Sample Recipes

I am often times asked what I like to eat on a daily basis, so here are a few recipes that I enjoy!

Sample Breakfast - Oatmeal

Perfect for breakfast and post workout meal, especially when your diet needs less sugar. Ingredients •    1/2 cup oats (dry) •    6oz unsweetend almond milk •    2-3 splenda packets •    pinch of cinnamon •    1 table spoon almond butter Preparation: Place oats, almond milk, splenda, and cinnamon in a bowl, and stir. Heat in pot or microwave 2-3 minutes. Stir, and add almond butter. Enjoy! Sample Lunch - Turkey & Green Bean Salad This is an example of a lunch breakfast. Healthy and delicious and easy to prepare to take on the go! Ingredients •    2 cups green beans, trimmed and cut into pieces •    1 tsp lemon juice •    pinch of salt •    1/4 tsp ground black pepper •    2 cups cooked white-meat turkey, diced •    1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced •    3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped Preparation: Place green beans in a pot of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse with cold water. Stir together lemon juice and seasoning in a large bowl. Add green beans, turkey, red pepper and parsley. Toss well to coat. Serves 4. Sample Dinner - Baked Halibut w/ Mixed Vegetables This is an example of a delicious dinner. Perfect way to end a healthy day! Ingredients •    2 lbs. halibut filets •    1/2 cup Italian salad dressing •    1/4 tsp ground black pepper •    1/2 tsp garlic powder •    1 (10 oz. package) frozen sliced carrots •    1 (10 oz. package) frozen whole green beans •    2 tbsp olive or canola oil •    1 tsp minced garlic •    1 tbsp lemon juice •    1/4 cup sliced almonds •    1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese Preparation: Place halibut fillets in 13x9x2 baking dish. Pour Italian dressing over fish making sure all the fish has dressing on it, sprinkle pepper and garlic powder over fish. Set aside for one half hour turning after fifteen minutes. In medium sauce pan, add vegetables, minced garlic and just enough water to cover vegetables. Simmer five minutes. Drain. Lightly grease 13x9x2 baking pan with olive or canola oil. Place drained vegetables on bottom of pan. Place fish on vegetables, pour Italian dressing marinade over fish and sprinkle with lemon juice and sliced almonds. Bake at 350 degrees covered for 20 minutes, remove cover and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.

Chris "Macca" McCormack

I recently finished reading Chris McCormack's "I'm Here to Win: A Champion's Advice for Peak Performance." What a great read! I thought I would share a few of his insights that I found incredibly useful.

• A triathlon is not a sprint, especially at Ironman or half-ironman distance. Don't try to finish the race on the bike when you still have the run in front of you. Know the conditions, know your fitness level, and be patient. Take advantage of easier downhill areas of the course to rest and conserve your energy for the later stages.

• You don't play triathlon. You play soccer; it's fun. You play baseball. Triathlon is work that can leave you crumpled in a heap, puking by the roadside. It's the physical brutality of climbing Mount Everest without the great view from the top of the world. What kind of person keeps coming back for more of that?

• The pain is a slow process. You feel it coming from a long way off. When the gun goes off, you think, I feel good. Then the fatigue starts to come, and then the body rebels. It's a raw reality: your will against the agony that's setting in. When that happens, your mind can go to some crazy places. But I've always found it blissful. I hate the pain, but I love it, too.

• I wish more triathletes would honor their passion for getting better, doing bigger races, and setting loftier goals. Your dreams are no less important than mine. So what if you're younger or older than I was when I started, or have a career and can't commit as much time to training, or are an average athlete who won't ever finish an Ironman in less than fifteen hours? Your dreams matter.

Getting Ready for Wildflower

The Wildflower Half-Iron Distance Triathlon is in just 9 days and the nerves are beginning to set in. I've trained hard and have all the tools necessary to finish with a time I am proud of, but the fear of something going wrong is always present.

I constantly remind myself that that's the monster that is human nature. We train to look good to other people, to look good to ourselves, to justify the cost of a coach, or as some sort of inoculation against the fear that we won't have what it takes on race day. But we rarely train for the only reason that truly matters: to be the best we can be in body and mind, and deliver our finest possible performance on race day, regardless of the result.

With my family cheering me on, I plan to deliver.

Set Backs and My Best Friend

With my next race right around the corner, I've found the last few weeks incredibly challenging. The early morning swims, the late night runs...they began to take a toll. Not to mention getting on my bike to realize it wasn't shifting correctly, come to find out its an $800 fix. Set backs like this make me question why I am doing this or if its even worth it.

The truth is, I want to be competitive and in order to be competitive you have to be 100% committed...physically and emotionally. I love fitness. I love the training. I love that I am in the best shape of my life. But more than anything, I love how proud my son is of me.

Every where we went this weekend he would say, to almost every stranger we saw; with the biggest smile, "This is my dad and he is a triathlete!" And just before bed last night he whispered in my ear, "I can't wait to be just like you, dad. One day we are going to race side by side."

That is why I do this. In hopes that one day my sons dream can come true and we'll cheer each other on as we race side by side.

Sh*t Cyclists Say

Ok, so here's another video I thought was quite funny and so true!

Sh*t Triathletes Say

How do you know someone is a triathlete?....They tell you!...all the time!

Even if you're not a triathlete yourself but know someone who is, you'll get a kick out of this video.

"How do you do it?!"

I am asked all the time by friends, family and co-workers: How do you do it? How do you find time to swim, bike, and run and be a good parent?

Let’s face it, it can be difficult, but so is competing in a triathlon. I think that is why most of us love it. It’s a challenge.

So how do we make it work?...
I train early mornings often times when my love ones are sleeping. Yes, this often times involves 3am swim sets at the local 24 Hour Fitness. I find this the most realistic way for me to train and not take time from my son and/or my Fiancé. Trust me its a bit of work to sneak out of the house without waking up a 6 year old. Tip towing down the stairs and rolling the car out of the driveway starting it up down the street. The lengths I go to scurry out with out a peep! All that work to go jump in to a cold ass pool that reeks of chlorine! But hey, it's what you have to do to be great. Train to endure!

Most of you know I hold down a full-time job at a Software Company while building up my Personal Training Business (my true passion). My "real job" allows me a chance to get out each day around noon for a run and/or bike session. Nothing like a 10 mile run at lunch. Screw lunch let's run, bike, swim!

Weekends: Allow me time for long 4-5 hour rides Saturday and 1-3 hour runs on Sunday. I've really made a point to try and involve my son and Brittany in my shorter runs. Ty will follow along side of me on his bike while Brit leads the way. (I bet my 6 year old can ride harder than yours!)

It has taken me some time to get used to the distractions, but over all I love it! Parents get your kids involved, set examples for them. As I like to say: Pass on your passions!

Without the support of my closest family I would not be able to pursue my passions. Triathlon takes up so much time not to mention cost a shit ton of money. Family members of a triathlete sacrifice the most, so I constantly remind myself to let them know how much they are appreciated.

LA Marathon 2012

What a weekend! Leaving Early Saturday morning arriving in LA at 11:30 am. We splurged for this race and booked a five star hotel located near the finish line. The drive down to SoCal was wet and littered with wrecked vehicles. Fortunately, the rainstorm that had been lingering for days moved out and blessed us with clear blue skies so of course we hit the streets for St. Patties Day!

I was a good boy and avoided the enticing Black and Tans while my brother and fiancé sipped ‘em down! A day filled with pasta from the local authentic Italian eatery, and running along the coast and underneath the Santa Monica Pier. My brother and Brittany were nuts, they seemed to be having more fun than every body else. They sure didn’t let the wind hinder their enjoyment of the warm water, which they found to be such a treat compared to the freezing cold ocean water we are used to in Bodega Bay.

My night ended early. Hot bath with tea, then I hit the sheets! I was nervous for this race. I had trained my ass off literally logging hundreds of miles, not to mention continually training for the up coming Tri Season.

Race day: early rise and shine. I had to get to the bus located across the street from our Resort in Santa Monica by 4:30am. This was a bummer considering the race had a start time of 7:24 am. I arrived to the LA Dodgers Stadium at 5am leaving me almost 2 1/2 hours to pick my ass and try to keep warm. Outside temp was 42 degrees (not the warmest of mornings) and before I forget, of course the pre race jitters! I for some reason always have to use the bathroom...like every 5 minutes before every race. My nerves get the best of me!

A race with this many people finding the proper pace corral is like finding a needle in a haystack. My coach put together a race plan for me, which put me with a 3:05 finish. As the race began I wanted to make sure to follow the plan. "Pace yourself at no faster than a 7:10 mile for the first 10k and at the 10k mark pick up the pace to a mild 7:00 mile and try to hold this until mile 20. Not lifting until the 20-mile mark. This would put me in somewhere around 3:07-3:10. 
Of course in a perfect world this would be 1-2-3, but sometimes you have to adapt to what your body is telling you and race smart. I knew at mile 6 I was working too hard and that my heart rate was higher then it normally should be. I felt fully rested, nutrition was in line, and pace was realistic with my training.

The day ended up being warm and I had planned for a wet cold race! I found myself shedding clothes almost instantly. I kept hearing Coach Dave in my head, "if you ever have moments of just not feeling great pull back, hydrate, refocus, and then pick it back up." Well I found myself doing this a few times and guess what…it worked! My finish time was 3:15:03 a PR for me. I was stoked to finish strong and from miles 20-26 oddly enough I felt alright it was the first 20 that hurt and required me to focus and dig deep. I learned a lot about myself at the LA Marathon this year --- Race smart. Adapt to the unexpected. Be a little more patient and let the race come to me.