A Hot tip just in.

Tune in to PBS at 9:30pm NST, or 8:00 EST Today Tuesday October 30 for "Marathon Challenge", a NOVA show exploring the physical and mental challenges of marathon running.

I just checked out the web site, and there are some very interesting links and articles.

I'll be watching, in fact I'll probably be taping it.

It would be cool to hear comments after it airs. Let me know what you think.

For me this is nothing new. One time a co-worker commented "Jim doesn't really eat, he just grazes." But if you still follow the traditional three square meals a day routine, and you are an aspiring athlete, or even an average Joe trying to get a little healthier, This article from Runners World is for you.

Check it out. http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-303-307-6405-0,00.html?cm_mmc=nutrition-_-2007_10_25-_-nutrition-_-The%20Power%20of%20Grazing

Have a glance and let me know what you think.

Jim

I received an email from a reader last week who was enquiring about my experience with registering for next years race. I guess some people are actually reading my rant.

Anyway, I decided that it might be a good idea to post my reply right here so anyone else who have made up their minds to give it a go, don't get left out because the just didn't know what the procedure was.

I registered online. Registration started the morning after the race at 12:00 local race time.

I sat at my computer a little before the posted start time, and started clicking the register button on the active.com site, until I got through. I planned to go into my office where I could use a high speed connection, but as it turned out, I couldn't get away from my house that morning, so I used the dial up at my house. I had no problem getting through. The race filled up in 2 hours.

Last year I heard it filled up in less than 45 minutes, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it fill up faster this year.

If you go to http://www.nasports.com/news/fullstory.php?storyid=778 there is a press release from North American Sports outlining the registration procedure for all Ironman Races in North America. The general procedure goes like this.
1. Athletes registered for this years race, get first dibs on next years race. They have the option to register the day before this years race, 9:00am to 11:00am
2. General entry for next year then opens on site the day following this years race from 9:00am to 11:00am. You have to be there in person, and you can't get another person to register you.
3. Any remaining slots are then made available online through active.com starting at 12:00 noon.
Remember these times are local race times.

I would recomend if you live within a couple of hours drive of Panama City, Go down and register in person. That wasn't an option for me, and if it's not for you, try online. Make sure you sign up with www.active.com before hand so there are no delays, and then get ready the morning after the race at 11:55, whatever time it works out to be in your area, and find the fastest computer you can with the fastest connection you can, and start trying to get through a couple of minutes before registration is supposed to open.

If you don't get through, there are other options availble by way of charity slots etc. You could go that route as well.

Let me know how you make out. I might post this on my blog. I can't believe someone is actually reading this. Best of luck.

Waking up the morning after our long travel day, we were so looking forward to a good hearty breakfast. Hoping to relive our Houston days, where there was a breakfast joint on nearly every corner. It seemed like you couldn’t drive 5 minutes without passing a Denny’s or IHOP. But that wasn’t the case in Panama City Beach. I fully expected to drive a couple of hundred feet up the road and find an old reliable chain, and after months of training and careful dieting, I didn’t feel too adventurous and really wanted to stick with something tried and true. After driving up and down Front Beach Road for about a half hour, the only recognizable sign was for the Waffle House. Tammy and I never ate there before, but we figured it would be ok. Ok for Tin Cup, and probably a lot of other folks, but it was a little too greasy for my pallet. Especially for a fine tuned ironman machine.

I did find a IHOP straight back route 98, and across the Hathaway bridge in Panama City right on 23rd street. That was our first stop the morning after the race.

Our favorite place was Appleby’s on Hutchison Boulevard. They had a pretty large menu with lots of choices to keep me clean and lean for my race. The staff were excellent, and the portions were huge. We ended up brining home enough for a second meal or snack in the evening.

I found that the most convenient way to stay fed was to prepare my own. I made sure to book a room with a kitchenette. Ours had a decent size fridge, a double burner stove, and a coffee pot. All I needed to stay nourished. I bought my food at Wal-mart on Front Beach Road. I also bought Shampoo, sunscreen, socks, and extra clothes due to the cool temps. The grocery section, unlike here in St. John’s was exceptionally well stocked with fresh fruit, and most everything else an Ironman athlete might need for race preparation. If you do the same, just be sure to shop early in the week as the Gatorade section tends to get cleaned out during race week.

The only deficiency was finding good coffee. If you are a caffine junkie like me, then the Maxwell house or folgers blend just don’t make the cut. You can get a hot cup at the afore mentioned Waffle House, but my preference is a good Starbucks dark roast. We finally found one, across the bridge in Panama City right on 23rd street, not far from IHOP. But we didn’t find it until the day after the race, and it was a bit out of the way to drive to every morning. The next time, I will bring my own stash, Ground from the beans I get buy Costco. Provided I can get it past Customs.

How about a Pina Coloda.

1/2 Cup Pineapple, Frozen
1/2 Cup Vanilla Yogurt
2 Scoops vanilla flavoured soy protein powder
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 tbsp coconut extract
1 tbsp artificial rum extract

Throw it all in a blender, and you know, blend. You may have to play with it a little. Different yogurts taste better, also you may have to add a little more milk if it turns out too thick.

Breaks down as 372 cal, 23.5g Prot, 57g Carbs, 3.0g fat,

Previously, I wrote about my nerves prior to Ironman Newfoundland 70.3, 2007. While preparing for Ironman Florida 2006, I did a lot of research into race preparedness including mental preparation, and how to be in the proper state of mind before a race. The articles I read seemed to have a common theme. Identify the sources of performance limiting stress, and eliminating them, or come up with a plan to deal with them.

To recap my previous article, a series of events leading up to race week prevented me from being 100% mentally prepared. These included.
1. Shortened training season due to weather, and injury.
2. Work related stress.
3. Lack of sleep associated with hot weather during race week.
4. Failing to reach my target race weight.
5. Logistical challenges.
6. Unexpected bike maintenance issue.

Of course eliminating all these events is not really practical. Checking equipment to be sure it is in good working order is easy, but quitting my job, and moving to Florida to enhance my training program is just not going to happen.

What can’t be eliminated must be dealt with. So as promised, here is my five step plan for getting my mentally prepared for next years Ironman Newfoundland 70.3.

1. Make sure my gear is 100 percent ready. My plan is to bring my bike in to my local shop for a total makeover during the winter. Strip down, clean, and grease every joint, replace the cables, brake pads, and bar tape, and give the drive train a good inspection. If required, I’ll probably start replacing and upgrading my components. I also plan to go over my wetsuit and repair the zipper, and any finger nail cuts.

2.Stay within 5 lbs of my target body weight. Doing this accomplishes several things. First, it changes the focus of your nutritional plan to fueling your training sessions instead of losing weight. Second is it makes your splits during your training sessions more realistic. Third it helps prevent injuries, especially during run training. Fourth, it makes you feel more confident when you finally line up for the race start.

3. Strive to stay injury free. Some injuries like breaking a pinky toe are just not preventable. However, working on overall and core strength as well as flexibility will go a long way to ensure that when the roads are dry and ready for riding and running, I won’t be sidelined by a nagging injury. That means I can follow a well planned training program, instead of trying to fit 20 weeks of training into 6 weeks. That will mean showing up on race day prepared.

4. Take care of the logistical details of race week. That might mean taking a couple of fans with me to try and get breeze flowing through the bedroom at night. Also getting organized, gathering contact information for people I now are participating, and maybe even plan a few group training sessions during race week.

5. Maintain a positive attitude. Some situations just can’t be eliminated. But there are ways to deal with them positively so that they don’t affect your frame of mind during race week. There are excellent resources to help with this. A couple of my favorite books on the matter are The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. The secret teaches that positive things happen when you maintain a positive outlook. Dale Carnegie lists examples of people who turned their lives around in the face of adversity, and eliminated worry. I am also thinking about reading Lances book, Its Not About The Bike You may not be able to change the outcome of things, but you can change your mental outlook. There is certainly more to be gained from having a positive outlook than being pissed off.

I am sure that most everyone can relate to my examples. If you are training for a big event, and find yourself becoming overwhelmed by outside influences that are adding to an already stressful preparation, maybe this article will help get you to the start line a little more mentally prepared. Here is hoping that lining up at the start of next year’s race, I will be primed and ready to execute my race plan.

These are great for breakfast, and also as a recovery meal after a long hard ride or run. They are really quick and easy.

1/4 cup Instant Pancake Mix
1 pk plain Instant oatmeal
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 scoops whey protein powder
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Mix the oatmeal with some hot water and let it sit a couple of minutes to get it softened up. Add in the remaining dry ingredients, and mix with water until the batter becomes the correct consistancy, easy to pour, but not too runny. Mix in blueberries. Pour into a heated pan sprayed with cooking spray, the same stuff you use to get into your wetsuit. Cook on low to medium heat.

Divided up into 4 pancakes, the nutritional breakdown is 118 cal, 6.25 g Protein, 21.5 g Carbs, 1.2 g fat.

Notes:
The key is to cook them slow. Because you are adding to the instant pancake mix, they need longer to cook through. If the pan is too hot, they will burn on the outside but will be runny inside.

If fresh berries are not available, frozen work as well, but thaw them first or the batter won't cook.

You can use different protein powders to modify the nutritional mix.

The nutritional breakdown doesn't include the topping. If you pour a half bottle of maple syrop over them, it kinda ruins the effort of trying to eat healthy. If you are a sauce junkie like me, try mixing two tablespoons of light syrop with two tablespoons of vanilla yogurt. The yogurt adds a little more flavour, and prevents the syrop from running off the cakes, or soaking in.

Giv em a try. They are sooooo yummy.