Getting so high... 14,000 ft high that is

Hey all!

So the big adventure began with a simultaneous wake-up call from both my dad and my cell phone at 4:45 am. It was almost too early to be tired so I pretty much hopped out of bed, threw on my clothes and my dad, my sister Jenna, my brother Gaines, and I were all in the car just a couple minutes after 5. 

It took a little less than two hours to the base of the Kite Lake Trailhead, right outside of Alba, Colorado (the highest town in North America!). The mounts Democrat, Cameron (the official unofficial 14er), Lincoln, and Bross are located all right next to each other so the plan was to climb all four starting with Democrat. 

Although pretty chilly and a little windy, the beginning of the hike started off well. The first challenge is making it up to the saddle between Democrat and Cameron. We made it up to the saddle without much difficulty but by the time we reached the saddle, the winds had really picked up and we even had to sit down and curl up a couple times. We however were determined to make it up the mountains so we trekked on up Democrat. We were encouraged by others coming down that it was less windy as you went up and got off the ridge. They were right and the hike up to Democrat was challenging of course, but overall pretty smooth. Step by step along the rocky trail, we eventually made it to the top of Democrat, standing at a mere 14,148 feet. 

Then it was down Democrat, which proved to be almost as challenging as the way up. For those of you who know me, you probably know that I can be a little clumsy at times which definitely isn't a good characteristic when climbing down a steep, rocky trail. I ended up tripping once on the way down Democrat and scratched up my knee a little but since that was my only major fall, I considered myself lucky.

By the time we got back down to the saddle the wind had picked up even more. It didn't seem as though many people were attempting to climb towards Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross but following my super-hiker father, we carried on up the mountain. As we went up the wind just kept growing and my siblings and I were stopping every couple of feet to avoid being pushed over by the wind. We kept seeing people coming down, telling us that they had turned around because the wind had gotten too intense, but for some reason that still didn't stop us. We reached the top of Cameron to discover the winds blowing at 70 mph!! My whole body was leaning into the wind and I was convinced I was just going to fly away right there. We knew we had to get off the top really fast so we hiked/ran as fast as we could to a little bunker and cave we saw just over the top. My sister and dad chilling in the bunker:

We thought if we could hurry across the ridge between Cameron and Bross, maybe Bross would be better so we decided to make a dash for it. Well we literally could not hold our ground and we were being whipped around by the wind so before we made it even a quarter of the way across we found another rock bunker to stop in. Where all these bunkers cam from, I have no idea but I am so grateful they were there! This time we were not going back out till we knew the wind had calmed down. We decided to get comfortable, get something to eat, and Jenna and Gaines even closed their eyes for a bit. 

After 45 minutes, the wind maybe died only a little but we knew we couldn't sit in the bunker all day so we resolved to just go for it. We stumbled across the ridge, and the trail took us just a spitting distance from the top of Bross which stands 14,172 ft. in the air. As we scurried our way down the mountain, the wind diminished and eventually we made it down to the parking lot. I decided a victory pose was in order. 

That was my third 14er experience but was by far the biggest adventure. I am glad that we all made it back safely! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! It is another long-run day for me tomorrow and at the suggestion of Skylar, I will be eating a banana an hour before I run to try to fight my cramps- hope it works!!

- Shelby

Running. It's Cheaper Than Therapy.

Today I've decided to go a bit off the beaten path of our usual posts and write to you all about my love affair with running, and how it came to be. Maybe it's the cram reading sessions of Eat, Pray, Love that I have been doing (in prep for a movie night with my momma) that are causing this emotional purge. Bear with me today, because I've got a lot to say!

So often people tell me I'm crazy for running so much, and wonder how I could seriously love it. But let me tell you, I'd be a lot crazier if I didn't run. The best bumper sticker I ever did see simply said: "Running. It's cheaper than therapy."

And it's true! I feel I am at my truest self when I've been consistently running 25-30 mile weeks. For me, running and yoga are my time. They are opportunities to be relieved of stress. But they do so in very different ways.

Yoga allows me to put all my thoughts and worries into a little pocket within my brain, and focus solely on the poses. These poses require me to connect the mind and body, forming a meditative state that allows me to just be. I can't wait for the day that I'll be able to practice regularly again.

Running is different. Running is a chance to face head on whatever may be bothering me on any given day. I'm only responsible for putting one foot in front of the other, leaving my mind free to think. This is why I say I am most in tune to myself when I have been running regularly. It is my time to form opinions, to reason and to (however corny it may sound), figure myself out.

During my travels to South Africa and Peru particularly, my runs were my time to analyze the many things I had seen and learned. I would compare and contrast the many intricacies of a new people and new cultures and I always seemed to come to the conclusion that however different we may seem we really aren't that different at all.

My first six mile run occurred during the month of April during my senior of high school. I'd been accepted to my two top choices for college and no amount of debate with my family and friends would spark a decision as to which track to take. I was doing my usual three mile loop after a long discussion about majors, programs, dorms, food, etc. A ways into the run I realized that I was on to something. My body and my mind weren't ready to stop running until I had fully reasoned this decision. Running that extra three miles at the time was a risk for me, but I knew I was strong enough mentally to counteract the physical lacking. If I could take this risk, then I could take the risk of moving 3,000 miles away. The University of Virginia was the perfect place for me. The principal slogan of any economics class, the greater the risk the greater the reward, held true in this case. And it holds true in running as well. The bigger my goals, the happier I am after accomplishing them.

Running is a means to deal with heartbreak and sorrow. After Yeardley Love died last year, I found myself running an hour or so a day. I ran immediately after vigil, putting my sadness into an energy that allowed me to cope with that tragedy.

It has been during runs that I have decided to pursue a boy, start a relationship, and eventually end that same relationship. And it was running that helped me to get over him. It has been while running that I made the decision to travel to South America. I know what I want and I go for it, and I know this aspect of my personality has become stronger because I am a runner. I have made specific life goals for myself during runs. I have challenged myself to go further not just in terms of mileage, but in terms of my own life. I have been able recently to overcome what seemed to be an insurmountable amount of emotional stress during my many runs, in turn making me realize my true priorities.

I must honestly tell you though that sometimes I'm not ready to face my own self. It's these times you'll find me in the gym or at yoga. This is when I crave the endorphins but am not prepared to face the root of the problem. I think that's why I create so many goals in regards to running, and register for so many races. I know this year is going to be stressful, so by making time to run with the pressure of at least four major races in the next three months, I'll be able run through the stress.

The word hobby doesn't do this favorite activity of mine justice, but in any case I'll use it. It is this hobby that has created some awesome friendships (ahemmm Mary and Dettke). It's taken me to some awesome places and allowed me to push myself beyond my mental limits. The marathon was quite a fete for me, but I am not proud for my physical self because that alone did not take me to the finish line. It was my mind that pushed me to a new limit and in a sense carried me to the end.

Now I don't mean to preach to you all that running will change your life. Only you can do that. But it doesn't have to be through running. It can be through hiking, or knitting or photography or anything! Just something that allows you to really think.

Well clearly I belong in some temple, praying to the gods of running. So I'm gonna go eat a gluten-free cookie. I hope yall were able to bear all this mooshy running talk, but when you're in love you just gotta shout it from the rooftops!

I LOVE RUNNING!!

-Alexis

Relaxing a mile high

Hey all!

It has been so nice being back home this week! Eating good food, running, organizing and hanging out with my family is just the break I need before all the craziness of school begins. 

But first things first- the food! It was my mother's birthday on Tuesday and so my whole family went out to a local Italian restaurant that my parents had been to before and really like called Venice Restaurant. It was really nice and all the waiters had Italian accents so it made the whole experience kind of authentic. We got a delicious appetizer sampler platter but my family and I devoured it too fast for me to take a picture of it. For the main course, I ordered the salmon served over veggies at the suggestion of the waiter and it was so tasty!!

Then last night, one of my good friends and I went to go see Across the Universe at Red Rocks Amphitheater (if you don't know about Red Rocks, I will be posting about it later but you should check it out before that because it is absolutely one of the coolest places) for Film on the Rocks. Before the show though, we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant near Red Rocks called the Morrison Inn. Ashley and I are both huge fans of guacamole so we couldn't resist ordering some with our chips and salsa.

Yummm. Then because I am trying to eat at least one vegetarian meal a day (more on that in a later post), I decided to order the spinach enchilada. It was also a favorite of the chefs.

After our big Mexican meal we were glad to hike the uphill trek to the amphitheater. 

Then tonight my brother and I joined my sister and one of her close friends for their annual summer tradition of eating at the country club together before the school year begins. This year is extra special because they will both leaving college this fall! Marco (my sister's friend) and I both decided to order the salmon sandwich (apparently I'm loving salmon this week) with beautiful asparagus on the side. 

 One of my biggest downfalls during the school year is that I almost always choose a little more sleep over eating breakfast. But with no classes and no work at home, I have gotten really into my breakfasts and it is making all the difference in my energy levels throughout the day. My favorite breakfast recently is to put some Vive cereal with fresh bananas and strawberries, along with a cup of soy milk. 

Perfect way to start my mornings!

Now it is on to the running. At the beginning of the week, I was running shorter distances of about 4-5 miles but trying to run at a faster speed. Speed is definitely my downfall and my dad and I have talked a lot since I have been home about interval training and the importance of varying your speed in your work-outs. I really struggled with trying to push myself to run faster but I also think that proves that it is definitely something I need to continue working on. 

Today was my distance run and I ran a little shy of 9 miles along one of my favorite trails that follows the South Platt River. 

It was absolutely beautiful but I have been getting really bad side pains and cramps when I have been running since I have been home and this was exacerbated during my longer run today. My guess and hope is that this is just due to my body not being use to running at altitude but it is still extremely annoying to run with. The last two miles of my run were really painful and slow but I knew that I just needed to work through it and teach my body to overcome it, especially if it were to happen during race. 

Tomorrow I am off to climb three fourteeners! Stay tuned for many pictures and tales of my ascents!! Happy almost Friday!

Gluten? Like One of the Seven Deadly Sins?

Hello everyone!

I hope yall are enjoying your August so far. Here in San Diego summer weather has finally arrived, just in time for me to head back east to humidity bleh. I'll be doing some longer runs before I head back where the humidity and heat make it a lot tougher to get through those 10 milers, especially considering how hilly Charlottesville is.

I realized that I have gone on and on about my gluten-free diet, but haven't explain what it is exactly and why it affects the digestive systems of so many people.

First off, gluten is not the same as gluttony!! Believe me I am still indulging with this new diet. An iced jasmine green tea and a seriously delicious gluten-free chocolate chip cookie from Claire's on Cedros:


When I think of gluten, I immediately think of "glue." And that is basically what gluten is. It is a composite of two proteins that can be found in wheat, barley, rye, etc. Actually 80% of wheat is composed of the proteins that make up gluten. When mixed with yeast, gluten allows for bread to "rise." In bread products that are made of wheat, the gluten is what allows for the elasticity and texture.

Here is what uncooked gluten looks like:

Gluten has also become a very common additive. Because it is protein, it can be added to low-protein foods for nutritional purposes. It is also added to foods (like ketchup and ice-cream) as a stabilizing agent. So for people that are intolerant of gluten or have Celiac disease it can be very hard to detect what products may or may not contain the gluten additive.

For people with Celiac disease, gluten causes harm to the small intestine. For those with gluten intolerance, it is hard to determine how much damage is done to the small intestine but it definitely affects everyones digestive system. I personally believe that everyone is gluten intolerant, but there is a sliding scale of intolerance. If anyone eats a ton of bread at one time, it's pretty likely you will leave the dinner table feeling bloated. If I ate bread, I would have an adverse reaction that would cause even worse symptoms. And for someone with Celiac disease, the amount of damage to the small inestine from that much gluten could be fatal.

Also, intolerances show up at every age. Celiac disease isn't necessarily determined at a young age. Many people discover they are Celiac positive later in life. This is also true for gluten intolerance.

I have also learned that there are many false negatives with Celiac disease. I was tested a few years ago when I was positive for H. Pilori, and it came out to be negative. This test is a biopsy of a tiny little piece of the small intestine. This organ, if laid out flat, would be about 6 meters long. So it is possible that another part of the intestine has been affected to prove positive for Celiac disease.

Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I have noticed improvements with my digestive system already by taking gluten out of my diet, and I am considering taking out dairy as well to help with digestion (as well as other things, look out for a post about this!). A healthier digestive system leads to a stronger immune system. I'm hoping if I keep all of this up I won't get sick this upcoming school year!

That's all for now! Please comment or e-mail me at virginiaisforhealthnuts@gmail.com if you have any more questions about this. Have an awesome day!

-Alexis

Go West, Young Girl... Roadtrip!

Hey all!

Sorry for taking a hiatus- I have been roadtrippin' across the country for the past few days! And although I was not able to blog on the trip, I made sure to take lots of pictures of all the meals I ate along the way!

My mother flew in on Thursday afternoon and we started off on Friday morning from Ellicot City, Maryland. Friday we drove through Maryland, West Virginia, and landed in Lexington, Kentucky. I had never been to Lexington, KY but I was very impressed. There are horse farms and bourbon distilleries that surround the city and the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University reside inside. We stayed at a very charming Bed and Breakfast called the Lyndon House near the downtown of Lexington.

After settling in, my mom and I checked out the owner's guide to the restaurants of Lexington and decided that we would try Jonathan's at Gratz Park. It was only about a fifteen minute walk away. The inside was filled but for some reason the patio was completely empty and since it was a beautiful evening, we decided the patio is right where we wanted to be anyway. We had eaten a late lunch so instead of each getting a large entree, we opted for a couple different appetizers, salads, and a dessert instead.

Our first appetizer was a peanut derived hummus with warm pita bread and pickled cucumbers. I am not normally a big fan of cucumbers but the pickled cucumbers were delicious!

Next up was scallops which had a corn and mango salsa dressing on it. I am a huge fan of scallops and these were particularly delectable!

My favorite appetizer though was the pears wrapped in prosciutto over arugula, topped with feta cheese and served with a sweet dressing...yummmm!!

We split a Capriole Goat Cheese Salad which consisted of bitter greens, dried peaches, cayenne-pecan brittle & peach preserves vinaigrette. It was a perfect sweet summer salad!

Since we didn't get a main entree we agreed dessert was needed to complete our meal. I am not much of a sweet person but I do have a weakness for ice cream. There were too many good flavors to choose from so we decided to get the ice cream sampler which included tangerine, chocolate, and my favorite bourbon flavor!

Overall the meal was delicious, Kentucky food gets two thumbs up from me!

As part of the Bed and Breakfast tradition, we went downtown stairs to find a home made breakfast awaiting us in the dining room. We even got to chat with another family staying there that was in town from Connecticut checking out a horse show. The breakfast started with a beautiful fruit bowl and some hot coffee and then our lovely Inn Keeper brought out eggs cooked with sherry, bacon, and a decorative orange slice.

I had never stayed at a bed and breakfast before but the warmness and hospitality of this place is going to definitely make me look for more bed and breakfast places when I travel!

Although we got a little bit of a late start to the morning because of our delicious breakfast and driving around the University of Kentucky, we made it through the rest the of Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and into the very eastern part of Kansas on Saturday.

We made a stop for lunch in St. Louis and since we had no clue where to begin looking for a place to eat, we typed in Washington University in St. Louis into our Garmin, figuring there would have to be some cool restaurants around there. It turns out the school is a little outside the down town of the city but we found "The Loop" where all the students hang and some cool restaurant called Blueberry Hill. They had all these collections of Barbie, super heros, disney characters, and any of other crazy nick nacks you could think of! I decided to go with veggie burger with swiss cheese, lettuce, and tomato. It wasn't as good as the veggie burgers at Boylan in Charlottesville but it was still pretty good.

We spent the night in Lawrence, KS which isn't quite as charming as Lexington but is home to the University of Kansas where a couple of my friends from high school go so I was curious to see it! We strolled around on Massachusetts Ave. which was filled with all kinds of fun bars, restaurants, and shops. We stopped in a restaurant called 719 and I ordered a salad with olives and home-made croutons.

It was just the thing I needed with the hot and sticky weather outside, who knew Kansas was humid??

In the morning we drove around KU but since we had a long drive ahead of us across the vast state of Kansas we had to get going pretty early. Sunday seemed to go by the slowest. To say there is a not a lot in Kansas would be an understatement. This picture pretty much shows what I saw out of my window for eight hours straight.

Even though it seemed like forever, those four hundred miles through Kansas eventually went by and I made it back to my home by the lake and the mountains just in time for sunset!!

Stay tuned for pictures and stories from all my adventures at home!!

- Shelby

Disneyland Made Healthy!

Hey all! Sorry Shelb and I have been such bad bloggers lately... she's been roadtrippin' back to Colorado and I've been busy with all the great visitors to San Diego!

There wasn't much time on Friday to squeeze in a run, but that was probably for the best. Standing in various lines for about 12 hours was rough on my legs, especially after our fast paced run the day before. I was pretty happy with how healthy Ryan and I were able to eat at Disneyland.

We started the day with an awesome breakfast with my grandpa on Balboa Island. I went for the Park Avenue omelette without cheese or onion:



Then for lunch we went to a Mexican restaurant in Downtown Disney where I had the greenest meal ever, Garden Enchiladas:



Not sure how great of an idea it was to go straight to a roller coaster after all that Mexican food, as seen here:

My snacks during the day included mangoes, watermelon, a fruit-only smoothie from Jamba, and a much needed mocha later in the night. Dinner was jambalaya in the New Orleans district at Disneyland, but I must have been too hungry to remember to snap a pic!

The next day I got to hang with Jenny and Katya, starting off with a grandma-made breakfast and ended up at Newport Beach for the rest of the day. Afterwards we went to my fav place in the whole world SPRINKLES! I was seriously concerned I wouldn't get to enjoy one of these babies upon starting my new gluten-free diet, but luckily they have gluten-free red velvet cupcakes:

It definitely wasn't as good as the regular red velvet but it was nice to partake in the experience with everyone else!

We made the trek from Newport to San Diego, which took much longer than expected given the mass amounts of traffic. We made do though, with Ryan as D.J.

I have gone cobbler crazy and made another one for my lovely guests, this time with peach! I added a personal touch:

Today we went to Tendergreens for some delish salads before dropping Jenny off at the airport. Then we headed to Knott's Soak City for a change of pace. It was definitely not as wonderful as I remembered, but the hours spent on the lazy river were definitely necessary. Afterwards Ryan and I met my parents for some sushi. This is the first time I have had sushi since I have stopped eating gluten. I brought Tamarin with me, a gluten-free soy sauce that is not processed with wheat. I also avoided my usual favorites, sushi rolls with tempura.

John also made me his special sauce for gluten-free customers that was made up of lemon juice, onion, and sea salt. It had a similar taste to soy sauce.

Here's crazayyy John, "No Money No Honey!!"

He also helped me out with one of my favorites the Albacore Special Roll (as seen above). He replaced the tempura fried shrimp with boiled shrimp and asparagus for crunch. It was almost as good as the original!!

Ryan leaves tomorrow sadly, but only 10 more days until CHARLOTTESVILLE! Can't wait! I'm going to be doing lots and lots of running this week to enjoy my favorite trails before heading back to Charlottesville!

-Alexis

And So the Visit Begins!

Hey everyone!

Sorry I have taken a mini hiatus from posting. I've been so busy you know eating, concert-going, running, and straight up lounging...it's a rough life I know. It's been so great getting to take some time off while Ryan has been visiting.

My family welcomed him to SD with this lovely breakfast at Hash House A Go Go. The portions were just right don't ya think?

My mom and I split a scramble that I in a way custom designed: bacon, tomatoes, and avocado. SO GOOD.

Ry went for the french toast:

And my dad took on the challenge of devouring the Bacon Waffle.

Afterwards a run was necessary! I showed Ryan my little route from the house to the golf course and he kicked my butt! I forgot how fast of a runner he is naturally, but it was great for me to have someone to run with and up my motivation!

Then we napped by the pool before heading downtown to the House of Blues for the Temper Trap concert! It was a great show and you all should check em out! Their most popular song is Sweet Disposition but I really really like Fader and Love Lost as well. I LOVE music and am thinking about doing some more music related posts in the future so look out for that.

Today I showed Ryan my favorite trail in San Diego, around the San Elijo Lagoon. My butt was once again kicked, but it felt great to push it. From there we headed to my fav restaurant, Naked Cafe, where I proceeded to devour some Sesame Ginger Tacos sans flour tortillas and with extra veggies!

Then it was off to the beach for the rest of the day. Finally the sun has come out in San Diego!! We also tried Whisknladle tonight for dinner in La Jolla but I forgot to snap some photos of my delish grapefruit/corn/avocado summer salad and seared scallops! So sorry but let me tell you it was yummmyy.

Tomorrow we're going to Disneyland and then to Newport Beach to do some more beach chillin' up north. This time we will be joined by Jenny and Danny whom I cannot wait to seeeee!! I've done some research on the food situation at Disneyland, and found some awesome gluten-free options that include pizza! I'll have to let you all know how that goes.

-Alexis