Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from October 21, 2012

Spectator advice at a race

Tampa Twilight Classic IMWI 2010 For the past 6.5 years, Karel and I have spent many of weekends on race courses. I've always felt we make a great team because we both share a similar lifestyle with different passions. Well, different passions until this May when Karel decided to embrace the challenge of triathlons after racing competitively as a cyclist (in Europe and USA) as a top cyclist.   Watching Karel race in cycling races was so exciting and I loved the energy and vibe at cycling venues. Unlike triathlons, I never knew if Karel would finish a race for a crash, bad luck or not having the legs to keep up with other teams/riders was always a "what if" scenario. But nevertheless, Karel never stopped enjoying cycling races....he just wanted to a new challenge. In triathlons, Karel has been my #1 fan (tied w/ my parents) and he helps me reach my full potential. When I have doubts, worries or fears, he keeps me calm and gives me the confidence I need to su

Is your brain aging faster than your body?

I've always been that student. The one in the front of the class, asking "why". Throughout my post High School educational career (2000-2011) I have found myself becoming a better educator because I take the time to learn as much as I can about a topic before instructing, counseling or motivating others. One of the biggest problems in our society today is that most people like quick answers. When it comes to research and making conclusions, nothing is done quickly and that frustrates people. They don't have time to "work" on their own lifesyle so they need a quick fix (ex. meal plan, diet fad, answer from a forum) as to how make changes yesterday rather than learning how to make for a better tomorrow. I never feel content just scratching the surface of any topic. I can't be an expert in everything but I can use my resources to be as up-to-date as possible to make educated choices and to better serve the public. I recently read two great articles on

Successful dieting & Quinoa creation

First off..... HAPPY FOOD DAY!!         Lunch n' Learns are my favorite kind of talks. One hour of learning and the participants don't have to be hungry as I talk about food.                                      Yesterday I gave a local Lunch n' Learn to a wonderful group of individuals from Northwestern Mutual. I spent much of my talk discussing 3 common myths (gluten free diet, fruits and veggies to improve mood and fat burning exercise) but the underlying message was discussing lifestyle modifications and a different approach to thinking about life rather than spending so much energy on diet, the body and exercise. Certainly, diet and exercise make for a quality life but we all have our own personal goals and we can't wrap up all our energy trying to be like others, looking like others or achieving the goals of others. At the end of the talk, a male asked me about quick meals. He said that he doesn't have time to cook because he comes home starvi

Sweet potato pancakes

  I hope you enjoyed the weekend as much as we did. The weather was outstanding and a nice taste of fall. Today I enjoyed the view of Karel's back wheel for an hour as he did an easy spin. I typically don't do bricks in the off-season but I couldn't resist the beautiful weather. I did my "long run" of 6 miles, keeping my heart rate controlled in low Z3. This is something that I am working very hard on during this off-season and a few of my athletes are sharing the same frustration of seeing a slower pace while teaching the body to run more efficiently. I am always reminding my athletes (and myself) that this pays off and I also enjoy having the opportunity to slow down for one run a week to really soak up the scenery and find the beauty in moving my feet forward. A while back I was asked by Ted Spiker to contribute to his Runner's World article on pancakes. Sadly, there was too much content for his article so a few things got cut but thankfully, he took t