Timberman 70.3 Pre-Race Report/Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

      My last triathlon of the season was this past Sunday- Timberman 70.3 (a 1.2mi swim, 56 mi bike and 13.1 mi run).

No matter how many times I have done a half ironman, I always forget how much it hurts. For some reason I always tend to down play the severity of what I am about to embark on. Although I do take my eating seriously :). I started off Saturday with some pancakes that I made from scratch. I like to eat a fairly big carb loaded, easily digestible breakfast and lunch the day before the race eating most of my calories for breakfast and lunch. I cut down on heavy fiber foods or anything that could possibly cause any GI distress. I made the pancakes by throwing in some ingredients, so I don't have a proper recipe to post.  I was running late on time, so I didn't take the time to write anything down.  I will recreate and post the recipe soon. They were gluten free and vegan and it was a combination of millet flour, sorghum flour, hemp protein powder, baking powder, maple syrup, coconut oil and applesauce. We topped with maple syrup and blueberries- delicious!

Lunch was composed of more easily digested carbs and some fat. I made cilantro lime brown rice, roasted sweet potatoes and avocados. The lovely Sarah Cincotta (@scincotta if you want to follow her!) mentioned that she made cilantro brown rice and inspired me to make my own. I was short on time and I didn't have time to soak my rice. I recently discovered truRoots germinated brown rice. It is already soaked and sprouted, so you don't have to do it to gain all the benefits. This process helps you digest the rice more easily, removes the phytic acid in the rice that blocks the absorption of vitamins and minerals. It also increases the amount of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) a neurotransmitter studies have shown to regulate anxiety, sleep, the immune system, and fat metabolism.

Cilantro Brown Rice:
1 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
1 Lime
1 Cup Fresh Cilantro
Sea salt

Cook the brown rice.
Squeeze fresh lime juice (if you really like lime you can do 2 limes).
Stir in fresh cilantro and sea salt.

Cut sweet potato into chunks and place on cookie sheet. Drizzle small amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Cut 1/2 avocado into chunks. I didn't still all together but just lined up the rice, avocado and sweet potato next to each other. You could also add some black beans to this, but I didn't want all that fiber the day before a race.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS:
Cilantro- a powerful herb
-loaded with phytonutrients
-aids in digestion, prevents intestinal gas and prevents nausea
-Detox- removes heavy metals such as mercury, aluminum and lead from the body
-antioxidant properties
-anti-fungal and anti-septic properties
-immune boosting properties

Sweet Potatoes-
-Rich in beta carotene/vitamin A
-Rich in Vitamin C
-high in potassium

To fully absorb the beta carotene, it is important to eat with some fat. The olive oil and avocados not only taste good, but add function to help with absorption. I talked about the nutrition benefits of avocados in my Cherry Chocolate Pudding Post here.

We headed up to Gilford that afternoon and picked up my number at Gunstock. It was like a ghost town, I guess most people picked up their numbers earlier. It was weird since I am used to athlete village being buzzing.  We racked my bike and headed to where we were staying. I am incredibly grateful to my friend Ray (@brownie1818 on twitter if you want to follow too!) who let us stay at his house. I packed a small bag of ingredients to make a simple dinner at his house (and try not to impose!)- brown rice pasta, olive oil, oregano, fresh basil, red pepper flakes, salt and hemp seeds (very similar- minus the kale to this post). It was extremely easy to make outside my kitchen. We were very lucky to stay so close to the start especially with the 4:30 am wake up call awaiting us.