End of Season Changes. Qualifying for Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Typically a professional road cyclist’s season ends around September each year. After months of travel and racing, the well-deserved off-season is welcomed. My “season” actually began January 1 and was to conclude in September after a hard block of training for Ironman Canada. Surprisingly I qualified in Penticton for Ironman Hawaii, while elated this also meant a precise plan of recovery, some training and taper. While a few questions stirred in my head; Can I financially and physically afford this was the main one? But one thing I know, is slots to Kona are not easily acquired by any means and my body is not getting any younger. SIGN ME up!

ke the slot and better prepare for a key race next year. After going against his suggestion, he explained he no longer wished to coach me for this event. Ok, now to find someone who can get to know my training, habits, physiology from over the last 12-13 years?! This was not going to be easy, however after 5 days, some personal sponsorship and tracking down a tri-coach who is one of the best in the business I was on the right track and very relieved to work with Matt Dixon from Purplepatch.

Next up, my goal was to improve the functionality of my knee which had undergone serious trauma, inflammation and probably shock from the day.  I had x-rays, acupuncture, physical therapy, ART and almost daily cyro-massage to look after it.  At approximately 1 month later I was able to run for :30-:40 minutes which is still my current maximum time, but along with this slow improvement other ailments arose. Two weeks before I had my last solid brick to complete and an old hamstring injury decided to return in full-force. A headcold  just 12 days out put me into a few days of immediate rest, possibly for the better. While typically these few set-backs would completely frustrate me I remained patient and calm, doing the best I could to possibly treat them and hope to heal in a week’s time. Mind over matter I thought.

My arrival to Kona-minus 8 days before the start. This was just about the right timing, enough time prior to soak in the time change, warm weather, fresh foods and relax before the days became filled with running around.  The weekend included some good training rides and a few short runs, concluded with a beautiful open water swim. My husband, Jono and I are staying at a host family just up the road 1.5 miles from the start, so our daily walk has actually helped build up some strength in my hamstring and knee which I am very pleased about. The population on the island grows daily and Alii drive is packed with ripped bodies running, cycling up and down the road in preparation or for show before the  race.  I try to not get too wrapped up in all the various pre-race activities because it can really suck the energy out of you and I have also found myself dreaming about the race way too far in advance. The heat, my equipment, nutrition, pacing, body’s response and everything I will be concerned with on race day will come soon enough.

There is just 4 days leading into the event. I’m very settled in my environment with great hosts. The time change has been easy and now starting to really stay off my feet and rest before Saturday. Anything can happen on the day, but staying mentally strong, inspired and motivated will remain key in my quest for a finish at the Ironman Hawaii World Championships.

Thanks for reading.

Liza

Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

For the salad:

3 cups watercress
2 cups spinach
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (Cipullos recommends slicing your onion along the layers to prevent tears)
4 large strawberries, sliced or quartered
1/4 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup of cooked quinoa

For the dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Wash watercress and spinach leaves, pat dry. Slice strawberries and thinly slice red onion. To make the dressing, whisk together olive oil, redwine vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. Place watercress, red onion, strawberries, and hazelnuts into a bowl and toss well with dressing.

Makes 2 servings 

Per serving: 339 calories, 10g fat, 0.6g saturated fat, 13.5g fiber, 22g sugars, 52.5g carbohydrates, 133mg sodium, 10.7g protein

That 2 o'clock Feeling

A lot of people have the afternoon crash, you get to about 2 or 3 o’clock in the work day or school, and you just feel tired! You start wanting snacks or more coffee and you mind begins to wander more and more. The secret to the afternoon pick up that everyone wants is not that extra cup of coffee or two. The best way to avoid the afternoon crash isn’t by grabbing that sugary candy bar you’re craving, but rather by getting some low sugar, fiber or protein!

Like we have said before, there is more to most foods than you know. We take a lot for granted, and we really should know what foods are doing for us. Yes, we all know that foods are what gives us energy to keep going, and nutrition to make us healthy. But how much do you really know about the foods you are eating? Do you know which ones might be helping you fight against heart disease right now, or which ones are providing your body with might help boost your energy levels, or what might foods could help get rid of the afternoon defeated tired feeling, and help you power through the rest of the work day? How could food help you avoid that awful afternoon crashes. 

Almonds are a great choice to keep you going for the rest of the day. By eating a handful of almonds in the morning, the almonds can help regulate and stabilize your blood sugar level throughout the day. Stabilizing your blood sugar level will help prevent you from getting sugar highs and then the sudden drop in your energy level. It’ll try to keep you even for the rest of the day. Even eating just a few almonds during a crunch time, where you really need to get something done, but you cannot focus can help improve both your brainpower and your mood. Helping you stay focused on the project at hand!

However while this can be a good solution, the best way to get through that afternoon dip is by avoiding eating too many sweets which could lead you to sugar highs and lows, as well as not skipping breakfast so your body can really absorb the nutrients that your body needs from the food rather than just holding on to it for a bit of energy. By skipping lunch your body will be missing the nutrients it needs to keep going, and very little energy to keep you going! Don’t skip meals and bring a snack to work, and you won’t be getting that drop in energy when you’re having a long day at work!

Sugar vs Fake Sugar

We all eat sugar! However, when given the choice there are many people that choose to use artificial sweeteners in the place of real sugar. Some people do it without even realizing they are. If you pick a diet soda over a regular one, your drink is made with artificial sweeteners rather than sugar. Nowadays every coffee shop you go to has not one, not two, but at least three different types of artificial sweeteners, plus sugar! 

There are so many different artificial sweeteners, and they all say that they’re better than the rest, but are they really any good? They are all man made versions of sugar, a little chemical concoction. Like all things there are good things and bad about these sweeteners. 

There are a lot of good perks from substituting artificial sweeteners in place of natural sugar. A lot of people pick the artificial sweeteners over sugar because it has no calories, where as sugar is just empty calories. The artificial sweeteners like Spenda or Sweet n Low may actually have some good benefits over sugar. Artificial sweeteners have no effect on your body’s blood-sugar level, but if you eat sugar it throws your blood-sugar level through a rollercoaster! 

You also don’t have to use as much artificial sweetener to get to the sweetness level you want, but you would need more sugar to get there. And because artificial sweeteners don’t have the same empty calories as sugar does, it can be easier to lose wait by substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar.

There are however con’s to consider when comparing artificial sweeteners and sugar. Because they are artificially made some sweeteners still have not been approved by the FDA. And many previous tests of the products have been poorly done in the past.  People like them because they are said to have no calories, however that is still unsure as well! We are still learning about these artificial sweeteners that we have created. We still don’t know everything about them. Artificial sweeteners have not been around long enough to know about any long term effects the artificial sweeteners may have. We are the guinea pigs right now. They are still too new for us to really know if artificial sweeteners are good for us. 

Where know where sugar comes from, and what it’s doing to our bodies and we’re still learning about all of these new artificial sweeteners. But at least we know what sugar does to us!

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Chrisi Keating

Santa Clara University

Communications Major

Chili

Ingredients

    1 pound extra-lean ground beef
    1/2 cup chopped onion
    2 large tomatoes (or 2 cups canned, unsalted tomatoes)
    4 cups canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
    1 cup chopped celery
    1 teaspoon sugar
    1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder or to taste
    Water, as desired
    2 tablespoons cornmeal
    Jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped, as desired

Directions

In a soup pot, add the ground beef and onion. Over medium heat saute until the meat is browned and the onion is translucent. Drain well.

Add the tomatoes, kidney beans, celery, sugar and chili powder to the ground beef mixture. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Uncover and add water to desired consistency. Stir in cornmeal. Cook for at least 10 minutes more to allow the flavors to blend.

Ladle into warmed bowls and garnish with jalapeno peppers, if desired. Serve immediately.

Stress

We all have stress in our life, and we all have different ways of coping with stress, whether we eat more comfort food, complain more, eat less, or just let the stress bug us! But do you know what stress is doing for your body?

Stress is a completely normal part of life, it’s our body’s way of saying that we are doing to much, that we have taken too much on. Stress is our body’s reaction to a change that we have caused. It is a feeling of pressure you can experience, caused by events that happen to you, around you, something that you do, or even just a few small things that add up! All these changes and pressures can cause your body to react physically, mentally or emotionally.

Some stresses can be good or exciting, like weddings, and graduations, while others like work deadlines, or taxes can cause you to stress and not give you anything to look forward to. Stress can be conceived as both positive or negative. At times stress can be helpful; stress can keep us alert and prepared to work on the task, it keeps us focused on the problem. Stress can keep you on your toes! However stress can also be bad when the stress is endless, if the job (or activity) causes constant challenges with no relaxation at the end.

Stress can even lead to headaches, an upset stomach, raised blood pressure, chest pains, and trouble sleeping. All of these are not good for your body. When you get stressed your whole body realizes that, and even if you are just emotionally, or mentally stressed, that stress will transfer to your body. Trouble sleeping is one of the most common side effects of stress, which can lead to numerous other problems. When you lose sleep to stress, you wake up the next morning more tired, and you will not have the energy that your body needs to survive the day. Your body will not have gotten the sleep it needs, and will physically begin stressing out trying to keep up with what you need to be doing.

It is important for you to realize when you are beginning to stress, because stress can creep up on you quickly! We’ve all had it happen before, stress really does have a way of creeping up on you (especially right around a deadline time). You need to make sure that you stay in control though, you can not let the stress take over your life. It is important that when you realize that you are stressed about an event, activity, relationship, or deadline, that you try to make a change.

When you realize what you are stressing about, and you can find a better way to spread out the work, or a different way to handle the situation, you can ease the stress. Just doing little things like becoming more positive, laughing more often, or learning to say no to some things (you don’t always need to do everything) can already help you get rid of some of your stress. Little changes can go a long way to help rid yourself of stress!

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Chrisi Keating
Santa Clara University
Communications Major

Pear Walnut Bread

Ingredients:
2 to 3 fresh Bartlett pears
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup dairy sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sifted flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ cup walnuts

How to make it:
1. Pare, halve, and core pears. Coarsely chop to get 1 ½ cups fruit.
2. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat together oil and sugar until well-blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the sour cream and vanilla.
3. Sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add to oil-sugar mixture and continue to beat until well blended. Add nuts and pears and mix well with large spoon.
4. Spoon into well-greased, 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Bake in 350-degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes; turn out and finish cooling on rack. To serve, slice very thin and spread with softened butter or cream cheese.

* Add some cranberries for fun!