Cantaloupe "Soup" Smoothie

With our scorching summer here so far, I myself find it hard to digest alot of solid foods, and even harder to replace the lost calories expended during hours of exercise every day. I know I need to be better about that. But in the mean time, if you are like me and crave lots of fruits and smoothies in this ridiculous heat, here is a yummy recipe passed onto me. I am usually not that much of a Cantaloupe fan, but this mix is just delicious and soooo healthy and good for ya!

You just need:
- 1 whole Cantaloupe (will yield about two big servings)
- some plain or vanilla yogurt, 1 cup
- ice cubes
- mint leaves (these are an important touch!)
- honey (optional for added sweetness)

Just throw everything in the blender, mix well and voila, you have an excellent smoothie! Serve in glasses and top with a straw to sip.

Research has shown that Cantaloupe actually is the perfect post workout/race recovery food as it acts as a natural anti inflammatory, much like pineapple.
Here are its list of vitamins:

Vitamin C
Vitamin A (Beta Carotene)
Potassium
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Folate
Dietary Fiber
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

So if you are like me and don't care too much for eating the fruit, drink it!

What is more appealing- You Decide!

I can't decide if riding/running in 85+ degrees and humidity or riding in 100 degrees and no humidity is more fun. Previous post is an example of how fun running in the heat AND humidity can be. Plus side of that is that your mouth is still producing saliva and if worst comes to worst, you can drink your own sweat as it rolls in streams down your face. It is not so much fun when you start to lose it and see black spots and start to shiver because your body's electrolyte content is running low, and before it gives in, it warns you to STOP EXERCISING NOW or pay the price for a few days after. I went through that on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Without gas in the tank, I didn't have much real estate to cover and found myself bonking 2 hours into a ride. Fun times.

Lets now examine Scenario B: A lovely day such as today (96 degrees), or any day this summer, I set out for a ride, knowing that I will be hot the minute I set off. The pavement below my wheels today felt like lava, thats right, lava. Although I have not ridden over hot lava, I am pretty sure that this is the closest I'll get, until Kona. I was seriously worried my tires would burst from the hot pavement below. In an effort to keep my water bottles frozen ( as they always are when I set out) for 5 minutes longer, I decided to ride up Lefthand to Jamestown. I arrived in Jamestown 8 miles later with water bottles whose ice had completely melted. This within the first hour of my ride.

Today's ride also graced me with the presence of crosswinds, a lovely concoction when you combine it with heat- think blowdryer set on high. I for sure thought I'd land in the Creek 20ft below me a few times on my descent. With my knuckles white, I arrived back down safely. I pushed onward on 36 to attempt a 3 hr ride. Crosswinds pushed me halfway across the highway a few times and the drinks of hot water I got out of my bottles didn't make things much funner. Speaking of hot water, when you are already hot and exhausted and want something cool and know that you need to drink, does the sensation of hot water entering your mouth just make you vomit? I find it even harder to drink when that is the case. Anyhoo, I had no choice as my tongue was pretty much stuck in the back of my throat and I was unable to swallow due to the dry-as-bones humidity. I returned from my ride, close but not quite on the 3 hr mark, parched and surprisingly dry. Turns out no humidity at all may leave you like a wilted flower, but at least you finish with almost dry clothing. And as an added bonus, you get to lick the salt from your arms and face right back into your body if you prefer.

All jokes aside, I do think that although this may all be perfect training for Kona, one should be seriously cautious about exercising in these extreme temps. I may come across as a whiny wimp, but I have come a long way. I used to never exercise during the day in the summers, and only go before sunrise and after sunset. As much as I'd like to convince my body otherwise, it just does not like the heat as much as it likes damp 50 degree weather. But every workout in the heat counts as a check mark on my list of developing a thicker skin and trying to teach my body that it will endure some long hours in it.

Holy Humidity!

the face of sodium depletion after just 85 minutes
a view of my clinging running clothes, not a dry spot anywhere to be found.

My run was supposed to be 2 hours long today,and I was supposed to have run at 6 a.m. My alarm went off and I shut it off and slept blissfully for another 2 1/2 hours. I got my butt out the door at 9:30 a.m., knowing in my heart that I just made my day a whole lot harder for myself. I knew I wasn't going to be running 2 hours this late in the morning, but I set forth with a plan to run a new loop I mapped out, which is about 11 miles long. I brought with me a frozen, handheld waterbottle. 1/4mi into my run it felt as though the air was completely still and thick as water. My lungs burned as I took heavy breaths running up my street to the trail head that would lead me to the rez, around the rez and out on 51st, to Jay Rd. and back to my house.

The first stop was incurred about 1 mi into my run, as I needed to wipe the sweat out of my eyes so I could see where I was going. That last for about 2 minutes before I had to repeat. By mi 5 I was soaked and decided to just let it run down all over me. My face looked like I was standing under a faucet, my legs had streams running down and my top and shorts were soaked to the point where I could wring them out. In addition to sweating profusely I also tend to get other heat/humidity related sensations, such as clogging of the ears (could this be an electrolyte/sodium imbalance?) and overall achiness in all moving bodyparts, as well as loss of proper hearing. Let me tell you, by the end of my run, which was 85 minutes long, I felt like a complete waste of a human being. And it wasn't even overly hot out. 80 degrees. However the humidity was over 50%. I got home and I started dripping out of every pore, prompting me to immediately run for the shower, managing to take some shots along the way. (see pics, and enlarge them for a full on view of sweat droplets!) What made this run interesting even more is that when I made the turn onto Jay Rd, a bunch of Tri-athletes (some familiar faces, some not, one yelling "hey sweetheart"- um, who was that??) were waiting around for their leader (I am guessing) to arrive and saw me run by and did a little cheer, which immediately made me think "wow, I must look REALLY bad if they are cheering for me like its a race or something", and it didn't stop there as another Tri-athlete drove by and yelled at me out the window. And then one more random guy on a bike passed and said: "Looking good, girl!" I'm not sure if he was impressed by my overall swimmingly appearance or if he thought I was running at a good clip, which I am sure I was NOT. Anyways, I imagined I was running down the home stretch on Alii Drive and with the way I was feeling, I was pretty sure I was right there.

Things to ponder after this horrid experience:
1) Am I once again a wimp who can't handle the heat/humidity?
2) Do I sweat more than anyone else I know and is my sweatrate so high that it might pose a serious problem in Kona?
3) How will I possibly replace the liters of lost fluid and sodium that I seem to lose per hour running when I am actually racing?
4) Should I look into an overnight IV hookup so that I actually wake up feeling hydrated?
5) Should I stop torturing myself in the middle of the day and go back to early morning runs only? I have a feeling that unless it's a brick, I will be doing my long runs EARLY!
6) How did I ever live in NJ as a runner and not melt away in my own baths of sweat??
7) Is altitude + humidity tougher than just humidity alone?? (I hope so)
In need of lots of gatorade and pickle juice!

Ugh, Girl Problems

Does anyone else (female) get like me when they have their time of the month? Holy crap, I had to cut my ride short today because I felt absolutely horrible, to the point where I thought I was gonna pass out from the pain. Usually I have some sort of discomfort but I can deal with it but today is just awful and I am now at home doing nothing and waiting for these annoying cramps to pass. I really can't believe it's interfering with training. Am I just not tough enough? Today was supposed to be a long ride, finally, but it ended up being another 2 1/2 hour ride thanks to my insides wanting to come out.

This makes me wonder how I will deal with it if I ever get this on race day. I can't even imagine. An overdose of Pamprin is also not doing the trick, and the more I think about this the more annoyed I get. These are times I wish I was a guy. (jk, but not really..) I have heard of people not being able to get out of bed because of the pain, but I always thought those were just whiny wimps who can't suck it up. However, I like to consider myself pretty tough on a day-to-day basis but when I get these cramps, all I want to do is curl up in a ball and feel sorry for myself. Ugh, I hope they pass so maybe I can finish up my ride later on today... Here's to wishful thinking...

Boulder Peak Triathlon/ "Fun in the Sun"

I am glad I didn't get into the NYC Triathlon when I tried to sign up last year. That race produced its fair amount of casualties today, with pros doing the IM crawl across the finish, several people taken to hospitals for heat exhaustion,jellyfish stings, and even one unfortunate death. Temps supposedly topped out in the 90s there with a high amount of humidity, which I know can make things feel like 100+ degrees, especially in the city.

Today in Boulder, we did reach the 100 degree mark, but not till after the race, at least for most of us. I must say that my only goal going into Boulder Peak was to lower my time from last year, because I knew I could, and had to! I diligently rode Old Stage at least once a week all spring, usually straight from my house, with about 4 minutes to warm up before the climbing started. It seemed to pay off, as I was passing people going uphill today.

My AG was last to go off before the pros, with an additional delay of 20 minutes, making our official starting time 7:50a.m. At that point, I had gone pee in my wetsuit at least a dozen times and my skin had started pruning. At last we were off and my only goal for the swim was to not get pummeled. I almost lost sight of that about 10m in when once again, I wasn't being aggressive enough and started getting beat up by other swimmers. I managed to find my groove and stayed out of everyone's way by swimming on the side (which I realized half-way through the swim may not be such a good idea if you are trying to race and go the shortest route possible) and had a pretty smooth ride the rest of the way. Exited water with a new Swim PR.(some say the course was short, I like to believe it was accurate! :-))

After the usual debacle with the wetsuit, and it eating my left foot, I did get free and managed to get my bike going. I felt pretty good, thirsty, but able to push it. "Wait, this course went up Old Stage, maybe I should slow down. Screw it, just go with it" And so I did. I felt pretty strong riding up the monster hill and had a brief scare on the downhill when I swore I saw the radar gun pointed at me. Luckily I was never pulled off course and was put into the results. Whew. My ride was pretty fun, as Jax and I would trade off leading. I will miss that in the next race as Jax will be racing in Europe, this made time go by much quicker! We end back up in transition together and since we parked our bikes right next to one another, now also exit transition together again. At this point, it felt more like a training day, not a race. (which is awesome, since it took pressure off, which always seems to help me perform better)


Jax yells to me to "run my ass off" and we stay together for about a minute before I take off. "6 miles, OK, I can do this." I actually feel pretty good in the lower region, and as I start my game of "pick-up" (as in picking up people on the course) I need to remind myself that I will feel shitty in time, and that I need not push it just yet. I am getting cheered left and right and it feels great. I can't see anyone, I am just focusing on aid stations as my need for cold water is increasing with every heartbeat. The sun is in full force and I can definitely tell. I arrive at the turn-around and start to feel it. There it is, that reliable feeling that wants you to quit- I can always rely on it. Thanks to some more positive vibes from fellow runners I am able to think positively, and maybe even secure myself an AG win, all the while singing along to some song that is stuck in my head. Before I know it I am left with a mile to go, and although I can barely see out of my sweat encrusted glasses and have all kinds of messes hanging from my face, I try to give it a push to look "strong", coming down the home stretch. It works, people are yelling at me that I am fast, I am so fast! lol. Finally, relief. I reach the finish and collapse. It's very hot. I have just PR'd in all three disciplines over last year's performance. I also got the AG win and later even discovered to have placed 2nd amateur female overall to Superstar Brooke, as well as 8th female including the pros. Not a bad day. And best of all, I tolerated the heat OK, which makes me happy, because I have been torturing myself training in it the past few weeks, and it seems to be working. I am thoroughly hydrated as well- go me! Just the eating part needs some help... no food at all during race. However, I never felt a need and I was fine. Will def. need to work on that, 4th discipline!


After a warm dip in the rez post race I headed over to watch the very impressive men's and women's pro races, and felt their pain every step of that horrid hot 10k run. This course is hard, and even harder in the heat. Nice job to everyone I know that raced, you are warriors!



Now the real fun starts- Kona training!

Cabbage Head Duathlon

This past saturday marked the last race in the Mile High Duathlon Series, put on by Racing Underground, and lets just say it went out with a bang! I definitely worked harder than before for my 2nd place finish there. All the girls must have done a good amount of studying pre-race to know how fast they needed to go to beat out others, in order to get a piece of the series prize money.

After an early start and several trips to the porta potties/bathrooms, I got a brief warmup in on the course and then it was go-time. (but only after another brief sitting, this time in back of a barn.. I hope no one saw me, they probably would fine me in Wiggins) This race was like the first in the series: 5k/30k/5k. It was bound to hurt. Jocelyn was also there to keep the pace honest, should any of us find the men's pace too slow.

I went through the first mile in roughly 5:43 and knew right then and there that this race would hurt. Jocelyn led the way for the women with a frightening fast first 5k(well, actually 3-mile) split, followed by me about 20 secs later. After what always seems like years of getting situated on my bike, I was off and out on the roads for a flat 18mi ride. I thought I was a rocket, because every time I looked at my computer it was never below 23mph. However, my bike split equaled that of Barkin Dog.(kinda slow) Weird. Second run and I was still in second and about 35 secs back from the leader. The men were already finishing up at this point but I still had a painful 3 miles to go. Trying to move my body forward, I managed to close the gap, but not enough as Jocelyn ended up crossing the line 14 seconds ahead of me. It always amazes me that I can still manage a respectable second run clip, even though I feel as though I am crawling. And perhaps if I actually did some speedwork, I'd have a final kick.

Our efforts paid off as I ended up winning the series and some much-needed cash. Second place went to Jax, well deserved, considering she did the race on empty, not feeling well. This coming weekend is Boulder's most famous triathlon, the Peak, and you can expect all of us there, ready to show the devil on Old Stage who's faster! (probably the devil, ha)

Thanks to Jax and bf for taking and sending race pics! :-) And thank you to my chauffeur as well for getting up with me before the crack of dawn!


Time to start thinking about Kona, less than 13 weeks and I have yet to increase my mileage on run and bike...

Oh, and I had a brownie the night before the race, along with a brownie after the race, and it was delicious! :-)

Water wars and pros and cons of brownie bites

I did Stroke and Stride tonight. It was war. I managed my slowest ever open water swim, minus the time I didn't have a wetsuit yet. I am estimating there were about 350 people out there. I lined myself up near the middle of the front, hoping not to get squished once the gun went off. The gun went off and things stayed relatively calm around me. Well, until we got about 100m into the swim and people who had lined up towards the front but weren't fast swimmers, started to drop, creating a sweet obstacle course for those that were behind. That was the first time I got frustrated.

I keep swimming and think to myself that this is freakin' Stroke and Stride, not a triathlon where I need to be in top form. Wham, I get hit in the head... I am swimming between two people now and I can't get out of the sandwich. There are caps and bodies everywhere! I started to feel a little uncomfortable. This is before we reach the first buoy. I make it to the buoy and come to a complete stop, trying to avoid the breast strokers from jamming into me. Wham, I get kicked in the stomach from the right and hit over the head from the left. Flashbacks from the video two posts back rush to my head and it feels as though 20 paddles are whacking me from all different directions. God, why are people so aggressive on these swims? I mean, I felt like I was in a washing machine.

Things never let up and I swam the entire second lap behind some girl in a yellow cap who would just not let me by her, and every time I got close to her feet, would kick as hard as she could and then slow down again. I start flinging all kinds of curse words at her and others (in my head only ofcourse, as it seems every time I open my mouth I breathe in water) We spent a good amount wasting time by zizagging across the water. To top it off, tsunami-like waves appeared on the second lap, making it almost impossible to move forward. Ugh, I try to laugh about this, but it's kinda depressing, because I seem to spend so much time in the pool trying to swim faster (it may not appear that way, but I do try!), but when I get out to these events, it comes down to who can smack the hardest, and be the biggest bully. Unfortunately, that's not me. Even in running races in college, I would get elbowed at the start of the 1500 because I didn't dare to throw my elbow. I guess I just need to grow some b___s and start up front next time and hang on for dear life on someone's feet. Hopefully I can find a good pair for next weekend!

Also, I am kind of bothered by the way some athletes think about food. Lets get one thing straight here: We triathletes NEED to eat to perform. Food is our fuel and we deserve to eat it! I mean some days I probably don't even break even with calorie deficits. And yes, most of that food should be healthy fuel, but I think it's OK to have the occasional slip-up and have that ice cream and chocolate (as I do most every night-ha) because, when the heck else would we be allowed to eat it if not for being the machines that we are? I can understand that sedentary people should probably stay away from the empty calories, but for us athletes it really only counts as more fuel for the furnace to burn! So to hear some people say that sweets are bad and that we should stay away from them, just kind of rubs me the wrong way. There is a very fine line between eating healthy and balanced and overdoing it. I for one NEVER count calories, NEVER weigh myself and pretty much eat what I like. Yes, maybe my "muffin top" wouldn't be there if I cut off my calories at 8 p.m. every night. Unfortunately that's not possible because most nights I don't even get home till then. However, I do see the connection between being SUPER lean and improved performance, especially for ITU atheletes, such as the ones I ran behind this morning. (yes they looked like gazelles)

So it's that fine line, some may call it total and utter commitment to the sport, but I prefer to train hard and have my fun too! And I do believe that in the long run, such as my first IM later this year, it will help me to have those extra stored calories around to rely on when mile 20 comes around. This turned into a whole stream of consciousness, wow.

Now on a lighter note- check out this site for a few good laughs: www.failblog.org