Archive for August, 2010

As most of you know, I was battling a persistent, unforgiving, and embarrassingly noisy cough the past weeks.  Prior to that, I had been getting colds on and off the past months, too.  This was surprising since before I ran my series of marathons I hadn’t gotten sick—nope, not even sore throat—for over a year.  I honestly think running all those marathons in such a short period of time, combined with poor eating habits (boo to Cheetos!), compromised my immune system.

My good friend and mentor Jim Lafferty heard about this (and he heard my awful voice over the phone, too) and suggested I drink Youth Juice.  He even advised me to tell our TBR Dream Marathoners to give it a try.  He said I needed it to boost my immune system and get me ready for New York Marathon.

Youth Juice?  Never heard. I didn’t even know where I could purchase it.  Jim felt so strongly about it that, even if he was all the way in South Africa, he managed to send me three bottles for sampling.

I’ve been drinking it for 2 weeks now.  Combined with my super healthy diet the past weeks—lots of complex carbs, veggies, and fruits, no simple sugars, limited salt, no junk—I can say that it helped get me back in the pink of health.  And, not just that:  This morning, I ran 21k with friends and I felt powerful even until the last kilometer.  Totally amazing!

WHAT IS YOUTH JUICE?

According to its brochure, “Youth Juice was developed on the basis of research funded by a Canadian Government Research and Development Grant.  Youth Juice (TM) is a drink made of pure naturally grown berries and sea vegetables.”

Allow me to share Jim’s email to me about Youth Juice as it gets very technical, but he successfully made it simple for me to understand: (This is long, but take the time to read it. It’s worth it!)

“Jaymie,

1. As you may know, for a number of years I have sat on the advisory board of MEDICAL WELLNESS ASSOCIATION, a group dedicated to bridging medicine with more wellness and less purely treatment.  It is bascially a panel of doctors and physiologists, based in the US, who review products and wellness concepts. This is how I saw Youth Juice maybe 3 years ago now. The data blew us away. And all our Mayo Clinic Doctors and staff are now taking YJ in the US and Canada.
2. It starts from a fact that as a by product of many body processes, generating energy, exercise, fighting pollution, smoking, digesting foods, we create atomic compounds called FREE RADICALS which are unstable atomic structures, lacking one electron, and they seek to thus “bond” at a cellular level. When they bond into cells, they cause damage to the cell, or “oxidation” (like rusting on a car) that causes illness, advanced aging, disease, suppressed immune system.
3. Free radicals can cause cellular damage, and they are also processed and neutralized by the liver and kidneys. But we are often on overload. The way we eat, live, stress, pollution, smog, chemicals in food, all is alot more than our bodies were designed to take on. Think of all the chemistry we ingest in processed foods. This all is more than we evolved to take on.
4. Exercise is fabulous but also all the energy production creates ALOT of free radicals. This is why high percentages (up to 30%) of marathoners get upper respiratory tract infections post race—a depressed immune system behind free radical damage. Why so many say, “take lots of vitamin C” but it is more complicated than this.
5. There are compounds in nature that are called ANTI OXIDANTS that possess an extra unpaired electron and thus can “bond” with a free radical and flush it out ofthe body. Anti oxidants come in nature, and are in many of the foods we eat. The highest concentrations are in fruits and vegetables, and the most are in actually BERRIES. They are far and away the most powerful.
6. The most famous anti oxidant is probably vitamin C. And it is very good! But we are finding all kinds of compounds each year in our food that are anti oxidizing! It’s not so simply as “Take a capsule of vitamin C and all is well”. We need all kinds of various anti oxidants and the simplest way is to EAT right vs. trying to pill our way out of it.
7. The US Dept of agriculture, based on the reserach, has developed an accepted tool to meausre the anti oxidancy of foods or supplements. It is called ORAC, standing for “Oxygen radical absorption capacity”. This is widely accepted globally as THE standard for anti oxidants.
8. Tufts university did all the research and found that OPTIMAL human life needs 5,000 ORAC a day. An endurance athlete needs about 10,000/day. Now what does this mean? Let me put it to you this way. 1 orange is 100 ORAC! So to get all you need, you would need to eat ALONE 50 oranges a DAY! Now it is not this messy as different foods have different ORAC levels and oranges are actually not that amazing. A cup full of berries is 2,500 in comparison. So it all depends on all kinds of micro compounds, not just a vitamin like C.
9. There is NO WAY a person eating at Jollibee and living modern life is an optimal human. Hence why they feel like crap or are sick often. The body cannot handle the free radical load. Simple.
10. In Canada where it is a government healthcare system, knowing this they wanted to LOWER health care costs, and instead of cutting surgeries for example they focused on keeping people healthy—WELLNESS. The leading idea was to really develop an amazing anti oxidant.
11. Many products out there, assuming people will not eat perfectly, have low ORACs. In fact, most don’t put on the package as ORAC IS HORRIBLE. A typical Vit C pill is like 200 of 300 ORAC—hardly a dent on what you need. But people feel they can take 1 and they will be fine. In light of 5,000 needed, well it is kidding yourself.
12. There are anti oxidant drinks out there are 2500 or 3000 ORAC, typically berry drinks, but diluted with grape juice or water. What would happen if someone tried to formulate a perfect anti oxidant drink?
13. The Canadian government financed the development of YJ, using berries from Britich Columbia and all over the world, plus seaweed (fucoidan) and Reservatrol from grapes. It was a breakthrough and is the number 1 most effective anti oxidant in the world, and no one is CLOSE.  One serving of YJ is about 10,100 ORAC! And you cannot Overdose on ORAC—it’s just juice after all!
14. Net one serving (there are 10 in a bottle) is all an athlete needs. So on top of a healthy diet, you are about sure to be optimal. I have been drinking this for 18 months and NEVER BEEN SICK. NOR HAVE THE KIDS. Susan (Jim’s wife) had her bowel problems, but not linked to free radicals. She also is never sick and ran a PR on YJ this year in Comrades Marathon at 45. Every Doctor I know who sees the reserach takes it.
15. I do half servings as I want the bottle to last longer and I eat VERY WELL so 5,000 ORAC is good enough even with my running. If I was you, I would nail the first bottle at 10,000 full dose to get healthy (you will come back FAST) and then drop to half dosages to stretch it out. Just my personal POV.

Everyone should take this. Knowing the science above, this is a big issue in wellness toeday.

I don’t own stock nor do I work for YJ. Just believe in this product.

S+R has exclusive rights for Philippines so only available in S+R. It’s expensive but what price do you put on health? It’s like 2 dollars a day to be totally healthy. That’s how I look at it.”

MY REVIEW

PLUS:

1. All natural. I’ve been staying away from processed food for the past month.  So this came at the perfect time as all ingredients are berries or sea vegetables: Elderberry, Red Raspberry, Blueberry, Blackberry, Boysenberry, Blackcurrant, Cranberry, Kombu Fucoidan, Bladderwrack Sea Lettuce
2. Loaded with vitamins and minerals. The nutrition information is astounding.



3. Small serving. You don’t have to drink huge quantities to reap the benefits. One serving is 3.2 oz.  Just one shot.
4. Convenient. No more mixing. No more adding other ingredients. Just pour and drink.
5. Super yummy. It tastes like a thicker version of cranberry/grape juice.  Even my kids would love it.
6. It works. My hubby felt stronger the same day he drank it.  As I was sick when I started, I felt its benefits, after a week of drinking YJ.  I honestly believe it helped speed up recovery.  The past couple of days, I believe it’s contributed to improved performance in running and training at the gym.  I feel so strong!

MINUS

Price. It is painfully expensive.  One bottle costs P1,999.95.  Ouch. Now that I’m feeling better, I’ll take Jim’s advice and cut my serving size to half to extend its lifetime with us.  If budget is of no issue to you though, then I would highly recommend this product.

Youth Juice is available at S&R.

Price: P1,999.95 per bottle.

Website: http://youthjuice.com

The rain didn’t stop all the mommies (and grandmothers, kids, and preggy women…plus their partners) from running the Mommy Milkshake Marathon at Bonifacio High Street yesterday.

– with organizers, Rome Kanapi and my sis Janice Villanueva and the kids –

Our entire family, including my niece, showed up for the race armed with two umbrellas.  Hubby took care of the older kids, while I accompanied Little Miss Bull Runner who chose to bike the 3k course along with her cousin.  (I gave her this option since she was coughing and I worried that 3k was too much for her.)

“Are the girls going to win?” I asked Little Miss TBR. “Yes!” she yelled. Fueled by Woman Power, we were off!

– Little Miss TBR with her pet, Liny, who joins every family adventure –

FAMILY FUN

We raced along with other families who were enjoying the easy run despite the gloomy weather.  For a moment, I ran alongside Patricia Hizon and her kids Vicente and Paul; fast and fearless Vicente was way ahead of his mommy.

– Patricia Hizon with her adorable boys –

I also spotted Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan with her mom and her grandmother.  Her own daughter had sped off ahead and later found a place on the podium.

– Four generations of strong and beautiful Laxa women –

As for Little Miss TBR, she pedaled like there was no tomorrow.  With such a huge smile, I knew she was enjoying every minute.  We went for two loops around BHS.  The uphills were a bit of a challenge for her, but she enjoyed the gentle downhills immensely.  Too much in fact that I begged her to slow down!

– racing with my little girl –

BALANCING MOTHERHOOD AND RUNNING

I thought I was going to have it easy compared to the hubby.  (This pic shows he had quite an easy time running with older kids.)

– Coach Hubby with my niece and the kids –

Past 3km races with my daughter was always a slow and relaxed run.  But, this time, I failed to take into consideration that 1) kids on bikes go much faster, and 2) holding an umbrella while running was a skill I had absolutely no training for.

It was the ultimate test of balancing running and motherhood at exactly the same time.  While running, I had to hold the umbrella in one hand and camera in the other, caution Little Miss TBR about veering away from the course (which was almost every 5 seconds), warn her about hitting runners in front, and help her count the “rainbows” (prisms caused by the rainwater hit by the light) she spotted on the road.

With my feet soaked in rainwater (I wore Vibram Five Fingers for the first time. More on this in a separate post) and non-stop fast-paced running, it was exhausting…but seeing Little Miss TBR’s face beam with pride when we crossed the finish made all the sweat, worry, and tough bicep workout all worth it.

– We did it! –

LITTLE MISS TBR – A FUTURE TRIATHLETE

As it turns out, Little Miss TBR absolutely loved the race. After seeing the photos, she exclaims while jumping up and down: “Mama, I want to bike again in another race…and I want Liny (her pet lion) to join us again…and I want it to rain, too!”  Oh boy, this mama has got to train hard for the next one.

– Yahooo! –

Congratulations to the organizers of Mommy Milkshake Marathon especially my sis, Janice Villanueva of Mommy Mundo and Creative Juice. Hope to join this one again next year!

Last Saturday, I visited McKinley Hill twice. The first was at 6 a.m. as part of our 15k run with hubby around the area. Second was later in the afternoon for the opening of The Brick Multi-Sport Store.

– Part-owner top Philippine triathlete Noy Jopson welcomes guests –

– Running priest Fr. Robert Reyes blessed the store (and Noy too). I regret being too shy to ask for a photo with Fr. Robert…ack. –

– Fred Uytengsu of Alaska and Ironman Camsur and Harry Tan of Cobra cut the ribbon –

The Brick has a wide array of shoes and apparel, a treadmill for shoe testing, bikes, watches, bags, gels and many many more.

The Brick Multi-Sport store is now open at Unit 1, Woodridge Apartments, McKinley Hill, Taguig City (across Venice Piazza, just at the bottom of that deadly hill we all dread at races!)

Open Mon to Sat, 7 am to 9 pm

Last July 31, 2010, I was invited to give an inspirational talk on running for NUVALI’s new residential development, Venare. The unique event was called TRY-ATHLON encouraging the guests to give various sports a try: running, aqua aerobics, yoga, football, and more.

– My talk was entitled “Life on the Run” –

– My favorite running quote and a photo shot by Levi Lakandula for Conquer Corregidor last year –

– with NUVALI managers and other speakers for the day –

It is always a pleasure for me to share my passion for running (I’m sure you all know that by now) and to inspire the non-running audience (not a runner in the house…except for the hubby!) to give the sport a try.

– with Phil at the impressive Treveia Clubhouse.  If I was 15 years younger, this would’ve made my day. Wait, I think it still did. –

– All the other sports guests could “sample” at the event –

– Aqua aerobics at the Clubhouse Pool. Wonder if they had aqua jogging for runners? I wish. –

– Football star Phil Younghusband looks cool as a “Surfer Dude” too –

– Bikes for rent at NUVALI –

She stayed with us for less than a month.  And, when she left, we didn’t know that she had robbed us of items almost three times worth her monthly salary.

It turns out that our crooked maid had a love for running!  Except for cash, all the items she stole were for running:

1) My Mizuno Wave Alchemy that was next in line for road testing

2) My husband’s Nike shirt

3) My son’s P3,000 savings (Stealing from a kid. She’s got no heart!)

And, worst of all, the two major losses that just breaks my heart every time I remember them…

4) Two of my all-time favorite Nike cotton shirts that I purchased in Nike Campus in the US.  (Why did she have to steal pieces that aren’t available locally?  And, why my Lance shirt?!  Grrrrr!)

– I got this Bowerman shirt for a steal at the Nike Campus. Nike staff pulled out boxes and sold shirts on the field during the Hood to Coast party. Now, how do I replace that, robber maid? –

– Go Lance Gooooooo! Sob sob –

To the evil runaway maid: I wish you trip on a huge rock while running with my shoes and that you gain so much weight you won’t even fit into my Nike shirts.  Karma will get you soon.