Time For a Change

Last week Tuesday as I sat on my computer working on a fitness paper for my fitness class my neighbor was next door taking his last breaths.  I would later find out he had a fatal heart attack.  In no way am I insinuating that my neighbor contributed to his heart attack.  Although I knew Russell well enough to know that he was a good man I was not familiar with his dietary or exercise habits.  But his death as well as a CNN special show, "The Last Heart Attack", really got me thinking.  The link below will give you a chance to view the show commercial free.  It is worth the watch.



http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/podcasts/gupta/site/2011/08/29/sgmd.last.heart.attack.cnn?iref=videosearch

I am not vegetarian although I have over the past couple of years lowered my intake of meat-mostly for environmental reasons.  After watching this show I am encouraged to lower my intake even more. There are many positive changes that I can continue to make to my diet that will enrich my life. 

What changes can you make?

Ranting from the Redhead: Nutrition, exercise and a confession or two.

I have been meaning to write this blog for quite some time.  This weekend prior to the Extra Terrestrial Full Moon Marathon (for more information on this race and more see Calico.com) I mentioned to a running buddy, Yolanda Holder, that I need to write a blog that I have been thinking about for quite some time.  Yolanda Holder is an individual that I am honored to know.  She is not only the world record holder for the most marathons in one year (106) but a wonderful and inspiring individual.  She has a blog here as well-My road to Guiness.  Anyhow, now that I told someone I feel more committed to writing it.....so here goes the rantings.

It bugs the heck out of me that people take better care of their vehicles than they do their own bodies.  In a few short years most vehicles get sold or traded for another one and even in the event that it is kept it is replaceable.  The body is not replaceable it is owned for a lifetime.  I would not put cheap gas in my car so why would i put crappy food in my body. 

Excuse number one-It taste good.  Yep, some unhealthy foods taste great and I feel like almost all foods can be a sometime food.  Deep fried butter being the exception....really deep fry a stick of butter and eat it?  I love my mom’s carrot cake and my mom in laws German chocolate cake.  I will eat a couple slices of each over the course of a year.  There is room in a healthy diet for occasional treats that taste good BUT tasting good is not an excuse that should be used for over eating junk foods.  There are consequences to everything you put in the body.  The body is made to run on healthy foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.  That is the fuel a body needs to run.  That is the high octane gas.  Put crappy fuel in your body and over time results can be higher risks for heart disease, diabetes and cancer.  Just like if you put crappy gas in your car it will wear things down quicker and cause mechanical issues junk food does that same thing. 

Excuse number two-it is cheaper.  That is a hard one to debate on the up front cost for sure.  You can feed a family at Mc Donalds for a pretty reasonable price....up front.  You can buy macaroni and cheese, hamburger helper, oreo cookies and other processed foods cheaply.  BUT down the road the cost of a triple bypass is going to exceed the savings that one gets from the upfront difference of food choices.  The cost of diabetes injections and testing materials will exceed the difference.  The value of good health now and later is worth the extra few dollars.  You are going to pay one way or another.  Why not pay in the way that increases your risk for better health.  Might not be as much fun eating Twinkies from a hospital room..

Excuse number three-I do not have the time to cook healthy.  Eat more raw.  Cook on the weekends and freeze for the weekdays.  Search for quick healthy online recipes.  Steamed veggies take minutes.  Brown rice now comes precooked (look for the brands that do not add sugar).  Do you have time for a heart attack?  Again time you spend now for healthy cooking is time you will save later for health issues.

Excuse number four-I don’t think it makes a difference.  Although it is true that there are some healthy individuals that do all the right things that still contract disease it is a fact that you decrease your risks by eating right.  It also increases the bodies ability to recover from injury and disease.  Everyone is going to die from something but during life one will enjoy it more with a healthy body.  A healthy body will give you better odds of mobility and enjoyment especially in your later years. 

As a side rant for those of you who are religious I do not understand how one can take bad care of the body given by God.  It seems like an insult.  You are given the gift of life and when I am given a valuable gift I feel compelled to take good care of it.  Doesn’t it seem like such an incredible gift should be appreciated and cared for?

First rant done...here comes the second...



Exercise IS something you have time for.  30 minutes most days of the week is the minimum.  Put down the damn remote control and lace up your shoes.  Go for a walk, run, bike ride, swim.....just get moving.  Get out there and make it happen!   If you have time for your favorite TV shows, you have time to exercise.  Prioritize health and the body.  10 years from now who the heck cares about who was the American Idol or who won Dancing with the Stars.  But in 10 years from now your body will remember the exercise and reward you with better health.  If you really feel the need to watch your show multi task by finding a treadmill or stationary bike that you can use while watching. 

Short rant done.....

Confession number one.  I contributed toward my body getting cancer.  I did not cause the cancer knowingly or willingly but my physical activities (or lack of) and my food choices along with sunscreen use habits did contribute to my body contracting cancer THREE times (breast cancer, melanoma and basil cell carcinoma).  I take some of the blame....it belongs to me.  Because of this it makes me even more driven to make sure others understand the risks and how they can lower them. 

Confession number two.  I can do better than I am.  I work hard by exercising my body typically daily and making great healthy food choices ‘almost’ everyday.  I wear sunscreen to protect my skin.  But I am far from perfect.  There are things I can and should do to be even healthier.  Who wants to make commitments of change along with me?  :)

It has been SEW long since I have blogged

Wow-were to start with all the races I have done since The Baton Death March....  I think I will just stick with the two biggies.  The first of which is the Nanny Goat 24 hour in Riverside California.

The Nanny Goat is held on a one mile dirt track that surrounds a family working farm and goes right through the center of the barn!  As runners we were able to set up in stalls for the weekend.  It was a fantastic way to socialize while running.  I made several new friends who were my roommates for the weekend, Tony, Alva and Diana all fellow Marathon Maniacs(Photo of the Maniacs at Nanny Goat).  I was also able to visit with some friends I had made at previous races-Ed and Yolanda.  Both of whom are incredible people.  Yolanda broke the worlds record last year for female and overall person with the most marathons in a year!  Check out her blog at Road To Guinness here on Blogspot.  Ed is working on breaking the overall record this year.  Both of these individuals are awesome people.  Also I met a few "facebook friends".  I typically do not friend someone unless I know them but had accepted friendships of a handful of runners who had several common friends.  It was good to meet them.   On to the actual run.  Well...I swore after my first 50 miler this March at Old Pueblo that I would never do another 50 miler but since the course was flat and soft and I had 24 hours I decided to go for it!  I did 50 miles, took a nap and then ran with my husband for his last 2 miles (he ran for the full 24!  Broke 2 course records and won the race-another awesome individual).  I loved this course and the social aspect of the race.  It was well directed and fully stocked with all the goodies a runner could think of needing.  Awesome medals and incredible bamboo t-shirts.  Unfortunately the t-shirts were unisex (to me that means male shirt).  I would do this race again! 

The next "biggie" was  this past weekend in Pagosa Springs Colorado.  The Turkey Track Trail marathon is held on a wooded mountain trail that bee lines through the huge trees with enough elevation to make even walking some of the steeps a challenge.  This course was amazingly beautiful.  Snow capped mountains in the background views at one point made me gasp...and not just for air :).  I did a lot of the run/walk thing for this run.  I was keeping about the same distance as a fellow racer whom I met-Steve.  He and I stuck together for about 3/4s of the race at one point even getting lost!  Thankfully we got back on track (with some help) and were able to finish the race.  Although this was my PW (personal worst) in time it was a FANTASTIC race and supported a great cause, getting kids outside education.  This is another race that I would recommend and not only because the race director was able to help locate me out in the middle of the mountain, lol.  Well organized and honestly well marked. 

Now on to being SEW busy.  I have been sewing for the grand kiddos lately and really enjoying it.  One of the reasons that I have not been blogging.  Here are a few projects that I have done.  I am new to the machine and just back to sewing.  I hope to continue to get better :)

The Bataan Death March

Michael and I both enjoy running for races that have special meaning so when we heard about the Bataan Death March in New Mexico- http://www.bataanmarch.com - we knew that this was a race we would love to run.  The story goes that back in WWII when thousands of both American soldiers and Filipino soldiers surrendered to the Japanese.  They were forced to march though the hot jungles in the Philippines for several days with almost no food or water.  Many died or were killed along the way. 
The young men who survived this ordeal have now aged.  As young men they risked or loss their lives for our country.  By remembering their ordeal it seems to make the survivors feel appreciated.  I do appreciate them and was honored to shake many of their hands and tell them so. 

On to the race....Because there was about 6000 participants this year we needed to get through security at the base entrance and park about 2 hours prior to the start of the race.  It was cold and windy and masses of people gathered near the Frontier Club building in an attempt to block the wind and retain some heat.  We were able to meet up with several fellow Marathon Maniacs for some group pictures pre race.  The opening ceremony was touching and as all racers headed to the start line they passed several survivors sitting along the way.  After shaking a few hands I was off.  Miles 1-8 seemed quite pleasant.  The wind died down a bit and the course was remarkably easy.  Mile 8-10 started the battle with the wind and incline and by mile 10 the winds were so bad that every time I lifted my left foot to run it would blow against my right ankle.  I got to a point were I really felt like quitting.  About that time a young runner, Jerry, was next to me asking me a question about my Moben arm sleeves.  We started chatting and decided to walk a bit together.  I learned about a recent 100 miler he had done and shared some of my run stories with him as well.  It was still miserable but it is true that misery does love company, lol.  At about mile 14 the course curved and we found ourselves with the wind at our back AND heading down hill!  We were able to start running again and spent the majority of the next 12 miles running.  I made it in under 6 hours (5:43) which was my original goal for this difficult course.

At the finish line there were more survivor hands to shake.  One of the gentleman kissed my hand as I thanked him for his service-that was so incredibly sweet.  I met up with Michael who rocked the race and had been waiting for me at the finish as I came in.  We were treated to a nice lunch on base before heading home. 

I would recommend this race.  Besides the huge line at packet pick up everything was well ran and the support both on and off the course was amazing!