A Heart (and Head) Healthy Habit

Bob and I rode the Reston Century Ride yesterday; a 102 mile jaunt through the gorgeous Virginia countryside (up and down at least a million hills).  The weather was perfect, starting out a little cloudy and chilly and ending up with sunshine and blue skies.  The ride was very well supported and, joy of joys, I got to eat PB&Js at almost every rest stop!  I’ve often told people that I climb mountains because I can eat chocolate for breakfast on expedition, and I think the same concept applies to riding centuries J

I’m not going to fib to you though; my glutes are talking to me today.  They are sore. The capital S, ‘why’d I do that?’ kind of sore.  Well, first of all, it was fun.  I don’t expect you to agree with me on this point; I realize sufferfests aren’t for everyone.  My hubby and I do enjoy them though, so yes, the main point was to have fun.  However, the second reason we do this is for our physical and mental wellbeing.  The health benefits of regular exercise have been proven time and time again, yet they get little media attention in spite of the current crisis surrounding the health of our nation.  Most of the focus is on the state of the American diet.  Undeniably, our diet is in an atrocious state and deserves attention, but we need to examine our physical activity levels also.  Sitting for too many hours each day has actually coined the phrase ‘Sitting Disease’, and it is wreaking havoc on our health.  The key to good overall fitness is both proper nutrition and being physically active.  This doesn’t mean adopting a stringent DIET or doing planned EXERCISE; don't get pyched out by those words.  A great start is to be a bit smarter about what/how much we eat, and to choose the stairs instead of the elevator.  Here’s a brief article that sums things up nicely: 

Health & Fitness

And there’s no need to jump on your bike and ride 102 miles!  

These are the recommendations for physical activity levels for adults:

CDC Guidelines.  

Fitness is FUN; leave the suffering to us...

You had me at HORSE...

I have always loved horses.  I love all animals actually, but in particular horses.  And cats.  My siblings and I started riding at very early ages, I think I was probably 7 or 8 years old.  We lived on the island of Jersey, in the English Channel, and my family had two horses.  The island is very small, about 45 square miles, and was a very safe place to raise children.  I had the freedom to roam, and my parents felt very comfortable with my girlfriend and me taking the horses out for the entire day.  No cell phones, no contact, but no worries.  It was idyllic.  Riding remained a passion throughout my life, and I’ve been lucky enough to continue riding off and on over the years. 

I lived in Quito, Ecuador in 1997/1998 when I was 30 years old, and I rode at the Los Chillos Country Club.  I had my own horse at that time; a beautiful dappled grey named Gasparin (Casper, named after the Friendly Ghost).  I hadn’t ridden since my childhood in Jersey, and I wanted to start show-jumping again. I was only one of two adults in our classes, and we laughed no end at my competing against these youngsters in shows!  Right before we left Quito, I competed in the National Championship, for which I was totally unqualified, but had nothing to lose. The height of the jumps started at 1.20 metres (just shy of 4 feet), and I hadn’t been jumping that high in my classes.  I was totally thrilled to compete in such a spectacular & important event, and didn’t care one iota when I actually fell off during my round!  My pride didn’t even take that much of a beating, I was just so happy to be there in the first place. 

I continued to take jumping lessons when I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, but took up a different kind of riding when I lived in Cairo, Egypt in 2001/2002.  I rode at the fantastic Sakkara Country Club about an hour south of the city, with their trainer Sayeed. Owning a full-blooded Arabian stallion was a symbol of status, and many of the horses at Sakkara were owned for show, but not actually ridden.  Sayeed immediately asked me to help him exercise these beautiful creatures once he realized I was a competent rider.  ‘Exercising’ the horses was heading out into the desert, passing newly discovered pyramids, active excavation sites etc., for miles & miles before letting the horses race each other back to the stables (holding on for dear life as Arabians can really move).  Good grief – when Sayeed asked for help, I almost fell over myself trying to say yes, and thank you, and OMG all at the same time!  

Things became epic when Sayeed told me about desert endurance racing - a series of long distance rides, each longer than the next.  In this case, they started at 40 kilometers (25 miles), and moved up in 20 km increments.  I believe the finals were 100 or 120 kms, and there was a very substantial purse.  Competitors from Dubai, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states flew their horses in to Cairo for the final race, so large were the winnings.  By this time I was ‘leasing’ my own horse, Leonardo (leasing simply meant I was dedicated to riding this particular horse daily in addition to helping Sayeed), and his owner gave me permission to compete.  Sayeed and I upgraded Leonardo’s diet and started him on a serious training regimen.   For the sake of brevity, I’ll simply tell you that my racing career was short lived.  We made it through two 40 milers before Leonardo’s owner discovered that we had turned her mild mannered pony into a lean, mean, racing machine.  She could no longer handle him (ooops!) and promptly ended our shenanigans on the spot.  We unfortunately left Cairo shortly thereafter, and so ended my endurance racing greatness.

 

Myself and Leonardo, race day
(picture from film, remember that stuff?)

This had truly been a larger-than-life experience. To be an American woman, training and competing in Egyptian Desert Endurance Racing was most unusual.  To compete in a foreign event such as this was truly educational/mind boggling; all rules were out the window, no holds barred.  Even my trainer cheated.  Imagine: 

The race started as the sun, a giant ball of red, came up over the dunes on the edge of the country club lawn.  There were possibly a hundred stallions whinnying & stomping their feet, and some were fighting.  The excited riders in traditional garb were emitting the high pitched vocal ululation, and police on camels were doing crowd control.  A single rifle shot rang out, and we all leapt forward as one.  I immediately lost control over Leonardo, and didn't even try to wrestle with him.  I simply wove my fingers into his mane, lay along his neck and gazed with wonder at the scene unfolding around me.  It was an experience that I will never forget, an experience that has my heart pounding again now as I type.  I’m a VERY lucky woman.

Growing our Own

My husband Bob, surveying the plantation

We like to grow our own veggies – lots of them.  Last weekend’s harvest took both of us five hours to blanch/sauté/roast and freeze everything, and the following day I made ice cream from the cantaloupes.  It wouldn’t be so time consuming if we didn’t grow enough for a small village.  However, we’ll be eating home grown beans in the dead of winter; can’t beat that!  I have a couple of quick thoughts about growing our own vegetables.  Is organically grown produce better for you?, and Darn, organic veggies are expensive in the stores!

The data is pretty conclusive that organically grown produce is better for you as it contains fewer chemicals (from pesticides & fertilizers), more antioxidants (they help us fight cancer, amongst other good things), and may have a higher nutritional content. The jury is still out however, when it comes to making claims about the long term health benefits.  This is a great article from the New York Times that sheds some light on the subject.  I believe it equally important to consider the impact of conventional growing techniques on the environment.  What are the pesticides doing to our soil, our water, and our wildlife?  Overall, it simply makes sense to me.  I wouldn’t drink a pesticide, and it don't want to eat it in my food either.

Growing our own allows us to afford a steady, and varied, stream of organic veggies.  For example, our community garden charges us $35 per year for usage.  Our seeds average $2.50 per pack, and a typical packet of a leafy green veg will grow way more than two people can eat.  We are probably all in for $200 this season, for both spring and fall plantings.  Don't forget, we’re putting a lot in the freezer for winter also.  There was some capital outlay to start, purchasing some tools etc. but you can’t deny the overall savings compared to buying organic produce in the grocery store.  Our veggies are much more FUN also; check out these carrots!

Kaleidoscope Carrots

If you’re interested in trying your hand at growing your own veggies, the American Community Garden Association has a search tool for you to enter your zip code and find your nearest garden.

Happy Farming!