If a squatty, short legged alligator can sprint faster than a human, why can’t I get my legs moving faster during a road race?

My breath is good. I don’t puff and pant, cough nor snort.

I don’t hang my head. I try to focus forward, driving to the next point.

My body doesn’t hurt anywhere.

I DO tighten up a bit, as evidenced in this photo where my shoulders are almost attached to my ears…

But most of all, it’s just those darned legs. They refuse to go any faster.

Does it simply come down to the laws of biophysics?

Laws of Biophysics: mathematical laws of nature that make detailed predictions about the forces that drive idealized systems.

Arm pumping, willpower, a strong belief system, inspirational quotes, and everything you’ve tried won’t get you to the finish line any faster than your training and biomechanics will allow. That’s it. That’s what it comes down to. Training will get us to a peak point in our fitness but nature will draw the line on the best we can be.

Should we one day say to ourselves “Oh well. Guess that’s the best I can do.” NO WAY! You never know what tomorrow will bring. We all have good days and we have bad. Sure there are factors that will slow us down as time goes by, but why not have a BLAST putting up a good fight?!

So… If a squatty, short legged alligator can sprint faster than a human,

why can’t I get my legs moving faster during a road race? They can I need to WORK HARDER AND QUIT COMPLAINING!

What do you think? Will you give in to your perceived limitations or will you fight harder?

FOOD SAFETY – BEWARE!

This Fourth of July Weekend – Practice Food Safety

Be careful this July when hosting your picnic – there’s BACTERIA out there!

Source: FoodEngineeringmag.com

While processors are making the effort to provide safe food, consumers need to be aware that careful preparation and proper storage before and after cooking go a long way to reduce bacteria counts. In addition, cooking to a temperature of 160°F will kill most bacteria, further reducing the possibility of foodborne illness. Health Canada, FDA and USDA provide helpful hints to minimize the possibility of getting sick from meat and other foods that may have bacteria on it when purchased.

Chickpea Salad with Lemon Dressing.

Have a GREAT weekend!
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In the e-newsletter this week, issued by Food Engineering, there were some very interesting news bits in food manufacturing.  It sounds so industrial doesn’t it? But it’s interesting so read on….

Nestle Changes It’s Flour:

Remember when the Nestle Toll House cookie dough was recalled last year (June 2009)?  It was contaminated with E.coli.  Flour was the suspect in the investigation because it is a raw commodity which carries more risk.  As a result of new Quality procedures, the Nestle facility has converted to a heat-treated flour to improve safety and minimize contamination risks.  The products utilizing the heat-treated flour will be on the shelves in March.  Go Nestle!

New York City Is Concerned About Our Salt Intake:

“Salt is the single most dangerous ingredient in food supply”.  That statement has been made by the Center for Science in the Public Interest which gave NYC health officials a HUGE pat on the back for pressuring food companies to reduce salt levels in packaged foods and restaurant meals by 25% over the next 5 years. 

75% of the population, due to their susceptibility levels, should not consume more than 1500 mg of sodium per day.  Now hold on to your seats because the following is going to absolutely blow you away:

1.  Red Lobster’s Admiral’s Feast:  Creamy lobster topped mashed potato, Caesar salad with dressing, cheddar bay biscuit and lemonade topped out at 7,106 mg of salt.  That’s 5 days worth of sodium!

Red Lobster does offer light choices and offers nutritional information so you are able to make healthy meal decisions and enjoy every bite.

2.  Chili’s Buffalo Chicken Fajitas and Honey – Chipotle ribs with mashed potatoes, gravy and seasonal veggies provided between 6,916 mg and 6,440 mg of sodium.

Chili’s also offers terrific options for healthier choices. 

Chili’s Menu and Nutrition Information: Download Vegetarian Menu(77.64 KB pdf) Download Nutrition Information(58.79 KB pdf) Download Allergy Information(219.93 KB pdf)

Great places to eat but be careful which meal you chose to enjoy.   Wowza!

Speaking of healthy, Nicole of PreventionRD has a great giveaway.  Do you like LARABARS? Check it out!  

What does stress feel like in your body?  I start getting hot. Then my head feels like it’s being squeezed right at the top like cone head syndrome.    I’ve still been pulling hair out trying to get things going on this new site.  It can be so frustrating.  To top that off, work has been super busy this week. The market is up and we certainly reaped the rewards this week.

A super stress reliever or way to escape the stress source is a great workout and breakfast.  I did the last day of weeks 1 and 2 on the “Get-Your-Body-Back Plan”, from Muscle and Performance Magazine.

In the next 2 weeks, this program says to go to failure on the last one to two sets of each exercise.  That’s tough because to do that, I have to use heavy weights which means Ted has to be around to spot.  He’ll have to get up earlier…lucky him!   The starting set of 15 isn’t a light weight either. It should be fun.

After all that working out a good breakfast is in order and should go something like this…

A bowl of hot cereal such as cream of rice, steel cut oats, Bob’s Red Mill Hot cereals with fruit such as 1/2 a banana chopped, dried fruits (raisins, cranberries), peanut butter (such as Naturally More).  Usually it is 1/4 to 1/3 cup dry cereal serving.  I keep the peanut butter to 1 TBS, and same with the dried fruits.  The natural sweetness of the fruits eliminates the need for adding processed sugars.

Fruit on the side:  I have here 1/2 of a peach and 2 sliced strawberries.  Remember, if you put fruit in your cereal, don’t overdue the extra on the side.

A healthy source of protein.  1 scoop of Whey Protein Isolate with L-Glutamine, water and ice.  Make it as thick or as thin as you like.  I make sure my protein powders have very little to no carbohydrates due to the fruit carbs I add with the rest of my breakfast.

Food News:  I thought this would be worth while to pass on regarding food recalls in particular.  From the AIB Newsletter : food safety and recalls for consumers.  Here is the article:

HHS and USDA unveil new food safety consumer Web site that features the latest food safety and recall information. On September 9th, Health and Human services (HHS) and the USDA unveiled a new consumer Web site that is designed to help consumers get all the latest information on food safety and food recalls in one convenient place.
The new site, www.foodsafety.gov, will feature information from all the agencies across the federal government that deal with critical food and food safety information, including preventive tips about how to handle food safety, alerts on life-saving food recalls, and the latest news.
Consumers can sign up in one easy place to receive e-mail and RSS alerts on recalled or potentially unsafe food and hear from top scientific experts across the government on food safety.

Digital Photography

Last night was class number 2.  Here is a quick review since Ted and I are hitting the road to the great North East… no…even MORE North East than we already are.  We are going to a boat show in Newport, RI. 

Tips and Tricks and Gadgets and Things for a digital camera:

• Instead of purchasing an expensive macro (micro by Nikon terms) lens, try a filter:  A circular polarizing filter would be great as we get into the Fall since polarizing filters make colors “pop” out.  There are also skylight and ultra violet filters. 
• If using a filter, spraying hair spray on it or using vaseline on it will create different affects to the photo (may want to get a good cleaner)
• Try using a magnifying glass in front of the lens for some different affects.
• Great online sites: BHphotovideo, Buydig, Vanns, Onecall, Newegg …for cameras, accessories for great prices.
• Free photo editing software available from Google called Picasa3 (this is what I use…super program)
• We learned about using the Histogram.  What a great tool:  If the photo concentration is too far to the left, you need to + the exposure setting. If it is too far to the right (over exposed), you need to – the exposure setting.
• Exposure compensation:  leave at –3, then check histogram after taking a test shot.
• If you have active D-Lighting, use it. But be aware it is not good for sports or continuous shooting as it slows the processing down.
• Super Neat Find:  You might have a black and white setting on your camera.  This allows you to see the shot in B&W BEFORE you shoot it!

That’s all for now.  Let me know if any of the “tips and tricks” were useful… and make sure to check in to see what we are up to in R.I.  Have a great weekend!