Have you ever gone out to eat and made a special request for your food to be prepared in a more healthy manner? Sometimes you’ll get lucky and the restaurant will bend over backwards for you. Sometimes you’ll get no sympathy.

But there is a solution that will get your food prepared properly in most cases. You just have to stretch the truth a little bit…

“I’m highly allergic to trans fats, I almost suffocated last time I went out to eat due to my throat swelling up. Could you please cook mine with extra virgin olive oil?”

That’s just one example, feel free to make up your own and embellish it. It’s best to emphasize how you’ll cause a big scene (by throwing up, passing out, choking, etc.) so the restaurant realizes it will be easier to comply with your request than to clean up the mess if they don’t!

“Is that really necessary?”

Yes it is. You never really know how the food is prepared, despite what it says in the menu. For example, your chicken could come from a flat-top grill instead of a flame grill. If that’s the case, it’s getting coated in oil like any other pan-fried dish.

Take a look at this article at active.com to learn more about misconceptions when it comes to restaurants, along with what to do about it.

It was only a matter of time before the fantasy sports leagues emerged for obscure sports like cycling, and that time has arrived for 2006. I first heard about FantasyCycling.com at the very end of June, right before the Tour started. Just in time to put my team together!

I’m not sure how I first found their game, but I’m glad I did! After signing-up free of charge, you got $10,000 or so to put together a nine rider team for the Tour de France. Once you entered, you were eligible for big prizes, so it was well worth it. Plus you get to track your progress against other players!

First I went for Jan Ullrich, but with the tour favorites costing $5000 each, I decided to rethink my plan. I decided to pick up some sprinters who would surely win some stages along with some lesser-known hopefuls.

The strategy paid off as I led the race on GC a few times and ended up in 5th place overall! Yep, when all was said and done, The Maruaders (my team name) beat out all but four teams! That’s pretty cool, considering the game was probably open to at least the entire USA.

My prize was a Ritchey WCS handlebar and stem! I got them in the mail and they’re waiting to go on my bike sometime soon. They’re not carbon, but they are light!

Be sure to sign-up so you can enter the game for the Vuelta!

It’s a good idea to know a bit about your sweat rate, and this article at active.com has some more insight into it. It’s cool because it discusses the differences in sweat rates between athletes and analyzes Chris Leigh, who collapsed just 50 meters from the finish at the 1997 Hawaii Ironman.

Boy does he sweat a lot!

Stay on top of your fluid game

Also, check out this basic formula to determine your sweat rate.

Be aware of these ten things that can hold you back, so that you can stop them from holding you back! If you have ever felt less than enthusiastic about your training, this could help.

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Since we’re on the subject of new ways to consume sugar, it seems like the right time to look at these new products…

Energy gels always filled the void between drinks and bars, but now there is something in between drinks and gels! They are called “liquid energy shots.”

I would describe them as a very high-powered, concentrated sports drink. Kind of like a gel without the gooeyness. You can find some from Enervitine, Vespa, and EnduroShot.

You’ll pay the price though if you want to try these. If you thought $1 for a gel was bad, try $4 for one of these! The EnduroShots are a bit cheaper though, so look at them first.

More info on EnduroShot: enduroshot.com and at sportsspin.

Vespa is even more interesting though, especially the ingredients… vespapower.com

If you’re getting sick of the old-fashioned stuff, and have money lying around, definitely take a look at this stuff.