March has been a busy month. This week’s post covers the upcoming Ironman 70.3 California race, a recent trip to Malibu/Ventura with some good scenic running, the AB challenge, and gluten-free (GF) granola bars for fueling. Oh yeah, and a new race on the schedule for this year.

IronMan 70.3 California Oceanside Race

This week Ironman California happens. Oceanside 70.3 is on Saturday, March 29th. I am proud to be volunteering for the race this year after having participated in the past 3 years. I signed up for Packet Pick-Up tomorrow and Finish Line on Saturday. I’m almost as excited to be of service as I am when I race. Finish Line should be so exciting to see everyone finish and to be able to present them with their medal! OK, here’s my 5 seconds of fame. My photo is on the Ironman.com site for this race. I’m in the 3rd scrolling large photo with the women with the pink caps (3rd woman from the front, middle). The event photographer took this photo last year of my age group (women 45 – 49). Ha Ha, check it out. This is a great early-season race. You swim in Oceanside harbor (ave temp 58 – 61 degrees), bike portion is on Camp Pendelton (beautiful ride with one size-able climb, but totally doable.) run is along the strand and parallel the shore (beautiful scenery!).  Good Luck to everyone participating this year!!

Ventura/Malibu Trip Recap

Earlier this month was my birthday and we celebrated with a get-away trip to Ventura / Malibu area. The reason we decided to check out this area was two-fold.  A few years ago, on the way to a cyclocross(CX) race, we made a quick coffee stop in Ventura. I remembered the downtown looking so cute and interesting that I had it in my little brain that I wanted to go back someday and spend a bit of time there. Secondly, Malibu is about a 35min drive south and we wanted to check out this juice place called SunLife Organics. Trip was really fun. We found some great running routes (we didn’t bring our bikes this time) near our hotel and down in Malibu. We stayed at the Marriott in Ventura, and the hotel is literally half a block from the beach and a paved bike/run trail. Score! We did some runs (short fun runs 3 – 5 miles) to the north toward the Ventura Pier and even more north the trail borders the Ventura Fairgrounds. It was rather nice being there in the “off-season” as I think Ventura is a big beach destination in the summer.  There are great places to eat too! So if you go, make sure to do your training so you can eat at some fantastic places!

Awesome, breakfast at Cafe Nouveau. (sorry for blurry photo.)Cool place with great food. I had a veg omelet that was so clean, no grease! I have to say I did indulge in their signature blueberry/corn muffin which isn’t gluten-free but I can handle a bit of it, just not several days in a row.

OK, on to Malibu. The main reason for going to Malibu was to RUN and go to SunLife Organics which we learned about on the Rich Roll podcast (here’s the link to the show about SunLife Organics). Can I just say “Love the Rich Roll podcast.” It has enhanced my life in so many ways. We drove down to Malibu, not knowing the area at all but I did go to MapMyRun to search for good running routes in the area. Found a few of interest but as we were driving we accidentally passed the turn-off for the start of the run. So we continued on and just picked a place.  Pulled into the parking lot for Zuma Beach and just decided to “wing it” from there. We ran south on the beach then came to a small access road that dumped us into another parking lot and then at the far end of the lot there was a trail to head up to the top of Point Dume. Cool. So we ran on the trails up to the top. On our way up, there was a small group of hikers gathered looking and taking photos of the ocean. We stopped to see what was of interest and saw a baby grey whale swimming close to shore. What a nice surprise.

We continued on to the top where we took a few photos and then ran back to our car. Great run and fun adventure! Next it was on to SunLife Organics for post-run juice or smoothie. Plant-based goodness!

We introduced ourselves to the owner Khalil Rafati, who is a super nice guy. He was so genuinely welcoming and friendly, making us feel like long-time friends. Good karma dude. Thanks, we’ll be back!

Malibu Triathlon Race

As it turns out, when we got home my husband was google-earthing if that is a verb, where we ran and then realized that it is the exact route of the run portion of the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. Who knew! Serendipity is a beautiful thing. Anyway, I’ve wanted to do that particular race for a while and never have. So we signed up for the International distance course which will take place on Sept 13, 2014. Should be a fun day and the next day is the Celebrity race and the Fit Nation (CNN) race. You can read about both on the links. Fit Nation is the CNN program to introduce 6 lucky people to the sport of triathlon who get to train along with host Sanjay Gupta. These people are truly inspirational in their journey to get fit and healthy. Make your own health a priority every day. That’s what I aspire to do here with my blog as well, to inspire and motivate you to good health.

I’m going to wrap this post up since it is getting long. I’ll leave you this time with a great recipe for fueling or just snacking.

Gluten-Free Granola Bars

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. (I use a glass Pyrex.)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life semi-sweet mini chips gf & dairy free)
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) dried cranberries or cherries
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 TBS coconut oil
• 1 TBS butter
• 1/8 cup Maple Syrup (grade B)
• 2/3 cup (160 ml) honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl mix together the rolled oats, coconut and sliced almonds. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for about 12 – 15 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and transfer the oat mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips (they will melt), cranberries, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Melt the coconut oil, butter, brown sugar, honey and vanilla in a small saucepan, placed over medium heat. Once the sugar mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour over the oat mixture. With a large spoon or spatula, stir the granola, making sure all the dry ingredients are completely coated. Pour the granola into the prepared pan. With wet hands, lightly press the granola evenly into the pan.
3. Bake for about 18-22 minutes, or until set. Remove from the oven and let cool for about two hours before cutting into bars. (Note: The granola bars will be soft when they are removed from the oven but will firm up as they cool. )Can be stored at room temperature for several days. (I personally adapted this recipe from JoyOfBaking.com.)

Off to Ironman 70.3 California this morning, next time I’ll have a report of the race from the volunteer side this time. Til next time, get outside and move!