my favorite indulgences.....pizza (which I LOVE while traveling and on occasion at home). What's great is that I can enjoy the perfect portion of pizza to fill my mouth with flavor but also feel satisfied thanks to a healthy portion of nutrient-rich food (packed with volume, fiber, vitamins and minerals).

 

If you are trying to change eating habits for a more real-food diet, if you current struggle with overeating, feel a bit stressed when it comes to indulging at parties, use the word "cheat" in your diet or often feel "guilty" when you indulge, let's work on it.

 

Consider taking the same approach to your favorite indulgences:
Instead of a large cookie straight from your hand, have 4 ounce plain Greek yogurt in a small bowl and 1/2 cookie crumbled on top.
Instead of a large bowl of ice cream, have a cup of fruit in a bowl with 2-3 spoonfuls ice cream on top.
Instead of eating chips straight from the bag, top a hearty salad with a small handful of crumbled chips.
Instead of a large bowl of pasta, serve steamed veggies in a large bowl and top with 1 cup pasta.

 Super Bowl Dinner tonight
(Bottom plate) 



 

Here's my experiment to show you that you can asbolutely indulge and feel great about it and NOT have an off-limit food list or feel as if you are "cheating" with pizza.

 

Top right: 1 slice pizza on a large plate
Well, that doesn't look very filling despite being "calorie-controlled".
Top left: 2 slices pizza on small plate
At least we have a "filled" plate which may make you think that you are eating a more filling meal but we still haven't solved the issue of creating a plant strong, nutrient dense plate.

 

Bottom plate: 1 slice pizza sliced into thirds on small plate, served with roasted broccoli, mushrooms and onions.

Not only does this plate look filling but you still get your pizza AND veggies to leave you satisfied as you indulge and feel great about what you are eating.

 

Perhaps you'd like two slices of pizza with veggies or a salad - that works too! Have fun with rethinking and recreating your plate so that you can indulge and feel great about it.

 

 

Kona training update + Karel's weekend workouts

8.5 quality, "train smarter to train harder" hours of Ironman World Championship training this weekend. My whole wheat pita bread pizza topped with marinara, cheese, BRAGG powder and oregano and olive oil, stir fried veggies (mushrooms, mixed frozen veggies, red and yellow sweet peper, garlic) with tempeh hit the spot tonight. Body and mind are feeling strong, healthy and happy.

Another week of training is behind me and I am excited to recover tomorrow. I am always amazed that with one recovery day per week (sometimes two) that my body can recover from 6 previous days of training and be strong for 6 more days of training and keep this cycle going for x-weeks. One thing that really helps me stay balanced is constantly changing up my routine and only limiting my "key race training" to around 10-12 weeks at a time. When I started endurance sports, I was like many athletes and had a specific schedule Mon - Sun and would repeat that same routine week after week, month after month. Over the past few years, Karel always changes up my workouts, often with Thurs - Sun being the key workouts and then using Mon - Wed as active recovery. I love how my body is always getting use to something new and I think that is why I don't get burnt out from training. There is a lot of flexibility and challenge so I never get bored and my body never feels run down (tired and sore at times but nothing I can't recover from). After my two week recovery from IM Placid, the first few weeks of my IM training for Kona had a routine of an intense brick or interval run on Tues but now I know that my body can't take the added stress after the weekend training with my training on the weekend being much more intense and specific to the IM (now that the building is overwith). As an athlete, it is always important to weigh the pros and cons with training. Ask yourself what you can accomplish each day and week to move closer to your goals for you don't want to have 3 weeks of great workouts and then find yourself 4,6,8 weeks away from race day feeling tired, on the verge of injury or burnout. Keep it fun and never lose sight of your goals and dreams. 

Self doubt can be a challenge for an athlete, let alone any individual trying to reach goals. My belief is how do you know you can't do it unless you try and give your best effort?

This morning I woke up excited to train but the typical thoughts of "can I do this?" were on my mind as I drove 6 miles down the road to Nocatee to train. I never let my mind win when it comes to controlling my body but I do have to use my mental skills to hush up those thoughts. I never want to miss an opportunity to give a good effort just because I think I don't have "it" for the day. Of course, this is not an appropriate thought for an athlete who is sick or injured and that is why I always focus on training smart for I respect my body too much to push it went it can not adapt to training stress. My ultimate goal is to always have my mind as my only limiter when I train and race. BTW - I can't tell you how excited I am to have my personal sport psychologist and friend Gloria with me in Kona from Oct 7th - Oct 15th.

Sunday training:
After a 1 hour warm-up on the bike (18 miles and oh did my body really benefit from that) I started my long run:

First 8 miles steady @ IM Pace w/ 30 sec walk in between
2-3 min break - bathroom/refill flasks w/ sport drink
Main set:
5 x 1 miles Descending from IM pace to whatever my body would give w/ 30 sec walk in between

Last mile cool down
1 hour EZ spin active recovery (16 miles - oh this felt sooooo good to loosen the legs and sip on Hammer FIZZ - so refreshing to replace electrolytes as it was a major sweat fest this morning running from 8:30-10:30am in the Florida heat). 

Stats from my run:
2:08 hours
Average pace 8:37 min/mile (including walking and cool down, not including break)
Total miles: 14.93 miles
Average HR 140 bpm
Mile 1: 8:27, 120 HR
30 sec walk: 112 HR
Mile 2: 8:18, 126 HR
30 sec walk: 120 HR
Mile 3: 8:22, 131 HR
30 sec walk: 125 HR
Mile 4: 8:29 (incline), 139 HR
30 sec walk: 135 HR
Mile 5: 8:23, 140 HR
30 sec walk: 133 HR
Mile 6: 8:30, 140 HR
30 sec walk: 134 HR
Mile 7: 8:35, 142 HR
30 sec walk: 140 HR
Mile 8: 8:28, 143 HR
Break
Mile 9: 8:20, 141 HR
30 sec walk: 139 HR
Mile 10: 8:12, 147 HR
30 sec walk: 141 HR
Mile 11: 8:10, 145 HR
30 sec walk: 141 HR
Mile 12: 8:10, 143 HR
30 sec walk: 153 HR (body was getting hot - look how my HR went up during the walk to try to cool my body)
Mile 13: 7:56, 153 HR (but I had just enough mental strength to convince my body that I could do this! And fueling was perfect so had plenty of energy for this run)
30 sec walk: 153 HR
Mile 14: 8:26, 150 (steady effort before cool down)
.57 miles: 9:07, 141 HR


Karel is currently training for the Miami 70.3 so his training is a lot more intense. It took him a few weeks to recover fully from Placid and a few more weeks to get his snap back into his legs. Here's his weekend training:

Saturday: 2 hour bike + 30 min run
Bike - first hour warm-up until steady "fast" pace (draft legal behind two of our athletes JM and Josh)
Main set: 10 x 6 minutes @ Z4 watts w/ 1 min recovery in between (about 1 hour of hard efforts)
Run off the bike: 30 min negative split run - 6:50, 6:40, 6:30, 6:13

Sunday: 13.1 mile run (1:30, 6:52 min/mile including walk breaks) + 1 hour social spin (active recovery)
2.5 miles - warm-up (7:17, 7:00)
Stopped and stretched for a few minutes
Main set 3x's:
3 miles descending w/ 1 min walk in between  (start at 6:50 min/miles and descend 10 sec each mile)
6:49, 6:39, 6:29
6:47, 6:39, 6:29
6:48, 6:40, 6:15 (with strong finish)
Walked 1 minute
Jogged cool down 1.4 miles - 6:50 min/mile

We train smarter to train harder and in order to do so, we recover even harder. 

Creations to fuel your lifestyle - pizza, recovery meal and veggie casserole

RECOVERY MEAL

Bread, fruit and eggs. A few of my favorite things in a recovery meal. 

Are you confused as to the best method of recovery after endurance activity? I know it can be confusing to understand sport nutrition because what you eat around workouts is not what is preached by the media in terms of "heart healthy" eating. This is why I am a firm believer, health first, performance second. When I was at the Oakley Women event in LA this past week, I talked about fueling around workouts and my primary focus was to help the audience understand that we don't need high fiber, high fat, high protein around our workouts. We want foods to be quick to digest and to be energy dense. So if you are snacking on quick digesting foods throughout the day when your body is not active, this is where the confusion comes in as you are likely very vulnerable to your body around a workout and want to eat "healthy and clean". Pass on the salads, high protein/fat foods and fibrous foods around your workouts as that is not the time to be giving your body slow digesting foods. Learn to create a diet that keeps your body nourished and with stable blood sugar and you will find yourself better understanding how to properly fuel around workouts....without feeling as if you are going to gain weight or change body composition with higher glycemic foods.

The immediate consumption of carbohydrates post-exercise is critical for muscle glycogen repletion. Although your recovery "window" is open for 24 hours, the keys to a quick recovery (based on research) are consuming liquid protein as soon as possible post workout (no more than 30g for best absorption) such as whey or vegan protein powder, milk or chocolate milk, followed by  a high glycemic carb breakfast with a little protein (a little fat is fine as well). Avoid stuffing yourself after a workout as the best recovery will come when you can eat every few hours to ensure adequate glycogen storage. If you are finishing a workout extremely weak or starving or feeling full/bloated, consider working with a RD specializing in sport nutrition to help you out with with your sport nutrition fueling regime.

For a yummy and healthy recovery meal: try to start with milk and cereal (ex. rice or corn based if you tend to have trouble with consuming foods after workouts) or fruit, veggie and whey/vegan smoothie as something small to kick start the recovery process. Then when you are ready for your actual meal, think about a variety of fruit for electrolytes, vitamins and minerals and to keep your immune system strong with lots of colors on your plate. Choose your easy to digest quality protein (ex. around 20-30g of protein in your meal such as 1-2 egg whites + 1 whole egg) and your starch/carb (around 40-70g carbs would be a good start to aim for depending on your workout volume/intensity) and I always believe in having some type of veggie with my meal so I used kale and garlic as pictured above with a little hummus on the bread and cheese on the egg. YUM!

VEGGIE CASSEROLE

Do you have those days that are super busy and the last thing you want to do is cook? Yeah, I have them too. BUT, I know that my busy and active lifestyle can be not be fueled off cereal and ice cream...or any other "quick" option that does not provide vital nutrients to my body and mind. My business keeps me busy but with athletes and fitness enthusiasts from around the world relying on me to provide practical information, to review food logs in a timely manner and to communicate passionately and realistically, I would be letting down others, along with myself, if I didn't make time to prepare nourishing meals. Additionally, with every meal comes a workout to follow the next day so it would be a disservice to my body to tell myself that I am too busy to cook and then get upset the next day that I didn't have the right fuel in my body to have an awesome workout. 

I love casseroles because they are super easy. I think we all need go-to easy meals just as much as we should enjoy spending a little extra time in the kitchen. Although this meal took about 40-45 min to make, I wasn't in the kitchen more than 10 minutes so I was able to get things done around the house...thus still staying busy but with a meal ready for me and Karel when it was time to eat. 

1 can favorite soup

2 eggs

Frozen veggies (enough to cover bottom of casserole dish

Seasonings of your choice

Panko bread crumbs

Cheese

Grain or starch of your liking - I used brown rice, potatoes would be a yummy additional as well as you can stick them in the microwave or oven.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a glass casserole dish, spray lightly with non stick spray and place veggies in dish until 1/2 full. Drain 1/2 liquid from soup (unless you are using a broth based soup - then you can keep the broth for another time, I recommend a vegetable soup (vegetarian) or your favorite chunky style soup) and pour over the veggies. Use seasonings of your choice on top - ex. garlic, oregano, chili flakes, pepper, turmeric, onion, etc. Scramble two eggs and a dallop of greek yogurt together and pour over the veggie mix and lightly mix in until evenly combined. Sprinkle with bread crumbs (lightly) and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove casserole from oven and turn off heat. Top with cheese when veggie casserole is firm and place in oven for 2-3 minutes to let cheese melt. Serve with 1/2 - 1 cup whole grain/starch and Enjoy! 

Matzoh Pizza and Salad

As you may tell, I am not much of a sandwich eater. I've said it in the past but you can only stuff so many plants between two slices of bread. I use to eat sandwiches and when I travel I love a good PB&J for the road/plane or a filling egg, cheese and veggie sandwich from a local eatery. But on a day to day basis, sandwiches don't work for me because I like the volume and nutrient density in plant strong meals and I prefer to use my "bread" for workout nutrition (pre and post) and incorporate more whole grains into my meals instead.

As you may also know, I LOVE pizza. I don't think it's the triangle shape but the combination of flavors - marinara sauce, toppings, bread...yum! In my mind you can make a pizza out of anything or at least, enjoy the flavors of pizza anytime if you want to be creative.

For this yummy creation, I first created a delicious salad of mango, spinach, leeks, celery, carrots, tomatoes topped with a sliced egg (I eat 1 whole egg daily for health benefits). I think used my oven to roast veggies - I tossed peppers, mushrooms, onions and then tofu in a little olive oil and placed in a casserole dish and baked at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes until roasted. Karel had some leftover chicken that he cooked so I was able to use chicken for his pizza (rt side pic - with a little tofu since he likes it) and tofu for me (left side picture).

After the veggies were roasted, I took two Matzoh's and spread a spoonful or two of marinara and then topped with basil, oregano and garlic (dried herbs/spices). The oven was turned off so I just placed the 'pizzas' in the oven for 2-3 minutes until the cheese was melted and then topped each pizza with the toppings. 

You could use any type of flat bread for this or fresh pizza dough which we often use. I really like Matzoh to eat pre workout because it has a good amount of carbohydrates for 1 slice to be combined with PB and banana slices but it doesn't leave you stuffed like bread or bagel before a workout.

DESSERT

It's not typical that Karel and I will have dessert after dinner.......I just don't see the point of eating after you eat? It's like everything that was prepared for dinner was forgotten and dessert is the only way to feel satisfied. Sometimes we need a little something sweet after a meal but that is often confused with a lot of something. Many times I find that people undereat throughout the day and thus overeat in the evening as our body has a natural way to regulate how many calories we need on a daily basis. Considering that we do very little activity after 8pm, it would be better for your metabolism to spread out your budget of calories throughout the day instead of eating a lot at one time or overeating on something sweet after a meal.

As you can see from my pic above, this is a "dessert" of mixed fruit. The key however is to not overdo it on any one thing. I used 3 strawberries, 4 orange slices and a few banana slices along with a few grapes. Not a lot as I was satisfied after my meal but just needed a little something after the meal. Another great option for dessert is 1/2 - 3/4 ounce dark chocolate which is another one of our favorites in our house.