Pray it Off 03/17/11 Walking a Marathon, Haddock with Spinach and Amazing Grace

Walk a Marathon in a Month*

This walking plan will blast fat and burn serious calories, and it's as easy as putting one foot in front of the other. You'll start gradually with steady power walking in week one, add distance and intensity in week two, begin logging serious miles in week three and walk the equivalent of a full-fledged marathon by the end of week four.

"Striding the equivalent of a marathon -- 26.2 miles -- is actually easier than you think in a month if you make it consistent," said fitness expert and author of "Nordic Walking,"
Malin Svensson, who helped design our plan. Walking is the ultimate simple, low-impact, affordable and convenient mode of exercise for blasting body fat, toning up and building exercise confidence.

DETERMINING YOUR PACE

You can judge proper walking pace three easy ways: steps per minute using a pedometer, how long it takes you to complete a mile, or (if you're on a treadmill) miles per hour. Use our guide below to help you keep the right pace.

Warm-Up
85-95 steps per minute, 25- to 30-minute mile, 2.5-2.9 mph
Brisk Pace
100-125 steps per minute, 16:30- to 20-minute mile, 3-3.5 mph

Moderate Pace
130-135 steps per minute, 15- to 16-minute mile, 3.6-4 mph

Fast Pace
140-145 steps per minute, 13- to 14-minute mile, 4.3-4.6 mph

FIVE-MINUTE PREWALK WARM-UP/COOLDOWN

Warming up for five minutes by walking slower helps circulate blood and prepare your muscles for striding.

"At the start of each five-minute warm-up, begin strolling at a slower pace and gradually pick up your speed," said Svensson. You should start each of your walks over the next four weeks with a warm-up.

To sidestep injuries, not only is it important to warm up, but it's also necessary to cool down at the end of your workout with slower walking and stretches. "Cooling down and stretching soothes your muscles; returns blood pressure and heart rate to normal; and makes it easier to walk faster, farther and stronger the next time," said Svensson.

WEEK 1

How to Start: Depending on your present fitness level, plan on walking three to four days for 15 to 25 minutes in your first week. "If you already walk more than that amount, keep it up," said Svensson. Walk in supportive shoes on flat, giving surfaces (a track, treadmill, local streets, even mall walkways) this week to get your body accustomed to the new muscular demands.

Frequency: Three to four walks at 15 to 20 minutes each. If you have not been active for weeks or months, set yourself up for victory by starting the first week off slowly or asking a buddy to join you so you don't give up!

Pace: Walk at a brisk pace or faster. "Your intensity or effort level correlates to the speed of your walk, and the faster you go, the more intense your cardio workout becomes and the more calories you'll burn," said walking coach Therese Iknoian, author of "Walking Fast."

WEEK 2

Frequency: Add an extra day of walking (four to five days per week) and tack 10 minutes onto each walk, maintaining the smart practice of warming up before (and cooling down afterward). "If you ended the first week walking 20 minutes or so, pump that up to 30 minutes minimum," said Svensson.

Pace: While this is the perfect time to add duration onto a walking regimen, you should also increase to a moderate pace. "This affects each walker differently, but if you averaged a steady 3 mph last week, it's safe to increase intensity by 5 to 10 percent or so," she said. "If this proves too challenging, alternate by adding distance onto one walk on Monday and adding intensity onto another walk on Tuesday."

Tip: If lack of time becomes an issue, try to accumulate your miles in two separate 20-minute walks per day.

WEEK 3

Frequency: While the amount of sessions you walk this week doesn't change much (four to five days), how you walk and how fast you move changes dramatically to bolster your strength and muscular endurance.

Pace: This week, try alternating one-minute intervals of fast pace walking with every minute at your moderate pace. "Interval walking blitzes calories, tones your lower half, challenges endurance, and also strengthens your heart and lungs," said Svensson.

Twenty-Minute Interval Walk:

0:00 – 5:00 Warm-Up
5:00 – 6:00 Moderate Pace
6:00 – 7:00 Fast Pace
7:00 – 8:00 Moderate Pace
8:00 – 9:00 Fast Pace
9:00 – 10:00 Moderate
10:00 – 11:00 Fast Pace
11:00 – 12:00 Moderate Pace
12:00 – 13:00 Fast Pace
13:00 – 14:00 Moderate Pace
14:00 – 15:00 Fast Pace
15:00 – 20:00 Gradually Slow to Cooldown Walk

Tip: For more variety, challenge your muscles and increase your heart rate and endurance by adding hill training and/or Nordic walking with two poles. "Using poles and adding hills to walking training engages more muscle groups, blasts double the calories [compared to] a regular walk, and increases balance and strength," said Svensson. Remember: You may slice each big walk into two separate sessions per day. "I like to do a 20-minute interval walk in the morning and then add a 20-minute Nordic walk with poles each evening," suggested Malin.

WEEK 4

Frequency: You'll increase to five to six days of walking this week (everyone needs at least one day off per week to allow muscles to recover) and sustain about two interval walks and several cross-training walks per week. Another great way to cross-train is to walk off-road on hiking trails, steep hills, and soft sand or packed dirt -- anything that shakes up your walking routine to create faster results.

Pace: Aim for 50 to 60 minutes of walking at a moderate to fast pace most days of the week. Warming up, cooling down and stretching are more important than ever when you're covering nearly five miles or so per walk! "Don't be afraid to stride really fast or break into an occasional run if you feel the urge," said Svensson. Get moving: Every single step counts!

Tip: Add rewards! You're almost at the end of your marathon walking challenge. Treat yourself to a new pair of walking shoes or even a sports massage to sustain exercise motivation -- you've earned it! Follow this week-by-week plan and you'll drop pounds, lose inches, feel fitter and walk the equivalent of a marathon in only one month.

http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/12/26/walk-a-marathon-in-a-month

Baked Haddock with Spinach

By Diana Rattray, About.com Guide Cook Time: 35 minutes


Total Time: 35 minutes Ingredients:

• 3 cups frozen chopped spinach, about 2 packages (10 ounces each)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
• 1 1/2 pounds haddock fillets
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
Sauce:
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Preparation: Cook frozen spinach in a small amount of boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt, for about 5 minutes. Drain well, squeezing out excess water. In a medium skillet, melt butter or margarine over medium low heat. Add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until onions are tender. Add spinach and nutmeg; cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. In a shallow, lightly buttered 2-quart casserole, arrange fish fillets in a single layer. Place a spoonfuls of spinach between haddock fillets.

Drain tomatoes; reserve juice, adding a little water, if necessary, to measure 1 cup. Place tomatoes around haddock fillets; sprinkle with herbs and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes. Fish should flake easily with a fork when done.

In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; saute 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion until tender. Add 3/4 cup reserved tomato juice and bring to the boil. Stir cornstarch into remaining 1/4 cup tomato juice; stir into boiling mixture. Continue cooking and stirring until mixture returns to a boil. Pour sauce over haddock fillets. Baked haddock recipe serves 4 to 6.

Amazing Grace:

The Story of John Newton by Al Rogers*

John Newton 1725-1807


“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound...” So begins one of the most beloved hymns of all times, a staple in the hymnals of many denominations. The author of the words was John Newton, the self-proclaimed wretch who once was lost but then was found, saved by amazing grace.

Newton was born in London July 24, 1725, the son of a commander of a merchant ship which sailed the Mediterranean.
When John was eleven, he went to sea with his father and made six voyages with him before the elder Newton retired. In 1744 John was impressed into service on a man-of-war, the H. M. S. Harwich. Finding conditions on board intolerable, he deserted but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged and demoted from midshipman to common seaman.

Finally at his own request he was exchanged into service on a slave ship, which took him to the coast of Sierra Leone. He then became the servant of a slave trader and was brutally abused. Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had known John's father. John Newton ultimately became captain of his own ship, one which plied the slave trade.

Although he had had some early religious instruction from his mother, who had died when he was a child, he had long since given up any religious convictions. However, on a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer the ship through a violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his “great deliverance.” He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him.

For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. “Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’tis grace has bro’t me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” He continued in the slave trade for a time after his conversion; however, he saw to it that the slaves under his care were treated humanely.

In 1750 he married Mary Catlett, with whom he had been in love for many years. By 1755, after a serious illness, he had given up seafaring forever. During his days as a sailor he had begun to educate himself, teaching himself Latin, among other subjects. From 1755 to 1760 Newton was surveyor of tides at Liverpool, where he came to know George Whitefield, deacon in the Church of England, evangelistic preacher, and leader of the Calvinistic Methodist Church. Newton became Whitefield’s enthusiastic disciple. During this period Newton also met and came to admire John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Newton’s self-education continued and he learned Greek and Hebrew.

He decided to become a minister and applied to the Archbishop of York for ordination. The Archbishop refused his request, but Newton persisted in his goal, and he was subsequently ordained by the Bishop of Lincoln and accepted the curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire. Newton’s church became so crowded during services that it had to be enlarged. He preached not only in Olney but in other parts of the country. In 1767 the poet William Cowper settled at Olney, and he and Newton became friends.

Cowper helped Newton with his religious services and on his tours to other places. They held not only a regular weekly church service but also began a series of weekly prayer meetings, for which their goal was to write a new hymn for each one. They collaborated on several editions of Olney Hymns, which achieved lasting popularity.

The origin of the melody is unknown. Most hymnals attribute it to an early American folk melody. The Bill Moyers special on “Amazing Grace” speculated that it may have originated as the tune of a song the slaves sang.

Newton was not only a prolific hymn writer but also kept extensive journals and wrote many letters. Historians accredit his journals and letters for much of what is known today about the eighteenth century slave trade. In Cardiphonia, or the Utterance of the Heart, a series of devotional letters, he aligned himself with the Evangelical revival, reflecting the sentiments of his friend John Wesley and Methodism.

In 1780 Newton left Olney to become rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, St. Mary Woolchurch, in London. There he drew large congregations and influenced many, among them William Wilberforce, who would one day become a leader in the campaign for the abolition of slavery. Newton continued to preach until the last year of life, although he was blind by that time. He died in London December 21, 1807. Infidel and libertine turned minister in the Church of England, he was secure in his faith that amazing grace would lead him home.

* http://www.anointedlinks.com/amazing_grace.html

PHOTOS: frugalbits.com, Ed Whipple, dwellingintheword.wordpress.com