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Well, I decided for the BH bike because it just felt really good when I got somewhat fitted and rode it around for a little bit, but I went to buy it yesterday to find that the frame is not quite right for me.  I have really long legs and a short torso so the seat post was a bit too high, not far enough down into the seat tube and could risk breaking 🙁  I was kind of bummed to be honest because my heart was finally with a decision, but there are other options! . . .  

The great staff at JT’s not only honestly told me about the fitting, but also recommended another bike that is somewhat cheaper and may fit me better overall.  What do you think?  It looks pretty nice?  I have to say I’m a sucker for looks when it comes to bikes.  Here are the Jamis Specs.  He’s going to have to order it in, which should take about a week 🙁 and then I can make a final decision.  I need a bike asap, so I hope it works, eek!  Meanwhile, without a bike, I’ve been trying to make it to spin class and stay in somewhat of good shape.  When I do get a bike, I’m going to have to get up by 4am if I want to get any kind of ride in with the heat a creepin’ up here!

At the SCAN Symposium there was a great presentation on Vitamin D and athletes and I thought I share some quick information (Let me know if you’d like references).

• Athletes living in the 35 degrees N Latitude, or those that compete/train indoors are at higher risk for Vitamin D deficiency.
• It has been shown that Vitamin D has a direct effect on muscle performance and can influence muscle cell function.
• Muscle weakness is often observed as a symptom of Vitamin D deficiency.
• In the elderly population, Vitamin D3 has been shown to reduce falls by up to 26%.

Recent study:  Effects of vit D during exercise training on strength and body comp — Inactive men/women, 4,000IUs/day

• Found increase in peak power with vit D group @ 4 weeks, No incr in lean mass or strength, but did change muscle fxn and inc in peak power after 4 weeks.

Conclusions made with the presentation:

• Maintenance of vit D status may improve muscle fxn and indices of athletic performance.
• Maintenance of vit D status will provide health benefits to the athlete, and may possibly enhance athletic performance due to the enhancement of muscle physiology.
• Athletes should get tested and possibly consider vit D supplement 1,000-2,000IUs if recommended by an MD.
• More well-controlled intervention studies are needed in this population.

Another interesting angle to the Vitamin D ‘hype’:

Vitamin D Supplementation in the Age of Lost Innocence 328 2 March 2010 Annals of Internal Medicine Volume 152 * Number 5

“Despite the promise for disease prevention suggested by available studies, we believe that the evidence for widespread use of high-dose vitamin D supplementation in the general population remains insufficient. The 2 metaanalyses in this issue indicate that the randomized trial data on the cardiovascular effects of high-dose vitamin D supplementation are very limited (15, 16). In addition, trials of antioxidant vitamins have taught us that we cannot anticipate small risks of presumed safe interventions that, when applied to hundreds of millions of persons, could result in thousands of detrimental events (22, 23).

Conducting large randomized trials of high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in general population settings should be a public health research priority. We must better define the optimal dose, the real benefits, and the potential harmful effects of vitamin D supplementation. These trials should include participants of both sexes and various ages and races or ethnicities, and measure baseline concentration of circulating 25(OH)D3 in study participants to determine whether efficacy or potential harm depends on vitamin D status. Enthusiasm for vitamin D supplementation must be tempered by the loss of innocence from trials of antioxidant supplements that showed not only no health benefit but also harms. We need to better understand vitamin D’s benefits and harms so that we can maximize the net health gains across all segments of the population.”

Interesting and very true.  Right now I do take 1,000 IUs with my omega-3 fish oil supplement.

I’m not endorsing that everyone go out and take mega-doses of Vitamin D, but it is definitely something to ask your doc, possibly get tested (look for serum 25(OH)D to be 40-70 ng/mL), and look out for in the future, especially for athletes.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out with the new Dietary Guidelines coming out!  Yay for all this spring sunshine 🙂  You only need about 15-20 minutes of sunshine on your arms (just hands is not enough) 2-3 times per week to make plenty of Vitamin D.

I’m loving these Oikos Greek yogurts I found recently.  They are a little bit smaller than the regular sized individual cartons and are the perfect snack size (80kcals each).  I’m usually not a fan of fruited yogurts because they are way too sweet and I like to add my own fresh fruit, but vanilla is perfect because it still has a slight twang 🙂

For a quick snack I like to open one up (it’s fairly wide too), top it with cereal, along with some fruit.

I almost forgot don’t forget to enter the $50 Whole Foods GiftCard Raffle to benefit LiveStrong if you can!  I’m extending the cut-off date, which would have been today, to Wednesday because there are 3 entries so far.  It’s not too bad of a deal to get $50 in our favorite food spending for only $5? Plus your helping an amazing cause 🙂  Here is the entry page and thank you bunches.

Happy Friday! Any Plans?