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Showing posts from December 3, 2017

The Art of Triathlon Training - Learning from Dirk Bockel

It's a pretty cool experience when you can learn from an Olympian and Ironman champion. On Tuesday evening, we had the honor of hosting an event at the Carolina Triathlon store with guest speaker Dirk Bockel . Recently retired professional triathlete, Dirk brings 27 years of experience, knowledge, stories, wisdom and strategies to help triathletes feel prepared for a race. But this isn't just another triathlon training book. Dirk's passion for the sport of triathlon has helped him navigate through the stressors of life, surviving many lows that went along with his highs. In his book, he shares with us his strategies for how to create a successful and enjoyable triathlon journey. During the talk, there were a few big takeaways that I found very beneficial for athletes: Dirk performed at his best when he switched coaches and reduced his weekly training volume almost in half. Dirk placed 3rd in his first Ironman and ran sub 3 hours after overcoming a foot i

Drive for athletic leanness

Picture source For much of my career as a Board Certified Sport Dietitian with a Master of Science in exercise physiology, I have spent a great amount of time and energy helping athletes with their relationship with food and the body. Knowing that athletes feel a strong relationship between food and body composition relating to athletic success, I have never refrained from speaking about this topic openly and honestly for many years in an effort to help athletes stay healthy throughout a sporting career (and for many more decades to come). I have even reached out to many magazines (and publishing companies) to write more about the topic of body image and athletes but my pitches are often denied and in exchange, I am asked to write about the latest diet fad or nutrition strategy to help athletes gain the competitive edge. In light of another recent social media  post involving a professional athlete discussing body image struggles and restrictive eating measures, I am reminded t

Super simple homemade cinnamon rolls

Over the past few weeks, Karel and I have been enjoying the occasional longish swim to start our Saturday morning. There's something about a long swim that revs up the appetite (not complaining). I remember back to my high school and college swimming days when that Saturday morning swim was complete it meant two things: 1) I could officially start my weekend. 2) Eat. All. The. Food! During our swim this past Saturday, the image of cinnamon rolls kept popping into my head. If you know me well, you know that I love cinnamon rolls because well, I love cinnamon and bread. Rather than heading to a bakery to buy a cinnamon roll, I decided to take my first attempt at making homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch. I found a recipe that was super easy to follow so after my recovery drink, I started baking (well, first I had to make a quick stop to the grocery when I realized we were out of flour!). Enjoy this tasty recipe! Super simple homemade cinnamon rolls                      

Affordable holiday gifts for the health conscious athlete

For a health conscious athlete, it can be tough to find that perfect holiday gift that supports an active and healthy lifestyle. Whether your friend/family member appears as if he/she already has everything training/nutrition/cooking/gear related or you are stumped finding that special present that caters to caters to a healthier lifestyle, I have a few affordable gift options that may just do the trick (and when you purchase a gift from these companies, you are also supporting small/growing businesses). Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow.  Price: $22.49 If your health conscious athlete likes to cook (or eat healthy), there's probably a good chance that your special athletic someone already has the Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook.  Although the next version of this cookbook will not be released until August 2018, surprise your friend/family member with a pre-order the cookbook so that he/she will be the first to try out the new recipes (for hangry athletes) next summer.  Mg12