Cycle for Survival~Those Vegetables Really Do Pay Off!

left to right ira shapiro of www.irasabs.com, me & Mark Lavine on our 8th hour 

So, 8 hours on a bike really ain't all that bad, especially on vegan fuel. I would have to say it was a rockin' good time, the morning having our whole team there with friends from college, Maryland, the city and even the gym and then in the afternoon to hang with Marc Lavine, Team Piper and to work very hard to the good tunes. Cycle for Survival raised 8 million dollars and Team Perry remains in the fundraising lead with over $300,000 and a big bunch of enthusiastic teammates made for a fantastic weekend.

So, yes, I took a little heat for my over exercising although Gregg Cook was relatively lenient on me, subtly e-mailing an article about heart damage from too much cardio. But my sense is I might make up for it with dark leafy greens and an abundance of antioxidants. I agree too much steady heavy cardio probably has its pitfalls and I aim for some interval style training in the tradition of the Peak 8 fitness that Dr. Mercola touts on his website, some long steady bike rides that are not too heavy cardio but are time consuming, and some short bursts of exercise when I don't have time to do it any other way. And, if I feel I have overworked, I aim for a vegetable juice, maybe a shot of wheatgrass and big portions of raw and steamed greens.

So, the cocktail party that came the night before was my time to fuel up for the 8 hour ride. I tried to stock the apartment with my kind of mostly vegan healthy fare. My first flop luckily came before the guests arrived so only my sisters-in-law and niece witnessed the very messy but tasty baked polenta with almond butter and sour cherry jam with a dash of cayenne pepper. We all agreed it was delicious but could not possibly be served to a large group in good conscience because the napkin supply necessary to pull this off would be unconscionable and the trickiness to getting the piece of polenta on a toothpick was, well, challenging and I know the limitations of my guests.

 Downstairs we had some four foot long Farinella pizzas (at least this time I knew the size, not like last time when the kids had a couple friends over and we were eating pizza for a month) three with actual cheese (I rarely allow animal products into our apartment but was trying to be a gracious host) and I thought the kids and whoever hung out downstairs could enjoy them all in peace, easier said than done when you invite kids who found every ball that bounces and every musical instrument that we own within minutes of their arrival. Yes, I am sure my own kids instigated all of the running bouncing craziness and our apartment loops around like a track much to the delight of a few youngsters who are not intimidated by anything in their path.


Well, after saving spin instructor Darryl Gaines from the spicy pizza (note to self: next time label the spicy one and put it upstairs with the grown up food) I sought out the Vietnamese summer rolls with lettuce and cabbage wrapped in rice paper with peanut sauce and the vegetable spring rolls both of which were pretty delicious and brought Perry an Asian plate that she enjoyed amidst the chaos. But when I finally got the chance, I immediately drank a beer, not part of my normal pre-exercise mantra but those Sherwood friends are a bad influence.

After that, I aimed for mostly plain raw vegetables. (I had considered making myself a big bowl of sauteed bean sprouts (as I would the night before a race) and hiding out in my room but then I just felt a little weird about having 80 guests and going to my room and closing the door and then to be caught with bean sprouts, well, I guess that is not such a bad thing to be caught with.) So, I had some olives and nuts and then went for the fresh raw jicama, cucumber, pepper, bok choy, and a few others dipped in hummus or guacamole, all good old fashioned fuel. I always say if you are stuck at a party with heavy hors d'oeuvres seek out a few simple raw vegetables and a few plain nuts...then out came the vegan cookies from Whole Foods and one thing led to another and thank goodness I was exercising 8 hours the next day.

Perry had a very special time the whole weekend from the check ceremony Saturday during which we presented the check to her own doctor and which gave her her first opportunity to watch spin instructor Darryl in action, to the onslaught of Saturday night guests both old and new friends, to Sunday, the main event, culminating in Perry and her Dad rockin' out to Sweet Caroline during Robert Pennino's very challenging last hour at Equinox Graybar.


Once home from the 8 hours, I got out all of the leftover raw vegetables and guacamole and had a huge pig out, my first solid food of the day. Immediately, Susannah of course had to share, i.e. take over my snack, uggh but at least she was still in a good mood from her dance with Robert Pennino, love or just a crush, hmm?