The Cotter Chronicles

It’s GO TIME!!! and BASE TIME

2012-01-23T00:34:00.000-06:00

First off I’m thrilled to announce my new partnership with Base Performance supplements. Chris Lieto started this company up a few years ago, so you know they will meet the needs of endurance athletes. They make a great multivitamin and the best electrolyte salt I have ever used! If you sweat heavy, this is for you. The salt is also great to sprinkle over meals leading up to races. The recovery activator is great to use in addition to your post race recovery drink. It helps facilitate faster glycogen absorption so you come back stronger! The base amino is perfect for taking care of your muscles during strenuous exercise. If you are looking for something new to help stay healthy and fast all year, Base Performance is where you need to be looking.

Now lets talk training back in Christchurch.
Well, all the base work/miles/volume has been accumulating and I’m starting to see big gains in the ease holding wattage and run pace at heart rate is getting quicker. It has all started kicking in at the right time because the next three weeks are going to be big weeks and I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about going long again!
On the schedule Saturday was a 4hr and 30 min ride. I had been eagerly waiting for this weekend workout! There is a great loop called “Gorges” that is 140-150km long. I did this ride on Wednesday as well with Triathlon legend Scott Molina. Scott is still in phenomenal shape and was up front pushing the pace for a good chunk of the ride. I made sure to pick him out when he wasn’t crushing it to ask some questions since he racked up lots of Ws in his career. Great guy and I’m going to see if I can can buy him beer at some point during this trip!
The riding here to me is great because it is very flat and straight. Lots of people may argue this is boring. However, I have crazy mind that hates going down hills or riding rolling hills because it messes up my average power during sets! I love working hard and pedaling the entire time to burn up more kilojoules. The more kJs I burn the more moro bars/candy and pies I get to eat for my re-fueling! That is how my mind works.
The main set was 6x30’ at high end Z3 power with an easy 7 minutes between efforts. The ride started out going out back behind the airport which is pretty neat when 777 and 767 are taking off or landing right over you. I spent lots of time out here while I was flying and earning my private pilot’s license way back in 2000. Once out of the vicinity of the airport you hit old west coast road which is dead flat and straight for a good 45 minutes but the view is pretty cool.

Once the long flat section is done, you pass over the Waimakariri bridge which is nice sight. You get to parallel the Waimak the entire time on the flat section and gives a very “Lord of the Rings” feel.

20-30 minutes after the bridge you arrive in the small town of Oxford for the refuel break. I opted out of a coffee stop and just bought a powerade so I can get going again. I did have a new bar in the back the pocket that I was wanting to try, and it was worth it! The EM’s Power cookie bar was DELICIOUS!!!. The gal who makes them, Emily Miazga, is x3 winner of the coast-to-coast race here in the south island. It is a race from the west coast to the east coast and consists of Kayaking 67km, Runing 36km, and Cycling 140km over some very tough terrian. I will be using these more from now! Chocolate oat explosion is my favorite.
The beautiful, slick, and fast QR CD 0.1 at the diary.

The ride was awesome and I added some more kilometers to finish off the day. Sunday was a very promising run as well.
Hope the training is going well for you all.
JC

Shakey Week

2012-01-15T15:57:00.000-06:00

This has been a pretty shaky week since arriving back from the North Island. After another long haul of 9-10 hours of driving and a 3 hour boat crossing we arrived back to Christchurch on Tuesday morning (2am). Once Lindsay and I were settled in bed, we heard a rumble, and then we had a nice 5 second shake of 3.3 I think it was. Pretty much every morning around 2-4am we have had shakes. More to come on the bigger one we had this morning.

This week was another solid and consistent week for the log book. Received a nice surprise when I arrived on deck Thursday to see Bryan Rhodes! All the other guys are down south for the Tri New Zealand elite training camp. Rhodsey and I put in two days (Th, F) of 6km session.

Thursday was 1000 warm up, 4x25 Fly, 4x50 drill, 100 kick, 3x300 fast to slow+4x25 fly, 1000 Pull, 3x300 slow to fast, 1000Pull and

Friday we were 100o warm up, 8x100 and 200 Pull, 6x100+400Pull, 5x100+500Pull, 5x100+500 pull, 4x100+600 pull. The 100s were descending ending with 1:15s. It was pretty tough!

Saturday was a great long ride on the Quintana Roo CD 0.1 out near Porter Heights ski field. It was a VERY WINDY day which can be a good and bad thing. The set was 3x1hr Z3 and 40min 90-95rpm, 20 min/ 75rpm, 40min 90-95rpm/ 20 min 100rpm, 1hour Z3. Since it was so windy it was not going to be possible to turn where I had wanted. Going out the max speed was 16-18mph…..Coming home the average was 35-37 mph!!! It is not so much fun trying to holding power with so much power pushing you along!

Sunday was the day I was really looking forward to as it was the long run over the Port Hills. The day started off at 0247 this morning when the dressers slowly started banging the walls to REALLY banging against the walls. Next thing I know, Lindsay grabbed my arm pretty tight. It became pretty violent for 3 seconds then settled for about another 6 seconds. We has a 5.0 this morning and it got the HR and nerves up pretty good. The rest of the day it feels as if you just departed a boat. You aren’t sure if the earth is shaking or if it is in your head!

After the nice wake up call in the morning, a good feed, we were off to the Port Hills for a big strength endurance run with lots of climbing!

5 min up climb

Traversing the climb. Can you see the trail?

The switch backs going up

Video from the top (WINDY)

I was very surprised at what happened today during the run. I guess it has taken 29 years and a serious injury to finally have some common sense when it comes to training. In my head I wanted to run for X amount of minutes. I never reached X amount of minutes because my ego did not get the way! I still have a few more Sunday sessions to go before I can reach X a few times! I also had a very good chat with x10 Ironman New Zealand winner about training and racing. He put lots of things in perspective for me. As athletes, some of us tend to train so hard that we have nothing left on race day. I was that guy.Sometimes to much ambition can be a negative. Pay day is race day, and I will now be very careful with how much intensity I exert each session.

**************GIVE AWAY**************************

Ok, Wild Kiwi is owned and operated by my uncle. He has some very nice shirts. I will give away one shirt of your choice to a lucky winner. Please go to Facebook and like Wild Kiwi Clothing and give him a “Go Wild Kiwi”. Post on blog that you have done so and tell me shirt of choice and size from looking at website www.wildkiwiclothing.co.nz. I will then pick a winner. Or just give Wild Kiwi a like! Trying to get him more followers

Tauranga Half And Wild Kiwi

2012-01-13T00:50:00.001-06:00

GIVEAWAY!!!

After a fantastic 10 days of training in Auckland it was time to head back to Tauranga to compete in the Tauranga Half. It is a quick 90 minute trip through beautiful green scenery which makes all trips that much faster. After meeting up with Team Wild Kiwi it was on!

The Half Ironman was on Saturday and I was entered in with Team Wild Kiwi. Jack was going to be our swimmer and I was going to be doing the bike-run. Jack is extremely talented athlete and is well versed in all sports. He is one of those guys who can show up to any events with minimal training and do well. Jack decided to do the swim and probably did 5-6 swims max before tackling the 1.2 mile effort. Jack came out of the water in 35 minutes!! Pretty incredible since he is not a swimmer. Here is Jack and I after the race.

The goal for me on the bike was just to execute IM goal watts. It wasn’t too hard to hold back as the pro men had a 40 min head start. Although we were up front in our race, there was no rabbits to lure you along to do something stupid. I ended up riding very strong and easily holding IM goal watts. Was my split close to the lead men splits? No, but that was not the goal of the day.

Bike Nutrition:
x2 bottle: Bottle #1 and #2 was two scoops of horley’s electrolyte powder, 1 scoop base amino, pinch of base salt.
x2 trail mix bar

The run included two loops around Mount Maunganui as was beautiful. The run is all along the drag in town and is littered with support. I had not run 13 miles off the bike since Sept 11, so it was going to be a great test. I ran steady and used it as a solid training day. Great news was that knee held up! The confidence is growing and it perfect timing since the mileage is going to be turned up.
Caught some flack from team manager and owner of Wild Kiwi for stopping and having two 5minutes chats during the run! Still managed a 1:40.

Of course we had to have Burger Fuel after the event!

Training in Auckland

2012-01-05T16:03:00.000-06:00

We have been in Auckland for the past 10 days and the training has been fantastic! It is a nice change to Christchurch since there are so many hills around this area! I have used this past 10 days as a solid strength training block. The running here is also great with many trails minutes from the front door.
Once you head out the door it’s about a 10 min jog to get to the start of the main trail head Lindsay and I have been running, and it is a nice hilly route to get there. I think a big focus of the beginning of the year needs to be incorporate lots of hills to develop and strengthen the quads. Since they compliment the heart to make efforts and distances much easier to sustain later in the year. Strong quads will also reduce risk of injury around the knee as well. Trust me, I know:). The more you use and activate the powerful quads the better off you are in my mind.

Below is the part of the climbs I run aerobically up. So, head to hills regularly to keep the quads strong which will help keep a good knee lift throughout the duration of your running or triathlon events. Now this is Cameron Brown country back here, and I now know why he is such a strong runner who can hold his form so well, especially during IMNZ each year. He dominates it that run!

I’m on a huge injury prevention, cover all the bases mission this year. I just wish I could back to my 21 year old self and tell him/me to stretch and strengthen everything. Then again, I don’t think my 21 year old self would have listened at all. I have been working lots on ankle flexibility…WHY? Because the device is in Cameron Brown’s house, so I’m doing it! I’m also using the TP Massage ball kit daily!! This is the must have item for all athletes. I swear by this device. I spent lots of time on the quads, IT band, and TFL.

Today was in training was a steady Z2/3 ride followed by a 60 min transition run with 4x4’ hill efforts. This was a huge day for me as the two previous days were 45 min and 90 min runs. Good to know that the knee is holding up. Since I logged a good three hours I earned myself a treat!!!

Until next time…

Tell All Tuesday, Dec 27

2011-12-28T00:56:00.000-06:00

After a fantastic Christmas in Tauranga with my Aunt and Uncle it was off to Auckland for a little 10 days of training. We had a quick stop in Whangamata to meet up with Cameron Brown and pick up his keys and then we were off. Huge thank you to Cameron and Jenny Brown for letting us look after there place while they are further South.

This morning I swam with a former top New Zealand swimmer, Mark Bone, and now a high performance coach for some of New Zealand's best swimmers and triathletes.

Pool: 25 meter indoor pool 07:00-08:30
Warm Up: x4(100Swim, 50 kick, 50Pull)
Main set: 6x200 pull w/Paddles on 2:30 send off
100 Easy backstroke
12x100 as x2( 4 fast 1:15, 2 moderate on 1:30 (made this set, but this was a real burner!)
50 easy Free
8x25 HARD Kick on :30, 8x25 fly on :30, 4x25 fly kick on back, 8x25fly head out of water to half way, then polo. We did a few more 25s with some variations with emphasis on fast turn over but I’m drawing a blank.
400 Free with paddles and bands
100 Cool down.

I was starving after this workout! I can handle volume in the pool now, but speed is another story! Once I arrived home I jumped onto the bowl of oats. It is very important to get carbs back into you within 60 min post workout.

Before the bike ride of the day I had another snack to top off off some calories.
Bike Ride:
3 hour ride with 4x15’ at Z3 over rolling terrain (it was very hilly) with easy 3’ spin between, 2x6’ Z4 hill climb with easy spin down, then last hour was TT home at IM goal watts. My goal is to hold between 4.0-4.4 w/kg for Ironman. Took in two bars and x2bottle of EFS fruit punch.

Finished off with some strength work and then a nice tasty dinner. I made the ride end late as I could go into a more hearty dinner.

Till Next week!

-JAMES

Tell All Tuesday

2011-12-20T02:42:00.000-06:00

Lately I have seen a few posts on tri forums about what a pro athletes schedule may look like compared to an age grouper over the course of the year. That being said, I decided I will now bring to you a Tell all Tuesday. Here I will reveal to you what I (the average pro) do during each phase of my build up to Ironman Taupo every Tuesday. Well, I try my best to do so.

This time of year I’m in a general phase (Base) of training were the focus is on more endurance work in the Z2/3 zones. The training volume is fairly high in most session, but the intensity is very low especially in biking and running. Swimming is a little different as I always like to inject some speed into each session. Unlike endurance, where indicators for endurance improvement normally take 3-4 weeks, speed is 10-14 days. It is always nice to feel fast to boosts your confidence and the belief of yourself while you slog out the aerobic work on the bike and run.

Lets get into my training day today!!

Swim Session in 25m pool. 2x500 set done outdoors in 50m Pool: 1hr 30 minutes for 5.3km
Warm up 600 EZ Free
x2 rounds of ( 4x25 Fly on :40, 2x50 Back on :45, 2x50 breast on 1:10)
Main Set x2 rounds of (10x50 as 25FAST/25 Easy on:45, 2x500 out side 50m pool on 7:00, 10x50 as 25 steady, 25 FAST
300 Cool Down

BREAKFAST: oatmeal with poached egg on top. This is delicious! Quick snack and fueling up before bike ride. Have to have your vitamins as well!

Bike Ride: 3:15 ride all Z2 effort. I warmed up 15’ then held high Z2 for 2:45. Then easy 15’ cool down. What did I eat and use? x2 bottles of EFS and x3 bars eating at 60 min, 120 min and 150 min. I use mission care for bib cream.

Once I got home I was straight into lunch. I was pretty beat since there was a stiff headwind going out and back! Plus the roads go and go with no traffic signals. I was a little beat after the swim today and just the volume of the past two weeks. I had lunch #1 of a mince pie and crunchie bar. Lunch two was five minutes later and was peaches and yogurt.

After a little down time, it was up for an easy 40 min run. Nothing hard, all aerobic. Then I arrived home for dinner of baked beans on toast and a side of lamb.

Total Workout time: 5hrs and 10min+ 30 minutes of stretching.

Swimming and more swimming

2011-12-14T13:28:00.009-06:00

First up is a PRP update

Last week I joined the swim squad at Jellie Park under the guidance of Coach Roly. Boy did I get a shock. I like to consider myself a front pack swimmer when I’m going well, and that usually means putting in x4 2.5-3,000 yards each session with the Nitro crew or by myself while in Texas. I received a big wake up call this week with Roly as each session was 5.5km! You do the conversion and that is around a 6,000 yard swim. The volume initially just destroys your arms and I had to focus so hard in executing excellence on all my flip turns, making sure I was as streamlined as possible at all times during my stroke. It took me three sessions to finally adapt to the volume and move up from last place in the lane. Yes, last place. We all have to start from the bottom and work our way up. I’m really hoping this volume with all the speed injected into each session will take my swimming to higher level. It would great to be able to go sub 2 min and sub 5 min for the 200 and 500 free again!
The biking and running have been coming along much more slowly. The biking increased in volume this week, but there was still only three sessions. I completed the week with a FTP test and was rather surprised with my number. I knew the number wasn’t going to be as high because of lack of endurance training the past 10 weeks. However, all the strength work I did with Scott Woolwine at Wild Basin really paid off and I ended up in the Cat I. cat in the power profile chart. It helped that I lost a bit of weight and gained more strength to get solid power-weight ratio. Now the goal is to be working very closely at, and around FTP levels in the training toward Tauranga Half Ironman! If you are looking for a great read on Power, I suggest “Training and Racing with a Power Meter 2nd edition”. Has given much more insight on how to improve my cycling in 2012.
The riding here is great with long country roads that go for miles and miles with no traffic signals and little traffic. This is old on Old West Coast road. It was overcast on Saturday so the view was not as spectacular, but you can see the long straights on the green Canterbury plains. Having a blast riding my QR here.

Running is the toughest event for me while training here in New Zealand. Running is so simple with just shoes and minimal amounts of clothing. It is easy to get out of the house, get into rhythm, and just feel great. The running here is great with some many parks and trails with soft surfaces, so you can see how hard it is to hold back. Coming back from injury is a slow process. Last week I was running 4 min/ walk 1 min for 30 minutes. This week I advanced up to a whopping 5 min run/1min walk for 45 minutes! This weekend I get to advanced to hill work. As you can see in the pick below, there are some very cool running trials in the Port Hills. Can’t wait!

Keep training hard. Till Next time.

James

New Zealand #1

2011-12-02T16:45:00.002-06:00

Firstly, a quick PRP update for those who may be interested in the treatment or are on the fence. It has been 10 days since I received my PPR (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection and I’m feeling great! Again, I know things may change, but as of know I’m very happy. I have not thought about my knee since the day after. The site was a little tight and sore the next day. I have slowly introduced my knee back into swim, bike, run activities and there has been no pain and the swelling on the knee is down. You may ask, well how long have you been working out then if you have had no pain? Have been swimming 4.5-5km a day, x2 hour rides Z2/3 on my Quintana Roo CD0.1, andx2 runs at 7:45-8:15 pace. Part of me wished I had stayed in Austin to receive one more shot because as of right now I swear by this treatment. If you want to talk with a great team, get a hold of ProloAustin. Dr. Fullerton is a very smart guy who has dealt with many athletes. So 10 days in, and I am very happy.
I also have to give a big shout out to Dr.Weine who is a fantastic Applied Kinesiologist at Infinity Wellness who helped so much with my knee also through acupuncture/adjustment and diet changes.

Well, we finally made it to Christchurch and have been settled for the past 5 days. Really feels good to be back in my old home town and retrace all my old routes with my wife by my side. The first few days were just the normal when settling into a new place. We opened up a bank account, bought a cell phone,setup a wireless network in my mother’s house, and most importantly…….sign up for membership at Jellie Park. This is the swimming pool/gym that Lindsay and I will be spending a fair amount of time at over our three moth stay in Christchurch.
I received a bit of a scare when I registered as I was told the master squad was at full capacity and will not be accepting any new swimmers! I don’t know about any of you readers, but I get SO bored after 2,000m and lose enthusiasm very fast. Due to the February earthquakes, lot of pools have been closed so swimming space is tough to find. I just decided to walk in and talk to Roly, who is the elite head coach for lots of the elite athletes when training down in Christchurch. Looks as if I will be able to join up with their squad which will make things much nicer. Since I have been out for almost 10 weeks with no S/B/R activity I have been swimming solo every day to get the feel back for the water. Lots of IM sets as I always feel my fitness comes together faster when adding lots of Fly and back. Have been knocking out 5km every day. We have been swimming indoors, but we get to move outdoors in the next week! Can’t wait to be outdoors in a 50m pool.

Today was the first “long ride” of three hours today and I faced a stiff headwind which was very Kona like. Was a brutal slog for the 90 minutes out and then you would figure it would be smooth sailing home, right? Had a wind switch and faced the same headwind coming home! As brutal as it was I still had a great time despite the realization that I’m so unfit! I think 10 weeks was wonderful for recovery/healing, but not good for coming back into things. Two weeks always does the trick. Here is my QR CD0.1 in the garden. Will get more interesting shots around Christchurch, but I’m far too exhausted to do anything right now.

Over the coming weeks the training will be ramped up granted the health of the knee remains good. Lindsay and I will be documenting our journey. The plan is to race a half Ironman in January then IronmanNew Zealand in March.

PRP (Platlet Rich Plasma)

2011-11-24T09:44:00.000-06:00

Here is my video of my PRP treatment from the other day. Very, very interesting procedure that makes lots of sense to me. I hope this will help heal the knee so I can get back to doing what I love...competing.

I found the PROLOAUSTIN team after looking for countless hours on the web of all the local PRP docs. Dr. Fullerton was by the far the most passionate Doc out there when talking about PRP. Very knowledgeable guy with a great crew working with him. Check out ProloAustin if you are an Austin resident with any nagging injury that you just can't seem to shake. I am hoping PRP does the trick. I went this route to avoid further injury. The last thing I ever want is to have to go under the knife for surgery. Will keep updating blog about recovery process.

Now just to keep myself relevant, my wife did a little interview with me. Skipping to 3:50 of video will take you into the actual treatment. From there on you can see how the blood is spun, injected by ultra-sound, and then I ask a bunch of questions you might want to know as far as athletes getting PRP treatment.

Procedure was not painful at all and goes by pretty quickly. It was a little swollen and sore on day two but nothing over a 5/10. Three days in and I have not felt the pain I have been used to feeling and the swelling from this past year has gone down some. Can't wait to see if this work. Hopefully I will be ready to go in two weeks time.

Cheers,
JC

Best workout yet

2011-11-12T12:55:00.002-06:00

Wednesday workout was awesome with Scott Woolwine! So much knee stability/glute work. I came out of the workout pain free and was so the next two days. The swelling is visibly down which is a huge plus for my head. I'm hoping the fat pad is fallingback into its correct spot.
Before we head off to NZL I'm going to try PRP, so stay tuned since I catch it on film.

We used bands, bosus, and TRX today. Enjoy!

Workouts 3

2011-11-07T08:09:00.001-06:00

It has now been five weeks of gym time with Scott Woolwine of Wild Basin Fitness and I'm feeling good. The knee is much stronger as well as the gluts and quads. I no longer have any sharp stabbing pain, just a mild dull ache every now and then. Plan is to start swimming and biking now after 8 weeks off of all swim/bike/run activity. Here is another video of the work done in gym. We have been adding in some more run specific explosive work to test the knee. Some fun stuff.

This is my favorite3 minute drill that we do in warm up. Great for getting the gluts warm and firing, knee stability, and ankle stability.

Little clip of the main set the other day.

Till next time!

Video Series #2

2011-10-25T20:53:00.002-05:00

Here again posting videos of exercise sessions I have been doing to help with my knee. I have very weak glutes/quads/hamstrings. I just wanted to share some videos since the off season is a great time to hit the gym and work out any imbalances.

Here was very tough set I did the other day that involved band work. You can do this by yourself by wrapping the band around an object and then move out to get some tension so that is difficult to resist. This REALLY lit up the glutes and was quite difficult for me. Every thing is single leg drill with the back leg on a wall or chair. 95% of your weight will be on the front leg. We did this drill because when I fatigue I tend to flair my leg out. You really have to focus on keeping the knee straight on locked in from the glut. ENJOY.

The set was x4 (1 min runner squat, 1 min single leg squat making sure there is little forward/aft motion, then straight into band around quad firing the leg upwards.) Since we were at gym we did 2 miles hard on the bike on level 12. Had to be sub 5:15 each round for the 2 miles.

We finished out with bands on quads,ankles, and shoe tips. Three steps plus a squat.....BRUTAL

Video Series

2011-10-20T19:21:00.000-05:00

As you all know, I have been plagued by a knee injury that hasn’t allowed me to train the way I felt I needed to train this year. I would be good for about 2-3 weeks before the pain would come back. After doing my research I’m almost certain I have fat pad impingement. Know my injuries to the knee occur because of imbalances/weakness just above and below the knee. In my case, it was all hips and glutes. When fatigued my toes would rotate laterally and the knee would collapse medially. After a few sessions in the gym (wild basin fitness), I found out immediately how weak I had become after always working in the sagittal plan of motion.
Before committing to 3x weekly sessions in the gym, I could never find lots of video on specific exercises to help stabilize and strengthen all the muscles that would help prevent my knee tracking the wrong way.
In the coming weeks I will be posting some of workouts I have been doing.I will start from the basics and move up to some of the crazy stuff we have been doing. So if you have some lingering knee pain,I hope some of these drills will help.
Please be patient with my camera skills as they are pretty rough! I will get better as we move forward.

My rough go

2011-09-22T21:21:00.005-05:00

****hang on for this blog entry rant as I have come back to this every day since Sept 12. It has morphed itself into what I felt I lacked in 2011.********

After some reflecting after 70.3 Worlds the one word I could up with to describe the 2011 season with is....ROUGH!

My goals for 2011 were the following:

Win two 70.3 events
Not fall outside of top 10 in any race
Top 10 at 70.3 Worlds

I went into this year with fantastic support from my support team of K-Swiss and First Endurance. I was also over the moon to have Quintana Roo bikes/wetsuits and Profile Design jump aboard to help with achieving all my goals for the year. I was ready and excited.

Ahhh, where to even begin! I'm not a huge fan of writing because I can never get anything down, my mind wonders at warp speed all the time. I'm distracted very easily (reason for horrible season). Just thinking of this past year really gets some raw emotions going and I'm not one who deals very well with emotions because being emotional is for girls right? Anyways, I hope get what I'm saying and realize how powerful confidence is.

From race number 1 (Galveston) of the year, I went in not really sure where I was with my fitness. The injury had gone but there are certain sets, intervals, that had not been met. The bike and run were the big question marks and I soon found out very quickly I was horrible! In fact, there was only one race this year when I really felt ok on the bike, but it still wasn't very flash either. It was from the beatings that I received on the bike that began the sequence I like to call: stall, spin, crash, burn, die cycle. (I hold a private pilot licence)

They say that training is 90% physical/10 % mental while racing is 90% mental/ 10% physical. I would agree 100% with this after my year. In 2010 I went into every race after my 2nd place finish at Eagleman thinking I was a contender. Others might not have agreed or have even seen me as thread, but dammit, I thought I was the man and was boarder line cocky! Confidence/cockiness is a beautiful thing. More powerful than any drug, supplement, or training session out there. If you believe it, there is no telling how far you can push outside of the limits you previously thought you were confined to.

True story here. Lake Stevens 70.3 2010. First race back since I won Steelhead and this race was stacked. Lieto, Gambles, Ambrose, Bell, Crawford, McKenzie, etc....I came off the bike in 7th after a slow transition and lost some ground to eventual winner Joe Gambles. After 3-4 miles I found myself battling for 3rd place with Ambrose and we closed in on second place. To honest, I though I was going to catch Gambles and win. Wheater I would have or not have caught Joe, I was so focused on doing it and very little distracted me . Ambrose I were on a mission to win. Not content with 3rd or 4th but wanted to catch the racers in front of us until some nasty cramps set me back. Still manage a fourth place pushing through some horrible pain because I wanted it.

Point is, if you go into a race thinking and knowing you can do well, you probably will if you have done the work, but the confidence is absolutely essential. Of course winning is a difficult thing, because ultimately only one, just one person can win. We all are type A in preparation, but it is the guys who go in with no doubt, no doubt at all in there minds who are going to come out successful. Terenzo Bozzone is an athlete who I admire greatly. Terenzo is an athlete who I have been able to train with and he is got confidence radiating from him! You leave this guy thinking WOW! He know what he is capable of. Does he doubt himself.....no. Does his confidence reflect in his racing and results? Take a look at race results and you tell me.

Back to the rest of the season. I was just devastated with my results and how lousy the body was feeling going into every race. As each race went by my confidence was being ruined.....decimated! People would ask how you how you are feeling, and all I had was, "I will see once I get out there" REALLY????? Common James. I just wish I could go back into time and kick my own ass. It was the doubt that ruined me. I didn't believe in myself, my training, and my training program. Believe me, this is not a good spot. I essentially went into a cave and ~~lost~~ shut myself off from everyone including my wife. I was a grumpy stubborn arsehole that would be defeated when athletes who I know I can ride with would fly by me! Not fun to admit it, because it made things very difficult for the people who care and want to see you succeed. Sorry Lindsay and others.

Ok, I'm done. Moral is.....confidence and belief is crucial in the sport. If you don't have it, don't expect to do anything too fantastic or hit goals that your wanting to hit. 2012 is a new year, a new attitude, and a new belief system. I really do think I have the tools for this sport and I look forward to exposing them to a much higher level in 2012.

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental

attitude; nothing can help the man with wrong one."
-Thomas Jefferson

Thank you to all my sponsors who have hung tight. It means the world.

Stay tuned as this blog will be very active during our journey to New Zealand to rebuild.

THE DECISION 2012

2011-09-04T13:23:00.003-05:00

After last season I was hoping for big things in 2011. This did not go as I had planned. Have to switch things up, so being a LeBron James fan I thought I'd have some fun in a video order to reveal my plans for 2012.
I grew up in Christchurch, NZ. I plan on heading back to find myself as an athlete again. Will be training hard down there from Novemeber through to March finishing off the trip with Ironman New Zealand.

Cheers,
JC

You WILL get back up

2011-07-12T11:57:00.000-05:00

So far 2011 has been my enemy and has come very close to winning. I have been pushed down, I have been trampled on, I have been defeated, I have been frustrated, but you know what? I get back up no matter how many times I get knocked down. I have been confronted with failure every race this year but I challenge failure back every time. If you want success in life/sport, it is all about getting up one more time than getting knocked down. I WILL be back, I WILL get stronger, and I WILL win again. Never will we ever be afraid of failure because ultimately it will make us stronger.

So to everyone who has been knocked down, lets stand up again and show the back half of 2011 what's up.

James

Long Road Ahead

2011-06-30T13:31:00.000-05:00

Will keep this very brief. Again I was no where near were I think I should be in the pro ranks this year. After Galveston I should have made a very critical assesment of where I was really at and should have gone into a huge training block instead of being to ambitious and reaching for results I was truely not capable of at the time. I felt defeated, but I'm not out and I will be back. It will be a long road in front of me but I will put in the time required.

Only positive for me at Lubbock was my swim. It was my second swim in my FAST Quintana Roo Superfill. I really like this suit! Very flexible in the shoulders and very easy to get the heels outofthe suit quick. It also has a virtual pull buoy (thicker material between the legs) and really keeps the hips nice and high. For me it allows me to get more rotation in my stroke with less kicking. Cruised and really did cruise the swim as we were in wetsuits with 75 degree water temp and 90+ outside air temp. Came into T1 as first professional male out of the water. Then it was just being a spectator of many awesome athletes passing my by. Congrats to QR athlete Kelly Williamson for the overall female win and to Michael and Amanda Lovato for there 2nd and 5th places overall.

Calories from day:

Breakfast: oatmeal w/banana, have been using Lara Bar recently as a snacking and pre- race gluten free calorie bar. Very easy onthe stomachand very delicious. x1 24oz bottle of fruit punch EFS

Bike: x2 bottles all with First Endurance products. x1 bottle 200 calories EFS fruit punch, x1 bottle 400 calories EFS liquid shot

This post is really just a huge thanks to my sponsors who allow to me to pursue my dream of competing in the sport of triathlon as pro. K-Swiss, First Endurance, Profile Design, Quintana Roo, Nuttzo, GT Kombucha.

Thank you for your continued support and motivation during the hard times. The small e-mails of encouragment and even the phone calls. Robert your help the past year with tips and help with my race nutrition.

JC

True Life.....I was the nail at Rev 3

2011-06-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

Before my report I just want to give a HUGE shout out to the Rev 3 crew. They put on a top notch race and really make pro athletes feel like pro athletes. The pro purse, how deep the money goes, and the pro VIP tent are fantastic. Krista at Rev 3 has been such a help. Thank you for everything Krista! You have made all my Rev 3 events such a pleasant experience.

I went into today Sunday feeling good. My swimming has been getting better and better with times dropping every week. I really had no fear about the swim at all. No reason in my mind why I shouldn't be in front pack. Gun goes off and first 500m I was on Paul Matthew's feet but things just didn't feel right. Next thing I now the pack is gone. My arms are so heavy and with the effort I was putting out my HR was very low. Just barley managed to stay on he back of the pack that came by me.

Jumped on the QR CD0.1 with my new Profile Design wheels....did not do them justice! They make a very nice wheel. Wheels felt amazing but again I just couldn't get going. Same story. My HR was low and I was pushing as hard as I could and I just kept on getting dropped my riders.

Once the run came around I really wanted to drop but the way I was treated at Rev 3 I figured I would get my long run in for the week. At about mile 6 I shut it down. Had a a few long chats with spectators, took a liter of coke from the aid station and had a good old time chatting, eating, and working on my tan.

Sometimes as athletes when we feel behind and under pressure we over reach. I think I freaked out started so late this year and made hard session too hard and recovery sessions not easy enough. Yes, I know...stupid, but when put in a dark place you tend to do stupid things.

Eagleman 70.3 is in a few days and my wife and I decided to stick with the dirty double plan. Lots of rest and beer prescribed. I know I'm fit just a little over cooked. Hope my body turns around and I can have a great race in Cambridge.

cheers,
JC

Orlando 70.3

2011-05-20T20:44:00.003-05:00

I’m going to say that Orlando was my first race of the season after my horrible showing at Galveston!
Planning travel to races is always a pain in the butt and a big risk. As you might remember from previous posts, I travel standby and only get on if there is a open seat. With the airlines cutting routes and reducing frequency of flights to locations it has been interesting to, say the least, getting to races. So when my good buddy and training partner Justin Park said he was driving down from N. Carolina, I quickly hopped on board. It worked out perfectly since I could make the short hop over to him . Justin lives in Chapel Hill, NC and I have made several trips to train with Justin and to also drive to races. It is always a great feeling knowing I will be arriving at races on time despite car travel to Orlando being 8.5 hrs.

North Carolina has made a huge impression on me the past couple of years during my stay with Justin. Beautiful location, awesome training grounds, plenty of trails to run on, and great tri community. Heck, Lindsay and I are even contemplating a move there next year if all our stars align. Just a fantastic place. I have logged a few hours of porch time, drinking cold beverages, and playing gin in the locations below.

Race morning was very ominous with a huge thunderstorm over head race site. With all the lightening we saw during the drive in, I was certain the swim would be canceled or delayed in order for the storm to dissipate. Eventually the storm fizzled out and the race was going to be a triathlon!

The swim was fast with Potts, Kahn, Collington, and Hackett present. With the splits I was putting up in the pool I was certain I would be able to stay with Hackett for the swim. I was wrong. At the half way mark he slowly started pulling away. The gap wasn’t huge and the long transition run was my saving grace as I made up most of my deficit to the leaders in T1. It took another 5-10 min on the bike to catch them. Guess, I will have to work a little bit harder in the pool.

The bike was where I imploded big time. My Quintana Roo is a great bike and goes very fast, it was just my engine that was faulty today. Once I caught up to Hackett I was still feeling pretty good. It was the uncomfortable comfortable feeling which is always the feeling I get when I know I can hang with the pack for 56 miles so I was a happy boy. Hackett and I were riding well switching off rounds of being pace maker up front and all seemed well. On all the out and back fro first 20-30 min it looked as if we were maintaining out lead over the pack behind us. However after a while it became evident that our pace was slowing and the catch would be made. It was disappointing since that pack that caught us had Kriat with them and he has been in fantastic form with a killer run. Anyways, around mile 43 I was in trouble and my legs were pretty cooked. I was yo-yoing back and forth from the back of the pack. There was a fair amount of disorganization with the pack with guys not wanting to pull and it kept me near for another mile or two and then it was all she wrote. The pack was gone and I was focused like no other to limit my loses. Whenever things don't go as you like, accept the situation straight away. If you sit around soaking up feeling of disappointment, that disappointment can result in you coming into T2 even further behind. I was disappointed but what I limit my loses. That being said it wasn't fun coming in about 5 min to group…yes I was hurting.

Bike Nutrition: Bottle #1 First Endurance Liquid shot (400 cal) mixed into 24oz water. Bottle #2 EFS fruit punch x2 scoops (180cal). Total calories= 580

Looking at past run splits in Orlando indicated it was going to be very hot and humid as most of previous top run splits were in 1:17 range. The plan of attack was to run the first loop at 6’ min pace, second loop at 5:50, and the last at 5:50 or below. I figured this would allow me to pick off a fair amount of guys and get me top 5 spot. First lap went well and I was making up ground and was spot on 6’ min pace. Second loop the pace increased and I was top 10. Third loop was rough. I was getting very close to 5th and 6th place athletes and thought there was a good chance I would catch them. The gap was 5min at T2 and with a mile left, it was 300m!! However, when you run out of steam you run out of steam. Finished the day with a average 1:20 split for seventh overall.

Literally straight after the race, Park and I packed up and jumped on the road for the 9 hr haul back to Chapel Hill. With all the fast food we ate during the drive home (Wendy's, Taco Bell, Subway) I made sure to have a GTS Kombucha to settle my stomach! You need to try this stuff if you ever get a unsettled stomach. My favorite is Cranberry. I followed it up by getting a healthy dosage of omegas and fats with my NUTTZO fix once we got home. Thank goodness for real food!

I think my little mini camp (camp lone wolf) went well and I received a good boost of fitness but there is a small amount still to go, or just more racing is needed to get that pop back in the legs. I’m going to count Orlando as first race of season and build from here on out.Onwards and upwards!

Ford Ironman 70.3 Florida
Disney World, Florida
May 15, 2011
Results

1. Andy Potts (USA) 3:53:14
2. Maxim Kriat (UKR) 3:57:10
3. David Kahn (USA) 3:58:13
4. Stanislav Krylov (RUS) 3:59:01
5. Andres Castillo (COL) 4:02:01
6. Kirill Kotsegarov (EST) 4:02:24
7. James Cotter (NZL) 4:03:12
8. Andrew Hodges (USA ) 4:07:40
9. Brent Poulsen (USA) 4:07:44
10. Sebastian Pedraza (ITA) 4:08:25

Camp Lone Wolf

2011-05-01T12:17:00.001-05:00

Galveston 70.3 was a real wakeup call as I received a good butt kicking. Did I expect that to happen?.....yes, but not really to the level I'm which it happened. So there was only really one thing I could do. I sat my wife down and told her I needed to train Lone Wolf style. There would be no distractions and I would just focus on three things and three things only: Training, Recovery, and Nutrition. She was all for it and gave me her blessing. Camp Lone Wolf for me meant going to my secrete location and isolating myself from everything. I like the solo training style and logging hardyards while being very honest with yourself and the efforts you put in. I still held down my job and showed up for dinner every now and then but for the most part it was me, my bike, my FAVORITE shoe the Konejo II , and my Timex GPS at my secret location hidden in the bush.

After a call to my coach, Matt Dixon, we set up a 10 day plan to get me into some shape to be a competitive athlete.Since my swim was where it needed to be, it would be a very tough ten days with the focus being on cycling and running. Last year we worked so hard on my cycling and it was tough being left behind. As much as I hate the alpha numeral Z4, we would get to meet and greet again in 2011 and get to become pretty good friends. There was nothing crazy on the camp, just long hard work.

The running in Austin is simply awesome! There are soft trails everywhere that are all so easy on the knees :) Where we live we can walk out of our front door and have access to 20 miles of soft rolling trails. When things start to heat up trail running tends to be very interesting as the snakes come out to play. Last year I had three rattlesnake kills and a total of seven sightings. Always gets your heart rate going when you hear a rattle! Here are some trails shots from closer to my secret location! I managed to go in a cycle of two day on and one day off which resulted in no pain at all. Came out of this little camp with lots more confidence and faith in the strength of my knee.

Riding in the hill country has to be one of my top three rides I love to do. The other two rides would be the Kohalas loop and the ride Cameron Brown took me on in Auckland, New Zealand.
Riding the hill country, once you get there, is top notch. Very little traffic, rolling terrain, and great views. Perfect roads to do 30-60 min efforts without any interruption. I pretty much spent all my time on Fitzhugh road during this camp. The roads and terrain are just very tough and rugged looking. I love it. For all other specific hill work Riverplace was where I was at.

Camp ended a while back and I had a great time. I achieved all the goals Dixon put out for me and ended up at a good level of fitness. Next up is the Orlando 70.3 on May 15. I hope everything will pay off and I end up executing a near perfect race.

Hope you enjoyed some of the pics of Austin, TX training grounds. Until next time.
-Cotter

So far and so far to go

2011-04-26T13:06:00.000-05:00

2011 pretty much started in Tucson, AZ for the Purplepatch training camp. Coach Matt Dixon put on a four day pro camp with the likes of Matt Lieto, Linsey Corbin, Sam McGlone, and up and comer Jesse Thomas. It was great camp and Dixon taught us all and then we went and executed. We all came out of camp fitter than we entered but not completely fried.

First race of the season was actually very last minute! I was taking a little look on twitter when Red Licorice events posted a tweet about a open water event held at Mansfield dam. My wife and I live about 2 min aways which was awesome. We very rarely venture into town because it takes so bloody long hitting 2222 and mopac traffic, so to have an event in our back yard was very nice.

I had done some solid swimming in Tucson at the camp and was looking forward to see who was going to show up. As we were walking down to the start line I saw James Bonney and new instantly it was going to be solid swim. To James' left was guy in a shirt with a number 1 on it. Turns out it was the one and only Juan Pelota!! We would all be swimming the 2.4 mile event.

Gun goes off and so does Bonney and Juan. I swim up to Bonney's should and hand out for 10 min before heading to the back as the wind was blowing straight into us and was beating me up pretty good. It didn't really hit me until 10 min later that I was swimming on the feet of Juan!! I was actually giving this champion little taps to the feet when the pace changed slightly. Very, very cool in mind as this guy is pretty bad ass. Anyways, Bonney led the charge from start to finish and we all pretty much came in at the same time in 48min high, 49min low. Swimming was good and I was pretty confident after swimming with James and Juan. If Juan decides to race any events he will be able to swim with the front pack. But who would doubt that?

It was also the first time in QR wetsuit and it was very nice. Very flexible and and a great virtual pull buoy in the suit. Little thicker material from the hips down through mid thigh. The material tapered off down through the feet which I really liked since it didn't keep my toes super high in the water.

Galveston 70.3 was my first tri of the season...well I thought it was going to be. Very short and to the point here. Swim was vicious! I received as much of a beating as I gave out. Managed front pack and felt solid. Jumped on bike and pretty much knew straight away I didn't have the speed/power necessary to be a player. Rode my butt out of my shorts and held on for about 5-7 miles before I went backwards. Ended up riding straight into the parking lot and packing the bike and heading home. Logged a DNF. Just need a few more weeks of hard work and then I believe I can be a player again.

I will be back....

cheers,
JC

Quintana Roo

2011-02-28T15:52:00.003-06:00

This year I’m very happy and excited to announce a new partnership with Quintana Roo bikes and wetsuits. I will be riding the CD 0.1 for the next couple of seasons and could not be happier after the past few rides. I guess you could say my relationship started with QR back in April of 2000 when I moved to Hawaii from New Zealand. My Dad at the time was riding a QR and was looking to invest into new titanium Litespeed. I was given the QR frame and it all started from there. I qualified for Ironman Hawaii on that bike and rode it up to Ironman when I was given a new bike from the local bike shop.

My talks with QR started right after Clearwater 2010, and I was very happy that a QR was willing to invest in me. I did my homework on the new bikes QR were making and made some phone calls. The first person I called was local QR athlete Kelly Williamson. If there was award for straight up bad ass athlete, she would win hands down. She had a phenomenal season last year and really put Austin athletes on the map. She actually just started her season off with a big win at Rev 3 Costa Rica.

Back to the phone call. The QR rep and I had a great chat. She raved about the bike. Very stiff and fast. She had many more things to say about the bike, but for me, I just love a stiff bike frame. Check out her blog here.

Here are some pictures of my new ride the CD 0.1

It was a great feeling when Jack & Adam’s (a local bike shop) gave me a call to let me know the bike had arrived and was being put together by James. I was actually becoming very anxious as all the weather had delayed the arrival of my bike by two weeks! I rushed down to the store to check out my new bike. It was beautiful. The black and red looks very sharp and they just happen to be my two favorite colors! Thanks for the build up James.

I made a few changes to the front of the bike as I’m not a fan of straight extensions. Went and switched out the FSA bars for the profile design prosvet basebar and T2 extensions. Thanks for the advice Adam...my ATC buddy. Looks very sharp. The frame is very slick with the two main features being a bowed fork for better laminar flow across the front wheel and a very funky looking BB know as shift. QR's exclusive 18 millimeter offset downtube SHIFT diverts concentrated airflow away from the drive side to produce a true, measureable bike-course advantage for every athlete at every level.

First ride was out to Johnson City which was a good 4hr + ride over tough challenging terrain. First off, it is a very stiff bike. Accelerates very fast and jumps out of corners when applying power to the pedals. The stiffness also work to your favor during climbs as well. You might think that you would sacrifice some comfort due to stiffness. You do, but no where near as much as I was expecting. Descending has always been fear of mine with previous bikes just because of the feeling of instability. The CD0.1 is a little heavier than my previous bike but is extremely stable and holds its line very well during tight and fast turns.

Obviously I’m really happy with the bike. Have always been scared to get rid of my old rig, but this bike fills in just fine, actually more than fine! Check out Quintanan Roo if you’re in the hunt for a new TT bike.

Cheers,

Weclome back Cotter

2011-02-13T16:25:00.000-06:00

Has been a while folks, but I'm back! The end of the 2010 season did not go as planned as I developed some knee pain that did not want to go away. After a four month break I'm getting back into the swing of training again and feeling fantastic.

Some exciting new news on the sponsor front that I will talk more of once things arrive and I can take some pictures of the new bike! Yeah baby, I received a bike deal with a very cool company.

2011 here we come. Can't wait to take you along on my journey!

Cotter

hunting

2010-12-10T13:38:00.015-06:00

. I have been wanting to go hunting. Don't know about the rest of you, but after always going to Versus to see if any endurance sports were on, I would end up being disappointed to find hunting. However, I always seemed to stay glued to the tv when all there was, was hunting was on for hours and hours. Conditions always looked cold and the terrain was rugged, or same cold conditions, but guys were in a blind just waiting to make a shot. I loved the whispering voice of the hunters and thought it would be pretty cool to hold up a buck one day. Well, this past weekend that was ME!! Dallas (my father-in-law) gave me a call last week to see if I was able to go hunting with him in East Texas, and I was thrilled. Packed up my truck and drove 3.5 hours to Buffalo, TX. Sunday afternoon we sighted-in the guns and then made our way to the blind we would be hunting from. We were unlucky on the first day as the only excitement was 15-20 cows hanging out right in front of the blind eating all the acorns. Not a single view of a buck or doe the entire 3 hours! The fun part was just hanging out with my Father-in-law, drinking beer, and eating junk food.

Next morning we were up at 5 and on the road by 5:30 to be in the blind at 0600. It was freezing! 28F degrees and you're sitting in a wooden box with nature. I think this is what I enjoyed so much about this trip. It is you and nature. I was in a wooden box (blind), in warm clothing, enjoying the brutal conditions with a gun in my lap to see if I had a good shot in me. If I did I won. If I didn't the deer won.

Once the sun stared peaking out the real excitement began. I was stationed on small blind tucked into the forest with a 180 degrees of sight and I was just waiting for a buck to jump out of the bush. Every crack in the forest had my heart racing as I was realising that I could actually pull the trigger and take out a deer. Now this is a very powerful feeling of ultimate control! I now learn that this is called deer fever. It wasn't until about 0800 that a doe just casual walked and stood about 15 feet away from my blind. I picked up my gun and she was in my scope. I then thought, if I'm going to take something home to Austin, I don't want a doe! I want a at least a 8 point buck. Plus I really wasn't too interested in a gutting a doe in freezing conditions.

Six more doe and 30 minutes later I heard him rustling in the bush and then he exploded out tree cover and just sat there, well in my range were I was 100% confident i could nail him. On closer inspection, I noticed the spread of his rack was not greater than 13 inches, however, his rack was broken on the right side. I was not sure if I was allowed to shoot him. Made a movement to the phone to txt Dallas about shooting when he bolted and was gone.

At 0930 I was out of the blinds and heading back to Austin. I loved every minute of this trip even though I shot nothing except a target to sight my gun. If you haven't been hunting, I highly suggest you do.

Cheers,
JC

Up Date

2010-09-13T12:42:00.001-05:00

Has been a few weeks since my little 70.3 campaign ended and here is an update.

During my little mini break after the six half Ironmans, I started to feel a little niggle in my Achilles but thought nothing of it until I took off onto a 45 min hilly run. 20 minutes into the run on the longest hill, my Achilles made itself known to me in a very painful way! I ended up walking home the entire way not wanting to aggravate it anymore. Called my coach, massage therapist, and physical therapist to get it sorted out as soon as possible. If you remember earlier in the year, Joe Gambles, was sidelined for a lengthy amount of time due to a Achilles issue. I can't afford (literally) to be out for any time at all. Lesson learned is that I'm not 20 year old anymore and can't get away with out not stretching and using my TP equipment daily.

It was 12 days off of land and into the water with the aqua belt per coach Dixon's orders. I had two session with Dr. Jarod Carter (manual PT) who really went after my issue. I came out of one session looking as if I just jumped out of the shower because he really got into it. I have never been worked on so hard before in my life but it helped. The past week Ron helped massage out the rest of the issues.

The past 12 days have been very swim and bike intensive in the lead up to the back-to-back half ironman's. With the names like Hoffman and Tollekson in some of the races, you have to be near coming into T2 to stay close because they can also run! Lot and lots of big gear work on hills.

Here are some pictures of my favorite hill loop just down the road from me.

Love this place (River Place)

The start of hill. Has three kickers followed by two more short climbs (12 loops today)

nice view to finish off the ride (Lake Travis)

Train hard!

JC

Lake Stevens 70.3

2010-08-19T19:53:00.000-05:00

I was really looking forward to racing Lake Stevens with my confidence high after my first win at Steelhead two weeks ago. Competition was very tough with the likes of Joe Gambles, Matt Lieto (Matt has a fantastic story in his journey to becoming a pro athlete) , Luke Bell, Paul Ambrose, Luke McKenzie, and Guy Crawford but I was still looking for a podium spot.

Race morning again came very quickly and before I knew it we were all lined up waiting for the gun. During the warm up I noticed a rope on the lake bottom that was in line with the race buoys. I made sure I lined up right on the line while lots of my competition were further out to the right. Gun went off and I was able to cruise the first 500m in my Velocity ++ swim skin while the pack to right started angling itself my way. Brian Fleischmann went off the front but I was comforted by the fact I had Luke McKenzie and Guy Crawford around me. Swim was standard and a bigger pack formed that I was thinking would.

The bike was going to be strong as Lieto, Bell, and Ambrose all like to ride pretty hard to brake up the field. I felt pretty awful the first 10 miles and kept yo-yoing off the back of the group and worried I was going to be dropped. Eventually my legs came around and I was feeling okay. The second loop of the bike course became very interesting as we would now joining the age group field and be exposed to more cars on the course. Bell was smart and broke the field and would ride solo into T2. He got a minute cushion over the rest of us in the chase pack. While he rode solo up front we all battled for prime position. If you were not constantly holding your position up front, your race would potential be over with. With cars exiting out of drive ways and more cars on the course it was easy to became trapped behind vehicles while the pack in front could accelerate away from you. At mile 45 I became trapped out of nowhere as a car quickly exited his driveway. It was obvious this guy was not happy to this race taking place on his backyard and we was constantly accelerating and decelerating to annoy the riders. I managed to put in a huge effort to brake free of the vehicle and hunt down the group up front containing Gambles, Ambrose, McKenzie, and Crawford. I was able to latch on and ride back into T2 with the group.

Bike Nutrition
Bottle One: 24oz water, first endurance liquid shot (400cal), two scoop EFS lemon-lime (200cal)
Bottle Two: 24oz water, 2scoops EFS (200cal), 8 pinches base salt

I was feeling a little flat the last 10 minutes of the ride and was unable to get to the front of the bike group before heading into T2. My transition was horrible with the group 10 seconds up the road before I managed to get sorted and running. I had to start very conservative which was very tough for my ego as I knew having Gambles off the front would be very dangerous. At mile 3-4 I came right and moved up on to Ambrose's should battling for third position. I was feeling awesome at this point! I was floating in my K-Swiss K-Ruzz thinking to myself this is another podium spot for sure as we were moving up fast onto Bell and Gambles was not getting any farther from us.

Turns out I was a little cocky and at mile 6 or so I got the stitch everyone fears. The stitch that reduces you to a shuffle because it hurts so bad. Paul was running awesome and gaped me straight away. Bell ran straight past me and it was off the podium for me. It wasn't until about mile 8-9 I came right and made up the 40 seconds Bell made on me. Soon as I passed Bell I had three miles of pain left for a moment of glory on the podium.
"James, you can do this!" I was telling myself.
I surged and opened up a gap but the cramps/stitch came back. I surged one more time hoping Bell would think I was on fire and would let me go. He didn't and was right on my shoulder. I lasted another .5 mile before I had to slow it down. You're a hard man Luke! All the best in Kona this year. With two miles to go, I had to accept 4th and a close fourth it was as Mckenzie was breathing down my neck.

Not the result I was hoping for but I did go as hard as I could but just couldn't get it done. Can't be bummed with forth because last year I was horrible. Nice to be a spot of fitness were I can be disappointed with fourth though, right!!

Results
1. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:57:47
2. Paul Ambrose (AUS) 3:59:07
3. Luke Bell (AUS) 3:59:53
4. James Cotter (NZL) 4:00:55
5. Luke McKenzie (AUS) 4:01:32

Thank you Matt Dixon for turning me around and allowing me to "turn it on" consistently. K-Swiss for making the best apparel and running shoes. You all need to check out the Blade-Light Running shoes. They are amazing! First Endurance for amazing nutrition. Phase One Design for your support. Ron Vaughn for the best massage in town. Jarod Carter for fixing some last minute injuries. Also want to thank Kyle Watson for hosting me while in town for the week. Kyle owns a great store in Redmond that you need to check out if you are in the area called Mr. Crampys Multisports.

Next up in Branson 70.3!

Cheers,
JC

1st WIN.....Steelhead 70.3

2010-08-01T20:34:00.004-05:00

WOW!! I managed to get my first big win at the Steelhead 70.3 triathlon in Michigan. It was an absolutely amazing feeling crossing the finish line in first place. I couldn't help but to recall all the struggles and sacrifices made in the events leading up to Steelhead. I have had a very rough past couple of seasons and I had told myself I would be done with triathlon if 2010 didn't go well! I think I might hang around a little longer and hopefully my performances will keep on progressing the way they have the past three months

After Vineman 70.3 my plan was to get in a solid block of hard training as I pretty much have been racing every other weekend since Rev 3 back in June. I was set on the decision and got back into training until my friend, Tim Marr gave me a call and told me about Steelhead. Once Tim finished telling me about Steelhead my wife, Lindsay, even mentioned the race. I e-mailed Ironman on the weekend and just hoped to receive an e-mail back telling me I was in. The days went by and I was starting to train hard but not too hard because I wanted to be fresh for Steelhead if I was accepted. Wednesday rolled around and nothing back yet so I went for a 3.5 hour tough ride. It only became tougher because 30 minutes in a storm rolled in and it poured down with rain for 2 hours! When I eventually arrived home I was not in the greatest of moods. When I sat down and grabbed my computer there was a note from the wife telling me I should start packing my bike because Ironman emailed back. I really didn't want to go. I delayed packing until 10:00pm even though I knew I would have to get up at 0350 the next morning. Finally I convinced myself to go. I had good form and looking back I was racing well with one week between each race.

Arrived in Chicago and drove 3 hours behind traffic to my hotel (microtel) in South Bend, Indiania. Assembled everything and stayed in the rest of the evening. Friday was pro meeting and would allow everybody to see who had shown up. Looking around it looked as if Saturday was going to be hard. I knew Graham O'Grady (GOG) would tear up the swim up. Michael Lovato, Matty White, Josh Rix, and other company would be hunting the swim leaders down and then it would fought out on the run. It was going to be a exciting day in my mind!

Alarm went off at 3:50am as I was staying 40 miles from the race site. I prepared my nutrition as normal. I have found what works for me and will continue using the same formula. First Endurance make top notch nutrition and until something needs to be changed, or I cramp, or run out of energy starting the run here is my nutrition.

Breakfast: bowl of wheaties fuel, 2 rice cakes with sunflower seed butter, 24oz of EFS lemon lime
Bike bottle 1: 24oz water mixed with Liquid shot (400cal), 1 scoop EFS Lemon lime (90cal), 5 pinch salt.
Bike bottle 2: 24ox water with 2 scoops EFS Lemon lime (180cal), scoop of pre-race, 5 pinches of salt.

Once I finished everything in the hotel, I jumped into the car and started the drive out to race site. 20 minutes on the road and it started raining. When I arrived at race site it only got worse. Thank goodness I had the ride on Wednesday in the rain of I would have been very upset. After setting up it was a 1.2 mile walk/jog/run down the beach to the race start. I made sure I was lined up around GOG because if you missed his feet...you were going to be a ways back. I managed to jump on and we opened a big gap on the main field but had two other guys 25 meters back. GOG smashed it and I lost contact with 100 meters to go. I was not too concerned because of the long jog to the bikes. Will Smith (another Kiwi) jumped aboard and it was three Kiwi's up front leading the race. The three of us worked well together and were switching pulls every five minutes. Around mile 20-23 the Aussies presence rolled in with Matty White and Josh Rix. With three kiwi's and two Aussies up front I was hoping the end result would be similar to the rugby match played earlier in morning with New Zealand taking the win! We all worked very well and clean up front pushing the pace. GOG unfortunately flatted around mile 40-45 and put him out of contention. Will Smith received a drafting penalty and Matty White received a yellow card (he took a piss on the bike.......didn't know you were not allowed to) with three miles to go. He immediately launched an attack and I jumped on to his attack. Didn't want him to get an inch because he has been racing very well.

I made it out on T2 first but Matty White blew by me 200 meters into the run. I was a little scared with his acceleration and just prayed he was just trying to break me straight away. Eventually at mile one I pulled up to his shoulder and we ran that way until mile three. It was then my turn to try and break him! I put in a surge and managed to get about 10 seconds. Next thing I know Rix made a surge and was getting close. I dug deep and went pretty hard and opened up a gap of about 400-600 meters with 4 miles to go. I held on and crossed the line for my first win! Rix and White rounded up the podium.

Thank you Matt Dixon from Purple Patch Fitness. Sometimes I think Matt can predict my performances better than I can!! K-Swiss for the best shoes on the market. First Endurance for amazing nutrition. TRX for getting me into some strength work which has proven to be beneficial. Xterra wetsuits for the fastest suits on the market.
Phase One Design, Invert Align, Ron Vaughn, and Jarod Carter for all you help.
Oh, and a HUGE thanks to my wife who supports me 100% and gets me going out the door when I'm lacking motivation. All this hard work is paying off babe!

Whirlpool Steelhead Ironman 70.3
Benton Harbor, Michigan
July 31, 2010
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results
1. James Cotter (Christchurch, New Zealand) 3:53:13
2. Josh Rix (Boulder CO) 3:54:40
3. Matthew White (Boulder CO) 3:55:22
4. Tony White (Lexington KY) 3:58:16
5. Michael Lovato (Boulder CO) 3:58:56

3rd Place at Vineman

2010-07-23T21:28:00.002-05:00

Wow, Sonoma County is spectacular! Lindsay and I headed to Sonoma on Thursday afternoon via San Francisco. The drive to Sonoma was pretty average with nothing too spectacular. However once we pulled off the 101 to Dry Creek Rd…it all changed. Since my sponsor’s from Phase One Design were coming over to watch the race, they had rented a house at around mile 23 of the bike course on a VINEYARD!! This place was absolutely beautiful and conditions were amazing. We were coming from Austin, TX where it is scorching hot and humid when you wake up and scorching hot and humid when you go to bed. In Sonoma it was cold when you woke up, warm throughout the day, and the cold when you went to bed. The scenery from the back lanai was out of this world.

We woke up to this every morning!!

It was very easy to relax at our place of residence going into Vineman. It was a strong field with the likes of Chris Lieto, the Kiwi contingent of Graham O’Grady, Kieran Doe, and Jamie Whyte. Also there was Tim Marr and John Dahlz.

Race morning came much quicker then I would have liked. I was enjoying the wine county far too much! Anyways, with Doe, GOG, and Dahlz in the race we all knew it would be a crazy fast swim. I was going to try and stay with the top dogs for as long as I could and then just hang on to T1. Swim did not go as planned. Doe was feeling a little off on the swim and it was Dahlz and GOG up front. I swam in the pack that contained Doe, Lieto, and Marr. We were swimming well and the gap to guys up front stayed around 1:15 so it was not as bad as I though it was going to be.

Once out on the bike we had a good pace going and I think everyone was just waiting to see when Lieto would go. Eventually he went and Doe followed. I tell ya, once Lieto really starts putting some power down onto the pedals, he gets a gap straight away. It is incredible watching Lieto ride. I was at the pack and gunned it to try and get with the brake. Unfortunately, while trying to get up I accidentally crossed the center line and a marshal was there to see it. Yellow card and the penalty tent was still 20 miles up the road. I only had one option here and it was to go as hard as I could. I wanted to gap Marr and Dahlz so I wouldn’t have to bridge back up to them. I was unable to break them and I hit the tent and watched them ride away. Once served it was chase time. I caught them about 10 minutes later and we pretty much rode in together. Dahlz slightly fell off the pace but still had a visual on us. 8 minutes down on Lieto and 6:30 to Doe was our deficit. DARN IT!

I went out conservative for the first mile and then just gunned it as fast as I could. At mile six O’Grady was getting close, too close, and I really had to dig in like no other. I was hurting and I still had six miles and change to go! I managed to lose O’Grady and was now within 2 minutes of Doe with four miles to go. I ran hard but in the end it was not fast enough. Managed to round up the podium with 3rd. It was a great feeling to be on the podium again but not the greatest feeling to have lost by 8 minutes!!!

With my wife feeling exhausted

After the race it was time to cut loose and go try some of the local wineries around Sonoma. Normally I'm not really a drinker but when you go to vineyards and learn the process of making the wines, it's kinda hard not to drink. Here are pics of events after the races.

Post race home-made kettle chips!

Vineyards (Bella inside the cave)

Dinner with sponsors

Last night

We had a great trip and I will definitely be back to race Vineman 70.3 again. Beautiful course and beautiful weather. I have been so happy with the way my season has been coming along. Hopefully I can keep this progression going and jump onto a few more podiums before the season comes to an end.

Just want to thank my coach Matt Dixon of Purple Patch Fitness. It has been a long rode but we are finally moving forward! K-Swiss for great racing flats and an awesome race kit. Phase One Builders for all the support you give and for the house you rented! First Endurance for awesome nutrition, Xterra wetsuits for te fastest swim skin the Velocity++. Ron Vaughn at athletic tune-up professionals, and Jarod Carter for fixing up my neck the day before I left to CA. I couldn't even rotate my neck 90 degrees. Thanks Jarod.

Nutrition Report
Breakfast: oats, bottle of orange EFS (90calories), pack of honey stinger chews (160 calories)
Bike: 1st bottle -first endurance liquid shot (300 calories), 1 scoop orange EFS (90 cal), 1 scoop salt.
2nd bottle- 2 scoops EFS orange (190 cal), 1 scoop pre-race, 1 scoop salt

Lubbock 70.3

2010-07-02T14:26:00.001-05:00

One once said that happiness is Lubbock, Texas, in the rear view mirror. Between that and the estimated time en route to Lubbock being pitched to me at 8-8.5hr, I was not too thrilled about the ride up to Lubbock. The wife and I loaded the Frontier around 12:30 and started the haul up. To make a long story short. Total drive time was 5hr and 58 min from our to door to hotel door. I thought the drive was incredible. I actually saw hill, valleys, flat land, massive windmills, and then experienced the smell of Lubbock. If you ask me, it smells like soggy three day old wheat? yes..no?

The pre race meeting really set the tone for the race in Lubbock, TX. According to the race director, this race was not "starbucks" racing. It was old school racing! It would be hardcore and you didn't have to be too concerned about venomous snakes or any critters deciding to wander about on the course. I loved it! His attitude and story telling was fantastic.

I lined up race morning in my new Xterra Velocity++ suit that I received the morning of our departure. This is the first speedsuit I have owned that goes down to the ankles. Beautiful suit. Made sure I was close to Terenzo Bozzone and Stephen Hackett so I could jump on fast feet. I learned how much easier riding with group of guy is compared to riding solo. Making and getting out of the water with the top group is crucial for me. Gun went off and it was crazy start as usually to establish position at the front. I got it right and tucked right behind Terenzo who was tucked right behind Hackett. That is the way it would be until we jumped out of the water and onto the bikes.

I fumbled my way through transition and only just managed to jump on the group before we left the camp grounds. Chris Lieto was now in the pack with us riding and I knew it was going to be a very fast ride especially with Ben Hoffman and TJ Tollekson still behind us but charging hard. Around mile 6 Terenzo started pushing the pace so I rode up to second slot to hold my position. Not long after Lieto rode by and the pace picked up again, this time the pace jump hurt but I tried to stay tough as my ego was not letting me ease up. Around mile 9 TJ came flying by me like a possessed man! I've have never seen somebody go by as fast as he did. I was no riding solo and I could see Hoffman closing in on me when looking over my shoulder. I managed to yo yo back and forth until around mile 16 and then I cracked. The gap open to around 3-4 minutes when I arrived back to T2.

Once on the run I felt pretty good. From the splits I was getting I was bringing down the time to whom ever was in forth place. Started at 4 min and came down to 2:15 at the half way point. Once I hit the turn around, my pace made a fast around. I was struggling and knew I was becoming rather dehydrated. I was looking over my shoulder constantly even though my gap to 6th was around 5-6 minutes at the turn around. With 50m to go my wife was yelling at me. I though she just wanted me to look strong finishing. NOPE! I crossed the line and 5 seconds later Tim Reed crossed in 6th!! I stumbled around for a few minutes before I was taken to the med tent. In a matter of moment and needle was stuck into my arm and I received a liter of goodness.

Once off the table it was smooth sailing all the way back to Austin!

Results BSLT 70.3 2010
1. Chris Lieto
2. Terenzo Bozzone
3. Ben Hoffman
4. TJ Tollakson also check out his new bike cases at Ruster Sports
5. James Cotter

NUTRITION
Breakfast: oats with banana and honey. 24oz water with one scoop First Endurance EFS

30min out: 16oz water, EFS, one scoop pre-race, four pinces Base Salt

Bike: first bottle was 3/4 container of Liquid shot with two scoops EFS (fruit punch). Second bottle was two scoops EFS, one scoop pre-race, three pinches of Base Salt. Bottle one was around 500-550 calories and bottle two was 200 calories.

Thank you K-Swiss, First Endurance, Phase One Design, Purple Patch, and Ron Vaghn for all your help.
Cheers,
JC

My first 70.3 podium

2010-06-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally did. 2nd place at the Eagleman 70.3 triathlon!

Going into the race I was pretty worried that I might might not make top 5. With names like Bozzone, Cunningham, Graves, Yoder, Marr, Kahn, and Victor Z it was going to be a tough day.

The swim was solid but very long. David Kahn, an ex-Texas Longhhorn ,shot to the front and thankfully nobody else tried to go with him. Graves was pushing hard up front with me, Yoder, Bozzone, Cunningham, and Marr all tightly bunched behind. 27 min later we hit the shore and it was on!

I gunned it to my bike because there was no way I was going to miss the bunch this time. Transitioned well and made it out with the boys! Yoder was pretty much gone after mile one and he established a 4 min lead over the rest of us by the time we all reached T2. We picked up Kahn at around mile 35-40 and went solid the whole way back. I took my fair share of pulls up front and felt pretty good on the bike. However, with Richie and Terenzo in the bunch, I knew it was going to be a fast and furious pace on the run.

I learned a fair amount on the bike course with the pack. First thing is that even with 10m spacing, it is so much easier to ride fast! Small things add up over four hours and watching all the small things all the guys did during the ride and transition were impressive. I definitely learned a few new tricks.

Out onto the run course......we all went and it was HOT! I was conservative the first few miles and positioned myself into third place by mile 2. I came close to Terenzo, 50-75m at one point, but he showed everyone why he is one of the best in the sport. He punched it and I could not respond with the heat. From mile six on it was all about survival and getting as much ice into my suit at every aid station. Mile 8 came around and all the sudden Yoder came into view. It took me until mile 11.5-12 to finally catch the young talent. I only just held him off to finish second. Can't beat the feeling.

Thank you First Endurance for awesome nutrition. You have to try Optygen HP. K-Swiss, Phase One, Matt Dixon, Invert-Align and everybody who has helped me. Hopefully I can carry this new confidence into future races and start racing well.

Cheers,
JC

Revenge

2010-05-24T20:30:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I took my other girl out for her evening walk. During this walk we encountered a rattler and Sadie was struck on the nose. Here we are in the ER getting all checked up. Thank goodness the bite was not too bad.

I have been very cautious every night when going out for our evening stroll. Tonight the wife joined me for our walk. I had my rocks in hand because I was getting my revenge. I was so focused on the spot where the dog was bitten I failed to notice that I walked within inches of the snake tonight. I was alerted of this by the scream of my wife and the barking of the dog. We were reunited tonight. We all knew each other, and tonight would be the end of one of us.

WE WON. Both Sadie and I walked back home with some extra swagger.

TRX

2010-04-18T14:47:00.001-05:00

This is the new toy that arrived a week ago. The TRX from Fitness Anywhere! If you are a twitter fan you might have seen that Chris Lieto and Lindsay Corbin have been incorporating the TRX into their training schedules.

I first started hearing about the TRX system from my coach, Matt Dixon. I help him load training schedules and kept on seeing " add 40' of TRX" and I was very curious as to what TRX was. I gave Dixon a call and he told me all about a very SIMPLE yet highly EFFECTIVE piece of training equipement that was very light and very easy to transport. Next thing I knew my local gym had two of them so I started mucking around on them not really knowing exactly what I was doing. No structure or routine.

Two weeks ago I gave the folks at Fitness Anywhere a call and picked myself up a TRX. It arrived a few days ago and I'm very impressed with this piece of equipment. As you can see with the picture above, it comes in a very nice box. I always like a nice layout.

With the package you a workout DVD that is pretty tough. As you can see not only do you get the DVD, but you get a nice little manual with descriptions and workout suggestions as well that slides in neatly next to the DVD.

Set up is very easy as you can see. The TRX comes with a door anchor that easily slips over the other side of the door. Once you are anchored up, stick the CD in the DVD player and it's GO TIME!!

As you can see the anchor can hold plenty of weight. Now your hallway turns into your very own gym! BEAUTIFUL. No people stealing your spot, getting in your way, or trying to talk to you during your workout. Now this can also be taken out doors and anchored onto polls and trees with ease. The other beautiful thing is how easy is is to progress all the movements to make it VERY DIFFICULT. Now you might be saying to yourself....how much room will take up in my suitcase or backpack if I want to travel with a TRX? Good question because I know you are very interested in purchasing a TRX now...am I right?

TINY!! And it hardly weighs a thing.

After a week of playing on the TRX I am hooked. It is great strength work and great core/stability work as well. So if you are a weekend warrior, athlete, or just looking to improve your strength and fitness. This is the tool for you. Easy to set up anywhere, light, fun, challenging, easy to progress workouts/moves, and it is used by many top athletes!

THANK YOU TRX

Learning through stupidity

2010-03-29T15:40:00.001-05:00

The 2010 season kicked off with a bang two weeks ago in Seguin, TX which is about a hour drive south of Austin. I decided last minute to enter the duathlon thinking it would be a cherry pick race for me to see where my current condition was at. I registered and began to head over to rack my bike and then my heart sunk. Michael Lovato had decided to show up as well to test his fitness since ocean side 70.3 was looming three-four weeks down the road. So as I had my nerves in check I was actually getting excited about racing as it would be a great indicator of where I'm really at. Normally I can get Lovato in a swim, but bring in the bike and run and the story changes some.
We lined up at 0800 waiting for the gun. BANG! We are off and Lovato is off at a cracking pace. I hang out about 5 meters back until about 500m then I closed the gap just so mentally I'm close by starting the ride. Now, for me being the lesser known athlete, I don't owe Michael my nose in the wind so I stayed back the legal distance and let hime set the pace. Sometimes you have to play the tactical game and I did....I don't think he was very happy :) We jumped off he bike and set off for the final 5km run. I felt solid and was not going to make any stupid errors. I let Lovato dictate the pace for the first mile and then threw in a surge. The gap opened and I managed to hold it to the finish line.
VICTORY!!!! Form is good, didn't have to dig very deep. I'm a happy man.

Now fast forward three weeks.......

The 13th annual Lavaman triathlon was taking place on the Big Island of Hawaii. This is the race I grew up with while living in Hawaii from 2000-2004. I had won the the race two times and know the course like the back of my hand. Last year McCormack (Macca) won the race and he was returning again in 2010. I waned a shot at him. I wanted to be within 70 seconds of him at the finish.....

It all unraveled as soon as I touched down in Kona. I played Mr. Nice Guy and after every training season it would be off to the loading docks to pack up trucks, unpack trucks, pick up gear, drop off gear (my wife is assistant RD :) ). It changed everything up by adding new stimuli. While i was working, my competition was training the right way (swimming, biking, running) and resting the right way while I was working till bedtime.

I just got off the phone with my coach and received the talk that only motivates you more because you really begin to understand how dumb your actions really were. Bottom line is that if you compete as pro, act like one. It was my job to perform yesterday and I did everything possible to bugger it up in the days leading up to the race. I,myself, James Cotter screwed up my race and learned nothing at all from Lavaman. I'm not saying I would have won, I'm just saying my performance would have been MUCH better had I not been exhausted.

Congrats to Bree Wee, Macca, Timmy Marr, and Tyler Butterfield for a great race! And to my lovely wife and the head Race Director GERRY ROTT for another fantastic race.

Cheers,
JP

2010

2010-03-14T20:49:00.000-05:00

Well the new year and tri season is up and running now. The past two seasons have been rocky and I hope to shake things up in 2010. Look out for some new postings as the season progresses.

JC

ITS UP!

2010-03-03T20:49:00.000-06:00

Okay, its up and running, kinda. My very own blog. Bittersweet but I guess its time. So check out my lack luster of a blog. haha!

LC has now moved to www.cottercrunch.blogspot.com

Au Revoir!

Expired.....so what?

2010-03-01T11:36:00.004-06:00

I came across this article this morning while reading through a few blogs. It linked me to the website www.slate.com and immediately I was intrigued. Not really sure what to think, so I'll leave it in your hands. Let me know your thoughts on this subject.

EXPIRED FOODS- "Best by," "Sell by," and all those other labels mean very little.
By Nadia Arumugam

There's a filet mignon in my fridge that expired four days ago, but it seems OK to me. I take a hesitant whiff and detect no putrid odor of rotting flesh, no oozing, fetid cow juice—just the full-bodied aroma of well-aged meat. A feast for one; I retrieve my frying pan. This is not an isolated experiment or a sad symptom of my radical frugality. With a spirit of teenage rebellion, I disavow any regard for expiration dates.

The fact is that expiration dates mean very little. Food starts to deteriorate from the moment it's harvested, butchered, or processed, but the rate at which it spoils depends less on time than on the conditions under which it's stored. Moisture and warmth are especially detrimental. A package of ground meat, say, will stay fresher longer if placed near the coldest part of a refrigerator (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit), than next to the heat-emitting light bulb. Besides, as University of Minnesota food scientist Ted Labuza explained to me, expiration dates address quality—optimum freshness—rather than safety and are extremely conservative. To account for all manner of consumer, manufacturers imagine how the laziest people with the most undesirable kitchens might store and handle their food, then test their products based on these criteria.

With perishables like milk and meat, most responsible consumers (those who refrigerate their groceries as soon as they get home, for instance) have a three–to-seven-day grace period after the "Sell by" date has elapsed. As for pre-packaged greens, studies show that nutrient loss in vegetables is linked to a decline in appearance. When your broccoli florets yellow or your green beans shrivel, this signals a depletion of vitamins. But if they haven't lost their looks, ignore the printed date. Pasta and rice will taste fine for a year. Unopened packs of cookies are edible for months before the fat oxidizes and they turn rancid. Pancake and cake mixes have at least six months. Canned items are potentially the safest foods around and will keep five years or more if stored in a cold pantry. Labuza recalls a seven-year-old can of chicken chunks he ate recently. "It tasted just like chicken," he said.

Not only are expiration dates misleading, but there's no uniformity in their inaccuracy. Some manufacturers prefer the elusive "Best if used by," others opt for the imperative "Use by," and then there are those who litter their goods with the most unhelpful "Sell by" stamps. (I'm happy my bodega owner is clear on when to dump, but what about me?) Such disparities are a consequence of the fact that, with the exception of infant formula and some baby foods, package dates are unregulated by the federal government. And while some states do exercise oversight, there's no standardization. A handful of states, including Massachusetts and West Virginia, and Washington, D.C., require dating of some form for perishable foods. Twenty states insist on dating for milk products, but each has distinct regulations. Milk heading for consumers in Connecticut must bear a "Sell by" date not more than 12 days from the day of pasteurization. Dairies serving Pennsylvania must conform to 14 days.

That dates feature so prolifically is almost entirely due to industry practices voluntarily adopted by manufacturers and grocery stores. As America urbanized in the early 20th century, town and city dwellers resorted more and more to processed food. In the 1930s, the magazine Consumer Reports argued that Americans increasingly looked to expiration dates as an indication of freshness and quality. Supermarkets responded and in the 1970s some chains implemented their own dating systems. Despite the fact that in the '70s and '80s consumer groups and processors held hearings to establish a federally regulated system, nothing came of them.

These dates have no real legal meaning, either. Only last year, 7th Circuit Judge Richard Posner reversed the conviction of a wily entrepreneur who'd relabeled 1.6 million bottles of Henri's salad dressing with a new "Best when purchased by" date. Posner decided that the prosecutor had unjustly condemned the dressing as rancid, rotten, and harmful, when in fact there was no evidence to suggest that the mature product posed a safety threat.

Expiration dates are intended to inspire confidence, but they only invest us with a false sense of security. The reality is that the onus lies with consumers to judge and maintain the freshness and edibility of their food—by checking for offensive slime, rank smells, and off colors. Perhaps, then, we should do away with dates altogether and have packages equipped with more instructive guidance on properly storing foods, and on detecting spoilage. Better yet, we should focus our efforts on what really matters to our health—not spoilage bacteria, which are fairly docile, but their malevolent counterparts: disease-causing pathogens like salmonella and Listeria, which infect the food we eat not because it's old but as a result of unsanitary conditions at factories or elsewhere along the supply chain. A new system that could somehow prevent the next E. coli outbreak would be far more useful to consumers than a fairly arbitrary set of labels that merely (try to) guarantee taste.

hmmm.....better go do the smell check in my fridge. Happy Article Monday.
LC

Muggin' It!

2010-02-27T16:41:00.004-06:00

I am so loving muggin my muffins. Thanks to the lovely fit APRIL for introducing me to protein cakes in a mug. They Rock. Last night I fixed a chocolate chip flaxseed muffin with banana crumble. You can also use raisins or cherries if you're not in a chocolate mood. This was a tasty desert for MOI! James was out and I didn't have to share, haha!

Choco-Flax muffin (in a mug)

Ingredients
1 tsp. butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 C. ground flaxmeal
1/2 - 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 packet (or 2 tsp.) stevia
1 tbsp GF chocolate chips or other mix in (raisins, nuts, etc).

Directions
Spray a mug with coconut oil pan spray, add butter and microwave for a few seconds to melt it. Add the rest of the ingredients to the mug, stir and microwave for 45 seconds to one minute. Try 45 seconds first and if it isn't done, add a few seconds at a time until it is done.
When muffin is done, just turn it out onto a plate.

Makes 1 muffin (3 net carbs) and add a tbsp of yogurt or cottage cheese on top with chopped banana and agave nectar to make it even more tasty.

Well, we're off to Maudies tonight to meet up with both our folks. James' dad is in town from overseas. I'm pretty sure all the Cotter's will have a mexican food hangover tomorrow. That being said, CHEERS!!

LC

Breakfast Bites

2010-02-26T18:49:00.003-06:00

I don't know about you but the weekend always makes me want to enjoy a bigger or breakfast or brunch. Time for those weekend warriors to get out and train then enjoy a good breaky or brunch. You've got the eggs, the bacon, the pancakes, the omelets, etc. But how about a quicker fix with the same savory taste. These TEX MEX MINI FRITTATAS rock and they are a great brunch item, quick breakfast, or post workout snack. I like to make a bunch for James before a big weekend of training. Try 'em and let me know what other ingredients you'd add!

TEX MEX Mini Fritattas

Ingredients:

Olive Oil Spray
2 cups egg substitute ( I used 2 eggs and 1/2 cup egg whites)
1 cup finely shredded cheese (cheddar, mexican, etc). We use the almond cheddar cheese.
1/4 cup drained canned diced green chiles
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
chili pepper
chalula sauces
avocado slices

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly mist 8 cups of a nonstick standard muffin tin with the olive oil spray.

divide the egg substitute evenly among the muffin cups (1/4 c in each) Bake for 7-9 mins til almost set.
In a small mixing bowl, mix the cheese, tomatoes, & chiles. Sprinkle the mixture and a little chili pepper evenly over the tops of the frittatas. Bake for 8-10 mins longer or til the egg is no longer runny and the cheese is melted.
Transfer the muffin pan to a cooling rack and allow the frittatas to rest for 2 mins before serving. Add sliced avocado and chalula sauce on top before serving. Then DIG IN!!

Makes 4 (2 frittata) servings

Again, my camera died (I think I need a knew camera, right?!) but they turned out looking similar to these. Just add the avocado and chalula on top.

Happy Friday!

Cheers,
LC

Not much Left today

2010-02-24T19:51:00.004-06:00

There is definitely not much left in me today. It was one of those days, but hey, everyone's got them. James doesn't feel like blogging and I don't have anything left in my little noggin so I decided to post some of my favorite recipes. Let me know if you try any of them! Good night and glad this hump day is over. CHEERS!
LC

Slow-Cooked Cinnamon Pork Loin With Parsnips
From Mark's Daily Apple

Ingredients:
4 large parsnips, peeled
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 lb. pork loin
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups water
Cut parsnips into even rounds.
Mix together cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ground ginger, black pepper, garlic and salt.
Cut excess fat off the loin.
Rub meat with 1 Tbsp olive oil then vigorously massage spice rub all over the loin.
Turn heat on high under a sauté pan and add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Sear sides of the loin until browned, about 3-5 minutes each side. Put pork in the slow cooker with parsnips. With heat still on, add water to the sauté pan and use a spoon to scrape up browned bits. Add the water to the slow-cooker. Turn the temp to high and cook 3 1/2 hours or low and cook 5-6 hours.

Cooking Tips
• Carrots aren’t the only vegetables you can peel into ribbons. Try celery, cucumber, squash and kohlrabi.
• Meat doesn’t have to be seared before going into a slow-cooker but browning the meat will intensify the flavor. This isn’t because searing meat seals in flavor and moisture (Food scientist Harold McGee [4] has proven this is a myth). Rather, searing meat caramelizes the surface of the meat, enhancing its meaty flavor.
• To save time, use 1 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice + 1/2 tsp kosher salt instead of making your own spice rub.
• Experiment with different spices to create a variety of rubs. Or, just season the meat with salt and surround it with fresh herbs.
Garnish finished dishes with minced herbs.

Pasta Frittata

If you have eggs, pasta and cheese, then you have dinner. This pasta frittata can be varied endlessly — use leftover pasta, whatever cheese you have on hand, cooked broccoli or spinach or diced ham. A dollop of marinara sauce will add color and complement the flavors. Serve warm, room temperature or cold. You can't go wrong.
Serves 8
• 6 ounces spaghetti or any other type of pasta, cooked (we use GF pasta)
• 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 8 eggs
• sea salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 cup (about 3 ounces) grated cheese, such as Swiss, mozzarella or cheddar
• 1/2 cup marinara pasta sauce or salsa (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss cooked pasta with the teaspoon of olive oil and set aside. Oil a 10-or 12-inch ovenproof skillet (preferably non-stick) with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Whisk eggs together and season with salt and pepper. Add grated cheese to the mixture, then stir in pasta. Toss well and pour into the prepared skillet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until frittata eggs are set and no longer wobbly.
Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve directly from the pan or invert onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve with a dollop of pasta sauce or salsa, if desired.

Nutrition Info Per serving (About 4oz/103g-wt.): 170 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 11g protein, 9g total carbohydrate (less than 1g dietary fiber, 1g sugar), 225mg cholesterol, 290mg sodium

coconut pancake/waffle recipe

•1 can (15oz) coconut milk or light coconut milk
•3/4 cup shredded coconut
•2/3 cup almond meal
•1 or 2 eggs (one is plenty for waffles, you may want to go to two for pancakes, or if you like ‘em eggy)
•tiny bit of salt
•tiny bit of baking powder

vanilla and coconut extracts (1/2 tsp and 4-6 drops, respectively). If you make waffles, let them cook a long time until they’re crispy.

This last one is NOT healthy but its my husbands FAVORITE TREAT and its from our favorite Kiwi (Jenny Brown). Yes that is Cameron Brown's wife.

Jenny's Shortbread

4oz sugar
8oz butter
12oz flour (we use Bob Mill's GF flour)

Soften butter in microwave.
Add sugar to butter and beat till creamed.
Add flour and mix till combined and forms a ball.
Roll into a cylinder or rectangular shape (dust with flour if it sticks to your board).
Cut into about 1cm thicknesses, place on baking tray and put fork marks into each piece (for decoration, don't spear them right through)
Bake at 300F for approx. 40 minutes.

Spa Treatment

2010-02-23T20:30:00.004-06:00

So I think my title might have thrown you off a bit, but just wait.

Have you ever wondered what to do with your random ingredients that you used in a recipe? Well, as you know, we made Sushi last Saturday and come Monday night we still had 5 sheets of Nori Seaweed Sheets left. Don't get me wrong, we are sushi LOVERS but I didn't plan on making sushi again anytime soon. So what to so with these left over Nori seaweed sheets? Ah ha! How about give my salmon fillets a little spa treatment (you know when you get wrapped in seaweed and coconut oil)- Now ya get it?! Anyway, this creation was AWESOME. Here's whatcha do.

1. Take 1 salmon fillet and coat it with balsamic vinegar, a little bit of coconut butter (1/2 tbsp or so) and sea salt/black pepper.
2. Wrap your Nori Sheet tightly around fillet and add a little more coconut oil or butter on top (maybe 1-2 tsp) just to light coat the Nori.
3. Bake your fillets on 400F for 15-18 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon fillet.

We served the Salmon with Steamed Spinach on the bottom and it ROCKED! Do you have any other uses of Nori? If so, do share! I still have 3 sheets left. I am thinking of trying it out a different fish but am welcome to any other adventurous ideas.

On another note, the husband has been training HARD! First race coming up is March 28th, Lavaman in Kona, Hawaii. I have been the assistant Race Director for the past 4 years. We fly over to Kona at the end of March for a week or so. I work and James races (which is work for him)! Its already sold out and I am already handling the wait list. We're working hard to get everyone in at our max capacity. Crazy how big this race has gotten. Check out our Keauhou Race as well in August. www.lavamantriathlon.com
Okay, I'm out.
LC

I just had to.....

2010-02-22T16:06:00.003-06:00

I just had to post this today. Yes, I've probably eaten all these at least once but I actually haven't touched fast food in over 5 years. Okay I lied, the husband and I do share a frosty from time to time. Can't deny it. haha! But Keep READING!!

Article From Men's Health

4 Shocking Secrets About Fast Food

By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding -

Once upon a time, back when Ray Kroc was still pushing milkshake machines, a hamburger and fries meant a wad of freshly ground chuck and a peeled, sliced, and fried potato. Now, these two iconic foods—like nearly everything we consume—has taken on a whole new meaning. Sadly, many of our favorite foods today (especially fast foods) weren’t merely crafted in kitchens, they were also designed and perfected in labs. We uncovered the ugly truth in the course of our research for the Eat This, Not That! and new Cook This, Not That! series. What we found was not pretty.

Before you mindlessly chew your way through another value meal, take these mini-mysteries (conveniently solved below) into account. Sometimes the truth is tough to swallow.

What’s in a Chicken McNugget?
You’d think that a breaded lump of chicken would be pretty simple. Mostly, it would contain bread and chicken. But the McNugget and its peers at other fast-food restaurants are much more complicated creatures than that. The “meat” in the McNugget alone contains seven ingredients, some of which are made up of yet more ingredients. (Nope, it’s not just chicken. It’s also such nonchicken-related stuff as water, wheat starch, dextrose, safflower oil, and sodium phosphates.) The “meat” also contains something called “autolyzed yeast extract.” Then add another 20 ingredients that make up the breading, and you have the industrial chemical—I mean, fast-food meal—called the McNugget. Still, McDonald’s is practically all-natural compared to Wendy’s Chicken Nuggets, with 30 ingredients, and Burger King Chicken Fries, with a whopping 35 ingredients.

Bonus tip: For the nutritional breakdown of each of these “chicken” meals, and thousands others, download the brand-new Eat This, Not That! iPhone App! It’s like having your own personal nutritionist always at your fingertips!

What’s in a Wendy’s Frosty?
Wendy’s Frosty requires 14 ingredients to create what traditional shakes achieve with only milk and ice cream. So what accounts for the double-digit ingredient list? Mostly a barrage of thickening agents that includes guar gum, cellulose gum, and carrageenan. And while that’s enough to disqualify it as a milk shake in our book, it’s nothing compared to the chemist’s list of ingredients in the restaurant’s new line of bulked-up Frankenfrosties.

Check out the Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty, for instance. It seems harmless enough; the only additions, after all, are “coffee syrup” and “coffee toffee pieces.” The problem is that those two additions collectively contain 25 extra ingredients, seven of which are sugars and three of which are oils. And get this: Rather than a classic syrup, the “coffee syrup” would more accurately be described as a blend of water, high-fructose corn syrup, and propylene glycol, a laxative chemical that’s used as an emulsifier in food and a filler in electronic cigarettes. Of all 10 ingredients it takes to make the syrup, coffee doesn’t show up until near the end, eight items down the list.

Bonus tip: Not all restaurant desserts will detonate your diet. See which frozen treats made our popular list of The 39 Best Healthy Foods in America.

What’s in a Filet-O-Fish?
The world’s most famous fish sandwich begins as one of the ocean’s ugliest creatures. Filet-O-Fish, like many of the fish patties used by fast-food chains, is made predominantly from hoki, a gnarly, crazy-eyed fish found in the cold waters off the coast of New Zealand. In the past, McDonald’s has purchased up to 15 million pounds of hoki a year, each flaky fillet destined for a coat of batter, a bath of oil, a squirt of tartar, and a final resting place in a warm, squishy bun. But it seems the world’s appetite for this and other fried-fish sandwiches has proven too voracious, as New Zealand has been forced to cut the allowable catch over the years in order to keep the hoki population from collapsing. Don’t expect McDonald’s to scale down Filet-O-Fish output anytime soon, though; other whitefish like Alaskan pollock will likely fill in the gaps left by the hoki downturn. After all, once it’s battered and fried, do you really think you’ll know the difference?

Bonus tip: About a quarter of your day's caloric consumption comes from what you drink. Defy that stat: Avoid the 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America. You'll be shocked by this list.

What’s in my salami sandwich?
Salami, the mystery meat: Is it cow? Is it pig? Well, if you’re talking Genoa salami, like you’d get at Subway, then it’s both. Most salami is made from slaughterhouse leftovers that are gathered using “advanced meat recovery,” which sounds like a rehab center for vegans but is actually a mechanical process that strips the last remaining bits of muscle off the bone so nothing is wasted. It’s then processed using lactic acid, the waste product produced by bacteria in the meat. It both gives the salami its tangy flavor and cures it as well, making it an inhospitable place for other bacteria to grow. Add in a bunch of salt and spices—for a total of 15 ingredients in all—and you’ve got salami. But now that you know what’s in there, you might need to check yourself into an advanced meat recovery center.

Bonus tip: For simple steps to live a longer and healthier life, read through Dr. Oz's 25 Greatest Health Tips Ever. His tips will dramatically improve your life. And one more thing: Save calories, time, and money with our free Eat This, Not That! newsletter. Sign up today and you’ll get the Eat This, Not That! guide to shopping once and eating for a week for free

Hope I didn't ruin your dinner. Cheers!

LC

Sushi with the Cotters

2010-02-21T10:27:00.005-06:00

Oh this was too fun! After a long Saturday of training and some work, James and I decided all we wanted to do was watch a movie and make something simple for dinner. While at whole foods, we opted for SUSHI! But not the sushi where you have to cook the rice, add the vinegar, let it sit, etc. We decided to go for the riceless sushi, kinda like the recipe from Marks Daily Apple. So here's out ingredient list.

1. Organic Nori Seaweed sheets
2. Beef stir fry strips (don't worry, we cooked these- haha!)
3. Tuna
4. cucumber
5. diced cabbage
6. spinach leaves
7. carrots
8. laughing cow cheese (to spread on seaweed sheets)
9. avocado
10. wasabi powder (to make into homemade paste)

Want to know the results?? Check out below. So fun, so easy, a little messy, but overall GOOD!!!

Have a relaxing Sunday!

LC

Eats and Treats

2010-02-18T19:33:00.004-06:00

Anyone sick of my blogging yet? My husband has yet to post because he says he has nothing to talk about, blah blah blah. Maybe if we beg him, he'll post something soon. So i will continue until I get my blog up....which might take a while. Ha!

So today was a day of experiments. Two recipes that are great little snacks. First up, caramel protein macaroons. The lovely Alyson at Nourished Fit created this little recipe, and I just tweaked it a bit.

Protein Caramel Macaroon Chippers

~1/4 c Coconut Butter
~1/4 c Sun Nut Butter
~1/4 c unsweetened Shredded Coconut
~ 1 serving Protein Powder (I used Bio Chem Carmel Swirl)
~ 3 tbsp Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (start with 1, then add if needed)
Stevia to Taste
~ 1 tbsp liquid egg whites
~ cinnamon and cocoa powder

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Mix all of the above ingredients together. Drop small ball of dough onto a baking sheet and gently flatten with a fork. Bake for ~10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with cocoa and cinnamon powder! These suckers are around 70-75 calories, 5 grams fat, and about 4 grams protein. Delish.

KInda look burned but its actually the cocoa and cinnamon melted on top.

Now for the my weird recipe. Still tasty. I call these Sprout Chips. Kinda like Kale Chips only with brussel sprout leaves. James LOVES his brussel sprouts so whenever I make them, I take off the outer outer leaves, lightly coat them with olive oil, lemon, salt, and black pepper. Then bake them at 400F for about 10 minute. They are so so good! You can also sprinkle Parmesan cheese on them for the last minute or so. So save your money and don't buy those $12 Kale Chips, just bake these up!

Last note.... I visited my friend Molly Peck today at Vanilla Orchid. Wow, what a neat kitchen she has. Lots of good eats. You've got to check out her home delivery catering company in Austin. She makes great gluten free, vegan, and raw meals as well.

Happy almost Friday!

Cheers,
LC

GF Product Review

2010-02-17T19:20:00.005-06:00

Oh don't ya just love new finds?!?! Today I was at the grocery store and this caught my eye. Organic Gluten free buckwheat and sweet potato soba noodles from KING SOBA NOODLES. This brand also has other gluten free soba noodles like pumpkin, ginger, and brown rice. Such an awesome combo!
I have to admit, I am also skeptical when it comes to gluten free noodles because most of the time they turn to mush! But these cooked nicely and took no time at. I combined the noodles with veggies with a cooked egg on top. Veggies (radicchio, tomatoes, and carrots) were sauteed in tahini butter with a little chili pepper and lemon. I combined this with the noodles then the egg on top and it was a match made it heaven. James licked his bowl, which is always a good sign! I will definitely be cooking with this brand again. Can't wait to experiment with the other flavors.

Whats your favorite soba noodle dish?

Flourless Chocolate Creation

2010-02-16T20:07:00.003-06:00

Oh boy did I have the itch to create something today. As always, I know that my recipe creations are either a hit or just kinda blah. Today's was oh so good! James actually gave me a kiss after he tasted it. I guess thats his seal of approval. Ha! But this creation is flourless, has a good source of protein, dairy free (besides egg) and of course GLUTEN FREE. It is a must try! Perfect for desert (which we just had) or for a quick breaky!

Chocolate Orange Banana Muffins (with protein)
Makes 6 Muffins

mix:
3 tbsp cocoa
1 serving (2 scoops) chocolate fudge whey protein
3 eggs
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 stevia extract

whip all these ingredients together until smooth (beater works best). Then fill 2/3 cup of a coated muffin pan with batter.

filling:
1 small banana (mashed)
1 tbsp orange jam
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp sun nut butter or almond butter
Mix all together until you get a chunky consistency (due to the banana)

Then spoon filling into the muffins pans until mix rises 3/4 way. You will see the filling on top. Bake at 350F for 16-18 minutes or until they rise. Let them sit in oven (on off) for an extra 10 minutes to cool.

Check out these stats~~~

Calories 97.1
Total Fat 4.0 g
Saturated Fat 1.0 g
Total Carbohydrate 8.7 g
Dietary Fiber 0.7 g
Sugars 4.8 g
Protein 7.3 g

Note: you can change your filling to whatever jam you'd like. Apricot, cherry, etc.

Serve with greek yogurt and cinnamon for extra goodness!!

Cheers,
LC

p.s.
I am in the process of creating a separate blog (sad, tear) but its gonna take me a while. I hate this computer stuff. Will keep you posted!

Article Monday- Activate what???

2010-02-15T13:08:00.004-06:00

Every Sunday I gather my thoughts in hope to plan out my weeks worths of workouts for my clients, my classes I teach, and for myself. My main goal is to make it PURPOSEFUL for each person and their fitness goals. Today, i cam across this article in fitness.com that made me stop and think about how to really activate your body to get a better workout. Its a good read, but don't think to hard. ha!

Maximum Neuromuscular Activation: The Key to Better Workouts

Neuromuscular activation is a term commonly used in physical therapy. The neuromuscular system is a combination of the nervous system (neural) and the muscular system (muscular). In essence, your nerves and muscles working together. Physical therapists know that when doing rehabilitation often times you are working to improve or regain optimal neuromuscular function. And they know that certain exercise provide more neuromuscular activation than others.

But the latest research has shown that neuromuscular activation goes beyond physical therapy. As it turns out, neuromuscular activation is the one factor that determines the effectiveness of exercises for both muscle building and muscle toning.

Your muscles develop because they get stronger, adapting to what you are asking them to do. That is true whether you are working for big muscles or toned muscles. You need stronger muscles to handle the work you are putting them through. What tells your muscles to get stronger is your brain, which communicates with your muscles through your nervous system. Therefore, developing muscle strength is a function of your neuromuscular system.

Since the neuromuscular system is the combination of the nervous and muscular system, the more involvement of each of those systems an exercise requires, the more neuromuscular activation it provides. Therefore there are two ways to affect neuromuscular activation: one is to increase the muscular system involvement. You do that by choosing compound exercises over isolation exercises, since compound exercises engage more muscles. The other is to increase the degree to which your nervous system is involved. And you do that by choosing exercises that require more control, more focus, more involvement of your mind. When you do a compound exercise that also requires the most control and focus, you achieve maximum neuromuscular activation.

The ideal routine, providing maximum neuromuscular activation, should be comprised mostly of compound exercises, using free weight and body weight. But maximum neuromuscular activation can be achieved for different methods of exercises. You can choose free weight exercises that require the most neuromuscular activation, you can choose resistance band exercises that require the most neuromuscular activation, you can even choose the machines that require the most neuromuscular activation.

The higher the degree of neuromuscular activation the more effective the exercise, which makes for faster routines because you don’t need several exercises for each muscle group in order to achieve great results and you need fewer sets of each exercise. This also allows you to work out less often because you don’t need several workouts to deliver great results. Those routines will give men a strong, solid, naturally muscular and masculine looking body, and give women a toned, feminine, well shaped body.

BOTTOM LINE:
The more you stimulate your neuromuscular system, the stronger you will get. Here are some exercises that will help you do that.

-Use as many muscles at one time as you can - burpees, squat thrusts, plyometric lunges or jumps

-Increase the complexity of these exercises, which requires more focus - like adding a side lunge to the burpee or combining two or three traditional exercises like adding a lateral push up to a burpee.

-Force yourself to focus by incorporating balance work. Do single leg deadlifts and squats, use a Bosu ball or stability ball to create unstable surfaces.

Love this! My Tuesday Total Body Conditioning Class at WB is gonna be fun!!

LC

One Spoiled Valentine

2010-02-14T20:07:00.005-06:00

Oh boy did I get spoiled today. Not only did my sweet husband take me out and buy me roses, he bought me class sessions to my new favorite YOGA STUDIO and today he went with me. Impressive!!

But to top that, I received a special package from my Secret Blogger Valentine. WOW, lots of fun cooking stuff, cute sox, the works!! THANK YOU THANK YOU to my BLOGGER Valentine. She knows the way to my cooking/eating heart. haha!

Hope you all had a great V-day and Congrats to all the Austin Marathon Runners. What a day to race!

I'm leaving you with recipe that will satisfy your sweet tooth and still make you feel healthy, well somewhat healthy. And yes, the are GLUTEN FREE! :)
Recipe is from my favorite Primal Lady.

Choco-Nutty Treats

Ingredients:

60g coconut oil

20g unsweetened cocoa (ground cacao beans are ideal)

40g shredded coconut

40g almond flakes

35g almond butter

1t cinnamon

Method:

Melt coconut oil completely. Combine cocoa with oil and mix. Add all other ingredients and stir vigorously until all nuts and coconut are coated in 'chocolate'.

Roll into balls of whatever size you prefer. If oil is too runny, refrigerate mixture for ten minutes, then stir well. Spread balls out on a plate lined with baking paper.

Refrigerate until firm.

GOOD STUFF!

LC

PB & J all the way!!

2010-02-12T19:17:00.005-06:00

A lot of people ask what we put in our protein drinks and I'll have to admit, it varies daily. I make James and myself a protein drink every night in preparation for our early morning work outs. One of my favorite shakes is my PB & J protein shake.

1. one serving vanilla cream protein powder
2. crushed ice
3. 1 cup almond milk
4. 1/2 cup water
5. 1/2 tsp guar gum
6. 1 banana
7. 1 tbsp raspberry jam with a few fresh berries thrown in
8. 1/2 to 1 tbsp almond or tahini butter
9. Amazing Grass Cocoa mix (optional).
10. Cinnamon (optional).

Blend all to until TASTY!! I love this because it taste just like a PB&J but way more protein packed.

So what about all those smoothie places. Do you know whats in them??

WARNING TO ALL JAMBA JUICE DRINKERS:
Be sure to check the calories and sugar intake in what you are ordering. Below I have listed a good choice and a bad choice. You can visit the website to see all the nutrition details at www.jambajuice.com and look under nutrition-menu.

EXAMPLE:

1.Bad Choice- an Original Size Strawberry Wild smoothies has 400 calories, 94 grams of carbohydrates (about 6 servings of carbohydrates here) and 53 grams of Sugar.

2.Good Choice- 16 oz. Sunrise Strawberry has 240 calories, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of protein, and 40 grams of sugar.

3.Best Choice- 16 oz. Berry Filling has 150 calories, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 23 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein. If you have a couple handfuls of nuts this is a great snack!

I vote for making your own. Its lots more fun!

Happy Weekend.

LC

Cravings Combine

2010-02-11T16:40:00.012-06:00

Alright, we all have those weird combo's out there. James love marmite and almond butter together with banana (its actually really good), I like just about anything with ketchup (I won't even get into detail there). But tonight I had 2 cravings! I wanted some kind of pasta carbonara fix and I wanted my breakfast omelet fix. When asking James "what you would you like for dinner?", his response was of course "any food is good food, you decide." That really didn't help much but I love that he is so flexible and easy to please. So here's what I decided. Spaghetti Squash with a little tahini butter mix in the noodles, then on top of that was mixture chicken sausage/egg and avocado combo (with some extra veggies of course). Pretty good and it hit BOTH spots. I call this Lindsay's scramble n' squash.

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP tahini
1/2 avocado
salt & pepper to taste
2-3 chicken sausage links (cooked and diced)
2 eggs scrambled with pesto
2-3 plum tomatoes diced
1oz mozzarella almond cheese or regular mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cut your squash in half and place face up on a foil lined baking sheet.
Bake in a 375° degree oven for 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Scrape out the seeds and then scrape the noodle-like flesh away from the skin with a fork and place in a bowl. Mix in oil with the hot noodles allowing it to melt.

For the chicken/egg mixture. Scramble eggs with 1 tbsp pesto or pesto mix then add your cooked diced chicken sausage and tomatoes. Cook until all flavors and blended.

Then toss your squash noodles with scrambled egg/chicken sausage mix.
Chop up avocado and almond cheese and add to your bowl.

P.S.
I have to apologize for the crappy pictures from my phone. I was without the camera once again. :)
Have any weird combo's out there? I gotta hear them!

LC

Oh what we do for FREE Food.......

2010-02-10T19:08:00.003-06:00

So my husband and I woke up at 4:45am (as usual), but this time it was not for swim practice or for any other training/work. You see, we heard on the radio that there was a new health food store coming to our area called New Flowers Farmers Market (kinda like Sprouts, Natural Grocers, etc). Anyway, the Grand Opening was today at 7am and the first 50 customers got a $50 worth of groceries.....SCORE!!! So my cute husband woke up early again and was the 4th customer to arrive at the door at 5am.

HAHA! We thought we'd score all our usual "expensive health food needs and ingredients" in no time. Thats worth the wait in the cold, right? Well, two hours later James found out that the certificate expired at noon and all they gave him was a bag of samples and random groceries. Poor guy, all that wait for nothing! We actually did score some good free produce and a few random snacks but it really wasn't worth the wake up call. We look back at today and laugh. But I have to say New Flowers did have great deals, great organic produce, and we're glad to get yet another health food store near us. The more the merrier! What have you done to get free food??

Happy Wednesday!

LC

It's leftover night

2010-02-09T19:26:00.006-06:00

Oh I am so happy Tuesday day is over! It was one of those days that was jammed packed from 5am in the morning till getting home at 5pm. I definitely was not thinking about dinner either (which is rare). I know James LOVES any food (thank goodness) so I figured it would be a good leftover night.

Foods in the pantry/fridge?????

1. Leftover Butternut Squash Soup- better the second day!
2. Brussels sprouts and carrots
3. eggs
4. Quinoa
5. Almond Cheese
6. Tomatoes

hmmmmmm.......the dish? Quinoa with scrambled egg, almond cheese, tomatoes,chalula sauce mixed in, steamed Brussels sprouts and carrots with vinaigrette, and butternut squash soup.

The verdict. Delish! Sometimes leftovers are just as good. What are your favorite leftovers? I'd have to admit, I love leftover pizza for breakfast, cold and all. HA!

Cheers,
LC

Blackberries and Butternut

2010-02-08T20:01:00.005-06:00

Our weather just turned rainy and cold (luckily no snow blizzard like most of you guys) but this definitely puts me in a homemade fancy comfort food mood. So after meeting a HEALTHY BITES customer at Whole Foods, I decided to see what was for grab. My plan, organic pork chops and soup. What kind?? Blackberry seared chops and homemade butternut squash soup. OH THIS HIT THE SPOT!!

p.s.
These pics are not my own. My camera died, yes died. But you can imagine they looked somewhat similar to these dishes, right???? haha!

Homemade Butternut Squash Soup

serves 6
1 15oz can organic Butternut Squash (pureed)
14oz can chicken broth
1 medium diced onion and/or celery
2 diced carrots
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt and black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 chili pepper (optional)
2 cups half in half (we used half almond milk and half coconut milk instead)

In a large pot, add broth, onion, celery, carrots, baking soda, and rest of seasoning. Let it simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Then place in blender or food processor and puree vegetables into broth (again, this is optional). Return to pot, add butternut squash and milk (coconut or half and half), and let is simmer again uncovered. I also added a tad bit of real butter and more cinnamon at the end. SO GOOD!!

For the pork chops, I just threw them in a skillet with a little bit of unsalted butter, raspberry and balsamic marinade, fresh blackberries, and salt/black pepper. Seared them on medium high (covered) for about 10-15 minutes. Lots of good sauce was left over. Eat up. Stay dry and warm!!

Cheers,

LC

LOVE of my Life

2010-02-07T14:24:00.007-06:00

Okay, yes, James (my hubs) is the Love of my life BUT I do have quite the fondness for this little drink called KOMBUCHA!!!!!!! Being thats its "article Monday," I wanted to share why I love this little drink of goodness. FOOD RENEGADE recently wrote an AWESOME article that summerizes it all. Read, Enjoy, then Sip away!!

Have you heard of Kombucha, the beverage the ancient Chinese called the “Immortal Health Elixir?” It’s been around for more than 2,000 years and has a rich anecdotal history of preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.

Made from sweetened tea that’s been fermented by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (a SCOBY, a.k.a. “mother” because of its ability to reproduce, or “mushroom” because of its appearance), Kombucha didn’t gain prominence in the West until recently.

In the first half of the 20th century, extensive scientific research was done on Kombucha in Russia and Germany, mostly because of a push to find a cure for rising cancer rates. Russian scientists discovered that entire regions of their vast country were seemingly immune to cancer and hypothesized that the kombucha, called “tea kvass” there, was the cause. So, they began a series of experiments which not only verified the hypothesis, but began to pinpoint exactly what it is within kombucha which was so beneficial.

German scientists picked up on this research and continued it in their own direction. Then, with the onset of the Cold War, research and development started being diverted into other fields. It was only in the 1990s, when Kombucha first came to the U.S., that the West has done any studies on the effects of Kombucha, and those are quite few in number. As is typically the case in the U.S., no major medical studies are being done on Kombucha because no one in the drug industry stands to profit from researching a beverage that the average consumer can make for as little as 50 cents a gallon.

Thanks to it’s rising commercial popularity in the last decade, the older Russian and German research has been made available in English to Westerners, and a few wide-spread anecdotal surveys have been sponsored by Kombucha manufacturers, but that’s about it. While there are limited amounts of research done on the beverage, there has been lots of research done on many of the nutrients and acids it contains in large quantities (such as B-vitamins, antioxidants, and glucaric acids).

Regardless of the “lack” of scientific evidence, the fact remains that this beverage has 2,000 plus years of tradition behind it and an ardent and addicted following.

About the health benefits of Kombucha:

First, there’s all the benefits of detoxification, such as healthy livers and cancer prevention. One of kombucha’s greatest health benefits is its ability to detox the body. It is rich in many of the enzymes and bacterial acids your body produces and/or uses to detox your system, thus reducing your pancreatic load and easing the burden on your liver. Kombucha is very high in Glucaric acid, and recent studies have shown that glucaric acid helps prevent cancer. I know 2 people in my immediate circle of friends who have had cancer (pancreatic and breast) and fought it into remission without any chemo or radiation therapy. Instead, they warded it off by detoxing their lives (going 100% organic, removing chemical cleaners and agents in their home, changing their diet to be at least 80% raw or fermented, etc.) Central to the detoxification process was drinking Kombucha regularly. Even Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the recently deceased Russian author and nobel-prize winner, in his autobiography, claimed that kombucha tea cured his stomach cancer during his internment in soviet labor camps. (And because of this testimony, President Reagan used Kombucha to halt the spread of his cancer in 1987. You’ll note he didn’t die until 2004, and that was from old age, NOT cancer.)

Next, there’s all the benefits of the glucosamines it contains, such as preventing or treating all forms of arthritis. Glucosamines increase synovial hyaluronic acid production. Hyaluronic acid functions physiologically to aid preservation of cartilage structure and prevent arthritic pain, with relief comparable to NSAIDs and advantage over glucocorticoids. Hyaluronic acid enables connective tissue to bind moisture thousands of times its weight and maintains tissue structure, moisture, lubrication and flexibility and lessens free radical damage, while associated collagen retards and reduces wrinkles.

Then, there’s all the benefits of the fact that it’s a probiotic beverage, such as improved digestion, fighting candida (harmful yeast) overgrowth, and the general health and well-being associated with this. As such, it’s noted for reducing or eliminating the symptoms of fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, etc.

Plus, it’s extraordinarily anti-oxidant rich, and you all know the benefits of anti-oxidants for boosting your immune system and energy levels.

Here are some articles about the health benefits:

http://www.kombu.de/val-gwf.htm
http://www.gaiaresearch.co.za/kombucha.html
http://www.acupuncture.com/herbs/kombucha1.htm
http://www.gokombucha.com/health_benefits.html

When I first read about the panacea of benefits, I was skeptical. How could one beverage do so many things? But then I realized that it’s not so much that the beverage does something to our bodies, like a medicine targeted at curing specific symptoms. It’s more that this beverage promotes health. It gives your body what it needs to heal itself by 1)aiding your liver in removing harmful substances, 2)promoting balance in your digestive system, and 3)being rich in health-promoting vitamins, enzymes, and acids.

The general consensus seems to be that with regular, daily consumption, you’ll notice improvement in immune system functioning and energy levels within about a week, the healing of more minor ailments within a month or so, and the healing of more radical illnesses within a year or so.

My "Go-To" Meal

2010-02-05T20:04:00.006-06:00

Okay, we all have them. The "whats for dinner tonight?" GO-TO meal. I found this special recipe in my favorite magazine and "tweaked" it a little bit. This one is my favorite because I can usually find all the ingredients already in my pantry/fridge. Plus, you can substitute your favorite meats/veggies and its still a winner.

Crab and Green Bean Salad (you can also use tuna or chicken breast)

We serve this salad on a bed of greens or in a tortilla/pita. Either way, its good!

10 ounces green beans, trimmed at both ends, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (we've also used asparagus spears cut up)
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
1 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cubed
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
8 ounces (about 1 cup) cooked lump crabmeat

Fill a large pot (fitted with a colander) with water. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add coarse sea salt and the green beans, and cook until crisp-tender, three to four minutes.

Remove the colander from the water. Rinse the beans with cold water so they cool quickly, helping them stay green and crisp. Drain the green beans and wrap them in a towel to dry.

In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together the yogurt, mustard, and fine sea salt. Add the green beans, chives, apple, avocado, and crab. Toss carefully to evenly coat all the ingredients with the dressing. Serves four.

Calories Per Serving: 220
Carbs: 17 g
Protein: 20 g
Fat: 9 g

Whats your go-to meal?

Happy Weekend!!

LC

KSWISS 2010

2010-02-04T13:35:00.003-06:00

Hi all. Thought I would post this because what K-Swiss is doing is very exciting to me. K-Swiss, which is a current sponsor of mine, is bringing out some very nice new shoes later on this year. Here is a little preveiw. If you didn't know, K-Swiss now makes running shoes...now you know! Go check e them out at www.kswiss.com

JC

At it again......... Muffin Makin'

2010-02-02T17:34:00.006-06:00

Carmel Nut Protein Muffins
(11 muffins)

Liquid Ingredients:

•3 tbsp liquid egg whites and one egg beaten
•1/2 cup water
•1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk)

Dry Ingredients:

•1 serving (31grams) of BIOCHEM Carmel Swirl 100% whey protein powder
•1/3 cup flaxmeal or ground flax seeds
•1/3 cup almond meal
•1/2 cup coconut flour
•3 Tbsp Apple Butter or 1/4 cup apple sauce
•1 tsp baking powder
•3 tsp cinnamon
•2 stevia packet
•1 tbsp Agave Nectar

Topping:
• Crushed almonds and chopped organic dried apple
• Cinnamon sugar
• Honey

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick baking spray set aside.

2.Mix liquid ingredients together, then mix in dry ingredients.

3.Pour into muffin tins, bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

4. Once out of the oven, cut a slit in the middle of each muffin, fill with honey and then cover with nuts/dried apple mix and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Sorry guys, didn't even want to try to calculate the exact nutrition, but it does have about 100-120 calories and 8-9 grams of protein or so. Similar to the pumpkin protein muffins.

ON ANOTHER NOTE....................................

These Tortillas are FABULOUS. Found them at our local grocery store on sale. At first I thought they were uncooked flour tortillas but ACTUALLY they are gluten free, lactose free, casein free, and peanut free yummy gooey flour tortillas. James and I were in heaven. We decided to have quesadillas for lunch and they melted in our mouth. It was good to feel like we were eating real flour tortillas! Check out the stats below and all the other goodie gluten free products they carry at www.frenchmeadow.com.

Made with rice flour and tapioca starch, these tortillas are so good, you won’t miss the wheat. They’re perfect for sandwich wraps, quesadillas, breakfast burritos, and homemade tortilla chips. Gluten-Free Tortillas have zero grams of trans fat per serving, and are certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group®.

Pretty good, eh?

Okay, that's it for me.

Cheers,
LC

NEW SPONSOR

2010-01-31T20:30:00.001-06:00

FIRST ENDURANCE

Hello, hello! My name is James, I'm Lindsay's husband. I started this blog back in 07(I think) as a means to just update people on how I train and race. Lindsay then came into my blog and the past year it has been more posts from her than I! Since training and racing is just around the corner I will be posting more often from now.

Since Lindsay posts about nutrition I thought I would come in and talk to you about my new nutritional sponsor for 2010. I would like to introduce you to
FIRST ENDURANCE!

Tried their product back in August while training in North Carolina with Justin Park. We were on a long ride and I bonking and cramping. Justin gave me some EFS and liquid shot and in a few minutes I was good to go. Justin introduced me to the entire line up once we arrived back home. None of the drinks use artificial sweeteners and the bars are GLUTEN FREE! Yes, first endurance bars are gluten free!! They are also very delicious.

The line up in top notch. Multi Vitamins, Recovery Drink (Ultragen), electrolyte beverage (EFS), Gels (Liquid Shot), and the Optygen HP which is suppost to be out of this world. I have been on the multi vitamin for about two weeks and am feeling great. The recovery drink, ultragen is fantastic and a must have after long training days.

Go and check them out.

Cheers for now,
JC

The Perfect Line Up

2010-01-28T19:42:00.009-06:00

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU Muscle Milk for sending me these samples. Okay, now onto my post.
Don't get me wrong, I love making my homemade protein drinks in my fancy blender, but there are days were I forget them or am lazy and need a little protein boost post workout or between teaching/training. Like TODAY!! I went into the gym early to do a weight training workout and before I knew it, I was needed to sub a spin class 20 minutes after I had finished lifting. I needed something quick that wasn't heavy on the stomach. I didn't have bar on me and I didn't have my home made smoothie on me either (because I thought I'd be going straight home post weight workout, haha!). So i grabbed a 100 calorie muscle milk lights. I love this stuff for snacking. Its the only muscle milk that doesn't rip my stomach apart because its lactose and gluten free. Check out the stats.

So needless to say, I made it thru teaching spin class just fine. No cramping, stomach upsets, etc. After that, it was time for REAL FOOD!!

Happy Almost Friday!! Thank Goodness!!

LC

"tweaking" things

2010-01-27T19:13:00.004-06:00

Okay, So I can't rave enough about April's yummy recipes. They always look awesome. I've been meaning to try her No Carb Muffins but being that we don't use soy flour or wheat bran, I needed to find a replacement that would work. So here's what I came up with and it actually WORKED! YUM!

Pumpkin Spice Protein Muffins

Liquid Ingredients:

•1/2 cup liquid egg whites (or one egg beaten)
•1/2 cup water
•1 tsp vanilla

Dry Ingredients:

•3/4 to 1 cup Plain whey protein powder
•1/4 cup flaxmeal or ground flax seeds
•1/2 cup almond meal
•1/5 cup coconut flour
•1/4 cup organic pumpkin pie mix
•1 tsp baking powder
•2 tsp baking soda
•1 tsp cinnamon
•1 stevia packet

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick baking spray set aside.

2.Mix liquid ingredients together, then mix in dry ingredients.

3.Pour into muffin tins, bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

NUTRITION- 12 Muffins

Calories 84.9 ,Total Fat 3.6 g ,Saturated Fat 0.4 g ,Total Carbohydrate 5.2 g, Dietary Fiber 2.4 g ,Sugars 0.3 g, Protein 9.0 g

Not bad, eh? Try 'em. Again, they go great with nut butter or greek yogurt!

Cheers,
LC

Interesting Combo

2010-01-26T20:09:00.004-06:00

So tonight I was craving sweet and spicy goodness. I looked around the kitchen and found some ingredients that caught my attention. Sweet potatoes and bananas. I thought, what the heck. I try something with it. So I diced the sweet potato, steamed them in the microwave a little bit so they were tender. Then I moved them to a pot where I cooked them more on medium high heat ALONG WITH one banana, chili pepper spice, a little REAL butter, almond milk, and black pepper. 5 minutes later, I removed them from heat, mashed all the ingredients together and added a little more milk and almond cheese (you can add laughing cow cheese or mozzarella cheese as well). Again, cooked on low until it was one big sweet and spicy mash came together. This was great paired with a salad and chicken tamales. YUM! You can also top the mash with greek yogurt for extra creaminess!

Oh, and it also goes well with this! Smooth........

Any other interesting food combo's out there? Do share!

LC

P.S.

Look forward to James posting next. He's got something up his sleeve!

The All or Nothing Syndrome

2010-01-25T11:48:00.004-06:00

Happy Monday to all! Its actually been a good day, thus far. After my morning clients, I came home to receive (via email) one of Mark Sissons weekly "Primal Insiders." We subscribe to his blog and his articles always seems to catch my attention. Today's article really hit the spot for a lot of people I know, including myself and I just had to share. Cheers!
LC

This week's Insider is yet another health challenge, but it's a little different this time. I've tailored the challenge to target the two main segments of the Primal audience - those who work out religiously, and those who like to take it a little easier. Both are good ways to go about it, especially if you're eating the right food, but there's always room for improvement.

To the ultra-dedicated gym junkies out there, I say this: take a break! I've been there, you know. I spent years running a hundred miles every week. Life was a constant state of carb-loading, training to exhaustion, resting, fighting off illness... and then getting up and doing it all over again. Of course, you might (rightly) point out that I was engaging in the dreaded chronic cardio, and that the Primal way of shorter, more intense workouts punctuated by low-level, long-lasting activity and play is far superior. I won't argue with that. I have great respect for the folks over at Crossfit, and I'm a huge proponent of lifting heavy weights and running sprints on a regular basis. But I also stress the importance of relaxation - of giving your body a rest every once in awhile. Especially if you're working out the right way (hard, fast, intense), your muscles are going to need as much rest as they can get.

To look at it from Grok's perspective, he approached fitness from a purely utilitarian, functional angle. He didn't have mirrors or marketing advocating a certain body type and nudging him toward a gym membership; he just got great exercise throughout the course of his everyday activities. For the most part, we don't have the same natural pressures forcing us to be fit, so some semblance of self-motivation is absolutely required. Just don't overdo it! Don't beat yourself over the head because you skipped a workout. On the same token, don't force yourself to workout against your better instincts. If you're feeling exhausted, worn out, and sore - take a break. Read a book. Try meditating, or check out the yoga class. Relax a little! Y! ou've ea rned it.

To the Blueprinters who maybe find it difficult to get to the gym, I say this: get out and move around! I know, I know. I'm constantly harping on the fact that weight loss is mostly about what you eat, and you're happy enough eating good Primal foods and dropping inches. That's fine. But there are other benefits to exercise, things you may not be considering.

The more lean muscle mass you have, the healthier you are.
The stronger you are, the better equipped you are to handle what life can throw at you.
Strength and fitness are hallmarks of youth; if you want to enjoy vibrant longevity, working out can help you achieve it.
Exercise can release endorphins, the hormones responsible for such enjoyable sensations as runner's high, lifter's ecstasy, and sprinter's joy (okay, I just came up with those last two, but they're still real).
As you should already know, exercise doesn't have to happen at the gym. Not every workout has to be hardcore. You should think of the world as your playground, and of exercise as play. Go for a hike, clamber over some rocks. Take a long walk around the neighborhood (remember, walks count!). If you feel up for it, do some pull-ups on a tree or dips on a park bench. Whether you're doing deep squats in the gym or just playing with your kid in the park, the important thing is that you're active.

Everyone, remember my fitness mantra:

Make your easy workouts longer and easier, and your hard workouts shorter and harder.

Marks Daily Apple

Its Over?

2010-01-24T19:39:00.005-06:00

The weekend is over? I feel like we worked all weekend? Were did it go? Bugger! Well, Sundays we usually chill and do a little training then church at night but today was different. James paced Kelly in the 3M half marathon today then had to work past 5pm. I did some of Janetha's HIIT workouts, trained clients in the morning, then packaged Healthy Bites (our little homemade organic snack business), ran errands & laundry, etc. We usually have our Sunday routine, 5pm Church at the Austin Stone then Whole Foods after, well not today. I did end up getting dinner from Whole Foods, it was just home prepared. We tried out their Yellow Fin Tuna Burgers (minus the buns) tonight. Pretty tasty. I broiled them with almond cheddar cheese with a side of Brussel sprouts and mushrooms sauteed in white wine and lemon herb dressing. TASTY and QUICK! Now its off bed for yet another 4:45am wake up call. Coffee is set, ready to zonk out. Hope you all had a great and RELAXING weekend.

Cheers,
LC

P.S.
Whats your "go to" post race or post workout craving?? My husband loves breakfast tacos after a good long run or race. Kelly got her pancake fix today after her big race. I am a sucker for any breakfast foods- eggs, bacon, etc.

Wine date & Random Goodness

2010-01-23T19:44:00.003-06:00

Yes, thats our Saturday night. A little wine date with the hubs at FIONS Wine and Pub down the road, then a random dinner (including a new product review) back at the CASA. Sounds good to me! After a nice glass of red and good conversation, James and I were hungry for all kinds of food. What to cook? Italian, Mexican, etc???? So it came down to what was in the fridge and pantry.

List:
Organic Turkey
Brown Rice Tortillas
Almond CHeddar Cheese
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Carrots
Spicy Chipotle Sauce
Avocado

Conclusion:
Turkey & Mushroom Cheddar Quesadillas with a Chipotle kick and topped with Avocado!

But the Randomness came with the new product, Lundberg Gluten Free Parmesan. IT was FABULOUS! My husbands exact words were "WOW, SO FREAKIN GOOD!" haha. I followed the directions to a T, BUT I did add a little organic cream of broccoli soup and black pepper to give it a creamier flavor. GOOD call!! Check out the end results.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
LC

Simple and Savory

2010-01-22T17:17:00.005-06:00

I LOVE salmon. There are endless ingredients that can make salmon great! Last night I tried a new one and it was, well in one word......savory! The secret ingredient? Coconut butter. Here's a simple salmon dish. 1-2 tbsp melted coconut butter mix in with balsamic vinegar, sea salt, and black pepper. I added a little lemon as well. Then coat your salmon with this marinade and let it sit in room temp (covered or in a plastic bag) for 10 minutes or so. I just heat the oven while this is marinating. You don't want to put it in the fridge because the coconut butter will harden. Then bake accordingly. 400F at 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Most of the time its 15 minutes or so. See, simple and savory.

For more uses of coconut (butter, oil, milk, flour, etc.) check out the recipes and facts at Marks Daily Apple. YUM!

Happy Friday and Have a Great weekend!

LC

P.S.

Good luck to all my friends and clients running the 3M this weekend in Austin!

Bread n' Butter

2010-01-21T13:50:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I finally made the "Cotter version" of April's low carb sweet bread. April's recipes always look so delicious, so I knew I had to attempt at this one. Her recipe used wheat bran and soy protein and my stomach doesn't really handle either of those. So instead I used almond meal, sun warrior protein powder, and flaxseed meal. How did it turn out you might wonder?? Scrumptious! And yes, it goes wonderfully with a schmear of butter, REAL BUTTER!
See below for my recipe.

Wheat/Soy Free Protein Bread:

Ingredients:

•1 cup almond meal
•1/3 to 1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal
•1 serving (35gr) Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein Powder
•1/2 cup pure pumpkin (for less moist use 1/3 cup)
•1/2 cup liquid egg whites
•1 egg
•1/2 cup hot water
•1 tbsp each baking powder and cinnamon
•2 tsp pure stevia extract

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick baking spray.
2.Combine all ingredients.
3.Pour into baking pan, bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Here's what the stats look like.

Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 128
Total Fat: 6.3 g
Cholesterol: 23.7 mg
Sodium: 219.6 mg
Total Carbs: 10.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.9 g
Protein: 10g
Serves 8-9 slices

Cheers,

LC

Cha Cha Cha Chia

2010-01-20T12:15:00.004-06:00

Remember these?

No no, I am actually talking about these. HAHA!

So I've had a lot of questions about Chia Seed lately. What to do with them, what are they good for, etc? I found the information below quite helpful and now I love Chia Seeds even more, haha!

What makes the Chia Seed the super food that many claim it to be?
- 30% of the chia seed’s oil is Omega 3 oil. C40% of its oil is Omega 6 oil. This provides the nice balance those who take supplemental Essential Fatty Acids are looking for. The chia seed’s substantially dense percentage in alpha-linolenic fatty acid also makes this seed a healthy dietary source of fatty acids.

- You do not need to grind the Chia Seeds to digest it. It is a relatively easy to digest seed, whereas flax seeds are not. Often, one has to grind flax seeds to be able to process them in their digestive system. That is not the case with chia seeds.

- The chia seeds are great for athletes because they are highly hydrophilic. Being hydrophilic means it absorbs large amounts of water. Chia Seeds can absorb over 10 times their weight in water making them a great enhancer in hydrating our bodies.

-They absorb the water we drink holding it in our system longer.
Studies show that eating chia seed slows down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrate calories into simple sugars. This leads scientists to believe that the chia seed may have great benefits for diabetics.

-The chia seed gels when becoming wet and this gel, when in our digestive systems, helps prevent some of the food, hence calories that we eat from getting absorbed into our system. This blockage of calorie absorption makes the chia seed a great diet helper. Eating the seeds also helps dieters by making them feel fuller faster so they will be less hungry!

-Chia seeds provide antioxidant activity

-Mix Chia seeds into yogurt, sprinkle them on cereal in the morning, add to salads, or even add them to your baking. There are many ways to add chia seeds into your daily routine!

Information provided by www.healthmad.com

Beeks eats had a great recipe for Chia Seed Granola. I threw in dried cherries as well.

3 cups rolled oats, (we use gluten-free)
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (I used dark Agave nectar instead.)
Vanilla extract and cinnamon to taste.
2 T safflower oil
2 T chia seeds
1/3 cup dried cherries or berries (add at the end of baking)

Mix all together in a bowl or directly on a cookie sheet, bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, making sure to mix up the granola one or two times while baking, to ensure it doesn't burn. Should be golden light brownish.

This is great for on the snacking, pre or post workout snacks, etc.

Let me know if you try it.

Cheers,
LC

Meat.....its whats for dinner

2010-01-18T18:14:00.006-06:00

When I see Organic Bison on sale, it is a must grab. Sprouts had a special on organic ground bison and I was super pumped! Now what to make with it?!?!?! Decisions, decisions. Tough. Anyway, I've been digging some of April's recipes lately and she had a yummy spicy meatloaf I just had to try. Of course I switched it up and added my own flare (bison versus turkey and green chilies versus jalapenos) but all in all it was DELICIOUS and super easy!

Green Chili Bison Meatloaf
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

•16oz of raw lean ground Bison
•3 tbsp cornmeal
•1 small can of diced green chilies
•6 tbsp liquid egg whites (or 2 whites from whole eggs)
•1/3 cup fresh salsa
•a dash of black pepper and chili powder
•Arriba Chipotle BBQ sauce

Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.
2.Mix all ingredients together.
3.Pour mixture into baking loaf, bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the top is browned and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean

4. Top with a little Arriba Chipotle BBQ sauce for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Meat fix accomplished!

Enjoy.

LC

p.s.

I've had requests to start my own blog but am torn to leave my husbands blogging style. Give me your thoughts????

Macronutrients vs. Calories

2010-01-18T08:27:00.004-06:00

Lets just call Monday's "article days". I cooked all weekend and will post recipes later this week, but for a change of pace, here's a great article about the difference between Marconutrients and Calorie Need. I think everyone will benefit from reading this!

Calories vs. Macronutrients: What is the difference for proper dieting?
First steps to determining your weight loss
Jaclyn Cousins

So, you are unhappy with your weight. You have more fat on then you are comfortable looking at in the mirror or carrying around. It is having a negative impact on your life in many ways, including your self confidence, motivation, social life, and work endeavors. The bottom line is you want that extra weight gone. But where do you start? Your first step is, determining what the cause is. But do you really know enough to determine and pinpoint why and how this is happening to your body? Many skip this important step and jump to the subjective way of dealing with it – which leads to decisions and for the most part relying on crash diets, excessive, or fads in hopes of changing their bodies. What they don’t know is these may seem to be simple choices but they will never work. What you need are choices that will be made from rational decisions based on long term lasting results for your overall and well being. But first, what are the causes? It is first of all, important to get an idea of how our bodies work, and what our bodies need. Our bodies all require energy input in order for us to perform our daily functions. This energy of course comes from the foods we eat. All the building blocks of food (or macronutrients) give us energy. These macronutrients consist of fats, proteins, alcohol, and carbohydrates. The energy that we get from these macronutrients: fats, proteins, alcohol, and carbohydrates, are all measured in calories. A calorie is a simple measurement of heat. So once we ingest our macronutrients, our bodies burn them as calories.
Here are a few examples to see how all our macronutrients can provide calories.

1) 1 gram of fat gives our bodies 9 calories
2) 1 gram of protein gives our bodies 4 calories
3) 1 gram of alcohol gives our bodies 7 calories
4) 1 gram of carbohydrates gives our bodies 4 calories

So on a scale of 1 to 10 calories, fats and alcohol gives us the most calories, and protein & carbohydrates gives us the least amount of calories. But, that doesn’t mean you should avoid fats and alcohol altogether just because they produce a higher amount of calories. Consistency and balance are key. Also macronutrients are not the same as calories, so 500 calories worth of carbohydrates will affect the body much differently than 500 calories worth of protein.
I must stress again though, macronutrients are not calories, and calories are not macronutrients. Macronutrients are the foods (proteins, fats, alcohol, and carbohydrates) that give our bodies calories during . 500 calories will always be 500calories, as a centimeter will always be a centimeter, but it’s not the calories that matter to the body, it’s the quality of the nutrients that are being put into it.
Ok, so after all this distinction amongst calories and macronutrients, you are probably still wondering how to fix your . This is where things might get a bit complex. Other than the fact that you are most likely consuming more calories than your body can burn off as energy, leading to fat storage, and that the easiest solution in your mind would be to reduce your caloric intake, that may not be the sole problem here. The bottom line is, the solution to my weight problem is going to be different to yours. All of our bodies are different, and as you probably know the majority of fail. What you need to do is figure out the root source of your problem. Why are overconsuming these calories to being with? Is it a cause of stress in your home, your work, or because of emotional behavioral issues? Is it a cultural issue? Your reasoning for overeating is probably unique in the fact that it is not the same as that of Joe, Billy, or Sue. This is only the first few steps in determining how can happen. But, in the end, it must start with you.

Cheers and HAPPY Monday to those who have off!

LCotter

Eggs Marinara for dinner.....need I say more?!

2010-01-16T12:33:00.005-06:00

So I saw this recipe from FOOD RENEGADE and just had to try it. It was so quick, easy, and delicious.This dish is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. So versatile! Love it.

Eggs Poached in Marinara

Whatcha Need-

•As many eggs from pastured hens as you want to serve.
•At least 1 c. of marinara or other favorite pasta sauce per egg (we used mushroom marinara).
•We added avocado on top and a little cheese (almond cheddar).

The How-To

In a deep dish skillet bring marinara sauce to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low so that the sauce is no longer bubbling. With a spoon, create “slots” for your eggs — tiny indentations in the marinara that will act like “bowls” in the sauce and hold your eggs in their places. Crack open one egg per slot. It should look something like this:

Try it and let me know what you think!

LC

How do you like your oats?

2010-01-14T13:56:00.003-06:00

So we've been on this protein kick lately. I add it to everything it seems like. Protein smoothies, protein pudding, etc. My favorite so far is a big bowl of Chocolate Whey and banana oats. Thick, hearty, great combo for a cold day. Easy to make and even better if you let them sit in the fridge overnight.

1. 1 cup old fashion rolled Oats
2. 1 scoop chocolate whey
3. 1 banana
4. 1/2 cup Almond milk
5. 1/2 tbsp almond butter (optional)

We use a kettle to cook our oats. So I boiled the kettle, poured the hot water over my oats, added the chocolate whey and stirred. Then I let them sit (covered) for a few minutes, stir again. Then add milk and almond butter, stir and cook in microwave for a minute more. Then add your banana on top (you can mix it all together or just leave the banana slices on top). I let our sit over night and that way they were even thicker in the morning. YUM! Yes, simple recipe but sometimes simple is good.

How do you like your oats?

Cheers,
LC

FOUNDATION ROOTS

2010-01-11T20:27:00.011-06:00

doesn't look hard, but this is one of the hardest positions to hold...no lie. Called the founder.

Ringa pakia! haha no, I'm not about to bust out a HAKA. but maybe in later post

Taking superman to a new level. It burns

What am I doing? I'm doing foundation roots classes here in Steiner Ranch. Mr. Armstrong is incorporating Foundation workouts into his training program in prep for his 2010 Tour. I'm a huge Lance fan. Derick Fisher from Lakers is doing Foundation. Dr. Jeff is helping me out this year to become faster and stronger on my bike. Dr. Jeff moved to Austin via California and brought this class with him. His good friend Dr. Goodman and Peter Park founded Foundation roots in order to help people develop stronger cores and reduce back pain and issues. Dr. Jeff along with Goodman and Park is one if not the only one trained to teach foundation roots at the moment. Dr. Jeff will be opening up his chiropractic clinic in Steiner Ranch shortly and will continue teaching his Foundation classes.

The workout is focused on working your deep inner core muscles. Since my biking was weak and inconsistent in 09 my coach (Matt Dixon) and I decided to make big changes and put in more gym work (I guess you could say I'm a gym rat now) and more core work. There are a number of positions you go through that challenge your core/lower back/glut in ways I can't even describe. When I finish the sessions it is like I have awakened muscles I have never used before and strengthened the ones I have been using. I though my core was at best, moderately strong...I was humbled big time while trying to hold certain positions. In three weeks worth of classes with Dr. Jeff I can climb better seated on my bike, can maintain better posture during my 90 min plus runs, and my entire body feels much more efficent. I would encourage anybody in the Austin area to visit this class. You can be an athlete, somebody who suffers back issues, or your avaerage joe who wants a stronger core.

Here is the description for the class.
The principle behind Foundation training is creating powerful, flexible movement from the real "core" of the body, the deep postural spine muscles. Foundation training brings people back to a primitive movement pattern, the way our bodies are designed to move. In re-establishing these movement patterns injuries very frequently decrease and all too often disappear. All of this begins with a slightly different understanding of what our movement core is composed of.

We define the core as being bi-layered:
The primary layer is that of the deep structural muscles of the spine, pelvis, and pelvic floor. These muscles are responsible for our stability while standing, sitting, and even laying down. They connect individual vertebrae and are involved in nearly every movement we make.

The secondary layer is composed of the larger muscles of the spine, hips and of course the abdomen. These muscles are very important in our larger movements, but without the structural integrity of those small supporting muscles, there is no real strength.

For more information, check out: www.foundationroots.com

Try this new class, taught by Dr. Jeff!
Foundation classes are now offered exclusively at Wild Basin Fitness in Seiner Ranch
Monday, 5:30 pm. Wednesday, 10:00 am. Thursday, 5:45 pm.

Cheers,
JC

Whats all the talk about?

2010-01-11T17:49:00.002-06:00

So Vitamin D has been a big topic of discussion at our house lately. How much do I need versus James? Is 5,000 IU too much to take in one day? Liquid formula is faster absorbed than capsule, right? Well, I found this article that helps explain a lot and thought I'd share.

LC

From the blog post Dr. William Davis.

Monday, January 11, 2010
Getting vitamin D right

Vitamin D is, without a doubt, the most incredible "vitamin"/prohormone/neurosteroid I have ever encountered. Frankly, I don't know how we got anything accomplished in health pre-D.

Unfortunately, people I meet rarely take their vitamin D in a way that accomplishes full restoration of vitamin D blood levels. It really isn't that tough.

Here's a list of common tripping points with vitamin D:

"I take vitamin D: 1000 units a day."
This is probably the most common mistake I see: Taking a dose that is unlikely to yield a desirable blood level. (We use 60-70 ng/ml of 25-hydroxy vitamin D as our target.) Most men and women require 6000 units per day to achieve this level. There is substantial individual variation, however, with an occasional person needing much more, a rare person requiring as little as 1000 units.

"I bought some vitamin D on sale. They were white tablets."
Time and again, patients in my office who initially have had successful vitamin D replacement, despite being reminded that only oil-based forms should be taken, switch to tablets. While they initially showed a 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood level, for instance, of 67 ng/ml on 8000 units per day with an oil-based capsule, they switch to a tablet form and the next blood level is 25 ng/ml. In other words, tablets are very poorly or erratically absorbed.

I have had people use tablets successfully, however, by taking their vitamin D tablets with a teaspoon of oil, e.g., olive oil. Oil is necessary for full absorption.

"I'm going to Florida. I'll stop my vitamin D because I'm going to lay in the sun."
Wrong. 90% of adults over 40 years old have lost the majority of their ability to activate vitamin D in the skin. A typical response might be an increase in blood level from 25 to 35 ng/ml--a 10 ng increase with a dark brown tan.

There is an occasional person who, with sun exposure, increases blood levels substantially. This can occur in both fair-skinned and dark-skinned people, though I've never seen it happen in an African-American person. The occasional person who maintains the ability to convert vitamin D with sun exposure, or young people, should seasonally adjust their vitamin D dose, e.g., 6000 units winter, 3000 units summer, or some other regimen that maintains desirable blood levels. You can see that monitoring blood levels (we check levels every 6 months for the first 2 years) is crucial: You cannot know what your vitamin D needs are unless you assess 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels.

"I drink plenty of milk. I don't think I need to take vitamin D."
Oh, boy. This is so wrong on so many levels.

First of all, no adult should be drinking plenty of cow's milk. (A discussion for another day.) Second of all, cow's milk averages 70 units of vitamin D, often the D2 form (ergocalciferol), per 8 oz. Even if the FDA-mandated 100 units per day were present, an average adult dose of 6000 units would require 60 glasses of milk per day. Can you say "diarrhea"?

Likewise, other food sources of vitamin D, such as fish (300-400 units per serving) and egg yolks (20 units per yolk), are inadequate. This makes sense: Humans are not meant to obtain vitamin D from food, but from sun exposure over a large body surface area. And this is a phenomenon that is meant to occur only in the youthful, ensuring that nature takes its course and us older folks get old and make way for the young (i.e., unless we intervene by taking vitamin D supplements).

"My doctor said that my vitamin D blood level was fine. It was 32 ng/ml."
Let's face it: By necessity, your overworked primary care physician, who manages gout, hip arthritis, migraine headaches, stomach aches, prostate enlargement, H1N1, depression, etc., is an amateur at nearly everything, expert in nothing. Nobody can do it all and get it right. Likewise vitamin D. The uncertain primary care physician will simply follow the dictates of the laboratory form that specifies "30-100 ng/ml" as the "normal" or "reference range." Unfortunately, the laboratory often quotes population distributions of a lab measure, not an ideal or desirable level.

To illustrate the folly of population distributions of a measure, imagine you and I want to know what women weigh. We go to a local mall and weigh several thousand women. We tally up the results and find that women weigh 172 lbs +/- 25 lbs (the mean +/- 2 standard deviations). (That's true, by the way.) Is that desirable? Of course it isn't. Population average or population distribution does not necessarily mean ideal or desirable.

"My husband's doctor said he should take 4000 units per day. So I just take the same dose."
That would be fine if all adults required the same dose. However, individual needs can vary enormously. A dose that is grossly insufficient for one person may be excessive for another. Once again, vitamin D dose needs can be individualized by assessing 25-hydroxy vitamin levels in the blood.

"I don't need to take vitamin D. I already take fish oil."
I believe this mistaken belief is either because people confuse fish oil with cod liver oil, which does contain some vitamin D. (Cod liver oil is not the best source of vitamin D, mostly because of the vitamin A content; also a discussion for another time), or because they've heard that eating fish provides vitamin D. However, fish oil capsules do not contain vitamin D unless it is added, in which case it should be prominently and explicitly stated on the label.

"I don't have to take vitamin D. It's summer."
For most people I know, if it's a bright, sunny July day, where are they likely to be? In an office, store, or home--NOT lying in the sun with a large body surface area exposed. Also, most people expose no more than 5-10% of surface area in public. I doubt you cut the grass in a bathing suit. Because of modern indoor lifestyles and fashion, the majority of adults need vitamin D supplementation year-round.

I advise everyone that gelcap vitamin D is preferable. Some, though not all, liquid drop forms have also worked. Take a dose that yields desirable blood levels. And blood levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D are ideally checked every 6 months: in summer and in winter to provide feedback on how much sun activation of D you obtain.

If your doctor is unwilling or unable to perform vitamin D testing, fingerstick vitamin D test kits can be obtained from Track Your Plaque.

Frigid tempatures = CHILI NIGHT! no pun intended, haha!

2010-01-09T12:11:00.005-06:00

Wow, I have not seen 17 degrees in Austin for over 5 years. Well, maybe because 2 of those years we lived in Hawaii, but still. My blood is thin and I get cold when it 70 degrees, haha! So yesterday I wore 2 shirts and a hoody, 2 pairs of sox and boots, and gloves. PATHETIC? Uh, ya! Anyway, I told James I need some make some good 'ol home cooked chili for dinner. He agreed! It was delish. I don't use beans in our chili, just lean beef, lots of tomatoes and onion and carrots, and don't forget SPICE! Cayenne pepper, garlic, black pepper,salt, cumin, you name it. Oh and I did throw in 2 small cans of green chilies. We like things spicy around here. Pair it with tortilla chips and your golden.

I like Carroll Shelby's chili mix because you can choose mild or hot. We choose HOT!

Sautee the beef with 1/2 and onion(chopped) and drain fat.

Then add the 14 oz. diced tomatoes, 1 or 2 small cans green chilies, 6 oz. of tomato sauce, chili mix, spices, any other vegetable you'd like, 4oz broth or water and simmer for 15 minutes.

Dish out, top it with some cheese of your choice, and get your grub on!

It sure warmed me up!

Cheers,
LC

I have Bragging Rights!

2010-01-07T11:41:00.003-06:00

I received an email today from a certain someone and attached was an AWESOME picture of my dad in his college days. He was a track star and I have to brag! I also want to brag about my amazing and talented husband, a pro triathlete stud (who is currently sweatin' it on the compu-trainer right now, yuck!). He is an amazing athlete with such determination and not to mention wicked speed. I am proud to say that the I have 2 very inspirational athletic men in my life, my HUSBAND and my DAD! Cheers to them!

My dad in 1966!

My husband (speed demon)

I hope our kids inherit this athletic ability!!

LC

Green Chili Egg Casserole with a twist

2010-01-05T17:15:00.003-06:00

So James' 3 loves (besides his wife) are eggs, Green Chilies, and Jalapeno Sausage. Tonight, for a little anniversary dinner I decided to make him Green Chili Egg Casserole with Jalapeno Chicken Sausage. Oh goodness, it so easy and thanks to Fitness Sista for the recipe idea. Of course, I changed it around a little bit and added a few things. You know me, can't really "follow" a recipe. Anyway, recipe is below with pics. Try it for Sunday brunch or an easy dinner. It was also good for leftovers today crumbled on top a salad or wrapped in a corn tortilla. yummmmmm.

Here’s the recipe:

-6 eggs

-1/2 small container of sour cream (I used greek yogurt, plain full fat instead)

-1 small can of diced green chiles

- 3/4 cup diced chicken sausage (I used jalapeno flavor)

-1 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I used almond cheese, cheddar flavor. Melts great and taste great!)

-garlic powder, salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Spray a small casserole dish with nonstick spray and preheat the oven 350*.

2. Beat eggs in a bowl and mix in the sour cream mixture

3. Evenly spread out the green chiles and sausage on the dish and then top with the cheese. Pour egg and cheese mixture on top.

4. Bake for 30 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned.

5. Optional: add more cheese and tomato sauce and broil for 3-5 minutes.

Eat up!

Let me know if you try it.

LC

Cookies for Breakfast? Acting like a kid again!

2010-01-03T14:42:00.007-06:00

Do you remember acting like this? See my niece below. So fun and careless!!

I remember when I used to eat cookies or sugar filled cereals (a.k.a. fruit loops) for breakfast as a kid. Real healthy, eh? But hey, at least I ate breakfast. Anyway,I felt like having some healthier child like foods this past weekend so I decided to make me and the hubby some protein cookies for breakfast. Joanna Sutter from Fitness and Spice gave me this great recipe and it was easy. YOU MICROWAVE the batter, that's it, done! I made chocolate whey cookies and vanilla whey & almond butter cookies. Pair with a banana or other fruit and your golden!!! Oh and don't forget the cup of coffee. Good to dip the cookies in, yum.

1/4 cup vanilla or chocolate whey protein powder
1 T water
1/2 t Natural Butter(melted or room temperature)
1/2 t natural almond,sun butter, or peanut butter (optional)

Mix all ingredients together with a spoon and form into a circle on a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 20-25 seconds. You can also top your cookie with a sprinkling of cinnamon or any other sugar (like honey, stevia, etc).

My Nutrition Analysis (based on using muscle milk and almond butter)

Per cookie:
84 calories
4 grams fat (2gr saturated)
5 grams of Carbs
1 gram fiber
3 grams sugars
9 grams protein

A nice balanced snack/mini breakfast, yum!

A couple of notes:
Not all protein powders bake up as well as others. I had success with 100% Whey powder and muscle milk light powder .
Do not over bake or it will turn out rubbery.
Under bake for a hot gooey cookie that you can eat with a spoon!
Eating the batter is just as good!!

Now go play, laugh, and let the inner kid in you come out!

LC

Looking Back- Food Trends from 2009

2010-01-01T12:26:00.004-06:00

Love this article. Just makes you think about your food and whats in it. Can't wait to see what food trends pop up this year!

The Top Overrated Food Trends of 2009
by Janet on December 24, 2009

As the year comes to close, I was thinking about the foods that made a lot of headlines but didn’t really live up to the hype. The most overrated food trends of the year was the topic of my latest article in the Chicago Tribune. Click on the link to view the article online (which includes a slideshow of the five trends), or the article is reprinted below. What would make your list?

5 most overrated health-food trends
Looking back on the year, some foods seemed to take the country by storm. You couldn’t miss the ads — your neighbor talked them up and you followed all the chatter online. Maybe you even bought a book devoted to these “miracle” foods. Yet, despite the flashy marketing claims and convincing Internet buzz, many of these products deliver far less than they promise. Either the science behind them is weak, nutritionists warn, or their steep price tag is simply not worth what you get in return.

We asked nutrition experts to tell us what foods they thought did not live up to the hype. Here are their votes for overrated food trends.

–Janet Helm, special to the Tribune

1. Super juices
The claim: These elixirs, extracted from acai, goji berry, mangosteen and other exotic fruits, tout extraordinary antioxidant levels and claim to burn fat, cleanse toxins and fight the flu. Often fortified with extra nutrients and sold online or through distributors, the juices can be quite costly.
Why they’re overrated: You’re paying more for the marketing than the value of what’s inside the bottle, said dietitian Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “It’s a pricey way to get your antioxidants,” she said. “You’d be better off with a glass of orange juice and simply add more color on your plate.” Even the antioxidant levels in many of these superjuices have been questioned. Some studies have revealed that the amounts are comparable to apple juice.

Bottom line: Buy a less expensive juice at the grocery store and eat whole fruit more often. Limit juice to one glass (8 ounces or less) a day.

2. Tropical oils
The claim: Coconut, palm and palm kernel oils are frequently used to replace trans fats in processed foods, and they’re now being positioned as the new “healthy” oils. Coconut oil is especially coming on strong, with books such as “The Coconut Oil Miracle” and Web sites claiming that the oil can decrease your heart disease risk, prevent cancer, boost your immune system and help you lose weight.
Why they’re overrated: While it’s true that some of the fatty acids in coconut oil are different from those found in animal products, there is no evidence to suggest coconut oil is better for you than other saturated fats, said Alice H. Lichtenstein, a nutrition researcher at Tufts University in Boston. Numerous studies have shown that coconut oil can raise LDL or bad cholesterol, she said. For years, it’s what researchers fed to animals to induce atherosclerosis. Despite the aggressive attempts to improve its tarnished image, coconut oil is still mostly saturated fat, and research does not support the battery of claims.

Bottom line: Do not run out and buy coconut oil, especially if you plan to use it in place of more beneficial oils that have been thoroughly studied, such as olive, canola and other vegetable oils.

3.Enhanced waters
The claim: Supermarket shelves are filled with bottles of brightly colored waters that are spiked with vitamins, herbs, antioxidants and other ingredients with names like “defend,” “rescue” and “focus.” Some claim to stave off colds, boost alertness or relax you, while others attempt to lure you with promises of weight loss.
Why they’re overrated: Many of these waters are sneaky sources of extra calories and sugar, said dietitian Keri Glassman, who owns a nutrition consulting firm in New York City. Some waters contain 125 calories per bottle — which is equivalent to the calories in two pieces of fruit without the nutritional attributes of the fruit. The advertised benefits are often overblown, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group that sued Coca-Cola this year over the “deceptive and unsubstantiated claims” of its line of VitaminWater beverages.

Bottom line: Get your nutrients from foods or take a multivitamin and drink plain water. If you want flavor, add a slice of lemon to tap water or look for calorie-free flavor-infused waters.

4. Miracle seeds
The claim: Flax seeds are showing up in all sorts of foods — including bread, cereal, pasta, yogurt, salad dressing and soup. The latest seed on the scene is chia, which comes from the same plant that gives us Chia Pets. Both seeds are promoted as a top source of omega-3, the good fats linked to heart and brain health.
Why they’re overrated: While flax-fortified products may offer some benefits, flax seeds are not a reliable source of omega-3 because the potency is much weaker compared with what you’ll find in fish, said Evelyn Tribole, a California-based dietitian and author of “The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet.” Only a small percentage of the omega-3 in plant sources gets converted into the most beneficial form once you eat it, she said. Chia seeds claim to be a new superfood, yet the amount of seeds you would likely eat is quite small — not sufficient to deliver meaningful amounts of nutrients or omega-3s.

Bottom line: Enjoy flax and chia seeds if you like the taste, but don’t let them distract you from eating more omega 3-rich fish or incorporating a variety of seeds, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables into your diet.

5. Natural sugars
The claim: Scores of new foods and beverages boast about the lack of refined sugar, yet they contain “natural sweeteners” such as agave nectar or evaporated cane juice. The new darling of natural foods, agave nectar is sold as a syrup for home use and claims to be diabetic-friendly with anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties.
Why they’re overrated: There is no real difference. The body treats all of these sugars the same, said Liz Applegate, who teaches nutrition at the University of California at Davis. Even the wholesome sounding “fruit juice concentrate,” she said, is basically equivalent to table sugar. Agave nectar may come from the same cactus-like plant that gives us tequilia, but the refined sugar is similar to the oft-maligned high fructose corn syrup. The terminology of “evaporated cane juice” came under fire this year because the name falsely suggests the sweetener is juice. It’s dried sugar cane, just like table sugar.

Bottom line: Sugar is sugar. All forms are virtually the same and should be consumed in moderation

The Perfect Gift for A girl who Loves to COOK!

2009-12-29T19:27:00.007-06:00

So Monday, I walk into work to train a client and just happen to find a present left near my box. Supposedly one of my FAVORITE class members (spin class devotee to be exact), happen to leave it for me last week. Now this person, Suzette, is an avid traveler and knows just how much I love to travel and how much I love Europe and south coast of France. She happen to travel to Villafranche in souther Franch for work herself and ran on the coast each morning she was there (JEALOUS!!). So with that in mind, here's what was in the gift bag!! See below.

Love this. Lemon Olive oil from Italy.

Yes, real herbs de Provence. HEAVENLY!

So with this special treat, I wanted to treat someone else- my husband. Our anniversary is coming up and I thought this would be a nice romantic meal for us. Slow roasted organic whole chicken with lemon and herbs de provence with wild rice, tomatoes, and balsamic brussel sprouts. Oh and a nice glass of red wine to go with of course!

Combine the following in a crock pot and cook. I used a 3lb small whole organic chicken and placed it frozen in the crock pot on low for 4-5hours. Stir occasionally.
- coat chicken with 1/4cup lemon oil oil
-2 tbsp herbs de provence and a touch of sea salt, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup raw wild rice
- 1 cup chicken broth. ( i actually used 1/2 cup sweet potato soup and 1/2 cup water to give it more creamy flavor in the rice)
-1/2 cup diced tomatoes and carrots

Organic Young Whole Chicken.

Fresh Herbs

Half way there!

And then Viola!

Ahhh....yum! And so glad there are leftovers. Happy New Year to all! My new resolution- be more flexible in life and in fitness. Going to yoga tomorrow. haha!

Cheers,

LC

An Award- Me?

2009-12-28T17:33:00.008-06:00

So I just found out that my good friend Kelly, of My Healthy Passion, presented me and 6 other ladies with the Beautiful Blogger Award for Beautiful Bloggers! THANKS Kelly!!! I know that my husband James (the other blogger on this site) is super excited, haha. JK.

Actually, for all those who read this blog because of my triathlete husband extraordinaire (James), I have to inform you that he is on sabbatical. So you are stuck with me, sorry. He will be back and blogging about races and training come January. So for now, let the recipes roll on.......feel free to comment. I love a good laugh! So, in Beautiful Blogger tradition, I will share 7 things about myself and then pass the award on to 6 other Beautiful Bloggers! I say 6 because it was too tough to pick the 7th so I left it blank, haha.

1. I love to travel. My parents enrolled me in a student exchange when I was 12 and have traveled and stayed with many families all over the world since. The first was Brazil, then Quebec, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, London, and now that my husband is from New Zealand we will hopefully be living there at some point. LOVE NEW ZEALAND. LOVE that my husband is a KIWI!! See pic of New Zealand below....aww....

2. My husband is my best friend. No doubt!

3. I have a true obsession (really an addiction) to Kombucha tea!!! Oh and I love wine! Have a glass every night. Two of my loves.

4. I am the assistant race director for Lavaman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii each year in March/April. We used to live there and its another passion of mine to help organize triathlons. Although it is STRESSFUL, it is also VERY REWARDING to see all those people race their hearts out. My husband has won the race 2-3x and always helps out with kids race too, so sweeet!

5. I am a super clean freak. My poor husband puts up with me, although I am working on it. But I actually like cleaning, just not vacuuming or ironing so that is James' job. He's excellent at laundry and vacuuming. Very Impressive!

6. This is my favorite snack. Yes it is a rice cake but its the salty sweet crunch flavor combo that I like. I like weird combo's of flavors, but thankfully so does my husband. This combo is butter rice cake with full fat greek yogurt, fig, and honey. YUM. The second is sunflower seed butter (crunchy) with banana and cinnamon. YUM again!

7. I hate recipes. I hate following guidelines for flavor. It makes me feel trapped! I will look for ideas and get the right measurements (sometimes) but other than that I just try to invent new dishes. Some are great! Some are not so great, haha! But you live and learn.

Cheers!!

Now I want to pass this on to the following ladies.

Melissa Taylor @ http://thetaleof2taylors.blogspot.com/

Kelly Williamson @ Aim High

Lindsey Corbin @ http://www.linseycorbin.com/blog

Terra Castro @ Believe

Beth @ California Training

Allie @ http://pimpmyproteinshake.blogspot.com/

You ladies really make life a good read! Thanks!

LCotter

Merry Christmas & Eat your Veggies!

2009-12-25T20:53:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone had a wonderful day! We actually had lots of snow here in Dallas (at my parents house) and it was so nice to have a WHITE CHRISTMAS.

Cotter Boys

So, for Christmas lunch I was in charge of one thing and one thing only. THE BRUSSEL SPROUTS. My mom wanted to get them this year because she liked them and James LOVES them but she really didn't know the best way to cook them, thats why she left it to me. Lets see how many people I can get to not only taste, but to EAT my brussel sprouts. Now usually I roast these suckers but since all the ovens were in use, I decided to steam them. Very simple. Clean and cut the ends of the sprouts off. Then place 2 bunches of the rinsed sprouts in a microwave safe bowl or on the stove. I used the microwave, again because the stove was being used. Then add about 1/2 cup of chicken broth, balsamic vinaigrette (i think i used about 1/4cup as well), a little kosher salt, crazy jane spice mix, and steam in microwave in 3 minute intervals until done. They were yum! And I got 9 out of 11 to eat their sprouts today. Now thats a good Christmas present. WOOHOO!

Cheers,
LC

The New Staple (food) in the Cotter House

2009-12-22T13:22:00.006-06:00

So I've been wanting to try a recipe that James and I found off of Mark's Daily Apple and I finally came around to making it today. Good thing I did because its darn good and James' new staple for training! It's called the no-oatmeal. Looks just like oatmeal, even has the same consistency but its made purely of grounded nuts/seeds, mashed banana, eggs, almond milk, Cinnamon, almond butter, flaxseed, and whatever toppings you'd like. I used full fat FAGE greek yogurt to top it off along with some blackberries. I especially love that its gluten free and the main carbohydrate source is from the banana. This is great for fueling up! Try it! Let me know what you like to add into the mix. I think next up we'll definitely add some dried apricot or figs. Just heavenly!

Ingredients:
1 small handful of walnuts
1 small handful of pecans
------> IF YOU ARE SHORT ON TIME, YOU CAN ALSO JUST USE PLAIN ALMOND MEAL 1/2 CUP TO 1 CUP IN PLACE OF THE WALNUTS AND PECANS.
2 tablespoons ground flax seed [3]
1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch of ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 banana, mashed
2-3 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (add more if you prefer it a little runny)
2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds
1 handful of fresh berries

Directions:
Add walnuts, pecans, flax seed and spices to a food processor and pulse it down to a course grain, making sure to stop before it’s totally ground into a powder. Set aside.
Whisk together eggs and almond milk (Doug uses a Blender Bottle) until the consistency thickens a little bit into a loose custard. Thoroughly blend together the mashed banana and almond butter and add it to the custard, mixing well.

Stir in the nut mixture. Microwave [5] or gently warm on the stove until the “no-oatmeal” reaches your desired consistency; this should only take a few minutes. In both cases, stir the mixture frequently as it cooks.

Sprinkle pumpkin seeds and berries on top. Add more almond milk if you want. Lick the bowl clean!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
LC

Sounds good to me, right?

2009-12-19T21:09:00.007-06:00

So I got the itch to bake tonight (not that I am in the kitchen enough, haha!) but this night I was feeling like I wanted to create and not follow a recipe on a box. I hate following recipes. I feel like I am being told what to do. As much as I like Betty Crocker, I just didn't want to listen to her, well not fully at least. So here I am looking in the pantry and here are a few things that caught my is eye.....Betty Crocker Gluten Free cake mix, Nutella, oats, shredded coconut, and ripe banana. Hmmmm....I bet i could mix this into a muffin and either they would be fabulous or disastrous. Results.......oh MY!!! So moist and just the right amount of flavor of each!

I really do not measure (My friend Kelly is trying to make me better at this) but here's what I did. Following the directions on Betty's Cake Mix box, I substituted half the mix for 1 cup oats (give or take) and about 1/2 of coconut. Then I used 2 eggs instead of 3 and added 1 tbsp of almond butter along with 3 tbsp soft butter (instead of the whole stick). The recipe also calls for 2/3 cup water but I used half water and half almond milk. To finish off the batter I mixed in just a tbsp or so of nutella. I didn't want them to be too too sweet and nutella can stretch a long way. mix it all up, spoon into 12-14 muffin cups and bake at 350F for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Test the center of the muffin with a knife to make sure the batter is fully cooked. The knife should come out nice and clean.

I think this is the perfect fuel for James' long run tomorrow. YEA!

Cheers in Good Health!
LC

Where's your Holiday Spirit?

2009-12-18T17:02:00.003-06:00

Is it just me or is everyone on edge during these last few days leading up to Christmas? I've never seen so much road rage and busyness. Grant it, I get that way sometimes, but overall I just like to enjoy the little time we have of Christmas music, family, friends, and festivities. In lieu of the season, I have to say have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!! Don't be a Grinch!

The Cotters

Making my gifts this year

2009-12-15T17:06:00.006-06:00

So I have a rather large family and we usually do secret Santa, etc. but I still like to give or make something for my cousins and their families, aunts, uncles, etc. This year I decided to make big batches of what I like to call THE COTTER CHRISTMAS GRANOLA. James eats this up like candy. Good thing its not. The recipe is below. It looks really cute in mason jars with ribbon around it. That's about as festive as I get these days, haha!

Try it. Let me know how it goes.

Nut Combo

Then the oat combo

Everything together

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Either butter or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, nuts, flax, coconut, ground cinnamon, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the oil (or melted butter), and maple syrup. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and toss together, making sure all the dry ingredients are coated with the liquid. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30 - 45 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally so the mixture browns evenly. (The browner the granola gets (without burning) the crunchier the granola will be.) Place on a wire rack to cool. You will notice that the granola may still be sticky when it is removed from the oven but it will become crisp and dry as it cools. Make sure to break up any large clumps of granola while the mixture is still warm. Once the granola has completely cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Note: Once the granola has cooled completely you can add a variety of dried fruits; cherries, cranberries, raisins, and apricots, etc.

Cotter Christmas Nut/Granola Recipe:

3 cups (300 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

1-2 cup almonds

1-2 cashew halves

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 tbsp flaxseed (optional)

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup agave nectar (or dark honey)

1 cup dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, apricots, dates, figs, and/or raisins) (optional)

I actually added some chocolate chips for a little more sweetness!

And voila, gifts for my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. are done!

LC

For the hubby

2009-12-12T16:55:00.007-06:00

So lately I've been so consumed with work and making healthy bites (which is a GOOD thing) that my dinners have been kinda boring. ya know, Chili, chicken, breakfast for dinner, etc. Although James loves any kind of food I wanted to make it up to him by fixing something hearty and spicy! I saw 2 delicious thick pork mini roasts/steaks at Whole Foods and decided to broil those in a spicy mango chutney topped with some speciality spice and jalapenos. Okay, I just topped James' with Jalapenos but mine did have Chalula sauce on it, haha. Then I paired it with creamy mashed butternut squash and salad. I used the Cultural revolution cream top yogurt along with a little olive oil and black pepper to mix into my steamed mashed butternut squash. It was super! A new favorite. Here's the result.

p.s.

Yes, i sneaked in some extra veggies adding sauteed spinach on top. We wanted a little "popeye" kick. haha!

Cheers,

LC

One Word- HEAVEN

2009-12-10T06:25:00.007-06:00

This is our NEW love! Its such a great product and the mission behind this company is just down right Genuine. Check out Kalona Organics and view their many products. Our favorite so far is their plain cream top European Style yogurt. Low in sugar and in carbs and it tastes phenomenal! We use it with homemade muesli and last night I used it as a cream base mix for making mashed butternut squash. YUM!! I'll post that recipe soon. But for now, check these guys out and support good health.

Cheers,
LC

A trip down memory lane

2009-11-27T14:30:00.012-06:00

Here we go. A slide show of pics from this past years races and adventures. Starting off with our road trip to Kansas and ending with Clearwater. I didn't get to go to many races this year but when I did, it was always a memorable experience with my husband.

Let the Road trip to kansas Begin!

Still driving!

Found a komucha in Kansas, thank God after 9 hours of driving!

Watching James race in Austin with Emery (niece).

Austin Triathlon- great finish!

Clearwater Florida- sunshine and blue skies! My running path in Clearwater each morning.

Race Morning at pier 60 Clearwater Beach

Post race in Clearwater with my cute niece, who by the way won't hug him cause he's "sweaty."

Now time to relax in Florida!!
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Yea for beach time in Clearwater!

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