Live Strong

So, I'm going to go ahead and it put it out there that I'm aiming to lose at least 10 pounds but I hate, hate the idea of dieting. I think I put on some LB's because I tend to overeat after a workout thinking, "hey I deserve to splurge" and then I just kept splurging more and more. Last year I paid for a site that counted my calories but now there is an even better one that is pretty much free!

www.livestrong.com

It will ask you first how much you weigh, what your height is, , what your normal activity level is, and then what your goal is. Goals could be "I want to maintain my weight", "I want to lose/ gain 1 lb. a week", "I want to lose/ gain 2lbs. per week." Then you enter in what you eat every day (MyPlate) and the activity that you do and it charts it out for you what you have left for the rest of the day. It tracks water consumption, fitness, sodium levels, etc.

That's it just passing on a little gem for the rest to enjoy.

Man Weekend

Yes, that's right I was invited to go to Man Weekend. Pete's younger brother organizes it with one of his best friends from growing up. Basically you go camping and do manly things all weekend but the whole family is invited. It's pretty much dedicated to Chuck Norris.

We camped and rode around on ATV's all weekend in beautiful Marysvale, Utah. Others fished. There was even a chicken making competition where you had to cook over an open fire. In our camp site Pete and I won. I gave him the recipe idea and he did all the execution so technically- HE won. :) I'll share the basis for the recipe from the wonderful and extremely talented Bobby Flay:

Pomegranate-Black Pepper Glaze
½ cup pomegranate molasses
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 heaping tablespoon prepared horseradish, drained
½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk together all ingredients and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before using.

Pan Roasted Chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 (8-ounce) boneless chicken breasts, skin on
Pomegranate Glaze
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over high until almost smoking. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the pan, skin-side down and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn chicken over, brush with some of the glaze and continue cooking, brushing with the glaze every minute, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes longer.

Triathlon Weekend

When we got back from Croatia (Labor Day Monday) we went straight back to work the next day and then after the work week we had our triathlons to do. Whew these races were rough for me because I hadn't slept well the whole week. Jet lag really effects me big time. I'd fall asleep at 8am and wake back up at 12am, 2am, and then finally I'd just get up at 4am. I let myself do it all week because I knew I'd need to wake up that early on Saturday for my first race.

So a little back story if you will. In May of 2009 I entered an Olympic distance triathlon race in Las Vegas. An Olympic distance race consists of about a mile swim, a 25 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run. I came out of the water strong during that race but crashed really really hard on the bike. I smacked my head hard- concussion, skinned my face down through my shin on my left side, and jammed my shoulder. An ambulance came for me and I was disqualified from the race because I couldn't finish the bike. (Yet I did run after the race crew dropped me back at the transition area).


Happy times. So in 2010 I needed to cross this distance race off my to do list. The Vegas race didn't hold an Olympic race this year so I did the Malibu Olympic distance race on Saturday. Every other year I've done the sprint distance race with the Disney Tri Team (the opus race of the season). So, when they needed fast relay swimmers for the Sunday race- I signed up for that two.

Well due to a million factors (but mostly lack of sleep and lack of training during my vacation) both of my races were pretty crappy this season. Oh well, just more incentive to hit it hard throughout this next year!