First Lo Carb Run

I've been doing the low carb thing since Monday and it's felt good. Unfortunately I've been wrestling with this horrendous cold since the middle of last week and haven't been able to do much but groan loudly. I wasn't coughing as much today, and it was gorgeous and warm outside, so I figured it wouldn't be a bad day to strap on the Asics and put a couple miles on. Just get out, stretch the legs a bit and loosen up.

It was a nice run. I was stiff and tight at first, and my lungs were still a little uncertain about what I was doing, but ultimately it felt good. There was an incredible head-wind heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge down at Crissy Field, and the kite boarders were out in full force. I wish I had a camera with me—there must have been 50 of them, streaking across the bay. This must be perfect conditions for the more experienced ones.

Unless I crash tomorrow health-wise, I'll consider myself back in the game and start up the running, lifting and cross-training.

Total Weight: -4lbs

Day 14: Runnin' in the Sun(nin')

 while (john.run.weather() == "sunny") {
  john.mood.happy();
  john.post.insert("GORGEOUS");
 }

That's codeDork™ talk for me reiterating that it was, again, GORGEOUS out again today. Again!

I ran down at Crissy Field. Lots and lots of folks out running, biking and even soaking up some sun at the beach—a relatively rare site up here in San Francisco. It's normally a bit too "nipply" to enjoy the sun, but today was nice and warm.

This was perfect for me, because:

1. I really like the sun
2. I really like warmth
3. I need training experience in warmer weather

The Hal Higdon 10k plan I'm following suggested 3.5 miles today, but since I'm training for a 7 miler and not a 10k, I've been tacking on a little extra each run. As such I put in 5 miles and it felt great.

Nike+ says I averaged 10:24 minute miles across the 5, with little peaks and valleys. I felt like I was going slower than that, but hey, I'll take it.

Incidentally, it looks like I'm running the La Jolla Shores 5k at the end of the month—a bit of an impromptu race, but it fits in nicely with the training plan. A couple things: it'll be good to re-acclimate to race conditions—dodging around people, the crowd, the atmosphere. Also, @MapleJen, the reason @LosBee and I are running the race, said she's shooting for a sub-30:00 time. That's a little quicker than my normal loping Slow Mofo trot, but I'm up for the challenge. I'll have to test-run a couple times and see how I can pace it out for a 5k. Should be doable.

Anyhoo, great run.

My food was a little off-track today—I'm not pigging out, I'm just not eating as macronutrient-balanced in each meal. I also have to get to my abs and hips workout, too. But there's still time in the day, right?

Day 12: Aftermath

Another day with the visitor in town. Good times. As a result, I ate some wicked (meaning good, unhealthy) food at Fred's in Sausalito. I only did a Denver omelet, hash browns and one pancake (which I brought home and snacked on all day), but Fred's is famous for their deep-fried french toast. Yes, you read that right: deep-fried french toast. I had it once, and it's even more overwhelming than it sounds. Didn't eat that today—I wasn't about to go there.

Anyhoo, tomorrow is back on the plan and I'm very, very much looking forward to it. I gotta run off some of this culinary debauchery.

Day 11: Busy Busy, No Workout

Kids, didn't get my workout today. Today was all about running 10,000 errands and then hitting 5,000 social events.

Also, ate a bit off-the-charts since we had a nice dining experience and a visitor in town. A visitor who tends to leave both me and @LosBee with wicked hangovers. I'm not naming any names, but this visitor tends to wreak havok on our livers. In a good way.

Day 8: Just Liftin'

I tell ya, I'm a whole lot stronger in the gym when I lift *without* running beforehand.

My general routine of 3x5 of bench (185lbs), squat (185lbs), still dips and pull-downs felt really light today. One of those "damn! I shoulda put more weight on!"-type days.

I'll remember that for next week.

Didn't stick exactly to the nutrition plan today because I got 2 different kinds of gluten-free pizza crust mixes to try with @LosBee. She was diagnosed with celiac a couple months ago, which has caused us to rework how we eat. We made 2 pizzas with one of the mixes and, while it didn't look quite right, it tasted pretty good!

She's a beer-and-pizza girl, so celiac has been a royal pain in the keister for her. But I think in time we'll find things she really likes that won't jack up her innards.

That's what it's all about, isn't it?

Anyhoo, I was probably below my 2200 calorie goal, and I don't think I was on track with my 35% protein/50% carbs/15% fat macronutrient breakdown, but what the hell, it's pizza with the wife. And there are some things you just don't pass up.

Total Weight: -3lbs

Day 4: GORGEOUS Day

I looked around Flickr for a nice sunny pic to go with this post but didn't find anything that captured today's beauty at Crissy Field and the Bay. So, instead, I made this crappy image. Enjoy!

Today's run went great, even tho I was sucking some wind at some points. As an added value, it was on the warmer side (during which I generally crap out, so it was a great training and conditioning experience.

After the run I hit 24 Hour Fitness and did some lifting: bench, lat pull-downs, still dips. I did one set of squats (on the Smith machine—the squat rack was taken) but it didn't feel right, so I decided to let it go.

Good stuff!

As far as the other parts of the March-May plan, the last 2 nights of drinking and being out somewhat late caught up a bit, and I hit the snooze button for about 45 minutes... Didn't mean to but whatever. Food-wise I feel packed. We'll see how things go, but I feel like I'm getting more than enough food.

It's all about what you eat, because if you pick the right things you can seemingly eat like a pig. I learned that one a while ago, but it's still nice (and easy) to go slam down a burger and fries, you know? But that doesn't really get you where you want to go.

Total Weight: -3lbs

Cocoa Pebble Pancreatitis

Notice how Fred is running in this picture? He seems energized? In full stride? Elated? In no way suffering some sort of horrible insulin flux?

This was not me.

Against my better judgement, I ate Cocoa Pebble Rice Crispy Treats instead of real food for breakfast and lunch, and suffered dearly for it during my run.

Didn't know you could make Rice Crispy Treats with Cocoa Pebbles? Yes, my friend. Yes you can. Normally I would never create such a high-fructose-corn-syrup-disaster, but I was cooking up a storm for the Superbowl and needed to supply something sweet for @LosBee. She's got celiac, so I couldn't use normal Rice Krispies (notice the "K"... I think there's a konspiracy in there somewhere...) because they gum them up with malt flavoring, which has gluten in it. Whole Foods was out of reach, so I grabbed our pal Cocoa Pebbles off the shelf.

Cocoa Pebbles Rice Crispy Treats are actually okay. Really, really sweet, but okay. Edible. They do in a pinch. But they are, to say the least, nutritionally unsound. But, being knee-deep in work and not having a moment to whip up something better, I chomped 'em down. And started wigging out in a sugar frenzy.

For the whole run I felt like I was dragging a piano behind me. After the first mile or so I started feeling a little bit better. But woof. No bueno.

I should probably check to see if I somehow gave myself Type I diabetes or something.

Excited to Be Starting Back Up

W000000T!!!

After a wonderful vacation in Mexico with my gorgeous @LosBee (celebrating our 5th anniversary, soaking up the sun and the all-inclusive resort food and resort booze), I'm stoked to be back in action and excited to start training again.

As you can see in The Calendar (below), I've laid out a plan that will hopefully get me prepared, conditioned and—most importantly—disciplined as a runner, injury-free. I'll spend the first 4 weeks easing into it, gradually adding miles as well as runs. After 4 weeks I'll begin 4 weeks of pre-training, then begin the Cool Running Twelve Week Beginner 10k Program. The weight workouts I've planned are multiple-joint movement exercises, which are important, but ultimately secondary to my running schedule. This'll all be over on March 1, and I'm sure by then I'll have developed a new goal and a new plan.

Here's to new beginnings, and doing things the right way!

The Calendar

I Pretty Much Suck

Yeah, I pretty much suck.

Due to things somewhat within my control, I've missed both my running and weightlifting workouts for every day starting on Saturday. Missed my circuit training, missed my Sunday long run and missed today's speedwork and lifting.

If I'd have been truly dedicated to getting it done, I would have made it happen. Unfortunately, I let work, visiting guests and catching up on sleep get in the way.

I'm debating now if it would be unwise to move everything over one day starting tomorrow and cutting out my Friday rest day. That way I'd only have missed 2 runs (last Saturday's and Sunday's long run).

On another note, while I've been shaping up nicely and trimming down a little due to sticking with the revised plan, I've managed to gain like 6 pounds or so in the last few weeks. Granted, I've had some Roman orgy-style dining experiences during that time, but I look more trim.

I'm going to assume it's added muscle weight and go from there. Hey, I could be right and not delusional, right?

Here's to being dedicated and on top of it for the rest of the week.

The Equation for Failure

With the in-laws visiting, I've had to jockey around for time to get my workouts in, and the only possible time today was mid-day. It was actually summer-like outside in San Francisco (as opposed to how things are around here frequently), which meant I'd be running in a little daytime heat.

3 measly miles were on the roster, as well as deadlifts & lunges.

3 miles. 3 measly miles. Mid-day sun or no, I figured I could handle that.

The Equation for Failure

     sleep deprivation
   + hangover
   + blazing sun
   + black cotton t-shirt 
   + eggs benedict breakfast
   -------------------------
   = failure

Entertaining our visiting guests frequently requires you to drink too much and stay up too late, which leads to the requisite recovery breakfast.

This, however, is not the recipe for workout success.

Team those elements up with a hot afternoon, and I crapped out at the 2 mile mark. It was just too damn hot. I'm sure better, more fit runners could have handled these elements together, but I kept thinking over and over again about how hot I was. This lead to thoughts of those rave kids cooking their brains dancing on ketamine.

Add to that my lower legs feeling pretty darn sore. I'm not sure if it's a result of maybe pushing too hard recently, or the fact that I didn't wrap the pegs after the last run (which I like to do—the ol' Rest Ice Compression Elevation method). No bueno.

So, the short is I followed my great 5 miler on Wednesday with a crappy DNF today.

Weak.

Oh well. Weights went well. I did 3 sets of deadlift, 5 reps each @ 60, 70 and 80lbs. Keeping it light, still, until I'm confident in the consistency of my form. Then 3 sets of backward-forward lunges (5 reps each side), 50 crunches, 12 swiss ball crunches, and a bunch of stretches.

More familial gluttony to come, I'm sure.

Photo courtesy of liberalmind1012 and icanteachyouhowtodoit on Flickr.