Jeff Vanis' Blog

Let me preface this by saying I am still in absolute amazement of the way events unfolded this morning.

My wife and I have our normal schedules, she typically drops my little track stars off at daycare in the morning, I pick them up at night.  Well today, things were different and we reversed the roles.  Thus my morning departure was later than normal. 

After dropping the bubbas off, I started my drive to work.  Being Friday, specifically the first Friday of the month, I decided that I would grab a Starbucks coffee for my drive.  Note I called out it was the first Friday of the month, well, a local radio station 98.5 KTIS has the Drive-through Difference where they promote paying for the person behind you, typically leaving a pre-printed note for the person behind to see.  I had planned on doing this today to brighten someones day.  I was only a mile away from Starbucks when they played a call from a lady, who had just gone to that same location, and they wouldn’t take the note, but allowed her to still pay for the person behind.  I heard this, and my heart got hard and I, a little bitter, enough so that I was going to skip getting my coffee as a way of “sticking it to them.”

A few moments passed, and I decided, why not still go and be a blessing to someone, they may not have heard what happened.  Why should that prevent me from possibly brightening someone elses day?  I sat in line, ordered, got to the window, went to hand the girl my card, and heard her say “Oh.. the person ahead of you paid for yours and said have a great day.”  I about melted at that point, but I continued to hand her my card, requesting that she runs it for the person behind me.  As I pulled away from the window, my heart softened.  Being so much later in the morning than normal, hearing the first caller, planning on doing this, changing my mind, then still going.  All of these things lined up perfectly to put me in that exact spot, behind that car, to be on the receiving side.  It was God’s way of saying, “Don’t worry, things happen.  It is so much more than a piece of paper, it is learning to forgive and forget, to share with others, to be a blessing.” 

As I sat on the interstate, I decided I wanted to call KTIS to share my experience.  I was able to share it with Pam and Andy letting them know how this seemingly small act, completely revolutionized my day.  One may think the story ends here, but there is more.  I continued my drive, much slower than normal, and as I got almost to work, a song came on.  It is called Overcomer by Mandisa, a song I heard for the first time this week and have been in love with since!  It talks about no matter what situations you are in or have been through, you will conquer them, you will get past it.  It came on just before they came on air to “share a Drive-through difference story.”  As I pulled into the work parking lot, I heard them playing my call.  I was not expecting to hear it, and it was only due to a completely shifted schedule which put me in line behind the car who changed my day! 

Regardless of how small something may seem, in my case, it was a $2.41 Venti Black Pike’s Place coffee, that had a tremendous impact on me and my day, and hopefully others!

 At the Rev3 Summit in January, I was reunited with team members.  This is always an inspirational time as there is so much knowledge and talent within the group, I am bound to learn something new. 

I am going to give a shout-out to Tara Martine, a rediculously fast (vegan turned fruitarian) triathlete, teamie, who is also a nutritionist by trade.  Since we found out my wife is allergic to dairy, Tara has been the source for so much information to us, I cannot say thank you enough!  She recently started her own company W1Nutrition to help athletes reach their nutrition and performance goals.  One reason I have a tremendous amount of respect for her is despite her choices, she can and will listen to other approaches people are taking without being judgemental. 

We had some great conversations last year at Knoxville regarding vegan eatting (mostly the dairy free portion) which was the main focus at the time.  When we were in Colorado, I listened with open ears about her fruitarian “experiment” (read more about it on her blog.)  When I returned home, I decided to do my own research… come on… what engineer would not go do their own investigation?  Some people will look at it and immediately criticize, but there is compelling evidence to back it up.  (Note I am also not saying this is the miracle answer for everyone.)  After a few drinks I told Tara that if I was down to my goal (160-165) by August, I would consider trying it partially to help slim down before Cedar Point and see how lean I could get. 

Would you guess that as I started to research… I couldn’t wait to try it?  Why wait, when I could potentially see even better gains for doing it for a longer period of time?  When I got home, I started changing how I ate slowly.  I started by switching over breakfast and snacks to come from fruits.  At this point I started to track my nutrition using MyFitnessPal to ensure I was getting enough calories to nourish my body as training loads increased.  As I got used to this change (a little over a week later) I decided to switch lunch over as well.  This has been my direction for the past 3 months, and the results speak volumes.  (Mind you I am human, and have my share of “oops” days where I eat other things, but in general, I stick with it.)

I have gone from the high end of 180 (never hit 190) in January, to being in the low 160s already this season.  Two years ago, I was determined to be in prime shape for racing both from fitness and physique.  I started the season in the low 160s and had trouble maintaining it, feeling fatigued all the time made workouts tough.  I planned my season well enough early on that I was able to recoup some energy before the races, and had great performances (sub 20 5k, sub 2:20 at Rev3 Knoxville Olympic) at those weights.  Then I went and crashed, ending my racing season. 

I tipped the scales at 164 this morning, and my energy has been through the roof lately.  My harder workouts feel easier, long workouts seem less damaging, and overall I feel 100% better already.  Despite the crappy conditions for my first race this weekend, I am excited to see where my effort levels come in when pushed at a race.  While I am approaching the lowest weight I have been, I am probably as lean as ever(post college).  This tells me I am doing things properly.  Mind you, I still have a ways to go to be under 10% body fat(I dont even know what my % is, but by a pinch test there is plenty,) and rather than seeing that as a bad thing, I am seeing opportunity.  Opportunity to continue this and see how much healthier I can make myself.  As I have said before, my goals are late in the season. 

It would appear my decision to start this early in the year may pay dividens later in the season.  Thanks again for all the support Tara and Team Rev3 Race Weight Group!

I got told the other day “Wow you are not messing around.  When you do something, you go all the way.”  While this isn’t news to me, I keep thinking back to it.  How many people think that about me?  Is it good or bad? 

Race season kicks off this week… what better weather than 42, rain/snow mix, and 15 MPH winds… ugh.  This makes me really miss the fact that I wont be at Knoxville.  In thinking about the race, I know that all the time put into training has gotten me a long way, and I am more than ready to burn out the carbon by pushing myself to the limit for just over an hour.  Unfortunately, the weather makes be a bit nervous.  I know to be as fast as I want, I have to have a great bike.  300yd swim is hardly worth getting wet for.  25k bike is where the majority of the time is spent, and then a 5k run.

We are beginning to pack things up in our house so we can put it on the market at the end of May.  While nothing comes as a surprise on the list of to-dos, trying to do all of that in balance with having a family (and two very curious twin boys), training, and keeping sane is going to make May quite busy. 

I would say the notion of doing things fully comes from an addictive personality.  As with many things, I find that I both enjoy the journey, but also want the result now, which drives me to pursue it to the fullest.  It isn’t about being the best, it is a combo of wanting to be better, even if I reach that goal, it is on to the next step.  There is always somewhere to go. 

Sure a lot of this plays into triathlon, but it is in other areas as well.  After thinking about this comment more, I have started asking myself what areas do I not do things fully that I want to be doing?  My plan in May is to start focusing on them, a couple at a time.

• When spending time with the boys, spend time with them, don’t be distracted by (tv, phone, other things, chores, etc)
• Engage in conversations more, paying more attention to what they are saying, not just getting to the end of the conversation.

A great event, and an even greater cause are two of the many reasons I am very disappointed to not make it to Knoxville to race this year.  I have had a blast the past two years, and would expect nothing different from this growing venue! 

Rev3 will be offering a Friday night 5k Glow Run, how cool is that?  A great way to get the family involved if you are racing, or if you are the spouse of an athlete, a way for you to get a race in as well.  With the way Rev3 puts on events… I have no doubt this will be something to remember! 

Just yesterday Rev3 announced that all proceedes from this event will be going to Nicole and her family to aid in the recovery after being injured in the Boston Marathon Bombings.  You can read the full Rev3 Press Release. 

As I said, I will not be able to attend, but would love for someone to experience a Rev3 event while also giving to a great cause.  You can also donate directly if you are not able to attend and feel so inclined.  They have setup a webpage at Be Strong Stay Strong. I am going to keep this one simple.

I will be donating to the cause, and in return, you will be running the 5k Glow Run!  That is right, a free race entry for YOU.  Here are two ways to earn an entry:

1. Follow me on twitter @jvanistri and tweet the following: “Just Entered @jvanistri @rev3tri Knoxville Glow Run Entry at
2. Leave a comment on this post, indicating how many entries you earned (Each option is worth 1)

I will tally entries and select the winner on Sunday April 28 at 7PM CST. 

We have been on a kick where we make the same things over and over recently.  When all of the go-tos feel like you just had them last night, it is time to spice things up and try something new.  Since my wife cannot have dairy one of her favorite foods, Mac & Cheese, quickly got eliminated from the list.  (That is if you should technically even call Kraft’s powder a cheese.  (Or the squeeze tube for that matter…) I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth thinking of it. 

I have been doing some searching recently and found some recipes to try and a few others that I wanted to experiement with.  Using our new Vitamix, I have been finding all sorts of combinations to throw in there and see what turns out.  Most have been successful thus far. 

On to the recipe:

What you will need:

1. 3.5 C of Dried Pasta (Elbow Mac, Penne, Spirals)
2. 1.5 C Almond Milk (Could sub Soy if you prefer) – Note I used (1/2 C Raw Almonds and 1.5C Water – Vitamix Almond Milk)
3. 1 C Water
4. 3/4 C Raw Cashews
5. 1/2 C Raw Brazil Nuts
6. 3 Tbsp lemon juice
7. 2 Cloves Garlic – Peeled
8. 2 tsp Arrowroot Powder
9. 1 tsp Sea Salt
10. 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
11. 1/4 tsp Dry Mustard (aka Mustard Powder)

What to do:

• Preheat Oven to 375 Degrees
• Bring a pot of water to boil, put in pasta, stir.  Cook for 11 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Combined all remaining ingredients in Vitamix (blender or immersion blender will work as well) and blend together
• Lightly coat an 8×12″ baking dish with oil to prevent sticking
• When pasta is finished, drain and mix with the sauce
• Transfer ingredients to the dish
• *Note* it will appear very runny, but do not worry!
• Cover with foil and put into oven
• Cook for 18 minutes
• Remove foil and cook another 6 minutes

Watch the final step to not over bake.  Unfortunately my first batch got a bit more done than desired and the sauce got a little chunky, but still tasted amazing. 

You will be amazed at how creamy this tastes!  You would think it had heavy cream and pounds of cheese! Enjoy!  My next attempt may try to use tri-color noodles and incorporate some savory herbs. Pics will be added on the next attempt!

2013… a new year, some old goals, some new goals, and a whole new approach to racing. 

This year there are some big changes to how I am approaching this racing season.  Previously it seems that I have always tried to loose weight too late in the season, which then leaves me exhausted from training and struggling to fully recover between workouts.  Without going into detail, I have taken a new approach to nutrition on a daily basis and am proud to say that in 2 months, I am down over 16 pounds!  I still have a ways to go for my “race weight” but I am feeling great as training has ramped up.  (More specific details to come.)

I have also decided to let go of another aspect of my training.  I have started working with a coach!  I know enough about periodization, season planning, base, peaks, etc, but really decided I need an independent set of eyes.  Part of my decision from this was understanding I needed to change how I was racing my season as a whole.  In the past, I have had A races and B races, but I always try and position myself as best as possible for the B’s… what can I say… I like doing well at all races. 

This season, I have decided my goals are Rev3 Cedar Point Half and the Twin Cities Marathon.  Sure there are a number of races earlier in the season I have some high hopes for, but when I trust in my coach to set me up properly for the two end of season races, I can eliminate my bias earlier in the season.  One thing I see thrown around a ton is when someone coaching also has a coach, the question is asked, then why can they not coach themself?  I think this is one of the best responses and what ultimately helped my decision for this change: “When you write your own plan and things get hard or you are in a big build week, you begin to question if you are over-doing it, or if you should modify/skip a workout.  When someone else is giving you those workouts, you do not have the self-doubt that you made a mistake in planning.” 

Wheels:

Finally, I will be racing on some fast new wheels this year.  I am anxiously awaiting my Reynolds Aero 72s and Element disc.  Despite having owned a plethora of wheelsets in the past, this will be the first “new” setup I have owned.  I also have another post regarding wheels coming soon! 

Customer Service…. I am irate right now, I am so sick of worthless companies who survive by providing shitty service to the people who pay them.  As a consumer, my thoughts are that I will support a company that treats me like I am of value.  Sure there are some things I am cornered into because there is a monopoly or little to no selection in the area for a product or service.

This weekend is a perfect example of both ends of the spectrum.  Last night we went out to celebrate Valentines Day.  I have never eaten at the restaurant but have heard great things about their food.  My wife had eaten there before.  We arrived to a 50-60 minute wait, I get that, it was prime time Saturday night.  We decided to post up at the bar and have a drink.  Since we got to sit down, I would have been alright with just ordering at the bar, but my date was more interested in sitting at a table.  We had some small chat with the bartender who was extremely friendly and very helpful (asking about their beers.)  We sat around and had an appetizer while we waited.  After a bit of time, we decided that we enjoyed his service so well that we were going to forego our position in line (probably within 5 minutes of getting called to be seated) and eat at the bar. 

We even made a point to tell him that his service and friendliness made us change our mind and stay seated with him.  I asked for recommendations on a diner selection and he was great to offer a number of suggestions (something I would expect from a waiter, not as much from a bartender.)  I am a stickler for good service, and will be more than willing to tip very well if the service is excellent.  This ended up being a great meal and experience.

This brings us to today.  We went to a new location for a place we go occasionally.  We walked in and there were only 2 tables taken, after standing for 3-5 minutes without being seated, we finally got someone to seat us.  We made our orders, both of us indicating that we did not want cheese or sour cream on the salad.  The waitress even clarified this, and we said, NO cheese, NO sour cream.  When we got our food, the taste was different than the other location (who knows if they are under different ownership or franchised or what.)  I got about half way through mine before realizing the cheese was melted on top of the chicken (under the lettuce (taco salad.)  As many know, my wife has a dairy allergy. 

We both immediately stopped eating and waited for our waitress to come back around (again not like it was overly busy.)  I explained and showed her that they both had cheese on them and we had specifically asked for them not to.  I also pointed out that my wife was allergic to dairy.  She looked at me blankly.  My wife chimed in, “I’m not even interested in getting another one that is correct at this point.”  The waitress just walked away and when she returned she pointed out that she put in the order without cheese and the kitchen must have messed up.  At this point, I don’t care who messed up.  I care about one thing, what are you going to do to fix it.  She went and talked to a “manager” who looked to just be another waitress and came back with the bill, saying she comped us one salad. 

At this point I was upset enough that we just paid and left.  I still gave a tip that was >20% in trust that she did actually get it right and it was the kitchen’s issue.  I will not be returning to this restaurant again though.  In fact, I plan on letting everyone know that I would avoid it.  It is sad that an $8 meal will cost them our future service.  It is all about the concept.  I don’t care about $8, but what I do care about is righting the wrong.  Luckily her allergy just gives her extreme stomach pain, not like a peanut allergy.  The principle remains, had it been a peanut allergy, the situation could be significantly different. 

This is just my example from this weekend, and I have tons more which outline poor service.  I am a firm believer  that those companies will eventually meet their demise.  I think this equally relates to products and services.  If you are selling a product, you are also selling the service.  A number of companies out there can churn out product, but the number that stand behind their products fully are much more rare.  Have you ever had an example where a product may be out of warranty, yet the company offers to fix an issue? 

This is one of the many reasons I stand so strongly behind Rev3.  The quality of races they put on can be compared to any other “big brand” yet it offers something special, more like a home-town race feeling.  Where they value your presence.  This can be seen in the number of activities offered outside of the race. Sure the main draw is for the athlete and the race, but what about the family?  What are they to do while one of the parents is out racing for a portion (or all of the day?)  Well they go above and beyond to provide a family friendly experience and activities while also providing a top quality race.  Take for example, more race series offering kids races to involve more of the family. 

I urge you to do an assessment when you make purchases.  Look at the product and service.  Is there someone else that offers this? How does your choice stack up?  I can tell you, I would be more than willing to pay more for something that is of higher quality or better service.  To all of the companies out there, I work with data on a daily basis to make better decisions.  Your customer feedback is one of your most valuable aspects.  If something comes up one time, do not just ignore it, be receptive.  If it continues to occur or come up… you better address  the issue or you will suffer. 

This post has been brewing for a few days, and what better day to mention it than Fat Tuesday(ok so it is 1 day late.)  A day dedicated to endulging, something that we as Americans do not necessarily only dedicate one day to, but do on a regular basis.  Did you know the translation of Mardi Gras is Fat Tuesday?  People everywhere binge before the lenten season begins (where they typically give something up that shows sacrifice.)  Does this sound like any other time of year?  New Years maybe?!? 

Why do these events always have a binge period.  If you are serious about giving something up, for longer term results, why include the last supper?  It has always seemed counter-intuitive to me. 

After this weekend, I had this post brewing and under revision after hearing a review about the movie “Identify Thief.”  If you watched any type of media in the past week, you probably heard about the review which personally attacked Melissa McCarthy and her weight.  I am not going to link directly to the article in order to give it less attention, but I will outline the details.  After all, I imagine the review was written to include shock-value, to stimulate emotion, get people fired up, and it has done it. 

This whole topic has gotten my cog-wheels moving.  While I do not agree with the tactics used in the review, calling her a hippo, tractor-sized, and dedicated to being obese and obnoxious, I can say that I think I know where he was positioning himself.  Without writing a thesis on the topic, one of her most recent successes, “Mike and Molly” has been named to be a comedy centered on an overweight couple.  I get it… not everyone is model skinny, traffic stopping gorgeous, or Albert Einstein smart.  I totally support the perspective that media and entertainment should be more inclusive, but just look at many commercials… sex sells.  Don’t take this the wrong way, because “overweight” can still be sexy. 

This leads me to my next point… Fat Everybody.  Have you ever played with a BMI calculator?  Sure you have… you are an endurance athlete looking to get every advantage you can!  It was a little over a year ago when I had a “health assessment” done for insurance through work.  During that they took blood, blood pressure, height, weight, and a million questions.  Through this process, they do a quick assessment and try to tell you how much they know about health.  I am sorry to that nurse, I let her have it. 

During the “consultation” she was reading my results back to me, BP – good, cholesterol – good, pulse – 52 bpm – good, BMI – shit hits the fan.  “Well sir, your BMI indicates that you are on the high side of overweight, almost obese.”  I sat there dumbfounded for a moment.  Did you get someone elses results?  Are you looking at the wrong line?  Where is this coming from?  The next question/response was as follows “Do you exercise? You could benefit from some daily exercise.”  My response wanted to be “Do you read the questions I spent an hour filling out? You can see that I workout to the tune of 12-15 hours a week, a cross of swim, bike, run.”  I then proceeded to tell her that BMI is a worthless measurement without being paired with body fat percentage. (Please also note this whole process was due to increased health care premiums, but offered as “incentive” to get a credit back)

Take a look at the following chart and play around with the calculator:

<18.5 — Underweight
18.5 – 24.99 — Normal Weight
25 – 29.99 — Overweight
30 – 39.99 — Obesity
>40 — Morbidly Obese

By many insurers standards, BMI is a good representitive of health apparently.  The biggest issue I have with this measurement is that it is not a good measure on those with high muscle content.  A bodybuilder will register as obese, heck even a person who goes to the gym and focuses on lifting could quite possibly register as overweight.  By the chart provided on the site, a person who is 5′ 10″ only has to weigh 174 lbs to be considered “Overweight”  That same person, could weigh 132 lbs, and still be considered in the “normal” range. 

I must also add that everytime I have gone to the doctors office, they also do height and weight and their computer spits out a BMI, which then prompts the nurse to do her little line “We are doing this new thing and offering anyone with a BMI over 25 information about nutrition and exercise because that is considered overweight.  Are you interested?” 

Don’t take this the wrong way, because right now… I am overweight.  I fully admit that my exercise and eatting is the cause.  My concern is this is such a large range for “normal” and seems to be a bit to the left on the weight scale. If I were on the low end of my “normal” scale, I am pretty sure people would ask if I was terminally sick. 

Maybe then I would be faster running.  Maybe I am just developing the “poor me” mentality, where I take offense to being called overweight.  Thoughts?

I got back last night from the 2013 Team Rev3 Summit in Boulder, CO.  I tell you what, after spending a weekend with these CRAZY people, I am a little sad to be home.  Don’t  get me wrong, I missed the boys something fierce, but we also made use of every moment we had together.  I have been lacking motivation, not being someone who regularly sets New Year Resolutions, I did not give up on my goals in January like many do.  This is not intended to be a knock on others, just that I know where my motivation level was, and setting a goal that early was leaving room for failure.

I flew out on Thursday and met up with a newbie, Laura aka Frayed Laces, and got a shuttle to one of the Denver locals.  The ride was much longer than expected, and the people in the van probably heard comments about peeing on the bike and who knows what else.  It is amazing how quickly you can open up to someone you have only ever known as an online persona.

A few of us started off the day Friday with a run at 5 AM.  Let me just say the view was as good as the company, unfortunately neither could easily be captured via a photo that did it justice so our pre-run photo will have to do.

After getting cleaned up we headed to Boulder to meet up with the rest of the crew.  The first morning was spent talking with some of the team sponsors (you will find out more in the future.) We also had some team building activities, the good old egg-drop.  Lunar landing could have survived a much higher fall with ease!

The afternoon involved a trip to Pearl Izumi Headquarters to see the 2013 product line.  It was badass!  Here are just a few of the pictures snagged while there.  Signed jerseys from top athletes, old advertisements, and a handful of great stories.  Wait until you see some of the new gear, you will be very happy!

Friday night included some team time, food, drinks, and lots of team bonding.  One thing I found is how different we are, yet how we have so much in common.  If you are interested in seeing more about that night, go follow some of the Friday night/Saturday morning twitter conversations on my feed: Jvanistri Twitter You may learn about possible ways to PR.

Day two started a little earlier for some people, others were still in recovery mode.  I got out for another run at altitude, talk about hurt!  No wonder these people are so fast that live out there.  We spent some more time learning about sponsors and their products and some more team building.

As you can see, we had a great showing.  For those that who  could not make it, we greatly missed you!  This team can go from dead serious to totally random/crazy in no time.  Coming away from this weekend,  I can say, I am re-energized and motivated for a great 2013.  Thank you to all of the sponsors who spent time with us this weekend, and to my amazing team for kicking me in the rear. (or answering yes, when I really wanted to say no.) I love you all!

Here we are a new year, new goals, and for many,  a new start.   I am no exception to the rule. Friday was my last day at a company I have been with for 5+ years. I’m excited for the new opportunity and the new things to come. I will save those details for another time.

What I an really excited is this change should enable a number of other things such as traveling to races and some more reasonable training time.

I am currently working on my 2013 schedule and about have everything lined up. I am aiming at some of the awesome Rev3 events with my amazing teammates.

Here is my tentative schedule:
Rev3 Knox Oly
Mason City Sprint
Lifetime Oly
Rev3 Dells Oly
Rev3 Redemption erm Cedar Point Half
Twin Cities Marathon

This schedule is almost built perfectly to allow for good training and recovery to prevent burnout.