Soon, I’ll be participating in the Cascade Lakes Relay. This is a 217-mile relay run in Oregon starting at Diamond Lake and finishing in Bend. The race starts on Friday, July 31, 2009.

See the current list of teams here.

My team, “Worst Case Scenario”, is scheduled to start the relay at 8:30 am. As of this post, there are 90 running teams signed up and ready to go. WCS ran this race last year, but I opted out of it as a result of an injury. So while this is my first Cascade Lakes Relay, it’s their second one. We’ve all done the Hood to Coast several times, so this should be a nice break in the relay routine for me, as it has been for them.

Lately on my training runs, I’ve been doing some workouts in the daytime. Since summer is in full swing now, running in temps of 80s or 90s makes quite a difference from what I’m used to the rest of the year in Oregon. This heat training should be good preparation for a portion of the relay.

This morning, I ran a short workout when the temperature was under 60 degrees. What a difference from the day before, when it was still over 90 degrees after 6 pm!

If you haven’t checked out the relay site yet, go to Cascade Lakes Relay.

Feel free to leave a comment!

What kind of foods should you be eating?

There are so many different reports and studies out there; it can be confusing. The best foods to eat come down to a diet that is plant-based, rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It’s also good to keep a watch on the calories to avoid excessive intake. Exercise always comes into play as a complement to a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Here are eight tips for eating the right foods:

• Choose good carbs, or carbohydrates, which provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity – whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and greens.

• Choose protein-rich foods and watch what comes with that protein (as with red meat and saturated fat). Good vegetable protein sources are beans, nuts, and whole grains. Good animal protein comes from fish and poultry.

• Eat healthy fats, minimize the saturated fats, and avoid the trans fat. Plant oils, nuts, and fish are the best sources.

• Get plenty of fiber from whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Most adult women should get over 20 grams per day and men should get over 30 grams of fiber per day.

• Eat 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, which comes out to about 4 1/2 cups total.

• Keep up your intake of calcium, and not just from milk. Good, non-dairy sources include baked beans, soy milk, collard and bok choy.

• Drink alcohol in moderation. It can boost cardiovascular health, but can also increase the risk of colon and breast cancer.

• Take a daily multivitamin.

Was this information helpful? Feel free to leave me a comment – thanks.

Most people think that in order to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. But that’s not how it works.

Most weight loss occurs when the range between calories taken in and calories burned is between 300 to 500. In other words, if you’re consuming 2,000 calories per day and burning 1,800, you’ll still lose weight, as long as you’re somewhere within this range.

When you try to starve yourself, or take in fewer calories than you’re used to, the body reacts and goes into storage mode. It stores all the fat it can and continues to if you keep starving yourself.

When you keep your body’s metabolism high by giving it enough fuel, it burns more calories. Get some free information on metabolism by signing up for my mailing list on the right sidebar of this blog!