Phone Calls

So first I would like to talk about the fact that a few hours after I posted that last blog, my mother called me and the first thing that came out of her mouth was "Suck it up!" Man do I know her!

The next story I have is a funny one, but unfortunately it is at someone else's expense. I don't normally like to do that, but this situation was too perfect to pass up. Luckily, I have no idea who this person was since she never gave me her name, so I couldn't reveal her identity if i wanted to (which I don't). Here goes:

The other day I was working at my bike shop, minding my business, getting stuff done when the phone rings, which I answer. The following conversation:

Me: Thank you for calling (name of bike shop), this is Jo. How can I help you?
Lady on Phone: Hi. Do you carry any Kryptonite Locks?
Me: Oh, I'm not sure if we have that brand, let me go check!
(I know we don't but I run back to the lock section anyway)
Me: Are you looking for a U lock?
Lady on Phone: I am looking for a lock made of Kryptonite.
(At this I pause. She sounds so sincere and sure of herself, that I actually have to question my first instinct. Wait, does Kryptonite exist? Am I crazy for thinking it's not real? Should I tell her that I don't think there is such a thing? I don't want to tell her it's a fictional element and be wrong!)
Me: (suppressing surprised/confused/amused noises) Well Ma'am, we carry OnGuard locks and they're made of stainless steal
Lady on Phone: Oh I've heard of that brand, it's not good enough. I want one made of Kryptonite. Thanks.

And she hangs up. I hang up. I sit there for a second. Then I bust out laughing realizing how ridiculous that entire conversation was. Later as I retell this story to my co-workers and then even later to my friends, they have several suggestions for what I could have said when she asked for a lock made of Kryptonite, including:

"Oh, has Superman been stealing bikes in your neighborhood too?"

or

"I'm sorry, we don't carry any, but you should give Lex Luther a call. I think they stock them."

or

"Oh, production on the planet Krypton has been extremely backed up recently, we won't have any in stock for several weeks."

or even

"I think that Kryptonite brand locks are made of stainless steel, ma'am."

Every time I remember the conversation I laugh so hard I get tears in my eyes. That poor woman. I am so sorry that I am laughing at your expense. I hope that you were just having an off day or hadn't had enough coffee. Or that maybe you were playing a trick on me, in which case you should take up acting because you were extremely convincing....oh man...


ANYWAY! This is supposed to be a training blog, isn't it. Training, right. This week has gone pretty well. I have pain in my hip sometimes after work outs and every once and a while when I am walking around, but so far (knock on wood) nothing that has stopped me from completing a run. If this level of pain is as bad as it gets and I am not doing myself further harm (which the docs say I am not) than I can totally take this. I am just worried that the other shoe will drop.

I've done well in my two-a-days and some of my workouts this week felt really darn good. My running is still slow, but I am keeping my pace down on purpose, with striders or intervals to get a little speed work in without hurting myself. I am even substitute aquajogging for one of my easy runs each week. Yay for the dorky pool belt!

Had an endurance swim and a long run today, back to back. Long bike ride tomorrow with one of my co-workers from the bike shop. I'm excited because he knows more routes than I do, and I feel more comfortable knowing i have someone with me if I have a problem and we need to get back. If I ride 40+ miles by myself, I don't know what I would do if I had a mechanical issue or more flats than I had tubes for... Do have my RoadID though, always!!

Lessons

Ok, so the other day when I was out on a group ride with a mechanic from my shop (who is a serious character, I'll have to tell his incredible story sometime...) and he explained something to me about claiming your personal space on a ride. He said that if you hug the side of the road, the rider next to you will hug you, but if you give yourself the space you want from the edge, the person next to you will give you more space, instinctively. As I tried what he told me, it was immediately apparent that he was right.

Fast forward to today, as I am tootling along on my bike at rush hour in the park near my apartment. As usual, I try to give cars room to get by, so I hug the lines at the side of the road. More than once, though, cars buzz by me WAY WAY closer than is polite or safe or comfortable. Suddenly, my friend's words come floating back to me (possible screaming at me along the side of one of these nasty, speedy cars). I decide that it's time to stop being nice and trying to give cars room. Screw them. They need to give me room. So I start to take up more space in the road. I give myself the space I want. And guess what! Every car that passes me after that, gives me enough room! It was crazy! Now of course it's entirely possible that I had already been passed by all the a**holes out for the evening, but it's also possible that I have discovered the secret to getting more respect from angry, rush hour motorists.

Anyway, that is what I learned today at my second workout session. At my first session, I learned I that I am currently fit enough to swim 1800 meters without stopping. Not really a surprise, but still good to know. :)

RACE WEEKEND REPORT: Nanticoke River Sprint Triathlon

Well folks, welcome to my first race report of the season! If you're looking for the quick and dirty version: my hip held up much better than expected, the competition was surprisingly fierce for such a small-scale, local race, and of course I had a great time, as usual!

Now, if you want the real version, get comfy, maybe get a snack and a drink, and dig in:

Last I spoke with you I was worrying my way through my rest day on Friday. I was honestly happy when the rest day was over and I could go to bed. I packed up and checked through all my gear Friday night since we were heading to Salisbury, MD in the morning. I always get out a big plastic bin to pack my stuff, then go through my upcoming race in my head. Swim, T1, Bike, T2, Run. I lay stuff into my bin as I go through the stages, thinking head to toe. I'm a relatively forgetful person, and I almost never travel without forgetting something. And I travel a lot. So I have a fair amount of practice trying out strategies for averting disaster. I have to say, this one works pretty darn well, and I did a great job this time around. I almost forgot to change my shoelaces out for my lock laces, but I remembered while visualizing transition. Highly recommend the technique.

Anyway, went to bed early Friday, trying to be ready to travel Saturday, as well as to try to keep up the good fight against the slight head cold I felt looming in the background. Saturday morning Erin and I finished getting our stuff together, and then went out to tackle the new bike rack for her car. She had sweetly agreed to drive me to the race, and this turned out to be invaluable as my car's transmission decided to fail last week.

So we had this bike rack...It was a hand-me-down from my father, but we've had it for probably 6 months now and haven't attempted to use it yet since normally I can easily fit my bike into my Rav4. Being a familial donation, this bike rack does not come with a manual, so a significant amount of time was spent wrestling this thing onto the trunk of Erin's car, squinting at fuzzy downloaded photos from the internet, and fussing over whether or not the rack would leave marks on her beloved Jetta. Then we had to worry about whether or not the thing could actually keep my bike from flying into any sorry sucker who decided to follow us on our 3 hour trek. Eventually after some interesting antics and tactics, a little cussing, and some creative packing, we were loaded up and ready to go. We only pulled onto the shoulder of the highway once for me to readjust the seemingly tenuous perch of my bike...

We arrived finally in Salisbury with Erin ready to burst. No it was not a bathroom break she needed, but a hockey break. The Flyers were playing the Bruins, game one of the series in the playoffs. Semi-finals of the Eastern Conference. She could go no further until she had her hockey fix, so I dropped her at a pretty neat little bar and restaurant overlooking a small riverfront. The bartender was friendly and found the game for her immediately upon seeing her bright orange jersey. Once I felt she was sufficiently entertained for a while, I left to drive another 20 minutes to Bivalve, MD for packet pickup. Found the restaurant for pickup down a long flat stretch of road that I knew from the course map was part of the bike leg. After getting my packet and swag bag (nice tshirt, a water bottle, and even a pair of socks! sweet!) I took my bike out for a short spin on some of the roads of the course. I don't know about anyone else, but I have mixed feelings about completely flat courses. Of course I appreciate that I won't have to hammer up hills, but on a flat course you have no chance to coast for just a second. I feel like I can never find the right gear for a flat course, and that I have to constantly readjust to avoid..ahem..numbness...So I was mentally preparing myself on this little warm up ride, as well as checking how my bike had fared the bumpy, precarious ride down. Things weren't quite right. The shifting was tough, something seemed to be unhappy about my rear derailer. I decided it would have to do for the race, since on a flat course I shouldn't be shifting much anyway...(heh. suuurrree.)

So I packed it all up and headed back to the place I had last seen my wife. She was still perched on a stool, yelling at the big screen over the bar. Unfortunately, the game didn't go as she would have liked, and the Flyers lost rather spectacularly. I had a pre-race dinner of grilled tilapia, sweet potato fries and lots of water. (not my normal choices, but its what I could get) We then found our hotel (got the job done, but a bit sketchy...) and I ritualistically laid out everything for numbering. I then repacked everything into my transition bag, drank powerade, ate a cliff bar and made Erin go to bed very early...very tolerant of her...

Tossed and turned, but eventually fell asleep. Thank goodness the neighbors we could hear clearly through the wall were morning people, not night owls. They got up and started banging around their room about the same time we did. My pre-race meal is always bagels or bagel thins with peanut butter, which I make sure to have with me. I also get a cup of coffee and usually a banana, but the continental breakfast at our restaurant was sadly lacking in fresh fruit. I also had G1 prime with me (not the drink, but the new little mini-bar things. they're awesome) and I had two in the hours leading up to the race. They're little and tasty and 50 calories each, coming in packs of 4. This was a sprint, so I didn't need to overdo the pre-race nutrition.

Got to the race site feeling good and alert. It was a relatively late starting race, so it was actually light out as I got my body marking and headed in to set up my transition area. The race was a small, local race and they didn't have pre-numbered transition spots. They were catch as catch can. I found a place to set up where I was pretty sure I could find my bike, and then started getting pretty cocky about how well I could do if the race was really as small as the transition area made it look. Looks can be deceiving, however. Getting cocky never ends well for me. I did check myself though. I am coming off this injury, I came in with almost no run training, even if everything went perfectly, I knew I needed to just be happy to finish.

Transition area ready, Erin and I watched the youth tri that started before mine. So adorable and fun. The swim was really close to the transition, which was a nice break from the triathlons I've done in the past where you have to run a half a mile from the beach to T1. Eventually I got my wetsuit on, got into the water to swim a few strokes, pre-race meeting went as usual, and the swim races (2 and 3 milers!) went off. Then it was time to wade into the Nanticoke again and start my first tri of the season!

The water was really nice. I didn't start off with the same panicked feeling I've had for most tris. I expected to be fast and started at the very front of the pack, but for some reason I didn't sprint out off the front the way I normally do, almost like I was too relaxed. Next thing I knew I was getting pummeled by arms and legs and heads and knees and elbows...ah the churn of an open water start. I kept calm, and later wondered if maybe I stayed too calm. I had a good rhythm and form for the whole swim, but didn't come out as early in the pack as I normally do. It started to dawn on me that this might be a really competitive, albeit small, field. My half mile swim was 12:47. Not crazy slow, but definitely not the speed I wanted. I was going more of a mile pace rather than a half mile pace...

Got to T1, struggled with my wetsuit and had an abysmal, 2 minute transition. I mean that's really bad. Guess my transitions have gotten rusty over the course of the off-season...time to brush those up!

Got on my bike, pedaled off into a bit of a headwind and tackled that flat course. Felt all right, but realized quickly I hadn't built enough of a lead on the swim as three or four women from my age group passed me over the course of the ride. I had to keep reminding myself that this is a practice race, I am not in peak fitness, and I'm training for longer, slower races right now. Eventually I got over myself and started to enjoy the race, like I am supposed to. Still, I would have liked to shave 3-5 minutes off of my bike time, which was 50:26 for 15.2 miles.

I was careful not to kill my legs for the run, and I did some high RPM spinning as I came into T2 to get my legs ready for the run. My second transition was a bit slow too. I need to learn how to mount and dismount my bike with my shoes clipped on. New skill goal for the season.

Got out on the run course with that glorious jello leg feeling I love. Seriously, I would prefer to run and race off the bike than just run. Something about the jello makes me embrace the pain rather than fight it. I go hard and love every second. I was cautious at first, worried about my hip and my run fitness. It wasn't till I hit the turn around and realized that I was more than halfway through the run, and had gone further without pain than I'd been able to in a month, that I let a but loose and really took it home. I got the the finish line pain free and with a kick left for a sprint. Erin told me when I crossed the line that I had completed the run around 25 minutes, and at first I didn't believe her. When I checked my time I was astonished. 3.1 miles in 24:51. That is a PR for me, for any 5k, let alone one done after a swim and bike! I mean dang! Maybe my body would prefer I barely trained for running!!What the heck?!

So with a 1:31:02, I finished my first tri of the season. I could definitely take time off my transitions, and would have preferred a faster swim and bike, but I am honestly pretty happy with my time. And it will likely be my only sprint this season (except those I do as a relay team with family), so if I am more tuned into a long distance pace, I guess that's ok! It wasn't enough to get me on the podium, however. I was 3 minutes away from a medal. And the girl who won my age group was 4th in women overall, beating the 2nd place girl in my age group by 11 minutes. She had an 8:30 swim. That's crazy. She was so fast. But my finishers medal has a bottle opener!

The race was pretty well organized, despite being small. They even let my darling wife eat three hamburgers and a hot dog while she waited for me to finish. And they had turkey burgers for those of us who aren't into red meat. I was sore and my hip started to hurt a few hours after the race. Got in lots of protein and let my fully fed wife drive me home. All in all, an excellent first race of the season.

I could go on and on of course, but I've already written a small novel. Took the day off today. Swimming tomorrow, then going to work at the bike shop! And now I am full on fighting this cold...

Happy training everyone!

Weekly Recipe: ParmPlus Turkey Burgers

Today's recipe is one of my standards. One of my favorite things about it is that you can add and subtract ingredients pretty easily. The "Plus" in the recipe title refers to these add-ins. Personal fav add-ins: chopped spinach, scallions, leftover quinoa, or gorgonzola. When I made these last night, I added finely chopped red onion. It caramelized some while the burgers cooked, which added a really great, unexpected flavor. Try them any way you like! I didn't put any toppings on these burgers last night, but they can be dressed up with all the normal burger fixings. Last time I topped with sauteed mushrooms and swiss! mmmm!

ParmPlus Turkey Burgers

1 lb package ground turkey (93 or 99% fat free)
1 tablespoon plain, nonfat yogurt (for moist burgers, optional)
2 tbs soy sauce
3 or more tbs low fat, grated parmesan cheese
Add-in of choice!! (try chopped spinach or onions)
2 tsps Adobo seasoning, or seasoned salt
2 tsps Montreal chicken seasoning or favorite spice mixture
2 cloves minced garlic

If you are not using a grill, you will need:
1 or 1 tbs olive or vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients except olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Heat up grill, or heat olive oil in pan. Use hands to roll meat mixture into balls (a bit larger than a golf ball works for me) and then flatten into burger patties. Usually makes around 5 burgers. Pan fry on medium heat, or grill, until cooked through.

Prepare any desired fixin's or sides. I pan fry my burgers cause we have no grill, and it can take a while to cook through. I served steamed green beans and a grain mixture from Trader Joe's with my burgers last night. Enjoy!!

Lil' swim, Lil' Chrissie

Hey hey, tough lil' swim today! It was rainy and a bit chilly, so I kept it in the indoor pool. There was some speed work involved, and it really took it outta me today. I got out feeling kinda beat, but in a good way, you know?

250 easy warm up
6X26 mixed drills, RI=10
6X100 (25 ascending, 25 descending), RI=10
6X25 hard, RI=20
6X25 kick, RI=15
250 easy cool down

The ascending, descending thing is really difficult for me for some reason. I just can't quite gauge it, and it ends up taking more out of me then just going 25 hard and 25 easy. Fun stuff though! Next week I will hopefully not be alone in the pool (hint hint BRAD!) so that would be nice...

IM South Africa is this Sunday and Chrissy Wellington is making her SA debut! I'm pretty stoked and hope to watch it live on ironman.com. Gotta love Chrissie. So much talent and so much grace and poise. And that darned smile!!

No better hero in my book! Go, Chrissie, Go!!

Weekly Recipe: Salmon with Mustard Dill Sauce

Sounds snooty, but it's super easy and so so yummy! And salmon is very good for you, with high levels of omega 3s! I got the recipe originally from epicurious.com, but have modified it some, mostly because my fish doesn't cook as quickly as they say it will. I also make the sauce a bit more simple. Here it is!

Broiled Salmon with Mustard Dill Sauce

2 Salmon fillets (if you care about seafood sustainability, like I do, Pacific/Alaskan wild caught)
1 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup of whole grain mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Splash of low fat milk
1 tablespoon fat free yogurt
Pinch of sugar

Rinse the salmon and pat dry. Place on baking sheet or pan, skin side down. Rub soy sauce on fillets and place in broiler, about 4 inches from flame. Broil until cooked through, about 10 minutes. If your salmon starts to get very cooked on the outside but not through, turn the oven onto 350 and bake till cooked through.

While salmon is cooking, mix together chopped dill, whole grain mustard, milk, yogurt and pinch of sugar in a small bowl. Once salmon is finished, plate and spread with mustard sauce. I like to serve my salmon with green beans or broccoli.

Like I said, super easy and super yummy. And very healthy.

Today was a swim day for me and I felt really great. I was a bit tired before I swam, but for some reason as soon as I hit the water I was energized. I felt like I could have kept going and going, and I pushed my "moderate" pace a little bit to see if I could. I really enjoyed the whole swim. It's a nice, unexpected reward for all the hard training I put in, to have a day that feels so good. I am still a bit worried with how little volume I am swimming in this program, but I am going to stick with it and see what happens. My first tri isn't too far away, and I should probably spend more energy worrying about my run. Hoping this hip injury will disappear quickly...

swam, running out the door!

First of all, HUGE shout out to TriCrowd.com for adding me to their "More Triathlon Blogs" section! SOOO stoked!
www.tricrowd.com

Second, my swim workout early this morning (with a the gosh darn cold water hose spewing into my lane! Acckk!)

250 easy warm up
6X25 mixed drills, RI=10secs
4X100 (25easy/25hard), RI=10secs
8X25 sprint, RI=20secs
6X25 kick, RI=15
250 easy cool down
Total: 1400 meters

Whew! Loved getting in some speed work! Now for a weekend of indoor workouts and ice rinks!

Compression calf sleeves on, ready to fly! Happy training!

tattoo talk and my swim workout

Thank goodness for a build week! I loved my swim today. I'm even more excited for the ramp up that is coming. My only mistake was that I lifted yesterday and my arms were a bit sore. But overall, it was great.

250 easy warm up
6x25 mixed drills, RI=10 secs
6x100 moderate, RI=5 secs
6x25 kick, RI=15 secs
250 easy cool down
Total=1,400 meters

The only thing about this is that I am used to swimming more, earlier in my schedule. And longer sets, like pyramids. But this program builds slower over a longer period, so I hope it will work the way it's supposed to!

Now I want to talk about triathlon tattoos. Anyone have one? I know if I finish an Ironman I will get one. I have been searching online for pics of tattoos, and I have found a few with mdots, and a few without.






This is my favorite probably. Very original.






This seems pretty classic















Simple Mdot. Very hard to argue with.








Love this with the whale, wish I knew the significance






My friend Nat said that if he ever gets a tattoo he wants a bike chain imprint like you get when you lean the bike on your leg. Love this.











I'm not sure what I will get, but I think that I will get something, someday. :) Maybe I have to do my ironman somewhere cool to get some inspiration for the tat!

another day fighting that hip...

Another "run day" passed on the cursed elliptical. It seems like I have been off of running forever, but really with this injury its only been a week since my bff/pt was here to tell me to stop running. It probably feels like longer because I was JUST coming back from the shin splints...

Knock on wood, so far my injuries are limited to my running. This is probably pretty common, considering that swimming and biking are relatively low impact (assuming you avoid major crashes on your bike. that's high impact)

It's supposed to get warmer and nicer over the course of the month of March, right? The weather here has been very up and down, and the last few days have been pretty darn cold. I would really like to get a nice ride in outdoors on Wednesday and not feel like my toes are falling off.

Also if I could run again maybe I wouldn't sound so whiny and grumpy. I'm sorry for the bad attitude. I promise to get it adjusted ASAP. Maybe I am coming down from the high of that sweet Multisport Expo yesterday...sigh...

I spent several hours this morning plotting out my training schedule for the next few weeks. I am getting really excited for the upcoming races this season, as well as for the training increases that are coming. This next week I will really need to switch up my training schedule because of the travel to Detroit. I checked out the hotel and it looks like the pool is pretty small, so I'll need to get my swim in early in the week. I am really excited to watch my wife play! Check out the tshirt I made today! Go CB Lightning!!

Swim day tomorrow! New set added to the line up, cause I'm in a build week! YAY!

MULTISPORT EXPO!

Welcome to HEAVEN!! Seriously, the expo was really cool/fun. I enjoyed just walking around and checking out all the vendors and merch, etc. I got a swag bag as well, which was nice. I ended up buying a pair of sunglasses (a need that bumped itself to the top of my list when my shades fell in the middle of a busy intersection on a ride a few weeks back) and getting a body composition analysis. According to the analysis I have a normal range BMI, as well as a mid-normal range fat percentage. My muscle composition in my legs is at the top of the normal range, and the muscle comp of my arms is just over normal (muahahaha). My core muscle comp leaves something to be desired however. Still normal, but not too high. Still, I was pretty happy overall.

Anyway, today I switched in a rest day and will do my "run day" tomorrow. I'm getting ready for next weekend when I'll be in Detroit and will probably have to do the same thing. Actually I may have to move my entire schedule around, depending what the pool situation is like in the hotel. We're going to Detroit because my wife's hockey team made it to nationals! Wooot!

So more tomorrow!

chilly ride and RUNNING TUNES! (free downloads!)

It was relatively chilly this morning when I went out to cycle. I don't have a very extensive selection of cycling gear, so I can only keep so warm. I felt great and had a nice ride (without a clip-induced fall, I might add) but my toes were totally numb by the end. It's all good though, because the warm weather will be here soon and I won't have to worry about spending money on cold weather gear until next winter... :)

Anyway, I thought we would discuss music today. I know I've talked about audiobooks in the past, but I am also a believer in great tunes for running (NOT cycling, very dangerous). I am always trying to find new stuff to add to my running/lifting mixes, and I am sure other people struggle to find the good stuff as much as I do. The other day I came across some pretty sweet ways to find new music to run to, and I wanted to share.

First thing's first, Nike Women on facebook has a new download every week for free, so that is worth checking out. Still, the stuff they put up is often too techno/electronica for me. A couple of things happened recently which brought me to a whole boatload of new songs. First of all I found a website that gives you a free trial and $10 of free music. You have to sign up, but as long as you cancel your membership within 14 days (or right after you use up your free credits) you won't get charged. It's awesome.
Go to:
www.emusic.com/runnertunes

The prices are cheaper here than iTunes so you get more musical bang for your free buck! Now to find the tunes you wanna buy! So you know when you're running with the beat of a song and it's awesome and then your next tune comes on and it's a totally different tempo and your running feels awkward? Maybe you have heard of the acronym BPM (Beats Per Minute). It is a way to define the tempo of a song, and a way to sync up your running with your music. To find out what BPMs work best for you, go to:
jogtunes.com

They have a tool to pick out your best BPM and can show you a list of tunes that have the BPMs you're looking for. Once you know what tempo you want, the website:
runhundred.com

is a blog-type place listing new music all the time, as well as other tips for finding running music. This site lets you listen to samples of the music before you hop over to your new emusic account to download!

So the websites you need, again:
www.emusic.com/runnertunes
www.jogtunes.com
www.runhundred.com

NOW, if you're an iPhone user (guilty) there is a pretty cool (but sadly not free) app you can buy (under $5) that searches through your music on your phone (or itouch) and sorts it into groups according to BPM. This way if you're out running and dial into a BPM you like and want to stay there, you can use the app to find other songs with the same tempo! Name of the app is Cadence. Find it in the iTunes app store.

Ok so now that I have given you allll that, here is a list of songs I downloaded recently (with their BPMs) to add to my running mix.

The Catalyst - Linkin Park [135]
Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap [127]
Wish We Were Older - Metro Station [140]
S&M - Rihanna [125]
Damage is Done - L.P. [130]
Rolling in the Deep - Adele [100]


Have fun out there!

Weekly recipe!

Here it is, folks! The weekly recipe! This is one of our absolute favs and it's always always a big seller. I basically created this recipe myself, with influences from the Asian ingredients present in my mom's kitchen, and my dad's famous stir-fries.

We call it "Asian Chicken and Broccoli" but it can be made with a variety of veggies, including spinach and bokchoy. We also love to add mushrooms to ours. It can be made with chicken breast or thigh. We prefer thigh because it is cheaper and more tender, but it is a bit more work to cut off the fat. You need a large skillet, or a wok for this recipe, preferably with a lid. You also should start with fresh garlic and ginger for the best results.

Jo's Asian Chicken and Broccoli

- 1.5 tbs sesame oil 2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1-2 tbs fresh minced garlic
- 1 lb low fat chicken thighs (or breasts), cut into small, bite sized pieces
- 1 tbs sweet chili sauce
- 1.5 tsp red chili paste 2 tbs soy sauce (or to taste)
- 1 tbs fish sauce
- 2-3 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 6-8 oz chopped mushrooms (baby portobella, oyster or shitake)

Pour sesame oil into skillett or wok, and add garlic, ginger and chicken. Begin to saute on medium-high heat. As chicken cooks, add in sweet chili sauce, red chili paste, soy sauce and fish sauce. Cook, stirring often, 8-10 minutes, or until chicken pieces are just cooked through. Add in broccoli, mushrooms and any other desired veggies. Stir so sauce covers all veggies. Turn down heat to medium-low heat and cover to steam broccoli for 3-5 minutes.

Your dinner is finished! Enjoy alone or with whole grain brown rice. Hope you love it as much as we do!

swim day, transition goals

Just got back from a nice swim, again in recovery week mode. I'm starting to really like the sets I do with 50 easy/25 fast. I feel like they're really helping me increase my fitness.

250 easy warm up
6X25 pull RI=10 secs
4X150 (50 easy/25 fast) RI=15 secs
250 easy cool down (including 50 kick, 50 breast)

Everything felt good. Just caught this video from triathlete magazine website. A few things I need to work on in transitions this season:



Dinner recipe on the way tonight! Stay tuned!

the short version of the wish list

Hello friends! Just sittin' here, enjoying my post workout dinner. My wifey has practice tonight, so I didn't cook up a big dinner. Intead I'm having quinoa with beans! yumm! I also had a turkey dog. And some yogurt with berries and walnuts right when I got into the house from my bike.

Bike today was spinning, since it was cold and raining by the time I got done my work today. I really pushed myself on my hills and sprints, so I felt good about it. Plus today included a core workout too.

So I have been thinking about something we triathletes have a love-hate relationship with: our next triathlon purchases. Personally I love having new stuff, so that's the love part. And I never have the money for everything I want. That's the hate part. My current wishlist is long, but I have narrowed it down to a few things:

Race fees (always at the top, cause otherwise what's the point??)
New tri racing top
Adamo saddle (the noseless ones)
more cycling clothing

Ok there are a million more, but I think it's important to have a short list. Hopefully it will keep me focused, cause I have a tendency to be an impulsive buyer. Ooo, new running shorts? sure! New Nike tshirt? yes please! Oh crap I'm broke.

So the other thing I really want is a new tri bike. I have a road bike, and I am going to be continuing to give it more tri upgrades, but still I would adore a tri specific bike. But I'm a student. Cannot afford. nope. not at all. PLUS no where to put it. So I think maybe I'll be working towards that for next year. First I have to learn how to save money...

Rest day questions

It's Monday and in my new schedule, that's a rest day. It works out pretty well, because on Monday nights I have class up in Delaware, so I don't have to worry about fitting my workout into my day of traveling and studying etc. It's also good today because a mystery pain has decided to show its ugly little face. Yesterday my run was pain free. I walked back and forth to the movie theater with my wife and friend later. I did some homework, cooked some dinner, went about my day, but at some point when I was taking it pretty easy my hip started to ache a bit. As the evening wore on, it started to feel worse. I iced it and took some ibuprofen and hoped (with all of my might) that in the morning it would be gone.

Welcome to the morning. Still there. It feels like it's in my joint/socket, not muscular. It hurts a bit when I walk, but mostly catches me off guard with a random footfall, when I go up a step, or when I am getting out of a chair. I have no idea what it is, and more annoyingly, what caused it. I am going to keep icing and hoping I guess. Please at the end of this rest day, will you be better for me hip?

Alternatively I could run it by my father tonight as I will be seeing him and he's an orthopedic doc.

Another question/idea. Not to brag, but I am a pretty good cook. And of course as a triathlete I spend a fair amount of time worrying about the nutrition and caloric values of my food. I was thinking about putting up recipes for some of my staple athlete meals. They're hockey player tested, too, which I think means they're pretty awesome...

The only problem with this idea is that I will run out of recipes in a while, but I am hoping it will also inspire me to try a few new ones. Opinions? Comments?

Hit the ground running

Spring forward everyone! Thank goodness I set the alarm on my phone, not on a house clock, because I had totally forgotten by the time I went to bed last night!

Got up and did a nice run this AM with my new training buddy, Brad. I feel kind of bad cause I'm easing back in and going slow, and I think it's not really doin' much for him to go at my pace. Hopefully I'll be able to kick his butt swimming so that I can be as helpful to him as he is probably going to be for me!

It is so gorgeous out today. Startin' to get that spring fever feeling!