Hollywood Triathlete Epitomized in 48 Hours.

Good God, this was a remarkably involved weekend, and it sort of all ties into the idea of my Hollywood Triathlete existence.  Sometimes, I'll get busy with tutoring, or visiting friends, or some other randomness, but this weekend was 50% Performing* and 50% Sport, with no tampering to dillute the extreme concentrations of Hollywood Triathletics.  (*Everyone knows "Performing" also means drinking.  That's what happens after.  It's the Hollywood way!)
I could write a number of posts, but I choose instead to put it all in here.  First, I should say that I am now officially doing the Catalina Eco Marathon (I didn't have the money to enter, but finally got it together, just in time for the October 1st deadline when my LATC coupon for ten bucks off would expire!).  Secondly, I at long last got myself some new shoes!  Hooray!  Here is a picture:

(I kind of love them.)

I went to my favorite running store in all of LA, the adorably named Arch and Sole, who I've been going to for at least a year now... as you know, running shoes wear out in a matter of months, so the people you choose to buy from is an important relationship to build, because they're going to get a lot of your business, and you're going to use those shoes almost daily.  Mahmoud and Zuzana at Arch and Sole are super informative and friendly.  By now, Mahmoud knows all about my half Ironman exploits, and always remembers the races I've done and how I've improved, which frankly is awesome, and he's always interested to hear what's new and what I'm training for.  Zuzana was super helpful as it was my first foray into buying trail shoes, and brought out lots of options with tons of information that help me decide.  My favorite thing is that they're never trying to up-sell you... the shoes I ultimately bought are an older model of Mizuno trail shoes, the Ascent 3s, marked down to $70 from $100 (apparently people thought they were "too blue"... but I love it!)  I was also leaning towards a pair of Brooks, which usually don't fit me as well, but their latest trail shoe was all kinds of arch support heavenly, but those were $110, and the nuance between the two didn't seem so epic that I could justify paying forty extra dollars.  Mahmoud broke it down as I stood with them side by side, saying the Mizuno has a less flexible and more sturdy sole, as opposed to the Brooks, which has more give, and said as I grow accustomed to trail running I can move towards a shoe like the Brooks, but that it would probably be a good choice to go for the more sturdy shoe that can take a pounding (aka, the cheaper shoe.)  Yes, he encouraged me to buy the cheaper shoe, because it was the right choice for me, and he knows my fiscal situation!  How awesome.  (Of course, now I'll totally come back and get that Brooks shoe from them later.  It was dreamy.  And had really good colors, too.  I'm a girl.)

As a general note, I've got to say, I do budget all the time, but shoes are one thing you really can't skimp on, because they determine the life of your knees.  You can cut corners by getting an older model like I did (because if you bought them a year ago, they'd be cutting edge, it's not like they suddenly become crappy... but you should definitely ask your clerk, as I learned the Brooks trail shoe of yore was terrible, but this new model that I so love was a revamped version, so... yes, always purchase intelligently!) but you should never run on a shoe you know is dead, or in-- God forbid-- something like Converse with zero shock absorption.  (What are you, mad!  But yes, a friend getting into running did report to me she'd jogged in her Chucks, and was so surprised to be hurting.  Buy your shoes first, folks!)  Once you see wrinkles in the heel, it's time to shell out around 100 dollars.  It's an expense, but it's worth it to avoid wrecked knees for the rest of your life, and it will prolong your ability to keep up this wonderful fitness habit!

So I trotted away, happy with my new bright blue shoes, which are indeed quite sturdy... I tried them out in a quick Runyon jaunt, and had that great sensation like I could run forever.  (So nice to get new shoes.)  Then I got home, finished making a homemade pizza (I've become obsessed!), showered, and got ready for my debut at the iO West, where I performed all my ukulele songs!  It was a rousing success, and I spent a couple of hours catching up with my improv friends and drinking boilermakers-- oh Lord, Gatorade that isn't-- and even caught up with David Park, the man who started it all.  (Back in the day, I was chatting with him in that very bar, and he revealed that he and some other improv friends were doing this crazy triathlon called Wildflower-- yes, the one and only-- and I, in my impulsive way, said, "I wanna do that!" and I went home and dropped the nearly 200 bucks for late registry, and so was this Hollywood Triathlete born.)  I had a grand old time, came home and ate the rest of my homemade pizza (drunk stomach), and stayed up until 3AM watching Parv, another friend through improv, on Hulu in the pilot of the new TV show "Outsourced".  Perhaps not the best behavior for an athlete.  But you know, add Hollywood to the front, and it all makes sense.  Hollywood is synonymous with irresponsible behavior... and fun things.

So, we're in that wretched time in LA where you think, by God, we're in the clear, we've escaped the hellish oven of summer weather (though that didn't happen so much this time around, blessedly), and then whamo, a weird "Indian Summer" heatwave leaves you paralyzed for days of high 90s weather.  And the very worst thing about that is that it makes outdoor exercise nearly entirely impossible, and certainly impossible if it's long, enduring outdoor runs on trails, which is exactly what I needed to do for 17 miles on Sunday, my long run day.  So I knew I'd have to get up and be on the trails by 7ish, which meant I did get up... maybe still drunk... on my wonderful four hours of sleep, take the very effective Brazilian hangover medicine, Engov, drink lots of water and head over to Griffith Park, where I ran from 7:30 until 10:30, much to my amazement. Amazed, because I only started walking hills-- was trying for lower heart rate, as instructed-- at 10, when the heat really started to kick in and it became insupportable.  I'm pretty sure I did at least 15 miles, and had a lot of good hills in the mix.  I've been finding my right hammy is tending to be tight, and that might require some foam roller action, but I'll save that for another post.

So then it was back here, to post all my youtube videos of my ukulele show, and cook for the week as best I could, and I still haven't napped, but am in this very peaceful meditative frame of mind, which I think will translate into early bedtime.  But of course, not before making more homemade pizza!  I've discovered the trick to making the crust thin, and it's the most exciting thing... ever.  So I'm going to end this blog with my pizza recipe, because if you make it right, pizza can be a great little meal for a triathlete.

To review: new shoes, big show, celebrations and hungover 17 mile run = Hollywood triathlete.

Nikki's New Favorite Meal: Homemade Pizza!
(to be fair, I don't make the sauce, so really I'm only fixated on the crust.)

To make the crust, you'll need:
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour (you can do both whole wheat, but the consistency won't be as awesome)
2 tsp sugar (I use raw sugar or agave)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 package of yeast
1 cup warm water
3/4 tsp of salt (or omit if you're not into that whole sodium thing)
Garlic powder and basil to taste

Dissolve the yeast into the water and let it sit for 10 minutes, until creamy.  Make a dry mixture of ingredients, then mix everything together until combined evenly.  Let it rise for 30 minutes.  Knead on a floured surface.
*Here's where my special technique comes up:
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Divide the dough into two balls.  Place parchment paper on your pizza stone or pan and tamp out the dough ball with your fingertips so it's as thin as you can manage, without making any holes.  (It'll be about 10 inches in diameter.)  Add on pizza sauce, cut up garlic cloves, spinach, fat free feta, chicken sausage and a sprinkle of low fat mozzarella.  (Or you know, whatever you like.)  For the particularly ambitious, you can make a stuffed crust with a low fat string cheese, if you peel it apart and fold it into the edges.

I like doing it this way because it's less carby and also just has a better balance of ingredients.  If you use the whole dough ball, even when you think you've made it thin, you'll wind up with this balloon crust, since it rises a bit again in the oven.  The whole wheat substitution totally still tastes delicious, though I've yet to try without any bread flour.  Enjoy!

She's a Griffith Park BRICK house!

Note: a brick workout is one workout followed immediately by another, usually a medium bike followed by a medium run in the tri world.  So, yesterday I went to one of the last Griffith Park Brick workouts, hosted for the LA Tri Club by Fortius Coaching, the totally badass-awesome home of Gerardo Barrios, who's helped me hugely though in an unofficial capacity, as my until-lately-unemployed-but-still-broke ass can't yet afford a legit coach (but I do highly recommend Fortius to the gainfully employed!)  One day I'll join team.  I have strong Protestant guilt... I wouldn't accept the advice without hoping I would one day pay for the actual coaching!  (I don't ALWAYS want to be broke.)

I've enjoyed my share of free Fartleks there, the so funny-sounding run workout that means "speed play" in Swedish, where the group shifts leaders, and that leader picks a pace for a random stint of time, so you're mixing up your speed intervals.  (I almost always go at a pace that is way past where I should be, though... oops. Overachiever.)  The Griffith Park Brick is always a killer workout-- often 75 minutes up the hill towards the Observatory, then toss your bike in your car and do a six mile trail run.  This time around, I ran while the others biked-- as I am training for a marathon, after all-- for about 45 minutes, down the horse trail into where the sand gets annoying-deep, and then back and up some hill I didn't know, and then I waited a spell for Triathlon Wunderkind and GMAT tutee Kevin, who's in training for Ironman 70.3 Austin, and we put on our headlamps and went for our six mile trail run.  Daaaang, if I don't feel like a slow poke.  Kev's a great training partner, because a.) he too is a Hollywood Triathlete, living off of Franklin and enjoying beer and social life independent of the sport and b.) he's fast as all get out, so you'll always be challenged if running or biking with him.  Well, I had some nasty headache in the works, and found that I wasn't quite up to snuff... at one point, I actually got dizzy, I was pushing it so hard.  So Kev was kind enough to ease off pace-wise-- plus my headlamp was brighter, so he didn't have a choice!-- and we still finished our 5.75 miles in 55 minutes, bathroom break included.  He emailed me his marathon training plan from the LA Marathon (it looks more legit than whatever I copied out of that random book at Barnes and Noble) and advised me to do my long weekend runs on hills at a low heart rate to up my ante.  So I'm adding nuance to the training plan (and hopefully an occasional spin class... gotta get good on the hills with my heart if I'm to do a whole trail marathon, eeeeek!)

Once off the hills, I did actually get my second wind and pick it up pretty decent.  I'm not that far from kicking ass... I just need some new running shoes.  (Lady I met in the parking lot says my brand, Mizuno, makes a killer trail running shoe, which you'd like to have for extra ankle support.  I've had a couple stumbles, so I see the merit in that... time to start looking!)

Hollywood Triathlete: Now More Budget-y Than Ever!

Oy.

Have you ever noticed that you rarely randomly receive money, but that you'll very frequently randomly owe or lose money?  It's a very unfairly skewed tendency of Fate, which I think should be random, but is pretty intent on leading us all to Brokeness.

To recap, I've been so broke lately that I didn't even have enough money in my account to cover the auto debit of my student loans (which is far more than I, a budget Hollywood triathlete, can afford per month as is.)  That was a sad day.  But I started tutoring again, and got paid for a chunk of fun creative writing teaching I'd done, which was going to put me over the hump, hooray!  But then I had to get a ticket to Nebraska for my sister's wedding.  But then my Mom helped me out a bit, so I was going to get ahead again!  But then my Interval underwater headset and enclosed iPod shuffle were stolen from the gym, and so the desire to replace those looms in the future.  Boo.  (I haven't, and have instead been embracing the zen of silent swims with earplugs to keep the water demons out of my brain.  It was quite nice actually, until the pool started getting crowded in the mornings-- everyone got wise, apparently-- and I got PUNCHED IN THE HEAD.  Not good.  So, I'm sort of avoiding swimming, but for once a week.  Moo.)

So, that's sort of average on the scope of normal expenses and the like.  I picked up a new student, which will buttress the income, and was feelin' fine.  Then, after doing a little shoot with the Tosh.0 folks, where I stood in a line of thirty people who held hands and got electrocuted (yup), I filled out my paperwork and went to study up on the GMAT, which I'm tutoring my dear triathlete friend in, as part of our barter pay-off for his old bike.  Aforementioned paperwork required passport information, ergo I had my passport on me, and thought, I don't want this lying about while sitting in a park full of Mexicans (KIDDING-- kidding!!!) but anyway, I put it away... I think... in my backpack so it wouldn't be lying out in my purse.  I then picked up my gal Kristen from LAX, we did girl bonding things like mani-pedis and talking about vampire books, and then I drove to K-town, where I thought, as leaving my car, "oh I shouldn't leave my iPod touch out like that", but promptly did nothing about it, as my hands were full and I was spaced out.  The next day I discover the iPod touch is gone, and all the glove compartments and such are open.  Soooo, theft.  Which sucked, but you know, I am the ass who left it in there.  And I have this awful feeling that I somehow left the door open, though who DOES that?  (There wasn't a broken window or anything.)
So the week continues and I'm all sad about the iPod, but happy the car wasn't stolen (it's a Honda Accord, people love stealing those), and it gets the a day when I think, oh, I didn't put back my passport.  Where's my passport?  Ummm, it's also gone.  Though since I'm so all over the place, it was unclear if it were just buried in a back, in a pile of crap, or actually stolen.  So on Friday I did a thorough dig through my car and concluded that it is indeed neither there nor in my backpack, and woe is me.  That had a Brazilian visa for the next five years, which is 'spensive.  And getting a new passport is $110 + $25 "processing fee" (why not just say $135?)  So again.  Random stupid crap.  Not to mention that iPod had my oh so handy keep track of your food app, and now I feel like I'm forever lost.  And a new iPod is at least $300, generally.  BOO, double boo!

And then, all resigned to the fate of lost passport and bummed out that I can't shoot the comedy sketch in the location I wanted to because I don't have $300 for insurance, I back out of my parking spot DIRECTLY into someone's new Chrystler-- so new that it still has dealer plates.  And this guy just had the worst month of his life (read: 2.5 year old nephew dying kind of bad month.)  So, I feel like a dick, and again, though it wasn't an epic crunch, anything regarding body work at a shop is going to set you back over 400 dollars.  And indeed, it was $640.  Hey rent, how ya doin?

So I feel utterly drained.  And I really desperately need running shoes, lest I run my knees out of order.  So, hey-- how about booking a national commercial right about now?  That would even it out, don't you think?

The road ahead.

Well, I think it's time I set some goals, and then get a game plan.  We all know the full Ironman is the ultimate, but that's not for nearly a year, and so actual training for the Big One shall not commence until the six month mark.  Then it's full GAME ON.

In the meantime, I've decided to do a trail marathon (Catalina Eco Marathon) in November, as I've never done a full marathon, and trail marathons are super badass hardcore, and I enjoy doing all things to the limit.  And they are also way cheaper than tris, so it's about all I can afford presently.  Actors are poor, as a rule.  Until they are successful, which is possibly never.

Anywho, it's a baby GAME ON with training for the marathon for the time being.  This will give me a good opportunity to hone in some good habits and maybe eliminate the bad ones.  I'm being good in actually doing weight training this time around, as I don't want to atrophy into a creepy looking Holocausty spectre like so many marathon runners I've seen.  But have you seen me lately?  I'm quite a hunk of woman.  Still, I don't relish the idea of my muscles EATING themselves, so I'm into it.  Also still swimming, and doing some biking for cross training, and of course, my dearly beloved yoga's in the mix.  Finding the time (and still practicing the uke and recording silly raps and flip cam-ing music videos) is always a challenge, but I've been waking early.  So far, not so bad.

Except.....  Worst habit: BAD NUTRITION.

Yeah, what can I say... today I basically ate a bag of Peanut M&Ms and then a fat free chocolate frozen yogurt (with chocolate sprinkles, an homage to my favorite childhood treat at Carvel back in NY) for dinner.  Not really the dinner of champions.  But when you're sitting, waiting for your Five Hour Energy audition with this incredibly wordy piece of copy to remember and you feel yourself waning, sometimes the only thing that can get you through is-- no, not Five Hour Energy-- but Peanut M&Ms.  And then, as you make the trek through nasty Westside traffic back to Hollywood and pass the Big Chill, well, how often are you near that yogurt store with the incredible Ghiardelli fat free chocolate yogurt that tastes so much like your favorite Carvel soft serve?  And hence, the poor dinner.

I did still do a Runyon run up the hill-- albeit in near darkness, as it was late once I got back, and then over an hour of weights and abs.  Talk about a GI nightmare-- good thing my roomie's out of town at a wedding.  (Read: ab work + gas = very audible gastrointestinal action.)  I have no problem in making myself be active.  I can say yes to almost anything.  And therefore, I suppose, the problem with diet.  Diet means saying no.  I love saying yes to food.  It's such a lovely thing.

I do admit that I have a very bad relationship with impulsive eating, portion control, and sugar.  Give me a box of cookies and that box is effed, because I will eat the whole thing, like a horse and a big vat of oats.  I can sometimes hang on to some modicum of self-control if I FORCE myself to use my iPod app, "Lose It", where you can track all the calories you intake and expend by logging your food and exercise.  Swell little thing, super convenient, and I became a slave to it for some time.  It's good for parties, when you go on autopilot and start Hoovering the Doritos.  Fessing up to your iPod of that is quite the Mea Culpa moment, and gives you pause next time you reach chipward.

But I love being able to eat without feeling stereotypically female and anal retentive.  (I go through love hate relationships with that app for that reason... what a loser, having to log all my food.  Can't I just eat what I want and be healthy?  But no, the answer is no.  I invariably go back to the overeating habit if I part with the pod.  I blame weed, too.)  Part of the reason I became interested in endurance sports was that, beside the fact that I found I could do cardiovascular activity for ages and not fatigue, I also super dug the multi thousand calorie burn and the fact that I could totally, what, eat frozen yogurt for dinner and not have to beat myself up too much, as my calorie deficit was already so great.  But that's no good... I want to be a respectable-like triathlete, and be nice to my body.  It's already getting punished enough, is it not?

I considered cutting out sugar altogether, because clearly I'm an addict, and I think I'll still go for it... at least refined sugar... but it's in too many of the quick fuel items I like to train with, so I don't know if that will ruin my good intentions.  My hope is that by keeping track of my training and habits and the like on this here blog, and next time I reach for that bag of Peanut M&Ms I'll think, "what would the VAST audience of Hollywood Triathlete readers think??"  (Because I'm sure you are a vast, vast audience.)  I'm stealing this idea from "Fat Biker", who I heard about on NPR.  But he's way more noble than I.  I just want to do endurance sports and write funny ukulele songs.  And fit into the very pretty but very petite dress I am to wear at my sister's wedding come October 23.

I think taking on the mindset of nutrition as an aid to my training is the best way to go.  That way I am simply saying yes to becoming a better triathlete instead of saying no to delicious cheese (oh, cheese!)  I'll keep ya posted on what works and where I fail as I give it the old college tri (haha.)  There are a few nutrition books I'm gonna look into, once I have the expendible income of 30 bucks to get them.  (Not kidding about the budget here, folks.)

One awesome recipe that I gleaned from a woman I babysit/tutor for is for Kale Chips.  I adore roasted seaweed: it's packed with vitamins and satisfies the same salty craving without the terrible guilt potato chips would engender.  And so I try to have a crapload on hand in case of emergency crave.  [Trader Joe's has em for a dollar a pack, but you can get them in three packs for under two bucks from Asian Grocery stores... check out HK Market on Western in Ktown, if you live in LA, of course.]  Kale is another fabulous leafy green with all them good minerals, and it turns out, it can make a totally kickass ersatz potato chip similar to the seaweed.  Crunchy, flaky, and not bad for you.  Hooray!

Here's what you do:

Kale Chips
Ingredients:
A big buncha Kale
Olive Oil
Salt
(I added a squish of garlic for flavor)

Preheat oven to 250F.  Pick kale leaves off of the rough stem, toss them in olive oil and salt.  Spread them evenly on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes until completely crisp and dry.

A-mazing.  J'adore.  Special thanks to Randi for revolutionizing my kale worldview.  (I do have some other Kale recipes I may share later.  We shall see.)

Bed is calling, and I've yet to decide how to fit in whatever workout I'll do tomorrow... am getting tazered for Tosh.0 in the afternoon and then picking up my grad school friend from LAX, so it'll have to be a morning workout.  Bah!  Oh the life.

Your Hollywood Triathlete,
Nik