Ironman pictures from the New Jersey Star-Ledger

Awaiting the start - looking back at the ferries of athletes.

Full on contact and pushing on the dive!  Good thing I soon swam away from that.

Oats of the Week: Steel-Cut Oats with Last Night's Blueberry Crisp

The Mix:  Steel-cut oats with leftover blueberry crisp

The Story:  Last night I made individual blueberry and peach crisps in mini cast-iron Dutch ovens. This morning the two leftover crisps stared at me from the counter, challenging my willpower.

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Training in the city

Today's training called for a trail run. I don't have that outside my door so improvised with this hill a bunch of times.
--Laurel

Watermelon Juice, No Juicer Required

Add two-a-days to a hot summer and what do you get? Constant thirst. Seems like I always have a glass in my hand this summer. And as such, I’m bored with my staples, water, seltzer, and Zico coconut water. So when my training partner Meghan—who just finished the NY Ironman just 10 hours and 03 minutes—mentioned her favorite new thirst quencher, I listened up.

The hardest part of making this juice is lugging the watermelon home from the grocery store. The rest is simple: cut the melon in half, scoop out the flesh, and purée it in a blender. I add a handful each of fresh basil and mint and a squeeze of lime to blunt the sweetness. Make sure you buy a seedless watermelon so that you don't have to have to pick out the seeds before blending. 

The juice keeps for about 3 days in the fridge. The herbal flavors intensify over time, making this easy juice even more refreshing.

--Bec

Oats of the Week: Steel-cut Oats with Blueberry Jam and Greek Yogurt

The Mix: Steel-cut oats, blueberry jam, and Greek yogurt

The Story: I wake up about once a week to face an empty larder. No berries. No peaches. No melon. We always seem to have a lonely grapefruit, but on these occasions there’s nothing to sweeten a bowl of oats, yogurt, or cold cereal. Bananas are fine in winter. But in summer, I like something brighter. Enter the small-batch jam.

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Olympic Tofu and Rice Salad with Lime Dressing

As I dug my spoon into our shared pint of Stewart's ice cream, eyes fixated on Gaby Douglas’ uneven bars routine, my husband, John, turned to me and said, "Maybe we should be eating tofu or salads."  I didn’t put my spoon up until the pint was gone. But the next night I cooked a salad appropriate for watching chiseled Olympians sweat over fractions of points and seconds.

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Ironman New York: Amateur Race Report

Many people have asked me how SJ did in the Ironman. And the people that followed SJ's results want to know how this self proclaimed "non-triathlete" managed to go so fast and qualify for the Kona World Championships. This was his first Ironman and he finished 3rd in his age-group and 27th overall (not including pros) out of 2100+ competitors.

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Ironman New York: 10th Place

If you read my previous blog, you now know what motivated me to try an Ironman.  What a day!  Ironman definitely lived up to the hype.  Before I go into details I have to say that I am incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from people cheering and volunteering along the route, from my fellow competitors, and from those who sent messages of congratulations afterwards.  Thank you!

The race started with a 4:15AM ferry to Ross Dock - the park under the GW Bridge in NJ.

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