Weekly roundup: Friday potluck

Welcome to another installment of the weekly roundup we all know and love: Friday potluck! This week's theme: couch potatoes and other things to eat.


Couch potato nation!

According to a report released this month by the CDC, only one 1 of 5 American adults gets an adequate amount of exercise, based on the Physical Activity Guidelines:

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 2½ hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as walking, or one hour and 15 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging, or a combination of both.  The guidelines also recommend that adults do muscle-strengthening activities, such as push-ups, sit-ups, or activities using resistance bands or weights.  These activities should involve all major muscle groups and be done on two or more days per week.

Readers, if you don't call yourselves "athletes," it's time to start. After all, if you're reading this lil blog about running, chances are good that you're in the top 20% of the nation's fit people. (That said, runners, be sure not to neglect your strength training!)


Reaching the highest heights (alt. title: NOT the couch potatoes)

With this week's record-setting base jump off Mount Everest, and last week's record-setting "oldest person to summit Everest," it's no surprise that The Economist decided to run the numbers on the world's deadliest peaks...

Image source

The deadliest by total number? Everest. By rate (relative to the number of attempts): Annapurna and K2.

Note: The oldest person to summit the world's tallest mountain is Yuichiro Miura of Japan. He was 80 years old when he reached the peak this time. He successfully made the climb at at 70 and age 75.


In My Kitchen...
... or rather, in early morning kitchens around the world.

This photo essay of breakfast traditions around the globe will leave you drooling. My personal favorite is now (and probably always will be) breakfast in Mexico. Beans, eggs, and maybe some savory shredded beef or chilaquiles on the side, served with a stack of warm tortillas. Mmm... heaven on a plate.

Image source

On a somewhat more eye-opening note, see Time's photo journal of family food consumption - quality and quantity - for a week, in different nations around the world. (PS - I'd like to think the American families are an aberration, a statistical anomaly, an un-representative sample... but I know I'm wrong.)


Quote of the week:

"Cast your bread upon the waters and it will come back sandwiches..."
(shared by J. Weeks)

Happy Friday, friends!

Training for two: week 17 details

Here are the workout details from week 17...

Baby's out for some exercise!

Friday: 4 mile walk

Saturday: 3 mile walk

Sunday: 3 mile walk around National Harbor (took the ferry across the Potomac) + painted the trim in the new living room (that's a workout, right?)

Monday: 4.25 mile run

Tuesday: 3 mile walk and prenatal yoga

Wednesday: 3 mile walk + 1 minute plank + 30 push-ups (got some strength training in this week!)

Thursday: 3 mile walk


THE TALLY:
19 miles walked, 4.25 miles run, and some strength and stretching.
My weekly strength training still has a long way to go to get back to "normal," but that's because of the move, not because of baby. My free weights will arrive on a moving truck in a few weeks!


WHAT I LOVED READING THIS WEEK:
Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jenny McCarthy
McCarthy offers a refreshing, and often hilarious, down to earth perspective on the whole procreation process. If you're tired of books that compare your baby's development to the size of a fruit, but offer no practical advice about what you're really going through, READ IT.


Public Service Message from Captain Obvious: These posts are not intended to be a set of week-by-week pregnancy workout guidelines. Every woman needs to do what's right for her and her baby, with a doctor's guidance, of course. I'd just like to keep y'all up to date on how things are going in my little world.