Active Toby's Adventure Blog : March 2008
Previous NextAlong with the extra mileage on the trail, I've been "kickin' it up a notch" in the kitchen because of a noticeable increased in my appetite for quality grub. Thus I've been in search of relatively simple meals that pack a whole lot of power (efficiency) In addition to upgrading my go-to Rocket Fuel, now featuring Quinoa instead of brown rice, this mouth-watering Salmon dish has become an instant favorite.
Surfing Magazine presents...
Mango Cilantro Salmon
What you need:
2 pounds fresh, wild salmon
1 white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon
1/2 cup cream or half/half
1 ripe mango
1 tblespoon butter or olive oil
What you do:
Combine onion and chopped garlic in a saucepan with butter, medium heat. Saute till the onion is caramelized; add mango and lemon the stir in cream. Reduce heat, simmer for a minute or two, then cover and turn off heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now, in a separate sauce pan, add 1/2 tblspoon butter over medium heat. Add one clove garlic, chopped. Cut salmon fillets into 4 pieces and add to sauce pan, Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook three to five minutes per side, thicker takes longer. Don't overcook! Rare is better than dry. Fish will flake when done. Add sauce from other pan, serve with couscous/Quinoa/brown rice and veggies. Bon apetit!
Your turn. Hook us up with something tasty!
Check out Cookin' Up a Storm: Healthy Recipes By Melissa
Weekend:
I met my friends Carrie and Jesse, who were my teammates in the La Jolla 10-Mile Relay Swim, for a 2-mile open-water swim on Saturday. It was our first of the season because temps are still below 60 degrees. I thought it was going to feel colder than it did which was a nice surprise. The swim went well and I'm glad we got out there at least once before the Ford Ironman California 70.3 on March 29, in Oceanside, CA.
Monday:
The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is making a stop at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park this week. I scored Marie and I tickets for tonight’s showing. Check out this epic preview:
Tuesday:
TCSD track workout
Wednesday:
TCSD master’s swim workout
Thursday:
I’m meeting Tara Coleman, CCN for a Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test. Tara has been a long-time Active Community moderator with an extensive nutrition knowledge-base. Check out and be sure to ask her any of your sports nutrition related questions.
Tara is going to help me devise a nutrition strategy for my 100-mile run in June. The RMR test will provide a baseline to help us determine how many calories I will need to ingest during the 31-hour race. Tara is going to analyze the foods that I use during training to determine how much I will need to have prepared for the race. It is critical that I relay this information to my crew team so they can monitor my food intake throughout the race. I’m really excited to gain this knowledge because it’s going to make me that much more prepared to step into the unknown.
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Inspiration
A few weeks back, I randomly met a local endurance athlete who is also training for the SD100. Jill Childers joined me and my SD100 crew team out in Cuyamaca State Park for a 20-mile trail run. We chatted with her during the run and Jill was really cool and super fit. I asked her about her experience in Kona in 2007 but it wasn’t until reading this interview from Competitor called Bouncing Back, when we learned of her truly inspirational story. Check out how Jill recovered from a life-threatening bike accident to compete in the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Make it a great week!
Saturday morning, Marie and I made our third-straight weekend pilgrimage to Cuyamaca State Park for our last long trail run this month. We got on the second portion of the SD100 race course for seven hours. There are still lots of downed trees blocking the trail from last year’s firestorm. No way will these be removed before the race which will be quite the surprise for runners who haven’t previewed the course. They got the best of Marie on several occasions. Her sexy legs still look sexy, but were badly scraped by the end of our 27-miler—ouch!
We’ve now scouted the entire race course and I’m feeling optimistic. I’m confident in my support crew, even more so now that it includes my brother—making a guest appearance from the east coast. Secondly, I’m stoked because my fitness level is right where it needs to be. This became more evident when the alarm sounded at 6:30 am Sunday--my legs were fresh and I crushed an 8-mile recovery run, followed by 2.5 hours on the bike like it was nothing. Training at altitude is amazing!
Monday, I spontaneously took the day off from work to capitalize on a mountain bike trip with my good friend Tim. He got us full suspension bikes for the day because he is scouting trails out near Idyllwild for a trail running event he is directing in October. The route we took was by no means suitable for this type of running event but we still had blast.
Training for my first 100-mile run is exciting and throwing a half-ironman in the mix has made it even more fun. The Ford Ironman California 70.3 on 3/29 is almost here. I’m going to hold off on any more long runs until April. Once April hits, I’m going to peak with some serious mountain running sessions (including night running sessions) into the beginning of May and then taper down to harness the energy for 6/7-6/8.
It’s been a bit since my last post and it’s not because I didn’t want to post--it’s because I got hit by a car while riding my bike and we needed to see if my injuries were going to be permanent for legal reasons. It was pretty scary at first because I was really beat up. After a bunch of trips to the doctor and lots of rest and proper nutrition, I got the “ok” to resume physical activity last week.
This setback could have been much more serious and it’s an important reminder of how precious life is--things can change in an instant. This has brought my girlfriend, Marie, and I even closer in the past weeks as she was there for me when I needed her most.
Marie’s friends Rebekah, Mindy and Meg have volunteered to be my crew team for the San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run on June 7-8. We all met in Cuyamaca State Park last Saturday and this Saturday to run sections of the race course together and discussed our race strategy. They’ve run 8 ultra marathons between them and crewed for Active Expert Joe Decker in last year’s race so they have a solid base of experience.
I’m starting to get excited as the race is less than 100 days away. My base fitness level is solid so I’ll be introducing some more challenging distances and terrain in the near future. Much of my confidence at this stage comes from knowing I have such an awesome crew team organized already. They will be my brain during the race. When it comes to running for 24-31 hours without stopping, I need to be concerned with as little as possible besides placing one foot in front of the other. They will be meeting me at check points throughout the race, feeding me, making sure I switch my shoes and socks and most importantly, taking turns pacing me from mile 50 to 100. This stretch takes place through the night and into the next day, when things get “interesting.”
Your continued support here in the Active Community is very much appreciated as well. I can’t begin to tell you how helpful it’s been for me to interact with you all on a regular basis. On Monday, I’m always excited to come back into the office and check in with you guys, to read your stories and to share mine. Thank you all. Your friend, ~Toby
A resource for adventure created to inspire. First-hand trip reports, wild stories and ideas for excursions of your own. Questions about gear and trip planning are encouraged. Feel free to offer your stories and suggestions. Active Toby