Girlfriends & The Dudes Triathlon|Vancouver, Washington 98660|Sunday, July 19, 2009 @ 9:00 AM

Girlfriends & The Dudes Triathlon|Vancouver, Washington 98660|Sunday, July 19, 2009 @ 9:00 AM

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Mock Triathlon Vancouver Lake

I swam the mock triathlon swim without wet suit! If you follow me on Twitter you know I was nervous and considering just doing the bike/run as training and skipping the swim but once I got there I knew that wasn't going to happen. It wouldn't have felt complete. The water was warm, much warmer than the pool I train in. I didn't freak out over the open water. It was so much fun, can't wait to do another one. I'm signing up for the Girlfriends and the Dudes Triathlon today!

Things I learned at the Mock Triathlon:

1. I can do it!
2. Sometimes wetsuits aren't necessary and not wearing one sure makes the transition from swim to bike go faster.
3. Sunscreen, apply spray-on sunscreen in at each transition.
4. Don't wear a dark hat during run, it was HOT! Go with a lighter color.
   
5. I need a new bike. My old mountain bike with the new road tires is not going to cut it. I need something sleek, fast, and preferably pink.
6. I CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Portland Triathlon Club is an awesome group.Thanks for making this such a great triathlon for a first timer. Also, thanks to Sherri and the Northwest Personal Training Triathlon group for all of the encouragement and support. A very special thanks to Monica and Michelle my new friends who also swam sans wetsuit. Way to go girls!!

If you have any suggestions for bikes I should consider I'd love to hear them.

Mock Triathlon Clinic

Mock tri clinic: how to put on wetsuit. Use lots of Body Glide.

Those skinny bitches

I love those skinny bitches!!! What do chocolate cake and weight loss have to do with each other? Typically chocolate cake would be something to avoid while attempting any sort of weight loss program. Some how the skinny bitches have come up with a way to have your cake and eat it too. Skinny Bitch In the Kitch, Kick-ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!) is full of healthy, vegan recipes from breakfast to dinner. What does it say about me that the first recipe I try is the Chocolate Suicide Cake?

I was truly frightened by the idea of making the chocolate cake. As you know I'm deep in my clean eating/workout plan. The thought of having a 9" x 13" chocolate cake hanging around in my kitchen was disturbing. Knowing that it was there, calling out to me, tempting me... This cake had the potential to seriously derail my weight loss plans. Surprisingly that isn't what happened.

My daughter and I made the cake together and it was absolutely delicious. I had a small piece for dessert that night. It was moist, rich, and decadent. I enjoyed every bite and somehow one small piece was enough. The next morning I weighed myself and miraculously I had lost 1 pound! I made it through the day without succumbing to the the temptation of the cake. After dinner I had another small slice. The next morning, another pound was gone. That night I tried it again and woke to the same result. It's a magical weight loss cake. All total I had 3 pieces of cake and lost 3 pounds.

So 3 pounds lighter and the cake is gone. I've shared it with family and friends who all experienced similar results. Now this is hardly a scientific finding but somehow eating Chocolate Suicide Cake=weight loss. So the questions I'm pondering are; Do I make another cake? How long can this go on? There is a recipe for Vanilla Cake. Will that work? I realize the weight loss could be attributed to many factors my work outs, over all calories eaten those 3 days, taking a day off to rest... but I'd rather believe in the magical powers of the skinny bitch's Chocolate Suicide Cake. I have a proposition for you, my dear readers, make the cake, enjoy every bite, and let me know your results. Can't wait to hear from you.
xoxo, ski girl

How Google changed my life

How Google changed my life: or at the very least how it changed my sleepless nights. Now that all of my favorite shows have come to an end, Gossip Girl, Survivor Tocantins, and Desperate Housewives. I'm lost without my Lost. I've been wondering just what to do with all my late night free time. My habit was, albeit not a good habit, to save up episodes of my favorite shows on my DVR and watch marathon viewings late at night when quality sleep became elusive. On a recent night when my DVR was empty of all my favs I discovered Google Blogger. A late night Internet search and hours reading other peeps blogs lead me to believe that I might have something to say. A voice, an opinion, my own little take on the world. Imagine that? I'm a college educated girl but the last 10 years spent as a stay at home mom feeling like no one listens to me haven't done much to boost my confidence.

Google Blogger is an amazing tool that allow the average person to, within just a few minutes, create their very own blog. I'm not extremely computer savvy but have found blogger for the most part easy to use. I am working out the kinks so please bear with me as I learn the ropes. At this point my followers are few but I'm patient and I think I may have a lot to say! Thank you for reading and if you have any tips on blogging or how I can improve my sleep I'd love to hear from you.

FYI for all of you who may be grammatically challenged like me, “Bear with me,” the standard expression, is a request for forbearance or patience. “Bare with me” would be an invitation to undress. Which I'm not asking you to do at least not while reading my blog.

-leilani

How to care for your ski equipment this summer

Nicole Wolf from Denver Skiing Examiner has a great article on caring for your gear over the summer

Your skis worked hard for you all winter - they deserve a little TLC.

Here are a few tips on showing the love to your ski gear.
Skis:
At the very least, thoroughly wipe down skis (bases and edges) with a dry towel to prevent summer rust. I also strongly recommend applying a coat of wax to your bases so they aren’t deprived of moisture while they hibernate in your garage all summer.

However, if your skis were good to you this season and you’d like a repeat next year, I would suggest the following:
1 – Stone edges to remove burrs and rust that may have accumulated over the season. Sharpen with file so they are razor smooth and ready to rip next winter.
2 – Scrape any remaining wax from your bases, then clean with a base cleaner or citrus solvent (available at many ski/snowboard, bike, and automotive shops, or online)
3 – Apply a liberal coat of wax to bases using a hot iron (preferably not your mom/girlfriend’s clothing iron; waxing-specific ski/snowboard irons actually exist! Check it out). Lightly run iron over side edges to coat with wax to protect against rusting. No need to scrape skis; simply let the bases soak for the summer.
4 – Strap skis together and store.

Boots:
Infinitely easier than caring for skis, but undoubtedly more important. (It’s possible to salvage rusty, dry skis, but there is no salvage for moldy, rotting boots.)

1 - Remove boot liners from shells.

Yep - that’s it.

This allows boots to properly dry and prevents unwanted fungus or festering rats. If you think I’m exaggerating about the rats, beware: A cousin of mine stored his lined boots in a corner of his otherwise immaculate garage one summer. The next fall he found a nest of rats living in one of the boots. True story.

Besides your skis and boots, ensure all other equipment is clean and dry (especially gloves, jacket, and pants) unless you want a mildewed mess next fall.

If you follow these instructions your ski equipment will wake from hibernation refreshed and invigorated, and the only thing to prepare will be yourself.

You may be rusty, but your skis will be ready for action.

Those of us who are lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest have Mt. Hood and summer skiing at Timberline so we don't have to put away our skis except for that long week when they close for maintenance. If you can't make it up to ski this summer take care of your equipment so it's ready for you when the snow falls again.
Please post any other suggestions you have for caring for your winter toys!

Winter cabin Government Camp.

I miss the snow. :(

brunch for dinner

Last night for dinner we made the Caramelized Vidalia Onion Quiche from the Vegan Brunch. I have been on a healthy eating kick since the discovery of the afore-mentioned mysterious 20 lbs. weight gain. This dish is probably the best of the best. The combination of sweet onions, tofu, and cashews result in a amazingly buttery yet undeniably vegan dish. Although there is no nutritional information listed to fit in with my obsessive calorie counting ways I highly recommend this book and this recipe. Can't wait to try more. I'll let you know how they turn out.

The new fit-fat

Like most girls, I have a list of things I'd like to change about my self. Currently at the top of my list is the desire to lose the 20 lbs. I seemed to have "mysteriously" gained over ski season. Something about bulky winter clothes while skiing and stretchy Lululemon yoga pants during my time off slope led to some delusional thinking about the state of my body and a horrible reality check this spring. Now with swimsuit season upon me and a possible trip to Hawaii in the works I'm ready for a change. I'm trying to go about this in a healthy manner. As a former dancer, with a history of going for the quick and easy... starvation/mildly anorexic tendencies. I've made a commitment to myself and my family not to give into to that behavior. My focus is eating clean, exercising, and focusing on new fitness challenges like my first triathlon and my first 1/2 marathon. I'm struggling to stay positive and recently discovered/made up a new category in body types. You may have heard of skinny-fat. The Urban Dictionary defines skinny-fat as someone is thin and looks great in clothes, but is all flabby underneath. Well I've decided I'm fit-fat. I'm strong and muscular. I can run, bike, ski for hours but according to my BMI I am practically obese.

In an article on Forbes.com, JoAnn Manson, chief of preventative medicine at Harvard's Brigham Hospital states: "Being fit and fat is better than being unfit and fat, but it's not as good as being fit and lean." So my goal is to get fit and lean. If you'd like to get fit and lean with me, or just follow my progress, keep checking back on my blog. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Let's all raise our water bottles in a toast to getting fit-lean. I may even throw in in few bikini pics if I make it to Hawaii. It's the Hollywood thing to do when you're over 40 and looking good!

My favorite workout in Portland is Outdoor Fitness training: Snowsports Focus through Peak Fitness NW. Jenn is an awesome trainer who leads us through a booty kicking workout every Monday night at Mt. Tabor. The group is primarily skiers with a focus on off slope ski conditioning but anyone look for a tough workout will benefit. Come join us!!!

Tri girl

Last night I registered for my first triathlon and I'm nervous about it. Can I finish? Will I survive? My biggest fear is over the open water swim. Open Water...wasn't that a really scary movie based on the true story of two scuba divers accidentally stranded in shark infested waters after their dive boat inadvertently left them? I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone but I don't think they survived! Just the words open water raise my stress level.

Now I'm an okay swimmer and I certainly won't be swimming in shark infested waters at least not at first. My goal is to get into the Ironman Kona in 2012, then I may have to think about sharks. But the odds in Hawaii are in my favor. There are 1,800 triathletes in Kailua-Kona bay that morning. How many sharks can there be? Wait don't answer that, I really don't want to know.
For now my swim is a 1/4 mile swim in a lake, no sharks. Just a lot of dark, murky water. I've signed up for the All Womens, (yes, I'm doing this one without Robert), Tri-it version of the triathlon which amounts to shortest time in the water. I'm attending swim clinics to improve my technique and transition from pool to open water. I'm also training with an awesome group from Northwest Personal Training and participating in a mock triathlon to work on putting it all together. I'm doing all the right things but still I'm scared. Any suggestions?

How to ski like a girl

This past ski season I was buying skis like a girl with a designer shoe addiction. Okay, I'll admit it I was (still am) a girl with a designer shoe addiction but 3 years ago when I began skiing that all changed. I now have skis for all occasions. Powder skis, all mountain carvers, park skis, short park skis, beat up rock skis, kid's skis with adult bindings for ski ballet, teaching skis, my first skis... I even have a snow board. Whatever the snow condition, I have the skis. My current binding of choice is the Marker Griffon. I put it on three pairs of skis this year. My favorite ski company is Line. I have the Line Shadows and the Motherships. My daughter's first pair of twin tips was the Line Mini Celebrity. My dream ski is the Line Pandora which I hope to get this summer. You see where I live the opportunity to ski still exists in the summer. Mt. Hood with Timberline's wonderful summer snow is only 90 minutes away. I still have a pair of beautiful gold Gucci heels that cost more than a good pair of skis. But for now I've traded in shoes for skis. I even sold a pair of Christian Louboutins and used the proceeds for, you guessed it, new skis! So if you happen to visit Timberline this summer look for me. I'm the girl with the fancy shoes and even fancier skis.
xoxo
-ski girl

Run like a girl

Sunday was Havoc at the Hideout. My first race this summer. Actually my first race in years. An adventure run, complete with mud, single track, steep climbs, stream crossings, and logs to crawl under. I've been training for months but skiing definitely overtook the time spent running over the winter. Robert did the race with me. My recent training included trail runs, boot camp, weight training, spin class, power yoga, eating clean.... Robert's training plan was to not run at all, no training, eat a pint of ice cream the night before the race and beat me! I was slow. He waited for me. A lot of waiting. Somehow his running up inclines and then waiting for me to make it up didn't encourage me to run faster. As soon as I would reach him, off he'd go. It was great that we did the race together and we've signed up for more this summer. I do appreciate that Robert stuck with me. It was fun to experience the challenge together but I don't want to spend the summer chasing Robert. So more training for me and more Cookies and Cream ice cream for him. I did come in third in my age group which is better than Robert's age group finish. But ultimately, I ran like a girl and he beat me.