New Food Obsession...

...I've decided it's high time I start taking my food consumption more seriously and in doing so, G has started calling me the "Nutrition Nazi" (please don't be offended!) we already eat "fairly" healthy and I more than G need to lose a few pounds off this frame in order to get stronger/faster. This is in NO WAY a diet, but more of a new obsession with HOW I eat, WHAT I eat and most importantly WHEN I'm eating certain foods.

So fast forward to me thinking about how good beans are for me- fiber, protein and lots of other great nutrients to fuel my body so I created what has turned out to be a pretty darn good bean salad.

Here is what it's made of:

Salad:
One can of Chick Peas (rinsed and drained)

One can Red Beans (rinsed and drained)

One can of Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

One can of Corn (rinsed and drained)

Four chopped stalks of celery

One chopped Yellow Bell Pepper

Chopped Grape Tomatoes

Dressing:

Top with Red Wine Vinegar Mixed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a touch of dried Oregano

Mix it all together and about an hour or so before eating add the Dressing and stir. Obviously Refrigerate and Enjoy!! Full of Protein and Good Fats, a few carbs...everything an athlete needs for a healthy lifestyle!

Kona 2008- a look back

It's been over two months since our trip to Hawaii this fall and I wanted to share some of our experiences while we were there...first up- Hawaii Ironman Championships. We'd never been to Kona before, muchless the race...first time for everything. Having completed IMWI a month prior, I had full respect for what it takes to get to Kona and how hard all these athletes worked to be a part of it. A truly exciting experience. Our hotel overlooked the finishline area and the streets were a buzz in the days leading up to it. I was nervous for the athletes! I swam part of the course (and stopped to watch tropical fish along the way) as well as a trip to the "coffee boat" that parks itself out there and provides shots of coffee to the athletes...top notch treatment! Freebies were everywhere, swim caps, fuel belts, hats, t-shirts, you name it! So fun!

The day before the race is what's called the Kona Bike Count- we didn't know what was going on, but knew folks would be dropping off their bikes in transition so we wondered over and thought "why are all these people here with clipboards and pens?" well, turnouts the product companies count their stuff to see how many of their bikes, saddles, wheels, etc make it to Kona. It's mayhem at best! Greg saw an opening where no one was up toward the front so we wondered over and began to watch for people. Well, turns out we were right next to the Triathlete Magazine photoshoot area. SO cool to see all the athletes up close and personal....here are some shots worthy of sharing:

Macca

Macca posing with his (soon to be busted) ride

The ever smiling Chrissie

Umm..the girl is JACKED, huh?

the finish area from our balcony!

The Navy SEALS who jumped pre-race

the Normanator

Chrissie climbing

Hilary Biscay

This Army dude rode in full gear...sorry the picture sucks, Runner's World did a blurb on him, he finished under 14hours...so cool (or boiling hot, however you choose to see it!)

Natasha..I don't think she finished :(

Patrick takin' it easy out of T2
Chrissie snuck up on us, where are all the cameras and crew??
A shot of the finish shoot
The jumbo-tron they had at the finish shoot
the conch blowers/fire throwers!

G &D volunteering at the finish area- guess who we found coming in just over 10 hours!
What great photos, huh? Patricks friends were like "you sure were happy to see those volunteers!!" they didn't know we KNEW him!! The guy in the background didn't get this sort of greeting...he looks bummed out.

Aloha...we had a BLAST watching and volunteering at this race, what a fun experience!

Turkey Trot 5M, a new tradition?

Greg and I hope to have started a new tradition....running the Westfield Turkey Trot (5mi) while in NJ for the holidays. It's a nice race on Saturday (which is nice since we usually travel on Thursday) and it's in a cute little park about 15mins from where Greg's family is. Greg's brother, sister in law and two nephews and niece came out to watch (they've never been to a race before) and they seemed to enjoy it! Hunter even commented he wanted to run it. They have a 1mi race before the 5mi which a lot of kids ran, I mentioned it to him and said he had a year to train for it! So we'll see next year if we are able to run it again...we had a blast (I was WAY over dressed) and Greg had a sprint dual with the guy next to him in the picture...he ultimately let the other guy have his glory :P Too funny!

Happy Turkey Trotting...