When doctors diagnosed Abbey Cantrell of Snoqualmie, WA with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, a condition that could lead to loss of her vision by pressure mounting on her optic nerve, she was given the choice of regular invasive treatments or losing weight to control the condition. Abbey chose to pursue a weight loss regimen that led to not only to her losing close to 100 … [Read more...] about Northwest Winter Challenge Profile: Abbey Cantrell
Health & wellness
Doping for Girl Scout Cookies
Every couple of years a Seattle-area bike racer gets busted for doping. Most of the races in the PNW are relatively low profile and don't include testing because of the expense. But, at national caliber events testing is part of the program. Last week, on March 20, USADA announced that 57-year-old Seattle masters bike racer Joe Baratto "accepted a one-year suspension for an … [Read more...] about Doping for Girl Scout Cookies
The Unquantified Self
The "quantified self" is a term spawned by Silicon Valley in the late 2000s to describe how health and fitness could be revolutionized through new, enhanced data collection methods using wearables. The premise of self-quantification is that the limitations of the human organism can be enhanced like an engineering upgrade. By constantly measuring variables like sleep, … [Read more...] about The Unquantified Self
Mindfulness Meditation
"Mindfulness" is at the forefront of popular culture these days. It gets pitched as a cure-all that promises to make you a better everything, from executive to athlete. I'm a 30+ year practitioner of a meditation practice called Vipassana as taught by S.N. Goenka (1924-2013). Vipassana falls under the broad umbrella of "mindfulness," and is probably the source of the entire … [Read more...] about Mindfulness Meditation
Northwest Winter Challenge 2019
Winters in the Pacific Northwest are not easy. I know winter, I was raised in Minnesota, land of 10,000 frozen lakes. I lived in Boston for sixteen years, the setting for the movie The Perfect Storm. Winter running in the Pacific Northwest has its own set of challenges. I'm still adjusting to all the rain. During January and February, my running shoes are in a constant state … [Read more...] about Northwest Winter Challenge 2019