Our massage therapist, Sara Vavra, ran a 10k.  Below are her reflections from her experience.

On Saturday April 16 I ran my first 10K in 13 years with my sister, Tori, In Albuquerque NM. Sure there were races closer to home but I thought I needed a big incentive to stick with my training program. As it turns out, I had such great support and input from my colleagues at Industrial Strength Fitness that I could have raced anywhere with confidence. I was so well prepared for the race.

We started slow, near the back of the pack but followed our plan and ignored the un-fit rabbits that passed us early. I was reminded of the words of our client, Bill Voight, who told me several times to “race my race” and not be drawn into racing anybody’s else’s race. It made sense to me when he shared that gem and I held on to it as we ran.

At every mile we picked up our pace a little bit, according to our plan, and soon we began to pass those “rabbits”. At first we just passed one or two at a time, but by mile 4 we were passing whole groups of people who blew by us in that first “warm-up” mile.

Meanwhile, my sister and I just chatted away with each other, enjoying the beautiful scenery and the feeling of being strong and healthy.

We picked up the pace in the last mile and finished strong. Not at the rear of the pack, but more at the middle front, despite having started so far in the back.

I’m sure we could have run a little faster if we had decided not to talk the whole way, but my goal was to finish and to finish strong. My overall pace time was significantly faster then when I last ran a 10K for time (13 years ago) and there’s room for improvement the next time. But what’s more important to me is that I felt great from my head to my toes the entire time.

I’m ready to find another challenge and plan on running my first 1/2 marathon this fall. I know with the continued guidance and support of my sister, of course, and Industrial Strength Fitness, I’ll be able to achieve all my health and wellness goals. Thanks guys.

-Sara Vavra

However, your body does need a lot of H2O! Here’s the basic formula for determining your hydration needs:

1. Drink 1 ounce of water for every 2 pounds of body weight.

2. Drink an additional 8 ounces of water for every fifteen minutes of exercise.

3. Caffeinated beverages and alcohol have a dehydrating effect. Drink 1 ounce of water for every ounce of caffeine or alcohol consumed.

So Mr. Smith weighs 200 pounds. On Monday, he worked out for 45 minutes and he drank 3 six ounce cups of coffee. Mr. Smith would need 224 ounces of water to meet his hydration needs. That’s A LOT of water! I suggest that you get a pretty bottle that you can keep with you all day…determine how many ounces it holds and how many times you will need to fill it to meet your hydration needs for the day. For obvious reasons, I try to consume all of water before 6:00pm on any given day.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/gluten-free-sesame-crusted-sole-baby-bok-choy-and-wild-rice

Over the past couple weeks,I’ve seen these great commercials that depict people in restaurants or retail stores and they are asking all kinds of goofy questions.  Then it segues to the character at a routine doctor visit and the doctor asks them if they have any questions.  Of course, they say “oh no, everything’s fine, thanks.”  Of course, they probably had a million and one questions for the doctor but were too embarrassed or afraid to ask, just like we all are.

Isn’t that just the way it is?  When we get into a setting where we need to ask the important questions and get all the facts, we chicken out and leave without getting the information that we not only want but really need to know.

So!  That’s the purposeof this fit tip.  To help us all learn the why’s and how’s of Testicular and Breast Self-Exams.  The two links below will take you to the Mayo Clinic’s web site page on both of these topics:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/testicular-exam/MY00776

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-exam/MY00743

When I searched on Google, I even found YouTube videos on the topics!  But I wasn’t sure that all of our clients were ready for that! So, I’ll let you go find those for yourself.  I have been on the dark and scary journey of a cancer diagnosis and treatment with many clients and friends over the years. One thing always holds true, their accelerated fitness level helps them to endure the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery with a whole lot more strength and endurance.  Not to mention with confidence and purpose.  The absolute most frightening thing in our lives is the unknown.  So start these self-exams today, you’ve got nothing to lose! If you do find something, I (or we) will be right here by your side to walk through the darkness with dignity and strength. 

Sunburst Trout: add salt & pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place on sheet pan and broil on high heat for 7 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork. Finish with squeeze of lemon

Red Quinoa (artisanal grain, can find at Earth Fare): saute sliced baby carrots, sliced celery and sliced garlic in olive oil for 4 minutes (until fragrant) in saute pan. While sauteeing, bring 1 cup rinsed red quinoa and 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a separate sauce pan. Once boiling, add carrots, celery and garlic to quinoa, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes (or until all water is absorbed).

Sauteed Rainbow Chard: Wash and drain 1 lb rainbow chard. Remove large stems and cut into 1 inch pieces. Saute 3 garlic cloves (minced) and 1/2-1 teaspoon (or to taste) red pepper flakes in a tablespoon olive oil in a large saute pan for 1 minute (or until fragrant). Add chard, cover and steam for 10 minutes (checking frequently to make sure not too dry…if so, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time to keep moist). During 10 minutes, frequently stir/flip chard. Finish with splash of apple cider vinegar and salt (to taste).

Photo courtesy of flickr user Like_the_Grand _Canyon via CC license

Last weekend I had a coupon for a free VitaminWater from Harris Teeter. I was surprised to see all the different kinds and quickly picked the Power-C Dragonfruit flavor. The next morning, I grabbed it out of the fridge and chugged it on my way to work. Wow…it was some pretty amazing stuff! Tasted great, had a full days worth of vitamin C and a slew of B vitamins. I thought I had found a new favorite….then I started thinking, this stuff tastes pretty sweet?!? Wonder how many calories it has. As I looked at the nutrition label, I saw that it had 50 calories and 13 grams of sugar. Not bad, I thought….my diet can handle one of these tasty drinks every now and again. But then I looked a little closer….one bottle has two and a half servings!! No wonder it tastes so good! That means a bottle of VitaminWater actually has 125 calories and 32.5 grams of sugar!! That’s the equivalent of 6+ teaspoons of sugar…in other words, every one of those 125 calories is a calorie of sugar! Not a healthy food at all. Bummer.

As I searched around the web to learn a little more about this VitaminWater, I found that there have even been lawsuits against the Coca-cola compnay for false marketing. Well…their false marketing sure worked on me! I also found that Americans are currently consuming 25% of their daily calories in fluids. Just imagine how easy it would be to replace that VitaminWater or that Coke or that (drat!) glass of wine with a glass of good old water…you know the kind with nothing in it! Just for fun…if we held all else equal and only eliminated 250 calories of fluids from our diet for 60 days….we could lose over four pounds!

I guess the moral of this story is…sometimes things that seem too good to be true, really are!! Read those labels and be an educated consumer. Have a great week!!

Here are some simple running tips:

1.  Cotton socks will only lead to blisters, invest in socks designed for running
2.  Sign up for that race, don’t just talk about it. Signing up is the hardest part!
3.  Cross train to avoid overuse injury