"That's so Paleo"

It has been over a week since I last wrote.  My intention was to accumulate material for a nice, long post about North Carolina and the activities I did.  Thanks to my gracious host Dan, I have plenty to write about tonight.

When I last left off, I was singing the praises of an active vacation.  I will continue to explore this theme, along with the concept of "healthy eating" on a vacation.  In a region of the world where oily grits and biscuits and gravy is a loved tradition, one might assume that "healthy eating" is a tough apple to swallow.  In fact, it is not, and I will continue with that later.  Now, I want to outline a few of the activities we did that we classified as Fun but can also be classified as Exercise.

One of the best ideas we had was go to the US National Whitewater Center.  It was a recreational centre, but outdoors.  It had constructed waterways for whitewater rafting, flatwater activities such as kayaking and canoeing on an actual river, zip lines, canyon crossings, mountain biking, rock climbing, and hiking.  We did several of these activities, but we both agreed that kayaking on the Catawba River was the most fun we had that whole day.  We jumped into kayaks and spent several hours exploring the area, watching turtles slip into the water to get away from us, exploring little nooks and crannies on the bank, and even chatting with fellow kayakers and stand up paddlers.  Neither of us had watches, and I left my camera in the car, so it was really just us, our boats, and the water.  Time flew as we paddled up and downstream, and our arms gradually grew tired.  We would take rest stops, "dock" side by side, chat, and then continue on until we decided to dock again.  We were surprised when we got back and realised how much time had passed.  We got a continuous and long upper body workout without even realising it!

We didn't have to trek so far away to get a good workout in.  Another afternoon, we went for a jog on somewhat hilly terrain.  I kept complaining about the hills, but Dan pushed me.  "Come on, pick it up, let's go!"  So I pushed a little extra as to not disappoint him.  Another day we did sprints.  Up a hill.  In the sun.  Again, when I started to falter (after... what, one round?), Dan would turn back to me and go "Come on, keep going!"  Eight sprints later, I felt sick, but glad I'd done them.  We weren't finished, though.  We did a pyramid: 10 push ups, 15 crunches, 9 push ups, 15 crunches, 8 push ups, 15 crunches, etc.  When I reached the point when I couldn't do a full push up, I did cobras (knees on the ground) and kept going.  A few days later, we went for a 4.2 mile (6.75km) run through a beautiful (and flat) peninsula.  This was followed by a pyramid, of course.  I have Dan to thank for helping me push myself to my limit.  I wouldn't have done sprints on my own, and I never thought of doing a pyramid to completely exhaust my arms.  Having a workout partner definitely helps.  It helped for my 10K training, and it's helping now.

Intense exercise was definitely a good thing to do, but some days we didn't go for runs or do any push ups.  Some days we just walked a ton.  Our trips to Charlotte were full of walking.  One day in particular we walked through the NASCAR Hall of Fame, through parts of downtown, and then out to a historic home district from where we could see the city skyline clearly.  We were on our feet for 5 or 6 hours, wandering and taking photos.  We worked up a good appetite and clearly deserved the delicious Thai food we ate that evening.

While planning our trip, Dan and I had decided to try some recipes from the Paleo Diet.  Recipes are based on real, non-preservative-filled foods that include meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables.  One of my favourite dishes that I ate in NC - and this includes all meals, both home cooked and restaurant - was steak with apple horseradish relish.  You can find the recipe here.

We didn't shred our apple, so it was more of a chunky side dish:

Simply the most delicious thing.  I compared everything I ate to that dish.  The steak wasn't anything special, but the apple horseradish relish…. Wow.  It's my new favourite food.

And speaking of food, we did really well!  I mean, we went out to restaurants and ate good, hearty meals, but we didn't do anything too crazy.  We didn't go overboard binge drinking and snacking on beer nuts, and we certainly were active enough to deserve a splash of Jameson at the end of the day, or an edamame-filled chocolate bar.  We went strawberry picking and lettuce cutting, so the fridge was filled with yummy and healthy things.

So basically, we organised and executed a healthy eating plan!!!

But then we didn't.

;)

Travelling fitness

Ahoy from North Carolina!

I arrived on Friday for a 10 day vacation with my wonderful friend Dan.  When one goes on vacation, one usually wants to get away from the bustle of life and relax.  Dan and I, however, decided to make our vacation an active, fun one.  Weeks in advance of my visit down, we talked about all the activities  we could do.  We promised to work out together and eat healthy (mostly.  You can't be in the southern United States and not eat southern breakfast or pulled pork).

Today, we made good on our promises.  After a bit of a relaxing morning, we suited up to go for a hike at Lake Norman State Park.  It was raining, but it certainly didn't stop us.  We barely felt the rain as we walked up and down hills, sheltered by towering trees and entertained by the red clay banks of the lake.  In total we hiked about 5 miles.

After lunch, we went for a gym workout.  My upper and lower body strength need a lot of work, so I chose to focus on arms for today.  I did some basic bench presses with free weights and then some bicep curls and tricep pulldowns with the cable.  We followed it up with the seated cable rowing machine and some ab work.  We celebrated by going to see a movie.

Now, sitting on the couch and watching tv, it certainly feels good to know that we had stayed active all day and even started to build some new muscle.  This day goes to show you that a) you don't have to fall back on your fitness plans when you travel and b) a rainy day can't keep outdoor activity away!

Enter athleticism

Hail to the world.

I finished my first 10K run this morning.  It was a wonderful, exhilarating moment that I wish I could share with everyone I know, not just the 27,000 folks who ran with me.  I was so inspired by what transpired today that I felt the urgent need to create a blog to talk about what brought me to this point, and furthermore, how I will continue this addictive journey I've unwittingly begun.

I moved back to my hometown this past summer, and while reconnecting with friends, I found one friend who was interested in starting up a running routine in our neighbourhood.  We finally made solid plans and began in the (cold!) month of December.  Shortly after beginning our weekly runs, our mutual friend told us we should sign up for the Sporting Life 10K run annually held in May.  We thought about it, and we said "Sure!"  May as well have a goal to help us along, yes?  Then another one of our (slightly more sadistic) friends made a friendly bet - he bet that we would not continue our weekly routine of running.  On the line?  Drinks for the night.  So Ben and I, motivated by pride and money, consistently met at least once per week to run.

Fast forward to today.  The race was upon us.  I was anxious and nervous.  A number of friends were running, and some of us met beforehand to chat and get pumped up.  It was freezing in the morning.  Something like 4 degrees centigrade.  We hurried into our corrals at the last possible moment and jumped and shivered to stay warm.  As we edged towards the starting line, my nervousness began to fade, and all I felt was excitement and certainty - certainty that I would run nonstop and finish this race.  I also had hope - hope that I would finish the race with a time of 00:59:59.

The excitement took over completely.  The adrenaline and the crowds gave me strength.  I put my earphones in and started up my iPod, which was full of tunes I had selected carefully the day before.  I reached the start line, and then I was off.  The course is mainly downhill, but there are a few hills that require a bit of extra effort, so I paced myself.

What happened next was amazing.  I ran from uptown to downtown in the city I had grown up in.  I had biked this distance before, I had walked all parts of it, and I had ridden in cars and public transport through it, but I had never just taken off and run the whole distance.  It was strange to run down the middle of a usually busy street.  At each kilometre there was a different band playing a different kind of music, revving the runners up and cheering us on.  I smiled as I ran by, focusing on my running.

Kilometres 1 through 4 felt absolutely normal, besides my intense excitement.  It was just another morning run.

At kilometre 5 I felt a slight cramp coming on.  I thought I might have had too much tea in the morning and maybe I had to pee.  By kilometre 6 it was gone.

At kilometre 7 I grabbed a cup of Gatorade just to wet my mouth.  Most of it ended up on the ground, along with the cup.

At kilometre 8 I got a little cocky.  I passed a number of people, but kilometre 9 was taking too long to arrive, so I paced myself down again.

At kilometre 9 I could almost taste victory.  I stepped up the pace.

At kilometre 9.7 I could see the finish line.  I revved my engines, and I directed all the energy I'd been conserving for hills towards my legs for a mad sprint to the end.  I sprinted and I sprinted and I sprinted, and I hit the finish line with every last bit I had.

Kilometre 10... I smiled, cheered, and slowed down to a brisk walk.

And that was my run.  My time?  1:02:37.

My certainty at the beginning of the race had been proven.  I had run nonstop and I had finished.  My hope, however, had not been met.  I did not hit under an hour.  But 2 and a half minutes over?  Not bad, not bad.  Instead of shattering my hope, my spirit has been reinvigorated.  I know I can improve, and with more training, I'll be able to run at a faster pace.  For now, I think what I did was amazing.  It has also given me a benchmark.  I know that next year is the year I should aim to run at an hour or under.

As if this post weren't long enough, I have one more thing to add - last week I joined a gym.  My friend had taken me to some of Goodlife's crazy aerobics classes, which I adored.  One thing led to another, and here I am, a brand new member.  My journey into fitdom is just beginning.

I am so lucky to have so many supportive friends.  Everyone has encouraged me to do my best at this run, and I am grateful.  I could not be doing this without friends who think my actions are worthwhile.

With all this written, I would like to now formally welcome you to my corner of the internet.  Encouragement, laughter, and inspiration are what I aim to dish out here.  I imagine this journey I've begun will be eventful, and it would be my pleasure to share it with those who care.