So I know these rockstars.....

I work with a lot of different people, and come across many different challenges when I am helping someone lose weight, or prepare for an event. More often than not though, my clients are not a challenge at all. They are fun, quirky, interested in learning, and incredible people. I could write several "bragging" blog posts, but I want to tell you about these two rockstars in particular!

Meet Elizabeth and Kimberly. They are awesome!

Elizabeth and Kimberly: BEFORE

Elizabeth: BEFORE

Kimberly: BEFORE

I first met them at the gym with Jason. They were training for their first Olympic triathlon. Super sweet, and energetic about the sport. We happened to be at the race ourselves, and it was great seeing how well they did!

When I started doing nutrition and health coaching, Elizabeth contacted me. She was interested in my services. Several days later I heard from Kimberly. We were off and running!

 In order to be successful working with me, a certain level of dedication is required on the part of my clients. Right off the bat I knew that they would be successful. They were committed, eager to learn, and very dedicated.Within a couple of weeks weight started coming off, then headaches went away. Energy levels were increasing. Then next thing you know, race times are getting faster. It felt like every time I turned around one of them was PR'ing at a race. I was so excited for them! They both signed up for Augusta 70.3, and I knew that they would do great. Questions popped up about race day nutrition, salt intake, cramping, run form, etc, and I answered them the best I could. It was truly invigorating to be around people who were experiencing distances for the first time. I will never forget reading an email from Elizabeth the first time they rode 60 miles. She was proud, and I was too! I had flashbacks from 2006 when I was new to the sport and was in totally uncharted territory.

The week of Augusta we emailed about attitude. It really is the most important element in long distance racing. A bad attitude will ruin you, a great attitude numbs the pain from blisters and puts more spring in your step. Elizabeth sent me a picture of her hand. She had written a smiley face on it with the words "smile!" I knew they would be fine. Jason and I tracked them in our hotel room the day following Texas Tejas bike race. I was anxious for both of them, and when ironman.com crapped out while they were on the run I just about lost it. I started sending off panic texts trying to figure out what happened. "Are you finished?" "The tracker stopped working!" "How are you feeling?" HELLO?!?". I am not psycho when it comes to race tracking. I promise.


Just as I expected, they both totally rocked the race! Finishing at 5:53 (Elizabeth) and 5:42 (Kimberly).  They both trained so hard, and were prepared for this race. I LOVE it when hard work pays off! In addition to growing as triathletes, they both look incredible!

Elizabeth and Kimberly halfway through the season! 

Elizabeth: AFTER 

Kimberley: AFTER

Elizabeth and Kimberly continue to impress me. I hope that by sharing their story, you are inspired too! They are always looking for the next challenge, and they are talking about running a marathon, and I've heard rumors of a 2014 140.6. It's been so much fun working with these ladies! They are proof that hard work does pay off, and if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. 

Ironically, yesterday we were at Elizabeth's house decorating ninjaman cookies. I was the only person that ate any. Huh. 

Why 2 chicks want to travel 3000 miles by bike....

In Amy Snyder's Book Hell On Two Wheels she describes Race Across America as "the toughest test of endurance in the world". She goes on to compare  the 3,000 miles as the equivalent of 114 marathons, or 21 Ironman triathlons. In the 3,000 miles covered from Oceanside, California to Annapolis Maryland riders will climb more than 100,000 feet. Temperatures can range from 125 in the desert to 30 degrees in the mountains. Solo racers vying for the win do so on as little as one hour of sleep per day. Sleep deprivation can cause riders to hallucinate, become highly suggestible, confused, and angry.

I read her book and in my mind I thought "this is crazy!" but my heart was totally fascinated. Last year, Kacie rode as part of an 8-person team for RAAM. I tracked her every step of the way. I wanted to know what her riding rotation was, how they rotated crew, everything. The logistics alone of traveling 3,000 miles are tough enough without factoring in having to use a specific route and people on bikes. Once Kacie returned she started planting seeds in my head, and I knew that she wanted us to tackle RAAM as a two-person team.

In one of our first of almost a million e-mail exchanges Kacie said " we need to be on the same page about our goals, and why we are going this." Here is my response:
When I am thinking about taking on something like this I ask myself the following:

 Can I get off the couch and do it tomorrow?
Am I overcoming some type of fear by completing it?
 Does the idea of doing it scare me?
 Will the experience outweigh the sacrifices to get there?
 Can I use this experience to inspire others?
 I saw on your wall where one of your former students posted about how proud she was of you. If I could get one kid to believe in themselves and their abilities by riding my bike, it'd totally be worth it to me. 

And thus, Power, Pedals, and Ponytails was born! 

I have to first of all say that the response that we have had to peoples reactions has been amazing. We are so very blessed to have such an incredible support system in our lives. I talked with Jason at length before committing to doing this. It's a huge sacrifice on his part as well, and I would never be able to do it without his unwavering commitment to me and his support. Everyone should be as lucky as I am to have someone like him! My dad totally rocked too. He said "Wow. 3,000 miles huh? Better make sure you bring some extra tires. And sunscreen." Many people have had questions about how it works, so the basics are that Kacie and I will cover the 3,000 miles as a team, so we will split the riding. Shorter shifts during the day, longer shifts at night. Someone will be on the road riding 24 hours a day. We will have a support crew, made up of 8-10 exceptional people that will care for us the entire time. For 8-9 days we will turn our lives over to them. They will be in charge of everything, when we eat, when we sleep, when we put on a jacket, etc. Our job is very simple. We will ride.

Kacie and I decided early on that we wanted to partner with an organization for fundraising that we really believed in. Camp Twin Lakes was an easy decision for us to make. I first learned of them when I was 18, and volunteered at a Camp they hosted for kids who had lost a sibling or parent to cancer. Camp Twin Lakes puts on multiple of camps and events throughout the year for kids to give them an opportunity to know that they are not alone in their individual struggles. Children with medical conditions like kidney failure can all play together, then camp stops and they can received dialysis treatments on site. The camps regularly puts on family retreat weekends too for everything ranging from  kids with Type 1 diabetes, Lifestyle and Weight Management, Victims of abuse, and wounded warriors and their families.  80% of camp costs are covered by Camp Twin Lakes, the other 20% by sponsors of the individual camps. Thinking about these kids and the challenges that they so bravely face will be motivation for us as we ride across the country. THEY are truly the inspiration!

Camp Twin Lakes wheelchair accessible treehouse! So cool!

Your support of us as we tackle this adventure would mean a lot! We will be hosting several local fundraisers to benefit Camp Twin Lakes, so please make sure that you follow our blog at www.powerpedalsandponytails.blogspot.com You can find updates on our training and progress by liking our facebook page, or following us on twitter @PowerPonytails

Please visit www.raam2013.org to donate to Camp Twin Lakes!

I am excited about Race Across America. I have a team mate that is a strong cyclist, but more importantly, a passionate person. We are ordinary women, with extraordinary dreams, and our vision is being made a reality by people like you. Thank you all in advance for all the ways you support and encourage us! Stay tuned for some really cool news! 

This is SO not your fault!

I either have AWESOME rides where all the stars align and I feel great, perfect weather, pace is fast, or I have HORRIBLE rides. I get lost, flat, rained on for 70 miles, run out of fluids for 20 miles, etc. I don't know why I can't seem to find middle ground in training these days.

Unfortunately, many of my bad days are when I am riding with Jason. I may have a tendency to blame him on occasion for things not going well for me. After all, he rides too fast, he tries to drop me on purpose, makes me work too hard, he always insists that we ride really hilly courses, and he is constantly yelling "quick like a bunny! come on!" when we stop to refuel.

Last night Jason told me that he wasn't sure it was a good idea for us to ride together. He "claimed" that I might blame him if I didn't have a good day. Since I had already rode 91 miles the day before I was supposed to ride 8.5 hours in the gaps, instead of doing the ride Saturday and a 4 hour recovery ride Sunday like my coach had on my plan, I kinda already knew things weren't going to be that awesome. Little did I know......

5:54 am I see blue lights flashing behind me on 400. REALLY? Again? Cops love to pull me over. There must be something about the way I drive that just attracts them to me, because I get more tickets than anyone I know. I looked down at my phone and see a text from Jason "theres a cop shooting radar at 400 & 285". Well, can't blame the ticket on him, he tried to warn me!

I just wanna go fast! 

I normally eat super clean, pretty normal food. Of course, I choose last night to eat things I don't normally do. I offered some of these said foods to Jason as well and he responded "I'm not eating that crap the day before the gaps." Suite yourself. More for me.

My food decisions came back to haunt me right before we started to ride. I've been VERY fortunate in both training and racing that I've never really had many GI issues. There was one time when Jason left all our nutrition at home and I rode 165 miles fueled by convenience store bought honey buns and pay days and it didn't sit well, but other than that, I've been lucky.

We climbed Woody's and I didn't feel that great. We started up Wolfpen and I thought I was going to vomit. Then it started raining. Lots and lots of rain. Of course, we kept riding, and making that descent down wolfpen in the rain was SCARY.

I told Jason I needed to stop because I thought I was going to be sick. We pulled over and I told him I couldn't get anything down without feeling like it was coming right back up. My stomach was in a full on revolt. Jason suggested that I turn around because continuing would just put me further and further away from the car. He said that without food I would start cramping and bonk. "I want to go that way" I said, pointed up Jack's and away from the car. So we starting climbing. I decided to stop trying to take fuel in and just sip on water. By the time we got to the top I knew continuing would be impossible. Jason was right. I needed calories and since my stomach wasn't feeling better I should probably head back to the car which was still at least 1.5 hours away.

The irony of the situation was how fantastic my legs felt! I was climbing with Jason and not putting out much effort. I felt surprisingly fresh which made bailing on the ride that much more depressing.

Pro tip: riding for more than 2 hours with no fuel will cause you to BONK. Just an FYI.

I made it back to the car, slightly delirious, still unable to eat, and tried to text Jason only to find out that my phone was totally fried. For that I blame weather.com for showing a 20% chance of rain, otter box for being a complete and total FAILURE, and the two ziploc bags I used for sucking as well. This just SUCKS. Guess I am making a trip to the dreaded Apple Store.

I decided to drive straight to the Apple store because I have to have a phone ya know? Without a clean sports bra to change into my shirt was getting really wet. I decided to take the shirt off and let it dry on the dash of my car. Changing while driving isn't my strong suite, and my shirt got caught on my hat, causing me to swerve. Apparently swerving caught the eye of a police officer, and next thing you know I am pulled over.

"Good afterno-----" It took about that long for Officer Wide Eyes to realize I didn't have a top on. And I was freezing.

Let the rambling begin.....
"I know why you pulled me over. I was taking my top off and I couldn't see for a minute. I had to take it off because I got rained on while I was riding my bike and it ruined my phone and I am going to the Apple store. I already got a speeding ticket this morning and my boyfriend is a cop and he's going to be pissed. So I am sorry. Please don't give me a ticket."

He started laughing, told me to have a good day and walked off.

I would like to publicly say that none of the days mishaps are in any way directly related to, or a result of Jason. This was so not your fault. Clearly, todays events were the conspiracy of multiple people.

Confessions of a 1406.2 mile couple.....

So this blogpost is WAY past due, I have been kind of busy training, watching Breaking Bad, researching races in far away places, and trying to convince Jason to get me a platypus.

During our "peak" season Jason and I raced one thousand four hundred and six point two miles. In 12 weeks. That is an average of 117 miles of racing a week. The 12 weeks in between racing doesn't even begin to compare to the countless weeks spent preparing for such big events. I actually think it is EASIER for us to both be training for long stuff. That way neither of us are to blame for our house looking like this.....

Athletes need fuel. We need LOTS of fuel! And his and her blenders. Double smoothie time!

Dining Rooms are for people who sit down for dinner. Training rooms are for people who train for dinner!

You never know when the world is going to end and you will need 500 water bottles! 

2 people. 1 run. Lots of bottles! 

No true triathlete couple is complete without a garage full of bikes. Road, tri, mountain, track, we have it all....and sadly this isn't the entire collection! 

A rare occasion where we are out after dark!

It's definitely a unique life. One that might not work for everyone, but it definitely works for us! And now that I have finally gotten all the bottles clean we are both back to 20+ hour training weeks. I could complain about it but who am I kidding? I love it. Now please remind me of that in 10 weeks! 

Raising a healthy kid....

On twitter today Ashley posted a picture of a recipe that was sent home from school with her son. I am not totally sure how it was branded, whether it was supposed to be super healthy, or fun, or easy, or whatever, but the point is, it was NOT healthy. And seeing it stirred up many emotions, mostly related to my classes on health promotion and program planning. I had to do quite a bit of research on childhood obesity for a program we had to develop. The state of Georgia has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in the nation. Rural counties have even higher rates than inner-city areas.

I don't have kids, but as someone who has struggled with their weight their whole life, it's really not hard to understand why kids are FAT.

My research focused on what we could control, which was the calories kids consumed at school. Since many schools have before and after-school programs, kids are now consuming more calories at school than they ever did before. And the schools are exactly offering exceptionally high quality foods.

I get it. Processed food that isn't fresh is cheap. Bottom line...everyone is looking to save a buck. If I was a single parent, struggling to make ends meet, working at least one, maybe two jobs, I would probably be tempted to pick up food from the dollar-menu at McDonalds myself.

But for those of us that have the means, and the time, cooking can be FUN, HEALTHY, and INFORMATIVE.

Overweight kids have an 80% chance of becoming obese adults. 80%! That is HUGE. Children are like sponges, they absorb everything around them. They learn from what they are exposed to. So the solution? Limit TV, computer, and video game time. Kids over the age of 6 watch an average of 4 hours of television a DAY. That is more than I watch in a week!

 Focus on YOUR health. Yes, it might require that you take some time away from your kids, but you being a healthy, active adult is the best example that you can set for your kids! So skip the "kids" yogurts loaded with sugar, the "kids cuisines" meals that are high in sodium, the fruit juices that are actually only 20% juice, the cereals that might as well be candy bars, and bake up some yummy alternatives!

Huge thanks to Kacie for turning me on to this gem of a website! I made some modifications, so here is my version of the Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars:

1 can Organic Chickpeas
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2/3 cup Turbinado
2 Tablespoons Natural, unsalted, Almond Butter
1/8 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3 tablespoons Organic dark-chocolate chips

Drain the chickpeas. In a food processor blend up the chickpeas until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the chocolate chips. Blend until smooth. Add chocolate chips and mix with a spoon. Use a greased 8x8 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Makes 12 bars. Each serving has:
104 Calories
3.3 grams of fat
16.25 grams of carbohydrates
2.4 grams of protein

These are gluten and dairy free. What they aren't free of is deliciousness!

**disclaimer: Dani doesn't have kids, and doesn't know the difficulties associated with raising miniature people. She does have the energy and maturity level of children, so she easily associates with their needs. Dani thinks kids like being healthy, because being fat sucks. **

I get knocked down, but I get up again!

Last week I suffered some set backs in the kitchen. First, my dog Poncey, helped himself to my Blueberry-Chobani Mix One protein bread. It really was good. And he thought so too.

The second set-back was when I decided to "make-up" my own recipe for clean brownies. It can be REALLY tough sometimes baking without gluten. Things don't taste the same, or bake for the same times, and I learned that almond meal just doesn't work. I wanted brownies, I made chocolate flavored cardboard.

Monday was the Boston Marathon. My friend Jill ran an incredible race, despite being injured. She did it with the help of my teammate Mike. Every time I hear this song I think about Jill!

I decided not to stay knocked down! So today, I was back in the kitchen. Only this time, I decided to follow recipes that I knew were trustworthy!

First up, I made Cinnamon Protein Bread. I tasted it and it turned out GREAT!

Second up, I made chocolate-peanut butter protein bars.

It too turned out great! I did change the recipe up a little bit, and used this instead of regular PB. Yummy! For those of you that are nutella addicts, this is a WAY healthier option.

I seemed to be on a roll in the kitchen, so I went ahead and made Jason's meals for the rest of the week at work. He's on second shift now, so has to eat dinner while working. I was at a conference last week and he said that he would make his own food, but for some reason he just ate out all week. :)

I was still in a cooking mood, so I decided to make one more thing. These are "clean" peanut butter cups. They really are quite healthy and delicious!

In case you are wondering how I had enough energy to do an open water swim, trail run, yoga, grocery shop, bake, sweep and mop, AND do laundry, it's because I am now on the JUICE! I have a juicer! YAY! This concoction is celery, carrots, granny smith apples, and ginger. It tasted 100 times better than I thought it would! Honestly, its not the secret to my energy though. I am just like this everyday!

Hope you enjoy these recipes, they all have the Dani seal of health approval! I made sure to protect the goods from Poncey this time!

Mix One inspired Blueberry Protein Bread!

So I went running today and I was thinking about how yummy mix one is. I was also thinking about how many of my clients do not get enough protein. Most people tend to snack on carbohydrate dense foods, and at the end of the day, they are really lacking in protein. Not many people like to eat egg whites and shakes like I do. So I came up with the following recipe!

The Players:

6 oz Vanilla/Blueberry Mix One

2 Scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

6 tablespoons Coconut Flour

1/8 cup Stevia

1/2 Cup Fat Free Vanilla Chobani Greek Yogurt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 tablespoons egg whites

1/2 cup milk

1 cup blueberries

Mix up all your ingredients except for your blueberries. Add 1/3 mixture to a 9x5 loaf pan, add 1/3 blueberries, continue to layer the mixture with blueberries. Throw it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Optional: do 30 minutes of core work while it's baking!

30 minutes later, you've got a snack that is FULL of protein and gluten free! It should be noted that if you have never baked with coconut flour, the consistency tastes different than a normal wheat flour. You can use any flour really, but you might want to play with the exact measurements!

This recipes makes six servings: 127 Calories 2.3 g Fat 14 g Carbohydrates 13g Protein