Wind, rain and a long run

My training plan for the Philadelphia Marathon indictated an 18-mile run this weekend. The weather forecast for both Saturday and Sunday was horrible - rain, sometimes heavy; windy, with gusts up to 60 mph; and maybe even some snow or sleet just for fun.

When I got up at 7am this morning, the wind was so loud it sounded like a freight train was right outside our house. But when I took Jasper, our dog, out for his morning walk a few minutes later, it really wasn't raining too hard and the temperature was 42 degrees. So I decided to run.

I wore a running cap with a brim to keep the rain out of my eyes, tights to keep my legs semi-warm, and a water-resistant long-sleeve running jacket. The first 5 miles out the wind was at my back, which helped me run about 30 seconds faster per mile than usual. It wasn't raining too hard, and I felt great. But right after I passed the 5-mile mark, a huge gust of wind came up, almost blew me off my feet, and a big branch broke off a tree and fell right in front of me. A woman driving by in a small blue car stopped to make sure I was OK, but the branches had completely missed me. I kept running.

At 5.5 miles I turned left, right into the wind. Periodically I'd hear the freight train sound of the wind, grab my hat to keep it from flying off, and brace myself to stay on my feet. Small branches and leaves blew past me, and I heard loud cracks in the woods as larger limbs came crashing down. It began to rain even harder. More than once I couldn't make any headway running into the wind, so I just stood my ground and waited for the gust to stop.

At the 9-mile mark I turned around to retrace my steps, with the wind primarily at my back. My husband drove by on his way to the dump, and I waved to let him know I was fine. Actually, at this point I was feeling great. The wind died down a bit, and no more tree branches fell in my area. I stopped quite a few times to throw larger branches to the side of the road, but kept on running.

As I crested a hill with three miles to go until home, the sun started shining even though it was still raining. I looked around, and there was a beautiful rainbow, right in front of me. The rain, sun, and rainbow didn't let up until I was almost home. Even now, almost two hours later, I can see a rainbow through the window of my office as I sit typing.

Long runs aren't just for conditioning legs and lungs to go the 26.2 mile distance of the marathon. They're also crucial for mental conditioning. If I can run through weather like this, I know I can definitely finish a marathon. Even more important, I'm confident I can handle just about anything in life that blows up in my face. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until I'm home, and when I'm really lucky I'll have a rainbow to guide the way.

Have a great weekend!
Lynn

Good source of calcium?

As I was walking through the grocery store yesterday, I noticed a bright red bag of Nabisco animal crackers that said "good source of calcium". When I think of calcium, I think dairy products, or perhaps calcium-fortified orange juice. But animal crackers?

I bought the bag just to read the label. Of course, my teenage boys ate the animal crackers; can't let them go to waste!

According to the FDA, to qualify as a "good source" of a nutrient, one serving must contain 10-19% of the DV (Daily Value) for that food. The DV for calcium is 1000mg; therefore a good source must contain 100-190mg of calcium. For comparison, one cup of milk contains 300mg calcium, or 30% of the DV.

But I'm not just interested in calcium; I want to know about the rest of the nutrients in the food. A serving of animal crackers is 10 crackers, and contains 130 calories, 1 gram of saturated fat (5% of the DV), zero cholesterol, and <1g fiber. Not a particularly healthy food because of the saturated fat and low fiber intake, but then what do I expect from a cookie?

On to the list of ingredients. The first ingredient is enriched flour, which isn't nearly as good as whole wheat flour. The fourth ingredient is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Some research shows that a high intake of HFCS contributes to obesity. The fifth ingredient is sugar. Another concern is the partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil; even though the label says zero grams of trans fatty acids (which are worse for our heart than saturated fat), there's definitely trans fats lurking in these animal crackers. As long as there's <.5 gm trans fat per serving, the label can list "0". But who eats just 10 animal crackers? Eat more, and you're getting trans fats that you aren't even aware of unless you read the list of ingredients. Calcium is added in toward the end.

Would I recommend these animal crackers as a way to increase calcium intake? No.

They're not a whole grain, they basically have no fiber, they contain saturated and trans fatty acids, and they also have HFCS. Too many negatives for a measly 100mg of calcium.

You're going to see this type of nutrient advertising on a wide variety of foods. Don't be fooled into thinking these foods are healthy; read the labels and make your own, informed decision. That doesn't mean you should never eat animal crackers. If you enjoy a cookie now and then, they're an option. But a calcium-rich, healthy food they're definitely not.

Lynn

Ideation

I was recently involved in a day-long ideation. Not sure what the heck ideation is? Neither was I!

According to Wikipedia, ideation is the process of developing and forming new ideas through brainstorming, collaborating, and thinking in new and different ways. And that is exactly what I discovered during a variety of large and smaller group exercises designed to encourage us to think in wildly different directions.

The whole process got me thinking. How could I use these ideas for myself, to create new directions and possibilities both for my business life and my personal life? Could I use these concepts with my coaching clients, to encourage them to branch out into new directions?

The answer, I've decided for both areas, is a definite yes! Many times we get stuck doing the same things over and over, without seeing results. We want to lose weight, so we go on a diet. Sure, we might try a different diet, but it's still a diet. We want to become toned, so we go to the gym and lift weights. Maybe we use machines, give up, and then later try out free weights. But it's still the same concept.

So instead of doing the same things over and over, spend some time thinking outside the box. It's helpful to talk to other people, let the sky be the limit, avoid thinking "this will never work", and don't allow yourself to say "but I can't do that". What is it you want? What are some new and different ways of getting to that goal? What strengths do you have in other situations, and how can you use those strengths in a new way?

Dare to dream, and make those dreams really big. If we don't have big dreams, we won't be able to accomplish big things.

Lynn

Air travel and eating

I just returned from a trip to Dallas, Texas, on Northwest Airlines. I was surprised when they announced that in addition to the complimentary beverage service, they were offering snacks for $2 - your choice of a can of Pringles potato chips or a trail mix type of snack.

I wasn't as much hungry as I was intrigued about the trail mix snack, so I forked over my $2.

I always look at the serving size first. In this case, one serving is 1/4 cup, and the package contains 3 1/2 servings. Most people will eat the entire package, which is the first problem.

Each serving contains 150 calories; not bad for a snack. But if you eat the whole package, you get 525 calories, which is about 1/3 of the daily calories for many women. Wow!

Each serving also contains 10 grams of fat; eat the whole package and you get 35 grams of fat, or 45% of the total needed for someone who eats 2000 calories per day. The saturated fat is 1.5 grams per serving; or 28% of daily needs. No trans fats, which is the first positive thing I've found.

Here's the good news: this particular trail mix contains roasted cashews, roasted almonds, raisins, and dried cranberries, in that order. Over half of the bag's contents were cashews. I really dislike cashews, so I carefully separated all of them out. I then ate the almonds (there were 10, about 1 ounce or 1 serving), the raisins and the dried cranberries (about 2 tablespoons total). So what could have been a high calorie, high fat snack turned out to be just right. Thank goodness I don't like cashews!

I always make sure to bring my own snacks along with me when I fly. That way I have control over what I eat, and I don't have to spend a lot of money. But on this trip, I learned some important info that I can share with you and my clients: read the label, pay attention to portion sizes, and eat only what you like!

Lynn