Sunset in Logan, Utah – 5k recovery run
Activities – Strava Logs (Shane’s Strava link)
(I don’t always provide links, so, please copy and paste if you are Strava stalking me ? )
Monday
Activity 1 – RUN
Tuesday
Activity 1 – RUN
Wednesday
Activity 1 – RUN
Thursday
Activity 1 – RUN
Friday
Activity 1 – REST DAY
Saturday
Activity 1 – RUN
STATS
Monday morning weigh in 190.0
Sunday Morning weigh in XXX.X
Saturday post activity weigh in XXX.X
Targeted Activity and Focus Points
SWIM
N/A
BIKE
N/A
RUN
Mainly runs this week. Getting away from MAF as I feel i am where i need to be. I am becoming more mindful of my HR and making sure BPM stays where i want it.
NUTRITION
Wife went to pepperidge farms and grabbed candy at IKEA. bad wife, bad!
Weights and Strength
N/A
Weekly Reflections and Focus
So as you can probably tell I am in a running concentration and volume space. I was able to stay at home this week due to work planning and I have one more week this next week as well. It was good as i was able to concentrate on a few things and I am leting go of MAF, as after 3 weeks i am right where i want it to be. I know my base is built. Every winter I will return to it for a 3-6 week period to ensure things stay in tact.<
I had a few group runs this week. the first one I was late but Liz, Dennis and I were anle to catch the group. I took little growing Juniper in her jogger and ran up to the head of the switchbacks from 1st dam. It was a good run and I was able to keep things where i wanted. liz and I joined up and ran a section of it within eye sight of each other. She then turned around and Juniper fell asleep while rolling. Of note, the trail from 1st dam to the switchbacks just past 2nd dam has a lot of dog poop on it. I even slipped in some on a step and gentle rolled my ankle and knee. I felt that. If you have animals and recreate with them, please be cognizant of others and follow posted signs. In fact, bring baggies and clean up after them. This clip is a great representation from a character played by Paul Giammati in Billions. This is unedited and it has language, I could not find the made for plane version. Watch at your own risk. Link to clip. So please, please pick up after your animals. Please.
My recovery run was nice post EPIC relays event. It was a strong but slow run. I ran it at 8:35 min’s a mile and then ran into Meagan who gave me grief asking ‘hadn’t I run enough’. The NERC running group i am part of is a pretty good group, it’s how Meagan, Liz and I know each other. It was funny to her her give me grief. She’s quite the addicted runner herself.
Ironic, is I ran with Meagan and Adrian and Jill at the Deer fence on Wednesday. After going back and forth a few times about going, i got a ride from Meagan. Man that trail is a little worm burner and deceiving. I think this is a route i will use to prep up for 2017 IM 70.3 St George. It is like Meagan said – ‘A good run because it engages you for the 5 miles just right’. It was a good run, but now i know what to expect I will be able to clobber this run over time. I did over -run the first half of it, but after a lot of miles since epic, heavy legs are expected. One thing this run reminded me of, I have to run my own run but i also need to know the run so I don’t out run myself or others.
One run I decided to get after it and shed MAF. I have been able to recognize I am where I want to be and will keep working at things. The run was a 5k loop at home with just under a 8 min/mile avg.
During the run I realized that I was running much easier even at elevation. Not only that, I have found whether looking at my heart rate, my watch etc, I can sense what my body is telling me now. I am beginning to run more by feel. The watch and hrm are vital tools in the running and other activities, but I am coming tot he point i can ignore them and just listen to the red flags and signals my body is giving me through breathing, change in cadence, form etc.
Anyway, my take homes this week were eating better until Saturday, where I then had a po boy from a local shop that is doing a fund raiser for his parents and community affected by the floods in Louisiana. MayMoes link here. They are easiest found at the link on Facebook. The 2 days of pulled pork, we bought a couple of box meals to help in their efforts, served as a reminder to keep my ‘sparingly’ intake and stay disciplined.
In speaking to nutrition, I have gotten a few questions in different circles why I choose to be more plant based whole foods or vegetarian. So a few simple thoughts. For me, I was finding a lot of things about processed foods were just killing me. Are they easy? Yes! Are they cheap? Mostly! Are they filled with good things? Actually yes, but! So, while sitting in a plane in 2013 realizing I was getting tot he end of the seat belt strap and fixed seats in the emergency row were getting a bit narrow, I finally woke up. So, I do not feel that using animal products or by products is inherently evil or wrong. But I do feel that conspiring folks (well intentioned at many times, min you) play with food composition. So the documentaries come and go but the few I really liked were – “SuperSize me“, “Forks Over Knives“, “That Sugar Film“. There are plenty more of course, but these stood out. I recently watched another called Overfed & Undernourished, and this one truly reminded me that is worth staying the course.
So, to the why. Well evidence for me really. Sure I am a faith-based guy, and in my faith based culture, we follow something called the ‘Word of Wisdom’. In it, there are strong suggestions and a few do not’s. These are of course practiced in many different ways with the faith based culture (folks tend to agree on philosophy and faith, but once you put religion or practice around it – wars and civilizations tend to be disrupted). My wife Liz also picked up a book called Veganomicon when she was exclusively Vegetarian wit a few pescatarian moments (sushi and shrimp get her – I mean they like truly understand her….lol). The cookbook is great. Whether Vegan, pesc, omni, or what ever – this book is a great vegan minded resource. I find most people just don’t know how to cook or what to combine, and this book helps. We then got Forks Over Knives cookbook as a supplement. I then started to eliminate milk – yes I know I am evil not listening to the this is where calcium comes from ONLY messaging. Truthfully it was a bit tough, but now, not so much at all (cashew milk and hemp milk have become the replacements). So, after eliminating animal milk, I started to see a great reduction in weight coming off and less pain and inflammation in the joints. In 2015 when i did my first 70.3 Ironman branded triathlon, I hurt my knee significantly. this is when i truly eliminated milk and the recovery was very evident.
As I continue, I find that less meat keeps my gut function more consistent. I find that I am less petulant or gas stricken. I find my BM’s are more frequent and satisfactory (I probably was closer to IBS and stuff than I wanted to realize). I have less heartburn episodes, and major shocker – Liz says I don’t snore anymore. I find that I don’t need to supplement with refined sugar supplements for energy. I still drink a specific type of Monster from time to time, but am getting away from those too (the sucralose and Erythritol is too sweet – dirty dirty dirty jerks). Here’s a link to an interesting review.
Ok, back to my point, the real reason is evidence. In 2013 I was ramping up to 242 – 247 lbs daily weight. I am now at 190 lbs daily and fluctuate between 186 – 193 lbs depending on what I am doing. When I eat meat, I get all gassy, I get a bit heavy feeling and just not optimum feeling. I find that knowing the source of the meat is highly important. During Epic Relays race a few days back, one of the group asked and it was great that even though she may disagree she listened. She is a nurse and health professional and get this a hunter, not just any hunter – give this link a look and vote for her here — and here are the instructions:
- Go to www.extremehuntress.com
- Click 2016 voting
- Select Lindsay Christensen and press vote
- Enter your email address and press vote (autofill doesn’t work)
- Go to your email and confirm your vote (confirmation email comes from Poll Daddy)
Lindsay asked straight forwardly why, not in an attacking way but seemed honest and heart felt. I tried to re-iterate what i said above after running the killer hill 39 (my own description as it was 3 times harder than Drop13). and very sleep deprived even before doing the relay. Hunters get a lot of respect from me when they not only love their hobby/craft but use their prey in multiple ways. I still recall living in Farmville, Virginia, being at Walmart for a light night need at like 1 AM and talking to a gentleman in line while Walmart tried to sort our their staffing quandry. In short, this gentleman stated he was in line at Walmart only because their deer and big game just ran out for the family he supports. He was what i would say moderately poor, but not broken poor. He said he lived on the border of 4 counties and two state lines and had access to the lands covering all those ares so he was able to take 10 -12 animals a year, and he would take up to 15 b/c that’s what he needed to support his family for 15 months. Now I would not say this dude was the sharpest tool in the shed, but, he knew his needs, he respected his sources, he used everything he could and he spoke openly about how to learn to be better about it all. Now I don’t know how much Lindsay was in this lane, but this is the sense I got. I appreciated her question and tried to respond without coming off too brash, or self-centered or snobby (dunno if I did, but I felt I tried at least).
I know at times I am a bit outspoken about eating, what to eat and the why’s and why nots. For me, it is simple. I am managing my health a lot better keeping to a mainly Plant-Based-Whole-Foods diet. I eat meat when I feel depleted and or feel I am in deficit and use animal based sources – lean and clean and as natural as possible to get me out of a slump from time to time. Anyway, I thought I would add a few links to some good resources I reference while trying to eat healthier and better. Have a great week folks.
Oh one last run. I did a long run out and back out to the mendon stop sign and back. It seems the running circles i am part of were playing with crickets and didn’t want to run together. I hope they are all safe and not too overwhelmed with the school year and family responsibilities that come with summer closing. I had a great run. I wanted to limit my water so I took out small handheld 8 oz water bottle – it was perfect for the 10 miles. I went out sans hrm, not sure where I left it, but again another great feel run. I avg’d about 8:15 min/mile overall. I took two brief breaks. One at 5 miles – the stop sign to get watered up a bit. All was great until I passed the bridge and water slough. I heard some noise so I moved over a bit, about 18 inches, and was managing the knuckle of the pavement and trying not to let the angle affect my form or other bio mechanical stresses. All of a sudden I feel air, a whoosh, and a brown/blue sedan (Mazda M3-6 or Toyota Camry) passing a truck at 60 + mph. All 3 of us in the same space, on the same road. I raised my arms in disbelief and couldn’t get a license plate. The truck braked and waved in apology as the sedan just kept going. The irony, this is a double yellow lined space of the road because of the bridge, the slough and visibility. I suspect my clothes weren’t high-viz enough.
Photo taken minutes after being buzzed and me trying to settle down from the disbelief.
Anyway, it didn’t ruin the run but it disrupted it a bit. I finished it out and got over to move a family in our local faith based congregation. Here’s to another great week folks.
Links to Healthy minded sources:
YURI ELKAIM – Click here for Link to Yuri
Chris Kelly (Nourish balance Thrive) – Click here for Link to Nourish balance Thrive
Endurance Planet – Click here for Link to Endurance Planet
Dr. Phil Maffetone – Click here for Link to Phil Maffetone
Coach Lucho Blog – Click here for Link to Coach Lucho Blog
I really identify with this guys mindset, the way he is on the EP podcasts. Not a fan of the pejoratives, but he’s definitely worth the listen too. He’s not brash, just straightforward and honest – and he doesn’t know me at all, so he has no idea who I am or why I dig his style.
Weekly Pics
#triathlonlifestyle #swimbikerun #trilife #triathlon #Checkin #roadtoimca2021 #triathlonlife #ironmantraining #familybalancetri #triathlontraining #2016 #triathlete #triathlonmotivation
