Mea Culpa...

For having been away from the blog for so long. Sometimes life gets in the way of writing for the sake of writing. Anyway here is my long awaiting update (he says sarcastically). Things have been going really well. My running, weight loss and weightlifting have all seen improvements. Of course one could argue they are all related, but you and both know they are not all mutually exclusive to each other. So lets go point by point.

Running…

After having dealt with so many nagging issues since last October I have really scaled my miles back and I only run 2-3 days a week. In fact my weekly mile totals have only recently begun to creep back into double digits. Sure it sucks that as of May I only have 140 miles for the year… but I DON’T HURT. My pace is also improving. I chalk a lot up to that to 1)weight loss and 2)a focus on form. Although I have not made my transition to minimalist running yet, I am constantly focused on a midfoot strike and attempting many of the principles discussed through CHI RUNNING. To give you an example of my improvement, on a 9 mile training run with hills and pouring rain for the duration I ran at a pace that would have put me under my half marathon PR. I also ran a 5k training run almost 4 minutes under my PR. Don’t get me wrong… I’m pushing it a bit, and its still hard… but it is fun to get home and look at your times. Of course I still have shitty runs too but we won’t talk about those.

Weightlifting…

 If you are a runner and you don’t lift twice a week… you need to start. Think about it… stronger arms lead to better pumping and form, stronger core leads to better endurance and form, and stronger legs lead to making hills your bitch. Sure it also feeds a sense of vanity a bit (I won’t lie about that). I don’t know one guy that would turn down arm definition. But in two months I’ve added 50 lbs to my bench, 80 lbs to my leg press and 50 lbs to my leg curls. I’m still not throwing up big weight but its cool to see the improvement. I am still following a similar circuit plan that I mentioned a few months ago, although I have cut back a bit due to the extra running.

Weight Loss…

So I adopted the Wheat Belly approach to diet. I essentially consume no wheat or processed grains with the exception of my “beer night” which is when I allow myself one evening to partake in the nectar of the gods. I also use recipes that would be found using the Paleo approach as well. I will admit I cannot make the full jump to Paleo. Its hard enough giving up the grains… but cheese too?!? No way. I know some of you will read a description of Wheat Belly or Paleo, see the guidelines and assume “its another Atkins” simply because its low carb. It is so much more than that because it not just saying no carb, its clearing out the processed crap we all assume to be safe. Think about it… our bodies have evolved over thousands of years and our food has been morphed and modified in the last 50 years. Did you ever think you just can’t seem to lose those last 10 lbs because your body doesn’t know how to? Sure I miss sandwiches, spaghetti and eating a whole slice of pizza and not just the toppings. But you know what? I am not sluggish through the day and I hardly ever eat in the middle of the night (and when I do its usually after a cheat day when my body immediately craves the carbs). I have not consumed a single energy drink or gel pack on a run either, just water. And I am down 12 lbs since March. So something is working. Thanks for stopping by.

 Until next time…