Bulumu Granola

While this post might differ greatly from those that I've been putting up of late (save the cookie recipe!) I thought it still would fit in quite well here.

My very good friends Jaz and Brandon have started Bulumu Granola. It stands for "buckle up, love you, miss you", a saying Jaz and her Mom would swap out when parting ways. Jaz and B have been going through many of the same things that I've been dealing with this season. In my spare time I've visited mountains and really honed my coaching skills, research and studies. With their down time they worked on perfecting their granola and the business structure behind it. Now it's launch time. Similar to my work with UCAN they are learning how to get into shops and who to be carried by. New things for both of us to learn and to share our experiences. They've got two flavors out and I just love the subtle vanilla undertones in the Red White and Blueberry granola.

Check them out! :)

Why Master Swimming isn't always the best training for a Triathlete (reprint)

Wrote this article for several of the Competitor Group online sites a couple years ago. Just stumbled across it and figured it was a very worthwhile reprint. Enjoy!

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“Whoa!” You might be thinking. “Hang on a second. Where does one get off coming to that conclusion?” Having swum, and coached, in and out of masters groups I can say with certainty that in getting ready for your big event it’s best to do what you need to do.

Let’s first start with why masters swim workouts are good. There’s the group atmosphere, the social commitment of “having to be there”, the presence of a coach on deck who will be able to point out inaccuracies with your stroke, have all the workouts written for you and hopefully a highly motivating and positive enforcer for you. For the beginner triathlete/swimmer these are all huge positives, but let’s take this one step further.

In a typical masters group it’s possible that you might get any of the following: Too much drill work and not enough aerobic stress, too short of swim durations and too long of rest intervals, not to mention swimming IM sets! Think of it this way… when you first started running… did you go to the track for every workout? When you go for bike rides… do you stop every 3 minutes?

You are now into your 2nd, 3rd or more season of swimming and racing. You are not as concerned with your technique as you are with your fitness. Getting faster is your focus and a faster swim split your goal. You’ve spent the latter half of fall and all winter going to the pool 5 days a week with your masters swim squad. You’ve done the drills and you’ve done the hard sets. You’ve put in the work and you’re beginning to see the reward. But now spring is approaching and with it that first race of the season. Your swim squad presses on with more 50’s and 300’s but you begin to wonder about that 1900m half Ironman swim you have coming up. Here’s where getting out and swimming on your own trumps traditional masters swimming.

To become good at a anything, in this case swimming a 1900m open water swim very efficiently, it’s imperative that your training mimic the race or the endurance and intensities slightly above it. So around 2 months out from your event you begin following a race specific program. Rather than continue with the general, it’s time you got specific. Extend this thinking to the bike and run and you’ll do great!

Once a week you get in for a longer easy straight swim. Think of this like your long bike ride. Insert small spurts of steady efforts into the middle after you have warmed up but just keep swimming. If it’s warm enough you can make this an open water swim.

Also, once a week, insert a set that totals around 2000m in length using longer distances and shorter intervals. For example 4x500’s on :15-:20 rest. Your effort should be about tempo/L3. This would be the equivalent of your race pace tempo run.

If you are looking to get more swims in per week then head back to your masters group and swim a lane or two down. Use it as a recovery swim, for a little extra quickness, or to get more feedback on your evolving technique.

As the race season progresses continue to follow your race specific workouts. If there is a long time before your next “specific prep” phase go back to your speed work (e.g. 6-10x100’s on very limited rest), return to some more focused drill work or revisit the masters group and seek out that same boost that your focused winter work gave you.

Masters swimming can be a useful tool, but in the interest of preparing yourself specifically for the longer durations that you will face in triathlon racing it’s best to get outside the box and start doing specifically what you need to be doing.

Autumn

Since moving to Colorado I have, for the first time, truly gotten to experience (and appreciate) four (and possibly five) distinct and incredible seasons. My favorite of these, if I did have to choose, would be Autumn. The crystal clear, dry air. The cool air in the mornings and lack of peak heat of the day. The brillant colors of the trees on the plains as well as the mountains. Getting our first dose of the color up high in the mountains early in September and having those last thru to early October. The Elk Mountains at this time of year are an incredible sight to behold. The aspen groves are expansive and when they turn to a brilliant electric yellow and one has the chance to view them in the fading light of the evening with a blue bird sky above, it is awe inspiring. To stand in the Slate River Valley in Crested Butte and look up at dry brown fields, yellow aspens, green spruce and firs, snow capped mountains and crystal clear blue skies. Once the colors have reached their peak in the mountains and begun to fade it's time for the multitude of trees in the cities on the plains to burst out. The maples, cottonwoods and ash. These start early in October and even now in the middle of November as I sit here composing this and looking out the window there still are trees full of crisp yellow leaves.

But it's not just the sights of autumn that have me so in love with this season. The dry air, the lack of smoking afternoon heat, the cooler mornings, no more afternoon thunderstorm threats. These all lead to perfect opportunities for great trail running, mountain climbing, track workouts, rides high into the foothills, tours of the local single track atop the fat tire. And always, always, with that glorious autumn sunshine beaming down upon you through deep blue skies.

But just as the daylight wanes, so do the colors and before too long autumn has turned to fall. The days are cold and the leaves gone, but the snow is not here just yet. And just when we are getting sick of the dreary landscape we again transition to yet another season, with white all about and in between the occasional storm the ever present blue sky and glorious sun above.

Oatmeal Pecan Walnut Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Cookies

While the title is a mouthful, the cookies are a mouthful of AWESOMENESS. I'm constantly disappointed with the commercial gluten free cookies that are available (not that I eat a lot of them), as they tend to be dry, dense or both. These turned out really fantasically. Light fluffy, chewy, great texture and body. The oatmeal was a perfect addition to add umphf to the cookie and the peanut flour gives it hints of a peanut butter cookie. Of course, you can't go wrong with chocolate, pecans, walnuts and coconut. I'll be demoing this recipe with other flour mixes besides Pamela's but have really found that the sorghum base in that flour lends itself to a great chewy cookie (or any bake good for that matter).

Blend

1.5 cups packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter softened

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4 medium ripe bananas

2 eggs

Mix together the dry ingredients:

1.5 cups peanut flour

1.5 cups almond meal

3 cups pamela's baking mix

1.5 tsp baking soda

1T cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

Add dry to wet and combine then add the following a bit at a time. Use a splash of almond milk should the mix be a tad dry.

1.5 c dark chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup coconut

3 cups oatmeal

(almond milk)

Scoop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased cooking sheet with some good spacing.

Bake at 375 for 14 minutes.

ENJOY!!!

(As I made rather large cookies and baked at 5500 feet be mindful to watch them while cooking)

Tasting competition

In writing this post I could not help but think about my friend Jaz and her adventures racing Brandon up 13th street here in Boulder back over the summer. They also happen to be ski buddies of mine and granola entrepreneurs. Oh, and Jaz is one helluva fast racer.

I was up at Breckenridge skiing on Friday, their opening day, and the snow, for this early in the season, was phenomenal. But the real powder stashes were to be found higher up. Away from where the lift lines carried your average snowboarder and skier. Those who live the motto "it's all about the down" do not venture up to these far regions, or, if they do, suffer horribly. Then there are those of us that have no problem suffering to earn our turns.

As I exited the back gate, I looked up to see a long line of skiers boot packing it toward the top of peak 8, and I couldn't help but feeling of wanting to run ALL of them down. My desire for competition unprovoked had reignited. The race was on.

As I pushed upward I was dropping people left and right. Despite having done nothing for 7 months, I was fired up and motivation and confidence were the only fuels I needed to drive this push. I was on the move. This was my race to win. Steady pacing, deftly making lane changes to keep from being slowed. And then, I saw him. A ski patroller. The type of guy you'd expect would be in shape and know how to move quickly about the mountain. I noticed that I was only barely gaining on him. Determined I started to push harder. If there was anyone on this hill that could keep pace with me it would be him. I started to close the gap and just as I came up behind him I slowed my pace and rested for a bit, waiting for a moment to gather my energy for a strong surge around him. Then I went for it, always being careful to monitor the breathing so it wouldn't sound like I was suffering. I came around him and he was going hard, breathing heavy. He simply applauded my effort with a "nice work dude". I kept pressing till I felt I was out of ear shot before letting my breathing become audible. I then found my place where I wanted to ski, pulled off the trail, clicked in, and schussed down thru the glade in powder up to my knees.

Ski season is on, but the competetive fire is back. Let the racing begin.

Art vs. Science

The science of coaching is relatively easy to acquire and easy to prescribe. The art of coaching is understanding the personality behind the athlete and finding the best way for the science to fit and is infinitely more difficult to understand and work with.

Photo Credit