104, baby!!

No, that's not the temperature-it's today's mileage!! Yeah, baby   First century ride of the season a success!!
First things first:

A good breakfast:

Getting the fuel together (ginger cookies on the bike = amaze.)  I had one full bento box! (No worries, I had more water on the bike!)

100 mile bike, check.  4 mile run, check.  6:11:47, including transition.
BOO.YA.

Time for an ice bath….

Then FOOD and relaxing!!  Anyone want to buy me a beer few lofthouse cookies?
Or maybe I’ll just bribe the hubster to take me here.   Mmmmm pineapple pizza.
Later gators!

The Little Engine that Could

Well, I should have held my tongue yesterday.  Note to self:  never ever label the week until it is officially over, or, if you're gonna do it, make it a positive label instead of a negative or crazy label!!

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Ok, time to test the theory-my workouts this week have been AWESOME!  (hear that long ride for tomorrow??)  Speaking of long, it's about that time in Ironman training for the long awaited.....100 miler!!!  Yup, tomorrow I have a 6 hour ride on tap, with a 6-8 mile run following the ride.  That's roughly a 9-5er folks, but I'll take it over work work any day!  (Wonder if I could just install a trainer and treadmill in my office....no?  Damn.) 

I know some of you think I'm a little crazy, but, let's face it, We're all a little mad in some way, no?

So....with the majority of Saturday spent on my bike, I need to fuel this lil engine o mine!  Last year at this time, upon my first 100 miler, I was filled with panic about spending 6 hours on the bike....could I make it?  (I think I can I think I can...I DID!)  butt how would I survive? What can one eat on the bike? 

After consulting with a few experienced centurions (kinda gives a new flavor to the word, no?) I found that there was a wide world of bike nutrition out there, ranging from the friend who used liquid nutrition and gels alone (not sure I could handle that hardcore of nutrition, plus it's mad expensive), my husband, who enjoys beef jerky and powerbars, or the guy friend with guts of steel who ate poptarts on the bike (wow).  Most triathletes use some sort of mixture, getting some calories from sports drink and gels or shot blocks, but mixing it up with some "real" solid food like pbj or a mid ride treat like a snickers bar (just watch out for those on a 90 degree day!

Last year, I sampled out the buffet while training for Ironman Lake Placid, using a range of food from granola/protein bars, gels, bananas, fig newtons, and jelly beans.  For liquid, I used a mixture of Ironman Perform, water and nuun tablets.  Seemed to work pretty well.  A few of my faves:

* Buttered popcorn jelly bellies.  Sounds weird, works great!

* Pure Protein Peanut Marshmallow Eclipse Bar (20g of protein, tastes like marshmallow fluffernutter.  yum)

* Raspberry Fig Newtons

* Hammer Gel:  Apple Cinnamon (McDonald's Apple Pie filling.  no joke)

* Pretzel braids (when the sweetness gets old)

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In other words, a veritable BUF-FET of goodness.  So, off to Wegmans I go to sock up on some goodies to keep my tummy happy and taste buds entertained for 6 hours :-)  For the run?  Gels.  I can handle that.  Or maybe popsicles, if it really is 90 degrees out like it's supposed to be.  Actually, according to Runner's World, it really works to have a Popsicle or slushy before a run in the heat.  Makes sense.  I wonder if Mr. Tastee would sell to a sweaty biker girl 5.5 hours in? 

Worth a shot :-)

How do you fuel long rides?  Or, if you are not a crazy long course triathlete, what type of popsicle do you prefer to cool off with?

Catch ya tomorrow after my ice bath!

Hold the Mayo

It's almost Friday!  Has this week seemed ridiculously long to anyone else?  It seems, to me at least, that the world is conspiring against the fact that Monday was a holiday by making each subsequent day a little more crazy.  It almost scares me to type that before Friday, but I'm a little wild like that, so we'll just knock on wood and see what tomorrow brings.

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Today, however, I would like to discuss the anti-food, mayonnaise.  Yup. It's big on my no f*ing way in hell foods.  Do not serve it to me.  Do not keep it in my house.  Do not even let me smell it, or you might regret it as our friendship goes to the "oops I just tossed my cookies on you level".  Savvy? 

Now that I have given you such a stunning visual to work with, let's talk about the crux of the problem.  Now that it's summer, all the side dishes in the world are made with this disgusting condiment.  Mac salad.  Potato salad.  Coleslaw. Yech.

So what's a girl to do?  Get busy in the kitchen!!

I give you TWO side dishes of love for the summer:


MMBQ coleslaw

The Goods:
One small head cabbage
2 tbsp BBQ sauce
Big Ole Squirt Dijon mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup.

Chop up the cabbage into teensy pieces, place in a big ole tupperware.  Add in your condiments, and shake 'em around.  Stick it in the fridge, stick it in the fridge, stick it in the fridge...(oops)...for a few hours.  Enjoy a cold beverage.  Pull out the tupperware, plate, enjoy!

and

Italian Tuna Veggie Delight

Whatcha Need:

Can o Tuna (I like it water packed)
A fresh tomato
A cuke
Zesty Italian dressing
Fresh Basil

Again....chop chop with the veggies.  Mix in the tuna, basil and dressing.  Toss to coat.  Let the flavors meld in the fridge, and eat it up!  (I often use this as a main dish....so good on a summer evening!)

So there ya go.  Two 5 minute, simple, healthy dishes for your summer BBQ or picnic.  Easy peasy.  Take that, mayo!

Things that Go Bump!

In a word, me :-P

Tip for all of the triathletes, aspiring swimmers, or anyone in a pool....there is indeed, and end, much like the sidewalk.  There are cute little black marks to signal the end.....and in some cases, even flags to signal it.

I'm a big dummy.

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So...my swim.... 3x800 descending sets, with a warm up and cool down.  It was a rockin' workout.  So rockin', in fact, that when I did the second set, and about the 650 mark, I was flying in the water.  And, um, forgot that this wasn't open water.  CRASH.  I hit the side of the cement pool full speed....ouch!  Shook my head, went on, and killed my previous 800.  LOL.  I might be a few brain cells less, but at least it got a laugh out of the (full capacity, of course) pool.  Hey, if ya can't dazzle 'em with brilliance....or something like that :-P

Thankfully my lunch workout kicked may-jor butt, as my afternoon tested me....but deep breaths friends, deep breaths!!

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I took out all the aggression on the road, as I had a cooper test this afternoon. I test on run speed every 2 months or so with a warm up and then a 12 minute as far and as fast as you can do test-today I got 1.71 miles, which is a new record for me!  All in all, a pretty darn good training day.  Hey, I'll take what I can get for a Wednesday.
Happy bump hump day!
Of course I went there.  What else do you expect? :-D

That's the plan, Stan

You know what's worse than a plain old Tuesday?  When it's Tuesday AND Monday.  Wowza.  Going back to work today was tough, let me tell you!  Not only was there a backlog of work from being off on Friday, but somehow it seems that the whole world is off this week, with the possible exception of my clients.  :-P  Go figure.  Turning the frown upside down, it made the day go by faster and kept me busy though, right?  On that note, today was a pretty big day at work.  Can't say much more, but keep them fingers crossed for me, pretty please?  Thanks!

After my weekend trip for beautiful bride, it's time to get back to reality.  Only 12 days (yup, count em, 12!) until Musselman!  This year is a bit different than the last few times I've done this race (in 08, it was my first, in 09 I nearly bit the dust)...I have an Ironman under my belt, which makes the half distance a little less daunting distance wise.  Now, truth be told, I am a Nervous Nellie about this race...not because I am afraid that I won't be able to do it, but because I want to do it WELL. 

The RD, Jeff.  Amazing guy!

What's "well"?  Of course, this is subjective.  My first crack at the half iron distance was a 6:36 in '08.  There  was a wicked thunderstorm on the bike and they almost canned the race, but overall, I considered it a legit first shot.  In '09, I was lucky to finish through sheer stupidity iron will.  At least that's what the race director called it.  I'll take it :-D  This year, I am gunning for a sub 6 with everything I have in me.  Of course, that is quite a leap, so next week I will be setting some process goals and a B and C goal.  Sub 6 sounds slow to some, and ridiculous to others, but it's my goal, and I'm going with it!  (Just to note for the non-triathletes, a half ironman is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run.  Fun, huh?  I think so!!)

Yikes.  I put it out there.  So how did I prep for this race?  Well, I've been following a plan from http://www.trigeek.com/ for my Ironman and this race falls on week 26, so it's not a plan geared toward this race, but with a long run to date of 20 miles (not counting my marathon in March), a long bike of 90 miles,  and a long swim of 2.5 miles, I know I can handle the distance.  As far as speed, well, we'll see!! 



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The only fly in the ointment is that last week was a rest week from training (which was much needed due to the weekend!) and now I am on a 7 week build.  So what's a girl to do?  (Note that I am way too type A with my workouts and generally freak out if I miss one).

Well, I tossed it over and came up with a plan.  I combined the next two weeks, wrote out all 14 workouts, and am front loading for this week, so I can mini taper next week and go into the race strong!  It involves cutting out a 60-90 mile ride-hour run brick, but I figure that Musselman is close enough, done at race pace.  Cutting out that one workout will give me some time to chill the few days pre-race, so I can really fire up the rockets on race day!

We'll see how it all goes down, but it looks like I have quite a heavy bike week this week (almost 200 miles!) and a ridiculous amoutn of swimming to do.  Maybe a recap on Monday will be in good order :-D

Well, that's the extent of my thoughts of the day.  What am I still doing writing?  Clearly I need to go hop on my bike or jump in the pool (no multi-tasking on that one :-P)  Have a SUPER FANTASTIC day!!!

Carolina Beauty!

1600 plus miles. (in the car...I'm not THAT crazy)
25 hours in the car.
3 days.
7 states.
18 pew bows.
6 boxes of kleenex.
24 bottles of water.
4 speech drafts.
100 plus degree heat index.
1 stunning, gorgeous bride and her handsome groom.

What a weekend :-)  Thank you Rach, for making me part of your day!!!

And because I can't do it justice with words, once again, we're going to say it with pictures:

Mom prepping the bride pre ceremony

The girls.....

The bride and groom!

First moments as man and wife

Well, kiss her then!!!

Mister and Missus McDuffee!!

The chapel

Reception menu.  Food = AMAZE.

Me and my date!  (Yeah, he brought a bridesmaid home :-P)

First Dance as a married couple: "I knew I loved you"

Throwing the bouquet....clearly, Janine wanted this catch!!  And she got it!!

We did it!!

 A big congrats to Don and my besty Rachael for tying the knot!  I am so happy for the two if you and wish you the best in the years to come!!!

Honored

Today my best friend Rachael will marry her (other) best friend. 

I am so honored to be part of your day, friend. 

The bride and her 'maids....Amber, Heather and me!

Three generations:  Grandma Dorothy, Mom Connie, and Rachael the bride!

The beautiful bride and her groom

Rehearsal time!

Off to be with the beautiful bride on her special day.....I love you, friend!!