A weekend in Vegas~by Heather McNamara

Arriving in Vegas for the Xterra West Cup was an experience of mixed emotions for me.  There was the anticipation of the first race of the year, being at the beautiful Loew’s resort at Lake Las Vegas, and greeting fellow Melrad team mates.  But at the same time there was the sadness of knowing I wasn’t there as a competitor.  Still recovering from an injury I was arriving as a spectator, the first time I’ve traveled to a race and not competed.  But the weekend turned out to be an unforgettable experience, and I discovered there is a lot of fun to be had at an Xterra event, no matter what your reason for being there!  

Team Melrad post race.

Once in position we realized we had a great spot to watch all the action.  We got to see all the competitors pass through each loop of the bike, and were able to cheer on our team mates as they rode by. 

Status updates from the aid station!

We had a great system for handing out bottles.  I was on lookout and would call out the approaching team mate to Greg.  He would be ready with their bottle.  We managed to successfully hand off each bottle with no glitches.  Yay!  It was a lot of fun.

It was also very fun to have our entire team together at the race.  It was the first time we all met as a team, and the camaraderie was instantaneous!  Mel is a great leader and was there to provide support and advice and, as always, was a super good sport, competitor and role model.  We also had the fun treat of meeting sponsor reps Dan from Nathan, Shawn from Avia and Gary from ESIgrips.  They provided awesome gear and we were happy to meet them and have their support.  Thanks, guys!

All in all it was a fun weekend.  Team Unlimited put on a flawless event, as always.  The pros were fun to watch and in great early season form, and Team Melrad is better than ever.  So racing or not, definitely a great time even if  we viewed the action from the other side of the course!

Juice ingredients.

“Nutrition is the most overlooked essential element in an athlete’s life-style, which is ironic given that disregard for nutrition can negate every effort put forth in training and competition.”  Adam Kelinson, The Athlete’s Plate. 

This statement resonates with me, as I’ve been feeling this way about my own nutritional habits for a long time.  Why is it that so little thought is often given toward something that supports such a large amount of time, money and energy, i.e. training?  Athletes will spend hundreds of dollars and countless hours to prepare, train and compete.  But when it comes to fueling our bodies we resort to the quickest, easiest and often least effective source of food available!  A contradiction to be sure. 

Still looks yummy!

I’ve spent the past few days eagerly reading the first few chapters of Kelinson’s book.  He lays out a very convincing argument why we, as athlete’s or even people with active lifestyles, should and can easily adjust our nutritional habits to better support our bodies in the physical endeavors we seek.  I researched juicers, grocery shopped for fresh fruits and veggies, and excitedly prepared the first recipe in Kelinson’s book, Carrot, Apple, Beet and Ginger Juice.  Mmmmmm…sounds delicious!  Well, this first attempt…not so much.  What I ended up with was a thick mush that literally elicited a shudder when I drank it (swallowed/chewed it is more accurate).  

I readily accept part of the blame.  Kelinson’s recipe is written for a true juicer, and my wonderful new machine is more of a super-duper blender that touts juice-making as

End result.

within it’s capacity.  What I didn’t realize is I needed to add a considerable amount of water, since the recipe was primarily vegetables and they don’t naturally contain high amounts of water.  I did add water after the fact, but it didn’t help much and I think overall my ingredient proportions were off.

So I will try again another day, and continue my quest for the perfect balance of fuel in vs. energy out.  Hopefully palatable will be part of the equation next time too!

A previous, more successful juice attempt!

1) Kelinson, Adam; The Athlete’s Plate, Velo Press 2009, p. 101

2) www.healthalternatives2000.com

3) www.sportsmedicine.about.com

by Heather McNamara

I love the Olympics.  In fact, I think I’m a total dork about them.  Winter or summer there is nothing that gets me more excited about sport, athleticism and the fun of competition than the Olympics.  Since the opening ceremonies of the winter games in Vancouver our house has had each TV tuned in almost constantly so as not to miss a single event.  Here in Southeastern Michigan we are lucky to be able to watch both American and Canadian network broadcasts, allowing us to experience the different coverage each country provides.  

One thing I find so much fun about the Olympic games is watching sports I never see except on the Olympics.  In addition to favorites like short track speed skating or alpine ski events, there are obscure sports like Nordic combined skiing or biathlon.  How crazy is it to fly off a ramp on skis to see how far you can go, so you get a time advantage in a subsequent cross country ski race?   Or a sprint race skate ski event where you stop to do a little target shooting, then sprint off on skis again!  Seeing these athletes compete brings about a sense of appreciation and respect for the athletic talent and determination it takes to get to such a high level of competition.  Where does one even go to train for some of these events?  Michigan has wonderful trails for cross country skiers, and there are certainly plenty of hunters here, but they are two groups whose sport I would never imagine combining until discovering the event by watching the Olympics! 

There are always surprises to be found in Olypmic events.  Athletes are there to live out dreams and are competing with everything they have.  This creates an atmosphere for exciting and unexpected results.  Amazing upsets, overcoming adversity, unparalled sportsmanship, the Olympics has it all.  There are countless examples of  athletes with heartwarming stories, surprise winners-or losers, the unexpected.  It is human effort elevating sport and the human spirit along with it.

So that is why I’m hooked.  Maybe a bit of a dork about it, but that’s ok.  The Olympic games continue to deliver.  And I will be there to witness as much of it as possible along the way.

By Heather McNamara

One word triathletes know all too well is discipline.  To be a competitor in tris requires hours of dedication, training and focus.  It means getting out of bed when you want to sleep in, it means going for a ride or run when you’d rather be lazy, and it means being smart about nutrition when you’d rather not have to think about it and just eat chips and salsa instead!  So for many of us that can mean the hardest time of year to be a disciplined triathlete is not during peak race season, when schedule’s are tight and everything runs like a well-oiled machine. No, the hardest time to maintain the discipline of triathlon is the down time of year, after most of the big races have come and gone.  The time of year that comes as warm weather begins to cool, when summer gives way to fall, and days full of swimming, biking, running and obsessively recording all sorts of mind-numbing data in training journals start to get replaced by days full of comments like “Hey, what time is The Family Guy on?”  It’s a time generically known in popular American culture as “the holidays”.  Or as I may start referring to them, “the horror-days”. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love the extremely commercial yet poignant and religious time of year between October 31 and December 26th as much as the next guy.  But is it me, or is it becoming increasingly harder to not blow 9 months of solid nutrition and training in the last 3 months of the year?  Why is it that the focus of the holiday season seems to be consumption, whether it be fiscal or food?  From the end of October right through December we are bombarded by temptation from media, friends, family, and co-workers to eat drink and be merry.  Initially, with the latest competitive accomplishments still fresh in mind, succumbing to this constant barrage can easily be averted.  But no normal person can expect to fend off these attacks forever.  Sooner or later, especially when the past season becomes a fading memory,  even the most disciplined can fall prey.  We find ourselves suddenly less lean, less fit, and moving at a pace that feels very close to that of a sloth.  

So what is one to do when the realization of January hits?  When it is cold and dark outside, when our bike shorts or swimsuit fit a little less comfortably?  When the disconcerting jiggle of our own body parts as we run is enough to bring us to tears?!  Get right back into it!  Grab a tissue, dry your eyes and suck it in…er I mean up, and look back on the past couple of months with fondness and appreciation.  Be thankful for the opportunity to take life a little slower and to have extra time.  Make a vow to do better in the future, then forge ahead. Put on those bike shorts (ignore any unsightly bulges, most of us are training  in our basements this time of year anyway), and ride away (or in place as the case may be) with the same determination and discipline that was there before.  Focus on what can be done in the future, not what can’t be changed in the past. 

See, even if the discipline waned a bit in the final months of the year, that is ok.  It is still there, waiting to be resurrected along with the smelly running shoes in the closet, waiting to be called upon once again.  And when that happens discipline will get you back to where you want to be.  Fit and ready.  Ready to start the whole crazy process all over again.  Ready to focus, with discipline, on the road ahead.  The road that leads to the life we love and wouldn’t trade for anything, even if it does get put on hold for a few months out of the year.