Week 10 of 52

(Boulder Distance Classic - DNS)
(Dan Simpson Rockstar Photographer)

WEEK 10: 28.1 Miles
4-18-11 / run 20:00 / walk 90'
4-19-11 / run 20:00/ walk 90'
4-20-11 / run 20:00 / walk 90'
4-21-11 / run 20:00/ walk 90'
4-22-11 / run 20:00 / walk 150'
4-23-11 / run 70:00
4-24-11 /run 1:05.39

Well we are already working on week 2 of recovery from the surgery which is exciting. The doc said I could literally run the next day and it couldn't hurt a thing which y'all know from the last post, So I waited a couple days and started the jog process on Monday. Each day was easier and easier and faster and by Saturday I could do pick ups and not even feel a thing. That is just amazing the surgery advances that they have done in this day and age that you can bounce back like that. I mean cleared to run in a day? Holy moly. That was just too crazy for me to comprehend but by Tuesday it made sense. I was also required to walk 5 times a day to help wake up the system and keep things moving and help push the C02 out and it makes a huge difference with recovery. This actually became something to look forward to and was actually kind of reviving so I included the daily total in the daily recaps. I have been always staying in comfort and by Sunday I ran with one of my best buds Jason Faerman on the trails and didn't even feel like I had undergone surgery.

I know some of you know my passion for bar method and I have been banned from that until May 20th! Really sucks but following the doctors orders since as much of a shocker as I have full reins to run is to people I really do listen when I am told no. It is not worth it to do what the doc doesn't prescribe. I think I will follow the docs that went to medical school and have 8 diplomas all over their office. Sorry but it has funny to watch everyone tell you what you should and shouldn't do and all I can say is "where did you go to medical school?" Anyway, back to my lack of bar method, it will be that much more fun to see my friends on May 20th. Actually on April 19th, was my year anniversary from the tuck tuck squeeze squeeze and I cannot even believe how much my bod has transformed in a year and how different my strength and flexibility is in my hips, and legs and how much power it has given me. See y'all soon and can't wait to see the new studio!!

Today for my Max Muscle Sports Nutrition of Boulder Tip of the week I am going to tell you a little somethin' about that thing called water...

So many ask what can water really do for you and why is it so important? And so today I give you the 12 benefits/facts of drinking water. So go fill up a glass and take a seat and check it out:

1. Regulates your Body Temperature
2. Your Brain consists of 90% water
3. Blood consists of 83% water
4. It detoxifies your body
5. Bone consists of 22% water
6. It protects and moisturizes our joints
7. Transports nutrients and oxygen into cells
8. Moisturizes the air in our lungs
9. Helps with metabolism
10. Protects our organs
11. Helps our organs to absorb nutrients better
12. Muscle consists of 75% water

Does it make you want to go fill your glass up again? You should!

For my LIVESTRONG moment of the week I bring you a small Q&A:

1. When was LAF YELLOW BAND CAMPAIGN: June, 2004
2. When was LAF established: 1997
3. When did LAF launch LIVESTRONG Day: 2004
4. By 2005 how many wristbands were sold? more than 55 million
5. What did LAF do in 2005 to give back beyond cancer: gave $500k to aid in Katrina
6. When did LAF launch rides, runs, and other events across the nation with Team LIVESTRONG? 2006
7. How many survivorship notebooks were given to survivors in '07: 34,000
8. How many living after cancer treatment brochures were given in '07: 261,000
9. How many grass roots events were held on LIVESTRONG Day in 2008: 620
10. When did the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) decide to go by LIVESTRONG instead? 2009

To make a donation on my personal page click here

Cheers and LIVESTRONG!

Week 9 of 52

(Monterey morning run!)

WEEK 9: 35.11 Miles (self)
4-11-11 / 31:48.64
4-12-11 / AM: 1:09.29 / PM: 41:12.81
4-13-11 / 1:22.07
4-14-11 / 1:06.56
4-15-11 / 21:19.76 (Joni)
4-16-11 / 29:36.83 (Joni)
4-17-11 / 22:33 (Joni)

Hey there folks,

Well as many of you know it has been one heck of a week to say the least. I started my week off in a CCK-HIDA scan and still managing to get through my runs with the help of nausea meds and by the end of the week I was in total shut down and back early from a work trip getting my gall bladder and appendix removed. The two little culprits of my on and off sickness lately and quite frankly for probably longer than I even know when looking back on certain cycles or side effects and sickess that I have experienced.

So I have two options with my mission... Option A: I could just drop in the towel here and say, in 9 weeks I failed my mission. Or Option B: I could say that surgery is an exception and thankfully my bestie Joni Fournier stepped in and kept the mission going for me when I was literally not physically capable of it. And so on Friday while waiting to be admitted for surgery Joni and I chose option B and helped the mission move on. Joni filled in my gap for me and I can't be more thankful. She ran at least 20 minutes a day during my surgery and beyond. Each day, she gave me her time and took a photo of her run to add to the log.

So we continue, Thanks to Joni and we will keep on keepin' on.

It only seems right with what I have gone through in the past week to make my Max Muscle Sports Nutrition of Boulder lesson this week about electrolytes. I am sure you hear about them all the time, but do you really know what they are? I mean really? or just that you need them.

These little guys are any compound that, in solution or in molten form, conduct electricity and are decomposed by it. They are an ionized substance in solution. They contain free ions that behave as an electrically conductive medium. All higher forms of life cannot exist without electrolytes, including humans.

In humans, electrolytes include sodium, potassium, calcium, bicarbonate, magnesium, chloride, hydrogen phosphate, and hydrogen carbonate. They regulate our nerve and muscle function, our hydration, our blood pH, blood pressure, and the rebuilding of damaged tissue. Pretty important stuff eh!

Electrolyte levels can become too high or too low. They tend to change when our water levels change - hydration. When we exercise, we sweat and can lose electrolytes and need to replenish them.

So today it is just s lesson to make sure to hydrate and get those electrolytes in. Especially when you are sick and losing these. Look for these little guys in MM products in your next visit to the store.

For LIVESTRONG I want to show a neat thing that they do for those fighting and survivors. They have a huge focus on helping those that are suffering through a disease and those that are in remission to have a guidebook to help them manage their experiences. These are given free to anyone and are an awesome tool to help out. It is yet another element to help those that fight each and every day get on with their lives.

To donate to my personal page please donate here!

Until next week!

Cheers!

Week 8 of 52

(CU XC Course workout)

WEEK 7: 63.00 Miles
4-4-11 / 50:21.40
4-5-11 / 1:02.53
4-6-11 / 1:15.22
4-7-11 / 56:01
4-8-11 / 58:54.15
4-9-11 / AM: 1:06.01 / PM: 32:00
4-10-11 / 2:00.05

Yo Yo,

Just like that another week wizzes by!

I would have to say my fave moment was realizing that in my Wednesday run's I can make it to wash park and run some of it before turning around to head back to the office. Wash Park has been one of my fave destinations for a jog since I was a wee little kiddo and we lived close by. My mom and I would do a six mile loop from our house that went to the park, around it and back home.

On to my weekly Max Muscle Sports Nutrition of Boulder learning and LIVESTRONG moment below we will start off with the magical 4 letter word BCAA.

As you know amino acids are the building blocks of protein. When you eat a protein food, it gets digested in the stomach and intestine into individual amino acids and short chains of amino acids that are small enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream. These amino acids have far reaching effects in the body from building tissue, to producing chemicals that enable our brains to function optimally. Essential amino acids cannot be made by the body. You must get them from complete protein foods or combinations of incomplete vegetable foods. There are 9 essential amino acids: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phemylalanine, tryptophan and valine.

The essential branched chain amino acids (BCAA - leucine, isoleucine and valine) are of specific importance for athletes because they are metabolized in the muscle, rather than in the liver. Here's how it works: After digestion once protein is broken down into individual amino acids these aminos can either be used to build new proteins or be burned as fuel to produce energy.

From a LIVESTRONG perspective I would like to introduce you to Chet Holmes.

For 30 years Chet Holmes has been working for billionaires, selling services to more than 60 of the largest companies in the world and helping three companies grow to $100 million. He has learned what it takes to be a competent and confident builder of a successful and prosperous company. He helps deliver the resources to help individuals master all of the skills in all of the key areas to help take their business to the next level and beyond.

Sadly, Chet just found out on a recent vacation to Cancun that a sunburn on his leg was infact a soft tissue infection known as cellulitis. By the time he got home his white blood cell count was 178,000 and the next word he was given was Lukemia! If he hand't of caught it, he would have passed in two weeks. Chet now is in the fight of his life to regain his health against a very aggressive and fast moving disease.

Chet has been devoted his entire life to help us all out and now lets all try to return that favor and give warm thoughts to him as he fights this.

To donate to LIVESTRONG please visit my personal page here.

Cheers!

Week 7 of 52

(Superior Downhill mile - 2009)

WEEK 7: 60.05 Miles
3-28-11 / 53:33.27
3-29-11 / 1:16.06
3-30-11 / 1:15.90
3-31-11 / 1:17.16
4-1-11 / 52:43.32
4-2-11 / 57:28.18
4-3-11 / 2:05.45

Heya!

So to sum up this week of running I will just say: HOLY WINDY! Every day I literally have a note down that says windy. Makes you stronger right?!?!

As promised this will be my first week to add both a nutritional lesson from my own experiences through the help of my new partnership with Max Muscle Sports Nutrition of Boulder. Oh and while you are at it fan them on facebook too, ( http://www.facebook.com/MaxMuscleBoulder )

So for my tid bit of the week...I introduce the supplement enduromax! This is noted as the "ultimate endurance supplement." I took this before my uber windy yet beautiful long run on Sunday. Enduromax is modeled after the ASCM guidelines for fluid and electrolyte replacement during exercise. Enduromax gives you the fuel you need for endurance exercise providing multi-source/molecular weight carbohydrates including maltodextrin, sucrose, and dextrose in the recommended ratios. It also contains L-Glutamine and branched-chain amino acids. It also contains other energizing factors to maintain ATP production. Basically it is simply Bad A$$!

For the added synopsis... The flavor to date is lime. Didn't think I would like it but it was actually really tasty. It is a simple consistency and does not feel heavy. And if you have one heack of a stubborn digestive system like mine, I was A OK and this digested great and gave me tons of fuel.

Plain and simple "enduromax provides you with exactly what you need during exercise, nothing more and nothing less."

As also promised each week I will announce a component related to LIVESTRONG.

In the spring edition of the Livestrong Quartery, they showcased an article about an awesome program called RxArt. Check out their site here!

"RxArt is a non-profit organization dedicated to placing original fine art in patient, procedure and examination rooms of healthcare facilities. Our mission is to improve otherwise sterile environments through contemporary art, promote healing, and inspire hope in patients, families and staff."

Check out this fun CAT scan.
It is things like this that take sickness, to smiles, and hope!

To donate to LIVESTRONG, please click here!