Pre-Race Prep and Food

As I type, I am 1 day, 8 hours, 20 minutes, and 55 seconds from the start of the 5430 Long Course - my first half ironman!

In order to be as rested and relaxed as possible for the big day, I'm focusing my entire weekend around it. Basically, I'm trying to get every little chore and errand done today so I don't have to worry about anything Saturday but picking up my race packet, hydrating, eating well, and getting to bed early. Right now, I'm watching DVDs of The West Wing (late to the party, but glad to be here!), folding laundry, laying out all my gear for Sunday, and doing some cooking.

I've been cooking a lot of vegetables in the oven lately. It all started when I got a craving for Parmesan chicken a couple weeks ago and tried a recipe I found online. I like to overcook and have plenty of leftovers to re-heat the rest of the week, so I made four chicken breasts. While it was great out of the oven, the chicken was not nearly as good after being nuked (way too dry). I love eggplant, and figured it would hold up much better in the microwave, so I applied the same recipe to eggplant. It was AWESOME! Very yummy without much effort. The only problem was that I wanted to eat it all and it was much harder to save any for leftovers.

After making that a couple times, I decided to branch out to other vegetables. Here's what I made earlier:



















Eggplant, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and Brussels sprout parmigiana! I'm not sure how healthy this is, but at least I'm getting my veggies. And making it was really easy. I just chopped everything, dipped each piece in butter, and lightly coated each with a mixture of breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, and garlic powder. I baked them in the oven at 350 for about an hour with foil covering the pan.











This was my first time eating Brussels sprouts and I thought they were quite good. Neither they nor the cherry tomatoes really needed the crusting (nor did it stick well), but it was a fun little experiment.

For my "last supper" tomorrow evening, I'm opting for something a little healthier. I'm making eggplant and zucchini again, but no butter or Parmesan crusting. I tossed them in the oven with a light coating of olive oil and a sprinkling of parsley and garlic powder. In addition, I'm going to have some ground turkey and tomato sauce with whole wheat pasta. (I'm staying at a friend's house in Boulder tomorrow night and bringing my pre-race meal with me, ergo the need to cook it tonight). The experts say to have a big lunch the day before a race and then a modest-sized dinner. This meal should give me some vitamins, some lean protein, and some "good" carbohydrates and (I hope) will leave me feeling energized Sunday morning!