Sunscreen in a Pill:

More info from Wikipedia:

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid. It belongs to a larger class of phytochemicals known as terpenes. It is classified as a xanthophyll, which means "yellow leaves". Like many carotenoids, it is a colorful, lipid-soluble pigment. Astaxanthin is found in microalgae, yeast, salmon, trout, krill, shrimp, crayfish, crustaceans, and the feathers of some birds. It provides the red color of salmon meat and cooked shellfish.


Astaxanthin, unlike some carotenoids, is not converted to vitamin A (retinol) in the human body. Too much vitamin A is toxic for a human, but astaxanthin has lower toxicity. It is an antioxidant with a slightly lower antioxidant activity than other carotenoids

While astaxanthin is a natural nutritional component, it can also be used as a food supplement. The supplement is intended for human, animal, and aquaculture consumption. The commercial production of astaxanthin comes from both natural and synthetic sources.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved astaxanthin as a food coloring (or color additive) for specific uses in animal and fish foods.[7] The European Commission considers it food dye and it is given the E number E161j.[8] Natural astaxanthin is considered generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA,[9][10] but as a food coloring in the United States it is restricted to use in animal food.

Where to get it: Astaxanthin
I took a look at a few places and Amazon seems to be the best option and the 120pill bottles qualify for free shipping.


Proof that I'm not the only one using this and I'm not completely crazy.
Sunscreen In A Pill- Science Daily

BBC-Coral Could Hold Key to Sunscreen Pill

News.com.au-UK Scientists using a coral for 'sunscreen pill' that gives weeks of protection.

Herald Sun Article:

ZeenNews-A Sunscreen Pill Made of Natural Tropical Corals

Yahoo News-Future of sunscreen: a pill could provide weeks of protection

Guardian-Sunscreen pill could be available within five years, scientist say

Sunscreen Pill From Coral Could Be Developed Within Five Years, Scientist Say

ABC News-A Sunscreen Pill From Coral Compound?

Running in Hot Weather:

Since it has been so hot our lately in Minneapolis and around most of the US, I thought I'd do a quick video post on running in hot weather. I hope you enjoy and here are the links to more information on the products that I mention. Feel free to leave comments or questions below.

Nathan Thermal QuickDraw Handheld

Hammer Gel Hammer Endurolytes,

PowerBar Energy Gel,


Clif Shot Bloks,

Favorite Running Routes: Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis in my opinion are a great city for runners and bikers. There are so many running paths throughout the city that the casual runner all the way up to the more obsessed, like me, has plenty of trails to run on. Not only are there a lot of trail but they are maintained all year round and have bathrooms and water fountains every couple of miles.

I can run for 50 or more miles without having to carry more than a handheld water bottle and some gels, because there is enough water stop along the routes that I run. And if you are like me and don't like running around in circles the Minneapolis trails provide a lot of areas to explore and enable you to not have to just go out and back. I have included some of my favorite routes below, check them out and let me know if you know of any other good ones. Enjoy!

Runner's Diet: 7-18-2011

As you can see I generally eat a lot of the same things. They are quick and generally pretty easy to make. During the weekdays its more about refueling than any sort of culinary experience. I will generally cook a few larger portions on Sunday for the first part of the week. The problem is that I normally eat several meals throughout the day so it's a lot to cook. Normally I'll grill some sort of meat and have a simply side of streamed veggies.

I drink mostly black coffee, Yerba Mate and water throughout the day. I have recently started drinking Almond milk but the stuff I have found in the store seems to have a lot of "other" stuff in it that is more than what is in an almond. Here is what I ate yesterday.

7-18-2011/ 4:50am: 4 Scrambled eggs with Spinach and salsa and a glass of almond milk

2nd Breakfast 7-18-2011/9:30am: Grilled beef tips and zucchini

Lunch 7-18-2011/2:20pm: Grilled beef tips and steamed broccoli

Supper 7-18-2011/7:15pm: vegetarian chili and a glass of almond milk

2nd Supper 7-18-2011
Chipotle fajita bowl, I don't really eat out much but if I need some fast food I will generally go with a Chipotle fajita bowl. I ask for no rice and both the black beans and pinto beans instead. I avoid the tortilla, which is delicious but horrible for you, and I also avoid the sour cream and cheese.

You Know Your Running an Ultra Marathon When...

You Know Your Running an Ultra Marathon...
When you fell scrapped your leg/arm and it has scabbed over and you're still running.


You Know Your Running an Ultra Marathon...
When you find food stuck in your teeth and try to figure out how much additional energy it has provided you.


You Know Your Running an Ultra Marathon...
When you think its a good thing that you'll still have "most" of your toe nails when you're done running.


You Know Your Running an Ultra Marathon...
When the sun is coming up for the second time and you're still not done running.


You Know Your Running an Ultra Marathon...
When you start telling yourself that a 20 minute mile pace is not that slow.


You Know Your Running an Ultra Marathon...
When you start seeing junk food as "necessary fuel." (Salted Nut Rolls and potato chips a must for me)

You Must Eat Like 10,000 Calories a Day Right?:Ultramarathoner's Diet

Usually the first question I get when talking to people about ultra running is "Why?" The second questions is "How?" then usually the third or forth is related to how much and what I eat. A lot of people hear that Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer, eats 12,000 calories a day yet still have less than 5% body fat and they assume that an ultra runner has a similar diet. (Michael Phelps' diet)Though I do eat more than the normal person, probably a lot more, it's not anywhere near the 12,000 calorie mark.

To be honest I don't count calories and I'm beginning to believe that calories are really not the best way to measure nutrient in-take and when exercising output. Back to Michael Phelps he does consume around 12,000 calories a day and who knows how many calories he is burning but from what I have read he has a pretty "loose" diet. Meaning that he pretty much eats whatever he wants. Yes, this from the guy who consumes about three times the amount of donuts as the normal person and eats snickers bars during workouts, but my daily diet is fairly healthy.

As I have mentioned before I do not have a specific diet and it has changed a lot over the past few years as I am always trying new things in search of nutritional guidance to enhance my running performance. I have been a vegetarian for a month, intended to tried a 100% raw food diet for a month but only lasted 5 days, tried an all liquid diet (not alcohol) or juice feasting diet for a week and I did the Tim Ferris's Slow Carb diet (Tim is the author of the The 4-Hour Workweek
and The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman
both of which I highly recommend)for 30 days. As a side note, I really do believe that the Slow Carb diet works and actually lost about 6lbs, just through changing my diet, my exercise levels pretty much stayed the same. 6bls in 30 days is not that much but considering that I have around 7% body fat and already live a very active and fairly healthy lifestyle I'd say that's pretty significant. i.e. I don't really need to lose weight but thought the diet was so ridiculous that I had to prove it wrong.

Now I'm reading about and slowly incorporating some of the practices of the Paleo Diet from the book The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance. So far it is a really good book that talks about a lot of general nutrition for all athletes, especially endurance athletes. It has been an interesting dietary journey these last couple of years and I'm sure I'm not at the end.

Right now I am doing a hybrid of a few different diets and still figuring out what works best. My basic guidelines are lean proteins, a lot of veggies, no dairy except some Greek yogurt, some fruit and avoid processed food as much as possible. Yes, my beloved donuts do not align very well with any of my current or past diets, however, I will argue avidly that their physiological benefits greatly outweighs there lack of nutritional content.

So what do I actually eat? Well let me show you. I have been taking pictures of everything that I consume for the past few days using my cell phone camera. It turns out that this is a quick and easy way to log all of your food intake for any of you who track or need to record the food you consume. I don't really count calories for the reason stated above, I am really more focused on getting the nutrients I feel I need in order to meet my training or racing goals. Losing weight is really not one of them so I don't know that I'd recommend you follow my lead if that is your goal. One other key is that I drink a lot of water, depending on the type of workout I do I will consume 150oz-200oz of water a day.

I have been experimenting with portions and timing of eating as well but still do not have it down to a science. Many athletes eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day which is thought to help maintain blood sugar levels and reduce the amount of food stored as body fat. However, I have recently read that while doing this will help maintain blood sugar levels there is no evidence that it will help to reduce the amount of fat that body stores. Actually Ben Greenfield, an endurance athlete and top nutritionist for endurance athletes, recommends intermittent fasting for periods of around 8 hours. This is said to help the body get used to utilizing it fat stores, which is something that endurance athletes utilize during long workouts and races.

Anyways I've posted the pictures below and I hope they give you an idea of what I eat on a daily basis. Enjoy!

Breakfast 7-13/5:00am: 4 scrambled eggs with spinach, black beans, corn and peppers


2nd Breakfast 7-13 /7:15am: Lean grilled beef tips and broccoli

7-13/7:30am:Yerba Mate with breakfast

Lunch 7-13/11:25am: Broccoli with grilled Chicken breast with Thia Curry Sauce

Dinner7-13/5:20pm: Pork and Red Cabbage Lettuce Wraps(Almost forgot to take picture there were 5 of them)

Snack 7-13/6:00pm: Flax Seed Veggie Chips and Salsa

2nd Supper 7-13/9:50pm: Sauteed Chicken Breast, Asparagus, Yellow Squash, Zucchini and Tomatoes

Breakfast 7-14/5:10am: 4 scrambled eggs with spinach, black beans, corn and peppers

Breakfast 7-14/5:10am:Dunkin Donuts Coffee (I drink about 3-4 cups a day)

Snack 7-14/9:05am:Handful of Raw Almonds

2nd Breakfast 7-14/9:17am: Grilled Lean Beef Tips and Steamed Broccoli

Lunch 7-14/2:25pm: Grilled Chicken Breast with Thia Curry Sauce and Steamed Broccoli

Supper 7-14/5:55pm: Can of V8

Supper 7-14/6:10pm: Chicken, Peppers, Red Onion, Corn and Black Bean Lettuce Wraps

Late Night Snack 7-14/9:44pm: Carrot Sticks

Nightcap 7-14/9:45pm:Norcal Margarita

Breakfast 7-15/4:55am: 4 Eggs over-easy, spinach and salsa

2nd Breakfast 7-15/9:40am: Sauteed Chicken Breast, Tomatoes, Asparagus, Yellow Squash, Zucchini

Snack 7-15/11:30am: Carrot Sticks and Edamame Hummus

Trip to China:

Due to the fact that China sensors the internet I have not been able to update my blog for some time, but here are some pictures from my trip. No running, staying in a city of 22 million when daytime temps are 95-115 degree, with no real traffic laws that I could tell makes it difficult to get much running done. Enjoy the Pictures!


Me on the Nanjing Road in Shanghai

Lobby of Chinese Restaurant. (We didn't eat these fish)

Hot Pot, not the greatest idea to have in July when its 100 degrees out

Went out for some Korean BBQ and had some squid

Sea Horses, from a traditional Chinese medicine shop

Fish Ball on a stick, just like the State Fair

Puix side of the Bund in Shanghai

Me in front of the Pudong side of the Bund

No idea what this is. Sweat in a bottle?

They have "U" turn lanes in Shanghai

Live turtles for sale at the food market

Yummy Durian

Won't be a meal without Chicken feet

Probably one of the best things to be selling when its 100 degrees out.

What more do you need in a hand tool?

I found where they make all of the junk from the dollar stores

Crab and shrimp on a stick, this is what we need at the State Fair

My attempts at rebelling again Communist China

World's Smallest McDonald's

Yu Yuan Gardens Shanghai

Me in front of the two tallest buildings in Shanghai

Me in front of the Pearl Tower in Shanghai



I tried all of this and about half of it was pretty good, the other half tasted like rubber.