I was asked the other day if I had ever researched the Paleo movement, which I hadn't, so I looked it up. What I found was that the Paleo movement is focused on changing a person's lifestyle to mimic that of a caveman in the paleolithic era. The basic premise being that human beings are not living in the state in which we were designed to live.
We were not designed for agriculture, and an agrarian society is the cause of most of what ills us. If we go back to our caveman roots, we will be healthier and full of energy. I might add that there is a lot of exercise involved to mimic the effects of the taxing of our physical resources while hunting and gathering. The gist is that you eat a lot of meat, berries, roots, etc- what you would eat if you were a caveman, and you would refrain from cultivated grains, etc- things you would not eat if you were in the Paleolithic era. Of this type of diet I've always said that if you eat like a caveman, you should act like a caveman, so really, I don't have any problem with this idea in its concept.
It's coincidental that right around the time I looked into the Paleo movement that I had just read an article by Scott Jurek in Runner's World about how he lives as a vegan, but is also one of the premier elite ultra-distant (i.e. beyond the race distance of a marathon) champions in the world. In the vegan world, you eat grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, etc- basically no animal products whatsoever. No eggs, no cow/goat milk, no cow/goat cheese, no butter... if it had a face, you cannot eat anything that came from it.
I don't believe in coincidence. I have literally just looked into the polar opposites in the spectrum of dietary lifestyles. One requires a walk-in freezer/refrigerator for all the vast amounts of dead animal I might need to consume, the other requires a large root cellar and a lot of Beano to store all the plant-based product and to help reduce the gaseous emissions that will be sure to follow.
As I've stated in previous posts, I am not a fan of "movements" or "diets", but it has occurred to me that all I've really offered you is my opinion on these fads but have not offered you my experience. I started wondering what would it be like for me to try out some of these dietary lifestyles for about a week at a time and then report on my experience. Before I start, I will need to be careful to research each one so that I am following precisely the rules associated.
I would like to invite you to join along. This could be a fun adventure into the unknown. I have not decided when I will start this or which specific diets I would follow, but as a brainstorm, I think it would go a little something like this:
1 week as a vegetarian - no dead animals, but animal products are ok
1 week as a vegan- no dead animals or any animal products
1 week as a flexatarian- kind of what I do now, occasional meat, but not the central focus
1 week as a Paleo- meat, berries, roots, etc.
I am currently researching vegetarianism and trying to figure out when to start this adventure. Any advice from anyone who knows someone or who is currently practicing these diets would be appreciated and helpful. What's interesting is that for any of these dietary lifestyles there always seems to be research to back it up and practitioners will always plead their case- I know, because as a practitioner of minimalist running, people are always tolerating my pleas- but at this point, I invite practitioners to sell me on whatever they want to sell me on. I'll do my own research and develop a plan, then report the results. Anyone who wants to join in is invited.
As always, thanks for reading, and God bless!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Speed Work Works!
If you've been reading my posts on the Lynn Spittle Memorial 5K training plan I had been using, then you already know my new found commitment to short distance speed work. For example, while training for my most recent marathon, my speed work consisted of 800-1600 meter repeats and 8-10 mile tempo runs.
Speed Work Vocabulary Development
Speed work- running specifically to develop faster speeds
Repeats- running hard for a specified time or distance, then recovering for a specific time or distance and repeating the routine
Tempo runs- training your body for the pace you would like for an upcoming race by running at that specific pace for a specified distance
Intervals- the segments of hard runs either measured in distance or time
200 meters - 1/8 of a mile (1/2 of a lap on a standard track)
400 meters - 1/4 of a mile (1 lap on a standard track)
800 meters- 1/2 a mile (2 laps on a standard track)
1600 meters- roughly a mile (4 laps on a standard track)
Fartleks- Swedish word for "speed play", intervals are varied and not necessarily consistent (there are way too many combinations to list them here)
*the test on this is tomorrow, so study if you want a good grade :-)
My goal time for this 5k was to break 22 minutes, roughly a 7:30ish pace. I ran the course hard last week (as in 10 days ago) and finished in 22:14. My finishing time today was 21:19 (good for 3rd place in my age group!), averaging slightly under a 7 minute mile pace. My first mile was 6:24, at the halfway point (1.55 miles), I was at 10:15, then the hard part of the course started. I think the speed work helped.
I did longer speed workouts for the marathon, but had never trained for a shorter distance. I thought the shorter speed intervals would be easier than the longer ones, but I was wrong. For each interval of time or distance there is a different challenge. For 1600 meters, your body settles into a pace that's right for that distance, but for a 200 meter interval, your body has a world of different challenges.
Your 1600 meter pace will be much slower than your 200 meter pace, and, as I learned through this experience each distance and technique has a different challenge and a different speed. When I did the 400 meter intervals, I was able to adjust to my lung capacity for the longer interval, likewise with the 800 and 1600 meters. But with the 200 meter intervals, I was never able to make that adjustment, because by the time my body was putting on the breaks the interval was over and I was already in my short recovery. It took about 100 meters before my lungs got the idea that I needed more oxygen, then all I had to do was to push through another 100 meters, then a short recovery then right back into it- after 10 times repeating this interval, my lungs and legs were burning and I was ready to collapse. So, what I thought was a good way to "taper" the hard workouts the week of the race, turned out to be its own extremely hard effort.
I learned a lot through this experience that I will process through and try to apply to my next training for my next race- which I have not fully decided yet. I will leave with you, however, my training plan- the first will be what I wanted to do, the next will be what I actually did. Any thoughts, questions or suggestions are always welcome.
Original Plan
Actual
Original Plan
Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Week 1 12 miles Strength Train 8-10 mi 400meter sprint x 4 Strength Train 3 x 1 mile repeats (avg 7:45 pace) Off
Week 2 14 miles Strength Train 8-10 mi 400meter sprint x 6 Strength Train 3 x 1 mile repeat (avg 7:30 pace) Off
Week 3 12 miles Strength Train 8-10 mi 400meter sprint x 8 Strength Train 2 x 2 mile repeat (avg 7:45 pace) Off
Week 4 16 miles Strength Train 8-10 mi 400meter sprint x 10 Strength Train 2 x 2 mile repeat (avg 7:30 pace) Off
Week 5 12 miles Strength Train 8-10 mi 400meter sprint x 12 Strength Train 3 mile tempo (avg 7:30 pace) Off
Week 6 14 miles Strength Train 8-10 mi 400meter sprint x 4 Strength Train 3 x 1 mile repeat (avg 7:30 pace) Off
Week 7 Lynn Spittle Memorial 5k Race
Actual
Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Week 1 10 miles Strength Train 10 mi 400meter sprint x 4 Strength Train 3 x 1 mile repeats (avg 6:55 pace) Off
Week 2 10 miles Strength Train 10 mi 400meter sprint x 6 Strength Train 3 x 1 mile repeat (avg 6:45 pace) Off
Week 3 10 miles Strength Train 8 mi 400meter sprint x 6 Strength Train 2 x 2 mile repeat (avg 7 pace) Off
Week 4 14 miles Strength Train 8 mi 400meter sprint x 8 Strength Train 2 x 2 mile repeat (avg 7 pace) Off
Week 5 12 miles Strength Train 10 mi 400meter sprint x 10 6 miles 3.1 mile tempo (avg 7:15 pace) Off
Week 6 missed 12 miles 6.5 mi 200meter sprint x 10 xtrain 6.5 miles Off
Week 7 5K (avg 6:55 pace)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Vegetables
Here's an old standby meal that I threw together this evening after work, a run, and right before Thursday night worship. I had a limited amount of time, but this meal really hit the spot- on nutrition and taste!
I boil water with a large helping of salt and whole wheat spaghetti. The rest all happens in order in a cast iron skillet.
Saute finely diced sweet onion, after a few minutes of sauteing, put in a helping of portabella mushrooms and saute them until tender, then add black olives and toss around in the mixture for a few minutes, then add diced tomatoes and turn off the heat. Leave the skillet on the burner and let everything cook in the residual heat. Stir all ingredients together and then add salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and a little olive oil. Just let it sit together while the spaghetti is cooking.
When the spaghetti is finished, drain the water, then return to pot. Pour the mixture from the skillet into the pot with the spaghetti and stir together. Serve in reasonable sized portions and top it off with Parmesan cheese.
This whole process takes maybe 30 minutes, but it tastes so good and is filled with nutritious goodness.
Enjoy!
I boil water with a large helping of salt and whole wheat spaghetti. The rest all happens in order in a cast iron skillet.
Saute finely diced sweet onion, after a few minutes of sauteing, put in a helping of portabella mushrooms and saute them until tender, then add black olives and toss around in the mixture for a few minutes, then add diced tomatoes and turn off the heat. Leave the skillet on the burner and let everything cook in the residual heat. Stir all ingredients together and then add salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and a little olive oil. Just let it sit together while the spaghetti is cooking.
When the spaghetti is finished, drain the water, then return to pot. Pour the mixture from the skillet into the pot with the spaghetti and stir together. Serve in reasonable sized portions and top it off with Parmesan cheese.
This whole process takes maybe 30 minutes, but it tastes so good and is filled with nutritious goodness.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Southwest Salmon Salad
Give this a try for something different!
1 5oz package of salmon
1 C plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup sweet onion finely chopped
1/2 cup celery finely chopped
Seasonings to desired taste- start small and add for desired flavor
Kosher salt
Cracked pepper
Garlic powder
Cumin
Chili powder
Cayenne pepper
Cilantro
*optional- 2 TBS chia seed
*optional- craisins
Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!
This is my take on salmon salad. I am not a fan of mayonnaise, so I generally shy away from these types of "salads", however, I decided to try one using Greek yogurt instead. You could go nuts with this by adding nuts, you could add shredded cheese, you could add mustard! Anything you want. I served this on rye bread on a bed of spinach... yum!
The healthy part of this can't be fully appreciated. You've got healthy proteins which are low in fat, you've got omega 3s coming out the wazoo, and there are even vegetables involved!
Give it a try and enjoy!
1 5oz package of salmon
1 C plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup sweet onion finely chopped
1/2 cup celery finely chopped
Seasonings to desired taste- start small and add for desired flavor
Kosher salt
Cracked pepper
Garlic powder
Cumin
Chili powder
Cayenne pepper
Cilantro
*optional- 2 TBS chia seed
*optional- craisins
Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!
This is my take on salmon salad. I am not a fan of mayonnaise, so I generally shy away from these types of "salads", however, I decided to try one using Greek yogurt instead. You could go nuts with this by adding nuts, you could add shredded cheese, you could add mustard! Anything you want. I served this on rye bread on a bed of spinach... yum!
The healthy part of this can't be fully appreciated. You've got healthy proteins which are low in fat, you've got omega 3s coming out the wazoo, and there are even vegetables involved!
Give it a try and enjoy!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Accomplishments
It occurred to me today that I really like to hear people's accomplishments. I know it sounds weird to say that, and I have felt it before, but it just hit home today. My principal came into my classroom today to tell me about her first 10K over the weekend, just seeing the joy in her face, after having heard over time of her development as a runner, perked me up a little.
This, on the tail end of an exhausting weekend where my wife and I ended up running tandem 8 milers on Sunday after I got back from an exhausting trip to Chapel Hill to see a close friend who had just been paralyzed in a motorcycle wreck. Just seeing his accomplishments in physical therapy in such a short time perked me up, too.
This was also the longest distance my wife had run in preparation for the upcoming Lynn Spittle Memorial 5K next Saturday. What was cool is that my boss and my wife have the same goal to find a 10 mile race to start preparing for a half marathon in the future.
Over the weekend, I was talking to one of my friends who came with me to Chapel Hill about running and why I do so much of it. I told him the brief version of my story and that, in the past, I, too, hated running. I told him that I learned to love running after I got in shape and that to really understand the joy in running, you have to go a little farther than just a couple of miles. In fact, I usually hate my run until after I've crossed over 5-7 miles, then I get into my groove and the rhythm takes over.
What I love is to hear from others who have found this same joy in the sport that I love. I know that at the beginning, it was very hard for them and the idea that they would ever strive to run more than 5 miles, much less a 13.1 mile race was ridiculous, but after a while, they started to go longer- then, the ludicrous seemed possible, then it became a goal.
This is what I love. This is why I teach. I take great joy from watching others go beyond themselves and accomplish things they never knew were possible, because I know what it takes to do it. I know the wall, I know the mountains that need to be moved and I know the seemingly incomprehensible odds at the starting line of the race, but they start anyway. I know the elation of the finish line and feel connected to those who have crossed it- so I feel their joy as they celebrate.
We may not be able to see the finish from the starting line, but we know it's there... anyone who has crossed the finish line knows that it's just the beginning. There are more races to run, mountains to move, and strength to be gained. We know it's worth pushing ourselves beyond our perceived limitations because the more we do it, the wider the boundaries become. Our accomplishments are only as big as we allow them to be. Through the strength of God and our willingness to accept the challenge, we can push through anything and create our own new normal.
I believe this can happen with my principal, with my wife, with myself, with you and with my friend, and that's why I enjoy hearing of other's accomplishments. These accomplishments just prove it. Thanks for sharing and God bless!
This, on the tail end of an exhausting weekend where my wife and I ended up running tandem 8 milers on Sunday after I got back from an exhausting trip to Chapel Hill to see a close friend who had just been paralyzed in a motorcycle wreck. Just seeing his accomplishments in physical therapy in such a short time perked me up, too.
This was also the longest distance my wife had run in preparation for the upcoming Lynn Spittle Memorial 5K next Saturday. What was cool is that my boss and my wife have the same goal to find a 10 mile race to start preparing for a half marathon in the future.
Over the weekend, I was talking to one of my friends who came with me to Chapel Hill about running and why I do so much of it. I told him the brief version of my story and that, in the past, I, too, hated running. I told him that I learned to love running after I got in shape and that to really understand the joy in running, you have to go a little farther than just a couple of miles. In fact, I usually hate my run until after I've crossed over 5-7 miles, then I get into my groove and the rhythm takes over.
What I love is to hear from others who have found this same joy in the sport that I love. I know that at the beginning, it was very hard for them and the idea that they would ever strive to run more than 5 miles, much less a 13.1 mile race was ridiculous, but after a while, they started to go longer- then, the ludicrous seemed possible, then it became a goal.
This is what I love. This is why I teach. I take great joy from watching others go beyond themselves and accomplish things they never knew were possible, because I know what it takes to do it. I know the wall, I know the mountains that need to be moved and I know the seemingly incomprehensible odds at the starting line of the race, but they start anyway. I know the elation of the finish line and feel connected to those who have crossed it- so I feel their joy as they celebrate.
We may not be able to see the finish from the starting line, but we know it's there... anyone who has crossed the finish line knows that it's just the beginning. There are more races to run, mountains to move, and strength to be gained. We know it's worth pushing ourselves beyond our perceived limitations because the more we do it, the wider the boundaries become. Our accomplishments are only as big as we allow them to be. Through the strength of God and our willingness to accept the challenge, we can push through anything and create our own new normal.
I believe this can happen with my principal, with my wife, with myself, with you and with my friend, and that's why I enjoy hearing of other's accomplishments. These accomplishments just prove it. Thanks for sharing and God bless!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Fastest 5K to Date
I've never really kept track of my 5K times, but I do know one thing, I'm more likely to bonk in a 5k than in any other race. It's so much shorter than my preferred distance that I generally start off really fast (for me) at about 6:40ish mile pace, then somewhere in the second mile my lungs give out and I start to slow down. By the time I reach the finish, I'm stumbling through the finish line gasping for air, generally around 23-24ish minutes.
For the Lynn Spittle Memorial 5k (May 12), I decided to try something different... train for it! So these last 6 weeks, I've been working on my speed. Turns out that if you want to go faster, you have to train to go faster. So, I used my Tuesday runs to be speed work outs and Thursday to be tempo runs.
For those who don't know the lingo- Speed workouts - you run hard for short distances to develop lung strength and quick snap muscles in the legs; Tempo runs - you run for a set distance at race pace in order to train your body to run at that pace.
For my speed workouts, I build up to 10 x 400 meter sprints with a 400 meter recovery. This means I ran hard for roughly a 1/4 mile then jogged for 1/4 mile. I repeated this sequence 10 times. For tempo runs, I started by running 1 mile repeats trying to keep relatively close to the fastest I can go that distance. I did 1 mile x 3 for a couple weeks, then 2 miles x 2 for a couple weeks then there was today when I ran a 3 mile x 1 repeat on the 5K course. I called this my race simulation day. It's also about 10 days from the race, which gives my muscles and lungs both time to absorb the workout and to recover from it. This was my most intense week.
Well, it turns out that training to go faster works. Because on a humid, sunny day, in non-ideal running conditions, I ran the 5k course in 22:13 minutes, which is good for a PR... of course, now I got myself thinking that I might be able to break 22 next Saturday. Wish me luck!
For the Lynn Spittle Memorial 5k (May 12), I decided to try something different... train for it! So these last 6 weeks, I've been working on my speed. Turns out that if you want to go faster, you have to train to go faster. So, I used my Tuesday runs to be speed work outs and Thursday to be tempo runs.
For those who don't know the lingo- Speed workouts - you run hard for short distances to develop lung strength and quick snap muscles in the legs; Tempo runs - you run for a set distance at race pace in order to train your body to run at that pace.
For my speed workouts, I build up to 10 x 400 meter sprints with a 400 meter recovery. This means I ran hard for roughly a 1/4 mile then jogged for 1/4 mile. I repeated this sequence 10 times. For tempo runs, I started by running 1 mile repeats trying to keep relatively close to the fastest I can go that distance. I did 1 mile x 3 for a couple weeks, then 2 miles x 2 for a couple weeks then there was today when I ran a 3 mile x 1 repeat on the 5K course. I called this my race simulation day. It's also about 10 days from the race, which gives my muscles and lungs both time to absorb the workout and to recover from it. This was my most intense week.
Well, it turns out that training to go faster works. Because on a humid, sunny day, in non-ideal running conditions, I ran the 5k course in 22:13 minutes, which is good for a PR... of course, now I got myself thinking that I might be able to break 22 next Saturday. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Rice and Beans
I always recommend dry, raw ingredients over canned. There is more flavor and more nutrients when you cook from scratch, plus you get to decide the ingredients. Sometimes, however, life just gets too compact to make everything this way, so more often than not, we get into a routine of canned or pre-fab food. However, with a little forethought and organization and just good old fashioned food knowledge, you can prep a day or several days in advance to create a meal that's healthy, tasty, and quick to prepare.
Tonight's dinner was a simple rice and beans.
I started this meal last night right before I went to bed.
1/2 cup brown rice (usually takes an hour to cook)
1/2 cup dry red beans (usually takes an hour to cook)
2 cups homemade chicken stock
*Optional vegetables- celery, tomatoes, spinach
Mix all together in a container the day or a few days before you plan to cook it.
Come home from work and pour all ingredients into a medium size pot with a lid. Bring to boil, then let simmer for about an hour. Add salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin to taste.
Now, I know what you're thinking- but I need to go before an hour... well, maybe this isn't the meal for you this night. There are a lot of meals you can prep the night before, I've got a lot in former posts and will continue to post little hints, ideas, recipes, etc from time to time. Just remember, experiment with different ideas and plans and find what works for you.
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)