The Triathlon Rx

Wow… talk about “far too long” – it’s been a week since we last chatted about some Winter Running necessities. Well, please believe I haven’t just been dinking around these last seven days – they’ve been jam packed with lots of good things:

• a two-day valentines celebration
• awesome deals @ the Twin Cities Bike Swap
• swimming! (makin the goals!)
• 2.5 hour endurance ride (see above!!)
• my first “long run” since refracturing my femoral neck (to complete the trifecta)
• (I understand that that is a complete misuse of the word trifecta. ¿Me importa? No!)
• meeting new teammates at above bike swap!
• registering for races
• rocking medical terminology tests
• preparing to give speech, only to have class canceled. twice. shoot.
• trying to put together our new UMN Tri Team website. faiiil.
• started a new strength program with my new coaches!
• prepping for Lent 2010

And clearly, given the title of this post…

• BLENDING!!

Everything above in blue is a post that’s halfway finished and wanting to be posted, but I think first I need to wrap up some unfinished blender business! In my ode/eulogy to my Magic Bullet, I mentioned that CSN Stores was sending me a new Back to Basics Blender (aka the B3… because apparently every D.TR kitchen appliance needs a name) to review! Well you can bet your butt my heart skipped a beat when I walked home to see this sitting atop the stairs:

My heart does a little flutter when I get regular plain ol’ mail, but a package is like a mini Christmas on my doorstep! I promptly brought my box-baby inside and out of the cold. You know I wanted to try it out the second I got the box open, but I realized I better let the motor warm up to at least above freezing before I got to blending.

Given the photo series to come, you will see that I had some slight reservations about the blade size. When I laid him up next to Mr. MB for a size comparison, I wont lie – there were some dubious thoughts that started to set in. But you can’t knock something until you try it, so that night with the help of el chico guapo (that would be the boyfriend btw, not another kitchen appliance) I set to work on a mix I had been excited about for quite some time. The details of the “recipe” still need to be tweaked a bit, but I will tell you that it involves dessert, fruit, and heaven. I promise… I’ll share.

Noting the facial expressions below, you might infer that my first experience with B3 was not exactly smooth (pun fully intended) sailing. My ice cubes and pieces of frozen fruit did not want to break down! Then I stepped back for a little eval, and realized where I went wrong: a) I had put my “solids” in last, and b) there was not nearly enough liquids for my solid:liquid ratio. So I unscrewed the top, added more fluids, gave it a stir, and tried again. WINNER! In traditional Dr.TR fashion, I will let the photos do the talking:

(L: that box was tightly packed. Legit took 5 minutes to get out // R: baby blade?)

(L: blade skepticism // R: the B3 vs Mr. MB)

(L: photo has been edited for recipe protection // R: attempt numero uno)

(L: enter uncertainty // R: ice stuck on top)

(L: post-additional-hydration-adjustments // R: a delicious success!)

As you can see, I was definitely pleased by the end result. My initial lack of conviction based on simple blade size was erased once I figured out what I was doing. I realized that the order you build your blenderfull-of-goodness is important – ice and other hard solids should be added last, because when you screw the top back on and flip it upside down, they will have first contact with the mini (but might!) blade. I also realized that @#(*&@#!)R%#&Y*> alone is not going to make this shake of dreams delicious. Trust that I’m working on a recipe, and will have it out asap.

Here are the major PROs I am finding with the B3:

• Large cup size (TWSS. Sorry… you knew it was coming)
• Works quickly – shakes are shaken and smoothies are made smooth in less time than with the MB
• Small footprint on my small counter
• Not as loud (IMO) as Mr. MB, though you should note that MB was sick and dying. And that is only according to me. (My roommates might beg to differ )

And of course, there can always be faults found:

• There is no secret skin to peal off that would reveal a VitaMix underneath
• OK… so it still makes noise. Not acceptable to wake up said roomies with blender concoctions
• Although the blending cup is larger than that of Mr. MB, I want more space! I know.. want want want! Jeesh.

And that is what I have to tell you kids! Overall I am very pleased with the B3 (Back to Basics Blender), and for the cost (especially after CSN’s sick discount!), I would say it probably exceeds the expectations of a typical blender in the same price range. Trust me, we’ve gone through a few over the years. I definitely think that this will hold me over until I become a professional athlete marry a professional athlete strike gold decide to bite the VM bullet. (And if you too find yourself in that position where you’re really gonna do it… please note that there are some decent discounts with CSN! Check it out!) (Haha extra *astrisk* for you here – I promise that the entirety of this review is coming from yours truly, Dr. TriRunner, and not in any way influenced by CSN Stores or any other outside source. Gotta put the disclaimers out there these days.)

So to tide you over until all of the blue posts above are actually published… I leave you with two more photos of recent tasty triumphs made in the B3.

(L: crazy delicious vanilla spiced protein yum // R: felt like I drank a margarita with breakfast. in the snow.)

Remember that this and all of my previous product reviews can be found on the PRODUCT Reviews tab at the top of the page! If you have any questions or have a product that you would like reviewed, please shoot me an email at drtrirunner@gmail.com

Happy hydrating!
-E