my list of super-foods

No, this is not an official list, it's just my take on some foods everyone should include in their diet (assuming you have no legitimate reasons to not eat them). They're on the list because they are important to your health for one reason or another, and some are high in several essential nutrients.

Kefir (this stuff is actually really good!)
Stonyfield yogurt
Soy Milk
Spinach
Soybeans
Sweet Potato
Lentils
Lean Red Meat (occasionally)
Fish
Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Olive Oil (vary use)
Whole Eggs (occasionally)
Egg whites

Obviously there are a ton more, but these are the ones I've been hearing most about lately.
edit:
Now, here's the list of foods I can't live without, so I guess they are "super" to me, personally :)

cereal
pizza
wine
beer
dried wasabi coated peas
soy milk
bananas

I am going to guess that Eddie's list is similar, except substitute ketchup for the wasabi peas. It's a good thing one of us (Eddie) likes to cook! I am learning though, I actually have a class right now where I spend 4 hours a week in the kitchen.

No clever title...

..because I'm in over my head in school projects and have used up every ounce of creativity I might have in me. I'm trying my hardest to escape the tundra...and now the forecast for the weekend in "sunny" FL is for rain! We are supposed to receive what the forecasters call a "wintry mix" here tomorrow and Thursday. I say that sucks. I might have to try out Dicky's training plan in the interim. The famous Mike Livingston and I snuck out today while it was sunny and high 40*s today for a road ride. He was the substitute for my broken heart rate monitor, and paced me for my tempo training. It was fun, and the former Michigander came to the conclusion that southern hospitality is dead. He said hello to every person we passed (cyclist, jogger, dog walker, rollerblader) and I think he got two, maybe three hellos or nods back. I don't get why people are so unfriendly. Maybe they were just scared of my pink armwarmers.

I've come up with a more defined list of races I will be doing..but nothing past July, yet. There are too many unknowns in my future at this point..but I still need stuff (races) to look forward to. So far, I have Razorback, GSSSC, Cohutta 100, Cowbell Challenge 12 hour, BURN 24 Hour Challenge, and 24 Hour Nationals.

Sponsors

It's tough to be a full time student and have the time and money to train and race, so thank goodness for the awesome people and companies that have been helping me out for the last year or two..and to those that will help me go even further this year..

Continuing Sponsors:
55nine Performance- Laser precision bike fitting using the Wobble-naught system. There will be a lot of new and exciting things going on for 55nine and it's clients in 2007! Keep an eye out for developments.

Coach Eddie O'Dea- The best coach around for endurance mtb events. Eddie has both preset coaching plans and custom plans and works with local clients as well as coaching remotely. He's also one of the top 24 hour solo racers in the country.

Gravity Dropper Seatposts- An addition to my bike that is well worth it!

Defeet- I wear this stuff every day...it keeps me warm.

Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition- Recover-Ease and Energ-Ease have become a staple in my sports nutrition over the last year. Eddie O and I have introduced the awesome products to most of Georgia and beyond!

PowerBar- I eat/drink this stuff every day..even when I'm not riding.

Wingnut Gear- Everyone needs one.

AND, for my new sponsors this year..I'm very excited...check them out!

Tifosi Optics- Yummy!

Industry Nine Componentry- Yummy!

Twin Six cycling clothing- Yummy!

This weekend is the Croom 50 in FL, put on by the SWAMP Club. It's not a race, just a ride. I'm really looking forward to some sun! I'd like to get in lots of miles while I'm down there. After that, my first race will be at Razorback in just a few weeks, but it's not a race I'm really focused on. The real racing starts in March!

Winter in the South

OK, it's not so bad, at least today wasn't. We had a high of almost 60 and a lot of sun, so I decided to join the famous Mike Livingston for a road ride in the Gaps today. I wasn't sure what to expect, since my only two previous rides with the former Michigander were..um...kind of sufferfests (in a good way, of course) ;) He was actually nice to me today, and the pace remained as what I intended..even base miles to round out the end of my rest week, and the end of my first training block. The next training block is going to be a bit more work than this past one was, so I need to be ready to go on Tuesday. The only problem with the ride was that I was WAY too overdressed. After being miserably cold lately, I was paranoid and basically took everything I had for cold weather gear. I even had chemical body warmers shoved into my pocket in case the descents were frigid. Well, I didn't need any of it, but it made for a good extra 10lb. of training weight!

I can't wait to get my new Unit 2-9! It will be a size smaller than the one I have been riding, so I'm expecting better handling. Hopefully it is here before the 12 hours of Razorback. I don't think I will have my new wheels by then, though. I'm so excited, the Industry Nine wheels are beautiful!! I just need to decide what color will match this:



I'm hoping to have this bike UNDER 25lb. I'm still looking for a new saddle that's reasonably light, and I'll probably be in the market for a new bar soon..I think I'm going to ditch the Jones bars for racing..a nice wide Ti bar would be nice. I'll wait to see what my bike fit tells me I need, a riser or flat.

Good Luck to Eddie O, his first race of the season is tomorrow at the 6 hours of Carter Park in Lakeland, FL. He will be racing Tinker for the first time this season...but not the last. Their race schedules look pretty identical.

I'm getting better....

I was able to do individual leg drills on the rollers without seriously injuring myself today. The hardest part is actually getting clipped back in while staying upright. I have no idea how people can do one-legged drills on the rollers WITH NO HANDS!? Eddie's gotten it down pretty good, at least from what I saw..he's got some talent.

I'm counting down the days until I can head south (ok, further south as in FL)..I haven't ridden outside in 5 days because I'm a bigger wuss than Danielle! The ride in 37* rain last Sunday made riding indoors this week pretty appealing. Anyway, one week until I'm riding in sunny, warm FL.

I just found out that the GA Singlespeed State Championship Race is March 10, but there is no beer allowed because it's at a state park..that's a bummer. I will be there, regardless, because it's close by, and I want a tattoo :)

I got some more good sponsor news today, I will update later.

Resting........

This week is a rest week, I guess I needed one. I'm getting pretty good on the rollers too, except for the first 1-2 minutes isn't pretty :) I can finally get some other things done too, it's amazing how good of a procrastinator I am when I'm busy training and going to school...I guess I should solidify my 2007 race schedule. I know that the BURN 24 Hour is on there, as well as 24 hour Nationals. Oh, I think we are getting some sweet 55nine cycling wear...it will look hot with the green/black combo.

I need a new saddle

Why are womens saddles so wide and cushy? I am trying to find a saddle like the Specialized Toupe for my mountain bike. It's minimalist, light, and very comfortable. But, the little carbon tip on the nose is not durable enough to withstand mountain biking..so I put that one on my road bike. I can't seem to find anything similar, if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears.

I hope I look good in purple!

BTW, I did choose to ride my mountain bike today...I won't have many (if any) rides left on my green 29er (aka the engagement bike). We're both getting the 2007 Unit 2-9, so at least we will still have matching bikes...We're cool like that ;)


You can find the shirt at www.twinsix.com

edit: AAH! I just realized that my pink King headset is NOT going to match the purple like it did the green :( I am going to look like a fashion disaster. Waa.

Too good to last.

Yesterday was 70* and sunny, and today was 40*, cloudy, and windy..so I practiced my Chad Hungerford workout on the rollers :)

It's going to be hard to get hours in this week...tomorrow is the nicest day on the forecast and it's a high of 47 and sunny, yikes. I think it's time for riding dirt with Eddie O, Hot Breath Harry and his partner in crime (Port-o-Pot). I love my schedule! At least the beginning of the school semester is allowing me to ride my bike lots :) I can't decide if I want to torture myself at WBL again this weekend (could also be quite chilly) or hit up some "lil-bit-techy, kinda flowy" (as they would say in Sedona) trails at Snake Creek Gap. Might be the latter, I have to remind myself I'm a mountain biker.

Being a roadie

I'm starting to feel like a roadie, I think I've only ridden dirt once since Arizona. It's not all bad, though, hopefully I will come out a fair amount stronger after this training block my coach has me on. So, what's it been like to be a roadie? I had a very scary close call on the road when we were riding in a downpour last weekend in Atlanta. I must have a good combination of skill and instinct somewhere in me..I can't believe I didn't crash and totally wreck me and my bike! A few days ago we rode with Mike Livingston, who is fairly new to Atlanta from Michigan (go figure, he's strong as hell)..he's a 55nine client who is racing for the Subaru team this year. So, he wanted to join us for base miles..and whatever his definition of base miles is, it is not the same as mine! I started at Tempo and it just got harder and harder from there! Needless to say, I was pretty cooked..just in time for this big ride. I was really intimidated,I had never done a ride quite like this before, but 55nine was sponsoring the ride yesterday..so I went. The route was to be 102 miles and if you get dropped you better have a map because nothing is marked. Many of the local pros frequent the ride..it is pretty cool. I was happy that I hung on for about 2 hours..until the sprinting started. I somehow ended up near the back of the main group, which is the worst place to be because all the yo-yo-ing took a toll on me and soon I was spit out the back..bye bye group. I ended up getting lost but still got in close to 90 miles in 5 or so hours.

After the big day of riding, we were invited to a dinner hosted by the Chattahoochee Road Runners Club by world class runner Donna Garcia and her husband Rich. Everyone who is anyone was there...Dr. Dan Benardot, Dr. Perry Julien, Dr. David Martin, Chris & Tina Pic, Dr. Josh Glass and Collette Ragan..and I'm sure more!

Oh, I got some new Twin-Six tees yesterday, I'm very excited. Next will be jerseys and socks. One more week of my training block, and then a recovery week!

edit: I can't believe it, but he's FINALLY building it up. Picked up a blue King headset, and I believe a Pace carbon fork is on the way. This is going to be the sweetest bike I've ever seen. And he's building up as a single..aah!! I am going to be soooooo jealous!!