Satisfy the Taste Buds and Keep Your Waistline

With the recent wintry weather, many have begun to crave “comfort” food: french fries, chili, baked potatoes, and other warm spicy foods that make us feel good inside. Most of these cravings, however, are belly busters that leave many struggling to get back into shape come spring time. Well, you can still feel good inside and meet these cravings without the caloric load. How? By creatively substituting healthier alternatives to satisfy those taste buds. Don’t ignore the taste buds. They are natural stress relievers when satisfied. Use the nutrient dense ideas suggested below to help satisfy those cravings, keep your waistline down, and boost the immune system you demand so much out of.


1. Tea. The tea scene is exploding with creative varieties that would leave grandmothers around the world in awe (Sorry Nana, “normal” tea is not black tea anymore). Drink tea to satisfy your cravings for intense flavor. Try new flavors throughout the week. Warning: This will become a healthy addiction. Watch the caffeine intake and try any of the red tea (Rooibos) variations. Red tea has all the well-known healthy benefits of green tea without the jolting caffeine. My favorite flavor? Anything with zing: chai variations, ginger peach, blueberry Rooibos, or relaxing peppermint with chamomile at night. If you like it sweet, use stevia or licorice root powder for a safe and natural zero-calorie sweetener.

Red tea has recently grown in popularity. Republic of Tea offers a wide selection of variations and is available at popular chain grocers. Besides having zero calories, your body will appreciate the ancient healthy remedies found in herbs.

2. Life French fries? Sauté asparagus in extra virgin olive oil adding sea salt and garlic powder in the last couple of minutes. Serve crispy, dip in ketchup and satisfy your starchy fry craving. Tip: sauté the asparagus a bit longer than usual (around 10 minutes), making sure to keep the heat on medium to prevent the olive oil from losing its flavor.

3. A dash of balsamic vinegar, a sprinkle of coriander on grilled veggies (like zucchini and squash), or throw some crunchy wheat flakes on top of grilled chicken (don’t tell your taste buds it’s not fried and they will never know the difference).

Be creative with your alternatives. If you have a favorite alteration that you would like to share, write in with your suggestion.

Notes on Form – In the Zone

At 5:30AM my planned recovery swim began. And if you are like me, recovery weeks can be the toughest weeks for training. If you’re a type “A” person who is used to pushing yourself to exhaustion and always “one upping” the other guy, recovery weeks are probably migraine inducing. Having to cut calories because there are less calories burned in the day, watching the heart rate to stay within the recovery zone can be more stressful sometimes than rigorous workouts.

My trick? Working on form. Instead of just running, biking, swimming lightly for 45 minutes or less, I break up the time into segments. Each segment has a drill that produces excellent form. Check out the last several posts on Friel’s blog (to the right) where he goes into depth about a plethora of excellent drills and practices.

Besides eventually producing faster times and improving your overall triathlon, form helps me stay in the zone. Today, for instance, I had to drag myself out of the pull to be at work on time. In a steady-state light intensity swim at the end of my workout, my improved form (from focusing on the swim the last couple months) put me in this Zen state of mind where I moved almost effortlessly through the water. Seven months ago this would have not been the case. The water and I did not get along and I struggled to put in a good swim workout. My arms and back did not work in sync and breathing (well that’s another story).

With the use –and focus- on drills, especially during these base period months, the body and mind seem to come to a closer understanding of how to work together to achieve better and faster times. One should never feel they are fighting with their body to either run, bike, or swim. Yes, you have to push yourself to finish strong, but the movements should –and could- feel natural.

Brad Kearns often refers to this Zen-like state of mine in his book, Breakthrough Triathlon Training. Check this book out if, like me, your life demands a lot out of you or if you want to keep both your training and your spouse.

Yoga for Triathletes

Today 45 minutes was blocked in my schedule for a light bike ride- recovery from an intense (not in intensity, but duration) weekend. Instead, however, I endulged in some yoga. For abut 50 minutes I practiced a vinyasa style yoga which moves quickly from one stage to another. This is meant to be smooth and force the body and mind to work together to hold poses and stretch out. I thought to myself afterward: How effective is this in my training?


In doing a bit of research, yoga seems to be extremely beneficial for the triathlete especially if he/she may be susceptible to injury. Yoga will increase core strength and flexibility, allowing your body to heal quicker and bounce back after an intense race.

Included in my yoga practice is a focus on my core: plank position for 1 minute, side plank for 1 minute (each side), plank using elbows then rotating one side up and down like you are pulling a cord on the ceiling and, in a circular motion, pulling it down. See some of the exercises I include here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/video?moreUrl=http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1243489102/bclid1497991481/bctid1368763974?src=rss



More on this later.

Using Excel for Annual Training Plan - Copy/Paste instead of wood/rubber and lead

Having –and following- an organized training plan is mandatory no matter what one’s triathlon or endurance goals are. I rarely watch TV (the idiot box ), yet, the other day during a lifting session at the gym, there were a couple Microsoft’s Excel commercials that caught my attention. One involved a girl budgeting out her father’s allowance for shoe purchases. Perhaps this could be a good program for planning on a triathlon program? I thought. I’ve been fooling around with it a little bit and it is still in the works. Adding in sum equations would help expedite SBR totals.

There is a planned section ( a lot of copy/paste) that distributes the annual and weekly hours from Friel’s Training Bible. Those hours are then distributed amongst SBR, yoga, and weights. I’ve put an emphasis on running this year, since it is my limiter; however, the longer endurance sessions take place on the bike (about 50%). The actual hours are on the right. It’s very tough to stop myself during a workout if I still feel good. Friel often mentions not to add in extra training hours unless in very small increments. This could and will shock the system into injury or lower the immune system. That’s why my long run last week stopped at 1hr 5mins even though I wanted to push it more. Luckily, I didn’t. My calves were and are still on fire! That’s where The Stick comes in.

Trust me on this. Having a plan in front of you, even if it is a sheet of paper that says you should run an hour today will help ensure you're working out and that what you are doing is beneficial in the long term. It helps ensure you are increasing your duration and intensity gradually and it makes sure you get your butt off the couch and work out.
Getting engaged and taking on an assistant swimming coach position have taken a large chunk of my time. In between though, training is back on and it feels great!

Your use of it may make your partner jealous - The Stick

THE STICK! Review

4/5 – Great massaging tool if you don’t mind shelling out the cash and don’t have a partner with strong fingers. Remember, your bike does not qualify as a legit partner (well, maybe it could)

http://www.thestick.com/
The stick is a popular massaging tool amongst runners and (apparently) Olympians. Good marketing? Yes. Does it work? Yes! My IT band and calves were screaming after a long run and even though the price for the The Stick is steep (around $50), it’s worth it. I paid $37 because of a sale.

Where to find it?

Usually The Stick is only at local running shops and not major sports store conglomerates (Dicks, Galyans, Finish Line). Use the site below to find (and support) local running stores:

http://www.runnersworld.com/store/search/1,,s6-240-417-0-0-0-0-0-0,00.html

Dos/Do Nots

• Do use it all over the body, not just on the legs. Press firmly when holding the stick with bold hands, massaging up and down on the calves, the IT band. It feels great on the neck where I seem to hold a lot of tension.
• Do use it frequently

Do not

• Push too hard. The Stick is durable pushing too hard may damage or bruise the muscle.
• Spend more time with the stick than your partner
• Do not be afraid to take The Stick with you on a first date

Below is another review on The Stick:

http://www.runcolo.com/Product-Reviews/The-Stick-Review.html