Over the Hill Friday's

Friday is my hill training day as I move my way toward the Twin Cities Marathon starting line.  Last week I did 4x up and down the "high" Smith Ave Bridge in St. Paul.  That sucker is about .4 miles long with a steep, steady climb and a heckuva view of the Mississippi River and downtown SP.  My job is nestled twixt some serious hills with the river on the south and the elevated Cathedral Hill neighborhood to the north.   Today I ran 3 laps of the course above.  Starting at the hospital, I ran up Ramsey Hill, (which climbs 110 feet in less than a 1/4 mile, seen in purple on elevation graph), then down Summit Ave past Cathedral, and returning on Kellogg Ave.  Ramsey Hill is a heart thump'n, "I'm fit'n'ta puke" kind of hill.  Running it 3 times over 5.5 miles was a new way to "do hills" for me.

There are only so many ways to build the VO2Max necessary for sustained marathon paces--unfortunately few workouts beat wrestling with gravity.  To those interested folk on my running teams, I'd love some company for what is likely to be the pukiest 40 minutes of your week.  Next Friday at 2:30.

Thoughts on a 100% Vegan Year

I have decided to move from a roughly 90% whole food, plant-based diet, to 100% for at least the next year.  Why?

Reason #1:  Food!

I love to eat food, alot.

I love to be healthy.  

Plants allow me to eat alot and be healthy.

Animal products make them mutually exclusive.  

Everything good that I need to feel great, run far, and be healthy is found in plants.

Meat and animal products offer nothing additional that I need, but instead add calorie density and excess animal protein--with NO fiber to digest it all.

Reason #2:  It's Working!

My body responds very well to a high carbohydrate*, low fat, high fiber, complete plant protein, high water diet.  I cannot eat animals for even 10% of my diet without feeling sluggish, bloated, and tired--my allergies get worse (rhinitis), mucous increases, I don't sleep as well, I crash in the afternoon, and I run like a sloth.  Do I have an abnormal sensitivity to animals?  I don't think so.  I had all sorts of symptoms before, but I thought they were normal, as many people I see at the hospital do.  Now I realize I don't have these common symptoms unless I eat animals.  

*Simple and complex plant sugars:  Fruit, fruit, fruit, fruit, fruit, brown rice, oats, beans, quinoa, Ezekiel Bread, etc.

Not refined sugars:  High Fructose Corn Syrup (which is in alot of stuff), granular sugar, "white" floury foods, etc.

Reason #3:  Feast not Famine

All other "diets" tend toward restriction and restriction never lasts.  This even applies to vegans that are carb-fobic and end up eating high oil/fat vegan pseudo-foods.  This high-fat, high-protein, high-calorie, low-carb approach inevitably leads to binges and throwing in the towel--like many "paleo" dieters who are under-carbed.  I want to stuff my face with foods that satisfy and nourish--nothing accomplishes this like tons of watery, sugary, fibery fruit!  Embracing the fruit.  Spiritually, a lifestyle with restriction and control at the core is not life-giving or sustainable.  Spiritual vitality is about abundance, freedom and feasting on goodness.  The only reason to count calories on a whole foods plant-based diet is to make sure you're getting enough calories.  Carb up, I say!  No one ever got fat eating fruit!

Reason #4:  So why not 90%?  Why the need to go 100%?

If my 10% non-whole foods intake right now was lean fish and egg whites, for example, I wouldn't be writing this post.  But it ain't.  I have a couple bad habits that in themselves aren't the end of the world, but they serve the function of keeping other incongruent practice's feet in the door.  For example, I drink a 20oz bottle of zero-calorie soda most days.  That false sweetness confuses my brain and body and makes it much easier to grab junk on impulse.  There is no purpose for the 10% of non-whole calories I eat many days.  For example, if I'm running at 2500 calories a day and I eat a 250 calorie Milky Way, 10% of my intake did nothing for my nutrition, but instead confused my otherwise thrilled and thriving brain and body.  I am 10% mal-nourished (mal=bad).

"So just eat junk once in a while as a treat.  Why you gotta be so hardcore?"

I can't.  "Once in a while" means nothing to an addicted brain.  "Once in a while" usually means, "whenever it is readily available."  And junk is everywhere.

I do well with goals and clear areas of sobriety.  Unlike alcohol, I need food.  The foods to me that are analogous to alcohol, that I can totally live without but don't control well when consuming "once in a while" are all the pseudo-foods and rich animal products....all of which are foot-held by seemingly unrelated habits like soda drinking.

Reason #5:  It's Really Working!

I've been contemplating a thorough, year long experiment for some time now, but the news I got today confirmed it!  Each year at Allina Health we get a full workup in partnership with Life Time Fitness.  This is required if we want health insurance and it can lower our premiums depending on our score.  Last year I scored 84, being deducted 8pts for high body fat % and 8 pts for high Triglycerides/fat in the blood.  I got the full dollar credit, but still this was alarming.

Today I got a score of 100!

• Weight dropped 37lbs from a lifetime high to my weight of 15 years ago
• Body fat dropped 8.7% into the low risk range.
• LDL/HDL Ratio dropped by .2:1
• Total Cholesterol dropped 25 points to 121
• BP dropped from 131/88 to 121/71
• Triglycerides dropped 109 points from 200 to 91!
• Glucose dropped from 87 to 80
• Resting Heart Rate dropped from 69 to 56

This will be an adventure.  I'm glad I have a base of knowledge, recipes, and habits that will make this last 10% doable.  Still, it will be a challenge, mostly socially I suspect.  But, what the heck, we only live once.  Enough writing.  Where's the watermelon!?

The Master Manipulator

I love massage, but I really love Thai massage.  Yesterday Kelly treated me to a trip to Northfield to get a 60 minute massage from Gam (Nangnuch Prathueng), a well respected Thai practitioner in Minnesota.  Holy cows was it ever awesome!  I've probably had 10 massages in Thailand and one other in MN from a Caucasian lady trained in Thailand--Gam's massage was the best I have ever had!  I can't believe I now have the full Thai massage experience 40 minutes from home, and for only 10x the price as in Thailand, ha.  I was fresh off a 5 mile trail run and my muscles were calling for some attention.

Ready for massage, Chiang Mai, 2011

I highly recommend making the trip to see Gam if you're from the Twin Cities and doing any measure of training.  She did wonders with a combination of pressure, stretching, and body manipulation.  If you've experienced typical American massage high up on a table, in your skivvies, with lotion/oil and mostly only the fingertips/hands of the therapist---then Thai massage will be an interactive, full-body, wrestling match of an experience.  Here is her website.

Indy's Most Famous Race!

Okay, well not as famous as that 500 mile car race held in 10 days.  But 20 CPE Supervisors "racing" a 5K at 7am is a close second in fanfare (i.e. zero fans).  After a long winter, it was good to feel some sticky humidity this morning as the sun came up in Indy.  I ran the 29th Anton Boisen 5K as part of our ACPE Annual Conference.

We had a scenic course along the White River.  I placed 3rd with a time of 21'34", behind my buddy Kyrre from Norway--he won the race by about a minute.  Those Norwegian military chaplains are hardcore, he runs like an Arctic Lynx and sweats ice drops.  I edged out my other buddy Stephan, but he was gaining quick....I mean I was dying fast....another 1/4 mile and I would've finished 4th for sure.


Stephan & Kyrre

These deer gave me an awful fright!



Me, stinky & ready for breakfast

Where the Streets Have No Name

Short POV video from the trails of Battle Creek Park.  I only saw one bunny....which was fine with me because I just heard today that coyotes have been spotted on these here trails.  Attacking, killer, coyotes!

http://youtu.be/fpkF5gBpqVI

I Couldn't Help Myself

Today was my 1st scheduled run on my road (at times literally) to the Twin Cities Marathon.  It was supposed to be 3 miles...but I thought, "The weather is so nice, I'll do an easy 5".......I finished 7.3 miles later!  I had an absolute blast.  The slingshot was loading all winter, and it was released on this beautiful day in MN.  I had my 1 month PRK appointment at "The U," (healing is on track by the way), and K and P are visiting my mother-in-law, so I had nothing better to do than enjoy the day.

Don't get me wrong, I am unapologetic and occasionally obnoxiously St. Paul biased.  Yet, I must admit that today was a scenic day around campus and along both sides of the "Big River"--though I never actually talked to any humans.

 I started at Kelly's alma mater

Past the Weisman Art Museum

Over the Stone Arch Bridge into downtown

Here's a brief video if you want to know what it feels like to be my brain on a run

St. Anthony Falls were roaring

On past the Guthrie Theater

The Stone Arch Bridge from whence I came

Under the 35W Bridge, built following it's predecessor's collapse in 2008

I tipped my hat to my ancestors at Bohemian Flats

Ran along the river and through the woods

Climbed the river bank to be greeted by this beauty on Mississippi River Blvd

Thanked God that I wasn't driving in this!

I finished by stretching on my back, enjoying the sky and clouds

I'm sorry Minneapolis, but I must return to St. Paul if I want a great post-run, spiceeeey, Thai papaya salad

Thanks Supatra!

Yes, day 1 was reckless and to excess--it's not the first time in my life--but I just had to celebrate sharp vision, an able body, beautiful weather, and the second best town on the Mississippi.  Rest tomorrow.

Thoughts on Nutrition

Except for (mostly) premeditated indulgences, I've been eating pretty clean in 2013 and it feels great.  It feels good to feel bad when I eat crap--I used to eat so much crap so often that I didn't know I was perpetually tired from sugar crashes, lack of nutrients, and overloading my systems with the hard work of processing all the processed "foods" I was consuming.  Now when I feel bad it is clearly linked to a bad nutritional day, or moment.  I suspect I will always be tempted with Doritos Loco Tacos from Taco Bell, and Blueberry Shakes from Dairy Queen, but at least now I know what I'm signing up for when I eat them--forfeiting my energy and clarity of mind for at least a few hours, and the increased likelihood that I'll make a habit of it.  So much "food" that is available on every corner of the city, and even my hospital workplace, is so deeply addictive and crappy, I really need to steer clear as much as possible.

Tools like the Cron-O-Meter have helped me get a feel for what I actually eat.  I have picked the brains of dietitians at work and online (all for free because I'm a cheapskate:), and arrived at a few very simple guidelines that add up to me eating "clean" and getting all the nutrients I need for living and running--the weight loss kind of naturally comes along for the ride.  Here is what I have settled on for now:

• Eat plenty of quality complex carbs.  My carbs are almost totally comprised of whole oats, brown rice, brown rice pasta, quinoa, pinto and black beans, Ezekiel Sprouted Bread, and all kinds of fruit.  I try to eat very few simple sugars (i.e. refined flour and "white" foods, and pseudo-"whole wheat") and high-fructose corn syrup, which is in almost everything that comes in a box, tube, bag, or carton.
• Protein takes care of itself.  The list above, minus the fruit, pretty much doubles as my protein sources, with the addition of a few almonds, about one can of sardines with hot sauce for lunch per week, and maybe 1-2 eggs a week.  Some of the complex carbs above are also "complete proteins."
• Eat as many veggies as I want
• High fiber more than takes care of itself
• Spice it up and have fun.  Make the most of recipes by adding spices, curry, fresh herbs, and all things fresh and scrumptious.
• Water.  1- 32 oz bottle from wake-up to work to get the day going, 1 more during work, and 1 more between work and bed.  More when I run.  Or whatever gets me to pass the "pee test"--Am I peeing clear every 1-2 hours?  FYI: I stop drinking around 9pm so I can sleep like a baby.
• Don't be afraid to fast once a week, either between dinner and breakfast (at least 12-16 hours), or with a low-calorie day of a few simple foods and lots of water.  This helps give my body a break as well as break escalation of crappy habits like mindless snacking in the evening and at work.
• Meat, fat, and "comfort" food:  The less I eat of meat the more it tastes like mushy, super rich (calorie dense), dead flesh.  I'm not done with it yet, but I rarely crave it anymore.  Same with oils--it's like my brain has recalibrated to alarm me of rich foods much sooner than before--like when you take a bite of fudge after a big dinner and you can't imagine eating alot of it because it's just too "rich"--that feeling happens alot easier and alot sooner after some time on a clean diet.  Likewise, satisfaction and that "damn that's good" pleasure comes with many foods that would have left me in want before.  In short, I love alot more foods, I have a higher feeling of pleasure from eating, and I don't feel crappy about myself.
• In general: I try to eat very few calories that had "eyes or a mother", very few foods that have more than a few ingredients (that are all pronouncable), and lots of everything else!

That's about it.  I'm not saying I have perfect adherence to this clean diet, but I am totally convinced it is what my body and mind thrive on.  Oh, and it's cheap:)

PRK Don't Stand for "PaRK It"!

I am 18 days post-op from PRK corrective eye surgery and I hit the trails like a wild turkey tonight!  In fact I saw two wild turkeys, each about thrice the size of Piya!  I surprised one of them and I thought he was going to charge me with his loud squawking and chordling, but my fleetness of foot had me around the bend 'fore he could peck my heels!  In the mornings, before a day's worth of med drop residue, I can see like an eagle, especially when it's sunny and bright.  Both eyes are about the same in progress now, I'd say 95%.

Boy it's fun running trails--tonight at Battle Creek Regional Park.  It's just big enough to get good and lost, but not so big that you get good and lost for long.  It's a trail with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, a few downed trees to jump, mud puddles, a healthy portion of spaghetti tree roots, and some straightaways to find my groove in.  It is "groomed" and safe enough for me to go at about a 7:45 pace.  I'm thinking of organizing a trail training option for our Team World Vision--that'd be fun going single-file, hoping to avoid the ol' branch slap!

I'm 6 days away from my pre-training month when miles will pick up significantly and I'll start some hills.  My hopes to get eye recovery underway, drop a few kilos, and build a bit of a base to move forward with has all taken pretty good shape in April. My first race takes place in a couple weeks at the ACPE National Meeting in Indianapolis.  Hopefully the non-human turkeys will be few that day.

America's Fastest Couple are Members of Team World Vision!

Sara & Ryan Hall

Perhaps the world's fastest married couple, Ryan and Sara Hall, are part of Team World Vision, you can be too by running with us at this years Twin Cities Marathon, or by giving financial gifts to support the cause!

2-Time Marathon Olympian Ryan holds the record for the fastest marathon ever ran on U.S. soil!  Sara was a 7-Time All American at Stanford and the 2012 National Cross Country Champion!

Check out their interview with Minnesota's own Olympian Carrie Tollefson on CTolleRun., including their work in Zambia with World Vision.

Going Under the Laser

After 23 years of wearing contacts everyday I am going under the laser tomorrow for PRK corrective surgery.  I just can't imagine sticking plastic in my eye for another 30 years, and my rigorous sweating will not allow me to wear glasses during all my runs....so.....  PRK is alot like Lasik except that instead of making a cornea "flap" to access the deeper cornea for correction, it abrasions off the outer epithelial cells of the cornea, and then they grow back in a few days.  The actual laser correction is identical to Lasik.  I decided on PRK because 1) I have slightly thin corneas, though still a candidate for Lasik, and PRK preserves more corneal tissue than Lasik, 2) The flap-related risks and complications during surgery and for the rest of my life with Lasik do not exist with PRK, 3) Most studies show that visual outcomes are slightly (2-3%) better than Lasik, 4) Dry eye is usually less pronounced with PRK because it destroys fewer nerves, 5) I am active with running and toddler rough-housing and don't want to worry about the integrity of my cornea, 6) PRK has almost no limiting effects if I were to need other eye surgery in the future like some in my family have, 7) The Navy endorses PRK outright for it's pilots but not Lasik, 8) I am a great candidate with minimal correction needed, so "best case scenario" should be more likely for me, 9) My Ophthalmologist at the University of Minnesota electively chose to have PRK for himself, when he was a "slam-dunk" candidate for Lasik.

The downside of PRK is a longer and more uncomfortable recovery.  I will have "bandage" contacts in for a week until the epithelium has grown in.  Days 3-5 can be quite scratchy, light sensitive, and hard to keep eyes open.  Vision should be pretty good after 7 days, pretty darn good after 30, really good after 90, and great by 6 months. 

As for running, I'll be laid up for about 2-3 weeks, which is just in time to start my 4 week "pre-training" on May 6th.  I've been running about 10 miles a week the last month, but will have to hang up the shoes for a while.  It'll be great to run unencumbered this summer!  Wish me luck.

Donkey Kick

Piya, my daughter and future running companion, must have got the memo on the need for a strong core.  Here she is doing her Donkey Kicks whilst wearing her giraffe tights and new tutu.

James O'Keefe: Cardiologist's Research on Running/Exercise

"Not survival of the fittest, but survival of the moderately fit"

12:15 --  Clear summary of the "zone of benefit" for running (both miles per week and avg. pace) in a study of 50,000 runners coming out soon.  Perhaps it's easier to run too much than we think?

Grounding

There seems to be a tendency toward more and more complexity these days—heck, I suppose since the Industrial Revolution.  Supposedly our lives are to improve in correlation with advancements in technology.  Much ink has been spilled challenging this assumption, of course, and I agree.  As a Gen Xer, I am of the last generation of people to not have grown up with the pervasiveness of the Internet, or even computers for the most part, not to mention cell phones and other fingertip information sources.  I dabbled with the Apple IIe in high school, but for the most part read books, used pencils, and cut and pasted with real scissors and glue.  My first year of college saw the emergence of Internet mania…and the rest is history. 

Yet somehow Kelly and I and many of our friends have managed to rein in the otherwise automatic downhill snowball of ever expanding technology and "stuff."  It’s odd, as though tasting the unplugged life of our youth has made it extra-hard to jump into “connection” with both feet, or perhaps easier to see the futility in it?  This blog is about my limit. 

So what about running?  I think this spiritual bent toward uncluttered living is why I like running so much.  I have nothing against cyclists, kayakers, rugged campers and hikers, and the like.  But similar to other areas of life, I just can’t manage to benefit spiritually from that level of complexity.  Yes, even hopping on a bike feels complex to me in a spiritual sense.  It’s too lofty….literally, a couple feet off the ground.

As Parker Palmer likes to say, "I have to be on the ground if I want to be grounded."

I like that with running I am literally in contact with a planet.  I’m running, just me, on the surface of Earth.  We oooh and aaah at moon land footage, yet fail to realize how we get to trot around a planet everyday, free as larks, unencumbered by equipment and breathing apparatus! (at least those of us who are able-bodied). 

I like that with running it is just me, my whole body, no machine to mediate my relationship with the ground, no machine adding to my momentum, just me moving forward. 

I like that the only way to “change gears” is to tap a resource inside myself—there is no other source of aid. 

I like the experience of moving through my route within the human range of travel.  Meaning, a human can only get so far in an hour on foot, and that limited pace makes possible an interaction with the environment that mechanized travel does not. 

Having a white collar job, I like feeling tired and satisfied after a run, like taking a car out for a good cruise to tap its potential instead of sitting at idle all day.

I like brushing a car mirror downtown with my arm, and getting swapped in the arm with a branch in the woods. 

I like opening my door and going, no matter where I am, no limits, just me and the ground. 

I like the interaction with others along the way.

I like having quiet time with just me and my breath. 

I like how I can gain clarity in 1 mile on an issue that has stumped me all day. 

I like how I can push into new territory of endurance that is like discovery a lost chapter to a favorite book--like, "oh wow, there's more!"

Yeah Butt

When I was a squirt my neighbor-lady called me "Bird-Legs" because my legs were basically a femur leading to a bulbous knee joint, leading to tib-fib spokes of bone, all wrapped in a casing of skin--very little muscle, and no fat.  I put those little legs to good use running all over the neighborhood and racking up the blue ribbons at my school's Field Day.  By 3rd Grade the combination of running so hard and growing so fast had my knee tendon pulling away from bone--they called it Osgood Schlatter Disease.  I had a stovepipe cast from groin to ankle for a month. I kept on running and playing various sports including a freshman year of Cross Country and two years of Track.  My running picked up living in Minneapolis, and now especially that I live in the (I argue) much more scenic, curvy, and hilly St. Paul.  I've been prone to aches and pains that have not always allowed me to run as much as my brain wants too--because my brain really wants to run, alot.

Anyway, as I looked toward taking the plunge into marathon training after a few years of consideration, I thought it was high-time for some good evaluation and advice.  I went to Sister Kenny Institutes RunSMART program for some videoed treadmill running and a good workup by a PT.  He gave me the go ahead but made it very clear that I need to strengthen my butt, big time!  I've done research since that says a weak butt and core (hips, super-low abs, and butt) is the main problem runners have that leads to many leg, posture, and back problems.

So, my first training task is to do some serious core and butt work.  I'll spend all of April focusing on core strength and flexibility with limited running of 10-15 miles a week.  I am also getting PRK (like Lasik) surgery on April 12th, so I can't run a ton in April for that reason as well.  Things will really heat up on Monday, May 5th when my 4-week pre-train starts.  This will involve more miles, more hills, and more cross-training.  No butts about it.