A trip down memory lane

Here we go. A slide show of pics from this past years races and adventures. Starting off with our road trip to Kansas and ending with Clearwater. I didn't get to go to many races this year but when I did, it was always a memorable experience with my husband.

Let the Road trip to kansas Begin!




Still driving!


Found a komucha in Kansas, thank God after 9 hours of driving!

Watching James race in Austin with Emery (niece).

Austin Triathlon- great finish!

Clearwater Florida- sunshine and blue skies! My running path in Clearwater each morning.


Race Morning at pier 60 Clearwater Beach


Post race in Clearwater with my cute niece, who by the way won't hug him cause he's "sweaty."




Now time to relax in Florida!!
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Yea for beach time in Clearwater!


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Clearwater 70.3

I love coming to Clearwater and racing. It is a great place to hang out pre and post race with great weather and beautiful beaches. We had four days after the race to relax and unwind with with family on a beautiful beach front home. I tell ya, I did feel pretty American after the race. I got redneck with my boy Justin Park and must have consumed seven or eight miller lights after the race. Yes Dad I know, I was drinking water. I then watched and talked football on Sunday while having my arse planted in the couch for almost the entire day. 10 days since the race and I now feel like working out again.

Swim started off poorly with everyone paddling out a good 50 yards past the start line in anticipation of the gun. If you come to Clearwater you have to play the game that somebody always starts. With 80+ pros in the field everyone had to play and start swimming before the gun despite lots of four letter words being tossed about. I started solid and was in the mix of the main pack that was stretched pretty long. I came out 15-20 sec back of the first few athletes. Great position for Clearwater because if you are not in the front pack you can kiss your chances good-bye of a top 10 place. However, just like ITU, if you fumble around in T1 your race can also be over. I funmbled for a little too long :)

Heading into the bike I just missed the tail end of pack one. I was riding with Colucci, Able, and another fellow but the gap was growing by the minute. Eventually we all were eaten up by a fast charging second pack. This group was massive!! Rode the entire way back with the pack and it was fast. Every athlete was jostling for position the entire ride which leads to many close calls. You're constantly accelerating trying not to lose your spot and decelerating avoiding the dreaded drafting call. The ride is madness. It was pretty funny because the lead women were riding with us. I recall one of them riding up and slotting in right in front of me! I thought it would be best to position myself near the back to do the least work possible to be fresh for the run. About 6-7 miles from home I realised I was going to have a tough time bridging up to runner 1 of this pack if he was 300m in front of me. I surged up as best as I could to position myself with strong runners up front.

Came in to T2 and didn't feel very fresh at all running through transition. Chris Leigh and Cunningham were just in front of me. They made a move I now wish I responded to, but the legs were not there at the time. I still was running strong and was realing in guys on the second lap.

Crazy that a 3:44 will get you 22nd! The gap to 10th was only 2-3 min and 13-22place was very small. This race is all about the swim and T1 in my opinion so I look forward to tackling Clearwater again in 2010 in a quest for my top 10 spot :)

New favorites

So I must admit, when a new health product comes out, I am usually the first to grab it off the shelf. I love discovering new things to cook with or pair other food items with. That being said, here are just a few for the year. Can't wait till next year's line up, ha ha!

So delicious Coconut Kefir (goes great with homemade Muesli, YUM!) Its lower in sugar and a great source of calcium, magnesium, and B12.


So delicious Coconut Creamer (can you tell I like coconut?). Its super yummy in your coffee and you can use the plain flavor in place of real cream in other recipes in case your lactose intolerant.


Steave Sparkling green tea. So refreshing! Plus is doesn't have any calories using Stevia as a sweetener. Don't worry, it doesn't have ANY bad after taste. Great! It also is loaded with Folic Acid, B6, and B12. Not too shabby of a tea, eh?


Ostrich meat. Okay so this isn't a new product, but it sure is new in our diet. Its delicious red meat that is low in fat and HIGH in iron. We love using ostrich meat in place of beef or other red meat. Ground ostrich is great stuffed in bell peppers and since peppers are high in Vit. C they help you absorb the Iron even more. BEAUTIFUL!


Drop me a line with any other new products that you have found and want to share. Would love to keep the list going!

Cheers,

LC

p.s.
Next up, James' clearwater report. Stay tuned!

More bang for your buck

James and I love Muesli. Its such a good morning treat BUT when you try to get a decent brand at the store it cost $10 a box and you get about 4 servings (and they are all about 1/2 cup servings). That $10 box would last ONE day in our house, especially during high the tri season. So I opted to find a bargain and make our own. I was able to fill 2 whole freezer bags for only $5-6 bucks! Yea! Plus it tasted so fresh and delicious. We picked out our own ingredients. Oh boy do I feel like a Martha Stewart. HAHA!



Here's the mix/match of ingredients:

- dried cranberries and currants (we've also used dried cherries and chopped dates)
- dried coconut flakes (unsweetened)
- chopped pecans and almonds
- organic rolled oats
- sunflower seeds
- agave nectar
- cinnamon and/or cinnamon sugar

Layer all these ingredients, starting with the oats, on a cookie sheet. Spread it out evenly. Then add in a drizzle of honey, cinnamon or cinnamon sugar, and a little of melted butter or coconut oil. Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes or until the you can see that the coconut and the nuts/seeds are all toasted. Let it cool and VIOLA!

BONUS- if you use the dried coconut flakes your house will smell HEAVENLY when it bakes. YUM!!

Enjoy! We've packed up the muesli and are hauling it to FL this next weekend. Cheers to the final race!

LC