Monthly Summary – August 2011
Here’s August:
Swim: 20,214 meters
Cycling (outdoors): 302.6 miles
Cycling (indoors): 5:59 (hours)
Run: 88.6 miles
Strength Training/Yoga: 7 sessions
Approximate monthly total training time: 52:20
In August I finally, sorta, re-found my training groove. It was my highest volume training month since April and I finally got back in the pool after busting my collarbone in June. Thanks to some very helpful guidance from Coach Rom, I feel like I trained smart in August. I added in a decent amount of intensity in all three sports for the first time this year. Despite that, though, I’m still feeling underprepared for SOS on September 11.* I’m sure I’ll be fine, but I’m not in the race shape that I hoped to be in before my crash. Shit happens, and I’m really just thankful that I’m healthy and fit enough to participate in the race at all. If preparing to race in New York on the 10 year anniversary of September 11 doesn’t put things into perspective, what will?
August was also notable for our one-month Vegan Challenge. Today marks the official end of it, so I’m going to celebrate by having a big slice of:
Home made Vegan (and gluten free) Sweet Potato Pie!
It was super easy to make. I got the recipe courtesy of Rich Roll’s e-cookbook (available for purchase/download here). I swapped out the pumpkin for sweet potatoes that I baked and peeled.
It’s an almond, vegan butter and honey-based crust:
and the filling is sweet potato, soft tofu, maple syrup, honey and spices all mashed together:
The finished product was for a party at work. It came out pretty damn good (if I do say so myself!). The one issue I had with it was that the filling took longer to cook than I expected and the crust got a little burned around the edges.
I decided a few weeks ago that I’m going to extend the Vegan Challenge indefinitely (and probably can’t call it “Vegan Challenge” any longer…). I feel healthy and full of energy. Thanks to advice from friends and strangers, I’ve found pretty easy ways to get more than my share of food, including protein. I’ve put the Vitamix to good work and had a shake nearly every day this month. Elizabeth is constantly amazed at how much fresh veggies we always have in the fridge. I can’t say that I won’t “cheat”, especially when I’m out of town, but there’s no question that that will be the exception rather than the rule.
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* We got this email from Don Davis, the SOS race director today:
“Minnewaska State Park where much of our running and swimming takes place was extremely hard hit by Hurricane Irene and is closed for the foreseeable future. Your race committee is working to plot a new course for this year’s race that will be both challenging and scenic. We will send you further information via another email by Monday September 5th.”
Bummer, but I’m sure they’re scrambling now to put together a challenging and fun alternate course.