Syracuse 70.3 Race Report

When I originally sat down to write this race recap, the first line read:
"One word describes Syracuse 70.3: Hellish." But in reality, I love racing, I love the atmosphere, I love the camaraderie, and I love the pain, even if the day is more like a battlefield than a triathlon. So no matter how "hellish", I'm always grateful to be able to race.

Maybe it was course, maybe it was the heat, or maybe it was Harpoon B2B still lingering in my legs, but the day was pretty brutal.

I was obsessing with Instavid race morning (ok maybe I should have been focusing a wee bit more on preparing for the race, but it was a good way to keep things light and calm any pre-race jitters).

Ok clearly I was having issues with video:

The water temperature was 70 degrees, so I decided to wear a full length wetsuit because I am always cold. However, half way through the swim, I was thinking I should have opted for the sleeveless as I was heating up a bit. My swim was solid. I latched onto the feet of some girls, but quickly gained some confidence and decided to pass them and bridge up and see if I could stay on the feet of some girls who were faster. Before the race I had decided that I was going to try not to swim as conservatively. This was a success and felt good when I finished the swim. Thirty-five minutes for a wetsuit swim is on the slower side, but after hearing many people including Pros were slower than normal and heard rumbles that the course was longer than 1.2, I was fine with 35 minutes.

Dede Griesbauer's blog sums up the rest of course pretty well in a couple succinct lines.  My favorite line is how she describes the bike course: you climb for the first 15 miles or so, and according to WTC’s “Mickey Mouse topography map”, it’s all downhill from there. Sorry I didn't see it like that."  My second favorite line: "If the bike course in Syracuse was challenging, the run was derived from the mind of Satan himself."

It wasn't the hardest 70.3 I have done, but close. The heat made it rough. I was cursing B2B during the race, knowing that it wasn't doing me any favors at that moment, but in the long run and for the larger goal, it was making me stronger. I just felt like I didn't have any snap in my legs. I was racing as fast as I possibly could, but I just didn't feel like I could hammer through like I normally can. Looking at my run splits, I had to check my ego at the door and just be comfortable with the splits I was running, because any faster was going to lead to blowing up later on. Besides 2 men and 3 Pro women, no one was passing me, so I should have known everyone else was struggling too, but in my head, I thought I was the only one having a rough day. When I got to the aid stations I was grabbing everything. Pouring water, grabbing sponges, taking as much Perform as my body would handle- taking everything and anything. Even coke sounded good to me. That coke at mile 8 was nectar of the gods. And once you get on the coke, you stay on the coke, so I was welcoming it at every aid station. 
This was a QT2 Key race, so it was so great to have so many teammates racing out there on the course with me. Cheering from Tim Snow always give me a huge energy surge, and Matt Curbeau was out there too at one of the turn arounds on the second loop, which was huge. 

I was very happy to cross the line. I ended up with a 5:24:xx with a :35 swim, 2:54 bike and 1:49 run. They were my slowest splits this season, but given the conditions and the course, I'll take it. I was 9th out of the water in my AG, biked my way to 6th then ran my way to the podium to finish in 5th. 
Torrential downpours and thunderstorms led them to cancel the awards ceremony, but here is a glamour shot of my hardware in my kitchen:

Overall, I would do Syracuse again. Nothing like a good challenging course to keep you honest. 
Next Up: Mass State Olympic this weekend. 

Texas 70.3 Race Report

I was so excited to kick off the 2013 season last weekend in Galveston, Texas.

Texas wasn't originally in the plan, but after a long winter in the pain cave, my mind and body was in desperate need of some sunshine. And if you spent any time with me over the past couple of months, I'm sure you heard me say I was craving vitamin D more than once! 

MANY hours spent in the Pain Cave

I backed out of doing Hyannis marathon and did the half instead back in February. I was sick the week before the race. Backing out was very hard for me to do, but I actually listened to my body and decided it was best to try to spare my immune system from getting a royal beating especially with temps in the 30s and pouring rain race conditions. It just wasn't worth it. That being said, I was itching to race. I had an extremely solid winter of training and felt ready to do an early season 70.3.

We flew into Houston on Friday and stocked up at Whole Foods. There were about 5 Whole Foods in the Houston area, but naturally, when we saw the name of one of them, we had to go there. Kirby is my middle name and since I get way too excited about small things like that, they gave me a free reusable bag with the name. 

Friday and Saturday were spent doing some light workouts, registering, racking bikes, resting and relaxing. With 34 QT2 team members racing, it was really great to meet some new people at the team breakfast on Saturday. 

Sunday morning came fast. As I put on my new kit,  I couldn't believe I was racing this early in the season. I had a healthy dose of pre-race jitters, and was excited to kick off the race season.

The Swim 1.2 miles:

My wave didn't start until 8:25 am, so I had A LOT of time to wait as I watched wave after wave start the day. The swim was a treading water start. All the 30-34 year old women were jamming out to Carly Rae Jepson and Beyonce as we waited to jump in the water. The predicted water temp was 72 degrees, however, on race morning, the race announcer said it was 65 degrees. SIXTY-FIVE?! I am a big baby with cold water, and anyone who has seen me get into an 80 degree pool or the lake knows that it is not a quick process. I was freaking out a bit about having to jump into 65 degree water rather than my typical routine. I waited until about 1.5 minutes before the start and took the plunge. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought and felt much warmer than 65 degrees. Maybe I am just getting tougher? ha.

The cannon went off and I saw the front girls take off. I tried to find someone's feet to latch onto and draft, but I wasn't having too much luck. I swam alone for a while. At the first turn, I was able to get onto a girl's feet and I stayed with her as she plowed through the stragglers from the waves ahead of us. I channeled my inner Pam and made sure I stayed with this girl. I felt like I wasn't working hard because of the draft, so I questioned whether I should break lose and go. I decided to stick with her, because I would be fighting through the crowd if I didn't. At the final turn, I decided to go for it and dropped the girl. I started to think I hung on to her too long. I came out of the water feeling great. I wanted to do 32 minutes, so when I saw I had done 33 minutes, I was a bit disappointed, but knew that 1 minute wasn't a huge deal. 

The Bike 56 miles:

The bike course was an extremely flat out and back with sun beating down and the winds blowing. My heart rate wasn't picking up, so I started to ride based on watts, pace and perceived effort. I was a little nervous that I wasn't riding where I was supposed to be with out being able to use heart rate as a gauge, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I trusted I was where I was supposed to be. I got passed by two girls in my age group on the bike, both of whom were QT2 teammates. I was tempted to pick up the pace to try keep them in sight, but reminded myself to ride within my limits and ride my own race. My bike has always been my glaring weakness, so when I started to pass a couple of people in my age group I was shocked. The rest of the bike was pretty uneventful besides 2 aid stations not handing out perform when I went through. I tried to grab the water, when I realized there wasn't any perform,  but when I had yelled out perform, the volunteer took a step back.  I rode for the next 15 miles without fluid. I knew this could be extremely detrimental, but all I could do at that point was to make sure I was dead on with hydrating for the rest of the race. At the turn around, I was expecting we would get a tail wind. But no, the wind was worse on the way back. What I had thought was a head wind, was really a cross wind, so we didn't get any help on the way home. Everyone was fighting the same wind I was, so I just stayed in aero and tried to ride strong back to transition. I finished the bike at 2:44, which was a bike PR for me. I was extremely thrilled as I rolled into transition.

The Run 13.1 miles:

The run was a 3 loop course with 3 out and backs in each loop. It was flat and went all through the Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention center. There were some parts that went to the road, but they removed the airport section that was part of the course in past years. Once again, my heart rate still wasn't  picking up, so I started to run on perceived effort. I feel much more comfortable with my run, so I wasn't too concerned about not having heart rate. I know my edge on the run. I was so happy to be off the bike and running. I was even more thrilled to be running in the Texas sunshine. I was feeling strong and good as I started to pick people off. The texas sun was hot, but with the temps in the high 70s, it could have been way worse. I tend to run better in the heat anyway. The highlight of the run was the cheering from Tim Snow, Cait Snow, Chrissie Kropelnicki and the QT2ers that had already finished. Their screams and motivation were HUGE.. and the best part was I got to absorb the energy 3 times.

I finished the run with a run PR of 1:36. I was extremely happy. I didn't know my overall time until I had walked over to where the QT2 crew was cheering and Kaitlin Anelauskas looked up my time for me. I was over the moon thrilled when I heard 4:59. I had a pipe dream of breaking 5 hours, but I knew the stars would need to be aligned for me to do that. I placed fourth in my age group and qualified for Vegas 70.3 World Championships for the first time.

Overall, the race and weekend was just what I needed. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start the 2013 season. I am so grateful to be part of such an incredible team full of extremely talented, dedicated yet down to earth athletes. 

#whatup2013

Ironman Mont Tremblant Race Report 2012

We arrived up in Mont-Tremblant on Thursday and the town was buzzing with triathletes. You could feel the excitement from the whole community about Ironman week.

 I was feeling great about my training and nutrition and was arriving with no regrets or thoughts of " I should have done more/should have done things differently". It was my first year using QT2 Systems for an Ironman training plan and it was just what I needed to take me to the next level.

We spent the next couple of days prepping for the race. The days prior to Ironman are filled with registration, prepping transition bags, checking in our bikes, grocery shopping and most importantly- resting, hydrating and nourishing our bodies.

We brought most of our food from home (yes, it is not a problem bringing perishable food across the border), but from the recommendation of MC who owns Fluide Bar a Jus-  the local Juice Bar in the village, we did find a local farm for local vegetables. A wonderful spot for local organic meat raised right on the farm was Picardier.  27, route 323, Brebeuf, J0T 1B0 819-425-8922 www.picardier.com . We didn't make it to Rachelle-Bery, but it is the local health food store and good alternative to the IGA grocery store.

Fluide Bar a Jus is right in the heart of the village and is a great place to stop for green juices or healthy smoothies. And the owner, MC, is so sweet and knowledgeable!

We faced race week with the attitude that "things happen for me, not to me." When things didn't go exactly as planned, instead of getting worked up about it, I viewed it as a blessing in disguise. It was a small shift in thinking, but helped me stay even during the days leading up to the race and during the race itself.

When the alarm went off before dawn on Sunday morning, I was ready to get this party started. We headed to transition and did final prep for the day. I still get intimidated by all of the fast looking bikes, wheels, and triathletes. I still need to reassure myself that I am a strong athlete and I have come a long way from being the girl who couldn't swim 50 yds without stopping, who would fall over in my driveway on my bike with my feet still attached to my pedals (ok sometimes even on my trainer) and who thought running 8 miles was a triumphant feat. 

My dad met us so we could hand off our bike pump before we headed down to the water.

The start is always emotional. The music is blasting, the announcer is psyching up the crowd and 2300 people are anxiously awaiting the start of a long day. The swim was a beach start. I had never done a sand start for Ironman before and I was a bit nervous. But decided I was going to just go and get right in the mix of it and see what would happen. 

Here is a video clip of the swim start:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwRWJjUqRfs&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1

When you are in the water with 2300 other people, there is chaos. I did get hit a lot, 

kicked in the eyes a couple of times really hard, but I only had an incidence of true panic once while struggling to get a breath when there were so many people (majority of whom were strong men) around me and on top of me. Somehow someone managed to pull my cap off half way off my head. I still don't really understand how that happens, but I fixed it and was on my way. I was able to get some clear water for most of the swim and was latching on to toes and drafting as much as I could without being overly committed to one set of feet. As I swam, I thought of all of those mornings of getting into a cold pool at 6 am Masters. I thought of swim coach Jen and how much she has helped me improve my swim. I thought of my lane mates Pam, Cynde and Linda and how I just had to stay focused since I knew they would all be checking my swim time. My goal for the swim was to come out the water feeling strong, not overly exerted and ready to tackle the bike- and if I could do that in 1:06/1:07- then I would be even more happy. When I saw 1:04 on the clock I was thrilled. I didn't feel like I had just swam a 1:04- but swimming with a wetsuit and with a draft certainly does help mitigate perceived effort. 

The run from the swim exit to transition was somewhat far, however, this was one of the highlights of the day. The red carpet was lined with screaming fans. You just feel like such a rockstar.  I took it all in and before I knew it, I was in the changing tent getting ready to ride. As I ascended on the course, I heard Tim Snow's voice in my head- "have the courage to let people pass you on the first part of the bike. You will see them later". It is no secret that riding is not my strength, but it is still hard to have all these people flying by you. I just kept my focus, stayed in my zone and tried to ignore what the people around me were doing. The first loop of the bike felt good and I was ready for loop number two. All was good until the turnaround on Rt 117. The wind had picked up big time. I kept cranking away. There were a couple gusts that gave me a scare and pushed me across the road. Several packs of people went flying by me. It was frustrating to see such blatant drafting, but I told myself that the day was long and if Karma didn't catch up with them on the ride, it would on the run. Sure enough, 2 minutes as I was telling myself this, I saw the marshall give penalties to a whole pack of riders. I was happy I resisted the urge to hang onto their wheels. 

The rest of the bike was uneventful, though as I approached the end,  I was so happy to be getting off my bike on my two feet. A guy riding next to me looked at me at mile 106 and said " I want to get off my bike, but I don't want to run". Yes, I wanted to get off my bike too. The good news was- unlike that guy- I was looking forward to the run. I started to psych myself up and reassuring myself that "I know how to run, I feel comfortable running- I got this."

As I approached transition, I dismounted, did a quick bike hand off to a volunteer and ran into the transition tent to change into my running shoes and I was off.  I had wanted to do 6 hrs on the bike and my bike split was 6:09. I rode smart and steady and set myself up for a good run. It was still a 30 minute bike PR for me and I knew that if I had pushed it on the bike to hit that desired 6 hr split, it may have cost me a lot more time later in the run, so quite frankly I wasn't too concerned and was content with that 6:09,  It is still such a surreal feeling to be in that tent as you are prepping your body to run and telling your mind that you just have to run a marathon and you are done. Just a marathon?? I don't think I have ever let my mind fully comprehend what I was physically about to do, or I might not ever head out on the course. As simple as it is, I just try to focus on staying in my zone, keeping my pace and getting to the first aid station. Mentally, it was so great to have QT2 teammates and Minuteman Road Club and Nantucket Triathlon Club  teammates out there on the course with me. It was such an energy high every time I saw someone I knew. I was running steady and strong and was just hoping I could hold on. There were plenty of aid stations,  the volunteers were awesome and the course was great. As I ran back into town and ran through the village, the course was filled with spectators. It was such a high to run through there- feeling like a rockstar again. I didn't even care that I had to go out and do the loop again. I saw my parents jumping up and down cheering. It means so much and helps so much mentally to have them there.  I can't imagine spectating an Ironman, it is a very long, draining day for spectators. The pugs wouldn't move by the end of the day. The put out there legs in resistance to boycott any type of movement in fear that they would have to go back out on the course. They were quite the hit though with the fans. Even Iron Fan himself wanted a picture with them:

I saw Paula, Walter and Deb Pickett in the crowd and gave them a high five for a final energy boost as I headed out to the second loop. I was still running even splits and can typically keep an even pace for run races, I was just hoping this would be the case today as well.  There were times when I would look at my Garmin and my heart rate was creeping up higher than I wanted to be, so I would back off a little.  The last thing I wanted was to blow up. My average pace stayed consistent for the full time. It was so encouraging not to see that pace slip. I continued to see teammates on this out and back course. On my way back into town, my smile was getting bigger, I knew I was almost there. I was passing a lot of people at this point and passed several in my age group at mile 25. I ran right through the last aid station, not grabbing anything because I knew at this point it wouldn't do anything- I was going to be done in a matter of minutes. There was a final hill climb back into town. As I started to ascend, I heard "Katie Weiler! Katie Weiler!" being chanted. A guy with a bull horn and Tim Snow were at the crest of the hill cheering like crazy. That gave me all the energy I needed to go up that hill, I felt like I was floating, though I am sure I looked like I was trudging. It was so awesome to have Tim out there on the course throughout the day. His simple, yet powerful advice at the QT2 breakfast on Saturday kept my mental game in check during the whole race. As I descended into the finishing chute, people were screaming. I was loving the down hill finish and was giving it all I had. I saw my parents jumping up and down and cheering, which brought a bigger smile to my face. I couldn't wait to cross that line and give them a huge hug. I crossed the line, I vaguely remember Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman saying my name. I couldn't believe I had just run a 3:51. That was what I had wanted to run, but breaking 4 hours in an Ironman marathon just seemed like a stretch. 11:13 (1:04 swim, 6:09 bike, 3:51 run + transitions)- a 59 minute PR and a 2 hour 25 minute improvement since my first one. Going into this season, I wanted to do an 11:30. Going into race week, 11:15 was my goal. Ideally. if stars were aligned, I would have liked to go closer to 11:00. Being closer to 11:00 just wasn't in the cards on Sunday. I nailed my nutrition, I paced a really smart race, but I left everything I had out on the course and that gave me a 11:13. I was 12th in my AG, 48th woman overall and 480th out of 2542 including the Pros. I had hoped to have placed higher up in my age group, but all I had control over was my own race execution, which I couldn't be happier with. But boy- those Canadians can race!
The next couple of hours were filled with a trip to medical (don't worry I am fine), an extensive search for my parents and by extensive I mean staring out the window of the conference center sitting on a set of stairs wrapped in a mylar blanket and hoping I would see them walk by. The skies had opened up with torrential rain and I knew I would be much better staying inside. I finally reconnected with my dad and we went out in time to watch Joe run down the finishing chute. I was filled with joy when I saw the bright green shirt come flying around the corner. People laugh when I tell them that 3 years ago he couldn't run a mile. But I am not kidding and I am not being hyperbolic- I am serious- he couldn't run a mile. And not only could he not run a mile, he couldn't swim 25 yards or bike more than 5 miles. So to come across that line in 13:08 was even more incredible. To say I am proud is an understatement. And the best part- he loved every step.


Overall, this is a must-do Ironman. The picturesque scenery, the gorgeous lake swim, the beautiful bike course and run combined with the excitement and passion from community made this one special Ironman. The athletes felt so welcomed and the whole village was focused on making the event special.
There are way too many people to thank for helping along the Ironman Mont Tremblant journey that officially started back in January. Getting to the start line of an Ironman ready to race is not easy and takes a whole slew of people to support you. A special shout out to QT2 Systems and Pat Wheeler whose coaching and training plan have taken my racing to a new level. Running 12 minute miles back in January took a lot of trust and discipline, but let me tell you- it worked. Thank you to Michael Oxman, Susan Feist, Ride Studio Cafe and the lululemon crew. To coach Jen Dutton who has taken my swim to a new level and to Pam, Cynde and Linda for making this triathlete feel welcomed and make swimming fun. I love the pool now and don't dread it. To all of my QT2 Teammates, MRC teammates, Nantucket Tri Club peeps, and the HTH Southboro crew it was such a a fun journey training with you. From 6 am cold winter morning basement spins at Ted and Pattie's house and Ian's house to the long hot summer workouts out of Concord Center, I look back at this Ironman knowing that the training, the training partners and the relationships formed along the journey are unlike anything else. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
And most of all, thank you to my family- Mom, Dad, Michael and Meghan- thank you for your unconditional love and support. To my parents who still show up to these things with bells on and stand on the side of a road for hours anxiously waiting to see me fly by for a total of 10 seconds, then do it all over again on repeat for 11 hours. I can't even begin to describe how much helps to have you on the side of the road and to have you there to greet me and hug me at the finish. To Joe- words can't express how grateful I am that we were able to share this journey together. You are my rock and keep my balanced every step of the way.

Ironman Mont Tremblant Training Weekend Part 2- Run Course

We got a taste of the Ironman Mont Tremblant run course on day 2 of our training weekend. Overall it is a great course that is going to be a lot of fun to run.

There are some hills, but nothing too major. The run starts out of the transition area in the pedestrian village and you run on sidewalks and bike paths to the old village of Mont Tremblant. The section out to the old village is 3 miles and has some hills. Some people might be really feeling these hills on the second loop.

Like on the bike course, there are signs along the run course with arrows, so it is fairly easy to follow them if you go up early to train on the course.

Once you get to the Old Village, you run on a packed sand path. It is a 6 mile out and back (3 miles each way) in one direction and 1 mile out and back (1/2 mile each way) in another direction. This part of the course was along a stream and was very flat. I really liked the packed sand- it was soft on the legs, but not too soft like loose sand. Everyone I was training with really liked it, but I chatted with some other people training for the Ironman in my hotel lobby later that day. They said that they didn't like the packed sand and thought it was hard to transition from pavement to the sand then back to the pavement. I didn't feel like this was the case at all.

The run course is somewhat shaded, which will be nice for those who will be running during the day. 

The run is a two loop course, so it will be nice to run through the crowds and spectators of the pedestrian village and transition area. I can only imagine that the out and back on the run path is going to be rather quiet with very few spectators. 

After Sunday's training session, Joe and I blended up some recovery smoothies. Yes, I did travel with my Vitamix.

Makes 1 Cherry Cacao Recovery Smoothie:
Measurements are approximate and can be changed based on taste. I never measure- I just throw everything in.
- 1 banana
-2 tablespoons hemp protein powder
- 1 tsp maca
-1/2 cup frozen cherries
-1/4 cup raw cacao powder
-1/4 cup black cherry juice
-1/2 cup ice
-1/4 cup water or non-dairy milk (adjust depending on desired thickness)
-dash of sea salt
-dash of tumeric (this is optional-for anti-inflammatory properties)

Blend and Enjoy!

If you have anymore questions regarding the run course, please post below!

Ironman Mont Tremblant Training Weekend Part 1- Bike Course

Joe and I headed up to Mont Tremblant for a training weekend on Friday afternoon. The car ride took just about 6.5 hours. It only took about 5 minutes to get through Customs. There was a line of only 2 cars ahead of us. I saw different reports on what food we could bring across the border especially regarding fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, but all food is allowed (with limits far greater than I could ever exceed). We packed a cooler filled with our food for the weekend.

Waiting in line at Customs

Eating food I had packed

Saturday morning we met Ted, Pattie, Della, Mark, Lynn, Jen, Jimmy, Jimmy's wife Lisa, to ride the bike course.

I was excited to see what this course was like, how it compared to the Ironman Lake Placid course. People have been posting reports on slowtwitch and various forums and a lot of people were reporting a HILLY course. I had read a couple of reports, but I really haven't been paying too much attention to what people have been saying. In a nut shell,  let me say that I really love this course. It is not as bad as I was expecting at all. The hills are extremely manageable. I was in aero position for most of the course- and that is very atypical for me. It is not technical at all with very few turns. There are small signs with the M-Dot icon along the course with arrows as to which way to go, but not enough to solely follow these signs. It was good that Ted had printed out cue sheets for the few turns we did need to make.  Very little bike handling skills are needed, which is good for us triathletes- well at least me! The consensus among the group was that this course is easier than the Lake Placid bike course.

Bike Course Map

There course is essentially broken up into two out and backs. You start off going north on Route 117. This is a two lane highway with a shoulder large enough to ride 2 abreast. 

Parts of the road were just freshly paved, and they are actively working on finishing the rest. I would imagine they are aiming to have this all done by the 70.3 at the end of June. The road will be closed during the race. 

Route 117 has some gradual rolling hills. There is nothing very steep and you can really get into a rhythm. I felt very comfortable riding this road. The speed limit is 90km (about 57 mph), so the cars flying by were a bit nerve racking at certain sections. By race day, when all the paving is done, this part of the course is going to be great.
You go back past the transition area (which is currently a dirt/gravel parking lot). They are working on this right now as well. This aspect will make it very spectator friendly since friends and family will be able to see riders 4 times on the bike course.
The second out and back is completely different. It is on just a regular road. It is very nicely paved and smooth. The climbs are steeper, but they are shorter, and there is nothing too hard.  I was up out of my saddle more on this out and back than I was on 117. There road has some more twists and turns than 117, but nothing crazy.

My Garmin reported 5148 ft of climbing. All in all it is a great course.

We are staying at the Marriott Residences Inn, which is right in the middle of the action. It is right near the finish line and transition area. Race week, we have a condo, but this hotel was a perfect choice for the weekend. We have a full kitchen and a sitting area with a lot of space. When we checked in the receptionist told us that bikes weren't allowed in the room, but when she realized we were training for the Ironman she said "Oh they must be expensive. For Ironman athletes, you are allowed to bring in the bikes." She gave us old sheets for us to keep our bikes on in the room. We had a dinner inspired from Allen Lim and Chef Biju's book "The Feed Zone". It was quick, easy and great for after a long training day. I didn't have the energy to even look at the recipe and measure anything, so I created the meal based on the crispy chicken dish I had made before. Here is a quick recap:
Ingredients (approx measurements):
Coconut oil for cooking
1/2 cup Millet
2 Organic Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup raisins
1 jalapeno or other hot pepper
1 onion
 4 cloves garlic
3 stalks Kale (any kind is fine, though I used red)
1/2- 1 cup Cilantro
Sea Salt to taste
Cumin to taste

Dinner sides:
1 sweet potato
Arugula
Dressing (Olive oil, Sea salt, Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon)

I brought my rice cooker and made millet:

I roasted 2 chicken breasts for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. I also put in a sweet potato in the oven as well. While everything was in the oven, I chopped 4 cloves of garlic, one onion, 1 hot (ish) pepper (Joe was supposed to get a jalapeno, but supposedly Whole Foods was out of them. I can't even tell you what kind of pepper he got- but it worked!!). I cooked in pan for about 5 minutes. I then added about 1/2 cup of raisins (two handfuls) and added some red kale because I like to add kale to everything! I added 3 stalks of kale, shredded and ripped off the stems. I stirred in some salt, pepper and about 2 tsp of cumin. Season based on your taste.

Once the chicken was done, I shredded the chicken and added it to the pan with the kale, onions, garlic, peppers and raisins.

I cooked for about 5 minutes, then stirred in some cilantro (about a 1/2 cup- one large handful).

I placed the cooked millet on a plate and topped it with the chicken mixture.

To complete the dinner, we split the sweet potato and salad. I made a simple arugula salad and topped it with a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt.

It was a delicious post training day dinner. Now we are ready for another training day. I'm excited to get a better look at the run course. I will post a run course report after today!

Team NRG Bar: Reach the Beach MA Recap

Wait, so you are going to run a 200 mile relay race, sleep in a van, eat in a van, change your clothes in a van, run through the night and not shower? And this is what you call Fun?!

To runners in New England, it doesn't seem too odd since the Reach the Beach relay has been around for years. However, to many others, it seems a bit ludicrous. Ok, I exaggerated a bit- I didn't sleep in the van, I slept on a tennis court, oh and I slept on wet grass... and we all took baby wipe showers- that counts as a shower, doesn't it?

I was excited to be running with Team NRG Bar again- a great group of fast runners and fun people! 

A few of us started our Reach the Beach journey by riding from our houses out to the start at Wachusett Mountain. 

After a great ride with some great climbing to the summit, I recharged with a recovery drink and we loaded the bikes on the NRG Bar Land Rover. We were ready to spend the next 26 hours relay running 200 miles from Wachusett Mountain to Horseneck Beach.

The teams all had staggered starts. We were in the 12:30 pm wave. I was in Van 2 and runner #12, meaning I would run the last leg of each section. We all ran 3 legs of the race, but our total mileage was all slightly different. My three legs totaled just under 17 miles. Which doesn't seem too bad, but when you are running race pace, it fatigues the legs more than you would think.  I started my first leg just after 8 pm. The section was 6.1 miles. I was antsy to run after sitting around all afternoon and was pleased with how strong and good I felt. When I finished, it was Van 1's turn to take over the running. We went to the Van Transition area where we were going to meet them to take over. Some of us stayed in and slept in the van and some of us pulled out the sleeping bags and slept for about an hour and a half on wet grass. At 12:30 am, it was our time to run again. It is a bit surreal to be running in the wee hours of the morning, however it is not as difficult as I initially expected. It is rather serene and spiritual to be running in solitude in the dark, nothing quite like it.  I had my second leg at about 4 am. I did need a little caffeine kick, so I sipped on some green iced tea that I had packed. 

In addition to the green tea, I had packed some other goodies to keep me fueled and strong while on the quest of reaching the beach. Some of my snacks included apple sauce. I mixed in some chia seeds for some an extra nutritional punch: 

Banana chips I had dehydrated in my dehydrator:

                            Roasted purple potatoes with salt, pepper and herbs de provence:

 Roasted sweet potatoes, celery sticks and sunflower seed butter, and homemade "trail mix" of cacao nibs, dried cherries and goji berries were among the other things in my cooler. 

We had a bit of a transition SNAFU before I started my second leg. After Ian had worked so hard and ran his butt off to have a fast leg, I wasn't there when he arrived to hand off the baton. I was walking down and heard volunteers calling my name. I dropped my sweatshirt and started sprinting. We had had a bit of a time calculation miss.  I grabbed the baton from him and took off. And I took off the wrong way. Ooops. I realized the dirt path I was running down, wasn't the proper trail. In my haste to make up for lost time, I missed the sign with the arrow. I quickly turned around, found the trail and proceeded to run my little tail off to make up for lost time. It was a nice trail in a state park (it is all a blur, I couldn't even tell you what town I was in), but the trail was packed dirt rather than jagged roots and so it was easy to run through the night with a headlamp as my guiding light. I arrived at the next transition area realizing the same thing that had just happened was repeating itself... Charlene wasn't there. It was only about a minute later when I saw her fast little legs sprinting to take the baton, and she was gone in a flash.

 We went to the next transition area where we were meeting Van 1 for our final leg in about 3 hours. It was 5 am and the sun was coming up, but a couple of us spread out our sleeping bags on a tennis court and I got a couple of hours of surprisingly great sleep. At around 9:45 am, our van took over to run our last legs. Everyone was running strong. The temperature was rising and the sun was beating down on us and our fatigued bodies, but our paces slowed down very minimally. I wasn't feeling great going into my last leg and knew I needed to dig deep to finish strong. The second part of my run was a gorgeous run along the water. As I got closer to the beach, there were trailers lining the road where I was running. My mind envisioned that I was running the Ironman Mont Tremblant course and the trailers were really flags and banners along the finishing chute... haha my imagination was definitely going wild as I was digging deep to keep the pace up and to keep on picking off teams. There was one guy pretty far ahead that I was slowing reeling in. About a mile out from the finish, people were cheering me on to pass him and shouting things like "Road kill ahead! Go catch him!".I wasn't going to let him get away, so I picked up the pace. The whole team was waiting at the finish and we were able to pass him and run across the finish line together. 

Team NRG Bar ended up winning our division and getting 14th/175 teams. 

A huge thanks to Dan O'Rourke and NRG Bar for sponsoring such a great team. Thank you to Charlene Nassa, our fearless captain. It takes a lot of work to organize all of this and even more work to keep all of us in line!  And thank you to Jo, Tracey, Chad, Mark, Gregg, Kyle, Ardria, Jen and Ian for the fun, hard work, laughter and good times. To Jo and Jen for letting us trash your Mini Vans and to Timmy Glickman for taking great care of our bikes!

Don't forget to stock up on some healthy, delicious "Naturally Really Good" NRG Bars. They are great to fuel your workout or as a snack. Check out where you can find them at a store near you using the store locator. Follow NRG Bar on Facebook and on Twitter @NRGbar