Oceanside 70.3 Spectating

What a weekend! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend. It started off Thursday with my actual birthday, which per my request was a mellow day. I needed that because on either end of the week it was chaotic! For b-day dinner we went to a fancy-shmancy place and I made everyone try bone marrow:

Starting Friday, I made my way down to O'side to work at the expo at the Bonk Breaker booth... one of their reps goes to my gym and offered me the gig. I love the bars and was stoked to do it. Even though I wasn't racing this year, I still had to geek out on this race and the expo was a good excuse to spend the day down there mingling with triathletes... and eating lotsa bites of Bonk Breakers ;) Did you know they have like 9-10 different kinds that are all delish? All GF, dairy-free, soy-free, all have flaxseed and some even have chia seed now! Quality!

It was a fun day. We had carpooled down with pro, Chris Kemp, and on our lunch break I saw the typical scenario: skinny guy motoring down multiple plates of food. Awesome.

Before I knew it, it was 4 AM Saturday and my alarm was going off. Ouch. Back in the car and in O'side again by 5ish. It was cold. Maybe it's because I wasn't racing so I didn't have to suck it up and be tough, but it seemed like it was colder than it's been there in the past 4 years. I had race envy up until the swim start ;)

Then I went into ultimate spectator/sherpa mode... with multiple athletes racing and a stellar pro race to watch, let's just say I never got around the run I had planned nor the break for breakfast! It was just go go go!!! Well worth it, I saw everyone I wanted to see out on the course and tried to get in the best spots possible for the pro race in particular.

Some photos of 1st & 2nd males and females: Andy Potts, Mel McQuiad, Heather Jackson, Richie Cunningham:

By the time I got home whenever on Saturday I was tired but very wound up and it was a weird rest of the day. I actually ended up cleaning my house because Sunday we were hosting a big party all afternoon/evening... housewarming/birthday fun. Nothing says "cool" like scrubbing floors and cleaning toilets on a Saturday night ;)

I was a little afraid that I'd be dead for the party given the previous few days, but I'm an endurance athlete and I just saw this as a big endurance challenge. Good times with a lot of good friends and family. I felt the love.

But by Monday I wasn't feeling the love... my body was wrecked and I'd had one too many drinks on Sunday which didn't help. Lucho told me I have to learn how to train with a hangover. Yea, no thanks. I'll stick to my occasional glass of vino.

New Website, O'side Weekend, Pics

I can't believe I'm not racing Oceanside this year. It's a good thing for sure, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a bit jealous of everyone in taper mode in anticipation of Saturday. I'm excited, though, to be on the other end of things this year -- working at the expo on Friday (Bonk Breaker booth, come say hi if you're around), and cheering for everyone on Saturday, including three of my athletes! Woop woop!

In other news, my NEW website is pretty much up & running. We haven't "officially" announced its launch yet, but it's there for all to see. Check it out at www.coachtawnee.com. Let me know your thoughts! Like I said, there are still a few tweaks to be made (i.e. enhancing the gallery page), but the "meat" of the site is there.

I have to say, Sarah has been incredible at designing the Coach Tawnee site by combining everything I do and everything I wanted in a site in a way that makes sense. I especially encourage all of you to sign up to be a member to the site (totally free, no gimmicks), so that way you'll receive notifications of my new newsletter--which will cover a bunch of cool topics in health, fitness, sport, nutrition and more--as well as other exclusive stuff that will be coming in the future.

Other than that, all I can say is life is busy. I love it. Never a dull moment. Been on the bike a lot (planning another epic MTB race), and I'm even back to running a bit!

Rather than more words, I'll leave you with some pics that sum up a little of what's goin on in my world...

Making sure to take time for sunset R&R every now and then...

Good eats (stoked on organic, grass-fed beef these days)...

Doin work...

Some fun work...

Lots of hills on the bike that lead to things like this...

New place...

MTB Race

It's about time for an update on life and training, part 1 haha. There have been a lot of highs and some lows lately. First and foremost, I raced! On my mountain bike! It was awesome!

The race was a 9+mile all uphill time trial with a few thousand+ feet of climbing. Hello pain cave. I'd post the garmin course profile, but it's not that exciting--just one big ass uphill. Apparently not too many people were chompin at the bit to do this. Only nine girls (including myself and my mom) showed up, most were pro, and probably 60-something dudes. I was out of my element to say the least but I didn't give a crap, this was about fun and trying something new. Thankfully I saw some friendly faces there!

Racing MTB is so different, for example, taking in nutrition is tough because, personally, I don't like taking either hand off the handlebars at any time when riding at such an extreme intensity in sketchy terrain. So I carried a camelback, which apparently isn't "cool" but it worked for me. In there I was using Skratch Labs drink mix, which was perfect-o and easy on my tummy with all that jostling around. (Try this stuff if you haven't!)

My goal was to go sub-1:30 based off a slower time I did in a practice ride. End result was a 1:29. Cuttin it close! A lot slower than the pro ladies, but it was right on target to my goal. I'll go faster next time.

As a side note, a few people asked me why I'd pay $60 something to do this race on a trail that I can ride on for free any other day of the week. Well here ya go: Besides just having the urge to jump into a race, I like supporting the smaller races and usually these ones are where you get treated very well. For example, with entry we got a $20 gift certificate to a bike shop (can always use that!), and in the post-race awards/raffle event, I won a $100 gift certificate as well... in fact, I'd say almost half the people who showed up to awards won something.

I won something else too... a very unique award... only one person out of the whole race got this particular award and the trophy was embarrassingly huge, bigger than any other that was given out...

The Sportsmanship Award

I'm still not exactly sure why I got this award--guess I'm a "good sport" even when grimacing in pain? Regardless, it's a nice gesture and cool that a race would want to do something like this.

~~~

OK, that's it for now! Time to go hop on the elliptical. Yes, my friends, no running. It looks like I'm potentially dealing with a torn meniscus. What a blow to the season, at least the first half... but we're optimistic because there's a lot I still can do.

Healthy Shrimp Enchiladas Verde

I was craving enchiladas, which is funny because it's normally not something I eat. Specifically, I wanted shrimp enchiladas with verde sauce instead of red sauce, and surprisingly when I did a google search (including the word "healthy" of course) no recipes with those specifications came up. But enchiladas are relatively easy to make, so I gathered up info from various recipes (one in particular, but now I can't find it haha), and created my own healthy version:

Healthy Shrimp Enchiladas Verde

*Note: I used all organic ingredients (except sauce I think), which I highly recommend!

1 lb raw medium shrimp, peeled/deveined

1 large red bell pepper

1 large zucchini

4 large green onions (the ones with big bulbs)

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1 lime

~1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

~1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

salt & pepper (eyeballed)

10 corn tortillas -- splurge on quality/non-GMO/organic for best results

16 oz. green enchilada sauce, here's what I used: Frontera's

olive oil

optional: roasted pasilla chiles, avocado

Directions:

*Scroll down for pic-by-pic process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep a 11 x 7 Pyrex/baking dish with a light amount of olive oil.

Chop all your veggies and shrimp (each shrimp = 3 pieces). Heat pan with olive oil and saute red bell pepper and all the white parts of the onions and only ~1/2 of the green stems. After a minute, add the chopped zucchini. Saute for 4-5 minutes total then add shrimp and juice of 1 lime and saute for another minute only. Remove from heat and add Greek yogurt, seasonings and most of the cilantro (make sure it's coarsely chopped). Let all that sit for ~5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat another pan with or without a bit of olive oil and heat your tortillas. Pre-heating tortillas prevents them from breaking apart, but if you have quality corn tortillas (i.e. organic, non-GMO which should be a given) then they probably won't break apart anyways.

The next part works best if you have two people: spoon some of the shrimp/veggie mix onto each tortilla, wrap each tortilla and place them seam down on the baking dish. You should be able to fit ~10 tortillas total, and you might have leftover shrimp mix which I saved for another day :)

Once tortillas are all stuffed and in the baking dish then pour on the green enchilada sauce, spread the cheese on (use as little or as much as you want here), and top with the remainder of the chopped greens of the green onions.

Bake in oven for 25 minutes at 350.

Serve with extra fresh cilantro, avocado/guacamole and even a roasted pasilla chile for a little more spice!

Some notes:

*I was going to make homemade corn tortillas but ran out of time so I bought some from Whole Foods. I am not a fan of corn or corn products, but occasionally I like corn tortillas or tortilla chips and I will always look for an organic/non-GMO brand because anything else quite frankly scares me. I also read that the crappier the tortilla is in terms of the corn used, the more likely it is to break apart, which makes sense why so many corn tortillas always break because they're probably from cheap GMO corn. Yuck.

*Be careful with the enchilada sauce you choose. For one, try to avoid canned kinds. There are health risks associated with tomatoes sitting in cans, not to mention you're more likely to have crap ingredients in canned products (i.e. high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, gluten, preservatives). I would have like to have made my own, but no time. Frontera's was delicious and a very decent ingredient list! Only 10 calories for 2 Tbsp too!

*I bought some pasilla chiles at the farmer's market and wanted to put them in the mix, but I had never had them plain and wanted to get a taste for them on their own, so I served them on the side. Next time I'll definitely put them IN the enchiladas because they have a great, no too intense spice that was delicious. I covered mine in olive oil and roasted them in the oven for ~20 on low heat.

*These make excellent leftovers!

Pictures of the enchiladas in the making:

Best Homemade Hummus Recipe Ever

I don't know why I didn't start making my own hummus sooner. I can make five times as much for a fraction of the price of what you'd pay in stores. Plus I don't get any weird additives/preservatives that are icky. It's a no brainer.

This hummus recipe is one I found in a [health] magazine during the holidays and we've been loving it ever since. I slightly modified it based on the ingredients I have (namely more almond butter, less tahini). I'm a pumpkin addict, and I love hummus so this is a match made in heaven.

You have to try it. You're seriously missing out if you don't.

Pumpkin Orange Hummus with Cranberries

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (organic preferably)

1 15 oz. can organic pureed pumpkin

1/4 c fresh squeezed orange juice

2 tsp fresh orange zest

1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs. tahini (or one of those individual packets, which is what I used)

1.5 Tbs. almond butter (2 T. is ok too)*

1 Tbs. seasame seeds*

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 c dried cranberries OR 1 tsp sweetener of choice

Directions: Put all ingredients in a food processor EXCEPT cranberries (important). It's best to throw in garbanzo beans and pumpkin first then add the rest. Blend until smooth, scraping sides of food processor periodically. Then gently fold in cranberries and serve or just eat it straight up ;)

*You can use 3 Tbs. of tahini and no almond butter/sesame seeds as well (what the original recipe called for). I didn't have a jar of tahini so got creative with what I had.

Note: I noticed it really starts to taste the best the second or third day once the juices of the cranberries have soaked into the hummus. This most recent time, I omitted cranberries and tried a bit of sweetener and it's very delicious that way too--with a little less sugar.

PS - I'd love to give the magazine credit for the recipe, but I cut it out and don't know. So guess it's my creation now?! ;)

Do you have any awesome hummus recipes to share?

I'm in Love...

...with mountain biking!

Wednesday we conquered the climb up Saddleback Mountain after our failed attempt last Friday. I'm not going to lie, those wind conditions were so gnarly that it left me a tad nervous going into Wednesday's ride. Would I be able to make it to the top without blowing? Well lucky for us there was no (or, at least, very little) wind, and that made a world of a difference. We got in a 2-mile WU ride then hit the trail.

For the next 9 miles it was all uphill climbing, ~3,250 feet ascent, according to the garmin, with only two mini breaks of "downhill" that totaled 160ft of decent over those 9mi. I've never done anything like that in my life. And let me say, I loved every second!

A simple yet beastly ride profile:

Reality of that peak from the car drive there:

Without wind the climb was a gagillion times easier. I mean, it wasn't easy, but it was doable, and enjoyable not scary... not to mention I didn't fall off the bike this time :) It took a whopping 95 minutes to complete the 9-mile climb, and that was at a relatively easy, comfortable pace because for me it was such an "unknown" of what to expect from body and the trail. Now I know. Next time I'll go harder.

Pictures from the top. In the first pic you can just barely see Catalina in the horizon, then mom & me, and in the third pic I believe that's Mt. Baldy where Tour de California goes...

It wasn't just the tough climb that made me fall in love with mountain biking more than ever yesterday... it was the solitude/quietness of the trail, the intense concentration I felt, the lack of ANYONE else around except my mom (who was behind me after the first few miles, so I felt alone for most the ride), the lack or cars and traffic, and the beautiful surroundings. After taking in the sights from the top it was hammer time: a 40+minute decent (a fabulous reward). And gotta give my mom props -- I beat her on the uphill, but she kicked my booty on the decent! She's just got so much more experience and confidence with downhill riding. I'll get there.

Don't get me wrong, I love where I live (see below pic), I love road riding, love being on my tri bike and love the great riding partners I have, but I hate the traffic. So, I think MTB has found a permanent place in my routine again.... it's been a while since I've done it consistently (like years) and now I don't know why I stopped. It's so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of a highly populated area that's full of red lights and bad drivers.

A New PR

I finally caught the "Sh*t Triathletes Say" videos one night this past week. I like Melanie McQuiad's the best. Funny chick. Yesterday I was cracking up because at one point in my ride I said to myself, "This is a new PR for me!"

The PR? Sustaining a 2-3 mph average on the bike for an extended period of time. Ha! Sounds pretty bad right? Well that's what happens when you try and climb Saddleback Mountain in OC for the first time in your life on a mountain bike and the winds are so bad that you're getting thrown off your bike.

It was a blast.

Sucks that we had to turn around so soon into the ride, but we'll be back soon again to get up that 9-mile route of relentless climbing. Good times!

An "Epic" New Year's Weekend?

I make a point to appreciate where I live every day. I'll walk across the the street to the beach for a quick chill-out session to take in the fresh air and sights even if for just 10-15 minutes, and I'll also head over to catch some breathtaking sunsets. January has been exceptional...

So far that's been the theme of 2012: In a life that's always go-go-go busy-busy-busy, I make sure to 1) appreciate the small things, and 2) take breaks and rest when necessary. I got a good dose of #2 in particular on NYE weekend....

In the past I've been known to do an epic workout on January 1 (well, after my SDSU days that is). This year I had the same thing planned. The BF and I took a last-minute NYE trip to Paso Robles for some bike riding, wine tasting, fine dining and relaxing. I had visions of this perfect weekend in mind... so you can only imagine what really happened: That perfect weekend didn't happen! No, the BF and I didn't break up or anything extreme like that. And no I didn't get too drunk off wine and make a fool of myself.

Instead, my body decided it had had enough exercise in the past 2.5 weeks and decided to shut down. It was crazy. I've only reached that point of "breakdown" a few times. It's during these "lows" where the best lessons are learned (I'll get to that soon). As an aside, in this recent episode, the breakdown was not a result of chronically overtraining. Nor was it a result of too much too soon. I've been gradually building bike/run mileage even before I started with my coach, and lately we've been seeing how much I can do. I'd been going strong, loving each session, and the miles just kept getting easier to lay down.

On Thursday before NYE weekend the signs surfaced that rest was necessary. I finished my run that morning feeling abnormally tired, depleted and drained despite good nutrition, etc. I bagged my workout the next day in hopes for a rebound over the weekend. So Saturday, in Paso, we headed out on a long route that I'd mapped out prior. Body. Didn't. Respond. It's like my body just said, "F you, head back home and chill out." I fought the urge with my "epic" weekend in mind thinking I'd be able to break through that feeling, but it wasn't happening. I was sad. There may have even been a tear or two. Poor BF, right? But how often do we get to ride on uninterrupted roads in beautiful wine country?! Never!

The breaking point on the ride was when I was not able to climb a hill that otherwise would have been cakewalk on any other day. I decided it was time to cut it short and head home. The total ride was a fraction of what I'd planned and I was pretty emotional about the situation. But what are you going to do?

After a very mellow NYE celebration (what I would have preferred regardless of my situation) on January 1 there was the opportunity to yet again ride some epic routes. But I knew better and took a rest day. Although upsetting at the time, in a way I was happy with my start to 2012. I'm a smarter athlete. I know to listen to my body, and when it really needs rest, I'll give it that rest. I didn't try to push through and still ride, which I know would have set me back further -- that's how chronic overtraining begins.

You might be saying, "Well wasn't it dumb to push yourself to the point of 'breaking down' in the first place?" I argue: No.

First off, it was an acute episode. The tiredness hit Thursday, I couldn't push further after that so I rested, and I was back to my normal self by Monday/Tuesday-ish.

Secondly, this is how good lessons are learned. It's important to find your limits in training, safely. How do you know what you're capable of doing unless you try? That said, I don't think it's smart to continually push the envelope and dig yourself into a state of extreme fatigue over and over and over, but I do think it's important to push your body, figure out your limits and then work with that for future training. Next time you'll probably be able to go further and smash old limits! This gets tricky, though, and you have to play it smart, aka rest is a vital component to the equation. In my case, for example, we still followed up my "dead weekend" with a recovery week. And, ya know what? I'm more than 100% back to normal now and training like I should be.

Anyways, that's my epic New Year's for ya :)

The good news is, I was still able to get in a little wine, a lot of delicious food, some epic sleep and quality time with the BF....

(First four pics from Thomas Hills Organics restaurant in Paso, a must!)

(Ahi salad and sweet potato fries -- fries were my comfort food after the epic fail bike ride -- at Pier 46 Seafood Market in Templeton, another must)

A stop at a cool winery
And a "joke" food... sort of (still tasty in my opinion)

Here's to a smart and safe year of training & racing!

XTERRA 15k ~ Last RR of 2011

One of my favorite races was yesterday... the XTERRA Crystal Cove 15k, part of their So Cal Series. This was my third time doing the race; although this year was an entirely new course. Thankfully I got the memo on that a couple months ago so I knew well what the new route entailed. It's hard to say if it's easier or harder than the past, but overall, I'd say the new route is harder. Just as much elevation gain (1500ft) in a shorter distance and crazier hills with grades that are so steep I have to walk -- which isn't the case on the old route -- and there are more technical parts like climbing pure rocks and navigating narrow single track. That said, mile 1 and the last 4ish miles on new route aren't so bad (tough but not death) so you can make up some lost time. For those familiar with the old route, mile 1 is NOT easy and part of the last miles have some big rollers to get over

My goal for yesterday's race was to do it in 1:20 +/- 2 minutes. Predicting time based on results from past years wasn't doable due to different courses/distances, not to mention it's hard to set specific goal times on a trail race because you can't really predict your mile splits as well. What I did know was my fastest hard training run on the new course was in 1:24. So, I assumed I could shave off a few minutes if I dug deep and let that HR average to be north of 170.

I also wanted to get an AG win because that's what I did the past two times I did this race. Had to keep that streak alive :)

So a quick recap on my race: It was a blast in that crazy sadistic pain sort of way. I was well warmed up and started off hard but not too hard, i.e. I would have liked to have stayed with the top ladies but there were some fast ones (including my girl Marta!) who's paces I could not match, and I had to race my race (can't fake fitness as someone wise once said hehe). I still stayed in the top-10 range and focused on controlling the controllables.

Most the elevation gain is in the first half of the race starting at mile 2. My body felt strong and well-prepared for the 9.5 hilly, rocky miles, but I was still huffin and puffin. Some of the hills were just killin' me and I hammered up with my best effort but I didn't have that extra gear to climb them as fast as I wanted. (Time to get very specific with hill training going into 2012, right Lucho?)

All that hill climbing climaxes at mile 4.5, when you hit The Elevator, aka "the wall." First you must go descend down a steep-ass section before going up. I'm pretty sure not a single person was able to run up The Elevator (I asked around after). It's pretty insane, a wall indeed. Oddly, that was my favorite part of the race. I knew what to expect and seeing everyone else suffering up the hill with me was fun. Even walking up it I think my HR was in the mid-high 160s.

After that the uphill grades are more manageable and I picked up the pace through the finish. At mile 5, after being around dudes the whole time, I finally caught and passed a couple girls. Nearing the finish and upon the final decent I saw that my goal time of 1:20 was close but I'd need to pick it up. My last 2+ miles were in the 6's (thank goodness for downhill lol) but it wasn't enough. Finished in 1:21 and change.

That finish was definite PR for me on the new route and in the race, and it got me 1st AG -- kept the streak alive. Sweet. I also got 8th female overall out of ?

Here's the course profile. Note that middle dip/incline, that's The Elevator.

So that does it for 2011. Ending the year with a fun, great, hard effort at my favorite local running race was definitely awesome. I got a lot done in '11, and I'm looking forward to even more in '12!

How about some pics...

Finishing...
Marta, Mom and Me -- all podiumed and PR'd! Marta even got an overall podium, girl has gotten fast :)
Bonus: The one and only ER came out to play and podiumed with me! She had a great race and is definitely making a stellar comeback into sport!
High five friend!
And of course my favorite sherpa was there. He's coming off his big 25-hour race car race from last weekend and wasn't up to racing again just yet... so instead he read "I'm Here to Win" while we were running and was on camera duty:)