Yeah I know I am a little behind on this post since I wanted to get this up on the blog by Valentines Day. But hey, guess what, more and more studies are finding Chocolate is good for you. And more importantly these studies are noticing the benefits of chocolate to your cardiovascular health. Of course, this doesn't mean one should go out and start pounding down the Snickers bars. A lot of the chocolate that we do eat is full of sugar and large amounts of this tasty treat are most certainly going to give you a disadvantage in your runs thanks to added weight.But what is interesting is the good side of chocolate. Studies are showing that there seems to be a decreased risk of stroke in people who eat chocolate. There is also evidence that chocolate may decrease blood pressure, prevent the formation of arterial plaques and improve blood flow. Supposedly chocolate is loaded with a compound known as flavonoids and these prevent fat like substances in the blood from oxidizing and clogging arteries. Unfortunately for milk chocolate connosseurs, flavonols are more prominent in dark chocolates. On the downside supposedly the amount of flavonoids found in chocolate is small and a better souce of these compounds can be found in fruit and vegetables. I notice the study mentions chocolate amounts of 40 to 50 grams per week and unfortunately one serving of Dove Dark Chocolate Promises is 40 grams which I probably consume each night to curb my sweet tooth. I think with anything, moderation is the key. But hey, a little chocolate every now and then couldn't be such a bad thing? On a side note, the photo above reminds me of my favorite chocolate experience ever. Was visiting the city of Barcelona, Spain and you can order the chocolate concoction featured above, comes warm, thick, smooth and sweet in a tea cup with a breaded chorro for dipping. Simply delicious.
Well the run for Big Sur continues. Accomplished a 14 miler last Sunday but unfortunately had such a hard time of it. Not sure why this happens with me but whenever I start a training program, the first few long runs can be plain old miserable. My time was awful, I was sore and tired and a new pair of trail shoes didn't help me as much as I thought they would. As with Half Marathon training in the past, these discouraging moments will pop up along the way before the big race and my goal is to defeat these nagging moments of doubt. This week's training program features shorter runs and no long run. I'll be running a 5K race on Saturday just to keep the fast twitch muscle fibers in shape, wish me luck. Keep smiling and keep running.
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