Happy New Year! What to be expecting from me.

     Only four days into 2011 and it's still hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly. It seems like only yesterday that I was welcoming in 2010, and now it is passed. 2010 was a wonderful and eventful year for me and I hope it was the same for all of you.

     With this new year comes changes in my life. I enjoyed my first semester of college immensely. I feel that having the chance to live away from home allowed me to grow and explore who I am. I made some amazing friends and had the opportunity to try new activities. I got into rock climbing/bouldering and outdoor cycling; I was able to try my first triathlon and to preform a flying squirrel. However, all good things must come to an end and I am back at home. Union College provided me with a wonderful education but the tuition was just to high for me to stay. So I am now attending my local community college while I look for some scholarships and save my money. If I play my cards right I will be able to attend a very good private university for my last two years of undergraduate studies. My goal is to graduate with my bachelors degree debt free.

     Don't worry though, I still plan on keeping busy and updating this blog more frequently. I have so much planned for the future. Currently I am collaborating with my mom to write and publish a vegan recipe book. It's going to be half raw (mostly LFRV) and half cooked vegan recipes. The goal of this book is to help those who are transitioning from being SAD or vegetarian to being vegan and eventually (hopefully) raw or high raw. Personally, If I get enough feedback from you and those who purchase the finished recipe book I may publish a recipe book with just the raw recipes for those people who have already transitioned from cooked and just want the raw recipes. Also, I am working on starting up my own part-time business this summer. Stay tuned to find out what it will be! =)

     This year I also plan on training as hard as I can while going to school and improve my athletic performance. I have another half-marathon approaching in March and an obstacle course race called The Warrior Dash. I will training outside as often as possible but I will also be training at a gym on the days where the weather is unfavorable. My fitness goal this year is to become a bit more versatile in my athletic abilities.

     I will be working on developing my upper body more this year. I plan to do this through weight training, rock climbing, swimming, and yoga (hopefully). I will still be running and cycling, I just feel that increasing my upper body strength will improve my running. Remember that in running stronger arms give you more power to quicken your pace.

     How does all this effect my blog? I plan on documenting my training more often along with pictures of what I eat. I'm going to try to blog every day that I train, giving as much detail as possible. Blogging my progress will hopefully encourage me to really give it my all and maybe give you readers some ideas.

Hello From Sunny Florida!

     Well, my family and I made it!  Things didn't run as smoothly or as exactly as we planned, but in the end we actually managed to make it in time to drop my brother off in time for the wedding rehearsal (he's a groomsmen in our friend Corey's wedding, which is the reason why we're here in Florida). Why don't I start from the beginning so you can get the full picture.

 Part 1 - Takeoff! Stall. Takeoff! Stall. Takeoff?!


     It's about a 7.5 hour drive from my hometown to Tampa Springs, Florida; adding on about 2 hours to this estimation for bathroom brakes and traffic, my mom and I figured we would leave the house at around 6 a.m. Friday morning. So we wake up at around 4:30 a.m., get dressed, pack up the car, and leave the hose a couple minutes after 6. Half way to our neighborhood entrance, my mom realizes that she forgot her jacket! LOL. So we turn around, get her jacket, and THEN we see the light for the tires is on, so we have to stop off at a gas station to put air back into the tires. Finally we get onto the freeway and it's about 6:25 a.m.



Part 2 - Headaches, Nausea, and Shivers, Oh My! 


     Now the night before the trip, I had started feeling "off" but I just figured it was the traveling jitters. This morning I felt it a bit more intensely and still shrugged it off again to nerves. It wasn't until my family and I were about an hour into the trip that I began to really feel terrible. I suddenly got a headache, stomach cramps, the shivers, and bouts of nausea. 


     My family was kind enough to make several stops for me to use the restrooms. Actually it wasn't until about 10:30 a.m. that I felt sick enough that I couldn't put on an act anymore and told my mom how I was really feeling. As soon as she could, my mom stopped at another gas station, where I commenced with being sick. When I came out, my mom had me sit in the front seat where the sun could hit me and gave me a vitamin C, vitamin D3 (liquid form), and a zinc.


Part 3 - Recovery


     An hour later I awoke from a nap and to my great joy (and physical relief) found myself to be feeling almost almost 100% again. My mom chalked my sudden sickness to the bug she had caught and recovered from within 24 hours this Wednesday. I had experienced pretty much the same symptoms as her. 


     See I don't think that people who eat a raw plant-based lifestyle are immune to illness. We are exposed to so many different germs and viruses, nutrient dense fresh produce is harder to come by, and people have fewer opportunities to obtain enough vitamin D3 from the sun, it shouldn't come to much of a surprise if you DO get sick, even if you do everything within your ability to live a healthy lifestyle. 


     The difference between a SAD eater and raw plant eater, is the speed of recovery, the ability to bounce back. If a SAD eater gets a mean bug, their body's organs that are used to detox of foreign entities are already hard at work on digesting all the animal products (which is food for many viruses and bacteria) that it takes them awhile to dispel the bug. As a result, SAD eaters can be sick anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks! A raw plant eater, however, only eats plant foods, so it's quick and easy for the body to digest. This leaves the body's organs and immune system strong and able to quickly rid itself of the bug.


Part 4 - Traveling and Food


     While on the road, how does one stay away from all the fast food places when the tummy begins to cry? Simple, pack raw foods that travel well (i.e. apples, bananas, dried fruit, nuts, and seeds). If it sounds dull and boring, think again. You can make all kinds of yummy combos. My mom for example had apples and bananas with walnuts and pecans. I had apples and bananas with dates. Pop either of these combos in your mouth and it simply emanates autumn in it's thanksgiving flavors.

Part 5 - Arrival and Dinner


     As soon as we dropped my brother off at the wedding rehearsal (about 4:35 p.m.), my mom and I set off to the nearest store that had fresh produce, Publix. I bought some precut fruit to bring to the weeding, some mixed berries and some more bananas for breakfast tomorrow, and some mangos for dinner tonight. Sadly when I got back to our hotel room and cut up the mango, I found them to be quite bland. Not wanting to waste it I made a cacao vanilla agave syrup to pour on top off it. The concoction turned out so well that I saved some to share with my mom for her dessert. 

Part 6 - Today's Conclusion


     This day has been a crazy one, but I've managed to keep it a healthy one. I spent the whole day with my family (who I love very much) and was able to see a experience a little bit of Florida. What will happen tomorrow? I'll let you know.  ;-)

Extra


     I just want to wish my dear friend Michael a very Happy Birthday! You did it Michael! You turned 18, and you are still incorrigible! :D