High Cloud Blog

Michael Sheehy's lucky day

High Clouders - Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Sheehy enjoys solid performance at St. Patrick's Day 8K
By Michael Sheehy
High Cloud Dream Team

Congratulations to Michael Sheehy on his strong showing at the St. Patrick's Day 8K in DC!  Here he recounts his experience:

    On Sunday, March 13, I joined over 5,500 runners in racing the annual St. Patrick’s Day 8K in downtown Washington, DC.  Mid-March in the mid-Atlantic can be a bit of a crapshoot when it comes to weather, but on this day, the sun shone and a perfect race temperature prevailed.  So, rather than tights and a long-sleeved top, I comfortably toed the line in an Under Armour tank and shorts.  

    Minor digression:  I love Under Armour gear.  My dresser drawers are filled with it.  Teaching and coaching at St. John’s College High School (where UA founder Kevin Plank graduated) has certainly facilitated my addiction collection.  I wear it often.  Case in point: a few summers ago in an ultimate frisbee league game, I was beating the heat fully decked out in UA cleats, socks, shorts, and a shirt, when the guy guarding me asked tongue-in-cheek if I was sponsored by Under Armour.  Given High Cloud’s partnership with UA, perhaps I can answer differently now?

          
    Still, not even the wicking wonders of Under Armour could help me stay with a lead pack (led by Ethiopian native Demesse Tefera) running sub-five minute miles.  The flatness and inspiration of running down Pennsylvania Avenue, however, may partly explain my overly exuberant start.  As I told the five members of my cross-country team who also ran, sometimes coaches do not follow their own advice.  Running too hard early on is a tough way to race.  Early oxygen debt is one problem.  Getting passed rather than passing others is also a tough mental challenge to bridge.  It comes as no surprise that most world records have been set off an even pace or with negative splits.

          I hung in as best I could, though, and finished in 28:37, 34th overall among the men, and 3rd in my age group.  Not as fast as last year, but a satisfying hard effort, nonetheless.  So after grabbing a bottle of water and a banana at the finish, I jogged back to the course to cheer on my runners and the friends with whom I would be joining for a delicious post-race brunch.  Speaking of which, my contribution consisted of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins made using the recipe of pro triathlete Andy Potts.  Pretty darn good.  Maybe not amazing, but like my race, a solid outcome...and all part of a fun day representing High Cloud!

 

 

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Spring cleaning for your body

High Clouders - Monday, March 28, 2011
Ways to Love your Liver By Lorie King Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach www.eatinghealthyonthego.com
With spring upon us, we at High Cloud want to pass on some nutrition tips for all of our athletes and volunteers! The wonder of our body is that there is nothing we have to do for the spring detox to start working.  It just happens.  However, there are some things we can do to help facilitate the process and thus, detox more efficiently and hence enjoy increased benefits.  

According to Chinese medicine, the liver rules the eyes, the joints, and the skin.  Signs that your liver is cleansing include sporadic changes in your vision (some people may see floating black spots), stiff or achy joints, and skin conditions such as a rash, eczema or acne.  

The liver is the largest gland in your body and weighs about 3-4 pounds.  An interesting fact is that if your liver is damaged, it has the capacity to regenerate itself.  Amazing!  Your liver is also the main organ for detoxification.  As such, let’s look at a few things you can do to love your liver and help it do its job.  

Ways to love your liver:
  1. Slow down, rest, and get plenty of sleep.  
  2. Move your body.  Your liver likes to have its energy flow.  You can help facilitate this process by moving your body….swim, run, walk, jog, bike, stretch, do yoga or Tai Chi…whatever inspires you and helps you feel alive.
  3. Drink plenty of water and no, Gatorade doesn’t count.  To spark up your water, try adding fresh lemon, lime, cucumber, or strawberries.  
  4. Reduce or eliminate sugar, alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, artificial ingredients, chemicals, and coffee.
  5. Eat lots of leafy greens (red leaf, green leaf or romaine lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, spinach, etc.).  Greens are full of vitamins and minerals, including chlorophyll which is a great cleanser.  According to the ANDI score, which shows the nutrient density of a food on a scale from 1 to 1000 based on nutrient content, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, and the like scored a whopping 1000 points!  Talk about a big return on a small investment.  
  6. Avoid toxic fats (e.g., trans fats, partially hydrogenated oils, corn oil, margarine) as they make your liver work extra hard.  Rather, enjoy healthy fats such as avocados, nuts, seeds, butter, olive oil, and coconut oil.  
  7. Breathe.  Take in long, slow deep inhales and watch your belly expand.  Exhale slowly and feel your belly move back towards your spine.  As you breathe in tell yourself, “calm and relaxation in” and as you exhale say, “stress and tension out.”  You’ll be amazed at how much calmer and relaxed you’ll feel after a few rounds of deep breathing.  Repeat this exercise many times throughout the day.
  8. Express gratitude for your liver (and other organs in your body) and acknowledge how hard it is working to keep you alive and healthy.   
  9. Drink lemon water first thing the in morning for 10-14 days.  To do this, squeeze the juice of a half a lemon into a glass of warm or room temperature water.  If the lemon is too strong you can add a few drops of stevia or a small amount of raw honey.  
As with anything in the health and nutrition world, enjoy the process of being healthy and the wonder of discovering foods and habits that love you back.  Happy spring and have fun loving your liver!
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PeasantMan Triathlon registration open

High Clouders - Friday, March 18, 2011
Register for the 2011 PeasantMan Triathlon!

The 2011 High Cloud PeasantMan Sprint and Olympic Triathlon is open to general registration.

Join us on May 8th, 2011 at the High Cloud PeasantMan Triathlon at the beautiful Lake Anna State Park and Beach. As part of the PeasantMan experience, there will be an open water swim component in the waters of Lake Anna, which will then be followed by a bike ride that will go through the beautiful Park.  The run will be along the trails overlooking the Lake.  The bike ride will be a fixed distance of 20/40K.  The swim will have a 750 meter and 1,500 meter option.  The run will have a 5k and 10k option and there will be a T-1/T-2 area.  We will follow the event with a BBQ celebration much like last years PeasantMan.  If you want to show up just to only swim, bike, or run .... that is also acceptable.  This is a training day with a picnic in a social atmosphere as opposed to a competitive one.  No one there will be tracking your time.  You go and handle things at your own pace.  Come out and have fun with folks who share your passions.  It's a fun day and a fun training event. 

For more information please contact the PeasantMan Training Event Director, Tuan Nguyen, at peasantman@highcloud.org 

Learn about the 2010 Inaugural PeasantMan!
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Francesca's Peruvian adventure

High Clouders - Friday, March 18, 2011

Francesca delivers shoes and smiles to Peru school
By Francesca Di Silvio
High Cloud Dream Team



A work trip recently took me to Lima, Peru, and I was excited to have the opportunity to make a High Cloud mission to the Pronoei Rayito del Sol, a school for children aged 2-6 located on the outskirts of the city. With a simple mission to visit the children, deliver donated shoes, and hopefully capture photos of some smiles, I thought this would be an easy trip to fit in around work commitments. I definitely underestimated how exhausting it would be to arrive, with the trip requiring multiple forms of transportation from Lima including a rapid transit bus, shared taxi, microbus, and tuk-tuk which went as far as motorized transport would take us up the steep and unpaved hill where the community is perched.




Fortunately, I was accompanied on this journey by a Peruvian friend of High Cloud who knew the route and encouraged me up the final tough hike to arrive at the school.

The trip was well worth it to see the children’s excitement when we arrived. Although the school program would not start until the next week, they and their families had been told about the visit, and as soon as we were inside the school building, students and their mothers started to arrive in groups. They were very friendly and eager to tell me about their school, the professor, and other gringos who had visited who they clearly remembered fondly. Most of all, they loved to have their photos taken and then locate themselves in the viewfinder!

Although the school and local community were lacking in material goods, it was clear that these children were happy and well-loved. They also had a ton of energy, so it is great that through the work of the High Cloud Foundation they have a safe building in which to play and learn as a group.



After a brief introduction by the professor, it was time to distribute the donated shoes. I was able to bring seven pairs of mostly athletic shoes, including sneakers small enough to fit one of the boys.  The rest of the shoes were given out to the parents present who had been invited so that we could thank them for their volunteer work at the school in the past year. The group was very grateful and happy for their new kicks, though next time it would be great to collect more small shoes for the kids. 

Many thanks to the High Cloud Dream Team for helping to facilitate this visit and for those reading this blog post, please think of donating children’s shoes and school supplies to Rayito del Sol!









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High Cloud Spinathon a success

High Clouders - Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Spinathon challenges Dream Team for benefit of High Cloud children By Courtney Fulton
High Cloud Dream Team In late February, we held the first annual High Cloud Spinathon. It was a huge success! More than $1000 was raised, and proceeds will go to one the High Cloud Foundation programs. Participants could chose to spin one, two, or all three hours. Over half of the participants toughed out all three hours! Those who signed up for all three hours received a High Cloud towel. All participants got High Cloud water bottles, Accelerade drink and gels, Pirate’s Booty, Luna bars, and other snacks from Whole Foods. Each hour long class had a theme and was taught by Dream Team Members, Ron Benedict, Jen Knickerbocker and me. The first hour Ron rocked it out with a Rock n' Roll theme. And, yes he did actually rap a little bit of the Eminem song, ‘Love the Way you Lie.'
The second and third hours were 80’s and pop themes respectively. High Cloud Dream Team members volunteered and provided motivation through the entire spinathon. There was dancing, singing, laughing, and cheering throughout the entire three hours to keep everyone’s spirits high. Dream Team members, Mark and Ron, busted out some Michael Jackson moves, and Hillary performed some head bopping moves for a little entertainment during my pop-themed class. Hillary actually strained her neck a bit from bobbing it up and down too hard. Hope it doesn’t affect your swimming Hil!
Gift cards were raffled off from Dick’s Sporting Goods, Under Armour, and Best Buy.  Each hour during a recovery portion of the workout, participants were asked a question about High Cloud. The person with the correct answer won. A few of the questions asked were: 1) How many programs does High Cloud have? Five – nutrition, knowledge, sports, environment, and micro finance. 2) How many children does High Cloud reach and in how many countries?  Over 3,000 in 10 countries including – Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Haiti, Kenya, Bethlehem in the Middle East, Macedonia, India and the U.S. We wanted to make sure that we incorporated as much about High Cloud as we could during the spinathon and remind everyone that they were there working hard for the High Cloud children!
In over ten years of teaching spin class, I have to say this by far was the most fun I have ever had teaching, and definitely the most rewarding! Not only did I get to help coordinate the event and instruct an awesome group of endurance athletes, but I got to ride for a purpose, to help the children of High Cloud! High Cloud Founders, Matt and Adriana Anderson, are letting Ron and I put the money raised from the spinathon towards a High Cloud program of our choice since we helped to organize the event. I will be blogging soon about the project we choose and how it is coming along! So amazing!
We had several participants ask if we will do this again and the answer is YES! We may even do another one later this year....Stay tuned!

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