Thoughts on Lance Armstrong, from a man who knows cycling and cancer

As you may have seen in my About Me page, my dad has fought through a battle with cancer.  He was beaten down to a level that most people didn't think he'd be able to crawl back from (including being comatose in the ICU for two weeks), and has managed to push through and kick cancer in the ass.  He has been in remission for nearly 5 years, from a type of cancer that most people experience recurrence within 2-3 years, and so far all signs point to cancer-free *knock wood*.  Since his diagnosis, he has become very involved with various cancer charities by combining it with one of the things he likes best - cycling.  He rode in the Ride to Conquer Cancer the year after his diagnosis and treatment (200km ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls), and has continued volunteering with other rides, such as the Coast to Coast ride for kids with cancer, and currently, the Wellspring Peloton riding to Texas.  Of course, being so heavily involved in both cancer stuff and cycling stuff, he's also very interested in what's been going on lately with Lance Armstrong.

Today he is in Texas after the Wellspring ride, and is riding in the Livestrong Challenge.  He sent this email to us and some of his friends with his thoughts, and I wanted to share his thoughts with you.  Regardless of your opinion of Lance Armstrong, whether you think that he did cheat or not, I hope that this email will help to shed some light on the other side of the "scandal", and what it means to the people who have been affected by Armstrong in the years before now.

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I have been in Austin Texas since Friday after following 32 riders from Toronto on the Wellspring Peloton Challenge for the previous 7 days and nights. The Livestong Challenge weekend is under way with the big ride tomorrow. Of course the  buzz under everyones breath is the Lance Armstong news of cheating, sponsors bailing, his resignation as head  of the Livestong Foundation, and his fall from public grace. He had always stood firm that he was the most tested athlete on record, had never had a failed a test ( aka never been caught), and most importantly never doped. He created one of the most credable foundations around, built from his legacy, fame, and dedication to fighting the desease that almost killed him. Ultimately his fame gave him access to decision makers to influence their positions and funding for the benefit of those with Cancer beyond.
Its not so shocking to hear that any athlete has used whatever edge they can get including doping. Armstrong is the face guy for a sport riddled with complicated methods to achive super performance and he will be the poster boy for what is wrong with the sport. The old saying of folks that live in glass houses, should not throw stones, may be appropriate. His list of sporting achievements on and off the bike is long, and hopefully this chapter of his history will be a subnote to what he has given the world OFF the bike.

So, what if there was no Lance Armstrong as we know him?
What if the Livestrong Foundation never existed?
Where would we be?
What I do know is what the foundation he created does, and that we are all better off  because of it. Let's not forget that this is a guy that beat the odds to survive. To win against Cancer takes everything you have. You can't cheat. It is greater than any advisary that faces you on a bike. To come from a place of near death, and even come close to riding in the tour is nothing short of miraculous. With or without doping. I can imagine anything or anyone in the way of a goal looking like the black cloud of Cancer. A beast that must be conquered by whatever means possible. That's the only way to survive what Cancer inflicts. Let me offer a concept: a competetive athlete, survives near death, sees every obstacle in front of him in the same way.  Cancer didn't beat me , and neither will anything else.    I will use anything and everything  to win.  To some this may be arogant, or a stretch to  justifiaction.  I'm not offering an excuse, but I understand it.

I recall reading an article recently of a woman who told Cancer that it had picked the wrong bitch to F%ˆ$# with. Being a weekend warrior type althlete, she drew on her inner "force" to win. Runners have a term, "cross the wall", for moving past a place where you are completely beat but force yourself thru. That's the way it is, that's how we attack our advisary, that's how  Cancer patients focus. Translate this to Armstrong, and I can see him looking at any obsticle, as one that has to be slain, by whatever means available.

In 2009, 12 months after my stem cell transplant, I did the Ride to Conquer Cancer. From being unable and unwilling to walk accross a room, I had to draw on my inner force to move forward by inches every day, and "cross the wall" that Cancer had put in front of me.
I have been witness to incredable spirits of determination, on the Wellspring Challenge, Coast to Coast Ride, Ride to Conquer Cancer and the Livestrong Challenge, all driven by an individual and collective need to face Cancer head on and beat it by whatever means available, including simply riding a bike. It is our inner force that drives us on a bike, on a run, or in a hospital bed. Armstrong's athletic accomplishment will likely be removed from the record books, he may be another public figure that has fallen from grace, he may not even be a guy you would like to sit and have a beer with, but he is also the guy that beat Cancer head on, and has inspired millions to continue the fight. For that he deserves credit. I will continue to wear my yellow wrist band and Livestrong wear for the same reasons I always have .. what it stands for.


Ride on.

Vegetable of the Month

As we head into Thanksgiving weekend (for Canadians, anyway), what better way to celebrate than by featuring this particular veggie of the month:




POTATOES!


Yes, the humble potato will likely make an appearance front and centre on your Thanksgiving table this year, whether mashed, roasted, or scallopped.  This veggie is often shunned as being "too starchy" because it has carbs.  Remember that time when I posted about how carbs aren't the devil in disguise?  Indeed, potatoes do contain carbohydrate, but if you aren't eating a billion of them, I promise, you will live!

So what's so cool about potatoes?  This info is from the Canadian Nutrient File for a medium Russet potato (the kind that's usually used for baked potatoes, fries, etc).  Other potato varieties might have a bit different info, but quite similar in health benefits :)

• 4.5g of protein
• 168 calories (FOR A WHOLE POTATO, skin on!)
• 38g of carbohydrate
• about 3g of fibre (skin on)
• about 2mg of iron, which is about 11% of a woman's daily need (25% for you men!)
• about 15% of a woman's daily magnesium needs, 12% for men
• 17% of your daily phosphorus needs
• 16% of a women's vitamin C needs, 13% for men
• 20% of your daily niacin needs!
• 7% of your daily folate needs
• a mere 11mg of sodium (not including any extras you top it up with :P)

Potatoes are available year round, and in endless varieties.  Depending on what you are using them for, different kinds of potatoes will be best.  For example, russet potatoes are all-purpose, great for baking, roasting, making fries/wedges, putting chunks into stews, etc.  Yukon gold potatoes have a buttery texture and flavour, and are great for making mashed potatoes and soups (so that you can limit the amount of cream and butter that you need - it's already built in!).  New potatoes (the little red ones) are great for mashing, roasting, and in quarters for soups and stews.

But what about all those CARBS!?

Potatoes have a bad reputation for some reason, because everyone is concerned about carbohydrates.  Yes, potatoes have carbs.  The carbohydrate content in potatoes comes mostly from starch (only about 1g of sugar in a potato, 3g of fibre, and the rest from starch).  In humans, extra carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles, and acts as a reserve energy store for when we do vigorous activity, are in periods of starvation or fasting, etc.  In plants, starch plays the same role.  Both of these compounds are made up of long chains of glucose.  So, when we eat starch, it gets broken up into little glucose molecules to be absorbed by the body.  We turn that glucose into energy (if you remember high school biology, glucose is used in ATP production), or stored as glycogen if our stores are depleted.  If we eat excess carbohydrate (or any other macronutrient, e.g. protein), it will be stored as fat instead.  It's not starch's fault -- it doesn't automatically go to your hips just to make you suffer.  It, and all the other excess macronutrients that you will probably consume over the Thanksgiving weekend, will band together and create adipose tissue - better known as body fat.

Ideally, we should aim to eat no more than one serving of starch at a meal in order to avoid consuming excess carbohydrate.  Notice that I didn't say that you should ideally eat no starches, or no more than one in a day, or something like that.  You can eat starch!  In fact, I encourage you to eat it!  Though starchy foods can increase blood sugar quicker than other foods (so diabetics, this is something you'll need to track carefully), sometimes that's not a bad thing.  If you're starving before your Thanksgiving dinner because you worked out extra hard that morning to make room, that extra surge of blood glucose will help to replenish your glycogen stores that were depleted in your workout.  When we use our muscles, and when we don't eat for extended periods of time (the pre-Thanksgiving fast to save up extra space for turkey.  What?  That's just me who does that?  Oh.), our muscles and/or liver release their glycogen stores in order to create energy.  We need to replenish that in order to keep us running strong :)!

You've convinced me!  Give me a recipe! 

As we are entering fall, one of my favourite things ever at this time of year is SOUP!!!!!  I make potato and leek soup every year, and this is one of my fave recipes:

Potato Leek Soup
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into evenly-sized chunks
4 leeks, washed* and chopped into rounds
5 cups reduced sodium chicken or veggie broth
pepper to taste

* leeks tend to hold a lot of sand in between their layers around the bottom.  Great washing tip: slice lenthwise into the bottom of a leek so that the layers can fan out.  Dip them in a bowl of water, and swish around so that the layers open up like a broom.  Alternatively, chop them as usual, and place into a deep bowl of water.  Again, swish them around to get the dirt out.

In a big pot, combine potatoes, leeks and stock, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and simmer till veggies are very soft, about 25 minutes.
Blenderize!  Using either a hand blender (immersion blender) or using a regular blender and splitting the soup into batches, puree until the soup is smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Options: try adding diced ham or bacon for a bit of salty yummyness :)