Do-Ni footwear is not only beautiful and vegan, but they donate all of their profits to non-profit organizations.
I just bought a pair of their shoes online and can't wait to try them out.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Buy These Shoes!
Choosing leather-free shoes is an ethical choice for both the environment and for animals.
Do-Ni footwear is not only beautiful and vegan, but they donate all of their profits to non-profit organizations.
I just bought a pair of their shoes online and can't wait to try them out.
Do-Ni footwear is not only beautiful and vegan, but they donate all of their profits to non-profit organizations.
I just bought a pair of their shoes online and can't wait to try them out.
Smoothies
In my quest to eat better, I've discovered smoothies.Since moving to LA, I've loved Jamba Juice smoothies. My favorite is the Mega Mango. I always felt somehow guilty, that they taste so good, and even if there is fruit in them, it can't be good for me! Surprisingly, the 16-ounce all-fruit and juice smoothies at Jamba Juice are 220 calories. And, if you add a scoop of vegan soy protein powder, it brings the grand total to 250 calories! Not bad?
I've started making my own smoothies at home. My recipe is 4 oz soy milk, 3 oz siklen tofu, 1 cup of berries or mangoes or any other fruit, and 1 tablespoon of crushed flax seeds which are full of omega-3's. I use frozen fruit for the smoothies, and put it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Then I pour all the ingredients into my blender and set to "Puree". The total calorie count on this creation is 200 calories, and provides me lots of energy for an early morning run.
In my three weeks of eating better, I've lost 6 pounds. This puts me at a healthy body mass index of 22.4. My running has also gotten faster. I would have never thought I could run 6 miles in under an hour, let alon the 56:14 time that I posted on the treadmill on Thursday.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
One Week of Eating Healthier
This is tonight's dinner: Two vegan chicken cutlets, brown rice, spinach sauteed with cannelini beans (and no oil... who needs oil when you have good spices?), and some sweet potato.
Working with a nutritionist has been an eye-opening experience. I've been on this meal plan for one week. I have eaten more veggies, more protein, less carbs, learned to not eat and eat and eat when sitting at home at night, and to just walk away from a tub of Laffy Taffy, one of my favorite candies in this whole world.
I've learned that I need to eat frequent meals, but not TOO frequent. My habit is to eat, and then nosh something an hour later, then something a half hour later... I need to limit my eating to about six times a day.
After one week, I have lost two pounds.
More meals to come....
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Diet Overhaul
I'm in the best shape of my life and the slimmest I've been as an adult. I'd consider myself a healthy weight.
But, my diet hasn't been great. I've just about given up cooking, so I've relied a lot on processed foods to microwave, along with the occasional big bowl of cereal for dinner with a pound of frozen mango.
To achieve my big goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, I not only need to fuel myself better, but need to slim down a bit to run faster. I don't need to lose a lot of weight, perhaps ten pounds. I would still be within a normal weight range for my height, just as I am now.
I have consulted with a nutritionist. She is the wife of a physician that I work with, is a PA and also has several fitness certifications, so she knows what she's talking about. Also, from talking to her previously, I knew that she would not be critical of a vegan diet.
I met with her, bringing along my food diary. She cringed at my "4 oz of coke", "6 french fries", "gyoza dumplings", "bag of mangoes", the high amount of carbs that I consume, and the lack of vegetables. She came up with a food plan that is higher in protein and lower in carbs.
Two days into the new eating plan, and things are going well. Here is tonight's dinner: 1 cup of whole-wheat pasta, 1/4 cup marinara sauce, and a tofu scramble with 4 oz tofu, 1 cup of carrots, and 1 cup of spinach, sauteed in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and turmeric.
What surprises me is that I'm not ridiculously hungry! During the day, I feel more full than I used to before this eating plan.
So far, I feel great, and I hope this eating plan helps get me to my goals.
But, my diet hasn't been great. I've just about given up cooking, so I've relied a lot on processed foods to microwave, along with the occasional big bowl of cereal for dinner with a pound of frozen mango.
To achieve my big goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, I not only need to fuel myself better, but need to slim down a bit to run faster. I don't need to lose a lot of weight, perhaps ten pounds. I would still be within a normal weight range for my height, just as I am now.
I have consulted with a nutritionist. She is the wife of a physician that I work with, is a PA and also has several fitness certifications, so she knows what she's talking about. Also, from talking to her previously, I knew that she would not be critical of a vegan diet.
I met with her, bringing along my food diary. She cringed at my "4 oz of coke", "6 french fries", "gyoza dumplings", "bag of mangoes", the high amount of carbs that I consume, and the lack of vegetables. She came up with a food plan that is higher in protein and lower in carbs.
Two days into the new eating plan, and things are going well. Here is tonight's dinner: 1 cup of whole-wheat pasta, 1/4 cup marinara sauce, and a tofu scramble with 4 oz tofu, 1 cup of carrots, and 1 cup of spinach, sauteed in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and turmeric.
What surprises me is that I'm not ridiculously hungry! During the day, I feel more full than I used to before this eating plan.
So far, I feel great, and I hope this eating plan helps get me to my goals.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Racing for Something More Important
Most races have some sort of cause that it benefits, and often I don't think much about that when I race.
Today's Eco-Fest 5K Run had a more important meaning.
Lawrence Fong is the LA Tri Club's membership director. Not only that, but he's a great friend and athlete, and one of the first friendly faces I encountered as a newcomer to Los Angeles and to the LA Tri Club.
On Wednesday evening, he had a brain bleed, and was found on the ground. He was immediately taken to the hospital, where he underwent emergent surgery to his brain to relieve the pressure. Since then, he is starting to recover and respond to commands, but he has a long recovery ahead of him.
One of Lawrence's passions is racing. He was planning to work as staff for the Eco-Fest 5K. All proceeds raised from this race go to Lawrence and his family.
It was a terrific race. Many club members, including Wayne Fong, Lawrence's 76 year-old father, raced. It was a cross-country course, up and down and zigzagging across a hill, and was pretty challenging.
I had a great race too -- I placed second in my age group and won a cowbell, some socks, sunscreen, a water bottle, and Clif Shot Blox.
For more information about Lawrence Fong and how you can help, click here.
Today's Eco-Fest 5K Run had a more important meaning.
Lawrence Fong is the LA Tri Club's membership director. Not only that, but he's a great friend and athlete, and one of the first friendly faces I encountered as a newcomer to Los Angeles and to the LA Tri Club.
On Wednesday evening, he had a brain bleed, and was found on the ground. He was immediately taken to the hospital, where he underwent emergent surgery to his brain to relieve the pressure. Since then, he is starting to recover and respond to commands, but he has a long recovery ahead of him.
One of Lawrence's passions is racing. He was planning to work as staff for the Eco-Fest 5K. All proceeds raised from this race go to Lawrence and his family.
It was a terrific race. Many club members, including Wayne Fong, Lawrence's 76 year-old father, raced. It was a cross-country course, up and down and zigzagging across a hill, and was pretty challenging.
I had a great race too -- I placed second in my age group and won a cowbell, some socks, sunscreen, a water bottle, and Clif Shot Blox.
For more information about Lawrence Fong and how you can help, click here.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Soma Half Ironman -- last race of the season
I really don't understand what would possess anyone to live in a desert like Arizona. Or somewhere with snow. Or rain all the time. Perhaps I've simply become a weather brat now that I've lived in Southern California for a year and a half.
Nonetheless, this past weekend I raced Soma Half Ironman, in Tempe, Arizona. My goal was to beat 6 hours and 30 minutes. My previous half ironman time, Vineman 70.3, was 6:48, and with my new fabulous Cervelo P2C bike and a flat course, I thought I had that in the bag. The swim wouldn't have to be spectacular, and the run, since I found out it would be a high of 93 degrees, would be something that I would simply trudge through at a consistent pace so that I wouldn't become a wilted prune.
The swim was in Tempe Town Lake. It's pretty nasty. Other than for triathlon races, they do not allow people to swim here. It was chlorinated and shocked for our benefit. Fortunately I didn't know about the dead bird that was seen in the lake on race day until I'd finished the race.
The swim start was a crowded mess as usual. Lots of limbs. Someone behind me trying unsuccessfully and annoyingly trying to swim up my back. A girl next to me who even as I moved away from her kept following way too closely to my right hand side. It was all a bit too much, and I hyperventilated after just a minute into the course. But I switched to breaststroke for about thirty seconds, got the breathing under control, and trudged on through the zero-visibility water.
I was completely baffled by a woman whom I shall refer to as Backstroke Girl. I kept seeing her to my left. She was doing the entire swim with the backstroke. She'd zigzag with her bizarre backstroke, going way off course, bumping into me a few times, and then would stop dead in her tracks, vertical in the water, look up, look two ways, and go back to her silly backstroke. And what really made me mad -- I couldn't pass her! How could this woman, swimming backstroke, be at the same pace or faster than me doing my race day freestyle stroke? I was hoping to figure out who Backstroke Girl was, and why anyone in their right mind would backstroke through an entire 1.2 mile leg of a half ironman.
Finally, we get to the end of the swim, which is good because I hate swimming. Especially at the end of the season. There were stairs out of the lake and people lifting us out of the water and onto the stairs. And, for the first time, I encountered the concept of the "Wetsuit Stripper".
A wetsuit stripper pulls your wetsuit off of you. It's pretty cool. I watched the pros do it -- you unzip the wetsuit, pull it to your waist, then drop to the ground and lie down while two or three people pull the wetsuit off. I decided to try it, hoping that I wouldn't be the aberrant person whose tri shorts would be pulled off with the wetsuit. It was very efficient, and afterward I got off the ground, wetsuit in hand, still fortunately wearing my tri shorts, and dashed to the transition area.
Bike shoes on (fortunately the wetsuit was off, because I have this bad habit of trying to put the bike shoes on before the wetsuit comes off), helmet on, glasses on, race belt on, bike off rack and .... oh wait am I forgetting anything? No really, am I? After a brief hesitation, off I go.
The bike course was relatively flat, but had this bizarre configuration of multiple 180-degree turns, with a lot of speed up and then suddenly slow down to make a sudden turn. On one of those turns I had a very close call where I nearly launched myself off my bike. We had to do three loops on this course. Nonetheless, this was my chance to see how fast my sexy new Cervelo P2C would move. Apparently it moves significantly faster than my previous bike did, but some of your grandmothers can still probably whoop my arse on the bike.
I amuse myself in my own way along the bike course. I met a terrific club member named Teresa (I hope that is your name... hard to hear on the bike sometimes!). We kept passing each other and I think she overtook me once and for all in the second lap. We both have coaches with Triathletix, and I suggested that once we get back to LA that we ride together since after all we're about the same pace. When passing people who had their bibs on with their names, I'd say "Way to go, Jared!" or whatever their names were. It got me some strange looks and some laughs. In the stagnant traffic next to the course, I found a guy in a really neat looking convertible. I complimented his car, then he suggested that we race, but clearly as he was stuck in traffic I won. At the next (argh!) 180 degree turnaround, I saw him again and waved as he waved back.
And finally, I encountered the Sportswoman of the Year. She approached me to pass, as most cyclists with any speed do, and yelled, "On your left, ON YOUR LEFT ON YOUR LEFT!" It was all quite obnoxious since I had gotten over quite far enough for her to pass. I looked at her as she passed and said, "I heard you!" to which she replied, "You're lying!" As some choice words were about to fly out my mouth I reminded myself that I'm here to have a good time and not to worry myself with such nastiness.
Throughout the bike ride, I drank. A lot. Even Gatorade, which I think tastes nasty, because I knew I would need all the electrolytes for the run.
So with the bike behind me, and leaving my beautiful Cervelo behind in transition, I headed out to run. I knew there would be no heroes today on this run course, and as a Californian not accustomed to the desert that I was at a distinct disadvantage. While it is a flat two lap course around Tempe Town Lake, it is also above ninety degrees, and I knew that I would have to keep a consistent, even slow, pace. I knew that if I could finish the run in under 2:30 that I would beat my goal time of 6:30. Coach Jamie's advice was to at each aid station drink one cup of water and dump another over my head. This served me well. I shuffled/ran the course conservatively, walking about 30 seconds at each aid station.
The run was interesting. I found a woman who I went to med school with... in Albany, New York. Go figure?! I cheered on some LA Tri Clubbers. I high-fived my buddy from Arizona, who looked a little too comfortable running through the desert. I high-fived two LA Tri Clubbers on the side of the course and nearly entered the finish chute one lap too early. As I started the second lap, some woman yelled, "Great job! You're almost done!" I laughed at her. I had six more miles of hell to run through. But, I stayed consistent, keeping my heart rate of 160-170 and a pace of about 11:30 per mile.
The race advertises that it is the only course with a Slip-n-Slide at the finish. You can simply run through the finish line, or you can jump on the Slip-n-Slide and finish in style. I chose the Slip-n-Slide and jumped right on. Given my mid-to-back-of-the-pack status, the thing was half-deflated by now, and I landed square on my rear end and moved nowhere. The water pool at the end of the slide looked even nastier than Tempe Town Lake, so I chose to scoot to the end of the slide, and with my very small remaining amount of energy, climb off that slide and avoid the nasty liquid at the end.
All in all, a great, fun race that was very well organized. I finished in 6 hours and 26 minutes, achieving my goal of beating 6:30. A great way to end the season.
Nonetheless, this past weekend I raced Soma Half Ironman, in Tempe, Arizona. My goal was to beat 6 hours and 30 minutes. My previous half ironman time, Vineman 70.3, was 6:48, and with my new fabulous Cervelo P2C bike and a flat course, I thought I had that in the bag. The swim wouldn't have to be spectacular, and the run, since I found out it would be a high of 93 degrees, would be something that I would simply trudge through at a consistent pace so that I wouldn't become a wilted prune.
The swim was in Tempe Town Lake. It's pretty nasty. Other than for triathlon races, they do not allow people to swim here. It was chlorinated and shocked for our benefit. Fortunately I didn't know about the dead bird that was seen in the lake on race day until I'd finished the race.
The swim start was a crowded mess as usual. Lots of limbs. Someone behind me trying unsuccessfully and annoyingly trying to swim up my back. A girl next to me who even as I moved away from her kept following way too closely to my right hand side. It was all a bit too much, and I hyperventilated after just a minute into the course. But I switched to breaststroke for about thirty seconds, got the breathing under control, and trudged on through the zero-visibility water.
I was completely baffled by a woman whom I shall refer to as Backstroke Girl. I kept seeing her to my left. She was doing the entire swim with the backstroke. She'd zigzag with her bizarre backstroke, going way off course, bumping into me a few times, and then would stop dead in her tracks, vertical in the water, look up, look two ways, and go back to her silly backstroke. And what really made me mad -- I couldn't pass her! How could this woman, swimming backstroke, be at the same pace or faster than me doing my race day freestyle stroke? I was hoping to figure out who Backstroke Girl was, and why anyone in their right mind would backstroke through an entire 1.2 mile leg of a half ironman.
Finally, we get to the end of the swim, which is good because I hate swimming. Especially at the end of the season. There were stairs out of the lake and people lifting us out of the water and onto the stairs. And, for the first time, I encountered the concept of the "Wetsuit Stripper".
A wetsuit stripper pulls your wetsuit off of you. It's pretty cool. I watched the pros do it -- you unzip the wetsuit, pull it to your waist, then drop to the ground and lie down while two or three people pull the wetsuit off. I decided to try it, hoping that I wouldn't be the aberrant person whose tri shorts would be pulled off with the wetsuit. It was very efficient, and afterward I got off the ground, wetsuit in hand, still fortunately wearing my tri shorts, and dashed to the transition area.
Bike shoes on (fortunately the wetsuit was off, because I have this bad habit of trying to put the bike shoes on before the wetsuit comes off), helmet on, glasses on, race belt on, bike off rack and .... oh wait am I forgetting anything? No really, am I? After a brief hesitation, off I go.
The bike course was relatively flat, but had this bizarre configuration of multiple 180-degree turns, with a lot of speed up and then suddenly slow down to make a sudden turn. On one of those turns I had a very close call where I nearly launched myself off my bike. We had to do three loops on this course. Nonetheless, this was my chance to see how fast my sexy new Cervelo P2C would move. Apparently it moves significantly faster than my previous bike did, but some of your grandmothers can still probably whoop my arse on the bike.
I amuse myself in my own way along the bike course. I met a terrific club member named Teresa (I hope that is your name... hard to hear on the bike sometimes!). We kept passing each other and I think she overtook me once and for all in the second lap. We both have coaches with Triathletix, and I suggested that once we get back to LA that we ride together since after all we're about the same pace. When passing people who had their bibs on with their names, I'd say "Way to go, Jared!" or whatever their names were. It got me some strange looks and some laughs. In the stagnant traffic next to the course, I found a guy in a really neat looking convertible. I complimented his car, then he suggested that we race, but clearly as he was stuck in traffic I won. At the next (argh!) 180 degree turnaround, I saw him again and waved as he waved back.
And finally, I encountered the Sportswoman of the Year. She approached me to pass, as most cyclists with any speed do, and yelled, "On your left, ON YOUR LEFT ON YOUR LEFT!" It was all quite obnoxious since I had gotten over quite far enough for her to pass. I looked at her as she passed and said, "I heard you!" to which she replied, "You're lying!" As some choice words were about to fly out my mouth I reminded myself that I'm here to have a good time and not to worry myself with such nastiness.
Throughout the bike ride, I drank. A lot. Even Gatorade, which I think tastes nasty, because I knew I would need all the electrolytes for the run.
So with the bike behind me, and leaving my beautiful Cervelo behind in transition, I headed out to run. I knew there would be no heroes today on this run course, and as a Californian not accustomed to the desert that I was at a distinct disadvantage. While it is a flat two lap course around Tempe Town Lake, it is also above ninety degrees, and I knew that I would have to keep a consistent, even slow, pace. I knew that if I could finish the run in under 2:30 that I would beat my goal time of 6:30. Coach Jamie's advice was to at each aid station drink one cup of water and dump another over my head. This served me well. I shuffled/ran the course conservatively, walking about 30 seconds at each aid station.
The run was interesting. I found a woman who I went to med school with... in Albany, New York. Go figure?! I cheered on some LA Tri Clubbers. I high-fived my buddy from Arizona, who looked a little too comfortable running through the desert. I high-fived two LA Tri Clubbers on the side of the course and nearly entered the finish chute one lap too early. As I started the second lap, some woman yelled, "Great job! You're almost done!" I laughed at her. I had six more miles of hell to run through. But, I stayed consistent, keeping my heart rate of 160-170 and a pace of about 11:30 per mile.
The race advertises that it is the only course with a Slip-n-Slide at the finish. You can simply run through the finish line, or you can jump on the Slip-n-Slide and finish in style. I chose the Slip-n-Slide and jumped right on. Given my mid-to-back-of-the-pack status, the thing was half-deflated by now, and I landed square on my rear end and moved nowhere. The water pool at the end of the slide looked even nastier than Tempe Town Lake, so I chose to scoot to the end of the slide, and with my very small remaining amount of energy, climb off that slide and avoid the nasty liquid at the end.
All in all, a great, fun race that was very well organized. I finished in 6 hours and 26 minutes, achieving my goal of beating 6:30. A great way to end the season.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Food is Love
When our loved ones are ill, we want to comfort them. Food is often the way we try to heal others.
But, it is often this food that is killing them.
I find congestive heart failure patients whose families bring them soup. Soup is loaded with sodium and as a result worsens heart failure. Diabetics have sugary fruit juices on their bedside tables. And patients who just had heart attacks have fattening pastries.
One of the worst foods that I've found in patients' rooms is a Middle Eastern yogurt drink. I forget the brand name. A small twelve-ounce bottle contains 220 calories, 20 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, and 1200 mg of sodium. In one of those patients' rooms, I left a note for the family: "Please bring this drink home. It is bad for his heart and he should not drink it. Yours Truly, Dr. Shenkman"
I talk to my patients about nutrition. When they are in the hospital, I will often request a dietitian consultation. But it is often very difficult to overcome the cultural belief that comfort foods will heal when in fact they can harm the patient.
Image from www.isrealli.org
Running Progress
On Sunday, I ran the GLA-ALA Justice Jog 5K in 26:03. This is a personal best by over two minutes for a 5K distance and I placed first in my age division.
I'm getting faster!
I'm getting faster!
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Destination: Boston 2010
I want to run the Boston Marathon. And I don't just want to run it -- I could get a charity spot to raise funds and go that way. I want to qualify for the 2010 Boston Marathon.
I've got a long way to go. My fastest marathon time is 4:57 one year ago, but I have gotten significantly faster as a runner since then. I have to be able to run a marathon in 3:40 in order to qualify.
I talked this over with my coach. Given that it's a year and a half away, I have time. It's going to be a lot of training, speed work, and tempo runs. But I'm also going to have to drop a couple of pounds, maybe ten or so. It's not that I have some sort of body image problem, but in order to be able to run the speed that I would need to run, I need to weigh less.
I lived in Boston for a year. It was an amazing year, a transition time in my life. I absolutely love the city. I miss running on the Charles and living just blocks from the Boston Common, the Theater District, great restaurants and nightlife, and many different T stations that would take me just about anywhere I want to go in the city in just minutes.
I had a charity spot to run the marathon back in 2007, when I lived in Boston. Unfortunately, due to a nagging iliotibial band injury, I had to give up the spot. On that Marathon Monday, though, I went out to Coolidge Corner in Brookline, about Mile 22, and I cheered on lots of runners, runners who were struggling toward the finish line but still going strong. It was such a great atmosphere.
I've got a long way to go. My fastest marathon time is 4:57 one year ago, but I have gotten significantly faster as a runner since then. I have to be able to run a marathon in 3:40 in order to qualify.
I talked this over with my coach. Given that it's a year and a half away, I have time. It's going to be a lot of training, speed work, and tempo runs. But I'm also going to have to drop a couple of pounds, maybe ten or so. It's not that I have some sort of body image problem, but in order to be able to run the speed that I would need to run, I need to weigh less.
I lived in Boston for a year. It was an amazing year, a transition time in my life. I absolutely love the city. I miss running on the Charles and living just blocks from the Boston Common, the Theater District, great restaurants and nightlife, and many different T stations that would take me just about anywhere I want to go in the city in just minutes.
I had a charity spot to run the marathon back in 2007, when I lived in Boston. Unfortunately, due to a nagging iliotibial band injury, I had to give up the spot. On that Marathon Monday, though, I went out to Coolidge Corner in Brookline, about Mile 22, and I cheered on lots of runners, runners who were struggling toward the finish line but still going strong. It was such a great atmosphere.
So this is my big goal. With a coach to guide me, and with a lot of hard work, I think I can do it.
Photos from flickr.com and hulbei.net
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Great Workout at the Track
Tonight I did a track workout with the Los Feliz Flyers. For me, it was a great workout, showing that my splits are getting better even in this ridiculous heat and humidity. I feel fabulous -- another reason I participate in triathlons is that I have a bit of a competitive streak. Mostly competitive with myself, to see if I can do better and push myself harder. However, I will admit that I did gloat a little bit about beating JLo at Malibu by over 15 minutes.
I do have a new goal in mind. It's a bit of a long term goal for my running. I'm not ready to share it until I discuss with Coach Jamie and determine that I'm not completely out of my mind to think that I can achieve this goal. But, if I can achieve this goal.... then wow.... More later on that topic, maybe.
Image from workoutmommy.com
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Every so often I bake
The occasion was my brother's 30th birthday party. I made a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting.
Seriously, though, my lack of time in the kitchen has become quite sad. I used to love cooking. Now it just doesn't thrill me. I'm busy with work and tri training and when I get home, exhausted and hungry, all I want to do is eat something quick and easy. Honestly, it's not always something incredibly healthy. For example, microwaved frozen gyoza dumplings and microwaved soup-in-a-box make for a yummy dinner, are somewhat nutritious but a little generous with the sodium.
I've decided to order food from a delivery service. I am trying Vegin' Out. They deliver a week's worth of dinners. For a week's worth of food for a single person and delivery, the cost is $110. To me, that's well worth it if it cuts down my grocery shopping and time in the kitchen.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Malibu Classic Triathlon
0.5 mile swim, 18 mile bike, 4 mile run. Several celebrities, though I can't say I saw and identified a single one. Lots of cameras and paparazzi.
I have nothing exciting to tell about this race, other than that I just felt good doing it. The course was all familiar territory to me. I've ridden that bike course on every other Saturday since March, and I've swam and run at Zuma Beach a few times. So I felt like I had an advantage.
My next two races are Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon on October 18 and Soma Half Ironman on October 26. I could use a break from racing, but I know that over the next few weeks my training is really going to ramp up. I look forward to the challenge.
I have nothing exciting to tell about this race, other than that I just felt good doing it. The course was all familiar territory to me. I've ridden that bike course on every other Saturday since March, and I've swam and run at Zuma Beach a few times. So I felt like I had an advantage.
My next two races are Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon on October 18 and Soma Half Ironman on October 26. I could use a break from racing, but I know that over the next few weeks my training is really going to ramp up. I look forward to the challenge.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Los Angeles Triathlon
This was a tough one. I finished in 3 hours and 23 minutes. This is ten minutes faster than last year and on a tougher bike course.
Usually, I show up alone, and maybe see one or two people that I know on the course, and will cheer on anyone with an LA Tri Club jersey. This time, though, I got to race with a friend, which was nice. Not only that, now that I have lived in Los Angeles for over a year, I knew a few people who were racing and on the sidelines. Without those friendly faces, this would have been a much tougher race.
The swim was at Venice Beach. All 200 women doing the olympic distance course started at the same time. There were lots of limbs and elbows, especially at the first buoy. I seemed to drift to the outside on the swim, which maybe was good because that means I didn't have as many limbs to deal with.
Out of the water onto the bike. We rode from Venice Beach to Downtown LA. Venice Blvd to Fairfax to Wilshire to Highland to 6th Street to Alvarado (with a couple BIG hills) to Sunset (more hills!), turning around on Sunset just after Kaiser Permanente Hospital, and then into Downtown.
Then on to the run! I got my shoes on, stopped in the port-o-potty for about twenty seconds and headed for my 10K. The run was an out-and-back couse that we had to run twice. There was a HUGE hill, heading up toward the Disney Concert Hall. I couldn't run it, and even power-walking the hill my heart rate was 179! I saw my buddy near the top of the hill, which inspired me to run the last little portion of it. Then I ran down, which felt good, then headed for the turnaround to do it all over again.
I headed back up the hill for the second time, and was just absolutely beat! At the top, someone starts running toward me yelling my name -- it was Hans my spinning instructor! What on earth....? He started running with me! It was great to have his encouragement because I was tired out. I think I ran faster with him. Then we got to the water station, where there was no water. No water?!?! Luckily, Hans had an extra bottle of water which he handed to me. I was so incredibly grateful.
It was a tough race, and great to see that I've gotten faster over the past year.
Usually, I show up alone, and maybe see one or two people that I know on the course, and will cheer on anyone with an LA Tri Club jersey. This time, though, I got to race with a friend, which was nice. Not only that, now that I have lived in Los Angeles for over a year, I knew a few people who were racing and on the sidelines. Without those friendly faces, this would have been a much tougher race.
The swim was at Venice Beach. All 200 women doing the olympic distance course started at the same time. There were lots of limbs and elbows, especially at the first buoy. I seemed to drift to the outside on the swim, which maybe was good because that means I didn't have as many limbs to deal with.
Out of the water onto the bike. We rode from Venice Beach to Downtown LA. Venice Blvd to Fairfax to Wilshire to Highland to 6th Street to Alvarado (with a couple BIG hills) to Sunset (more hills!), turning around on Sunset just after Kaiser Permanente Hospital, and then into Downtown.
Then on to the run! I got my shoes on, stopped in the port-o-potty for about twenty seconds and headed for my 10K. The run was an out-and-back couse that we had to run twice. There was a HUGE hill, heading up toward the Disney Concert Hall. I couldn't run it, and even power-walking the hill my heart rate was 179! I saw my buddy near the top of the hill, which inspired me to run the last little portion of it. Then I ran down, which felt good, then headed for the turnaround to do it all over again.
I headed back up the hill for the second time, and was just absolutely beat! At the top, someone starts running toward me yelling my name -- it was Hans my spinning instructor! What on earth....? He started running with me! It was great to have his encouragement because I was tired out. I think I ran faster with him. Then we got to the water station, where there was no water. No water?!?! Luckily, Hans had an extra bottle of water which he handed to me. I was so incredibly grateful.
It was a tough race, and great to see that I've gotten faster over the past year.
Yes I Still Can Cook!
I used to cook a lot, and you can see that in my earlier blog posts. But, living alone, working more than full time, and training for triathlons, I'm just not inspired to cook nearly as often.Here's a simple creation: A teriyaki stir fry with broccoli, baby portobella mushrooms and Trader Joe's Chik'n Strips made from soy protein, on a bed of jasmine rice.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Hot Dogs and Cancer?
Eating processed meats significantly increases the risk of cancer. This is fact.
I was very excited to hear about The Cancer Project's new commercial, which dramatically makes the public aware of this link.
And I'm fascinated by the public outcry over it. It seems as if people don't want to hear the truth, as if it is heresy to let people know that a traditional American food causes harm.
Not only does processed meat, in the quantities that the average American consumes it, increase risk of cancers, it also increases the risk of obesity, raises cholesterol levels, raises blood pressure, and as a result increases the risk of coronary disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Yes it's alarming, but people need to hear this message loud and clear.
Watch the commercial here.
Image from hankblog.wordpress.com
Monday, August 18, 2008
I'm Racing Against J-Lo!!!!!
Jennifer "J-Lo" Lopez will be racing the Nautica Malibu Triathlon on September 14. While I am disgusted by her love of wearing fur, it is neat to see a celebrity drawing attention to our sport.Photo from justjared.com
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Hansen Dam Sprint Triathlon
After my foray this past year into olympic distances and a half ironman, I decided to take a step back and do a sprint triathlon.
The swim: 500 meters. Small inland lake. Water felt like bath water. Because of the temperature and the short distance, I chose to go without a wetsuit, a decision I do not regret. The start was crowded -- for some reason, all women 39 and under started at once, and the older women, 40-49 and 50+ each got their own waves to start in. I'm a little jealous, but I guess age should come with some privileges. I swam a bit off course and had to swim back around a buoy, maybe losing 10 seconds. My time out of the water was about 13 minutes.
Transition 1: I've been really focusing on getting my transitions better, trying to take a few extra steps out. I removed the strap on my sunglasses in advance. So, run to bike, put on bike shoes, put on bike helmet, put on sunglasses, wish good luck to guy I know in transition, and run out with bike. Bam bam bam.
The bike: 11 miles, relatively flat. Coach Jamie said go hard because it's a short race, don't save energy for the run. So I pushed myself. I passed a lot of people on mountain bikes and a few on road bikes. A lot of people passed me too. But hey, the bike is not my forte. There was one sharp turn where the woman next to me nearly took out my bike. My pace ended up being about 17-18 mph. For me, that's good.
Transition 2: Another area I've been working on. Before dismounting the bike, I un-velcroed my shoes and pulled my feet out. So once I dismounted, I could run faster with bare feet than with my clumsy bike shoes. Helmet off, right sock on, right shoe on, left sock on, left shoe on, and this time with thinner socks that are easier to pull on than my usual thick socks. Grab visor and run. But, boy did I have to pee! So I made a quick pit stop at the port-o-potty. It took me 20 seconds to do my business. As I dashed out, someone yelled to me, "Quickest transition port-o-potty stop ever!" Funny.
Run: The phrase that I always repeat to myself during the run is "Mind Over Matter". I really think the run on any triathlon is as much mental as it is physical. It's the point of the race where our bodies are tired from swimming and biking, and we have to find it in us to efficiently use all the energy that's left in us to finish those last few miles. The trail run was for the most part flat, though there were a couple of slight hills. At the end was a rather short, steep hill. My heart rate shot up to 194. Mind over matter, keep going. And I just pushed to the finish. Average run time: about 9:15/mile.
Overall time: 1 hour, 19 minutes.
Average heart rate: 164/min
These are my measurements. Official times have yet to be posted to the internet. But I'm really happy with how I did. Probably my best sprint tri ever.
The swim: 500 meters. Small inland lake. Water felt like bath water. Because of the temperature and the short distance, I chose to go without a wetsuit, a decision I do not regret. The start was crowded -- for some reason, all women 39 and under started at once, and the older women, 40-49 and 50+ each got their own waves to start in. I'm a little jealous, but I guess age should come with some privileges. I swam a bit off course and had to swim back around a buoy, maybe losing 10 seconds. My time out of the water was about 13 minutes.
Transition 1: I've been really focusing on getting my transitions better, trying to take a few extra steps out. I removed the strap on my sunglasses in advance. So, run to bike, put on bike shoes, put on bike helmet, put on sunglasses, wish good luck to guy I know in transition, and run out with bike. Bam bam bam.
The bike: 11 miles, relatively flat. Coach Jamie said go hard because it's a short race, don't save energy for the run. So I pushed myself. I passed a lot of people on mountain bikes and a few on road bikes. A lot of people passed me too. But hey, the bike is not my forte. There was one sharp turn where the woman next to me nearly took out my bike. My pace ended up being about 17-18 mph. For me, that's good.
Transition 2: Another area I've been working on. Before dismounting the bike, I un-velcroed my shoes and pulled my feet out. So once I dismounted, I could run faster with bare feet than with my clumsy bike shoes. Helmet off, right sock on, right shoe on, left sock on, left shoe on, and this time with thinner socks that are easier to pull on than my usual thick socks. Grab visor and run. But, boy did I have to pee! So I made a quick pit stop at the port-o-potty. It took me 20 seconds to do my business. As I dashed out, someone yelled to me, "Quickest transition port-o-potty stop ever!" Funny.
Run: The phrase that I always repeat to myself during the run is "Mind Over Matter". I really think the run on any triathlon is as much mental as it is physical. It's the point of the race where our bodies are tired from swimming and biking, and we have to find it in us to efficiently use all the energy that's left in us to finish those last few miles. The trail run was for the most part flat, though there were a couple of slight hills. At the end was a rather short, steep hill. My heart rate shot up to 194. Mind over matter, keep going. And I just pushed to the finish. Average run time: about 9:15/mile.
Overall time: 1 hour, 19 minutes.
Average heart rate: 164/min
These are my measurements. Official times have yet to be posted to the internet. But I'm really happy with how I did. Probably my best sprint tri ever.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Another Reason Why Meat is Unhealthy
The salmonella bacteria that infected crops of tomatoes was derived from contaminated meat. Somehow, this fact gets missed in the mainstream media cover of the salmonella outbreak that caused over forty thousand people to become ill.Photo courtesy of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, PCRM.com
Friday, July 25, 2008
Flip Turns
As a triathlete, I race in open water. However, I practice at the pool once a week. I proudly wear my LA Tri Club swim cap to proclaim to my master swim group that yes I swim slowly, but I run AND bike too!
Nonetheless, I've gotten the urge to learn to do a flip turn. My grab-the-wall-and-push-off technique is pretty well streamlined, but real swimmers do flip turns.
The way the flip turn should go is, flip over, push off with feet onto back, turn onto stomach, and swim.
Mine goes something like this:
One stroke to go before hitting wall. Look up and hesitate fearfully. Take deep breath.
Flip over. Realize, I'm flipped over, don't inhale.
Panic and inhale, getting water up nose.
Search for wall with feet.
Push off. Be surprised by random direction in which I am pushing off. Sometimes launching to bottom of pool. Other times diagonally toward oncoming swimmer.
Panic again with water up nose. Eventually hit surface. Cough.
Proceed with stroke.
I need a *lot* of practice with flip turns. For now, though, the grab-the-wall-and-push technique is working well enough.
Image from blogs.phillyburbs.com
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Zapped
I've never experienced anything like this.
Coach Jamie told me to take it easy this week to recover from Vineman 70.3.
Now, I've done marathons, and I'm sore for three days, but after that I'm up and roaring, back to my usual workouts.
Not this time.
I raced on Sunday for almost seven hours of swimming, biking, and running. Then, on Tuesday I went to my usualy bike/run workout. I got on the bike, and whoa, I definitely did not have my usual strength.
Then I thought I'd be fine by Wednesday, the day I do speed work at the track. Not so much. I was more tired and far slower than my typical speedwork pace. So instead of the usual workout, I mostly ran/walked around the track on my own.
I asked my coach how long -- he said to give myself a week and a half. I've taken today off completely from working out, and I'll swim tomorrow.
Maybe by then I'll be back to my usual self.
Coach Jamie told me to take it easy this week to recover from Vineman 70.3.
Now, I've done marathons, and I'm sore for three days, but after that I'm up and roaring, back to my usual workouts.
Not this time.
I raced on Sunday for almost seven hours of swimming, biking, and running. Then, on Tuesday I went to my usualy bike/run workout. I got on the bike, and whoa, I definitely did not have my usual strength.
Then I thought I'd be fine by Wednesday, the day I do speed work at the track. Not so much. I was more tired and far slower than my typical speedwork pace. So instead of the usual workout, I mostly ran/walked around the track on my own.
I asked my coach how long -- he said to give myself a week and a half. I've taken today off completely from working out, and I'll swim tomorrow.
Maybe by then I'll be back to my usual self.
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