Lab Rat

I mentioned in my last post that training for the Leadville 100 Trail Run the past 8 months felt like a science project.

Although I have completed various ultras the past two years—including the Leadville Silver Rush 50 mile foot race— the Leadville 100 is a race and league of its own.

Despite having run a great FIFTY mile race at the Leadville 100, I feel like I learned a heckuva lot about training and diet.  Stuff that applies whether a guy plans to run 100 miles at 10,000 feet, or simply go to work each day to pay the mortgage with MAYBE a thought to crank out a 5k at the Turkey Trot Race on Thanksgiving Day.

Before I begin, however.......

A disclaimer......

Before you hit the “send” key on that profanity-laced email with the word “moron” in all caps in the subject line, please know that these are results and observations that worked for ME.

I am not a nutritionist, physiologist, PROCTOLOGIST or any other –gist…….

I’m just a guy who has made every diet and training mistake in the book and who decided to junk the magazine articles and follow the advice and habits of the REAL practitioners—the ultrarunners who are getting in the big miles at 10,000 feet and having a great time!

So here are the results:

Observations about Diet:

•     I lost approximately 15 pounds training for the LT-100.
•    Almost ALL of this weight loss occurred from May-July.
•   Weight loss occurred when I modified my DIET, not exercise.  
•    I was NOT able to exercise my way to thin.
•   Cutting any foods COMPLETELY never worked.
•   REPLACING instead of ELIMINATING foods absolutely worked. 
•  Except…..I abstained (almost completely) from alcohol and foods with a lot of sugar (candy,  soda pop).
•  I reduced and replaced dairy products MOST of the time. I replaced my morning snack of yogurt with a banana and replaced regular milk with almond milk.
• I still enjoyed some cheese on my salads.  I sucked down a cup of milk about every fifth day.
• I still believe dairy products are important, just not the quantity I was inhaling before.
• I replaced my nightly dessert with a cup of hot unsweetened almond milk.  Adding a dash of cinnamon or vanilla extract to hot almond milk will seriously fool the taste buds into thinking you are gorging on a decadent Starbucks vanilla latte! Little does your brain and taste buds know that you are sucking down less than 40 calories.
• I found the notion “a calorie is a calorie” to be untrue with me (or so it seemed).
• I found my weight dropped despite eating all the bacon, eggs, ham, turkey, fruit, salads, almonds, yams and almond butter I could shovel down.  I NEVER found this to be true gorging on foods like bread, pasta, waffles, pancakes, sandwiches and yogurt.   
• I found my performance soared gorging on the fruit and protein items mentioned above.
• I found my performance soared while reducing (not eliminating) the carbohydrate items mentioned above.
• I cycled carbohydrates (e.g. pasta, bread) approximately once per week—but seldom took second helpings.
• BUT……PBJs were an excellent fuel source training at altitude.  Carbohydrates became more important at higher elevations.  I learned this the hard way running up Pikes Peak with only a jar of peanut butter and bacon!

Observations about Sleep:

• I was RELIGIOUS about getting at least SEVEN hours of sleep per night
• I found sleep to be MORE important than DIET
• I abstained from TV or computer right before going to bed
• I would read at least 15 minutes before going to bed to facilitate falling asleep

Observations about Training:

•  Running FOUR (sometime FIVE) days per week worked well
•  Adding P90X for “cross training” was a disaster—it didn’t allow recovery time
•  Cross training 2-3 days per week on the spin bike followed by 20 minutes of light weight training felt great—it strengthened my core while allowing recovery time
• I did very little speed work—this was a BIG mistake and may have been a contributor in me not completing the Leadville 100.
• Running “14ers” (e.g. Pikes Peak) often was excellent training
• Running “14ers” at 2am was excellent training.......but I am glad to NOT be doing it now
• Hill work is excellent training and (in my opinion) like doing leg presses at the gym but the scenery is far, far better
• To run an ultra, it’s important to train doing EVERYTHING (speed, hills, stairs, altitude, long-distance).  As Chris McDougall commented about the Tarahumahara in his book "Born to Run," focus on becoming a great ATHLETE, not just a great runner.

 One last note…….

The diet, training and sleep items mentioned above are, in my experience,  more than TRAINING strategies. 

They’re LIFE strategies.

Strategies that will not only make you better on the road and on the trails.

But better at work and at home.

Because hey…… isn’t that reason we run in the first place? 

To FEEL better?

And to BE better?

I mean……if we can’t escape the “rat race…….”

Let’s at least make sure we have the tools to make it fun.

AMJ

No Need to Conquer

I'm going to ask Kara and the kids to run the Pumpkin Pie 5k together as a family in November.

It will be some awesome family time.

And I hear theres PUMPKIN PIE at the finish line.

It's going will feel good to race a shorter distance than usual.

Because last weekend I ran the Leadville 100 Trail Run.

Or at least part of it....

Until realizing I grossly underestimated the aggressive cutoffs the first 50 miles of the race.

.....and had to turn around near mile 45 atop the infamous 12,000ft Hope Pass.

Factoring in the cutoffs is a small detail.....

But an important detail.

A detail I missed.

I think I got MOST of the training right.

The hill training.

The altitude training.

The nutrition.

But that wasn't quite enough.

In most endeavors, getting 90% of it right will earn you an "A."

But for other endeavors......building pacemakers, launching men into space.......and running ultra marathons......... getting 90% of it right is a failing grade.

There is very, VERY little margin for error when competing at the highest, HIGHEST level.

So I have a confession.

When I realized I missed the cutoff and my race was over.......

I was relieved.

That's right......

RELIEVED.

Relieved that there would be no more middle of the night runs up Mt. Evans, no more pre-dawn  repeats up Green Mountain before work, and no more drives to Colorado Springs to hoof Pikes Peak and the Manitou incline by sunrise.

No more conquering.

Believe me, I loved "the journey" the last 8 months-----the training, the diet, the people I met along the way. Heck, I even ran into Scott Jurek on Pikes Peak!

Training for an ultra marathon----especially the Leadville 100 Trail Run----is a quasi science experiment where YOU are the test rat.  And given the exacting and demanding nature of the training, you can't help but become an amateur physiologist and nutritionist.

It's great stuff.

"Once in a lifetime" kind of stuff really.

But I'm done.

I am done conquering.

At least for a while.

For me, whether it's on the trails or in my career, I have discovered a place where conquering for the sake of conquering tears me DOWN instead of builds me UP.

A place where pushing to the next level just because I CAN.......doesn't necessarily mean I SHOULD.

Training for that NEXT 100-miler.......

Leaving teaching for an administrator position.................

These are things I COULD do.......

Things I COULD continue to conquer....

But probably SHOULDN'T.......

That's the place I discovered at mile 42 last weekend in Leadville.

Believe me, I still think it's healthy to push ourselves.....

To test our limits.

To conquer new distances, new PRs, new promotions.

I get it.

But I also get that constantly conquering bigger badder distances on the trails and at work has limits.

Things break.

And no badass distance, PR, promotion or magazine article will satisy when things get broken.

So I say keep pushing, keep striving, keep improving and yes......

Keep CONQUERING.

But don't forget to keep LIVING.

And if you do forget........

Don't worry........

I'll save you a piece of pumpkin pie at the finish line.

AMJ

Under the Influence

I recently stumbled on a quote from leadership guru John Maxwell that scared me.

It read:

"Even the most introverted person influences 10,00 people in their lifetime."

Ten...

Thousand...

People.

At first, I thought this statement was total baloney.

And then I thought about it.

REALLY thought about it.

Influencing 10,000 people during our lifetime is ABSOLUTELY possible.

Because the people we influence aren't just our kids, co-workers and others who are close to us.

The people we influence can often be the people that are anything BUT close to us.

People we seldom notice.

People whose names we may not know.

The checkout guy bagging our groceries at King Soopers.

The hourly college kid that helps out in the office a few hours a week

The flight attendant serving us a cup of Starbucks on our red-eye flight back home.

People who are practically "invisible" to us.

If you can believe it, this notion really hit home during a recent family burger run to The Red Robin.

It was crowded, the restaurant was short-staffed and our waitress was scrambling.

I remember my bad mood walking in the door and being seated.

"I'm starving, am paying $9 bucks for a lousy burger and have a waitress that is moving way too slow," is what was racing through my head.

Until our "invisible" waitress...

...became VISIBLE.

It turned out that our young waitress was taking on a full load at the community college while WORKING full-time at the burger joint to pay the bills and tuition. And on this particular night, a night when other wait staff didn't show up for work while she DID show up for work, every nasty customer in Denver also decided to show up.

And the nastiness was wearing on her.

Big time.

But here's where the story gets interesting...

When she brought our order, she paused, and slowly, seriously told us how she appreciated my family's HUMOR. That's right HUMOR.

How she actually NEEDED it that evening.

And that WE pulled her out of a really bad night.

I was stunned.

Because I had no idea we were an influence........just being a family.

And then I felt ashamed.

Really ashamed.

Ashamed for the selfishness that had been blazing through my head when I first came in the door.

The experience made me recall a picture on Linked-In of a quote somebody wrote on their whiteboard at work.  It read:

"Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.  Be kind. Always."

So here's what I'm thinking:  teaching and coaching are two of the best jobs on the planet because of the big impact one can have on another human being.

But guess what.....you don't have to be a teacher or a coach, or a CEO..... or even the Pope to make a big impact on another human being.

That's the good news.

Here's the scary news....

The news that should give us pause every time we spend time with another human being....

We may not even be AWARE that we are being an influence.....

GOOD.

Or NOT.

If the late Jim Rohn was right when he said that "we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with," the question we must ask is are we bringing the average UP or DOWN for those we spend our time with. 

I suspect a mechanic introducing his neighbor to the joy of a lung-busting trail run up Green Mountain to experience the camaraderie of a hard-fought run before sunrise can be as influential as a pastor inviting his neighbor to a church revival if done with a kind heart.

Heck, as my family found out that night at The Red Robin, simply ordering a cheeseburger and fries with a kind tone and a smile can at just the right time can actually make a difference----a BIG difference.

So this week, as we prepare for that meeting at work, or lace up for that new trail with our training partners, perhaps we should bring more to the boardroom and trail than our minds and talents.....

And think about those 10,000 people under our influence.

And consider OUR role in raising the average

AMJ
 

Why the Tortoise REALLY Kicked the Hare's Butt.

You remember the story of the tortoise and the hare.

I bet you remember your teacher telling you the tortoise beat the hare because the hare got cocky and over confident.

And that his cockiness led to his demise in the race.

I remember learning that lesson too.

I think our teachers missed the REAL reason the tortoise kicked the hare's ass that day.

The hare was indeed cocky and a big jerk.

But his biggest failing was not his cockiness.

His biggest failure on the field that day was his inconsistent effort.

The tortoise was slow---and he probably had an ugly running outfit.

But he was consistent.

REALLY consistent.

He set a pace, maintained his pace, and didn't let his EGO disrupt his plan.

Even when he passed the hare.

He ran a steady race.

All the way to the finish line.

THAT is why the tortoise beat the hare my friends.

Because the tortoise focused on FINISHING strong instead of STARTING strong.

Because he knew starting is easy.

While finishing is hard.

So how about this...

Let's exchange fast and flashy failed starts.

For boring and steady but successful finishes.

Whether it's earning that degree...

...or starting that business...

...or training for that first marathon.

 Because boring and steady will whoop flashy and inconsistent all-day, every day.

Seven days a week.

Even in an ugly running outfit.

AMJ

Wear a Windbreaker on Mondays

"The best way out is always THROUGH"
--Robert Frost


I hate the wind.

I especially hate RUNNING in the wind.

My training buddy and I planned to run two repeats up Lookout Mountain last Sunday.

That was the plan.

Until the wind started howling.

Our second repeat was chugging two venti Sumatras at Starbucks.

We blamed the wind.

But honestly...

We weren't prepared that day.

We didn't have our windbreakers.

Cursing and blaming the wind is crazy.

But here's what's crazier...

... putting your training on hold to go to Starbucks to pound coffee while waiting for the wind to stop.

It's better to be prepared.

And wear your windbreaker.

So you can train in ANY conditions....

Even the wind.

ESPECIALLY the wind.

We put other things in our lives on hold by "going to Starbucks" to wait for the "wind" to stop.

Starting that college degree.

Writing that novel.

Opening that business.

Instead of putting on our windbreakers and getting to it...

We make excuses....

And wait for the wind to go away.

But asking for the wind to go away is like asking for Mondays to go away.

It's the wrong question.

We shouldn't be asking for less wind.

We should be asking for more strength to get THROUGH the wind.

A mental "windbreaker" so to speak.

The cliche  "there's no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong clothing"  applies to more than just running.

Because with the right "windbreaker," it won't matter how hard the wind blows....

or how hard that that Intermediate Accounting class is....

or how tough that new business start-up is......

or how difficult that new boss is.....

You'll prepared.

Not to AVOID the wind.

But to get THROUGH it.

We're going back to Lookout Mountain this weekend.

We're starting at 4am.

It's going to be dark.

And cold.

And probably windy.

But that's okay.

Starbucks is closed that early.

And I'll have my windbreaker.

AMJ

They Don't Sell Lukewarm Coffee at Starbucks

"So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
Revelation 3:16

Is it possible to succeed being lukewarm?

I recently saw the movie "Lone Survivor".

It's the story about Mark Lutrell----the sole survivor of a Navy Seal team on an ill-fated mission in Afghanistan that is ambushed by the Taliban.

There's a scene that features a new recruit reciting a ballad to his peers that captures the intensity and can-do mindset of the Navy Seals. Two lines from the ballad caught my particular attention:

" Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing "  and  " Moderation is for cowards."

I realize phrases like these can be interpreted as over the top, tough-guy braggadocio.

But I think these phrases can also be instructive.

Instructive as to the mindset that is required to succeed at the highest level--on the battlefield.

Or on the trails.

And in life.

Could painter Andrew Wyeth have produced "Christina's World" if he had just gone through the motions of painting each day?

Could Steinbeck have written "The Grapes of Wrath" if he had punched a time-clock?

Can a great school teacher be great by just showing up?

Could Haile Gebrselassie have run a blistering world record 2:03:59 marathon by only doing MODERATE exercise?

I don't think so.

Starbucks can sell a cup of black drip coffee for $2 bucks.

You can buy it Hot....

Or COLD.

But there's no "lukewarm" option.

Because customers don't like lukewarm.

Lukewarm doesn't work.

It doesn’t win wars.

It doesn't make for great art.

Or great writing.

Or great teaching.

Or great running.

It doesn't even make for great coffee.

So how about a new personal mantra.

A mantra that goes something like this:

“Less volume, more heat!”

In other words….

LESS  projects at work, more COMPLETED projects at work.

FEWER classes at school, BETTER grades at school.

FEWER miles on the trails, BETTER miles on the trails.

I say it’s time to stop being lukewarm at a lot of things.

And turn up the heat for a few things.

This is not easy to do...

But I hope you give it a try...

Let me know...

I’ll start another pot of coffee.

AMJ

Watching TV in the Men's Room

There is so much noise.

And it's everywhere.

And it's getting louder.

It's not just the sports bars where you can watch 20 different ESPN games whilst consuming Lady Gaga on the throttled-up Nakamichi sound system.

It's ALL restaurants now.

And airports.

And hotel lobbies.

And dentist office waiting rooms.

Even gas station pumps.

Heck, I've even watched the Nuggets play the Spurs from a men's room urinal!

Any location a human might have to wait in excess of five minutes for the next electronic stimuli is now fair game for the ad guys.

More music.

More TV.

More noise.

We've lost the art of silence.

The ability to just sit and think.

About everything...and about nothing.

You think its a coincidence that so many runners snag their best ideas and "ah-ha" moments on the trails instead of a Muzak-infused hermetically sealed office?

I don't.

Because slogging up Green Mountain or Dinosaur Ridge at 5:30 am is a hell of a great way to purge the mental hard-drive of the to-do lists, emails and pain-in-the-ass co-workers so it can re-fill with contemplation and creativity.

But contemplation and creativity require a still mind.  Philosopher William Penn opined:

"true silence is the rest of the mind, it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."

Sounds like William Penn was a distance runner.

So this weekend...

If you are looking for some quiet contemplation.

I say lace up the Brooks for a 5:30 am hill-climb up Chimney Gulch...

...and pass on the $300 Bose 20i accoustic noise cancellation headphones.

...unless they come with a big, mean headlamp to scare away the mountain lions.

After all...

It's dark at 5:30.

AMJ