Box O Stuff Winner

Hey everyone,

Sorry I am just posting the winner of the Box O Stuff drawing so late. Thanksgiving was so busy. I put all of your entries into an excel file and used the line numbers as your entry number. Many of you posted the drawing on your blogs, so all of you had multiple lines. I used random.org to pick the number and the winner was....

Elizabeth Jarrard at Don't (White) Sugar-Coat It!!!!

Congratulations Elizabeth!!!

I am working on putting another Box of Stuff together this week!!!

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Camping in Red Rock State Park

Came home from camping at Red Rock Canyon State Park yesterday. If you are a SoCal local or visiting the area, I highly recommending the trip. I was a little bummed that there was no cell service once you got into the camp ground, but I have to admit after the first day I didn’t miss it. Our lives have become so connected through technology that it’s almost like a drug that you need to kick every so often.

I left Saturday morning at 5:30am with my two cups of coffee, ipod and a bottle of water at my reach.



I arrived at the camp grounds at 8:00am. The weather was about 56 degrees and a little breezy. My parents arrived about 15 minutes later. Luckily the park was pretty empty at the time so most of the spots where open.





We took site number 13 which I think was one of the best after walking the rest of them. We had restrooms and water right across the road from our site. The camp sites back up against an amazing work of nature.



The hills of Red Rock are mostly made of sand and clay. Over the past million years or so, the rain has created the coolest formations.



We went for a short 2 mile hike after setting up camp and then I went out for a 3 mile run. There are quite a few trails around the area, but a lot of them are dry washes, so it’s a lot of sand running.



MapMyRun.com link

That night we heated up the chili I made and sat around the fire and watched the stars and satellites. That night it got down to 26 degrees and there was frost on everything the next morning. My dad and I have always been early risers, so we were in bed by 9pm and up around 5am each day. It was really nice watching the sun rise and set each day. During the day it got up to around 70 degrees.



Sunday consisted of another hike and a visit to the visitor’s center. I also made friends with the local chipmunks by hand feeding them sunflower seeds. They must not see all that well because they kept nibbling on my fingers instead of the seed. At first I was a little scared they might crunch down on my finger and I would be off to get a rabies shot, but they are actually very gentle. Later in the evening I went for a 4 mile run (3 loops) around the main road in the camp ground. We had steamed tamales and left over chili for dinner.

One Monday I decided to extend my stay one more day. My parents were not going to leave until Tuesday morning and I wasn't ready to get back to the real world. We drove out to a little store in Jawbone (camping area next to Red Rock) and picked up a pre hike snack (a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich) and then went on a hike called Hagen’s Nature Trail. The hike to the trail was actually longer then the trail itself.

MapMyRun.com link



Yes...this is me sitting on a rock that looks like a camel.





I hope everyone had a great weekend. I am looking forward to catching up on your blogs.

Today is the last day to get into my Box O Stuff GIVEAWAY. The drawing is on TOMORROW. There are currently just over 50 people entered.

Simply leave a comment here:

Chuck Wagon Chili and other randomness

Have you noticed I put a lot pictures in my blog? I found that my favorite blogs to read are the ones that have pictures. I must admit...I like books with pictures as well. So I am trying to include more images from my daily happenings.

I was able to get just about everything done on my to-do last night. I stopped by the store to pick up the groceries I needed and then went home to jumped on the treadmill for my 6 mile run. I was bummed to find that my treadmill is starting to have problems. It looks like the motor may be going out. Hmmm...$500 for a new motor!!! That's crazy.

I am going to be camping over the weekend with my parents, so I am decided to bring food for half of our meals. Unfortunately my wife has to stay home to study for her finals. So I choose to bring the food for Saturday's meals. Breakfast is going to be cereal, lunch is turkey hot dogs on wheat buns and dinner is chili.

I made a new chili recipe last night called "Emeril's Chuck Wagon Chili". It has 5 stars and has a difficulty level of EASY. I'm not a novice cook, but anything that requires over 20 ingredients shouldn't be labeled as easy…but luckily it wasn't hard to prepare. The only trouble I had was finding the ingredient masa harina??? Ralph's didn't have it, but Sprout's did (I love Sprout’s). From what I have read this is basically a corn meal (used for making tortillas or tamales).



All together the preparation and cooking time was about 2 hours. My boxer stood by my side the whole time waiting for anything to hit the floor. Can I have some daddy????



I have never had chili with chunked meat. This stuff was really good, but it does have a little zing to it.



I spent the rest of the night getting all of my camping stuff together. The worst part of camping is getting all of the stuff packed. It feels like it takes so much stuff. I guess if I was willing to rough it a little more I could go a little lighter. Good thing I have a truck!



As far as today’s workout, I will hit my CrossFit gym for the 5:30pm class. Then early to bed so I can be on the road at 5am.

Hope y’all (that’s for you Jess) have a great weekend.

Don't forget to get in on my Box O Stuff GIVEAWAY. The drawing is on Thanksgiving. Simply leave a comment here:

Proper nutrition leading up to and during a 8K or 10K

My blog pal Jessie over at Figuring It Out asked if I would put together some tips for pre race nutrition for her upcoming 8K Turkey Trot.

Whether you are running your first 8K or you’re a running veteran, eating properly prior to a race is one of the most important things you can do to help your performance. What you need to realize is that proper pre race nutrition starts way before race morning.

During Ironman training we constantly tweak and test our nutrition to find that perfect balance. The last thing you want to do is add something new to your diet a few days before your race or try a new sports drink or gel during your race. This will help avoid running to the porta potty at every aid station. This same method should be used with all types of training and racing. What you eat on race morning should mirror what you have been eating during you training.

The typical 8K - 1oK finish time is around 1 hour and "Hitting the Wall" due to glycogen depletion isn't typically a factor, so you don’t need to be concerned with carbo loading leading up to your race. Eating balanced, solid meals leading up to race day as well as race morning will help ensure a successful run. Without proper nutrients in your system on race morning, your body will suffer from lowered glycogen and blood-glucose levels, which will deprive your body of essential energy and sustenance.

A solid breakfast / pre race meal should be high in both simple and complex carbohydrates, and also include some lean protein. You want to steer clear of high fiber foods to help keep you out of the porta potty. The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Dietetic Association recommends a meal of about 500 calories two to three hours before exercise and a half-pint of water to offset sweat loss. A good morning meal can range from fruit and toast, to a bagel with peanut butter, so long as it is packed with carbs, low on fat and, as with all of your pre-workout meals. The important thing is to practice this leading up to the race to make sure that it doesn’t upset your stomach.

You want to make sure you hydrate before the race and for the first 3 to 4 miles, but minimize your fluid intake after that. Taking fluids late in the race wastes time and it takes about 20 minutes for the fluids to absorb. After the first 5K you can rinse your mouth and pour water over your head for a quick mental boost. Start drinking again once you cross the finish line.

Tip 1 - Eat well as you train hard. Eat adequate meals of nutritious food that you like.

Tip 2 - Eat a regular meal the night before the race. Eat familiar food, more carbs than fats or proteins. Drink a lot of water.

Tip 3 - Begin fueling race morning. Take in 12-24 oz of fluids a couple of hours before the race so that you start well-hydrated. Water works well because it reaches the tissues quicker than other liquids.

Tip 4 – Eat 300-500 calories 2 to 3 hours before your race. High carb, low protein and fat, minimize fiber. Bananas are good: carbohydrates, potassium, no fat, little fiber. Limit the intake of high-fiber foods because it moves quickly through the digestive tract.

Tip 5 - Drink during the first half of the race. Cut down or cut out caffeinated and alcoholic beverages (diuretics) a couple of days prior to the race.

Tip 6 – If you do need to eat something during the race, experiment to find out what foods go down well, allow you to run while eating, and don't return to haunt you.

Tip 7 - Stay hydrated during your run. It's much easier to stay hydrated than to correct dehydration. Losing 1 to 2 percent of body weight through dehydration lessens a person's performance. Aim for 150 to 360 ml of fluids every 15 to 20 minutes. Sip instead of gulp during the race. Large amounts of fluid all at once cause bloating or cramping. Balance what you need with what is comfortable.

It's been one year since my last IM

It's hard to believe that one year ago today I was head to Ironman Arizona.



Leading up to that race I was so burned out on training. I had raced IM Lake Placid only 4 months before and I was actually burned out then. After the race I took a few months off from training. I didn't start working out again until February, but even then I just didn't have the drive to bike or swim. I have only been on my bike and swam about 10 times in the last year and still do not have any desire to do either at this point.

So for now I am just working on my run and doing CrossFit. The run has always been the hardest event for me and CrossFit is helping me gain a lot of the muscle back that I lost over the 3 years of IM training. I know that I can get back into swim and bike shape in a couple of months if I decide to race tri next year, but the run just doesn't come naturally.

Now on to the 100 Push up Training Plan!!! I took the max push up test last night and knocked out 25 push ups. I think I could have done more, but going into it I kept thinking I hope I can do 25...and when I did I was done. Now if I had only told myself I could do 30...would I have?

By doing 25 push ups if is recommend that I start in the 3rd week of the program. I plan to start next Tuesday which means I will be ready for the final 100 push up test the week of New Years!!!

Workout of the Day
I set my alarm for 5:10am this morning so I could get my 6 mile tempo run done, but I just couldn't get out of bed this morning. So....I will run tonight in between all of the camping preparation.

Things to get done tonight to prepare for my trip:
- Go to Big 5 to get some boots and camping accessories
- Pick up groceries
- Finish laundry
- Make a pot of chili (new recipes!!!)

Rest Day...with a max pushup test

Not much happening today. I took the day off from training today because I have a late meeting tonight and will not make it to CrossFit, which means I will be CrossFiting on Friday. The hardest part about rest days is eating less calories. I typically burn between 500-700 calories on workout days so I am able to eat about 2300-2500 calories. On days off I try to stay around 1800 calories.

Tonight I am going to do the max push up test so that I can start the 100 Push ups training plan. I want to see if this thing really works. I am hoping to knock out at least 25, which will put me on week 3 of the program.

Every year on our Christmas vacation in Vermont I have a max push up competition with my wife's sister. That girl can rock the push ups. We usually end up doing push ups it in the middle of a bar or on a downtown side walk. You never know when the challenge will be thrown down. So I better be pushing 50-60 reps by Christmas. I would love to crank out 100 push ups!!!



Anybody want to try the program? Come on...its only 3 days a week for 6 weeks.

I was checking out my Google Analytics today and notice that I have had at least one visitor from 42 of our 50 beautiful states. Come on Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Oklahoma, Delaware and Vermont!!!



I also noticed that Jessie's Figuring It Out blog is one of my top 3 traffic sources. You rock Jessie. Thanks!!!

I love gifts in the mail!!!

Last night when I got home I was happily surprised when I checked the mail to see that I had received a gift from a friend over a T Mat Pro. She had sent me a pair of CEP's men's compression sleeves that she had been given. I love coming home and finding surprises in the mail!



I am not a big fan of the compression sleeves or socks with running shorts look, but I will wear them when I train on the treadmill in the garage or while laying around the house. I wore them on my interval run this morning and they felt great. My shins still ache a little, but they are getting better each day.

Today was my interval day. I did 44 minutes on the treadmill.

10 min warp up (10 min mile pace)
6x 1 minute hard (7:30 min mile pace) followed by 3 minutes easy (1 min 3mph, 1 min 5 mph, 1 min 6 mph)
10 minute warm down (10 minute mile pace)

Tonight I am starting to pack for another camping trip. I am doing great with my goal of running a different SoCal trail each weekend during my marathon training. This time I am headed out tent camping in the Mojave desert at the Red Rock Canyon State Park. It's about 160 miles from Orange County. The landscape is amazing.



I am leaving on Saturday morning at 5:30 am and will stay until Monday afternoon. The weather is suppose to be a high 65 and a low of 34...that's cold for a California boy. There are bathrooms on site, but there are no showers. Since I am running 8 miles on Saturday and hiking on Sunday, I am going out by buy a sun shower at lunch today!!



Now it is time to start planning my meals for the weekend.

Have a great day!

Don't forget to get in on my Box O Stuff GIVEAWAY. The drawing is on Thanksgiving. Simply leave a comment here:



Ohhh yeah...I saw this video yesterday and it really bothered me, but it did raise the question..."Are we born with mental toughness or is does it have something to do with how we are raised?". What do you think?

Workout of the Day - Monday 10/16

Spin - 30 minutes

CrossFit
Warp-up: Run - 1/2 mile & Stretch

7 x 3 Kettlebell Jerk (Heavy)
7 x 3 Kettlebell Swing (Heavy)

3 Rounds with partner
15 Ball slams (20lbs)
V position (abs)

Fairplex to Bonelli Park Run

While at the races I went on a 7 mile from the Pomona Fairplex (the place they hold the LA Fair and the NHRA Drag Races) to Bonelli Park. Half of the run was on the street, but the second half was in Bonelli park. If you are local to this area I highly recommend going for a trail run in the park.



TriEvents hosts a set of three races at Bonelli called the LA Tri Series. There are sprint and olympic distances. Renegade Racing also puts on 3-4 different running and triathlon races at Bonelli.



Parking in the park costs $10, but you can park outside and walk in. There is a large lake in the park that you can swim, fish and jet ski. The park is located right next to Raging Waters.

Here are some pictures I took on the trails.











Hope you all had a great weekend!

Weekend at the races

I can't believe the last four days went by so quickly. Camping at the Pomona Fairplex for the NHRA National Finals was a blast. Our buddy Kurt's team (Crainco Racing) made it into the finals (top 16), but lost in the first round. I am looking forward to working with them on their marketing next session.





Here are some pictures from the finals on Saturday.

Day 2 at the races

We had a great time today. The weather was a little cooler with overcast skies most the day.

Day 1 of the races

Had a great time at the opening day of the races. Weather was perfect.

Got up a 7am and ran 7 miles.

Here are some of today's pictures.

Veterans Days – Thank you

I just learned the significance of November 11th being used for the day to honor our veterans. I probably learned and forgot this at some point (No, I'm not smarter than a 5th grader). Apparently the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 11, 1919.

I would like to say thank you to all of veterans and current military personnel. Both of my grandfathers’s served in WWII and I now have a brother-in-law that will be headed back to Afghanistan right after the New Year for his second tour. I am extremely grateful to all who have chosen this patriotic path to serve and protect our wonderful country. God bless you!

Well I was able to get everything done that was on my to do list last night. My car is packed and I will be headed out to the races at 3pm. Last night I was able to RICE (rest, ice, compress and elevate) my shins. They feel so much better today.



Last night while at the market I ran across Coffee-mate’s Pumpkin Spice Creamer. This has become one of my favorite holiday treats. It is only available November through January, so get it while you can.



As for my workout, it’s going to be a little sporadic over the next four days. I won’t be able to get any CrossFit sessions in, but I will get to run each day. I have switched my rest day from Friday to today. Tomorrow I will go for a six mile tempo run and Saturday will be my long run (7 miles).

As of Monday I will officially be starting my LA Marathon training plan. The new “Stadium to Sea” course map was just released this week. It starts at Dodger Stadium and travels to the Santa Monica Pier. The course travels past landmarks like Chinatown, Echo Park, Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Sunset Strip, Route 66 and Rodeo Drive.

I hope to post some pictures from my phone throughout the weekend.

I leave you with a song I heard on the radio on the way to work this morning.



Hope everyone has a good end of week and weekend!

Don't forget to get in on my Box O Stuff GIVEAWAY. The drawing is on Thanksgiving. Simply leave a comment here:

My shins are starting to ache!!!

I never seem to learn...don’t take extended breaks from training!!! Every time I take a break from running I end up having to deal with shin splints for the first month or two of running. I noticed my shins where starting to hurt after my long run on Saturday when I was doing 5 minutes of box jumps on Sunday at CrossFit. I was hoping with two days rest that I would feel better by this morning. I had such a great workout last night that I was excited to get up and do intervals this morning, unfortunately my shins where not.

Today’s interval run:
7 minute warm-up: 10 min pace
6 x 1 min at 7:30’s and 3 min rest at 10:00
5 minutes at 9:00 min pace
3 minute warm-down

Heart Rate during my intervals


I was able to get through my run, but not without pain. Thank god for my Zensah leg compression sleeves. If you run, I highly recommend compression socks and sleeves to help aid recovery.



Tonight is going to be a busy night because I have to get everything ready for my trip to the races. Tomorrow night I leave to go NHRA drag racing finals in Pomona. It's going to be four days of camping and racing. My father, brother-in-law, his friend and myself will be camping right in the parking lot. I will definitely have to watch my diet and run each morning because last year there where 18 inch corn dogs as far as the eye code see!



A few of the random things I need to remember to pack:
-ear plugs (for the cars and my father's snoring)
-kashi cereal
-zone bars
-ipod
-camera's
-running shorts
-sunglasses
-sleeping bag
-head lamp (good for seeing what I am bbqing)
-beer (lots...reminds me of the following song)



Don't forget to get in on my Box O Stuff GIVEAWAY. The drawing is on Thanksgiving. Simply leave a comment here:

WOD - 11/9

Spin 30 minutes

CrossFit
1/2 mile run & stretch

2 x 6 Pistols (one leg squat...blah)

Deadlift
1 x 5 50% max - 135lbs
1 x 3 60% max - 165lbs
1 x 3 70% max - 195lbs
3 x 2 80% max - 225lbs
2 x 1 90% max - 275lbs

3 x 5 ...ab exercise holding one end of the bar up a chest height and moving it in a circle.

65 pull-ups

Weekend Wrap Up

I can't believe it is Monday already...the weekends go by so fast. I don't feel like I even had a second to rest. Last week ended with two full days of meetings so I didn't do anything Friday but go home after dinner at downtown Disney and go to sleep.

Saturday I started the morning out with a run in Pasadena. As part of my training plan for the LA Marathon I have decided to do all of my long runs on trails. We have such great trail running in SoCal and I always end up running the same routes. My training plan doesn't officially start until the 16th but I wanted to start to build up my base over the next couple of weeks since the first long run of the plan is 8 miles.

Eaton Park in Pasadena, CA is a 190-acre zoological, botanical, and geological wonderland located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. . There is great parking with port-a-potties, water and tables with shade. The reason I choose to run here is because I had heard there was a waterfall in the back of the canyon. My total run was just 5.67 miles...closer to six, but my GPS dropped out a couple of times.



The main trails are in great shape. Most of them are fire roads. Its about 1.25 miles from the parking lot to the cut off for the waterfall. The path to get to waterfall starts at a white bridge.





Once you go under the bridge you are traveling through a wash, so it is rocky and sandy. There are a least 3 or 4 places where you have to cross the water by jumping from rock to rock.



From the bridge to the waterfall is about a 1/2 mile. My GPS dropped out a few times because of the canyon.



There are a few small...very little falls along the way.



I didn't expect there to be much water because we are coming off of summer and we haven't really seen any rain so far this year, but I was happily surprised.



There where only about 5 people a the waterfall when I arrived, but there where a lot of people headed out on my way back. The terrain around the waterfall is really rocky, but there are plenty of places to hangout and read and book or have a picnic.

After I left the waterfall I headed back to the bridge to head up a fire road called Mt. Wilson Rd. I climbed about 1.3 miles (600 ft) to about 1600 feet above sea level. You can take this road 12 miles to about 6000 feet. Along the road I crossed paths with a taranchula which always freaks me out.



The visibility at my turn around point was not all that great. We have been getting a lot of fog lately along the coast.



The total run/hike took me about 90 minutes and I burned about 1200 kcals.

As for the rest of the weekend I went out on Saturday to a great bar in LA called the Crocker Club for my buddies birthday. We hung out there until 2am and then went for a late night Thai food snack where I consumed about 1200!!! calories...good thing for the run.

On Sunday I slept in, but I did make it to the 10:30AM Crossfit class. Sundays workout was tough as always...especially after the late night of drinking.

3/4 mile warm up

5 minutes each with 90 second break in between the following:
Tire Flips
Kettlebell Swings
Box Jumps
Plank (on the rings)

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Don't forget to get in on my Box O Stuff GIVEAWAY. The drawing is on Thanksgiving. Simply leave a comment here:

My Day of Rest - TGIF

I don't have much time to write today because I am in another all day meet and dinner. Last night we had a great meal at Mr. Stox. Here are some pictures from my new phone. Not to bad for a camera phone.









Today is my day off from training. I plan to run six miles on a trail in Pasadena tomorrow.

Don't forget to get in on my Box O Stuff GIVEAWAY. The drawing is on Thanksgiving. Simply leave a comment here:

WOD 11/5

Today was a tempo run day. I ended up doing this on the treadmill morning.

1 mile warm up at 10:00
3 miles at 8:30
1/2 mile warm down

I am in a meeting all day follow by a dinner so this is posted from phone...my new HTC Pro 2.

WOD 10/4

30 Minute Spin

Crossfit:
3 x 1 minute jump rope

1 x 5 Dead lift at 50% max
3 Box Jumps
1 x 5 Dead lift at 60% max
3 Box Jumps
1 x 5 Dead lift at 70% max
3 Box Jumps
2 x 3 Dead lift at 80% maX
3 Box Jumps

21 Bouble Kettlebell Clean/Squat and Press
21 Ring Rows
15 Bouble Kettlebell Clean/Squat and Press
15 Ring Rows
9 Bouble Kettlebell Clean/Squat and Press
9 Ring Rows

Box O Stuff GIVEAWAY!!!

I am lucky to have access to lots of free samples and since I can’t use them all I thought I would start to share them with all of you. This month I have a box of 12 Peanut Butter Clif Bar’s, 10 Clif Kids Mixed Berry Twisted Fruit Sticks (I love these things) and a Headsweats Supervisor!!!



For a single entry simply leave a comment or submit my contact form...here.

If you would like to receive additional entries, forward this on and have your friends enter and post your blog in their entry.

If you would like to receive five entries, add the following image to you blog and link back to The Daily Cadence and let me know.



Code for embedding image in blog:

<a href="http://www.thedailycadence.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://thedailycadence.com/tdc_box_o_stuff_sm.jpg" border="0" /></a>

I will pick the winner using random.org on Thanksgiving Day!!!

Good Luck!!!

Midnight Stick Snack

This morning I woke to Cadence's midnight snack on the living room rug. She loves her sticks.



I have discovered a couple of new food items that I thought I would share today. Does anyone drink organic milk? I just read an article last week about the longer shelf life of organic milk. I only use it on my cereal so it always goes bad before I can use it all. I had read some reviews online stating that it can taste burnt??? I didn't find that to be the case at all. I actually liked the taste better. I bought the milk on Saturday and so far it still tastes great. I might actually finish it before it goes bad.



By the way, does anyone else eat their cereal in a measuring cup??? I get made fun of by anyone who sees me doing this. I just find it easier to measure 1 cup of milk and add my 1.5 cups of Kashi to it. Why dirty another dish?

The other thing I have discovered is avocado and cilantro hummus. I found this at the local farmers market. I have been using it on my turkey snackwich instead of mustard.



I also had to move my treadmill again. This poor thing has been in every room of the house and now has been sent to the garage. With Christina back in school she has turned our storage/2nd spare bedroom into her study retreat. At least it has the company of my motorcycle, tri bike, road bike, beach cruiser and heavy bag. Good thing it doesn't get to cold here in SoCal...welcome to your new neighborhood.

WOD - 11/4

Run - 35 Minutes - Treadmill - 1% incline
5 minute warm up
6x 1 minute at 7:30's and 3 minutes at 10:00's
5 minutes warm down
Stretch

My LA Marathon Training Plan

I have been working on putting together my training plan for the LA Marathon. I am trying to balance my CrossFit training with the running I need to do. So I have decided to go with a 3 days of Crossfit and 3 days of running. This will give me every other day of to recover from the previous workout type and one true day off a week to recover.

Mondays: Spin (30 min) & Crossfit
Tuesdays: Run - Intervals
Wednesday: Spin (30 min) and Crossfit
Thursday: Run - Tempo
Friday: Rest (I will need it)
Saturdays: Run - Long (My goal is to run a different trail each week)
Sundays: Crossfit or Rest...depends how the long run went!

Here is a link to my training plan...if you are interested.

New Challenge

I tried one of the new Stevia products called PureVia in my ice tea at lunch yesterday. I typically will put Slenda in my tea or coffee, but I have been hearing a lot of buzz on this new stuff so I thought I would give it a shot. The taste was actually not bad. I didn’t think I was as strong as Slenda, but it did make it just sweet enough for me. So I decided I would start switching over whenever I had the chance.

Later that day I read an article on soda and sweeteners on Yahoo! and it got me thinking about what I am putting in my body. I watch my calories very religiously, but have never really thought about giving up diet sodas. Over the weekend I had workout hard both mornings and when I came home I would drink a big glass of water and then about an hour later I would start drinking diet soda. I noticed that I felt like I was thirsty the entire weekend. I must have had at least ten sodas over the weekend. I remembered reading an article that talked about the high levels of sodium in soda can make you thirstier.

So I have decided to go two weeks without drinking any soda or adding any sweeteners to drinks like coffee or tea and see how I feel. I am hoping that I won’t crave them near as much as I do now. I will keep you posted.

On a different subject...I just ordered the documentary called “Dear Jack” that released today. I have been waiting to see this for a couple of years. I use to coach for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Societies Team in Training and have since become a big supporter of the cause. The film is about Andrew McMahon (from he band Jack's Mannequin) and his fight with Leukemia. The movie is narrated by Tommy Lee.

WOD for 11/2

AM Run - I ran the neighborhood 3.3 mile loop this morning. It is getting easier each time. It is amazing how much fitness you lose in 3 months.

Evening Spin for 30 minutes before CrossFit.

CrossFit WOD
-Jump rope / Stretch warm-up
-20 pass through with the PVC to loosen up the shoulders
-3 x 8 Kettlebells swings
-Maximum pull-up test (21 reps...better than I expected)
-5 x 3 Barbell Press (95 lbs.)
-2 x 50 Floor swings...I think that was the name. You lay on your back with the bar + 30 lbs. pressed up above your chest. You then raise your legs up towards the right...then down...and back up to the left for 50 reps. This was hard.

My training plan for LA Marathon starts in two weeks and consists of 3 run days and 3 CrossFit days with one day on rest each week.

Goals for a new month…and a new year

It is hard to believe that the year is all most over. It’s hard to believe it has been almost a year since my last Ironman. I promised my wife I would take a year off from the intense training once I completed Arizona IM in November of 2008. We had been together for three years…the third year being our first year married. I had been training nonstop the entire time and she was very patient. During that time I had completed IM CDA, NY and Arizona. I had also become burnt out on triathlon and she deserved a little focus.

Now with her back in school for her MBA and only two months left in the year I really need to step up my training to get ready for 2010. My goal is to spend the next 12 months working on my running. I would really like to try to run the Gore-Tex Transrockies Run August. This is a 6 day run covering 113 miles though the Colorado Rockies.

So far I have decided that I am going to run the LA Marathon on March 21st. I will start my 18 week training plan I two weeks. So over the next two weeks I am going to be focusing on building up my base. The goal is to run 3 days a week and cross train with CrossFit three days a week. I will take at least one day off a week. I am also going to be doing the www.onehundredpushs.com plan on my run days to try to hit one hundred consecutive pushups by New Years.

WOD - Nov 1st

Went to CrossFit this morning to a great workout. I really enjoyed this one.

1200 meter warm up run

3 x 6 Front Squat...my squats are starting to feel a little better each day

Halloween WOD - 10/31

Just a run on Halloween morning. Did 3.3 miles around the neighborhood.

Then spent the afternoon on the Harley with the guys going to Cook's Corner for coffee and then down to the beach for lunch at Maldoons. I can't believe it is November and I am still riding around in a T-shirt. Got to love SoCal.