Day 43 - 7:00pm - P90X, this is week thirteen!!! The last week of the program. I can't believe I've made it through the 90 days. Today it's Yoga. I wait until Monday night to workout. My legs are still very tired. Yoga as hard as it is is still one of my favorite workouts. I actually work through the workout without any major pain other than I can't breath and twist my body at the same time. I'm sure breathing is an option or should be.
Week Seven Totals - 60 miles!!! This was a long week. I'm looking forward to the lighter week ahead. I happy with my progress so far. I had moments of doubt and was able to fight through. I can see going forward I'm going to need to upgrade my eating. The night before long runs I really have to eat right. During runs I'll need to take on fuel sooner. I usually can run 15, 16 miles without taking on fuel but now it's not just 15 or 16 it's 22 today and 16, 17 tomorrow. I'm getting educated in a painful way. 9 weeks to go until race day.
I have been asked about my diet. How do I eat, how much do I eat and most importantly WHAT do I eat? A year and a half ago a friend told me about a book called "The China Study". He told me how much he felt it helped him. I bought a copy of the book and couldn't put it down. In short it's the "why" we should eat a plant based diet and it is also the "why we shouldn't" eat animal products. My family history was reason enough to read this book but also I am an endurance athlete, not very good or fast but neither was the Tortoise in the Tortoise and the Hare Race. This book really changed my life. I thought I was eating a healthy diet until I read this book. I wasn't doing everything wrong but I was eating products that weren't in my best interest. I had just had a physical and blood test prior to reading The China Study and so it was a perfect time for me to have another test to see the results after 30 days. Unbelievable!!! Triglycerides had plummeted (this is a good thing) and my cholesterol which was 194, 30 days earlier was now 187. I find it interesting that there have been several articles recently about longevity and what cultures live the longest. Plant based diets seemed to be the common denominator. But I haven't answered the real question. What do I eat? For protein I eat fish, not a lot, unless it's Fish Tacos, Wahoo's Fish Tacos and then I have three. God I love them. Quinoa, pronounced "keen-wa", is a root high in protein. My boys call it "hairy rice"and of course beans and spinach. I've started using a product called "Mila" which is a seed from the plant Salvia Hispanica which is science for "taste great and less filling". Mila is a product that I was recently introduced to by my friend Mandy. Mila is high in protein,omega 3's, antioxidants, fiber and anti-inflammatory properties to name a few of it's benefits. I use this as a post workout drink. The protein and antioxidants are extremely beneficial to the recovery process not to mention the value of the anti-inflammatory benefits. The link is in the upper left side of the blog if you want more information. The rest of my diet consist of fruits, veggies, whole grains and dark chocolate. Oh yeah, don't forget wine. It's high in antioxidants and looks good in the glass. Most of my kids dislike my diet. Not really hard to understand in our fast food world. Don't get me wrong, I have been known to sneak into a Costco and order the polish sausage and drink or take the boys to In and Out and order fries. I'm just conducting quality control.
Day 44 - 5:00am - 11.5 at the track. This time I decide to run at Casa High School with the dirt track. Apparently I haven't had enough fun in the mud and was looking for a little more. Unfortunately in communicating with Dennis I wasn't very clear and he went to Petaluma High School with the "non dirt track". This is the track that we spent the last two weeks running due to the rain. This was a tough run. My legs were clearly in control and were not about to let me go fast. It was a bit of a grind but I made it through with the ipod cranking to help take my mind off of the pain. This was my toughest run.
Day 44 - 5:00am - 11.5 at the track. This time I decide to run at Casa High School with the dirt track. Apparently I haven't had enough fun in the mud and was looking for a little more. Unfortunately in communicating with Dennis I wasn't very clear and he went to Petaluma High School with the "non dirt track". This is the track that we spent the last two weeks running due to the rain. This was a tough run. My legs were clearly in control and were not about to let me go fast. It was a bit of a grind but I made it through with the ipod cranking to help take my mind off of the pain. This was my toughest run.
P90X- Core Synergistics!! I make it through without to much trouble. Although I shortened all the leg work. This is one of the programs I'll keep doing. I really like this one. I don't know if you can do enough core work. Core is the one workout we should do the most but actually we probably do the least. It's painful!
Day 45 - 6:30am - P90X, Kenpo! This is a lot of fun. It's a sneaky workout. You get this great workout but it feels more like you're playing than working out. The kicks can be a little tough on my legs but the rest of it is a blast. Legs are still in recovery mode. No pain just tired which I consider remarkable considering the amount of running the past 2 weeks.
Day 46 - 5:00am - 11.5 at the track. People wonder how we can run this many miles on a track. Don't you get bored? When we run it's dark. You can't see anything and therefore you aren't missing anything. Plus when you run with someone you have plenty of time to talk. Dennis and I were talking about our Saturday run. I told him that on Sunday I didn't know how I was going to run 16 miles and that the first quarter mile my legs were wobbly. After that I just locked in and set my sights on completing this run. I needed to make it another 60 mile week. Your brain works wonders when there isn't a satisfactory alternative. You can run fast, you can run slow, hell you can even walk but today you are running 16 miles, period. Turn up the music and get going. Also I spend an inordinate amount of time day dreaming. My mind wonders all over the place. Sometimes I catch myself talking to myself. I'll have a full on conversation. It's the only time I get all the answers right. There are times when Dennis and I will stop talking and let our minds wonder off. It's hilarious in that we won't say a word for awhile and then all of the sudden start talking like we hadn't stopped.
Day 47 - Woo Hoo a day off. I'm not doing anything today. I'm tired and really need some time off. I have another weekend of 37 miles in front of me.
Day 48 - 6:00am - Long run Saturday. 4 hours and I'm hoping to get 23 miles. I have set up a double loop run. Dennis will run the first which will go 13 miles. We take off in the dark. Clouds all around us but no rain. Around mile 1.5 there are these two hills that don't seem so tough when its dark. You can't really tell how steep the climb is when you can't see 30 feet in front of you. Dennis has started doing P90X. He survived the first week with the same types of pain I remember having. It's funny talking to someone about this and hearing their perspective. He loves it including Yoga. Soon we'll start reciting Ohms. We are about 2.5 miles into the run and deep into conversation when down comes the rain. Not to hard at first but then it really came down. We are both soaked and every step seems to land in a puddle. It gets to the point where the puddles actually feel warm on the feet. I didn't know the uphill and downhill parts of the road could flood but today there did. It was like being kids except no one was going to yell at us when we got home for being soaking wet. The run with Dennis goes pretty good. At the end of 13 miles I stop at home to change, get something to eat/drink and head out for another 10. It's like a Nascar pit stop, change tires, get fuel and then get going again. Although instead of 14 seconds I take 14 minutes. The start of this second loop isn't going so well. I'm starting to get tired and I've just started. The rain has stopped but the wind has picked up. I'm feeling the effects of 3 weeks of excessive mileage and last night I didn't eat properly. I'm paying for that mistake. I've been running long enough to know better and I still have a 3 hour run tomorrow. Physically it becomes a grind, mentally it becomes a gut check. Once I got out into the farm area of the west side it became a little easier. I start using walk breaks to help. I should have started doing this earlier in the run. Memo to self....On long runs start out a little slower and go to walk breaks earlier. This was a long run both literally and mentally. At the end of the day, 4.25 hours, 23 miles. No P90X, period!
Day 49 - 7:30am - Super Bowl Sunday! Off I go for another double loop run. This run is going to be a grind from the get go. My goal is 60 miles for the week. This would make 3 weeks of 60 miles per week. The weather is cool and sunny. It's great to finally have to wear sunglasses on a run. I run almost the same route Dennis and I ran yesterday. As I was getting close to finishing the first part I was really starting to fade. I thought just get home and call it a day. Better to back off now and prevent possible injury. Next week is "lighter" mileage week. Just as I get home I can't quite get around that I'm actually going to stop. This next loop is only 6 miles. I grab something to eat and drink and set back on the road quickly. I don't want my body to start settling down. I got into a run walk routine where I run for 5 to 8 minutes and then walk for 1 minute. The loop goes by pretty quick. I make the mileage needed to get to 60 miles. I am really tired! I shower, eat and start getting ready for the Super Bowl. Dave and Mandy and their kids are coming over to watch the game. Elece and I have to go to the store and get the food prepared. I really want a nap but I know if I lay down I won't want to get up. I'm running on fumes.
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