Race Coverage
Gaby's Got Balls...
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Tuesday, 13 January 2015 00:10
By Gaby Bunten
LIFE TIME WHITE BEAR LAKE INDOOR TRI - Sunday morning, January 4th, the White Bear Lake Lifetime Athletic hosted an EPIC event. Athletes swam, biked and ran their hearts out for one full hour… “POWER HOUR.” This was my first experience as an event director and needless to say, it was a learning experience to boot! But I was lucky enough to have the GREATEST bunch of athletes around and Caribou coffee, lots of it. Everyone kicked some major tail and the e-mails post-race warmed my heart. The event went off without a hitch. Athletes got from swim, bike and run with ease, all thanks to my volunteers and co-workers. We had a turnout of 30 athletes who participated, 23 women and 16 men. Let’s get some more testosterone in the mix next time guys! Our format consisted of a 10 minute swim, 10 minute transition, 30 minute bike, 5 minute transition and a 20 minute run. Our female overall winner from St.Paul Minnesota, Brigid Varley, 26, was a total rock star. She knocked out 775 yards in 10 minutes, at a pace of 1:17 per 100 yards. Can anyone say little fish?! Her bike was 10.3 miles in 30 minutes at 20.60 mph average. Finally, Brigi’s run was quite stellar at 2.82 miles completed in 20 minutes at a pace of 7:06 per mile. The other female standouts were Rhiannon...
O’Connor, Melissa Gacek, Vickie Finnegan and Ann Clowser. Has anyone met Melissa Gacek? She’s a sweetheart, not to mention, a pretty great runner to boot. She ran 3.45 miles in 20 minutes, with the fastest split for the ladies on the run. Melissa is looking to secure a 3rd spot in the Olympic Trials for her marathon. You go girl! Kudo’s to these chicks. On the other side that oozes testosterone, Kris Spoth took the cake, or should I say gift card? Not just any gift card… A $50 gift card to Acqua. Brigi got one too. As the race director I expect to be taken on a hot date from both Brigi and Kris to Acqua where I will stuff my face with Osso Bucco… YUM! Kris out-swam, out-biked and out-ran the field that fine Sunday morning. He cranked out 800 yards in 10 minutes, 12.7 miles in 30 minutes and 3.62 miles in 20 minutes. He’s a stud if you ask me! But who’s asking anyways? Other male standouts were: Shane Hochradel, Avivaras Bartkaitis, Mike Connolly, Joe Schmidt & Rick Blackburn.
Results found here: LINK
I have a suggestion to any race director out there looking to please their endurance junkies… BALLS. Not just any balls, but protein balls. I make them for myself on the weekly for post-workout recovery snacks and munchies for long rides. Here are two recipe variations we had at the race:
Reeses Bites:
2 scoops chocolate protein powder, 1 cup rolled oats, 1 cup organic PB, 1-2 tablespoons of chia seed & ¼ cup of agave or honey if you enjoy a sweeter protein bite. I omit the agave and honey to cut down on sugars when I make them at home.
Gingerbread Bites:
2 scoops of vanilla protein powder, ½ cup organic almond butter, ¾ cup oats, 6 tablespoons of almond milk (may need more or less depending on your consistency of protein powder), 1 tablespoon of chia seed, 1 teaspoon of ginger and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. If you wish again for a sweeter bite, try adding 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses, it’s divine!
The balls were a total hit and the athletes raved about them. Try them out and give me a shout if you enjoy them as much they did. I love to hear feedback from recipes. On a final note, White Bear Lake will be hosting a second Indoor Tri coming up in April if you feel crazy enough to join us for POWER HOUR round two. Look for updates via Facebook notifications and like our Lifetime Tri-White Bear Lake page.
