SheROX Triathlon Update – One Week Away

Had my last brick workout before the triathlon and FINALLY found a working relationship with the road bike. I found an easier way to release and attach the front tire and had no problems with failing derailleurs during the 10 mile ride. The run portion of the workout was quite strong past the ‘zombie legs’ stage. All in all it was a good workout and gave me hope for a good ride on the day of the triathlon.

At home, I practiced organizing my transition gear and practiced each transition to get the flow down. The photo above is my final transition set up. I decided not to use my clip on pedals during the bike portion as I’ve not practiced enough to be comfortable using them during a race.

Added a bottle and towel to rinse and quickly dry my feet/calves before donning my socks and shoes. My bike helmet and shades are arranged so I can don them without fumbling around to get the right side.  Added Yankz to my running shoes so I won’t need to tie laces before running. Of course, no race is complete without a hit of chocolate almond milk; also  it will settle my stomach after the swim portion of the race.

 So much planning goes into a triathlon. I’m rather proud of the work I’ve put in and the people I’ve met along this journey.  Stay tuned for last minute updates and a full race recap.

 

P.S. It is also 100 days till election day!!

The Coors – Leave Me Breathless

Awesome summertime song:

So go on, go on
Come on leave me breathless
Tempt me, tease me
‘Till I can’t deny this
Loving feeling
Let me long for your kiss
Go on, go on
Yeah come on

Are You Ready For the London Olympic Games?

London 2012 is set to open the Games!

Just checked the schedule and the women’s Triathlon is set for August 4th – My first SheROX Sprint Triathlon is scheduled on August 5th. It is almost serendipitous how close these event are to one another.

I’m so excited to watch the opening ceremony – I’ll be checking my Twitter feed all day on Friday. What event or events are you looking forward to viewing during the Olympic Games?

Ted Talks – Andrew Mwenda Takes A New Look at Africa

I’m a huge fan of Ted Talks and was clued into this video from Duane Lester at All American Blogger.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Andrew Mwenda  takes a critical look at the impact of foreign aid to Africa. It is heartbreaking to learn how the greatest resource of Africa, its people, are being enslaved by the golden shackles of foreign aid.

 

It is disheartening to hear of the corruption funded by aid meant to help the the inhabitants of this continent. However, there is hope that aid can be used to empower the citizens to improve their chances for a better life and make their governments accountable to its citizens. Economic freedom is truly a marvel.

Fresh, Real and Local Taste Better!

I am so happy to discover Hellmann’s mission to transition to 100% cage free eggs in all of its products by 2020. This announcement was made in June at the most spectacular foodie event of the year –  the Aspen Food & Wine Classic.

The Food and Wine Classic brings together the who’s who of the culinary world making this a wonderfully tasteful event! Chef Tim Love and friends go behind the scenes of this mouth watering event in this YouTube video series:

Seriously, I want to go to this event next year and eat food…lots of food and hang out with Mario Batali.  Hellman’s is sponsoring a sweepstakes for a chance to win various prizes, including a Grand Prize trip to the 2013 Food and Wine Festival in Aspen. Just click HERE to enter the sweepstakes –  good luck!

Actually, I’ve noticed lately I’m hungry all the time. This might be due to the fact that I am training 6 days a week for the upcoming SheRox Triathlon.  Had in interesting open water swim clinic today…but I digress…back to food!

An important component to my training is a healthy and balanced food plan. I am asking my body to do extraordinary things this year (triathlon, marathon and half marathons) and food plays an important role in fueling my body to safely complete these races.  This simple truth is that I feel better, more energized for the day when I eat balanced meals (fat, protein and carbs) then eating a couple slices of pizza and cheese fries after skipping breakfast.

Yeah for Hellman’s for getting back to basics and keeping it real!

On the Hellman’s website I found a great recipe for a Turkey and Avocado BLT.   I tend to use recipes as guides and modified this recipe with a Tania Twist based on what was readily available in my kitchen/garden.  Rarely do I follow a recipe word for word often times I create a dish from a mash up of two or more similar recipes. Life is short -twist it up a bit!

Pictured below are the ingredients used in my version of the BLT.

Onion flavored flat bread as the base. Swiss Cheese, Bacon and Maple smoked Turkey. Ivory cucumbers, Tomato, Romaine lettuce leaves, Chives, Oregano, and Thyme were harvested from my vegetable garden.

Cut bread into two pieces. Spread Hellman’s Mayonnaise on both slices of bread, mince the herbs and sprinkle them over the mayo. On one slice of bread layer the cheese, meats, sliced tomato, lettuce leaves and sliced cucumber then cover with second slice of bread. Optional: season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sorry, no photos of the completed sandwich due to the fact that I ate it. Seriously, I am one hungry girl!

Please note that by writing about the Hellman’s products, I am eligible for a prize drawing. The opinions expressed in this  post are purely my own. I’ve been using Hellman’s Mayonnaise in recipes long before I was a blogger and will continue to use this product in the years to come.

 

Triathlon Training – Open Water Swim Clinic

This was my make or break clinic to decide if I really was going to go through with this triathlon. It has been a while since I have been in open water and I wanted to know if I could handle the conditions and the distance.

Honestly, I was facing a whole bucket-load of fears as I looked out over the calm Schuylkill River early Sunday morning at the Philadelphia Swim Club. The water looked as dark as my thoughts. Again I was questioning what I had gotten myself into, is this just too much of an athletic overreach as I train for the Philadelphia Marathon?

This open water clinic organized by the SheRox mentor program is designed to give participants a taste of the swimming conditions prior to the race. As I stood by chatting with new friends, I found most shared similar concerns about the swimming portion of the triathlon.

Participants were grouped by color swim caps and numbers. I was number 14 in the Yellow group, the first group to head off into the cool water. Great,  I thought, early in, early out.  We jumped in to tread water for two minutes before given the start signal.  The course was lined with lifeguards and mentors in kayaks to assist if needed. Two buoys designed to look like Elmo were placed a 200 meters?  apart. Our instructions were simple: Swim out, round the first buoy, swim to the second buoy, round it, then swim back to the starting area.

And..I totally sucked.  I was trampled by the swimmers at the start then could not catch my breath the entire distance. I had trouble keeping my head down while I stroked and found myself frequently flipping over to regroup. This was nothing like pool swimming and my experience in open water came from SCUBA diving.

The good news is now I know what bugs me about the open water swim and that I can make adjustments in water to keep myself going forward.  Not for one nanosecond did I panic, just was annoyed that I couldn’t get my stroke pattern down and catch my breath. It was not a pretty swim but I discovered I have what it takes to complete the swim portion of this event.

This was a definitely a ‘make’ event and I will go forward to complete my first sprint Triathlon.

Garden Judgement Day

I was delighted to show my garden to judges from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) last Thursday. They visited my urban garden to evaluate it for placement in the annual City Garden Contest.

They viewed my garden and left for me a lovely compliment:

This will be the third year I’ve participated in this contest and I’m hoping to continue my winning streak.

Fingers crossed!!!

Penn State Removes Joe Paterno Statue

Joe Paterno statue removed from Beaver stadium today, however, Paterno’s name will remain on a university library. NCAA is planning to announce its sanctions against Penn State University 9 am EST on Monday.

Will the removal of the statue and the sanctions to be levied by the NCAA be enough to break the culture within Penn State that enabled a pedophile? I’m more cautious than optimistic at this time.

Do you agree or disagree with the removal of the Paterno statue?  I’ll keep the poll going till 9pm EST on Tuesday, July 24th.

Public OpinionPoll Results

Colorado Massacre – Social Media Rises

As much as the main stream media believes they control the news, the recent shooting in Colorado has shown the power and immediacy of Social Media.

The Colorado shooting spree proved beyond a doubt, we are all citizen journalists.

Colorado Movieplex Massacre

12 killed and 58 injured in a brutal surprise attack on moviegoers attending a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. The assailant, 24 year old James Holmes disguised himself as ‘the Joker’, a mortal enemy of Batman in the comic series before using tear gas to stun and disorient moviegoers before opening fire on them. In addition, authorities were notified by the assailant that his apartment was rigged with explosives. What horror this man was planning.

I cannot wrap my mind around the despicable actions of this broken young man. By what process did he lose his humanity? As I write this post, I’m not certain I want to know his why; as if there can be acceptable reason for the bloody execution of innocents.

My heart and thoughts are with the families of the victims and all those who were in the theater. Words seem such inadequate comfort for this senseless tragedy.