Coming off of a year where I literally did a race each and every month, I honestly have been looking forward to a break from racing. At the same time, I wanted to get back to a structured, planned out year. Initially, I really wanted to try to get back into longer racing. After finishing the 2013 Ironman Wisconsin, I was given strict rules that I would be allowed to race another Ironman until our youngest kid was fully potty-trained. Well, that time is just around the corner. We are figuring that Harper should be potty-trained within the next 10-12 months, tops. Based on this assumption, I should be able to do another Ironman in 2017.
Early on during my 2016 race season planning, I had a general idea of easing my way back into long course triathlon racing. I was eyeing up either Ironman Racine 70.3 or the Door County Half Ironman, both of which were July 17th. I also was looking at doing a couple Olympic distance triathlons (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run). On top of that general plan, I really wanted to do another marathon which I haven't done since October 2014.
But, the more I kept thinking about training for a 70.3 triathlon, the more I began to question whether or not that was really what I wanted. Did I really want to devote the time to get to a pool at least 3 times a week? Did I really want to figure a way to get out for 70-80 mile bike rides? Was I really willing to sacrifice time away from my wife and more importantly my kids during our weekend camping trips to make sure I get my training in? The more I kept asking myself these questions, the more I started thinking that I wasn't mentally ready to commit to that lifestyle. I have been enjoying a less structured training lifestyle. I have been enjoying spending time with my kids and allowing them to be apart of my fitness. If I were to commit to a 70.3, my life would become exponentially more difficult. Especially when it came to finding time to get in bike rides. Getting in runs and swims are relatively easy. The YMCA is generally always open when needed and I have drop-in kids care for up to 3 hours. Sure, the Y does have a couple stationary bikes that are as good as you're going to find for mimicking a road bike bike. But truth be told, nothing will beat or replace riding outdoors. Outside you have to deal with wind, hills, and shifting, all of which are never even considered when you are mindlessly spinning the pedals indoors. Another downfall with cycling, is that it is difficult to get out early in the morning to ride. I enjoy riding on country roads opposed to city streets for the fact that you have to stop less and it is just easier to map out 20, 40, or even longer routes on straight, long, less traveled roads. Riding on country roads in the pitch dark is not only dangerous because of other vehicles, but its hard to see what's ahead when riding in excess of 20 mph. In addition to that downside, I can't take my kids with me on my bike rides. At least with running, I have a running stroller for the two little ones and Maya can now bike along side. So, if I am unable to get up early enough to run before they get up, I can either take them to the YMCA and run on a treadmill or take them with me.
With all that being said, I have made some adjustments to my approach to 2016. I am going to focus on running more than ever. Ever since qualifying for the Boston Marathon at the Fox Cities Marathon after running a 3:03, I have had the goal of running a sub 3 hour marathon. So, this year, I am going to focus early on and do my best to finally run a 2:59 marathon. My biggest, most ambitious undertaking will running a 50 mile ultramarathon in October in Door County. This has always been another goal that has been sitting in the back of my mind.
They say you should wright down your goals and post them for others to see. It'll hold you accountable, it'll keep your goals at the forefront of your mind. So below are my goals for 2016 along with my proposed race schedule.
As usual, a lot has been happening in the Kohl family since my last post. To be honest, I don't even recall my last post that wasn't tied to a race or event. It has now been a few weeks since my last race, which was the Pleasant Prairie International Distance Triathlon. It's kind of funny, or ironic, but I was thinking a past few days while I was planning this post, that I feel busier this summer than I did last summer while I was in the thick of training for Ironman Wisconsin. Truthfully, when comparing this year to last, a lot has changed. First, we added a 5th member to our family 4 months ago, and just saying that amazes me that Harper is already 4 months old. Second, even though my training volume has decreased significantly (8-9 hours/week this year compared to 14-15+ hours/week last year), I have filled my free time with other activities, mainly family stuff. Thirdly, I have worked more overtime at work compared to what I worked last year, not a significant amount, but I have been much more willing to pick up small 4 hour blocks throughout the weeks.
As I compare this summer to last summer, I feel just as busy, but I can tell you, that I have undoubtedly enjoyed the excess freedom this summer. Last summer, I really didn't have free time per se, as any time left over from work, commuting, sleep, and training, was spent with my family, there just wasn't that much left over. On the other hand this summer, I have much more time left over to spend with my daughters and Sarah. Last year, I made it a point to write a blog post at the end of every training cycle. This year, my training cycles are nothing interesting compared to last year. Last year was an adventure, I was doing things I have never done. Each week was a new distance, a new workout, something was new each training cycle. Regardless of how busy or not busy I am, I figured I would do a short post on what my family and I have been up to since my last post.
Delaney's 3rd Birthday
Immediately after coming home from my triathlon in Pleasant Prairie we took Delaney out to dinner for her birthday. Although it wasn't her true birthday, it was our one chance to spend together as a family before her birthday, as Delaney has the unfortunate luck of her birthday falling on or around Country USA. We went out for Mexican at our local restaurant, El Jaripeo. After dinner we had family and friends over to our house for cake and ice cream and Delaney would be able to open her presents. This day was also the day of Team USA's third game of the World Cup pool play, which we were able to watch during dinner.
The next day, I spent the day with just my daughters. We spent the morning picking strawberries. I used these strawberries to make an all natural jam made from just strawberries, rhubarb, honey, and chia seeds. I got the recipe from Facebook, and you can see the recipe HERE. Country USA started up Tuesday night and is a 5 day country music festival in Winnebago County's jurisdiction. It's a long week of work, as we are scheduled 11 hour shifts all week. It's a bummer being stuck working during my daughters birthday. These feelings are greatly increased when I hear how much Delaney misses me, since I am her favorite person and she is mildly obsessed with me.
Maya's First Year of Tee Ball
We signed Maya up for her first organized team sport activity this summer. She started playing tee ball this year. I'll be honest, watching a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds "play" tee ball is one of the more adorable things you'll watch. It is structured very well, with 15 minutes of instruction to start, followed with a 30 minute "game." The game consists of 3 innings in which every kid hits once during their team's half inning. In the field, every time the ball is hit, the kids swam to the ball like a rugby scrum and who ever comes up with the ball throws it to first base. When the last kid hits, all the kids on base run until the bases are clear. Maya, has fallen in love tee ball and baseball this summer. She is slowly starting to understand the basic concepts of baseball. She can really hit the ball well for her first year. She is still working on her throwing and catching coordination. For the fall, Sarah wasn't able to find a local soccer league for her age that works with our schedule. She was able to find a flag football league through our YMCA, which will be entertaining for sure, considering how fun it is to watch tee ball. It's funny too, that I always thought that Maya's name was somewhat unique, but it turns out that the only other girl on her team is also named Maya.
The 2 Maya's
Brewer's Game
This past March, my brother promised a ticket to a Brewer game with him for my birthday present from him and his girlfriend. One week after Country USA I took a final week of paternity leave and we were able to get down to Milwaukee for a Brewer's game. We saw the Brewer's against the Phillies on July 8th. Sarah and I went down with just my brother and his girlfriend. It was a nice get away from the kids. We got some fantastic seats for the game. They were easily the best seats I have sat in for a Brewer's game at Miller Park. The Brewer's ended up loosing the game, but we at least got to see Lyle Overbay hit a Grand Slam, so it wasn't a total disappointment.
Camping
After the Brewer's game that Tuesday, Sarah and I spent majority of our Wednesday packing, because after my SWAT training on Thursday we would be heading to Harrington Beach State Park for a long weekend. Harrington Beach is about 20 miles south of Sheboygan, WI, right on the shores of Lake Michigan. We would be leaving on Thursday and Sarah's family would be arriving on Friday afternoon. We opted to try a new State Park for a weekend of camping from our usual rotation of parks. We had the hopes of letting the girls play on the beach and swim all weekend. Unfortunately that wasn't going to happen. First, it was pretty chilly for a summer day in July. Secondly, due to the crazy cold winter we had, Lake Michigan was extra cold. Water temperatures for that area of Lake Michigan were said to be in the 45 degree range....yea, that's damn cold. It was hard to just walk into the water to get your feet wet. Saturday was spent hiking with our family and just relaxing and letting the kids play. The park was definitely different from our normal camping trips to State Parks. Our campsite was not in the woods at all. We were at a grassy site with a couple small trees. It was more of a field than a woods. It didn't bother me, as it was a nice change of pace. The grassy site was sure better than the typical sandy/dirty campsites you usually find in the wooded sites. I doubt, we would return to Harrington Beach State Park as it didn't offer a lot of great options for our kids to do. The lack of swimming, lack of park, and few toilets near our campsite are just a few reasons we didn't think too highly of the park.
My Training
I have continued to find joy in the lower volume training plan. My workouts have been challenging and rewarding all while being shorter in duration. My weekend workouts have been relatively long compared to other workouts this summer. Lately, a typical weekend workout would be a 90-120 minute bike ride consisting of 3x20:00 at race pace with 10:00 recovery, followed with a short 15 minute cool down brick run. My hardest workout this season was my brick workout this past Sunday. For starters, I was coming off my last night of workout out at Rock USA (think Country USA, but Rock and Roll...duh), and was physically and mentally exhausted. Regardless, I forced myself out the door and rode 34 miles which consisted of 2x30:00 at race pace with 10:00 recovery followed by a 10k run, which consisted as 5k easy, 3.5k tempo, 1.5k easy. My swimming is continually improving. I think the change in focus in the pool has been very beneficial to me. My longest swim on this training plan has been 2,000 meters (1.25 miles). Majority of my pool workouts consist of either longer (300m-500m) tempo intervals, or short (25m-100m) sprint sets. I feel more efficient in the pool and as though, I am actually becoming a decent swimmer. As of writing this post, I have 2 triathlon races left before I shift my focus back to marathon training. On July 27th, I will be racing the Ripon Medical Center Sprint Triathlon in Ripon, WI. The RMC Triathlon will be my last tune up race before racing the USA Triathlon Age Group National Sprint Championships in Milwaukee, WI on August 10th.
Between those two final races, I have a quick rotation at work and then we will be going on vacation with our good friends, Pat and Melissa to Rhinelander, WI. Right after vacation, we will be heading straight to Milwaukee to get my bike checked in on Saturday and then racing in the National Championships on the 10th. That is my final triathlon of the season and will be laying it on the line with aspirations of qualifying for Team USA for the right to race at the World Championships in Chicago, IL.
Well, allow me to re-introduce myself... All kidding aside, it has definitely been a while since I have posted on here. My last post was on May 23rd and my last post about my life and training was even longer. To be honest, life has been b.u.s.y. BUSY.
My last personal post was my Green Bay Marathon Race Report. Literally the Monday following my withdrawal from the Marathon, I started my triathlon training. I can't take any credit for designing my plan. For the first time ever, I will be using a non customized, general training plan. I scoured the web for any type of training plan I could find. In the past I have always created my own training plans. These plans were based on distance. I know how to structure a plan and build distance onto what was done the previous weeks. I felt comfortable with that. I even created my own 9 month training plan for Ironman Wisconsin. But, I'll be honest, I have no idea how to structure a training plan for a short course racing, where endurance isn't necessarily the key factor. I had no clue what type of individual workouts I should be doing for each individual sport. I ultimately found 3 plans which I felt fit my personal life, strengths, and weaknesses. This "winning" training plan is actually an Olympic Training program, which I found on the European Triathlete Magazine's website. The title of the article/program is "Training Plan: Your Fastest Olympic Distance Triathlon" check it out by just clicking on the link. The program lined up perfect with the 12 weeks between the Green Bay Marathon and my final "A" race, USA Triathlon's Age Group National Championships on August 10th. Sure, that race is a sprint distance race (750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) and the training plan is for an Olympic distance race, but I wanted a little more challenging training plan, plus the two distances are pretty similar.
Since starting my triathlon training, I have absolutely fallen in love with this type of training. To this date, my longest day of training was just 90 minutes. The training is short, with a lot of emphasis on intensity. Even though my training volume is down from what I grew accustomed to last year with my IM training, I still feel as though I being challenged each and every workout. Some of my favorite workouts thus far include a double brick set of 2x(20min bike at race pace; 20min run in zone 2); Shorter swim sets followed immediately by a brief intense run; and a lot of pace specific interval sets on the bike, such as a 75min ride with 3x15min at race effort with 5min easy spin.
Even my dog, Bella, has enjoyed getting back to running
As far as the condition of my calf which ultimately caused me to pull out of the marathon has been a non-issue since coming off the marathon. I took a full week off from any running and substituted all my scheduled runs with a session on an elliptical for the equivalent duration. Since taking the week off from running, I slowly introduced running back into my training plan, depending on how it was scheduled in. For the past couple weeks, I have been following my training plan as prescribed with no residual pain in either of my calves. I stopped running in my Newtons (whether or not they are the root cause) and purchased a pair of Zoot's for my new triathlon racing shoes. My hypothesis is that the last few weeks leading up to the marathon, when I first started receiving Dry Needle treatments, I never stopped trying to run. This constant cycle of getting treatments followed by a day of rest, followed by an attempt at running again, never fully allowed my calf to heal. After being smart and withdrawing at the first sign of pain, and taking time off from running, I think my calf was ultimately given ample time to heal. I fully believe that Dry Needling aided in the healing process of my calf, I just never allowed it to fully heal prior to the marathon. Either way, it appears that my calf issues that were ailing me just one month ago, are a thing of the past.
As committed as I have been to my triathlon training the last 4 weeks, I have finally fully committed to eating a healthy diet. I know I have claimed to make the change, or commented on how I wanted to change, but now, since May 26th, I have been eating a very strict high fat, low carbohydrate diet. I have been eating the exact same thing every day. Except for the weekend we had our friends come visit, I have been spot on and not had any of the cravings I thought I would. Generally speaking, I eat my high fat kale shake after waking up (Recipe Here); almonds, sardines, guacamole, and vegetables for lunch; and yogurt with frozen berries, hard boiled eggs, and a Wild Friends Nut Butter Packet before my workout. Depending on how hard/long my workout is, I may include a post workout recovery drink. Keep in mind this is my diet while working 3rd shift, so my greens smoothie is had during dinner time (my breakfast) and the rest is had while at work overnight, before my morning workout. When you break down the nutrients of this diet, I am roughly consuming 60% of calories from fat, 20% from protein, and 20% from carbohydrate. In just the last 3 weeks, I have lost roughly 6 pounds (most likely fat) and honestly feel really good.
My triathlon race season kicks off this upcoming weekend with the High Cliff Sprint Triathlon. Last year I raced the Half Iron distance race here. The distances of their sprint is a .25 mile swim, 22 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. I am treating this race is truly a training race for me - especially being my first triathlon of the year. Sure, I'd love to have a great finish near the top of my age group and near the top of the overall standings, but ultimately I have 2 specific goals for the race. First, I want to have clean, fast transitions, and second, I want to have a strong bike with an average speed around 23mph. Part of my clean and fast transition goal is my experimenting with not wearing socks. For the first time ever I have found a pair of shoes that I am able to run sockless in without any issues. So this will be the first race I complete with out the hassle of socks. Oddly enough, as excited as I am to start racing triathlons again, it honestly doesn't compare to how excited I am camp that weekend at High Cliff State Park with my wife and daughters. The triathlon is based at a State Park and we jumped on reserving a site early in the year. The race is on Saturday morning and we are staying Friday through Sunday, which will make it super easy for me to get the race on race day, but also allow us to enjoy the remainder of the day Saturday just relaxing by a campfire until we head home Sunday.
The best part of my new training schedule, is all the free time. Having all this free time has allowed me to spend literally all my free time away from training and work, with my kids. I know I have mentioned to Sarah at least a couple times already that last year, I grew accustomed to spending all my free time training, that I never realized how much I was away from my kids. This year, my training volume is just a mere fraction of where it was last year, I realized how much I missed last year, honestly, it makes me feel kind of guilty. I'm not saying I regret doing the Ironman last year, because that still remains one of the greatest days of my life, I'm just saying it's something I am learning. In just the past 4 weeks since the marathon, I have probably spent as much, if not more time alone with my kids - both with and without Sarah. Granted a lot of this has to do with the fact I have taken a couple of weeks of paternity leave since the birth of Harper.
The week following the marathon, I was still off from work on paternity leave. That week, I brought the three girls on a nature hike one day and then to Mulberry Lane Farm another day. Then, Sarah's cousin got married over Memorial Day Weekend. This threw a wrench in our traditional plans of spending an extended weekend at my in-laws cabin, but we made the most of it for sure. The next weekend our good friends from college came to visit from Minneapolis. It has been almost 7 months since we last saw each other. That weekend, Dave and I were able to sneak out early Saturday morning for a quick 9 holes of golf and then spent the evening at a Timber Rattlers baseball game. It was a great summer weekend. The next week, Sarah and I brought the girls to Menominee Park and Zoo in Oshkosh. This past Thursday was Maya's first ever dance recital for her spring dance class. She was so excited for her recital all week. It was adorable watching her perform her dance with her class for us.
For summer just getting started, I am extremely excited for what's still in store!
It's been a while since I last wrote, so now seems like a good time to get caught up. Harper is now approaching 3 weeks, which sounds like no big deal, but to any parent, it's crazy. To think that our last baby is already 3 weeks old. Yes, I said last. We get asked quite often if Harper will be our last and both Sarah and I, without hesitation claim, "oh yea!" Not that we don't or couldn't handle a fourth child. It truly comes down to logistics and finances. Raising a kid is not cheap (ahhh....duh). If you would have asked me just one month ago and asked me, personally, if I wanted a fourth kid, I would have laughed, asked, "are you serious," and come right back with a short two letter answer..."NO." But, with Harper here, and most of the "honeymoon period" over and done with. Having a third kid around the house isn't half bad. Sure, it helps having Super Mom around the house all the time, but Sarah and I have adjusted rather nicely to being a family of 5 from the previous family of 4. Sarah has been at home since Harper was born and will continue to stay home with her and the girls until the beginning of May, at which time, I have taken some time away from work to help out around the house and to keep Harper at home just a little longer, before sending her to childcare. It really hasn't been all the bad around our house. Hectic? Yes. Loud? Sure. Messy? Oh yea. Enjoyable? You bet! Sarah and I have helped each other out when needed. Sarah is and always has been the baby whisperer of our relationship. And truthfully, I don't really "do" babies. Sarah and I have each taken on our own responsibilities based on our strengths. Sarah cares for Harper and her around-the-clock needs, while I handle the two older girls, who don't have the same constant needs, but seem to have their own frustrations.
Cousins!
Grandma and Grandpa Kohl
Raising a baby will take a lot outta ya!
Simply adorable
As my title clearly states, Sarah and I are now officially outnumbered, 2:3. 3 munchkins to 2 adults. It's not fair, not at all. But that isn't the only way I am currently outnumbered. There is also a current ratio of 4:1, yes, four to one. That ratio is girls to boys. As Three Dog Night infamously wrote years ago, "One is the loneliest number." But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love having my little girls. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one teammate on my side, but, as I often say, everything happens for a reason. I think if money was not an issue, Sarah and I would definitely try to have a 4th kid with hopes of my elusive son. But, let's be honest, money is most definitely an issue and our house is not going to be growing overnight with the size of our family. So, we are only able to have as many kids as our paychecks will allow. Trust me, we are really pushing the limits of our paychecks to see just how many kids we can support every other week. But I know neither Sarah nor I would have it any other way. We are happy, all 5 of us.
The first 3 weeks have come and gone so quickly. Last weekend, we brought Harper and our family to Jennifer Lee Photography in Downtown Little Chute for our family pictures and Harper's newborn pictures. We have only seen a couple of photos so far, but can not wait to see the rest of them. That same day was Maya's Preschool Family Night at the YMCA. For a dish to pass, Maya and I made little fruit bowls that were made to look like dolphins. It was something I saw on Pinterest earlier that week (shared by my mother) and I must say they turned out pretty cool. Harper has had a ton of visitors ranging from family, friends, and coworkers. She is truly a blessed kid and lucky to have the family she does!
Short Training Update
With it being so long since my last post, it has been even longer since I last wrote about my training. I have registered for just about all my races for 2014 which means my race schedule for this year is just about complete. I still need to register for the Door County Fall 50 Ultramarathon, but the registration period for that does not open until April 1st, so I still have a couple days until I even have the ability to register for that race. There are a couple of other local races I have had my eye on that I have not registered for yet, those being the Neenah Duathlon on May 3rd and the Green Bay Triathlon on June 1st. There are a couple of stipulations as to why I have not registered for either of these races yet. First, the duathlon, it falls on the day after my cousins wedding. Yea, not the best atmosphere to be in the night before a race, but we will see. As for the GB Tri, I am scheduled to work the night before and the race starts at 7:00am in Green Bay. I am done with work at 6:10am in Oshkosh, an hour away. So, once again, it falls into a "we'll see" category.
As far as my training, it has been right where I want it to be for the end of March. I am on track for the Green Bay Marathon on May 18th. My shin/calf has been a non-issue ever since I took the three weeks off between January 6th and the 26th. Since my 30 mile run on my 30th birthday, I have changed gears from a volume focused training plan to an intensity based training plan. Each of my runs has a specific prescribed pace and purpose. I have done Goal Marathon Pace workouts (6:50/mile), Tempo Runs (6:20/mile), Mile Repeats (5:30/mile), Long Runs (7:30-8:30/mile) and Easy Runs (6:50-7:50/mile). I have still been doing intermittent bike and swim workouts between my running. Today was actually the first day I was able to get my bike outside and actually ride outdoors. It was about 36* when I went out the door this morning but was windy as hell. It's always fun to do that first outdoor ride of the year, because it is always a rude awakening to remember the challenges of hills and wind. It's so easy to forget that when your stuck indoors for hours and hours throughout the winter.
As I said, my training has been going great so far, but I find myself needing to keep myself in check. I find that am I constantly saying, "Hey, you aren't training for an Ironman this year!" It's like I am always wanting to do more, go longer, add an additional bike ride or swim when and where I can. Especially now, I need to just stay focused on my primary goal of running a sub 3 hour marathon, which I think I have been doing a good job of so far. Tomorrow I have my third Marathon Goal Pace (MGP) workout. I have been doing these workouts with a total distance between 12-16 miles with built in longer intervals completed at MGP. For instance, tomorrow, I am scheduled to run 3 repeats of 3 miles done at MGP with 2-3 miles rest/recovery between intervals. My total volume is 14 miles, so I am planning on running a 3 mile warm up before my first interval and end with an easy 2 mile cool down. These are challenging, but very rewarding workouts. I have high expectations for these workouts and hoping that they will properly prepare me for the Green Bay Marathon in a month and half.
My first race of the year is coming up in a couple weeks with the Oshkosh Half Marathon on April 13th. My goal is to finish around 1:23 (6:20/mile pace). If I am able to run a 1:23 half, I will feel very confident in running a 2:59 marathon a month later. The only caveat is that I work the night before and after the race. So fatigue will definitely play a factor. I will still go out and try to run a 1:23 race, but my expectations are not nearly as high as they would be if I was not working the night before.
Our SWAT Team did a Photo shoot with a local newspaper
to recognize our SWAT Team of the Year Award.
This was one of the pictures taken. Yes, that's me on the left.
With everything falling in place with our family and Sarah and I getting back into a routine, I plan on writing a little more regularly about my family and training life.
So....until next time!
Be fast, be strong, and carry on!
February 18th was my final day on the Whole30. My 30 day adventure (or how ever you want to phrase it) began on January 20th. I had no idea what to expect. Would it be hard? Would I struggle? Would I really feel any different? Would I even make it the full 30 days? When I started, I was at a point in my life where my eating habits were progressively getting worse and worse. I found myself binge eating foods that I have had no issues saying "no" to. I was drinking more beer then I have in the past and just found myself in a downward spiral of uncontrollable cravings that I would regularly give in to. I had lost all my self control and discipline when it came to food and diet. My weight had exceeded 180 pounds, which for me was well above even my high end of where I wanted to be. I needed to do something. I knew that I had to do something or I'd continue going the wrong direction. I had tried simply cutting the amount of food I would consume during meals, but then would find myself eating between meals or before meals to satisfy my hunger. I also knew that working third shift had a significant impact on my eating habits and knew going in that I would need some flexibility in what ever diet/program I decide to attempt. That's is when I pulled up the Whole30 and read up on it. I remember hearing about the W30 from a gal at work who attempted it last year, but I never really dove into exactly what it was about. So, I did some reading and figured I would give it a try. It sounded simple in terms of rules and the format. While at the same time, sounded pretty challenging, in terms of actually accomplishing the Whole30 for the full 30 day period. Basically, you eliminate all added sugars, artificial sweeteners, sugars, grains, dairy, legumes, and white potatoes from your diet and rely solely on veggies, fruit, and high quality meats. Again, simply, yet challenging. And hell, I like a good challenge. I was asked quite frequently, why I chose to do this Whole30 when I really don't need to lose any weight. Well, first my main reasons for doing the W30 were not weight loss, as I just explained, but I knew that would also happen and I would definitely welcome the weight loss. I weighed myself at the start of my W30 and was 184.4 pounds. The first thing I did the morning after day 30 was jump on the same scale. I weighed 172 pounds. I lost 12 pounds on the Whole30! I was happy, and definitely can tell I had lost some body fat over the past 30 days.
The final 9 days (days 22-30) were actually the easiest of the days. It hit me on day 22 or 23 that I really feel better, or so I thought. During the final week and 2 days of my W30, my work schedule had changed a bit. I was scheduled to train our department on our new CAD system for our in squad computers, and was assigned to "normal" work hours of 8-5. It was great, I was sleeping at night, going to bed early and getting up earlier for morning workouts before leaving for work. I felt great during my workouts and never really felt sore or tired throughout the day while at work. I was getting up before 5am and usually working out before 5:45am. It was during this week that I reintroduced caffeinated coffee to my diet after abstaining from caffeine for 3 full weeks. I have only been making my own partially caffeinated coffee by using one scoop of decaf with 2 scoops of regular coffee in my morning coffee. I would drink a small cup of coffee on my way to the gym in the morning and then would not eat until while on my way into work. I made a simple breakfast of diced sweet potato and diced apple sauteed in a small amount of clarified butter topped with unsweetened coconut flakes and cinnamon. This has become one of my favorite simple meals for post workout. I would also have a couple of hard boiled eggs as a source of protein. I stayed satiated without cravings until lunch which I would eat around 12:30. I packed my own lunch of a salad, sardines, and some veggies. I would then have a simple afternoon snack of nuts and a piece of fruit (either grapefruit or a kiwi). At night we would have dinners as a family and then I would do the same thing the very next day. We had some of my favorite meals during this past phase of the W30; some of which include, Mocha Rubbed Beef Roast, Chicken Bacon Mushroom Quiche, Zucchini Noodles with Pesto topped with Baked Spiced Chicken, Crab Cakes, and a Slow Cooker Whole Chicken. I even took the time to make my own mayonnaise, almond butter, and ketchup.
Delaney helping make the pesto sauce
On Tuesday, we went out to dinner with my in-laws for my Father-in-Law's birthday. I chose to order their Liver and Onions, something that I had not had in years. It was surprisingly good and a successful W30 meal....a win-win! The hardest moment came on Valentine's Day, Day 26 of my W30. I was damn close to just saying 26 is close enough, I am not going to let my W30 ruin my Valentine's Day. Sarah and I had made plans to go out for dinner with our good friends, Pat and Melissa for a couple's date. We went to a high end Latin restaurant- Osorio's Latin Fusion. I read each individual menu item and chose to order the Baked Sea Bass topped with a lime, cucumber, cilantro sauce, with two sides. I chose to order their vegetable medley and a salad for my two sides. My salad came which was fine, I ordered it with out cheese and no croutons. Then my meal came, it looked soooooooo good, it smelled amazing. The fish was flaky and done perfectly, but it was topped with a cream sauce, obviously made with dairy. The veggies, were a Mexican/Latin inspired veggie mix with spinach, beans, corn, and cheese - basically a lot of things I can't eat. I sat there and just stared at my dinner, trying to decide what to do. Do I just not eat it and get it to-go and then eat it after my W30 is done? Do I say screw it, and just eat it. Luckily, Melissa ordered fajitas, which came in a large lava rock bowl and consisted of just meat, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and seasonings. She offered her dinner to me, which I gladly accepted. I gave her my fish and veggies and I just ate the meat and vegetable portion of her fajitas. Yup, I did that, part of me thought, how pathetic, while the other part of me thought, nice work, you're still going strong and only have a few more days left.
The last couple days came and went and I had continued to feel pretty damn good. I am curious however what was causing me to feel noticeably better. It is either one of three things or a combination of the following. 1. It quite possibly could be my very strict diet I had been following with the W30 guidelines. 2. I had started supplementing with several of Hammer Nutrition's top daily essential supplements specifically formulated for endurance athletes. 3. It very well could have been the fact that I was on a normal sleep pattern for the first time in a long while. My personal feelings are that it was ultimately a combination of all three things. There is no way I would just look past how clean I had been eating over the past 30 days. But at the same time, Hammer's essential supplements are highly engineered and formulated to allow athletes to better recover and perform at a higher level more frequently with less built up fatigue. Even with those two significant facts, having the ability to sleep at night and live a normal life for more then just a day or two, no doubt, had a positive effect on my body, recovery, and mood.
Maya at Gymnastics class.
My training had continued to progress nicely over throughout this past 9-10 days. The past week, I had a total training volume of over 10 hours. My running is back to a high level. During this past week were I had a total volume over 10 hours, I ran a total of over 46 miles. I ran 8 miles twice during the mid week and then had two key workouts on the weekend. With my sights firmly set on running 30 miles on my 30th birthday, I had planned a back-to-back long run on Saturday and Sunday. On my training plan I had a 12-16 mile run on Saturday with a 10-12 mile run on Sunday. I did my run outside on Saturday and felt so good, I opted to run 17 total miles on Saturday. After my run, I felt fantastic. I was not sore (relatively speaking) and was moving great. Sunday I woke up feeling pretty good. My quads were a little sore, but more of a fatigue-based soreness as opposed to a painful-soreness. We got a decent about of snow over night and chose to run indoors at the YMCA on a treadmill. I again felt pretty darn good and ran a total of 13 miles on Sunday for a total of 30 miles covered in two days. I was thrilled with how I ran and how I felt during and after both runs. I left that weekend feeling confident for my 30 mile run which was now just two weeks away. My plan is now to complete a 20 mile long run this upcoming Sunday to work on my fueling strategy and then cut my mileage and rest the next week before running a 3 mile loop 10 times for 30 miles on my 30th birthday, March 2nd. After running my 30 mile long run, I will begin focusing my efforts on running the Green Bay Marathon in under 3 hours. I am extremely excited and confident right now and am feeling motivated again, especially coming off my shin/calf injury last month. I have been in a great mood lately, similar to how I felt throughout most of last year as I trained for Ironman Wisconsin. At times, I feel that I am setting myself up for more success then I had last year. I feel this way mainly because I think my extended rest period I took immediately after finishing the Ironman and even the extra break I took following the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I also can't look past the 3 week hiatus I took from running in January. I just need to be careful not to get overly ambitious and end up pushing myself too hard/far too fast. I have taken the mindset to listen to my body better and pay attention to any possible signs of injury or fatigue and have been using that as a way for me to formulate a day-to-day training plan as I build up to my 30 mile run on March 2nd.
Delaney and I at my cousins hockey game.
All that is left at this point is to figure out where do I go from here in regards to my diet and nutritional decisions. I have just spent the past 30 days eating extremely strict. I would read nutritional labels closer than I ever had and simply said "no" to so many foods that I regular consume without ever thinking otherwise. So now what the hell do I do? Do, I reward myself for doing a good job and eat food that I had wanted to eat the past 30 days but didn't allow myself to? Do I continue to eat this way with out the same level of paranoia and allow for slips and a few non-Whole30 approved foods? Or do I slowing reintroduce specific food groups and see how my body reacts to that specific food to see if I have a reaction or intolerance to specific food groups (gluten, oats, dairy, legumes, etc). I will tell you that on my 1st day off the Whole30, was already a pretty busy day as I had SWAT training from 8a-4p and then I had to work third shift that night from 10p-6a, so I had little room for snacking or treats. I woke up Wednesday morning at 5am to go to the YMCA and run. I ran a solid 9 miles and made myself a small bowl of oatmeal (one thing I REALLY wanted throughout my W30). I made it was whole oats, full fat coconut milk, banana, almond butter, chia seeds, wheat germ, and unsweetened coconut flakes. I also had two hard boiled eggs. I then attended our SWAT training which we worked through lunch and did not eat lunch until close to 2:30p. I never once had any noticeable stomach pains or issues and never felt hungry or low on energy. For lunch I ordered a Greek Salad which had feta cheese, kalmata olives, artichoke hearts, and a vinaigrette dressing with two pieces of pita bread (2 things I was not allowed to eat while on the W30). After getting home from training I had a clementine orange at home and a small partial handful of a trail mix (nuts, raisins, and m&ms) and then went to bed and slept from 5-9. Before leaving for work I ate a slice of my left over Quiche, another small portion of trail mix and then I dipped some banana chips in peanut butter. Again, more food that are not that inherently unhealthy, but definitely do not live up to W30 standards. Honestly, up to this point I have not felt any different in the 24+ hours after finishing my W30. I have had the same energy levels, same cravings, same hunger pangs, and same overall feeling. Personally I am going to continue to eat with an awareness of what I am putting in my body but will definitely eat some non-Whole30 approved foods (peanut butter, some foods with small amounts of added sugar (pickles), and high quality breads). I will monitor how my body reacts to these foods and make note of specific food that cause my digestive system issues/discomfort. I will continue to eat freely for the next week or two, at least through my birthday. I will not restrict myself the weekend of my birthday and eat freely that weekend and have some beer as well. After that weekend I think I may try another diet experience to see how my body reacts to a different diet philosophy. I think I will follow a diet recommended by my sponsor Hammer Nutrition. Their diet is basically the exact opposite of the Whole30's diet philosophies. Hammer's diet recommendations are more plant/grain based as opposed to meat/vegetable based. Hammer recommends that you minimally eat meat, once a week at most. And focus on fruits, vegetables, and grains as the main staples for your diet. I would still limit if not continue to avoid any added sugars and artificial sweeteners in foods. But not nearly as strict as I have been. I will start using fuels and supplements which I had avoided the past 30 days due to the added sugars in them. I will continue to avoid junk food and limit between meal snacking. This will be a dramatic switch in my nutrient breakdown from a higher fat higher protein lower carb diet to a high carb, moderate fat, low protein diet. I will follow this protocol for 30 days and see how my body reacts. I will compare my body weight, overall feeling of health, recovery, sleep, and overall mood over those 30 days and compare them to how my 30 days of following the W30 protocol to see which style of diet is better suited for my body. I have attached the PDF file of a simple breakdown of how I plan on eating while following the recommendations set forth by Hammer Nutrition. I am really curious to see how my body reacts. I really think it won't have a large impact on my body as I feel I have a rather strong stomach and have had very little issues with my digestive system when I eat highly nutritious foods including gluten, grains, dairy, and other typically sensitive foods....but there is only one way to really find out and that's to experiment, which is exactly what I intend to do.
