Its a vegetarian taco.....so he says

Galaxy Taco- La Jolla Shores- have you been?  If not, I highly recommend it.

I meet my Dad and Kathi weekly or bi- weekly for lunch/coffee/dinner and yesterday we returned to Galaxy Taco as our first experience was so wonderful.   it's in La Jolla Shores so on a sunny Good Friday traffic and parking were a bit of a challenge but the setting is fantastic.

Al fresco dining, even inside the doors open up 100% and the sea breeze comes in. The colors are vibrant, young staff and great food.  I have only had the tacos, cauliflower and ceviche and all were fantastic.

Grilled fish taco

I went with the grilled fish taco and my dad ordered the same plus another taco.  The tacos are small so I recommend 2.  I was debating ordering another one when he offered 1/2 of his 2nd "vegetarian" taco.  It was "non meat of some kind" covered in guac, salsa and bit of cheese.  I took a bit and was a bit surprised by the texture it was odd.  I added some hot sauce and finished it off and had a distinct feeling along with a displeasing aftertaste that this was not some kind of meat alternative.  Dad says it is potatoe or something.

This was not a potato.  I retrieve the menu and he points out the Lengua Taco.  I start to squirm a bit as I am 99% sure this is not a vegetable.  I quickly google Lengua....Beef Tongue.  My mouth starts to water and I try not to picture the horrific packages I have seen in the store.  I think of Roo and Mako's tongues.   Quickly quiver and move on.

The good news is I did not throw up or get sick!   The take away....never trust a carnivore who says it "vegetarian"

As longs you read the menu.... I still recommend Galaxy Taco.

Easter and lazy Americans

Still my favorite Easter cartoon

My dad sent me this picture with the caption "for lazy Americans" and it made me really sad...

My first cynical thought was these eggs are non organic. ( how d I know - the $)   So the poor chickens were jacked up on hormones and antibiotics and lived stacked on top of each other pooping on each others heads while forced to mass produce eggs.

  1- poor chickens 2- unhealthy eggs

My second cynical thought was how much fun the annual dying of Easter Eggs is.  Every year JD and Riley got a dozen of eggs (they were really when I bought brown eggs)  and it was an afternoon of dying, coloring, tie dying  eggs, creatively decorating and most likely eating  candy.  It was family time and a connections.

So the idea of strolling into Vons or wherever and buying pre-dyed eggs saddens me.

Maybe Riley and I will dye eggs on late Sunday now that she will be here on Easter....She was always planning to fly home Sunday and I had her flying home a week from Sunday.  I was so impressed that she was planning ahead by over a week for her visit only to realize I was a week off.  We had a good laugh imagining her texting me from the airport at 9pm and likely I would be asleep....Situation remedied and plane ticket now a lot more $.

More Easter information.... interesting that in SIRRUS radio there has been a serious increase in advertising for the Catholic Channel- tune in on Sunday.  Does that replace Mass or it it extra credit? 

Tapering

Oceanside 70.3 is nearly a week away and Galveston is the following weekend. While some of my athletes have toed the line at Desert Tri and SuperSeal, the early season A races are coming fast. 

If you are racing in 10-17 days- keep in mind, the work is done!  Especially for Oceanside and mostly for Galveston. 

Triathletes are wired to top off the tank, get in one more quality session, add one more xx.  That one more can do you in.  You are much better showing up race day at 90% of your fitness vs 105%.  Once you are overdone you cannot dig deep late in the race.   The last part of the race is where you need to go to that special place of pain and suffering and that is nearly impossible if you are overdone. 

If in doubt “save it for race day”

Taper with the same commitment you have when you train.  Follow your plan and if it says rest, rest. Don’t use the extra time to weed the garden or clean the house, lie down for 20 min, read a bit, hang with your kids.   If reading about other people’s workouts affect you, shut it down, ignore social media for a few days and trust in your plan and process. When the doubts bubble up, set up a talk with your coach or look back and see what you have done to prepare for the big day.  

Not tapering correctly can make or break your race.  Tapering does not mean to stop training or just go easy.  Ideally you want to shorten duration and keep the intensity.  More race pace efforts to keep the muscles firing and dialing in what that effort feels like.

Bike: add in 5x5 minutes race pace efforts or 20 min race effort

Run:  ½ mile efforts at race pace, 10 x 2 min race pace

Swim: 10x25 at hard effort with 30 sec rest, 500 build to an all-out finish  

Diet: with a reduction in training your calories need to decrease but DON’T “diet” or try and lose weight. You want to race with where you are now as losing weight race week is a drain on your system. .  Eat clean – whole foods, minimally processed and as the race approaches you may want to decrease high fiber foods and increase your carbohydrates.  Increased carbs don’t need to be with copious amounts of white pasta- sweet potatoes are a great source of carbs.  

 Sleep- reduced training will give you more energy but that does not mean sleep less.  Lay down anyway, horizontal and relaxed still restores the body.

Hydration- stay hydrated, especially if you are traveling.

Relax and prepare mentally.  Use your extra time to run through the race and be prepared to suffer- it is a race. Wrap you head around it!   

The things that hover over you...

1- A car that that you wish you never bought and are not trying to sell and it is not selling and you did not sell it to Carmax 3 weeks ago because the offer was horrifyingly low and you knew you could get more money on your own and you don't get any real offers and it sits in your front yard with a For Sale Sign which is really a giant in your face you idiot kind of sign and the last person to inquire was a Jehovah Witness who used that to get me to answer the door and yes this is a run on sentence.

Yesterday I took the Carmax offer and am done with the car!  Ii felt like I was returning with my tail between my legs, but whatever.  Easy and painless, other than the brilliant idea of Ubering or Lyfying home. Seems Escondido is not prime Uber/Lyft territory and the car that was 8 min away was really 23 or 28 minutes away and Romeo may or may not have been in bed when he "accepted " the call and his car did not move for 10 minutes and than moved in the wrong direction.  But I was really patient after losing money on my car at Carmax and waiting 8 or 23 or now 31 minutes.  But the car was clean and the music was explicit and the traffic was now bad so we came home through Elfin Forrest- weird driving through there vs riding.

But the car is GONE and the sting and financial loss will soon fade away.  And I don't have to see it every morning when I back out in the car I love!

2- the most expensive trainer ( I think $ can buy) the Wahoo Kickr which has not been kicking since Feb 27 due to "wheel locking up"  I opened a ticket and was assured and easy fix.  9 messages later, installing and reinstalling and testing and sending data culminated in me throwing a few objects and not saying nice words. John stepped in and expedited or eventually got the new sensor installed and fixed.   At one point I put a towel over the trainer so I did not have to be reminded of the issue, sort of like the car, but a towel over a bike and trainer caused Mako distress and incessant barking which only made the issue more obvious.  But yesterday I was able to "enjoy" another painful trainer session.

So with those to "issues" resolved.... I am happier :)   Talk about first world problems I know, I know.

Another big decision made - Oceanside 70.3 is happening for me!  I will do the best I can on that day.  I have run miles in me, just not enough, I have a few fast miles, just not enough.  So I say I am racing with realistic expectations.

1-  I am getting old  (lets be honest)
2- 13 weeks of  not-running for a non runner takes it toll and the pace does not come back quickly
3- I really am happy to be healthy enough to toe the line!
4- If I try to blog about a disappointing race I will have this post to read to remind me of where my fitness is today!
5- racing means I get to taper :) I love tapering for a few days and than I get restless etc.... 

One time at Triathlon Camp....

In a sea of Smashfest there is a Betty Designs in the back

I got smashed....and not in an alcoholic way, in a Hillary Biscay aka Smashqueen kind of way.

It was awesome!  

This was the 6th "camp" of my triathlon career.  You've come along way baby.....I know a Virginia Slims Ad but thinking back to my first camp, I have progressed IMHO.

Camp 1- I was 4 months into the sport, rocking a road bike with clip on aero bars, was totally star struck by Paula Newby-Frasier and Heather Fuhr as well as Paul Huddle (who called me DunkleDonut) and Roch Frey.  Not to mention our guest speaker Michellie Jones.  The camp was all levels but as we went around the room expressing our goals and I heard things like "top off my fitness for O'side in hopes of Kona Qualifying" " Train 20 hours over the next 5 days"  "dial in my power (I had no idea what that meant"....meanwhile my goals were survive the workouts and not fall over on my bike.  I was in over my head. That was 2007.   I spent 4 days soaking up everything I heard, taking notes to google later as some of it most of it was foreign to me.  The camp was not an ironman camp and was likely not that hard, but for me it was epic.  When I heard most of the campers were climbing Palomar on the last day after our run, I was gobsmacked, I could hardly make it back home let alone ride to a coffee shop.  I left camp wondering how I  would EVER complete at 70.3.  Ironman was not on the horizon...

Fast forward 8 years to Camp 6- Smashfest Camp - this was a camp for athletes who have gone sub 12 hours in an Ironman.  Although the truth of it is many were sub 10 hour athletes.  #outofmyleague . The idea was a group of more experienced athletes who would push each other and leave some of us in the dust.  Stacked with a a few female pro's, ex pro's and top 30ish age groupers this group was bad ass.   

Thur- Mon went down like this..

Thur- shake out 7 mile run - 88 degrees, hilly, hot and I was dying.  Oh boy camp is going to be tough...We had a nice group dinner, good fun and everyone is relaxed and fresh. 

really like this- if you are a heavy
sweater..check it out

Fri am- started  with 100 mile ride including Madera Canyon - fighting a head wind back and a long day on the bike.   I paced it well and was really happy to be feeling strong in the final hours.  Hydrated well with The Right Stuff and a plenty of calories.   Food/rest and hit the pool at 5:15 pm- who swims at 5pm after 100 mile ride ?  Hillary does-  Not to mention 16x25- 3 all out/1 ez with band only followed by 200 all out with paddles/band/buoy. Not so bad ? Try it 4 times.... I was drowning at the end.  Dragging myself out of the pool I could tell I was cutting new muscles trying to stay afloat. 

Sat AM - 100x100 - I was mistakenly not worried as I have done this a few times.  BUT when I did it,  it was aerobic and chill.  Again not with Hillary in the lead.  We had butterfly mixed in, 18x100 with band only and my goal was to not get lapped, but I did,  and soon my goal was to stay afloat, which I did not.   Then we did 40x100 on 1:25/1:20/1:15/1:10- WTF - I would have started crying but I was too tired.  I wanted to quit but did not have the energy to quit.  ALL the team HPB'rs swim with bands 3x week.  So they rocked it..... and I drowned.  

Can you feel the pity party....it was huge! 

 We finished the swim and I dragged myself into the shower, drove to Whole Foods not really able to speak.  Purchased a fresh guacamole tub for a party of 10  with salty chips, triple latte and XoXo chocolate bar. I sat in my car shaking  and consumed inhaled most of it.  Once I could see again I drove back to Marilyns for a nap. 

 As we had a nice "recovery" ride up Gates Pass- who recovers up PASS? Hillary does.   The ride was actually pretty chill- 2 hours and I felt pretty good. 


 Post ride 4 mile run 2 miles up hill were not fun, but the last 2 miles were awesome- I was crusing thinking about avocados, sweet potatoes, cheese and all of I sudden a freaking Javelina is right in front of me. Holy scary pig or whatever...HR spiked and I sprinted home.  

I had to google it- seems it is a peccary/skunk pig - hoofed mammal.   Once I learned it was an Omnivore I did not freak out as much

Tired, sore and famished.  I dumped roasted sweet potatoes, spinach and eggs in the pan, grated copious amounts of cheese and ate almond butter out of the jar while it cooked.  I inhaled dinner, crawled in my recovery boots and crashed.   

Sunday I woke up feeling totally hung over...although I had not had any alcohol.  I even looked in the kitchen in case I blindly drank a bottle of wine- nope.  Ugh..... this was going to be a tough day. 7am Technique swim to start. So I guzzled coffee, NUUN and AA and started to feel human.  Had a few t of Almond Butter as it was an ez swim.

Guess what it was an easy swim for 20 of the 23 campers, but special 3 of us did 25 sprints, kicking and than we did 30 second bursts tied to the swim ladder - that was  "fun".

LOVE this- I added mashed banana
and it was ideal!!  

Fueled up with protein pancakes and drove to ride Mt Lemmon.  5 mile warm up and go 25 mile climb to 8000+ feet!  Yowza.  It was actually a lot better than last year when I did it.  Why? Pacing.  10 miles I held back and than slowly built into the climb and it was great.  Riding Palomor a few week prior surely helped too.  All in all I felt great!

Final dinner at Hillary's house and in bed!  The other campers.... knocked out a 2-3 hour knarly trail run.  No trails for my foot so I nailed a 1:45 hilly run on the roads, negative split and hilly!  Finished run, ate copious amounts of food and re hydrated and started the drive home.  The drive home was a continuous buffet.

Camp was great
- I never overdid it so was able to finish each day strong, even after my near drowning experience

- new environment is always fun

- camp allows you to focus on training, recovery and take a break from life

- I recall Gordo Byrn telling me at his camp - NEVER try to lose weight at camp.  To get the most out of a big camp you should gain a lb or 2. Not my goal, but I ate NON stop and really think that helped recovery and gave me the ability to keep at it.

- New friends.... so fun meeting new peeps

- Where's Waldo- in a sea of Smashfest Kits I was the lone Betty Designs.  Talk about odd one out, but I am true to my sponsor Kristin Mayer.   It was comical tho.... 

The other key to a successful camp is letting it soak in.  Tue-Thur are big recovery days- no biking, ez runs and swims and back in the gym.  Friday starts a 7 day block and after that "we" will make the call on O'side.  If I had to make the call today- it would be no, but lets see how the next 7 days go.  

Younger, faster, stronger

Today I woke up the drum of rain wishing I was younger, faster and stronger.... I pondered that for a bit.  Closed my eyes and decided to wake up again.  This time I was appreciative to be thinking about my long run, the solid ride I did yesterday and the upcoming week of training. 

After 6 cups a cup of coffee, some relaxation with John, we headed out in the steady rain for a solid run with Roo and Mako. We cut it short due to the rain and wind. I changed, grabbed water and headed to the gym and was on the treadmill 10 min later finishing my run.  I had a 10 min tempo effort and i was stressed eager to see how it would go.   It was better than expected!  Run was solid and topped it off with an extra mile!  Go me!  Coach was not quite as proud, well not at all happy... "stick to the plan" was the message.  

I was over the moon!  amazing how running dictates my mood..... Starting my day on a run with man I love and my pups is as good as it gets!  

when politicians were classy

While running at the gym the news broke of Nancy Reagan's death and the tribute that followed on CNN was inspiring, sad and pointed out how far we are today from the days of the Reagan's.  Forget the politics, it is the respect for the office, the respect for the American people and the respect for fellow world leaders.  Such class and demeanor.   WOW, compare that to the moronathon ( like this new word- I do) that is currently happening in our political system.   It makes me sad, embarrassed and wanting to google " how can we move to New Zealand"  .... dunkle/bramans down under - just maybe in our future. 

So I leave you with the saying I will NEVER forget Mike Reilly saying minutes before my 1st Ironman.  "there is only one thing you can control and that is your attitude" 

How is your's today? 

On not compromising or lowering standards

Chatting arguing with my coach about should I or shouldn't I toe the line for Oceanside 70.3. Note I did not say should I or shouldn't I race Oceanside 70.3.  After 12 1/2 week off running and 4 weeks back running, let's just say my running is sub par.   Hopefully I will get to 10 miles tomorrow and that is a slow 10 miles and not 13 miles.

Emotionally I WANT to do Oceanside but intellectually I don't.  Why? It will be a sup par race, there is NO way I can get my run race ready in 4 weeks, not at my age anyway. 

So the conversation went like this.... 

Me: As long as I have 1 or 2 long runs I say I'll do Oceanside
Mike: Really?
Me: Yes it maybe slow but that's okay I will lower my expectations
Mike: Ok, than why don't you get divorced and move into a trailer
Me: what? Long pause.....okay I get it

Last year was a shit show a struggle. 2, only 2 races and one was marginal and the 2nd a disaster.  So the idea of another so- so race is not exciting..... 

I know, 4 weeks is a long time- says everyone
But your swim and bike are so strong- great but this is NOT an Aquabike, you need to be able to run.

So for now- the decision is NO Oceanside.... train, get race ready and race St George 70.3.

Super cute!  Wanna buy it? 

On not compromising... a year ago I made an impulsive and bad decision on a car purchase. Too many factors to go into in this blog and not that anyone cares.  Bottom line is the negatives outweigh positives for the Nissan Juke Nismo!  Yes it is cute, zippy and fun...but it is also not.....  So I dealt with it.  Along the lines of NOT living in a trailer, I am not driving the Nissan.    

Yes I took a hit, yes it is not smart to sell a new car 1 year later and YES I don't want to compromise.   So there.... for all the "why did you buy a new car?" "you just bought one"..... Look I did!   

even cuter!  and partially electric

  Life is dang sweet if the worries are
1- will I or will I not do Oceanside
2- dealing with a my car

I get it!  I am blessed.... thank you!  And not compromising