It all began with what I consider more team building than tradeshow…at CHFA West (Canadian Health Food Association) in Vancouver with Team Vega. The energy and passion that oozes from my colleagues consistently inspires me to “bring it” myself. More of it, and more often. I loved seeing some of our new young leaders take initiative, and connected with industry contacts from all over Western Canada.

A week later, the man (who steals my heart daily), and I headed down to South Cali for Coachella…and I tell you…if it’s not on your bucket list…put it there. Coachella is a one of a kind music/love fest for those with a “heart-on” for life. We seriously lucked out with our pad for the weekend, living like rockstars ourselves in Palm Springs, dancing all night to the best music on the planet, and falling harder in love with a guy whose always got my back.

Our Coachella Pad (Palm Springs)

GO TO COACHELLA!

One night back in Vancouver, and I was headed to Toronto to join Vega’s Eastern Canada Team for meetings and (one heck of) an Industry Event to launch the newest “Sport Edition” content on Thrive Forward (which if you haven’t heard me rant about already, is your free, online e-learning guide to thriving through clean, plant based nutrition…for any level of athlete or for the generally “wellness curious” crowd). I spoke alongside my newest Educator, Jessica Morris, and Marni Wasserman, a real life plant based superhero. Marni is soon to be opening a seriously inspired culinary space…stay tuned Torontonians! I couldn’t be more grateful for the community we met today and the people that “ate up” the message we had to share. Eat clean, and thrive!

Across the top L-R: Emma; Marni; Jessica

While in TO I caught up with a dear friend, with whom I felt like we haven’t skipped a beat since back in the day. She reminded me about balance, being yourself, and fueling happiness. Can’t wait to share more memories in a month when we reunite with a couple more BFF’s for a vacay in Florida.

This morning I also ran a 10km fun run with Vega’s Director of Sales, a fellow athlete and “limit pusher” who never ceases to impress me with her determination, spunk and ideas. SO glad to have people like her in my life to share goal setting success with.

Tomorrow I fly to New Jersey to meet with a new Educator who I have no doubt will make me smile and proud for bringing her into the Vega family, and to lead a wellness workshop at the headquarters of one of America’s biggest supplement chains The Vitamin Shoppe.

Opportunity and inspiration are everywhere you look. By embracing life, and breathing it in deeply, it can fill your soul with enthusiasm and wonder. Don’t hold back…you have one life to live. I’m going to leave no stone un-turned.

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Whether you choose a ball, a smooth or ribbed roller, or therapeutic massage, I consider a variety of myofascial release techniques to be essential to longevity. When I say “foam rolling” I really refer to this as a category for myofasical release techniques. Excuse for a massage? Maybe…

Try a 4 week challenge of daily foam rolling to witness the cumulative effect when consistently integrated.

Perform Better, a site for self-myofasical release techniques cites the reason why maintaining and increasing range of motion is linked to longevity:

“For example, muscle tightness restricts the range of motion that a joint may be moved. Because of muscle restriction (tightness, soft tissue adhesions, and neural-hyperactivity), joint motion is altered, thus changing normal neural feedback to the CNS (central nervous system). Ultimately, neuromuscular efficiency is compromised, which leads to poor movement patterns, inducing premature fatigue and causing injury”

With pre-mature fatigue and increased rates of injury we accelerate our nutrient needs (in increasing the demands for cellular regeneration). We compromise additional body systems (like digestion and adrenal function) when we continue to “burn on empty” in a fatigued state. Demand exceeds supply. When we aren’t proactive about maintaining good nutrition, circulation, and range of motion, we AGE FASTER!

When conducted effectively, foam rolling or other myofascial release techniques can stimulate Golgi Tendon Organs (GTO’s), which are the connection between tendons and muscle tissue:

http://bit.ly/11bJxb6

GTO’s are sensitive to changes in tension, or rates of tension change. This means when you roll or apply pressure in a rhythmic motion through a modality like foam rolling or massage, you trigger a relaxation impulse.

To establish a proactive habit around muscular relaxation, for the benefit of supporting recovery from athletics, injury prevention, maintaining alignment and improving range of motion, challenge yourself to 4 weeks of daily foam rolling or massage. It doesn’t take much time, and it’s highly portable.

How To:

Start with 1-2 minutes of slow, yet dynamic motion across a muscle of focus, which would include 30-45 second intervals of rest (static pressure) on areas of pain or heightened sensitivity. Breath into the site of pain, allow your muscles to slowly melt into the roller, and release tension. If you choose 3-5 muscle groups to focus on each time, look to spend on average 5 -10 minutes foam rolling daily. Go for more if you can! I’ll sometimes pause on an area of tension or pain for up to 5 minutes, and foam roll through entire movies!

Here’s a great quick reference guide from the Tone it Up Girls:

www.toneitup.com

This month, I’m foam rolling daily as part of my year long Hearty Heart series of pro-longevity challenges. I also have several races towards the end of this month, and am using foam rolling as part of my pre and post run warm up & cool down. I’ve also integrated Trigger Point, via the folks at Twist Conditioning where I’ve been getting some performance coaching lately.

My tool-kit recommendations:

Thera Roller

Trigger Point for Runners Kit

Rumble Roller from Fitter First

Spiked balls from Fitter First

Whether your creating a care pack for a colleague or friend, nurturing a room mate, spouse, child or yourself, prioritize these foods to support your resiliency and recovery.

“Get well quick” shopping list & snack ideas:

• Brazil nuts (zinc), 3-5, or pumpkin seeds as a snack. Serve with goji berries, golden berries, dried apricots and/or figs
• Oatmeal (zinc). Serve with a nut or seed based milk, raw honey (enzymes), yacon syrup (prebiotic), or dried goji berries (iron, zinc & antioxidants)
• Fresh pressed juices with any combination of: citrus fruit (vit C, bioflavinoids), carrots (beta carotene/vit A), chlorophyll rich greens (parsley, kale, wheatgrass etc) and ginger (minimize inflammation)
• Chlorella supplement (chlorophyll), 5g+/day to support immunity
• Hemp seeds, chia seeds, & flax seeds/oil (essential omega fats). Serve with yogurt (probiotics), oatmeal, or in blended fruit smoothies
• Omega 3 supplement (algae source or a quality fish oil), or wild salmon (serve with field greens, or steamed greens)
• Probiotic supplement (2 or more strains, 10 billion or more cultures)
• Green & rooibos tea (antioxidants). Serve hot, or use chilled tea as the liquid base in smoothies
• Miso paste (not powder), for soup/stock/sautee sauce (probiotics)
• Organic, unsweetened yogurt (not fat free), or kombucha drinks (probiotics)

Don’t forget to check out www.thriveforward.com, a free e-learning program about plant based nutrition. Focus particularly on the lesson “Immune Function”, which contains even more grocery shopping references, supplement lists, and recipes to support immune health.

Our intestinal system is one of the most integral parts of our immune system. Host to immune cells and lymph nodes it is also a primary site for nutrient absorption. The bacteria balance in our intestinal system is crucial to overcoming microbes or viruses we are exposed to, but also for maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.

Tempeh (burgers) are a source of probiotics, from fermented soy beans

The link to cardiovascular health & risk factors for heart disease:

Probiotics are the healthy bacteria in our gut (and in several foods). They create an acid which signals the liver to cease cholesterol production (yes, we naturally manufacture it…it’s not just in foods). Probiotics also breakdown cholesterol, using it for nourishment. If this isn’t enough reason to pay attention to your gut (literally and figuratively!), probiotics also breakdown bile acids produced in the liver. This is significant because the liver makes bile (used in fat digestion)…from cholesterol. Therefore when probiotics breakdown bile, the liver needs to manufacture more, and thus uses up excess cholesterol. Excess cholesterol is a biomarker for heart disease.

Probiotics become depleted, and our intestinal flora imbalanced when we consume sugary foods, refined flour/grains, drink chlorinated water, are over stressed, have poor digestion, and from antibiotic use (the effects of which can linger for months or years!).

How does our immune system become compromised?

• Poor quality sleep (remember: it’s quality over quantity)
• Too much stress
• Over training
• Poor quality nutrition

Having been sick for two weeks now, I really feel confronted with the reality of imbalance. A whirlwind of germ exposure at a trade show, inconsistent sleep & work piled up (aka stress). Add on a couple of hard workouts, a few nights of drinking, and overindulging in sugar, and you have a recipe for disaster. I shouldn’t be surprised! Just a “safe” self reminder, I am not invincible. It’s reminders like this that cement good habits for me. Listen to the signals your body sends you!

I really have to focus on the health of my immune system so I can sustain my busy (and rewarding!) lifestyle…

I really believe it’s less about the germs you are exposed to, than the condition of your immune system. If your immune system is suppressed or compromised, you’re more likely to get sick…not the more germs you are exposed to.

From trial and error, and research, here’s how I recommend re-setting and supporting your immune system:

Clean up your diet: Refined flours, sugars, artificial food ingredients and any foods your highly sensitive to just don’t belong. They are neither necessary or nourishing.

Support your sleep: Get black out shades or use an eye mask, white noise machines (or use an app) if you live in a noisy space; change your sheets and tidy your bedroom. Set the scene for a restful night. You may also want to try these yoga poses 15-20 minutes before bed.

Choose not to take things personally, and always try your best: These two simple practices can help you let stress roll off your back, and feel confident that you did everything you could, even if things don’t always turn out.

Consume plenty of chlorophyll, antioxidants and essential fats: You may choose to supplement the diet, or emphasize these on your grocery list.

• Chlorophyll is the green pigment in plants and aside from being rich in vitamins and minerals, it supports red blood cell production by increasing blood volume. Chlorophyll mimiks the structure of red blood cells, but has a central magnesium ion instead of iron. Eat chlorophyll (green) foods with iron rich foods like nuts & seeds.
• Focus on eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. As a general rule of thumb, the richer the pigment, the higher the antioxidant value. Athletes should consider an additional antioxidant supplement.
• Foods high in essential fats can be found in my recommended grocery list coming in a post later this week.

Plant Based Energy Bar from thriveforward.com

For the active crowd:

Train smarter, not harder: Instead of focusing on maximizing the hours spent sweating it out, focus on impactful training sessions and ample recovery time and nutrients to rebuild the best quality muscles for cardio or strength performance. Impactful training could mean working with a coach or trainer who will customize your workout, cross training & adding variety to your workouts, interval training (cardio), and techniques such as back to back sets, or compound exercises for strength training.

Eat plant based & nutrient dense foods 24 hours before & after a tough workout: Building on the above, this is important to reducing inflammation, maximizing your energy & accelerating recovery. Any athlete will know the importance of these three performance gains…

You are what you eat! Here’s to health.

Further Reading:

Potential of Probiotics in Controlling Cardiovascular Disease from The Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research

www.thriveforward.com A free e-learning program about plant based nutrition. Focus particularly on the lesson “Immune Function”

My Record!

I’ve also been extremely lucky to be surrounded by other fellow athletes pushing themselves too. The colleagues and friends below have pushed their own limits and notions of what they thought was possible. I encourage you to find a few relationships of “mutual inspiration”…it’s the best form of accountability… Vega’s US of Director Sales, Peter, out-planks me with a solid 30 second lead!…and a few push ups at the end. Nice touch: Vega’s Western Regional Manager, Dave, runs his first 10km since high school! He’s made some health conscious changes, and it seems to be really paying off I ran a solid 19km with two Vegan Ironman competitors in Anaheim during Expo West

Group shot for the #5km run, continued on with L. Jesseau; B. Brazier & K. Rutherford for a total of 19km. Inspired!

Was introduced to a new favorite fitness program, Ugi Fit, by Andrea, a Personal Training and Nutrition student. With all this inspiration, I revisited my race calendar post for 2013, and made some updates based on upcoming travels. I have some results to share as well!

Race Results Update & Upcoming Races (Entries Confirmed)

Feb 17th Fort Langley Historic Half (Time: 1:49, 7th female 20-29)

March 3 West Van Run 10km (Time 46:20, 5th female 20-29)

March 24th Spring Run Off 8km, Vancouver (Time: 40min, 12th female 25-29). This race followed 2 weeks off, after a post-trade show flu/cold. I think I could have had more in me!

April 28th Game of Life 10km, Toronto

May 5 BMO Vancouver (1/2) Marathon

May 26th Soldier Field 10 Mile, Chicago (Tentative)

June 1 North Face Whistler 10km (Tentative. The 1/2 Marathon sold out!)

June 22-23 Tough Mudder, Whistler OR

June 23 Scotiabank 1/2 Marathon

Aug 10 Seawheeze Half Marathon

Oct 13 Good Life Victoria 1/2 Marathon

Nov 17th Fall Classic 1/2 Marathon

Nov 24 Vancouver Historic Half