My rock star bike... and a bit of everything else

Shimano and Trek have made me one lucky girl. Today I picked up my new lovely green riding machine. Complete with Shimano Dura-Ace grupo, Pro components, and my favourite Dura-Ace tubeless wheelset, the women's specific Madone 6.9 is one very sweet bike. Thanks so much to Troy and Bill at Pro City Cycles for building her up.... and for being just as excited as I am! I could probably write a novel about how pretty and fast it looks, and about how the green matches my Shimano tri shoes and will look flash with my red Canada suit, but I thinks it's best write the real report after I actually ride it. To be continued... for now, please enjoy the eye candy!


As for the training side of things, I'm not going to sugarcoat it and say that things have been great. It's been a trying month (or two), physically and emotionally. They are good days and not-so-good days (there were probably more not-so-good days than I would have liked), but these sorts of setbacks really do force you to look at the big picture, rather than what you can't do at that moment or that week, and to keep things in perspective. All I can say is that this adversity will definitely make the future successes that much sweeter :)

Apart from rehabbing and doing the little bits of training my body has been able to handle (now including 2-arm swimming!), my extra energy has been put in to cooking. I know I say I like to cook a lot, but I think I have taken things to a whole new level! I really have put all of my anger and frustration into the cooking. Don't get me wrong, I do find it enjoyable and relaxing, but right now it's a way for me to change my focus for an hour or two everyday. I don't think Adam is complaining either. He often laughs when he comes in the door from class to a plate full of roasted fennel bulbs stuffed with chicken, cranberries and almonds (thanks, Noa!), alongside a mixed green salad with roasted butternut squash, avocado, goat feta, and sliced peppers. For some reason, I have been going crazy over vegetables (yes, this is not a bad thing, probably better than going crazy over cakes or cream pies, but Adam might beg to differ..). So, we have had basically every vegetable I can get my hands on. Because it's simple yet adds dimension to the veggies, I have been doing a lot of oven roasting (yams, squash, onions, fennel, broccoli, kale, asparagus,..) anything and everything, sometimes tossed with coconut oil, sometimes olive oil, but always with a variety of fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary,..). This mixture is then added to a salad with a mixture of raw veggies (grated carrot, avocado, peppers), toasted seeds and nuts, some sort of protein (chicken kabobs, baked arctic char, smoked tofu, grilled & diced tempeh burgers, hard-boiled eggs...) and usually tossed with either of my favourite dressings (olive oil + balsamic vinegar + maple syrup or olive oil + lemon juice + lemon rind + honey). Then there's are the soups (coconut curry, lemongrass, miso, bortsch...) and proteins (slow cooked bison, kangaroo burgers (I apologize to my Aussie friends!), smoked salmon...). Anyway, it has really been a fun adventure and definitely rekindled my passion and love for cooking.

Here's tonight's salad creation, unfortunately not one of the most gourmet, but is still tasty. Oh, I just realized I forgot to add the cheese!!

If anyone has any yummy recipes to share, please pass them along! I'm thinking I might just have to officially turn this into a recipe AND triathlon blog...

Last but definitely not least, I must say how incredibly proud I am of my husband. He placed 3rd at his first ultramarathon this past Sunday, the Chukanut 50km. What I love about Adam's training is he just gets the job done. He's busy with school so often runs in the dark in the mornings or evenings and doesn't have the luxury of waiting around for the perfect weather conditions (if it's pouring during his study break, he is still heading out), and rarely complains. I know I am a proud wife, but he honestly rocked this race. He went for the win but still fought hard to the end. I do have to say though that I am a little annoyed that he is not even a snitch sore... and I am walking funny from doing a few sets of squats yesterday!!

Here's my favourite pic from the race: