Another day, another run at Coot Lake. Here is a picture of Jaz and I pre interval workout at Coot Lake:

After a solid interval session with Jasmine and Michael this morning, I warmed up the vitamix for another yum-delicious concoction:

2 Cups of unsweetened coconut milk

1-1.5 TBSP of cacao nibs

2 Cups of cherries

2 Scoops of Cappaccino Ultragen

Last, but not least…a handful of ice…

YUM…I hope you enjoy this as much as ML and I did this morning!

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Since arriving back in Boulder almost 3 weeks ago, all of us, including Luna and Blue, have been extremely happy to be back in our home in Boulder. We love Austin and we love spending our winters there, however, this past spring felt a bit different. We arrived in TX almost 6 weeks later than we usually do. And almost immediately after arriving, Michael and I thought that our move may have been a mistake this year.

The vibe was different…it felt off. We felt off.

The first sign that things were just “off” is when Blue (our 13year old whippet) arrived in Austin a bit sick from surgery from a dog bite in January. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the problem was. And we spent lots of time walking him several times a day so that he would not get sick in our tiny apartment. After finding an excellent vet in Austin, and after spending a few thousand dollars getting ultrasounds, ruling out cancer, and everything else under the sun, it turned out that he was extremely sick from the anitbiotics that he was on after the dog bite/surgery. Apparently, Blue has an extremely weak GI and the antibiotics wreaked havoc on him. We are so thankful that Blue is back to his old self. There were a few days in March that we though we were going lose him and it was…

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I am always in AWE of how much ML eats. One particular day a few years ago I guestimated Michael’s calories, eating a whopping 9,000 calories without much exercise. Today, I thought I would share an average day of eating day for ML.

Morning weight: 168lbs/ Height: 6’1″

5am: wake up/drink 16oz of water & Vitamins: Optygen and Multi-V

5:25 Breakfast #1. large banana, Udi’s Gluten Free Bagel, 2 packages of Justin’s Nut Butter, 1 heaping Scoop of Blueberry Jelly. (~900 calories)

5:45 Dog Walk with Amanda-16oz of Kona coffee.

6:05 Depart for UT Masters Swimming.

6:30-8am-5500 yds of swimming. Main Set (4 x 100 on 1:10/3 x 200IM on 3min/2 x 100 on 1:05/200kick) x 3

During Swim: 2 heaping scoops of EFS in 24oz of water. (~200 calories)

Post swim @8am 2 heaping scoops of Ultragen (First Endurance) in 18oz of water. (320 calories)

9:10am Breakfast #2. 3 FULL eggs, 1/2 of a LARGE avocado, 1 Udi’s Gluten Free Bagel, 12 oz of Kona Coffee, 16oz of water. (~660calories)

9:40-10:10:  Phone consult with Coach Monica.

10:20: Breakfast #3: 1 cup of Strawberry flavored Monkey Brains Oatmeal, topped off with 1/2 cup of Blueberry Granola and about 4 squirts of Vanilla Agave Syrup (~700 calories).

(ML just said that he is still hungry….and he has already taken 3 (BIG) craps today)….@10:36: make that 4…

10:45-4pm Bike Ride: 75′ or 90′…can’t remember exact time, but ML…

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Here is another one of my favorite Smoothie’s!

2c of “Lotus” green tea

1c. of frozen mangos

1/2 banana

1c of pineapples

1 tablespoon of coconut butter

1 scoop of glutamine

1 scoop of egg white protein powder (I’m out of Ultragen this am)

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy! YUMMY!

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After writing about my recovery routine the other day, I wanted share my favorite recovery smoothie:

This pineapple/coconut recipe delight was delish yesterday, especially after  hill repeats on our super fly Kestrel 4000′s!

(Serves 2-3)

24 oz of Almond Milk

2 Bananas (frozen)

2c of Frozen Pineapple (The Pineapple and Coconut makes it taste like a Pina  Colada!:))

1c of Frozen Mango

2 spoonfulls of coconut butter (YUM!!!)

2-3 scoops of Fruit Punch Ultragen

A hanful or two of ice

Blend in a STRONG blender.

…and SERVE!  YUMMY!

This particular smoothie (below) was made with strawberries instead of Pineapple. ML and I ate all of the pineapple yesterday….:) Stawberries are just as good, except it doesn’t taste like a Pina Colada!

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Every year, around this time, I find myself in a routine after a long day of riding or an epic hard run. Here is a glimpse into my recovery:

1. Upon arriving home, I really have to remind myself to NOT sit down. Sitting down will be the death of me. If I sit down, I will either turn the computer or the TV on…and I will get SUCKED in. So sitting down is a big no no! Instead,  I visit with my dogs and make sure that they are ok and let them outside.

2. After I make sure everyone and everything is ok in the house, I grab a quick snack or blend a First Enduarnce ULTRAGEN Smoothie (I personally love Cappacino).

3. After I finish blending I jump in the car to stop by the local convenience store. I personally LOVE Thom’s in Austin or Lucky’s in Boulder. I buy about 4 bags of ice, a huge bottle of water, and another snack.

4. Arrive home: Turn the bath water on, dump the 4 bags of ice, throw some epsom salt in, put some neoprene booties on, pull on a sweat shirt, and turn on some tunes for about 15-20′. This is not fun (especially when it’s still cold outside), but I find it extremely beneficial and helpful for sore, tired muscles!

5. After drying off, I sit around the house shivering for about an hour. I make some more food. I will make myself a bigger meal…

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Last weekend I went to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the 70.3 event. I have traveld through Puerto Rico several times with my honey, Michael, while traveling to St. Croix. However, I had never spent time in Puerto Rico. I arrived  Wednesday (the race was Saturday).  I had an amazing homestay with my new friend Alma (and her dog Pimpa)!  Thanks to Ramon for the introduction! My friend,  Ramon Serrano really took care of me in Puerto Rico. Not only did he find a rad homestay for me, but he showed me some Puerto Rican culture as well! I bet none of the other pros can say that they had “organic” chicken from the ghetto. ;)

I felt super ready for race day and I was excited to see where my fitness was against a field of strong women. Derick from Durata training has been instrumental in helping bring my fitness back to where it needs to be. Derick’s attention to detail regarding pacing, watts,  and metal training,  has enabled me to avoid getting overtrained and be more consistant over the past few months. Derick is incredibly passionate about the sport and about his athletes. I feel so lucky that he has taken me on this year. Despite feeling ready for race day and despite feeling fit and ready to go with an awesome coach by my side, my race did not go as I hoped. I have been struggling with my breathing for the past several months since changing asthma medication.  At mile 8, my…

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After having a solid block of training in Boulder for the past 10 weeks, I was ready and excited to race the REV3 Olympic distance in Costa Rica. In addition to racing, I was stoked to bring triathlon to Costa Rica by putting on a race preparation clinic with Richie Cunningham and my husband, Michael.  Meeting the rest of TEAM TRAKKERS was an additional bonus of our trip (our team planned its 2011 launch, so that all eleven members were present).

The hardest part of my trip was that I needed to make my way from Boulder to Austin prior to traveling to Costa Rica. This meant one whole additional day of travel. Unfortunately my body did not hold up to the extra challenge and I arrived in Costa Rica with a full blown head cold. This was terrible timing as I had been on a great streak of perfect health! While my energy was good, my breathing was terrible. Lucky for me, Michael is fluent in Spanish and he was able to communicate to the farmacia my need for medicine, which helped ease some of my violent coughing.

During our first two full days in Guanacaste, Richie, Michael, and I were camp counselors for the REV3 pre-race triathlon clinic. Thursday started off with a 6k run along the run course of the REV3 race, which included some sandy sections along the beach.  Because the group was small, we were…

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Since  purchasing my Vitamix in 2010, I have been having the BEST time making some pretty amazing smoothie’s, soups, and puree’s. Here is my latest soup concoction. I came up with it after getting caught in a fast moving snow storm during during a ride on Wednesday.

4c. of water

1 Zucchini, diced

1 celery stalk

1 green pepper

1/3rd of a red onion, diced

a handful of spinach leaves

salt for taste

1/4 avocado

Blend all together in your vitamix (or Blender) at a high speed. The vitamix will warm it up fairly nicely.

Michael and I are meat eaters. We usually like to add a chicken breast  or some steak (flanks)~ after the veggies are all blended together.  If you are like the Rappstar, then you will love some bacon or bacon bits in this tasty soup!

Enjoy!

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The 2010 triathlon season seems like a blur. I had some really high times with a win at Pucon 70.3, being top 5 in a few 70.3′s, being on the cover of TRIATHLETE magazine with my husband Michael, and securing some pretty awesome sponsors. Along with those highs, came a few lows. I was sick several times during the year, unable to put a SOLID block of training in for more than 2 weeks at a time. Metabolically, I was falling apart. After the World Championship in Clearwater, racing while very sick, and then getting even more sick with a viral infection, I was forced to do some some serious thinking about how I would change my approach for 2011 and beyond. It was very apparent that my training program was not working for me.

At that point, I decided to press the “RESET” button.  Knowing that my previous training program wasn’t right anymore,  I needed to make a coaching change. This was a very hard decision. I had some of the best races of my career under Cliff, and my personal relationship with him is what I consider very good. Cliff is an awesome guy and a great coach who makes great programs, but the programs weren’t working for me anymore and the choice to change had to become a business decision.

I love having a coach and I love having a plan that is made for me specifically. I needed someone to help me make rational decisions regarding picking races. I needed someone who could look at my training objectively.…

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