Yesterday, with all the running around doing planned and unplanned errands, there were no weights lifted and no roads ran. So, I made a declaration of “I Will Run Tomorrow (today)” … like my friend George Zimmer (not to be confused with the guy who literally got away with murder) “I Guarantee It!”

Life lesson #53 – Personal accountability stops the blame game so you can get off excuse train! 

So tomorrow is today and today is here! After deciphering that Riddler-like statement, with my Brooks PureCadence 2 running shoes and iPhone Apps, off I went into the wild blue yonder. The marathon is coming — it’s just around the corner, so I did a 4 fast and 1 slow mile run. I’ve read so many articles on Yahoo! daily news feeds regarding this type of run — it is an endurance builder. Not going out on a limb, but I’m assuming after 26.2 miles, endurance can be an issue. I’ve participated in I believe 5 half-marathons now and I don’t remember seeing the casual runner come across the finish line saying, “I’m ready to do that again!” So yes, I will build endurance.

Morning weight 170. Post run weight 167.5

Public Service Announcement

Are you a runner? For $6, do you upgrade at each organized race to the technical shirt? Well, me too. I think someone’s about to report me to Stacy and Clinton from What Not To Wear fame because it seems I’ve been wearing them a lot. With jeans. With running shorts. With regular shorts. Commando. Ok, too much. I know. I’ve gone too far.

But for all you runners, experienced, first-timers, or just curious to see why hudreds of people keep running by your house every other month, here’s my helpful tip. It’s not found on the care label, but bandaids! Probably a heed mostly for the fellas, but bandaids!

We guys know what it’s like to purposely forego gloves at the gym to build up calluses. Well, you definitely don’t need the irritation and callus build-up on the man-nips. I learned of this tip last year, thankfully before I learned the hard way. I learned that BYOB meant Bring Your Own BandAids, but a friend of mine spared a few and spared me some serious pain!

And I quote from one of the other participants at Tough Mudder

My nipples are raw! It hurts so bad!

Don’t be Phil Shifley and fake your own death. Pop on the bandaids and you’ll thank me later. And together, we can force these manufacturers to properly label these technical shirts!

Today’s Meals:

• 8:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder. 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of cabbage. 1 cup of kale. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Mega Garlic Plus
• 10am – Pre run hydration and meal
  • Herbalife24 Hydrate
  • Herbalife24 Prepare in 10 ounces of water with a dash of Herbalife Herbal Aloe Concentrate Mango
  • 1 medium banana
• 10:40am – During run fuel. Around mile 3.1, I ate 2 shots back-to-back to get ready for my fast push home. It worked. My last mile was almost as fast as my early miles.
  • 2 Clif Bar Chocolate Shots 
• 11:45am – Post run recovery in 10 ounces of water
  • Herbalife24 Rebuild Endurance (2 scoops)
  • Herbalife Instant Healthy Meal Chocolate (1/2 scoop for flavor)
  • Herbalife Joint Support
• 2:45pm – Need more protein! Feeling a little weak. Actually weighed myself and down to 167.5. Burning too much and too fast for my plan.
  • Sinagong vegetarian. 1 serving. 1 serving of Quorn Chicken Bites (fried yesterday, microwaved today). 1 cup of rice.
  • 2 fresh figs
• 5:35pm – Hong Sen Tofu (Vietnamese All-Vegetarian Noodle House)
  • 1 Mock Beef/Chicken House Special Soup with Rice Noodle. Mild this time, but the last dozen, spicy. Had plans afterwards and quite frankly, I didn’t bring an extra shirt! And no lemon grass.
  • 1 Mock chicken cutlets
  • 1 Mock shrimp and veggie spring roll with peanut sauce
  • 1/4 cup of rice
• 7pm – Leatherbys Ice Creamery. They actually gave me 3 spoons. Should I be offended?
  • Rita’s Strawberry Shortcake. Instead of vanilla ice cream, I opted for banana nut ice cream.

Today’s Activities:

•  10:25am – 5.02 mile run at a 8:58 mile pace. Building endurance so I did 4 fast and 1 slow. Mile 4 was the slower so I could kick for my last and 5th mile.
• 11:10am – .31 mile cool down walk home. When I got home, did a series of hamstring stretches and side bends to stretch and elongate my body. Those stretches sound so technical, but ultimately, I just stretch afterwards because it feels good and if there is any body part that feels like it needs it, find a way to stretch it.