Sweet week

Since I'm still feeling a little sore from the Honu, I had some time to make a cake for a friend requested one many months ago. Since it was for a dude, I was going to attempt a "Little Shop of Horrors Plant" cake but it changed into a chick birthday cake. Oh well. Next time.

Perfect All-American Chocolate Butter Cake with Fondant(Via The Cake Bible) 

1.       1. 1/2 c + 3T unsweetened cocoa (dutch-processed)

2.       2. 1c boiling water

3.       3. 3 large eggs

4.       4.  2 1/4t vanilla

5.       5. 2 1/4c + 2T sifted cake flour

6.       6. 1 1/2c sugar

7.       7. 1T baking powder

8.       8. 3/4t salt

9.       9. 1c unsalted butter

10.   10. Two 7in by 2in cake pans greased, bottoms lined with parchment or wax paper.

Preheat oven 350degF

In a medium bowl, mix 1 & 2 until smooth, cool to room temp

In another bowl, mix 3, ¼ of the cocoa mixture, and 4.

In a large bowl, combine 5, 6, 7 and 8 and mix on low speed for 30 sec to blend. Add 9 and remaining cocoa mixture. Mix till dry ingredients are moist.

Increase to medium speed and beat for 1 1/2min to aerate.

Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beat for 20sec after each addition.

Scrape batter into pans until ½ full.

Bake for 25-35min or until tester inserted near the center comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 10min.

Loosen the sides and invert onto greased wire racks. 

Buttercream Icing  (via Iammommy) 

      4c powdered sugar

      1/2c shorting

      5T milk

      1t vanilla

 f     

      Combine all ingredients and mix.

 I decided to give this a recipe a shot since 1) I ran out of butter and didn't want to spend another $4.99 for a block and 2) I ran out of eggs too. I found it pretty tasty but there was a slight shortening taste to the icing. Maybe more sugar and vanilla may mask the taste?

For the fondant, I used the recipe from Thebakingpan.com 

Here's some tips for making your own fondant based on my experience:

- Powdered sugar is better for dusting rather than cornstarch

- Having a Kitchen aid mixer makes life easier 

- White chocolate adds flavor

- Humidity is not your friend 

-Watching videos on how to cover cakes is good

- I found this site very helpful

So since I had left over batter a few cupcakes were made. 

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

On another note, entry forms have been mailed in for the North Shore Swim Series. We'll see how I fare against the real swimmers.

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Kona Ironman World Championship Lottery

I found this article while browsing the other day Kona Lottery spots - friend or foe?. It talks mostly about the Kona Lottery spots. Here's a recent one giving the pros and cons The Ironman lottery... worthwhile? 

What is the lottery? 

According to the Ironman website "The Ford Ironman World Championship selects 200 Age Group athletes worldwide and five Physically Challenged athletes each year via the Ironman Lottery Program. Starting in 2011, slots will NOT be divided between U.S. and International athletes.  Two hundred (200) names will be drawn from one pool for selection."

Personally, I'm not much a fan of the lottery. It's labeled as the World Championship. Since it's the world championships, shouldn't you be a BAMF (Bad Ass Mother Fucker) who trained, kicked ass in their AG or in the Pro ranks to get there? It's just like the Xterra Trail Running World Championship except that any average Joe like me can sign up for the race. If you didn't know, I'm probably the worlds worst runner. Somehow I managed to finish 3rd in my AG and 8th overall with a sad time of 25:09.

However, from a business standpoint, the lottery is a great thing. With an entry fee of $650.00 USD x 200 people, that's a $130,000. Not to mention the economical boost it gives to Kailua Kona during the event.

What's your take on it? For the record, I have no intentions on ever entering the lottery. I rather earn my slot through dedication and hard work. I wouldn't feel right taking the spot of someone who worked harder than me.

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Nutrition/Gear for HIM

Here's my nutrition gear set up for the Honu. I'm still trying to get it down so so feel free to comment or ask questions.

Nutrition

Breakfast

1/3 cup cream of rice w/cinnamon

1/2 boiled sweet potato without skin

8oz Powerade

Bike

4 Hammer Gels

2.5 Bottles Gu Electrolyte brew

1 3/4 bottles Ironman Perform

1 Clif Bar

Totals - 1170 cal, 88g carbs, 80mg Na, 40mg K, 8g sugar

My plan was to eat the solid  and 2 gels on the way out and at the turn around point, switch over to the rest of the gels on the way back. For hydration, the Gu brew would be sufficient enough since in training, I could never drink 3 bottles. So my plan went fine for most of the ride, I felt hydrated, not tired and comfortable. However, around mile 40, both of my vastus medialis muscles felt like they were on the verge of cramping. I drank a little more of the Gu brew, sucked down the last gel thinking I may be low on electrolytes. This provided a slight relief, so decided to grab the Perform at the next two aid stations. Perform seemed to alleviate the tightness. Maybe supplement with more electrolytes next time?

Run

6 Hammer gels

1 packet Clif shot bloks

Perform (est 40oz)

Total - 1190 cal, 289 carbs, 1280mg Na, 220mg K, 148g sugar

I didn't have much of a plan for nutrition since I was hoping to run/walk the whole 13 miles. However, due to the IT band issue flaring up after mile 3, I had to walk the last 10. I'm thinking I would have drank a lot less if I was actually running but those cool drinks made me feel so much better.

Gear

TYR Competitor Tri Shorts - I found these pretty comfortable during the swim, didn't feel much drag from the shorts while swimming. When biking, I thought they provided adequate padding in all the right places. Didn't experience any chafing or irritability from it. For the run, the side pockets were a little small to hold 3 gel packs on each side, the back zip pocket was large enough to hold about 4. Having this back pocket was also nice since it held ice cubes pretty well for cooling.

Zoot Tri Tank - Still using my original tank from last year, surprised it held up this long. Fading is pretty noticeable and pockets are starting to peel away..Guess that's what happens when it's made in China. Top will be retired when I get a new one. 

K-Swiss Blade Light Run - Despite logging so few miles in them, they were pretty comfortable race day. The loops made putting them on in T2 a breeze. I felt that the holes provided adequate drainage but not as good as the K-ONA. 

SLS3 Padded Compression Socks - These were awesome, just wish they came in black. Besides regular compression socks, SLS3 also makes padded versions. Padding is in the pressure areas (ball, heal and Achilles tendon) where I needed it the most. If you have all been following, I've been dealing with Achilles tendon issues so I was really worried not being able to finish the run segment. I finished the whole run without any Achilles issues. I definitely recommend these! Use 20Hiramoto for 20% off your order if interested in picking up a pair.

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Fettuccine alla Turkey Puttanesca

Doing triathlons, I've come to realize that it's not cheap, never easy and at times frustrating. However, here's something cheap, easy and pretty tasty.  It's one of my original twists on a classic dish. Puttanesca is know as "Whore's pasta" after the prostitutes that were cheap and easy.

Fettuccine alla Turkey Puttanesca 

Four 1/4in thick sliced turkey breast cutlets (cut into small cubes)

1/2 box fettuccine (can be more if want)

1T Tomato paste*

10 Kalamata olives or any olives

1/2 of a onion (sliced)

Anchovy paste (for taste) 

Tomato (sliced into small cubes)

Garlic (minced) 

Olive oil 

White wine

Salt (amount can vary depending on your preference)

Pepper (amount can vary depending on your preference) 

*I used the tomato paste in a tube since it would be a waste to buy a whole can and only use a Tbs worth of it. 

Heat olive oil in a pan at medium heat. When heated, anchovy paste and minced garlic and fry till fragrant or slightly browned. Add in onion and cook till onion is transparent. Remove from pan and place in separate bowl. Add turkey into same pan, season with salt and pepper and cook till done. Once done, add in onion and garlic mixture, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir. Add a splash of white wine for flavor. This is the sauce. Let simmer. 

In a pot, bring water to a boil and add fettuccine. Cook following instructions on box. Once done, save about 1/2c of the water and drain the rest. Place fettuccine back into pot it was boiling in, toss with a splash of olive oil. Pour sauce over fettuccine, stir and bring to medium heat. Using the saved water, add desired amount if you like it watery, if not, don't add it in. Season with more salt and pepper to your liking. Serve.

 

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2001 Honu recap Pt 2

Still finding it hard to write. Post race blues? I dunno. Like I said, here's part 2. 

Race morning

Got up around 3:30, had my usual pre-race breakfast of 1/3cp cream of rice topped with cinnamon and sugar, 1/2 of a boiled sweet potato and a glass of Gu brew. On race mornings, I like to get up early so I can relax and get ready with out stressing out too much. Off to transition.

The thing I liked about transition area for this race is that all your gear must be in your bag and nothing on the ground. I'm not a big fan of clutter at transition areas. Seriously, you're just missing the kitchen sink. Got numbered and headed down to the beach for a warm up.

If you weren't aware, this is a mass start swim so it get's pretty hectic. Due to a last min bathroom visit, I didn't get the best starting position. The cannon goes off at 7am and it was pure madness. I pretty much had to swim heads up for about 25m to avoid getting kicked in the face. After getting out of that, I made it to the outside to get ready for buoy one. So after reading a few reports from previous years about people getting their ass handed to them at buoy one I chose to go wide. Here's a vid of buoy one last year

Despite the mass start swim, I found a good rhythm and pushed on. Since I started back in the outside middle, I had passed a lot of people so it was hard to find a good draft for the entire segment. Since this was my first actual deep water open water swim, I found it pretty cool swimming in water so deep, you only see dark blue. I felt really good for the most part of the race until the ending until some guy decided to grab my leg and pull me back. Wtf, who does that? Let's just say, I didn't play nice. Ended up with a 38:04 overall. Little disappointed with my time. Guess I should have pushed a little harder since I didn't feel tired when I got out.

So the bike course covers a good part of the Kona Ironman world championship course so that was pretty cool riding it.

This course has a lot of long hills and some flats so it was definitely not a walk in the park. The wind was pretty crazy at times, strong head winds both ways. I found myself passing a lot of people going up hills, only to be passed by the same people on the down hill. If you're wondering why I'm running black arm coolers, it's because I find it distracting to have white on while I'm riding. With the black, it blends in with my front end, thus no distraction.

 Overall, I went pretty conservative on the first half of the course, thinking of it, I should have pushed a little more on the hills and a little more on the way back. I didn't realize it until I got off the bike but I almost broke the 3hr mark. Finished in 3:04:26.

Bike dismount 

Bike rack area

T2 was pretty enjoyable, volunteers were at the dismount line to catch your bike and rack it. This was pretty nice. My mom took some pics of T2 for some reason. Guess she didn't realize I was going to bike it so fast. Anyways, started running and felt pretty good despite not running for a while and not doing much bricks. The Achilles tendons weren't sore at all so I thought the outlook would be good.

Two sponges in jersey and one in hat

However, at the end of  mile 3, things fell apart. My left IT band got tight and downright painful. Over the many months of running before I injured the Achilles, no ITB problems, nothing. Every time I tried running, it would hurt but when walking fast, it wouldn't hurt as much. So I ended up walking the last 10 miles of the race. Mentally, it was the toughest thing I had to go through. Old grandmas and grandpas would run past me, then walk once they were 10ft in front of me. The running course, was probably one of the toughest courses I've ever been on. A good part was on grass, than it would switch to concrete or asphalt, hills were long but not to steep. The toughest part was the so called "Death March" miles 9-11. It consisted of a long dusty paved road in the middle of the lava field with no shade or breeze whatsoever. 

Despite being in pain, sucked it up and ran it in. 

I'd like to forget this part of the race forever since it was so horrible. I'm so glad I didn't break 4 hours. Finished it in 3:28:12. Overall, I finished in a disappointing 7:19:30. Thinking about it, I'm still a little disappointed about it today. Would I do it again? Depending on funds, I will be back next year to beat my time by an hour or more. Promise. 

I'll be writing about my nutrition/gear set up on the next post.

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2011 Honu recap pt 1

It's been a awhile but I'm still alive. I'm kinda having a hard time finding motivation to write so you'll get the whirlwind version for now. Going to break it into two parts to make things easier.

So flew back home (Big Island) for the race on Tuesday night hoping to try get a swim in on Wednesday and buy food for Kona. Well, things didn't go as planned and found myself home on Wednesday. Living 30miles away from pretty much anything is pretty harsh, especially when the weather is bad.

It was about 59deg, probably colder with the wind chill 

Headed over to Kona on Thursday to check into the condo we were staying at, pick up bike and check in for the race. 

Weather wasn't looking good for Satuday 

After packet pickup/registration and bike pick up was over decided to take a quick swim at Hapuna beach (the swim start). Conditions were a little sloppy and choppy but that's what you get when you go in the late afternoon. 

Fettuccine alla Turkey Puttanesca with baby greens

Since we were staying in a condo, I cooked most of my meals instead of going out and eating. Will post the recipe for my Fettuccine alla Turkey Puttanesca with baby greens in another post.

Woke up Friday morning with the weather looking much better. It was a little hazy and the winds weren't too strong. 

View from deck looking towards Kailua Kona

Headed out to Hapuna for a swim and quick bike ride. The conditions were much better, calm, flat and visibility was really good. To be honest, I haven't swam in deep water in years so I felt a little nervous when it got really deep. After treading water for a bit and telling myself "I can swim, so STFU and get with it" I swam a bit further and headed back to shore. 

Prepping bike for drop off 

Bike hdyration/nutrition setup - X-Lab Super Wing (2 bottles), 2 frame mount (one left empty on purpose), bento box (1 Cliff bar and 2 Hammer Gels) and 2 Hammer Gels taped to frame. I know it wasn't the most aero setup. I'm sure I'd get some flack on ST for it.

Notice the saddles around my bike. No cheap stuff.

Just a future reminder, bring helmet for bike check in. I forgot to bring it, wasted 30min going back to get it. 

 

AstroTurf was laid down on top of the pavement. No worries about stepping on rocks in T1. 

My pre-race dinner was nothing to write home about. I like to keep things light and simple, so chopped up some roasted chicken breast deli meat, kalamata olives and mixed it up with some fettuccine and olive oil.

Part 2 coming up..

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