Birthday Bike

One of the reasons I've disliked riding bikes in my youth was because I never had one of my own.  I borrowed my sister's or my brother's but the ill fitting size usually led to a crash. So...

my husband gave me a bike for my birthday!

Technically he gave me money so I could find the perfect bike for me.  So now the fun begins.  I'm currently researching what kind of bike would best suit my needs and wants and still fit in my allotted budget.  I'm hoping to get a great deal at an end-of-season sale.  Triathlon, road, hybrid...there's a lot of possiblities out there.  It should be a fun and interesting ride (pun intended).

Talents

What do you do when you're injured and can't run?  You take up learning something new!  It's now been 1 month since I've sidelined myself due to I.T. issues.  Since then I've taken up cycling, cardio kickboxing and...piano. 

Along with running a marathon, learning to read music and play an instrument is also on my bucket list.  Since I'm not running, I have a bit more pent up energy so I thought that now would be an excellent time to further my talents.

My self-taught piano lessons started this morning (I'm re-using my son's beginning piano books)  wish me luck!

Product Review: Amphipod Water Belt

When I first started long distance running I tried carrying a water bottle in my hands.  At the end of that 6 mile run I swore I'd never carry anything in my hands while out running because my hands and shoulders were so tired.

A friend recommended the Amphipod RunLight Hydration Belt and I've never regretted it.

The Amphipod water belt comes with 8 ounce bottles and you can choose 2, 3, or 4 bottle belts.  The bottle clasps are easy to use with just one hand.  The stretchy belt material makes it a comfortable fit around your waist.  The pouch that comes with the belt has a strong velcro closure and two compartments inside.  In my pouch, I carry my cell phone in the bigger compartment and bandaids and tissues in the smaller side.  Along with those items I can also fit up to 2 Gu gel packs.  There's a small hidden pocket on the front of the belt that can also fit one more Gu gel inside of it.

I opted for the 4 bottle option which greatly helped out during marathon training.  But when I'm not running too far I can remove all but one of the bottle clasps from the belt and just take one bottle with me.

I even take wear the belt when I go out cycling allowing me to securely carry my cell phone.


Whether you're hiking, running or biking the Amphipod RunLight water belt will serve you well.

Longest Bike Ride

As I've mentioned in previous posts I am trying my best to conquer my fear of riding a bike.  Embarrassing crashes in my youth have given me this fear.  I'm pretty good once I get going but am uncomfortable with lots of turns, bumps, and especially riding in traffic.

For weeks now I've been thinking of a route for a long bike ride but have been scared to do it because it would require me riding on busier streets that have stop lights.  But lately, as I've been driving about town,  I've been watching other cyclists to see how they handle traffic lights.  I've also briefly reviewed the hand signals cyclists need to use for turning.  With this information I figured I was as ready as I'd ever be so I tentatively started out on this bike course this morning.

Since I'm writing this it means I lived through the ride and I never even crashed.  I did have one scary experience though.  I confused the right and left hand signal and got honked by a huge pickup that was right on my back tire.  Scared me so bad I almost fell though.

All in all I lived and I rode my bike farther than I ever have: 14.3 miles!

Cardio Kickboxing

In my continual efforts to find an heart-pumping exercise to replace running while my injuries heal, I tried kickboxing today.

For Christmas we had bought a heavy weight bag.  For the most part it hangs idle in the basement so I thought I'd make use of it finally.  After reading internet articles and watching how-to videos on YouTube, I went down to give it a try.

Basically, kickboxing is made up of 4 punches (jab, straight, hook, and uppercut) and 3 kicks (roundhouse, side and front).  Keep your feet moving and keep moving around the bag throwing punches and kicks and you've got yourself a do-it-yourself cardio kickboxing workout.

I went for 10 minutes (after I'd done 10 miles on our stationary bike to warm up) and felt like that was a good workout that encompassed my whole body.

Beautiful Heroes of America

One of the hymns in church today was "America the Beautiful" in honor of the victims and heroes of September 11th.

Last night and this morning my husband and I have watched several news specials and movies (Flight 93) about 9/11.  With all of that imagery still fresh in my mind, the song "America the Beautiful" took on a whole new meaning today.

The third verse reads:
"Oh, beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life!  America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And ev'ry gain divine."

In reference to that last part of the verse:  The terrorists may have aimed planes at financial and political centers of America but they mistakingly thought that money and power was all that this country was about.  But they were so very wrong.  That tradegy brought out all the love and goodness of every American  - we banded together like never before.  We are now a stronger more unified nation.

I've always thought of military soldiers when I envisioned "heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life" but yesterday that changed.  Flashing in my mind I saw firefighters rushing into a falling building, average citizens performing herculaen rescues and a group of passengers sacrificing to prevent another building being hit.

God Bless America!

High Fructose Corn Syrup

On tv the other day I saw this disturbing commercial

For years I've been avoiding high fructose corn syrup.  Back then my studying had shown that our bodies metabolize high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) differently then other sugars because of how HFCS is processed.  Of late, I've been so excited that more and more food companies are coming around to this fact and were no longer using HFCS.  Over the past year I've been buying only ketsup and maple syrup and other foods that boldly stated on their labels "No High Fructose Corn Syrup".

This commercial claims that "sugar is sugar" which got me back on my high horse.  In re-researching the topic I came across this great article on WebMD.  It sites the 2004 study that implicated HFCS as the cause of the rise of obesity.  The article then sites the study that was released in 2008 which says that the rise in the American obesity level is not the fault of HFCS alone but the shear amount of sugars present in our diets..."emerging, but still preliminary, evidence suggesting a link between high-fructose corn syrup and heart and kidney disease...The obesity question has been answered...high-fructose corn syrup is no worse and no better than any other sugar (for weight gain). But other questions remain."

Another tidbit I learned during all this research is that food companies are using a different name for the infamous high fructose corn syrup: corn sugar.

In going to my own pantry I re-examined the labels of my supposed "no high fructose corn syrup" products and was both pleased and disappointed.

The Hunts ketsup lived up to its front label as it only has regular sugar in it but the Log Cabin syrup (which I paid more for) still has high fructose corn syrup in it - they just used the new name of corn syrup.

I'm definately going to be reading the food labels a lot closer now and so should you.

Zucchini Banana Muffins

At this time of year you're wondering what to do with all your zucchini.  You've been eating it all summer but hate to waste it knowing that in the dead of winter you'll be craving some fresh home-grown zucchini.

The perfect solution is Zucchini Banana Muffins.  Now you can use those less than appealing bananas you have slowing turning black in your fruit basket.

I searched the internet for the perfect recipe but all I found was super healthy (with ingredients like agave nectar and whole wheat flour) or the not-so-healthy (with 1 cup of oil).  In the end I decided to take my favorite moist banana muffin recipe and add 1 cup of grated zucchini.  The muffins turned out great and were eaten by even my most vegetable-challenged child.

You can just add zucchini to your banana muffin (or bread) recipe or use my recipe below:

Zucchini Banana Muffins
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1 cup grated zucchini (peeled if you're trying to hide veggies from your kids)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup melted butter

In one bowl combine all dry ingredients.  In a large separate bowl combine remaining ingredients.  Mix in dry ingredients until moistened.  Pour into paper lined muffin tin.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.  Makes 12 regular sized muffins.  For mini muffins bake 10-12 minutes; yield 40-45.

Help for I.T. Band problems

For months I've assumed that it was my left I.T. band that was the cause of my troubles.  But after reading the information on my new favorite website, The Running Advisor, I know it's my IT band that's at fault.

This amazing graphic they post on their website is the best representation of the I.T. band I've ever seen.

In the graphic it shows all the muscles and tissues that attach or are affected by the IT band.  My pain radiates to different locations on my upper leg, which is why, at times, I thought it might be a gluteal muscle or quadricep muscles problem.  Now I know that the IT band when it gets tight will pull on the gluteal or quad muscles.

With this newly confirmed knowledge I can reassess my game plan.  I've also talked to a friend of mine who does 100 milers.  He says that with IT band issues nothing but time will help it heal.

Looks like it'll be awhile before I can strap on my running shoes again.

World Championships

It's been a great week for track and field.  I've enjoyed cheering "USA, USA".  Today was the last day of events which is always a fun time since almost every race is a final.

It's been a hot, humid week in Daegu, Korea.  None of the athletes can appreciate that more than the marathoners.  The top American male marathoner, Mike Morgan, collapsed just 10 yards away from the finish line.  All the volunteers could do was to cheer for him to finish (he'd be disqualified if he received ANY assistance).  He was able to pull himself up and cross the finish line.  What an athlete!

Back at the track we had some great excitement with the 4x100 relays.  The American women took Gold.  Unfortunately, the American men's team was tripped up by the Brits in the neighboring lane and didn't make the final exchange of the baton.

In the 5000 meter race, I give kudos to Galen Rupp who, I believe, sacrificed for the greater good.  It's obvious that Bernard Lagat is a target for the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners.  So Rupp provided the services of a rabbit so all the runners would be focused on him and not Lagat.  Then in the last 150 meters of the race, Lagat was able to break free and sprint to the finish to claim a Silver medal.