Recipe of the Month: Chia

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups usweetened coconut milk 
• 1/3 cup chia seeds 
• 1/4 cup cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 2-5 Tbsp maple syrup (I use Joseph's Sugar Free Maple syrup) 
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp sea salt 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Instructions

• Add all ingredients except sweetener to a mixing bowl and whisk vigorously to combine. Sweeten to taste with maple syrup at this time. 
• Let rest covered in the fridge overnight or at least 3-5 hours (or until it's achieved a pudding-like consistency). 
• Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for 2-3 days, though best when fresh. 
• Serve chilled with desired toppings, such as fruit, granola or coconut whipped cream.

Featured Member - Kevin Schleicher

Tell us about yourself - I am from Cedarburg, WI (near Milwaukee) and moved to La Crosse for university 8 years ago. I stayed active throughout college with intramural sports and hiking but found a void in competition after completing my degrees in 2012. Triathlons and other endurance races have become a big hobby in my life over the past few years.

How long have you been doing triathlons/How did you get started. - I started doing triathlons in 2014 by throwing myself into Lake Neoshonec without a wetsuit and making my way to a nearly dead last finish out of the water. But don't worry, the bike and run went much better! In my second season, I've seen a big improvement.

What is your favorite distance? - I've only done one Sprint and one Olympic so far but I've enjoyed both distances. I've sprinkled in a few duathlons and half marathons into my schedule as well.

What have you done and what is coming up for the 2015 season? - I completed my first Olympic this year and improved in both my swim and biking pace drastically. Thankfully the YMCA Master's swim class refined my swimming technique over winter. I'm looking at doing one more half marathon and possibly the Devils Lake Challenge in September. Winter will involve lots of swim and bike training while I look towards doing a HIM.

What is your favorite discipline? - It varies to be honest. I used to favor biking the most, but I tend to really enjoy the discipline that I'm training the most at the time. Seeing improvement makes the sport fun!

What is your favorite race? Why? - The GOT energy sprint is my favorite because it was my first race. I was hooked from the start.

What are your plans going forward? - Training as hard as I can to do a HIM next year. I'm a newlywed that recently bought a house so finding a balance in training and other parts of life have been interesting. I want to make sure my wife knows she's number #1 and training is #2. :)

What else would you like to share? - I'm happy to continue growing in this fun sport and I appreciate the comradely that bluffbusters offer. It really helps me push myself to become better at triathlons!

Maggie's Corner: sports & Reunions

Sports & Reunions:

It was a cold, late October morning and I was sitting by myself on the Staten Island ferry, in NYC, being transported to Staten Island, where the marathon would start. The NYC marathon is an iconic race, filled with 50,000 running. I had heard through the grapevine that a high school class mate of mine would be at the race too. I was able to reach him through FB, told him the time I was going to be taking the ferry and what color hat I was going to wear ("bright lime green!!!"). What I didn't realize, is that there were several hundread of people of that ferry. I hadn't seen Alexandre for 20 years; since we graduated, Chances were slim. As I walked out, I felt a hand taping my shoulder. I recognized him immediately; he hadn't change a bit!!! It was such a treat to be able to reconnect with an old friend, thanks to NYC marathon! It was such a joy to catch up with him, reconnect. I even meet his nice friend, a gal that I befriended right away who was also racing. We were able to toe the line together and even managed to run together for the first 6 miles or so. I even saw the two of them again this summer at IM Mont Tremblant.

I always thought that triathlon and running events were such selfish sports. You train alone for countless of hours and you race alone. You spend time away from families and friends, going to bed way too early but also waking up way too early. But this enounter with an old friend made me think otherwise. Because we both had a passion for running, an event brought us together, 20 years after we last saw each other, and 1500 miles away from home.

A couple of weeks ago, I raced IM Mont Tremblant, a mere 3 hours away from my home town. I was fortunate enough to have qualified for Kona. Another high school classmate of mine also qualified for Kona...as far as I know, he is one of half dozen to have qualify in the province of Quebec in the history of Kona. We have gotten in touch and we also plan on meeting on the Big Island. I also haven't seen him in 20 years...I bet he hasn't change (and I hope he says the same about me!).

Stay healthy,
Maggie

Featured Member - Jake Kuhse

Jake Kuhse

Tell us about yourself :

I was born and raised in La Crosse. I’ve got 2 younger brothers, Jeff, and Josh. A few of my interests and hobbies include fishing, running, waterskiing, reading, building computers, and browsing Reddit.

How long have you been doing triathlons?

My first triathlon will be Got Energy.

How long have you been a Bluff Buster?

I joined in early February of this year.

What is your triathlon background (How did you get started? Do you have a background in swim/bike/run, etc, have you done many?)

I ran cross-country and track in middle / high school and one year of college. I don’t have much experience in swimming or biking, but have a strong running background. I took over a year off from doing any type of exercise and am finally getting back into shape.

What is your favorite race distance?

My favorite race in high school was the mile. Now my favorite race is 5k.

What are your triathlon goals for 2015?

Complete a few triathlons and learn the strategies for achieving top racing performance.

What is an interesting fact about you?

I love staying up late and reading

What is your favorite song or album to workout to?

When I do listen to music during my workouts, it’s only on the treadmill or stationary bike. A few of the bands I listen to are Papa Roach, Linkin Park, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Offspring.

What motivates you?

Being able to measure continuous progress and see what my body is capable of.

What is your favorite workout? My top 3 are:

· 6-8 mile run through Hixon

· 400m repeats on the track

· Early morning runs on golf courses when no one else is awake

What can’t you live without?
Nalgene water bottle, Asics shoes

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?
Teleportation or underwater breathing

What is one book that everyone should read?
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Biggest Pet-Peeve:

Tangled ear buds

Recipe of the Month: Thai Ginger Shrimp Couscous

Jamey shares one of his special recipes this month:

Endurance training gobbles up a lot of free time. Quick, healthy meals are essential. This meal can be put together in about 10 minutes. I'm no nutritionist, but it's got grain, colorful vegetables and shrimp, can't be bad. I mix an extra teaspoon or two of chicken base into the broth for a much saltier flavor.

Thai Ginger Shrimp Couscous

• 1 lb shrimp-peeled and deveined
• 1 cup couscous
• 2 cups Swanson Thai Ginger Broth
• 3 cups frozen vegetables (I like stir fry mix with peppers, onions, pees, etc)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves chopped garlic-get a jar of chopped garlic to save time or chop your own
• Chicken base for extra salt if you want

In one pan steam the vegetables.
In another pan, heat the ginger broth to a boil (or nearly so), dump in the couscous grain and turn the heat way down-that will be done in about 8 minutes.
While that's going, peel and devein the shrimp if needed.
After about 5 minutes the couscous should have absorbed the broth, fluffed up nicely and started getting pretty soft. Sauté the garlic in the olive oil for a minute and then add the peeled and deveined shrimp.
Garlic and olive oil burns fast and shrimp cooks very fast so this should only take a few minutes.
When the shrimp are done, combine everything and eat it. Good stuff.

Maggie's Corner - Tribute to The Boys

Tribute to The Boys

They have known me for several years. They have seen me during my good
days, bad days, at my fittest, and also during my slowest. They have
witness/endure my crankiness at times, see me when I'm hungry, or
worst, "hangry" (bad combination of angry and hungry). And I hardly
see My Boys with anything on by speedos.

My Boys, as I affectionately call them, are my swimming partners and
the main reason I get out of bed at 4:30am. We have been swimming
together for years, sometimes several times per week. They have pushed
me to get fitter, I have pushed them, but we have also laughed
together and swore a few times. We rarely see each other outside the
formality of the YMCA pool, but knowing they will be there in the
morning, make me want to join in and get in a good workout...but I
also enjoy and look forward to their company and friendship. In turn,
it makes those 5am swim workouts so much easier to go through. We
celebrate our races, successes, but also work stories, family stories,
etc. They see me at my highs and lows and don't judge...as long as I
make the interval.

Once again, my sport of swim-bike-run has open the door to not only
fitness and races but also to a great web of friends that I cherish
and that are important to me. Their familiar faces, their caring
thoughts, encouraging words and also their tough love at times not
only help me getting fitter but also brighten my day. And even my
partner Kent will ask me: "so...how was the swim with The Boys this
morning...?"

This is my tribute to My Boys, my friends, my swimming partners, my
accomplices. I thank you :)

Next time you struggle during a workout, just think of all the
wonderful people you've met because of this sport.

Stay Healthy,

Maggie

Swim Video Taping April 23rd at 7:00 p.m. La Crosse Y

Video Taping is this Thursday, April 23.
Bluff Busters are putting on a video taping to help improve swim form this spring.  We tape  you from multiple directions to give you a 360 view of how you are doing.  We review your form and show you drill and offer pointers to help you improve.
Sample video that we send out to members to keep after video taping.