Just Push and New Product No Recipe

How hard are you willing to push during a workout, during a race, during  any event that challenges you physically?

Most of the time, you simply need to gain enough experience to pace yourself. Then there are times when you need to dig out that motivational motto that keeps you going.

This is what I’ve learned during my progression from casual running for fitness, about 8 years ago, and racing to achieve a time goal, which started about 2 years ago.

1.  You need to hang up the headset and focus on your body.

a.  Breath:  if you are breathing too fast or heavy, slow down.  At the beginning of an event, most of us experience nervousness even though we’re excited about being there.  The nervousness will cause our breathing to be more shallow than normal, at least until we settle into our event and get comfortable in our rhythm. If the butterflies go away but your breathing is STILL labored, you’re probably going too fast and won’t enjoy the experience.  Slow down. Get your breath under control.  Let the tingles get out from your legs.

b. Form:  If your arms are flying, you’re not in alignment (hips to shoulders), you’re striding to long or short, you will waste energy. Proper form helps focus energy and eliminates wasted  effort that won’t help your run.  For detailed information on alignment, check this article out at RunnersWorld.

2.  You need to push harder than you think you can.  Don’t go out too fast because you’re all fresh and ready to rock.  Allow yourself a little “taste” of that speed then reign it in.  You have miles to go and a fast start is NOT money in the bank.  It will cost you during the last miles of the run.  According to Joe Henderson’s write up in Racing Techniques, every second you try to gain in the beginning will cost you two at the end.  It’s a geometric progression:  for every 2, you’ll give up 4, etc.  Is it REALLY worth it?   *I think the time to challenge yourself in this way, if you really can’t resist the “first out of the gate” style, AND you’re a distance enthusiast, pick a 5K race and give it an all out effort.  That way, you only have two or less miles to feel like crap. 

In the last few races, I’ve tried to go faster in the first few miles of the race.  It’s certainly not as enjoyable as when I would run without pushing myself and hope (fingers crossed) that my time was good. Now I push. I STILL keep my eyes off my Garmin pace meter because I don’t want to lose focus on my body.  In the end, if my body says it can keep going at that pace, I’ll go.  If I start to think I need to slow down, I’ll slow down, recover, then push again.  After all, it IS only a short amount of time in the rest of my day and I can endure the discomfort. I use that same motivating sentence anytime I’m faced with a physical challenge such as cycling up long, steep hills: I can see the top and know I’ll reach the end eventually.  If I stay on my bike, I’ll get there quicker than if I got off. PUSH! That’s the name of the game.  Just PUSH!

Product Review: Organic Black Bean Pasta

I discovered an interesting product for a Gluten Free meal:  Organic Black Bean Spaghetti.  It looked good. It sounded good. But it wasn’t.

Ted didn’t like it at all.  He kept saying things like “It’s rubbery”  “It doesn’t have any smell to it”  “It has no taste”  “What do you think?”  “It IS different”  and FINALLY….

“Does EVERYTHING make the blog?!”

It was that last question that got me.  I said, in a snippy kind of way:   “YES. Everything makes the blog”. Honesty is what counts and since I’m being honest and will admit it wasn’t the best meal, the nutrition was appealing and I saved the left overs. Who knows. maybe it would be better the next day?

I did have it for lunch the next day and….

It wasn’t much better.

Sorry to say, this product was not a hit for us.  BUT, the nutrition looked good, you have to agree.

Ingredients:  Organic Black Beans and water

Nutrition per 1.75 oz ( a 7 oz package served 4)

Calories: 187. Fat 22 g.  Carbs: 16 g.  Protein:  20g.

I cooked it and then tossed it with a sauce of olive oil, white wine, sautéed onion, eggplant, fresh garden cherry tomatoes, shredded broccoli and carrots, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Finished the sauce with Parmesan cheese and topped the dish with shredded cheddar.

You win some, you lose some.  This one lost.

What’s the worst meal you have ever cooked?