overhaul...

I haven't disappeared, I promise. :) I'm planning to overhaul my blog so stay tuned for the changes!

with endurance,
laryssa

2-time iron girl!

I wanted to blog on Friday or Saturday before the race, as I had many thoughts and flashbacks going into Iron Girl Atlanta for the second time. Flashback... Last year's IG ATL was my first triathlon. I raced with a group of friends and for most of us, it was our first tri. I completed my training and was unsure of what would happen on race day. I knew there were rollers on the course, to include a hill that was downright nasty. And it's still nasty! What I wasn't prepped for last year was the open water swim. Yes, I had practiced in open water but not with 148 other bodies around me. :)

I had read almost every OWS tip out there and performed the training drills. Long story short, I got caught in the crowd at the first buoy and was pulled under a couple of times (yes, pulled under). The clobbering wasn't on purpose. We were all simply trying to make that turn. I couldn't overcome that helpless feeling so I panicked and rolled on my back to backstroke, talking out loud...wondering what I had gotten myself into. I'm not sure how many types of swim strokes I used but it was at least 3 or 4 when it was over. LOL I made it through. Frazzled but an overcomer. Side note: to all you newbies out there, don't let a bad experience define you. Don't let panic or mishap rob you of the joy of what you accomplished. You could've given up—maybe wanted to!—but you stuck it out. Celebrate that!

I learned a lot from last year's experience, knowing exactly what I needed to work on. I'm the type of learner who prefers an un-cut version, so I couldn't help but laugh whenever someone tweeted this video clip of a simulated OWS start. I wish I would've seen this prior to my first tri.



This vid makes me laugh every time! I think one of the guys yells, "Sink!" at the end. :) I wouldn't be able to convince my sweet friends to do this to me so I tried different approaches in training this year and kept working on my balance.

Fast forward... I felt more confident this time around but still nervous. My age-group was once again the largest and the first to go (2 minutes after the pros). NBC cameras were scattered about. As we lined up at the start getting ready to cross the mat, I was smart this time—I waited. I walked slowly in the water at the back-left of the pack...I took my time, knowing full well it would cost me just that...time. It was quite humbling to take such an approach but I knew I needed to do it.

I made it to the buoy okay. Turned the buoy okay. Then I had a flashback of last year & freaked a little. LOL I quickly rolled to my back to talk to myself. But this time I told myself, "You have 30 seconds to work this out and roll back over." I rolled back over and forced that "excited" breathing back into the water and told myself to keep going. I still wasn't as calm as I would've liked but I was amazed that the more I told myself to keep going, I actually kept going...imagine that!

Over halfway through the swim, I rolled to my right to breathe and I could hear my kids along the beach screaming, "Go Mom!" That inspired me like you wouldn't believe. By that time, a few "fishies" from the 2nd wave had caught up to us slower swimmers. I grabbed on to a set of speedy feet & rode them all the way in. :) Wish I could learn that art in the beginning. LOL I was happy that I freestyled almost the entire time but my time was still very slow. I was slightly disappointed when exiting the water and my watch read 16:58 (for 587 yards), which turned into slightly over 17 minutes by the time I dashed to the first mat...only a minute faster than last year's multiple-stroke, frantic swim. The rest of the run into T1 was long and steep. It's slightly frustrating to be in the bottom AG half coming out of the water, see most of the bikes gone in T1, and come back into T2 and most of those bikes are still gone. It's good in the sense that it means I have good bike splits but still....gotta bring the swim up to par!

The bike was as expected—still very hilly and just shy of 19 miles (vs. 18). I shaved almost 8 minutes off of my bike time this year! I encountered several blocking situations along the way but thankfully motorcycles were all over the bike course warning ladies. As for the rolling run, I shaved a minute off of last year's time.

Over a thousand women registered this year, to include 6 pros who absolutely ROCKED! Mirinda Carfrae brought home yet another W. She "tore it up!" as we say in the South. :) 914 women finished plus there were 21 relay teams. I was 88th overall and 18th out of 180 women in my 35-39 age group. Top 10% ain't half bad eh? Within my AG, I was 11th on the bike & 8th on the run. Quite humbling when I think about it, especially with this venue, the ability levels there & the rockin' tough gals in my AG. The swim? I was near the bottom in my AG...blah, blah, blah. The good thing is it's always a great learning experience. How else would I know what I need to work on?!? Thankfully, I now have someone who's willing to get me to that next level of swim improvement. In the end & outside of all the stats, this is plain fun! Challenging fun. I love meeting new peeps and hearing their stories. Looking forward to my next race. Stay tuned!

with endurance...
laryssa

finally! misc updates + season tri opener & country music marathon

Yes it's me. :-) It's been a while and I've attempted for weeks to blog. Lots happened with my family in VA & NJ within the past two months. Things are just now starting to settle.

I don't want to bore you in catching you up and I don't mean to be informal, but I'm going to roll bullet-style (without the bullets), capturing random thoughts before they quickly flee. :-) Not only that but it allows you to read what you want to read and skip anything else.

Recipes. I'll create another simple blog for my recipes. It is such a joy for me to share great food treasures that I've mined or been given by others. I'm working on a cookbook, nothing formal (Kinko's print-n-bind style). More to come on that...on the other blog.

Tri Opener. My triathlon season opener was on April 4. I wrote an exhaustive report on BeginnerTriathlete. Couldn't bear to repeat that here, so I'll try to make it short. It was special for several reasons: 1) one of my closest friends invited us (it was her & her hubby's 1st tri), 2) it was my hubby's first tri, and 3) it was my first tri of my 2nd season. I did well, could've done better (why do we always say that?!). The race was a great assessment of my strengths & weaknesses. I won my 35-39 AG and was 4th overall female, yeehaw! Thankfully, running gives me a little bit of an edge when it's all said-n-done. I ran a 23:02 hilly 5K with a full bladder. Certainly not my fastest 5K but the 2nd fastest run split behind my clubmate Sarah by 10 seconds (she won 2nd overall female). I needed to make up a lot of time for my ultra-conservative swim, and I lost a little time on the bike (18.1 mph avg). Even with the rollers on the course, I should've averaged at least 19mph. Fastest gal, an IM-triathlete, was at approx. 19.6mph avg. It took me a while to understand that I need to ride at race-pace and not my "10-minute warm-up first" pace on the bike. Riding with a bunch of fast guys last year on Wednesdays helped tremendously with increasing my speed & understanding pacing on the bike. The tri was a LOT of fun! My hubby & I plan to go back next year & race with our friends. Oh yeah, my honey won 3d in his 40-45 AG by 6 seconds, YEH!

Writing. Hmmm. I was pressed to meet writing deadlines because of our erratic schedule, but I had to make some hard decisions. God is incredibly Faithful in the midst of the craziness. What in the werrrld would I do without my relationship with Him?! :) I'm thankful and deeply humbled for the wonderful opportunities I'm given to write and share.

My First Mary. Oh bubba. LOL The good news is that I've waited so long to post this that you'll get all the good nuggets first. The Rock-n-Roll Country Music Marathon in Nashville was a blast! Loved the city, loved the hilly course & the bands. The bands/stages were positioned just right—there were times where I loved the entertainment, but then there were times where I needed the silence (i.e. by the river between miles 14 & 17). I actually wanted to jump in the river (read below why).

Now to the real stuff. It was hot as blazes! It was unusually hot for that time of year. The average is usually 55 at the start and 65 at the finish. On the runner's shuttle bus at 5:30am, I saw a bank display with a temperature reading of 73 degrees. I suspected then that I might be in trouble. I'm a spoiled runner who prefers 40-60 degree temps. I had done no heat training, and "being fast" would not be enough to carry me through a potentially hot run in my projected finish time.

There were over 35,000 runners there and though I was up front with a very early corral, the crowding was a bit overwhelming the first 10K. With all the weaving in and out of traffic, it was hard to hold my pace that would yield a 3:40 finish. I figured I would make up time on the back half. Well, as soon as the half-marathoners broke off at mile 11, the crowding eased up a little. Problem was, it was really hot at that point and hardly a tree or shading in sight. I'm talking mid-80's y'all! My skin felt like an egg in a skillet. I changed my fuel/hydration plan & it worked extremely well. I never felt like I "hit the wall" or was physically depleted. However, I was hot, soaked with sweat, and miserable. The heat added another dimension of the mental battle that I simply wasn't armed to fight. My girlfriend at Fort Campbell laughed and told me later that it was a record high that day. :-) Everyone from my local friends, to tweep buds, to the 3:10 seasoned marathoner guy I met at the start—we all finished 40-75 minutes slower than predicted. I got a nasty sunburn too (on my shoulders & back). Crossing paths with the elite runners on the course, specifically the Kenyan males, was like art in motion...fast, fluid and downright beautiful.

Great news is I finished!!! I was way off my goal but this was by far one of the most rewarding experiences ever. This time last year, I couldn't run more than 5 miles without agonizing pain because of an old college knee (sports) injury. And yet I ran 26.2 miles! Yes, Scarlett (my red minivan) is pimped-out with a 26.2 sticker. I definitely need to give a "shout-out" & thanks to Jeff Galloway for his method & getting me through it with pretty much no knee pain! I wore my knee strap just in case. I was sore the next two days but felt completely fine by Tuesday morning. I still followed a recovery regimen though.

I'd run CMM again for sure! I don't think I'll run another marathon this year as I want to focus on tris this summer. Maybe I'll run the full at Myrtle Beach in February...either that or run the half again and aim for a PR (1:38). I certainly want to run another marathon. Stay tuned to find out when. :-)

key lime pound cake recipe

By popular demand, I'm posting the Key Lime Pound Cake recipe. I'm from the south and grew up eating all kinds of cakes (from scratch of course), but pound cakes were by far the most popular.

The recent cover of Celebrate Spring immediately caught my eye at a checkout counter (note: the cover text in this picture is slightly different than the newsstand copy). There's a beautiful picture of a pound cake with the caption, "Moist & Delicious Key Lime Pound Cake." Sold! I love key lime anything, so this cake was already a success. I followed the recipe exactly and have filed it in my Keepers! recipe binder. I will definitely serve this again during the spring and summer months.

Key Lime Pound Cake

by Bonnie Boland

Makes 1 (10-inch) pound cake

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup all-vegetable shortening

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs, separated

3 cups sifted cake flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons lime zest

1/2 cup Key lime juice

Garnish: confectioners' sugar, lime twists, raspberries

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 10-inch tube pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy.

Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Add lime zest and juice, mixing well.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Dust cake with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Garnish with lime twists and raspberries, if desired.

**I didn't need to bake the entire time; ovens will vary. I put whipped cream (or ice cream) on mine. :) Enjoy!!! (This mag is loaded with great recipes & decorating/design ideas.)

recent fitness faves

Just wanted to quickly blog about my recent favorite products. The last two items are women-specific.

Sugoi R+R Knee High Socks. These race & recovery socks were recommended on several sites I frequent. I started using them last month on my long runs and I heart these! I could definitely tell a difference with reduced fatigue. These socks are not too tight & not too loose. The contour of the foot provides the perfect fit (no blistering either!). Simply put, they're downright comfortable and they work. Most importantly, they're fashionable...in a weird compression-sock-kind'o-way. They have texture and color variation, and if I'm going to sweat like a beast (do beasts sweat???), then I want to look as Prada-like as possible. Don't act like I'm the only vain athlete!!!

Gu Roctane. I recently added this to my training. I always have a case of Vanilla Bean Gu in my kitchen, along with random singles of other Gu flavors. I've read a lot about Roctane and decided to try it last month (Blueberry Pomegranate). I used it in conjuction with regular Gu. I can't pinpoint an exact moment during my run where I "felt it" kick in but I must say that my run performance that day was different; it was better. I finished a very long run quite strong and with some gas still left in the tank, which usually doesn't happen. I noticed that Roctane has the same number of calories, carbs, and sugar as regular Gu, but it has more amino acids, caffeine, sodium and potassium which is definitely a plus! I wasn't sure how my body would respond to the blueberry pomegranate combo but it stayed down. It's not too sweet and not too tart, which made it just right for my discriminating palate and sensitive stomach.

Tifosi Dea Sunglasses w/3-lens set. These are my latest purchase. I haven't tested them on a ride yet but I really like these! I wanted a different style of athletic glasses—you know, a pair that doesn't look athletic—and I came across these. The leopard frames are simply smokin'! But I opted for the color that's not shown—pearl white (I have enough black and brown frames). As soon as I slid them on, I was hooked. First off, they're stylish enough to wear outside of sports. Also, I have kinky-coily hair and most glasses snag my hair...not these. The large lenses are an added bonus, and they fit a narrow face just right. They're functional and stylish. Need I say more??? :)

Scunci Performance Headband. I'm slightly annoyed that Scunci doesn't have a photo of this on the web, so I had to snap my own picture. I've seen performance headbands in sports catalogs but never wanted to order any. While in Kmart last week buying printer paper, I noticed this new item on my way out. Of course, I bought one and wore it the next day to group spin. This is my newest favorite accessory! I like how it has elastic on the bottom and wide performance fabric on the sides and top, making it very comfy (no headaches!). I don't know how well it wicks...doesn't matter. It became a keeper when it held down my fro during the entire workout (my hair is big and wild!). I must have the other colors now!

with endurance...

story behind the chocolate gu peanut butter bagel

Recently, Amateur Endurance posted "Another Use for Chocolate Gu" on twitter (@AmEndurance). They thanked a gal who's twitter name is @elleToom—yes, me! As a woman, I often have chocolate cravings, dark chocolate in fact. I'm a big believer in clean eating and moderation when it comes to food, and yet, I know how important nutrition is in endurance training.

I love to cook, or rather, I enjoy great-tasting food. As a [retired] military wife, we've entertained a lot of people during my husband's career. All those dinner parties and cookouts unleashed a creative cooking beast-of-sorts in me. I'm typically known for stickin' to the recipe script, but every now and then, my inner Jamie Oliver emerges...even with training fuel.

My must-have training food items are a bagel spread with natural peanut butter and a banana. I don't race without them...ever! Nothing else works for me like these, and if it ain't broke... I also keep containers of recovery drink and cases of Gu in the kitchen—I don't train or race long distances without those either.

In the middle of a chocolate craving (and an absence of dark chocolate in the house) I turned to my Chocolate Outrage Gu (yes, I know...slightly desperate). But my adventurous palate wasn't content with having it alone. Why not re-create the flavor of those famous chocolate-peanut butter cups & feel like I'm eating the forbidden??? You guessed it...I spread the chocolate gu on my PB-bagel and ran a long distance day. Craving was satisfied, body was fueled—a win-win, guilt-free training food combo (taste trick is to have a good amount of peanut butter or only use half of the chocolate gu). Check it out here on Amateur Endurance!

with endurance,
laryssa

online tri community for women

Tri buds/gals...if you haven't had a chance, please swing by and visit GOTRIbal -- a fab (and growing!) social networking site that promotes triathlon worldwide. There's a range of women from first-timers to seasoned vets who rock the M-Dot. These ladies are down-to-earth and their stories are inspiring!

Chrissie Wellington has "plugged" this site...in fact, her TYR suit is up for auction on the Discussion Forums -- check it out!

with endurance,
laryssa