Day Two

It's not as hard as I thought it'd be--this whole restricted diet thingie. Mostly it's just a pain in the ass. I have to cook things and prepare things and mix things and wash things. Toast is oh-so-much simpler!

I'm pretty hungry too. But I think it's because while I've taken out the carbs, I'm not really replacing those calories with veggies and meat. I mean, I eat the same amount, but I guess a bunch of green beans doesn't have the same calories as pan de yuca or bread and buttah. So I'll need to figure that out.

Other than being slightly annoyed by how much I'm having to think about food, and how I'm a little bit hungry, I feel good. My energy has been even all day, both days. Actually, I would even say I feel "energetic," which is not a constant state of being for me. But I've not experienced any partway through the day lows or highs on energy.

And really, things were going swimmingly until the gas stove ran out of fuel this evening. And now I'm trying to figure out what to eat for dinner. I was explicitly told not to skip any meals. So now it's tuna salad or hard boiled eggs again.

The Great Protein Challenge

In addition to trying the Hydration Challenge (and wow, is it challenging!), I am going to try the Protein Challenge. What is the challenge?

Eat protein and veggies for a straight week. Exclusively.

Well. With some berries thrown in. I can have 60g of carbs a day.
Apparently, this is supposed to lube up my joints really nicely. The docs think my body is so inflamed and messed up that it's mimicking arthritis. And I guess this is diet recommended for arthritics.

I don't know how much I actually buy into stuff like that. Whole grains are good. But maybe it's better to teach your body how to burn fat and not rely on carbs for fuel?

What I do know is that my goal is fiercely important to me--I need to get fixed so that I can run. So I'm willing to try just about anything. This challenge will be particularly odd for me. I have NEVER tried to stick to a diet (starving aside), do a cleanse, or anything of that nature. I always thought I wouldn't have the will-power or that I eat pretty well as is, so why bother? If this doesn't lube my joints, doesn't make me feel better, yadda yadda yadda--then what it will at least do is break me of my sugar habit which is probably the best thing I could do for myself right now.

So here's to sashimi, bunless cheeseburgers, whey shakes, and lots of eggs.
Bottoms up.
Full report to follow in a week.

Update

So, the way I sleep, stand, breath and hold myself has given me some runner's knee and mild tendonitis. But not to fear! I'm getting it all straightened out. Or I guess I should say I'm getting me straightened out. I finally went to see Tim's chiropractic team--a multi-talented, multi-trained, married couple who seriously tag-team the session. Adjustments are much better with two people. One can distract the muscles while the other makes the adjustment.

Anyhoo, I'm going to need several sessions. I am seriously out-of-whack. But I think they can fix me, and I can fix me, and my knee will be fixed. It seems to be bearing the brunt of a lot of unnecessary pressure. The good news is that I'm taking care of this with plenty of time to spare for the race in July.

But I guess another cool thing is that they're more like total life coaches and sports doctors. The husband is an ultra-runner and the wife a sprinter. So they're going to help me with everything: nutrition and supplements, training, my running form, proper stretching and strengthening, and my hear-rate monitor! Que chevere!

Realism

The new year is a time for reflecting, making resolutions, and hoping you can stick to them. I generally don't like making resolutions because at the end of the year, if I feel I haven't really met them, I get a bit down about failure and all. But of course, my resolutions are always things like, be a better person, quit being so judgmental, be a better teacher....things I amazingly never live up to by the end of the year. So this year, I made concrete resolutions. But I'm not sharing them here. Because this blog is about my running. And my current goals were envisioned about 7 months ago. So they don't apply.

But some reflection and realism do apply. There is just no way I'm going to do an ultra this year. If I lived in the States, yes, sure, probably. But I don't live in the States and I've never even run a freakin' marathon. It's hard to do things here and I can't be out running past 6 pm. Or before 6 am. (Daylight) But that's not all of it. It's a pain in the ass to go to a gym and fill in or do strength training. A little company would be great, but other than Tim on a run here and there, I can't drag anyone out on this crusade with me. So, I'm letting the ultra go. For this summer. It's still something I'm utterly fascinated by and want to make a real attempt at--but I think I need to make sure I can first train for a marathon.

And so, with the new year, resolutions, reflections and reaslim, my goal has been set. I want to run the Leadville Trail Marathon on July 11th. It's the only trail marathon I can find when I know I will for sure be in Colorado. I've not yet registered because I decided this yesterday and have not yet sat down to the computer with credit card in hand. But I will soon. Even though my bib will read something like, 005. I just need to get it done. Make it real. Make it happen. Be something to work for. Something huge to me.

Bass Lake

Sunday, I'm going running where it all began. The first place I ever ran farther than a mile and the site of hundreds of training runs throughout high school and parts of college. The place where I got in trouble for waving at a TV camera during a race. The site of many other races, hill-workouts, mile repeats, long slow distance days, and everything in-between. The place where I (literally) ran into Newt Gingrich. The place my Dad and I go whenever I'm in Boone during the summer time. The first place I ever ran more than 8 miles at one time. The place where I fell in love with October. The one place where I learned more about myself than in any other spot on the planet.

I'm going to Bass Lake. The place where I see myself when I see myself running.

Because Races Here Are Too Damn Funny:

Here are some pics because you should know:

This is the area/time before start--many SERIOUS runners in matching outfits. One thing we've noticed about Ecuadorians--they half-ass NO athletic pursuit.

These are the pace balloons, supposedly carried by an actual pacer. Sure.

This guy was awesome. And inspiring. The third world is NO place for the disabled, yet here they are, and soooo excited for a race.

And we're off! If I could attach ordors, or make this scratch and sniff, you would smell Ben-gay.

"Hey Tim, maybe this one time it won't be handled bags of water..." No tamale.

Dog on a roof! And no barking. Actually, I think he may have been bewildered by it all.

Fritada break, anyone? No takers? Well that's shocking, I mean, it's already 7:30 am.

Oh, the llegada. Finally. Sheesh.

Now that we made it, it's time for group cool-down and stretches! Thanks, Parque Carolina aerobics instructors!

There's the monument back there. We had to beg and plead just to get this close. Check Tim's Ecuador Reporter article on how to deal with this sort of thing.

It's become a post-race tradition: share one of our horded "special" suitcase-imported beers.

And that concludes what a race looks like in Ecuador. Hope you'll consider a race in the third world sometime. It really is a blast, and I don't think I can say that about too many races in the States.

Taking Awhile

I was going to post some pictures of the 1/2 marathon. But our internet has not been happy for quite awhile now and I have no clue what its problem is. But it's annoying. And dumb.

So no pictures for you.

Sorry.

Maybe soon . . . .