Stomach Cramps

For the last few evenings I have had stomach cramps, I talked it over with Cory and we ruled out lady issues, food related discomfort and exercise related soreness. Last night Cory suggested that a lack of electrolytes might be causing my discomfort so we stopped and picked up some gatorade. After drinking half a bottle I was feeling much better and within a half and hour my cramps were completely gone. I didn't think I had been working out that hard this week so I was relying on just water and not taking in any nutrition with electrolytes. But on reflection all of my workouts have been at least 90 minutes in a warm gym. Lesson learned, I need to be taking in electrolytes even during the week for my short workouts.

Have you ever had these issues? I have heard of people taking salt tabs but I don't know much about it, I have relied on gatorade so far. Today I am branching out and trying nuun on my 50 mile bike ride.

nuun ready to goWinston wants to try it too
I will let you know how I like it. Happy Saturday =)

Bloggy Recipes

Last week Aimee from I Tri To Be Me posted a yummy looking recipe for Vegetarian Korma. My hubby loves Indian food so I decided to give it a try, to see the recipe check out her post here. It turned out great, we both loved it and will definitively add it to our regular rotation. I made mine with sweet potatoes and quinoa, we both agreed it would be better with rice. Cory also made fresh naan, which was really good.To continue the trend I want to share Cory's recipe for whole wheat pizza with fig, blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette reduction.
You can putt any topping you want on the crust but this is a fun new one for us. You do need a sourdough starter to make this crust

Crust Ingredients

• 230 g (1 Cup) sourdough starter
• 100 g (~1 Cup) whole wheat flour
• 12 g (1 tbls) vital wheat gluten
• 2 Tbls purified water
• 1 Tbls olive oil
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• 1 Tbls dried oregano
• 5 Cloves or garlic minced coarsely
  

Crust Directions

1. Feed starter and set out on counter the night before.
2. Mix together all the ingredients and knead for about ten minutes.
3. Spray a medium sized bowl with oil and flour and allow dough to double in size, about two hours.
4. When dough has risen, preheat oven to its hottest temperature. While the oven is heating, roll out dough on floured counter. Place desired toppings on pizza.
5. Once oven is hot, use a pizza peel to place the pizza on hot stone and cook until crust is cooked completely and cheese is melted, about ten minutes.

Reduction Ingredients

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
  
• 1/4 cup dried figs

Reduction Directions

1. In heavy non-reactive (stainless steal or enameled cast iron) sauce pan over low heat cook figs and vinegar until liquid is halved. making sure to ventilate well. Stir frequently and make sure to not let the liquid boil.
   
2. Carefully puree figs and vinegar with immersion mixer.
3. Allow to cool.

** For toppings we used the Reduction as sauce and added about a 1/4 cup of blue cheese and walnuts.

Snowman Stampede Race Report

Yesterday I ran the Snowman Stampede 10 mile race in Littleton Colorado. This was the third part of the Winter Distance Series, that consisted of three races one in December, January and February. For each race you can choose between two different lengths. The December race has a 5k and 10k, January has a 5mi and 10mi and February has a 5mi and 10mi option as well.

I like this series, it keeps me racing during the "off" months and a lengths I don't race a lot. You can run the races individually (last year I only ran Snowman Stampede) or save money by singing up for all three. If you sign up for the series you can choose from the short (5k, 5mi,5mi) mid (5k, 5mi, 10mi) or long lengths (10k, 10mi, 10mi). I ran the mid distance because I liked that the length changed each time. The races all run along the Platte River Trail south of Denver, for the shorter races this was fine because they started early and weren't on the trail for very long. For the 10 mile race it became an issue. Because the races didn't start until 10am and were on the trail for much longer cyclist and other trail users were on the trail as well. This became a problem when poor cyclist were trying to pass the hundreds of runners and calling to pass on the left but the runners either couldn't hear because of their headphones or just wouldn't move over. I think one of the most popular bike paths in Denver might not be the best choice for a race especially on a warm, sunny day in February.

It was a beautiful day and I had a good(ish) race. My legs were not completely fresh still after our 16 miler on Monday and the last few milers were definitely slowed by the quarter sized blister on the bottom of my foot (want to see pictures, I seriously took some). I am ok with my time of 1:35:56 with an average of 9:35 minute miles. Cory did GREAT with a time of 1:14:something and a 7:24 minute mile (how did he get SO fast)

Even though I am not super happy about my time I did go back to see what I ran the 5 mile portion of this race in last year and found that my pace this year for a 10 mile was faster than last years 5 mile pace (9:42 mm) so I am getting faster and I am happy about that.

The swag for these races isn't spectacular, for the first two races we received cotton t-shirts but for the last one we got a cute tech shirt. Overall I think these races are well ran and nice to do in the winter months.

Pure Bliss

I have today off from work and it is pure bliss! Monday is a work holiday but I will be working so I am taking today off instead and it is so nice. I plan on catching up on some blogs that I love and haven't had time for, doing some laundry and continuing to listen to Born To Run (I downloaded it from the public library, yay for free audio books!)
I am really enjoying this book, in graduate school I took a human evolution class, and while we didn't learn about the evolution of running I can see the argument that we are meant to be running people. Have you read this book? If not I highly recommend it, be aware that it does delve into human evolution and I know that is a controversial issue.

Have you ever heard of eating chia seeds, (you know, like cha-cha-cha-Chia!)** consuming Britney Chia is not recommended.

Eating Chia seeds was mentioned in the book and I am now really interested in them as a nutrition source. I haven't heard of anyone consuming them but I hope to get some this weekend and do some research on how to prepare them, maybe in a green monster?

I have a 10 mile race tomorrow so no structured workout today other than a walk with my dogs when my hubby gets home from work.

Happy blissful Friday everyone!

Boston Changes

I read a lot of blogs of fast runners, of runners who have or will qualify for the Boston Marathon (EMZ, Shut Up and Run, Skinny Runner, Run With Jill, Hungry Runnner Girl, Amanda from Runninghood, Etc.). I am a slow runner, I don’t think I will ever be fast although I am getting faster. I am running my first marathon this May and my main goal is to finish in less than 5 hours (my not so super secret goal is to finish around 4:20, I have been running my long runs at an average of 10:40 ish) So when I saw this article saying that Boston was lowering their qualifying times I was only slightly interested. Sure I would like to qualify for Boston one day but it’s just not on my radar. I did look up my qualifying time 3:35 ( that means around 8:12 mm), I could pull that off for a 5k but not a marathon. Bottom line is that for me 5 minutes isn’t going to stop me from qualifying, more like an hour will. But for those who it does effect, what do you think? Did you think BQing was too easy, or are your chances now shot?

How Do you Choose Your Races?

How do you choose your races you want to enter? Do you like big races with a lot of support or quieter races without tons of people, do you prefer a city race or on that's out in the country?

I prefer smaller races that are not in the city, the ideal is a small trail race, the draw back is that these races don't tend to be well supported. I really don't like big races that run through the city, which is funny because I chose to live IN Denver (when I retire I want to have goats, pigs and live on the Oregon coast. Thank you all for your input on doing an ironman this year. I am still debating about a fall 2011 ironman, I am heavily leaning towards doing it this summer, now I just need to choose a race and convince my husband!

It's too late to sign up for a fall Ford Ironman, so I will have to choose from unincorporated races. I am trying to choose between Rev 3 cedar point, Grand Columbian and Redman.

Have you done any of these races, which one is the most rural and scenic?

Ironman

I know that I want to do an Ironman sometime in my life. You probably already know that I am signed up to do a half ironman in June and I am really enjoying training for it so far. As I was reaching about mile 12 of my 16.2 mile run on the treadmill last night I really started to think about racing an Ironman this year. I have been thinking about racing Vineman in 2012 but I really feel like I want to push through and complete a full this year.

The race I am considering is the Grand Colombian, it is a unincorporated iron-distance race, meaning it is not owned by ford or braded “Ironman” (but I don’t care I still call it an ironman).

It takes place on September 17th in Washington and should be gorgeous, the website describes it as:

“For 2011, the Grand Columbian Super Triathlon will take place on the 17th of September, and will be bringing back the Ultra Distance (Iron) triathlon as well as adding a Super Triathlon! The course will be both challenging and fantastically rewarding, and will most definitely earn you bragging rights! Additionally, we are really looking forward to utilizing our new race to help the local community for their fundraising project to build a new school for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. You can find out more info on this project at http://gcdnewschool.com/. And we'll be sure to send more information on this project as we move forward.”

Proceeds go to building a school, how could I NOT participate???

So here are some reasons I think I should do it:

• I am on a roll with training
• I feel good so far
• I don’t really want to wait over a year to do an Ironman
  

Reasons to wait:

• This is only my second year doing triathlon and Ihave never ran a marathon or ridden my bike more than 62 miles
• A (very small) part of me wants to make this year about my half ironman and not
  overshadow it with a bigger race
  

So I want your advice should I do a full ironman this year or not?

Either way I do want to complete a 50k this fall, anyone have any they would recommend? I am willing to travel.

Valentines Sunday

Normally Cory and I go out of town for Valentine's day or our dating anniversary (March 2nd, this year will be 8 years). Last year we went to Aspen and it was so much fun.

(getting a Valentines hug from a bear in Aspen)

This year we can't go anywhere for Valentines day because we both have important projects at work and can't take a long weekend. I hope that we get to go somewhere in March but we haven't had a chance to plan anything yet.

Instead of running 16 miles today Cory and I decided to push it to tomorrow night (romantic side-by-side running) so we could spend more time hanging out today. We had a wonderfully laid back day. It seems like forever since we have had a day off together where half the day wasn't spent working out. Today we got up and had omelets and homemade cinnamon rolls, after doing some chores we headed to Whole Foods for lunch. I had a vegetarian toasted sandwich with brie and apples, Cory had a slice of margarita pizza. I also got a cupcake that I will eat later tonight :)
Then we went to Pinkberry for some yummy Blood Orange frozen yogurt to eat while browsing around Barnes and Nobel, I love book stores. We then headed to the mall so I could shop for my 30th birthday present. My birthday was about five months ago but I just couldn't decide what I wanted....until now! I wanted something that would last and that I would love and I finally found what I wanted in a magazine. I decided I wanted a rose gold bracelet set with pave diamonds.
I went to Nordstrom to try on a similar style before buying it online. I am so excited, I love it and it will match the rose gold watch Cory got me for Christmas. We then went to watch Just Go With It, the new Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler movie. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but it was still really nice to just hang out with my hubby.

I am off to eat my cupcake, our local weatherman issued a cuddle alert for tonight and tomorrow =)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Get Well Plan and 40 Miles

I am still sick, over two weeks of being sick and I am OVER it! This morning I decided to make a get well plan:

1. Get at least 8 hours of sleep
2. Drink 96+ oz of water a day
   
3. Take vitamins and drink Emergen-C
4. Drink green tea
5. Eat whole healthy foods
   

I plan to follow these rules until I feel better, I have a 10 mile race on Saturday and I need to be well!

Even though I am not feeling 100% I was still excited to get outside for a 40 mile bike ride today. We drove up to Boulder for our ride because they didn't get as much snow as Denver and Colorado Springs did. It was very windy and a few crazy drivers that almost ran us over but it was still better than riding inside.

On the calendar for tomorrow is a 16 mile run. I am still debating if I should run inside or outside. I like running outside so much more and the highs or supposed to be in the 60's, but running inside is easier. Choosing something just because it's easier isn't a good idea so I just decided......outside it is!

What kind of supplements do you take?

I take:

• Glucosamine for joint health
• Fish Oil
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin B complex
• Multivitamin
  

Race Pace

This mornings workout called for a tempo run that I planned on breaking it up into 2 miles of marathon pace, 2 miles at 10 mile pace and 2 miles at marathon pace. I am not sure what my paces should be so I used the McMillan site.

Most of you probably already know about McMillan Running Calculator , if you don't check it out it's pretty cool!

If you have used it do you find it accurate? According to my 5k time I should be able to finish a marathon in 4:12. Even though the Colorado Marathon is considered a fast course, I am not sure that I can run it that fast. I know to a lot of people that is slow but not for me. Truly my big goal is to finish in less than 5 hours, I would LOVE to finish in less than 4:30.

Happy Friday everyone!!

Melt Down

Luckily not my melt down....the snow!

I am so happy to see the streets clearing up and not to have my hair freeze when I go outside. still hoping to ride my bike outside on Saturday.

This mornings workout was a little baby brick, very soon we will start half ironman training but a short brick workout is a nice way to ease in. Our baby brick consisted of a 1.5 hour spin class and 2.5 mile run on a treadmill. In the spring our bike-run bricks will get longer and will move outside. For now the spin and treadmill combination is a nice easy alternative.

Do you do brick workouts when training for a triathlon? If so, what do you do?

Happy Thursday!

Highs and lows

After such a great run on Sunday it was extra difficult to have a "low" run this morning.

We had a 4 by 800 interval run with a mile warm and cool down on the calendar this morning. We headed to the gym and as soon as I stepped on the treadmill my knees were achy, I had some GI issues and my asthma was acting up. It was a painful run but I didn't want to quit so I put on my big girl pants and just ran slower than I would have liked.

I know there are high and low days with running so I am just moving on and looking forward to running outside soon =)

Also I think I am paying the price for my diet being all over the place lately, so I think it's time to clean it up and focus on eating "real" whole foods.

One of my favorite recipes is Quinoa Caprese:

Ingredients:
1 Cup quinoa (I prefer Inca Red, but didn't have any)
1 14-ounce can chicken broth (or sub. 2 chicken bullion cubes dissolved in 2 C. water)
6 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
3 oz mozzarella
2 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
Cup chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place quinoa and and chicken broth in small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and cover. Simmer until quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid (about 15-20 min.).
2. Mix together remaining ingredients in a bowl and hold aside.
3. Once quinoa is down, fluff with a fork and allow to cool.
4. Toss everything together and serve.

It's refreshing and filling, if you aren't a vegetarian it can be really good with grilled chicken, but it's great all it's own as well.

Wonderful Weekend

I have been a bad blogger, after a stressful week at work (11, 10 and 12 hour days) and a packed weekend, blogging was put on the back burner, but I am committed to getting back to reading and writing this week!

I did have a wonderful weekend though.

On Saturday we decided to scrap our normal long bike ride and head to the mountains to go snowshoeing instead. It was really nice to get out in the snow and we were ahead of schedule on our bike miles so we weren't concerned about skipping a long ride.On Sunday it was still really cold, snowy and icy so with a bit of dread we accepted that our fifteen mile run would have to move to the treadmill. After last week's Carls Jr. fueled run I thought I would try eating a bigger meal again before running. Cory and I headed out early to a nice large breakfast then waited a few hours before hitting the gym. Once I was on the treadmill I felt good, I could even read a magazine while I ran and normally can't do that. I felt better and better the longer I ran. By mile 14 I was feeling really strong so I cranked up the speed and ran the last mile and a half with a huge smile on my face (runners high kickin in big time). We ended up running 15.5 to make it an even 25k. I was so happy when we finished and felt like I could keep going much further.

After the run we took ice baths and settled in to watch the super bowl with recovery socks and lots of food =)

It snowed again all day and the high in Denver was nine degrees, so all workouts will be indoors again this week, but we are warming back up so fingers crossed that both our bike and run will be outside next weekend.

Hope everyone is staying warm, Happy Tuesday!