The Cane Juice Chronicles: Tour de Cane Juice

And so I am back, with another cane juice challenge this July in tandem with the start of the Tour de France which began on Saturday!


In the previous Cane Juice Chronicles (which you can find here and here) I put raw cane juice to the test, using it as fuel for my running and testing its ability to help improve my speed and overall running performance. I kept a detailed log via the Runtastic App and was able to graph my steady improvements while drinking cane juice. In the end I ran my first 10k in 51:08, placed 109 out of 2,356 runners and 33rd out of the 1,636 women who ran, all thanks to the 16 oz of pure, raw cane juice I drank 45 minutes before the start of the race which had me soaring! (Note to self and first time race runners: don't put yourself in a slower corral just because you think you might not be able to keep a faster pace. You will get bogged down by the crowds. Next time, I will definitely put myself in a closer corral so I won't have to spend as much time getting past people.) Seeing as though in the middle of my training I aggravated an old injury and was only able to get in a mere 4 training runs post-injury/pre-race, I was very happy with my results.

In the second installment of The Cane Juice Chronicles, amidst my running injury, I decided to take an active role in the healing process and truly put cane juice to the test as a recovery aid. I signed myself up for a 30 day Bikram Yoga Challenge at my yoga studio, Bikram Yoga South Pasadena  and spent the month leading up to the race drinking cane juice nightly and doing Bikram yoga like it was my job. Between the healing properties of the raw cane juice (chock-full of animo acids and chlorophyl) and the restorative properties of Bikram Yoga (heat plus stretching is glorious for healing the body) I was able to regain full-range of motion in my hip and inner thigh.

Check out www.sugarcanejuice.org for more information on where you can find their products

Now, this July, I am taking cane juice to a whole new level to see how it will affect my endurance while cycling; a sport I don't have too much experience in...unless, you count spinning classes? My goal is to hit 400 or more miles over the course of the month. Now, you may be thinking, "400 miles is really only 12-13 miles a day, pfft, that's too easy." Well, for an experienced cyclist, sure, but for the average person trying to get fit and be healthy, 12-13 miles is a substantial amount.

However, this wouldn't be a Raw Food Nerd challenge without the stakes being raised and as I said, when I put cane juice to the test, I REALLY put it the test. I plan to maintain my normal 40-90 minute daily exercise routine in addition to the miles I will be putting in on the bike. Oh, snap!

I am not going to divulge all the details of my training so far because I will be posting a video later this week about my progress, but I will say that it going exceedingly well! So most definitely stay tuned!!

In the meantime you can follow me on Strava where I log all my rides.

image credit: www.adalaidecyclists.com

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