Holiday Pitfalls & The Boxing Day 10 Miler

The holidays are always too busy, but not usually with training.  All the Christmas parties, family visits and traveling, it's very difficult to keep up with training and not gain a ton of unwanted weight.

I was very conscious of some of the pitfalls in my life during the holidays, so I took control to minimize any possible 'damage' to my training.  I hosted Christmas eve and made sure that there would be low calorie health foods mixed in with some of the high calorie favourites.  Choices were kept to a minimum (the more different flavours to choose from, the more we tend to eat) and desserts were small.  If someone wanted more, they could very easily get seconds.

One of the biggest issues is fitting in workouts.  Both my bike class and swimming went on hiatus during the week of Christmas until Jan 4th.  Instead of doing nothing, I picked up a few drop in classes at my local Pilates centre, swam on my own and continued my running schedule.  It was good timing because I was increasing my run distance and my legs needed a break from all that hard cycling we've been doing.

All of my run training was designed to lead up to the Boxing Day 10 miler.  I signed up for this race for two important reasons: 1. They always give the best running gear which is different each year 2. Because of when it happens, it keeps me on track during the holidays.  It's really difficult to do this run filled with turkey, all the fixings and multiple desserts.  In the past I've never had a good boxing day run, partially because I didn't restrict holiday eating leading up to race day.  This year I was determined to make smarter choices and it all paid off.

Unlike other Boxing Day runs, this year's was completely devoid of snow and 4-5 degrees Celsius.  Perfect conditions, if it wasn't for that wind. 20+ km winds, with gusts, coming off Lake Ontario, made the back of the 'out and back' much harder than it needed to be.  After all, there were plenty of hills to do that.  The majority of the route going out was either flattish or downhill, so coming back was where you paid the price of running too hard, eating too much or just being too unprepared. 

For me the day wasn't about time, it was getting in distance and building a solid running base.  That being said, I did have a goal time based on my current running pace.  I hoped to be done in 2 hrs, but during the run, while struggling up the hills and through the nasty wind, I rethought my goal and would have been happy to finish under 2:10 or 2:15.  My finish time was 1:55:46, and almost did a even split (just missed it by 2:14ish).  I'm pretty happy with the results, especially since the second half was significantly tougher than the first half.

Next up is the Resolution Run (5 km) on New Years Eve.  After that, training will return to 'normal' in the new year.  And I think that will be the official transition from IMpretrainingtraining to IMtraining.

Pre-Training Training

What do you do when your targeted Ironman is almost a year away?  How much should I be doing now? 

I've been #IMpretrainingtraining when tweeting about my workouts over the past two months.  To me, I'm in pre-training mode.  I'm no coach or trainer, but I've done the distances enough times that I sort of know how to put it all together and what's required of me right now. 

Right now, it's all about finding a training schedule I can manage while getting in 2-3 swims, 3 runs, 3 bikes and strength/flexibility workouts, and being consistent.  Slowly, very, very slowly I've been increasing distances.  I don't need to do 4 km, 180 km, 42.2 km now.  That will come in about 11 months.

So my pre-training training schedule goes something like this:

• Monday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Plates (60 min)
• Yoga (60 min)
• Tuesday
• Swim (30 min)
• Run (30 min)
• Strength - upper body (10 min)
• Wednesday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Thursday
• Swim (30 min)
• Run (30 min)
• Strength - upper body (10 min)
• Friday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Saturday
• Long Run - (time and distance vary)
• Sunday
• NOTHING!

This will all change in a couple of weeks when indoor cycling training begins.  The cycling will be Tues/Thurs morning and Sunday, the swim will move to the evening, the runs will move to Mon/Wed and the rest will move to Fridays.  And everything will begin to increase in time, except the rest :(

So it will look more like this:

• Monday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Run (30 min)
• Pilates (60 min)
• Yoga (60 min)
• Tuesday
• Cycling - indoors (1-1.5 hers)
• Strength - upper body (10 min)
• Swim (1 hr)
• Wednesday
• Strength - total body (15 min)
• Run (30 min)
• Thursday
• Cycling - indoors (1-1.5 hrs)
• Strength - upper body (10 min)
• Swim (1 hr)
• Friday
• NOTHING!!!!
• Saturday
• Long Run
• Sunday
• Cycling  - indoors (1.5-2 hrs) 

The hardest part of this schedule for me is the evening swims.  I like to go to bed early and get up early, so doing things in the evenings, like the swim, consistently will be a challenge.  This will change again at the end of November when both my Pilates and yoga classes will be complete.  I'll probably take another class in January ... probably.

I'll also have to decide at that time whether or not I want to get myself a coach.  That's when pre-training training ends and official training begins. Can't wait.  Until then, I'm putting in my time, trying to get better with each swim, bike and run.

I, Caveman ... no thanks!

I just finished watching the second half of Discovery's "I, Caveman" show that takes a group of men & women and put them in a 'caveman' situation.  They are given caveman clothing (pelts and skins), shelter and basic survival training skills like starting a fire.  Then they're left alone (surrounded by cameras of course) to live as 'cavemen/cavewomen' for 10 or 14 days.  At the beginning they were all positive and upbeat, after all how hard could this be?  Well they found out after it took them hours and hours and hours to start a fire.  It went down hill from there.

They were tired, hungry, thirsty and generally complaining most of the time.  They struggled to find enough to eat and when they did, several women (I'm sorry to say) turned away in disgust at the thought of eating snails or having a head on their fish.  By the end, two had enough and gave up; tired, hungry and dejected.

Unfortunately in Paleolithic times, there was no giving up.  You ate or you starved and died.

The reason I found this whole thing fascinating is because of the cult like status of the Paleo diet.  Their thinking is that the major illnesses we face today, including obesity, can be traced back and caused by the start of agriculture.  While some of their 'rules' have some health benefits, the reasoning behind them is suspect.

Here are some points that the paleo people may not be considering.

1. There is no one Paleo diet.  Paleolithic man ate different foods regionally and seasonally.
2. The types of fruits/vegetables, seeds and meats are different today then they were back in the day.
3. There were no doctors back then, so how do we know what diseases they may have had.
4. Their lifespan was a heck of a lot shorter
5. Food was not as abundant then as it is now (feast & famine)
6. If it was edible, they ate it.  They couldn't afford not to.
7. Everything they did required a lot of energy

Calories are energy and everything we do cost calories.  In our 'push button' society, we require less and less calories to do the basic activities of daily living.

In Paleolithic times, everything was work.  Cavepeople didn't have any other job but to survive and it took a lot of energy.  Even the basics of cooking and drinking took effort.  They couldn't just go to the tap or the microwave when they were hungry or thirsty. 

So the industrial revolution and technological evolution over the past hundred years has switch the calorie balance (consuming more energy than we are using) and we are suffering the effect.

Check out a great Ted Talks on the paleo diet and what paleolitic man most likely ate: http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Debunking-the-Paleo-Diet-Christ

So what are the good, healthy points about the Paleo diet I agree with:

• eat more lean meats, fish, poultry (if you like free range, go for it, but it can be $$$)
• eat more fruits and vegetables (all of them, even the poor maligned potato)
• avoid added sugar (sugar that's found in an ingredient list, sugar that's easily removed or adjusted in the food, not the sugar in fruit or dairy)
• avoid processed foods (again, check out the label, just cause it's in a box doesn't always mean it's bad, but it's a good start)
• eat health fat (I'd prefer the poly & mono-saturated fats found in nuts, seeds, fruits & vegetables, like avocado or olives)

What I would add to the Paleo plan:

• grains - not necessarily wheat, but whole grains like oats, bulger, barley, spelt, quinoa, etc; what we call ancient grains
• legumes - a great source of fibre, protein and many vitamins/minerals; just make sure to cook the dried ones well or use canned
• consider portion size and cooking methods - it's not always what you eat, but how much and how it's made
• eat local - the $ stays in your community and the produce is likely fresher & tastier as it didn't have to travel far to get to your market

Above all, food is meant to be enjoyed.  Diets are temporary, restrictive and don't work.  Eat for your lifestyle.  One food, one meal, one day will not make you healthier or unhealthier.  It's a pattern of eating over time.  

What is Healthy Eating?

In my last post I listed some of my goals for Ironman training, or pre-training right now.  The first was to lose weight through healthy eating.

Health eating and what to eat for weight loss can be controversial.  Research studies are consistently looking a different types of diet, usually low fat or low carb, to ultimately determine which one is best for weight loss.  Fad diets and opinions are all over the internet and people are very 'passionate' about their food beliefs. Between the low carb people, paleo people, vegans/vegetarians and the 'clean eating' people, it's all a little cultish ... in my opinion

As part of my master's degree, I created a website that looks at the research around weight loss, along with providing tools and tips for both weight loss and weigh maintenance.  It also has a blog which I've been trying to maintain, as much as I can with everything else I'm doing.  You can check it out here: http://bgrohmannrd.wix.com/what-fuels-you.

Basically, the research shows that no matter what 'diet' you're following, the most important factor for long-term weight loss is consistency.  

With that in my, my 'healthy eating' plan includes:

1. Reducing added sugars
2. Eating more fruits/vegetables
3. Adding beans/legumes/pulses
4. Choosing more lean meats/fish/chicken
5. Whole grains (barely, quinoa, bulger)
6. Portion size
7. Tracking everything I eat

I recently made red lentil curry with spinach ... so good.  You can find the recipe here: http://naturallyella.com/quick-red-lentil-and-spinach-curry/.  Actually, it was so good, I made it for two weeks in a row.  The second time, I doubled the batch and froze the other half.  It can be eaten with rice, quinoa (yum), naan, and as either a main course or healthy side.  When I made the double batch, I added roasted red peppers and black beans that I had in the freezer.

Healthy eating does not need to be complicated, or restrictive.  It should meet your own personal preferences, cooking abilities and schedule.

  

I'm not a foodie.  I rarely make anything from scratch (but I'm working on that) and absolute love when I can throw everything into one pot.  And with all the training I have ahead of me, I need health food that not only fuels my body, but tastes good and easy to make/reheat.        

Seems Like a Good Idea at the Time

Following friends doing an Ironman is always inspiring, and very long (note to self, get faster friends).  Right now my friend, sometimes training partner and all round good guy Wes is toughing it out at IM Copenhagen.  Sometimes I'm happy to just watch and cheer them on, but now I think it's finally time for me to get back out there.

In 2013 I trained for my second Ironman, but after 7 months I realized (the hard way) that I had took too much time off and set my sights a little to high.  So I decided to withdraw and continue my training into 2014.  That didn't quite work out as I had planned either.  I had the opportunity to do a Master's Degree in Nutrition Communication and couldn't afford to do that and the Ironman.  Now that the degree is all done, I'm ready to give it another go.

I originally wanted to give Ironman Canada another shot, but the Whistler version is apparently harder than the Penticton version and maybe that's not the best option for me right now.

Ironman Maryland looks like the one we're targeting (me, Iron Wes & hopefully we can talk other suckers ... racers, into joining us).

On the right I have a list of the races I've either already registered for.  I've also registered for a pilates class 1x/wk followed by yoga (only because I have 7 sessions left on my plan)

So, I have several training goals right now, which will likely change when I get a coach (probably in the new year):

1.  Lose ~50 lbs & change my body composition

• Yes I know doing an Ironman is not exactly the best way to lose weight because you need to eat all the time.  But I plan on focusing on losing weight during the winter before the heavy training sets in.
• I plan on focusing on whole, healthy foods (more details to come), and will be trying all sorts of new recipes, including home made energy bars.
• Luckily for me, I know a good RD with a background in sports nutrition (it's me, just in case you didn't know).

2.  Incorporate strength and flexibility

• My flexibility sucks and my upper body strength is pathetic.  I need to get those areas straightened out now before the focus shifts to long swims, bikes & runs and time becomes a factor.

3.  Distance, distance, distance

• Speed will come with the weight loss, distance will come from doing distance.

I'll be sharing with you all my trials & tribulations, success & failures, during my road to the Ironman finish line,   It won't be easy, but as one smart person once said (can't remember who) "if it was easy, everyone would be doing it"..