Diet Decision for August 2013

After much research and contemplating on whether to do the Paleo diet, I have concluded that... I won't be doing it for the month of August.

Considering the upcoming races I have in such a short period of time, The Charles Street 12 on August 10, 2013 and the Abebe Bikila International Peace Half Marathon on September 14, 2013, I feel that I would be sabotaging my experience of my first long distance races. I have not trained for them with the Paleo diet and it would not be smart to start within 10 days of one race and less than a month from another race, including a taper week.

What i will be doing for the month of August is re-committing to eating in a much healthier manner. The goal is to lose 10 lbs by increasing fruit and vegetable intake and lessening my carb intake. I plan to reach a goal weight of 235 lbs by August 30, 2013.

I will use video throughout to bring you along the journey. Now, this is my first time doing anything like this, so bear with me as i learn on the go.

Feel free to join me on this journey and post your commitments and improvements as well. We are all in this together!

Well... let the commitment begin!

Celebrate the small victories... Re-Inspiring Yourself

Me at 287 lbs 2 yrs ago

Me at 287 lbs 2 years ago

My weight loss has slowed down considerably.  I've set a goal and it doesn't look like I'll make it.  (If I were honest with myself, I'm not as far away from my goal as I used to be.)  But that very same goal feels like it's further away than it's ever been before.  Giving up seems like a viable option.  I begin asking myself why I even tried to do this in the first place... It's too hard. What's the point?

Are you thinking some of these thoughts?  Good...  You're still human.

These same feelings and thoughts have crossed my mind too.  Many times, this journey of weight loss and healthier living seemed like a good idea.  But, it has also seemed like a crazy idea that same number of times.  Maybe more...  There were times when frustration set in and the progress I thought I should see, just wasn't showing up on the scale or even in the mirror.

I've even felt light at times and said to myself "Yeah, I've lost a significant amount of weight."  Only to realize that I'm where I was last week.  It's funny how the mind and body can play tricks on us.

But, instead of allowing these negative thoughts to cloud our mind and fog up our vision of how we should see ourselves and want to become, we should look back on where we've come from and see the progress we've made.  Not just once, but as many times as it is needed.

See, if this weight loss thing were easy, so many more people would be doing it.  This is win number one!!  We're already doing a lot more than those people who aren't doing anything at all.

Number 2: You are already successful... As long as you continue to work towards your goal!! Once you've quit, you are no longer successful.  So don't quit!!  Earl Nightingale, the accomplished author and great philosopher defined success in "The Strangest Secret". (If you haven't heard of this audiobook, stop reading this now and go get the mp3 here!!)  He said that success is defined as the steady progression to a worthy goal.  Keep plugging away and don't stop!  It's just like running a race!!  You continue to put one foot in front of the other, in order to get to the finish line.

In this weight loss journey there are times when we have to encourage ourselves.  Everyone is not going to acknowledge our journey to self improvement, all the time.  It's just the reality of the situation. In my opinion, that's a good thing.  It keeps us grounded and allows us to learn to inspire ourselves or light our own fire.  People can say what they want, good or bad, but until we find out our own "WHY?", we'll become unfocused and distracted.

So, take a moment to look back on some old pictures or videos.  Take some time to think about what you used to do and compare it to what you do now.  Celebrate the small victories and re-inspire yourself.  Enjoy the fact that some changes have been made and if none have been made, you still have an opportunity to make those changes.  Obviously, if you're reading this now, you have a desire to become better.  So... become better. One step at a time. :-)

Me at 244 lbs now

Go slow to go far - My first 11 mile training run.

It's the 4th of July and I decided to do my weekly long run on this day, mainly because my weekend was pretty full.  My wife's work schedule would not have allowed me to do a long run, especially since I'd be watching the kids all day.  I just wouldn't be able to fit it in.

My mind was already set to do 10 miles, but 11 kept flashing in my head.  I said to myself that I've already done several 10 mile runs and I need to see if I can push past that, as I'm continuing to build mileage.  So, I started out and figured I would just see how I felt as I got into it.

I knew I would need to run at a slower pace, if I wanted to have energy for the latter part of this training run.  Of course the heat and humidity already had that taken care of, as I couldn't run much faster even if I wanted to.

My first mile was 13:43 and I figured that was a good pace.  It wasn't too hot at this point and there was a light breeze blowing... I was comfortable.

Fueling for this training run was also very important.  I figured I would fuel early and often to keep my body supplemented with the necessary nutrition to be strong throughout.

Around mile 3, I ate my Pure Protein protein bar.  I didn't want it to get soft and begin melting in the heat, since it was chocolate.  This would have been a complete mess. So, that was the first to go.

I felt pretty good.  I was moving along pretty steadily and around mile 4.5, I started to think about what I would do for water.  I really need to purchase a hydration vest for my long runs.  It has now become evident that I can't go without it.  I took a couple of dollars with me to stop at a gas station and pick up a water during the run.  I didn't think about how much I hate running with water bottles in my hands.  It's not fun and becomes somewhat of a distraction to me.

I get to mile 5 and I decide that I'm going to go for the 11 today.  So at the 5.5 mile mark I'll turn around and head on back.  Now, I like to do out and back training runs for the psychology of it.  I've seen the course already and I won't be finished until I get back to my car.  So, there's no need to get anxious and continuing to wonder "are we there yet"...

At about the halfway point (5.63 miles to be exact), there was a Shell gas station.  This was perfect, because I could get water, get A/C and get somewhat of a rest while waiting in line.  I stepped in the door and it was wonderful.  It felt like a refrigerator in there!!  The A/C felt so good on my legs!!  This was great... AND they had a little line that was formed, so I could enjoy this wonderful goodness for a few seconds more.

I bought my water, drank some and began my trek back to my car.  I felt OK at this point, but, my body knew that it had run 5.5 miles in the heat.

At mile 6, I took some orange flavored Clif Shot Blocks.  I normally take some more fuel around mile 7, but I needed some fuel already in my system at mile 7, so early and often.

Now, I don't know what got into me at this point, but during these long runs your mind tends to go places.  For whatever reason, I began to chant the words of
Sherman Klump, "Yes. I. Can.  Yes I Can" in my mind.  I don't know where it came from, but this was my mantra for a good part of the way back.

At mile 8, I was moving pretty steady.  I was feeling the effects of the heat and my water had already begun to lose it's coolness.  In fact it was almost luke warm by this point. I decided to take another Shot Block.

Around mile 9.75, a cyclist who I had seen on my way out was coming up behind me.  He shouted, "Good Job!! Great Way to Work!!" and passed me.  This was the encouragement I needed.  It came at the right place and at the right time.  I had a second wind!!  Where did that come from?!?!  That encouragement was provided in such a perfect moment that I literally got goose bumps!!  I was thankful, because my mind was in the middle of fighting a battle at this point.  My body wanted to quit, but my mind provided the determination to keep going.

That's a part of what I enjoy about this sport.  No one else can do it for you.  It's you vs. you.  Even in races, as runners, we're not really competing with others, we're competing against ourselves.  And if you're not mentally strong, you will lose that battle every time.

At this point, I had a renewed mindset.  I was ready to be done, but I was also ready to keep putting one foot in front of the other until I reached my goal.  Mile 10 came and went and I had officially run farther than I had ever run before.  I could've stopped at that point, but I set a goal and I was going to achieve it.  Not to mention, my car was still about a mile away.

I looked at my phone and Map My Run said 10.89 miles.  I was way too close to stop now.  All my water was gone by this point and it was just a matter of staying steady and continuing to move forward.  Before I knew it, I heard a voice say "Total distance 11 miles, time 2:30:14."  I smiled.  I did it.  I said Thank You and I began to walk to my car.

Running to me is like love was to Alfred Lord Tennyson...

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

I was talking to my running buddy yesterday and expressed to him, how I was coming off a terrible week of training.  No injuries, no excuses... In fact, looking back on the week, I really could have fit my scheduled training runs in if I stayed disciplined.  Frankly, I should be up to about 25 miles per week and this particular week I only ran 13 (extremely disappointing).  What was more disappointing, was that the majority of my mileage for the week, came from my long run of 9 miles!

After talking with him further, we came to the conclusion that it could've been a whole lot worse.  Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem came to mind and I modified it a bit.  I concluded that it's better to have run, than not to have run at all.  Perspective began to set in.  If I ran 2 miles, it would've been better than sitting on the couch and not running at all.  That's about 24 minutes of exercise for me and 24 minutes of exercise is better than no exercise at all.  Right?

Sure, the initial disappointment still hasn't left completely; but, I'm dealing with it.  It's not so much the lower mileage, but the lack of discipline on my part that I'm most upset about.  So, what are you gonna do??  Instead of dwelling on it, we will move into a new week.  A week that we can make a positive change, a week of improvement, a week that I'll be able (with the good Lord's help of course) to reach my goal.

That's the good thing about life's journey and running.  We can always improve...