Run...Sweat...Music...Tears...INSPIRATION!

As you know I signed up to participate in a triathlon in July of 2012.  For me the training for the bike portion will not be too difficult, but the run will be a little and the swim no doubt the hardest.  In prep for this event through the months of December and January I will be focusing on my technique and also my body imbalances and weaknesses.

Today was a run day focusing on forefoot strike and high cadence.  I decided to bring my iPod along with me since I had it just to see what it was like running with music in my ears.  I loved it, it was very distracting and silenced lots of the thoughts I have during my runs.  However this distraction took away from my ability to pay attention to my running form and also my pace.  I am supposed to be keeping it between 8 and 9 minute per mile pace, well I found myself a few times at about 6 and a half minute per mile and had to slow down and refocus.  Ugh I was driving myself crazy with this constant up and down pace, and finally had to slow it to a walk to regain my composure and change the play list to a slightly slower beat bunch of songs.

After readjusting my music selection I was able to get into a nice rhythm and focus on my goals for the day.  Well me and my stinking AAADD (Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder) got all into the play list and my mind started wandering again.  This time however it was me applying what one particular songs lyrics were saying to me and how I was comparing it to my life.  The song was by Natasha Bedingfield called Unwritten....

I am unwritten,
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your innovation

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten, yeah

Oh, oh

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines, oh yeah yeah
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way oh, oh

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
the rest still unwritten

(Gospel)
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open *****
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open *****
Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

The rest is still unwritten.............................

WOW!  While listening to this song I found my inspiration for my life, for my work, for this triathlon, for so many things.  Far too long I have lived in the past, memories I can't let go of, relationships I don't want to leave behind, and hiding my true self from the world just because I am afraid someone might not like it.  Well the lyrics and the tune of this song just hit me and I feel renewed, ready to write that next chapter in my book of life, ready to end my last chapter to close the page but not forget my experiences that got me to today. 

Needless to say when all these feeling started rushing in yeah I will admit it I started crying.  Then to add to it my eyes got all blurry and I couldn't see the trail well and ran into a tree branch and cut and bruised my knee.  BUT I didn't fall, I just kept going, crying, pushing, running, breathing...ready for my life to move forward. 

The Longest Ride for FlaxJacks

A week before this ride was to take place I was asked to join.  I had my reservations as it had never ridden longer than 104 miles in one day before and the ride at hand was to cover between 140 and 145 miles.  Well since my friends had done this ride before and were familiar with the route AND I wasn’t going to have to do any leading, I thought YES I will do it.  To me this ride was going to be another challenge in life that I wasn’t going to let pass me by, I gladly accepted this challenge and opportunity to add this to my “bucket list” if you will. 

 Saturday November 19^th was to be a cool day in Northern California, 48 degrees at 7am, and never to hit 60 degrees.  The day was to be spent riding with 2 friends from Sunnyvale to Tres Pinos, and was estimated to take about 12 hours including lunch and pit stops.  We started in Sunnyvale, CA and rode through Santa Clara, Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, San Jose, Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy, Hollister, and finally into Tres Pinos then reversed the route to come home.

I started the day by loading up my car at 5:45am under the bright fall moon and crisp damp air.  My car was covered in dew so it took several minutes to warm her up and clear off the windows so I could safely see out.  I made my way to the starting location and was eating my wonderfully prepared hot oatmeal compliments of Kimber by 6:30am.  Upon finishing the delicious meal we promptly put on our cold weather gear trying to figure out what would be appropriate to wear.  I chose to wear a thin long sleeve base layer, jersey with arm warmers, and wind jacket with removable sleeves.  In addition I wore my bib shorts with full leg warmers, wool socks, and shoe covers, then my winter gloves and thin skully hat under my helmet.   Even with all these layers the air was still crisp and bit at my nose a little on our first few miles, but out we headed out for our 140 mile event, official start time 7am. 

Our first several miles were slow as the cold temps made it difficult to get our heavy legs to turn the pedals at more than a 60 rpm cadence.  Over the first several miles we crossed both Hwy 85 and a set of railroad tracks about 4 times even though we were headed south, the route had to meander back and forth so as to avoid high traffic areas.   Finally we are out of the city and out of the suburbs and onto McKean rd. were we had few stops and were able to get into a comfortable steady pace.  At this time the sun was just finally up and we were enjoying the beautiful colors of the cool fall morning most people were sleeping through.  A few miles down the road we come upon two women fixing a flat on the side of the road, as always I slowed to see if they had everything they needed, and the response was “we need help please”, so stop we did.  Come to find out this was their first flat fix, so John promptly got on helping them while I waited for Kimber to come up the road gave her the ok to cross the road and she stop with us.  While listening to John describe the process of tube changing Kimber mentioned something about pressure and at the same time she reached to touch her rear tire only to find it was flat.  “Well now I know why I’m falling behind”, as she begins to start the process of changing her tube. 

Only after a short time we were all set to resume our trek to our first rest stop, Starbucks in Morgan Hill.  I was really looking forward to holding that nice hot cup of coffee in my cold hands, and feeling the heat warm me from the inside with every sip I took.  Ah we arrived at our first stop. We enjoyed our hot coffee and a quick reloading of food before our next 35 miles till our lunch stop.  Off we go, but first I decided to take off my hat, gloves, and sleeves on the jacket.  Not a bad choice at this time as we all lost a layer due to the wonderful clear skies and sun beaming down on us even though it was maybe 60 if we were lucky it still felt warm.

On the way between Hollister and Tres Pinos, we were on Hwy25, a very long, straight, flat, windy, open road.  We passed under a few gliders enjoying the perfect weather to keep them afloat, ground squirrels galore watching us as we rolled by, and a few locals looking at us with confused looks.  We had a nice tail wind taking us our last few miles into Tres Pinos, and along the way every town sign was a sprint point.  I kept missing the signs and would miss the start of the sprint.  But I prepared for this last sprint on our outbound trip.  It was a slight uphill sprint, and I knew I had an advantage on the hill.  So when I saw the hill coming and John took off I decided it’s time to go for one…off we go, up goes my speed, pass by John hit the sign first, whew I think that was the highest my heart rate hit so far that day.  The best part of the sprint was that the lunch stop, FlapJacks restaurant was right there. 

During the lunch break I had the FlaxJacks (gluten free), ham and hash browns with a Mexican hot chocolate (hot coco with cinnamon).  After finishing up I look a seat on the ground in the sun trying to soak up some heat before we got back on the bikes and had the blast of the cold wind on our bodies again.

Heading out for the first 10 miles was tough as we just got up from sitting for an hour so our legs were cold and felt like bricks.  But to add insult to injury we had a stiff headwind to deal with.  So to battle back and keep up our great timing we pacelined through the wind for several miles.  At first I had trouble keeping the pace as I need more time to warm up so we slowed our nice 25mph pace down to a meager 18 to 19 mph till I was warmed up and able to help with the pace.

Finally we made it back to our rest stop in Morgan Hill, I was still feeling full from lunch but knew I needed to keep eating and drinking.  Come to find out I was in major need of salt as I downed a full Gatorade in seconds and craved another.  No Gatorade around so I had 2 nuun tabs in my water bottle instead, ah that was what I needed.  Before heading out for our last 35 miles it was getting dark and cold so on go all the layers again and also back on go the lights.  We successfully made it back to Camden before it got completely dark and I was so relieved for that since there are no lights on McKean and there is also no bike lane either.

Now that we are back in the suburbs our pace slows due to the lights and traffic, but it’s nice at this point to have more opportunities to get our butts off the saddle.  Back over 85 and several railroad track crossing before we hit our final stop before getting home.  Now we are 4 miles away from the end, its dark, COLD, and it starts raining.  That’s ok we press on and finish in such great timing.  Total elapsed time was about 12 hours; rolling time was 8 hours and 40 minutes. 

I timed the final 112 miles to see about how long it will take to do the bike leg of my Ironman event next year. I was pleasantly surprised to see it took us 6 hours and 40 minutes to do the last 112; I am excited to know I won’t have to run the entire marathon when the time comes.

Home I go to shower and defrost from a long day in the cold.  I grab my foam roller, toss my dinner together (a nice huge green salad was all I needed), then on the couch to watch a quick movie before going to bed.  Before this day I would have said I will never ride more than 100 miles in a day it is just crazy, well I will take that back now and have an itch to see what it would take to do a double century, 200 miles in one day.  Hmm goals for next year?

The Road to Tri...To Do or Not to Do, That is the Question



A week ago I had a friend ask me if I would do an Ironman Triathlon with her next year. My first thought was oh hell no; I haven't swam since junior high. Just imagine doing a 2.4 mile swim and then following that with 112 miles on a bike, THEN follow that with a full marathon...yeah that’s what is involved in doing an Ironman distance. So I decided to ponder the idea for a few days, and ponder that I did. I started thinking of all the reasons why I should NOT do the event. Reasons ranging from its going to cost too much money, to how will I find the time, I'm going to have to get up and train at 4am some days just to get in my 2 a days in.

Well having limited time to sign up I decided to go with a sure why not. Well sure why not isn't really what I'm thinking now. I'm going back to all those negative thoughts from the few days thinking this over and stopped myself dead in my tracks and said I am going to take this challenge. I will face my fears head on and I will become a stronger person because of this event. I am now looking at this event not as I have to go out there and win it (this is my mentality in bike racing), but instead I need to go out there and compete against myself NOT to give up. I see this as a personal challenge to overcome all the obstacles I have been challenged with in my young life, it’s my little way of squashing all that has stopped me in the past, to give me new hope for my strength in my future.

SO then what’s next? Well as a fitness trainer, endurance sport coach, and competitive cyclist myself I know what to tell other people to do for their training. Now I am seeing a blank calendar for myself. It’s an interesting feeling right now knowing what I have to do to train, but really how will I do it. That is what you will get to read about over the next 7 months till the event. I will be logging my training for you all to see and follow if you like. Think of it as a FREE Ironman training program, scientifically designed AND tested.

Stay tuned for more…next blog on the Road to Tri will be In the Beginning, all the info you should gather before you start your program.

Keep your Veggies Fresh Longer

Have you ever wondered why sometimes your lettuce will stay fresh for a week and other times only a few days? In my experience I can not tell you how many times I have had to throw out lettuce or other veggies because they went "bad" before I got around to eating them. This hastening of the life of your produce is from ethylene gas, a naturally occurring gas many fruits and vegetables produce, and its colorless, and odorless. Some foods aren't affected much by ethylene gas, while others are extremely sensitive to it.


When these sensitive fruits and vegetables come in contact with ethylene gas, they began to ripen at a much faster rate than normal (commercial growers use this to ripen the produce at the factories after picking). In nature ethylene gas serves as a hormone in plants. "It acts at trace levels throughout the life of the plant by stimulating or regulating the ripening of fruit, the opening of flowers, and the abscission (or shedding) of leaves." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene ]


So now what? With a little planning you can prolong the life of your produce by avoiding certain combinations of veggies in the same drawers. For example, you should never store salad staples like mushrooms and peppers with your lettuce. The ethylene from the mushrooms and peppers will rot the lettuce faster.

Follow the guide below and you should have longer lasting produce immediately.

Ethylene Producing Produce:

 apples
 apricots
 avocados
 bananas
 blueberries
 cantaloupes
 grapes
 green onions
 honeydew
 kiwi
 mangoes
 melons
 passion fruit
 peaches
 pears
 peppers
 persimmons
 pineapple
 citrus fruit
 cranberries
 figs
 guavas
 mushrooms
 nectarines
 okra
 papayas
 plantains
 plums/prunes
 tomatoes
 watermelons


Ethylene Sensitive Produce:

 asparagus
 broccoli
 brussel sprouts
 cabbage
 carrots
 cauliflower
 chard
 cucumbers
 eggplant
 endives
 escarole
 green beans
 kale
 lettuce
 parsley
 peas
 potatoes
 romaine
 spinach
 squash
 sweet potatoes
 watercress
 yams

Mind Over Matter

Saturday October 8th, 2011 was a day for overcoming some fears I have while riding. I've been cycling on a regular basis for about 7 years now. In that time I have improved my skills in many ways, through learning from the experts, practicing what I have learned, to teaching newbies, to just getting out there and trying it myself. Well that good Saturday in October showed to be one of those days to just getting out there and give it a try on my own days.

Our route was to include a road in the Santa Cruz Mountains called Mt Madonna. This road I knew was going to be tough due to its steepness, but what I didn't realize was its actual terrain was. You enter Mt Madonna from Redwood Retreat rd. of Watsonville rd. The lower half of this road was mostly loose gravel; keep in mind it had rained earlier this week so at least the gravel was sticking to the ground underneath. However when you get into Mt Madonna it immediately starts into the 8% grade and does not give up till you hit the top where there is a huge Redwood tree in the middle of the road and you gladly join Summit.

Mt Madonna would best be ridden on a Mountain bike or CycloCross bike, however we rode our slick tire road bikes because we had a route we were doing that would take us 80 miles around. No mountain biker would want to ride 85 miles on road just to enjoy the 5 unrelenting miles of Mt Madonna on their mountain bike. I learned very quickly to get my butt back (just like in mountain biking) to keep traction on the rear wheel, and also learned to use "perfect circles" in my pedal stroke. Every pedal stroke that had more torque than the last would cause the rear tire to spinout and slide out from under me, like fishtailing on a motorcycle (yes I have experience at that too). This was a bit unnerving, but I managed to stay upright and took this climb slow and methodical. Not only was the road full of gravel, roots and very large potholes, but then at the second half of the climb the terrain changed to leaves and mud.

Again it took all my focus to keep traction on the rear wheel during the second half of the climb as there were pitches of 12%+ at times. For me this climb came down to mind over matter. I had to stay focused at keeping consistent circles, weight back, look up ahead to take the best line, don't pull too much on the handlebars or you will pop a wheelie. I also had to keep telling myself others have climbed this road in much worse conditions and made it up safely therefor you can do it too. Thankfully I had a ride partner with me that day and he had done this road many times before too, so he was able to show me the best lines over the terrain so as to keep traction without sliding out.

When we finally arrived at the top, I was both excited to be done with the off roading, but also a HUGE sense of accomplishment to have been able to conquer that road on my first attempt but to keep it together avoid the negative self-talk and stay Rubber Side Down.
Next time you want to attempt something that may sound a little difficult, remember to stay focused, stop the negative self-talk before it starts and find the fire within you to just keep going. You can persevere if you put your mind to it.

Sushi Anyone?

Today was a rough go for me personally, BUT work wise I had some great client sessions. In a short few minutes of free time I had today I came across an article on the calorie and fat contents of Sushi. I found it very interesting and thought I would share my thoughts and reactions to the article. The basic premise of the article was that you should avoid the sushi rolls which contain Tempura, cream cheese, mayo, and mayo based creams on or in them. This is a very valid point to some extent. As a nation we are heavy compared to the rest of the world, and because such we do need to be careful of the foods we put in our mouths. However some of the benefits of Sushi are; it is high in vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, iron, and antioxidants, and it can be loaded with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, known for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Here are some of my sushi order suggestions.... 1. Take it easy on the soy sauce. Think of this dipping sauce as liquid sodium. A tablespoon is loaded with 920 mg of sodium (half of the daily recommended intake for adults). So choose the low-sodium sauce when possible—it has about half as much sodium. 2. Skip imitation meat. Many items like the popular California roll are made using imitation crab meat, which has tons of sodium. A typical California roll can have as much as 500 calories and 1000 mg of sodium. So stick with rolls that offer the real thing like fresh tuna, salmon, or king crab, and Eel. 3. Opt for brown rice. As sushi becomes more and more mainstream, restaurants are starting to offer brown rice in place of white rice for the health-conscious patron. This hearty grain is packed with antioxidants and fiber. 4. Avoid anything crunchy (tempura) or creamy. Tempura just means that it's deep-fried and loaded with saturated fat. So steer clear of battered dumplings, fish, and popular options like the spider roll (deep-fried soft shell crab). Also, watch out for creamy rolls filled with cream cheese, mayonnaise, or mayo-based sauces. They're packed with calories and fat. Instead, choose fresh or steamed vegetables and rolls with raw fish flavored with low-sodium soy sauce, ginger or wasabi. 5. Eat a seaweed or cucumber salad. Low in calories and loaded with nutrients (magnesium, folate, calcium, iodine, and vitamin K), seaweed is a filling and healthy appetizer option. 6. Limit your order. Rolls are often not viewed as a full meal even though they often have the same amount of calories as your favorite dishes. Order a single roll and a seaweed salad or edamame to keep your calorie count under control. 7. Choose sashimi. A straight-forward helping of raw fish (no rice or other toppings) is low in calories and gives your body a boost of heart-healthy omega-3s. Can't decide what to order? Two of my favorite healthy rolls are the Spicy Tuna Roll (290 calories, 11 g fat, 25 g carbs) and the Caterpillar Roll (247 calories, 4 g fat, 27 g carbs). So next time you go out for Sushi think twice before ordering the Shrimp Tempura roll, or Tempura veggies. Opt for the brown rice, sashimi, edamame, and seaweed salads and you will be making GREAT choices!

Long Time Passed...Thoughts on Calories and Holidays

I can't believe it has bee over a year since I last put up a blog topic. It seemed to me back then too much time to put into everyday researching a new subject and analyzing it then writing about it. I have since realized I don't need to go that far, this is just a blog for peets sake, right?!?! Well then where should I begin, I believe skipping through all the crud that has happened over this past year and a half. Getting right to the here and now. Well that sounds all fine and dandy so here we go...... This month, October is my favorite month of the year for many reasons, my father and sisters birthdays, the Fall season, changing of the leaves, cool weather, sweaters and cuddling by the fire, oh and Halloween. Yes I do LOVE this month so much. It also means many of us will start into the old routines of eating heavier foods and usually more of it, then to top that off we exercise less cause its too cold outside or its raining. Well what can we do? How can we break this cycle? Only YOU can break that cycle, just like we all make a New Years resolution, do it now. Make that resolution with yourself NOT to stop exercising, and NOT to over indulge in holiday meals and deserts. I'm not saying don't have any of the holiday meals, but be more cautious about how much you eat, and how much you exercise. Remember no matter what when it comes to maintaining your body weight, comes down to this simple equation..."Calories In = Calories Out" in order to maintain your current weight. If you know a big meal is going to be coming up, instead of "eating first and paying for it later", try this simple concept....Get your calories expenditure in the PLUS side to allow for the extra calories later and then you won't have to feel so bad about the few extra calories you will consume. Don't get me wrong this doesn't mean have 5000 kcal during that family holiday meal, you still need to keep it manageable. So before your next big meal, pay the bill first (your exercise) so you know how much you can afford to eat without gaining an ounce. My plan this holiday season, keep it light, keep it active, and keep it positive. Whats yours????