.... I have moved.... follow me...
www.jennashoemaker.tumblr.com
New website... and now, NEW BLOG!
I think it is about time to change it up... hope to see you there.
Jenna :)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Super Foods
My latest find: The Jujube aka Ziziphus zizyphus.
What is it? A fruit.
Other name? Chinese Date.
Where is it from? India and Asia.
Where can you find it? Locally grown in California and Florida - probably Arizona as well. I bought mine at the Santa Monica Coop, brought in locally from California. It has a very high resiliency and grows not only in very cold temperatures, but also in very hot ones provided it has access to a source of water underground.
No, as you can see, I'm not referring to the confectionary "jujube", I am talking about the Asian fruit, the Jujube. They are rather small, about the size of a ping pong ball, and the ones I recently purchased were a dark redish brown in color. When you cut them open, the texture is much like that of an apple. The center contains a hard core/seed which you will want to remove before you eat it. They are sweet in taste and a really pleasant surprise when you first eat one.
How do you eat it? Dried. In Tea. Fresh and Raw like any other fruit. Blended in smoothies (my personal favorite in the morning).
Uses? It is said to have a soothing, de-stressing effect - which we can all benefit from - and is also said to be good for treating sore throats. In some cultures it is said to make teenagers fall in love and in Chinese tradition it is left in a newlywed suite, along with walnuts, as a sign of fertility.
Personally, I'm hoping for the de-stressing affect. If Jujube is anything like Goji and Acai or Spirulina and Tumeric, then it will become a regular in my diet, as long as I can find it growing locally!!
What is it? A fruit.
Other name? Chinese Date.
Where is it from? India and Asia.
Where can you find it? Locally grown in California and Florida - probably Arizona as well. I bought mine at the Santa Monica Coop, brought in locally from California. It has a very high resiliency and grows not only in very cold temperatures, but also in very hot ones provided it has access to a source of water underground.
No, as you can see, I'm not referring to the confectionary "jujube", I am talking about the Asian fruit, the Jujube. They are rather small, about the size of a ping pong ball, and the ones I recently purchased were a dark redish brown in color. When you cut them open, the texture is much like that of an apple. The center contains a hard core/seed which you will want to remove before you eat it. They are sweet in taste and a really pleasant surprise when you first eat one.
How do you eat it? Dried. In Tea. Fresh and Raw like any other fruit. Blended in smoothies (my personal favorite in the morning).
Uses? It is said to have a soothing, de-stressing effect - which we can all benefit from - and is also said to be good for treating sore throats. In some cultures it is said to make teenagers fall in love and in Chinese tradition it is left in a newlywed suite, along with walnuts, as a sign of fertility.
Personally, I'm hoping for the de-stressing affect. If Jujube is anything like Goji and Acai or Spirulina and Tumeric, then it will become a regular in my diet, as long as I can find it growing locally!!
Friday, November 5, 2010
That "hump"...
After almost 3 months of very bumpy on-again-off-again "training" and rest, I am finally starting to get back into a rhythm. I basically hit complete shutdown at the end of July and after a few very unsuccessful attempts to train through, my coaches and I made the decision to just shut down the season. Fortunately, USAT has been really supportive and I am grateful that I had the time to recover now before we get into the heat of the race for towards London.
I'm now into week 3 of training. The hardest part is getting out the door right now. This has nothing to do with "motivation" or not wanting to train, but rather because I'm SO unfit, I know the sessions are not going to be easy or feel good. And, there is something to be said for the days when you workout and feel really fit doing so. However, after the advice of my very wise younger brother, I have been forcing myself to find a training rhythm. I am always so glad when I finish my training and it's just a matter of time before I'm back to feeling like myself.
Last week, my coach prepared a descending pace interval workout to see where my HR zones were at for now. I pretty much had an anxiety attack before I even attempted the workout. It had been so long since I did anything "hard" and I was feeling SO out of shape that I couldn't imagine I could even run at 6:10 mile pace. After telling me to focus on holding my HR and not to worry about time, I don't think my coach was all that surprised when I did the session faster than the initial plan. Lesson learned: relax and have fun. One workout isn't the end of the world and I am at the VERY beginning of a big build up to 2011.
I have also been really focused on my diet. I have totally broken my habit of eating cereal in the morning - I NEVER thought that would be possible - and I am now a huge fan of making "superfood" smoothies with my boyfriend. That and a nice sunny side up egg on a slice of toast is the perfect way to fuel me for a day of training. It's not easy to pass on all of the "junk" that is so easily accessible, and it is certainly not helping me save money, but as an athlete, food is fuel, so I'm stopping at nothing to help get the right nutrition into my body.
Finally, I have been trying to remain "balanced" in the transition back to triathlon training. It's so easy to let it totally consume your life, but when you do that, the risk of burnout is increased 10 fold. Understanding that there is a long road ahead, I am balancing my training with lots of fun time and "alternative training" in the form of surfing!!! On top of being so much fun and a great adrenaline rush it actually compliments my triathlon training: paddling, core stability and propreoreception and balance... :)
So, with a few days left in my third week back, I feel like I am about 3/4 of the way up the side of the "hump" -- I have no expectations as to when I'll finally reach the peak, but I know I just need to keep plugging away, trudging through the bad days, head down, eating well and sleeping a LOT... and soon enough I'll be there.
I'm now into week 3 of training. The hardest part is getting out the door right now. This has nothing to do with "motivation" or not wanting to train, but rather because I'm SO unfit, I know the sessions are not going to be easy or feel good. And, there is something to be said for the days when you workout and feel really fit doing so. However, after the advice of my very wise younger brother, I have been forcing myself to find a training rhythm. I am always so glad when I finish my training and it's just a matter of time before I'm back to feeling like myself.
Last week, my coach prepared a descending pace interval workout to see where my HR zones were at for now. I pretty much had an anxiety attack before I even attempted the workout. It had been so long since I did anything "hard" and I was feeling SO out of shape that I couldn't imagine I could even run at 6:10 mile pace. After telling me to focus on holding my HR and not to worry about time, I don't think my coach was all that surprised when I did the session faster than the initial plan. Lesson learned: relax and have fun. One workout isn't the end of the world and I am at the VERY beginning of a big build up to 2011.
I have also been really focused on my diet. I have totally broken my habit of eating cereal in the morning - I NEVER thought that would be possible - and I am now a huge fan of making "superfood" smoothies with my boyfriend. That and a nice sunny side up egg on a slice of toast is the perfect way to fuel me for a day of training. It's not easy to pass on all of the "junk" that is so easily accessible, and it is certainly not helping me save money, but as an athlete, food is fuel, so I'm stopping at nothing to help get the right nutrition into my body.
Finally, I have been trying to remain "balanced" in the transition back to triathlon training. It's so easy to let it totally consume your life, but when you do that, the risk of burnout is increased 10 fold. Understanding that there is a long road ahead, I am balancing my training with lots of fun time and "alternative training" in the form of surfing!!! On top of being so much fun and a great adrenaline rush it actually compliments my triathlon training: paddling, core stability and propreoreception and balance... :)
So, with a few days left in my third week back, I feel like I am about 3/4 of the way up the side of the "hump" -- I have no expectations as to when I'll finally reach the peak, but I know I just need to keep plugging away, trudging through the bad days, head down, eating well and sleeping a LOT... and soon enough I'll be there.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Website is now LIVE
My official website is now live! Check it out and let me know what you think. You can access my blog via the website for now but over the coming months there will be some more changes going on, photos being added, music being updated etc! It'll be fun for sure!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
This Week!
I am in NYC right now visiting with my sister, some old friends and having a few fun meetings. It has been a great trip so far and it also marked the end of my first week back training. We are moving along slowly and being really careful, as my body seems to be in charge at the moment, but so far, so good.
There is a lot to look forward to this week.
Week #2 of training. It is SO great to be back... even if it is just in a very small way. Baby steps... slow and steady wins the race...
My website will be going live in the next few days!! We have been working really hard on it and I'm really proud of it, so I can't wait to share it with everyone! FINALLY... a real website!
Also... MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!! WEDNESDAY OCT 27th I will be the featured "spotlight" on NBC's Last Call with Carson Dalywhich is so amazing. I am so grateful to NBC/Universal for asking me to do the piece and I can't wait to see what they have put together. Working with them was so fantastic and I am really grateful to be able to bring triathlon to late night television. It airs at 1:35 am (technically Thursday) and 12:35 CST time --- so it may be a good TiVo/DVR project for those of you who go to bed early... :)
There is a lot to look forward to this week.
Week #2 of training. It is SO great to be back... even if it is just in a very small way. Baby steps... slow and steady wins the race...
My website will be going live in the next few days!! We have been working really hard on it and I'm really proud of it, so I can't wait to share it with everyone! FINALLY... a real website!
Also... MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!! WEDNESDAY OCT 27th I will be the featured "spotlight" on NBC's Last Call with Carson Dalywhich is so amazing. I am so grateful to NBC/Universal for asking me to do the piece and I can't wait to see what they have put together. Working with them was so fantastic and I am really grateful to be able to bring triathlon to late night television. It airs at 1:35 am (technically Thursday) and 12:35 CST time --- so it may be a good TiVo/DVR project for those of you who go to bed early... :)
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