Quoc V. Ngo

In The Kitchen - Burgers and Chicken Fingers

2012-02-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a good bit of cooking the past couple of days as I'm trying to be better about making food for the week to have around and not eat out as much when I'm too lazy to cook. I also need to start chipping away at the 43-POUNDS of organic grass-fed beef I purchased through the Philly Cow Share program. There is a bit of irony about the getting the grass-fed cow because most of the people that I purchased the cow did it for Paleo Diet purposes but about 11 pounds of cow portion were 44-quarter pound hamburger patties that most people would have to eat with a wheat-based burger bun. That's a No-No on the Paleo Diet. I love me a good burger though so I did not let that deter me and when out and tried some burger bun recipes that are wheat free. I was "on a roll" with cooking so I also decided to make a batch of almond-crusted chicken fingers. Generally hamburgers and chicken fingers wreck your diet but I'll walk you through how to make it a lot more healthier and still somewhat satisfy your junk food cravings.

For the buns, I decided to try out two recipes rather than simply buy gluten free bread. Did you know most gluten free breads have a glycemic index worse than plain old white bread? Gluten-Free doesn't necessarily mean its is good for you. The two recipes I tried was a Flaxseed based bread and the other was a more traditional "bun" consisting of almond and coconut flour. First up was the flaxseed flatbread. The recipe itself was easy enough. The one twist was using parchment paper to line the pan but it prepared/baked pretty easily. I then cut the finished product into six equal pieces which I would slice in half to use as a bun.

Full piece of flaxeed bread which was later cut into 6 pieces

The other recipe I tried was a coconut/almond flour mix. This one looks more like a traditional burger bun. Like the flaxseed bread, I had to use parchment paper to line the baking sheet.

Almond/Coconut Flour Buns

I then grilled the burgers and came out with the finished products. Yes, ate a pound of hamburger beef on my own, don't judge me.

The finished "combo" Organice grass-fed beef burgers nestled between wheat free buns

Taste-wise, it is definitely different textures. The almond/coconut flour bun tasted fairly close to a regular bun and even handled like a regular bun. The flaxseed flatbread was a bit thicker than a regular hamburger bun but tasted fine to me. Unless they come straight out of the oven, both tasted a lot better spending some time in the toaster before combining with the burger.

With trying to save time by "batching", I also decided to make chicken fingers. Most people think of chicken fingers and envision a hunk of chicken that's been deep fried. A little healthier would be baking chicken tenders with the breading but if you are trying to avoid wheat like me, that's not an alternative either. I came across a recipe that uses almonds as the basis of the breading along with some other spices. The chicken fingers are fairly easy to make as the prep is almost identical to what you would do for regular baked chicken tenders.

One of the things I learned after making this recipe a few times is that the almond mix clumps really easily with the egg you soak the chicken in. Before you know it, most of the breading ends up on your finger and you waste a lot of the almond breading. My solution for this was to break it up into separate plates where I would coat the chicken tenders with the egg, lay the chicken tenders on a separate plate, and then drizzle the almond breading onto the chicken. This works out really well and reduces the amount of almond breading that you waste.

Spooning the almond breading over the chicken tenders

In terms of baking the chicken tenders, I tried two things. One was cooking the chicken tenders on top of parchment paper and the other was cooking the chicken tenders over a wire rack resting on a baking sheet. The wire rack/baking sheet method produced the better chicken tenders.

Chicken Tenders on Parchment Paper

Chicken tenders on wire rack/baking sheet

Finished Product

I love making the chicken tenders because they are very versatile for meals the rest of the week. I can combine them with the homemade buns to make a chicken club sandwich, I can cut them up and use them for my lunch time salads instead of buying the prepackaged stuff with preservatives in it, or I can re-heat them quickly in the toaster oven and eat them stand alone.

To round out the night of cooking, I fried up a batch of nitrite/nitrate free bacon which will go great with the burgers, breakfast, chicken club, etc...you get the idea.

Recipes in this post:

Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders

Makes 4 servings | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

* Canola oil cooking spray

* 1/2 cup sliced almonds

* 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

* 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

* 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

* 4 large egg whites

* 1 pound chicken tenders, (see Ingredient Note)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.

2. Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a food processor; process until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed throughout, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in oil; process until combined. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.

3. Whisk egg whites in a second shallow dish. Add chicken tenders and turn to coat. Transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly. (Discard any remaining egg white and almond mixture.) Place the tenders on the prepared rack and coat with cooking spray; turn and spray the other side.

4. Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

Coconut/Almond Buns

Makes 4 burger buns (4 tops, 4 bottoms).

Approximate cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

* 4 eggs

* 4 Tbs coconut flour

* 4 Tbs almond flour

* 4 Tbs coconut oil (melted)

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. In a large bowl, mix coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder and sea salt together with a fork.

3. In a separate bowl, blend eggs and coconut oil.

4. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and combine completely.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease the paper lightly with coconut oil.

6. Pour the batter onto the oiled parchment paper to make eight (3-inch diameter) pools.

7. Bake for 10 minutes.

Flaxseed BreadFirst get two bowls. One for dry, one for wet

DRY:

2 cups - Bob's Red Mill GOLDEN Flaxseed meal.

(You must use the Golden version unless the bread tastes weird)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon or a couple of pinches of salt

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (I know this is wet, but just pour it on top of the baking soda to get a fizzy reaction. You can use 3/4 t Cream of Tartar if you want but I dunno if that's primal)

WET:

5 LARGE eggs.

(Important: They should be room temperature so you put the eggs into a bowl of warm water beforehand if they are not). Don't use Xtra large, jumbo or medium eggs. Just large.

3 tablespoons filtered water

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of agave [or 1.5 tbl of melted down palm sugar]

EQUIPMENT:

8" x 11" glass pyrex pan. Don't use a 8x8 square pan or you will get bread that is too thick.

Parchment paper (yes, use this. NOT wax paper or it will stick)

Bread rack - important to get nice texture after drying.

First like I said above, make sure the eggs are room temperature by soaking in a bowl of warm water. Combine all the wet in a bowl. Beat it until its frothy. The pour the wet into the dry. Stir it up and put aside. Wait at least fifteen minutes.

The "dough" should be thick enough so when you lift it up with a spoon it holds together. It's not as gummy as real bread dough though, so you should use a spatula to get it out.

Preparing the bread pan: Cut the parchment paper, eyeballing it so there is about a 1" "lip" of paper around the pan after you push the parchment into the pan. That's so when the bread rises on the sides its still touching the parchment and not the glass.

Now use a spatula to dump the "dough" into the pan onto the parchment paper, carefully making sure the lip of paper is even around the pan. Wet your fingers and spread the dough evenly around the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. It should be dark around the edges and light brown beginning to turn dark brown on top. Slide it out and dump the whole thing on top of a bread rack, taking off the parchment paper.

Let it cool for an hour or more or so its dry on top when you cut into it.

Then cut six slices out and put them in plastic bags. They store for several days, or about a week in the 'frig. But for best results eat within 48 hours. They will get moldy after 3 or 4 days so I put half in the 'frig, and leave half out.

Tuesday Tunes - The Jane Doze: Girls Talk

2012-02-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

Unintentionally, I'm featuring the Jane Doze again because they just released a mixtape cleverly titled "Girls Talk" This 43-minute mix features a mix of old and new mixes by the girls across different genres. How about a mix with Rihanna, Sia, Afrojack and Porter? They got it with Wild Ones Take Over. Really into that Gotye song that you have on repeat on Spotify? Sprinkle in some Adele, MGMT and some Sebastian Ingrosso and you have Kids Set Fire to Someone That I Used to Know. The opener, No Love Stories Without Pretty Girls is also a treat mixing Taylor Swift with Chris Brown and Usher. Music elitist will really puke with the mix of Drake over Sigur Ros in Replacement Ros. I've been listening to this non-stop since its release yesterday and it really gets you going through a workout.These girls are absolutely on fire with this release with many big things ahead of them.

Download Link

Weekly Review - February 20 to February 26, 2012

2012-02-27T08:12:00.000-08:00

My plan for this year is to go 3 weeks on then 1 week of rest to avoid burnout/injury so this past week was recovery week 1. I still hit close to 8 hours of working out which is respectable. I managed to hit the goal of 4 runs/3 bikes/2 swims/2 strength workouts but as you can see, the volume on the most part dropped off pretty significantly from last week. I did manage to get three regular bikes in because they don't wreck my body as much and did a full distance long run on Sunday because I was feeling pretty good. Although I got two swims in, they were pretty pathetic distances. For the next rest week, I'll make more of an effort to get at least 1600 yds in.

I was targeting to do time trials for bike/swim/run but ended up only being able to do the bike test which went exceptionally well. I screwed myself doing a pretty quick but hard leg workout on Tuesday after the FTP test that kept my hamstrings pretty sore through the entire week so a run test would not have been as accurate. I'll probably try to do it this week as part of my workout run for Wednesday.

Injury-wise, I still feel the plantar fasciitis on some days but the major thing is it hasn't affected any of my workouts, even the long runs where it usually creeps up. I think the combination of a dynamic stretching routine and using The Stick prior to runs has really kept my muscles/ligaments limber for the workouts.

In terms of weight, another week of improvement. I've been using Monday mornings as my "check-in" for stats. Dropped another pound going from 175.9lbs to 174.8lbs and body fat dropped from 9.1% to 8.7%. If I can hit 8.5% before I hit up Vegas next week, that will be awesome. Although there weren't as many "intense" workouts last week, I ate pretty cleanly. The only diet "misses" was Tuesday when I had a work lunch with a customer and ordered the Chicken Marsala at Olive Garden (subbed out mashed potatoes for steam broccoli, no pasta) and on Sunday prior to the long run where I had a hotdog with pulled pork and a bag of potato chips.

Overall, I feel pretty rested today. This should be a great week of workouts coming up.

Summary
Total Time: 7hrs 50min
Total Distance: 76.94 miles
Swim: 1900yds/47min
Bike: 56.86miles/3hr 10min
Run: 19 miles/2 hr 41min
Strength: 1hr 12min

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
Bike - FTP test with TrainerRoad program. For the hell of it, I drank a cup of beet juice prior because it supposedly is good for you (http://sweatscience.com/the-beet-goes-on-nitrates-improve-cycling-time-trial-performance/) Went out a little too hard on the first 8-min interval but settled in and then used that effort to guide the second 8-min interval. Went "beast mode" last minute to blow it out. Couldn't be more pleased with the effort as FTP went up fr
om 238 watts to 276 watts through 6 wks of consistent bike training. http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/30071
Run - Easy 3 mile treadmill run recovery run in the afternoon at 7.0mph.
Strength - Went through some leg strengthening exercises: Leg Machine Press, Leg Curl, Leg Extension, Dumbbell Deadlift

Wednesday
Swim - Woke up later then I wanted to so I did a quick 1100yd swim before work.
Run - Another easy 3 miles on the treadmill during lunch

Thursday
Bike - Workouts are going to really start to kick my ass going from a baseline FTP of 238 to 276 watts. First workout at the new FTP was Lamarck, which is 4x10min @ FTP w/ 2min rest between. Wanted to keep workouts under 45 min this week so I cut to just 2x10min. Overall felt good, was able to stick around FTP. Challenged but not overwhelming. http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/31015

Friday
Strength - Just an upper body lift since legs were feeling sapped from two hard bike sessions earlier this week and leg strengthening. Incline Bench Press Machine, Chin Ups, Shoulder Press Machine, Bicep Curls, Pec Fly Machine, Dumbbell Shoulder Circles, Dips, and weighted row machine.

Saturday
Bike - First full workout at the new FTP. 5x9min intervals spent slightly above or slightly below FTP (1 minute unders, 2 minute overs). 6 minute rest between intervals. First time doing a full TrainerRoad workout at the new FTP ranges. A bit intimidating at first but a lot of it is mentally accepting that there will be challenges getting acclimated to the new intensity level. Really had to HTFU on the last interval but happy I willed myself through the entire workout instead of telling myself to cut it short http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/31837

Sunday
Run - Easy 10-miler to stay consistent with the long runs. Averaged 8:22min/mile. Pace was a bit faster than last week which was expected since this one was mostly on pavement. Felt great and will probably bump to 12 miles next week.

Workout Tunes Tuesday

2012-02-21T18:40:00.000-08:00

I often get requests to share music that I listen to while doing various workouts so I'll start to do a weekly Tuesday post and share some of the jams to freshen up your iPod playlists. For the initial post, here's a 36-minute mix from NYC-based duo, The Jane Doze. The mix was made for the Baby G Mini Mix series and features a broad range of artists like Foster the People, Avicii, Robyn, Usher, Beyonce, Coldplay, and Daft Punk.

These girls have been putting out quality mash-ups over the past couple of years and are really making some noise on the scene. I came across the Jane Doze from an earlier project of DJ Rumspringa from when she had a Kanye West/Bruno Mars song featured on Perez Hilton. The girls have been getting a lot of pop lately and they were recently invited to perform at one of the Grammy events in L.A. earlier this month. More of their stuff can be found at their Soundcloud page.

Weekly Review - February 13 to February 19, 2012

2012-02-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

This week was another volume week with primary focus on increasing weekly mileage on the run, jumping from 20 miles to 26 miles. I think my body handled the increase fine but I probably didn't give enough time for recovery and had to make adjustments on Saturday. On the bike, I think I'm making great strides getting bike fitness back after taking nearly 3 months off. Current FTP is 238 watts but I think that will jump after this week's test. On the swim, I'm getting more comfortable with the longer main sets which will be critical as I head into the meat of training to swim 2.4 miles proficiently. Injury-wise, the body feels pretty good. The only lingering "condition" I'm still dealing with is the plantar fasciitis that flared up for most of my races in the fall last season. The PF hasn't affected any of my workouts but the first few steps out of bed in the morning are fairly sensitive but sleeping with the Boot/Strassburg sock has helped along with rolling out the calves pre/post run to keep the muscles pliable. Overall, no complaints with this week and looking forward to a "rest week" this coming week which means less volume but more strength workouts and benchmark tests for the swim/bike/run to figure out new pacing.

Summary
Total Time: 10hrs 51min
Swim: 5599 yds/.2 hr 12 min
tBike: 50.20 miles/ 3hr 02min
Run: 3:40/ 3hr 49min
Strength: 1hr 55min

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
Swim - Hit 2400yds with the mainset being 14 x 100yd repeats on 2:15. Nailed this workout and will probably bump up to 16 x 100 after this rest week
Bike - 3x3m ILT + 10x30sec Form Sprints+ 3x2m ILT+ 2x6min Spin Ups @ sweet spot. Nailed this workout as well. http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/27313

Wednesday
Run - I've been running 4-5 miles on a treadmill but really needed to increase volume and start running outside again. This workout was basically 30 minutes out and back with the goal of running a negative split. Averaged 7:57min/mile pace for first 30 and 7:35min/mile pace on the way back. Ended up hitting 7.5 miles
Strength - Ran through the Tri Ripped strength workout which was various lifts on machines that hit all the body parts

Thursday
Bike - 4x8min intervals @ 88-94% (Sweet Spot) with 5-second Anaerobic Capacity (AC) sprints at 150-180%. 4-minute recoveries between. I'm still not great at maintaining power when have to quickly switch between a sprint and steady effort but its good to know what weaknesses I need to work on before race season starts http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/27978
Run - Easy 2-mile recovery run on the treadmill before core workout
Core Workout - Planks, crunches, bicycles, cable torso twist, knees to elbows, bosu ball hip press
Swim - Opted for a light swim just to get some water time. 200 WU, 2 x 400yd fs w/ pool buoy, 200 CD

Friday
Run - Forgot to mention, before all my runs, I do this standard warm-up routine I found from strengthrunning.com. I highly recommend this over traditional static stretching. Easy Z2 run. Steady pace first 30min, then controlled 30 sec Z4 sprint every 5 min on the way back. Northlane Hill got me pretty good again on the way back. Stick routine cool down
Strength - Another round of Machine Strength routine from Tri Ripped

Saturday
Bike - 6x8min intervals in 95-99%FT range w/ 4min rest. Had to cut this one down short to only 4 intervals. Pounded my legs pretty good through the week and my resting HR when I woke up was 5 beats higher than normal which indicated I wasn't fully recovered enough. Workout started fine but power dropped pretty significantly on 4th interval. Too early in the season to be a hero so I made the decision to cut the bike short and just take it easy the rest of the day

Sunday
Run - Easy 10-miler on Wissahickon Trail. Pacing felt great, not too slow, not too fast...just easy distance. Target was between 8:30 - 8:45min/mile pace and ended up hitting 8:33 so pleased with this effort. I'm trying to rotate doing my long runs on the trail and pavement to try to keep my legs fresh. I think it was the right decision to add more rest Saturday so that I could have a solid run on Sunday.
Swim - Decided to drop sometime in the pool right after the run to make up for not getting it in on Saturday. It was a "free swim" effort meaning no structured workout, just a mix of drills and various repeats.

Weight
Since I re-focused on diet at the beginning of this month, I've been doing well getting back to race weight. I dropped 1.8lbs from 177.7 to 175.9 from last week, down about 4 lbs so far this month. I'll also take this with a grain of salt because its not real exact with a scale but body fat dropped from 9.6% to 9.1%.

Weekly Review - February 6 to February 12, 2012

2012-02-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks, I've been getting emails/questions on what it is like to train for an Ironman. Many of them are along the lines of what am I doing, how much of it, how are the workouts spread out, etc. I think its great that there is such interest as folks look to plan their races and goals for 2012. One of the things you can't train is experience but at least it is something easily shared. I've made it a point to track all of my workouts on Dailymile.com which is a great website to log workouts and stay motivated while you are training. I'll also try to put out a weekly re-cap and provide some insight into my training, how I'm feeling, tips and such so that you maybe able to leverage some of what I'm doing into your own training. In a selfish way, putting my workouts online will also hold me more accountable toward hitting the workouts and not slacking off.

Follow Me On:

February has been a good month building base volume. The first week in February I hit 7 hours and 28 minutes of working out. Among this, I hit 8 key workouts (key workouts being either Swim, Bike, or Run) which worked out to 2 pool workouts (3200 yds), 3 bikes (59.5 miles), and 3 runs (16 miles). Unfortunately, I only had one supplemental workout which was the 5K Row I did at 2:30am before heading out to Wing Bowl. This was actually a good week considering that Friday was Wing Bowl and we were partying in Atlantic City all through Saturday Night into Sunday morning.

This past week is about what normal training will look like for the next couple of months. The goal is to hit 4 runs, 3 bikes, 2 swims, and 2 supplemental workouts (strength/row/crosstrain) each week.

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
Bike - TrainerRoad Workout, Carillon: 2 sets of 2x10min SweetSpot CrissCross intervals where 1min surges are spend out-of-the-saddle. 1RBI/5RBS. 10 pullups before and 30 more pullups afterwards http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/24078

Wednesday
Swim - 2000 yd swim. Main set was 10x100yd repeats. Was looking to do 12 but I ran out of time
Run - 5 mile run. Main set was a 25 minute tempo run but I could only do 2 x10 minute runs at my T pace. Not sure if I was too aggressive on my target time or if I was still beat up from a hard weekend of partying.

Thursday
Run - Easy 2 miler on the Treadmill on 7.0mph/8:30ish pace
Strength - Primarily Chest and Back
Bike - TrainerRoad Workout, Tallac: Did the bike ride at night since Carly is using the trainer tomorrow AM. 3 long-duration, Sweet Spot intervals each lasting 15 minutes with short, 3-minute recoveries between each. http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/24982

Friday
Run - 5 mile run. Attempted to do the 25 minute tempo run again and again could only do 2 x 10' at T pace. I think my "fast pace" endurance isn't built up enough yet but I'm determined to be able to get past this workout and try it again this week.

Saturday
Bike - TrainerRoad Workout, Clark: Mainset was 6x8min Sweet Spot efforts directly preceded with 12s big-gear stomps; 2 minutes rest between intervals. Saturday rides are the long one for the week, this one being 90 minutes. It was pretty hard hitting the power targets switching between the regular gear/big gears but a great workout. http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/25765
Swim - 2200yds. Mainset was seeing how fast (or slow) I could do 1600 yd in. Good news is that I broke 30 minutes for the first time, 29:20. I'm going to have to get it down to 28:00 to have a competitive 1.2 mile swim.
Strength - Quick circuit after the swim consisting of 4 rds: Cable Chest Press, Cable Straight Arm Pulldown, Dumbbell side raises, Bicep curls, and Water Ski Rows.

Sunday
Run - Didn't get this going until 5pm because I was tried/hung over from a Saturday night at the bars. I wanted to mix up the terrain I was running on and chose to run on the Wissahickon Trail. I wish I would've checked it out beforehand because it was icy as hell. Probably not the best decision to do a long run on ice but I made it through fine. The goal of this run was easy pace around 8:30min/mile average and hitting 8 miles. Ended up averaging 8:31 which was perfect considering the icy conditions.

16 Week Blue Cross Broadstreet Run Training Plan

2012-01-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

2012 is here and with a new year, comes new goals. A few of my friends are looking to run the Blue Cross Broadstreet 10 Mile Race for the first time and asked I put together a plan for them to get ready for the race. I complied and created a sixteen week schedule that mixes running workouts along with supplemental workouts such as general strength and core. I really believe that running is a combination of different aspects outside of just hitting the pavement everyday. Building up strong muscles and an iron core will make you a better runner, help prevent injuries, and also have you looking great.

As context, the plan is geared toward beginners who can easily complete a 5K as a prerequisite. It is also a great plan for someone who hasn't run consistently in awhile and are looking for a structured plan to get back into the swing of things. Outside of the schedule of runs, I've included various resources I've come across over the past years to include in the training such as different strength exercises, core workouts, plyometric drills, and various other tips/thoughts to ensure a successful and injury free Broadstreet Run.

Let me know if you have any questions and best of luck as you conquer the Broadstreet Run in 2012!

Download Link to 16 Week Broadstreet Run Plan

Who's Coming With Me? My Race Schedule for 2012

2011-11-30T10:08:00.000-08:00

(The "village" in the center of Mont Tremblant)

The 2011 season is in the books and it looks like the major races planned for next year are already pretty much set. I have been planning my 2012 season over the past few weeks to get an idea of time commitments, vacation scheduling, and "life events". The other advantage of registering for the races ahead of time is that there is a clear goal to train towards. 2012 is shaping up to be a great year in terms of travel with races planned in New Orleans, Mont Tremblant (Quebec), Cambridge (Maryland), and Portland (Oregon).

In some cases, I'm almost forced to think about 2012 early because of how fast a race will sell out or significant early bird discounts. For example, I signed up for Ironman Mont Tremblant in July, a full 13 months before the race even happens and it is already sold out. The Eagleman 70.3 is also sold out. It is nuts how fast some of the Ironman-branded events sell out ahead of time but it makes sense because that kind of race isn't something you sign up for willy nilly.

My two "A" races for 2012 are Ironman Mont Tremblant and the Portland Marathon. After finishing Ironman Arizona in 2010, the goal is now to improve on time. Splitting out the legs, I'd like to do the 2.4 mile swim in 1:15, the 112 mile bike in under 6 hours, and do a 4-hour marathon. The goal is then to do IMMT in under 11:45 which would be a nice improvement over the 13:20 I had at IMAZ. The major challenge to prepare for is how hilly IMMT will be. In the winter, the place is a ski resort so the course won't be as favorable as IMAZ. On the bright side, the main area in Mont Tremblant (pictured above) is very much like an Olympic village so while I'm out there pounding the race, friends/family/spectators should have a great time partying it up. For Portland, the goal is definitely to go under 3:20. I was on pace and feeling great at the Philly Marathon until the Plantar Fasciitis kicked in and derailed everything. The main factor is how fast I can recover from the IMMT and start transitioning over to some marathon specific training. I think Portland will be a fantastic experience because I'll be going with a number of friends, I have family in Portland, and the city is always cool to visit overall.

Outside of the two "A" races, the other races will primarily be used as "training races" where I'm basically using them as workouts or to fine tune race day racing. The one stretch that raises my eyebrows a little are the first three races that are on consecutive weekends. It shouldn't be a big deal because the Out and Back Run is more of a fun race but I'm hoping I'm somewhat recovered from New Orleans 70.3 so I can try to go for a PR at the Broadstreet Run.

There are a few wildcard races that might pop up along the way. If I get into the NYC Marathon, I'll probably run it and there's also the idea of running the Philly Marathon again as a redemption race. We'll see how all that pans out as I make my way through the year.

Without further ado, here's what's lined up for 2012:

April 22, 2012 - Ironman New Orleans 70.3
April 27, 2012 - Out and Back 4-Miler (Philadelphia)
May 6, 2012 - Broadstreet 10-Miler (Philadelphia)
May 26, 2012 - Sea Isle Tri for Veterans (Sea Isle, NJ)
June 10, 2012 - Ironman Eagleman 70.3 (Cambridge, MD)
July 28, 2012 - MCAP Run for Hill of It 5-Miler (Philadelphia)
August 19, 2012 - Ironman Mont Tremblant (Quebec)
October 7, 2012 - Portland Marathon (Portland, OR)

Deals: Fully Waterproof GPS Watch for $123

2011-11-28T07:29:00.001-08:00

Over the past few years, I've really seen the rise of personal fitness devices and along with it, a gradual decrease in pricing that is really starting to make it affordable to own something like a GPS watch to help optimize your training and log your workouts. Timex recently released the Ironman Run Trainer which is targeted as a direct competitor to the Garmin 210 watch. Based upon functionality and price point, this watch will be more than adequate for 90% of the people I know. The value of the watch goes further if you get the heart rate strap so you can measure the intensity of your workouts to see if you are pushing it enough on an interval workout or a CrossFit WOD. The best part is that you can get it for a reasonable price of $123 through a combination of sales and rebates.
First off, here are the main factors why I think the Timex Run Trainer will be adequate for most of you:

It is a GPS watch
It utilizes the Ant+ wireless signal which is pretty common standard for wireless fitness accessories like a heart rate monitor or footpod
It is fully waterproof so you can also use it in the rain or to time your swim workouts
It is compatible with TrainingPeaks, which is a website to log your workouts so you can keep track over time
For the triathletes, it can also double as a bike computer (with an Ant+ speed/cadence sensor)

Rather than recreate the wheel, you can refer to my one of my favorite blogs, DC Rainmaker for a pretty detailed review of the watch.

DC Rainmaker's Review of the Timex Run Trainer

So how do you get this watch for $123?

Step 1 - Sign up for VIP status for $1.99 at Roadrunnersports.com

*IMPORTANT: Although the VIP status is only $1.99, it only lasts a year and then auto-renews for $24.99 so be sure to go into your account settings and disable it from auto-renewing.

Step 2 - Now that you have VIP status, you automatically get 10% off your entire order. If you are reading this on Cyber Monday (November 28, 2011), the discount is increased to 20% on almost anything (excluding electronics, that discount is still only 10%). If you need shoes/clothes, this is an incredible deal

Step 3 - Add the Timex Run Trainer to you cart (link). There's actually the option to get it with a heart rate monitor for an additional $40 (link) which is a different of $189 vs $229. I'd recommend getting it with the heart rate monitor but if you just want the GPS watch, it is only $189.

Step 4 - Check out. The discount should be applied to the watch, bringing it down to $170.99

Step 5 - Now comes the manual part. You will have to fill out the rebate form to get a $50 check back from Timex. You can get the rebate form at the link below:

Timex Run Trainer Rebate Form

* Rebate expires Dec 31, 2011

So if you do the math:

List Price: $189.99

+ VIP Membership $1.99

Sub-Total: $191.98

Less 10% VIP Discount: $19.00

Less Rebate: $50.00

Final Price: $122.98

Race Report: Philadelphia Marathon 2012

2011-11-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

My 2011 season came to a close with the completion of the Philly marathon. I didn't intend to do any marathons this year but somehow ended up signing up for both the Baltimore Marathon and Philadelphia marathon which are within a month of each other. I agreed to do the Philly Marathon so that my brother and I could race each other on a relatively flat course. The outcome of the race was not exactly how I wanted due to the lingering plantar fasciitis issues. In a nutshell, I felt great the first half of the race (1:41 half marathon split) but struggled through the second half when the planter fasciitis flared up (4:08 finish). Unfortunately, other circumstances at the marathon gave me perspective that there are more important things to dwell on than an undesirable race result. I originally wrote a detailed post with race preparation, nutrition, mile splits, heart rate charts, etc. I decided to scrap all of that this morning and do something different.

I'm sure at this point, most people know that two racers passed away at the Philadelphia Marathon. One was a 21-yr old student at UPenn, Jeffrey Lee. The other racer was Chris Gleason. This post is a bit bizarre in that I never met Chris but he was basically the template of what I what to strive to be in life. I've been reading a number of news articles covering the his passing away and all of them have the same theme, Chris was an intense competitor who received mutual joy from helping others succeed, he was a dedicated family man who made sure he balanced his career (lawyer) and training to have enough time to spend with his kids, and he left an impression on everyone he met. I think that is why this particular story struck such a chord with me because the way he lived his life is how I want to be able to live mine.

As you can see from the pictures below, the man was a bad ass. He completed multiple Ironman competitions (getting close to breaking 10-hrs at the last one in Lake Placid), finished a Half Ironman with a busted up knee that required 20+ stitches, and did a cyclecross race a week before the Philly Marathon. Then there's the other side of him, finishing a race hand in hand with his son. Chris is an example that not all heroes wear capes/masks or be on television. The triathlon community lost a tremendous person with Chris' passing.

His wife said it best:

"All I can think of is that God thought he was awesome, too, and he needed him. That's the only way I can explain this."

Finishing a Half Ironman with a busted knee from an earlier bike crash

Cyclecross Race the weekend before the Philly Marathon

Finishing Ironman Lake Placid this past summer

Finishing a race with his song by his side

My Reflective Wear Set-Up for Night Time Running

2011-11-16T07:15:00.000-08:00

Figuring out ideal training conditions is always a trade-off depending on what season of the year you are in. During the Fall season, the weather is more conducive to running outside from a temperature perspective but the major disadvantage is the lack of day light to train in. At this point, you are pretty much forced to run in the dark before work or after work if you prefer to run outside.

As Winter starts to settle in, I'll start to transition a couple of runs onto the treadmill but I'm going to make sure at least 50% of my mileage comes from running outside so my legs don't get overly acclimated to the softer treadmill surface. Looking back on the 2011 season, I think the shin splints/plantar fasciitis could have been minimized/avoided had I not exclusively done all of my running on a treadmill during the winter and making a gradual transition to running on concrete/asphalt again when Spring started to come around. I'll still get mileage in daylight on the weekends but that can't be the source of all my outside running so I'll have to make time either early in the morning or after work which means having to run in the dark.

With that in mind, the last thing I need is getting hit by a car while running in the dark so as a safety precaution, I do wear a number of reflective items to maximize the ability for others to see me out in the dark.

From Top to Bottom, here's my current running in the dark set-up:

Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp
Saucony ViZiPro Drylete Headband
K-Swiss Ironman Windbreaker
Amphipod Singlet
Nathan's Reflective Slap Bracelet
REI Reflective ankle/arm band
Custom RoadID ID Bracelet

Below is a picture of how the set up looks in reflecting light. As you can see, pretty damn luminescent. Flashing. Flashing. Lights. Lights.

If I could only wear one item from the list above (exclusive of the RoadID bracelet), the Amphipod Xinglet easily gives the most bang for the buck. It fits completely around your chest/waist to give 360 degree visibility and is very minimal. I also like the way it looks over some of the more traditional running vests. Yes, I'm a shallow runner.

$21.95 at Runningwarehouse.com

One final point. I know the headlamp seems very nerdy so I'll explain that one. For the most part, many of my runs are some type of interval repeats which I'll do with loops around my neighborhood if I can't make it out to the track:

My local Conshohocken interval "loop" just outside my house. Just under 1 mile.

There are times thought when I just want to do an easy mid to long distance run and not be bored by doing the same loop over and over again. During these runs, I opt to do it on the Schuylkill Trail which has absolutely no lighting. The head lamp provides just enough light to see where the trail is going, avoid tripping over anything and avoid potentially stepping in dog/deer/bear poo. Outside of running, the head lamp has also been super handy in situations where I need to use a flashlight but need both hands so there are definitely other practical benefits of owning a head lamp. Spelunking anyone?

Any other cool night time reflective pieces you use and really like? Let me know!

Earn It to Own It and Other Race Apparel Etiquette

2011-11-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

I've been on the fence about whether or not I'll go ahead and gut out running the Philadelphia Marathon this weekend due to my ongoing struggle with Plantar Fasciitis. It's frustrating knowing that I have the aerobic capacity and strength to run a marathon but am limited by an injury. In conversation with friends about dropping out and eating the $125 registration fee, someone mentioned that at least I would get a nice long sleeve tech tee out of it. Therein lies an interesting point. I don't think I would pick up and wear a shirt for a race I didn't do. Coincidentally, I saw this list of informal race shirt etiquette rules posted on the forums on slowtwitch.com. Personally, I’ve never worn a shirt or apparel for a race that I did not run or complete and I don't think I'd make an exception for the upcoming Philly Marathon. In a way, I feel like it would be disrespectful to the actual participants that were in the race. Earn it to own it.

1. A shirt cannot be worn unless the wearer has participated in the event. There is an exception, though: "significant others" and volunteers are exempt.

2. Any race tee, less than a marathon distance, shouldn’t be worn to an ultra marathon event. This goes double for the wearing of sprint-tri shirts to Ironman and Half-Ironman events. It simply doesn’t represent a high enough "cool factor " and sends a red flag regarding your rookiness. It's like taking a knife to a gunfight. It's probably best just to wear a generic name-brand athletic shirt, and go hide in a corner until race time.

3. When you are returning to a race in which you have previously finished, then wear the shirt from the first year you completed the race. Don’t short-change yourself by wearing the shirt from the year before. It doesn’t adequately display the feat of accomplishment or the consummate veteran status that you are due.

4. Never wear a race event shirt for the (same) race you are about to do. Only rookies do this. It displays a total lack of integrity and might put the bad-heebee-jeebee-mojo on you for the race. Wearing a T-shirt of the race, while currently running said race, is discouraged. It’s like being at work and constantly announcing "I’m at work". Besides, you wont have the correct post-race shirt then...unless you like to wear sweaty, pitted-out clothes on a regular basis. If you do, then go back to the swamp, Gomer.

5. Never wear a shirt from a run that you did not finish. To wear a race shirt is to say "I finished it". Exceptions: see guideline #1.

6. A DNF’er may wear a race shirt if... the letters DNF are boldly written on the shirt in question (using a fat Sharpie or a Marks-A-Lot).

7. During a race, the wearing of shirt from a previously completed year is acceptable. Wear the oldest T-shirt you have from that race (see guideline #3). This is probably a good practice because you now have no excuse to drop out since you’ve done it before.

8. If possible, runners should buy significant others T-shirts which can be worn without regard to running the race. (see guide #1). Keep in mind, they support your "running Jones" more than you think. They also have ways of punishing you that you can't even imagine. Or maybe you can.

9. Volunteers have full T-shirt rights and all privileges pertaining thereto. So there. Remember, you can always volunteer for a race and get a shirt. I encourage this as your civil duty to be a member of the running community. Races don't happen without volunteers, folks.

10. No souvenir shirts: therefore, friends or anyone else not associated with the race may not wear a race shirt. If your mom thinks that your Boston shirt is lovely, tell her to QUALIFY for Boston herself, & send in her application early for next year, so she can earn her own shirt. A downside to this: she still has plenty of time to write you out of her will between her training runs for the big race. Note that your mom CAN wear your finisher's shirt under one of these 4 conditions- 1) you still live with your mother; 2) she funded your trip to the race; 3) she recently bailed you out of the slammer; or 4) All of the above. There is an exception to this guideline: (refer to # 1...If you are a "non-traditional family," and your mom actually is your Significant Other).

11. Always wear the race shirt of your last race at the current race’s pre-race briefing. The more recent the race, the better. This is a good conversation starter. However, avoid the tendency to explain how that it was a training run for this, and this is just a training run for the next, etc. It just sounds like your rationalizing mediocre performances. Sometimes it’s best to live in the here and now.

12. Your t-shirt should be kept clean, but dried blood stains are okay, especially if it is a trail race or a particularly tough event. If you're an ultrarunner, you can even leave in mud and grass stains, (and porcupine quills). Not washing-out the skunk scent is pushing the macho thing a bit too far, though.

13. Never wear a T-shirt that vastly out-classes the event you're running. It’s like taking a gun to a knife fight. Or like unleashing an atomic bomb among aboriginal natives. You get the idea.

14. Also: never wear a blatantly prestigious T-shirt downtown or at the mall among non-running ilk. People will just think you have a big head, which you do. You'll also get stupid questions, like, "how long was that marathon?" If it's a shirt to a 50 or 100-miler, they'll think it's a shirt for a cycling event or just think you're totally nuts, which (of course), you probably are.

15. Never, ever, borrow a race finisher's shirt from another runner to wear to an event that you didn't run. If you do, remember that in Dante's Inferno, he wrote about a special Hell for characters such as you; right between Tax Collectors and Lawyers.

16. All children or grandchildren of ours can wear hand-me-down race finisher's shirts for races that I've run in. When they are asked, "did you run in that 100-mile trail race?" They can proudly respond, "no, but my daddy (or grandad) did." If your progeny has put-up with you being an ultrarunner, they have said rights too. If you have completed an Ironman, your kids also have the same rights. They've put up with a lot of crap (or outright neglect) over the years, and deserve to wear them.

Original Link:
http://blog.trainingpeaks.com/2010/11/earn-it-to-own-it-the-boston-marathon-wardrobe.html

The Most Incredible Home Cooked Steaks Courtesy of Sous-Vide

2011-11-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

"Whoa...is that a blow torch cooking the steak?" Yes, that's a blow torch but it is only for "finishing" the steak. To further your confusion, the steak was cooked in a crock pot of water for about six hours and the finished product is hands down the best home-cooked steak I've ever had. All of this is courtesy to the Sous-Vide method which cooks the meat evenly throughout, not overcook the outside, and retain more of the food juices. This kind of cooking used to be limited to high end gourmet restaurants but now there are ways for us non-professionals to enjoy foods cooked Sous-Vide.

So what exactly is Sous-Vide? In a nutshell, it is cooking food that has been sealed in an air tight plastic bag in a water bath for an extended period of time at a very precise temperature. The temperature of the water is pre-set and the food item can never be cooked over that temperature. Since the food is sealed, almost all of the juices are retained.

As an example, when you order steaks, the "doneness" is actually associated with a specific temperature of the inside of the meat. Contrary to what most people think, it has nothing to do with the color. Here's a table:

Traditionally, the cut of meat is placed on a grill at a much higher temperature then the desired internal temperature. If the meat is cooked too long, it burns. If it isn't cooked long enough, it is under cooked. The beauty of Sous-Vide is that you get the water to your desired temperature and the meat will cook to that exact temperature. It will probably make more sense walking through the process I used so here's an overview from the Ngo kitchen.

First off, I'm using a piece of regular sirloin steak that I purchased at BJ's for $4.99 a pound. I rubbed the steak down with sea salt and pepper and then sealed the bag via a food bag vacuum machine and Seal-a-Meal plastic wrap.

Next, I connect a regular house hold crock pot to a device called the Sous-Vide Magic. I set the desired temperature that I want the water to stay at and it automatically controls the crock pot cooking temperature to get the water to within .1 of a degree of what it should be using a thermometer that goes inside the crockpot. In this case, I like my steaks medium-rare and Carly likes it cooked medium so I compromised on 137 degrees.

The steaks then go into the water bath, the lid goes over the crock pot, and the steaks stay there for about six hours to ensure its cooked fully to the right temperature.

After six hours, the steaks get taken out. As you can see, very even color and full of juice! But what about that nice, fresh off the grill flavor? Well . . .

That is where the blow torch comes into play to sear the meat!

The end result is a piece of affordable steak that absolutely melts in your mouth. I feel that I'm just scratching the surface with potential recipes. Different mixes of spices is something I'll try in the future as well as wrapping the meat in bacon!

Finally, to address a question that you probably have: "Is it safe to cook meat wrapped in plastic?" With the awareness around the dangers of BPA, this is a perfectly natural question to think of. In addition to BPA, PVC is another plastic material consumers should avoid because it breaks down in heat as well. The food bags I'm using from Seal-a-Meal are poly/nylon blend which is BPA/PVC free and safe for cooking in high temperatures.

Interested in trying out Sous-Vide? Here's a few methods/devices I've come across. I'll rank them in order from Kitchen Worthy to Ghetto:

Sous-Vide Supreme Water Oven ($400): An actual consumer Sous Vide Water Immersion Oven. Does the trick but kind of pricey.

Sous-Vide Magic Controller by Fresh Meals Solutions ($160): Hooks into a crock pot to control temperature. This is what I use.

DIY #1 Sous-Vide Cooker with PID Temperature Controller (about $75 in parts + time/skill): For those who like projects and/or was in FIRST Robotoics club in high school.

DIY #2 Sous-Vide on a Stove with Big Pot of Water and Digital Cooking Thermometer (~$30 + patience): I actually tried this as my first go around with Sous Vide cooking. It was a PITA trying to get the water temp to stay consistent.

DIY #3 Sous-Vide via a Beer Cooler and Hot Water (~$20 + patience): I haven't personally tried this, but in theory it should work. Serious Eats posted an article on this with pretty favorable results.

All this talk about Sous-Vide is giving me the itch to to try some new recipes. There's tons of ways to try Sous-Vide so give it a shot and let me know how it goes. In the meantime, I'm going to try to recreate this guy:

More Information:

A Practical Guide to Sous-Vide Cooking

Sous-Vide Supreme Water Oven

Sous-Vide Magic by Fresh Meals Solutions

DIY Sous-Vide Instructions

DIY Sous-Vide Over a Stove

DIY Sous-Vide Beer Cooler

Guest Post: A Review of the Catalyst Cleanse Diet

2011-11-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

I've been working to catch up on a number of new posts but alas, life commitments and training gets in the way to getting the goods out in a timely manner.The target is for the posts to be coming out in the next couple of weeks including reviews of a few zero drops shoes I tried this summer, a review of the new Zeo Mobile sleep machine, winter cycling workout ideas, and a couple of fitness books/movie reviews. In the meantime, we have a guest post from my good friend Gina who is a fellow fitness enthusiast. To give some color on Gina's background, she currently is an active CrossFitter at CrossFit Manayunk and also a member of my Co-Ed football team. Gina has also done a number of road races including 5K's, 10 milers, and half marathons. She is targeting to do her first marathon next year at the Portland Marathon.

One of the growing trends in the consumer health industry has been cleanse diets. In a nutshell, the goals of the different cleanses are to detoxify your body, assist with weight loss, and potentially clear up your complexion. At the end of the program, it also provides an opportunity to "re-start" your habits and replacing them with good ones. There's all kinds of cleanse products out there, but Gina specifically tried the Catalyst Cleanse. She wrote up a fantastic review of it on Facebook and allowed me to share her experiences on my blog to give you all a bit more insight into what the diet entails. Check out the full review after the jump.

Juice Company Details

The company making the juices is called Catalyst Cleanse. They are located locally to Philadelphia at 1713 Spring Garden St. You have to place your order online or by calling and then you just pick up the juices at their location, you cannot go to the location to "shop". I had a voucher from deal of the day site, Rue La La, to get the three day set for $100. The full price retail is $180. You have the choice to juice Tues-Thurs or Fri-Sun since their pick up days are Monday and Thursday from 5-7pm. You can also have them delivered to your home for an extra charge.

Goals

Kick the sugar craving, set off November on a good clean note, get my willpower out of the hole I dug and back up to 98% and start to get back to my original weight. I was not planning on hitting that til the end of the month, but as you will see it came sooner then later.

Gina's Details

I was at 122lbs back in Sept and then I suddenly fell off the nutrition wagon. I was trying to stick to my usual meal plan but it seemed like every day sugar and snacks were creeping in, particularly around 3pm on workdays. Weekends became complete cheat days both Saturday and Sunday. I ended up with a constant sugar craving and 6 extra lbs...not cool. I also noticed my skin wasn't as clear, my workouts weren't as energized and I just didn't feel 100%. When I saw the Juice deal on Rue I figured it would be a great way to kick off a clean eating November. I should mention that I already fast on Monday's, I have been doing this for about a year now.I thought I should mention it since it might give me a leg up on managing hunger vs just wanting to eat.

The Review

The weights I list are my weigh-in numbers from the morning of that day.

Pre-Juice: 128lbs- I took the week before to eat as clean as possible, highly suggested by Catalyst. I fasted on Monday, went high protein low fat on Tuesday, even balance of protein, carbs and fats Wed/Thurs. I did not avoid meat on the days before the cleanse as they suggested since I was already worried about the lack of protein for the next three days.

Day 0: 127.5lbs - I went to pick up the juices Thursday after work. It is a shady sort of setup, you pull up to the curb, call the number they gave you and they bring your juices down to the door. I am assuming they have set up shop in an apartment or two in the building. The girl seemed nice enough, aka didn't look like she would put anything dangerous in my juice. The juices came in 3 bags complete with an ice pack to keep them cold for the ride home. Lining the bottles up in my fridge they made quite the nice colorful display...until they settled, then it was a little less pretty. They all require a good shake before consumption.

Day 1: 127lbs - My theory was that I was going to get hungry living on just juice so I slept til 9, got ready for work and had my first juice during my walk in around 9:30. This meant a juice at 9:30, 11:30, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30 and 7:30. Worked great for including my noon run. This plan backfired. The juices all tasted really good, the green one is mostly cucumber with a splash of lime, the lemonade goes down fast and refreshes, carrot/apple and beet/apple are sweet and fiber full so they really fill you up, a second green juice, then the dessert of cashew milk is heavenly. My problem was drinking 16oz juices every two hours plus additional water and herbal tea leaves you FULL. I ended up not drinking my 5:30 green juice until 7pm and then the dessert at 8. I made it through the first day ok, but my stomach just felt so bloated with fluids. My mood wasn't the best towards the end of the day but I think that had more to do with a long work week, exhaustion and of course being drowned in juice. In bed by 9:30.

Day 2: 126lbs - I woke up at 6am, two hours before my alarm, and had a great idea...drink a juice now and go back to sleep. This ended up working perfectly. I spread the juices out a bit more then the day before and there was no drowning feeling. I wasn't hungry at all and had all the energy I needed to play in 2 football games with no subs. We won both games of course. I spent the rest of the day cheering at a crossfit competition and going on a walking tour of Philadelphia. Energy was never an issue and I had no feelings of starving. A few times during the day food was offered to me, including some paleo sweet potatoes that smelled like heaven. They were hard to pass up, but I think I would have had a hard time if I was juicing or just trying to not eat anything outside of my meal plan for the day. Obviously a key to these three days is to try not to put yourself in situations where there will be a buffet present, willpower is only so strong. Set yourself up for success. In bed by 10pm.

Day 3: 124.5lbs - Daylight savings time and early to bed meant another early wake up, so down with juice one and back to bed. I was trying to sleep as much as possible since I wanted this to be a completely restorative weekend for my body. With that in mind I got up at 8, had juice 2 and went to hot yoga. Even after two days on just juice I had plenty of energy for the class. I did add a NUUN hydration tablet to my water for the class to avoid any over dehydration, you sweat A LOT in hot yoga. After class I was exhausted and wanted a nap, but once I got to my parents house that feeling passed and I was fine. I spent the day hanging out with my family who cooked up burgers for lunch and homemade chilli and cornbread for dinner. I think this cleanse affects your sense of smell because I could smell the smallest bit of food from 100yrds away. This was tough, but I made sure my mom set aside some chilli for me to take home for later in the week and I drank my juices. I wasn't about to fail in the twilight of Day 3! Was in bed around 9pm.

Day 4: 123.5lbs- The return of food...but not before my 5:45am CrossFit WOD. This is where I found the biggest con of the cleanse. My legs were super sore from football and yoga, something I am not used to and attributed to the lack of protein for recovery. The cardio parts of the workout seemed fine, burpees were flowing. However the bar felt extra heavy on push presses and pull ups were killer. Again I am thinking the lack of protein was working against my muscles. For my meals I stuck to vegetarian since catalyst suggests easing back into heavy proteins for your stomachs sake. I had apples, coconut milk, salads with oil and vinegar for dressing, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, etc.

Day 5: 122.1lbs - So even with full food in my stomach the day before I woke up almost another 1.5lbs lighter. I ate eggs at breakfast and tuna at lunch and things seem ok. I did have an oatmeal raisin cookie at lunch, no one is perfect. But I am going to try hard to stay on track the rest of the week until my usual cheat day on Sunday. Also going to try to keep the no alcohol going until Dec 1st. Drinking has an adverse effect on my willpower and if I want to try to get in a full 5 good weeks I need to drop the sauce.

Final Notes: Everyone asks about the bathroom situation, so here it is...for the three days of juicing I pee'd a lot. You are taking in 96 ounces of juice plus up to 96 ounces of water every day, that is a lot of fluids. As for the other I actually felt that I went less then usual which can probably be attributed to the fact that I was eating a lot less "waste" aka preservatives, add-ons, fillers. I was eating foods my body could use for energy and nothing added and I was imbibing them in a state where they could be quickly and fully digested before traveling to the "exit". However the night of Day 4 and morning of day 5 were a bit different, nothing horrible or story worthy, but my body definitely cleaned house a bit.

Opinions: I definitely think this was worth the money and a weekend of my time. I now wish that I didn't have any overly physical activities planned to avoid the soreness, but I did have the energy to complete them. I feel refreshed, my skin has cleared up drastically, my sugar craving has minimized, willpower is up and of course I am back to 122lbs...we will see if that stays with more days of real food, I think it will. I would suggest juicing on a weekend rather then during the week, just so you have more down time and if you are Crossfitter, it can be WOD free. A friend of mine did the juice with me and while I cannot comment on her day to day status she didn't mind the taste of the juices, loved the cashew milk, complained a bit more about being hungry (she was faced with pasta party on Sunday which was rough)...but she made it through and completed a 5k race Sunday morning.

Let me know if you have any other question : ) Good luck if you try to give it a go.

More Info:

Catalyst Cleanse

Rue La La

Ideal Sleep, Drunk Sleep, and Fatigued Sleep as Graphed By The Zeo Sleep Machine

2011-10-14T10:15:00.001-07:00

I’ve been using the Zeo Sleep Monitor for close to a year now and have not been doing as much analysis as I would like with this kind of data other than seeing how my nightly sleep scores compare to the average for my age group demographic (for those interested the 30 – 40 age group average is 80). For a little more detail on this, you can check out an earlier post in which I compared my average sleep to the national average. While sifting through the daily reports, I remembered asking myself what exactly does different types of sleep look like. What does an ideal night of sleep look like? Is drunk sleep really sleep? How well do you sleep after a workout that really zaps you? Well, due to some diligent tracking, I’m able to shed a little bit of light to those questions through some very un-scientific data gathering leveraging the Zeo Sleep Monitor.

Ideal Sleep

The chart above depicts an ideal night of sleeping as captured by the Zeo Sleep Manager. The sleep score of 87 is well above the national average of 80. I was able to sleep just over 8 hours which is in the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night everyone hears about as a rule of thumb. I was also only up once, presumably to hit the bathroom so for the most part, I slept un-interrupted through the majority of the night. Graphically, you can see that I had a pretty consistent sleep cycle of light sleep/REM sleep. The only item that could use some improvement is increasing the amount of time in Deep Sleep but that’s a deeper topic.

Fatigued Sleep

The chart above is from the night of Sunday, August 14th. That morning I did a 12.5 mile mixed pace run on a treadmill whereby the first 30 minutes was done at a Z2 pace, 60 minutes at Z2 with every 5th minute at Z4, then wrapping up with a 15 minute marathon pace tempo. Later in the day, around 5pm, I did another 5 mile run at Z2 pace. I was pretty spent by the end of the 5 mile run and it really showed with sleep. Theoretically, I slept just over 7 hours which is a decent night but was really asleep for only 6:35 according to the Zeo Sleep Manager. Right off the bat, you can see that I was never really able to get into a decent sleeping pattern which I’d attribute to soreness/lots of tossing and turning as evidenced by 78% Light Sleep and completely waking up 4 times. I barely had any Deep Sleep and REM sleep was cut by more than half over an ideal night of sleep. I’m not sure how to address the tossing and turning from feeling sore but the easy takeaway here is if you have a hard workout the day before, you really need to account for extra sleep to fully recover.

Drunk Sleep

The last example is an interesting one. I somehow managed to slip on the Zeo headband before I passed out after a hard night of drinking. I don’t remember exactly what I drank or how how much but give me a break, I was drunk. Although I passed out/fell asleep at 2:44am, I managed to sleep until exactly 9am, which was probably an alarm I had set. The interesting piece is that although I slept less overall (5:43) compared to the night where I was fatigued from running (6:35), The ZQ score was higher on the drunk sleep night (63 vs 61). The primary reason being that 34% of the time being asleep was quality sleep (Deep + REM) versus just 19% on the fatigued night. Graphically, the Zeo Sleep Manager reporting did show some resemblance of a sleeping cycle on the Drunk Sleep. The main difference is that large block of Deep Sleep that occurred shortly after passing out. I’m not sure if that’s because of the alcohol but it maybe an explanation. I’d have to note that for this particular night, I didn’t wake up the next morning feeling terribly hungover. Maybe a bit sluggish, but definitely not sick. I think this may have factored into the quality of sleep. It is tough to say that drunk sleep is better than fatigued sleep through one example but it is an interesting comparison.

Head to Head Hydration Tablet Fizz-Off: Nuun vs Hammer Nutrition vs GU

2011-10-11T04:54:00.001-07:00

It seems like hydration tablets have really taken off over the past couple of years as a convenient way to refresh on electrolytes without the added calories/sugars. Hydration tablets are basically an effervescent similar to an Alka Seltzer where you drop the tab into water and it quickly dissolve into a drink. They are usually lightly flavored and loaded with electrolytes that are absorbed quickly. Outside of being a low calorie electrolyte replenishment source, the tabs come in a small tube that is ultra portable and easier than lugging bottles of other sports drinks around. Many of the major nutrition vendors like GU, Hammer Nutrition, and Nuun have a hydration tablet product but which one is the best of the bunch? Let’s find out!

The Contenders

Cosmetically, the differences between the hydration tablets is pretty minimal. From what I've seen, all of them come in a standard compact tube and all of the hydration tablets are about one inch across in diameter.

Before we get into some of the tests, here’s how the different tablets stack up from a nutrition perspective:

The first matter of business was to see which one dissolved the fastest. When you are on the go, the last thing you want to do is wait around for your drink to be ready. For the dissolve test, I filled up three Blender Bottles with 16oz of cold water and dropped the tablets in. Not much rocket science there.

(From Left to Right: GU Brew, Hammer Nutrition Fizz, Nuun)

The winner of the dissolve test with a pretty comfortable margin was Nuun, followed by Hammer Nutrition and then the GU Brew pulling up the rear with more than double the time of the winner.

Dissolve Speed:

Nuun: 2 min 10 secs
Hammer: 3 min 40 secs
GU Brew: 5 min 15 secs

Next up is the clarity test, or basically seeing how completely the hydration tablet dissolves and if anything is left behind.

Top View

Side View

The GU Brew was the least clear, leaving behind some head like a poorly poured beer. The Hammer Nutrition was slightly better with a little bit of white film at the top. Nuun won this round with hardly any traces of a tablet dissolving.

(GU Brew)

(Hammer Nutrition)

(Nuun)

The last test might be the most important criteria – how does it actually taste? Electrolytes and hydration is important but only if you actually want to drink it. For this test, I poured the three products into an unmarked glass and had a special guest taste tester give her opinion…that special guest would be Mama Ngo. Here is Mama Ngo’s comments:

(L – R: GU Brew, Hammer Nutrition, Nuun)

On Sample A (GU Brew): “Tasted like baking soda but then after the third sip it went away. Very lemony”

On Sample B (Hammer Nutrition): “I liked this one the least. It had a strong baking soda taste that didn’t go away. It’s like the stuff you have to drink before you get a colonoscopy. The cloudy look was a turn-off.”

On Sample C (Nuun): “This was very easy to drink. It has a clean look and taste like a normal drink with no aftertaste. I like this one the best”

Mama Ngo then ranked her preferences. The winner was Nuun, followed by GU Brew, and Hammer Nutrition coming in third.

As a point of disclosure, I went out and purchased all three and put the three products against each other out of curiosity. From the three very un-scientific tests, Nuun was the clear winner among the three but the differences are fairly minor and things like taste will always be subjective depending on the individual. All three products still provide a great portable, low calorie hydration option.

Race Report: Nation’s Triathlon – September 11, 2011

2011-09-17T06:37:00.001-07:00

The 2011 season has been a different one for me in that I had one triathlon race in Sea Isle over Memorial Day and then no other triathlons or major races until close to the fall. I often compared it to having one of those classes in college where you basically studied all semester and then had one big test at the end that was pass or fail. There was a lot of pressure to be self-disciplined enough to make sure you were ready. Much like college, I really had to focus on getting the work in with balancing numerous social activities. Training through the summer has never been ideal as all vacations/events are always planned around quality workouts and making sure they happen. This summer would especially be hard with a couple of weddings (including mine) and associated commitments (bachelor parties).

The Nation’s Tri would be a good indicator of my fitness level and whether or not I’ve been training properly through the summer in preparation of the races I had lined up for the Fall:

September 11 – Nation’s Tri (1500m swim/40k bike/10k run)
Oct 2 – Poconos Half Ironman (1.2 mile swim/56 mile bike/13.1 mile run)
Oct 15 – Baltimore Marathon
Nov 20 – Philadelphia Marathon

One of the takeaways from my Ironman experience last November was to develop a plan and stick to it, both in training and during races. The Nation’s Tri started out as a warm-up for the Poconos Half Ironman. There wasn’t supposed to be much of a plan to the race other than seeing where my training was at and making the right adaptations before the Half Ironman. Everything changed when one of my triathlon buddies told me that Nation’s Tri was a regional qualifier for the age group National Championships in Burlington, VT. Basically, everyone who finished in the top third of their age group got a slot for the big show. I looked at the times that qualified the prior year and saw I was pretty close to being in the top third. I then made it my goal to tweak my training a bit to make Nation’s Tri an “A” race and make a run at qualifying.

Pre-Race Condition

Going into the race, I felt like I was in pretty good shape overall. In contrast to Ironman training, I have really balanced out the training between swim/bike/run. I think my run made the biggest gains basically because I ignored it the most last year which resulted in a pretty crappy marathon time at the Ironman. A good indicator of run fitness was doing the Livestrong 10K toward the end of August where I did a 44:43 (7:13 pace). Although I was feeling race ready, I did run into an obstacle with nagging feet/arch issues, specifically plantar fasciitis. Plantar Fasciitis is not something that goes away quickly and you basically have to manage the pain the best you can.

Race Plan

I’m not going to sugar coat it but the rainy weather in the DC area and subsequent cancellation of the swim and not replacing it with a 5K was definitely a swing in my favor since the swim is my weakest leg among the three. Having just a bike and run to plan for was a lot more predictable. The game plan going in was pretty simple. On the bike, the goal was to average between 200 to 220 watts for the first 20 miles and then take it up to 240 watts max up until the close. On the run, the goal was to stick around 7:20 min/mile pace for the first 4 miles then go as hard as I could to finish. Ideally, the splits would be:

T1 – 1:30
Bike – 1:05
40K T2 – 1:30
10K Run – 45:00
Total Time – 1:53

Nutrition

With the Olympic distance, I did have to put some sort of nutrition plan in place, although it didn’t have to be as intense as the Ironman nutrition plan. I basically made sure to drink 20oz of water with one Nuun Tablet during the bike in addition to consuming one flask of EFS Liquid Shot to fuel the run. On the run itself, depending on how how it was, I had the option to take a cup of gatorade at Mile 1 depending on how I felt.

Bike – Actual

The bike course wasn’t very difficult with a few rolling hills and some short, steep climbs. The majority of it was an out and back on a long parkway.Due to the time trial start, there was a ton of drafting occurring among the riders but I didn’t fall into any of the chase packs because I was too paranoid about picking up a penalty. The guy with the fastest overall race time was docked a 6:00 penalty and fell all the way outside of the Top 20. I ended up averaging about 208 watts which was in range of what I wanted to do but I felt I could’ve pushed harder to be closer to 220 watts and get closer to averaging 24mph. The good news was that I kept my heart rate relatively low, averaging around 152 bpm (low Z2) and went into the run feeling pretty fresh.

Bike Actuals:

Total Time: 1:03:50
Avg Speed: 23.3 mph
Avg Watts: 208
Avg HR: 152 bpm
Bike Rank: 394/3879

Run – Actual

I started out the run “pacing by feel” to see what my speed was at a steady, comfortably hard pace. To my surprise, it was sub 7:00. As you can see from the photo above, everything felt pretty good at this point. I was able to hold to a good tempo pace up until around 26:00 in which was close to the 4-mile point.

The run itself was a single loop on a fairly flat, fast course. The race organizers did a great job putting aid stations at every mile. At mile one, I ended up taking a gel packet and two gatorades due to an unexpected mishap on the bike (more on that later). As the run leg progressed, I caught a bunch of racers in my age group which helped my cause to finish in the top third. Toward the end, with about 300 meters or so, I made one last surge to sprint down as many people as I could. You can see that on the graph where my heart rate jumped toward the end from 186bpm to 199bpm within 90 seconds.

Run Actuals:

Total Time: 41:51
Avg Pace: 6:45min/mile
Avg HR: 178 bpm
Bike Rank: 246/3879

Lessons Learned

Looking back, there were a few mis-haps/things I should improve on for the future:

Heading out on the bike, I lost my entire flask of LiquidShot EFS so I wasn’t able to fuel for the run via the bike as I wanted. Instead, I just took a gel packet and a couple of gatorades at the first aid station and was fine. I’ll have to re-think securing the flask on my bike and just putting it into my back pocket/bento box.
I didn’t put speed laces on the new running shoes. I easily lost 30-45 seconds in T2 because of this
Under pacing. I the target on the bike was to be around 220 watts and actual was 208. I played it rather conservative and probably lost some time. The surge on the run was also a bit too quick which makes me think I could’ve hammered the last 2 miles a little harder.
The plantar fasciitis really started to flare the last 2 miles of the race. I really need to get this under control or I’m going to be toast at the Half Ironman.

Overall

When I finished and received my unofficial results receipt, I had placed 48 which didn’t mean much unless I knew how many guys were in my age group. That number didn’t come until later in the afternoon, 407, which meant I made it into the top 12% and punched a ticket to Age Group Nationals! I really have to attribute the success of this race to simulating race conditions in the few weeks leading up to the race and putting together a realistic plan to stick to during the race. I can’t say enough how beneficial it was to know the different data points and formulating race targets around it. Post-race, the body felt fine except for the plantar fasciitis issues in BOTH feet. The right one is a lot worse than the left one. The trick now is managing the pain and getting enough quality runs in before the month ends when the Half Ironman hits on Oct 2 and a marathon hits two weeks later.

Yurbuds: The Ideal Headphones for Working Out?

2011-09-15T17:54:00.001-07:00

If I think about frequent, multiple purchases related to my working out hobby, headphones is easily the item at the top of the list. I’ve been through every type you can think of such as stock iPod headphones, stock Sansa headphones, Sony sport buds, Sony Over the Ear sport buds, JVC buds, Sennheiser Over the Ear, Sennheiser In Ear Buds, etc. None of them are in use anymore either because they crapped out due to sweat, not fitting right or I was immensely annoyed with how often they would pop out of my ears while working out. The last point is a biggie. Nothing takes you out of your element more than having to deal with headphones constantly popping out of your ear while you are working out.
After many years and many headphones, I think I’ve come across the perfect pair, Yurbuds.

I first came across Yurbuds at the Ironman expo in Arizona last year. The headphones intrigued me but my focus was on getting stuff I would need for the race so I never really thought about the headphones again. The topic resurfaced this Spring during a few runs where a new pair over the ear headphones and sunglasses didn’t play nice. The over-the-ear models do a good job of staying on the ear but unfortunately wear sunglasses doesn’t work out well since they are both competing for space across the top of your ear.

(My brother Andy modeling an old pair of Sennheiser Over the Ear buds and the issue with sunglasses)
I remembered the Yurbuds from the Ironman expo and ended up getting a pair online with fantastic results. On the website itself, you have the option to take a picture with a quarter or iPhone ear bud held next to your ear so the folks at Yurbud can analyze the picture and figure out what size would fit you the best.

I opted for the $29.99 option which slides over the stock iPod ear buds or any ear bud with a flat face. The earbuds arrived after a few days and I was excited to try them on except I noticed one of the buds had a tear in them. Short term, the buds probably still would have worked fine but it was crappy spending the money and getting a defective product. Fortunately, this wasn’t an issue.
I went to the website and used their automated web form to send my order number and the issue. A couple of days later, I received a note from their customer service team apologizing for the defective product and that they had a replacement pair already in the mail. A couple of days later, the replacement pair arrived and I was ready to rock.
The Yurbuds are simple enough. They slip over the headphones and go into the ear. The material is made of a “grippy” silicone that helps to keep it in the ear. The cover also adds water resistant protection to the headphone to help against sweat. From the “Look and Feel” test, they certainly seemed like they would stay in my ear but the only way to know was to put them to the test.
Here are a few workouts I put them through:

50 mile bike
1 hour long run
20 minute tempo run with 5 x 1 min all out sprints
CrossFit: As many rds as possible within 20 minutes: 25 24” box jumps/15 burpees/25 unbroken double unders (jump rope)

I’m happy to say that through all these exercises, the buds NEVER fell out of my ear. It was like workout nirvana being able to get through the workout and not having to fidget with ear buds. I was especially impressed that they didn’t pop out during the CrossFit workout that involved a lot of jumping up and down. During the times when I head to wear my sunglasses, I no longer had the issues with having to share space with the sunglasses and headphones. They now play co-habitat the ear in harmony as modeled by my brother below.

From a sound perspective, the audio sounded pretty much the same. Although the Yurbuds go into your ear a little more, it didn’t completely block out other noise which is good if you want to be aware of your surroundings.
Overall, I’ve been very pleased with the Yurbuds. They are a bit pricey at $29.99 for ear bud covers but if I add up the costs of the predecessors looking for the “right’ pair of earbuds and the annoyance factor of interrupted workouts, the costs is a lot more justifiable. If you’re interested in snagging a pair, check out the link below.
Yurbuds

“Little” Intervals Bike Workout

2011-09-15T17:18:00.001-07:00

While the cat was busy with another day of stretching out on the couch, I had to get in a bike workout before heading to Erie for the weekend.

With the Nation’s Tri coming up in basically a week, I’ve been focusing on doing more speed/race pace specific workouts to get the body (and legs) primed for the race day. Its mostly been a lot of interval and tempo work of which some I’ve been able to get through and some being messy. For today’s bike workout, I decided to try an interval workout developed by Dr. Johnathan Little and Martin Gibala from McMaster’s University Dept of Kinesiology. In a nutshell, the actual workout lasts 27 minutes and is 12 intervals of 60 seconds at 95% of VO2 MAX and then 75 seconds of low intensity. The result of this low volume, high-intensity traning (HIT) are performance gains similar to high volume endurance training at a steady state if done 3 times a week. If you are a physiology geek (and I say that in a good way), you can check out the full abstract that was printed in The Journal of Physiology on January 25, 2010 <<link. Conventional wisdom for endurance training is volume, lots of volume, and more of it when you’ve had enough but with the kind of schedule I have and time constraints, if there’s a way to train smarter and optimize training time, I’m all for it. In fact, I’m currently on a marathon training program that only has me running only three days a week.

I set-up shop in the Torture Chamber with the usual set-up:

Kestrel Tri Bike with CycleOps Powertap hooked into the Fluid2 Bike Trainer
Garmin 310XT Monitor to track time and watts
Motorola Xoom Tablet with My Interval Timer Pro app to keep track of interval time
TV with Rdio app for tunes (Deadmau5 – For Lack of a Better Name)
Big Fan
Water bottle of Nuun

The tricky part before the workout was figuring out what exactly 95% of my VO2MAX really meant. I’ve never done a VO2MAX test formally but have done other tests like Heart Rate Lactate Threshold and an FTP test on the bike. Luckily, I found an FTP wattage chart which translated different FTP watt ranges to intensity levels. I knew I had an FTP of 260 watts from a test I did back in April so that translated to having to hit between 275 – 322 watts to be around VO2MAX. It wasn’t exact but at least I knew the numbers I had to hit on my bike.

The workout itself wasn’t that bad. I felt like it stretched me but not to the point where I felt like I could not finish the workout after any of the intervals. After the first 8, I decided to challenge myself a bit more and bumped my range for the last 4 intervals to be between 320 – 340 watts. The resulting power ranges/heart rate stats can be seen below:

The red line correlates to my heart rate with the green line representing my power (in watts). The black line is my Threshold Power (FTP) @ 260watts. Its cool to see the how the different power levels affect my heart rate and the rise/drops during the high intensity/low intensity portions. Data like this is useful to me to see how consistent I was with my intervals and whether or not I pushed it hard enough or too hard during the intervals. You can see how the last four intervals are higher than the first eight in both Power and corresponding Heart Rate.

I’m going to try to incorporate the Little Interval more into my workouts and see if it does improve my cycling fitness as I gear up for Ironman Poconos on October 2nd. That being said, time to finish packing up and head out to Erie for a weekend of spending time with family and friends and of course, more swim/bike/run training. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

My Favorite Triathlon Gear for Under $20

2011-04-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

My friends getting into triathlons often bounce questions off of me on types of gear they should buy and train with. It all comes down to budget as you can spend a few dollars to a few grand on gear. That being said, there are a few essential items I use that are very budget friendly and really help during training and races. With Easter quickly approaching, the following also make great Easter Basket fillers for your favorite multi-sport athlete.
Halo 2 head band ($10.83 Amazon)

This isn’t your dad’s favorite sweatband from the 80’s. It’s made with a high absorbant. Also there is a “sweat guard” strip to help block sweat from dripping onto your eyes. During the summer, its slim profile fits perfectly under a bike helmet to absorb sweat during long rides.

Clean Bottle ($9.05 Amazon)

One of my biggest gripes with water bottles is how gunked up they get after awhile because of how hard it is to clean the bottom. The Clean Bottle solves this dilemma. This 100% BPA-Free bottle has a unique twist off top and bottom which makes it a breeze to clean in a dishwasher. Like the Blender Bottle, it is a simple yet practical idea.

Fuelbelt Fuelbox ($11.31 Amazon)

Simple enough, this storage bag sits on the top tube of the frame right behind the handlebar stem so you have quicker access to things you might need on bike ride. It comes down to preference but I liked having the bag right in front of me rather than have to reach back to a bag attached under the seat.

Lock laces (~$7 Amazon)

I remember the first time I went with bungee laces instead of regular shoe laces on my running shoes. Outside of speed advantages putting on your running shoes in transition for a triathlon, I feel like the bungee laces provide a better fit, more convenience, and not having to worry about laces becoming undone during a race. After trying a few different brands, I’ve settled on Lock Laces as my favorites.

Nuun Hydration Tablets ($6.95 for one)

I was always weary of drinking Gatorade or Powerade because of how sugary/syrupy it tasted. During intense workouts or training during the heat, I really needed the electrolytes to stay hydrated. I came across Nuun Hydration Tablets. Each tube has 12 tablets that dissolve into 16oz of water to make a very low calorie (5) no carb hydration drink. The container is very portable and cost effective if you think about how much twelve 20-oz bottle of Gatorade would cost. Nuun also happens to be my drink of choice when I need to re-hydrate the morning after a long night.

RoadID ($19.95 RoadID.com)

I remember hearing about the unfortunate story a few years ago about a female runner who had a freak accident running and died from a tree branch falling on her. It took nearly a day to figure out who she was and contact loved ones. This was enough for me to get a RoadID and wear everytime I go running outside.

Crank Brothers Speed Lever ($5.85 Amazon)

A basic skill for any cyclist is to be able to change a flat tire. This tool makes it a ridiculously easy and fast process. I was lucky to not have more than one flat last year so I didn’t have to use the speed levers on the fly but I did use it a bunch of times switching off and on trainer tires. Trust me when I say this lever makes it 100% easier.

BodyGlide ($12.99 Amazon)

The name says it all. Apply this stuff in areas where you might chafe during long workouts. In addition, this stuff works awesome when you apply it around your ankle and wrist areas to quickly get out of a wetsuit. Recently, I’ve swabbed it onto hotspots on my foot that are prone to blistering to prevent them from occurring on longer runs.
injinji Performance Toe Socks ($10 Amazon)

Speaking of blisters, these socks have individual sleeves for each toe which helps to protect against blisters. It takes getting used to at first, but after a few runs and lack of blisters, I’m a fan. These socks also work well with the Vibram Five Finger shoes.

Compression Socks ($16.95 + $2.99 shipping)
http://www.ameswalker.com/flaac20mmats.html

Compression socks are all the rage for long distance racing but the prices on them can get pretty ridiculous. I came across this pair that offers all the benefits at half the cost of some of other brands.

Aqua Sphere Kaiman Swim Goggle ($15 Amazon)

I’ve always had problems with goggles leaking in water or goggles that didn’t fit right and gave me “raccoon eyes” after longer swims. I came across these goggles on a triathlon forum, tried them, and haven’t worn any other goggles since. The fit is great and I’ve never had issues with water leaking in.

Making Homemade Pho from Scratch

2011-04-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, I was a real brat eating certain Vietnamese dishes that my Mom would make. I pretty much hated seafood and anything spicy. My Mom did a great job mixing in traditional American dinners and American’ized versions of some Vietnamese dishes so that I would eat it. One dish (or soup) that I would eat without question is Pho. It was weekend morning tradition for the family and I loved twirling the rice noodles and playfully eating it like spaghetti strands. Since moving away for college, my Mom always makes it a point to make Pho when I visit Erie and outside of that, I usually hit up one of the Pho places in South Philadelphia. For those unfamiliar, Pho is Vietnamese rice noodle soup that is often served with any combination of cuts of thinly sliced sirloin, beef flank, tripe, and Vietnamese meat balls. The distinct beef broth is what really gives Pho its unique taste. Pho is also known as a Vietnamese super food for curing a hangover with its mix of rice noodles and a salty/fatty broth that is perfect after a long night out.
A couple of weeks ago, my parents came and visited Philly and since there isn’t much of a Vietnamese presence in Erie, we went to the Vietnamese supermarket to pick-up a few things they needed. While we were there, I got the random idea to learn to cook Vietnamese, or at least the stuff I knew I would like and want to eat. Pho was the easy one to try first. I can’t read Vietnamese so it was a big help that my Mom was there to guide me toward the ingredients that I needed to buy. In terms of the recipe, I did a quick Google search and used this Pho recipe as my main guide.
The first step was to do an initial boil of the bone marrow to boil off excess fat and impurities that would be removed. It pretty much collects as a dirty foam that is scooped off with a spoon and thrown away. After about 5 minutes or so, the bone marrow is then removed and put into another pot of boiling water to prepare the broth.

While the bone marrow is boiling in the water, part of the flavor in the broth comes from charred onions and ginger. I basically just cut each in half and put it over the stove flames to get the right char which releases the aroma when soaked in the broth. The onion, ginger, sugar, and fish sauce is then added to the broth which then cooks at a steady simmer for an hour and a half.

After simmering for an hour and half, the special spices are added. It essentially a blend of star anise and cloves with some other stuff in a spice bag. Rather than buying these ingredients separately and making my own spice bag, my Mom pointed me toward a pre-packaged bag with all the spices in it and ready to be dropped into the broth. These spices soak/seep in the broth for about 30 minutes and really gives the Pho broth its unique aromatic qualities.

While the spices soak, I used this time to cut up the garnishes. These usually include bean sprouts, cilantro, Thai chilies, and Asian basil but I don’t like any of that stuff so for my own dish, I went with thinly sliced sirloin, sliced onions, cut up chives, and lime slices.

After soaking for 30-minutes, the spice bag is removed and the Pho dish is ready to be “assembled.” The noodles used in Pho are thin rice noodles that are placed into boiling water for about 4-5 minutes. The rice noodles are then removed and placed into the serving bowl. The next step is preference. Some folks like to boil the sliced sirloin in the broth first to cook it a little before adding it to the bowl with the noodles and adding the beef broth to finish cooking. The other option is to put the raw sirloin with the onions/chives and adding the beef broth once it has hit a rolling boil to cook the meat as soon as the broth is added to the bowl of rice noodles.

Once the hot beef broth is added, it instantly cooks the meat and the result is fresh, hot bowl of delicious Pho!

Hacking My Sleep with the Zeo Sleep Coaching Device

2011-04-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of months, I have been experimenting with tracking my sleep through a few gadgets I came across. The first one I tried out was the Sleeptracker Elite which I ended up not liking and selling off on eBay. The other device I played around with is the Zeo Sleep machine. In a nut shell, it is an alarm clock on steroids that is wirelessly linked to a headband with sensors that can track your brainwaves (yes, YOUR BRAINWAVES!). You put the headband on while you are sleeping and it records your sleep patterns. The data is then uploaded to a website via an SD Card where the data can be analyzed. Another key feature of the Zeo is Smart Wake whereby you set a time you want to get up like a regular alarm clock but you also set a range before the wake up time, usually 15 – 20 minutes. The Zeo will then detect if you are in a light sleep phase and wake you up during this optimal time. Many times, when people are suddenly awoken from a deep sleep/REM phase, they will feel groggy which ends up affecting the rest of their day. Smart Wake helps to ensure you wake up feeling refreshed. Rather than recreate the wheel on a review on the rest of the Zeo features, one of my favorite blogs to read, dcrainmaker.com, put up a pretty thorough write-up on the Zeo that you can check out.
The typical sleeping pattern is going through cycles of light sleep, deep sleep, and REM. One of the main selling points for me was getting better insight into how much quality sleep I was receiving each night in addition to how much actual sleep I was getting. It is great to understand your sleeping patterns but ultimately, you want to be able to improve how you sleep. The Zeo coaches you through this process with a 7 Step Sleep Fitness Program. After collecting baseline data on your sleeping patterns that is uploaded to the Zeo website, Zeo sends you daily emails on what you should be doing to improve your sleeping habits. After going through the first step, here’s what my starting point looks like. One major thing to point out is that the nights I selected were typical week nights since weekends are generally staying up later than usual and sleeping in.
Baseline Period
12/29/10 - 02/10/11
Nights of Data Collected
15
Top 3 Goals I Wanted to Improve with the Zeo

Get more restorative sleep
Wake up more easily in the morning
Feel better in the morning

ZQ and your sleep phases
This section presents your sleep phases over the course of your baseline, and shows you how they compare to typical sleep statistics for 30-40 year-olds.
[side note: it feels really weird seeing myself in the 30 – 40 age bracket]
ZQ
A summary of how you slept based on Total Z, Restorative sleep, and Disrupted sleep.
My Average: 72
Range: 58 – 91
Other 30-40yr Olds Average: 80
Range: 63 - 96
Total Z
How long you were actually asleep during the night.
My Average: 6:42
Range: 5:30 - 8:32
Other 30-40yr Olds Average: 7:05
Range: 6:15 - 7:55
Note: National Institutes of Health recommends that adults sleep 7-9 hours each night, regardless of age
Time in Wake
The length of time you were awake after having fallen asleep. Zeo does not record awakenings lasting less than 2 minutes.
Average: 0:05
Range: 0:01 - 0:15
Time in REM
The length of time you spent in REM sleep - a phase important for its contribution to overall mental health, mood, and the ability to learn and retain new information.
My Average: 1:39
Range: 0:58 - 2:24
Other 30-40yr Olds Average: 1:31
Range: 1:04 - 1:58
Time in Light
The length of time you spent in Light sleep - a phase that usually accounts for the majority of the night and is important for getting more total sleep.
My Average: 4:23
Range: 3:42 - 5:26
Other 30-40yr Olds Average: 4:26
Range: 3:28 - 5:35
Time in Deep
The length of time you spent in Deep sleep - a phase important for feeling restored and refreshed.
My Average: 0:41
Range: 0:30 - 1:01
Other 30-40yr Olds Average: 1:09
Range: 0:35 - 1:44
Baseline and wake-up statistics
This section shows basic information about when you go to bed and wake up in the morning. The last row shows how you feel you slept over the course of your baseline period.
Time to Z
The time from when you put your headband on to when you fall asleep and stay asleep.
Average: 0:20
Range: 0:01 - 1:07
Bedtime
The time you try to fall asleep.
Typical: 10:58 pm
Range: 9:41 pm - 1:15 am
Rise Time
The time you wake up.
Typical: 5:27 am
Range: 5:10 am - 7:35 am
Sleep Schedule Consistency
The number of nights in this step that you went to bed or got up within a 40 minute window.
Bedtime: 8 of 15 nights
Rise Time: 12 of 15 nights
+Zzz Presses
The number of times you press the snooze button each morning.
Average: 0
Range: 0 - 0
Morning Feel (scale of 1 – 5)
The way you perceive you slept when you wake up in the morning.
Average: 3
Range: 2 - 4
Based on the data above, there is a lot of room for improvement. My goal is to start Step 2 next week and report back progress as I go through the program. Stay tuned!

Spending Time at the Annual Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas

2011-04-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

I like to consider myself the adventurous type and always willing to check out/try new things for the experience of it. Back in early February, I was in Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Coincidentally, the Adult Entertainment Expo was also going on. I was debating if it was worth the $80 to check out but the curiosity inside me won out and I went.
Have you ever wondered what goes on at a porn convention? Here’s my first (and probably last) view of the things you will see. All PG-13 suitable.

Apparently it was a down year for the Porn industry and in talking to people who went previous years, this year’s convention was smaller than usual but it was still pretty huge.

Tons and tons of fetish booths. The two above were some of the more stranger ones.

Back in the day, I always told my guy friends that having nice sheets was important in a bachelor pad. The Porn Convention also agrees from a “work” perspective.

It wouldn’t be a porn convention without cheesy movie parodies!

The Pink Cross, because working in the porn industry has its risks too if you know what I mean.

This booth seemed out of place except for the female manning the booth.

Obviously, there were a bunch of porn stars in attendance for autograph sessions. Some of the lines was upward of an hour to get an autograph and take a picture with the actress. I am definitely out of the loop on who the current popular porn stars are. The only two I know are Sasha Gray and Jenna Jamison.

Contrary to popular belief, there were females in attendance. I’d say about 3 to 1 ratio male to female

It wouldn’t be a porn convention without cult-superstar Ron Jeremy!

Everyone is a comedian. . . .

Finally, attending the porn convention can be long and tiring day. . .

In 2011, It’s Your Turn

2011-01-06T06:20:00.000-08:00

I can’t read your minds, but I know many of you are thinking about it. You are thinking about that one “big race” you want to do in 2011. It might be your first 5K or 10K. It could be a half marathon or even a full marathon. You might have been following my preparations in completing an Ironman through the past year and might have the triathlon bug. Maybe you had a moment of invincibility while partying New Year’s Eve and made a pledge to finally do it this year like how Dave Fleming, an ESPN reporter, details his first marathon experience. Somewhere in the back of your head, there’s a little bit of doubt that has kept you from committing to that big race. I’m going to give you the reasons why it is your turn in 2011. As my buddy Pete likes to say, “Get into it!”

Here’s a collection of objections I’ve heard over the past year and my thoughts on overcoming it.
I can’t handle a triathlon, its too long
When most people hear about a triathlon, they think about the Ironman championships in Kona, Hawaii. They see on TV the high heat/humidity, the day long race and it becomes this impossible event in their minds. There are shorter distances with the most common being a Sprint distance. The Sprint distance usually comprises of quarter mile to half mile swim, around a 13 mile bike, and then a 5K run. Doesn’t sound too bad now does it?
I can’t swim
Up until January of 2008, I couldn’t swim either. You can take lessons at the local Y, use online resources (just Google it) or try DVDs. One of my favorites are the Total Immersion Freestyle DVDs. Tim Ferriss highlights his experience learning to swim effortlessly in 10 days with Total Immersion on his blog.
I can’t run, my knees can’t take it
This is probably the number one reason I hear from folks who don’t like to run or don’t do it often. It always comes down to two factors: bad running form & not enough leg strength. I used to get horrible knee pains until I consciously changed my running form. This included focusing on exercises to strengthen my quads which stabilizes the knee and moving to a shorter, quicker stride where the mid-foot hits the ground. Trifuel posted a great article on key components to improving running form and the following example made a lot of sense:

Research is finally being done on running biomechanics, and is showing that a heel strike causes much more force on the joints than a more natural mid-foot strike. It’s pretty simple to determine which strike is more efficient. Stand up and extend one leg and slam your heel onto the ground. Now, do the same only with a slightly bent knee and strike at the mid-foot (the last lace on your shoe). Which one were you able to generate more force? You probably had to hold back with the heel strike otherwise you might damage your knee joint. Now picture yourself running three, five, ten or twenty miles heel striking. This should give you a better understand of why so many runners develop overuse or acute injuries.

A couple of good resources on moving to a more efficient, mid-foot stride are Chi Running and Pose Method.
I’m too old to do those types of races
Try telling that to my mom who at the age of 52 ran her first 5K. Better yet, tell that to Lew Hollander who, at the age of 80, finished his 21st Ironman World Championship out of 21 tries. It isn’t like he’s been close to the cut-off either. His time this year was 15 hours 48 minutes, or 1:12 under the 17-hour cut-off. Age is just a mental excuse.
I don’t own bike/bikes are too expensive
Not everyone has to start out on a shiny, new bike. I have advocated that the best value for road bikes are getting them used. Most of the time, the people selling their bikes have had them for 1 or 2 years and are looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest. Any of your cycling friends can lend advice on how a bike should fit so you get a general idea of your size. My fiancée recently purchased a used 2008 Cervelo P2 off of Craigslist for $600. A brand new one would run you close to $2,800. If you don’t want to buy used, the next best thing is getting a prior year model when the new models start to trickle out. There are great bargains out there if you look for them.
I don’t have the time
This is the one excuse that gets me fired up. The best investment you can make for your body is to keep it healthy. All you really need is 30-minutes a few days a week. In 2010, the average American watched 34 hours of television a week! That’s incredibly horrible! I’m sure many people can cut out a few shows they watch or even learn to use Tivo to skip over commercials. The most irony comes from folks who lose exercise time and instead are watching shows like The Biggest Loser. My opinion is that if you make the priority, you will always make the time.
Those are a few of the common ones. Leave me a comment if you have any others that I can add to the list.

Outsourcing Part of My Life to India for a Month

2010-12-29T06:19:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite books from last year was The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. The book focuses on lifestyle design and leveraging tips & methodologies to escape the 9 to 5 (or in my case, 8 to 6) rat race to ultimately develop a self-sustaining source of income. Tim runs through a number of steps and case studies but the one chapter that really intrigued me was outsourcing tasks to a virtual assistant overseas.
Why is a virtual assistant helpful? Here are some of the reasons:

It teaches remote management and communication
It frees your time to focus on bigger and better things
It offloads spending time on tasks that aren’t worth your time

About a year after reading The 4-Hour Work Week, I finally decided to take the plunge on getting a virtual assistant through a service called Timesvr. The difference between Timesvr and some other services is that your request goes to a queue of available assistants and based upon their domain of expertise/availability, your virtual assistant dynamically changes per task. The main draw was that I could sign up and try out the service for three days before being charged a monthly subscription fee of $69 a month. For the $69, I could submit an unlimited amount of tasks that take approximately 15-minutes or less. That’s right, any 15-minute task that does not require their physical presence to complete. For projects that take a longer time or if I wanted a dedicated virtual assistant, Timesvr had separate plans for that as well.
At first, I did see a lot of value in having my “virtual assistant” do routine tasks like Internet Research and calling different customer support phone lines on my behalf. Getting my Garmin FR60 watch replaced alone was worth the money. Most of my inquiries were researched based to the tone of “Can you look up/Can you find out/etc” Instead of having to spend time finding out how to roll over a 401K to Etrade, find school bus rental companies, or finding a free web-based Visio alternative, I had the virtual assistant spend time doing the research. I quickly learned (and it is detailed in a chapter in 4-Hour Work Week) that I had to be really specific and clear with my instructions to my virtual assistant. I could not assume my virtual assistant had any type of knowledge to use as context. On the assignments that my virtual assistant knew exactly what I wanted, they did very well on. The response times were generally within 6 to 12 hours.
After using the service a few times, I did notice two main drawbacks. The first one is language. While I was in Chicago, I called the toll free hotline they provided to talk to a live person. I was done with customer meetings early and wanted to see if there was an earlier flight I could take via standby. When I spoke to the virtual assistant, the English was broken and I had to explain my situation multiple times. The virtual assistant assured me he understood what I wanted and he said he would send me an email. This was my first annoyance. I would have preferred to get a call back due to the timeliness of the situation instead of receiving an email. What if I did not have access to email while on the road? I eventually received an email back but rather than providing me times for earlier flights, I an update with the status of my current flight. Fail.
The other drawback is local context. For obvious reasons, the virtual assistants provided generic responses to requests that required any local knowledge of Philadelphia. I think their main tool was using a combination of Google and Yelp.com to find local attractions. The virtual assistant was able to provide feedback with this research but the results sometimes didn’t make sense. For example, check out the following inquiry I sent in:

Please find a banquet hall/rental hall/catering hall near Center City Phiadelphia that will allow me to rent out for a birthday party. The hall must allow for us to bring in our own alcohol or be able to serve it. We are expecting about 50-65 people to attend.

The response I got was:

As you requested, I called the businesses mentioned below and have confirmed that they don't allow alcohol from outside but can serve by themselves. Let me know which one to confirm.

Chart House - Philadelphia
555 South Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19147 (215) 625-8383 () ‎
chart-house.com

Moshulu Restaurant & Bar
401 South Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 923-2500 () ‎
moshulu.com

Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel
This place has unverified edits. Show all edits »
N 17th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (800) 640-7324 () – (215) 448-2864 (Fax) ‎
starwoodhotels.com

Finley Catering Co
100 Penn Sq E # 9, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 640-8838 () ‎
finleycatering.com

Other than getting venues that did not allow you to bring your own alcohol, none of the venues were really traditonal banquet/rental halls in the traditional sense. I will admit that I could have been more specific with this request.
At the end of the first month, I decided to cancel my subscription to Timesvr. It got to the point where I was not really sending in enough inquiries to justify the $69 monthly fee. Part of it is that my life is not dynamic enough to require help yet nor do I own a business. I also think that I need to get better at learning to delegate tasks. There are still elements of enjoying the control I have over certain tasks that I refused to let a virtual assistant handle. Despite some of the limitations, I can still see myself using this service again in the future. I think the service adds a ton of value for people who find themselves caught up with a lot of errands related to looking things up or calling people. It comes down to having a comfort level delegating all the tasks during your day that really could be handled by someone else.
Here are a few other sample inquiries and responses I received so you can get an idea of the feedback I would receive:
1) Please identify shooting ranges within a 15 mile radius of Philadelphia, PA that will allow a person to rent and shoot a gun without a permit. I have never fired a gun and would like to do this. Please list location, website url (if applicable) and costs for a one time session
Response from Owais:
Hi Quoc,
After searching for your request on many websites I have gathered some shooting ranges near Philadelphia , PA that will allow a person to rent and shoot a gun with their contact information and prices.I hope this proves useful for you.
1) The Firing Line at Front & Tasker :
Indoor range in Philadelphia, the Firing Line is probably the best one, charging $15 for a box of UMC 9mmP factory ball; they also sell 3D reloads for around $7-8 per box. They will also give you some money back if you turn in your brass.
$15 in range time covers you for the entire day (not just one hour) and they have a reasonable line of handguns available for rent. Targets, hearing protection, and eye protection are provided with the range fee. The range isn't the most technologically advanced in the world--it gets rather cold in the winter--but the staff is friendly enough. The prices for handguns aren't that great, but for Philadelphia, they're not so bad.
ADDRESS :
1532 South Front St,
Philadelphia PA 19147
LINK : http://www.firinglineinc.com/
2) PHILADELPHIA ARCHERY & GUN CLUB :
ADDRESS :
831-33 ELLSWORTH ST
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
TELEPHONE :
215-551-4544
Prices :
Daily Range Fee ($15)*
Unlimited use of the lane (large groups excluded)
Eye and ear protection available
Required to purchase range ammunition
****Non Members can shoot their own ammunition, however, a $25 daily range fee will apply****
LINK : http://www.philadelphiaarcheryandgunclub.com/
3) Indoor Rifle Pistol Range :
ADDRESS : 540 N Percy St # 52
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Neighborhood: Spring Garden
TELEPHONE : (215) 236-9292
2) On the attached powerpoint deck, can you crop out the circled images (7 of them) on Slide 1 so that they can be standalone images that can be used on other slides? The standalone images can be placed on a new slide anywhere in the presentation.
Response from Ahad:
Dear Quoc,
I am attaching the six images you requested, with this email. High quality cropping could not be achieved because the quality of the picture was not that great. If you need any more assistance please feel free to ask.
3) Can you find vendors near the Philadelphia/south New Jersey area that will do hot air balloon rides? Please provide URL and pricing information. Thanks
Response from Ahad:
Dear Q,

I am listing the requested information below. Hope it will be helpful. Feel free to ask any questions.

Air Ventures Hot Air Balloon Flights, Inc.

P.O. Box 711, Paoli, PA. 19301

email -- phone 800-826-6361 -- fax 610-827-7203

To visith the Website: Click Here

For Package Details: Click Here

Packages:

(Plan 1) Traditional Champagne Toast One Hour Flight - $189.00 per person
(Plan 2) Champagne Dinner Flight - $219.00 per person
(Plan 3) Traditional Champagne Toast Flight and overnight stay, weekdays thru Thur. - $499 per couple.
(Plan 4) Traditional Champagne Toast Fight and overnight stay Fri-Sat-Sun - $540 per couple.
(Plan 5) Champagne Dinner Flight and overnight stay weekdays - $570.00 per couple.
(Plan 6) Champagne Dinner Flight and overnight night stay Fri-Sat-Sun $595.00 per couple.
(Plan 7) Romantic Flight for Two - $579.
(Plan 8) Romantic Flight for Two - Fri-Sat-Sun - $740.00 per couple.
(Plan 9) Romantic Flight For Two including Dinner weekdays only - $630. per couple
(Plan 10) Romantic Flight For Two including Dinner and overnight stay weekdays - $760.00 per couple.
(Plan 11) Romantic Flight for Two including Dinner - Fri-Sat-Sun - $790.00 per couple.
(Plan 12) Romantic Flight for Two plus Dinner and overnight stay - Fri-Sat-Sun - $950.00 per couple
(Plan 13) The Sweet Escape Package - $1550, Romantic flight for two, two nights at the Fairville Inn.

The United States Hot Air Balloon Team

Contact: (800) 763-5987

Web URL: http://www.ushotairballoon.com/

Price:

Special Promotion price of $174.00 per person normally $199.00.

Special Promotion price for Bucks County $204.00 normally $229.00.

To Make Reservations: Click Here

Above & Beyond Ballooning

HOT AIR BALLOON RIDES IN NEW JERSEY

Website URL: Click Here

RATES

Please note that pricing is per passenger. The Exclusive Flight option means your group of 2, 3 or 4 will be the only passengers on board (plus the pilot, of course!).

Passengers On Board Price Per Person Cash Price

Standard Flight (1-5 passengers) $250 $225

Group Rate (6+ passengers) $225 $200

4-Passenger Exclusive Flight $295 $265

3-Passenger Exclusive Flight $345 $295

2-Passenger Exclusive Flight $395 $345

Contact Information

Jon Radowski - Owner & Chief Pilot

By Phone: 908-208-1869

By Email: jon@usahotair.com

4) Can you log into my linkedin.com account and accept all invitation to connect requests?

Response from Owais:

Hi Quoc,
I logged into your Linkedin account with the user name you provided. There were 24 invitations to connect I have accepted all of them as per your instructions.

5) Can you reach out to Pistol People(http://www.pistolpeople.com/site/a002_mainframes.htm) and found out what the rates are for a basic session of firing a gun and what costs are involved? I would like to preferably go on a Friday night.

Response from Owais:

Dear Quoc,
I am attaching the information brochure containing your requested information. Hope this will prove useful. Let me know if you need any more assistance.
Attachment: "a117_PistolPeopleBrochure.pdf "
(Source: http://www.pistolpeople.com/site/picts/a117_PistolPeopleBrochure.pdf)
6) Can you do some online research on the best way to organize customer accounts in salesforce.com that have subaccounts? For example, the customer is General Electric (master account). Under General Electric are different divisions (sub-accounts) such as Healthcare, Consumer Products, Energy, etc. I'm looking for best practices to organize these accounts in salesforce.com so that they are all associated in a logical manner and associate to the master account.
Response from Ammar:
Dear Quoc,
I spent much time on researching to find the best practices to organize sub accounts under salesforce.com. I am afraid there wasn't information specifically for this, however I gathered some informative stuff. Have a look at the files attached herewith, one is a ppt presentation and the other is pdf document in which chapter-1 is all about working with accounts. Hope this proves to be helpful and relevant.

7) Please call Garmin at 1800-800-1020 to arrange for my watch (model: FR60) to be replaced due to a defective wrist strap. The Serial # is: 1MH025670. Please provide the instructions to return the watch for replacement. Thanks!
Response from Asad:
Hi Quoc,
As you requested, I called Garmin, talked to their representative named Kim, who told me that you have to send the "proof of purchase" via email to her in order to proceed on this issue . Also she told me put a brief description about the fault and your address and phone number in order to contact you. She gave me her email id so you can send these info to her directly.
kxx.pxxxxx@garmin.com
I hope the above mentioned information proves useful to you.