Friday, February 29, 2008

Food and Fuel

Over the last week or so, Patagonia has been blessed with daytime temperatures exceeding 70 degrees. As much as I am enjoying 80 degree days in February, I can't help but think we are still in for another winter blast. Having seen that this mornings Jelly Legs run started at 12 degrees, I'm not complaining.

Training has steadily picked up and over the last 2.5 weeks,I have been maintaining the following schedule,
Monday-1 hour
Tuesday-1 hour
Wednesday-1.5 hour
Thursday-1 hour
Friday- 1 hour
Saturday-2 hours
Sunday- 1-1.5 hours
I take 1 day off during the week, and which day depends on my work schedule. Generally it has been Thursday or Fridays,but I try to take Monday off.

I have also been experimenting with different fuel sources and lately I am finding that my body is taking a liking to raisin water. I basically soak raisins overnight, then puree and strain the liquid. From there, I dilute the mixture until I have a slightly sweet mixture.

While running I have been noticing that mixtures too sweet in taste have made my mouth too dry and cause me to need more liquids. From what I have been told, the warmer the temperatures, the less sweet my drink should be. This makes a lot of sense to me from a lot of my past races I have run in which I have used very sugary sweet drinks as fuel and after a few hours, I can barely stand to drink anything.

I have been creating an amazing superfood mix to add to my diet which has shown great results
Mix together-
black sesame seeds(kidney enhancer)
chia seeds(omegas)
hemp nut(omegas and easily assimilated protein)
goji berries(contains all amino acids + highest source of beta carotene)
maca root(energy and stamina booster)
bee pollen(natures most complete food)
coconut oil(anti bacterial and antifungal)
honey(lots of enzymes)
Mix well and enjoy in smoothies, breakfast cereals or simply eat alone. This mix is a pure power enhancer!!

The addition of fermented foods to my diet has really helped with my digestion and allowed my body to not have to waste so much energy breaking down food. I have been making Kombucha tea, rejuvelac, and fresh saurkraut. By adding healthy bacteria to the body, foods are more easily digested. It's kind of like, what goes in, comes out without spending too much time going through the digestion process.

One last note. For those of you in Connecticut, checkout my friend Glen's new raw food cafe in West Haven. Catch A healthy Habit Cafe is Connecticut's only all raw cafe. for more information, check out www.catchahealthyhabitcafe.blogspot.com

Well folks,enjoy your weekend!!
Many blessings