Still doing keto

I haven't had many updated lately regarding my health and diet. I was very slowly losing weight the past few weeks almost to a pounds a week which I know I should be happy with but I wasnt. My strength gains in the gym were there and i kept being told to ignore the scale but being hard headed I didn't. Then in the last few days alone I dropped 3 pounds and got under the 220 pounds mark. 15 pounds lost total and 19 away from my goal then I will start to focus on lean mass building. I am guessing I have put on a few pounds (?) If muscle during this experience as well based on my strength and physique coming together. Love handles are almost gone, I get some veins in my arms and legs when lifting I want the veins to be there when not lifting which requires a very low body fat.
Eating it has been more if a challenge than I anticipated. I have fallen in line with lettuce wrapped bacon double cheeseburger with avocado. After not eating red meat for around 20 years this has been a pleasant surprise. I am even planning to have a steak this weekend.
Nutrition science goes back and forth so much that I may be back on the no red meat wagon again in a few months but I doubt it. I am a firm believer that weight gain and increases in fast are from carbohydrates and sugar has had a grip on my well being and performance forever.
I plan to start ramping up my running mileage in about 3 weeks and carry that into the late fall/winter mArizona racing season.

10 down

This morning I weighed myself again I hit 10.2 pound down from where I started 11 days ago. I can’t say how blown away I am by this.  I guess the saying of to lose weight you really need to change your diet then maintain not just the exercise. 

I do think about not having a bunch of tasty craft beers when I spend the first week of July in Flagstaff but maybe if I mix in some exogenous keytones I can have some beers and remain in keytosis. It really has been easier sticking to this diet than I initially thought it would be. Menu planning can be time consuming but make more dinner than usual and there is the next days lunch. 

Being off work the next 2 weeks I look to put the diet to the test of working out. I hope to do a good amount of HIIT style weights and crank up the running mileage. I can say that when working out the last week I didn’t ever feel like I was going to fuel bonk, my cardio and brain want to slow me down first. Now the longest I went was 50 minutes so let’s see how a 2 hour run goes. I am intrigued by the F-Bomb fuel packets made right in good old Flagstaff. Pure fat fuel. I wondered how people run 50, 100 or more miles with no carbs but it works. 

Do I have any more pictures???

Work in progress

I really had the best of intentions to run as much as possible as well as spend some time in Northern Arizona during my 15 days off from work, however neither has happened although I have run the last 3 days in a row. I usually falter during the holiday seasons when it comes to my running so I am hoping to get back on track and get back to 35-50 mile weeks to start the new year. Maybe a shot at the Sedona half marathon in 5 weeks. That should be doable.

My family went to the Fiesta Bowl parade a few days ago, fun but cold.  And we got to see a car hit the light rail train at Central Ave and Indian School Road.  Good times. Here are some pictures and another one of my cheesy time lapse videos.

Light Rail vs. auto collision

But first let me take a nature selfie. Most of these are from the long abandoned Prince Mine in North Peoria (this is actually probably part of the old abandoned Clementine Mine airport, but I have seen the area frequently listed as part of the Prince mine). There used to be a lot more trash but it has been getting cleaned which only means one thing, more residential development way out here in the desert.

Yep, “development” is coming.

Biggest threat to desert runners…urban rednecks and their shotguns.

Fatigue is mostly mental…really.

In the past few weeks I have read several articles related to how fatigue in the endurance athlete is more a creation of the mind and less a reality of the body being broken down and spent up.  A recent book called “RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel” goes in depth about how our minds will tell us that we are spent well before we really are.  I hope to get it soon, hopefully the Nook version is coming.

I also came across an article in the New York Times that is a few years old but it discusses this current topic.  The subject of the article is Jure Robic who is a world renowned endurance cyclist.  The guy will try just about any cycling race on the face of the earth, if it is long enough.  The article talks about several studies performed regarding the mind and endurance including tests where the bodys lactate output was measure in relation to the athletes perceived fatigue.  It really is a great and interesting read.  Sadly what brought me to the article was the death of Jure Robic last week as he was killed as he was hit by a car while on a bike ride.  To read the article click here.

I could have used more of this information yesterday as I went for an easy 6 miles.  I headed out around 7:30 AM and it was already 88 degrees (Isn’t October next week?).  Long story short, my body didn’t really want to keep moving either due to the heat or its not liking the increased training load I have put on it in the last few weeks.  I ended up finishing about 30 seconds per mile slower than I wanted to, but I am okay with that as I plan to keep moving onward and outward.  Next time I can hopefully turn off my brain and let my body do the work.

Feeling good

I needed this week to finally arrive.  I mean really needed it. A full week off from work and outside stress.

Not just because it is Christmas week and I got a pair of Kayano 15 and Nike Lunar racers (which I am very happy to get), but I needed a week to do what I need to do.  If I feel like running at noon, I do it.  I have been able to pay more attention to my diet, and because of this I have run more this week than I have in a long time.  It feels great.
I got sidetracked there for a second, the video for “Dont trust me” just popped up on my screen. Where was I…

Oh yes, running.  I have felt good this week overall, my hip has been tight and sore at times, but it has not stopped me in my tracks like it has in the past.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it doesnt get that way.  I have been doing my core work and hip exercises in hopes of keeping sacroiliac joint dysfunction away.  It has felt good to get consistent miles on my legs, that tired, sore, burning feeling.  It has been missing and I needed it.  I have tried to keep it out of my mind that I am running much slower than I would like, but I have been trying to keep an eye on my HRM to make sure I dont over do it.

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone out there.

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