You should have seen me exactly two years ago in the pool. I was taking my 2nd swim workshop and I swore I was getting slower. I actually WAS slower than 6 months prior! How the heck did that happen? I seriously (I am not joking here) could NOT swim 4 lengths of the pool without being completely oxygen deprived. I wasn't some beginner in the pool. I could swim 1 mile straight (not fast) 6 months prior!
So why had I gone backwards with my swimming?
I was improving.
Wait, what? Doesn't that kinda contradict itself? Well, sorta. But swimming itself is like the evil step child of triathlon. See with running and biking, you can just make your legs go faster and your body WILL go faster. Unfortunately with swimming, windmilling your arms faster can more than likely make you drop like a rock to the bottom of the pool.
That all boils down to efficiency, right? How can someone who is only taking 12 strokes per 25 yards be faster than someone who is taking 30 strokes per 25 yards? That 12 stroke person is more efficient than the 30 stroker.
So back to how I was improving but yet going slower. My form/technique was getting better, but my muscles were so used to swimming WRONG that it was a foreign dance for my muscles to be swimming the right way, hence why I would tire out faster.
Eventually it all balanced out and my body got used to the more correct technique and in the long term, I swim a LOT faster than I used to. Faster as in I used to swim @ a 2:00/100 pace, and am currently hovering @ a 1:30/100 pace.
Three things got me swimming faster:
1) Balance
2) Front Quadrant
3) Swimming Faster
I am going to go more in depth into each of the three in separate future posts. This is also a review for myself as I quickly forget the importance of #'s 1 and 2. But here is an overview.
1) Balance - This how your body is positioned in the water. From a side view, are you horizontal? Or are your legs dragging? How is your body rotation? Without good balance in the water, you can forget what your arms are doing and how fast you are going. You gotta be able to float!
2) Front Quadrant - What are your arms doing? How is this interacting with your balance and rotation? How is your catch? Pull? Follow Through? Recovery? Entry? Most of my propulsion comes from the Front Quadrant. Balance will keep you floating and reduce drag, but your Front Quadrant will make you move forward (I don't use kicking as propulsion. I like to save my legs).
3) Swimming Faster - You aren't going to swim faster without swimming faster. Unless there is something I am missing?
So I am going to do three separate posts including drills on the topics listed above. Stay posted!
*Disclaimer* - I am NOT a swim coach. This is merely me verbally vomiting out my successes in the pool and how I was able to lop a HUGE amount of time off of my swimming pace. Take this with a boulder sized piece of salt!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Scotch! Celebration
Ok, I lied. I will mention the cleanse one more time: THE celebration of finishing it.
NYC has a gem of a lounge tucked down in the bowels of Tribeca and just catty corner to the Ghosterbusters firehouse.
This lounge is called The Brandy Library. It is THE go-to place for spirits. These people ARE the encyclopedia of spirits. You wanna try good spirits? THIS is the place to go! The History Channel came here for info on the history of Whiskey. Nuff said?
My running buddy, Belden, and I tried a flite of smoky Scotch, mostly from Islay. Of the 6 that we tasted, 4 stood out, especially 2 of those.
Longrow 10 - smooth smooth smooth. If I had an extra $100, I would pony up and try the 18 year old.
Laphroaig 18 - DAMN! That is all I can say about it. I bought a bottle the next day....
Ardbeg Uigeadail - Sometimes in life, you want to try something just before you expire, else everything after will be nothing but a letdown. THIS Scotch goes into that category. Apparently the Ardbeg 10 is just as good...if not better....we would take a sip, sit back and just let it do its magic for a solid two minutes. No, you aren't paying top dollar for a few ounces of liquid. You are paying top dollar for the liquid and the experience that follows....
Lagavulin 16 - it was a mystery Scotch. They didn't tell us what it was till afterwards. Its good, but should not have been tasted after the Ardbeg. Remember being letdown? Yeah, the Ardbeg basically made anything taste as bland as water...
Then we had some eclairs paired with some brandy, Marie Duffau Hor's D'Age. This brandy by itself I am sure is wonderful. But that Ardbeg just kills anything you try after it. You couldn't follow up Sinatra on stage could you? You can't follow up Ardbeg.
Last, we were treated to a sample of some Mezcal. Mezcal is the family that Tequila belongs to, just like Cognac belongs to the Brandy family. All Cognacs are Brandys, but not all Brandys are Cognacs. Same thing with Tequila and Mezcal. All Tequilas are Mezcals, but not all Mezcals are Tequilas. So the Mezcal we were treated to, no joke, had they told us it was a smoky Scotch, we would have believed him. This Mezcal tasted JUST like a Scotch! It is smoked Agave heart, smoked in a brick oven before being fermented and distilled.
If you ever find Los Danzantes Mezcal on the shelf, BUY IT!
I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but with Triathlon you kinda limit yourself with certain foods since being lean only helps on the bike and especially on the run. But you know what? Sometimes you just have to enjoy the greater things in life and not miss out on opportunities to sample some of the finest liquors in the world!
NYC has a gem of a lounge tucked down in the bowels of Tribeca and just catty corner to the Ghosterbusters firehouse.
 |
| "There is something strange..." |
My running buddy, Belden, and I tried a flite of smoky Scotch, mostly from Islay. Of the 6 that we tasted, 4 stood out, especially 2 of those.
Longrow 10 - smooth smooth smooth. If I had an extra $100, I would pony up and try the 18 year old.
 |
| (source) |
Laphroaig 18 - DAMN! That is all I can say about it. I bought a bottle the next day....
 |
| (source) |
Ardbeg Uigeadail - Sometimes in life, you want to try something just before you expire, else everything after will be nothing but a letdown. THIS Scotch goes into that category. Apparently the Ardbeg 10 is just as good...if not better....we would take a sip, sit back and just let it do its magic for a solid two minutes. No, you aren't paying top dollar for a few ounces of liquid. You are paying top dollar for the liquid and the experience that follows....
 |
| (source) |
Lagavulin 16 - it was a mystery Scotch. They didn't tell us what it was till afterwards. Its good, but should not have been tasted after the Ardbeg. Remember being letdown? Yeah, the Ardbeg basically made anything taste as bland as water...
 |
| (source) |
Then we had some eclairs paired with some brandy, Marie Duffau Hor's D'Age. This brandy by itself I am sure is wonderful. But that Ardbeg just kills anything you try after it. You couldn't follow up Sinatra on stage could you? You can't follow up Ardbeg.
 |
| (source) |
Last, we were treated to a sample of some Mezcal. Mezcal is the family that Tequila belongs to, just like Cognac belongs to the Brandy family. All Cognacs are Brandys, but not all Brandys are Cognacs. Same thing with Tequila and Mezcal. All Tequilas are Mezcals, but not all Mezcals are Tequilas. So the Mezcal we were treated to, no joke, had they told us it was a smoky Scotch, we would have believed him. This Mezcal tasted JUST like a Scotch! It is smoked Agave heart, smoked in a brick oven before being fermented and distilled.
If you ever find Los Danzantes Mezcal on the shelf, BUY IT!
 |
| (source) |
So TAKE THAT cleanse! haha!
Monday, January 17, 2011
THE Cleanse wrapup. Lessons learned
This will be my last post on the THE cleanse, a 2 week crash diet to make you learn of your bad eating habits and to show you that eating clean is not a bad thing, even when you are an endurance athlete. I did this for 12 of the 14 days and lost over 7 pounds.
Lesson #1: Your body has a LOT more energy than your brain thinks it does
You know those love handles you have? Do you know how much energy is stored in those suckers? A LOT! By day 8 or 9 of this diet, I had fully shed any morsel of refined carb in my body and was going solely on veggies and meat and fruit. That day I had to run for 90 mins. I woke up, and hit the pavement. No pre run fuel. No during run fuel. Either I was going off of the glycogen from previous days veggies, or I was digging deep into my fat stores. I had sustained energy during that run. No pep, but just sustained energy. I finished the run and still didn't feel hungry. I had a few other workouts where the same thing happened. I just had this slow burning energy and hunger wasn't an issue.
Lesson #2: Refined carbs wreck havoc on your blood sugar
Ever notice that when you eat some white bread that it makes you feel full, but only an hour later or so you are crashing? And that trend continues through the day? Even with some protein you still feel those violent ups and downs. I noticed that when using veggies and salad for carb sources, that those ups and downs (yeah, they still happened!) were not as violent. The height of the waves were much shallower.
Lesson #3: Protein is cool, but veggies are cooler with protein
One day I had this genius idea of eating steak and three scrambled eggs. Basically protein and some saturated fat. It didn't fill me up and gave me ZERO energy for a later workout. I had similar meals, but had loads of steamed broccoli or asparagus or green beans with it. The veggies and protein working together filled me up, kept my filled, AND provided energy for later workouts.
Lesson #4: Refined carbs are not a bad thing
I can eat a flour tortilla, some peanut butter and banana and be ready to rock ANY workout within 60 mins. Refined carbs are convenient and fit into a lifestyle where you need quick energy. Yeah, you need to watch it with the types of foods, but they work with me and I notice that I really only NEED to eat them when there is a workout coming up. I hate eating slower absorbing foods and waiting 3-4 hours for them to kick in.
Lesson #5: Refined carbs can be a bad thing
One thing I noticed while off refined carbs was that I wasn't getting sleepy during the day. I was less tired. Yes, I had zero pep during my workouts, but I had sustained energy, especially at work. I wasn't falling asleep in any meetings! The refined carbs that I normally eat I notice give me jet fuel like energy, but like jet fuel, it burns much quicker, meaning I tire out quicker after a workout is done.
Lesson #6: good fats are good things
So eating grilled lean meats and lots of steamed veggies is a really healthy thing, but the flavor just isn't there. Eating like that is also missing out on a macronutrient: FAT. Nuts, avocado, olives are forms of healthy UNsaturated fats. Those foods I noticed helped keep me full and were less gross to consume than saturated fats like bacon. Oh how I love almonds, avocado and olives!
Lesson #7: salads can fill you up
I would always eat salads as just lettuce, cucumber, some carrot, and a dressing. THAT never filled me up. I learned that by loading it with olives, avocado, peppers, chickpeas, spinach, snap peas, AND especially lean grilled meat with an olive oil and vinegar based dressings with some pepper can keep me full for a LONG time. And this isn't some small salad. This is a BIG salad! Now finding variety in these salads is the trick.
Lesson #8: Paleo is too restrictive
I get the paleo diet (no grains or dairy or beans). The diet totally makes sense but I find it too restrictive for my food pallet. I LIKE the taste of bread. I am not a pro triathlete. I am an amateur and this is my hobby. Yes, I always want to get better and leaner, but I still gotta live! Booze is not a bad thing. I LIKE the taste of alcohol. I am not going to become a monk and deny myself these wonderful things in the world. Just don't go too crazy with it, right?
Lesson #9: Water is a cool trick
Water was my saving grace. I had to drink 100 oz a day. The first few days I was running to the bathroom every 15 mins. By day 5 I wasn't sure if I was drinking enough. Sure enough I was, but not peeing as often and still felt thirsty. Truest me, it still left my body, but drinking 100 oz a day is not a hard thing and does wonders for your energy levels. It kept me balanced! Drinking water during meals, and especially after meals "finished" off my stomach. It tricked my stomach into thinking it was fuller than it really was. This helped turn down the hunger monsters and allow me to eat less.
Lesson #10: salt turns you into a sponge
Can't remember which day it was, but I was adding salt to everything. And I was drinking 100 oz of water. Let's just say I kept drinking but I wasn't peeing like I should have. I felt so bloated! The extra salt that I had made my body retain all of that water.
Foods that really got me through this diet:
I would recommend this cleanse. I would say 10 days is probably enough. 14 and you are not only going crazy but also eating out with others can be a bit restrictive. I learned that I need to drink more water and to limit my refined carbs to pre workout fuel only. This will satiate my appetite for this food group. Eating grilled lean meat and roasted or steamed veggies will become my usual dinner. This does provide enough energy for the next morning, just not that night. Takes a bit longer for green beans to make it to the muscles @ glycogen.
This was a great jump start to the season.
Lesson #1: Your body has a LOT more energy than your brain thinks it does
You know those love handles you have? Do you know how much energy is stored in those suckers? A LOT! By day 8 or 9 of this diet, I had fully shed any morsel of refined carb in my body and was going solely on veggies and meat and fruit. That day I had to run for 90 mins. I woke up, and hit the pavement. No pre run fuel. No during run fuel. Either I was going off of the glycogen from previous days veggies, or I was digging deep into my fat stores. I had sustained energy during that run. No pep, but just sustained energy. I finished the run and still didn't feel hungry. I had a few other workouts where the same thing happened. I just had this slow burning energy and hunger wasn't an issue.
Lesson #2: Refined carbs wreck havoc on your blood sugar
Ever notice that when you eat some white bread that it makes you feel full, but only an hour later or so you are crashing? And that trend continues through the day? Even with some protein you still feel those violent ups and downs. I noticed that when using veggies and salad for carb sources, that those ups and downs (yeah, they still happened!) were not as violent. The height of the waves were much shallower.
Lesson #3: Protein is cool, but veggies are cooler with protein
One day I had this genius idea of eating steak and three scrambled eggs. Basically protein and some saturated fat. It didn't fill me up and gave me ZERO energy for a later workout. I had similar meals, but had loads of steamed broccoli or asparagus or green beans with it. The veggies and protein working together filled me up, kept my filled, AND provided energy for later workouts.
Lesson #4: Refined carbs are not a bad thing
I can eat a flour tortilla, some peanut butter and banana and be ready to rock ANY workout within 60 mins. Refined carbs are convenient and fit into a lifestyle where you need quick energy. Yeah, you need to watch it with the types of foods, but they work with me and I notice that I really only NEED to eat them when there is a workout coming up. I hate eating slower absorbing foods and waiting 3-4 hours for them to kick in.
Lesson #5: Refined carbs can be a bad thing
One thing I noticed while off refined carbs was that I wasn't getting sleepy during the day. I was less tired. Yes, I had zero pep during my workouts, but I had sustained energy, especially at work. I wasn't falling asleep in any meetings! The refined carbs that I normally eat I notice give me jet fuel like energy, but like jet fuel, it burns much quicker, meaning I tire out quicker after a workout is done.
Lesson #6: good fats are good things
So eating grilled lean meats and lots of steamed veggies is a really healthy thing, but the flavor just isn't there. Eating like that is also missing out on a macronutrient: FAT. Nuts, avocado, olives are forms of healthy UNsaturated fats. Those foods I noticed helped keep me full and were less gross to consume than saturated fats like bacon. Oh how I love almonds, avocado and olives!
Lesson #7: salads can fill you up
I would always eat salads as just lettuce, cucumber, some carrot, and a dressing. THAT never filled me up. I learned that by loading it with olives, avocado, peppers, chickpeas, spinach, snap peas, AND especially lean grilled meat with an olive oil and vinegar based dressings with some pepper can keep me full for a LONG time. And this isn't some small salad. This is a BIG salad! Now finding variety in these salads is the trick.
Lesson #8: Paleo is too restrictive
I get the paleo diet (no grains or dairy or beans). The diet totally makes sense but I find it too restrictive for my food pallet. I LIKE the taste of bread. I am not a pro triathlete. I am an amateur and this is my hobby. Yes, I always want to get better and leaner, but I still gotta live! Booze is not a bad thing. I LIKE the taste of alcohol. I am not going to become a monk and deny myself these wonderful things in the world. Just don't go too crazy with it, right?
Lesson #9: Water is a cool trick
Water was my saving grace. I had to drink 100 oz a day. The first few days I was running to the bathroom every 15 mins. By day 5 I wasn't sure if I was drinking enough. Sure enough I was, but not peeing as often and still felt thirsty. Truest me, it still left my body, but drinking 100 oz a day is not a hard thing and does wonders for your energy levels. It kept me balanced! Drinking water during meals, and especially after meals "finished" off my stomach. It tricked my stomach into thinking it was fuller than it really was. This helped turn down the hunger monsters and allow me to eat less.
Lesson #10: salt turns you into a sponge
Can't remember which day it was, but I was adding salt to everything. And I was drinking 100 oz of water. Let's just say I kept drinking but I wasn't peeing like I should have. I felt so bloated! The extra salt that I had made my body retain all of that water.
Foods that really got me through this diet:
- apples and peanut butter (#1 snack!)
- grapefruit and oranges (can't get enough of em!)
- berries....blueberries, blackberries, and ESPECIALLY cherries!
- almonds and peanut butter
- roasted asparagus and roasted green beans
- olives (oh how I LOVE thee!)
- avocado
- grilled sirloin steak
I would recommend this cleanse. I would say 10 days is probably enough. 14 and you are not only going crazy but also eating out with others can be a bit restrictive. I learned that I need to drink more water and to limit my refined carbs to pre workout fuel only. This will satiate my appetite for this food group. Eating grilled lean meat and roasted or steamed veggies will become my usual dinner. This does provide enough energy for the next morning, just not that night. Takes a bit longer for green beans to make it to the muscles @ glycogen.
This was a great jump start to the season.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
What happens when I eat some friggin food!
I HAVE ENERGY!!!!
I called it quits to the cleanse Friday night. Mentally, I was ready to.....I don't know. I couldn't take it anymore! I finished the cleanse on three scrambled eggs, three thick slices of bacon, blackberries, and a clementine. All Paleo legal, btw! The bacon was NOT cleanse legal, but who cares! It was a GREAT dinner!
The cleanse was a success. I'll do a future post on lessons learned, but losing 7+ pounds in 10-12 days I think is a mission accomplished.
So Saturday AM I woke up @ the crack of stupid and was in the pool an hour away by 6:30 knocking out 100 after 100 after 100 with my coach. It was a great workout of 3150 yards. I ate, get this, a flour tortilla, with peanut butter and a banana as fuel for the swim. Both my first flour tortilla and banana in almost 2 weeks. Oh my god I felt like Popeye!
After the swim, it was 1:45:00 on the trainer followed by a 3 mile brick run. I ran it in 24:33 for an 8:11 pace. I haven't ran a sub-9 pace since before the cleanse. I felt awesome! Totally alive now that I had decent energy.
This morning was a bit tougher on the legs. I ran 10 miles in just under 90 mins. I was very sore from Saturday's efforts. I haven't felt this kind of soreness since the end of summer, so that means one thing: training is picking up and getting consistent. It feels good to be back riding and running 4x a week and swimming 3x a week.
I am very happy with my run volume, but I am still a bit concerned about my biking volume. I won't lie, I lost a lot of bike fitness over the past 4 months. Riding 80 miles on the trainer this past week was a lot harder than I felt it should have been. Either riding the computrainer IS harder, or my bike fitness just isn't there. I am going with the bike fitness is still a work in progress. Can't wait to get back outside though in a few months! On the mental side, riding outdoors for 90 mins goes by a LOT quicker than on the trainer.
Hope you had a great weekend!
I called it quits to the cleanse Friday night. Mentally, I was ready to.....I don't know. I couldn't take it anymore! I finished the cleanse on three scrambled eggs, three thick slices of bacon, blackberries, and a clementine. All Paleo legal, btw! The bacon was NOT cleanse legal, but who cares! It was a GREAT dinner!
The cleanse was a success. I'll do a future post on lessons learned, but losing 7+ pounds in 10-12 days I think is a mission accomplished.
So Saturday AM I woke up @ the crack of stupid and was in the pool an hour away by 6:30 knocking out 100 after 100 after 100 with my coach. It was a great workout of 3150 yards. I ate, get this, a flour tortilla, with peanut butter and a banana as fuel for the swim. Both my first flour tortilla and banana in almost 2 weeks. Oh my god I felt like Popeye!
After the swim, it was 1:45:00 on the trainer followed by a 3 mile brick run. I ran it in 24:33 for an 8:11 pace. I haven't ran a sub-9 pace since before the cleanse. I felt awesome! Totally alive now that I had decent energy.
This morning was a bit tougher on the legs. I ran 10 miles in just under 90 mins. I was very sore from Saturday's efforts. I haven't felt this kind of soreness since the end of summer, so that means one thing: training is picking up and getting consistent. It feels good to be back riding and running 4x a week and swimming 3x a week.
I am very happy with my run volume, but I am still a bit concerned about my biking volume. I won't lie, I lost a lot of bike fitness over the past 4 months. Riding 80 miles on the trainer this past week was a lot harder than I felt it should have been. Either riding the computrainer IS harder, or my bike fitness just isn't there. I am going with the bike fitness is still a work in progress. Can't wait to get back outside though in a few months! On the mental side, riding outdoors for 90 mins goes by a LOT quicker than on the trainer.
Hope you had a great weekend!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Days 9 -11:Cleanse....another drop, but NOT in energy!
Haven't updated in a bit, but I'll be brief:
--------------------------------------------
Day 9: AM weigh-in: 143.8 (new low)
Another drop. I am down almost 7 pounds in 8 days. I am definitely noticing a body composition change in the mirror. My stomach is significantly flatter AND I have a TON more energy!
Last night I swam and felt like a normal human being with normal human being energy. Then this morning I did the same 5 miler with 10x 20 sec hill repeats as last Tuesday. Other than sore legs, energy was not an issue. I even finished the run 30 seconds faster this time.
I am starting to smell the end of this! This Saturday I have a big swim with my coach then I need to run 90 mins afterwards. Worried about fuel, I asked my coach and he responded with "eat a whole grain bagel with peanut butter."
REFINED CARBS!!!!!!!!
It was the same as him telling me to eat a bowl of ice cream. WOW! I am getting worked up about eating a freaking bagel! haha!
I had a slight low from the fruit, but by lunch I really didn't need to eat. I ate anyways, but after a chicken breast, some steamed broccoli, and some olives, I was good! Those olives......MAN! I love olives....
This is how I came to love olives: I was in Provence, and someone offered me an olive, so I ate it. I thought it was the most vile thing ever known to man! I HATED it!!! Then a year or two later I was eating at a restaurant somewhere in VT (Simon Pearce?) and I suddenly was craving olives. I have been hooked ever since. Kalamata are my favorite.
Dinner was the same steak and salad with the amazing Dijon vinaigrette from last week. Probably the easiest day yet!
--------------------------
Day 10: AM Weigh-in: 143.6 (new low)
I thought I had eaten a ton of food yesterday. Guess not! I dropped a bit lower. Down almost 7 pounds! We got socked with another 12 inches of snow last night. No biggie, I was on the trainer anyways today. Just did 60 mins.
-------------------------------------------
Day 11: AM Weigh-in: 142.6 (new low)
Woke up and ran 7 miles. WHAT a difference a week makes! I had some sore legs this morning, but energy was not much of an issue. My last two runs have felt human again!
Ate a yummy dinner, then hit the pool. After 1500 yards I had ZERO motivation to continue. Just wasn't happening tonight...
The cravings are really killing me right now. Today @ work a coworker was 5 feet away from me and I caught a whiff of his hot chocolate that he was drinking. I think I freaked him out a bit when I asked him if he was drinking hot chocolate. Yes, my nose is UBER sensitive for sweets right now!!!! I can't stop eating fruit, since that is the only allowed sweets.
--------------------------------------------
Day 9: AM weigh-in: 143.8 (new low)
Another drop. I am down almost 7 pounds in 8 days. I am definitely noticing a body composition change in the mirror. My stomach is significantly flatter AND I have a TON more energy!
Last night I swam and felt like a normal human being with normal human being energy. Then this morning I did the same 5 miler with 10x 20 sec hill repeats as last Tuesday. Other than sore legs, energy was not an issue. I even finished the run 30 seconds faster this time.
I am starting to smell the end of this! This Saturday I have a big swim with my coach then I need to run 90 mins afterwards. Worried about fuel, I asked my coach and he responded with "eat a whole grain bagel with peanut butter."
REFINED CARBS!!!!!!!!
It was the same as him telling me to eat a bowl of ice cream. WOW! I am getting worked up about eating a freaking bagel! haha!
I had a slight low from the fruit, but by lunch I really didn't need to eat. I ate anyways, but after a chicken breast, some steamed broccoli, and some olives, I was good! Those olives......MAN! I love olives....
This is how I came to love olives: I was in Provence, and someone offered me an olive, so I ate it. I thought it was the most vile thing ever known to man! I HATED it!!! Then a year or two later I was eating at a restaurant somewhere in VT (Simon Pearce?) and I suddenly was craving olives. I have been hooked ever since. Kalamata are my favorite.
Dinner was the same steak and salad with the amazing Dijon vinaigrette from last week. Probably the easiest day yet!
--------------------------
Day 10: AM Weigh-in: 143.6 (new low)
I thought I had eaten a ton of food yesterday. Guess not! I dropped a bit lower. Down almost 7 pounds! We got socked with another 12 inches of snow last night. No biggie, I was on the trainer anyways today. Just did 60 mins.
-------------------------------------------
Day 11: AM Weigh-in: 142.6 (new low)
Woke up and ran 7 miles. WHAT a difference a week makes! I had some sore legs this morning, but energy was not much of an issue. My last two runs have felt human again!
Ate a yummy dinner, then hit the pool. After 1500 yards I had ZERO motivation to continue. Just wasn't happening tonight...
The cravings are really killing me right now. Today @ work a coworker was 5 feet away from me and I caught a whiff of his hot chocolate that he was drinking. I think I freaked him out a bit when I asked him if he was drinking hot chocolate. Yes, my nose is UBER sensitive for sweets right now!!!! I can't stop eating fruit, since that is the only allowed sweets.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Day...... (eh, screw it) lets do something different! Race music!
I am halfway done with the "cleanse" which is turning out to be a paleo diet with even fewer restrictiosn. Ok, that is all I writing about it for today! *shutting up*
So at all of the bigger races that I have done, there is always pretty cool music at the start line that gets you REVVED UP!!! and ready to KILL!!!! The finish line music usual makes you feel even more accomplished.
So let's talk race music!!!
For a starting race song, this song, Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor, would be downright creepy and would make you feel like you are diving into your death. (cool song though...)
I started Timberman to freaking Coldplay's The Scientist. I like Coldplay every now and then, but NOT as I am heading off to battle! A couple dudes embraced......
ACDC's You Shook Me All Night Long would probably take the cake for my #1 get your blood-pumping-lets-rip-some-arms-off start music.
So now finish line music? Ok, let's be totally predictable and pick We are the Champions by Queen. But I'd rather go with another Classic Rock band and have Journey's Don't Stop Believing instead. Its always my favorite song to close out a night. Why not close out a race with it?
So at all of the bigger races that I have done, there is always pretty cool music at the start line that gets you REVVED UP!!! and ready to KILL!!!! The finish line music usual makes you feel even more accomplished.
So let's talk race music!!!
For a starting race song, this song, Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor, would be downright creepy and would make you feel like you are diving into your death. (cool song though...)
I started Timberman to freaking Coldplay's The Scientist. I like Coldplay every now and then, but NOT as I am heading off to battle! A couple dudes embraced......
ACDC's You Shook Me All Night Long would probably take the cake for my #1 get your blood-pumping-lets-rip-some-arms-off start music.
So now finish line music? Ok, let's be totally predictable and pick We are the Champions by Queen. But I'd rather go with another Classic Rock band and have Journey's Don't Stop Believing instead. Its always my favorite song to close out a night. Why not close out a race with it?
If you could pick your start line music, and your finish line music, what songs would they be?
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Day 7: Cleanse...suprise energy and halfway there
Today's workout was a 90 min steady run, or a 10 miler.
Pre run weigh in: 147 (again!)
Post run weigh in: 144.6 (new low)
I don't drink anything during my long runs in the winter since I am not thirsty. I also did the entire run on no fuel, before or during. So that 2.4 pound loss was totally through the 1000 calorie or so energy expenditure (less than 1/3 of a pound) and the rest through sweat loss, though I didn't feel like I was sweating hard. It was 30 degrees, a bit windy, and super dry and sunny, so most likely the sweat just evaporated as soon as it came into contact with the air.
So this run proves that you can run for 90 mins or more on nothing, AND on a no refined carb diet. Other than getting bored and anticipating the end of the run, I had enough energy to stretch it out to a half marathon if I had the motivation.
I also had some energy this time! I didn't feel flat, but I didn't feel peppy, I just felt "normal" for once. Last night's dinner REALLY did the trick. Here is the run:
I ate the usual breakfast, but I was out of cherries (boo!) so I polished off the blueberries (yay!). I didn't wait too long before I scarfed down an apple with all natural peanut butter with salt (yay!). But I was still hungry....I had to GET OUT of the apartment. Just thinking about food was making me hungry! Not eating any solid protien before lunch really kicks my butt. That is the #1 thing I am looking forward to after this experiment: Eating protein and lots of it @ all meals. ESPECIALLY eggs with breakfast! (cravings anyone?!?!)
Went to Whole Foods to get some groceries (including cherries!) and bought a pre-made meal of chicken and roasted vegetables, including POTATOES! I haven't eaten a starch in 7 days. Potatoes are not a grain. So I cheated a bit and ate some fucking roasted red potato cubes. I felt SO guilty!!!!!
This held me off and reclaimed my human status again. Then I was good for the rest of the day.
Dinner was chicken marinated in a really yummy Greek dressing recipe given to me by Kevin @ IronmanByThirty. Thanks Kevin! I made roasted green beans on the side.
This again totally filled me up. I survived the weekend!
Only 7 more days to go...
Pre run weigh in: 147 (again!)
Post run weigh in: 144.6 (new low)
I don't drink anything during my long runs in the winter since I am not thirsty. I also did the entire run on no fuel, before or during. So that 2.4 pound loss was totally through the 1000 calorie or so energy expenditure (less than 1/3 of a pound) and the rest through sweat loss, though I didn't feel like I was sweating hard. It was 30 degrees, a bit windy, and super dry and sunny, so most likely the sweat just evaporated as soon as it came into contact with the air.
So this run proves that you can run for 90 mins or more on nothing, AND on a no refined carb diet. Other than getting bored and anticipating the end of the run, I had enough energy to stretch it out to a half marathon if I had the motivation.
I also had some energy this time! I didn't feel flat, but I didn't feel peppy, I just felt "normal" for once. Last night's dinner REALLY did the trick. Here is the run:
I ate the usual breakfast, but I was out of cherries (boo!) so I polished off the blueberries (yay!). I didn't wait too long before I scarfed down an apple with all natural peanut butter with salt (yay!). But I was still hungry....I had to GET OUT of the apartment. Just thinking about food was making me hungry! Not eating any solid protien before lunch really kicks my butt. That is the #1 thing I am looking forward to after this experiment: Eating protein and lots of it @ all meals. ESPECIALLY eggs with breakfast! (cravings anyone?!?!)
Went to Whole Foods to get some groceries (including cherries!) and bought a pre-made meal of chicken and roasted vegetables, including POTATOES! I haven't eaten a starch in 7 days. Potatoes are not a grain. So I cheated a bit and ate some fucking roasted red potato cubes. I felt SO guilty!!!!!
 |
| THEY ARE YUMMY!!!! |
Dinner was chicken marinated in a really yummy Greek dressing recipe given to me by Kevin @ IronmanByThirty. Thanks Kevin! I made roasted green beans on the side.
This again totally filled me up. I survived the weekend!
Only 7 more days to go...
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