Tuesday, October 30, 2012

All Growd Up

Bigun did something disturbing the other day.  At least, I find it disturbing as a parent and it's kind of freaking me out a little bit.

When we got into my car she sat down and said "You know the doctor said after I turn 8 I don't have to use these silly booster seats anymore".

Excuse me?

What happened to the tiny little kid?  When did conversation go from "Daddy, did you know the sky is blue and blue is my favorite color?" to that?  Now her conversations contain actual medical advice from a doctor that she remembered and said at a pertinent and appropriate time?  And it was topical?  There's no way this is normal behavior. 

But then, well, it might be.  Tonight she dropped another bomb.  "The only way to know the future is to wait until it becomes the past".  That's pretty deep.  we were just trying to make her do her homework.

Of course, this is the same kid who, when I walked into the choir loft with the rest of the choir in church last sunday, screams out "Daddy show them your new tattoo" in front of the whole congregation.  at least she's still cute.

The kids with our baby cousin that we got to meet for the first time at the wedding weekend.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Pretty girls at a Wedding

October 20th was a Hallmark day.  Beach 2 Battleship, the Great Floridian, the Tuna Run relay team, a kids birthday party, it was a huge weekend all around.  We were back in Greenville SC watching my cousin get married!  It was a great ceremony and a really fun weekend.

There was tons of construction going on I-85 so it took us about 6 hours to get down there instead of the usual 4.  Saturday morning I still had to get in my long run, so I figured I would get out to Furman for a few miles.  I didn't realize it was their homecoming weekend until I got onto campus.  The giant "Welcome Home" banner over the front gates was my first clue.  Then the campus was packed with people in purple, and floats out on the big grass mall.  I was still able to get a parking space and put about 14 miles on some gnarly single track trail around the lake.  I even saw an old friend while I was out there, it was quite a homecoming indeed!

Funny thing, after I was done running I still had to get back off campus.  I had some pretty bad nipple chafing, so the shirt had to go as soon as I got done.  Then I was driving out of there through the homecoming parade again, all covered in sweat, snot, tattoos and bloody nipples.  And here were all the fancy Furman folks in suits and cute purple dresses, and you know I got some of the strangest looks when I drove out of there.  I guess they weren't expecting to see me that day any more than I was expecting to see them.

The wedding was a blast.  The story is best told in pictures.

The first dance

Evil Genius was tearing up the dance floor!  She loved it.

Dancing with my mom

The dress swirls out

EG dancing with her daddy


Bigun dancing with Unc

Unc has moves.  he gets low.

And apparently Unc's girlfriend had no idea he could move like that! (love her!)

Me and Kelley getting our dance on

The happy couple on their way out! 

Me with Uncle Palmer.  I hadn't gotten to see him in years!
Sunday we made it back to Raleigh in pretty good time.  Bigun and I had an Indian Princess fall outing to get to way up in North Raleigh that afternoon.  So after driving up here we were all completely exhausted.  Bigun had a huge headache and laid down for a few, but didn't want to postpone the outing.  So we ended up going and made it into the camp at North Raleigh around 5 pm.

We got to eat dinner with the tribe and go through the evening ceremonies (that did involve toilet paper, kerosene and fire) and we ended up having a blast.  We missed the fun camp-y stuff but still had a blast.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Camping with Princesses

Saturday morning Kelley had a great 5k race while I stayed home with the kids. She turned in a sub-31 minute time and racked up some great Grand Prix series points. 

When she got home I took off for my first long run to the capital building and back.  The State Fair is going on this week, so it created a lot more traffic.  I caught a lot more red lights than I was expecting, and still managed to pull a 1:18:56 for the 10 miles.  I love pulling a sub-8 pace going down Hillsborough street in Raleigh.  This time I lost a few good minutes to stop lights and still went sub 8 (10 miles at an 8 minute pace is 80 minutes, or 1:20) and that's even more cool.

After the run I got to watch about 10 minutes of Kona coverage and football before starting the prep work for the camping trip.  It was insane.  Find all the gear, get the food ready, get everything pulled together to get out there by 4ish.  We still ended up here:


Check out all those veggies on the campfire grill!
We had a ball.  For a while.  The air mattress we brought in the tent wouldn't hold air for very long.  So what started out as a nice comfortable sleep quickly turned into no sleep at all.  It got not cool.  and left me very uncomfortable for most of sunday.
Somebody all snuggled up in the sleeping bag.
Sunday morning I was pretty sore, tired, and cranky.  We had a good breakfast at the campsite, did some prep work for this sunday's Indian Princess outing, and headed home.

I did get out for a decent run.  I went 16.2 miles, giving me a total of 26.2 miles for the weekend.  Since my legs felt like they had some kind of poisoning it wasn't exactly a comfortable run.  But it's in the books.

This weekend is a new opportunity for some fun.  We're heading out of town for a wedding and I'm still going to get some long runs in.  Good luck if you're doing Beach 2 Battleship or any other race this weekend!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Paradigm

I finished reading the Paradigm Diet this week, and wanted to share some thoughts.

The pursuit is to look for foods that are completely paradigm, or the best foods to eat.  What does your body really want? How can you eat to fuel a performance?  What do different foods and macronutrients do to your body during digestion?  The answers are paradigm. 

I really did enjoy this book.  The theories are very sound, and I wish there was more information available online.  Adam Dave has a good web site and blog about the diet.  But I could use more cheat sheets about things like the typical day's eats, or a searchable recipe list.  This is the kind of book and diet plan that should  be as popular as atkin's or Paleo.  Yet there is way more information about paleo out there than there is about paradigm. 

Make no mistake about it, this guy is a bit extreme.  It's a real vegan manifesto still based on whole foods.  Nothing processed, nothing out of a box.  Nothing even with flour (processed) like pasta or bread, just whole foods.  Sweets, greens, beans, and seeds.  This post of his really explains the plan very well. 

Nothing but fruit before noon.  Breakfast?  fruit.  Lunch?  fruit.  You can blend it into a smoothie and throw in some greens or seeds if you like.  Seeds like chia or flax.  I love the days when I get to have a fruit smoothie for breakfast and another one for lunch.  If I could get enough fruit and remember to make it every night it would be even better.  That's my plan for ironman training next year.

Dinner should start with three of your favorite crunchy vegetables.  Make it like a big salad.  Throw in some more fruit if you want to.  Finish it off with a starch like potatoes, sweet potatoes, or squash.  Add in some beans.  Beans are a great source of protein.

The result is an 80/10/10 macronutrient breakdown with unlimited quantities of the healthy foods.  If you can get 3000 calories a day, go for it.  Bodyfat will just melt off.  You'll have more energy since it's all carbs.  Since these foods all digest in the intestines, there will be no problems in the bathroom.  So much of the paradigm foods are very high in water content, so you will actually be hydrated without having to drink extra water.  And you'll have to pee about 55498797 times a day. 

The bad stuff?  Meat has to be digested in the stomach by acids and enzymes.  The good enzymes die in the process of digestion, and the process generates a lot of heat and a lot of waste.  I have started to notice that if I have some meat for lunch I get really hot sitting in the cube at work about 20 minutes later.  That doesn't happen when I go all fruit for lunch.  There is no water or fiber in meat. 

Same thing with oils.  Whole olives are good, but olive oil is nothing but fat with no water, fiber, or protein.  The program isn't necessarily all raw, but if you want to cook he says to saute in a bit of veggie broth or water.  Otherwise boiling or steaming is ok.  There is no need for oil in paradigm foods.

The final thought?  I really hope this book gains more popularity.  The approach is a bit extreme, but it does work.  I have been thinking about going vegan for a while now.  The toughest thing for me to put down has to be cereal in milk for a nighttime snack.  I can't really get into a decent breakfast pattern yet either.  If I don't remember to make up a green smoothie for breakfast it's usually scrambled eggs with turkey bacon and some cheese, or another bowl of cereal.  Once I can work out a few more kinks like that it will be easy. 

Give this book a shot!  The science is sound and it is a really interesting read.  This type of diet can fully support me in ultramarathon and/or ironman training, it just takes volume.  Knowing more about how our bodies process nutrients and how plants produce them is really interesting.  This is a great read and I'm taking a lot of useful information out of it.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Let Them Drink Beer

This weekend was pretty memorable, and the upcoming few weeks are going to be pretty noteworthy as well.  I know these back to back long run days are going to be a great way for me to prep for the ultra so I started on that bandwagon this time.

Saturday morning was cold and sunny, perfect weather for a great run outside.  I went from our house around the state Capital building and back for a nice 10 miles in 1:22:46.  Pretty great way to start things off.  It felt effortless and was very close to an 8 m/m pace.  Hillsborough street has some pretty good hills, but that route is amazing. Goes right past the NC State main campus, into downtown, around the cool Capital building grounds and back.  I plan to repeat every Saturday possible.

After some recovery and football, I went to the World Beer Festival in the Durham Bulls ballpark with our friends Gary and Jenny.  It was Gary's birthday so we wanted to get out and have some fun.  Kelley doesn't drink beer so she provided the transportation.  It was as awesome as you think it might be.  It started like this

Gary, Jenny, me before those tiny glasses got filled up
There were tents on the ballfield and setup around the concourse with different vendors pouring the good stuff.  I found plenty of local favorites and some microbrews, and even Newcastle and Corona showed up.

That quickly led to this:


Four hours later

They filled up that little two ounce glass about 20 times for each of us.  Turns out it would actually hold four ounces if they poured it right.  We had a blast, and Gary had a great birthday.  Good times all around.
 
Sunday I really slept in.  about three hours later than usual.  Still made it up in time to head to church and sing with the choir.  It was a great service, our church also hosts a chinese, west african, and farsi church and we all came together for that service. 
 
In the afternoon Bigun and I had to take care of some Indian Princess business.  Nothing like keeping the kids in the car for a few hours in the cold rain to perk up a sunday afternoon.  We're hosting the tribe meeting this week and had to do some things to get ready.
 
Afterwards I made it to the gym and hit the treadmill up for 14 miles while watching the Panthers game.  Held a steady 8 m/m pace the whole time, and felt good.  Only stopped at 14 because they were closing at 7 pm.  So the saturday 10 miler was great, Beer Festival was fantastic, and the 14'er was ok.  24 miles of running on the weekend combined with 20 tiny beers is not a bad way to spend some down time.  Who needs that Chicago marathon anyway?
 
This weekend is the Rev3 triathlon in Anderson SC.  I so wish I was able to make it down there to see some of the great people that are coming into my hometown for the race.  Good luck if you make it out there!

Monday, October 1, 2012

So Close!

I kind of signed up on a whim.  The course ran past a building that I used to work in, so I knew the area well and thought it looked like a fast course.  It was only a 5k, and it's in the Grand Prix series.  Turned out to be a great race!  I came in 5 seconds shy of a PR.

The March of Dimes 5k Run for Healthier Babies turned out to be a ray of sunshine on a rainy dreary day.  We got out to the Tekelek parking lot just in time and settled in for a wet race.  Temps were in the low 60's and the rain was a-coming down.  We found the starting line in time and when the guy said so, we were off and running.

I tried to start out at a comfortable pace, but wanted to keep it kind of forced with a quick foot turnover.  Since it was raining, I chose not to wear the Garmin.  I could see the front of the pack, and I figured that the rain kept the crowd down to a smaller size than normal.  Still the people that win a lot of the races around here were there, and they dissapeared in the first quarter mile.

They had people sitting at the mile markers calling out times, and I hit the first mile marker when the guy said 6:30.  This was pretty shocking, since just two weeks ago I ran a 6:21 at the magnificent mile race and was ready to puke.  I tried to slow my pace a bit to prevent burnout.  The course took plenty of turns around here and there, and I ended up hitting the mile 2 marker in 13:47.  Second mile slower is a good thing here, it means I won't totally blow up in the third mile right?

Actually, I didn't blow up in the third mile like usual.  There also weren't any huge hills that popped up and I'm sure the good course was a contributing factor.  There also wasn't a clock at the finish line, which is really strange.  I gave it a good kick as soon as the finish came into sight, and asked somebody else running with a watch what kind of time we put up.  He said 21 fifty-something, and my PR is 21:58 so I was incredibly excited. 

Later on Saturday afternoon I got the official results online, and found I had scored a 22:03, a 7:07 pace.  Just missed my PR by 5 seconds!  So close.  Maybe next time, but I swear I'm not going be racing any more 5k's soon.  I finished 39 out of 298 people (M & F), and 6 of 22 in my age group.

September is done!
and what a month it was!  I was so glad to see the holiday, and the new job kick in, and my last triathlon this year, vacation, and lots of positive change.

Swim: 9300 yards, 5 swims, 1 race
Bike: 235 miles, 7 rides, 1 race
Run: 89.3 miles, 11 runs, 4 races
Strength: 4 workouts
Yoga: 24 sessions

Yes, I did actually have 4 running races in september. The OBX half iron was the only triathlon.  90 miles is pretty good for ultra training, but the long runs are about to get really long.  Like back to back, 10 miles on saturday and 18 to 22 miles on Sunday.  September also marks the end of regular biking and swimming.  I was glad to put the bike up on the rack for the winter after getting back from the OBX.  See you in February.  I'm also taking some time off from the RAM team until February.  I'll keep on riding and swimming once a week each (at most) through the winter but it's time to get low volume on everything except running.

I'm going into the triathlon off season with some enthusiasm.  Time to run more and relax more. The near PR is a great way to kick things off.  Started sunday with a 15 mile trail run with a couple of friends from the RAM team.