steff says…

My Seven Links

Posted on August 3, 2011 by steff| 3 Comments

Those of you in the blog world have probably seen the Seven Links meme making its rounds over the past month…and thanks to a tag from the wonderful Ashley of (never home)maker it is time for me to share mine.

Here ya go:

Steff’s Seven Links…

1. My Most Beautiful Post: Talking About W-E-I-G-H-T…a vlog!

This post was difficult for me to create because I felt like I was “putting myself out there” in a way I never had on my blog before. It was something about the combination of the subject matter (my weight) and my decision to make a video instead of write that made this very personal and exposing…and that’s what I believe makes it beautiful.

2. My Most Popular Post: Recipe Time: Easy Gluten Free Crab Cakes

Yes, the simple little recipe was one of the first I ever posted, and certainly not my best…but it is still my most popular post, getting at least handful of search engine hits every single day. I guess there’s a lot of other gluten-shunning folks out there with a hankering for crab cakes. Glad I could help!

3. My Most Controversial Post: Eeeek! The D Word!

This post stirred up some heated discussion in the comments section as well as in my personal conversations. I understand that “diets” and “dieting” are personal choices and I don’t pass judgement on anyone who makes the decision to “go on a diet”…but I still stand by the sentiment expounded in this post…diets are evil!

4. My Most Helpful Post: Surviving Spin Class

This one of the only posts I’ve written with the intention of being helpful in mind. I remember how overwhelmed and intimidated I was when I walked into my first spin class about 5 years ago, so I decided to pass some of my spinning wisdom down to anxious newbies. It always makes me smile when I see searches like “what to wear to spin class” or “what to expect at my first spin class” leading people to this post.

5. A Post Whose Success Surprised Me: Steff: The Teen Years

I wrote this post for the ever fabulous Medicinal Marzipan‘s Teen Week. I was surprised that the story of my teen years resonated with so many of you in the blog world, but I was even more shocked by the responses I got from people in “real life”. After writing this post I received emails from people I haven’t spoken to in 10 years, and heart-felt, supportive responses from friends. One person even said they wanted to save this post to show to their daughter someday. I was completely blown away and moved by this reaction!

6. A Post I Didn’t Think Got the Attention It Deserved: Recipe Time: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Of all the recipes I’ve posted on the blog…this is might just be my favorite. It is certainly one of the best things I have ever cooked, it’s fairly simple, and yet no one out there is showing it any love! Go! Read the recipe! Make it! Your taste buds will thank you!

7. The Post I’m Most Proud Of: Triathlon Race Recap Part 2 – The Race

This post is only just over a week old, but regardless, completing a triathlon was one of the proudest moments of my life. It was something I had fantasized about for years and something that I believe to be truly outside of my grasp for a very long time. Crossing that finish line (20 minutes faster than my goal time!) was a small reminder of just how much is possible when you are fueled by passion and determination. The only thing that I think will top this on the proud-o-meter is when I complete my first olympic distance tri! Maybe next year?

————-

Wow. That was a surprisingly fun trip down blogging memory lane! Now it’s time for me to pay it forward and tag some other awesome folks to do their Seven Links! You’re up next:

Posted in fitness, goals, opinion, well being

Tagged best of, diet, fitness, self esteem, seven links, triathlon, weight

Locavore July Project – Mission Accomplished!

Posted on August 1, 2011 by steff| 1 Comment

I am sitting in my apartment right now drinking a cup of coffee and eating a bowl of Greek yogurt with banana, almond butter and cinnamon. That can only mean one thing:

The Locavore July Project is over!

Yep! Now that the calendar officially says August I have completed an entire month of cooking with nothing but local products. And the verdict?

It was challenging…in a good and a bad way.

——-

The Bad:

Cooking just was not the same with my spice rack and collection of oils & vinegars totally off limits. I never thought I’d say this…but after a while cooking with butter got a little bit old. Although my heavy hand with the butter was pretty amazing in this sauteed apple and honey dessert I came up with.

My meals were at the whim of whatever happened to look good at the greenmarket. It’s a very natural way to live, but I’m not going to lie, it was also a tad annoying sometimes. Like the week that I had omelettes 4 days in a row because I didn’t have any other proteins to cook with. Boring.

I learned that a lot of stores here, even the hippy-dippy health food stores, don’t carry more than a few local products. Laaaame.

I really missed using some of my favorite foods over the past month. The things I missed most were: coffee, tea, spices, vinegar, tropical fruit, chocolate, oats, and nuts/nut butters.

The Good:

I crafted some delicious all-local meals during the month…like this dinner of tuna, sauteed enoki mushrooms and baked sweet potato.

I was forced to get creative and try new-to-me things like ostrich and grilled cabbage.

I didn’t feel too deprived of the foods I was missing because I allowed myself to eat non-local when I was outside my home.

For the first time in my life I realized why, historically, spice trading with Asia was such a big deal. Spices are uh-maz-ing and none of the good ones grow here. Ok, we’ve got some great herbs…but they just don’t cut it for me.

I gained an immense appreciation for the area I live in and the amazing work farmers around here do. The NY/NJ/PA area is home to incredible, ethically raised meats, endless varieties of fruits and veggies, hormone free/unpasteurized dairy, organic grains, biodynamic wines…the list goes on! Thanks, farmers!!

The NYC Greenmarket system is totally amazing. Although I stuck to only the 2 markets closest to me (Union Square and Abbingdon Square), had I wanted to I could have found a farmer’s market to visit every single day of the week. And without the markets this challenge would have been completely impossible. NYC, you rock.

——

So there it is — a summary of one month of locavore life! I’m returning to my kitchen (now stocked with all my non-local favorites) with a new respect for where my food comes from and an awe of this bountiful world we live in. July may be over…but my weekly greenmarket trips will surely continue!

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Posted in locavore July

Tagged eating locally, famers, food, greenmarket, locavore

Locavore July: Meet the Local Meat

Posted on July 28, 2011 by steff| 2 Comments

During the first couple weeks of the Locavore July Project my protein sources mostly consisted of eggs, eggs and more eggs with some beans, yogurt and cheese thrown in.

But after an amazing piece of local swordfish came into my life at the end of week 2 I’ve found myself yearning for some more exciting local proteins.

It took a bit of hunting around and some courage in the kitchen but I managed to dial up the Locavore July excitement recently with some fabulous local proteins!

Here’s some of what I’ve been cooking:

1. Clams!

I boiled these guys in some water with garlic and served them with butter for dipping and a big ol’ plate of garlicky kale.

2. Scallops!

With buildings that obscure the view and crowded streets stretching on for miles it’s easy to forget sometimes that NYC is a waterfront town. But the seafood guy at the farmers is quick to remind me with offerings like these big, beautiful sea scallops.

I poached them in water and butter and paired them with another new-to-me culinary treasure…grilled cabbage!

So yummmy!

3. Ostrich

Of all the proteins I’ve been playing with recently ostrich is the farthest out of my comfort zone. Until this week I don’t think I’d ever tasted ostrich let a lone cooked it! But my mission was to scour the farmers market for interesting proteins to try…I just couldn’t pass this up!

Even though I know people use ostrich as a beef substitute, I was still amazed at how dark the meat was. Since I have not cooked or eaten beef in about 12 years the only recipes I could think of to utilize the ground ostrich were pretty simple.

First I made meatballs.

I baked them in the oven for a while and then finished them in a pan to get a nice crispiness outside.

Then the next night it was ostrich cheese burgers!

Steve said that this picture looks like a sea monster attacking an alien. That sure makes last night’s dinner seem less appetizing. But it was yummy despite it’s sci-fi undertones.

Ostrich is so different in taste and texture from the meat I usually eat, bearing almost no resemblance to chicken or turkey. Since I honestly can’t even recall what red meat tastes like (since I was 15 the last time I had it), I can’t tell you how it measures up to beef. But it did bring back some faint recollections of burgers from my childhood.

——-

There are just a few more days left in the Locavore July Project. I am going try to get my hands on at least 1 more exciting protein before the month comes to an end because I’ve been loving this journey into uncharted protein territory!

What was the last new-to-you protein you experimented with?

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Posted in locavore July, recipes

Tagged locavore, poultry, protein, seafood

Triathlon Recap Part 2 – The Race

Posted on July 25, 2011 by steff| 12 Comments

Yesterday’s Recap Part 1 left off with me standing at the starting line in my purple swim cap ready to begin my first real triathlon. And that’s where I pick up the story today.

Here’s how the race went down.

The Swim:

Myself and the other purple capped folks lined up on the beach a few minutes before 8AM and were corralled into the water for the start of our wave. The water temperature, just like the air, had to have been in the high 80s. This race had an in-water start so I tread water in the lake waiting for the official countdown to my start. 1 minute to go. 30 seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

…and we were off.

A lot of people seem to dread the swim leg of triathlons…I guess because there is a bit of true danger to swimming in open water in a crowd of people, some of whom will without a doubt kick you and try to swim over you. But despite a few kicks to the face while I swam, I felt relatively calm. The only real difficulty was knowing where I was going.

The course was a simple large V shape – from beach to buoy to another beach – but with the water so cloudy and so many people splashing on all sides it was hard to know if I was swimming straight. I eventually found a rhythm of swimming about 6 strokes of front crawl and then 1 of breast stroke to check that I was still heading in the right direction.

As I made it to shore at the end of the swim I felt pretty damn good — not exhausted, not flustered, and I didn’t have a belly full of water — all good things. But annoyingly I had no idea how long I’d been swimming. So I made the decision to put the time out of my mind and leave the swim behind as I set off jogging to the transition area.

Transition 1:

As I made my way into the transition area I stripped off my goggles and swim cap. Luckily, it was relatively easy to find my spot since I was near the end of a rack. I dried off my feet and legs, and put on shorts, socks and my sneakers. I strapped on my Garmin, snapped my bike helmet on and jogged with my bike out of transition to the mount point.

The Bike:

I felt wonderful as I hopped on my bike after transition and got onto the road. I knew the bike would be my most enjoyable, if not my most successful leg of the race. For some reason heat never seems to get to me when I’m riding. Even though it had to have been about 90 degrees during that leg of the race I just cruised along enjoying the beautiful scenery in and around the park.

I planned on having a lara bar strapped to my water bottle to fuel me while I rode but I was worried that it might melt in the heat. So I made a last minute decision to opt for some Clif Bloks instead. I’d never tried Bloks until that moment mid-race…but I was pleasantly surprised. They were damn tasty! I ate about 1/2 the pack of Bloks at mile 2 and the other half at mile 9. I also chugged from my water bottle full of 1/2 Vitamin Water and 1/2 H20.

Thanks to my trusty Garmin I knew that throughout the ride I was surpassing my goal time for the bike leg of the race! And while plenty of riders on fancy shmancy bikes passed me as I rode, I also did my fair share of passing. So I was all smiles when I rode by my dad near the end of the bike course.

Before I knew it 11.5 miles had come to an end and I was at the transition again.

Transition 2:

I did a half walk/half jog shuffle with my bike back to the transition area after I finished the ride.

All I had to do at T-2 was ditch my bike and helmet, put my hair up, put on my race belt, and switch my Garmin from “Bike” to “Run”. After a final slug from my water bottle I was off on the run path.

The Run:

It was well over 90 degrees by the time I set foot onto the (mostly bright and sunny) 5k course, and it was the first time that day that the heat really got to me.

I’d promised a bunch of friends/loved ones that I wouldn’t try to do anything crazy on the run…aka I would take it easy. And that I did.

I kept myself at an easy pace, took water at every water stop and even walked a few times when the heat felt especially oppressive. I felt comforted by the fact that I was not alone — many other competitors were walking as well.

Once I made it to the 1/2 way point of the run I was handed and ice cold towel and I started my trek back down the path. A glance at my Garmin told me that magically, despite my walking breaks, I was still on pace to meet my running goal.

I had mentally thrown my goal time out the window when I realized what a serious factor the heat would be. But my inspiration was renewed during the second half of the run and with the comfort of the ice cold cloth draped around my neck I made it my goal to finish strong…and smiling.

And that I did.

The results:

If you read my taper week post…you’ll know that I did have some time goals going into my triathlon. However, with the record breaking heat I decided to make surviving and finishing the race my top priorities.

Even so, I am THRILLED to report that I beat all of my time goals!!

Check it out:

Swim (500 meters): Goal = 15 minutes, Official time = 13:07
Transition 1: Goal = 10 minutes, Official time = 4:07
Bike (11.5 miles): Goal = 55 minutes, Official time = 45:28
Transition 2: Goal = 5 minutes, Official time = 2:04
Run (5k): Goal = 35 minutes, Official time = 34:51
Overall Triathlon Goal = 2 hours, Official time = 1:39:37

So it’s pretty safe to say that I KILLED my overall goal time. And I’m really pleased that I shaved a whole 10 minutes off my bike time! But what I really cannot believe is that I actually did the 5k in under 35 minutes! With all of the walking breaks I took it seems impossible! But I guess when I was actually running, I was running pretty quickly.

Did I earn this medal? Yes. Yes I did.

Oh and just because I have the info I may as well share that my overall rank was 1011 of 1362 finishers, and I was 82nd of 103 in my age/gender division. Soooo I was in the bottom third of finishers. But that don’t bother me none…because I am a triathlete and I rocked out with my bad self! Booyah!

And in case you’re wondering? I had an awesome time and there will definitely be more triathlons in my future.

Thanks so much to all of you who offered me words of encouragement and support during my journey to this point. It’s been years in the making. I am a lucky, grateful, gal. Extra super huge thanks to my dad for waking up uber early to come out and cheer me on and take such great pictures. Love ya, Dad!

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Posted in bike-ventures, running

Tagged race, race recap, triathlon

Triathlon Recap Part 1 – Pre Race Prep!

Posted on July 24, 2011 by steff| 2 Comments

It’s done. Yessiree, it’s true! Yesterday I completed the NJ State Sprint Triathlon. And you know what that means…it’s race recap time!

To avoid a novel-length recap I am breaking the story of my first real triathlon up into 2 posts. First up? The pre-race preparation (aka less exciting part). Part 2 will be up tomorrow…patience, people.

So here is how the story began:

Friday:

Friday afternoon I biked to Penn Station with my triathlon gear in the 101 degree heat and loaded my bike onto a NJ Transit train (which is not a fun thing to do, if you were considering it) and headed to Jerz.

My dad met me at the station and just over and hour later I was picking up my race packet and getting my first look at the NJ State Triathlon course in Mercer County Park.

After packet pick-up and a short info session in the sweltering heat it was dinner time! Dinner was carb-tastic (of course), but with an Asian twist — pad thai from a restaurant in Princeton!

Then I checked into a hotel, watched a little TV, and got all my gear ready for the race.

Then it was early to bed for me! I think I actually managed to fall asleep by like 11:30!

Saturday – Pre-Race:

Yesterday morning I woke up bright and early (5:20) and had some breakfast — iced coffee, a few sips of vitamin water, and a macro bar with peanut butter.

My dad picked me a few minutes before 6:00 and we headed to the race…until I realized I forgot my bike helmet. Uh oh! After a short detour back to the hotel (whoops!) we were on our way to the race for real.

Even though we arrived a little on the late side, after getting body marked I was able score a pretty nice spot on the transition rack for my stuff — second from the end!

After setting up my gear my dad and I headed down to the swim start to chill in the shade before my wave (the purple wave) started.

It was lovely to sit relax a bit before getting in the water. I got to watch the elite athletes begin the race and chit chat with other racers a bit. I even got some tips from more experienced triathletes.

But before long it was time for me and all the others in purple swim caps to head to the starting line!

What happened next? Well you’re just going to check back tomorrow to see how the actual race-y part of the race went!

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Posted in bike-ventures, running

Tagged race, race recap, triathalon

Pre Triathlon Anxiety

Posted on July 22, 2011 by steff| 6 Comments

This is my last post about triathlon prepartion. I promise. Because 24 hrs from now (as I type) I will be in the middle of the NJ State Sprint Tri.

I’ve been dreaming of doing a triathlon for years. I’ve been actively prepping for months. And now, with just one day separating me from the race, I feel super nervous!

Here’s what’s on my mind:

Worry #1 – THE HEAT!! I’ve mentioned countless times how much I hate the heat, especially working out in the heat. If you offer me 20 degrees over 90 degrees I would take it without a moment of hesitation. Even though I’ve made those feelings very clear, guess what the good ol’ universe decided to throw at me? Heat, HEAT, and MORE HEAT!

Yep, as I write this at 9AM it has already cracked 90 degrees. Records are going to be broken today. And tomorrow? Well…much of the same.

Worry #2 – My bike. Don’t get my wrong, I love the blue beauty…but she’s old and not in the best shape. I got her leaky tube replaced a few weeks ago and am going to top off the tires with air before I leave today, but I’m still worried that she could have some sort of meltdown tomorrow during the race – flat tire, busted chain, who knows? But I just bought a new water bottle cage for her so maybe she’ll be in good spirits tomorrow. (Wait, I know my bike doesn’t have feelings, right?)

Worry #3 – Getting there. Tonight I am staying at hotel a whopping 6 miles from where the race takes place. But, ya see, being a NYC gal I do not have a car. So this afternoon I am taking my bike on the train to my dad’s and he is driving me down to Princeton to check into to the hotel, to pick up my race packet, and to have dinner. Then I sleep in Princeton and he drives the hour back to his house. Then he drives back down to my hotel bright and early in the AM to get me to the race to set up my transitions at 6:30 AM. Oy. That’s a whole lot of hassle & logistics just to get me to a race! At least that means I have 1 spectator cheering me on!

Worry #4 – My Body. Major TMI warning with this one, so feel free to skip over it. I’ll make it quick either way. 6 words: It’s.My.Time.Of.The.Month. Because the heat and the swimming and the biking and the running weren’t enough…I’ve also got to feel bloated, cramp-y, lethargic and grumpy too! Yay!

Worry #5 – No Music Allowed! I found out just this week that ipods/music players are against USAT regulations. Which means my awesome new playlist goes unused AND I’m not going to be able to zone out with my tunes and tap into the energy boost it provides during the run. Since I didn’t know about this rule until a few days ago I haven’t trained without my ipod AT ALL for the run. I hope there are lots of spectators to fill my empty ears with cheering. Maybe some of them will sing some Florence + The Machine to me? Please?

———

Yes. I’m anxious. But all of the things I’m anxious about are out of my control. I can’t focus too much energy on them. I’ve trained to the best of my ability, rested more this week so my body will be as fresh as possible, and have tried to prepare myself mentally. I’m going to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate between now and the race and that’s really all I can do.

I’m going to try to be as zen about the things outside of my control as possible. If my bike gets a flat…I’ll deal with it. If I have to walk for a little bit during the run because the heat is unbearable…so be it. I’m going to try to handle it without judgement — use my yoga state of mind. Like Jenga does.

Ok, so Jenga doesn’t really get the proper use of a yoga mat. But he still looks pretty blissed out, doesn’t he?

So that’s it. Tomorrow I’ll be racing. Send some supportive & cooling thoughts my way and I’ll update you all ASAP after the race.

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Posted in bike-ventures, cat antics, running

Tagged anxiety, races, triathlon

My First Triathlon – What to Bring?

Posted on July 21, 2011 by steff| 5 Comments

Tomorrow afternoon I will be lugging my bike and all my gear for the triathlon onto a NJ Transit train and heading across the river to the Garden State. But what gear to bring?

Jenga seems to think he should be the first things in my bag. Sorry, kitty. If ipods are against USAT regulations, I’m pretty sure cats are too.

I found that packing for the tri felt a bit like packing for a vacation but loaded with a bit more anxiety. I’m terrified of forgetting something!!

Besides the regular stuff for spending a night away from home (toothpaste, pajamas, etc.) here’s what I’ve got:

Fuel:

Pre-race breakfast is going to be a macro bar (since it served me well during my 10k in May), but I’m bringing a packet of peanut butter to slather on it to up it’s staying power.

I also have a larabar to eat during the bike leg of the race. I took eating while biking for a test drive during my last brick…and amazingly I can do it without tipping over!

The fruit/nut clusters are to snack on the evening before the race and the morning of the race during the wait time between arrival (6:30AM) and my wave of the swim (8AM). Don’t worry…I wont eat too much before getting in the water.

I’m also going to pick up some coconut water and/or powerade for before, during and after the race. It’s going to be HOT on Saturday!

Clothes & Transitions:

I’m beginning my race wearing a sports bra underneath my swimsuit, with my goggles and my official PURPLE triathlon swim cap that indicates what wave I am in for the swim. It’s pure luck that my wave is the purple wave…but I’m super psyched about it. Purple is my favvvvve!

At transition 1 I’ll have 2 towels waiting for me. One for my body and one for my feet. I’m going to dry off quickly and pull on my shorts over my swimsuit. I’m wearing a loose-ish & long-ish pair because I think they’ll be easier to pull on over wet legs.

I’ll also have my socks, running shoes, and a headband waiting for me to throw on at T-1. I’m not bothering with a shirt since I’ll still have my suit on.

Since I am wearing my running shoes for the bike leg, I don’t have any changing to do at T-2! Yay!

Questions:

Should I bring my Garmin? I wasn’t planning on it, but since I found out I cannot bring my ipod I’ve been thinking I might need some sort of distraction/toy with me.

Is there anything I’m forgetting? I still need to pick up some good waterproof sunscreen, but other than that can you think of anything else I need?

My bag is pretty full but I still have a little room…but not enough for a kitty!

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Posted in bike-ventures, cat antics, fitness, running

Tagged race, triathlon

Locavore July: Three Local Gems

Posted on July 20, 2011 by steff| Leave a comment

I could be doing a ton of ranting and raving, expressing my pre-triathlon anxiety right now…but I’ll save that for tomorrow and Friday. Let’s take a little break from that madness for a Locavore July update!

One of my favorite things about this challenge is how creative it forces me to be. Instead of the vast bounty of supermarket foods carted from all corners of the globe, my selections are limited to what is local and in season. Thus I’ve found it can be really easy to fall into a rut of eating the same thing every day. So I’ve been keeping my eyes open for unexpected local gems to light the spark of my culinary inspiration. And today I have 3 such gems to share.

1. Aduzki Beans!

I’ve been a big fan of the sweet-ish Japanese red beans for about 7 years, but I never would have imagined finding a local source for them! So when I came across a NY State farmer selling several kinds of dry beans, including adzukis, at the greenmarket I was thrilled.

They made wonderful protein source in this dinner of polenta, adzukis, and sauteed rainbow chard!

2. Mushrooms

Apparently there is only 1 commercial mushroom farm left in NY State…and of course they have a stand and the Union Square Greenmarket. Their wares had been tempting me for the past few weeks, and this week I decided to go for it. They had about 5 different varieties of shrooms for sale, including shitakes and portabellos but I went with the simple (and cheap) white buttons.

These bad boys made for a welcome way to spice up the many omelettes I’ve been eating this month.

3. Local Fish

The local fish vendor is always one of the most popular at the greenmarket…with a line snaking along the sidewalk behind the stand. And even though I’ve bought some amazing seafood from them in the past, I have not visited once during Locavore July, mostly because I haven’t had the money to spend on something fancy like fish.

So when Steve said he wanted to restock our fridge with some of the money he got on his birthday I jumped for joy knowing I would finally get my hands on some local seafood. My choice? Swordfish!

The big swordfish steak I got lasted me for 2 meals. The first half was prepared simply, grilled on a grill pan with some grilled squash and eggplant and roasted fingerling potatoes with rosemary. Mmmmm. It was, without a doubt, the best dinner so far of Locavore July. The second half of the fish was last nights dinner when pared with a eggplant, tomato, mozzarella tower.

With only 1 1/2 more weeks left in the challenge I think I am definitely going to pay a visit to the fish guy for one more amazing meal like this!

So there’s a little taste of the local gems I’ve come across in my month of eating local experiment. I’ll update you again next week…after triathlon madness subsides.

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Posted in locavore July

Tagged beans, eating locally, fish, locavore, veggies

Thoughts From Taper Week

Posted on July 18, 2011 by steff| 3 Comments

Greetings from pre-triathlon Taper Week! Not to be confused with Tapir Week…which would look very different.

(source)

Ok, ok. That was little bit corny. But I’m in pretty good spirits, if you couldn’t tell. Because Taper Week has officially begun!

Since I wasn’t following any pre-set training plan, I do not have a set taper plan. So basically I am just taking it easy this week, while maintaining the level I am at, so my legs will be fresh on race day.

Here’s my plan for the week:

Monday: light treadmill run (2 mi)
Tues: light swim (1000 yds) + light bike (8 mi)
Wed: off
Thurs: yoga class
Friday: off
Saturday: New Jersey State Triathlon – Sprint Distance!

Also on the docket for this week leading up to the tri:

get lots of sleep (hopefully)
eat high quality, nourishing food
create my triathlon playlist
plan out & pack up all the things I need for the tri (more on this later in the week)

Another thing…

As the race draws near I’ve been thinking about whether or not I want to set myself a time goal. I feel conflicted about setting a time goal, especially given the few hiccups in my training, but I also think I push myself more when I have a target set for myself. Here’s what I’ve come up with…

My official goal is to just finish. When next Saturday evening rolls around and I say “I just completed a sprint triathlon” I will be one proud gal. Period.

Unofficially, I do have time goals.

Swim (500 yds) – 15 minutes
Bike (11.5 miles) – 55 minutes
Run (3.1 miles) – 35 minutes

I truly have no idea how long I’ll take in my transitions, but 15 minutes sounds reasonable, especially since I am not changing shoes between biking in running. So if that all works out…

I would looooove to finish the entire race in under 2 hours.

But there are so many unexpected twists and turns that could throw a wrench in that plan come race day.

Are the transitions going to take much longer than I thought?
Is the hectic-ness of the open water swim going to mess up my time?
Is my bike going to get a flat tire?

So I honestly don’t know if my goal time is even possible…and I’m not going to beat myself up if it doesn’t happen.

I’m just gonna go out there and rock that race as best as I can.

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Posted in bike-ventures, fitness, running

Tagged taper, training, triathlon

A Locavore Celebration and A Successful Brick!!

Posted on July 15, 2011 by steff| Leave a comment

This Wednesday was my beloved boyfriend Steve’s birthday (big 28!). He decided that this year he just wanted a low key celebration at home, so naturally I offered to cook him dinner. I haven’t been cooking for him at all this month because I feel bad subjecting him to the stringent limits of Locavore July…but I promised him his birthday dinner would be a good one.

We began, of course, with some local wine. Pinot Noir is Steve’s all-time fave (it’s also my non-summer fave), so when I saw this bottle at the farmer’s market last weekend I had to give it a try. And by try I mean taste. Yes. Wine tasting at the famer’s market at 10AM.

The taste was fantastic and it’s from a Finger Lakes vineyard not far from by beloved Ithaca. Win and win.

For dinner I just tried to stick with things I knew Steve would enjoy…aka meat and potatoes. And kale. Yes, it’s true. My mister has fallen in love with kale in the past year. I couldn’t be happier.

So here’s what I came up with:

Free range, organic chicken breast, poached in parchment then browned in a pan, stuffed with mozzarella and tomato.
Kale sauteed with butter, onions and garlic.
Roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary and sunflower seed oil.

The chicken was from Pennsylvania, the tomato from NJ, and everything else from right here in NY. I think the birthday boy and I agreed that it made a pretty fabulous locavore feast.

——

Now for part 2…I FINALLY HAD A REALLY SUCCESSFUL BRICK WORKOUT!! And it was my last one before the tri!

My last long brick of training was supposed to be last weekend…but that didn’t work out so well. So I decided to give it one more go yesterday morning in an attempt to get a nearly full length brick under my belt before the race a week from tomorrow!

And I’m super proud to report than I managed 11 miles on the bike and 3 miles running at race pace (actually a smidgen faster!). Just add a 1/2 mile to the biking, 1/10 of a mile to the run, oh and a 500 yd swim to start it all off and there we have my sprint tri. I really feel like I am actually going to be able to do this thing!

And look, my road rash is healing up quite nicely!

Steve’s been calling it my dinosaur skin. Gross.

So with a mere 8 days before the tri, I am feeling much more confident and excited about the race. Be expecting to see a few more posts about how I am preparing for it in the next week!

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Posted in bike-ventures, fitness, locavore July, running

Tagged celebration, locavore, triathlon

My Seven Links

Locavore July Project – Mission Accomplished!

Locavore July: Meet the Local Meat

Triathlon Recap Part 2 – The Race

Triathlon Recap Part 1 – Pre Race Prep!

Pre Triathlon Anxiety

My First Triathlon – What to Bring?

Locavore July: Three Local Gems

Thoughts From Taper Week

A Locavore Celebration and A Successful Brick!!

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