Quick & Easy Meal Planning & Prep for Athletes, Part 2

This post is part of an ongoing series of articles addressing meal planning, prep, and menu ideas for endurance athletes. To view the previous article in this series, please click here.

Today, I'll be offering a list of food prep shortcuts and practical strategies that athletes can use to save time and better plan their meals.

1. Multi-task in the kitchen. Chop the vegetables while you're waiting for the water (for the soup or pasta, etc.) to come to a rolling boil. Soak the lentils overnight for the next night's dinner while you're unwinding in the evening after dinner. If you happen to come home for lunch, set out the kitchen tools and non-perishable ingredients and you plan to use for that night's dinner and place them on the kitchen countertop before you leave to go back to work. You get the idea. Try to multitask in the kitchen as much as possible to expedite meal prep as much as possible.

2. Delegate small, easily manageable, age- and skill-level appropriate (!) food prep tasks to your children or other family members. This time-saving strategy is also a great way to involve your entire family in a fun group activity. Not only is it great for family bonding and bringing everyone closer together, but it's also an opportunity to get them excited about food and cooking, and to educate them about food preparation and healthy food/lifestyle choices.

3. Use thinly sliced cuts or tenderized meat whenever possible, since these preparations will take less time to cook. When made in a grill pan, thinly sliced or tenderized boneless chicken breasts only take about 4-5 minutes per side. Not only does food cook faster, but a grill pan will also drain any excess fats/oils away from the meat. Toss together a salad and some fruit for dessert, and you're all set for dinner. :)

4. Use your outdoor grill. Grilling can be a lot healthier than letting ingredients soak in oil or their own fats. If you've got a good attitude and a hearty constitution, you can actually grill outside all year round. My own family has been known to grill in the dead of winter. Yes, even when it snows. We just put on our parkas, hats, and gloves and go outside and grill. :) A word of caution when grilling in outerwear: Please leave the scarves inside of the house, unless you want to catch on fire. ;) Of course, make sure your grill has a hood before you attempt grilling in adverse challenging weather conditions. Lol.

5. Fill your hydration system bottles in advance and store them on a refrigerator door shelf.
That way, you'll have them ready at a moment's notice. This is especially handy for those times when you might be half-asleep (and thus, a little bit forgetful) as you head out the door for your early morning workout. ;) If you're like me, you've got a lot of available fridge door shelf space, because that's where all of the refrigerated, processed/pickled/preserved food in many households would typically go. ;) After all, there's no need to store something that doesn't exist in one's house. :)

6. Find quality kitchen gadgets that cut your prep time in half. They don't have to be expensive, just well-made and functional. Start out by equipping your kitchen with the most basic and practical of time-saving devices -- i.e., tools like a chef's knife, lemon reamer (and/or citrus juicer -- the glass jars fitted with a citrus juicer attachment are particularly practical), vegetable peeler, jar opener, tongs, cooking and baking spatulas, cutting board, strainer, colander, funnel, soup ladle, basting brush, whisk, salad spinner, blender, food processor, etc.-- and then, if you have the means and the kitchen space, expand and supplement from there (i.e., microplane zester, oil diffuser, meat mallet/tenderizer, mandoline and slash-resistant safety gloves, immersion hand blender, electric stand mixer, etc.). However, only buy what you know you'll truly use and have enough room to store. This way, it'll be easier to keep your kitchen clean and orderly, versus letting it slowly slide into a cluttered, organizational nightmare. ;) Nothing wastes more time and energy than the frustrating (and sometimes fruitless!) task of searching for buried kitchenware and then, once found, having to gingerly untangle/extract them from the other surrounding kitchen implements lest it cause a major cacophonous disturbance. Simply put, one's kitchen prep should not resemble a game of Jenga. ;)

7. Make sure you're using the correct, as well as the best, tools and the techniques for the job. Kitchen prep goes a lot faster when you know which tools to use and how to use them. :) Here are some quick tips to help you in that regard:

• Use a chef's knife to chop vegetables and sharpen it when necessary. While a paring knife or a steak knife might still be able to do the job, a sharpened chef's knife will allow you to chop a great deal faster. :) If you don't have much previous experience or skill in this area, watch YouTube videos to improve your knife skills and then practice these techniques the next time you're preparing food in the kitchen. 

• Use the edge of a spoon to peel fresh ginger instead of a vegetable peeler. Not only will you preserve more of the ginger this way, but the peeling will actually go much faster. This is because you can get a better and much closer grip with a spoon, plus there are no blades to worry about. Also, due to fresh ginger root's rough and knobby surface, a spoon does a better job of peeling around the bumps and hard to reach spots. A lot of the time, a peeler just won't cut it, quite literally. :)

• Learn the quickest way to peel garlic. Most intermediate-level amateur chefs already know the traditionally recommended method, i.e., whacking a garlic clove with the side of a chef's knife. However, did you know that there's a much better and faster way that to peel garlic doesn't even require a knife? And the best part? It won't leave your hands smelling like garlic. :)

And thus ends part 2. There are more quick and easy food prep shortcuts and strategies yet to come. (Part 3 will, of course, continue where part 2 left off....)

-Corey (a.k.a. "Cyberpenguin.")

For more tips on healthy eating, sports nutrition, and wellness, feel free to follow my public Facebook feed, recipe/nutrition blog, Cooking with Corey, and/or running blog, See Corey Run. My recipes and sports nutrition insights will also be featured in an upcoming series of nutritional lifestyle books for athletes. For more information, please visit The Athlete's Cookbook Facebook page.

Quick & Easy Meal Planning & Prep for Athletes, Part 1

There's no doubt about it: we endurance athletes are busy people. Over the years, we’ve become adept at juggling our many activities, events, and responsibilities, honing our carefully timed schedules like a well-oiled machine. Our training snaps into place like it’s the central interlocking piece of a 5000-piece jigsaw puzzle. :)

When we’re in training mode, particularly for long distance events, time is at a premium. Even for the seasoned athletes among us, the planning and execution phases of our training still takes time. Of course, this is because we’re constantly in search of new strategies to improve our performance and are continually learning from our mistakes. We keep up with the latest information and incorporate it into the process, refining it and making corresponding adjustments and course corrections where necessary. Training is a continual growth process, and its planning and execution phases require a great deal of time and energy. It preoccupy our thoughts and permeates our being. It’s one of the hallmarks of being an endurance athlete, because that’s just how we’re built.

As part of this process, good general and sports nutrition is an obvious must for any athlete. So, we must allocate time for the planning of this very important cornerstone of our training as well. However, once we’ve gotten some initial strategies in place to manage this aspect, we can minimize and reallocate the time spent on this activity, and then pretty much cruise on auto-pilot. And, like our training regimen, menu planning and cooking are most successful when they're accomplished with forethought and a plan. :) To help you out in this regard, I will be providing some quick time-saving tips for both meal planning and cooking, which will be serialized into a sequence of separate posts. And so, without further ado, below is my first recommendation and topic of discussion in this series:

Use technology to help you master your meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking. I know I’ve stated this in a previous post, but it’s such a crucial part of the equation that it bears repeating all the same. :) There are so many useful online resources, mobile apps, desktop/online widgets, and computer software products to help you organize and manage these activities. I personally prefer using online platforms and smartphone apps, as the former offers the advantage of centralized databases that can be accessed from virtually anywhere while the later is mobile and any stored data can be synchronized to the cloud or one’s computer or mobile devices for backup purposes. So of course, these are the types of tools I’ll be specifically addressing below. This list is by no means meant to be an all-inclusive but rather a brief review of useful resources that have, at one point or another, come across my radar:

iPhone/iPad/iTouch Apps:
1. MealBoard: It's inexpensive -- i.e., only $2 (!), but you get a lot for those $2. I love it because it ensures that I stay organized and on track with my cooking, eating, and grocery shopping, which in turn, is also excellent for overall time-management. The app is feature-rich and allows for a high-degree of customization: it allows you to link to recipes from the web or add your own. You can then populate your grocery shopping list based on your meal plan. You can also make meal plan templates from existing meal plans you'd previously created so that you don't have to manually type everything out each week. Any time you can automate and organize tasks, that'll free up more time for training and other life activities.
2. Groceries: Here’s another inexpensive app ($1.99) that I absolutely love. Simple and elegantly designed, this app is truly a time-saver. I use it instead of MealBoard’s built-in grocery shopping list because it's got a lot more features for this specific functionality and frankly, is far better designed for the task. You can create multiple customizable lists, add new items, and favorite items you most commonly purchase. You can also find existing items and quickly add new ones right from the search bar. Also, when grocery items are added to lists, they are organized by aisles, which also really saves a lot of time when you’re walking through the supermarket. And, if your grocery store is organized a little bit differently than the typical generic grocery store, you can even add or rename aisle categories or delete the ones you don’t ever use. And last but certainly not least, grocery lists can be sent to any number of recipients and then easily imported into the Groceries app on their mobile devices. This feature is particularly useful for those "honey do" lists, especially for those after-work or weekend shopping trips when one's mate might be in a different location. :)

Android Apps:
Since I’ve never owned a Droid smartphone, I can’t offer my own personal opinions on these apps, go into any great detail, or compare them to similar iPhone apps, except to say that below is a list of some highly rated equivalents. :)
1. Mighty Grocery Shopping List ($3.99).
2. Grocery Gadget (cost varies by platform). Also available for the iPhone and various other mobile platforms.)
3. Food Planner (free).

Online Tools:
Please note that I haven’t personally used these, since I use smartphone apps instead. However, these are the ones that, upon brief inspection, look like they are the most promising (and highly rated) of the bunch.
1. Meals Matter (free).
2. How Does She Do It (free). It’s also available as an app for both iPhone and Droid, neither of which I’ve tried.
3. Food on the Table (free). There are also Droid and iPhone apps, but again, I haven't tried either.
4. eMeals (paid service).
5. cozi (free).
6. GroceryiQ (free): This site gives you two options: You can create online grocery lists or use their online grocery shopping list app for both iPhone and Android. However, since the iPhone app got very mixed reviews, this is why I’ve listed it under the “online tools” category instead. :) Who knows, maybe the Droid version is better. However, it does have a barcode scanner feature, integrated online coupons, and the ability to store coupons directly to your savings card, among other features, all of which seem like they’d be highly useful.
6. Online supermarket-specific shopping lists: Several supermarkets now allow you to create (free) online shopping lists directly from their websites as well.

Printables:
No smartphone or just don’t feel like typing your lists into a mobile device or a computer? No worries, you can still stay organized. :) The solution is simple: Get a binder and fill it with weekly (or monthly) meal planning calendar pages, using an online template. (If you only need to plan weekly dinners, this template will probably suit you best.)

And that concludes the first post in the "Quick & Easy Meal Planning & Prep for Athletes" series. Feel free to comment below if you’ve had experience with any of these tools. We'd love to hear your feedback about your experiences, as it would very likely benefit other readers of this blog as well. Thank you!

Wishing you health, happiness, and a successful training season,

-Corey

For more tips on healthy eating, sports nutrition, and wellness, feel free to follow my public Facebook feed, recipe/nutrition blog, Cooking with Corey, and/or running blog, See Corey Run. My recipes and sports nutrition insights will also be featured in an upcoming series of nutritional lifestyle books for athletes. For more information, please visit The Athlete's Cookbook Facebook page.

About To Get Back On The Horse That Threw Me

On my last post I went into detail how my day transpired at the Ironman 70.3 Florida two weeks ago.  I have studied the reasons for my struggles that day in detail and I hope that a few answers I may have come up, thanks to input received from many friends, can help me achieve race success once more.

Upon further investigation, and just to add insult to injury, I found out, by analyzing my Garmin data, that my actual swim "moving time" was just over 32 minutes, well under my expected goal of 45 minutes in the swim.  But as posted earlier, my actual swim time was 1:10 and change.  This simply means that I spent almost 40 minutes nursing muscle cramps.  Oh... what could have been!

But, I'm not one to sit back and cry over spilled milk.  It happened.  Period.  Now it's up to me to pick up the pieces and move on.  And so I have done.

I returned to the water, albeit a pool, two days after the race and to open water ten days later.  Both instances went without a hitch.  It is my hope to carry that on to tomorrow's Mach Tenn Triathlon (sprint distance) in Tullahoma, TN.  It has a 1100 yd swim.  Plenty of time to test my work.

One of the obvious elements I've been working on is on ensuring I have plenty of minerals in my system.  Specifically, potassium. I will ensure to eat a banana about one hour before "go time".  Also, I bought a minerals supplement at my local vitamin store that I will take with my water before the race.

Someone pointed out to me that I need to make sure not to over do it due to the fact that the body may start retaining liquids.  If this happens, it could lead to plenty of discomfort as well.   Oh my, the balancing act!

I also need to make sure that I do plenty of stretching and a good warm up before the race.  Did not take the time to do either in Florida.  And we all know that no matter how slow we want to start the swim, adrenaline kicks in.  This could have also been another factor with the cramping issue.

As for the rest of the race?  Gotta have Faith.  Have to stay Focused. And must Finish with a smile on my face.  That's the plan, the only plan I take with me on each and every race I participate.  This one will not be any different.

About The Toughest Race I've Ever Done

I selected as my first A-event of the 2012 season, the Ironman 70.3 Florida which was held in Haines City on Sunday, May 20th.  I picked this early event simply because I wanted to test how well my off-season training efforts had improved my skills.  I trained hard and I trained smart.  Every discipline individually, showed tremendous improvement.

In the water, I had been swimming miles at about 41-42 minutes.  For me, this is monumental. On the bike, I was averaging over 18mph on longer rides.  Again, huge improvements.  I set a 10k PR just a few weeks ago.  So, everything was looking promising.

I entered race week extremely confident.  Not cocky by any stretch of the imagination.  Just confident.  I felt good.  I would sleep well at night the few nights before the race.  This I had never done!  When asked by my wife how I felt, I told her that I felt so good, it was kinda scary.

We, my wife, younger daughter and I,  packed up the car and left for the long drive very early Thursday morning.  We were to pick up our oldest daughter in Ocala, Fl Thursday afternoon.  This was going to be a family outing.  Somewhere, about halfway through the trip, the car started malfunctioning.  We opted to spot and pick up a rental to have for the rest of the trip.  Didn't want to deal with a broken car before the race. Would this be a sign of things to come?  Little did we know.

REGISTRATION

We arrived at race site on Friday, early afternoon and registration had just begun.  Walked through in a very timely manner.  Everything was extremely well organized... as usual.  Received my package which included all the necessary paraphernalia to participate in the race.  My bib was #200.

 
After walking through the expo and leaving behind a small fortune (visor, bike jersey, water bottles, etc) we left and headed for the hotel.

Another huge perk of racing in Central Florida for me, is the fact that I got to spend time with  my brother and sister and they got to come watch me race!

Friday evening we met my sister and her husband for dinner.  Carb loading at its finest!

SATURDAY... ONE DAY TO GO!

My wife and daughters left early for they wanted to go shopping in Orlando.  That was just fine by me for I had other plans.  A small and easy bike ride and short and sweet run.  Also, had to get the bike ready to take it to transition.

Early afternoon came and we took the bike to get it racked.  Now, there was nothing else to do but wait.

Later on we meet my sister again, and my brother with his girl friend as well as his son.  We went to dinner for a good ol' protein/fat/carb feast... but not to large!

I slept well.  I had been doing so all week.  I was ready.  Anxious and respectful of the task ahead is how I felt.

RACE MORNING

I arrived at transition about 5:45 to a mass of humanity.  Yes, there were lots of triathletes.  Lots of family and friends, lots of media, TV cameras and crew, a helicopter hovering overhead and Lance Armstrong.  He was getting ready.  Right beside me.  I was number 200 after all.  Two racks next to his!  WOW!

6:00 came and it was time to close transition.  Off to the swim start.

SWIM

There was a calm inside me I couldn't explain.  Usually, at this point, my nerves are pretty well shot.  But not today.  I was ready.  I saw my friends Michelle and Leigh and we wished each other good luck!  And then the cannon went off.  It was time to rock-n-roll.  First the professional men, then the professional women along with one paraplegic triathlete.  I was in the next wave.

We walked into the water and it felt like a bath tub.  The temperature, we were told was 81F.  The water was dirty and nasty due to the lack of good rain in the area.  When I got my face wet, I tasted how nasty it was.

The horn went off and so did we.  Our wave must have had 30-40 athletes.  It was pretty shallow for a while, so some ran, others did the dolphin dive.  I think I ran, but I can't be sure.

The swim start was a cluster.  People everywhere, everyone jockeying for position.  I needed to move to the outside like I usually do; to escape the hits and pushes and shoves.  It didn't work.  Way to many people.  I would loose much needed energy worrying about this, so I stayed as close to the inside as I could, along with every other swimmer with the same idea.

For about ten minutes I felt great.  I was getting in my groove.  I felt great.  Remember thinking that this is just how I trained, this is just how I envisioned it.

And just like that, without warning it hit me.  A muscle cramp on my left calf.  One of a caliber which I had never felt before.  It scared the heck out of me, but quickly I regained my composure.  I stretched my toes a couple of times trying to work it out.  And I did.  For about a minute.  Then another cramp.  Then another. And yet another.  This time the cramps were moving to the bottom of my foot and even my toes.  What the heck?  Had to turn on my back to give my leg a chance to stretch.  This took valuable time but it needed to get done.

Every time I tried to kick my leg, I felt a cramp coming.  So I opted to kick with just the right leg and leave the left alone.  Big mistake.  It was the right leg's turn to cramp up.  Just like the left did.  Every muscle, every tendon, every ligament were hurting.

I would be lying to you if I told you that even for the smallest of moments the idea of calling for help and maybe removing myself from the race didn't cross my mind.  I say for the smallest of moments because at that point, when this thought crossed my mind, there was not a single boat, canoe or kayak in sight.  Right then and there I realized that this truly was about survival.  Mine.  If my resolve was being tested, I hope I passed.

I spent more time on my back during the entire swim, nursing my legs hoping the pain would go away.  It never did.  First chance I got to put my foot on solid ground was about 40 yds from the swim out. The pain was so intense it knocked me to my knees.  I stretched for a bit and came out of the water.

My goal for the swim was 45 minutes.  Total swim time was 1:10:23.  But hey, I was just happy to be alive!

Very gingerly I walked/ran through transition.  I didn't want to find out what would happen if I pushed it at this point.  Just wanted to get to my bike and continue my day.

T1

I arrived at T1 and I couldn't tell if I was more upset at what had happened or at how bruised my ego was.  I laid down to put on my bike shoes, and couldn't get up.  Quads locked up!  It took just a few moments to get my legs to move.  All geared up and ready to go, I walked my bike out of transition and saw my entire family hooting and hollering, yelling my name.  This put a smile on my face.  What a great send off!

BIKE

If there was a bright spot on my day was my bike.  I felt good.  Muscles were behaving and I was able to ride like I wanted to.  My first bike split show that I averaged 18.61mph.  I was flying.

Then it got hot.  Blazing hot.  And oh yeah, windy.  I was having to push harder, even though I used bigger gears.  My legs began to take a toll.  Quads began to hurt so before they would cramp up I chose to slow the pace down some.  Second split was 14.99mph.  I'm still happy with my best bike ever.

Bike goal time was 3:15.  Actual bike time was 3:14:11.  This is a bike PR for me.

T2

Once again I came in to the cheering of the crowd.  My family right in the middle of it.  It was sweet.  However, when I dismounted the bike, I almost fell to me knee because the calf and quad cramped up again.  Made it to my spot and again, once I sat down to change shoes, I could hardly get up.  But I did.

RUN

The first couple hundred yards were slow.  I wanted to gauge how my legs felt.  Would the muscles take me to the finish line?  At this point I knew I was in for a very long run.  The temperature had continued to rise and there was not a cloud in the sky!

The whole run consisted of running and walking.  At times it was mostly walking.  If I ran for more than a couple of blocks my calves and quads would complain.  I did manage, however to put on a good show for the crowd as I went through the park twice and at the finish line.  I ran through here.  I always say:  Never let them see you hurting.

Run goal time was 2:30.  Actual run time was 3:01:00

FINISH

I have never been so happy to see a finish line as I was to see this one.  My body was in pain, agonizing pain.  Muscles I didn't know I had were hurting.


My goal was to finish this event in under 7:00 hours.  I have never done this.  Actual time 7:37:13

Regardless of the outcome, there's always a lesson to be learned.  For me, on this race I learned how important it is to be mentally ready to overcome whatever comes your way.  Had it not been for the fact that I train my mind as well as I train my body, this race could have possibly ended in disaster or even tragedy.

Now I have just six weeks to figure out why I cramped like I did.  Potassium?  Hydration?  Both?  Neither?  Next test will come on July 7th at the Ironman 70.3 Muncie.

If any of you have ever experienced anything like this, I'd like to hear how you solved this issue.  Please drop me a line on the comments section of at the bottom of this post or post a note on my blog's facebook page (click here)

In the meantime, please continue to check my blog's facebook page (click here) for daily training updates and tidbits of motivation and other cool stuff.

About That Time

In just seven short days, Ironman 70.3 Florida will take place. My wave is set to start at 6:40am.  Yes, once again, us older guys go immediately following the pros and right behind us, the 18-24 year old males.  My bib number is "200".  Luck number!  For me, this will be the first of three A-races this summer, all three 70.3 distances.  All three Ironman events.

Training for this race has been different to say the least.  Different in that it hasn't compared to last year's regime for the Ironman.  Nonetheless, I followed my coach's instructions (for the most part) and put in the required numbers of yards and miles... for the most part.

For the most part, I say, because there's only so much you can do with a damaged plantar fascia.  It requires a lot of rest and while resting, obviously you can't run.

Right about this time, I always begin to question my training.  No matter how much I've done, no matter how little I've done, no matter the event, no matter the race. It has become a "tradition" with me, if you will, to always question my readiness.  If everything falls into place, I should be able to put this behind me in a day or two.  Luckily this time around, I've had a couple of tremendous training sessions in the past few days, so this has helped.

One big difference is that up until the Ironman, the swim always made me loose sleep.  I would put in the laps, the yards, the time, but I would still loose sleep over it.

After spending 1:51:54 in the Ohio River last August, I came out of the water with a whole new perspective.  I do believe I left all my fears in that river.  Don't get me wrong, I still respect the swim, but it's not dominating my every thought.  For this, I am grateful.

Yesterday I had one of my best bike rides ever.  I managed to average speeds above 17 mph with a good amount of elevation.  I've never been able to do this.  Winter gym work and off season trainer sessions are to thank for this.  Now, I wait and see how this translates to the race course.  But confident is what I am.

This week will be an easy, relaxing, tapering week.  I will do the required short and easy workouts.  I will travel to Florida on Thursday with the family and upon arrival to the race site on Friday, I will begin to put my race face on.

So what's in store for me on Sunday?  No one knows.  What I do know is that, as in the past, I will not worry about things I have no control over.  I will concentrate on the task at hand.  I will race my race.  I will do my best, because "If It Is To Be, It's Up To Me"

About The Silver Lining

"Clouds may come.  Clouds may go.  But behind each cloud you know, the sun or the moon is shinning through."

It is often said that each and every cloud has a silver lining.  Sometimes however, its difficult to at first glance recognize this.  Because of this very same reason, I have learned to take time out after any "not so ideal" experience to gather my thoughts and compose myself.

This was the case after last Saturday's Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville.

I had been looking forward to this event for weeks.  Not just because it has become one of my favorite annual races but because this year I was going to run it with both my daughters and my brother.  Add to this the fact that I had been running at a pace I had never done in the past and I was looking forward to a spectacular race.

The weekend started in great form.  Along with my wife and one of my daughters, we picked up my brother Hernando at the airport and headed to pick up our race packet and to the expo.  Neither experience disappointed.  Both were organized with utmost professionalism, as usual.

Saturday morning's 4am alarm came quick.  Got out of bed without hesitation and had breakfast.  All my running gear had been left out the night before so this was smooth.  Left the house en route to pick up my daughter Marcela, on the other side of Nashville.

Everything was going just as planned.  The traffic was moving, the weather promised to be great.  It was gong to be a fine race.

The crowds were gathering...all 31,000 runners were arriving.  The feeling of excitement filled the air.  It's always and experience like no other.  The time was getting closer.

Mauricio, Juliana, Marcela and Hernando before Country Music Half Marathon

From previous experience I learned that when you register for a race like this, you claim your estimated finish time about 30 minutes faster that you actually think you're going to finish.  This in order to get assigned a corral closer to the front.

Two reasons for this.  One, the wait is not as long.  Two, you have a chance of establishing your tempo a lot quicker due to the fact that you're not racing behind folks who may be a little (or a lot) slower than you, or maybe even behind walkers.  This is extremely important if you want to run with a time in mind.  This year,  I did.

Some thirty five minutes before the start of the race I had the urge to visit the restroom (porta-potties, if you will).  This is where it all started going downhill.  The lines were so stinking long that by the time we made it out and into the race course, we started somewhere around corral no. 22!  That's 14 corrals behind where we were supposed to be.  Note to self:  Next time... go behind a tree!

I had been hit with a severe bout of stomach flu earlier in the week.  As early as Friday morning I was still feeling the effects from it.  I had been totally dehydrated but worked diligently to recover from this in time for the race.  As I crossed the starting line my only thought was that I hope I had done enough.  We would see.

The first mile or so, the pace was slow, but I was okay with it because it was right within my plan.  Little did I know that this pace would not get much better as the race went on.  Not so much because I couldn't step it up, but because it was impossible to step it up.  Impossible due to the tremendous crowd.  Wall to wall runners, joggers, speed walkers and walkers.  At times, even zig-zagging was an issue.  It never got any better.

As the miles started piling up, I kept watching my estimated goal time of 1:59:59 go by the way side.  And as this began to happen, I began to stress.  "How could I let this happen" I kept thinking.  "This can't be, I must speed up, crank it up, rev it up."  I would find a glimpse of daylight and I would take it, would run right through it only to find another wall.  Another human wall.  Here we go again.  And again.  And again.

Frustration was setting in quick.  Around mile 6, I remember thinking "It's now or never".  As it turns out, it was Never.   More people, every where... people.

And so it came, mile 9.  The wheels officially fell off.  I had nothing left and at this point I realized that my goal was not going to happen today, that it was time just to enjoy the rest of the run.  And that I did.

The last half mile or so, I watched as everyone around me was passing me, everyone had left a little in their tank for their final push.  Except me.  At this point, it didn't matter.

I made it through.  Picked up my medal which weighed heavy around my neck.  And then the"bottleneck".  Whoever designed this chute is out of their mind.  After running a marathon or a half marathon you can't ask people to just "stop", and that's what they did.  This is/was insane.  This will have to be addressed.  I've heard of several people that almost lost it at that point.

So all's not lost, hence the silver lining in the story.  Several lessons were learned on Saturday, but most importantly, I learned that...

For me, I will never go into a race, of any kind, of any distance again, with a specific time "goal" in mind.  For five years I have done just fine with "I will run my race, I will do my best, I will be happy with my effort."  I will go back to that.

I learned that no matter what happens during a race, the most important thing is to smile, be happy and enjoy.  I will go back to that.

Hernando, Mauricio, Marcela, Juliana and Colton after Country Music Half Marathon

 And while I was soaking in my sorrows, I witnessed the most amazing efforts from my daughters Juliana and Marcela and my brother Hernando.  They all finished with huge smiles, happy with their times and ecstatic about their efforts.  For each one of them, their experience during their second half-marathon will be one they'll never forget, and having been part, albeit a small part, of that will make up for any shortcoming during my own race.

Next on my schedule is Ironman 70.3 Florida at Lake Eva Park near Haynes City Florida.  This race is on May 20th.  That's right, just 20 days away!

Healthy Eating: Some Tips for Staying on Track & Strengthening Your Resolve :)

We all know that exercise is only part of the equation. Of course, good nutrition is another, highly significant part of that equation as well. And, as athletes, we all know that it's also an essential component in helping to boost our athletic performance. Simply put, an athlete cannot maximize their health and fitness potential without it.

Of course, the tricky part is establishing and maintaining our path to good nutrition. Sometimes we might find that it can be especially challenging when we're trying to form these new patterns, particularly because both eating and exercise have added psychological elements to them. ;) While this is something that's important to be aware of and acknowledge, we also need to recognize that we have a choice in the matter and don't need to let it rule us or our behaviors. Usually, when we fall off course, it's because we've let our less helpful emotions take hold and/or have switched from a state of awareness to unconsciousness, and just need to return to that former state, reestablish a sense of balance, and get back to basics. We have the option to make conscious choices, but in order to do this, we first need to be conscious of that fact. :) Then, we can find ways to change and reinforce those changes until they stick.

So what are some ways that we can stay on track and reinforce our healthy habits? The solution is actually fairly simple and straightforward. The way to healthy eating is no different than the way to forming consistent patterns of exercise: We can overcome these challenges and master these struggles within ourselves with a bit of planning and reinforcement of gradually introduced, small changes until they supplant those older, less healthy habits. This way, these newly formed exercise and healthy eating patterns have a much better chance of success.

Of course, a lot of our current eating and exercise patterns are just done out of habit. So, since any established pattern of less-than-healthy eating had to be established at one point or another, whether it was consciously established or not ;), it can be unestablished by consciously practicing a new behavior pattern and then reinforcing it until it replaces the old pattern.

Also, technology can be of great assistance in helping to solidify these new behavior patterns through continual (electronic) reminders to reinforce regular planning and practice. For those of you with iPhones and iPads, meal planning and grocery shopping apps like MealBoard and Groceries can be particularly helpful in that regard. Of course, there are Android equivalents like Mighty Grocery Shopping List, Grocery Gadget, Food Planner, and the like, all of which have been highly rated as well. The simple fact of the matter is this: If we plan out each meal and snack on a weekly or biweekly basis with nutrition in mind, then we're less likely to succumb to unhealthy selections as a last-minute, irrational impulse, especially when our blood sugar starts to drop and/or our hunger starts to kick in. After all, there's less of a temptation to look elsewhere when you've got a readily available, healthy and nourishing selection on hand.

Another useful tactic is to pack veggies for snacks during the day and couple them with a protein source like hummus or healthy Omega 3 rich nuts (i.e., walnuts, pistachios), etc. This gives us a "battle plan," so to speak, to stave off any potential hunger pangs (that are often due to lack of proper planning), which in turn, keeps us from grabbing other, less healthy things.

So why is this combination particularly effective? Protein helps to sustain one's blood sugar while the veggies contain slow-release carbs and fiber to help sustain us (for a much longer duration than carbs containing simple starches) and satisfy our hunger. And, the healthy fats also help to create a feeling of satiety as well. The first part of the above snack (i.e., the veggies) also helps us to fulfill the recommended daily allowance of eating at least 4-5 servings of veggies per day, while the latter (i.e., walnuts, pistachios, etc.) helps us to fit in some much-needed Omega-3 fatty acids to help reduce inflammation, which is particularly useful to athletes, as these powerful Omega 3 fatty acids can reduce post-exercise induced inflammation.

As for my own practices, I'll usually save any "fun," sweet (but still healthy) snacks for right after dinner, especially if I'm in the mood for a healthy dessert. This is when I'll typically eat a fruit I love and sometimes mix it with Greek yoghurt drizzled with a small amount of honey. (This snack also has the added advantage of taking little kitchen prep that takes no time at all.) Or, I'll premake all-natural fruit pops or smoothies using the same ingredients. For small fruits like raspberries, I'll mix them in after I blend together the other ingredients. For larger fruits, like strawberries, I'll slice them first. If the fruit is really sweet, I'l sometimes add a small squeeze of lemon to the mix to balance the flavors.

Of course, I don't always want a snack like this, so about once a week, usually on the weekends, if I'm really craving something sweet or salty, I'll allow myself to have a snack in a reasonable, pre-determined, measured portion size that isn't a veggie or a fruit. :) That way, I won't go bonkers and eat a whole chocolate cake. Lol. Of course, that's an exaggeration for humorous effect, but you get my point. In moderation, the practice of consuming a special treat every once in a while, that is, if our decision is a conscious one, is a perfectly normal and reasonable behavior. If a person eats like a normal healthy person as a cumulative practice, then that once-in-a-while treat can be put into perspective, as it's the overall trend that truly matters. The larger picture of achieving good health and a sense of well-being for the long-term is what's truly important.

I hope you find these tips helpful in your quest to eat more healthfully! As they say, a failure to plan is planning to fail. Or, put in a more positive light, planning is 95% of the battle right there. And we all know this to be true because as athletes we practice this very principle to guide us to success in our own race training.

I wish you lots of success in your quest for fitness and health.

-Corey

For more tips on healthy eating, sports nutrition, and wellness, feel free to follow my public Facebook feed, recipe/nutrition blog, Cooking with Corey, and/or running blog, See Corey Run.