Kettlebells and Sprints

I tested this workout this morning, made a few tweaks, and I’m proud to say this an awesome workout for a crisp, sunny morning.  Have at it:

2 lap run (1/2 mile)

30 Double-Handed Swings

1 lap sprint (.25 mile)

30 Single-Handed Swings (15 each side)

2 lap run

30 Two-Handed Releases

1 lap sprint

30 Figure 8′s (15 each direction)

2 lap run

100 kettlebell situps

Done.

I used greenie for the whole thing (12KG) and it was a good workout.  I finished in about 30 minutes (not including situps).  got a 2 mile run in, and a bunch of good swings.  (We start with a half-mile run, so that by the time you get to the quarter-mile it will feel short, so you should sprint it.  It’s all psychology!)  My runs were at a 9 min/mile pace, and my sprints we at a 8 min/mile pace.  (Give or take… I’m sucking wind on the hills near my house… so if you use a track, step it up if you can.)

When you get to the situps, put on a nice long song and try to finish all 100 before the song is over.  My new favorite is Guns n’ Roses, November Rain.  It’s 9 minutes long and it has a false ending at about 7 minutes in… so just when I think I’m not going to make it, I’ve got 2 more minutes to pound it out till the end.

Try it out, and let me know what you think!

Peace,

Kate

Cowards die many times before their deaths…

It started as a perfect day.  Blue skies and 50 degrees.  Perfect running weather for the Boston Marathon.  But 24 hours later I’m sitting here at my computer looking for answers.  What went wrong?  Why did this happen?

As a runner and an athlete, I am trying to figure this out.  I’m not sure we’ll ever know all the answers, but in my effort to sort things out, I am reminded of the Atlanta Olympic games.  A bomb exploded in the “town square” of the Olympics, and there were thousands of spectators.  Well that sounds familiar.  Then the President (Bill Clinton) denounced the explosion as an evil act of terror and vowed to do everything possible to track down and punish those responsible.  Again… a bit of a deja vu.

“Damn It!”  I say out loud.  “It’s Athlete Envy”.

Instead of celebrating an athlete’s achievements and dedication to the sport, we often find envy and jealousy.  In both Atlanta and Boston we had people who were competing in a sport who were at the top of their game.  They were strong, enthusiastic and physically fit.  All enviable qualities.  There’s a fair amount of research on jealousy related to both individual and team-sport athletes.  It’s become prevalent in high schools and universities.  It’s possible this was the impetus to strike back on athletes and their families.

Am I paranoid?  Maybe.  Am I over thinking this?  It’s possible.  Here’s the hitch… the winner finished in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 22 seconds.  But the first bomb didn’t even go off until about 4 hours into the race.  Now I’m confused.  To simply qualify to run the Boston Marathon you need to show a qualifying time of under 4 hours.  (with a few exceptions… 4:10 for men over 65).  So if the bomber was going after elite athletes, then the timing was all wrong.  But the race draws in about half a million spectators.  So now we’re back to the families… the innocent bystanders.  And now my heart breaks thinking about 8 year-old Martin Richard, may he rest in peace.

Was it athlete envy?  I don’t know… but I’ll sign off with these words from the Bard:

“Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.”   -William Shakespeare

In Peace,

Be safe, stay strong and keep swinging…

Kate

November Rain + TGU’s = Sweatstorm!

Are you ready to try something new to kick off the weekend?  I’ve got a challenge for you:

Get out several sizes of kettlebells… put on Guns n’ Roses “November Rain”, and knock out 9 minutes of uninterrupted TGU’s (Turkish Get Ups).

Take No Breaks!   Just switch sides when one hand gets tired.  Sure, you can alternate getting up to standing, getting up to one knee, or getting up to side plank… but the point is… keep working for the whole song… and enjoy the bliss!

Good Luck… and Happy Friday!

Peace,
Kate

Race Strategy: On the road to the Tough Mudder

In my last post, I talked about strategic fitness planning for the year, marking off your calendar with highlighters, and how to break your races down into 3 categories:  Challenging (A); Maintaining (B); and Fun (C).

Breaking down your races into these categories will allow you to block off the necessary training time for your “A” races so that you can go into them strong and confident.

Then, as you check out your highlighted calendar, you’ll quickly see where your busy weeks are.  This will help you decide where to pop in some B and C races to either maintain your fitness level, or just have fun.  Training doesn’t have to stop during vacation, but you might want to consider this “maintenance time” instead of trying something new and challenging the week you return from your tropical vacation or some other lovely “meant-to-be-relaxing” getaway!

Here’s what my calendar looks like so far:

A Race:  March 24th:  The Big Climb, 69 flights up the Columbia Tower

B Race:  May 19th: Beat the Bridge 8K

B Race:  July 27th: Torchlight 8K

A Race:  August 21st: Swim for Life, 2.5 mile swim across Lake Washington

C Race: September 8th: Athleta Iron Girl 5K… (My daughter is going to run this with me… Go Claire!)

A Race: October 5th: Tough Mudder (need I say more? Click and watch the video if you haven’t already!)

C Race:  October 27th: Run Scared 5K… (I’m hoping both kids dress up for this fun little Halloween race!)

I’ve got less than 2 months until my first A race, so I’m swinging kettlebells as often as possible, running stairs twice a week, going to CrossFit twice a week, and taking in my favorite core yoga class every Monday.  It’s been pretty rainy lately, so I’m running a lot less, but the Big Climb requires more stair drills anyway, so that’s what I’m focusing on.

Happy Planning!

Peace,
Kate

Strategic Fitness Planning for 2013

Strategic Planning may sound like something big corporations do… but I’m talking about PERSONAL strategic planning!  And yes, it can bring you happiness!

This time of year, many of us are making New Year’s Resolutions. (In my family growing up, I remember my Dad passing out pencils and we would all sit around on New Year’s Day and write down several things we resolve to do in the new year, usually something that was sure to help improve our lives!  Perhaps just the act of writing them down made them stick more?)

Anyway, for many people, resolutions tend to be diet and fitness related.  For example… “I resolve to stop eating a whole bag of Oreos while I watch reruns of Law and Order.”  Or, ”I resolve to go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6am.”

I got a bit of a shock last week though when I was listening to a story on NPR about resolutions, and the reporter quoted a statistic that said 80% of the people who buy gym memberships in January because of a New Year’s Resolution will stop working out by mid-February.  Shocking!  Now we know how fitness clubs make their money.  But I have to think that these quitters didn’t have a good plan.  (and maybe they didn’t have kettlebells in their basement either!)

Goals are important, but if you’re really serious about achieving your goals, then you need a solid plan.  Some people would say it’s impossible to achieve goals without a plan.  I had a boss that would often walk around saying “If you fail to plan, plan to fail.”  That was his mantra, and I’m sure he said it to every client that walked in and out of our doors.  Another way of look at that is: “People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going!”

I’d like to show you how, when you take a few minutes for some “Personal Strategic Planning” for your fitness, you will find success, happiness and strength!

It’s January.  Time to go to the book store and get a brand new 2013 calendar.  (Yes, I know there’s a calendar on your phone, and another one on your computer… but there’s something very motivating and satisfying about seeing your strategic plan all laid out in a 12-month view, trust me on this one!)

Get a calendar where you can see the whole year on a single page… like this one:

My fitness goal in 2013 is to compete in more races this year (and a wider variety of races) as way to train and prep myself for my most challenging race, The Tough Mudder, in early October.  So I’m going to do a little strategic planning and do my “Calendar Exercise” for the year.  This is a way I can find out how much free time I have to train & compete so that I can plan my races accordingly.

First, I mark off time away from home with a green highlighter.… Vacations and business trips…  These are the weeks I know I will be out of town.  If you travel for business for longer than just a couple of days, this is important.  Sure, lots of people can work out in hotel gyms, but your training schedule and diet will definitely be impacted while away.

Then I mark off all holidays in yellow.  This is especially important if you have school-aged kids, because when they are home from school this will definitely impact your training schedule.  But even if you don’t have kids, holidays can definitely impact diet and training.

(My gosh, the kids just had 2 weeks off over Christmas, and they get another week in February, and then 2 more weeks in April… sometimes I wonder what’s going on around here!)  I’ve marked off the whole summer!

Now I’ve created a bird’s eye view of what my year looks like so far.  This provides a good starting point for planning my race schedule.

The next step is to find a website that lists all the races in your area, and compare those dates to your “un-highlighted” weeks.  I’ve recently discovered a pretty comprehensive site called Running in the USA. http://www.runningintheusa.com/

From what I can tell, these guys have spent many hours compiling a variety of races and events all across the country.  I found some great events that match my un-highlighted weeks and I’m excited to get these on the books.

Another popular resource in this area is “Race Center Northwest.”  You can pick up a copy of this magazine most places, or go to their website: http://www.racecenter.com/race-calendar/

For more strategic planning, I break my races down into 3 categories… A races, B races and C races.

A-Races are challenging, they take a tremendous amount of commitment and training leading up to the event (possibly months), you may consider going on a specialized diet in preparation for these events, and recovery may take several days or even a week.   These are races which stretch your athletic ability and possibly experience.

B-Races may also be challenging, but they are not a stretch of your capabilities.  These events help you to maintain your strength and speed and will push you to perform well, and they’re often used to achieve a new PR.  Different from the A-race, training ramp-up is moderate (maybe a couple of weeks) because they are more on par with your current level of fitness.  Chances are you’ve already secured a few good times in similar events, so recovery is easier.

C-Races are typically short and fun, maybe even social… you run them with someone else, or you dress up silly and have a good time.  (A good example of this is the St. Patty’s day run where everyone ends up at the pub downtown.)  These races can be performed on a whim, recovery is minimal to zero.  Most runners would consider C-races a good replacement for a daily workout.

Now I look for my  “windows of opportunity” and then space out my races according to how difficult they are and how big my chunks of time are.  For instance, if I’ve got a nice block of 2 to 4 weeks, that’s a perfect window to pop in a B-race.  If I’ve got a larger window, consider an A race.  Check registration dates and go ahead and sign up now if you can.  Otherwise, put a reminder in your calendar when registration opens.

Of course… the planning process is JUST the first step!

1. Strategic Planning: mark your calendar and make a weekly exercise plan.

2. Execution: Sign up and start training!

3. Goal Setting: Consider what times you’d like to get for various races and set some goals.

3. Track Progress: How were your times?  Did you meet your goals?  Did you place for your age-group?

4. Expand Skills:  If you’re always running, how about trying a swim race, or a bike race… or even a triathlon?

5. Stay Committed:  Don’t give up!  You’ll no doubt hit some weeks when your energy level is low, or you get the flu, or you pull a muscle… whatever… but don’t let these things get you sidetracked.  Focus on the entire journey and stay committed to your plan.

6. Reward Success: Success can be rewarded all year!  I believe in small rewards for each accomplishment and then a nice big reward when everything has finished up for the year.  I usually like to start indulging around Thanksgiving, which is also my birthday, and I continue the party straight through Christmas and the New Year holiday!  Something to look forward to!

We’ll talk more about this as the months roll by, but I hope I’ve inspired you to do a little strategic planning for 2013.  I’ll post my highlighted calendar in a few days once I have my races figured out… but let’s get planning!

Peace,
Kate

Happy New Year… Welcome 2013!!!

What are your fitness goals for this year? How many races have you signed up for in 2013? Are you ready for a new challenge?  My Paleo Challenge starts on Monday, Jan 7th… so I’m indulging until then.  In the meantime I am also working on my goals. I’d love to hear yours, and then let’s map out a fitness plan to make them possible and achievable.  I just heard on the radio today that 80% of the people who buy a gym membership because of a New Year’s resolution will stop working out by mid-February.  Hey, if the kettlebells are in your basement, there’s no excuse!

k.

80% of people …

“80% of people who get a new gym membership because of a New Year’s resolution will stop going to the gym by mid-February.”

This Girl is on Fire!

Thanksgiving in Seattle is usually rainy, but wow… we’ve had so much rain (downpours, really) over the last few days, it’s been hard to get motivated to run.  However, the sun came out this morning and made it very easy to get outside and burn some post-Thanksgiving calories.

By the way, today is my last day at 44.  I’m savoring it.  Tomorrow I’ll be officially “half-way to 90″, as they say.  This most likely bumps me into an older age group for many races.  (Hmm… will this be an advantage to getting into top 10 categories for my age group? Maybe. But I have noticed there are more and more fit 40-somethings out there who can give the 20-somethings a run for their money!)  Go get ‘em… 45 is the new 25, right?

Anyway, I am spending my last day at 44 doing all the things I love, starting with some strong coffee to wake me up, and then kale and eggs for breakfast to prep me for a little workout:

I took in some fresh air with a nice 3 1/2 mile hill run.  Nothing too strenuous… but enough to get the blood pumping and the heart rate up for a good kettlebell workout in the yard:

Here’s my morning routine:

Warm-up with about 20 double-handed swings with the 25 lb. MedBell.  Move to single-handed swings, and then right into as many reps as possible of the two-handed release.  I take a short break here when I reach exhaustion, and then do the whole thing over again.

After 2 rounds of that, I went into the swing-flip-catch and squat: (see video if you missed it): http://kettlebellhell.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/the-swing-flip-catch-and-squat-video/

Cool down with some around the worlds and figure 8′s.

I’ll probably knock out some pull-ups, sit ups and push-ups before the day’s out.

Tonight… side cars, karaoke and delicious treats from Tom Douglas’s Dahlia Bakery are in order as part of a very fun birthday celebration!!

Peace,

Kate

Ab Update:

5 weeks before the Tough Mudder I went on a little “ab-quest”… I wanted to see if I could dramatically improve the look of my abs before race day.   I was at it for about 10 days and saw great results… but then I injured my Achilles tendon pretty bad, and I realized I needed to focus on getting back in shape for the Tough Mudder, and my little ab-quest would have to wait.

My results were pretty good for just 10 days though, I started to get definition pretty quickly.  The first thing I noticed was the vertical cut down the middle.  I imagine the horizontal lines would have been next…  I have a picture if I can find it…

Since that time, I have discovered the “Blog of Impossible Things.”  Check it out here:  http://joelrunyon.com/two3/  Joel’s got an interesting story and I love his perspective on life.

He’s got a whole list of “Impossible Things” he wants to achieve… a bucket list of sorts. (click here: http://joelrunyon.com/two3/the-impossible-list) and 6-pack abs is on there!  In fact, he has a whole website dedicated to getting 6-pack abs.  Check it out here: http://impossibleabs.com/

Think 6-pack abs are impossible?  They’re not… and I agree with Joel, with a little dedication, you can achieve it at any age.  I’m willing to try it… who’s with me?  Do we wait until after the holidays, or do we get lean and mean before Christmas?  Anything is possible in 6 weeks, ay?

Peace,
Kate

3 Ways to Maximize your Kettlebell Swings

What’s up with “Top 10″ lists?  If someone gives you ten ways to improve your kettlebell swing, you probably won’t remember them all during your workout.  All you really need to do is remember three basic muscle movements while swinging and you’ll improve your form and get better results.

Add these 3 techniques to your next workout and watch how your swings become more productive.

1. Suck navel to spine.  This is a yoga term, but when you apply it to kettlebells swings you will dramatically increase your ab workout.  From the starting squat position, think about sucking your belly in towards your back.   Navel to spine.  When you bring your front body towards your back body, you are engaging your abdominal muscles.

2. Lift quads to hips.  Stand with your eyes closed and imagine your leg in three parts… knee, quad, hip.  Now, lift your quad muscle up from your knee toward your hip-joint.  This is where your quad needs to sit when you’re at the top of your swing.  Practice this before you swing.

3. Tighten Glutes.  The Gluteus Medius is that outer hip muscle that gives you the sought-after cheek dimple (see volleyball player above!).  Think about tightening your glutes at the top of your swing as you pop your hips forward.  This movement becomes almost like a “hop-snap” at the top.

Add these three together and try some swings.

Other good ways to increase results?  Take fewer breaks to increase cardio strength (but never compromise form), put on good music to keep you pumped, and then mix up a bottle of MRM ReLoad to help with your post-workout muscle recovery.  Remember, you’ve got to tear down to build up!

Peace,

Kate

Pain and Strength

“Pain is a feeling.  Strength is your power to chose how you’re going to live.”
-Kate

“The Hay is in the Barn”

What’s an investment worth to you?

If we’re talking about a financial investment, we invest our money into something and we have the expectation of a financial gain.  But with regard to a time or talent investment where we invest our energy into something, we still have an expectation of achieving something… but what is it worth?  When we train for a race, how much is that investment of sweat and dedication worth to us?

To what limits are we willing to go to in order to ensure payoff?

I had not even thought about ”my investment” of time spent training when I was injured.  My heels, ankles and calves were sprained and swollen, and the only thing on my mind was how painful it would be to run 12 miles and 26 obstacles.  I was considering bailing on my Tough Mudder team.

Then I got a phone call from my good friend (we’ll call her F.D.) and she offered this advice:

“The hay is in the barn, my friend.”

“What does that even mean?”  I asked.

“You’ve got this.” she said.  “You’ve invested the time.  You can do this.”

I later found out that this expression is commonly used by athletes (runners) when they have completed many weeks/months of training leading up to an event, and they are in the final days before the event when they should be tapering down and resting.

Here’s a little blog post about just that: http://runforyourlife-yassine.blogspot.com/2010/05/hay-is-in-barn.html

Anyway, F.D. was right.  If I bailed now, my investment would not offer a profitable return.  I had to consider the months spent training and the hours I devoted to getting in shape for this race.  (not to mention the six or seven weeks I was on the Paleo diet this summer and stopped drinking wine, beer and cocktails!)  All for what??  To sit at home?  …and mope?  No way.

I will be forever grateful to F.D., T and Miss M., for both reminding me of the importance of my investment… and for their devotion.  They bought spectator tickets to the Tough Mudder and were showing up, come rain or come shine.

But at that moment when she said “the hay is in the barn”, it all clicked for me.  I’m not even sure I could tell you why, but for some reason I finally realized that I had earned my rest.  I had put in the time, and gained the strength, gotten down to my fighting weight, and I was ready.  So even if I didn’t do a damn thing in the days leading up to the race, rest wouldn’t hurt me.  I think sometimes we train so hard, for so long, that we forget that we need to taper down before a race.  I’d been so used to knocking out kettlebells everyday, that the thought of ”resting” for a week sounded crazy.

But sometimes our body forces us to rest by way of an injury.  Maybe it’s the body’s way of getting us to slow down and take it easy.  But my Achilles were strained, I had swelling in both ankles, my claves had charley-horses in them… and I could not run even a quarter-mile.  Things were dire. (and this was only 5 days before the Tough Mudder.)  This was more than just a “rest period” or me knowing when to taper off…. this had to be a super-fast healing period too.  How do you tell your body to do that?

Here’s what I did: I took the time to get professional advice from two sports medicine doctors who specialize in overuse and acute injuries.  I did acupuncture, cupping, soft tissue release and massage, epsom salt baths, arnica oil rubs, Kinesio taping… you name it…  I did it all in an effort to get back out there.  Was it the easy road?  No.  But I was trying to cash in on my investment.

In my previous post, I rambled on about how you’ve got to tell your body what you expect from it… but this is the other part.  Work.

About a week before the race, I met F.D. downtown and we walked (limped) over to my favorite coffee shop on 2nd and Stewart.  I lamented about the pain.  Then we walked over to my favorite bakery on 4th and Lenora and she bought me two peanut butter cookies.  (Now, let me digress for a moment, because this is an important part of my story.  These are not just your ordinary peanut butter cookies.  No, no… these are the BEST peanut butter cookies in the whole world!  This little bakery takes two of their homemade chunky peanut butter cookies and adds a smear of peanut butter between the cookies, then they press them together to make a little sandwich that is quite simply: Heaven!)  F.D. bought two of these cookies for me, put them in a bag, and simply said: “Eat these after the race.”

“Oh, you bet I will!”  (but then I figured since I had two, I could eat one before the race and one after… it made sense to me… after all, the hay WAS in the barn, and a peanut butter cookie this special would do wonders for my sprained ankles and Achilles tendons.)

Moral of the story?  We need to remember our committment, our investment, and honor that by doing what it takes to follow through and compete.  It takes work… but this is your investment after all… are you just going to throw it all away the minute a little pain surfaces?  No!  Figure out the pain… seek professional advice and get back out there!

We also need good friends around us who truly understand us and the things that motivate us.  (Who knew what a little peanut butter cookie could do?)  But seriously, more than that, a friend’s dedication to your success is a powerful thing.  When you have people in your corner, rooting for you… there is no stopping you!

The sisterhood may not be dead… although I am always a bit cautious… but when we find someone (or several someones) who understand us… this will charge us up!   People who understand what it means to put the time into something… and how important it is to accomplish what we have our hearts set on… that’s power!  Surround yourself with support, cut those with envy or unkind words out, and you cannot fail.

Be well,

Peace Out,
Kate

Tough Mudder Report!

My Tough Mudder report???  Well… the MOST important thing is… I got my orange Tough Mudder headband at the finish line!!  OooRah!!!

It’s taken me more than a week to sit down at my computer and try to describe this amazing event.  Call it writer’s block, or some sort of inertia to document the incredible.  (…and it only gets more incredible with each passing day!)  True that.  But there is much to tell, and it’s hard to know where to start.

I’ll start about 10 days before race day.  That’s about the time when my blog went “dark”.  I was training hard (some would call it over-training) with not much time to sit and write.  I was running long distances in my new “zero-drop” shoes (they are all the rage, don’t you know?) when all of a sudden I could not run 3 miles.  I blamed it on the heat.  It was, after all, 75 degrees here in Seattle in September, and we are just not used to that kind of heat.

Ah yes, well, as Bill Maher would say, “I kid the Seattle weather.”  It was not the heat.  The next day I could not even run around the block.  That’s right… I had gone from running across town on a whim, to barely being able to get around my neighborhood block.

My Achilles tendons were shot.

Between my new ”barefoot running” routine and probably too many box jumps at the gym, I had strained both my Achilles tendons to the point where I was hobbling around my house like a little old lady.

It was then that I hit a point of self-pity.  I got home from a failed run and cried.  I cried for about 5 or 10 minutes, but then I knew that had to be the end of it.  No more feeling sorry for myself.  I’ve been down this road before… this feeling of defeat is not new, it is just a hurdle.  When I begin to feel that my body is letting me down… the best thing for me to do is get angry, not sad.  (and certainly not go to the ”oh poor me” stage… God forbid!)  Anger was the next phase of my “grief”.  I got angry, and that launched a feeling of stubborn determination.  I was not going to quit.

I absolutely believe with all my heart that once an athlete reaches this level of mental determination (which quite often starts with anger, but needs to channeled positively) their body will respond to that.  Anger bubbles up and becomes the ”trigger” for momentum and action.

I have blogged about this before, it’s something I want to write a book about someday.  I feel so strongly about will power, and what it can do for people.  I know that the body will respond to what the mind is saying.  I’ve lived through this before with two torn ACL’s, so this feeling is not a new one for me.  I had to recognize it, and then deal with it.

Here’s the key: If you tell your body to be strong, your body will respond to that.  We all wake up in the morning and set our intention for the day, whether we’re conscious of it or not.  We are always setting our intention for small tasks, or for the day, or for the week… or even for how we want to live our lives.  Intention is all-encompassing and a very powerful force.

I set my intention to compete, and I did.  (I also got a lot of help from a few sports medicine docs who had positive, “we’re-going-to-tackle-this” attitudes… more on that later).

I’m going to leave it here for the day… I’ll continue this story tonight.  For now, just know how great it is to have a mind and body that work together.

Peace,
Kate

Volunteer Park Workout

 

I can’t make it to the park this Wednesday for kettlebells, but I put together an awesome new circuit to try in my absence!  It’s all Figure 8′s and Figure 8 to a Hold with some fun Cross-Fit stuff added in.  (We’re working on core strength here!)

And speaking of rest… no breaks allowed during the circuit!  You’ve got to earn it baby!  I tested this out tonight, and it was just about 3 tracks off the Fat Boy Slim record.  Here we go:

Warm up: 50 Figure 8′s

20 Figure 8′s to a Hold
20 Kettlebell situps
20 Figure 8′s to a Hold
20 Air Squats
20 Figure 8′s to a Hold
20 Push-Ups
20 Figure 8′s to a Hold
20 Handstand Push-Ups
20 Figure 8′s to a Hold

Cool Down: 50 Figure 8′s

I use a lighter kettlebell for the warm up and cool down, and then switch to heavier ones for the circuit.  It’s 200 total reps for the Figure 8′s, and just remember to tighten/suck in your abs (or bring navel to spine, as they say) during your workout.  This will greatly enhance your core workout.

Enjoy!
Kate

Protein-Loading

I’m increasing my intake of protein this week to 188 grams daily.  It’s my last full week of hard-core training before the Tough Mudder… so I’m trying out a little “pre-race protein-loading”!

Usually, an easy way for me to figure out how much protein I should get is by multiplying 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.  This is a good rule of thumb for active people.  For me, this is 125 grams of protein per day.  However, during this week of highly intense exercise, I’m bumping it up to 1.5 grams/per pound, which is now about 188 grams of protein a day.

In the US, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets an RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance).  For most adults, it’s only about 50 grams.  People on high-protein diets obviously increase this number… and some body builders will even increase this amount by six to seven times this number!  I recently read an article where one guy was taking in 350 grams of protein a day (I’m not sure how), but perhaps he was a lot heavier than I am, and when you do the math at 1.5 grams/per pound that’s what it could be.  He was having good results with it (lost fat, gained muscle definition) but he definitely cautioned that not everyone would get the same results he did.

Anyway, from my research on protein, lean meat generally provides about 7 grams of protein per ounce.  So an 8 oz. steak would have about 56 grams of protein.  I’m getting 31 grams of protein in my egg white shakes, and my breakfast of kale and eggs only provides about 15 grams of protein (though rich in other nutrients).

Between the steak, the shake and the kale and eggs, these three things are constant in my daily diet.  Add all that up, and I’m still only getting 102 grams of protein.  Dang, that’s only double the RDA, and in my mind, the RDA is always set low, and is certainly not set for athletes in training.  I need to find 86 more grams of additional protein from somewhere to make my number.

Beans and lentils are not allowed on the Paleo Diet.  Bummer, because they are rich in protein and good for you too.  I will do a few “tweaks” in this diet once the race is over to allow this sort of thing.

In the meantime, I’ll add in a spinach salad with nuts and seeds, some broccoli, and snack on canned sardines, tuna, salmon jerky (a Seattle favorite!) or even some smoked oysters.  But I’m beginning to appreciate the high protein content in the convenient protein bar.  Just bought one today with 20 grams of protein… and I didn’t step foot in the kitchen!  Awesome!!

My other trick is to add a scoop of protein powder to everything I eat!  How about pancakes?  Here’s a new recipe I’m going to try out in the morning…

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/docs/2012/banana-vanilla-protein-pancakes.pdf

Add vanilla protein powder to blueberry pancakes.  Hey… it’s still on the Paleo Diet… I’m using a sweet potato and egg white protein!  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Time to bake my sweet potato for tomorrow…

Peace,

Kate

Part 2… How I got motivated to run!

From my last post… here’s how I got motivated:

I spent about 15 minutes to do the following, and then I was ready to run… sore muscles and all!

I took a hot shower to warm up my muscles and immediately afterward rubbed on this crazy stuff pictured below… Zheng Gu Shui… I put it anywhere my I had muscle soreness.  Love this stuff!  My old acupuncturist would use this after he did the needles, and it felt amazing… check out this link:   http://www.amazon.com/Zheng-Shui-External-Analgesic-Lotion/dp/B000MWO3IG

Anyway, then I rubbed on the Arnica Massage Oil, took 2 BCAA’s, Bee Pollen and Energy Herbs… and a glass of water.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking… well, I’m not totally hippy-dippy-homeopathic-naturalistic-remedy-girl… Surprise, I took 2 Advil also!

Got my music, Got my Garmin… and voilà… out the door!

Here’s what happened:

I did a 1/2 mile warm up run, then I did a round of three 1/2-mile sprints (each time trying for a better time).  Then I did a round of four 1/4-mile hill runs (again, trying to get faster each time), then I finished with a slow 1-mile run home.   Totalled only about 4 miles, but it was intense and I was glad I got out there and did it.  Hill work and sprints together challenge your fast-twitch muscles and get your heart-rate up super quick!

Next time, I’ll increase the distance to five 1/2-mile sprints to add in another mile.

Oh, and here was the view from my hill runs.  This is why I live here.  The Space Needle motivates me… I just love it!!!  Peace, K.

Getting Motivated… (when everything aches)

I don’t feel like going for a run today.  Technically, it’s ”run day”… but here I am blogging instead of putting my shoes on.

I must get motivated!

But my calves still hurt every time I walk down the stairs, my delts are screaming at me from too many pull-ups and push ups, I’ve got a crick in my neck from something… but I must run.  The schedule says it is run day, and so it is.

It’s nearly 6pm and the evening light is beautiful outside…it’s that subdued September light… the sun is low in the sky, there’s a bit of a cool breeze and it’s perfect for a run.

OK, here I go… I’ll let you know what I did to get motivated later and if it worked… ha!

k.

Tired Muscles? Don’t forget the Arnica Oil!

Along with my usual kettlebell swinging… I’ve increased my cross training to point where I’m doing something different every day to shake things up for the Tough Mudder.  In the past 48 hours I’ve done a 9-mile run, 400 sit-ups, I ran 1200 stairs, and did an hour of CrossFit, which included Wendler 5-3-1 powerlifts and a pretty sweaty workout of a 1/2 mile sprint, 50 air squats, 1/2 mile sprint, 25 wall balls, 1/2 mile run, and 100 lunges.  Whew!

This is when I need to reach for the Arnica Oil.  I’ve blogged about this before, but it’s a good reminder… this stuff really works!  I am feeling little reminders of my workouts in my shoulders, calves, knees… and Arnica Oil is great relief.  Here’s what I use…

http://usa.weleda.com/our-products/shop/arnica-massage-oil.aspx

Tomorrow is short-run day and more CrossFit…

and don’t forget the kettlebell situps!

Peace,
Kate

First few days of Paleo…

I haven’t started a food journal yet.  Perhaps out of inertia to find an app, or maybe because I’m still using a Windows phone.  I’m looking for an easy way to jot everything down.  But here’s what I’ve got so far:

Slice of turkey and a banana as I run out the door this morning.  (Dropped the kids off for their first day of school!!)  Kale and eggs for a late breakfast.  Sprinkle kale with “Ras el Hanout”. (see below)  Cooked up some garlic-marinated fresh tuna last night… on a bed of salad, fresh tomatoes, cucumber.  Snacking on lots of raw almonds.  MRM Egg White protein shake for lunch.  MRM ReLoad BCAA’s throughout the day.  Tonight, Grilled steak or chicken over a big salad.  No dressing… you don’t need it with the meat juices.  Don’t forget avocados… slice them up at the end.  Maybe a beet and kale salad with grated carrots.

Here’s the “Ras el Hanout”:  (this is from Well Fed, http://www.amazon.com/Well-Fed-Paleo-Recipes-People/dp/061557226X  It’s a great paleo cookbook with lots of photos!)

2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

I add in about a tsp of cardamom too… maybe white pepper if I have it.

Mix this up and keep it by the stove.  add it to everything.

Good Eating!
Kate

Four-Week Training Program for the Tough Mudder

Happy Labor Day!!

I’ve been working today… designing a training program that will help prepare me and my teammates for the Tough Mudder at the end of the month so we don’t end up like this dude. (I think he got the 10,000 volt shock… poor guy).

This schedule started yesterday… but the good news is, we still have time to make up our missed workouts!

Click on this “RED” link below for my four-week training schedule:

TOUGH MUDDER TRAINING SCHEDULE

In addition to this program, I’m cutting out all alcohol and I’m going on the Paleo Diet for the next four weeks.  (with one exception… a weekend in San Francisco to celebrate my anniversary.  A girl’s gotta have some fun!)

Let’s see what happens… I’m not sure I’m organized enough to keep a daily food log, but I will try to give you all an idea of what I’m eating and how much I’m exercising… and then I’ll be taking pictures once a week to track my physical progress.

Here we go… OooRah!

Peace,
Kate