Dark and Dense, Perfect Ice Cream!

Looking for a break, indulge after a great race, treat yourself to this recipe.

Dark, dense, and oh-so-delicious: Chocolate Decadence - From King Author Flour (best).

Chocolate Decadence is an overworked recipe name; it seems every restaurant dessert featuring even a hint of chocolate has been given the over-the-top "decadence" label. But this ultra-smooth, dense ice cream truly is decadent, meeting at least one of the word's definitions: "downfall." If you're dieting — this ice cream will surely be your downfall!

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• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons Instant ClearJel or cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla; or 1 tablespoon espresso powder; or 1 teaspoon cinnamon, all optional
• 2 cups (1 pint) whole milk
• 1 cup chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coffee liqueur (e.g., Kahlua) or the liqueur of your choice, optional

Directions

1) In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, ClearJel or cornstarch, and salt.

2) Slowly whisk in the water, then the flavor of your choice and the milk or cream.

3) Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently as the mixture warms, then almost constantly as it becomes hot; you don't want the mixture to stick to the bottom of the pan.

4) Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, whisking until chocolate melts.

5) Pour into a bowl, and stir occasionally as it cools, to prevent a skin from forming.

6) Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the chocolate, again to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate until it's well chilled; overnight is good. Make sure the canister for your ice cream maker is in the freezer, too; it needs to be as cold as it can be.

7) Next day, pour the chocolate into the ice cream maker, and freeze for 20 to 25 minutes, until it's quite stiff.

8) Scoop the ice cream into a bowl. For best texture, stir in 1/4 cup coffee liqueur (e.g., Kahlua), or the liqueur of your choice. This will keep the ice cream soft and scoopable indefinitely in the freezer.

9) Serve the ice cream immediately, if desired; it will be very soft. For harder ice cream, store in the freezer. Ice cream without liqueur will become nicely hard in 3 hours. With the addition of liqueur, it will take 6 hours or more to become quite solid. Ice cream without liqueur will become unpleasantly hard within 5 hours or so; to soften, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving.

Yield: 3 3/4 cups, a scant 1 quart.

Trail Running

From Triathlon Competitor

Trail Running Tips for Triathletes

Updated: May 26th 2011 2:20 PM UTC by Jennifer Purdie

The sun is shining. The weather is heating up. The thought of running on a “dreadmill” sounds…dreadful. This is the time of year when athletes take to the trails to mix up their workouts and enjoy Mother Nature.

We asked Dr. Victor Runco of the San Diego Running Institute to provide tips to triathletes looking to add trail running to their workout repertoire.

Trail Running Shoes—Are they necessary?

It depends on the trail. Trails are specific—trails with lots of sharp rocks may require a trail shoe with a forefoot rockplate like the Saucony Peregrine. Soft dirt fire roads may not require trail shoes at all or a hybrid shoe like the Mizuno Ascend will work well. Trails that are very wet and muddy can be run better with trail shoes that have superior grip and sticky rubber bottoms for better traction and grip. Trail shoes like the innov-8 talon work awesome for that.

Trail Running Complements Road Running

Trail running will make your legs stronger due to the fact that most trails (at least in Calif.) require running hills. Many trails are in the mountains so running at altitude can make you more efficient as well. Trail running also causes a runner to modify their running form thus changing the impact zones. This is different from road running and in a way is “cross-training” from traditional road running.

Interval Training on Trails

You can do interval training on trails with flatter trails being better suited for that purpose. If you are doing Xterra races, you need to train on the type of surface you are going to race on. If you are going to do a hilly course at altitude—interval training and hill work on hilly trails at altitude is a great option, although your speed will suffer. Speed work should be looked at as its own training tool and can be done in addition to hill and trail training.

Nutritional Needs Differ

If you are going to be running over one hour, it is important to bring hydration. Trail running is more strenuous than road running and in the southwestern U.S., trails can offer little cover from the sun. Couple that with any altitude and dehydration can set in quickly. Hand bottle carriers and backpacks are the favorites of most trail and ultra runners. Backpacks by Ultimate Direction and Nathan are the most popular allowing the runner to carry two liters of fluid for longer runs with many storage pockets for gels and food. Hand bottles from Nathan and Amphipod are great for shorter runs and carry up to 16-24 ounces with a storage pocket for keys and a gel packet. The recommendations by the gel companies are actually pretty accurate to replace blood sugar. You can try a gel every 30-45 minutes.

Strength Training for Trail Running

Strength training comes in many varieties and strength has many definitions. Most triathletes want endurance strength not absolute strength like a power lifter. There are many ways to achieve this like traditional weight training, cross-fit, Pilates, yoga, etc. None of these replace running though.

In addition to being a doctor I am a CSCS (Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist). My personal preference for getting my muscles stronger and conditioned is coupling my running with weight lifting focusing on higher repetitions.

Dr. Victor Runco is a chiropractor, certified strength and conditioning specialist and the clinical director for the San Diego Running Institute. He has run marathons in 12 states, and has run six 50-mile ultramarathons and one 100-mile ultramarathon. He recently completed his fifth Pacific Crest trail 50-mile endurance run. He has been treating and fixing endurance athletes in San Diego for 12 years specializing in fixing running injuries quickly without drugs or surgery.

Please visit the San Diego Running Institute at www.sdri.net or the San Diego Dirt Devil Trail Series atwww.dirtdevilracing.com. For more info on running injuries, home remedies or treatment go towww.sandiegorunninginjuries.

Nike+ Sports Watch GPS

GPS this and GPS that, iPhone, Garmin, Polar, Timex, kind of get confusing. What to get? Which one works the best? How will it preform under conditions? Well this won't tell you that what this will tell you is that this is a pleasant addition to the mix.

The Nike+ SportWatch GPS powered by TomTom®: Never Run Alone Again

Think Less, Run Better
Put on your Nike+ SportWatch GPS, go outside and run. The Nike+ Sensor is optional. Tap the screen to mark laps and activate the backlight during your run, and personalize the data that you want to see during your run. For direct connect, USB contacts are built into the watch strap—just plug the watch directly into a USB port on your computer to upload run data and recharge the battery.

Enhanced Accuracy
Using GPS by TomTom with the Nike+ Sensor, you can start tracking your run instantly, and get accurate speed and distance information, indoors or out—even if the GPS signal gets interrupted. The Nike+ SportWatch GPS by TomTom tracks your time, distance, pace, heart rate and calories burned. It also shows your mapped route, with pace data, and changes in elevation on Nikeplus.com. And it's heart-rate monitor compatible with the Polar Wearlink+ Transmitter.

You'll Never Slack Again
View your Nike+ history (up to 50 runs) and PRs, and set automatic Run Reminders when a run hasn't been logged in the past five days. Run a personal best, receive an Attaboy. You can also find new routes, set personal goals and access training programs on Nikeplus.com.

Get Hooked Up With Nikeplus.com
Join challenges and connect with friends as a member of Nikeplus.com, the world's largest running club. View routes that your friends have run or shared, find the most popular areas to run and share your run activity on Facebook or Twitter.

Additional Details
English interface only
Weight: 2.33 ounces
Nike+ Sensor, quick-start guide and USB cable (for hard-to-access USB ports) included
One-year limited warranty

Garmin Forerunner 610

Things get smaller, technology gets faster and better and some watch manufactures get what Athletes want. Garmin is one of those companies that each year their watches get better. You can't believe that a couple years ago the 305 was the watch to have, not any more, it is big and clunky compared to the 610.
Check it out.

TOUCHSCREEN
With a touch, tap or swipe, Forerunner® 610 lets you get on with your run while it tracks all the gritty details. Tap or swipe to advance pages; swipe and scroll to adjust settings. And it’s not just a pretty face. Stands up to rain, sweat and the occasional drink station dousing, yet sensitive enough to operate with running gloves.

Trek Carbon Recycling Program

Trek Bicycle has started a carbon fibre recycling programme at its US manufacturing facility.

Trek's first full carbon frames were the 5500 and 5200 in 1992 but the material has long been thought to be impossible to fully recycle, with waste instead being sent to landfill.

But, through a partnership with Materials Innovation Technologies, Trek has successfully completed a three month trial period to determine the viability of adopting the process as part of the manufacturing process in Waterloo, Wisconsin.

"One of the company's major initiatives is that we will work to drive more eco-friendly processes into everything that we do," said Trek senior composites manufacturing engineer James Colegrove.

"Carbon fibre recycling holds massive potential not just for Trek, but the entire industry."

Throughout the manufacturing process, Trek collects excess trimmings, non-compliant molded parts and combines it with select reclaimed warranty frames to send to MIT's South Carolina facility to begin the reclamation process, with between 1,590-2,040kg of scrap already being sent each month.

Reclaimed carbon fibre is currently being used in reinforced thermoplastic applications while research and development is ongoing for use in automotive, aerospace, medical, and recreational applications.

"Throughout the trial period we worked with Trek to show them how beneficial carbon recycling can be to their overall business practices," added MIT president and CEO Jim Stike.

"Working with a world leader like Trek to help them become the first bicycle company to begin recycling carbon fibre is very exciting for us."



Read more: http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/gear-news/trek-start-carbon-fibre-recycling-programme/6676.html#ixzz1MW5Q4UnE

Most Polluted Cities

This is amazing, California the land of healthy lifestyles is the worst US polluted city. Say it ain't so.

By Ozone:

#1: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA
#2: Bakersfield-Delano, CA
#3: Visalia-Porterville, CA
#4: Fresno-Madera, CA
#5: Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Yuba City, CA
#6: Hanford-Corcoran, CA
#7: San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
#8: Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX
#9: Merced, CA
#10: Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC
#11: San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
#12: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
#13: El Centro, CA
#14: Modesto, CA
#14: Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV
#16: Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN
#17: New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA
#18: Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN
#19: Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ
#20: Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD
#21: Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, AL
#22: Chico, CA
#23: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL
#24: Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA
#25: Las Vegas-Paradise-Pahrump, NV

Clothing Malfunction, Nude Cincinnati Marathon Runner Tased, Arrested

Make sure all equipment that you use works and in this case fits.

Brett Henderson spent a long time training for Sunday's Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. So when the pair of running shorts he borrowed from his father kept slipping down as he ran, he did the only logical thing.

He took them off and kept running.

The Cincinnati police don't take too kindly to naked marathon running, apparently, and when they spotted Henderson (and his flying pig) they asked him to exit the race and get into a police car. He refused and continued running the race, at which point he was tased and arrested.

Afterward, Henderson tried to explain that what he didn't wasn't that crazy at all.

"This is something that happens and is tolerated in the running culture, along with runners who sometimes (urinate) or defecate during a race. Shouldn't that be considered indecent exposure, too, if what I did was indecent? In fact, running naked was encouraged in a marathon I ran in San Francisco, so I don't know why this was such a big deal."

Your first mistake, Brett, was taking the rules of the road in San Francisco and applying them to Cincinnati.

Henderson suffered burn injuries from the taser. He was arraigned today and said he planned to plead not guilty.

To make it worse he was not registered.

Crowie, Get Well!

Crowie or Craig Alexander is one inspirational athlete, being in his late 30's, starting late to the Triathlon game and being a fantastic runner it is a shame to see he pulled out of the Australian Ironman due to illness, rather be safe then sorry. Can't wait to see him back in the game. Look what Chrissie did after an illness, CRUSHED, so hopefully this is a sign.

"I've been fighting this infection for the past two weeks, and I've completely laid flat. I remained hopeful I would come good, so I wanted to leave it until the last minute before making my decision. When I went to the doctor on the weekend, after his assessment I realized I probably wouldn't be racing. In my head I had made a decision, but in my heart I was hoping for a minor miracle. It hasn't happened and it just wouldn't be smart health-wise to push through an Ironman at any pace. So the reality is, I'll be stuck on the sideline on May 1st." He continued, "In all my years as a full time professional I have been very fortunate, having only previously had two enforced layoffs because of illness."