Gone Caveman.

Over the past two weeks (tomorrow!), I have been experimenting with the Paleo Diet aka The Caveman Diet.  The Reader's Digest version of the diet is that it is made up solely by foods that can be found naturally on the earth -- so no products of agriculture.  Largely, this means no dairy and no grains.  That means no bread, pasta, rice -- somewhat staples in my diet.  It also means no legumes (black beans), or other "healthy" grains such as quinoa and cous cous.  The idea is that by removing all of those nutritionally "empty" sources of carbs, you are forced to get your carbs from more nutritionally dense forms of food -- mainly fruits and vegetables.  Very sound idea, so I wanted to put it to the test.

I decided on two weeks to see if A) I could pull it off, and B) how would such a "low-carb" diet make me feel if I was doing consistent aerobic training?  Luckily for me I am only running about 25 miles a week right now, but that's still enough to warrant a decent carb intake to provide necessary energy/recovery.  I was curious.  Now that I'm one day away from the two-week finale, I am no longer curious.

Overall, I would say that the diet has been sustainable.  In the beginning (first 2-3 days), I didn't really experience many cravings for no-no foods.  Since a large staple of the diet is meat, I was enjoying trying "new" meats that I don't usually cook -- i.e. flank steak, pork chops.  I was also enjoying a much more consistent consumption of excellent leafy green vegetables such as kale and cabbage.  My main complex carb source was sweet potatoes, which I ate 1-2 each day.  By eating more fruit than normal, in addition to my sweet potatoes, I found that I felt that I was getting enough carbs to keep my energy level up.

Still, there was the occasional "brain fog," as I've seen it described online.  Essentially, this is the feeling you get in your head when you're running low on blood sugar due to inadequate carb intake.  This was one of the things I was afraid of, but also one of the things that pundits of the diet claim that your body adapts to as it becomes more efficient at burning other sources (fat) for fuel instead of relying on carbs.  The brain fog would come and go, and I didn't really notice a drop off in my energy for my daily runs/workouts.

After the first week, my weight had dropped from 149 to 144.  Five pounds in one week is fairly drastic, and who knows exactly how accurate given general fluctuations in weight to begin with.  But it was still enough to make me scratch my head and look forward to the results after another week.  The final weigh in is tomorrow morning.

So on the Sunday at the end of the first week, I had a "long run" scheduled -- 8 miles.  Nothing that would warrant "carbo-loading," yet still a long enough distance that the body would need to be sufficiently stocked on glucose in the muscles.  The run itself was fine, but poor planning/scheduling after the run did not allow me to get a solid meal (including sweet potatoes!) directly after the run.  Instead, I went and played poker.  I ate fruit and nuts in hopes that the fruit would provide enough sugars to give my brain some thinking power and help my muscles recover.  WRONG. I sat there like a brain-dead man, and just pissed my money away.  Brain fog.

Over the course of the next week, I did begin to notice a decrease in my exercise performance.  After the long run and a makeshift track workout a couple of days later, my legs began to feel heavy.  Nothing terribly abnormal, but my body seemed to be telling me that it was not receiving the adequate nutrition for recovery, even at my "low" level of training.  And I can't argue with my body.

I went out to dinner twice over the course of the two weeks, which was doable, but required discipline.  Most entrees available are mostly paleo-approved, and may just require a small tweak or substitution (which I did).  Still, it didn't mean there weren't increased cravings, watching other people eat there starchy sides, fried foods, and tasty desserts.

So tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, and at 6 pm, the end of my Paleo experiement.  I plan to indulge on all of the tasty Super Bowl fare that arrives at my apartment.  And I plan to drink a beer (or 3).  I do realize that I will probably need to take it slow, as my body will most likely go into shock with the re-introduction off all the unhealthy carbs and processed sugars, but I am very much looking forward to it.

So what's next?  I have definitely seen the merits in this diet.  It has forced me to increase my vegetable intake, and to think about my sources of carbs more closely.  To a degree, I want to keep this going for a while longer to see what a more "long term" implementation does for my overall health/fitness.  So I've decided that on Monday, I will re-introduce beans and quinoa into my diet, and will otherwise keep a Paleo diet during the week.  I will do my best to limit all other restricted items (breads, dairy, processed sugars).  On the weekends, I will allow myself to "splurge" a little more -- pasta dinners, beers, bagels.  But I am interested to see what this does to me over the course of a little more time.  I think that it's a very healthy diet, just fairly tough to sustain with any sort of high-activity level. 

It's been fun, but I'm ready for a pizza, and a beer.

Don't call it a comeback.

Over the course of this month, I have slowly been gaining clarity into my fitness goals of 2013.  It's been coming to me in a revelation-esque manner, which is really what I've been waiting to happen.  It started while I was on the treadmill the other day, suffering through a 4 mile run that felt way harder than it should have.  I struggled to figure out just why I felt like complete doo doo -- and then it hit me. 

When you take approximately 4 months off from any consistent running, the physiological advances you've made over the past few years start to reverse.  Mitochondria and capillary density decrease.  Oxygen carrying capacity declines.  I've lost it all, and the only way to get it back is to start over, much like I did in 2008 after the Boston Marathon.

After that race, I was injured and relatively unfit.  I made it my mission then and there that I would take the time to build myself back up slowly, but ultimately take my training to new levels.  I started with 20 miles a week, adding 5 miles each week until I was running 60 miles a week.  I started my training for Richmond 2008 at 55 miles per week and capped it at 75.  I built up my aerobic fitness before adding the anaerobic/speed component.  I was more fit than I'd ever been, ready to go sub 3 in Richmond.

And on race day, I tanked.  Ate shit hard.

But I was still more fit than I'd ever been.  That training gave me the platform to start from an even higher level of building for the next race.  I averaged 65 miles a week that summer.  Peaked at 85 for Richmond 2009.  Physiological changes took place like never before.  And on race day, I finally reached my goal.

Now I'm back at square one.  The problem I've had since that race in 2009 is that after reaching that goal, I didn't have a new one.  I've been training and racing aimlessly for the last 3 years -- and it sucks.  But on the treadmill the other day, I realized what I want to do.  I want to go through that process again.  I want to start from nothing and get into to the best shape of my life over 2013.  I want to PR in a fall marathon.  But I also want to go about things differently.

I want to consistently lift weights and cross train each week.  I want to be a stronger runner than I've been in the past, so that I am healthy and don't feel like I'm injured all of the time.  I want to be balanced.  I think that the need for this balance has been there for the last few years -- I've just ignored it.  Maybe that's why I've been hurt for the last three years.  This time, I'm not going to let that happen.

Day 19, and I'm still on track.  I'm sitting here dressed in my shorts and t-shirt, about to get out for my "long run" on this crisp, clear, sunny winter day.  Today's long run: 7.5 miles.  And it will probably feel like 17.5.  But that's part of the process, and the beauty of it.  Knowing that in 3 months, I might be running 17.5, and it won't feel that bad.  Mitochondria and capillary density will have increased.  Stroke volume will be up.  I'll be 3 months closer to reaching my peak fitness -- and that will feel good.

Week 1 - Starting Fresh

Well, week 1 is in the books -- literally.  I have successfully completed the first 8 days of 365 days of fitness.  On most days, I satisfied my fitness activity with a run.  I am currently starting my "return" to running after being off for about 4 months, so my runs are currently only 2-4 miles.  And suck.  I am definitely feeling "out of shape."  During the course of the first week, I also decided that I may sign up to do one (or a couple) triathlons, with the first possible being a sprint tri in April.  That lead to one day being a 20 mile bike ride.  It felt good to get back on the bike after being away for so long!  I only had one "off day," on which I made a simple 3x20 push-ups my workout.

I continue to feel motivated.  As my return to cardio exercise continues, I am feeling more and more the pull of a real return to endurance training.  Loose goals include the triathlons that I mentioned, the 10k in April, a half iron-man in September, and either the half or full marathon in Richmond in November.  I'm not going to peg myself into any one of those holes quite yet, but the mind set is returning.  Feels good to be getting back to who I really am.

Hope everyone else's endeavors are going well!

A New Beginning, A New Challenge

Hello, and welcome.  If you are reading this post, you have been invited to join me on a journey -- a quest for health and fitness. 

With the turning of a new year comes an opportunity to start fresh.  Today, tens of thousands of people will begin their New Year's resolution to "get in shape." Gyms get crowded.  New running shoes are purchased.  Diet plans are started.  Visions of a lean, tan summer physiques are in the forefront of many peoples' minds. 

Approximately 97% of these people will fail.

But you and I, my friends, will not fail.  Indeed, we will be among the 3% of people who actually embrace fitness as a lifestyle, as all of us already do.  But what's the fun in just keeping with the status quo of our current fitness routine?  Why not throw in a wrinkle -- a piece of flare?

The Challenege: 365 Days of Fitness.

My challenge to myself is to perform some (any!) sort of physical fitness every single day of 2013 -- and to keep a record of it in my little journal.  Most of my days' entries will consist of my normal workout for that day: a run, a lift, perhaps a bike ride.  The challenge becomes present on those days where we either don't have anything planned, have a scheduled rest day, or have one of those days where we just don't feel like doing a GOSH DARN thing.  Can you do something on those days?  Anything?  It can be as simple as dropping to the ground and cranking a set of 10 push-ups or sit-ups.  Or maybe working it into your daily routine:  Do you work on the 11th floor of a nationally recognized hospital?  Take the stairs.  Do something, anything, outside of your normal routine that can be classified as a form of fitness.

The next part of the challenge is to keep an accurate record of each and every day.  At the end, there will be 365 entries.  That will be a very impressive collection of fitness -- a trophy of your accomplishment.  You can use whatever method you choose to keep a record of your daily fitness.  I will be using a spiral notebook, logging my entries by hand.  If you would prefer to keep it on the computer, or a Google doc, feel free.  Just get it recorded.

In a world where we are faced with a disgusting obesity epidemic, and an every growing trend towards a sedentary lifestyle, it is important to maintain an active lifestyle.  Will a day of doing nothing but 10 push-ups do anything for your overall health and fitness?  Not really.  But it's the principle of it.  Those 10 push-ups are 10 more of anything than Joe Schmoe who weighs 305 and is on a one way train to having diabetes and a heart attack at the age of 47.  We must be better than that, and lead by example.

So my friends, I invite you to join me on this quest.  Most of you, too, will quit, because you are all weak, feeble minded people.  But to those of you who can defeat this challenge, I will stand with you at the end, hand in hand, as your brother in arms.

I plan to write on this blog weekly, to keep everyone updated on my progress.  Check back if you feel so inclined.

Good luck.