Saturday, July 30, 2011

In The News; Biathlon, Garden and Other Stuff

The biggest news of the week is that tomorrow I will be doing something I've never done before...a biathlon! Yeah, you read that right. If you've been reading my blog for a while than you are fully aware that a) I do not run on a regular basis and b) the only time I bike is to work, which is about one half a mile away. Needless to say, I'm terrified! The race is 30k on the bike and then a 5k run. The full race is a triathlon, but my friend and I opted out of the swimming part because honestly the bike and run will be hard enough. I'll try to take some pictures of this monumental event, and post them sometime next week. I've been "training" the last couple weeks, but not quite like most of you train....... The one thing I have on my side is that I know how to fuel my body and eat/drink right the days before and the day of the event. Last night I did some "carb loading"......



I mean, come on, beer is full of electrolytes, carbohydrates, fluid, and B-vitamins. It was the perfect choice! Obviously tonight, the night before the race, I will stick to water and sports drinks :)

For my dinner last night I had grilled shrimp and loads of fresh vegetables. We went to dinner with some of our good friends, Cathy and Rob. We always have a blast when we go out with them, and we always eat tasty food. This was no exception.




Tomorrow before the race I'm going to have a small breakfast. I know how my bowels work when I'm nervous so I'm going to be careful not to eat too much and especially not to drink too much coffee. I plan on having some of my granola, a small banana, and a cup of coffee. I am going to pack a sports bar for the ride, as well as a sports drink of some kind (to replenish the electrolytes I lose via sweat).



And in other news, check out our garden!


The cantaloupe, spinach, and kale have not survived, most likely because of the overgrowth of our butternut squash (yes, we planted a few too many). We're still learning the keys to a successful garden. We have about 15-20 butternut squash, so far. Once they are ready to be harvested we plan on roasting them and then freezing them so we can enjoy delicious butternut squash throughout the fall and maybe even into the winter.





We also have several tomatoes, which will probably be gone within a few days after harvest, because we both love fresh tomatoes. Who doesn't?!






Ok, now it's time for the REAL news of the week!


Restaurants Cut Back on Salt, But They're Keeping it Quiet
(This is brilliant. We all know that most people will automatically assume that anything containing "less salt" will likely taste bland, so why not keep it quiet?! )



McDonald's To Make Happy Meals More Healthful
(The plan is to add a serving of fruit to each Happy Meal. They are also decreasing the portion of fries.)



Fortification Drives Consumer Definition of "Healthy"
(Looks like fortification of food products are creating more and more health halos in the aisles.)


Senators Urge FDA Action On Gluten-Free Labeling
(It's about time! Now, let's follow through with this....)



Designing a Better Food Label

(We all know that our current food label is incredibly outdated, and still very confusing. Now there is a new website that is asking for your ideas on how to make it better!)



QUESTION: What are your weekend plans? Have you ever done a biathlon or triathlon??

19 comments :

  1. Beautiful garden! Two years in a row!

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  2. Your garden never fails to impress me :) At some point I would like to have one like it. Not sure where though, the yard isn't exactly the selling point of my house haha. Good luck biking and running :) I did a sprint tri and it was a lot of fun- my training wasn't that awesome because of knee issues so I'm sure you can do this! I also fully understand being nervous about your stomach- mine was so unhappy the morning of the tri. The only thing that was good was that it was completely related to nerves (as you said) so once the race started I was totally fine.

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  3. Good luck tomorrow!!!

    Love the garden pics!

    And I really hope restaurants will cut much more salt. Most restaurant food is way too salty...

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  4. look at that healthy butternut squash soaking up some Vitamin D in your garden! haha <3 it will be a nice one to eat (but shhhh we won't let him here you) ;)

    GOOD LUCK AT THE BIATHLON!!!!

    xoxo <3

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  5. Good luck at your biathalon! I have never done anything more than run - I don't even run a bike.

    I love butternut squash - as much as I love the summer veggies/berries, I cannot wait for the winter squashes.

    I just ran 12 miles this morning and I have a bunch of work to get done today.

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  6. Good luck tomorrow! I hope you have a great time!

    sounds like you'll have plenty of squash for a whole neighborhood! ;) I imagine it would be pretty difficult to get a garden right the first year or so, so much to learn.

    I'm definitely checking out that website for input on food labeling. Very cool.

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  7. I would love to do a biathlon! The swimming part is what always makes me too nervous to try a triathlon. Good luck girl!

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  8. I can't wait to hear about the biathlon! I'm impressed! My garden went nuts and produced really well. The watermelon really took over, so I'll have to rethink how to do that next year. I picked 7 the other day!

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  9. Hope it went well! I would love to do a biathalon. It's something I've never done, but I do run/bike a decent amount, so it'd be nice to have something to work towards. I need a road bike though!

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  10. Hope you do great in the Biathon.
    I love your garden. It looks great.

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  11. Tee hee, I love you, Gina. Loved your description of beer. I'll have to remember that!

    Hope you enjoyed your biathlon!! I've never heard of that...if someone mentioned it to me I would have thought it was a curse word and wanted to use it myself regularly.

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  12. I think a biathlon would be fun! I've never done one though.

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  13. That squash is huge- how fun. We picked our first giant cucumber tonight- I'm having fun learning about gardening...although I wouldn't say I have a green thumb! Hope the race went well!

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  14. 15-20 butternut squash!? YUM! I have about 7 eggplant that just started to turn into that gorgeous purple bulb...I am hoping they grow fast, I can't hardly wait!

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  15. never done either!! the swimming part creeps me out because i never really learned how to swim well. I think I will do one in the future but Im focused on winning a half marathon... !

    love that we think the same on beer- i mean it is full of b vitamins and carbohydrates... hahaha

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  16. Can't wait to read how the biathalon went! Your garden looks great. I planted butternut squash last year and ended up with LOTS of them....not complaining, of course! :) I tried cantaloupe this year and only have 2 melons growing out of 5 plants.

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