2.69 I'm a fan of fall. What a great time to experience the slow, gentle let-down from summer that gets us into winter. From tremendous fall colors in the fields and trees, to crisp temperatures overnight that lead to the first frost. Eventually we turn the clocks back and try to relax into the holidays. With all that fall has to offer, one of my favorite things about it is apple season. I know apples are available from all over the world now, any time of year, but I still think of fall as apple-picking time. Do you have a favorite apple? Mine are Macintosh. Long before there were hundreds of apple varieties world-wide, there were the apples you would get from your own trees, or the farm down the road, and you were lucky to have a dozen or so apple varieties to choose from. It turns out our family is celebrating an appreciation of apples this week. Prices in our area are down to about $0.79/pound most places, and the selection is great. So today, Jen was making apple butter, bringing the wonderful fall smells of clove and cinnamon into our kitchen, along with the sweet tartness of the cooking apples. And with that cooking in the background, one of our kids asked for stewed apples for breakfast. Easy enough, so I cut up a half-dozen or so apples and cooked them down for a half hour or so... mmmmm... no sugar needed. Maybe just a little cinnamon. Don't miss apple time. Wherever you find yourself, get to a farm stand, or a great produce aisle you can trust, and see what interesting apples you can purchase and enjoy. It's a wonderful part of fall, and power pantry choices.
By the Way
While there are nearly 100 varieties of apples grown in the US, there are only 15 which make up almost 90% of the market. The US Apple Association has great information on these varieties, and a lot more: Most Popular US Apples And there is much more to be learned about apples. Check out this list from Wikipedia on apple varieties from all over the world: Apple Cultivars
2.68 A wellness lifestyle requires a commitment to go against the grain. Maybe it's family history, or peer pressure, or just the drag of age, poor eating and lethargy that keeps us from the commitment we need. And maybe all it takes is a spark to ignite the flame already inside us. Enter the Spartan Races. I posted last year about mud runs, and how the Spartan Races are a top quality obstacle race nation-wide, and now world-wide. Well... I think the Spartan Race has made it onto my list.
I've been thinking about signing up for a 3 mile ("Sprint") Spartan Race for months, and I live under the conviction that anything worth doing, is worth doing with others. So I emailed my brother today to float the idea of training for a summer 2016 Spartan Race in eastern PA, and lo and behold, we've got an event to prepare for.
Not only is he into the idea, it looks like my sister-in-law, niece, nephew, and some of their family friends may be joining in to build a team with us. How cool is that?! I'm already excited, and it's a full 9 months away!
Spartan races are classy for what they are (an obstacle course mud run). You test your mental and physical limits. You hone your tenacity and perseverance. And ultimately, you find out what you're really made of. Spartan races are gritty and transformative. A lot like a power pantry lifestyle.
So it's game on for July 2016 Spartan Race in Palmerton, PA. Not sure who all will be there from our clan, but we'll be there. How about you? What is your gritty, resilient, passionate goal? Maybe it's food choices, or getting out for a walk each day, or training for your first 5k. Whatever goal is in front of you, don't wait another day. Make a call to look for a buddy. Write down steps to get you from here to there. Start doing something positive with your wellness today. Commit. You know you can do it - it's just a decision away.
By the Way
There is an incredible amount of inspiration available on the www.Spartan.com website. Check out the videos section to get a real taste of what these obstacle races require of you. And there are Nutrition and Training tabs as well, so you can focus your effort for great results.
Whether you plan to dive into Spartan training or not, the Spartan.com website has tremendous materials for your wellness journey.
2.67 I love having some tried and true, versatile power pantry items on hand. I think of pantry staples like raw almonds, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, raw honey, brown rice, and oats. Yes, humble, stick-to-your-ribs, great-for-breakfast oats. Maybe oats are worth a closer look. If you've never thought much about the available kinds of oats, here are some basics. The oats we buy at a grocery store are usually available in four types: groats, steel cut oats, rolled oats (or 'old-fashioned' oats), and quick, or instant, oats. Check out what Wikipedia and the Whole Grain Council have to say about oats... Groats are simply the whole oat kernel with the hull removed. The head of grain hasn't been cut or pressed or rolled. Steel cut oats, the healthiest of the processed oats, are simply cut into two to three pieces by processing blades, but that's all- no other mechanical manipulation is done. Because of this, steel cut oats retain much of the oat bran, which is lost in more mechanical processing used with other oats. To get rolled oats, the groat is steamed to make it more tender, and then it is rolled in a coarse roller, and finally toasted a bit to stabilize it. Rolled oats will cook more quickly, and make more of a porridge consistency. Quick oats will cook the quickest of all because they are rolled more finely than old-fashioned oats. Quick oats yield an even creamier texture because of the finer processing. Which is the best? As always, the one processed the least will give you the greatest benefit, so that's probably the steel cut variety. Don't get me wrong, all oats are a healthy choice, it's just that steel cut oats would retain the most nutritional content because they aren't steamed or toasted. So give oats another look. I enjoy a great bowl of oatmeal or muesli (uncooked or only slightly cooked oats) most days of the week, and I like throwing in a variety of good additions like raisins, dates, walnuts, raw almonds, chia seeds, ground flax, or even berries. Oats are a great way to start the day because of their low glycemic index and high fiber content which will keep you feeling full longer into your day.
By the Way
Oats are seen as a healthy addition to our nutritional choices for a couple of reasons. Besides being a great source of thiamine, iron and dietary fiber, oats are the only source of avenanthramides, an antioxidant which helps protect the circulatory system from arteriosclerosis.
2.66 Whew... 2 hours 17 minutes 43 seconds... that was my 2nd half marathon time, from the race I ran yesterday, a good two and half minutes better than my first half-marathon. Cool. No injuries, no blisters, and I again met my humble goal of not walking any of the course. The weather was just right with a little sun and no wind, and over a thousand runners between a 5k, 10k, and the half. It was an excellent investment of a Saturday morning (plus the couple of months I spent preparing for the run.) I'm feeling a bit of a let down, though, now that I don't have a current goal to work on. My older daughter wants to do more running with me, and maybe it's time we get a couple of 5ks on the calendar. She actually joined me yesterday for about a half mile of the half-marathon (I was lucky to have a fan club cheering me on... the running course passes about 150 yards from our house, so my family camped out for part of the morning watching for me to go by.) All told, it was a great running event. I beat my previous time, and came through with no injuries, yet again. Another goal accomplished, and time for setting some new ones. Maybe you have a wellness goal you've been thinking about. If you do, don't wait another day - get something on the calendar, break down your steps and progress needed, and get to work. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.
By the Way
Themed runs and fun runs are exploding in popularity in recent years. And at just over 3 miles, a 5k is very doable for the running novice (or these can be very attractive to the competitive runner working on their timing.) Check out this page from Running USA, showing the growth in running event finishers from 1990 to 2013. Running stats and demographics from Running USA And guys, while we were about even in numbers with the women five years ago, the female finishers have way outpaced the men. It's time to get in the game!
2.65 Three days from now I'll be running my 2nd half-marathon. I think I've prepared well, and run plenty, so I should be physically ready. Maybe a little bit of carbing up Thursday and Friday, and that should do it. As everyone who has tackled a wellness lifestyle knows, the physical victories are only part of the game. The bigger challenge is usually the mental connection we need to make with why we are choosing to do what we're doing: "do I need to do this? Now? Really?" Overcoming the mental hurdles can be huge. While I've never seen the whole movie, I remember a quote from "We Bought a Zoo": "Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, just literally 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery, and I promise you something great will come of it." Think about it. All our mental gymnastics that convince us it won't work, or that we need to back down, or that it's time to quit... all those can likely be overcome by 20 seconds of insane courage. For the half-marathon, I'll need a lot more than 20 seconds. It will take more like 2 hours of insane courage (and then some) to keep convincing myself I can finish well. My goal? Beat my previous half-marathon time, and come in at around 2 hours and 15 minutes.... We'll see. So what do you have pending where you need more courage than is normal? If something has you feeling out-of-your-league, or just plain overwhelmed, maybe all you need to do is muster a burst (or stream) of courage, and forge ahead. For me, we'll see what the race holds, and I know I'll be focused on finishing strong.
2.64 It's 5 days until my 2nd half marathon... that means it's go time, baby. I started training last month with some shorter and longer runs and built up to the 10+ mile run I did last weekend. Then this past week I really fell off the wagon where my nutrition was concerned (cake?? I actually had cake... with buttercream icing...) I noticed a few irritating (and preventable) consequences; if I had just gone without, none of them would have happened. One telltale from my poor eating was a strange sluggishness Friday night, a total demotivation. I remember that feeling from years ago before my body was detoxed and tuned up; I was surprised how pronounced it was going into the weekend. Problem was, I planned to go out for a medium distance run on Saturday morning. I needed to get my head in the game. What all of this affirmed is that keeping our bodies tuned up makes a difference. Now, since eating clean this weekend, I feel great again. And I was able to plow through a six mile run yesterday and just over three today. Add yard work and playing with the kids to that, and I'd say it's been a great weekend, despite the poor eating last week. I'm very convicted of the need to shed extra baggage, especially going into something like a half marathon. I don't want to take last weeks' poor food with me, or any unnecessary pounds, just like I wouldn't run a race with a bunch of books in a bag over my shoulder in case I got bored. I couldn't afford to put up with the weight, and I can certainly do without a book to read while I'm engaged in a race. So this week I'll be focused on the essentials: what do I really need for next Saturday in order to be prepared? If I don't need it, I'm ditching it, and that goes for nutritional choices, mental perspectives, and my clothing and accessories for the race. Do you have extra baggage that you're carrying? Would you be better off without it? If you're not sure, have you tried to reduce and then get rid of the baggage to see what the result feels like? There's no time like the present.
By the Way
It takes about 24 to 72 hours for our bodies to naturally digest and metabolize food. Toxins are filtered by our liver and kidneys and gotten rid of with a day or two, and possibly up to about a week is needed to get rid of everything our bodies would identify as foreign.
2.63 A power pantry journey is a lifestyle. A wellness lifestyle. And that means progress, of some kind, is to be expected. Wherever we find ourselves, we have to decide that 'here' is no longer acceptable, and we need to get moving to somewhere better... to 'there'. Making the commitment and investment for that journey takes heart and perseverance, and by making the significant investment it requires, it will become a lifestyle. Today I was on a 'long' run, thinking of these very things. 18 years ago I topped out around 220 pounds. I suppose I was livin' large in my late 20's, but really I was a mess. Now I tip the scales a good 60 pounds less than that, and have all these great wellness goals that I want to pursue. I'm signed up for my second half marathon, with less than two weeks to go. Hence the reason for the long run today. What I realized is what a joke it would have been for my 'old' self to try and keep up with the 'new' me. Almost 20 years later, I'm healthier, happier and full of energy to tackle significant goals. Even 3-4 years ago, I couldn't have run fraction of the 10+ miles I ran today. I remember a small incline in the road that had me nauseous and almost throwing up a few years ago on a fairly light jog. Now I'm tackling significant hills with tenacity, and haven't gotten the heaves in a long time. We're all on this kind of journey. Wherever you are, you are bound to make some wellness progress when you simply put your mind to it. Think of where you are now, and where you are headed, and how the old you would fair compared to the new you... Maybe it's just that the new you tackles the buffet line with healthy conviction and confidence without falling off the calorie and junk food wagon, where the old you was as big a mess as your plate. Set some new goals and be bold enough to broaden your perspective on where "there" is. It will likely change and move (in a positive way) taking you further down the road on your journey. And chances are the new you beats the old you, hands down.
By the Way
If you train for any running races, there is a simple build-up guide you can use in your weeks prior to the race, to put you in great shape for the big day. The point is always to exert yourself, and recover... Push hard to a new level, then back down and heal up. For a half marathon or full marathon, your big run should be a couple of weeks ahead of race day, and your distance can represent about 80% of your final miles (so about 10 miles when preparing for a 13.1 mile half-marathon, and about 20 miles in preparation for a full marathon.) If you appreciate Power Pantry posts, please leave a comment, 'like' this post, and take 30 seconds to subscribe.
Do you have a favorite apple? Mine are Macintosh. Long before there were hundreds of apple varieties world-wide, there were the apples you would get from your own trees, or the farm down the road, and you were lucky to have a dozen or so apple varieties to choose from.
