Day 112. Shabot. A Day of Rest.

Leave a reply

Rest Day

RunKeeper gave me time off for good behavior. The App did provide a rest day tip regarding pushups. Something about giving you strength to maintain posture for those looooonnnnng runs. And that’s how they put it, looooonnnnng. It’s a good thing I like to skim when I read because I’ll just ignore this for now.

Weeks run training summary:

  • 09-22-2013 — 8.04 miles. Average pace of 8:15 minutes/mile. Training 8 mile steady.
  • 09-25-2013 — 6.32 miles. Average pace of 8:43 minutes/mile. Training 2×2 mile fast.
  • 09-27-2013 — 4.00 miles. Average pace of 8:20 minutes/mile. Training 4 mile easy run.
  • 09-28-2013 — 14.01 miles. Average pace of 9:21 minutes/mile. Training 14 mile long run steady.

Total miles for the week — 32.37. I’ll be needing a new pair of running shoes sooner rather than later. Any suggestions?

Looking forward to another week. Finished 28 of 64 training sessions and I’m ahead of schedule in regards to the recommended pace. Marathon or Bust is looking more and more like Marathon Now! Sunday, 09-29-2013

KIND Bar – Protein Snack Review

Leave a reply
Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Kind Bar

KIND Bars

Protein Snack Review – KIND Bars

l discovered these bars by process of elimination. Detour Bars (low sugar) served their purpose for 2-3 months. High in protein, low in sugar, but just too darn big. Always had to eat half and save the other half for later which means, eat half now and eventually throw the other half away because I’d forget. The KIND Bar is perfectly just enough.

But these were on the top shelf and on sale at Nugget Market. The choice was easy. Chocolate. Peanut Butter. What else can you ask for in a bar.

The good. 6 different flavors. Smaller so you can enjoy the entire crunchy goodness, but not too crunchy. Like Goldilocks would say, “it’s just right.” It’s relatively low in calories (200) and relatively high in protein for its size (7 grams). But don’t get it twisted, you’re not eating these for the protein intake or the small number of calories. You’re not even eating these so you can get that last mile in or a few more reps. The truth is … it just tastes good.

The bad. For its size, it does have a lot of sugar (10 grams), but again, refer to the “truth” above. It just tastes good. Don’t go overboard and eat 3 per day. If you do, that’s just your fault.

The deal. Costco sells them in a 3 flavor variety pack. I believe for a box of 12, they charge $15. Go get’em and stave off those mid day cravings.

KIND Bar Verdict

Buy’em. You’ll love’em. But don’t rely on these for a good source of sustained nutrition for long runs. Just enjoy them for all of their crunchy, salty, chocolately goodness!

Flavors

  • Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate
  • Cranberry Almond + Antioxidants
  • Nut Delight
  • Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio + Antioxidants
  • Blueberry Pecan + Fiber
  • Almond & Coconut

I’ve tried the peanut butter, the almond coconut, and the cranberry almond. I rank them in this order. Seeing the other flavors, looks like a trip to my local market is due to put a request in for the other flavors. These, I’ve never seen.

Day 112. Say Cheese … Grilled Cheese (that is)

Leave a reply

You’re never too old for grilled cheese. Repeat, never too old. I do encourage y’all to graduate from the Wonder Bread – Kraft American Cheese classic and guy some Artisan French breads and combine two of your favorite cheese slices. Mine are muenster and american.

run262 marathon meal plan

MyFitnessPal 09-29-2013

When did I eat?

  • Meal 1 (8:15am) – Herbalife morning smoothie before I head off to church.
  • Meal 1.1 (11:50am) — Morning shake now all used up by my body, time for a Scooby snack. These Kind Bars are just crunchy enough, just salty enough, and just chocolately enough. They are more than enough. Recommended.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 1.1 — 11:50am

  • Meal 2 (1:30pm) — Home from church and although it was too bad my wife couldn’t come because she wasn’t feeling well, what a happy comfort food surprise. No matter how old we get, we’re never too old for grilled cheese.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 2 — 1:30pm

  • Meal 2.1 (6:10pm) — Fresh cut Farmer’s Market peach slices to tide me over until a later dinner. In the background, Breaking Bad’s season finally just started.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 2.1 — 6:10pm

  • Meal 3 (7:30pm) — Campbell’s Mushroom with Boca. This is our ghetto Thanksgiving in September. I love this food.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 3 — 7:30pm

Sunday, 09-29-2013

 

 

 

Day 112. Fear or Flight

Leave a reply

Life Lesson #112

Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the willingness to act in spite of it. This has been said for centuries. Recent examples of courage are Malala Yousafzai and the unforgettable images of the NYFD first responders during September 11th.

We don’t all need to be activists or heroes, we simply need to be active seekers where we can make a difference in someone’s life. When we wake up, tell yourself you will be a blessing to someone today.

I say this every morning. I meditate on this during my runs. Repeat over and over again … I will be a blessing to someone today in Christ. It’s a wonderful way to get your mind off of yourself and onto others.

Day 112. Be Courageous in the Face of Evil

Leave a reply

Warning … this update has sensitive materials. Sex trafficking.

Wonderful opportunity to listen to a man who left the comforts of America to follow a calling to serve with Agape Ministries. He is on the front line of confronting human trafficking and helping rescue girls from sex slavery, ultimately leading them to know God’s love and restoration.

So, be courageous in the face of evil. It’s not a secret what goes on in the world, even in the United States. Human trafficking is a tremendous problem. I’ve heard Joyce Meyer discuss this same topic months ago and she even shows examples that when you purchase pornography online, it is not uncommon that the participants in the pornography are not willing participants.

Watching pornography online is actually funding human trafficking — so please keep that in mind when temptations come.

So in our case, what is being courageous. Are you at a position to drop everything and leave for Cambodia? Most aren’t. I’m not so you’re not alone. But we can find information at our different church groups that support these specific ministries to help end this evil.

Here is a group I know will use your offering to its fullest.

Life lesson #112. Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the willingness to act in spite of it.

Morning weight = 172

Sunday, 09-29-2013

Day 111. Be Excellent

Leave a reply

Life Lesson #111

Be excellent at all times. It doesn’t matter what you do when somebody is watching you, especially if that someone is someone who has influence over you. Let’s say, your boss. And speaking of that, I hope you’re reading this at home versus at your work cubicle. If not, watch out! Here comes the boss!

It matters what you do when nobody is watching you. Being excellent at all times means walking a few extra steps to put away your shopping cart at Costco. Holding the door a few seconds longer when you see someone coming in behind you. And if they start to run, let them know, “No rush. Take your time.” Throwing away your own trash at Taco Bell.

If you do these smaller details of your life with excellence, I promise that you will have larger details of your life and more of your heart’s desires be fulfilled.

In the immortal words of our 20th century prophet Bill … Be Excellent To Each Other!

Saturday, 09-28-2013

Day 111. What to eat before a long run?

Leave a reply

Today’s Meals:

Today surrounded two major events. Morning 14-mile run and an evening birthday party. I needed strength to get through the run and I needed stamina to manage tonight’s party. I did great on the run, but not-so-great at the party. Still wasn’t hungry so I just had a slice of the best ever carrot cake I’ve ever had with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Note to self — ask again who made that cake.

Don’t get me wrong — I didn’t hermit it in the corner, but I just plopped in a chair and whoever sat near me would be forced to listen to me go on and on about my morning run. Oh no … I turned into one of those guys. You know the one, “Look at me guy” Turn every conversation into something I want to talk about.

Note to self — don’t be “Look at me guy”

run262 marathon meal plan

MyFitnessPal 09-28-2013

When Did I Eat?

  • 7:20am (Meal 0) — pre-run nutrition. Come on Herbalife24 and a banana! I’m counting on you today.
run262 marathon pre run

Meal 0 (Pre-Run) — 7:20am

  • Meal 0.1 (8:10am-11am) — Clif Shots at mile 3 and mile 10 and strategic sipping of my Herbalife24 Prepare, Prolong, and Niteworks to go.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 0.1 (During Run)

  • 11:20am (Meal 2) — Home and not really hungry. But at the organized runs, they have Zico for the taking. When all else fails, go back to what the professionals do. In this case, I needed to rehydrate. That pasta pictured was leftover from last night and all I did was play with my food. That banana was only half eaten as well.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 2 (post run) – 11:20am

  • 7pm (Meal 3) — Happy Birthday Dear Crispy, Happy Birthday to you! The best carrot cake ever. Had a whip cream frosting rather than that typical sweet layer of stuff I usually scrape off anyway. Saved me the efforts of scraping and more for eating! Delicious. They had catered Mexican food, but this cake is all I was up to.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 3 — 7pm

  • 8:10pm (Meal 3.1) — Left the party and didn’t want to press my luck. Not hungry, but I know not eating would be a mistake. Stopped at our favorite Chinese restaurant for a bowl of egg drop soup, rice, and oranges. Now I’m feeling better! As you can see, not a big fan of peas. Does anybody else put rice in their soups? If not, what are you waiting for!

run262 marathon meal planMeal 3.1 — 8:10pm

Saturday, 09-28-2013

Day 111. 14 Miles

Leave a reply

It’s 8:30ish. Birds Chirping. Sun beginning to fully greet. A beautiful day for a run. What? Runkeeper says 14-miles?

Record scratch. Sun looking really hot. Is that a heavy wind coming through town?

Two mindsets, but I’m glad I can only listen to one and I’m glad it was my first power thoughts.

Saturday’s are the payoff for my Monday (recovery from Sunday’s race day), Wednesday (6.32 miles), and Friday (4 miles) efforts.

How I felt during the run?

Was excited coming into this run. This being my 28th training session and the distances are now increasing. Feeling a bit hyped up. Sure, that first step is with a little hesitation because I know once I go, I go. There’s no stopping and that first step is the first of probably 28,000 steps. Just guessing, but I wanted to throw out a large number that just sounds so ridiculous. Makes 14 miles sound better than saying, “Hey, do you want to walk/run 28,000 steps with me this morning?”

During the run, I ate my Clif Shots at mile 3 and mile 10. I’ve learned to never let my body need anything — be proactive in its nutrition. I learned the hard way that once you lack, it’s hard to get it back. Take that Johnny Cochran!

Plus, I was strapped with my handy-dandy Batman utility belt. But instead of all those cool gadgets, i just had 2 8 ounce water bottles filled with my magic hydration and endurance potion of Herbalife24 Prolong, Prepare, and Niteworks. I mix it separately and pour it into the bottles so it does mix. And I’ll tell you, once that automated female voice said, “Workout completed” I couldn’t wait to down that last ounce of liquid.

Attribute my strong feeling towards my morning meal and I had a good night’s rest. My first mile was 9:25. My fourth mile was 9:32. Mile 9 was 10:08, but then I brought it home with a final mile of 9:07. All averaging out to 9:21 per mile average. Not quite Olympics-worthy, but if I could, I would jump for joy.

How I felt after the run?

It felt like I ran 28,000 steps. What kind of question is that? My feet were a bit sore and my shoulders felt like I did 28,000 shrugs. All manageable and expected. What I wasn’t expecting was the overall lethargy. Just felt blah. I could imagine it’s how diabetics feel when their blood sugar drops significantly.

Not hungry at all — just took a couple bites of a banana and just moved around the leftover pasta. I did refuel with Herbalife24 Hydrate and Niteworks, but I may have drank too much. Felt like I was a walking blender with wet ingredients sloshing about.

Note to self – Thirsty is one thing, but trying to quench it all at once isn’t a good idea. Made me feel nauseous.

My Route

Guessing 8 miles on the city streets and 6 miles on trails. I find once I get to trails, I get a little bounce in my step. I think it’s the fact I need to concentrate on each step so I don’t roll an ankle.

14 mile run262

14 Mile Long Run

Saturday, 09-28-2013

Day 111. Work Hard. Play Hard.

Leave a reply

I dislike that saying. It’s normally said by someone raising a half-empty beer in one hand while pumping the fist of the other. Here’s my problem with it …

Work hard? What does that mean? Are there times when you shouldn’t do your best? Here’s my issue with working hard. Our culture is so quick to give props to something we should be doing anyway. We should be working hard. We should be working while we are at work rather playing solitaire when the boss isn’t looking.

Life lesson #111 — Be excellent at all times.

Now, play hard. No problem with this at all. We were created to enjoy our lives, but keep things in perspective and prioritize properly. Playing hard before being excellent at your responsibilities is a recipe for disaster.

Chris Rock sums it up very well … what do you want, a cookie? Don’t get it. That’s okay. Watch this short clip and it will all make sense.

Warning — explicit language.

I Take Care of My Kids

mickey mouse shadow creepy

Someone’s At The Door

And oh, by the way, I worked hard at a 9:21 minute/mile average pace for 14-miles today and then celebrated some good friend’s 3-year-old son’s birthday. Mickey even showed. I guess you could say, I worked hard and played hard today.

Morning weight = 173.5. Post-run 169.5

Saturday, 09-28-2013

Day 110. No Umbrella Needed

Leave a reply

Life Lesson #110

Plan ahead for the things you do know and plan ahead for how you react to the things you don’t know.

If you get your mindset that you will remain clam under a storm, when the storm comes and newsflash, storms will come, you will be able to handle them with excellence.