Contributors
Posted by admin on April 23rd, 2012
So you want to get the skinny on Chia Surge eh? I don’t blame you. When I first heard about the newest Vitalye product, I was skeptical to say the least. Why would I want to consume an awkwardly grassy 90s house-pet trend, I asked myself. The answer proved quite a bit less trendy than I expected.
Chia seeds are a super food that have been around for, well, forever. Chia was considered as important as maize by the Aztecs in the 16th century - see? -right away the 90s pop jams start to dissipate. You may have heard of chia usage from Born to Run, a wildly popular book about the Mexican Barefoot Runners, otherwise known as the Tarahumara, who consumed Chia seeds as fuel for their distance runs. Anyway, Vitalyte saw the value in this superfood and decided to do something about it.
The science behind this seeded gel is unlike anything else on the market…. but seriously, it’s the world’s first and only whole seed chia gel. Complete with Chia seeds and Palatinose for prolonged energy and muscle fuel along with Beta Alanine and BCAA’s to buffer lactic acid and improve muscle performance, this gel is not at all like the others.
Most chia surge converts, we’re finding, are one of two types: Chia Nuts or Gel Addicts. Since this is a no brainer for the chia nuts, we’ll focus on the later: the gel obsessors. Why Chia Surge you ask? You know that feeling when someone hands you a coffee or chocolate flavored gel or Gu at mile 8 of your half? Mile 20 of your century? That awkward, gag-inducing choke down of literal gu that you do because you have to? Because there’s no other option? You know that crash that drops you down to the point of no return a mere 45 minutes after taking it.. and then you have to take another in order to function and finish? Yea… we were over that.
Chia Surge is a light, textured formula that’s not too sweet and much smoother than other gels on the market. It kicks into your system 8-10 minutes after consumption and gradually builds you up for two hours - sans crash- thereby keeping you energized and loving life throughout your workout.
The long and the short of it is that Chia Surge is one of a kind, comes in two flavors: Raspberry and Pineapple Orange- and is worth your while. So turn up those throw back jams, put on those moon shoes and suck in a Chia Surge - you’ll be dancing, running, jumping, and rocking out till the break of dawn.
In love and Chia
Captain Vitalyte
Want to learn more? Take a look at nutrition information and/or buy online.
Posted by admin on April 17th, 2012
By Erica Davis
This year, my college is starting the first ever “Young Alumnist of the Year” award and I am very honored to be very first recipient. They are honoring me because I never gave up and kept both competing and doing my best to inspire people after my injury. I’m also proud to report that I am the 1st female in a wheelchair to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro as well as many regular first place finishes in a multitude of different sports including triathlons, handcycling or in running events with my racing chair.
I graduated with my B.S. in Exercise Science in 2004 and got my teaching credentials in 2005. Then my injury took place at the end of that year, which was caused what is called Cavernous Hemangioma. This paralyzed me from the chest down. Even though I am not teaching right now, I am mentoring other girls through the Challenged Athlete Foundation who are in wheelchairs and also do volunteer work at a food kitchen weekly.
This weekend I am heading up to the Pacific Union College campus in Angwin, CA. A few days before the awards, I will be teaching the WSI (water-safety instructor) class to PE majors to show them how to teach someone with challenges like mine or others how important it is for them to learn the different ways we have to adapt. After all, haha, we all have to learn how to swim in a straight line!
I am so excited to both be going back up to my alma mater and teaching these PE majors so that maybe one day if they have a student or see someone with another physical challenge, they could say, “hey, I can teach you how to swim if you’d like” instead of looking the other way. I’m also, of course, so honored to receive this award and am proud to be the trail blazer I strive to be.
Posted by admin on April 12th, 2012
Ah what we won’t do for love. Men have constructed monuments to show their undying devotion to the queen of their heart. Wars have been launched to fight for the beauty at the center of the strife. Thrones have been forsaken in order to be with the one that was not of royal blood. I am sure you all have been at the place in your life where you could relate to the pure amore that was strong enough to build the Taj Mahal, launch a war in the name of Aphrodite or give up the Royal Crown. Yes what love can do, and what we won’t do for just a slice of it. So as a runner at heart, I at the age of 36, was re-introduced to the love of my life, and it took the most serendipitous of events to bring me back to this love affair.
Last Saturday was the Hollywood Half Marathon. Vitalyte was the official on-course beverage of this inaugural event. I was scheduled to race the 13.1 miles and it was going to be my official “comeback race” after having a seven year hiatus from competing. I hadn’t been feeling very well the two weeks leading up to the event. I was really troubled by a neck injury I had incurred in a car accident a while back. Still undecided the day before the race, I was working at the expo and happened to meet Sean Astin. He was trying to find the packet pick up so he could get his bib number. I pointed him in the right direction and we started talking running. Turns out he is a huge running fan and has multiple marathons to his credit. We immediately became buds and I offered to pace him through the race. He accepted. So at the crack of dawn, the next morning, I met Sean at the starting line for the 6 am start. We had our game plan, and as his “coach,” it was my job to make sure he made it to the finish line despite a recent achilles injury. I charted out our plan and told him he had to stick to the pace I set. So as we headed out of Universal Studios City Walk and onto the streets of Hollywood, “Rudy” himself was skeptical of the easy pace I was setting. “It’s ok Sean. Running a race is like money in the bank. Every mile upfront that you go out steady, buy not too hard, pays you interest that you get to spend towards the end.” He loved the analogy and took my advice. As we ran down Sunset Boulevard, I told Sean that this was the most fun I had ever had in a race. We were snapping photos of us eating our Chia Surge Endurance Gel, waving at people in the crowd who were shouting “Rudy,” and singing happy birthday to the people like Loraine who were running in the race and had a neon green printed sign pinned to the back of her running singlet that said “It’s My Birthday.” I had never had this perspective of a race before. The middle of the pack. The place where the runner’s high never dies.
As Sean and I made the turn up the big hill right off Highland Avenue and downed one more cup of Vitalyte, he made a quick surge and said to me “I’m putting on my headphones for this one.” At that point we had two miles to go and I knew he was home free. My brave student had headed my advice and now it was time to enjoy the homestretch. I learned just as much from running with Sean as he learned running from me. I learned about his “Run 3rd” organization. He runs first for himself, second for his wife and children and third for you or whoever needs a little inspirational support. You simply tweet a dedication to hash tag #run3rd. What a cool concept. I learned that the race is not always about the “race.” And I definitely learned that Goonies Never Say Die.
We ran a great race and Sean ran exactly the time he was hoping for. As we walked back to the awards area he turned to me and said, “I could definitely go for a chocolate crepe. What are the odds of getting one of those?” Well I am not only a great coach, but a really good observer and I noticed that there was a crepe place in the Universal City Walk. So as Evan, our CEO, Sean and myself sat and ate our post race crepes (only after we drank our Complete Recovery), I confessed to them that this was the best “race” I ever ran. They seemed surprised and wanted to know why. “Because,” I said, “we all ran for the love of the sport and I had an amazing slice of it.”
Posted by admin on April 3rd, 2012
Nutrition has always been an important component of athletic performance, but only recently have superfoods like chia been utilized in concentrated doses to deliver targeted nutrients to athletes. Chia, known widely as the popular novelty household plant grown to resemble hair on clay heads, is now gaining momentum as a premium nutritional supplement. In fact, it is one of the most nutrient-dense foods in commercial use.
“Chia seeds were a staple of the ancient Aztec diets. Now they are used in many areas of the world for general health and weight loss. As a potent source of many important nutrients, vitamins and minerals, Chia really is a one-of-a-kind superfood. Chia is great for everyone, including competitive athletes. There are many amazing health benefits of chia seeds,” says Evan DeMarco, CEO of Vitalyte Sports Nutrition.
Using an innovative blend of amino acids, beta alanine and the hydration-boosting superfood chia, professional sports nutritionists at Vitalyte Sports Nutrition have created Chia Surge, a revolutionary energy gel designed to provide maximum nutrients at critical points when athletes need them most. The first commercial chia-based energy gel in the world, it improves athletic performance by boosting energy, buffering lactic acid and speeding recovery.
Chia contains more than eight times the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, and is extremely high in protein, both essential to healthy muscle function. Rich in dietary fiber, chia also contains essential minerals such as phosphorus, manganese, calcium, potassium and sodium. Chia seeds also slow down the rate at which carbs are digested, converted to sugar and then delivered to the body, which makes them an especially amazing nutritional addition for diabetics. Everyone though, can benefit from adding a healthy dose of chia to their diet.
Modern medical science has shown time and again that proper nutrition is a vital component of injury prevention for athletes, especially when participating in strenuous events such as marathons or triathlons. Nutrient-dense, easily digestible foods are the fastest and most effective way to deliver energy on the spot.
“We are incredibly excited to be launching this groundbreaking product,” says DeMarco. “Chia represents one of the greatest superfoods on the planet and we are very proud to be innovators in this field.”
Vitalyte’s Chia Surge delivers critical nutrients and energy in the form of an energy gel, designed for use by athletes in need of fuel at critical moments during performance. Boiling nutrition down to a science and discovering the virtues of chia has improved the safety of athletes who may risk dehydration, low salt, bloating or low blood sugar during endurance events. These serious conditions usually result from the over- or under-consumption of water which upsets the balance of electrolytes, replenishing calories with foods that are not easily digestible, or don’t replenish enough calories for sustained energy.
“Chia seeds slow down the rate at which carbohydrates are digested and then assimilated into the body,” says DeMarco. “Because they absorb up to 10 times their weight in water, they create a time release system of steady sustained energy instead of immediate spikes in blood sugar. When you combine chia with palatinose like we did in Chia Surge, along with beta alanine and branched chain amino acids, you have an amazing gel that tastes great, buffers lactic acid to improve performance, and delivers energy to hungry muscles for extended periods of time. And at only 75 calories per pack, Chia Surge is the perfect addition to any exercise plan, regardless of duration or intensity.”
Many athletes are now using highly developed nutrition systems to improve their performance and decrease the risk of injury or dehydration during races. It is expected that with the “all-natural” movement in full swing, superfoods like chia will take center stage in the world of supplements and nutritional breakthroughs. Chia Surge is available for purchase on Vitalyte’s website, www.Vitalyte.com, and at outdoor specialty store REI. 
As posted on JSOnline.
Posted by admin on April 2nd, 2012
Ten years ago I ran the New York Marathon. Because I was in the elite field, my own personal water bottles were placed on a special table at every 5k mark of the race. There were 20 bottles on the table. Each bottle belonging to an athlete. It was customary the day before the race to gather in the elite athlete hospitality suite for a version of World Class Athletes Arts and Crafts 101. The coordinator of the marathon would bring into the suite a huge plastic box filled with markers, colored tape, ribbons, pipe cleaners and all the other goods you would find in a kindergarten classroom.
The top marathoners in the world when then gather around and decorate their water bottles. Not only was it a fun break from the media tension and pre-race nerves, but it served afunctional purpose by making it easier for each runner to identify their uniquely designed bottle the following day when they would be blazing by the water table at 5:35-5:45 mile pace. I don’t know what each person put in their bottle…some electrolyte solution perhaps or even the old standby that legendary marathoner Grete Waitz used, defizzed Coke. I knew I would need more calories than sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium mixed with sugar could offer. Don’t get me wrong, my body would desperately need the firing power of the electrolytes but what would get me through the 26.2 would be fuel. So I wrapped several chewable candies in tinfoil and taped them to the side of my bottle that was draped in bows and blue and black tape (to match the colors of my racing attire of course).
Everyone wondered what in the heck was in the tiny packages. At each five kilometer mark, I would down my drink and then unwrap my candy and chomp away as I whizzed through the five boroughs. I wound up finishing 9th overall. Not so bad. This time I avoided an IV, unlike the year before. My little concoction worked quite well. Everyone wondered why I didn’t just take one of the gels offered along the course. My stomach would not let me. The hard to digest, prepackaged gut killers did not like me and vice versa.
It wasn’t until a few months ago when the CEO of Vitalyte tossed me one of those oh-so-recognizable gel packs. “Oh no I said. We aren’t friends, gel and I.” “This is different,” he said. “Try it on your next run and let me know.” Reluctantly I tucked the pink gel pack in my shorts the next morning and headed out for a run. “I promised him I would try it,” I reluctantly told myself, as my stomach braced itself for the onslaught. First of all I noticed the taste of the Chia Surge Gel was different than any other gel product I had tried. It was lighter. Well the real test would be my stomach. I continued running and to my surprise and delight, I felt great. No gurgling or sloshing or nausea. In fact I felt really good. I had more energy. “I think this Chia Surge has got it going on,” I said to myself. When Evan asked me the next day how I liked it, I told him how surprised I was. I mean we all knew that chia seeds were the superfood of the century and had amazing nutritional benefit. But that paired with the other amazing ingredients in Chia Surge Endurance Gel! Wow, all I could say was, “Where was this ten years ago?” So now my energy levels are awesome on my runs. I take a Chia Surge half way through a 5-6 mile run and on a longer run that is between 10-12 miles, I take one at mile 3 and one at mile 7. Who would’ve known how a little chia could go such a long way.
