Monday, September 8, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Ironman Louisville
I am racing tomorrow. You can track my race at Ironman.com
I am bib #1649.
Whole Foods Buffet in Louisville was lame. not veg freindly.
I am bib #1649.
Whole Foods Buffet in Louisville was lame. not veg freindly.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Just Three Days Left...
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VegNews is just three days away from closing the 2008 Veggie Award polls, so now is the time to get out the vote! Some of the categories are very close, so let your voice be heard and vote for your favorite vegetarian people, places, and products today.
I would LOVE if you could vote for me under the "ATHLETE" section a few pages in. Keep in mind that you do not have to vote in every category. THANKS!!
All ballots are entered into a Grand Prize Drawing for a chance to win these great prizes:
Grand Prize: NEW YORK CITY URBAN GETAWAY
Second Prize: GLAM GIRL GOODIE BAG
Third Prize: MARSHMALLOW MADNESS GIFT PACK
Plus, Weekly Giveaways! VEGAN COOKIE SMORGASBORD
Click here to vote NOW.
P.S. Polls close at midnight on August 31. Vote now while you have a chance to win these fantastic prizes!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Ever wonder how the rest of the world views meat?
I was just forwarded this link from a cycling buddy here in Belgium. The website is from Holland.
http://www.nationalecarnivorenenquete.nl/
Once you click on the link, you will see information about an organization that is studying meat consumption. On the right is says, " are you also crazy for meat? Check out the question below and let us know what meat is your favorite."
below a question that asks, " what piece of meat you would like to go for?"
For fun do also click on the non-vegaburger. Then click on the fork and hit the cow with it.
It is the first pro-veggie environmental campaign (climate-control stuff, etc) i've seen so far. But i would guess there are more to come this side of the planet.
Take your napkins out and enjoy!
http://www.nationalecarnivorenenquete.nl/
Once you click on the link, you will see information about an organization that is studying meat consumption. On the right is says, " are you also crazy for meat? Check out the question below and let us know what meat is your favorite."
below a question that asks, " what piece of meat you would like to go for?"
For fun do also click on the non-vegaburger. Then click on the fork and hit the cow with it.
It is the first pro-veggie environmental campaign (climate-control stuff, etc) i've seen so far. But i would guess there are more to come this side of the planet.
Take your napkins out and enjoy!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
My First Triathlon
On Saturday, I completed my first triathlon! I did the Milkman Triathlon (I know, Totally Not Vegan), a beginner-friendly sprint distance event hosted each year for the past twenty-four (!) by the town of Dexter, New Mexico.
Because it was my first event, I had a lot to to say about it! Here is my multi-part report:
In a nutshell, I finished, had a great time and am now testing out training for an Olympic distance event scheduled for the end of September!
Because it was my first event, I had a lot to to say about it! Here is my multi-part report:
In a nutshell, I finished, had a great time and am now testing out training for an Olympic distance event scheduled for the end of September!
Monday, June 9, 2008
A Moment in a Vegan Athlete's Life
My road season has been quite up and down lately. I started racing a few weeks ago, much later and more out of shape than most of the other racers due to a slow recovery from a really bad concussion I got during cyclo-cross season. (Unfortunately my diet doesn't protect me from knocks on the head!)
When the racing is going well, it's easy to assume everything i'm doing is correct - training well, eating well, making all the right moves during the race, etc. But when the bad days occur, I've always been a bit of a drama queen. Luckily it's usually balanced a bit by an athlete's innate ability to be in denial of everything that is amiss.
What happened to me this season was something that's never happened before. When the races went bad, I didn't attribute any of it to my diet. It's not that i have been overwhelmingly unsure of my vegan diet for sport in the past, but i think recent events made it so that my diet didn't even enter my mind. It was no longer in the forefront of my mind.
A major difference compared with years past is that i am no longer constantly questioned about my diet. Thanks to an increasing amount of forced public awareness regarding correct diet - due to increasing rates of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses - combined with the growing number of plant-based athletes, I feel I'm no longer viewed as a freak (for my diet at least!) There will always be naysayers (until another seventeen mad-cow-disease-type catastrophies occur squelches - or kills - them all) but the direct assaults on me have greatly dissipated.
The slowing of "in my face" attacks combined with my own extensive research backed by "field experience" over the years has helped solidify my confidence in my diet.
By the way, many of the pro teams are now starting to accommodate the riders who opt for a more healthful diet. Soymilk is popping up at most team breakfast tables here in Belgium, along with non-meat sauce for pasta at dinnertime. Maybe soon the French will catch on and offer more than just French bread to vegan racers!! (Last year, while racing for a French Pro Team, i had to subside mostly on French bread while contesting the Womens Tour de France. )
Anyway, I'm thrilled that my choice of foods is becoming a non-factor. Now all focus can be directed where it needs to go - on the racing!
As of yesterday, I think i'm back on track. I even found myself at the front a few times chasing down breaks!
When the racing is going well, it's easy to assume everything i'm doing is correct - training well, eating well, making all the right moves during the race, etc. But when the bad days occur, I've always been a bit of a drama queen. Luckily it's usually balanced a bit by an athlete's innate ability to be in denial of everything that is amiss.
What happened to me this season was something that's never happened before. When the races went bad, I didn't attribute any of it to my diet. It's not that i have been overwhelmingly unsure of my vegan diet for sport in the past, but i think recent events made it so that my diet didn't even enter my mind. It was no longer in the forefront of my mind.
A major difference compared with years past is that i am no longer constantly questioned about my diet. Thanks to an increasing amount of forced public awareness regarding correct diet - due to increasing rates of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses - combined with the growing number of plant-based athletes, I feel I'm no longer viewed as a freak (for my diet at least!) There will always be naysayers (until another seventeen mad-cow-disease-type catastrophies occur squelches - or kills - them all) but the direct assaults on me have greatly dissipated.
The slowing of "in my face" attacks combined with my own extensive research backed by "field experience" over the years has helped solidify my confidence in my diet.
By the way, many of the pro teams are now starting to accommodate the riders who opt for a more healthful diet. Soymilk is popping up at most team breakfast tables here in Belgium, along with non-meat sauce for pasta at dinnertime. Maybe soon the French will catch on and offer more than just French bread to vegan racers!! (Last year, while racing for a French Pro Team, i had to subside mostly on French bread while contesting the Womens Tour de France. )
Anyway, I'm thrilled that my choice of foods is becoming a non-factor. Now all focus can be directed where it needs to go - on the racing!
As of yesterday, I think i'm back on track. I even found myself at the front a few times chasing down breaks!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Bonelli Olympic Distance Triathlon
On the day before this race, I rode 47 miles, rounded on 19 cardiac patients, drank a Corona.... and still I had my fastest Olympic triathlon yet!
That said, this was not my "A" race. It's a concept that I'm getting used to. My "A" race will be Vineman 70.3, my first half ironman distance triathlon, which is in *gasp* six weeks.
Swim -- Don't ever put on sunscreen and then use the same sunscreen covered fingers to wipe out your goggle lenses. Baaaad idea. After a lot of rubbing, the lenses were clear. This was a small race, so maybe only 50 or 60 women, I think. The good thing is that there were fewer thrashing limbs to contend with in the water. However, on the flip side, I'm used to following a pack of swimmers, so I had to use a little more effort to make sure I was swimming in the correct direction.
Bike -- Three loops. I think the women were the last olympic distance wave. So, men who were on lap 2 or 3 on the course whizzed by. On my third lap, the quantity of cyclists on the course had thinned out, and a police officer directing traffic asked me, "Are there many more behind you?" "Yes there are," I responded, in deluding myself that perhaps many others at my pace or slower were still out there. How would I know how many people were behind me anyway? My bike wouldn't go into the small chain ring, which would have been helpful on a couple of hills, but wasn't a huge problem.
Run -- Due to a last minute course change, someone told me that the run was only 5.3 miles, not 6.2. Ack, ruin my celebration of beating my best olympic tri time!!!! Whatever. The run went better than my last run, but due to the small size of the race and the fact that I was in the last wave, I ran mostly alone. However, I did chat up an Australian guy who will be doing Vineman 70.3 next month also.
The End -- Never good being the last group to finish. I had to yell at some guy to get out of my way as he was meandering across the finish chute as I was sprinting in. And they ran out of Boca Burgers. Lately places are running out of veggie burgers -- are vegetarians taking over the world?
That said, this was not my "A" race. It's a concept that I'm getting used to. My "A" race will be Vineman 70.3, my first half ironman distance triathlon, which is in *gasp* six weeks.
Swim -- Don't ever put on sunscreen and then use the same sunscreen covered fingers to wipe out your goggle lenses. Baaaad idea. After a lot of rubbing, the lenses were clear. This was a small race, so maybe only 50 or 60 women, I think. The good thing is that there were fewer thrashing limbs to contend with in the water. However, on the flip side, I'm used to following a pack of swimmers, so I had to use a little more effort to make sure I was swimming in the correct direction.
Bike -- Three loops. I think the women were the last olympic distance wave. So, men who were on lap 2 or 3 on the course whizzed by. On my third lap, the quantity of cyclists on the course had thinned out, and a police officer directing traffic asked me, "Are there many more behind you?" "Yes there are," I responded, in deluding myself that perhaps many others at my pace or slower were still out there. How would I know how many people were behind me anyway? My bike wouldn't go into the small chain ring, which would have been helpful on a couple of hills, but wasn't a huge problem.
Run -- Due to a last minute course change, someone told me that the run was only 5.3 miles, not 6.2. Ack, ruin my celebration of beating my best olympic tri time!!!! Whatever. The run went better than my last run, but due to the small size of the race and the fact that I was in the last wave, I ran mostly alone. However, I did chat up an Australian guy who will be doing Vineman 70.3 next month also.
The End -- Never good being the last group to finish. I had to yell at some guy to get out of my way as he was meandering across the finish chute as I was sprinting in. And they ran out of Boca Burgers. Lately places are running out of veggie burgers -- are vegetarians taking over the world?
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