What the H....

What the h....but not what you think. It's actually h for health. 'What the Health' was a documentary I watched last night that was rather mind-blowing. But we'll get into that in a minute.

This is actually a real-time photo. Like, I literally just took this as I'm writing this.

We closed out week 4 of training with roughly 28 miles ran and also, 28 miles road. I had two big highlights during this past week. I had an awesome long run with a faster finish and didn't lose my breathing technique like I tend to sometimes do when I speed play. I also survived my first double workout. My coach prescribed my typical Friday recovery ride but also threw in the option of doing a short run. Of course, I was going to go for it because I wanted to see how it felt. I hopped on the bike, road steadily for 45 minutes, keeping my RPMs between 85-90. Afterward, I set out for a 20-minute run. Is this what it feels like to do the beginning of a duathlon? One day I'll know what it feels like to train for that. Either way, I was happy how my body responded despite the run being in the mid-80s. My legs felt slightly tired at the beginning of my long run but quickly got into their proper form. I'm really thankful to be in a mindset where I appreciate my performance for what it is. Is every workout perfect? Absolutely not. But, I don't dwell on it anymore like I used to. I used to be so hard on myself for not hitting specific paces or whatever. I see so many people on Strava or whatever platform they share their stuff on throwing up a million excuses as to why the run they did wasn't what they wanted it to be. Maybe instead of creating an excuse, just accept how it went. You went out there and you did the dang thing. Be thankful your legs still turn over. One day, they might not. Positive mental attitude. On to week 5 and it looks like we're getting spicy with tomorrow's speed work.

Okay, so back to what I began with. I'm a little behind on watching the documentary (it came out in 2017), 'What The Health'. I'm on a free trial with Netflix right now (just to have access to one show, lol), and it popped up on there. I'm all about watching documentaries in general, especially if it involves supporting plant-based diets. Going vegan was the best decision I've ever made. My husband and I just got our yearly blood work done and his cholesterol numbers dropped dramatically. I highlighted this in my Instagram stories but, my protein level is perfect. You know where all protein comes from? PLANTS. Sometimes I just want to slap every vegan hater in the face and tell them to go read up on science. Anyway, the documentary. 

I'm pretty bad at summing up films but I'm going to do my best here. Of course, this film is criticized for "cherry-picking" specific information to make it look like the food industry is terrible and vegans rule the world in health. Maybe we don't rule the world BUT the food industry is indeed horrible. I didn't need a film to tell me that. However, the amount of detail poured into this film was intense. Kip Anderson basically goes on this hunt to talk with all of the major organizations and just simply wants to know why they promote eating specific foods that have direct links to causing cancer and other diseases. Dairy alone has been proven to cause breast cancer yet the Susan G. Komen Foundation has a sponsorship with Yoplait. WHAT THE H. Komen also receives sponsorship from Kentucky Fried Chicken, for Christ's sake. How does that even make sense? The American Cancer Society is sponsored by Tyson Foods, one of the largest corporations that produce poultry products, yet there is also scientific data linked to eating meat and poultry to specific cancers and disease. Shoot, even the American Heart Association is linked with the Texas Beef Council yet we're told not to eat red meat because it could cause HEART disease. I was seriously mind-blown by the end of this. My husband still eats eggs every once in a while but he must have said multiple times "I'm never touching eggs again". I wish I took notes or something to show the specific data that was presented. Even the interview between Kip and the American Diabetes Association ended with the chairman walking out because he couldn't talk about how their promotion of specific diet changes actually doesn't help mitigate diabetes at all. It's all a vicious circle, right? I've never been a fan of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Do I think they've done a lot of good for breast cancer and raising awareness? Yes. However, organizations like this shouldn't be paying their board members millions of dollars every year. If everyone decided to adopt a plant-based diet then there would be less sickness in the world, fewer cancers, and less chronic illness. But then, fewer visits to doctors and hospitals which in return means fewer prescriptions. Heaven forbid the drug companies don't get paid. Then the government....oh the government. It's all a crooked scheme. Anyone that comes to me thinking about adopting a plant-based diet, I automatically tell them to read "How Not to Die" or "The China Study". Both books are huge and super long but full of specific scientific data proving that this way of eating works. Maybe I'm just up on my vegan high-horse but in reality, I just want people to be healthier. The next time you put a hot dog in your mouth, you probably should light up a cigarette too while you're at it. Both are in the same category and labeled as carcinogens. For the record, I don't think you're a jerk if you eat meat. I don't think of you any less. However, I would hope you would drop the stigma of how we vegans are crazy and don't know what we're doing with our lives. Clearly, we're on to something. 

Phew, that was a doozy. I'm still pretty fired up about it. I even put a hold on "How Not to Die" from the library to read it a second time. 

I know I haven't shared a recipe in like forever and today, you aren't getting one but I will share something I made! My husband was saying how his yoga mat wasn't smelled the greatest. I also realized that mine was getting rather dirty. You know tile floors and living in the desert means your floors are NEVER really that clean. My friend, who is an RYT 200, told me you shouldn't clean a normal mat with just water and soap. It actually can make the mat deteriorate quicker. I did some searching around and long and behold, my yoga guide, Adriene, had made a video on how to make homemade yoga mat spray! I already had all of the ingredients, minus the little spray bottles.

Got this set on Amazon for like $6. Three glass bottles with sprayers and a little funnel!

Three simple ingredients. Yes, it says facial mist but it's fine.

Boom! Homemade spray!

Tee tree oil smells so good and clean. I learned it has anti-fungal properties in it, too. I sprayed down both our mats and used a microfiber towel to wipe them down. I highly suggest this easy combo.

The end!