The sub-text for this book is "How to match your food and fitness to your female physiology for optimum performance, great health and a strong lean body for life". But it was the very first line in the introduction that got me hooked: "You are not a small man. Stop eating and training like one". 😀 I highly recommend this book as it comes with tons of information, backed by research with examples of food intake and exercise plans that worked for some regular female athletes (not pros) committed to training. Here are some key points Dr. Sims summarizes at the end of each chapter called "Roar Sound Bites". Women have more essential fat, carry most of the lean mass in the lower body and have a greater proportion of type 1 endurance (slow-twitch) muscle fibers than men. Blood plasma can drop up to 8% during high-hormone luteal phase (~day 15 to 28) of the monthly cycle, this has a huge impact on hydration and cooling. It is harder to hit high intensities and recover from hard exercise at this time (PMS). But the effects can be offset by correctly timing protein intake and hydration. High intensity power training is important in menopause to prevent muscle loss and weakness with age. Weight and body composition depend on your somatotype, so eat and exercise for your physiology. - ectomorph (long limbed, non-muscular) - mesomorph ( proportionally built, easily build muscle mass) - endomorph (softer and rounder, tend to store fat easily) Don’t fast, especially women can get fatter. Front-load carbs in the early part of the day when the body is primed to burn them. Strength train to maintain muscles, strengthen the bones and improve endurance. Women who don’t can lose 3% of their muscle mass per decade after age 30. Variety is key in keeping muscles stimulated and strong. Don’t be scared to lift heavy weights. It's easier to make strength gains during day 1-15 (low-hormone follicular phase) of the cycle, so if you don’t feel like pushing hard during PMS , it’s okay. Bacteria in your gut affects mood, craving and fat storage. Eat food rich in probiotics (fermented food - lost if cooked at over 325F) and prebiotics (like whole grains, bananas, greens, onion, garlic) Don’t consume artificial sweeteners, they alter gut bacteria and promote weight gain. Avoid processed food. Take antibiotics only when absolutely necessary, they wipe good bacteria along with the bad. Stress fractures indicate a serious hormonal imbalance. Cola is bad for the bones. Eat low on the food chain, closer to the natural form. Eat a balanced diet, don’t cut out carbs and fats- body still needs them. Women are more likely to experience GI distress than men, avoid fructose and maltodextrin during exercise. Maximize muscle repair by eating within 30 minutes post-exercise. An ideal sports drink for fluid absorption should contain 3-4% carb (from glucose and sucrose) with sodium and potassium. Take supplements sparingly. Try to get the recommended daily doses of vitamins directly from food sources. Heart rate monitoring is a useful tool to keep over-training in check. Blood work and urinalysis can tell you how well (or not) your training is going. The most important measurement of all is the answer to the question “How do I feel”? All the data in the world won’t matter if you don’t match it with how you feel.😊

When there is no snow, another lovely trail for running in the North suburbs of Boston is the Nashua River Rail trail. It runs ~12mi from Ayer MA to Nashua NH. The trail has some elevation at some stretches especially between Pepperell towards Groton. The path is very popular with bicyclists and some stretches especially through Groton by the pond is popular with parents with young kids, walkers and their pets. There’s plenty of parking at Ayer, Groton, Pepperell and Nashua. See map for more details. The trail runs by the Nashua river in Pepperell and the Rail Trail ice cream store just by the trail entrance in Pepperell, is a local favorite. The trail is well-trafficked dawn to dusk only between Ayer and Groton center and from Pepperell to Nashua. The full trail is usually busy only on weekends, with plenty of bicyclists. Its best to follow rules and keep right when running on this trail and keep a ear out for bicyclists calling "on your left"! My favorite section is ~1.65mi stretch between Groton Center (Station Ave) towards Ayer, which runs by Groton School pond filled with fish, turtles and beautiful birds. You can even see people fishing here.

If you are looking for a place to run in the North suburbs of Boston, the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is a beautiful shaded well-maintained rail trail. It has slight elevation at some stretches and runs ~11mi from Lowell through Chelmsford, Westford, Carlisle and Acton. There are many entry points with plenty of parking, see map for more details. Some lots even have porta-potties, should the need arise :) My favorite stretch is ~6mi from Chelmsford Center to Acton. The Heart Pond in Chelmsford is a beautiful spot to finish a run and enjoy sunset over the pond. This is a popular trail, always filled with runners, bicyclists, skateboarders, walkers and their dogs! It’s perfectly safe from dawn to dusk due to its popularity.

The Minuteman Bikeway trail is ~10mi point-to-point running from Bedford to Cambridge. There are many entry points in Bedford, Arlington and Cambridge. You will run through historic sites on this trail. This trail is very popular with bicyclists and walkers and there are several busy road intersections. Thee is some elevation running towards Cambridge from Arlington. While I have not yet run on this rail trail, it is on my to-do list. Here’s the link to Minuteman Bikeway Map

The Charles River Path is a 22 mi loop that runs along the Charles River, all the way from Downtown to Newton. The path runs by MIT, BU and Harvard Universities, is fairly flat and runs on both sides of the river with many bridges along the way to cross over. My favorite stretch is ~7.5mi loop- start from the end of Longfellow bridge on the Boston side, run to JFK bridge at Harvard University, cross over and finish back at the Longfellow Bridge. This path is popular amongst runners, from Peter Segal (host of NPR’s Wait Wait), Haruki Murakami (author) to Molly Seidel (Olympic Bronze Medalist for Marathon), many famous personalities have run on this path and written or talked about it. You never know who you might see when you run here! There are many entry points, the challenge is to find a suitable parking spot! Parking garages in Boston can be expensive but there are plenty of street parking spots that become more easily available on the weekend. Link to map Here’s a map courtesy RunOnFoot: