A berry good morning!

Hey friends! This morning started out early once again. I wanted to get another bike/run brick in. This is the one transition I'm a little worried about, for some reason biking and going straight to running is tough. But today I completed 10 on my bike and got off, did a quick stretch and did a 3 mile run and felt great! It wasn't as hard this morning as it has been in the past. I did however take the bike a little slower, because it was 5 am and the sun wasn't up and riding fast in the dark is a little scary, but by the time I set out on the run the sun was starting to peek up and it was perfect for the run.

Post workout I whipped up a "berry" good recovery shake!

BERRY GOOD SHAKE

Yields 1 serving 

Prep time: 5 minuts

• 1.5-2 Cups Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 3 strawberries frozen/fresh
• 1/2 Cup Raspberries frozen/fresh
• 1/2 Cup Blueberries frozen/fresh
• 1 tbsp Flax seed
• 1 heaping scoop of vanilla protein
• 1 handful of spinach

Throw the first 4 ingredients into blender

Then add the rest 

and Blend and add Ice for additional thickness if you used fresh fruit, I used frozen so I only added about 4 ice cubes! This shake was SO good! Its been a long time since I've had a berry shake! I have been on quite the chocolate kick lately;) I think I'll be enjoying these more often! I forget how tasty berries are in a shake, and because I'm out of chocolate protein;)

Off to get the babes a bath! I'll be back later with a GIVEAWAY!! Be sure to check back! This is one YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS!!! 

loves!!

The final countdown

You know its going to be a good day when your alarm goes off at 4:30am and a minute later you get a text..

Getting up to jump in a pool at 5am is a whole lot easier when you have friends that are there motivating you to get your trash out of bed. I voted to take a pic.. but how many friends would be willing to let me take their pic at 5am with a cap and goggles on and display it on the blog? Seriously? I just don't understand.. ;)
I had 3 friends today at the pool! It was fun to swim and take a break here and there to talk about technique and watch each other and give tips to help us since this week is the final countdown before we tackle the beast.
We all came to the conclusion that we will just take it easy and get through it. As I was swimming I was singing the final countdown in my head.. for some reason the week of a big race I feel as if training time is crucial and its time to really get in focus.
We completed 1500 yards. Wahoo! Swim distance achieved! I feel as if my swimming as improved over the last few months and it's no longer completely exhausting. I used to swim 400 yards and would have to stop! Now, to just do one more open water and I think I'll be ready ;) I was planning on a bike after the swim but the hubs had to go track down a deer!! More on that later..

BREAKFAST

Breakfast this morning was half a banana with AB pre-swim and then a few of these pancakes re-heated from breakfast yesterday, with the rest of the banana with a dollop of almond butter.

Now B the troll.. is ready for some food.

Mom, I look like a troll.. fix my hair! and give me some food!

Duty calls! :) Oooo.. I love her!

They don't mean it...


You know when you run into someone you haven't seen for awhile and their name is automatically "Oh hey....you" 
Then you have a really awkward conversation as your mind is speeding trying to remember who this person is? Yes, this happens every so often..


But here are a few other circumstances in life you will fall upon and how to deal with things they say but don't really mean.


-someone tells you they like your shirt. you reply with "aww thanks! i like yours too!"
not real.

- you meet someone for the first time and say "i think i've met you before.."
but what you should say is... "i've stalked your facebook before"

- your man is annoying, and asks if you are ok. you say "im fine."
it really mean, "no bro, i'm not ok, thanks to you."

- if you recieve this text.. "hey sorry, who is this? i got a new phone."
it's their way of saying, sorry dawg.. i never saved your number.

- mom asks what time you got home last night, you tell her 1 am.
when the real answer is 4:15 am.

-Your sister asked if you have seen her new pair of true religion jeans? You tell her no, but you wore them last night.. then secretly stash them till she leaves and then shove them under her bed.

- someone never calls you or texts you back, and the next day they say "sorry, i was sleeping."
 but it really translates to, "sorry i was with another chick/dude."

- an unfamiliar person pokes you on facebook..
a. you should immediately delete it.
b. what they are trying to say is "message me your number and lets meet up in the dark parking lot of a grocery store." 


- Someone tells you need to eat a burger or something- In reality they just feel the need for you to join them in feeling fat to justify for their poor diet. 


-Someone asks you how you are feeling? Were you up late last night?  - this translates to you look tired and crappy get some rest, maybe brush your hair.


-Someone asks you if you know "so and so" and you say yes, but in reality you just befriended them on facebook and went through all their pics.


Q. What are some "they don't mean it" convos you deal with?




catch ya later!

dessert X2

Anything twice is nice right?! Tonight we headed up to my parents house to celebrate this little dude!

Most of the family came up to celebrate and give one last hurrah before school starts! We love hanging out in my parents backyard. It is right against a mountain so we often see deer, wolves, squirrels and even turkeys stroll through from time to time.

The babies had a fun time walking around with great grandpa! and even getting some kisses from aspen.

We had red velvet and chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, topped with a fresh raspberry.

There was also home made cinnamon rolls!

I decided to go for a cinnamon roll.. but just the center because that is the best part! Can anyone really resist such goodness??  Just give me the heart and soul of the roll mmmk?

& no I don't think we got good picture out of the 100.. but siblings.. gotta love'em.

 I have a long training day planned tomorrow. Starting with a swim+bike at 5am..

Off to bed!
Good night!

Just get through it.

Yesterday, ended up without a pool party.. the babies needed a nap more then ever from being out and about and my afternoon training ride ended up being just a little lot longer then expected..
As my friend and I set out yesterday at 3pm.. (who does this?) It was about 90 degrees. We went anyway, 3 miles into it...

Yep, flat. Although, I have never had to change a flat tire before, so it was a good learning experience.. for a "just in case during the race" circumstance. My friends husband was a good teacher and I was very impressed with how fast he was able to come track us down and get us all ready to go again. Honestly.. where would we be without the men in our lives. ;)

Off we went again, I was having a hard time shifting my bike. I wasn't getting the power I wanted.. it was either really easy or just burned my legs out. Now, if I was wanting to feel the burn I would keep it that way but for a triathlon that is the one thing you don't want to do since you have to run right after. So I spent the majority of the ride playing around with my gears to just get comfortable and among that struggle my elbow pad fell off somewhere! How did I not notice... Luckily, we had made it to the end of our trail by the time I looked down and noticed so we had the whole ride back to check for it! My friend spotted it about two miles  in on the way back! Phew, crisis averted. 

On our way back home we saw a FOX! He was just playing around on the trail! I tried to get a good pic...but he was a swift little guy. 

can you spot the fox?

 We ran into a crazy, random wind storm right at the end of our ride!! I hate wind! with a passion people. Especially strong wind, mixed with rain... 

A rainbow popped out right as we set out for a quick one mile run.. Yes, one mile. That's all I was feeling at that point. So we at least got the feeling of transition but my stomach wasn't feeling to hot and the thought of even running made me sick. Luckily, my friend pushed me to get the mile done. I felt good about running and I was glad to have her with me! Friends always seem to help out when training. I feel as if we push each other to  be better and work harder and with the conversations we have it definitely makes the time go faster! All together we completed 23 miles on the bike and a 1 mile run! So if this training experience is anything like what my actual triathlon is going to be next week....maaaaaaaaaybe I'll make it through. Ha! I always say its good to train in the elements. You know, for those "just in case in race" moments! But I like to assume, the water will be perfect, the temperature will be ideal, my bike will ride like a breeze and nothing will or could go wrong because I just showed up! :) Either way, I choose to just get through it! 

Today for lunch we made up a quick meal out of spaghetti squash and roasted zucchini, yellow squash, onions and broccoli!

Topped it off with some peach mango salsa (from costco) and some avocado! Times this by 3! It was so good! Now were off to celebrate my little bro's birthday!! 

Catch ya' later!

Would you rather?

Would you rather bike in 100 degree weather dressed in a abonomile snowman suit? OR in a bikini with 60 MPH winds and rain that is pelting your skin?

Would you rather eat vegetables that are covered in chocolate? Or fruit that is covered in HOT sauce?

Raspberry Apple Muffin

Hunting season has begun. Actually, I was reminded when my husbands alarm went off at 4:30am. Now, I know how he feels on my early training days...
I quickly fell back asleep till about 7 when this little princess woke up and we got to snuggle in bed for awhile.

Neither one of my twins are big snugglers so I take what I can get.. about 5 minutes later she was ready to play...

So do you remember this muffin? Well, I finally got eggs but no pumpkin! Using the same recipe, no flax egg, just two egg whites! And add raspberries and you will have perfection.

{Raspberry Apple Muffin}

Ingredients:

• 2 Egg whites 
• 1/2cup applesauce (unsweetened) 
• 2 T coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder (about 2 tbsp)
• 1/2 C. Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Just mix all the first 5 ingredients together, fold in the raspberries and place it in the microwave for 5 minutes. 

Top it off with some fresh raspberries, You may drizzle some agave nectar or pure maple syrup on top for a little extra sweetness!

After breakfast, I headed to Body Pump! I missed teaching last week due to the relay and it felt great to be back! I love the burn you feel and the energy all the members bring to the room. I came home and whipped up a quick protein shake! + spinach!

Later today, I'm hoping to get a swim or bike in! Last week before my first Tri!! Then we have a pool party planned for tonight!

Q. What is your favorite Berry?
Its a tie between Raspberries and blueberries!! LOVE them! 

Epic Relay

One week ago, I set out on my second relay of the summer! I really do enjoy relays! You can find my re-cap of my last one here.

Epic is a 205 mile race stretching from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. You complete the 205 miles running in a team of either 6 or 12. Each person has 3 legs. (Teams of 6 double up). You have a bracelet around your wrist that you pass off to your next runner as you complete your distance aka "leg". At that point you jump back in the van and drive past your runner in support and cheer them on, give them water etc. You continue in this orderly fashion until you reach the end. Through the heat, through the cold night and until the sunrises the next day. Sounds fun eh? Well, it is.

Our team name was WTF -- Witness the Fitness. We had a great team and everyone ran really hard and were simply inspiring!

The gals-minus jules. . I apparently missed the blue memo.

We goofed off a little.. alot at many of the exchanges! Dancing, chasing,

 playing with dairy cows,

I didn't know cows had kennels.. and yes, its licking her arm..

 swinging, pull up contest,

 eating...oh and quite a bit of running.

mid-run pictures are always classy.

I loved this course! Each one of my legs was long and scenic and just beautiful!!

It was a very well organized race! 

Pros- 

• This was only the 2nd year of Epic Cache-Teton Relay so there was only 92 teams. Compared to Wasatch Back that has about 400! So there was a lot less people. Little traffic at each exchange.
• Very scenic the entire way. I love running next to rivers and mountains!
• Every van was courteous and fun! No major competitors. We all were there to support each other.
• We end in Jackson Hole! I love the atmosphere of that place! There is a great bakery called the Bunnery! Its a must go! 
• All my runs were at pretty decent times of the day/night. Lucky me. 
• At one of the exchanges they had snow cones made with gatorade. Word.
• They had amazing volunteers that played drums and would laugh and joke with us while we hung around.
• Free water and a dunk tank at an exchange! Sign me up. 

Cons-

• The check in could of been a little more organized. It took a long time to go through each station to check off our gear and grab our shirts.. they should of organized the shirts by team beforehand..
• Not very many people... This was a pro to, but sometimes its nice to actually see or pass some runners while your out running your leg. We did see few but its always fun to count your "kills".
• The swag wasn't spectacular. But thanks for the 6 oreos and fat boy?..Although they had shotblocks and mini cliff bars so it made up for it. Oh, and a sticker to add to the back of the van..
• I'm sorry, but two honey buckets at a main exchange (where van 1 and 2 meet)  isn't nearly enough! Lets just say, I'm glad we were close to the wilderness. 

Overall the race was amazing and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

zucchini bread.

Lets just say that I am very glad I have spell checker.. I think I tried to spell "zucchini" like 5 different ways! I tend to think of myself as a good speller, but "zucchini" was just one of those words I had to type then retype until it looked right.. More on that weird spelling vegetable later. First things first!
We may all rejoice.

OH, new computer. How I love thee. Brent bought this for us.. Alright, he actually needed to purchase a computer to use for school. He begins his masters program on MONDAY! It just happened to be when both of our computers decided to break. One needs a new hard drive and the other needs to be wiped clean and install a new program and some key "keys" do not work, such as the right click... So mine still works but will not store any more pictures and is just frustrating when the mouse pad doesn't work. sigh. 

Good thing my husband is very nice about sharing! But I'm a little more selfish and still want my own brand new computer.. ;) How much longer till Christmas? New is new and I just love it!! There is something about just starting out fresh. Yes? 

Okay, back to this whole food blog thing.. 

This was an experimentsl bread.. I wanted to create a healthy, gluten free zucchini bread. I mean what else was I going to do with this monster?

{Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread}

You will need:

Yields: 1 loaf

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1.4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp alt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• 2 eggs
• 1 monster or 2 zucchini shredded
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp agave nectar
• 1/4 C. coconut oil melted
• 2 tbsp creamy almond butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Using a cheese grater, shred your monster zucchini (I actually only used a little more than half)

Mix all flours and spices together in a small bowl

In a medium bowl combine eggs, nectar, oil and almond butter-- slowly stir in the flour mixture to it and then Fold in zucchini shreds.

Pour into glass bread pan

Bake for 45-55 minutes! Let cool for 15 minutes

This Zucchini bread is also a great way to disguise vegetables if you have a picky eater :) 

Store in the fridge for safe keeping!

Enjoy!! 

Epic Race Recap comin atcha this afternoon! 

Q. What word do you always have a hard time spelling?

Well, Zucchini obviously.. and protein. ( "I" before "E" rule does not apply there)

Q. New computer or would you attempt to fix your own if the cost was about the same?