North Carolina pics

We go to Nags Head, North Carolina for two weeks almost every year in August, its cheap, its on the beach and the weather is usually great. However, it can get oppressively hot off the beach and tremendously humid, so as long as your not running after 7am you are usually fine. This year brought some different elements, we traveled alone as a family instead of with multiple families, we experienced more than our share of rip currents, stinging jellyfish and sea lice. Out of the 13 days we were there we were not allowed to swim 5 days, not even touch the water the rips were so bad. Except for the final 3 days the undertow was still really strong and there was always jellyfish. some of the cool stuff was that at times and most days we got anywhere from 4ft to 8ft swells, so surfing and boogey boarding were amazing, the kids and the parents did great. So here are our some of my pics.

Post Recovery workout meal-vegetarian-SOOOOO Good

Here's all you need:
1. Quoinoa ( we used red, but either kind will do)
2. Bell pepper- red/yellow, whatever
3. 1 can refried beans ( Amy's Organics is our favorite brand for all things canned or frozen) If you can't find this brand, make sure you choose fat free/vegetarian beans.)
4. Red Onion
5. Avocado
6. romaine Lettuce

The amounts of all of these are up to you. I can tell you that we used 1 full can of beans, 1 cup of quinoa, 2 whole peppers, 1 full avocado, and 1/2 red onion. You can use as much romaine lettuce as you want.

Instructions:
Cook the quinoa. While this is happening, you can chop the veggies and the romaine. Then heat the beans on the stove over low heat. Stir in the beans, onions, and peppers. When the quinoa is cooked, stir this into the bean and veggie mix as well. Then serve this up onto your bowls of romaine and top it with avocado slices.

This is a quick and healthy post-workout refuel.

This was given to me via Hillary Biscays blogsite, my husband Phil and I had it for dinner last night and it was surprisingly very tasty and filling. I hope you guys like it. It's also cheap and very easy and fast to make.

Enjoy

Fat Free Vegan/gluten free Banana Blueberry Bread, and its delicious

3 large over-ripe bananas
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup vanilla soymile ( or apple sauce)
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 cups whole wheat flour or organic rice flour to be gluten free
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or wipe a 9x5 inch loaf pan with oil

Mix the soymilk with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and let stand until it curdles. If using apple sauce, skip this step and add the lemon juice to the bananas.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas and add the remaining lemon juice, soymilk, and agave nectar. Stir well to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, and stir just until the mixture is well-combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool.

Enjoy.

p.s You can do strawberries or any other berries with the bananas, but its really nice not to have sugar, eggs or oil in my banana bread. No guild here.

Rip Currents, be careful

So today my 8 year old son got caught up in a rip current, thank goodness daddy and another man were right there to help him but it was very scary for him and for us and my son finally realized that the ocean isn't something to trifle with. He got very tired very quick and if it weren't for Phil and the other man who know's what would of happened. for anyone who doesn't know what a rip current is, this is it:

Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore. They are the most common surf hazard leading to swimmer distress and potential rescue.

A rip current looks like:
1. a noticeable difference in water color
2. Gaps or flat sections in the waves breaking out in the water.
3. Foam, or objects, moving steadily seaward
4. A specific area of water that appears more turbulent than the surrounding water.

How to escape a rip current

1. The most important thing to remember if you are caught in a rip current is DO NOT PANIC.
2. You should attempt to swim parallel to the shore for about 25-50 yds or until out of the rip current, then swim at an angle toward the shore. Many people try to swim against a rip current, but this is DANGEROUS. If in danger, wave for help, relax and tread water.

Don't become a victim while trying to help someone else? Many people have died in efforts to rescue rip current victims.
1. Get help from a lifeguard
2. If a lifeguard is not present, yell instructions on how to escape.

My kids are very good swimmers and they have become too confident in the water, this truly scared my child and hopefully he will try not to do something he isn't capable of in the future. Thank goodness my husband was there as we always swim 1:1 in ocean conditions like this, but it was still eye openning.

Be safe in the water, no matter the ocean, lake, pond, pool, whatever, things can happen. The water is something you need to respect. Teach your children how to swim and be safe, educate them about water safety and everything that comes with it. it may save their lives in the future or the life of someone else.
3. If possible, throw the rip current victim something that floats.

8 year old concerns have mommy concerned......

so let me set the stage/history..

I have a significant family history of familial hypercholesterolemia, my mom, uncles, my brother, myself. I had an uncle die at 39 of a heart attack, 49 of a massive heart attack and my mom has had 2 heart attacks before the age of 60. Now, all of them smoked, were overweight and never exercised and were very stressed, however, there cholesterol levels were really high and as a family we all carry a protein level called, Lipoprotein ( a) that increases your risk of heart disease.

I have known for a long time that I had higher than normal cholesterol levels but my ratio has always been normal. Recently, after having all my children and not nursing for over a year my cardiologist wanted to put me on a Statin ( a cholesterol lowering drug), with my medical background I wanted to make sure I wasn't at immediate risk of a heart attack and wanted to know where I stood with regards to the disease, so, I underwent a treadmill stress test, calcium ion CT scan, various blood work, etc... and low and behold my cardiologist tole me that I didn't need anything and to f/u with him in 3 years for repeat scans and stress test. He was almost certain ( 99%) that I was going to need medication but I surprised him and so far so good, with proper diet and exercise I have decreased my cholesterol to about 205 and my HDL is 80 and my ldl is 110, so not bad. My triglycerides are fine too. So the reason for my blog....

Based on my significant family history my good girlfriend who is a pediatric cardiologist who specializes in lipids told me I should have my kids tested for elevated cholesterol and also for the lipoprotein (a) level. All my children were tested before the age of 3 and all of them had cholesterol levels of over 200, ldl levels over a 100 and elevated lipoprotein (a) levels. This was very concerning to both my husband and I and after speaking to our friend/cardiologist we needed to make some significant changes in our diet at home and we needed to begin educating our children about how to eat healthy and to make this a routine part of our lives. I didn't want any of my kids having a heart attack and dieing at the age of 29 because we didn't educate them about their disease.

So about 2 years ago Phil and I made a concerted effort to eat primarily organic, decrease our dairy intake, make exercise an important and everyday occurence in our house and educate our children with regards to the hazards of fast food. Actually, we haven;t had fast food ( minus pizza) in over 5 years. My daughter Shea and my son Cade have never tasted a Mcdonalds burger or fry in their lives, nor have they had soda. ( none of my kids have had soda which is great). Anyway, we talk a lot about reading food labels, looking for transfats,etc... but we still allow snacks and they get to have their cake and ice cream, etcc.. we just encourage them to eat there fruits and vegetables first and then they can have their main meal and if they are not full they can have a snack or dessert but not everyday. We didn't want to create an environment were you don't expose specific foods to a child and then they go and splurge on that food when they visit a friends house or when they are out of our care. We want them to make healthy choices and know their limits, to be smart about what they put in their bodies.

Anyway, the reason for this post is that my oldest who is 8 has recently ( over the past month or two) has been telling me he is fat, and patting his belly. He says it enough lately that I am getting concerned. He usually tells me after he eats a meal so I have been attributing it to him eating a bit too much during dinner and just feeling a bit bloated after his meal, but recently it has become a little bit more so. Now, my son is tremendously active, he eats very healthy, tons of fruit and vegetables, doesn't eat a ton of crap and so I thought he was all good. This has got me really upset. Have we gone overboard, do we talk about this too much that now he is afraid to eat things. My child is tall, lean and has a very athletic build, he doesn't have one once of fat on his body and even if he did I wouldn't be too concerned because I know he eats really well and exercises. Tonight we went for dinner and some of the meal was fried and he got really upset and came over to me at the table and lifted up his shirt and sad he was fat, then he said he was joking but then said he wasn't feeling well. I spoke to him at length and it basically came down to the fact that he didn't want to eat a ton of fried food and we was upset. He didn't feel like he had a ton of options. I told him he could have broiled fish like mommy but he didn't remember that.

Anyway, this is really upsetting to me to have an 8 year old worried about how his body image is, I dealt with that my whole life and I don't want any of my children to deal with that. My husband and I felt like we have been educating our children because we have to, they have familial hypercholesterolemia and its going to be with them the rest of their lives. I am struggling with how to go forward and what to do differently at home. I want to nip this in the bud.

Plantar Fascititis, its getting better.....

When we go on vacation its tough because usually were we travel to is very flat with no change in terrain and you wear flipflops all the time. I always get a tiny little flair of plantar fascitis to my left heel when we go away and I always flip out over it. Whenever I get a small injury or concern I take it to the extreme, I say to myself ( " my season is over, I will not beable to run ever again, etc.....) its crazy, I'm such a dramatist and I get so overly concerned. I usually get right on top of any injury I have, I rest, I ice, I take Motrin, I do whatever I can to be smart about an injury so that I can make sure to get back to what I love to do as quick as I can. What has been really hard is that I am in marathon mode and running five days a week isn't really conducive to plantar fascitis, so I've cut back on the running, added more biking and swimming in the pool as much as I can, seeing as swimming in the ocean hasn't been allowed given the riptides, poisonous jellyfish and sea lice. I feel good.

Today I feel better, only two doses of Motrin, some ice, and I'm feeling pretty good. Biking 1 1/2 hrs and some rowing was good for me, hopefully tomorrows swim and run will be good, we'll keep you posted.

p.s. I emailed my PT just to keep her posted and what does this awesome lady do, call me on her vacation to tell me what I need to do to manage the situation. Who does that, I didn't expect anything but an email in a few days but I get a personalized phone call, now that is what I call an amazing person/friend/Physical Therapist. I'm already better because of her. Thanks Sara.

Feeling a bit blue...........

So as you know I'm almost two weeks post ironman and I'm a bit blue right now, a bit confused at what to do and need a bit of refocusing. Coachie and I have been discussing a lot of things lately especially about rebuilding my confidence on the run front. The only thing I have scheduled right now is a sprint triathlon ( The Pumpkinman) which I am really looking forward to, however, I do have to say I really want to do, Syracuse 70.3. The only glitch in this plan is that we usually vacation for two weeks in August and I wouldn't have access to my bike and would need to use a spin bike and don't know whether or not that would be suitable to rebuild some threshold work to carry me into a mid september 1/2. I'm working on coachie on this one so we'll see. Its hard to end my season with IMLP given that prior to that race my season was pretty good.

What we are really working on is a potential marathon this fall and working on some 5ks and 10ks to help get some turnover going and building up some speed and confidence. The two marathons I was looking at are the GMAA/vermont marathon on october 17th, it costs only $23 dollars but its run like the Boston Marathon, top notch, lots of support but its a mom and pop shop event and a Boston qualifier to boot. Coachie thinks this may be a bit soon 9 1/2 weeks to really perform, so I'm not sure about this one. Or, I could do the StoneCat marathon in Ipswich on November 7th , however its a trail marathon and I don't know if this is a good marathon for me to do, it certainly won't be super fast given the single track and the fact I;ve never run trails and would need to start, so its a bit up in the air. These two marathons are the only ones this fall that fit into our very busy family schedule of sporting events and holidays/school, etc....

Anyway, my swim is doing really well right now ( just what I need right) all I need to do is swim 1/2 mile in the sprint so does it really matter that my swim is getting faster? Anyhoo, I just like being in the water, as I have said before I may not be the fastest woman out there but I'm very comfortable in the water and I feel happy when I"m out there, it makes me smile.

Tomorrow I have a bike and a t run ( I'm going to swim with some friends in the morning too, yeah), then maybe go to the beach with the kids. Sunday I have a 9 mile run ( yeah) a slight build in the pace but nothing too hard yet.

I'll keep you guys posted on how the running is going and if I can convince coachie to let me do one more triathlon before the end of the season...

Last few pictures and some more reflection

So if you have been reading my posts you know that I ended up dehydrated and lost 7lbs during the race. I spent about 2hrs in the medical tent getting fluids and anti nausea medication and after that I felt great. Phil and I went out and had a great steak dinner and a few beers after leaving the medical tent. Nothing like keeping the salt going in until going to bed. It took about a week and I'm finally back to my normal weight ( much to my shagrin, I would of loved to stay in the mid/ to low 130's), however not right now.

Today was my first week back to a normal workout routine, last week I swam a little and biked a little but did no running. I did a lot of stretching and core work but kept it fairly light. I do have to say mentally I needed the break but physically it was killing me, I miss getting the body going and sweating and all that good stuff, so today was a simple 2000yd swim and a 40 minute run, it was so much fun, I felt really good and needed to stop myself from going further. I think last year I pushed so fast after ironman that I was incapable of having any good races in september and october because I never allowed myself to fully recover. I will continue to slowly increase my volume and intensity so as not to get injured or risk not being able to perform at my best. Anyway, Phil thought it would be funny to document yet again another visit to the medical tent after ironman.

A letter from a friend....

With permission from my friend who will remain anonymous, I wanted to print her letter that she gave me right before leaving for IMLP. This letter meant so much to me, I carried it down to T1 on race day to try to keep her words on my mind. I only wish that I could of believed in myself as much as she did and my friends. I hope you love this letter as much as I do.

To my friend Donna,

What a long journey it has been for you to get here. I know you are focused on Sunday and what that day will bring. I know you have goals that you want to accomplish and benchmarks that you want to attain. I know in your dreams- because all of our dreams are this way-you even see yourself crossing that finish line in first place.

That's why I'm writing this-to tell you something I'm not sure that you know, but that I know you've dreamed.

You've already won.

I know you talk about health, and looks, and how becoming this athlete has helped you transform. But the biggest transformation I have seen through your journey is even more important, and it started long before you began finding yourself on podiums or outperforming the boys.

You have found this strength, this depth of passion, this well of motivation that is wrapped around triathlon but that really has little to do with it. Your sport is your expression, but that core of power is organic to who you are now. You are a woman of integrity, an unparalleled friend, and one of the most resilient, powerful people I know. Your performances are impressive, but they have nothing to do with the love that so many people have for you.

You've already won.

You are an inspiration to so many people, particularly women, who are trying to find their way in this world. They look at you and see nothing short of a hero. They have no idea whether an Ironman is completed in 12 or 24 hours. They only see a mother of four who takes on her dreams, and still makes time for the causes she is passionate about. They see a woman who is there for her friends, devoted to her family, and yet embraces sport as well. You say you want redemption from last year, but you are already redeemed by all that you've achieved in the past year.

You've already won.

I can predict what will happen on Sunday. You will be scared. There will be highs and lows. At some point you will wish the day was over. At some point you'll wish it could go on forever. You will come to a moment where you think you are a terrible athlete and another moment where you know you are a superstar. Your body will make you feel like a warrior and a prisoner, in the course of one day. Not everything will go as planned, but it will go as it needs to and you'll go with it.

When you cross that finish line, we will as be as proud of you as when you started-because we can't GET any prouder. Just like in your dreams, you will win Ironman Lake Placid on Sunday.

Because you've already won.

I love you and will be with you in spirit the entire race. You will be amazing... as you always are.

I will carry this letter until I begin to believe in myself as much as my coach, my friends and my family believe in me. This process begins with me and I'm starting now.

IMLP, "The Run"

Well, after spending 6 minutes in T2 ( god knows, I was chatting, feeling good, I don't know I could of taken a nap I guess, what the hell was I doing?" got some water and headed out. I actually felt pretty good heading out of T2, its a bit of a downhill so you have to be careful not to go out too fast and blow your quads for the rest of the race, the sun was out a bit but not too bad and I was saying to myself, " If I can stay feeling this way, this marathon might not be so bad". Well, after passing coachie who gave me good words of encouragement my cadence was doing great but it was holding its own. The one thing I remember very clearly that happened from the start of the run to the finish is that my feel hurt a ton, right on the bottom of my feel where the cleat placement is on my bike shoes, and it hurt on both feet. It hurt everytime I put my feet to the ground. I actually stopped several times to readjust my shoelaces, I even contemplated once to run without socks, well, after the Patriot 1/2 ironman I quickly decided I'd rather run in pain then have blisters the size of quarters on them.

I saw a lot of people out there, I tried to hydrate at every aid station, however, I think I took in more water and coke then powerade which could of been my downfall, I didn't have a ton of negative thoughts and I continued to shuffle along. The first loop was ok, not great, I was still running so that was something, I just didn't have power, but at this point all I cared was that I was running and not walking. I got by the mile 16 mark and realized that was the place I started walking last year and I vowed I would keep going. It was a long 26.2 miles, lots of wonderful people out there, lots of encouragement, I was happy I was shuffling but full knowing I wasn't really running. It was again another disappointment in my eyes and at least last year it was my first ironman, the experience was so amazing just to be there and to just finish, this year was supposed to be different for me, I was starting to feel sad and not enjoying the scenary, the people, it wasn't the experience it was supposed to be ( this made me sad). Not only was I disappointing myself I felt like I was disappointing my friends, my coach. My friend Sara who was watching me that day sad she was going to kill me if I didn't put a smile on my face, which I did at the end because I was almost finished.

I finished in 13:11, well past the time again that I was hoping for but still finishing in a decent enough time to be in the middle of the pack on not such a great day. I was greated at the finish line by my husband Phil, Sara, Greg, and my amazing coach Janda. After about 2 minutes of chatting however I felt the urge to vomit so I immediately excused myself and made way to the medical tent. They brought me in and found my blood pressure to be extremely low and that I needed to get hydrated pretty quickly. I felt ok but I really did want to puke. After several attempts at trying to get an IV in ( of course since I'm dehydrated my veins had decided to go on vacation) on the 4th try they got in. 3 Bags of warmed Normal Saline later, some Zofran for the nausea, 3 cups of hot chicken broth and I could actually feel human again. It was amazing to see how many people are in the medical tent after an ironman ( since I have been a frequent visitor both last year and this year) I'm getting to know the ropes. One man next to me on my right was and is a pediatric anesthesiologist who was getting pissed that they couldn't get my IV in, he actually offered to put mine in but they said they couldn't do it for legal purposes. He was in the bed next to me because he decided to run in a new pair of sneakers, guess what the bottom of his feet and toes looked like, about 25 huge blood blisters everywhere, not so smart for a doc. The guy to my left fell coming out of the the swim and hurt his ankle so bad he had a tough time getting to T1, however he finished the race but low and behold he actually fractured his ankle. Can you imagine running on a fractured ankle. Athletes continue to amaze me.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS IRONMAN EXPERIENCE:

1. MY MENTAL GAME WAS NOT THERE, I MADE MAJOR MISTAKES BECAUSE OF IT AND VOW TO MAKE SURE THIS PART OF MY ATHELTIC TRAINING BECOMES A STRENGTH

2. MY FITNESS WAS SPOT ON AND I TRAINED VERY HARD FOR THIS EVENT I SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED NO MATTER WHAT THE TIME SHOWED THAT DAY. I NEED TO LEARN TO BE HAPPY WITH MY RESULTS AND LEARN TO LOVE TO RACE AGAIN WITHOUT BEING SO CRITICAL OF EVERY LAST THING.

3. EXPECTATIONS OF MYSELF ARE OK AS LONG AS THEY ARE RESONABLE. I THINK MY GOALS FOR THIS IRONMAN WERE RESONABLE, HOWEVER MY EXECUTION ON THE DAY WAS NOT, THOSE MISTAKES WERE DONE BY ME AND NO OTHER, I WILL LEARN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE AND COME BACK TO MY NEXT IRONMAN BOTH MORE MENTALLY STRONG AS WELL AS PHYSICALLY STRONG

4. I HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL AND SUPPORTIVE HUSBAND AND FAMILY, WITHOUT THEM MY 4AM RIDES WOULDN'T OF GOTTEN DONE OR SOME OF MY WEEKENDS WOULD NOT OF HAPPENED. I KNOW ITS BEEN HARD FOR THEM SOMETIMES WHEN IM TRAINING AND SPENDING SOME TIME APART BUT THROUGH IT ALL THEY SUPPORTED ME.

MY FRIENDS, SO MANY I CAN'T NAME THEM ALL BUT APRIL, SARA, DARCY, BOB, KERI, VICKI, JESS, CINDY,MARNIE, NAN, MY TRIROK FRIENDS, THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE AND LISTENING AND SUPPORTING ME AND CONTINUING TO SUPPORT ME WHILE I EMBARK ON ALL THESE CRAZY ENDEAVORS.

AND LAST AND CERTAINLY NOT LEAST MY COACH J, COACHIE AS I LIKE TO CALL HIM, WHAT CAN I SAY, HE IS AMAZING, HE HAS WORKED REALLY HARD THIS YEAR TO GET ME TO WHERE I WAS THIS PAST SUNDAY, ALL THE WORKOUTS, CHATS ON THE PHONE, THE POWERFILES, GARMIN FILES, ETC... THERE ISN'T ANYTHING MORE THIS MAN COULD OF DONE FOR ME EXCEPT THE RACE MIND YOU ( NEXT TIME, HUH?) HE IS AN AMAZING COACH AND I HOPE THAT EVEN THOUGH MY PERFORMANCE WASN'T WHAT WE BOTH EXPECTED THIS PAST SUNDAY WE KNOW MISS DONNA HAS A LOT IN THE TANK THAT THE WORLD HASN'T SEEN AND WITH SOME MENTAL PREPARATION AND SOME PHYSICAL WORK AS WELL THIS CHICKITA BANANA WILL BE A SOURCE TO BE RECKONED WITH FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS YEAR AND ALL OF NEXT YEAR.

HERES TO THE REMAINDER OF THIS RACE SEASON AND TO KICKING SOME ASS NEXT YEAR AS WELL. CAN ANYONE SAY IM WISCONSIN, HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.