Run for Cancer

So, as brief aside from my Team in Training mission, I was diagnosed with a {really} mild form of skin cancer in August. I think pale is probably a better look than a bunch of these. I also think the amount of information and the difficulty of the biopsy was slightly ridiculous. Even for a "simple" cancer that is basically sitting on the surface of my skin, they couldn't definitively tell if it was cancer. They had to dig out the whole thing to confirm. Not to mention the cost of this "simple" procedure. If I didn't have insurance, I would have paid thousands for the biopsy, test, and Mohs-method removal. Many of us will get a form of cancer in this life. I hope that when any of my friends face it, there will be more treatments or cures than there are today. So let's work on that; let's make that someday TODAY. Also, wear sunscreen out there guys. It's worth it. 

I have a mission - to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. As a part of that mission, I’m participating in the Nike Women's Half Marathon as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. I've dedicated this race to my friend's father who was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia this past year. Together we can advance the cures and treatments available for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma.

To get an idea of what you and LLS can fund:

• $25 Patients chemotherapy drug prescription co-pay.
• $50 Registration costs for a bone marrow donor.
• $75 Provide bone marrow typing for a family member of a patient with leukemia.
• $100 Provide a patient with transportation costs from home to cancer treatment center.
• $250 Patient aid reimbursement grant for one year.

Any donation, even $5, can contribute towards research and assisting patients. Donations can be made right here. You are making a difference to someone.

Thank you.

Aubrey

I'd like to offer special thanks to: 

RoadID

Atlantis Casino Resort

Oktoberfest by the Bay

What I Ate While Hiking Mount Whitney...and What I'd Do Differently

Hiking Mt Whitney is about 22 miles round trip and 6500' in elevation gain. It's a slog, in other words, but it's gorgeous which makes it worth it.


Altitude can make you feel less hungry since as your red blood cells rush to do their thing, your other functions tend to shut down. Like digestion. How fun. I swear I took 5 extra pounds of trail mix. Meanwhile I ate:

- 1 Cytomax energy chew packet
- 1 Margarita ShotBlok packet
- 1 ProFluids Recovery packet
- Kind Bar
- 1/2 bag of M&Ms
- small handful of roasted edamame
- small handful of trail mix
- banana
- 3 L H2O (packed in)

I usually eat way more calories than that over a 13.5 hour period, even when I'm sitting on my rear at my desk. Thankfully, it was enough that I didn't bonk. My partner who ate less than I did (and weighs more!) bonked pretty hard half way to the summit.

If I did it again, I would have brought more Cytomax energy chews as they were a fantastic pick me up and easy to snack on as we hiked. Not to mention carrying extra trail mix for 20 miles isn't the most fun; it's rather heavy. The salted edamame was great too as salt intake is key, and the protein in edamame is more easily digested than jerky IMO. I made it myself so I added more salt than I usually would. I should also probably note that pre-hike (at 2 am) I ate a quinoa muffin and a boiled egg. Those sat like rocks in my stomach for hours. I should have stuck to a bagel and almond butter for my 2 am "breakfast."

Oh, and the Japanese have a saying about Mount Fuji that I think applies to Mount Whitney too, "He who climbs Fuji-San once is a wise man, he who climbs it twice is a fool."

Organic, Gluten-free, and/or Vegan Options at Costco

Costco the land of giant carts, where people don't understand the link between non-organic produce and their "need" for bottled water....

Anyway, I found a wonderfully helpful list here with few exceptions (ahem, GoGo Apple Squeezes, which make me nearly lose faith in humanity). While it is a lovely list, it is either out of date or we get very special Costco items in California. ;) Here are a few exciting items I noticed:

Hemp Hearts 28 oz, $14.59
I've been wanting to try them  in these as an alternative to ShotBloks.

WildRoots Ancient Grain Pancake Mix 3.3 lbs, $8.59 (Gluten-free)

Maybe not healthy, as it is a highly processed item, but healthier than the death mix next to it.

Bob's Red Mill Organic Ground Flax Seed 64 oz., $7.99 
Store this big guy in the freezer. Flax contains oil obviously and can go rancid in a cabinet.

Nature's Path Organic Qi'a Superfood 22.88 oz, $14.59
Considering this is no more than chia, hemp, and buckwheat the price is hilariously good marketing.  I could buy this in bulk at Whole Paycheck and blend it myself for less. Sounds yummy though...

Other things I noticed:
- No chia seeds but they do have them occasionally. I searched for them so long; that's what gave me the chance to snap pictures.
- Larabars (less than a dollar each I think). If I were doing any traveling soon I would have bought them.
- I didn't see any gluten-free breads but they carried Bob's Almond flour and a Bob's gluten-free blend flour.
- Yes, they also have quinoa and nuts but that was covered in the reference list above :)
- No bean-based protein powder.

I don't buy produce at Costco because it's cheaper elsewhere since I live in CA. I also don't buy "snack" foods so I didn't check for healthier options there. (I lied - I bought a jar of sun-dried tomatoes for snacks. They're so sweet!) So that's why I focused on grains/seeds as they are, in addition to nuts, the biggest areas of cost savings for vegan/vegetarian shoppers at Costco! I'm curious though if people in say, Michigan, would be able to find gluten-free options and hemp hearts in their Costco stores. If I see anyone at Costco wearing a manager tag next time I'm sure I won't be able to resist asking.

How I Spent My Summer...

Yoga on the Mall - Washington, DC

New York School of Trapeze - Washington, DC 

(Other locations available)

and FINALLY...

Hiking Mt. Whitney - Lone Pine, CA

 I love you, California.

Book Club II

It's never been much of a secret...Anyone who so much as had a sleepover with me since middle school knows that I can shovel away a whole pan of brownies. I have an inner fat child, I like to say. Back then, it wasn't much of an issue; I was growing after all. Now though, it's not so fun that my weight fluctuates by 15 pounds. Combine this with the fact that I usually buy clothes when I'm at the lighter end of the spectrum, and you've got a frustrating morning where most of my closet doesn't fit. So! I give you this weeks read:

It has sections where you're supposed to journal (a little difficult on the metro and using my Kindle) but I'll let you know how it goes.  Also, when I'm feeling self-conscience that someone might be reading my self-help books over my shoulder, I've been reading through:

I love reading about mountaineering.  It's the best kind of suspense story to me.  I would love to hike some of the 8,000ers someday. However, reading about blood clots forming in your legs and then travelling to your lungs and killing you is a little deterring, no?

What's in My Bag?

Like most "city girls" I carry a huge freaking bag to work.  I'm not one of those annoying people that drags a roller bag through metro but close.  On days when I'm squeezing in a weight circuit, pilates class, or volleyball game during lunch, I'm also toting around the following:

{Foundation, mascara, face wipes, baby powder, headband, ipod, and finally - my camping towel}

This is everything I need to go from slightly-sweaty-and-gross to OK for sitting through an afternoon with my spreadsheets.  I don't really workout during lunch if I have a meeting in the afternoon.  I just know I don't look 100% so it's best if I can save my sweating for later. (Oh yeah and deodorant is also probably a good idea!  Sorry, he was absent for the photoshoot.) 

Here's what I do:

1. Shower off and dry with the camping towel. (No, I don't wash my hair. I have thick hair and it would take 2x as long as my workout to get it dry.)

2. Then I wipe off any remaining sweat from my face with the wipes.  

3. Reapply make-up and let hair dry a bit (or blot with paper towels if needed).

4. Sprinkle baby powder lightly at roots and massage in with fingers, shake out any remaining. 

5. Comb out and probably put into a pony tail or bun.

5. Get dressed and apply deodorant.  

That's it! Back to work I go.  Any tips for a quick turn-around from gym to desk?

Food 101: Canned!

So you've probably heard of BPA?  It increases leptin. Elevated leptin = bad.  BPA is used in can lining so that creates a little problem, particularly if your local wine store disguised as health food store Trader Joe's only carries canned beans.  

Let's look at another aspect of this issue:

Calories are equal....that's good. The bag has 11 g of protein and the canned has 6 g?  Strange. This probably has to do with water content as it also varies for the fiber and some of the micronutrients.  More concerning is that the sodium is increased by nearly 16 times.  Gross.  I realize some sodium is good but that is more than I would like.

Cooking dried beans is pretty simple especially if you have a Crock Pot. 

Cooking Dried Beans

1) Rinse the beans in a colander and check for rocks.

2) Put in a Crock Pot and cover with 2 inches on water.

3) Set to high and let cook for 5-6 hours.

It takes some planning but not a lot of actual work! Enjoy your musical fruit without the BPA :)