Tag Archives: runkeeper

Day 128. Parents are the Best

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Parents are the Best

Celebrating a day with my parents and wife. Dinner and a movie. Parents are the best and I’m fortunate to still have them both in my life. As they get older, it’s even more apparent how much they have influenced my life.

From my pop. I have the same temperament. If our lives were bumper stickers, it would read “no problem.”

From my mom. I have the same “don’t stop” attitude. We’d both rather keel over and faint before we gave up.

Happy birthday Pop!

Morning weight = 169.5

Today’s Meals:

run262 myfitnesspal meal plan

MyFitnessPal 10-15-2013

  • 6pm (Meal 3) — Johnny Rockets Boca Burger Classic. Don’t forget … they have bottomless fries. Our server was in the Halloween mood.
run262 johnny rockets

Meal 3 — 6pm

  • 10pm (Meal 4 – Not shown on MyFitnessPal numbers). Why? I only ate a little. This was for my parents birthday snack.
run262 meal plan

Meal 4 – 10pm

Today’s Activities:

  • Celebrated my pop’s birthday. Dinner, movie, and high-end pastries. He is constantly saying he isn’t a cake guy, but every birthday we attend, I see him eating cake. My pop is the most laid back and honorable person. Filled with integrity. Quick to forgive and slow to anger. God bless you pop!
  • We watched a press screening of Escape Plan. Sly and Arnold. One of these is my favorite actor. Here’s a clue … it’s the one that denied using steroids. Escape Plan … two big thumbs up.

Tuesday, 10-15-2013

Day 127. My Longest Run

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My Longest Run

Coming off my personal best for a 10K at a 7:47 pace, I was feeling pretty good going into today. RunKeeper only has me going 15 miles, but nobody says I can’t add additional miles. What’s an extra mile amongst friends, right?

So after loading up on Herbalife24 and a banana, off I go.

Helpful tips for your longest run?

  1. Eat a high carb to protein ratio meal before you leave. A 12-1 carb to protein ratio is an excellent choice. Sorry, no Taco Bell or Egg McMuffins.
  2. Eat that pre-run meal at least 30-60 minutes before you leave.
  3. Don’t drink too much during your run. You’ll find yourself feeling like a washing machine and without all the gory details, you might see what you just drank.
  4. Listen to your body and then listen to your will. Now, I say this with a little hesitation. If you’re an Olympic athlete and the difference between gold and silver is hundredths of a second, listen to your will. But, for the 99.9% of us that will never step on a podium with our national anthem blaring as our theme song, don’t harm yourself. Walking is still moving. Or you can think of it as walking is just slower running.

Morning weight = 169.5. Post run weight 168.

I don’t really understand this … I’ve run 5 miles and lost 2-3 pounds. After 16 miles, I lost a total of 1.5 pounds. Don’t misunderstand … I’m not on a weight loss program. I am on a fitness and endurance program. But, I still like to think certain aspects of calories burned for weight loss are still constant. After burning nearly 2,100 calories, I would expect to see a 4 pound weight loss. (500 calorie deficit typically equals a pound). Let’s just say my scale was broken that day and it all washes out in the end.

Today’s Meals:

run262 myfitnesspal meal plan

MyFitnessPal 10-14-2013

Today’s Activities:

  • Wow. I ain’t going to lie. My longest run of 16 miles felt like the longest time I’ve ever been on my feet. I used all the tricks in the book — after the first 10K, reset my brain to say “just do another 10K” I tried telling myself to just keep shuffling my feet and that isn’t even going to tire me. Tried many things, but that was not easy.
  • Got to the point where I actually had to walk or I was going to die (insert the little girl’s voice from Despicable Me). You’ll notice at mile 15, that’s where I stopped by my local Chinese restaurant and asked for a cup of water. If I’m being accurate, it sounded more like, “water … water”
  • What did I learn? It’s okay to walk before you go into full shutdown mode. I came pretty close today at mile 13. My will was strong, but my body was saying my will is just plain stupid. Also, don’t drink too much during long runs. Swigs and swishes are recommended. I’m trying to hide this disgusting fact, but I threw up on 2nd Street. At least I did it in the plants and being that our town is so progressively organic, they’d probably approve and the city council would give me the keys to the city for thinking outside the box.
run262 runkeeper 16 miles

RunKeeper 16-mile steady

Day 123. The New CPK

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Regular visit to the mall. Been noticing CPK, California Pizza Kitchen for those outside of California, has had the brown butcher paper up. Almost like Extreme Makeover Stuff … waiting for Ty to yell, “Move that bus!”

Well, today, my wife and I moved that bus and gave it a try. The new look CPK. First and foremost, you should know that they make a great pita and hummus appetizer. Since we already knew that, we didn’t get it. We came for their namesake. The pizza! It is brick-ovened goodness. The crust has a slight salty first bite and a subtle sweet linger. They cook it just right every single time, unlike some of those chain stores that just put their pizzas on a rack and let a conveyor belt cook your pizza.

What? The new look CPK also involves no brick oven. My first thought. How do you build your brand on your pizza. The word “pizza” is actually in your restaurant name. Decades of people enjoying a particular style of pizza and you change the particular way you make it.

We actually asked, “What happened?” and there are times when the servers should just lie to you. If I ask, was that a roach, the server should just say, “that was probably some cracked pepper that fell on the ground.” If I ask, “why did you change the way you make your pizza” you should never hear back because it was cheaper to make the pizzas in a gas oven like everyone else. Huh? It could also be cheaper for me not to leave a tip like everyone else. That tip thing … it’s just a hypothetical to get my point across. Don’t send the tip police after me. I’m a faithful 20-plus-percenter, good or bad service.

So the verdict … we didn’t eat the pita and hummus. We ate a gas fired oven that I could get at Papa Murphys and make myself. CPK is CP-KO’d. Down for the knock-out CPK and until you wake up and take your heads out of the gas oven, you’ll be down for the count.

Morning weight = 170.5

Today’s Meals:

run262

MyFitnessPal 10-10-2013

2:15pm (Meal 2.1) — Katy Perry Kettle Corn Pop Chips. Not my first time trying these, but maybe my last time. I made the mistake of buying the huge Costco bag and if you are anything like me, seeing food in large quantities like that is the quickest way to get sick of something.

Katy Perry Kettle Corn Pop Chips

Meal 2.1 — 2:15pm

6pm (Meal 3) — California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). See above. No really, see above. And, you’ll notice I didn’t take time to talk about the Chinese Chicken Salad (sans chicken). Let’s just say I can’t be too negative in the same post.

California Pizza Kitchen CPK

Meal 3 — 6pm

Today’s Activities:

No scheduled run. We did watch a press release of A Fifth Estate, the WikiLeaks story. Let’s just say if you want to have a memorable first date, take your date to the new CPK and watch Wikileaks to end the night. It will make you that much more interesting because both of those options set the bar very low. Oops, there I go being sneakily negative. Sorry Mom!

Thursday, 10-10-2013

Day 118. 4 Tips For Long Runs

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4 Tips for Long Runs

Let’s face it. Running more than 1 mile for 99% of the world’s population seems like a waste of time. The majority forgo Nike, Adidas, Brooks, and New Balance for Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Chevy. Don’t believe me. Next time you are in a conversation at a party, bring up the fact that you just ran 15 miles (that’s what I did today) and see the reaction. You’ll get a variety, but with the same underlying message.

Response and Message 1: “I don’t even like driving 15 miles if I don’t have to” which ultimately means “why would anybody do that?”

Response and Message 2: “You’re crazy” which loosely translates to “why would anybody do that?”

So as runners, we have to be able to block out the voices of the non-believers. Just like uplifting messages can help you press on, people calling you crazy can be detrimental to the casual runner, especially as marathon training distances increase as you approach the actual day of the event.

Here are 4 tips for long runs:

  1. Listen to Your Heart. Nobody wakes up and decides to run a marathon. This mental and physical process occurs over a period of time until the person comes to the realization that “Yes, I want to run a marathon.” In a world full of personal scooters and canes, it’s hard for the majority to understand you actually decided and want to run 26.2 miles. A lot of people will tell you it’s not good for you. You’ll hurt yourself. I even had a doctor tell me that marathon runners often have heart attacks. Literally and mentally run away from this negative-speak and continue to listen to your heart and the reasons you started on this journey. I was once told, when the why is strong enough, the how is easy.
  2. It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint. This one might be the most obvious, but don’t try to run all 26.2 miles immediately. I don’t care how good of shape you are. You may be an Olympic Athlete and I’d give you the same advice. I’ve known people that are in relatively good shape think that they can just wake up and get it done, but by mile 2 they are singing a different song. Be reasonable about the amount of time you want to run a marathon and plan ahead. If the Boston Marathon is next week, start training for next years.
  3. Have a Plan. When you start to have long runs of 10-plus miles, you need a plan. I speak from experience. Before I signed up for RunKeeper’s App and had a marathon training plan, I was just aimlessly running. Monday I would run 4 miles as fast as i could. Thursday I would run 2 miles as fast as possible. Saturday I would run 6 miles as fast as I could. The bottom line is that fast as I could wasn’t a good plan for long runs. Sure, it doesn’t hurt, but after I signed up for a marathon training plan, it breaks down the days you run and how to run — not just “fast as you can.” If you prefer to be with people, sign up for running and training classes in your area. Fleet Feet is everywhere in California and they ask for about $150 for their marathon training classes.
  4. Break Up Long Runs. You do this on long drives. At least I do. If I have to drive more than 100 miles, I think about a location 50 miles away that I’ve been before and say, “this is like driving to visit Melanie and coming back home. I’ve done it hundreds of times and it’s no problem.” This same mentality is so helpful on a long run and you decide what “long” is. If you are a beginner, a long run might be 2 miles. So you can say, “this is like running to the local corner market and back.” If you’re running 20 miles, mentally revisit your regular 5-mile routes and say this is like doing those routes 4 times. And here’s the final key for success. After each 5-mile segment, recalculate and say to yourself, “just 3 more times.” Breaking up long runs into shorter runs you’ve previously done will uplift your spirits and give you a renewed spirit and fresh legs. Play the mental game! It works!

Morning weight = 171. Didn’t get a post-run weight. No other excuse — just tired and forgot.

Today’s Meals:

run262 5 tips for long runs

MyFitnessPal 10-05-2013

When Did I Eat?

  • 7:50am (Meal 1) – Post run meal. Herbalife24 Prolong, Herbalife24 Prepare, Herbalife Niteworks, and a fresh banana. Good to go for my 15-mile run today. This will be the longest distance I’ve ever gone and I’ll definitely be mentally dividing this long run into smaller distances.
run262 5 tips for long runs

Meal 1 — 7:50am

  • 11:40am (Meal 1.1) — Post run nutrition. Another banana will be just fine. I’ve seen this potassium-filled fruit offered at every race so I just did a half-marathon plus 2 more miles. Where’s my medal?
run262 5 tips for long runs

Meal 1.1 — 11:20am

  • 1pm (Meal 2) — Saturday late breakfast at our favorite local pancake joint. Buttermilk pancakes are so 2000-late. It’s all about buckwheat pancakes these days. But, pour syrup on anything and who can argue with you. Added a scrambled egg for added protein.
run262 5 tips for long runs

Meal 2 — 1pm

  • 5pm (Meal 2.1) — Salty and hot snack time! We visited a friend in San Francisco a year ago and he busted this Papolote salsa out. It’s a local SF joint. Now they are selling it at Whole Foods. This is dangerous! Ate with some multigrain tortilla chips.
run262 5 tips for long runs

Meal 2.1 — 5pm

  • 5:30pm (Meal 3) — Leftover pasta and Quorn jalapeno chicken. They just started selling this at our Target and if we see new vegetarian options we get them. If we see new vegetarian options on sale, we get more of them.
run262 5 tips for long runs

Meal 3 — 5:30pm

Today’s Activities:

  • RunKeeper Beginner Marathon Training 41 of 64.
  • Mile 3 discovered I forgot to bring my Clif Shot Chocolate Gel Packs so I had to return home. This added an additional 4 minutes to my overall time. By mile 14 and 15, I lost steam and was extremely thirsty. I’ll need a strategy for dry mouth. Happy that my last mile was at least faster than the previous mile.
  • 15 mile run today. My route took me on bike trails and dirt fields. I try my best to stay off the road and the harder-surfaced sidewalks. I’m glad I took yesterday off.

run262 5 tips for long runs

 

run262 5 tips for long runs

RunKeeper Splits

Saturday, 10-05-2013

Day 116. What to do on an Off Day

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What to do on an off day?

run262 what to do on your off day

What to do on your off day?

So you’re training for a marathon. Maybe a half-marathon. Even a 5K, 10K, or a mud run. In our town, they host Color Runs. I best describe these as running a 5K while having a food fight.

Not sure about the shorter distances, but for marathon and half-marathon training, the good news is that you’re not running everyday. You’d quite frankly get burned out and feel like “mud.” People say you get what you pay for, but keeping in mind the RunKeeper App is free, you get a lot. There is a paid version of it, but from what I see, the free version handles all your basic needs. Today being an off-day, it even offers words of encouragement or a helpful tip. Today’s tip:

Empty carbs are the enemy! Delicious as they might be …

I signed up for the marathon training plan about 150 days away from the actual event and it has me running Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday up until the day of the race. I’m sure if you signed up 100 days away, there would be a different plan and I don’t envy the person that signs up for the marathon training plan 50 days away from the event. It will probably just say, “Are you kidding?” and tell you to think about next year as their helpful tip.

So what to do on your off days? Here are 5 tips.

  1. Celebrate your accomplishment. This will help maintain your passion, enthusiasm, and energy as you press on towards your goal.
  2. Change your routine. Doing anything repetitively can and most likely will cause damage. Running isn’t exempt from this. All that road-pounding has to do something to our knees, backs, and feet. Do some pushups which help strengthen your running posture. Even a short walk and some light stretching will be a helpful change to loosen you up for the next day’s activities.
  3. Reflect on your past activities. Reflecting offers a way of measuring progress. You don’t how far you’ve come if you don’t know where you’ve been. My Day 1 was at a 10:49 pace and I had to stop 3 times for a 4.91 mile run. My Day 115 was at a 9:08 pace with no stops for a 6 mile run. Reflecting allows you to celebrate your progress and address the areas that need improvement.
  4. Stay positive. Making a decision to get up and move was the hard part. Now that you have made the decision, do your best and forget the rest.
  5. Get some rest. Sleep is the best way to recover from the previous days activities and prepare for the upcoming activities. It can help prevent injury and you’ll just feel less fatigued. Now if I can only listen to my own advice.

Morning weight = 170

Today’s Meals:

run262 meal plan

MyFitnessPal 10-03-2013

When Did I Eat

  • 8:15am (Meal 1) — Herbalife Protein, Fruit, and Veggie Smoothie. Jamba Juice got nothing on me!
  • 10:15am (Meal 1.1) — Snack time. High in protein, low in calorie. My kind of snack.
run262 el monterey bean & cheese burrito

Meal 1.1 — 10:15am

  • 1pm (Meal 2) — Homemade Grilled Cheese. Actually, homemade gourmet grilled cheese. Nothing says gourmet like American Kraft Cheese Singles. For more protein, 4 slices of Morning Star Veggie Bacon and my favorite salty snack, Original Lays.
run262 marathon meal

Meal 2 — 1pm

  • 2pm (Meal 2.1) — Herbalife Herbal Concentrate Tea. I use this as my secret fat burning weapon. If I didn’t make such a good choice, Herbalife Tea to the rescue. It’s my food superhero.
run262 Herbalife Herbal Concentrate Tea

Meal 2.1 — 2pm

  • 5:45pm (Meal 3) — Johnny Rockets boca burger (extra crispy) and some fries. A little known secret. They have bottomless fries! But like my friend Angela “Bon Qui Qui” Johnson says, “Don’t get crazy!” Now, the Apple Pie Shake is an entirely different story!
run262 johnny rocket boca burger

Meal 3 — 5:45pm

Today’s Activities:

  • Rest day.

Thursday, 10-03-2013

Day 115. Best Time to Run

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run262 marathon training

Best Time to Run

After my usual Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Smoothie with organic spinach and kale and fresh (frozen) fruits from Costco, it was a bit late for me to go for my early morning run. The crack of dawn run or the Rocky Balboa run was out of the question this morning. But not to fret because there’s always the mid-morning run to keep me on schedule.

I do prefer the 8am start, but today just wasn’t cooperating. The majority of the organized events start at 8am and I’ve found that my body wants to run at this time. Not too hot, but cold enough to keep me at a perfect temperature after the first couple of miles. Sometimes I find that I’m not even breaking a sweat when I technically should be after burning 800-1000 calories. Don’t get me wrong. You don’t burn 800-1000 calories by not working. I’m pushing, but the temperature pushes back.

Best Time to Run

I have no scientific proof other than the eyeball test. I feel stronger and lighter in the morning. In the evening, I feel heavier and sluggish. The 8am start appears to be good enough for the majority of the races so I’ll blindly follow.

If you’ve ever missed the morning or mid-morning run and attempted an afternoon to late afternoon start, you’ll know the difference. If you’ve ever had an evening or a late evening start, you’ll notice even more of a difference. For last year’s Tough Mudder, I did the majority of my run training in the late evening. I was trying to get use to the cold being that our event was in Lake Tahoe. Besides it being more dangerous. Man versus car … car wins. Plus, I don’t recommend watching Criminal Minds before a late night run because you’ll hear every creak and pop while you’re running. Who knows? That little extra adrenaline might be the difference of an 8 minute mile versus a 7 minute mile though.

Overall. The answer to the best time to run is whenever you can. But personally, the optimal time to run is early morning. You’ll won’t feel weighed down by the afternoon In-and-Out burger and shake. Plus, you’ll have the added bonus of knowing you’ve got your run out of the way and the rest of the day is yours to enjoy without the cloud of pavement time looming over you throughout the day.

Morning weight = 171.5 Post run weight = 170

Today’s Meals:

run262 meal plan

MyFitnessPal 10-02-2013

When Did I Eat?

  • 8:15am (Meal 1) — Herbalife Smoothie
  • 9:40am (Meal 1.1) — Pre run nutrition. Herbalife24 Prolong, Herbalife24 Prepare, Herbalife Niteworks
run262 Herbalife 24

Meal 1.1 — 9:40am

  • 11:20am (Meal 1.2) — Post run nutrition. Herbalife24 Rebuild Endurance, Herbalife24 Formula 1 Sport, Herbalife Instant Chocolate. I add the instant chocolate because I don’t particularly like the taste of the Rebuild Endurance, but I know the nutrition it provides is necessary to prepare me for my first marathon.
run262 post run nutrition

Meal 1.2 — 11:20am

  • 12:30pm (Meal 2) — Chinese leftovers and more protein courtesy of Odwalla Super Protein Chocolate.
run262 marathon nutrition

Meal 2 — 12:30pm

  • 5:30pm (Meal 3) — Vietnamese Veggie Bahn Mi and a slice of homemade pear pie.
run262 marathon meal

Meal 3 — 5:30pm

Today’s Activities:

  • RunKeeper 40 of 64 Marathon Training Plan. 6 mile slow/fast. This training involves 1 mile slow, 4 miles steady, and 1 mile slow. RunKeeper suggests a fast pace of 9:55/mile to 10:05/mile.
run262 RunKeeper

RunKeeper 10-02-2013 — 6 mile slow/fast

Wednesday, 10-02-2013

Day 111. 14 Miles

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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 110. 4-Mile Easy Run

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Easy Run

Training session 27 of 64 — 4 mile easy run. At this stage of the game, I can actually say it is an “easy” run. Day 1 of 64, probably a different story, but goes to show you, keep at it (whatever your it is) and it will get easier.

Today’s run was easy-breezy. Didn’t push myself and cruised at a 8:20 per minute mile. Had much more in the tank after the run and pushed in some overpass/ramp runs to get more bang for my running buck.

It’s getting colder so I’ve got decisions to make — (1) wear the long sleeves like today or (2) run later in the morning when I can actually see a shadow. It’s been really dark out.

What would you do?

ustronger herbalife nutrition

RunKeeper 4 mile easy run

Friday, 09-27-2013