Honey Stinger Sponsorship!

Talk about a sweet deal! Honey Stinger, maker of great tasting, honey-based energy foods, made with natural ingredients, has offered me a sponsorship! When I told them about my Ironman goal, Doctors Without Borders fundraising, and training schedule, they got back to me right away.

Honey Stinger, a local Colorado company located in Steamboat Springs, has been making their energy foods for over 50 years. I discovered their honey gels during a Ride The Rockies tour when I was facing Monarch Pass after an already long week of riding. One of the aid stations stocked Honey Stingers and I decided to give it a try. When that jolt of honey hit my quads I felt super charged! With the pass in the rearview, I never looked back and have been a Stinger fan ever since.

Endurance training requires hours of sustained physical output. One thing my triathlon coach has instilled in me is the importance of fueling during extended workout times. He suggested setting a 20 minute alarm on the runs to remind me to drink a sip of electrolyte and then every 30 minutes to eat a bite of fuel. On the bike, it's a bit more frequent: drink every 10 minutes and eat every 15. Honey Stingers fit in perfectly with this fueling regime. They're small and portable and and just a bite or squeeze of honey make a huge performance difference. With hours of exertion facing you, you need quick release carbs to sustain your effort and keep you muscles firing.

#HSHIVE

BOD POD

They say curiosity killed the cat but in my book curiosity leads to knowledge and knowledge leads to power!

The Colorado Athletic Club had a special guest visit from the BOD POD. What? (That's exactly what I said too.)

The BOD POD is a cylinder-shaped, air pressurized, pod that measures the air your body displaces when you sit in it and then calculates your body composition. Sounds like science fiction or something straight out of Star Trek but I was curious to see what exactly I was made of:)

After a quick intro and explanation, Kent had me strip down to my swimsuit and take a seat in the pod. He said I'd hear a series of 'pops' as the cabin pressurized and might feel my ears pop like when you're at altitude going over a pass. He closed the door and let the diagnostics begin. I heard the rush of air and a few pops - 40 seconds later he opened the door. We did that 3 times to ensure accuracy and wha-laa we were done!

I was pleasantly surprised by the results and found out that right now I fall into the 'Moderately Lean' category at 22.1-30% fat.

Fat:     26.6%     41.3lb
Lean:  73.4%    114.4lb
Weight:             155.7lb

I also found out that my body at rest burns 1,415 kcal/day meaning that is the minimum amount of calories I should be taking in daily.

All of this is really helpful because:

1. I now have a solid gauge on daily caloric intake
2. I know that if I lose 7-10lbs I'll fall into the 'Lean' category
3. I know what weight to target
4. I know I can create a solid nutrition plan with the proper caloric intake to fuel during training
5. I know I'll feel strong and lean when I'm propelling this body through the IRONMAN course

Kent and his pod will return to CAC in 3 months so I can retake the test and compare measurements.

We Have A Winner!

Tanya Haytko Gonzales is our LUCY Gift Card Winner

In typical Kaia fashion, when Tanya Haytko Gonzales heard about our IRONMAN Bike Marshal volunteer group she was one of the first to jump on board! We pooled all the names of those who had signed up and did a scientifically random drawing to select the winner. Tanya was our lucky Kaia girl and received a $25 LUCY gift card! She'll soon be sporting new LUCY gear at those 6:00AM workouts:) Like I've said before, I couldn't do this without all the massive support I've gotten from friends like Tanya.