Minimal or light weight running shoewear is currently popular but certainly not new. Decades ago, running shoes were minimal in nature because that’s all there was available. As the running shoe companies developed, so did the complexity of the running shoe. Interestingly, injuries stayed the same though – regardless of the type of shoe worn. Bottom line: minimal shoewear will cause just as many running ailments and injuries (over a period of time) as the high tech shoes that came before them. Why? Because running is repetitive in nature (often leading to overuse ailments and imbalances in opposing muscle groups). In addition, serious runners (and new runners alike) tend to run too frequently and over do the duration as well. Remember, less is more when it comes to running for a lifetime.

Group training may be less expensive in some settings… but it’s certainly inferior as well. Optimal physical training benefits result from exercise training programs that are geared to each individual’s particular needs, capabilities, level of motivation (overall and same day) and ability to recover; group training is inherently unable to accomplish this. Reason? Participants vary widely in their ability to adapt to differing stimulus (e.g., intensity, duration, frequency and type of exercise) that they’re exposed to and this is critical to future adherence and longterm success. Furthermore, group training not only has a lower adherence level (high quit rate), but also has a higher injury level due to poor oversight and at the “moment of mistake” instruction.

Important to Note: Many professionals within the field of fitness who offer this type of instruction, are aware of the inferior style it presents, but are willing to compromise instruction in order to earn more money per minute training.

Positive stress is physical and/or mental stress that we willingly choose to engage in; not only do we willingly choose to engage in it, we volitionally choose to stop engaging in it as well at our discretion. On the flip side, negative stress is physical and/or mental stress that we generally do not choose to engage in or perceive (correctly or incorrectly) it being externally imposed upon us against our will. Positive stress can challenge and strengthen us, while negative stress creates a feeling of powerlessness or helplessness that’s simply destructive to our longterm health.

Important to note: positive stress becomes negative stress (and quickly) if the postive stress is applied too frequently or too much positive stress is applied at one time without adequate recovery.

Jack LaLanne, the fitness celebrity who inspired television viewers to slim down, to eat more healthfully and to weight train regularly, long before diet and exercise was cool, or even thought to be especially intelligent for longevity, finally died Sunday of pneumonia; he was 96 years old. He stated several years ago that he couldn’t die, because it would wreck his image. I thought then, that he had a helluva challenge before him to avoid that image problem.

Important to Note: This is what dying of “old age” looks like… not by degenerative diseases such as Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer or Diabetes.

Everyday is one more opportunity to keep the promise I made to myself nearly 25 years ago… to challenge myself physically everyday (specifically, don’t waste time, no unspent youth) and to continue to push for wisdom and intelligence beyond the everyday average. On the verge of turning 40 now, I actually look forward to it, this aging process. The challenge of pushing myself physically continues to get steeper and although my body isn’t what it was capable of when I was 25 I don’t really care, because my mind is certainly stronger and willing to assume a more responsible role in this fight now. 

To know me well, is to know that I’m even more then I present myself to be… even when no one is looking.

See You there!

Rising Stars 5K Run

Sunday, January 23, 2011

8:30 AM – Tempe Center for the Arts

Event Description

5K/Family Fun Run to benefit Native American Connections, a 40-year Phoenix non-profit organization providing behavioral health and housing solutions for the urban Native American community and those individuals and families interested in wellness services based on Native American traditional values and healing practices.

The event is also sponsored by N7, a division of Nike, Inc. committed to bringing sports, and all of its benefits, to Native American and Aboriginal communities in the USA and Canada.

The Rising Stars Run is being organized by Native American Connections, partners DCB Extreme Adventures and race director, Colin Tetreault in collaboration with the Eastham Energy College All-Star Football game that will be held later the same day (6pm) at ASU Sun Devil Stadium. 

All participants in the Rising Star 5K Run will receive a FREE ticket to the All Star game. 

Events Schedule

7:00am – 8:15am:  Registration and T-shirts Distribution (shirts for adult runners)
8:30am: Run Starts (East Lawn of the TCA)
10:00am: Run Ends (East Lawn of the TCA)
5:00pm: Presentation of Awards at the Eastham Energy College All Star Pre-Game
6:00pm: All Star Game – ASU Sun Devil Stadium

Venue

Run:  Tempe Center for the Arts – 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway Tempe, Arizona (Race will begin and end at the East Lawn)
   
Awards:  ASU Sun Devil Stadium – 500 E. Veterans Way Tempe, Arizona

Run Participant Registration Information

Pre-Registration closes on Thursday night, January 22, 2011 at 12am midnight.  All Registrations after this time can be obtained the morning of the Run. 

Individual Youth (6-17yrs) – $20 each
– One Ticket to the Eastham Energy College All Star Football Game 
– Pre-Registration Youth – $15 (No Youth Shirts, Requires Adult Permission)
– Run Day Registration – $25

Individual Adult (18+) – $20 each
– One Adult N7 Nike Run Shirt
– One Ticket to the Eastham Energy College All Star Football Game  
– Pre- Registration Adult – $20
– Run Day Registration – $25
     
Family Pack – $35 per family
– Two Adult N7 Nike Run Shirts,  
– One Ticket to the Eastham Energy College All Star Football Game for each family member
– Pre-registration $35 (whole family)
– Run Day Registration – $45 (whole family)

Group/Teams Registration – $10 per Group/Team member
– 10 person minimum to qualify for Group/Team rate
– Four Adult N7 Nike Run Shirts per Group/Team
– One Ticket to the Eastham Energy College All Star Football Game for each Group/Team member
– Pre-Registration- $10 (per person)
– Run Day Registration $15 (per person)

Runner Divisions

The Rising Stars 5K Run will be a timed run, but there will not be chip-timing.  Runners will be recognized for Best Overall Times (male and female) and Best Time in each category (first, second and third place).  Awards will be presented at the pre-game for the Eastham Energy College All-Star Football Game at ASU Sun Devil Stadium at 5:00pm (same day).

Categories:
      1)  Female & Male Young Runners (12-17)
      2)  Men & Women Young Adults (18-29)
      3)  Mens & Women’s 30’s (30-39)
      4)  Men’s & Women’s 40’s (40-49)
      5)  Men’s & Women’s 50’s (50-59)
      6)  Men’s & Women’s 60 and Over
      7)  Family
      8)  Group / Teams

Run Packet Pickup instructions

Packet includes: running bib, game ticket and further instructions

Participants can pick up their ticket packets at either of the below locations:

Native American Connections
4520 N. Central Avenue #600, Phoenix, AZ 85012
  – Wednesday, January 19, 2011 from 8am to 5pm
  – Thursday, January 20, 2011 from 8am to 5pm
  – Friday, January 21, 2011 from 8am to 5pm  

Triple Sports Triathlon Co.
 4032 N. Miller Road #100 Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (SW Corner of Miller & Indian School)
  – Saturday, January 22, 2011 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00pm
    
Participants unable to pick-up packets at these times or these locations should contact Native American Connections to pick up their packet the day of the event.

Other Information:

   – The awards for the event will take place during the pre-game of the Eastham Energy College All Star Game on the evening of January 23, 2011.
   – Refreshments will be available to all Participants
   – More information at: www.nativeconnections.org
   – Rising Stars 5K Run Registration is only available on DCB Extreme Adventures website.
   – Youth Shirts are not available for the Rising Star 5K Run.  Adult shirts are available as part of all adult registrations or for purchase the       morning of the Run while supplies last.
   – If you are interested in volunteering for the Rising Stars 5K Run or the Eastham Energy College All-Star Football Game, please contact Paul Capodanno of Native American Connections at 602 648 9721 or send an email to [email protected].

The nearly 6 nights of freezing temperatures recently didn’t help the garden much (lost a lot of the growing tomatoes) but the rest of the garden is doing just fine.

Vegetables (and fruits to a lesser degree) are a richer source of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and fiber than any other category of food. Animal tissue (or meat from the muscles of animals) contain far fewer vitamins and minerals, less essential fatty acids, high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol and contain zero health enhancing fiber (soluble or insoluble).

See you guys out there!

P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona – Marathon & 1/2 Marathon

Sunday, January 16, 2011 – Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe , AZ

Race Schedule:

7:30 am-  Marathon Wheelchair Start

http://arizona.competitor.com/

Serious, dedicated athletes (from amateur level to professional) are at a higher risk for minor infections and acute illnesses due to the extreme physical activities related to their chosen sport. It’s well known, that moderate exercise reduces the risk of infection by increasing and strengthening one’s immune system, but heavy exertion, day-in and day-out, paradoxically pushes the majority of athletes’ immune systems past the point of optimization and into a slight depression, allowing short-term illness to take hold and thrive.

Country Choice Organic Oatmeal “On the Run” Oatmeal Raisin Bars.

Now available at Costco!

Portable and convenient for a quick and healthy snack.

Ingredients
Organic Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Organic Raisins, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Whole Grain Oat Flour, Organic Cane Syrup, Vegetable Glycerine, Organic Oat Syrup Solids, Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Milled Flax, Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Carrageenan, Soy Lecithin, Organic Cinnamon, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Organic Malted Barley Extract.

This is a relatively recent text book: Exercise Physiology “Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance”.

It’s time to revisit the past while getting current again; this 1,150 page textbook will go from crisp and clean to well-read, underscored and highlighted by the day.

http://www.amazon.com/Exercise-Physiology-Energy-Nutrition-Performance/dp/0781749905/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294458846&sr=1-3

Vaccinations do not cause autism.  The research proving vaccinations cause autism has always been extremely weak and now it’s even more so…

LONDON — The first study to link a childhood vaccine to autism was based on doctored information about the children involved, according to a new report on the widely discredited research.

The conclusions of the 1998 paper by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues were renounced by 10 of its 13 authors and later retracted by the medical journal Lancet, where it was published. Still, the suggestion the MMR shot was connected to autism spooked parents worldwide and immunization rates for measles, mumps and rubella have never fully recovered.

A new examination found, by comparing the reported diagnoses in the paper to hospital records, that Wakefield and colleagues altered facts about patients in their study.

The analysis, by British journalist Brian Deer, found that despite the claim in Wakefield’s paper that the 12 children studied were normal until they had the MMR shot, five had previously documented developmental problems. Deer also found that all the cases were somehow misrepresented when he compared data from medical records and the children’s parents.

The man behind the fraud:

Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are essential fatty acids, meaning they’re required for human life, they cannot be produced internally, they must be consumed. It’s estimated that over 60% of us get too many Omega 6 fatty acids (readily available in our diets) and over 95% of us get too little of the Omega 3 fatty acids (infrequently found in our diets). Too much of  one and too little of the other inevitably leads to sub-optimal functioning of the human body (physical as well as mental), soon followed by cell degeneration, followed by minor, then major disease, to death… long before the aging process is complete. 

Recommended Products:

If your diet is average use the following product: 

1.  Carlson Fish Oil Liquid Omega-3 (Lemon or Orange Flavored)

http://www.amazon.com/Carlson-Finest-Liquid-Omega-3-Bottle/dp/B001LF39RO

If your diet is above average and low fat (meaning mostly vegetables, fruits and grains) use one of the following products:

1. Udo’s Blended Oils (with DHA)

http://www.amazon.com/Udos-Choice-Blend-250mL-Brand/dp/B00154O6QE/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1294159528&sr=1-8

2. Organic Hemp Oil (least expensive option and great for long-term use)

http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Hemp-Oil-16-fl-oz/dp/B0009L030W/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1294159577&sr=1-1

3. Organic Flax Oil (not good for long-term ingestion due to the ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acid content, use for no more than 6 months)  

http://www.amazon.com/Vitamin-Shoppe-Certified-Organic-liquid/dp/B00012NCHK/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1294159618&sr=1-2

Over two-thirds of the deaths in the United States directly involve malnutrition (and this could be as high as 95% according to some studies). In other words, there are approximately 45 essential nutrients that our bodies cannot make internally (they must be consumed) and the majority of the population is lacking in at least 20-23 of these essential nutrients on a daily basis, leading directly to degeneration (sub-optimal health), disease and then finally premature death.

Required for Life: Two Essential Fats (Omega 3 and Omega 6), 20-21 Minerals and 13 Vitamins (otherwise known as micro-nutrients), Carbohydrates and Proteins (8-11 amino acids dependent on age), Oxygen and Sunlight. This does not include (but should) all the antioxidants and phyto-nutrients that we are only beginning to find and understand through the study of nutrition. Fiber, in both the soluble and insoluble forms, that perform absorption of toxins and daily sweeping of the intestines, are vital to longterm health as well.

We have very little control over our personal physiology and biochemistry after we have consumed or ingested something, after we have breathed or inhaled something and/or after we have come in contact with or exposed oursleves to something physically. In fact, our good health starts and ends with these three decisions… choose wisely.

I’ve found repeatedly, that the majority of people, spend the majority of their time each day doing things that don’t exactly bring them very much enjoyment. That’s what I would consider to be a great sacrifice, with very little reward. With great sacrifices, should come great rewards… are you getting great rewards for your time?