First place winner, Margaret Boone, with her winning Irish Soda Bread.

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the Newport Celtic Festival as something fun to do if you were around the area. Today, I bring you the winning Irish Soda Bread recipe so you can enjoy a little Celtic festival at home.

Irish Soda Bread with Caraway & Drambuie
submitted by Margaret Boone, 1^st prize winner
2011 Newport Celtic Festival and Highland Games, Baking Contest

• 1½ cups Golden Raisins
• 6 Tbsp Drambuie
• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 cups  Bob’s Red Mill Enriched Unbleached Wheat Flour
• ¼ cup light Brown Sugar (packed)
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Caraway Seeds
• 1½ cups cold Buttermilk
• 2 large Eggs
• 2 Tbsp unsalted Butter (melted)

In a small bowl, combine raisins and Drambuie.  Let stand for 30 min.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Grease baking sheet.

In a large bowl, using a whisk, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and caraway.  In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs and butter.  Beat slightly with whisk.  Add macerated raisins.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet.  Stir with wooden spoon until moistened.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter.  Knead gently about 6 times or until it comes together.  Form into 2 round loaves; place on baking sheet.  Using a serrated knife, slash the tops with an X no more than ¼” deep.

Bake 40-50 min. or until loaves sound hollow when tapped and are brown & crusty.  Serve warm.

Writing this week’s blog about my “Favorite Piece of Triathlon Gear” has taken me in a lot of different directions.  I’ve spent ample amounts of time pondering what to write about.  I thought, maybe my most important piece of equipment would be my bike – I can’t really live without that, maybe its some funky gadget like my bike speedometer which I truly couldn’t live without either as its helped guide my pacing and effort during those long rides out in the country, or maybe its the endless sticks of body glide that keep me from dealing with some very painful chaffing issues…but the more I think about it, the one piece of “gear” that I truly can’t live without really isn’t a piece of gear at all, plain and simple it’s my triathlon training partner.  No matter how I try to tackle this topic, I just can’t discount how important it has been for me to have a great training partner every step of the way.  Together, he’s guided my journey from absolute triathlon beginner who didn’t own a bike six months ago to someone who just came off of his first successful Olympic triathlon and will soon attempt to complete his first Half Iron-Man.

The great thing about thing about this piece of “gear” was that while we both have the same goal, 2011 Pacific Crest Half Iron-Man, we’ve gone about it in slightly different but equally supportive and complimentary ways.  My training partner is amazing; he’s super meticulous, detail oriented, diligent and has amazing foresight.  I’m however, more of the mindset of let’s just get out there and go for a ride and see what happens.  Fortunately, we’ve been able to compliment each other’s style and I think teach each other something valuable along the way.  I’ve learned from him to be more disciplined about my training, eating, etc.  On the flipside, I believe that I’ve been able to push him at times harder than he would have pushed himself if we weren’t training together.  While you can train for your particular race on your own, its amazing how much more fun and productive training with a partner or a group can be.

If you’re just beginning your triathlon pursuits, you have probably experienced the following dilemmas…First, what the heck am I doing?  Second, where do I turn for information to start this process and what the heck is a brick workout?  Third, who the heck can I train with to help keep me going when its cold and rainy outside and the last thing I want to do is jump in the pool?  Lastly, ummm help!?!?  I have asked myself all of these questions and thankfully I’ve been able to find guidance from my training partner, who fortunately for me, has done a few triathlons but by no means are we considered to be super advanced triathletes.  For that matter, I don’t believe that you even need to be a super athlete to enjoy this sport.

When I first began looking into trying this triathlon thing on, one of my other buddies whose completed many tri’s and is a very experienced bicyclist gave me a great piece of advice, he said, “its not necessarily about the end goal, those races come and go quicker than you can imagine, but it’s the journey and transformation that you take mentally and physically that become the best part of being a triathlete.  If you work hard and stay focused, you will without a doubt enjoy some of the best times of your life training with your friends.”  And you know what, he was right.  Finding an individual or a group of people who you can rely on to help guide you through this crazy triathlon journey is by far the most important piece of “gear” that I could ever have.

My transformation from beginner triathlete to someone who now knows a thing or two was greatly guided by the encouragement of my particular support system as I mentioned previously.  However, if you’re interested in becoming a triathlete and you haven’t had your friends harassing you for the past 5 years to just go out and “buy a bike” but you want to give triathlons a try, I’d highly suggest looking into the many great triathlon clubs that your area has to offer.  A simple internet search for Portland can steer you to the likes of Athletes Lounge, The Portland Triathlon Club, All-Star Fitness, ironheads, etc.  Also, websites and books that I’ve also used for guidance include www.beginnertriathlete.com, www.triathlete.com, The Triathletes Training Bible and the Complete Triathlon Book have proven priceless for me as well.

No matter where you are in the process, if you’re interested in becoming a triathlete, the most important piece of “gear” you can have is a great support team.  From your training partners at the gym to your support system at home, find your team, and get after it!

I’m excited to have this opportunity to be part of the Bob’s Red Mill Train with Grain Family this road season.  I’ll let you on to a little secret though, I am not a pro bike racer or even a really great amateur one.  What I am is really enthusiastic – about my own racing, the races I put on, and most especially training and getting ready to race. I love the discipline of bike racing.

My season got off to a poor start.  We had a terrible winter and my pre-season training was not what it should have been – quite frankly I am a big wimp when it comes to suffering in cold, icy conditions.  To be fair, all the women I compete against were in the same boat, but for some reason I started the season further off the back than usual. Throw in loads of work travel and I fell far short in some of my early season goal races.

Compounding less than ideal winter training was the fact that I was coming off an injury that spooked me – a broken Orbit bone in my face and my second concussion in less than 4 months.  In those early season races, fear was definitely as much as a factor as being 4 pounds heavier than I wanted to be and the fact that I had fewer miles in my legs than I wanted. After a very disappointing result at the Sea Otter Classic in April I realized that I needed to regroup, re-evaluate my training and diet, my personal goals for the season and most importantly face some down some demons.

Here in Kentucky, where I live, the racing starts in March and the local racing dwindles to virtually none once June comes.  So, facing down an early season of disappointment, I needed to find some races to focus on later in the season.  Masters Road Nationals, held in Bend, OR, at the end of August, immediately leapt to mind.  It gives me time to dial in my fitness, get my diet back on track after too much time off the road, and some time to face my bike racing demons down.  I’ve raced Masters the last two years and have shown significant improvement from year to year.  Now I’m going to tell you something that I have only admitted out loud to a couple of close friends.  My biggest goal – stretch goal in the parlance of coaches far and wide – is a top 5 finish.  This is VERY ambitious especially on a road course that isn’t exactly suited to my strengths (but there are very few races that are dead flat with strong winds so I suppose I will have to deal with it…), and more realistically I am aiming for a top ten.  There, I’ve said it.  Now how do I get there?

A very wise coach, who is also a very good friend, has been advising me on my training.

He’s also been helping me get my head back into a healthy place.  A tall order!

First things first.  A blunt and honest evaluation of my current fitness. Happily, not as bad as it feels.  Check.  The base is good, the top end is lacking.  We can fix that.

Second – identify strengths and weaknesses. Time to become a more complete rider. Okay.  This bit is a little harder.  But essentially what it has meant is that instead of training all the things that I am good at (did I mention that when it comes to racing I like flat with a headwind?) I need to start focusing more on my weaknesses.  In my case, this blunt evaluation means I’m working on hills more, working on my cadence and developing my capacity to withstand repeated hard efforts instead of just doing my favorite long, steady TT-type rides.

It’s also meant working on my downhill skills.  I’m not a small girl compared to many of my fellow racers, I should be able to go downhill with the best of the them because gravity is my friend. But my head was a mess.  At the dread Sea Otter, I was climbing great, riding the flats powerfully.  What I couldn’t do was go down the dread Cork Screw.  It was embarrassing. The moto official came by me and told me to stop braking.  I wanted to tell him “DUH! If I could, I would.  But my fingers have assumed minds of their own, I am no longer in control of my digits…”  My friends at SRAM NRS took me in the car during the women’s pro race so I could watch them go down that hill, my nemesis, and see how they did it.  I got out of the car on the hill and watched my friend and fellow BRM Train w/ Grain blogger, Meredith Miller, drill it down that hill lap after lap.  How did she go SO FAST???

And Bend, OR?  Not flat.  I will need to be able to go up AND down.

So descend, descend.  Go through the mechanics of going downhill.  Weight in the outside pedal.  No braking through the turns.  Look ahead through the turn and see your exit.  Follow fast friends down hills, re-learn how to find the best lines.

The next step in the training plan?  Researching the course profile and the little race details that will make a difference. You’ve got to base your training on what you’re going to be asked to do in the race.  The road course in Bend is either climbing or descending.  Very little flat to be found.  Nothing steep. But a lot of 3-4%.  A steady power course, always power to the pedals.  Okay.  Now we know what we’re facing.  The TT course starts out with the big uphill, then descent down to flat lands.  A fair course that won’t really favor one type of rider over another.  But I’ve got to be able to go downhill.

Devil’s in the details, right? Time to work backwards from the end of August.  Every week needs to include training designed to help me on race day.  Every week also needs to include rest.  A season that started in March with a very late season goal in August means making sure I rest and don’t get burned out too soon.  It means tailoring specific workouts for this race.  While all my friends and teammates might only have 35-minute crits on their calendars for the rest of summer – I’ve got to keep doing workouts that will get me through a long, hilly road race.  And I need to find races between now and then that aren’t crits.  I will be logging lots of time in the car this summer to find some road races that is for sure!

Last but not least: diet and hydration are key.  With all the traveling I’ve done for work, my diet hasn’t been great.  Airport Starbucks is not a food group – yet.  So now, time to get back to healthy eating.  Planned meals.  I’m not much of a meat eater – getting enough protein in my diet has always been a problem.   In fact if I could, I would pretty much exist on fruit, vegetables and oatmeal cookies.  Not exactly the menu of champions.  Happily my friends at Bob’s Red Mill are stocking my kitchen with lots of goodness to give me the fuel I need to compete.  Quinoa to go with veggies of all varieties.  Morning oatmeal or granolas (for those super hot days), 7 Grain Pancakes with real Vermont Maple Syrup, and of course Salted Cherry Oatmeal cookies (enhanced with hemp protein so they’re healthy I swear!!).  Turns out that eating a well balanced diet isn’t that hard after all when you’ve got the right ingredients…

Train with Grain is designed to help fuel the workouts and boost the training efforts of dedicated athletes everywhere. The idea: create a well-fueled community where athletes of every level can share and learn and grow together.

It kicked off last year with Cyclocross, and this year we’re eagerly expanding into road racing and triathlons, two other sports that demand great nutrition and long-lasting energy.

Participants receive an awesome training kit, packed with a delicious variety of whole grains – including Honey Oat Granola, 10 Grain Hot Cereal, Quinoa and 7 Grain Pancake Mix – as well as their choice of a sweet cycling cap or running hat (plus a few other goodies). We’re including recipes and photos for how to use these products, so anyone can easily start making training-friendly food at home.

This year we’re also bringing in a handful of contributors to share their training experiences and war stories on our blog along the way. This team of road warriors and triathletes comes with varying years of experience, and is well prepared to talk about everything from biomechanics and hydration to etiquette and training schedules. Count on video diaries, horrific injury stories, tips on how not to get divorced while training, and a short film on leg-shaving techniques for men. They come from all over the country, and can offer perspectives on what it’s like to train and race in a variety of climates.

This crew will also provide cooking demos, meal plans and “night before” recipes based on the grains in your kit.

It should be a lot of fun.

We’ve also created a slick and ultra-user-friendly dashboard where you can login, choose your races, upload photos, and interact with everyone else. It’s connected through Facebook, so you can post every victory directly to your wall and encourage friendly competition (read: taunt) everyone you know.

It’s going to be awesome.

If you want to find out more, join the Train with Grain community right now. We’d love to have you on the team.

Now that you’ve signed up for Train with Grain, you’re probably ready to get started training or *hopefully* enhance your current training regimen. Your kit will arrive soon, if it hasn’t already, and we’d like to draw your attention to one item in particular- Barney Butter.

The good folks over at Barney Butter were generous in donating a sample of Barney Butter for all of our triathletes and we can’t thank them enough. I’ve tried a lot of different almond butters, but I am seriously in love with Barney Butter. Not only is it creamy and smooth like peanut butter, it’s not gritty or too runny like some brands on the market. PLUS, I love love love the little squeeze packets that you can buy. I know it might seem silly to haul around packets of almond butter, but when I’m on the go and need a quick snack- I’d prefer to pull out a little almond butter than stop and try to find something edible on a fast food menu. They’re also great for a pre-workout protein boost or a post-workout recovery snack.

We hope you enjoy your sample! If you can’t find them locally, they have a great website and provided coupons for your first order in the kit (though if that’s missing, let us know, they are small and I know some kits mistakenly did not get them). Might we suggest you also “like” them on Facebook? They are always posting good deals and great recipes.

BONUS FACTS: Barney Butter is a small company with values that we can get behind. Their facility is peanut-free and their product is gluten-free. Their slogan? Spread the Love! What more do you need?

This post is sort of hard to write from Oregon, as we’ve hardly had any heat to speak of so far this June. However, I anticipate that it IS indeed coming and it may be rather warm where you are, so I’m powering through. When it gets hot, the last thing most of us want to do is turn on the oven or stove. Here are some great recipes that will take very little energy on your part and only require a small (if any) amount of stove time.

• Peanut Sauce Vegetable Stir-Fry over Quinoa: easy peasy and only a few minutes near the stove.
• Taco Salad with TVP (or meat, if you prefer): pretty simple and very tasty
• Whole Wheat Pearl Couscous with Pesto and Vegetables: another simple recipe to prepare that tastes wonderful on a warm evening.
• Cold Curried Groats: this would be great prepared in the morning when it’s still cool and served in the evening with grilled meat or vegetables.
• Ricotta Spinach Tacos from The Food Network: easy, light and healthy- what more do you need?
• Sesame Cucumber Salad from Simply Recipes: perfect side for grilled chicken on a hot night.
• Watermelon Salad with Mint Leaves from The Food Network: trust us, it’s divine!
• Gazpacho from Simply Recipes: definitely a warm weather dish- just be sure to plan ahead, this one sits overnight.
• Tabbouleh: with warm pita bread, fresh hummus and feta… easy, delicious and healthy too!

What is your go-to warm weather dinner?

It’s a common problem for road cyclists: Where on earth can we safely ride our bikes and get in good training?  Stories of driver rage against cyclists appear all too frequently in the news these days.

Happily in Louisville we are very fortunate.  We’ve got a beautiful parks system (did you know that Louisville is known as the City of Parks?), including some designed by famed landscape architect F.L. Olmstead, as well as reasonably easy access to beautiful roads through rolling hills, bluegrass and horse farms, all within an easy pedal out of the city.

(Top right: “Dog Hill” in Cherokee Park – where the ride really starts….)

Personally, my favorite route features all of the above.  Local racers play theme and variations with these roads to get great riding in a beautiful and challenging setting.

Leaving my apartment I am a mere 4 minutes to one the Louisville’s Olmstead gems: Cherokee Park.  After getting a nice warm-up through the park it’s a quick trip down Indian Hill Trails, featuring a quick swoopy descent that frequently sees some country club deer making guest appearances right on down to River Road.  River Road, beautiful by itself or as a gateway to my favorite roads toward the east, zooms along the banks of the Ohio and, even though it’s dead flat, can feature awesome tail winds and fearsome headwinds depending on your luck.  Out through towards Prospect, you are sure to see cyclists following this route as part of their IronMan Louisville training plan.

(Indian Hill Trail)

Then it’s a quick hop along to the adrenaline-pumping Route 42 (Frogger anyone? blip, blip….) until you turn left onto Rose Island Road.  I always have to sit up a little as we roll past Henry’s Ark – a weird little zoo where you can spot Emu, deer, geese, ducks, zebras and …is that a Dromedary??  As you ride along, the road gets a little more rolling, with short little power bursts and roads that narrow down until they remind me of Belgian farm roads.  At the end of Rose Island Road you’ll find yourself climbing up Goshen.  Now let’s be honest – this is not the Alps.  But it’s a three-stair-step climb that always makes me thankful for the 26 on my SRAM cassette.

At the top of Goshen we’re back on 42 and the roads are wide open – a little traffic-y but not terrible – and we’re headed out into some beautiful horse farmland.  Turn right on to 1694 and the IronMan course and there is a gorgeous Thoroughbred farm and I am always slowing down to look for long-legged babies.  Then comes my favorite descent in the area – great pavement, swoopy good fun.  Climb up, turn onto Covered Bridge Road, turn onto Sleepy Hollow and mentally you are at the halfway point.  Speed down Sleepy Hollow – it’s so gorgeous.  Lots of falling water, creeks, waterfalls.  Climb up and there you are at the community of Norton Commons and my favorite pit stop at the gelato joint – not for ice cream, I would die!! – but for a delicious, cold, refreshing Goose Island Rootbeer.  Not to be missed on a hot day!   From there it really is the home stretch – the up and down Wolf Pen Branch – and I am counting down the number of hills left before I am home, all the way back to the flat, fast River Road and back on home.

(Thoroughbred farm on 1694)

My training schedule has been a dynamically evolving organism in the past two years. My love of triathlon regarding training, competing and coaching has been fighting with my love of running, specifically endurance running or marathons. Because I can still choose to run in the winter, my focus in the early season is to knockout one marathon a month for April, May and June. During the winter I participate, and then coach, an indoor cycling class for athletes of all abilities. This keeps me on the bike instead of the couch. Since the pool is always open, swimming is available so my gills don’t dry out. With that in mind, and a goal race looming in the late spring, winter run training keeps my running base stable while two indoor bike workouts keep things sharper than choosing to be out riding in the rain with automobiles. All three sports keep my cross-training level up and reduces my incidence of acute or nagging injuries.

I’m excited to be competing in two new triathlon events coming to Portland this year, both of them 70.3 (miles) Half-Iron (H.I.M.) distance races. Blending the last marathon this Sunday the 19th, into the triathlon training schedule for a H.I.M. in three weeks, involves a bit of juggling, but basically my weekly schedule starts to look more intensely and exclusively triathlon based. I follow a Three-Week-On/One-Week-Off monthly schedule to build and vary Intensity and duration.

Monday: Resistance and Core Training

Tuesday: Swim Drills w/Upper Zone Focus and Run Day (tempo). Distance and Time dependent on Training Plan phase.

Wednesday: Bike Intervals on Road

Thursday: Swim Distance and Easy Run

Friday: Active Recovery Day, Stretching or Short Easy Ride

Saturday: Long Bike on Course-Similar Terrain. Distance and Time dependent on Training Plan phase.

Sunday: Long Run w/Aerobic Threshold Focus.

I’m also excited to be contributing as a part of the BRM-TWG team and helping to further elevate the awareness of correct nutrition in training and competing. Correct nutrition is a year-round event.

Welcome to Train with Grain Summer/Fall 2011! We had such a blast meeting folks from all over the country last fall and are really pumped up about some of the events that will bring us to a city near you (we hope). Here is a run-down of some of the events that have us excited to hit the road:

Pacific Crest Sports Festival (Sunriver, OR): How can we NOT be excited? Not only is it near Bend, Oregon (one of the prettiest places on the planet and home to awesome micro brews), but the weekend is filled with live music, family activities and races for every level of athlete. Did we mention the beer garden opens at 10 am and there are shuttles to the event location?
Dates: 06/24-6/26/11
Website: http://www.racecenter.com/pacificcrest/index.htm

Ironman Lake Placid (Lake Placid, NY): First of all, this is one of the oldest Ironman competitions in the United States AND it’s held in Lake Placid, NY. While I’ve never been myself, Lake Placid looks like a small chunk of heaven nestled in  upstate New York’s Adirondack Mountains. This event runs for five days and is packed with everything from a Fun Run for the kiddos to a massage tent to a pancake breakfast.
Dates: 7/21-7/25/11
Website: http://ironmanlakeplacid.com/

Ironman Boulder (Boulder, CO): First of all, we LOVE Boulder. This Ironman boasts strong volunteer support, promises loads of spectators and its challenging course has spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains at every turn. With a reputation for great food, entertainment and known as one of the friendliest cities in America, Boulder is a great place to visit and test yourself against other Ironman athletes.
Dates: 08/05-08/07/11
Website: http://ironmanboulder.com/

Mayor’s Cup Criterium (Boston, MA): Not only is a criterium a wonderful spectator sport, but it’s a pretty darn fun way to race too. If you’re not familiar with a criterium, this is essentially (all of you pro’s can just pipe down) a closed-circuit bike race. No getting lost, just around and around in downtown Boston! Beyond the bike fun, the city is in full celebration mode. Before the criterium is a city-wide bike ride and after the race the city hosts the Boloco Block Party which boasts live music, booths, great food and, we suspect, a beer garden where one could find a cold beverage to enjoy while watching the Mascot Race.
Date: 9/25/11
Website: http://tdbankmayorscup.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=471130

These are just a small smattering of the events we’ll be at this summer. We’re excited for each and every one of them and cannot wait to meet you in person and share some of our cool gear with you. For a full list of events, check here and follow us on twitter (@bobs_red_mill) for updates on where we’ll be.

BBQ Gluten Strips
by Chelsea Lincoln

Gluten Mixture:

• 3 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
• 2 Tb Nutritional Yeast
• 1 Tb Marjoram
• 2 tsp Onion Powder
• 2 tsp Sage
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2-1/2 cup Water
• 2 Tb Tamari
• 1 Tb Oil

Tahini Mixture:

• 1 cup Onion, chopped
• 1 Tb Oil
• 2 Tb Paprika
• ¾ cup Tahini
• ½ tsp Salt

Gluten Mix: Blend together dry ingredients, and then quickly mix in the rest of the liquid ingredients.  This will turn into a spongy, elastic ball.  Knead this 5-10 times.  Set aside.

Tahini Mix: Sauté the chopped onion in the oil until clear.  Mix together all rest of the ingredients together.

Split the gluten mixture into four pieces.  In food processor, blend one piece of the gluten mixture with ¼ of the tahini mixture, until just combined.  Be careful not to process until smooth.  Repeat with the rest of the pieces of gluten and tahini mixture until everything is combined together.

Push into a grease 9 x 11-inch baking pan.  Bake at 375°F for 40 minutes.  Once baked, cut into strips and spread BBQ sauce over the strips.  Place on a baking sheet and bake an additional 20 minutes.