Solid Training and good eating...

So this week kicked off my specific build up to Xterra Nationals (9/30) and Worlds (10/28). For the better part of the last 2 months I have back in base building mode with an obvious focus on the bike. I got in a lot of miles both on and off road. I cut back a bit on the running on swimming but still managed a lot of long hilly runs topping out at 60 minutes and averaged about 10,000+ yards a week swimming between the pool and ocean. I also did a couple of fun races and overall am coming out of this phase feeling really good and ready to start throwing down some hard workouts.

This week I headed back to masters and have been basically been getting my ass kicked. I haven't been to Masters since the week before the Xterra West champs, but it's time to get some speed back and there is no other way. I have also already got in a good bike interval/hill session and tomorrow have a pretty challenging run workout on tap. The intensity feels good and my body is ready to handle it.

With the increasing intensity and more challenging workouts I am paying close attention to my diet. From my last post some of you may have thought that I fell off the "healthy eating" wagon, but that is far from the case. My diet has been awesome for the past couple of weeks and occasionally indulging on some beer and mexican is a necessity. As I have done in the past I am going to start covering more of what I am eating along with some photos. I like taking photos of food... I don't know why but I do. So here's some of the stuff I have been eating this week:

Monday Nights Dinner: Sauteed Turkey breat strips with red onion, red & green bell peppers, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes

Then I mixed it with: mixed greens, feta cheese, Quinoa pasta (looks like couscous), whole grain croutons, and a balsalmic mustard dressing (I made this too). The best part is it only took about 15 minutes to make.
Pre-mix/Post Mix:


Some typical stuff I take to work on a daily basis:


Tuesday night I had a late meeting at work and still needed to get in 90 minutes on the bike after work. I got done with my ride about 6:45pm, showered, and needed some thing quick to eat. I always keep stuff like this in my freezer for when I don't have time to cook. I know frozen foods aren't best but it's better then succumbing to eating something that is not good for me just because I am starving and short on time.


Of course I ate the whole thing and it was killer.
Total: 360 cals, 6g fat, 52g carbs, 20g protein.

and of course I also had a salad:


Wednesday morning after my hard effort on the bike I had my favorite breakfast: Oatmeal. This mix had: 1 cup Bear Naked 100% Organic Whole Grain Medley, 1 scoop whey natural protein (17 grams of protein/flavorless), cinnamon, 1 packet French Vanilla Splenda, and 1/2 cup of organic bluberries:


Here are couple of other things I really like from CedarLane. I'll throw these in my lunch if I don't have time to make something.

One last thing before I wrap this up. NUUN just put a testimonial from me on their site. I can't say enough good things about NUUN or the people that work there. I am stoked to be racing for them this year.

From the NUUN site:

xterra national and world championships here we come!

*NOTE: james is one of nuun's sponsored athletes. we think he's just great! however, we also thought we'd clarify when we say "here we come!" we actually mean "here he comes"... though we will definitely be cheering and screaming for him.

"the xterra season so far has been HOT! most xterra races get off to later starts and we are still racing in the middle of the day in 90+ degree heat. this has made staying hydrated both before the race and during the race itself very important. nuun has been a key to my success. by the time i finish the swim, come off the bike, and head out to the run it's already been a long, hot day. i take in nuun on the course and it is my sole source of electrolytes and regardless of the heat, i know when i hit the run i am hydrated and ready to throw down. nuun just makes it easy-no need to fumble around with pills or the sugary drinks offered on the course. i will continue to use nuun as i train and race myself to the xterra national and world championships."