Fasting is a key to getting healthy again and to lose weight fast...

After talking with my Uncle, he mentioned a PBS documentary about fasting.  After losing 50 lbs and experimenting with my diet based off what I have seen work best as a wrestler and in the past, I was intrigued.  So I watched it online and the documentart is called Eat, Fast and Live Longer with Michael Mosley (Link here).  In the documentary, Dr. Mosley goes over multiple ways to fast/restrict diet to get to a healthier life:

• The CRON diet (Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition)-Pretty much you eat 3/4 of the meals the average person your age and sex does and it is high quality foods such as fruits and veggies.  Low in fats and Proteins.
• The prolonged fasting diet where you go typically 2-4 days without consuming anything but water, no calorie teas and liquids (not diet soda).
• The Alternate Day Fasting (ADF)-Eat 400 to 600 calories based off age/sex and then eat as many calories you'd like the following day with any sort of foods you would like.  It is also referred to as the fast/feast diet. 
• The last was a hybrid of the ADF diet: Eat 5 days of the food you like and then fast/restrict your diet.

The biggest thing I will say about all of these is they are all effective, but I agree with his research, the most effective ones were eating well for most of the week (4-5 days) and fasting the other (2-3) days.  I can tell you for the most part, you eat foods better for your body on those feast days.  I can also tell you, your body can run sharp on those fasting days because you have storage in your body of fat and other things that will get you through the day.  It is mental.  It is also medical and while it is not the most researched, I can tell you some facts he found and that I agree with.  Fasting over the years has helped speed up the repair genes in your body that fix all the bad things you put in it in the past and what you've done.   I hadn't had a blood test for years but I was a healthy human being again when I went in after my marathon and my year of dieting with a much better chance of living.  My LDL/bad cholesterol is a little high, I have no doubt it would have been 200 instead of 110.

So if you are struggling with yo-yo dieting and all these BS cutting carbs out or cutting this out, really look into trying this.

Last note: One other big observations I agree with, protein is not something that is needed in the amount Americans consume it.  I ate hardly any protein while training for my race other than turkey, chicken and fish when I went out for dinners, your body only needs some protein for muscle strengthening/rehabbing.

Boston Marathon Tragedy...

I am still stunned by this event.  The Boston Marathon is the most important and talked about marathon in America.  You HAVE to qualify or be a Bostonian in order to even run it.  It is a dream that anyone that has ran a marathon probably dreams of doing at some point in their life.  It is also eye opening watching that video over and over of what happened.

Yesterday's events hit home hard knowing my mom and my in-laws (brother's family) were at the finish line of Myrtle Beach just two months ago today.  My brother's son and daughter are around the ages of the two children that were waiting for their father, the8-year old son that lost his life and the 6-year old daughter that lost her leg in the blast, and I think what if that was my brother's family?!  I think of my cousins, Aunt D and Grandma Brock that have been at that same Boston finish line to congratulate my Uncle Tim on completing Boston.  I think of all the people's blogs I read that have ran or have trained to run Boston or even ran yesterday.  Last and most importantly, I think about my family.  I want Sophie, Andi and all my in-laws to be at my next marathon and with the fortune of improving my running, be at Boston's finish line when I one day with God's fortune qualify for Boston.  However, I know some runners and their families will think twice about that next marathon for fears of a similar event happening. 

In a year I have come to realize marathon runners are a different breed.  They'll run on ice, in a foot of snow, in single digit and minus degree weather.  They are a little off their rocker going through things in training that 99.9% of the population would never even consider doing.  However, they are also a family I have seen.  Someone you don't know you wave at while training, you cheer on while running a race and yesterday showed similar great things.  Runners donated blood after depleting their energy from running a marathon, they helped fellow runners grieve with a hug, they helped out at a medical tent, they grew together.  I feel extremely sad for the people that went to Boston to celebrate as runners, friends, family and spectators to celebrate such an amazing accomplishment and instead lost a loved one, have a loved one/are themselves fighting for their life or were injured and will have to remember this as another sad day in lines with the tragedies we have seen across America in the past year and have been dealing with at a larger scaled in the last 15 years.  God Bless the men and women that helped others and prayers and thoughts to everyone trying to find questions and peace in this tragedy. 

The Pain in My Knee and a shout out to Runner's Roost Denver (finally)...

Well, I finally made it to a doctor to help figure out what is wrong with my knee.  I went to the experienced sports related injury Doctors of CU Sports Medicine yesterday and was glad to finally have done so.  I have been nursing my knee since my marathon because it only hurts when I run.  I get the common remark that running is the issue and how bad it is for your body.  No, bad technique/form is what cause most injuries and what seems to be causing mine.  I was told I need to improve my hip/core strength with a PT over the next 4-6 weeks.  I was told twice a week but really only once a week for 3-4 weeks is needed if I follow up on my own.  I am hoping this alleviates my issues.

An X-Ray was done of my knees.  My left one definitely shows less cartilage and some wear but it's not serious.  Years of wrestling and football didn't help this.  Not just running for a year.  To make it better, I realize I have to give it TLC and be smart. Quit having my strong hamstring/quads put strain on my knee due to insufficient hip/core muscles helping keep my leg straight.  A simple single leg squat showed this, my knee buckles in slightly and after so much repetitive use of this at a higher speed during my marathon it finally said enough is enough I guess.   I was offered a quick fix, steroid injection, but that is just a Band-Aid that will not fix my issue long term.  I want to run pain free due to my knee improving on it's own rather than masking it and continuing with my running technique slightly off.  I was torqued on by two Doctors and felt no pain.  Definitely a good sign and I've noticed my pain is a lot less when I don't push it.  I may take a little longer than I'd like but after Physical Therapy, supporting my knee through better form and re-building my base, I will be back to training for a marathon.  I have pretty much realized that unless I want to depend on Steroids and pain pills, late July to early September will be my next marathon. 

I can't lie, I have been pretty jealous of the runners I have seen out more with the weather improving.  I will say I didn't even think about it until someone mentioned it, but yes it seems to be that the average runner pretty much sticks to the warmer days.  I can understand that, but I love a run in about 45-55 degree weather.  I am hoping I can start with about 20 miles a week and ramp it up to where I am running 30-40 mile weeks in a couple months.  I need a 20 mile run, but don't want to be out of commission for a week or need my wife to come pick me up halfway into it.

Last, Runner's Roost Denver and their great market director Ed. Riegert III finally deserves this shout out.  My work did a little structural work for them involving a promotion they were doing a few months ago.  Part of our fee was deferred for a pair of running shoes for my co-worker and myself.  The personal attention you get from their staff is impressive, as is their knowledge and understanding of the basic walker/runner to the full out marathon to ultra runner.  They don't blitz you with 1000 pair of shoes, but bring out a few pairs of what works best for you based off five minutes of talking to you, getting to know about your activity, a gait analysis and running form analysis.  They aren't some guy at the big name national sporting good stores trying to earn a commission for selling you a pair of shoes that has never ran a day in their life and sells everything from sneakers to golf shoes.  They understand runners and the product they are selling are for runners.  I appreciated the attention I got for just getting a free pair of shoes and not spending any money in there.  I will be back for my next pair and am thinking I may need to get my wife down there so they can help get her a more comfortable pair of shoes than the ones she is currently having issues with.

I believe I waited a little bit to write this blog, mentioning Runner's Roost Denver, because I was so in love with the Asics 1170s (I have two pairs of those I like them so much) that I was training in that I ran twice in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS12s I received and felt like I had made the wrong choice over the Asics 2000s I was offered and I was going to add some unnecessary griping.  I have walked many more miles in my Brooks since my marathon over the past few months and started running in them a little (yes after running in my Asics and feeling the knee pain) and realized this, they just needed a little more TLC than the Asics and we needed to get familiar with each other and become one.  I believe the Asics 1170s I ran in didn't need the breaking in that the Brooks did and that's the main difference.  These Brooks have felt great the couple runs I have got in with them and the issues I initially felt during my first two runs when they hadn't even had a dozen miles of walking in them are gone.   They are lighter and seem to have a little less excessive cushioning than the Asics 2000s.  When I tried on a pair of 2000s again just to compare, I remember why I chose the Adrenaline's they felt more natural on my foot and not like I was wearing platforms and for some reason the toe box was even more narrow than my Brooks.  The Brooks felt more natural and just needed some TLC.  Don't get me wrong, I still love my Asics 1170s and the fact those shoes felt more ready to get running in quicker, but sometimes the tweaking a manufacturer does from one shoe to the next makes all the difference, the 2000s are no wider than the Adrenaline GTS12s and too cushion dependent.  I look forward to begin training again and have 3 pairs of shoes to work between to find what works best for speed. 

Thanks to Ed and the Runner's Roost staff for their help and sorry for not getting to this sooner.  You have earned my business.