Amgen,Bay to Breakers,Double Century, and Juvenile Diabetes

"There are two ways of exerting one's strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up."– Booker T. Washington

On May 18, Tony and I entered the 10 mile trail run at the Cronin Ranch benefiting Juvenile Diabetes. Debbie entered the 10 K. and Michelle entered the 5K. I’m happy to say that Tony, Debbie and I are now wearing gold medals along with each receiving a bottle of wine. Tony was a little disappointed since he was about a minute off of his finishing targeting time.   He even told me that he didn’t stop at any of the 3 aid stations. He’ll just have to run those hills harder so he can accomplish his goal. I didn’t have a finishing time goal at the beginning of the race.I stopped at those aid stations. It wasn’t until the last four or 5 miles, that I started to push. My finishing time was okay. All in all, it was a good day however; I would’ve liked more heat on this run.

 A week from Sunday, Tony and I are running the middle day of the Western States 100 training run.  This   training run starts in Forest Hill and ends at White Oak Flat for a distance of about 20 miles. I expect next week to have much more heat than today.

Tony’s sister Penny started and completed her Double Century bike event in Davis, California Saturday .Congratulations Penny. Also, the Amgen Bike the event also took place in Livermore, California. And on Sunday, the second oldest running event/celebration in the United States took place in San Francisco. The Bay to Breakers is one big party with thousands of people participating. I haven’t run that one yet.Yea, Northern California.       .

An article in the Wall Street Journal on May 15, 2013 stated that low-salt benefits were questioned by the Institute of Medicine. A report from that group said there was insufficient evidence that cutting sodium intake below 2300 mg per day cuts the risk of heart disease. The article also stated that there was no evidence of people who already have heart disease or diabetes should cut their sodium intake even lower.

Well, I have neither heart disease nor diabetes but I make sure that I have enough electrolytes during trail runs. For instance, because of the relatively short distance and the weather conditions on the 18th of May run, my Gatorade electrolyte drink provided me with enough salt. Next week, I will have to add salt tablets to my Gatorade because of the 20 mile distance and  the more than likely hot weather conditions.

For me, I don’t add table salt to any of my foods or eat a lot of processed and packaged foods. As a result, I am not concerned about the recommended US guidelines for sodium intake. However, it depends on running distance, time of day and temperature conditions to determine appropriate sodium intake for me. So determine your own “grain of salt.”

Make sure that you are moving, laughing, smiling and belly breathing. I know I do.