the.beast.stare.

eighties throwback cycling shades

day eight: anti-inflammatory lifestyle breads suck

01.08.10

i've been studying the health benefits of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle and discovered that the foods we eat have tons of inflammatory ingredients that cause inflammatory responses. the inflammatory responses from these foods causes many diseases, fatigue, and other ailments. one of the major ingredients that do cause an inflammatory response to our bodies is gluten. this stuff has some health benefits, but the cons outweigh the pros. only benefit i have researched with gluten is to keep bacteria living longer in our digestive tract.

so far, i have done an okay job trying to stay away from gluten, but it is tough. i feel for people who have celiac disease. they have it tough. almost every product out there contains gluten. for instance, bread!

i think the hardest product to find that is gluten-free and taste at least decent is bread. so far, i have been unsuccessful in discovering some awesome gluten-free bread, but the one pictured above taste okay toasted. don't even bother eating this untoasted. it is just nasty. when toasted, it taste kind of like corn bread.

day seven: got my snack on

01.07.10

the snack i cannot resist! almonds! i eat these almonds raw. however, my wife can not tolerate them raw, so one day she decided to roast some of my raw almonds. first she glazed them with olive oil and added a bit of sea salt. popped in the oven and crunch! they tasted okay, but i still prefer to eat them raw.

these amazing nuts have huge endurance benefits. if you're an endurance junky as myself (triathlons, marathons, cycling, etc) it would be most beneficial to ingest seven of these puppies daily five days before a long endurance exercise or event. study shows to buffer lactate acid. personally, i haven't felt any difference. i guess if you are out of shape and then tried them, you would feel the benefits.

day six: punishment addiction

01.06.10

i purchased this specialized s-works m4 road bike about seven years ago. i finally did some research on this awesome machine a few months ago and was surprised on what i have learned about this bike. the frame is extra aerodynamic for a road bike, made with five different types of metals (al, v, si, mg, and cu), super stiff frame, light weight, and punishes the rider. yes, punish the rider. the nice quality of being super stiff is for power transfer from the cyclist legs to the crank is all used for forward momentum of the bike and not wasted in the flexing of the frame. the problem is the frame is too stiff causing a harsh ride for the cyclist.

cycling experts who have reviewed this machine have said that they would be surprised for a cyclists to ride this bike more than 60 miles due to all the vibration being absorbed by the cyclist. wow, only 60 miles. this continuous vibration to the cyclist will cause premature fatigue.

i started wondering if i had a different bike for my ironman race in 2005. would i have had a faster time on the cycling portion? would the 26.2 miles of running after cycling 112 miles have been bearable with fresher legs if i had a different bike? would my experience overall for this race have been better? maybe, but i'll never know.

i still have the bike. i am still riding it. i plan on racing on it this year. my goal for 2010 is to knock out 3000 miles of cycling on this bike. i guess i am addicted to punishment.

day five: piper's new best friend

01.05.10

what piper has in her mouth is her new christmas present, her toy duck. her and that toy duck are inseparable since she opened her gift on december 25, 2009. she'll tease you with it, force it into your hand, take it away from your hand, stomp on it to make it quack, roll on it to make it quack, sleep next to it her on her bed, etc. toy duck's name is "woof".

day four: substitutes can be wonderful

01.04.10

since I started this healthy lifestyle more than ten years ago, i have cut out red meat (with the exception of my birthday weekend) and pork (i definitely stay away from). one of my favorite foods i really miss eatting was the chorizo torta. good stuff, but had all the bad stuff such as salivary glands, lymph nodes, and fat! i sure miss this nasty stuff.

not too long ago, a co-worker of my wife and I mentioned a product called soyrizo. she said that it taste just like chorizo, but made of soy. i was like no way. i have tasted many soy products to substitute as a meat product and have experienced some really bad tasting imitations and some just ok. but, never experienced a soy substitute or false meat that tasted just like the real stuff. all i can say about this company that made this product is that they did it right. the package even indicates, "you won't believe it's chorizo!"

this stuff is very healthy. only 0.5 grams of saturated fats, no trans fat, only 5 grams of carbohydrates, and a good serving of proteins (7 grams). the soy beans used are non-gmo, no cholesterol, and no sodium nitrates! this looks like a good substitute for my protein intake as cycling race season has started.