Cold Off The Presses

You put so much time and energy into working out and training your body so make sure that you're fueling it with nutrient dense foods. Lately I have been working cold pressed juices into my diet. A local shop here in Santa Barbara, Juice Ranch, creates amazing recipes like "Greens n' Ginger (kale, celery, romaine, cucumber, spinach, parsley, apple, lemon, ginger) and "Island Bunny" (carrot, coconut meat) which are delicious and super healthy.

So what's the difference between cold pressed juice and the juice you may be used to from Jamba or Blenders? Well Huffington Post did a great write up that compares the two techniques. 

Centrifugal v.s. Cold Press

Centrifugal:      Traditionally, this is the most common type of juicer. These typically utilize a fast-spinning metal blade that spins against a mesh filter, separating juice from flesh via centrifugal force. The juice and pulp are then separated into different containers. The problem with centrifugal juicers is that the fast-spinning metal blade generates heat, which destroys some of the enzymes in the fruits and vegetables you're juicing. The heat also oxidizes those nutrients, rendering less nutritious juice than a cold-press juicer.

Cold Press:     These newer juicers extract juice by first crushing and then pressing fruit and vegetables for the highest juice yield. Because they don't produce heat, they keep more of the fresh ingredients' nutrients intact.

My Race Ended Before It Began

Two months of intense training, a super fast course and dry conditions made the Spartan Race Vegas 2013  perhaps my best chance at a great finish to date. I have been training for this race every day since Arizona and felt better, stronger and faster than ever in the days leading up to the trip to Vegas from my home in SoCal. 

Sadly it never happened. I never raced. I woke up race day morning at 4am and began my routine warm up but about 1 mile into my run I felt dizzy, weak and thought I was going to get sick. After debating my inevitable drop for about 2 hours I made my way to the race site, signed in and with my bib in hand made the call to bow out. 

It was a long internal struggle but a choice that have no regrets making. I have learned the hard way to listen to my body and today was not a day to run in the desert. I have been airlifted off a mountain after pushing it to the limit and know the possible consequences of not listening to oneself.  

How did I end up going from finely tuned 24 hours prior to walking away from the start line 15 minutes from the chant AROO AROO AROO GOOOOOO?

One factor; nutrition. In my case it was that while driving through the desert I lost site of what I wasn't eating. I say wasn't because I simply did not take in enough food the day before the race. I figured less than 1k calories is what I ate on Friday. A normal day for me is so routine that I don't have to think about food. It is a part of my life so much so that I run like clockwork. I was so focussed on the race that I forgot to bring proper meals with me for the ride out and was so into the drive that the little snacks I was having were keeping me from starving but hardly enough to keep me going. 

I set myself up to fail and I failed hard. After all of the races I have traveled to this was the first time I have done this and it's definitely a lesson learned. I slowly began getting calories back into my system and began feeling human again around 5pm that evening. I watched as race photos and times were posted. It looked like a lot of fun.  

So now I have unfinished business in Vegas which I'll tend to next year if I'm lucky. I am now eyeing up NY on June 1 a little wiser and with 7 more weeks to prep. 

Thanks for the all the well wishing leading up to this race. I guess I'll have extra luck in June. :)


Quality Food vs Quantity

A question from Twitter friend (I don't like the word "follower") Justin A. "@itsFLAGSHIP

"@muddyorbloody With all the training you do, do you find it difficult to get the caloric intake you need to fuel yourself? Have any tips? "

There is a common assumption from people around me that all I do is eat and a misconception in the notion that I'll eat anything or that I try to eat as much as possible. 

I'll elaborate further down but here's the snack sized version of my post:

1. I eat every hour or so

2. I eat very small portions

3. I eat for quality not quantity even after workouts

4. It's all relative (Your goals, training, physique and other factors should guide you.)

I'm not a trained athlete. I'm a guy who trains like an athlete and I don't have a coach so I have made and often continue to make mistakes along the way. Up until a few months ago I was operating under the assumption that because I trained so hard I needed to eat hard too. I would eat 5-6 full sized meals a day and during training runs I wouldn't pay much attention to caloric intake. For the most part I was fine with it because I would train in the morning and then eat as much as I could throughout the day hoping that I would heal up in time for the next days' training session. I found that during my races I would bog down after a few miles and no matter how many energy packets I would suck down, how much cargo drink I would consume I couldn't go faster. 

So I went back reevaluated everything from the sleep habits, training sessions and diet. I was lucky enough to gain support from Hammer Nutrition and they opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about nutrition and calories during training, races, recovery and the occasional day off. (Yes I do rest every once in a while!)

Hammer suggests a lower caloric intake than one may think during races and periods of extended exercise. They believe that it is better on the body to give it an amount of food it can handle processing than to overwhelm it. Hammer provides a ton of knowledge on how to fuel during training or a race and what kinds of fuel work best. 

Every day I start my day with a cup of hot water and fresh lemon juice. It doesn't matter if it's a day off, a day of training or there is a race. This is how I wake my system up. 

I work a real job so I have to get up pretty early to train for an hour or more so I won't eat or at the very most I'll have toast with honey. I find that when I eat too much and don't give it enough time to digest I feel heavy and if the training session is short it doesn't make sense to me so I just work off of the energy I have stored up. 

Later that night during the work week I'll train again for about 2 hours. I try to begin my prep about 2 hours before I get out of the office which means I am eating energy packed foods, hydrating and taking any supplements I might be using. After my workout it is usually getting pretty late and I try not to eat after 8pm so I will consume Recoverite (by Hammer) and have a bowl of rice with veggies, or scrambled eggs, a recovery bar or even a small bowl of cereal. Just not too much too later because it keeps your body from fully resting and recovering during the night. Nobody wants to work the night shift!

On weekends It changes a bit because I have more time so I will eat breakfast before training and will go out for about 4-5 hours and do 2-3 different things snacking, refueling in-between.

I eat small power packed meals often because I find that it keeps my energy level consistent through the day. 

See I am a runner first an foremost and so I am not concerned with bulking up but I am concerned with getting stronger so that means I eat high quality foods packed with protein and vital nutrients. I make sure I recover properly and take advantage of the effort I put into my workouts to realize the gains I want to make. I don't eat meat, I don't drink alcohol, I stay away from simple sugars and I get plenty of rest. Coupled with a solid diet I am able to go further with my training which translates into results. Now this is not to say I don't enjoy the occasional strip of bacon, or put syrup on my pancakes every now and then but it's the foundation for the way I live and train. 

I take in between 3500-4000 calories a day spread out over 16 hours which breaks down to 200-250 calories an hour. It's more of a guideline than a rule but I rarely ever feel stuffed, bloated and tired from eating. 

I'm not qualified to say any of this is based on science as I am just a dude working at a tech company in Southern California. I just wanted to share what I have found works for me because I get asked.

TIP: Start experimenting cooking with power foods. I made a lasagna on Sunday with all organic ingredients. I have been eating it all week for lunch and not only did it save me coin it's healthy and tastes freakin awesome. I don't know why lasagna tastes better on the second and third days. It's like pizza the next day. 

Things I am often stocked up on: kale, bananas, sweet potatoes, avocados, brown rice, spinach, apples, almonds, almond butter, honey, flax bread, carrots, other veggies, pasta, quinoa, eggs. I like to make my own pizzas, cookies and breads because I know what goes into them. 

Supplements: Hammer bars and their vegan recovery bars, HEED, Recoverite

Let me know what you're training for.

Thanks for reading. 

Michael

note: I am sponsored by Hammer. I use their products not because I rep them but because they work. If they didn't I wouldn't!

Going Barefoot

I have been getting asked lately about barefoot running and why it's all the rage. I didn't think that it was and I don't always run in 0mm drop shoe. (The difference in height from your heel to your toe). 

My sister recently asked if I thought a certain type of barefoot shoe was good for her. Knowing that she doesn't run much and that she own regular sneaks I suggested she ease her way into a minimal shoe. 

I began making the transition by starting off in a 4mm drop shoe and now I toggle between those and a 0mm drop shoe.

Here are some great tips from Merrell on how to get started and what to expect. 

Jump to Merrell >>>>>

Row Row Row Your Boat at 11k Feet

Rowing at 11.6k feet for 35 minutes is not easy especially after an already full training day. I have been using the Hypoxico Everest Summit 2 for a few weeks now and I love it. I am getting very comfortable pushing myself during periods of oxygen deficiency which is good because my next race is a Spartan Race and my past races have been 1-2 hours of heavy breathing and mud.  

Altitude training, also known as hypoxic training, involves exercising in, living in or otherwise breathing oxygen reduced air for the purpose of improved athletic performance, pre-acclimatization to altitude and/or physical wellness.

Thanks to Hypoxico for the support.