For us, the icky-poo wet stuff has arrived on what was supposed to be the final day of our final build week. Instead of braving the elements (at least for the time being), we decided to trade in our pull buoys and our running shoes for sweet potato muffins. We used Scott's favorite pumpkin muffin recipe from Triathlete, but this time we cut out the sugar (opted for splenda) and cut the oil in half by using apple sauce. We had to use sweet potatoes because evidently there is a pumpkin shortage out there. WTF? Anyway...
Why venture out in this mini flood...
... when baking muffins is much more fun (as is being covered with flour)!
Oh yes!
Even Koby agrees!
YUM!
TRAINING
Next week begins a recovery week and boy am I ready! The IMFL 70.3 countdown is now T- minus 5 weeks! Woot!
I'm having a few issues with my nutrition; not in keeping it down (I can keep just about anything down), but in terms of palatability. Last year for Augusta 70.3 I used GAE + Carbo Pro on the bike (with S!Caps for extra salt). 100% liquid hydration because I'm such a super sweater. This year I was hoping to not have to drink the GAE again (at full strength it's a wee bit too strong for me) and possibly substitute with a flask of gel-based calories. I received a free flask of First Endurance Liquid Shot a few weeks ago and I gave it a whirl on last week's long ride + t-run. Ugh! Nasty, nasty stuff. It didn't give me any GI problems, but the taste was absolutely not for me. I used to be able to stomach the taste of Vanilla Power Gels, Vanilla Gu, and Choco Accel-Gel (once my absolute fav), but even they don't appeal to me anymore.
So, on my long run last week I decided to go for a more 'natural' route and use honey. I figured that I enjoy honey in my tea, so maybe I would be ok with it on the run. I took in two packs of Honey Stingers and while they tasted much better than the First Endurance Liquid Shot or other sugary Gu-esque gels that I've tried, there still was 'something' about it that didn't make me want to eat it. And I LOVE honey! I'll eat spoonfuls of it if given the opportunity.
Alas, I'm thinking that it may be a texture thing... which is why GAE + Carbo Pro worked so well for me last year. You just drink it; there's nothing to 'feel' with your tongue. With IMFL 70.3 so close, I'm considering just sticking with the GAE+CP mix and then trying out some news things over the summer months. How I wish GAE came in some other flavors... grape would be nice!
14 comments:
I love the sweet potato muffin idea. I'll have to try that. I remember at Thanksgiving time i heard there was a pumpkin shortage last year. don't know why. Good luck with the race day nutrition, its a big challenge for me. I'll be waiting your race report to see how it went, the race and nutrition. have a great race!
Yes, the canned pumpkin shortage - as dog owners we stocked up as soon as it was announced because that stuff is critical when someone has the runs!!!
I end up changing my nutrition a little every year because honestly I get sick of whatever I trained on the year before by the time all is said and done. I did the Stinger gels one year, I did Carbopro part of last year and Infinit and Vanilla/Chocolate Gus the rest of the year. I just found Blackberry Gus and am going to try those in sprints this year and see how that goes (plus Gu Brew on the bike for calories/hydration) - I think I *should* like the flavor.
I had a can of pumpkin from the Holidays still in the cabinet. I used it this afternoon and cooked those muffins! Oh My Gosh. Party in the Mouth!! My son, Kevin (age 11) loved them after baseball practice today :) They are going in his snack bag for school tomorrow :) Thanks for sharing the recipe :)
Not sure what to tell you on the nutrition. Have we talked about Infinit? That's what I use. They custom blend.
Could you send some muffins about 80 miles north please?
I may try Infinit again. I have used it in the past (for sprint/oly events), but it didn't quite agree with me (I kept belching). However, that may have just been HR related. I did like the very mild taste, though. :o)
those muffins look yummy! Good luck figuring out your nutrition. It can be tough, and the further the distance - the more nutrition you have to figure out!
Mmmmmmm.....muffins! I have something like 4 cans of pumpkin pie mix in the kitchen (I overbought at the holiday by accident). I may be on a muffin mission.
I am not a GU fan; any brand. It is all too sweet for me to eat while training. Although I have no trouble with Entenman's Chocolate donuts when NOT training, ha!
I may have to make a trip down just to hug that dog of yours, he is just too cute. He has the same face as our beloved Luke who passed years ago; we still miss him.
I owe you an email. I'm on it.
Have you tried Hammer products? They work alot better for me than GU stuff, and I can handle the taste a ton better too!
5 weeks, you are getting so close! i am so excited for you guys!. Hmmm, nutrition is tough. i personally love gu's, they are like a treat for me (that mint box you sent me happened to coincide with my running hiatus, but did that stop me from eating them all? nope! i think i might have used one while working out, the others were as something to satisfy my sweet tooth!)i think i read on someone else's blog that they tried coconut water, you might see how that is. it is pretty mild, i drink it when i am not working out so not sure how it would be when you are. it is good cold, i am not sure how it would be lukewarm or hot. might be worth a shot?
also, you look fantastic! hot body, mama!
By the way, the pumpkin shrtage thing piqued my interest - a quick google search made it appear that tons o' rain in the midwestern states last growing season made the fields so soggy that farmers could not get equipment out to harvest and then the fungus set in. Apparently, 2008 was also pretty rough so stocks were already low. However, some organic growers in the northwest, like Oregon, still did ok, so it was a boom for them. Just in case anyone else was wondering...
Love me some infinit but yeah for super sweaters, you gotta be very careful. Can be dangerous territory. Muffins look good, sweet potato or pumpkin, I'm not particular.
Chris, thanks for the looking into the whole pumpkin shortage deal. I feel like I've been in a bubble in regards to it. Looks like it's a good thing that I like sweet taters! :o)
For some reason my comment post above came up as anonymous. Kevin and I ate those muffins for the past 2 days. They were AMAZING!!!
Yep, texture and flavors are key for me. I actually eat little pieces of Clif bloks and bars on the bike because I can't stand to have gel-like things on the bike and the run. Hope you're able to find something that works!!
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