Here is a nutritious and yummy smoothie recipe that I enjoy after a good workout or a long run.  It is fairly low in carbs and high in protein.

• 1 scoop protein vanilla whey powder
• 1/2 frozen blueberries
• 1 small to medium banana
• 8-10 oz skim milk
• 4 tbs fat free plain yogurt
• 1 tbs all natural organic peanut butter
• 1 tbs wheat germ
• dash of cinnamon
• 2 tbs oatmeal

The next posting in our experiment will feature the RunKeeper iPhone app.

Late Breaking news…..yesterday Work It Training attended the Austin Marathon Expo at the Palmer Event Center.  Work It Training ran into the Strands people.  Strands (strands.com) is another iPhone app that is similar to TrailGuru and RunKeeper.  After a quick demo of the Strands app, it looks interesting enough to add to our experiment.  So a 3rd horse has entered the race. 

Here is my write up on the TrailGuru iPhone app.

• Version: 2.0
• App size: 293 KB
• Free / Paid: only available as free app
• Ads: the google maps view shows banner ads

Here are screens shots of the iPhone app interface:

• Main window (Fig 1)
  

• • Very intuitive.  You start/stop/clear just like you would on a standard stopwatch. The main window also contains a lot of good data to keep you posted on your progress.
  • So far, we have only used TrailGuru to track our daily runs. We listen to music while running, so we have to go to the ipod app first and select the songs/playlist before running the TrailGuru app.  This is OK unless you decide in the middle of your activity that you want to switch playlists, which means that when you switch to the ipod app to change your music, you have to switch back to the TrailGuru app and then press Start again to continue the tracking.  This is not a flaw with TrailGuru, but rather a “feature” (ahem…limitation of the iPhone environment). Hopefully, one day soon Apple fixes this limitation as it will prevent many apps from truly mashing together.
  • There is a lock feature on the main menu that is handy to lock the display to prevent accidental touching while you are moving.
  • The camera feature is simple and straigth-forward, nothing special about it.
• Map window (Fig 2)
  • Displays google maps pretty fast
  • The GPS tracker will track exactly what you are doing until you hit the Stop button on the Main window.  This makes perfect sense and the way it should be.  However, remember when you are finished with your activity to press the Stop button otherwise you will end up with a rather crazy looking mapping when you realize hours later that you never press the Stop button.  
  • The Map window shows a banner ad at the top, minor inconvenience for a free app.
• Posting window (Fig 3)
  • You can post your activity as Private, Public, or have a “Friends group” set up.  You can create the “Friends group” on the TrailGuru web site.  It would be cool if the app could connect to services like Facebook, Twitter, Gyminee, Nike+, etc  so your Friends or the Public could see your postings.  This would be very helpful for my group activities.
  • You can tag your activity using the Description field to further keep track of your postings.
  • You can select from about 19 categories plus an Other category to tag your activity.  Although I am curious to know who would risk taking their iPhone out kayaking with them.
  • Posting is super simple, just press “Post Tracks.”
• Profile Settings window (Fig 4)
  
  • As with the rest of the app, this window is clean looking and very intuitive.  Once you have your TrailGuru account set up, your activities get posted to the TrailGuru site and you receive an email confirmation.  You will also receive periodic (i.e. weekly, monthly, etc) email updates from TrailGuru showing your recent activities.
  • I got a chuckle out of the setting for the distance measurement.  Most people know what the Metric system is, but I wonder how many people know that the US uses the “Imperial system” for measurement.
  • You can set tune the accuracy of the GPS logging by adjusting the Units and Record Every options.  However, remember the more granular you set the tracking, the faster it sucks out of the iphone battery.
  • Although I have the Audible Cues option set, I do not know what it does.  I have yet to receive any kind of TrailGuru “voice from above”.   I was hoping that this option would work like the Nike+ audible cues option which tells me how far I have run or how long I have run.
• Web site (trailguru.com)
  • have not reviewed yet.  This will be coming shortly
• Overall
  • The main strength to the TrailGuru app is the inuitive design of the interface.  It does what it advertises, and its FREE!!.
  • The GPS tracking is decent.  When two of us start at the same point and run the same distance, we have seen differences in the distance tracked that range from 0.03 – 0.33.  Hopefully the accuracy of the tracking will improve over time.

If you are a woman on birth control and are smoking, STOP!  If you are smoking, stop anyway, but this is alarming.

Women who are on birth control should have been told by their doctor to not smoke.  There is good reason for it.  Studies have shown that women who take birth control and smoke are at far greater risk of having a first time heart attack, up to 30 times more than a woman who doesn’t smoke!  The older the woman is, the greater the risk.  Also, a woman who has a family history of heart-related disease (heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure) is at greater risk of developing heart disease if they combine birth control and nicotine.

If you are a woman who is at great risk, please consult with your doctor to find a smoking cessation program that is right for you.  Please visit www.americanheart.org for more information related to keeping your heart healthy.

(Please consider this post as general information and not medical advice; always follow the advice of your health care provider.)

I was at the Active Texas Summit in January this year and had the opportunity to talk with Jen Ohlson, the author of “Every Town Needs A Trail.”  Jen’s book is all about the history and beauty of Lady Bird Lake Trail (formerly the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail) told through stories of those who love the Trail.  She interviewed celebrities like Shawn Colvin, Lance Armstrong, Willie Nelson, and Matthew McConaughey, getting each of their unique perspectives on the Trail.  Jen also interviewed Austinites who you may not recognize unless you frequent the Trail, like Bassett and Marge Maguire whose touching tale of walking the Trail dates back to 1965.

The art and photography in this book are awesome!  Personally, I was most taken back by the before and after pictures of the Trail during the renovation in the 1960’s.  The inside cover is a copy of the original 1964 Town Lake Trail Master Plan designed with the great influence of the late Lady Bird Johnson.  The brilliant photos really capture the beauty of this Austin gem.

Pick up a copy at your local independent bookstore or online at Amazon.

I have an iPhone, and I love it.  I mean….I really love it.  I am amazed at how many great apps there are for the iphone.  When I go jogging around Austin I really like to know the distance I have traveled, an approximation of calories burned, and also the duration of the run. I also want the ability to review previous runs.

I was very happy to come across TrailGuru and RunKeeper. I had downloaded TrailGuru a few weeks ago and have been using it regularly to track my runs.  I recently came across the RunKeeper app.  Say what you will about social media advertising/viral marketing (i.e Twitter, Facebook) but that is how I discovered Runkeeper (kudos to you Jason .

I am going to conduct an informal experiment on my user experiences with TrailGuru versus Runkeeper.  Stay tuned for my updates….and good luck to both apps.

Park: Barton Creek Greenbelt (West) on 2/3/2009
Location: 1710 Camp Craft Road, close to Barton Creek Mall near Loop 360 and Mopac
Area: 1,770 acres  in total
Call 472-1267 for info on the Barton Creek Greenbelt
———–
Now that cedar-fever is effecting me less I ventured out to cover my first park for the year.  I picked an awesome day to hike the trail.  The sky was clear and the temp was in the 60s I believe.  You can access the Barton Creek  Greenbelt from different points but I chose the entrance off Camp Craft Road.  As you enter you have to walk down a very rocky trail of steps.  I highly recommend great hiking boots or shoes with good tread.  It’s easy to twist an ankle.  I took the first left I could when I came to a fork in the trail.  This trail was cut into the side of the hill well above the creek.

There were the typical central Texas foliage of mountain juniper, live oaks, grasses and succulents.  I recommend wearing long pants because the trail was very narrow and I was frequently  brushed by the foliage.  The trail was not friendly for running; it was quite rocky most of the time with a few sections of smooth dirt.  It was VERY clean, I didn’t see any evidence of trash or vandalism (YAY!).  Personally, I am not a skilled enough mountain biker for the  trail I chose, but if you do bike it please take a buddy, this trail was rough, very narrow, and there were plenty of points where you could fall right of the side of the hill to the creek area.  I did see bike tread imprints along the way so bikers ride it.

There were a couple of sections where the trees cleared and I could see awesome, sweeping views of the hills and the creek.  See some of my pictures below.  I hiked until the trail segment ended at a street backing to an apartment complex.  I then turned around and headed back.  I tracked my path using Trailguru on my iPhone and in all I hiked almost 3 kilometers in 40 minutes and burned 330 calories according to my Polar monitor.

I had a great time out at the greenbelt and there are plenty of other trails within, so I will definitely return to report on another trail in the Barton Creek Greenbelt.

Work It Personal Training is currently asking if there is interest in a Work It Running Team.  Let me know if you’d be interested!  I am in the process of developing a practice schedule and would like your input.  When you email me, please let me know what you would like to see included, when you are available (general days and times), and where you would like to practice.  The goal is to make the Team fun, affordable, and at a level appropriate for the majority of the Team Members.