Prize Money!

No, its not that cold in my apartment that I have to wear a hat and gloves. I finally cashed in my 2009 prize earnings, that totaled $30 in Scheels Sporting Good money. I managed to almost completely pay for the hat and gloves. I haven't used them yet as it has been gorgeous out the past few days and I have been a little limited in my running due to my recent wisdom tooth extraction.

Though I did manage two 10 mile runs this weekend, but I'm going to have to take it a bit easier for a day or two here. I really want to be able to hit the weights hard for a few months now and I don't want any lingering problems.

Also sorry I have not been posting my workouts as of late, I guess with no race looming I have been a bit sporadic with my training. I took today off as the vacated spaces were my wisdom teeth were ached pretty bad today. Yesterday I did a pretty aggressive tempo run I'll post the link as soon as Garmin is done up grading their servers and let's me log in.

How to Eat a Chicken Wing

Ok sorry completely not related to running, fitness or really anything other than eating chicken wings, but I thought this was a great video.

Enjoy!

How to Eat a Chicken Wing:

Stubborn Runners Part II:

Just a quick follow up I did end up going out for a run and not only was it a gorgeous fall day out but I felt great too. I went for an 10.5 mile run I wanted to go more but didn't really want to push things. All in all I felt pretty darn good teeth and all even got to run at least one more day in shorts, comfortably that is. Here is the run just in case you don't believe me.

Garmin Connect -
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Stubborn Runners

I like so many of us runners are a pretty stubborn bunch. I myself am a big fan or taking a post workout sauna, of course this is not good for you, as the last thing you want to do after a workout is further dehydrate yourself, but I still sneak one or two in every once in a while. We are especially stubborn when it comes to things that deny us our sacred runs.

Such as injuries and things that life throws at us that makes running less than convenient. One such event has occurred in my life just recently. I just had my wisdom teeth pulled out yesterday, which was not nearly as bad as I though it was going to be. This is not really a big issue but the dentist said I was not to run until Wednesday and then start with half the workout I normally do.

I have always respected the wishes of any medical practitioner that I have dealt with, but I am having a lot of trouble sitting on my couch when it is nearly 60 degrees outside and frankly I feel great. I can barely feel the 4 holes in my mouth and haven't taken any pain killer for a while now. This might be the last nice day out to run this year, then it will be a lot of cold windy running outside and long boring miles on the treadmill inside.

I can't really figure out how running will even effect my mouth or the formal real estate where my wisdom teeth once resided, so on that note I'm out the door for a run...I just hope that my dentist doesn't read this blog.

So What Do You Eat?

Ok a lot people ask me what do I eat? How much? Do I carb load? What about supplement? Vitamins? Do you drink?

I have fairly normal diet to be truthful. I do not follow a particular plan, I just try and eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies and lean protein. I still still have the occasional late night drive thru burger and fries, I guess in my case I usually go for about 3-5 burgers and fries...I do eat a lot. Generally I have a Green Smoothie for breakfast, but other than that it is really a wide range of things.

I have read and learned a lot about the benefits of raw food i.e. fresh fruits, veggies and nuts. The one real benefit that there is to a high raw food diet is that fruits and veggies are all high nutrient dense foods. So this means that yes there is not as much protein in a handful of spinach as there is in a steak but the ratio of calories to protein is much higher.

I don't think I'll ever give up a great steak right off the grill but I better not plan on running for a few hours after. Having a meal of raw fruits and veggies and in 30-60 minutes I'm out the door, no food hangovers, which also helps at work, I'm not a zombie for an hour after lunch.

If to sum up what I eat or my diet, I guess I would say I eat what helps me enjoy running more. Just like hot wings, nachos and beer help watching the Vikings play on Sundays, fresh fruit, vegetables, and lean proteins make running more enjoyable.

I'll try and post some more websites and resources on nutrition that I have found insightful.

Quote of the Day:

"Believe in yourself, know yourself, deny yourself, and be humble."

- John Treacy's four principles of training prior to Los Angeles 84 Olympics

Why Soda(Pop if you're from MN) is so bad for you:

I have since given up soda a while a go and prefer simple water, juice, coffee, tea and of course an occasional beer now and then. I am glad that I have changed my ways from back in high school sitting in the senior commons (lounge for seniors) downing 2-4 Mountain Dews a day.

Read this yahoo article on why soda is so bad for you. (As evident by the picture above) Enjoy!

Why Soda is So Bad For You:

NYC Marathon

No, I did not run the New York City Marathon, but for those of us who did watch it, from the comfort of my couch, it was an amazing race. Meb Keflezighi, a 34 year old American won with a time of 2:09:15. He is the first American to win the NYC marathon since Alberto Salazar won in 1982.

I am extremely exited about the resurgence of the US marathon runners, both the men and women. It has been quite a while since American runners have consistently contended in major marathons. Now with Meb Kelezighi, Ryan Hall for the men and Kara Goucher for the women US runners have really been able to challenge the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners.

Runners like Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley have been waiting for a while for some company. Again I am energized and motivated by the strong showing that the US has been able to show this year. Congrats Meb and keep it up.

Running and Weight Loss

I know that many people enjoy running for the competitiveness, achievements, and pure enjoyment, but there are plenty of people that run to stay in shape and lose weight.

That is not the reason I run, I actually have to make sure to eat enough and get enough calories to properly fuel myself. But for those of you who main goal is weight loss and better general fitness here is a post for you.

An important thing to know is that you body burns fuel (that Big Mac you just ate) differently depending on how you exercise. Most trainers and people workout and try and burn as many calories as they can in a given time, so it is recommended that you do high intensity workout, get your heart rate into the fat burning zone (about 65%-80% of your Max heart rate). A good way to get an estimate is by taking 220 minus your age to get your Max Heart rate.

(220)-(my age)=Max Heart Rate

200 - 25 = 195

By being in your "Target Heart Rate" or fat burning zone optimized the amount of calories you are burning the most calories at a given time. This means that if you are below or even above this zone you are not burning the most calories. So make sure if your goal is to burn calories you get in and stay in that target heart rate zone. A good general rule to make sure your in the right zone is if you have to take a breath while talking and speaking a full sentence you should be close.

For example is you are on the treadmill and you can say out loud. "My name is Jordan and I like to exercise because I like to eat pizza." without having to take a breath you need to kick it up a notch, but if you need 3 o r 4 breaths to say that sentence out loud you are probably going a little too hard.

One thing that many people do not know is that when you are in your zone 1 heart rate your body actually burns fat directly. When you are in you THZ you are burning the most calories but they are the energy stores(carbs) in your muscles and liver. So if you burn 600 calories during your workout great, but just make sure you are not eating 800 calories as soon as you are done, otherwise you are just replacing the calories you burned. Be warned though you actually lose more weight by refueling after a workout with carbs and protein, than if you were to not properly refuel.

So why don't people just take it easy and exercise in their zone 1 HR and burn direct body fat? Well, it takes about 30 minutes for your body to "warm up" and start burning fat and then to actually burn any significant amount of body fat you would have to exercise for 2-4 hours in your zone 1 HR to see significant results. Not a problem if you are training for an Ultra marathon where that is all you do 6 days a week is run in your zone 1 and 2 for 3 hours a day. I even managed to lose 3lbs, this was after running 4 marathons earlier in the year.

In conclusion if you have the time and energy and want to burn that body fat all you need to do you go for a few 3 hour jogs 4-5 times a week.

Cold weather running:

Tips for Cold Weather Running:

• Make sure to stay hydrated: Even though you may not sweat as much and feel thirsty you are still losing a lot of fluids. Remember that when you can see your breath in the cold you are losing that much moisture every breath.

• Staying warm: Yes, it is important to stay warm but remember that your body warms up roughly 10 degrees fahrenheit once you are warmed up. You should be slightly cool when first start running.

• Make you warm up and cool down inside: Especially cooling down. When its cold outside you cool down fast as soon as you stop running, so make sure to get inside soon after your run.

• Keep a look out: With daylight saving time coming up and the daylight already fading fast make sure you are carrying a headlamp and wearing reflective gear if you are running near traffic. Do no assume that any cars see you.