#TriathlonThursday: True Grit

What's up friends? Hope everyone's post-Thanksgiving diets are going well. Mine recovered nicely in time for a couple holiday parties this weekend.... Dammit....

Today I want to talk about grit. What is grit, you ask? Well, not only was it a movie (I personally prefer the John Wayne original version... Don't get me wrong, I love Jeff Bridges, but if you're going up against The Duke, you're gonna lose) but it is also a quality to look for in anyone who wants to be successful at anything.

The point is, no matter what you do, there is going to come a day when you don't want to do whatever it is you do, for whatever reason. That's when grit comes in.

Grit, in a word, is toughness, resiliency, and will power. It is a willingness to suffer. It is what gets you out of bed in the morning before the sun, and what gets you to the pool, even though its 19 degrees outside. When the wind grows teeth, your grit grows claws and makes you take that first step of your run. And when the sun packs a punch, your grit hits back and gets you home. As a triathlete, grit does many things, but in a nutshell it makes us train hungover, hungry, stressed, tired, before work, after work, before sunrise, after sunset, etc. A talentless, injury-prone athlete can get far on grit alone.

I've recently re-read a book called The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle, and in it Coyle explores what makes "talent" as we know it. He breaks the book into 52 tips that will help us all create our own "talent." Essentially, Coyle discovers that "talent" has little to do with birth, but it has much more to do with things like attention to detail, and perhaps most importantly, GRIT!

One of my favorite tips from The Little Book of Talent was "Cultivate your Grit!" This chapter (each of which is about 3 pages long) talks about embracing the sucky days and learning how to thrive on them. In short, motivation is for amateurs. If you want to be any good at anything, you need grit, so start practicing it! (Seriously, go to Amazon and order this book. You can read it in an afternoon, and it has some great insights.)

This begs the question though: Is it more important as a triathlete to be gritty on race day, or on a training day? Does grit lift the tape in victory, or pick you up off the track to try another 800m repeat? If you ask me, it takes both. Racing is always going to be gritty, but how can you suddenly be Rooster Cogburn on the last 5k of your run if you haven't been in training for the past month? Just like anything else, grit takes practice.

Whatever it is that you're chasing, it won't always be easy. Its going to be hard sometimes. There will be days when you're tired, or hungry, or hungover, or want to do something else. One way or another, you won't want to do what you have to do. But, ultimately, that is why you have to do it, or someone else will.

So get out there, and be gritty, my friends! Don't stop writing just because you're not feeling "inspired." Don't half-ass at work because you're hungover. Don't ease up on the toughest part of your workout, but rather pin your ears back, bear your teeth and hit it harder than anything else that day. If you practice that, day in and day out, and when the time comes that you really need it, it will be there.

Oh, you're too tired to go to morning practice from staying up late on #TriathlonThursday to read Sam's new release? Well here's a straw so you can SUCK IT UP!! Until Food Blog Friday, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!!

#FBF: After Turkey Day

Well, most of us survived Thanksgiving, although our nutrition plans probably did not... Yes, Black Friday is not only a day for all of us to spend a bunch of money and get in fist fights with other moms over a Nintendo Wii U, but its also the day of regret for eating the caloric equivalent of a third trimester fetus. (Did I just say that?) However, a long weekend from work, time with friends and family and Rachel, and some seriously good food made it all worth while. I had a great weekend myself, and I hope you all did too.

Its OK to eat like crap every once in a while, as long as we don't do it all the time. Thanksgiving is one such occasion, in my opinion! Everything in moderation, including moderation!

Here are some Thanksgiving fun facts for y'all concerning our eating habits as a culture;
1) The average American consumed around 7000 calories on Thanksgiving day. Only about half of this was from the dinner itself, the other half was from dessert, leftovers, and drinks the rest of the day.

2) Thanksgiving day is first on the calendar for caloric intake by Americans. Second place? Not Christmas, not Easter, but SuperBowl Sunday! Wings, beer, and nachos? Why not!

The important thing to remember is that now that Thanksgiving is over, we can all get back to eating like we normally do. Too often, people have the tendency to throw away their goals and eating plans after one day of bingeing. Just like I always tell my clients, one day of bad eating will not make you fat any more than one day of exercising will not make you skinny. Its what we do on a regular basis that defines who we are. So get back on that wagon!

OK, so you got back to the gym, and are feeling a little better about yourself. However, what are you gonna do with all those leftovers?? My personal opinion? Repurpose them, and eat 'em!

Here are my top-5 favorite Thanksgiving leftovers: (Note; not all are "healthy," so you might want to attend an extra hot-yoga class this week)

#5: Cranberry Sauce- How to Repurpose it: Brown an onion and some garlic in a sauce pan with some olive oil, throw in the cranberry sauce, and add a little salt and pepper. Now, you've got some delicious chutney, which is one of my favorite sweet and savory combos! Spread it on toast, meats, or a nice ham sandwich (See #1)

#4: Butternut Squash- How to Repurpose it: Again, brown an onion and some garlic in olive oil, this time in a soup pot. Add the squash, and a can or two of chicken stock. Season with curry powder, salt and pepper, and finish with a touch of cream. Garnish with sunflower seeds and parsley and you've got some curried soup, son!

#3: Pumpkin Pie- How to Repurpose it: Don't bother. Don't even heat it up. Don't even get a plate, just eat that baby like a slice of pizza. You've earned it, that soup was healthy...

#2: Turkey- How to Repurpose it: Cook some veggies of your choice in a stock pot, add garlic and salt and pepper, add the turkey, and a bunch of stock. At this point, you can add rice, noodles, or dumplings, and you've got yourself another variety of healthy soup... Hey! Easy on the pumpkin pie!

#1: Ham- How to Repurpose it: There actually should be no leftover ham, because all of the leftovers should've been consumed in the following manner over several varieties of beer and wine on Thanksgiving night. Grab a roll, slice it open, maybe put a little cheese on it, and put on a couple chunks of ham. A lot of people like to get fancy here and go and add some mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing, but I am a purist. Maybe its the fresh dinner roll, maybe its the big chunks of real ham as opposed to thin slices of hydrolyzed pork protein and MSG, but this is one of my all time favorite sandwiches... or maybe its the beer?

Well, I hope this helped with your post-Thanksgiving blues! Hey, at least it wasn't as stressful as Christmas will be! (three weeks, people!) But then again nobody got any presents either. Until next time, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!

#FBF: Changing Tastes

Its that time of the week again! I've been waiting all week for Food Blog Friday, y'all, and here we go!

Today I wanna talk about changing tastes. Not just as a person, but as a culture. When I think back to my tastes as a 3rd grader, they are drastically different from how they are now. Is that because I had different taste buds than I do now, or because we all eat differently?

Well, honestly, I say both! I read an article (now being that this is MY blog after all I don't have to cite shit! This isn't my freshman English class, this is THE PACE RABBIT! But, I swear, I did read an article about this topic at one point...) that basically says kids are picky eaters because their taste buds are still fully functional. Kids don't like healthy food because it actually does taste gross. As adults, our taste buds fade, and we come into this sort of "Emperor's New Clothes" thing where we just eat what everyone else says is good and agree that it is good.

I firmly believe that this is the case with both goat cheese and chai tea. Goat cheese actually tastes like the inside of my 9th grade hockey pads, and chai tea actually tastes like one of those old lady stores in downtown Kearney... (Has anyone else noticed that they all sell the same thing?? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!) Anyway, I think no one actually likes goat cheese or chai tea. We just pretend to like it so we feel cool. This is a dangerous place to be. We need to eat what we like, and not pretend to like something because it is "trendy."

I remember as a kid, one of my favorite meals was called "Cowboy Food." We only got it when Mom was working nights (in other words, Dad didn't feel like cooking) and it was awesome! Basically, Dad would brown some hamburger meat, and put a can of beans in it... and that's it...

Seriously, to a 9 year old kid, it didn't get much better than beans and meat. Now, I don't know what my favorite dish would be as a 25 year old, but the list would include Pad Thai, Beef Wellington, and a nice craft burger. Is this because my taste buds are dull now, and I like stronger flavors, or because craft burgers and Thai food are trendy? What drives me nuts is that I DON'T KNOW!! I like to think that I would like craft burgers even if they weren't all over every hipster bar in every town with a college in America, but I just can't say that for sure because I'm too late! That's tragically already the case.

Food Network, celebrity chefs, and the craft beer industry could totally be behind all of this, but I can't be sure. Personally, I think its all thanks to the same people who claim that apples have an inedible "core" and who created TV shows like "Jersey Shore." Either way, don't follow the trends, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!!!

#FBF: Chili; Messin' With Texas!

Yep, its Sunday. Not Friday. Thank you, Captain Obvious. No reason we can't have a Food Blog Friday though, right??

Today I want to talk about chili. Yep, that good ol' fashioned, game day classic. Let me tell ya somethin' here folks, chili is not just an excuse for cornbread and cinnamon rolls! ... Although, I mean, if you brought some over for me, I'd gladly make you a pot of chili... just sayin...

I am somewhere between a chili purist and an innovator. I believe that chili requires three key ingredients: Red meat, tomatoes, and beans. Here are a few thoughts from the Great Sam Holmes on the other phyla of chili.

Green Chili: Absolutely delicious. Nothing cures a hangover better, and I would literally smother anything with it and call it a meal. However, I moved away from Denver, so I'll stick to making the Red and leave the Green to the experts.

White Chicken Chili: You mean tortilla soup? If I wanted chicken, I'd order a bowl of freakin' chicken soup!! Plus, white beans taste like band-aids. Bring me some REAL chili!

Vegetarian Chili: No thanks, bro. I actually didn't go to CU Boulder. You can keep your vegetable soup. #Hippies #SMH

Texas Chili: Wait, you just shredded some meat in tomato sauce and called it soup?? Pour this over some spaghetti maybe... where's the beans? You Texans have to eat your vegetables at some point, I'm sorry.

That's right, folks. I am a proponent of the midwestern chili, including meat, tomatoes, and beans. After that, its all improvisation!

Last Friday (when I was supposed to be blogging) I had a chili cook off at work. Well, I won... Here was the winning recipe!

*Note: Any measurements I may decide to put in here are total guesses. I made this chili at midnight Thursday night, and um.. well I'd had a few. In other words, I couldn't find my measuring cups! Either way, look at this as a guideline to inspire your own creation.

1. 4 strips bacon, cook in large pot and set aside.
2. Large beef roast (I used a two-pounder and it probably served about 10 people, or 5 triathletes) Rub with your choice of spices and sear on all sides and set aside. 
3. 1 Large onion. Chop it and cook in the drippings on the pot.
4. Add a green bell pepper, and a couple other medium to high heat chilis. I used pasillo and anaheim. Again, chopped and cooked with the onions.
5. Deglaze the pan with a shot of bourbon. Mix it around and cook the alcohol out, and add a whole dark beer. This just keeps getting better and better!
6. Add a large can of diced tomatoes and a large can of black beans.
7. Add a couple ears worth of roasted corn. 
8. Put the roast and the now-crushed-bacon back in and bring to a boil. Simmer for like 4 hours, or until you can shred the beef!
9. Serve hot, with some cotija cheese and tortilla chips!

Like I said, don't follow recipes, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!!!

#TriathlonThursday: Chasing Dad's Shadow

I know, I know, its not Triathlon Tuesday... Given that there are two days in the week that start with "T," I am able to procrastinate even more sometimes. Yay for me! Don't worry though I'll still get your Food Blog Friday up by tomorrow.

Today I wanna talk about my Dad. Now I got into swimming because of my sister, but I would say the rest of the road to triathlon was definitely paved by Dad. He'd always been a runner, a cyclist, and a dentist, so for me it ultimately became not a choice of whether to follow in my dad's footsteps, but rather of how to follow in them.

It's not Father's Day, or his birthday, and no, he's not sick... Honestly I don't know what caused me to write this, but I'm gonna go with it!

I remember a summer in Estes Park when I was probably in middle school, and Dad and I went on a mountain bike ride. I can't say I recall much of the actual ride, but I do remember the ride home. We had to pedal our way back to the hotel for whatever reason, and it was farther than we'd anticipated. Dad just kept saying "Just one more hill, Sam!" To this day I'm not sure if the old man knew he was lying to me, or if he was as lost as I was! After several "One More Hills" we made it.

It probably wasn't all that long of a ride, but to a sullen 7th grader who'd rather be on MSN Instant Messenger it was an Ironman. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that in that instant I decided to become a triathlete. There was no great epiphany for that. But it did teach me to take things one step at a time... and also that my dad is a badass, because he went for a run after that and I passed out watching SpongeBob.

Later, I learned the old-world sensibilities of road cycling from my dad. Suddenly, I was spending summer weekends wearing spandex and contemplating the Nebraska wind with my old man. From there, it wasn't much of a stretch to jump to road running, and after swim season my Junior year of high school I ran my first half marathon.

What a lot of people don't know is that I was accepted into dental school, and nearly went, just like my Dad. I still remember the day I told him I'd gotten in... he looked like I punched him in the gut! Frankly, I think he is happy I followed the triathlete in him, and not the dentist.

I live in Omaha now, which is where my dad started his runner/cyclist/triathlete lifestyle. Not too long ago, I was running through the hills of California street near Dundee (dad's old stompin' grounds) when I heard some footsteps behind me. I know I'm not that fast on the world scale, but still, to be passed by a casual runner is pretty rare for me. This skinny, 20-something guy comes blowing by me on the hill up from Saddle Creek (a mile-long grinder) and I had to stop.

I swear, it was my dad as he was at my age. He had a shaggy head of hippie lettuce, a 70's mustache, some old school Nike flats, and those same orange shorts dad used to run marathons in! (Think of an Irish/Norwegian Prefontaine) I gave him a nod, and he gave me a knowing smile, and just like that, I was chasing my dad up a hill again. I took it to be a good sign... dad used to give me a beer after a ride or run under the premise of "don't tell your mother..."

I remember when I realized I could beat my dad on the bike. It was my junior year of college, and we were going up Trail Ridge Road, again in Estes Park. I was chatting away, my lungs totally acclimated to the altitude from 3 years of swimming in Laramie. When I looked back, waiting for a response, I saw my dad 100 meters back. I was simultaneously pumped that I'd finally dropped the wily old bastard, and sad... (why am I crying writing this???)  If I could beat my dad, who would I ride with now?

We finished the ride together, and to this day I still love to go ride with me dad. After all, he taught me how.

Whenever I'm not sure of what to do in life, I always know I have a great example to follow in my dad. And, Dad, if I ever do decide to grow up, Just like in that Rodney Atkins song, I'll still know what to do, I've been watching you my whole life.

Wow, I just cried a lot writing this... and yep... I'm in a Starbucks... Good lord, I'm getting out of here. Love you, Pops! Until Food Blog Friday, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!!!!

Triathlon Tuesday: Season Recap

So I've decided to force myself to blog more and add a #TriathlonTuesday to my weekly lineup that already includes #FoodBlogFriday. The truth is, I really enjoy writing, I just need to make the time to do it... and my sister believes that I need to write more about being a triathlete than about being a fat kid...

Today I'm going to start the series off by recapping my season. You may have noticed I don't do race recaps generally speaking. There are several reasons for that; first of all, I think race recaps are boring, and I'm actually a triathlete. For you non-triathletes (I decided it would be blasphemous to call you "gentiles") they must be like, claw-your-eyes-out boring, so I don't subject you to that. Also, I believe that a lot of it should be between me and my coach.

Lets be honest though, the biggest reason is I haven't had a ton of great results this season... And I'm not the type of guy who writes a review on Yelp because I had a bad experience at a restaurant... I only Yelp the good ones!

This season had its ups and downs for me. A lot of ups because over all I had improved significantly from last year. My fitness, when it was where we wanted it, was great and I showed a few glimpses of solid results. However, I also had a lot of downs. These resulted from a lot of different things. There were corners cut on my part, other obligations like weddings and moves, and me not always having my head on straight. In short, the faults were entirely my own.

The good news is I learned a ton, as usual. I got a much better idea of how to budget, plan, and organize a season as professional. I learned how hard I can race and still hold it together. The biggest thing I take away from this season though, is hunger. I was too complacent after last season, and I see that now. I was pretending like I've already made it, but the fact is I'm nowhere close. I need to adopt a more blue-collar attitude, and be more driven. I am nowhere near ready to give up on triathlon yet, so stay tuned for new and improved Sam Holmes, coming soon to a race near you next Spring! Until then, its back to the grind this winter, so FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!

#FBF: Don't Trip, Its Just Fall!

Well I’m back at it again! Today, although I am a day late, I wanna do a Food Blog Friday about the Flavors of Fall. The only problem is, I don’t like fall all that much…

That’s right, I came out and said it, and you Pumpkin Spice Latte Lovers are now pissed at me. But lets be honest here, all you people who post on FaceBook about “loving all these fall colors, and my wool sweaters and scarves and pumpkin spiced lattes and hot bowls of soup” are really just compensating for the overwhelmingly-shitty fact that summer is OVER.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love football, and the holidays, and I’ve had some of my best racing in the fall… I’ve even been known to don a wool sweater too, (but not a scarf, the word just kinda bothers me. Go ahead and say it out loud… weird right?) But I have realized lately that I prefer all of the other seasons to fall. Why? The food, of course!

I realize what this all comes down to is that I don’t really love the food that most white people’s great-grandparents ate, and those are the flavors of fall. I think its badass that my Norwegian ancestors pillaged and burned and generally kicked ass, but you won’t catch me going into a Norwegian restaurant.

First of all, I’m gonna go on record here and say that this pumpkin spice thing has gone way too far. I nearly judo-kicked the hipster brewing my coffee when offered he me a pumpkin spiced latte, which was bad enough. But then I recently sampled Blue Moon’s Pumpkin Spiced Ale, which was like biting into a pumpkin candle, and thus a mistake in my life on the caliber of betting my brother that leprechauns were real. Don’t do it, unless you want to lose five dollars and a significant amount of faith in your friends. 

Second, I can’t get into any of the fall vegetables. Squash is probably the 17^th worst word in the English language (again, say it aloud) and I’m just not big on the flavor or texture, generally speaking.

“But, Sam, just bake it with cinnamon and brown sugar,” You say? At this point I’m just confused. Am I eating dessert or a side dish? I’ll pass on your cinnamon-mush.

Also, I have a hard time getting excited about soup. It is another one of those weird words (I swear I don’t do drugs, but say it aloud…) I am rarely wowed by a soup… especially if it has squash in it. However hearty, filling, and healthy they are, I almost never want soup, I’ll just tolerate it.

Now, Holiday fare is a sensitive subject. People love this stuff, and why not?? It’s comforting, it reminds us of our childhood, and our friends and family is around, and not to mention its generally bad for us! But I’ll again go on record and say that I’m usually hummed out by a holiday meal. Look at your plate, its made up of varying shades of brown mush and a dry piece of turkey, right? You want me to gorge myself on that?? Don’t worry though; I’ll do a post a little closer to the big day to show you how to add some color to your Turkey Day.

Maybe my bitterness on this subject isn’t due to the food. Maybe the Pumpkin Spiced Latte is just a harbinger of colder weather and no more triathlon until spring, and not necessarily all bad food. Ok, I’ll stop bitching now. Next week I’ll give y’all a couple fall recipes that I do like!

Fall fruits? Apples and pears? Now we’re getting somewhere! And you know what, I went back to the coffee shop later and took the hipster up on his Pumpkin Spiced Latte (after apologizing for breathing fire on him) and it was kind of ok… Lets just say a small was plenty for this guy.

Until next time, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!