I figure with a title like that I am bound to get some attention, and have people read this! However, that is the title of Madonna's 2008 concert tour, which I went to at Philips Arena last Monday night.
Twenty years ago when I was living in Southern California, Madonna played outside at the California Angels (now Anaheim Angels) baseball stadium. I wanted to go to the concert, but I was a poor college student and didn't want to spend the money, so I passed. Later on, I regretted it, so this past spring when I found out she was coming to Atlanta, I jumped on the opportunity and bought tickets.
After a 30-minute warm-up by a disco DJ, we sat around for an hour until she finally showed up on stage a little after 9:30pm. It was really one of the most incredible concerts I have ever been to....unbelieveable video production, lights, entertainment, and of course dancing. She danced around the stage (even jumped rope to one song) for two hours, singing a mix of old and new songs.
At one point during the performance, when they were showing videos of her close up on stage, I was thinking how strange it seemed that grown adults were singing and cheering on a 50-year old, scantily dressed woman. She had tiny outfits on, and she is 50 years old. However, close up videos on her showed amazing definition in her arms, and after a 2-hour show, I thought about how hard a work-out that was. Yes she snuck off stage a few times to change her outfit, but aside from that, she danced around the stage a lot. It was impressive....especially since she is doing a "workout" like that several times a week as she tours around the world.
However, Madonna has always paid attention to her health, and includes chiropractic care as part of her lifestyle. In fact, she has her own Chiropractor on tour with her, making sure she is able to perform at her best for each performance. Yes, she does have the time and money to hire people to help keep her healthy, but it is her choice to do that.
So, what choices are you making? Are you exercising regularly? Are you eating well? Are you getting adjusted regularly? How do you want to look and feel at age 50? I know I see 50+ year old people who have never paid much attention to health, they take drugs for problems and think that they are staying healthy because of that. Health is about the body functioning as optimally as possible, as long as possible. You aren't healthy because you take high blood pressure meds, or cholesterol meds, or other drugs. Health is about optimal function, gained through daily exercise, fruits and vegetables, organic foods, positive thought, and a properly functioning nervous system.
Are you doing all those things to stay healthy? Which one or more do you have to work on? Remember, good health isn't good luck or good genes.... it's about good decisions.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
San Antonio Rock 'n Roll marathon race report
Well there is something to be said about experience and nutrition! Both played a pretty big role in my marathon on Sunday, and I’m very excited that I finished in under 3:50 and qualified for Boston (3:48:03). This is my third time qualifying, and each time I have snuck in just under the qualifying time….but I guess that really doesn’t matter. This was my first marathon in 8 years, but if you count the Ironman in 2004, it was the first one in 4 years (but for me, you can’t really “race” a marathon after biking 112 miles).
I chose San Antonio mostly because it was a flat course, and because I’ve never been there before, so why not, right? My training was pretty much on target from the start, I did 5 long runs of 20 miles in training, so I felt good prior to the race. I actually ran less weekly mileage for this marathon than any in the past, which sort of scared me, but then again, my aging legs probably needed the rest. I did bike more however, so I’m sure that helped.
So, the race….the start was about 3 miles from the finish line, so they had to bus us to the starting area, and it was a chilly 41 degrees. However, that is perfect marathon weather, as it did warm up to 60 by the time it was over. No clouds, no wind, just perfect. That is what I was wanting, and it happened!
There were 30,000 runners, with 10,000 of them doing the marathon and the rest doing the half. We were on the same course for 10+ miles, and though it was crowded, it didn’t affect my running at all. I listened to my friend Angie, who told me to start slower than I initially wanted, so I did. After a quick bathroom break at the 5 mile mark (the only stop on the course, yeah!), I jumped back on the course and the 3:45 pace group was right there. So, I decided to stick with them to see if they could get me in on time.
In 5 of my prior marathons, I’ve always gone out fast, built some “cushion” room, and would fall apart around mile 18-20, and then totally struggle to finish. I sort of expected that this time, since that has been my experience. At the halfway point today, my time was 1:53 which had me a little nervous. This marathon pace team wasn’t on target (that’s a 3:47 pace), and judging by my past marathons and my breakdowns at the end, I didn’t have much cushion to fall back on. But, I felt pretty good, so I just kept telling myself to go.
This is where I think nutrition was huge! In my prior marathons, I’d just drink water, and take a gel pack towards the end. This time, past Ironman and recent racing experience has taught me to consume calories during the run, something I’ve really never done before in marathons (which really explains my prior breakdowns!!!). So, I wore my race belt with Sustained Energy mixture in thick concentration, and drank it at 5 points during the race. I have to believe this helped, as I really never brokedown, never hit “the wall”. I had one mile that was over a 9min pace (the potty break mile), and other than that, all my miles were pretty steady. The last three miles were about 15 seconds slower than what I was averaging during the prior 23, and that is such a huge accomplishment for me.
Of my 7 marathons, this wasn’t my fastest, but I definitely feel it was my best all-around race. There was no falling apart at the end, no moaning that I’ll never do another one. I’m still in shocked that I felt so good during the race, that I was steady and never really hit the wall. Maybe my past experience helped a lot. In addition, I was thinking about Angie’s comments (regret/embarrassment lasts forever, and pain is only temporary), and Keith’s comments about the race starting at mile 20. I wanted to qualify for Boston so badly, and didn’t want to have regrets later on, so I kept those two people in mind throughout the race. Thanks for your encouragement!
OK, other race highlights……did I mention it was flat? There was one decent climb around mile 5, and a few other small hills, but nothing major. If this had been Boston, I doubt I would have been able to stay steady, not with those hills, but this was nice and flat and encouraged good running. We did run by the Alamo, plus a few historic Missions in San Antonio, and through two wealthy neighborhoods with beautiful houses. There were bands throughout the course, as well as lots of cheerleading teams, so that is always great to have them to encourage you on.
After the race, Matt & I had lunch at the Riverwalk (very cool place in the city), took a nap, and had a post race massage. Now it’s time to rest up, head back to Atlanta, and decide whether or not I want to run Boston in 2009, 2010, or at all. Retiring (again) from marathons on a positive note sounds like a good idea. We’ll see. Thanks for reading this far!!
I chose San Antonio mostly because it was a flat course, and because I’ve never been there before, so why not, right? My training was pretty much on target from the start, I did 5 long runs of 20 miles in training, so I felt good prior to the race. I actually ran less weekly mileage for this marathon than any in the past, which sort of scared me, but then again, my aging legs probably needed the rest. I did bike more however, so I’m sure that helped.
So, the race….the start was about 3 miles from the finish line, so they had to bus us to the starting area, and it was a chilly 41 degrees. However, that is perfect marathon weather, as it did warm up to 60 by the time it was over. No clouds, no wind, just perfect. That is what I was wanting, and it happened!
There were 30,000 runners, with 10,000 of them doing the marathon and the rest doing the half. We were on the same course for 10+ miles, and though it was crowded, it didn’t affect my running at all. I listened to my friend Angie, who told me to start slower than I initially wanted, so I did. After a quick bathroom break at the 5 mile mark (the only stop on the course, yeah!), I jumped back on the course and the 3:45 pace group was right there. So, I decided to stick with them to see if they could get me in on time.
In 5 of my prior marathons, I’ve always gone out fast, built some “cushion” room, and would fall apart around mile 18-20, and then totally struggle to finish. I sort of expected that this time, since that has been my experience. At the halfway point today, my time was 1:53 which had me a little nervous. This marathon pace team wasn’t on target (that’s a 3:47 pace), and judging by my past marathons and my breakdowns at the end, I didn’t have much cushion to fall back on. But, I felt pretty good, so I just kept telling myself to go.
This is where I think nutrition was huge! In my prior marathons, I’d just drink water, and take a gel pack towards the end. This time, past Ironman and recent racing experience has taught me to consume calories during the run, something I’ve really never done before in marathons (which really explains my prior breakdowns!!!). So, I wore my race belt with Sustained Energy mixture in thick concentration, and drank it at 5 points during the race. I have to believe this helped, as I really never brokedown, never hit “the wall”. I had one mile that was over a 9min pace (the potty break mile), and other than that, all my miles were pretty steady. The last three miles were about 15 seconds slower than what I was averaging during the prior 23, and that is such a huge accomplishment for me.
Of my 7 marathons, this wasn’t my fastest, but I definitely feel it was my best all-around race. There was no falling apart at the end, no moaning that I’ll never do another one. I’m still in shocked that I felt so good during the race, that I was steady and never really hit the wall. Maybe my past experience helped a lot. In addition, I was thinking about Angie’s comments (regret/embarrassment lasts forever, and pain is only temporary), and Keith’s comments about the race starting at mile 20. I wanted to qualify for Boston so badly, and didn’t want to have regrets later on, so I kept those two people in mind throughout the race. Thanks for your encouragement!
OK, other race highlights……did I mention it was flat? There was one decent climb around mile 5, and a few other small hills, but nothing major. If this had been Boston, I doubt I would have been able to stay steady, not with those hills, but this was nice and flat and encouraged good running. We did run by the Alamo, plus a few historic Missions in San Antonio, and through two wealthy neighborhoods with beautiful houses. There were bands throughout the course, as well as lots of cheerleading teams, so that is always great to have them to encourage you on.
After the race, Matt & I had lunch at the Riverwalk (very cool place in the city), took a nap, and had a post race massage. Now it’s time to rest up, head back to Atlanta, and decide whether or not I want to run Boston in 2009, 2010, or at all. Retiring (again) from marathons on a positive note sounds like a good idea. We’ll see. Thanks for reading this far!!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
I hate to cook!
You would think that as much as I talk about the importance of proper nutrition, that I would spend more time preparing my meals, however, that is not the case. When I get home late at night, the last thing I want to do is cook, so usually my husband prepares the meals (after all, he likes to so that is good!).
On Thursday's, since it is my day off and I have more time, I either like to attempt to cook or just go out to dinner. So last Thursday, I found a recipe that said "Prep time 6 minutes, cook time 15 minutes" .... cool that is my idea of cooking! I bought the necessary food and about 3o minutes before we planned to eat, I went into the kitchen to start cooking. I start prepping, then notice the next step in the recipe was to "marinate 1 hour". AHH! Why don't they tell me the prep time is 1:06 then!!! My husband wisely tells me that I have to read the whole recipe first, and my simple reply is "this is the reason I hate to cook".
Needless to say, the fish only marinated 30 minutes or so and the dinner surprisingly came out fine. This was despite the fact that I had my laptop in the kitchen, and every free minute I had I went to the computer to work on something. I'm just not a patient person and I don't like to waste time, so whenever I cook I'm usually multi-tasking, which is a good way to burn food. It's the ADD in me, unable to do nothing for even just a few minutes. To me, cooking is stressful and I'd rather be doing something else.
I'd rather go out to dinner or have someone else cook for me (a personal chef sounds like a good idea, but that costs too much money). I've been told to get a crock pot. I actually had one, but gave it away because I never used it! So, my promise to myself is to buy another crock pot and start focusing on preparing meals more often.
Eating right is all about preparation. I do know that when I go grocery shopping on Sunday and buy food for the week, I eat much better at lunch and for dinner. I have fruit and nuts to snack on, and healthy foods for lunch. I have food at home that we can have for dinner. If I don't go shopping on Sunday, I'm rushing out at lunch trying to figure out what to eat, which isn't smart nor healthy.
So my new positive affirmation that I am adding to my morning routine is.... "I love to cook!". If affirmations do work, maybe someday I will truly start to enjoy cooking. As for now, it's time to go shopping. Or...should we just go out to dinner tonight?
On Thursday's, since it is my day off and I have more time, I either like to attempt to cook or just go out to dinner. So last Thursday, I found a recipe that said "Prep time 6 minutes, cook time 15 minutes" .... cool that is my idea of cooking! I bought the necessary food and about 3o minutes before we planned to eat, I went into the kitchen to start cooking. I start prepping, then notice the next step in the recipe was to "marinate 1 hour". AHH! Why don't they tell me the prep time is 1:06 then!!! My husband wisely tells me that I have to read the whole recipe first, and my simple reply is "this is the reason I hate to cook".
Needless to say, the fish only marinated 30 minutes or so and the dinner surprisingly came out fine. This was despite the fact that I had my laptop in the kitchen, and every free minute I had I went to the computer to work on something. I'm just not a patient person and I don't like to waste time, so whenever I cook I'm usually multi-tasking, which is a good way to burn food. It's the ADD in me, unable to do nothing for even just a few minutes. To me, cooking is stressful and I'd rather be doing something else.
I'd rather go out to dinner or have someone else cook for me (a personal chef sounds like a good idea, but that costs too much money). I've been told to get a crock pot. I actually had one, but gave it away because I never used it! So, my promise to myself is to buy another crock pot and start focusing on preparing meals more often.
Eating right is all about preparation. I do know that when I go grocery shopping on Sunday and buy food for the week, I eat much better at lunch and for dinner. I have fruit and nuts to snack on, and healthy foods for lunch. I have food at home that we can have for dinner. If I don't go shopping on Sunday, I'm rushing out at lunch trying to figure out what to eat, which isn't smart nor healthy.
So my new positive affirmation that I am adding to my morning routine is.... "I love to cook!". If affirmations do work, maybe someday I will truly start to enjoy cooking. As for now, it's time to go shopping. Or...should we just go out to dinner tonight?
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