I did it for a few days, then my will dropped off the planet. It wasn’t until Steve started his 30 day challenge that I picked it back up. Daphne was also starting a 30 day Paleo challenge with some of her work-mates as well, so I took both of them up at the same time to help keep me on top of it. Having the direct support with members of the swim team was also very helpful.

This ain't your lizard!

Let me start off by saying – it’s so easy that an evolved hominid could do it, but sans the easy. I tried starting the Paleo for Athletes diet back in January with mixed results. According to Sam Hutchinson, paleo is one of the easiest diets to cheat on:

Paleo diet offers many positive benefits, but this diet’s cheating rate is extremely high, especially in the first few weeks. And, cheating all too often will result in complete abandonment of this healthy diet.

Let’s face it …Paleo meals are boring! A quick glance at the Paleo diet food list is enough to let you know how bland this dietary regimen can be…

Foremost, there are grains and soy lecithins in everything – just like there’s corn syrup in everything. I started Steve’s challenge off on a rocky road, but I was resolved to keep with the diet. My only cheat the first week was an oatmeal raisin cookie. But they were absolutely right: the diet is boring.

The book gives you some bland recipes, but it’s a starting point. The first two weeks, I ate primarily chicken breast or steak for dinner- 1/3 meat and 2/3 veggie matter, which was a mix of broccoli and carrots. If it was after an intense workout, I’d have a sweet potato, you know, one of those monstrosities in a plastic wrapper that can be microwaved easily. (Hey, I can’t wait for an hour for a potato to cook in a half-non-functioning oven.)

The week that I started, Coach Aimee told me that Bob Seebohar (former nutritionist for the OTC, current nutritionist for the Olympic Triathlon Team) has a diet plan for his athletes that is similar, if not based on, the paleolithic eating style.

As much as I fought with it, I kept my resolve. I started experimenting more with herbs. I also figured out I could poach plums in the microwave. (Add a small bit of Agave nectar and spoon it over pork chops… YUM!) Then something started happening: my weight started melting away. I started Steve’s challenge at 217 pounds, and at the end of March, I was sitting at 198 pounds. Not only was I down 19 pounds, but people noticed. I was constantly being asked if I had lost weight, and people were saying how good I looked. Since I trimmed up, I decided that I would wear a regular speedo this year at COMSA rather than a jammer – perhaps that was just out of vanity…

I also went from 10.3% body fat to 9.1% in the first 26 days!

The comments helped me stay on track. Aimee seemed happy with the results, but said we will keep track of it so I didn’t get too thin. In that same vein, my brother in law talked to my mother after seeing me for the first time in a few months and told her I looked too thin. Aimee said that family members are used to seeing me with more weight, not the athletic version of myself. I’m sure mom is going to have a cow when she comes down next weekend. (Hi mom!)

The only thing that I had an issue with (other than the occasional cookie) was some minor GI distress. The first two weeks I felt like crap and I got frequent cramps. After that, my energy levels stayed more consistent throughout the whole day, and I find that my recovery times come down quite a bit. (I had a sandwich after the challenge was over, and the glutens in the normal bread caused me some sore muscles the next day.) I still have some GI issues with the diet, the worst of which is a sudden urge to go – but that equates to nothing more than a bit of gas.

Over COMSA weekend, I threw some high-chain carbs back in the mix: I would have brown rice at dinner and oatmeal for breakfast. I found that this solved some of my GI issues, and also gave me energy through the whole weekend. On the down side of it, I picked up a few pounds and retained some water weight. On Monday morning, I was feeling a little sluggish. Right now, it’s about finding the right balance of Paleo and Carbs.

So, here’s my 30 days as a neanderthal as posted on the Nerd Fitness forums.

March 2nd

Day 1… stranded on a beach… nothing around except… coconuts.

Erm… ANYway…

So, the goals are:

• Try the Paleo Diet for 30 Days
• Core and Ab Workouts 3 times a week
• Learn my Tai Chi Chuan forms
• Drink only Water

All other workouts I’m somewhat forced to keep on top of, since I am working under a triathlon coach toward Arizona IronMan in November. Also – all of my workouts can be seen at, well… here. I will post measurements and a picture later on tonight, but I did actually start yesterday.

DAY 1

4 Mile recovery run. Thrashed my legs on Saturday on the 10 Mile Distance run, and discovered that Vibrams might not be so good for long distance running. Started Paleo – didn’t even cheat. Convinced that peanut butter cups at the super market are mocking me. Watched both workouts on the beginning Tai Chi DVD. Want to start out on this DVD so I can decide if I want to start taking courses.

Huzzah!

March 4

I’ve been holding fast to the paleo diet. It hasn’t been a huge issue to do it, other than all of the cravings. I found out that Larabars are paleo, as they only have fruit, nuts and dates in them – but I have to really resist the urge to have too many of them or they give me a stomach ache.

For coffee, I have been doing very well in staying off of it. (I had to come in early this morning, day 4, and had to deal with our creative director from out of town. I had probably about 1/3 a cup of brew, black. It doesn’t say you technically CANT have coffee, but I’m the sort of person that loads it up with soy milk and sugar free flavorings. Other than that, it’s been all water this week an orange juice on morning 2.

Since I started Paleo, though, I’ve noticed I’ve been feeling weak. Yesterday I got some stomach cramps, so I left work two hours early and took a nap before swim practice. I considered, for a passing moment, giving it up and going back to the blood type diet. (Part of what kept me going was this article. Might as well try, right?) I felt fine after the nap, but I had almost zero energy for my swim. I came home, had a sweet potato (within my window – I’m doing Paleo for Athletes…) a sizable top serloin, and a mountain of Broccoli, carrots, and asparagus. What can I say? I’m sick of salad greens. I felt so much better after that.

I haven’t had a chance to do core specific workouts yet, but the last two swim workouts have been either butterfly or Individual Medley (IM) workouts (our coaches are sadists) – and fly is uber good for your core. So… it counts. I will get into the gym this weekend for something more concentrated.

I regret to say I still haven’t done my measurements, but I do have some weight statistics:
Saturday: 212.6 lbs. (Hey, I’m 6′9″…)
Yesterday: 209.4 lbs.

I will do my measurements and picture tonight before my run. I’ve been in my training session since January 1, so my weight and measurements have been all over the place to start with.

The m00se is l00se in the hizzy.

March 5

Here are my starting images. My normal camera ran out of battery, so I had to use a cheap HD Pocket camcorder. It gets the point across. And yeah – I’m wearing triathlon shorts. Sorry for showing off so much skin. The antlers: it’s a long-running gag. No, I’m not a fury.

The picture of the pirate and I is from a little over four years ago. I was 287 lbs. then. That is where I’ve come from to today, which I’m very pleased with. College, depression, and untold numbers of vanilla breves were unkind to me. (Breve is a latte, only with half and half.) I’m surprised I don’t have heart disease from that much dairy. But back then, I decided I had to do something before it was too late, before I started having chronic health issues.

Then: size 42 jeans (38 inseam)
Now: size 34 jeans

March 5

Day 4 and 5

Weight this morning was 206.6 – so I guess I am dropping some weight, for sure. I’ve noticed that I am starting to get leaner. Last night I did a five mile cadence-based training run with no real issues. I’m feeling my energy levels starting to come back up a bit, and I felt great for yesterday’s run, other than a few small things.

From yesterday’s training log:

OK, so bonehead here forgot his heartrate strap tonight. I did the whole five and felt the tempo for where I’m normally at as far as HR, but I was probably running a little on the high side. Feet were mostly okay, the top of the right foot was a little sore, I think it’s the metas this time.

The legs were okay, although the calves were tightening up a bit on the last mile. I was getting pretty beat by the last cadence set. I feel like I’ve got some more energy than I have in the last few days. Tonight, I took a liter of home made sports drink (Water, pinch of mineral sea salt, one packet of EmergenC) I’ve also been drinking water all day. Ate a sweet potato in my recovery window, had a well balanced dinner with salad greens, two hard boiled eggs, some mixed nuts and dried fruit, a chicken breast, and a little cauliflower with carrots. (Thank goodness for George Foreman and his grill.)

A pair of older ladies stopped me on the way out of the gym, and one of them asked if I was a dancer. (Is that a good thing?) They said it was a joy to watch me run, so I hope that means my form is getting better? It made my day.

Friday is my day off, so other than diet, nothing special to report.

March 6

Forgot to post my stats and measurements, so here they are.

Age: 28
Height: 6′9″
Weight: 207.4 lbs
Waist: 33 1/2″
Hips: 41 3/4″
Pant size: 34/38
Neck: 15 3/4″
Shoulders: 47″
Chest: 39 1/2″
Bicep: 12 1/2″
Forearm: 10 1/2″
Thighs: 24″
Calves: 16 1/2″
Body Fat (3 Point Measurement): 10.3% (LBM 84)

Today I had a 3200 Meter swim this morning, and I had an 8 and a half mile run this afternoon. Nothing like destroying your legs on a beautiful Colorado afternoon. Hurts so good. After the run, I realized I didn’t have any sweet potatoes cooked, and I needed a high glycemic carbohydrate – I couldn’t wait for an hour for one to cook, so I had a bowl of oatmeal. (There are worse things I could have cheated with.) I also had a small cup of coffee to help bring my body temperature up.

This morning I was up a pound or two from yesterday. I burned about 1800 calories on the run this afternoon, so I’m sure I lost it by now. I will have to weigh tomorrow to see if I’m back down. (I take my measurements in the AM)

Last night we went to the movies and went out for dinner. I had a turkey burger wrapped in lettuce (instead of buns) and I did indulge in a few french fries. (They were cooked in sunflower oil. It was an all natural all organic burger joint called Larkburger.) At the movie, I got a bag of paleo-safe trail mix, and I also had a few squares of 80% Cacao chocolate with dried cherries and almonds in it.

Moose has to munch, ya know?

March 8

Day whoosherwhatsits… (7, I guess…)

Boulder was calling my name. 45 mile bike ride around the Rez and through St. Vrain, and nice dry roads to do it on. It was supposed to be in the 50’s by 11, and when I got to the Rez to park, it was only 41. I threw on my leg warmers and hit the road. This was a “zone 2″ workout, so I couldn’t go very fast. Hills were especially sucky, because I had to go up them really, really slow to keep my HR down. (Then going downhill, my Garmin was squeaking at me that I wasn’t working hard enough. Alas, Garmin’s a harsh mistress…)

Started to bonk toward the end – legs were fried from the run. I only made it 41 and a half of the 45 assigned miles – and Boulder has some brutal false flats on the course. You can check out the workout here. If you check out the Map and Graphs sections, there is some really cool data there. During the workout, I had a watered down bottle of Hammer Heed – which restores glycogen levels, two bottles of water, a gel packet, and a Larabar. I know that most of this is not paleo safe, but I have to train with the items I’m going to use on the course.

I didn’t go into aero position down St. Vrain since it’s still pretty early in the season – I didn’t know how the roads would be, and there were about a quarter of the normal about of cyclists on the road that there are in the summer. It would have been a few moments, had something happened, that someone would stumble onto my body. I capped out at 34 here – at the Boulder Half last year, with a disc wheel and a Hed 3-spoked carbon wheel, I topped out at 45. (It’s scary, sometimes. I get full-bike wobble going this fast on normal spoked wheels. I can only do this on my carbons.) (A picture of my baby…)

So… Morning of Day 8, I’m sitting at 207-point-not on the scale. Not as big a loss as I would have thought, considering a loss of 1800 calories on Saturday’s run and 2800 on yesterday’s bike… but it’s working. I’m also eating a bit more than I was before I started this.

Run tonight. Tai Chi in the morning. Full-contact kitchen cleaning after the run — bring your football pads, it’s going to get ugly.

**

I’d like to note that this diet is messing with my gut a little bit. I’m trying to hold steady, as I’ve heard paleo has a tendency to do that. I’m also now on a regiment of pills for HCFC regulation to help protein digestion. After my last blood workup, my doctor said I have a minor HCFC deficiency, and that I should be taking these before I eat each meal. (I’m okay with supplements in the morning, but I am horrible at taking things before I eat, because I always forget.)

March 9

Weight on morning of day 9: 206.9 lbs. (WOW! Down a tenth! Book the cruise!) I haven’t been down this far, though, since my senior year of High School.

Back then, when I started swim team, I went from 235 to 190 in the space of a month. We were swimming 5 hours a day then. I went back up to 230 over the season in muscle gains. (Mom thought I had an eating disorder, although I was eating three helpings of everything at dinner. Hey, 5 hours in a pool will do that to a guy.)

I am noticeably leaning out, especially in the arms and legs. Still can’t see much of a change in the belly.

If this keeps up, I will probably be out of the Clydesdale category before you know it. (Triathletes over 200 lbs.) Not that it makes much of a difference, since I try to keep in Age Group categories instead.

Last night I did a five mile recovery run at the indoor track at the rec center. It’s a soft linoleum floor, which is nice to run on when you can’t run a trail. I actually counted my laps last night, and I found out that my Garmin Footpod is off by 1/10th of a mile per mile when used indoor without satellite tracking. I guess my stride has changed significantly since I started running. The footpod is great for tracking cadence on outdoor runs, so it does have a good purpose.

I went out to lunch with a coworker yesterday and had an Ahi Tuna salad and a bowl of Red Pepper and Tomato Soup. The soup, I now realize, probably had dairy in it, and I didn’t even think about it. The salad was totally safe, although the Ahi seemed a little fishy. (You know Colorado and its vast oceans full of marine life…) I don’t think this restaurant is serving sushi grade Ahi.

Last night I had left over steak, some garlic and dill mashed potatoes, and a medley of Broccoli, Carrots, and Asparagus. The potatoes were within my workout window. I didn’t get the kitchen cleaned, nor did I have the time to do Tai Chi. My body was telling me I needed the sleep, and I know better than to try to push through it when I’m working out this hard.

This morning, I am having a cup of coffee. The reason is because I have a pretty monstrous headache this morning. If I can bypass the Tylenol, then coffee is a necessary evil. Throw in a little almond milk, and voila! I know that almond milk is a little bit processed, but it’s helping with my sweet tooth a little, and I’m using it to cook with. It’s nice in scrambled eggs, and you can find the organic stuff at whole foods, which is minimally processed. Great source of protein. Lasts a month in the fridge. If you’re doing oats as an adjunct part of your diet, vanilla almond milk and raisins are awesome in oatmeal, as well.

I think I’ll shut up, now.

March 11

Day 9, 10 and part of 11

Nothing really exciting happened on Tuesday, diet-wise. I went and saw my kinesiologist for an adjustment, thereby missing a swim practice.

Yesterday, I was up to 208.2, but I think it’s just the average body weight fluctuation. This morning, I was at 208.8 lbs. o.o Well, I wasn’t expecting to lose much weight, anyway. I don’t really need to. Ran last night, but my joints were sore from the adjustment I had Tuesday night. I think the muscles were trying to readjust to everything being set right. I had the only paleo-safe chipotle option I could think of… steak salad less the beans and rice, fajita veggies and guac. (It may or may not be paleo, I have no clue, but avocado is full of good fats, and Chipotle has a good track record of healthy food.)

Tonight I have a team swim. Wednesdays are usually one of my masters swim nights, but the team is trying a recruitment drive for the ladies – which our team is sorely lacking. Last night was a gals-only swim, so I had to swap my nights out.

Missed breakfast this morning because of work. At lunch, I had a Caesar salad – I needed something quick and I forgot to bring my lunch. No croutons or cheese, but I did have chicken and a little dressing. So, apparently my local Noodles and Co. is adding Ladybug as a salad topping. The little guy hitched a ride on my salad, and I almost ate him. Don’t know if it’s considered luck to find a Ladybug in your lunch, but I let him outside. Considering I probably rattled his brains pretty good when I shook the salad in the serving bowl to disperse the dressing, I’m surprised he was alive at all.

March 15

Happy Monday, fellow Nerdlings!

It’s been a long weekend, from the feel of it, but it went by way too fast. And guess what? I didn’t get any housework done like I thought I would. (Suppose I should get on that before I’m taken hostage by cockroaches and smuggled into a foreign country. Well… it’s not THAT bad…)

Weight totals from this weekend are pretty interesting:

• Friday: 207.6
• Saturday Morning: 206.8
• Saturday, post run: 204-point-not
• Sunday: 206.6
• Monday: 206.3

Fridays are my day off, although I did opt to do some Tai Chi in the afternoon. My dog was very confused and thought we were playing, so it was very hard to concentrate. Next time, I think he’s going to hang out in the yard for an hour.

Saturday I had my masters swim in the morning and a 12 mile run in the afternoon. (Data, graphs, GPS and notes here…)It was a heartrate zone 2 run, which is pretty slow – it’s more like a jog – but it helps train endurance. Every 2 miles, I did a set of cadence drills: 3 x (1 min cadence @ 85 + rpm, 1 minute recovery). The first set of cadence I was averaging in the mid 6-minute mile, the second I got down to the low 6’s to 5:45 m/m, after that, each one went down the more tired I got. My coach wants me to race inside of a 90 rpm cadence. For IronMan? That’s gonna hurt!

The park is supposed to be 2.9 miles around on the running path, so since that would be four laps, on my last lap I back-tracked 4/10ths of a mile so that I would come out even. Makes sense, right? Well, Apparently I would have needed to backtrack a whole mile. The park data is off: it should have read 2.74 miles around. I was back at the car, and I didn’t want to run another 6/10ths, so I said screw it and stretched out.

The coach likes my post-run ritual of oatmeal for complex-chain carbohydrates, so I think oatmeal and brown rice are staying in for my longer workouts. Saturday night our swim team had a St. Patrick’s day party, so we had corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. (It was still in my workout window…) Daphne, my totally awesome Australian training partner, was eyeballing the chocolate cake. There are four of us on the team, including her and myself, that are doing the 30 day paleo thing. She justified it by saying “if a caveman saw a piece of chocolate cake, he’d eat it!” (To which I replied “I’ll show you how a random piece of chocolate cake on St. Patrick’s Day paperware shows up in the paleolithic era if you show me the Burrito Bush that Chipotle picks their burritos off of.) The general consensus was, since it was a special occasion, that we would each cheat and have a piece.

Sunday, I was supposed to have a 50 mile ride, but I woke up and it was snowing. Rather than spin in the kitchen, I threw in a load of laundry and went to the coffee house to study a bit from my ACSM manuals.

Been keeping up on the water just fine. I will have a cup of coffee saturday morning between swimming and running to give me a little bit of a boost. (I also had one yesterday afternoon since I was sitting there, but on the other hand, I’ve cut my coffee consumption down by more than 85% or so)

You’ve just been moosed!

March 17

Yesterday, Woke up and weighed myself: came in at 206.2. This morning, I was down to 204.8. If things keep going the way they are, I’ll be down in the 190’s pretty quick. I don’t know if I should be that low, I’m getting pretty lean as it is. Perhaps more carbohydrates will help.

Determine your ratio by dividing your weight in pounds by your height in inches. Competitive male triathletes are generally about 2.1 to 2.3 pounds per inch. High-performance women triathletes are usually in the range of 1.8 to 2.0. Men who exceed 2.5 pounds per inch and women above 2.3 are best advised to find flat race courses if the goal is to be competitive. Hilly courses favor lower-body-mass athletes. But high-mass athletes actually have an advantage on a flat bike course; all the more so if the wind is blowing. For example, the 200-pound athlete mentioned above comes in at 2.5 pounds per inch and races most competitively on flat to rolling courses.

Doing some research on the matter – as to what my weight should be as a triathlete, I came across this training peaks article.

204 lbs / 81 in… carry the pi… I am at a ratio of 2.5 pounds per inch. It’s not like I’m carrying a ton of extra bulk, really. 171 to 186 pounds would put me in the 2.1 to 2.3 ratio. There are a lot of different charts out there that tell you ideal body weight. A few I found said I should be between 185 and 226, one said I should be between 209 and 255. Assuming it was 185 and 226, at a ratio of 2.3 p/i, I would be on the extreme low side of my ideal weight. 2.1 ratio and I would be considered underweight. 171 lbs. puts me at a BMI of 18.3, which is, in fact, underweight. I’ve seen myself at 190 (back in high school) – and I was scary thin.

So, I find myself wondering if I should strive for a 2.2 or 2.3 ratio for competition. I’m definitely not starving – I’m eating well (slash / a lot) and I’m shedding weight.

One thing about weight lifting is it’s hard for triathletes (especially those silly Mooseses who are training for IronMan) to keep muscle mass. That much cardio just kills any muscle gains you make. Seriously — my butt is almost gone. I guess this means that I will really have to concentrate on muscle gains in the core and the legs, while maintaining enough arm tone for the swim.

I really don’t want to start the Michael Phelps diet.

Seriously, how did his mom keep him fed before he got all the endorsement deals?

Should also add that I had a run before swim practice last night. There was nothing good feeling about this run – everything below the waist was aching and sore. I did a 5 mile recovery run on Monday that wasn’t horrid, but I started to hurt the last two miles. After last nights run, I went to swim practice. The pool was cloudy for some reason, and it was so murky it was like swimming in a lake. There was _that_ much chlorine in the pool. (My friend’s eyes were so shot, he looked like Fred from Scooby Doo.) My legs felt a lot better after the swim.

When I got home, my new running shoes were waiting for me. While the Vibrams 5 Finger shoes are really, really awesome – they hurt for running long distances.

March 19

Yesterday and this morning both I came in right at 205.4 pounds. How’s that for a little irony? I took a night on Wednesday off so I could clean. The chlorine at the temporary pool was really bad, and one of my swim coaches told me if you can’t see the bottom of the pool, then you shouldn’t be swimming in it.

The Tri coach didn’t have my run workout up and posted it later in the day, so I missed it; but I did get a good dry-land workout in with the team. There was a good bit of Pilates, Yoga, and plyometrics. Following the workout last Thursday, we workshopped technique last night at practice.

This weekend, the snow is going to be a major pain in my rump. We’ve got about 6 inches of wet snow that’s not sticking to the roads, but tomorrow it’s only supposed to be in the thirties. The roads won’t be dry enough for me to cycle on Sunday, so I might be cycling in the kitchen.

Diet is going fine. Might have some Pho for lunch, since it’s so cold out.

March 22

The whole weekend I have been hovering around 206 pounds. Swimming and Running on Saturday (of course it snowed on Friday night…) I ran 58 and 1/2 laps at the local indoor track. Talk about monotonous. Swimming was fairly simple, seeing as we were having a flip-turn clinic for the upcoming state championships. Sunday, I was supposed to ride, but I was feeling lazy and cleaned the kitchen I didn’t get to last weekend.

Recovery week this week, so mileage goes down. Next week, I’m out of base-build and we go into full training.

One thing I will give this paleo diet: the return of the 6 pack. This is the first time I’ve seen any portion of it since high school. Welcome back, old friend. :3

March 24

Yesterday I was at 204.5 when I weighed myself, and today I was at 205.2. Seems this is where my body likes to hover right now, but then again, it’s a rest week.

Monday nights run felt awesome – I got out to the park with the new shoes. No foot or leg pain, and I was wishing I could have gone another lap. The coach said just do an easy run (no HR zones) so I ran at a comfortable pace, which averaged to an eight and a half minute mile and a cadence between 75 and 80 RPM. These shoes are changing my stride length and technique from what it was when I was running in the vibrams, but I think for the better. As much as I want to love the vibrams, these $50 Nike track waffles are feeling much more natural to me.

Paleo is producing some noticeable results; people on my swim team have started asking me if I’m slimming down. Just that is an incentive to keep on with the diet, and now, looking back at older pictures, I’m noticing differences in the way my body looks, and the way I hold myself. I’m craving more workouts. My mom is going to freak out next time she sees me; she thinks that triathletes are too skinny, and now I’m looking more the part. (She saw me reading a Triathlon magazine with Mattie Reed on the cover and asked me about it. She thinks he needs to eat something, to which I replied “As much as he trains, he probably eats as much as you, me and [my stepdad] in one sitting.”)

Had a few small cheats on the diet: an oatmeal raisin cookie and a bowl of Chicken Pho – which has rice noodles in it. At least the cheats are healthier options than, say, a pack of Reese’s peanut butter cups, or a few slices of pumpkin pie. I guess we all need our pig-out food once in a while, as long as we’re not justifying eating them on a very consistent basis. Feeling great without coffee.

I’ve only done Tai Chi twice this month. It’s so hard to balance the time aspect of it all. If I had some time to clean the house, it might really help. Skipped over a few bike sessions this week, too – which I don’t feel good about, but the coach tells me as long as I’m hitting everything in July as far as workouts, we’ll be fine. If not, she’s coming over and kicking my butt. Weather’s partly to blame; these spring snow storms are a bummer, and there’s only so much spinning one can do in the kitchen before he goes nuts. (The sweeping vistas that are my kitchen sink…) I will be so happy when spring gets here, and the weather here in Colorado stops being so bi-polar. (We had all four seasons in the span of an hour yesterday. It was crazy!)

March 25

Alright! Ebbing down toward the 100’s slowly; this morning the scale told me I was at 203.7.

Tonight, I’m doing a brick, even though this is supposed to be a rest week. 3 Mile run, half an hour of strength, and an hour and a half of swimming – all followed by leftover pot-roast from last night. :3

Meant to wake up and do Tai Chi, but the body was tired.

March 26

Scale this morning was sitting at 203 point not. Getting closer and closer. I was a little bit curious this morning and did a quick 3 point calliper pinch-test, and I was sitting right at 9.1% body fat and LBM of 182, which is down from 10.3% and LBM 184 when I started at the beginning of this. 26 days, and I’m down 1.2% body fat? I’m down for that.

But I realized that I don’t have enough muscle built up underneath to make it look good – so for the time being I’m just skinny when I’m standing up. I’m at a “desired” LBM according to my ACSM manual for my weight, height and body fat, but I really want to get these abs to stick out while I’m working out so much. I still have some loose skin around my belly from losing weight, so when I sit it tends to make my belly look somewhat fat. I guess It’s inspired me to do some major work in the strength training arena, and I’m willing to bet my coach won’t object.

Dryland training last night was awesome. The swim coach killed my abs, so I was sore for the entire swim workout. But it burns so good.

Followup

I forgot to post my final results on the forum, as well as my measurements. (I will post them later as an edit.) My final weigh in was at 198 pounds for this challenge, which is the first time I’ve been under 200 since high school. I did fall flat on a few of my goals, but now I’m in a better place to start pursuing some of them.

I plan on keeping with this diet throughout the summer and over this training season. Aimee is going to have me do a month of strict paleo and a month of strict ERFYT to see which one bodes better with my body. It will be interesting to see how the diets work at my present athletic capacity.

Finally, here’s a picture from COMSA last weekend, just to show how much I’ve trimmed up. Don’t worry, though, the mustache is a joke.

Getting ready for my 1650

On the block and ready to go.

One novel later, you’ve finally been moosed!

It’s not as easy as it sounds.

This past Friday, I turned the big 2-8; it felt like something inside me changed. Maybe for the better, but there’s this stoic feeling that came with it, and just realizing that I’m not a kid anymore, or a young adult, really. It was the realization that I’m a man, and that nothing except my youth is out of reach. Perhaps it was knowing that my body will start changing soon if I don’t keep on top of things. Give it a few more years, and my chest is going to look like someone nailed some fried eggs to a tree.

Hey, I still am, and always will, remain a goofball.

It’s almost as strong as reaching that 10,000 day old point in your life. Maybe it was just a delayed reaction to that – not the third-life crisis, but the 10,000-and-some-change-day feeling of rejuvenation and reinvention.

Last night, I went back to swimming for the first time since the Gold Rush Invitational meet. There were many new faces at the pool, and mysteriously, a new water slide had managed to bolt itself down to the shallow end. Strange. But as inactive as I’ve been, I felt great in the water, and I had a phenomenal workout.

Three of these things go together…

I’m always looking for new ways to help my running along. Like I’ve always maintained, I really suck at running. I mean… I really, really suck at running, and it’s the one part of my race that’s holding me back. The 5430 Long Distance tri wouldn’t have been bad, had it not been for my knees.

I don’t know what I was looking for, but I came across Chi Running. This opened up a few other doors, and eventually brought me to the concepts of POSE method running and barefoot running. I really came to love the thought of low-impact running, so I thought I’d investigate it.

Fugly!

The Fingers Behind the Toes

The first and probably most bass ackwards thing I did was get the shoes. (Yes, before the book…) When I initially read about POSE, it said that one would need a certain kind of shoe, since one doesn’t heel strike, but lands more on the front part of one’s foot.

New Balance had some, but they were way too wide for my foot. Wide shoes on a thin foot tend to start looking like elf shoes after a while – the toes curve up in all sorts of ways unattractive. Newtons didn’t seem to come in my size. Lo and behold, I discovered a small anomaly. Well, rediscovered it.

I’ve seen the Vibram Five Finger shoes before, and I’d been curious about them, but the sizes always seemed too small on their website. When I reread the sizing chart, I realized there was a different method for measuring the foot since they fit so snugly.

I went to REI in downtown Denver to see if I could find a pair that would, per chance, fit my large hooves. Surprisingly, they did have a pair of KSO’s.

Gorilla Feets!

Initial thoughts: The first time it was hard to get the toes in (although it’s gotten easier.) When I walked over their little rock trail mock-up in the store, you could really feel yourself walking over every stone and rock. The bigger ones weren’t that bad, but it was the smaller, sharper rocks that you could really feel. These are listed as a light trekking shoe – they do have a set called the KSO Treks, which are specifically for the purpose of trail exploration and come with a thicker sole. Also, the KSO’s are a little more snug than I thought they would be, but not at the expense of being uncomfortable or tight. It was like wearing a glove on my feet. Oh, and they are COMFORTABLE.

One thing I will caution would-be purchasers of the Vibrams shoes: you will get a LOT of strange looks, and you will get stopped quite a bit with people asking questions. It’s almost like when I first got my TitanFlex – but I still get a lot of questions about that, as well.

A BOOK!

The Mystery Machine Owner’s Manual

Next day, I got the POSE Triathlon Technique book. I read that one shouldn’t really run in the Vibrams until they were broken in, and your feet were used to them. I started reading into it a bit and looking at some of the drills that comes with it. They seem solid and a good way to build up your legs to get used to this new running style.

So, last Wednesday night, I was thinking it MIGHT be a good idea to hit the trail and run for a while. I’d watched several videos of people doing the technique, I combed over the diagrams and whatnot. I didn’t even stop to think that running on the front of your foot might take some different muscles than you’re used to.

A little ouch...

I got three quarters of a mile before I started to feel the burn. By the time I turned around and got home, my calves were en fuego! Not to mention, I got a blood blister on my big toe – which oddly enough doesn’t hurt at all. (It really looks worse than it is.) I think that my big toes are so callused that I couldn’t even feel it if I was walking on heavy grit sand paper. (The blister also wasn’t caused directly by the shoes. I stepped on a little rock while I was running.)

Well, running a new method before my birthday was probably a really, really stupid idea. The next day I was limping around because my calves ached so bad. For my party, the plan was to go out dancing at a night club, and I could hardly walk. Friday day it seemed a little worse.

Tape That Back Together!

I remember one of my co-workers telling me about some tape they were handing out at the Colfax Marathon, which was the same stuff that Kerri Walsh wore at the Olympics when she dinged up her shoulder. I went down to the Sports Castle to find a roll to see if it helped, and while I was there, I also picked up a CSU jersey for IronMan. (The booth that I’m assigned to is doing a sports theme.)

I found a video online on how to tape up a calve, and after I took my shower, I limped to the living room and taped up my leg. The one thing about the KT Tape is that it comes in pre-cut strips – sized for average sized people. Moose sized people might have an issue with this, so I’d suggest finding one of the off brands like Rock Tape that comes in a full roll. If you’re regular, then don’t worry about it too much.

So, funny thing… hobble in, walk out. Putting the tape on wasn’t like wrapping your leg or anything, it was just flexing your foot, taping it on with a little stretch, relaxing and rubbing the tape to enable the adhesive. The stuff works surprisingly well! After I sat down for any length of time, however, my muscles would get a little tender again, but getting back to standing up and moving around again didn’t take nearly as long as it would have without the tape.

Either way, I’m keeping a roll of it in my kit at all times! One never knows when it’ll come in useful. Better yet, you can put it on in such a way to simulate compression socks, and it costs a lot less! If you can, get a few rolls to keep on hand for your training season!

So good a Caveman would eat it…

Real quick: I want to throw a shout-out to Steve at nerdfitness.com. I was talking to my friend Bryce about the whole POSE / Barefoot running thing, and he found a link to an article that Steve wrote about running in Vibrams. While I was there, I read a few articles on his blog and found an article on the Paleo Diet.

I do tout the Blood Type diet quite a bit, but I’m at a point, especially with an IronMan on the horizon, that I need to investigate an alternate way of getting good nutrition. ERFYBT really goes bananas on eating soy products for the A Blood type, but my good friend Dr. Dan has been telling me to keep them at bay.

Researching some of the principles of the diet, it does a lot of what ERFYBT does: no wheats or highly starchy foods or dairy. Paleo one-ups it by saying there should be almost no grains what-so-ever, and it’s okay to eat lean cuts of meat. Pretty much, anything that a caveman could stab, catch, or pick off a bush is fair game. (Nuts, however: nothing that has to be cooked before being consumed, like Cashews. Also, no legumes.)

Steve said that he’s lost body fat and water weight with it: as he says, he’s skinny, but shredded. The author of the book, Loren Cordain, talked Joe Friel, author of the Triathlete’s Training Bible, into trying the diet for a month. According to Joe, he said he didn’t think it was going to work, and that he’d be able to go back to his old way of eating. After two weeks, his body was dragging, so he thought he had proven his point. Then, he started getting more energy.

With the help of Cordain, Friel helped co-author The Paleo Diet for Athletes – which is geared especially toward endurance athletes.

I’ve been kind of poking around with the general principles of the diet – cutting out the grains where possible – but I figured with Thanksgiving looming on the horizon like a… doomed… laden pelican (je ne sais quoi) it probably wasn’t the best time to throw myself into a new diet. But in starting it a bit, I have dropped a little bit of my stubborn tummy fat, and I’ve dropped about a kilo.

New layout of newness…

I know I haven’t had this site online for long, but I’m planning on changing the layout and functionality of this site. I’m going to integrate a Tumblog style to this, and therefore, I will be able to post one-topic posts without having to make these long, verbose posts every week or two. Keep on the lookout for that.

Hopefully, this will also help keep everyone informed better on how my training is going, or how the diet’s coming along. I’ve signed up for Training Peaks, so I’m hoping I should be able to provide some cool training graphs as well.

m00se

One in Three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. 12 Million Americans are currently living with cancer, and within the next year or so, it will be the leading cause of death in the world. 1.5 Million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer next year.

These are the facts. What can we do to change it?

1. Regular Cancer Screenings
2. A healthier diet with little to no refined sugars, processed foods, and chemicals.
3. Increased vegetable consumption. Eat much, MUCH less meat. Eat red meat sparingly.
4. Diet and Exercise go a long way. Studies find that obese people are at a higher risk for cancer.

Consider that most people will go broke trying to combat cancer. Change is in our hands, and something needs to be done.

Think about it.

* For those of you who were worried about Hummer going bosoms-up, don’t worry – they were recently acquired by Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company.

But for once, this story of excess doesn’t involve the US. It involves the worlds largest lumbering software giant, Microsoft, and fast food giant Burger King – in Japan. Most of my normal readers know how much I detest fast food, and this just strengthens that. Bigger is not always better.

Ugh...

Imagine staring down the barrel of this bad baby! When I first saw it, my first thoughts were along the lines of Dear God! What is this monstrosity?! That was immediately followed by Prepare the O.R. STAT! We’re going to be having a few quad-bypasses coming this way!

This isn’t a legitimate food offering, this is a challenge – a slap in the face. Let’s get the stats down:

You are looking at a 1.7 pound, 7 patty, 2,120 calorie, ¥ 777 ($8.50, and that’s for the first 30 daily customers… after that, it’s around $15), Godzilla-sized whopper (let’s redefine the meaning of the word WHOPPER). THIS is your entire… ENTIRE daily fat, calorie, sodium, and protein intake in one sitting!!

I think I just threw up in my mouth.

So, someone over at MicroSoft thought it would be a good idea to go over to Burger King and say, “We have this operating system coming out – lord even knows if it’s going to work right – but we need something that will kill our end users before they even get to turn on their new Windows 7 powered computers…”

I think what was worse was seeing CNN’s very petite Kyung Lah “sinking her teeth into a calorific promotional deal.” And man, she ate the WHOOOOOOOOLE thing, all while the big dude next to her sat there and cringed. I crap you negative!

So, onto the letter part of it:

Dear MicroSoft and Burger King,

For the love of God and all that is holy – please don’t do any more cross-promotional advertisements. Ever. There is no good reason in the world to have a 2000+ calorie burger on your menu, even if it’s only for seven days.

Computer and television use already promote a sedentiary lifestyle, so you don’t need to cross-market your latest opperating system with a chunk of meet capable of clogging someone’s arteries in a single bite. You make software. Shame on you!

And Burger King! You should know better! I mean… YUCK!

You have been **erp** uhhh…. m00sed.

(Sweet Jesus! Who would eat that!?! God help us all if this ends up in the states.)

Energy Drinks…

I’ve talked a bit about energy drinks and the whole HFCS thing. It seems now that those little 5 Hour Energy drinks you see everywhere are coming under fire. Not like they cause cancer or anything — more like scientists are wondering what the long term effects of this drink might be.

Part of the issue is that people are downing energy drinks like bottled candy. What ever happened to a good night of sleep and a nice strong cup of coffee in the morning? I would understand having a drink like this sparingly, like if you were under a deadline and needed a boost. But two or three of them a day is pretty extreme. (Yeah, this coming from the coffee addict. But there are other things in the drink other than caffeine.)

According to the article on CNN.com

“In moderation, it can give you energy. But the problem is people drink coffee, then take these energy shots, then down Red Bull, take Hydroxycut, and it is just too much in the body at one time,” White said.

The makers of 5-hour Energy agree. “There is no law against stupidity and there is always that person out there that is going to push the envelope and consume too many of them or combine our product with others, but we can’t really control that,” Sperber said.

I love it! “There is no law against stupidity…”

Now, there are some good things in the 5 Hour drink – Aminos, B Vitamins, etc… The thing is that if you are eating right, taking the right supplements, and getting plenty of sleep, one shouldn’t need this little “boost”. White raises a valid point: people are overdoing it by combining this product with other energy drinks, medications, and diet pills.

I find it funny that White mentioned Hydroxycut in this list. The FDA released a statement this past May that people should stop using the Hydroxycut line because it causes liver damage, and there is one related death to the product. This has all the tell tale signs of Ephedra and Trim Spa written all over it, and Trim Spa went out in a class-action blaze of glory after a law-suit and the death of their spokeswoman — the late Anna Nicole Smith (Death unrelated to Trim Spa, though.)

According to the article at CNN.com:

According to the FDA, last year, Iovate sold more than 9 million units of Hydroxycut products, which were distributed widely to grocery stores, health food stores and pharmacies.

“The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risks. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they experience symptoms possibly associated with these products,” said Dr. Linda Katz, interim chief medical officer of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Liver damage is rare, but patients who experienced problems were taking doses recommended on the product label, the FDA said. Symptoms include brown urine, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, stomach pain, itching and light-colored stools.

A little ugly truth about what the wrong sorts of suppliments can do to the body. And wouldn’t your first indication that you need to get your rump to the hospital be pissing brown gravy?

I had a friend in Florida who took an Ephedra based product to lose 15 pounds, which ended up poking holes in her heart. Now she has to take a medication which caused her to put on a lot of weight. The moral of the story: don’t trust a magic pill — the only thing that will take the pounds off is diet and exercise. Not a pill. (Be wary of these!!)

Bacon flavored what, now?

I think this bacon flavored thing has gone too far. Hmmmm… Bacon flavored bacon… That’s just too much bacon flavor. Yeah, people like the stuff – it is one of America’s favorite breakfast meats, especially now that it’s been known to piggy-back on America’s favorite Barbeque food: the triple patty baconator with cheese.

But I really think that this steps over the line a little bit.

Written in this article on Bakersfield ABC Channel 23:

Jessica Pounds, owner of the restaurant, said it’s all about experimenting.

“Playing around in the kitchen or when we’re making pastries, coming up with different flavor combinations and turning into ice cream.”

An experiment with a breakfast favorite has become a treat to many palates. “A friend of mine loves bacon on everything, so she had asked me to make bacon ice cream. So I had a home ice cream maker and I made it and thought it was a terrible idea. So she had me try it and after three days of tasting it I finally thought it was good,” said Pounds.

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.   Seriously! Bacon flavored ICE CREAM?

That was your Monday Minute, you’ve been m00sed, and I’m off to find some Bacon Flavored Pepto. Ugh.

Olympic dietician Bob Seebohar recommends this tasty looking oatmeal an hour before a competition or workout, and within 60 minutes after completion of workout or competition. The recipe uses a portable hot-pot to cook up the ingredients, and the ingredients are otherwise portable. Flax seeds for omegas, Blueberrys and Dark Chocolate Cocoa for anti-oxidants, Whey for protein, Oats for cholesterol-destroying carbs, and maybe even a banana for good measure.

I usually do an oatmeal when I wake up because it’s healthy and filling. This seems to sweeten the pot, no pun intended.

m00se

It's... a banana...

For the past year and some change, I have been an avid user and supporter of Dr. D’Adamo’s Eat Right for your Blood Type diet. Before that point, I’d always heard that there may be some truth and benefits to a diet of this kind.

Before I moved back to Denver, I went to a family reunion in Montana with my mom and my sister. (My sister and I fought like a pair of crotchety tomcats all the way there, but that’s beside the point.) When we got to the small hamlet where my parents grew up, there was something I noticed immediately about grandpa. He was standing up straighter, walking around more, and he had the sparkle back in his eye.

My grandpa has had his share of spills. He’s rolled down the mountain at some property he owns, fallen off a roof and landed almost on his head, etc. etc. He was in the army when he was younger than me, and screwed up his feet. When he’s up and about all day, his feet bother him a lot. And the time I saw him before the reunion, he was hardly able to walk, he was hunched over, and he’d just found out that he had somehow broken his C2 vertebrae in his neck and didn’t know about it until six years later when his neck started to get sore. He’s fine, though.

But what he said, when mom said how good he looked, was a little surprising. He said that he was looking better because he was seeing a nutritionist. Good nutrition, avoiding key foods, and he was standing up straight and walking around again like he was much younger. Mom had an appointment to see this lady, and so the next morning mom, grandma and I loaded into a van and drove to Butte.

She, like Dr. D, was into Kinesiology, although her method wasn’t necessarily applied, nor was it based in chiropractic. During my consultation, I found out that my ear piercing was sitting against my thyroid acupuncture pressure point. That’s why I haven’t worn an earring since. But, she started me on a diet that was based on Eat Right for your Blood Type.

I started losing weight, gaining energy, and I felt more focused than I had in years. I was fighting depression during that time, as well. When I started training, I started to lose even more weight.

There is one caveat to the diet: as a blood type A, soy was in my beneficial list. This is slightly problematic because I’ve always had slight issues with my endocrine system, especially my thyroid, and lately there have been reports that soy causes issues with these systems.

To put that into even deeper prospective, my sister has had, and is in remission from, thyroid cancer.

But alas, I lived by it. Took away the night-shades like it said, ate a lot of foods from the beneficial list, and I was feeling great. But these last few months, I’ve been feeling a little sluggish and have been having problems keeping up with myself. Last Tuesday at swim practice, I was starting to feel like I was going against a brick wall. This happened before in high school, and it was result from drained adrenal glands. It’s one of the most surreal experiences, because all of your energy just gets cut off. It’s not like exhausting yourself in a workout: it’s like… no soup for you!! You just get to a point where you can’t go anymore, and by all accounts, you should be able to eat the workout up and spit it back out without even blinking.

That’s why I initially called Dr. D last week. I’ve been seeing him since I was 13 – the first day of seventh grade, actually – and every time I would get sick, or feel my body start to get weak, he’d fix me right up. He kept me balanced during high school, until we moved to Wyoming. I think that’s why I had the adrenal issue: because he wasn’t close enough to get frequent adjustments.

So, we talked on Friday night a little about diet and nutrition. This Half IM is going to be taking my body through hell, and the last thing I want to do is bonk in the nutrition department. Basically, he told me not to diet, or starve my body. He’s always been skeptical about the ERFYT diet. He had me take a food allergen test, sent the results off to the lab, and said no more soy.

I haven’t had coffee in three days, especially one of my sugar-free vanilla soy lattes.

I was reading through some various triathlon blogs when I discovered a blog called Steve in a speedo?! Gross! He wrote about a product called Monkey Shake, which is a recovery drink with oats, whey protein, and several other ingredients. You mix it with a banana, some ice and milk, and you have a good recovery drink. Bananas aren’t on my list of acceptable foods, though. I’ve always liked bananas.

This got me doing some research.

Bananas, for those of us who aren’t monkeys or exactly “in the know”, are considered one of the super foods. It’s got a little bit of everything, and according to some sources, a banana a day, especially an hour before a workout (or as part of a recovery drink from a really intense workout) is really good for you.

Also, Dr. D’Adamo (who is NOT my Dr. D, by the way) isn’t very credible in the scientific community. One website went as far as to say that since D’Adamo limits sugars, starches, and other junk foods in the diet, you’re pretty much better off than where you were. Most of the foods on the beneficial list, with the exception of a few things like peanuts and soy, are very nutritious, but Dr. D’Adamo has apparently not proven his results or his findings.

I always had mixed feelings about the nay-sayers. I think that natural medicine is great, and that there is definitely something to eating right, and eating the right combination of foods. On the other side, there are quite a lot of people trying to make a quick buck off the diet market. Hey – I wasn’t on the diet to lose weight, I was on the diet to maintain health and nutrition.

So, I guess this is what I’m getting at: Dr. D says not to diet, just eat smart. Getting the right amount of carbs and proteins is vital to the athletic lifestyle, and if you’re exercising and eating smart, then you really don’t need to be on a diet, per se. His biggest concern was that I was getting the right nutrition and the right amount of essential amino acids so I don’t go catabolic. I’m thinking about eating whatever, as long as it’s sensible, not fried, low in starches and glutens, doesn’t contain red meat or much dairy. Increase the amount of vegetables I eat.

I really should start looking more into nutrition and then sit down and spend an afternoon with Dr. D. But as mom always says, you have to do what’s right for you, and find a middle ground.

She’s right. What works for one person won’t work for someone else.

The Moose

High fructose corn syrup is made of corn and okay in moderation? Well, yeah, corn’s in the name, but WOOOOWWWWWW! What is wrong with this country? HFCS has been attributed to obesity, diabetes, kidney issues, and insulin resistance.

I picked up these scary tidbits from Wikipedia:

The Corn Refiners Association has launched an aggressive advertising campaign to counter these criticisms, claiming that high fructose corn syrup “is natural” and “has the same natural sweeteners as table sugar”. Both sides point to studies in peer reviewed journals that allegedly support their point of view.

In his recent book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, journalist Michael Pollan claims that the way that the body processes HFCS is different from the way it processes the glucose and fructose found in other sugars. Digesting sucrose requires the production of an enzyme called sucrase, which breaks the bond between the glucose molecule and the fructose molecule. Because the body regulates its production of sucrase, it can only digest sucrose at a certain rate. Because digesting HFCS does not require sucrase, the rate at which it is digested is not similarly regulated by the body.

Any way you look at it, HCFS isn’t good for athletes. Well, it’s not good for most people. But here’s my point: recent studies show athletic performance is better when a bit of sports drink is consumed before, during, and after a workout. It helps restore glycogen stores, electrolytes (body salts) and helps keep your muscles from getting too damaged from an intense workout.

Your body needs water, and lots of it. When you’re an endurance athlete, your water needs a little something extra before, during and after your workout. One issue is that a lot of the sports drinks that you grab off the shelf contain a little something we like to call High Fructose Corn Syrup. (Take a peek at the label next time you reach for the drink that begins with a G and ends with “atorade”. HCFS is one of the main ingredients.)

So, what is one to do? Why is this being marketed to athletes as an acceptable sports drink. Yeah, when you’re in that race, the sweetner gives you a quick boost, but at what cost to your body? Your training?

This afternoon, while visiting my Kinesiologist Dr. D, I asked him about recovery drinks and sports drinks. There are some out there that are made without corn syrup – organic ones, if you will – however, these are far more expensive than the $1.99 32 oz. sports drink you get at the corner store. There are also many powders and supplements one can get, even salt tablets. The assortment is enough to make your head spin.

For a sports drink, Dr. D came up with a mixture of the following:

• 17 oz. Water
• 8 oz. 100% fruit juice, organic
• 1 1/2 – 2 tsp. Celtic Brand Sea Salt
• 2 Packets EmergenC Electro Mix

This will fill a 24 oz. water bottle. We’re still working on the formula a little bit, to see if this is optimum mixture for multi-sport. The juice offers the boost, the sea salt helps restore salt to your body, and Celtic Sea Salt comes with a lot of minerals. (Also, it’s not iodized salt.) The Electro Mix helps restore electrolytes, although looking at the serving suggestion information, I think one pack may suffice for a sprint or olympic distance event.

Dr. D said that I should probably take a sip between this and regular water over the course of the race. For the half IM, I think my method will be 1 gel and one self-made salt pill (with Celtic Sea Salt) in the transition, one at mid point of the bike ride, and again at the second transition. I will have two 24oz bottles of mixture in my saddle mounts, and water in my AeroDrink system. I will probably have to refill the water once or twice, but the mixture should hold me all 56 miles of the bike leg. Again, the salt intake might have to be adjusted, but I’m not sure.

I am going to train with this formula, so I will be sure to let you know how it works. Also, if you try this out, please drop me a line and let me know what you think. (Please remember, this is for educational purposes only. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor before trying this or any supplement. This is not offered as medical advice or a cure to anything. Stay properly hydrated when you work out. Yadda yadda yadda.)

Also – a good recovery drink idea:

• 25 oz. Water
• 1 1/2 – 2 tsp. Celtic Brand Sea Salt
• 1 Packet EmergenC 1000mg

With this mix, I might add one packet of Electro Mix, but then again, there is already a lot of potassium and magnesium in the 1000mg packets, so the salt should suffice. The 1000mg packets have a lot of vitamins in them, which are generally good for you.

So, there you have it: a sports and recovery drink with no HFCS, and it’s inexpensive to make. Just throw it all in your water bottle, and give it a good shake.

Moose

PS- If you have a recipe for sports drink, or have a preferred sports drink, please drop a comment and let us know!

Since I moved back to Colorado, started swimming and dieting again, I went from 283 pounds to 244 ish… kinda hovered around that area. Then I figured I should be doing some dry-land work to supplement my swimming. Build up my stamina. So I got a good pair of shoes and started running two times a week. The build in endurance was unreal. The fact that I’ve never been a runner and that I am forcing myself to get out of bed at 11 in the morning and run around the park is something beyond myself. (Hey, I get off work at 3AM, so I’m allowed to get up at 11. So there. ) After I started running, I gave up refined sugars and sweets (except for the occasional SnickerDoodle at Noodle’s) and lost another 10 pounds. I watch wheats and dairy very carefully, as the gluten affect my energy levels. (I ate speghetti the other day, and according to the eat right for your blood type diet, I’m not supposed to eat any night shades, like tomatoes. The next day, regardless of the carbo-loading, I had no energy.)

So, I’ve put 90 miles on Ubu so far in the three and a half weeks that I’ve had him. The bike is awesome, I feel the burn… FEEL THE BURN!!! And since I started that, I am now back to a respectable 225 pounds, which I haven’t been at since high school. My 38 size jeans are loose now. I have to get another notch in my belt. And for once, I feel comfortable in my skin.

Triathlon seems like a respectable goal. I never would have thought that it would be something that I would aspire to. So, I have a “before 30″ goal… While most people would strive to do at least one olympic distance triathlon or something cool before they reach 30, I want to do an IronMan Triathlon before I am 30. Not necessarily the Hawaiian IronMan, but an IronMan none-the-less. Just to do it all the way through, no worry about the time… just make it without bonking (the point at which you bottom out and have no more energy to go on). By no means to be a professional athlete, but just to fuckin’ do it, man!

Lately I’ve felt obnoxious and giddy, like a schoolboy.

On the downside, my writing and other aspirations have been put on hold, or have slowed down, due to health reasons. Mostly for building myself up… erm… yeah… but I am still trying to find time during the days to write. This weekend I wanted to get a lot done, but found myself totally distracted by the nice weather, my pet reindeer (the bike), and my significant other. I doubt I will get the second novel done and edited by the time I reach my 10,000th day, but I plan to keep trucking with it. Pushing myself with not only literary and artistic merits, but physical training as well is taking the rust off the cogs. Maybe I will have some time next week to sit down and get the outline completely done. I think the websites, on the other hand, will have to wait for a bit.

I got a serious case of the jim-bob leg. I should… go… do something.

Churrs!
m00se

SQUEEEE!