The new and improved 2016 newsletter that you can read on your phone. Filled with a little motivation, things to do, team news and pictures and of course who is racing and how they did!
SNOW DAY!

While I know that most of you do not have a "SNOW DAY" on your schedule today and you are most likely worried about what this is going to do to your training schedule. I instead urge you to EMBRACE THE SNOW and the random change! Go for a run outside, if it turns into a walk then enjoy it, pull out your sled out and run up and down a hill 10x, trust me that is great cross training! I am going to get out my cross country skis and enjoy this before it disappears. My point is that it is ok to change the routine and do what presents itself today but try to be creative and have FUN with it. Being fit allows us to be able to run up and down the hill 10x. A few days of random scheduled training will not alter the course of your training for the year. Heck, it might even give you a nice little break and leave you ready to come back and work even harder!

Note from the coach
I am the first to admit that I really don't enjoy cooking. I might even have been known to say "I HATE COOKING"! While I don't really hate it, I find it very time consuming and after a busy day it is about the last thing I want to do. At the same time I know that I need to fuel my body better. The harder I train, the better quality of food I need and want. So in an effort to accomplish the goal of eating better, planning ahead and having sit down dinners as a family I needed to change my thinking and change how I do things. I looked to lots of people for inspiration on this front.

Of course Marni always has good advice and suggestions and so does Chris Dehollander. So I took it all and came up with what worked for me. 15 pounds later (Yes, I have lost 15 POUNDS since Nov. and back to pre-baby weight!) I am feeling much better and I feel like I have a grip on this cooking thing because I am cooking ONCE a week. Monday afternoon I go to the store with a loose plan of what we are going to have and Monday night I get to cooking. By the end of the evening I have lots of veggies, meats and sometimes grains that I can throw together for lunch and dinner for the week. Dinner prep most evenings goes down to about 10 min and I am so much more relaxed because I am not worried about what to make when I am tired. I took a major stress point of my day away AND we are eating better. Here are the basics of what we are doing but if you have questions about your personal nutrition I highly suggest a consultation with Marni or Chris to get you started on a path that will work for YOU! 
  • No processed food
  • Lots of veggies - roasted, steamed, raw
  • Fruit for snacks
  • Meat and beans for protein 
  • Baked sweet potato slices for quick pick me up snacks
  • Hard boiled eggs to add some quick and easy protein for breakfast or snacks
  • WATER - lots of water during the day!

As you can see, this is not rocket science but it does take some planning and organization and like any change it takes a little time to adapt to it.

Here is what Monday looks like in my kitchen:
Pork tenderloin sliced for easy lunches and dinner. Cauliflower with candied ginger and Tumeric and Curry for seasoning (this did not ever make it to a dinner). Chicken stuffed with banana baked in marsala with a little cheese for flavor.
Roasted yellow and red beats and roasted peppers to throw in anything or just snack on.

I think the key take away from this should be PLAN AHEAD because if you don't plan what you are going to be eating chances are you will reach for whatever is there when you are hungry. Remember this isn't about following a diet of any sort, it is simply about eating well! Be creative, use recipes as suggestions. Try to implement a system that works for you during this time of the year so that when the training load increases this is already a habit you have formed. Typically it takes 21 days of change to create a new behavior. I can only hope that this gives you a some ideas of ways that you can change in order to do things better in 2016 and be your absolute best!

Coach Katie
We LOVE our Sponsors!

Please know that a big part of the reason I have asked everyone to order and wear the tri kits this year is in order to give back to our sponsors. They support us and we need to do the same for them by getting their name out there. Thanks to Mary Biebel who is the woman behind Supercuts and fellow team member! Having a strong corporate sponsor like Supercuts gives our team credibility. Let's do our best to represent this year!
TREK DEALER

I place a lot of value on customer service and I love my Trek Speed Concept so when you can get the best of both worlds at one bike shop that is where you go! Fellow team-mate Joanna Eubanks and her husband Sam run this family friendly store in Greenwood. Store manager Derek Kidd knows his stuff and even follows up on every little detail. In case you couldn't tell I think the world of these guys so I am proud to have them on our kits again for 2016! 

Mental Training

Mental training is the most overlooked aspect of training. Most athletes ignore it altogether and then wonder why they can't perform in a race. To me the mind is the most powerful tool we have when racing and athletes who are able to focus consistently outperform those who let their minds wander. I think the first step in starting mental training is becoming AWARE OF YOUR INNER thoughts. What kind of dialogue are you having with yourself? Do you say things to yourself in silence you would never say to a good friend? If so, that means you need to be a better mental coach to yourself. Be KIND to yourself, be ENCOURAGING and tell yourself things that will make an IMMEDIATE DIFFERENCE. For running that might be to swing your arms and keep your eyes ahead. Remember it IS the little things that make a difference. So if you really want to make a positive impact on your training this year here is your first reading assignment (thanks to Ultra runner team member Clay Sanders) for the tip on this book.
Mental Training for Skydiving and Life, A Mind/Body/Spirit Training Program for Achieving Peak Performance in Skydiving and Life. Written by John J. DeRosalia.
Mary celebrates another AG Win with her pup Pippin!
Who raced and who is racing...

Jan. 9th  Harbison 50K  - Columbia, SC
Laura Haupfear 5:12 - 4th Female & 15th OA!
Katie Malone 6:01 - 7th Female & First Ultra
Benji Valwoord 6:39 -Just another day of training!
 
Jan 9th Relay for Life 10K - Columbia, SC
Kelly Danias - 58:10
 
Jan 9th Resolution 5K - Traveler's Rest, SC
Mary Biebel - 1st AG - 29:10
 
Jan 9th Race for the Grasshopper - Cowpens, SC
Carol Brunson - 21 something for 2nd OA!
Erica Melton - 29:31 90 second PR!
 
Jan 16th Greenville Downtown 5K - SC
Mary Biebel - 1st AG - 27:40
 
Jan 16th Charleston Marathon - Charleston, SC
Becky Arndt - 3:34 7th AG, 17th OA and a big BQ (Boston Qualification!)
 
Jan 16th Charleston HALF Marathon - Charleston, SC
Chris Crecente - 1:46
 
Jan 23rd Hot Chocolate 8K Trail Race
Erica Melton
 
Jan 24th Miami Half Marathon - FL
Heidi Ewing

*Please forgive me if I missed anyone - I forgot to take notes as I was doing schedules so this is off the top of my head! Next month I will do better!
Nutrition

I also wanted to give those of you with a busy schedule some great healthy eating options. The first is Sun Belly Cafe - they make the meals and deliver to you! Manny & Brendaly Cintron have been using them for the last few weeks and have been very happy. They are priced very reasonably and the creative fare you will get will knock your socks off! 

                                                                                     









Saskatoons also has prepared meals that you can purchase. I have not personally tried them but I know that Nicole Ramsbey has used them before and swears by the Paleo type plan.

Blue Apron is a service that delivers high quality foods to your door step with all the ingredients and recipe enclosed. Thanks to Jannette for sending me a few samples. The food was amazing BUT it involves a good bit of cooking and recipe following which might be fun occasionally but not something I can be dedicated to each week. I will say that their produce was AMAZING so I can see using this in the future occasionally.





Swim

Open  Water Swim Dates

Address:
My Boathouse at Lake Lanier 
2004 East Lakeshore Dr.
Landrum, SC 29356

April 4, 11, 25
May 9, 16
June 6, 20
July 11, 18
Aug 8, 22, 21
Sept 12, 19

For those of you interested in Open Water Swimming in 2016 here are the dates.  They are NOT every 2 weeks this year but rather scheduled around important races. So please make note of these dates on your calendar. I will also have them on the website and on the website calendar for your convenience. For the swims in April we will have to wait to see what the water temperature is. If it is really cold wetsuits and  hoods will be required and we will keep the swims on the shorter side to avoid hypothermia.

All open water swims start promptly at 6:30 PM and are held on Monday nights because that is when there is the least boat traffic on the lake. The open water swims are workouts, not just swimming and they are fun - so don't miss out! These give us 6 MONTHS of quality time in open water!

Xterra Deals

Every week I will share some awesome deals with you from Xterra. The code to use to get your discount is always going to be:

CO-MALONE



Bike

The first few team rides of the year (I will be adding to this)

Jan 23rd - 9AM MTB at Dupont Guion Farms Parking area (2 hour ride) - 
CANCELED DUE TO SNOW! Rescheduled for JAN 30th

Feb 6th - 9AM MTB at Dupont - Guion Farms Parking area (2+ hour ride)

Bike Virginia JUNE 24-29 - This comes highly recommend by Lisa Powell - The 2016 event will spend 3 days in Woodstock Virginia and 3 days in Harrisonburg Virginia where we will enjoy beautiful mountain and valley riding on tranquil rural roads. That's up to 6 days of pure riding bliss! June 24-20, 2016 is the perfect time to visit the Shenandoah Valley.  
Run

We need old running shoes! Team member Lisa Powell is collecting shoes for migrant workers (you know the people who pick all the fruits and vegetables we eat) and they desperately need old running shoes. Especially smaller sizes but we will take everything. Please TIE THEM TOGETHER and give them to me. I will start collecting NOW and collect all the way through MAY!
If you live in Columbia and know Lisa you may give directly to her.


For Sale

I like to share bikes and items that we have for sale here first. It is a great way to recycle items. Please let me know if you have anything you would like for me to post here. 

Item #1 Bike Rack - 2 inch hitch rack in great condition with locks, garage kept, hardly used. Make me an offer. Located in Landrum, SC

Item #2 Vortex 4 Full Wetsuit, Men's size small, 
Never worn -$100. Lo cated in Charlotte, NC Contact Michael Vaccaro, [email protected]


Item #3 XTerra Vendetta long sleeve Women's Large. Make Mary an offer! Located in Greenville. Contact Mary Biebel [email protected]

Item #4 Blue Seventy sleeveless Women's Medium Large Make Mary an offer! Located in Greenville. Contact Mary Biebel [email protected]

Katie Malone| Malone Coaching |864-415-5804 | k[email protected] | Malonecoaching.net
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