Season's First 5K - Healthier You Challenge, Valdez, AK

35 degree temperatures, gusty winds, and nine foot snow banks would not typically suggest that the spring/summer racing season was about to commence.  Yet, approximately 45 locals showed up this morning in exactly these conditions to run their first 5K of the year:  the Healthier You 5K.

12' snow banks are not normally harbingers
of the springtime running season.  (Photo by Matt Kinney).

Since the middle of January, Valdezans have been participating in a community wellness initiative dubbed “Healthier You”.  This program started several years ago and was immediately popular.  Over 300 people signed up the first year and consecutive year participation has been similarly high.  At the program’s center is a mission of encouraging people to lose weight, eat right, exercise, and stop smoking.  Healthier You gets its real traction, though, by appealing to the competitive, game playing side of all us humans – for every pound lost, hour exercised, and day without a cigarette participants get points that can lead to prizes.  Individuals and teams vie for the most points earned.  The prizes aren’t small, either – they’re valuable enough and cool enough to draw the interest of many.  This year, members of the winning teams received gifts plus $50 REI certificates.  Other prizes throughout the year included sports equipment, gift cards, and fitness books and kits.  At the 2013 finale today that followed the 5K, a lucky person won a brand new mountain bike!

Over the course of the winter, HY organizers, supporters, and sponsoring agencies put on ski clinics and snowshoe hikes and cooking demonstrations and personal health workshops.  They scheduled biometrics testing, balancing classes, training sessions, and swim meets.

A friend of mine conceived of an interesting idea a few weeks ago.  Inspired by what she was seeing among co-workers and friends and fellow HY team members, she imagined Valdez becoming a fitness destination.  Valdez possesses a prime natural environment for outdoor activities like kayaking, hiking, and skiing and quality fitness facilities like a swimming pool, groomed cross-country ski trails, a set of nice hiking trails, and a new building that is shaping up to be a beautiful gym at the college (should be finished soon!).  With those resources as a base and the burgeoning positive attitudes about healthy living within our community, my friend reasoned that visitors could easily become infected with Valdez Fever.

Brilliant white mountains blasted by sun
are a Valdez April hallmark.  (Photo by Matt Kinney).

This morning, I found her vision easy to buy in to while I was running down Hazelet Street in a pack of exuberant Valdezans – brilliantly clad in multiple layers, wool caps, gloves, and fleece tights, bracing against a chilling headwind, and celebrating this bizarre season we all love – that period between winter and spring where the days are impossibly long and the sun reverberates off the pure white landscape.

Healthier You, Sound Wellness Alliance.

Wholy Living Whole Foods

Just like always and only because of the good graces of Katie did I get my order in for the most recent twice- yearly Wholy Living co-op order.  I got the order form in the mail two weeks ago, and finally took time over breakfast last Saturday to carefully read through the chatty newsletter and fill out the detailed form.  I’m used to shopping in bulk for weeks at a time since we buy almost all of our other dry goods in Anchorage, but when I place my Wholy Living order, I have to think even longer range – six months.  It’s fun, but challenging and I always wait until the last minute to submit my form.

Wholy Living is a religious based back-to-earth sort of co-op.  On the website, the founder advocates for reading the King James Version of the Bible and the right to bear arms.  About whole grains, she writes “God created whole grains for us with all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to nourish our bodies.  Satan stepped in through man to make it ‘better’ by removing all the vital, living components and tempted us with ‘dead bread’ which kills the body prematurely.”  I’m not entirely sure I agree that Satan was the impetus behind the degradation of our food, but I’m in complete agreement that Wonder bread is, indeed, dead.

The foods that Wholy Living offers are hearty, nutritious, and high quality.  The founder takes great care in sourcing her grains, beans, nuts, dried fruits, and other products and successfully puts together a list of staples that provide the basis for a family to eat a balanced and varied diet.  Quantities are reasonable for even a small family (of two) like mine or for a large family.  Grains in particular are offered in very large quantities specifically for folks who grind their own flours for bread.  For example, you can purchase 50 pound increments of Bronze Chief wheat, 25 pound increments of kamut, and 50 pounds increments of rolled oats.  Many of the supplies are organic.

I typically shop for ingredients that go into my one-pot meals, home-made granola, and Matt’s trail mix:  black beans, quinoa, millet, whole almonds, walnuts, pecans, and cranberries.  Other items available through Wholy Living are maple syrup (1 gallon for $85), organic coconut oil (1 or 5 gallons), organic dark chocolate chips (5 pounds), and pumpkin seeds (5 pounds for $25).

My Wholy Living distributor, Katie, is based in Copper Center.  She receives co-op shipments into her large basement and then, with the help of volunteers, separates and re-packs food for customers around this region of the state.  Other distribution centers are in Fairbanks, Palmer, Delta, Homer, and Seward.  If you live in or near one of these locations, check the website for dealer contact information and a copy of the latest order form.

Highly Recommended:  Wholy Living dried cranberries – sweetened with apple juice.  Sweet, plump, and chewy.  5 pounds for $35.

Masters Swimming Takes Off in Valdez

At the conclusion of my first 100 yards during my first Masters Swimming workout, the coach told me I needed to smooth out my freestyle stroke and that I was cutting off my reach too early.  Just the kind of feedback I was looking for. 

I’ve been hitting the pool consistently for the last five months in an attempt to develop my technique, strength, and endurance enough to be able to swim 500 yards in the Gold Nugget Triathlon in May.  I started from scratch back in October (the last time I attempted to swim something other than the doggy paddle was in 6^th grade) and it took me three months just to get to the point where I could swim ten laps continuously without gasping for air at the end of each pool length.  Then I’d hit a plateau.  Though I’d taken a couple of private swim lessons in the fall, most of my instruction was coming from YouTube.  My technique needed work.

It was most auspicious, then, when I received an email from Carl Young who works for the Valdez Parks and Recreation Department announcing the formation of a community Masters Swimming program.  The plan was that the group would meet for an hour on Saturday afternoons and would follow structured work outs based on skill level.  It’s important to understand that “masters” refers to age not ability.

I showed up for the first session uncertain of what to expect.  My friend, Karen, met me there and we joined one other woman in the two lanes designated for beginners.  Several other folks filtered in over the next few minutes and filled up the intermediate and advanced lanes.  Carl instructed us to get fins and kickboards and then to get to work on our 300 yards of warm up.  Karen and I practiced circle swimming, and, after a couple of initial collisions, we got in synch with each other’s paces.

Carl, our coach, met us periodically at the end of our laps and gave us each specific instructions to improve weak points in our kicks or strokes.  I got assigned finger-drag-drill and 6-by-6 drill to improve my arm extension and form.  We kept moving for most of the 60 minute session by following a set of drills that was written on the pool’s white board.

As 1pm approached, Carl directed us to line up and get ready for sprints. 

“Swimmers on your mark,” he yelled.  Then, blowing his whistle, he piped “Go”.  And, off we went splashing, pulling, kicking towards the other end of the pool.  Breathing hard, we looked to the coach for a reprieve, but he just hollered out for us to get ready for the next one, blew the whistle, and sent us all hurdling down the pool for another set of sprints.

More Information:

Keep an eye out for announcements about upcoming Valdez Masters Swimming clinics (last half of April) and meets.  Dues may be forthcoming as the group completes its formation and as it becomes part of the U.S. Masters Swimming program.

Gold Nugget Triathlon, Here We Come

It was a stressful week.  The Gold Nugget Triathlon’s main event took place on Tuesday night and women across the state were feeling it.

“Akkk. I'm freaking out,” one woman wrote on Facebook.

More comments followed immediately.

“Nervous first timer.”

“All I can think about today!”

“I was counting the minutes all day.”

 “We can do this!”

Later, someone posted, “I am stressing myself out.  I feel so anxious about 8 p.m. coming.  Never done anything like this – EVER!  And I want it so bad!”

Another woman shared, “I woke up at 2am.  Woke my husband up asking ‘what time is it, what time is it?”

Someone added a comment to that post, “I woke up at 4 a.m. in a panic that I had missed it.  I can’t eat and I’m pacing and can’t get anything done today.”

All this anxiety-ladened, high stress chatter wasn’t about the race itself—it was about registration.

The Gold Nugget Triathlon is a women’s only sprint-length race that takes place in Anchorage annually.  It has grown in popularity to such a degree that organizers have limited participation to 1500.  Demand is so great to get one of the slots that the on-line registration process has become a race in and of itself.

As first time triathletes, two of my sisters and I had prepped for registration.  We’d received advice from past participants, so we knew we needed to pay attention and we knew we needed not to underestimate the competition.  The website contained all the information we needed:  it told us that at 8:00 p.m. sharp, a link would go live on the GNT’s homepage and from there we’d key in our names, click “submit”, and then wait to receive a confirmation email.  Fine.  No problem.  We made sure the date and time were on our calendars and booted up multiple computers (thank you husbands).

My cell phone reminder chimed at 8:00 p.m. on the dot.  My alarm buzzed an instant later.  I hit the refresh button on my laptop and immediately got back this horrible error message “page could not be found.”  My stomach lurched.

First time jitters, I coached myself.

Refresh.

Refresh.

Refresh.

Still, no GNT page.

I went to Facebook and found this panicked post.

“What’s happeningggg???”

I wasn’t alone.  I thought about my sisters.  Were they having the same trouble?  I didn’t want to text message them because what if they were in the middle of successfully registering and I interrupted them and they timed out and didn’t get in because of me?

“I’ll try it on my computer.”  Matt said from across the room.

I kept hitting the refresh key.

“Nothing.” He said.

I stared at my screen understanding that the GNT page had crashed.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my frazzled nerves.  At 8:02 p.m., I hit the refresh button again and, yes!, this time I got the familiar banner – I was on!  I scrolled down the page, clicked the registration key and, incredibly, the registration page loaded for me.  I carefully, carefully typed my name and birthday, re-read it to ensure I hadn’t fat-fingered anything.  Then, quickly, clicked “submit”. 

Immediately, I texted my sister:  “I got through…registered…you need help?”

A flurry of text messages and phone calls followed – we’d all gotten in.  I opened Facebook to see what was going on over there.

A woman had just posted, “I should've had my heart rate monitor on -- geez! It was agonizing watching that page try to load and then finally success, and all is good.” 

 “I made it in! I'm SO EXCITED!!!”  Someone gushed.

Another entrant raved, “Everyone had a mini-heart attack!”

Expressing what we were all feeling, a woman posted:  “Whew!  The hardest part it over!”

Later, someone penned this haiku as an ode to on-line registration and shared it on Facebook.

Gold Nugget Panic
Registration Open Call
Quick trigger finger

At 9:43 p.m., Lia, the stalwart Facebook page monitor reported, “The first three minutes were rough with overloading the server. Nonetheless, 1000 ladies registered in the first 5 minutes and then we hit the 1500 mark at just over 16 minutes!!”

Now, we can all get back to training for the real race:  swim 500 yards, cycle 12 miles, and run 4 miles come May 19.

Black Friday - Just Another Quiet Day in Valdez

Valdez post office bulletin board is a good starting point
for information about Black Friday events

While 30,000 shoppers stormed the Black Friday fortress of Minneapolis’ Mall of America for its midnight opening, I slept soundly.  At 3:00 a.m., then again at 7:00, as the next waves of sales and store openings rolled across the country, I went right on snoozing.  At noon, when I finally hit the streets to explore the Valdez Black Friday scene, it looked as though I wasn’t alone in my lackadaisical approach to Black Friday.

I kicked off my Black Friday on the sofa with a hot cup of coffee while the rising sun painted the clouds pink.  I booted up my laptop, opened my email, and found thirteen new promotional messages.  Since it was the biggest shopping day of the year, I decided to actually review the ads instead of trashing them immediately.  While I was reading through the fine print on Backcountry.com’s 50% offer, Matt piped up from the other side of the living room.  “50% off hoodies at Ibex,” he reported.  He was reading his email too.

After sifting through email advertisements, I thought I should take a quick look at other websites in case there was a deal too good to pass up.  REI was offering 50% off store label clothing, but I didn’t find any Black Friday markdowns at either Title Nine or Athleta (women’s athletic apparel).

I finished my coffee and stepped out onto the porch to gage the weather conditions.  It was sunny and a slight breeze pushed the cottonwood crowns back and forth.  In past years, I’ve braved Black Friday throngs in Anchorage in foot-deep slush.  The weather this year was much more pleasant and I invited Matt to join me on a stroll through town to participate in the Valdez retail experience.  The Associated Press had reported that morning that some national retailers were losing so much money by slashing prices during Black Friday sales that this year they were foregoing massive cuts and instead were launching high end, full priced goods. I hadn’t noticed much local advertising, but I thought we’d check out the shops and see what their approach was to this day-of-all-shopping-days.

  

Our first stop was at Second Time Around, a thrift shop operated by a local non-profit organization.  I perused recent paperback book arrivals while Matt checked out gear and housewares.  I fortuitously ran into Fran, the framer, who I’d been meaning to call to consult on a project I was pondering. 

We headed on down the road to Southcentral Hardware where the owner’s daughter was standing on a ladder stocking a top shelf with Christmas decorations.  We discussed carpets and storage devices, then moved on to the town’s hub:  the post office.  There, Matt checked our mail and I studied the flyers posted on the bulletin board outside.  I found only two flyers promoting Black Friday events:  the museum store and the Valdez Office Supply.  We didn’t particularly need office supplies, so we charted our course for the museum store on the next block.

At the Valdez Museum Store, we looked at the collection of new Alaskana book titles and Matt exchanged information with curator Faith Revell about a pair of ancient wooden bush plane skis that were recently acquired and put on exhibit.  We bought our first purchase of the day – a book – and renewed our membership.

Neither of us had been to the Rogue’s Garden health food store for a few weeks, so we headed there next.  I checked out the high end cookware and Matt picked out organic apples and bulk roasted almonds.

After a stop at Safeway for a couple of sodas, we headed back home having determined that local retailers and local consumers were taking a similar approach to the day.  Stores had opened at normal hours and, for the most part, held firm on prices.  The few shoppers that were out and about were civilized and did not battle each other in long lines.  We found what we always find when we stroll through town:  encounters with acquaintances, random exchanges, and a reminder of how outsized the culture of consumerism really is.

Cold and Clear, Autumn Hikes Take Priority

Gold Creek

I was in the lead of a small group of loosely acquainted hikers recently, heading up a trail toward the sandy alluvium at the mouth of Gold Creek, a striking stream that cuts through the mountainside about three miles from town.  I had only just met one of the women hiking with us – a registered nurse new to Valdez.  Another of our compatriots that day was a friend with whom I’ve hiked on a number of occasions.  A fourth acquaintance joined in at the trailhead.  My husband, Matt, the instigator of the hike, brought up the rear.

 The group had thrown aside household chores, honey-do’s, and other obligations to take to the hillside path under a clear autumn sky.  Temperatures were anything but warm, yet the draw of beaming sunshine was impossible to deny.  In Valdez, we are used to rain and wind and snow – it’s coastal, after all – but, the past year has been so gray and wet that even hardened Valdezans have taken to grumbling.  This summer the temperature in town hit 70 only once.  July was the coldest July on record.  During the month of September, two major rain storms resulted in flooding throughout the community – basements had to be pumped, the park strip turned into a rice paddy, and the highway through the narrow Keystone Canyon was closed for fear of inundation.  After recording 26” of rain, the National Weather Service declared that month to have set the record for the wettest September ever.

Trail to Gold Creek

So, in October, when the clouds miraculously dissipated and cold air settled into the Valdez Arm, Valdezans emerged from their homes, awed by the sun.  Some people took advantage of the dry conditions to catch up on work around the house that had been put off during wet weather, but not us.  Our hiking cohort played hooky all afternoon.

The hike to Gold Creek is not difficult.  It gains a few hundred feet in elevation over its course and much of the way it is nearly level.  On the day we hiked, the ground had frozen solid and we were able to easily walk across earth that had, just days before, been ankle deep mud and standing water.  The tide was receding and even the grassy flats that are often swampy with seawater were dry.  Here and there, running streams trickled under ice lenses and above us, ice falls were forming on exposed cliffs.

Ice Falls forming on the Icy Point Trail

Willow and alder, the bane of Valdez hikers during summer months, were bare and regressed from the trail.  Straw-like grasses lay dormant.  Bronzed ferns were crispy curlicues.  Limp cow parsnip plants retained watery green streaks in their leaves and hollow stalks.

When we arrived at Gold Creek, the land bore evidence of the torrential rains of the past month.  The spit where our trail reached sea level again was completely washed in sediment from the flooding creek.  The campsites were washed out and sand covered the ground through the brushy groves.  A stalwart foot bridge was partially buried in gravel and stood askew, having been bombarded by trees and shrubs ripped up and carried down stream.  When we arrived, the creek was back in its banks, lazily meandering out across the ginger-hued grass lands to the ocean. 

Another great fall hike:  Snowslide Gulch - 18 Mile

At the mouth of Gold Creek, we took a long break, enjoying the glare of the sunshine off the white-capping ocean, the soft give of the sandy earth, and the bracing wind that brought with it the reminder that winter was not far away.

Whole Grain Breakfasts - Sweet and Savory

Following are two different takes on hot cereal breakfasts.  The first is a sweet Quinoa morning salad and the other gives traditional oatmeal a savory, salty twist.  Both offer protein, whole grain carbohydrates, and either fruit or vegetables.

Sweet Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
1 cup cooked quinoa (hot or cold)
1 t olive oil
1 t pure maple syrup
2 T sliced almonds
Raisins
1/2 t black pepper
Cinnamon to taste

Toss all ingredients together.

Savory Oatmeal
1 c cooked oatmeal (hot)
Sun dried tomatoes
Chopped red bell pepper
Arugula or spinach
Olive oil
Italian seasonings
Sea salt
1 egg
1 T sliced green onion

While oatmeal is cooking, saute veggies in olive oil.  Scramble an egg into the soft, sauted veggies.  Gently fold veggie/egg mixture into cooked oatmeal and top with a sprinkling of salt, Italian seasonings, and sliced green onions.