Greetings from Big Sur!

Breathe in the scent of redwood and kelp. Hear the sound of the surf and feel the cool Pacific breeze. Soak up the unparalleled rugged coastal vistas.

Yes, the Big Sur coast was in postcard perfect form yesterday as WoW Power Walkers put their best walk to the test in several events including, the 10.6 mile, 21-miler, and the full marathon.

As always the Big Sur coast proved an exhilarating, albeit exhausting, race course. Exhilarating views of the rugged coast contrast with the exhausting effort it takes to power up the more than 2 mile Hurricane Point (aka as Hurripain Point), move through sudden blasts of Pacific Coast winds, then stay strong through the remaining 13 miles of ceaseless hills into the finish in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Our winter hill training (with an added dash of extreme weather adversity training) helped everyone push hard to amazing finish times. I hope to get them posted remotely as soon as possible but for now you can go the Big Sur website to view them http://www.bsim.org/ .

We treated our feet to a numbing, inflammation reducing dip in the Pacific Ocean followed by muscle relaxing libations and niblies on the patio after the race. Ahhhh. Perfection.

I hear the surf from my hotel room so its time to go for a morning stroll on the beach with the Carmel dogs. Later today or tomorrow I hope to upload some videos from the weekend, so stay tuned.

Marathon Cookies

Last Saturday a few enthusiastic walkers came out to our hill training class early and helped pick up garbage in recognition of Earth Day...which...by the way...is tomorrow, officially!

For those intrepid early risers, I made a batch of marathon cookies. As well as offering the perfect combination of fat, protein, and carbs, they are super yummy. Legend has it that my brother survived a motorcycle trip across Canada because of these cookies.

As per the several requests, here is the recipe. These are the exact ingredients I used.

1/2 cup Spectrum organic canola oil
1 cup Nuts to You organic valenica peanut butter
1 cup creamed borage honey/organic maple syrup (Saturday's batch was honey)
1 tsp Frontier organic vanilla extract


Mix all of these together in a large bowl.

Cream in two organic eggs.

Mix in a separate bowl:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Add above dry ingredients to oil/pb/honey mixture.


Mix together:

3 cups organic regular oats
1 cup organic oat bran
1 cup mixed of millet/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds/flax/sesame/coconut/tvp
1/2 cup organic redskin peanuts
1 cup chopped President's Choice Dark chocolate

Add everything together. Mix well. Preheat oven to 350. Place spoonfuls on cookie sheets. Bake cookies for 12 minutes. (Place rack well away from elements as these cookies will burn easily)

Enjoy!

If you have another recipe that is yummy and can stand in for breakfast, send it our way.

Big Sur countdown

Now that we are in the tapering phase of our Big Sur 21-miler and marathon training, I can get excited - officially and vocally! My apologies to those of you who are not going!

Several of us walked 16k out of High Park on Sunday morning and it was glorious. With the sun on our faces and the Lake Ontario shoreline to our sides, we could easily put our minds on the California coast. Those people who completed the Around the Bay 30k Road Race two weeks ago with little or no residual injuries are feeling confident that the challenges of the Big Sur coast are manageable.

With the glimpses of sun we've enjoyed over the past few weeks and no traces of snow to be found even in the shadiest corners of the shopping mall parking lots, I have been visualizing the early morning fog over the ranch just south of Andrew Molera Park and Point Sur Lighthouse, the excitement of listening for Taiko drummers as I round the corner into the foot of Hurricane Point, and the spirit soaring notes from the grand piano as I descend on to Bixby Bridge; steeling myself for the rolling hills that follow and the ever increasing cant in the road and heat in the air that makes my exhausted muscles scream for the last 15 kilometres; finally, the exultation of the last 3 kilometres from Los Lobos Park downhill to the finish.

Last year I found myself in the finishing area stretched out on the lawn with a halo of concerned faces hovering over me. This year my goal is a more upright and victorious posture!

If you've been to Big Sur before, please share your best memories right here.

Congrats to MORE half participants

Word has it that the WoW Power Walkers who went down to New York City last weekend walked at least 2 or 3 full marathons before reaching the start line of the MORE Half on Sunday morning. My guess is that the credit cards got a good workout too!

The MORE Half Marathon is sponsored by a magazine of the same name that "celebrates women over 40". The race was introduced as a way to send a "yes, you can" message of empowerment to its audience. Historically, women in the over-40 demographic find themselves becoming invisible in society. If race registration numbers are any indication, the message is one that resonates. Participants have doubled in just two years to more than 8,000 participants.

Or, women over 40 (and under 40!) are always looking for a reasonable justification for a weekend of girl friend fun.

I heard tales of interesting hydration strategies, air travel misadventures, late night wanderings, shopping and - yes - walking the race!

As far as the race goes, we hope it won't become a victim of its own success. With 8,000 women elbowing their way through the course on Sunday, I heard it was challenging to get a good pace going. But that's just hearsay...if anyone was there, please leave your comments here, so we may all get your perspective.

Setting that early alarm

Who will get the strongest muscles? The early bird or the after-work fitness buffs? Research has shown that you'll get your best workout between 4 and 6pm. It has also been shown that the people most likely to stick with their fitness program are those who get it done first thing in the morning.

So, the take home message would be that if you can discipline yourself (and your family!) to go for your training walk or strength workout after work and before dinner, you'll see the best results in terms of cardio improvement and strength increases. Realistically, many people find this time of day lends itself to too many diversions and derailments to their commitment.

That's why I'm setting my alarm (and possibly some back-up alarms) right now for 5am so that I can have fun with those bold enough (and possibly stunned enough!) to join our early morning walking strength and balance class.

We may not be operating on all cylinders compared to those people who are doing their push ups, squats, and other tortuous activities after work, but we may be more likely to see results because we're more likely to stick with the program.

I can state, categorically, that at 5am when the alarm goes off, the thought of people waiting for me for the 6am workout is possibly the only reason I get out of bed. At 7am, when the workout is over, I am grateful for that.

Let us know what time works best for your walks and strength workouts.

Treat the feet

I was on the phone to one of my good friends yesterday, a friend who has recently taken up marathon training, a friend who has now officially joined the ranks of the initiated by experiencing her first long walk blister! Oh, joy!

After some discussion we determined that the source of her problem were socks that were too thick at the sole. Some websites recommend thick socks for shock absorption but it is my theory (please note...this is not followed up with any scientific research!) that the extra cushioning under the foot results in excessive movement with each step. The shock absorption abilities of your shoe should be sufficient. Shock absorbing socks actually allow excessive movement within the shoe that can lead to blisters.

I prefer thin socks and often the double layer thin socks. When I get new shoes, I try the shoes on with a new pair of thin socks and then I buy several pairs of those socks so that I am not changing the type of socks I wear with those shoes.

Also, I will take this blog time to report that since becoming a marathon athlete, I have turned into a bit of a princess about my feet. I regularly condition them with a Bliss Spa product called the Bliss Softening Sock. Pedicures are a must for keeping rough calluses to a minimum as calluses often turn into pressure points over long distances. And, long before my shoes need to be retired, I have donated the socks I bought at the same time to the rag pile and I have purchased another few identical pairs.

And, of course, I never forget to cover my feet in a lubricant (shea butter is my special treat but many people choose Body Glide or Vaseline) when I train for more than 90 minutes.

If anyone else has any foot-loving treatments or tips, be sure to post here!