Step aside boys, this girl is going to relive her high school max and bench press 1-0-5… pounds that is.

A long, long time ago….. like, back in the olden days….. I was a high school kid and stuck in class that I truly dreaded…..

When I was a junior in high school, a mistake was made in putting together my schedule and somehow I was stuck taking weight lifting for P.E. instead of the dance class I so desperately wanted to take. Maybe that is a stretch. I may not have wanted to take dance, but I know I didn’t want to be in a sweaty old weight lifting room with a bunch of stinky boys. One other girl was stuck in the class with me and together we went to the P.E. teacher together to beg to be kicked out of the class and put in another P.E. class. Not only was he the P.E. teacher, he was also the wrestling coach. Surely, he would be glad to evict a couple of puny 5’1″ tall girls out of his class.

We were not so lucky. After begging and I think my classmate even cried, he said that he would not sign off on us getting out of his class. He told us the class would be good for us and us two girls would team up and train together through the semester. But, I didn’t want to get all bulky like a boy I complained. He just laughed. Continue reading →

Red Hills Sprint Triathlon Recap 3.30.2013

A Bike Lesson: How to make a hilly 16 mile bike loop much, much harder

RedHills Logo

Results

Age Group: 12/15, Overall: 254/266
Swim – 15:25 (Age group: 13/15, overall:  229/266)
T1: 4:08
Bike – 1:25:02 (Age group: 15/15, Overall: 266/266)
T2: 1:32
Run – 27:44 (Age group: 8/15, 171/266)

Red Hills was my third sprint triathlon, so I am definitely still a freshman to the sport. Before I get into what happened on race day, I must set the stage for the race day bike adventure/disaster… or the just plain bike faux pas.

I got a new Trek Domane 4.3 bike for my birthday in January. Up until this time, I was riding a base model Trek Lexa, which was a still quite an investment for me considering I did not know if I would even like road cycling or doing triathlons. So, last summer was the first time I gave up a mountain bike and snowboard for a road bike; it still took months for me to admit I was a road cyclist.

Trek Domane 4.3My new Trek Domane 4.3 arrived in a box in February, ready to be put together. Once assembled by a friend and local bike doctor (sounds good, doesn’t it), I was ready to take it for a spin around the neighborhood. I did a 6 mile loop around the neighborhood and then it rained, and then it rained some more, and then my kids were sick, and then I was sick…. Fast forward to two weeks before the triathlon and I started to panic as I still hadn’t put in any quality riding time on the new bike. But, boy did she look pretty sitting in my office. During this time, I logged many hours on the stationary bike at the gym and on my Trek Lexa attached to a trainer in my living room. During February I logged 132 miles of training and 150 miles of training in March.

The weekend before the tri, I carved out a little time to mess around with my new bike at the local high school parking lot. My four year-old scooted alongside me on her LaLa Loopsy bike with training wheels. I now realize I was paying much more attention to her and her safety than to my positioning on my bike.

RACE DAY

My alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. and I hit the snooze button 3 times. I had been battling a nasty sore throat for a few days, and I was hoping the cold that my kids had would hold off for one more day. I woke up a little achy and the sore throat was there with an inkling of head congestion. I was up by 4:15, got myself ready, and filled up a gallon jug with hot water which I planned to rinse off with after my tri, before changing into clean, dry clothes. I loaded up my two gear bags and went back in the house for my pretty new bike. Once I put her on the bike rack, I made sure to secure her tightly to the rack, perhaps a little too tight I would figure out later.   Continue reading →

Shamrock Scurry 5k Recap from 3.9.2013

Jen_Scurry  

OFFICIAL FINISH TIME: 31:44

PLACE: 249/630

Running was the EASY part….

Scurry_logo_2013_webLast Saturday, 3.9.2013, was a chilly morning and I knew I would need to bundle my little munchkins up. My race prep started Friday night at 8:00 p.m. First thing I had to figure out was how to get the double jogging stroller into the GTO coupe. It did not fit in the trunk and I couldn’t put it in the backseat since I had two little girls back there. I ended up taking all 4 wheels off and somehow managed to get it to fit in the front passenger seat. Once I got my girls to bed, I continued getting our race gear together – included my racing gear layers, belt, iShuffle (charged), outfits for the girls, mittens and beanies for the girls, extra blankets, stocked diaper bag, juice cups, and snacks. I called it a night about 11:00 p.m. and still wasn’t sure if I had everything together.

RACE DAY… my morning started just before 5:00 a.m. Got up, showered, put together my post-race Costco shopping list (sounded like a great idea at the time) and threw all remaining gear in the trunk of the car. In hopes of getting to the race location by 7:45 a.m., for the 8:30 a.m. start, I knew I needed to leave the house by 7:10 a.m….. at the latest. Normally parking is not much a concern, but when you have to situate a double jogging stroller, two little girls who might be cold, and little bitty bladders, parking suddenly becomes more important than you can imagine, especially when you have 2 yr old that thinks she is supposed to wander off every time she gets out of the car.

I woke my girls up at 6:30 a.m. and through fussiness, sleepiness, and whininess, I got both girls ready and had a tasty Honeybun waiting for them in the car (my incentive to get them into the car, sometimes motivation comes from unlikely places). We managed to hit the road by 7:15 a.m. No worries, this momma could make up the time in the GTO. As they enjoyed their Honeybuns, I ate my banana and drank my Herbalife24 Prepare to get me ready for the race. We managed to make it to the race location at 7:50 a.m. and got a great parking spot in the main parking lot. I was beyond thankful. Another MRTT Tally member had picked up my race packet the day before and I ended up parking about 100 feet away from her, lucky me. She gave me my race packet and back to the car my girls and I went to get ready for the race. Next was the fun step of getting the girls set up for comfort; which involved getting the stroller out, attaching the wheels, getting the girls in the stroller and situated with blankets, juice, and snacks. Then, it was off to find a potty for my little preschooler bladder. Oh, the joy of pre-race women’s bathroom lines. I know I need to say no more here.

Continue reading →

EAS Soy Protein… still have a jug of it if you want it….

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EAS – Energy. Athletics. Strength.

EAS started in 1992 and their products can be found in just about every big box retailer, drugstore, grocery store, and vitamin/supplement specialty store.  I have even seen coupons for EAS products in the Sunday paper, which is probably why I have tried it out.

HEalth Supplement Choices website provides an excellent recap on EAS overall. According to their website, “EAS is a science based company with some of their products being certified by the NSF. The NSF is an organization that approves consumer goods. Only a small percentage of supplement companies are certified by the NSF…. EAS Soy Protein Powder is a great source of protein with very low amounts of fat and no cholesterol.

 Each serving of 44 g (1 scoop) contains:

  • 170 calories
  • 1.5 grams of fat
  • 19 grams of carbs
  • 17 grams of sugar
  • 20 grams of protein

When compared to whey protein, soy comes up a bit short for athletes and bodybuilders. Overall it’s not as effective as whey protein. However, there are some benefits of soy protein worth mentioning. Vegetarians are usually the main consumers of soy protein powder because it’s a great alternative to animal protein. It contains all the essential amino acids your body needs. Essential amino acids are referred to as “essential” because your body cannot produce them… You must get them from your diet. Other notable benefits of soy protein are it’s ability to lower cholesterol, and it’s ability to reduce certain forms of cancer.” Read full article:  EAS Soy Protein Powder Review

My personal experience…..

I’ve tried several different types of protein powders and this one ranks the lowest on the totem pole with respect to flavor and texture. I bought a jug of the vanilla, mixed one shake worth and am sure I made the bitter beer face when I took my first sip. The texture was a bit clumpy and it had an aftertaste that I can’t quite put my finger on. Like a serving of Nyquil, I pinched my nose and downed the sucker. The jug is still sitting on my counter top if you want it.

I was quite surprised that the EAS protein powder would taste this gross (sorry for lack of better wording). I have drunk the EAS Myoplex ready-made drinks and have eaten the EAS nutrition bars. Both of these other products were quite good and would recommend them to anyone, but the EAS Soy Protein… yuck. I can feel myself tasting it even as I type this review.

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