Health Talk

During this years Hazelnut Hang I gave a talk a health talk and handed out some packets to the people who attended the presentation.  I have been asked by many people if they could get a copy of this packet and I have uploaded the images below.

Day 20

Awesome morning.   I left the house around 6:45AM and headed to the Atlanta Beltline for my weekly long run.   It was 28 degrees and I was bundled up with my gloves, hat, jacket and had my my water bottle belt.   It was great to see my first 2 splits under 9 minutes.   I felt great and did not feel like was over exerting myself.   On the 2 mile return there is a steady uphill climb and I could not keep the same pace.   I was hoping to run 8 or 9 miles so I knew I needed to find a pace that would allow me to keep going.   I slowed down to a 9:15 pace and felt good over the next 2 miles.   The last 4 miles went very similar to the first 4 miles.  I was able to run a faster pace on the flats but had to slow it down on the inclines.  I ended up completing 8 miles in a 9:04 pace.   This felt like a good accomplishment because I had not done this course at that quick of a pace.   This pace would have also put me under a 2 hour Half Marathon.   I think I need to really start focusing on hill training so I can push through them and not lose a lot of pace.   

I was posed with a tough decision this evening.   My wife and I attended a wedding shower for our neighbors this evening and we would be having dinner at the shower.    They had a nice arugula salad and some homemade chili.   The chili was meat based so I had to make a choice whether I was going to eat dinner or spend the next 4 hours to 6 hours without eating.  It was already 7PM.   I remember reading a passage from the Scott Jurek book Eat And Run where he had to chose whether to eat some refried beans that he knew were made with lard.  Scott is a vegan but he knew if he did not consume some food it was not going to be good for his body.  I knew that eating away from my house was going to be the biggest challenge in trying to change my eating habits.   

To me the choice of eating some ground meat in a chili dish this was not as bad as consuming a 500 or 600 calories dinner at midnight.  You can only control so many things and I feel like I am doing a good job with my choices.

Food And Exercise

Calories

Day 19

I am looking forward to my long run this weekend to see how my legs respond to the increase in mileage over the last few weeks.   I don't know whether my legs will feel fatigue or will the extra mileage I put in give me more endurance.

Today is a lifting day and I am going to try to mix in some new exercises to target some other areas on my shoulders and triceps.   I feel like my triceps are holding my back my bench press capabilities and not allowing me to build my chest.  I am going to start to do more dips and add close grip bench presses to every triceps workout.  I think all the cable exercise are good for definition but they are not helping me build size and strength.   

I have been drinking a lot of water since being on The Rock Boat.  I used to drink a lot of Crystal Light and I am not really missing it.   I think if I throw in some cranberry juice mixed with sparkling water every few days it will help me from missing flavored drinks.

Food And Exercise

Calories

Day 18

It was good to get back into my daily routine at home.  I woke up and had my water with apple cider vinegar and made one of my Vitamix shakes.  I decided to rework my back and biceps at the gym today because on the last day of the cruise I did not have a good training session.  The ship was rocking a good bit and I was getting a headache so I could not train my back and biceps to the level I wanted.  

I did some 400 meter sprints to finish the workout.  My legs felt great after running 23 miles over the last 4 days.  I think I might try kicking the sprints speeds up to 8.0 on the treadmill next week.  If I can complete those then it is time to try some 800 meter sprints at a lower speed.

I think I am going to change my outside running schedule a little.  I think on the Tuesday run I am going to look to find a flat course where I can run 6 miles. On Thursday I am going to keep my same 5 mile hill run but add 1 more mile.  This will give me a good balance to work on speed and the endurance of fighting through hills.

Food And Exercise

Calories

Day 17

It was good to be back on land this morning.   I woke up early this morning and had my last Arden's Garden juice knowing it would be a while before I made it back to Atlanta.  I was fortunate to get off the ship early in the morning and take the earlier flight home to Atlanta.  I enjoy picking up my kids at school and taking them to their swim lessons.   I had planned to take the day off from training today but I had some time after the kids went to bed and decided to go run on my treadmill.  I went and knocked out 5 miles and I already have logged 15 miles for the week.   

I am so glad to be home and have access to my Vitamix and vegetarian food options.  Tonight my wife made lentil quinoa tacos which tasted awesome.

Food And Exercise

Calories

Day 16

Today is the last full day on The Rock Boat.   I got up early again this morning before sun rise to go for my 5 mile run.  Around mile 3 a strange thing happened to me.   I heard these bells and jingles behind me and they were following me.  When I looked over my shoulder I thought I might be hallucinating the imagine I saw.  There was a certain member of our crew with a cigarette in their mouth running after me on the track.  Let's just say it is 7AM and they had not gone to bed yet.  We can also assume they probably had a lot to drink last night.  I was running at a 8:30 mile pace and this person wanted to race me around the track.  I almost had to stop because I was about to laugh to hard where I could no longer run.  I just ran a little faster to see if they would disappear.  For a minute I was alone again watching the sun rise across the ocean.  Then as I turned the next corner in front of me appeared a human hurdle laying in Downward Dog.   I had either had to jump over this individual or stop running.   Let's say this happened 3 more times before the crew member realized it was time to go load in for our sound check.  I finished my 5 mile run and headed to the gym.  I was planning on working out back and biceps this morning.  I only lasted about 20 minutes because the ship was rocking a little to much and I was getting a headache as I was trying to train.  

I feel like I did a good job over these 4 days of staying true to my plant based lifestyle.  I think the big realization was that the Vitamix shakes I make really suppress my appetite and give me the fuel to workout.   The Arden's Garden juices I brought were good but they just don't fill you up.  I probably ate more pasta than I would have wanted but there were not a lot of other vegetarian options.  I had lots of salads and beans and only drank water with my meals.

This experience gives me hope that when I am traveling on a tour bus from city to city that I can find ways to eat like I do at home.   I might have to convince Tony The Merch guy to brink his Ninja Bullet blender on the road so we can enjoy high calorie vegetable shakes in the mornings.

Food And Exercise

Calories

Day 15

I just completed 2 weeks of My Challenge To Me.  Last week I ran 5 times and completed 24.62 miles.   I am starting to see changes in my physical appearance.  My face is  thinning out and I can also see my rib cage and mid section losing body fat.  I will do anther weight check next week since I am not home to use my scale.

Today we are in Cozumel Mexico.   Since the boat is docked I decided I was going to go for a run and then I would train legs and chest.   It is very hard to train in the gym when the ship is moving especially if you are trying to do squats and lunges.   I was feeling really strong on my run this morning and knocked out 5 miles in a 8:39 average pace.  If I can start to run 10 mile training runs at that pace I will reach my goal of completing a half marathon under 2 hours.  After the run I went and had my Arden's Garden Paradise juice to give me a boost to go weight train.  I had a great workout this morning and was ready to go about the rest of my day.  

Food And Exercise

Calories