speedvegan

1/4 mile swim – 10 mile bike – 3 mile run

Total Time: 1:14:34
Swim: 12:35
T1: 1:13
Bike: 30:58
T2: 0:57
Run: 28:51
Overall Place: 157
Gender Place: 34
Category Place: 7

I had a feeling this race was going to suck, but I never thought it would suck this much.

First of all, I struggled trying to decide whether to enter the race because it’s about 60 miles from where I live. As if driving 120 miles in one day wasn’t bad enough, I had to pick up my packet the day before at a bike shop even further away from the race location. I decided to do it anyway because Geoff was going to be out of town and it would be something fun to do to keep myself occupied. Somehow the sleeping in option didn’t cross my mind.

Then there was the “Duathlon vs Triathlon” dilemma. Naturally, I was inclined to do the Duathlon because I’ve yet to drag my sorry ass to the pool for swim training. Well, it turns out nobody in my age group signed up for the Duathlon and I’m not one to take home a prize I didn’t really earn, so I signed up for the Triathlon instead. Here’s how it went down. First I’m going to tell you the funny part of today’s race because the actual report will have an angry tone. I got to the race with ample time. I set up transition, picked up my chip, got marked, hit the lady’s room and made my way to the beach. I stood there watching the waves in front of me line up. I was going through it all in my mind when I looked down and noticed I had no chip around my ankle. In fact, I didn’t remember putting one on. Shit. I ran back to the chip guy and asked if he’d seen my chip all frantic and out of breath. Negative. I ran back to transition and searched all over. ALL OVER. Nothing. Finally, as I stood there, I stepped on something underneath a jersey the guy next to me was using to cover all his gear. Whew. There it was. I securely wrapped it around my ankle and took off running back to the beach just in time for my wave to start.

The Swim
Sigh. I knew in my heart I shouldn’t have attempted this without at least some recent training under my belt, but Triathletes think with their legs sometimes. Also, I seem to upset the ocean. It’s a gift. The water was rough, with a strong current. People hear “strong current” and think “cool, it’s like tailwind.” No. It’s like salt water up your nose. You have to get past the buoys before that current is going to be any help, plus if the ocean is rough, that current is only going to help you somewhat. I hung out in the back with the other reject swimmers. I could tell because every time I looked back to take a breath I could see them wading in the water. Maybe they were praying for the ocean to vaporize. The sad part is that I still wasn’t moving much faster than they were. I swallowed more water than my stomach was comfortable with, but I finished. Despite being a beach loving Floridian, I was happy to be out of the water today.

The Bike
I could not wait to get my ass on my comfy new saddle and kick some butt on the bike course. I passed many people, but didn’t notice anyone passing me. That’s when I realized there was nobody out there left to pass me. I’d probably been one of the last out of the water. Sigh. I left my legs out there on that bike course. The wind was rough and I guess I just didn’t have it in me today because my bike time wasn’t very impressive. Still, I enjoyed it. Any day on the bike is a good day.

The Run
Definitely takes the prize for “Worst Run Ever.” I couldn’t even feel my legs moving, but I guess they were because I managed to get from the start line to the finish line. I think the biggest problem for me was the huge bridge as soon as you got out on the run course. It usually takes about a mile for my legs to fully transition to run mode after being on the bike and the bridge definitely didn’t help. But overall, I just don’t think my body was up for racing today. There’s good days and bad days and then there’s days like this.

Geoff wasn’t in town, so there are no pictures this time. Maybe that’s a good thing. He will be back next weekend for another race I will be doing. This time I will be trying to beat my time and praying to the ocean Gods to forgive me for whatever it is I did to piss them off.

Post race food, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

Sprouted grain tortilla with spinach and artichoke hummus, baby spinach, mock egg salad and carrots.

Raw ‘Spaghetti & Bolognese’, originally uploaded by cloudmonkey.

2 zucchinis, made into pasta using spiral slicer
2 portobello caps, finely chopped or shredded

Sauce:
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 soft date, pitted
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp nama shoyu
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil
2 tsp fresh thyme

To make the sauce, place the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, date, lemon juice and nana shoyu in a food processor. Process until fairly smooth. Add tomato and seasonings and process just until well blended but still chunky. If too thick, add a little water. Adjust the seasonings to your liking. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in mushrooms and allow to set for two hours before serving.

Serve over zucchini pasta with cashew cheese, if desired.

More awesome "live" food, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

We also shared a raw tex mex pizza which was good but a bit hard on my braces so I only had one piece. I am looking forward to trying other menu items next time. We had a sampler as an appetizer but I forgot to take a photo. After dinner we went to another raw-ish restaurant directly downstairs from Lifefood Gourmet for desserts. I forgot to take a photo of the delicious chocolate mouse we had, but it will forever live in my memory. It was so good ! Raw food is truly amazing, even to a natural herbivore like me.

Awesome "live" food, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

We met our friends Rick and Lisa for dinner at Lifefood Gourmet, a new raw food restaurant in Miami. Geoff and I shared the lasagna first. Wow ! It was delicious !! Lisa and Rick tried the sun burger and burrito. They were both great too. I’m so glad there are more restaurants like this sprouting up near us. We plan to support them as much as we can.

Friday – rest
Saturday – 30 min run
Sunday – 51 min run
Monday – 1.5 hr beach bootcamp class
Tuesday – 45 min spin class
Wednesday – rest
Thursday – 40 min run

Chard rollups, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

I made a raw version of this recipe last night. It was absolutely delicious so I just had to blog it. Our new food processor arrived today, so it will be even easier to make yummy things like this now. Yay !

1 cup raw cashews
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
juice from 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Liquid Aminos
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Herbamare seasoning and fresh ground pepper (to taste)

1. Soak cashews for one hour. Drain, rinse and set aside.

2. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Place cashews in a food processor and grind to a sand-like consistency. Add mushroom mixture and process until creamy.

4. Serve with other raw fixings and/or use as a filling for chard rollups.

Mexican Chocolate Cake, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

I made this for Geoff’s birthday dinner. Here’s the recipe:

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
5 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup cold water

Sauce:
2 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp vegan margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
dash cayenne pepper

1. To make the sauce, melt chocolate with soy milk. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in margarine, vanilla extract and cayenne pepper, to taste. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Stir in the cinnamon, cayenne, vanilla, vinegar, oil, and water. Mix until just combined.

4. Pour into the prepared cake pan and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.

5. Drizzle with the sauce before serving.

Ani’s Garden Pate, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

Geoff has embraced the raw food “thing” with full force which surprised me at first since he is quite fond of rich desserts. His enthusiasm, however, has turned out to be very beneficial and motivating for me in particular. We have been eating healthier and feeling so much better overall. For his birthday, my friends Lisa and Rick gave him Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, a raw food book I’ve had my eye on for a while. Tonight Geoff made the Garden Pate recipe which is delicious and very satisfying. I’m very lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive partner. Instead of falling into bad habits and becoming lazy like so many other couples do, we’ve actually influenced each other to have an overall better quality of life, individually and together.

Men at work, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

This is what we do for fun on the weekends in Florida.