Gear of the Year + Cheers to Good Health

I woke up this morning and headed out on cold Sunday run. Clear skies though, the mountain tops were all lit up, it was pretty great. We've had a crazy cold snap going on for the past week and I have been living in my Manero Jacket. So in my head I've been thinking that ya, this jacket is my choice for "gear of the year." It's sort of been like wearing my sleeping bag around 24/7. I've been teaching outdoor classes in it, doing my warm-ups and cool-downs and essentially wearing it everyplace I go. It makes me smile, just as a good piece of gear should!

Next, I'm ramping up again with training miles and preparing for the launch of the new training facility. Days are super busy as I try to jam pack it all in, there is no time to be sick (which I rarely am) and I think though, that it is actually my training that keeps me sane. I've started to add the following to my daily diet just to keep up with the demands of being a busy female athlete and always on the go:

- Floradix Formula (liquid iron + vitamins)

- Salus - Calcium + Magnesium

Both of these are available at most health food stores (for Squamish folks head to Health Food Haven) or online through Flora. Being that they are in liquid form, the body can absorb them fast.

Keep Warm, Keep Healthy, Adventure Onwards.......

NEW SALOMON SHOES for Spring 2011

I've been enjoying some fun runs here in Squamish for the past few weeks in the new Salomon shoe that will be launching in Spring 2011 - the XR Crossmax.

This shoe was designed as the "door-to-trail" shoe, ideal to fit the needs of handling both pavement and trail. I had a sneak peak of it at Advanced Week this past spring in France but because it was not available in my size at the time, I wasn't able to get a good feel for it. However, it is quickly becoming my daily shoe of choice as I mix its use between the Speedcross and the S-Lab. The XR is ideal for runs that are non-technical and where there might be some hard pack cement/concrete/trails etc involved. I love the cushion and the fit of the shoe as it allows for the foot to still move through it's natural range of motion on each stride. I'm using mostly on 10km tempo runs and on my speed sessions right now (usually done on double track, non technical trails) and its performing great.

I think the XR Crossmax provides that missing link in the Salomon shoe line up for just a great all round minimalist shoe - adequate for both road and trail. If you run some road, some trail, a mix of both, whatever, you will want to look at this shoe for 2011. Rather then buying just a road shoe or just a trail shoe, this hybrid may be just the answer.

Keep warm out there and keep adventuring onwards.

mmmmm.....Food Thoughts.....

I got asked last week to share on my blog what a typical day of food looks like for me. So here it is below but one thing to note, I have a very unusual metabolism. I can guarantee that ALL endurance athletes eat way more then this but due to the nature of my races for nearly 9 years which are so long and deplete my body of everything, I struggle daily to maintain race weight. The reason for this is because in a typical 5 - 7 day race, I drop about 12lbs. Then, when I return to regular day life and normal eating my body says "ah ha, I know that you are going to go and deplete me again, I am going to hold on to every single thing that you eat." So to make a long story short, I have to watch every thing that I put into my body despite training days of 2 - 6 hours. On the plus, I am a whole foods eater and really enjoy eating well. I've learned to cut my sugar cravings which has been a huge accomplishment and taking my Udo's Oil (essentialy fats) everyday has really helped. I'm constantly reading up on the whole "nutrition" thing and trying to learn as much as I can. One thing is certain - fruits, veggies and whole foods is the key to success.

Sample Day:

6am - morning trail run (1hr)

8am - coffee + VEGA smoothie (1.5 c blueberries, 1 banana, 8c water, 2 scoop Vega Whole Food Optimizer, 2 tbsp Udo's Oil, 1 handful green spinach) * drink this over 1.5hrs

11am - carrots + hummus, 1 home made gluten free blueberry muffin

1pm - 2hr bike workout (water on bike)

3pm - coffee, apple, almonds, cashews + yogurt

5pm - 1hr swim workout

7pm - massive salad with either chicken, salmon, bison or eggs, beets, peppers, tomotoes, 1/2 avocado, sprouts, carrots, brocolli + home made dressing (oil, balsamic, lemon juice, hemp hearts)

8pm - Bija truffle chocolate (oh ya) + Roobios tea (decaf)

I'm learning to cook more and more too which has been really fun. I've expanded my baking knowledge and am having fun with making gluten free breads, muffins etc. Here are a few books/blogs that always have good recipes to share. Got to be honest, nothing everything I make turns out, I've got lots of learning to do.

Adam Harts - Power of Food

Devon's - Fast Foodies

Elana's Pantry - regular email list

Brendan Brazier's - THRIVE diet

Udo Erasmus's - Omega3 Cuisine

A few of my newest additions:

Kale chips (kale with olive oil and sea salt baked in oven until crisp)

Yam fries (yams in Pumpkin Seed Oil baked in Oven)

Hemp Heart Cookies

Any kind of salad - you name it, it tastes good on spinach!

Quinoa Dragon bowls

Kamut banana pancakes - excellent for ski tour days

Carrot ginger soup

Butternut apple soup

Share with me what you got!!!!

PS _ more cooking and trying things was a 2010 goal of mine. Finally I've started to dedicate time to it and I intend to keep doing this into 2011.....