Sunday

I started the new diet today. Loaded up with everything I need for the week at Crest. Plenty of lean meats (chicken and beef) and good carbs. I have to say, I felt a little sad today, with it being marathon day in OKC. After running one leg of the relay last year, I really feel like I took a step back by not being involved at all this year. On the plus side, two of my team members from last year ran another relay this year, and knocked almost 45 minutes off of last years time. If I'm not mistaken, they placed 5th in their division. That is pretty damn cool. I've made myself a vow that this will be my last year to not be a participant in some way.

So I guess all I can do is focus on the marathon in November. I think I mentioned some time last month that I was kind of torn between going old school with my training and trying to be cutting edge. I think I am going old school on my diet. I almost hate using the word diet, because I don't want to make this seem like a temporary change. I really need to make a lifestyle change more than "let's try this this month" change. My new diet is hopefully going to be as natural as possible, while still being as flavorful as possible. If it is a bland, rice cakes, celery and dehydrated rabbit poop-type diet, there isn't a chance in hell I will stick with it. So I am going to eat lean meats, good carbs, good fats and smaller portions. The good proteins will mainly be eggs, lean beef, fish, chicken, and cottage cheese, the good carbs will be vegetables, fruits, and oatmeal, and the good fat will mainly be olive oil.

The biggest key will definitely be portion control. For someone who could easily sit down and eat a large pizza, trying to manage not only what I eat, but how much, is going to be an ongoing battle. I'm not sure when this started, but I've noticed in the last couple of years (I'm sure this started a long time ago, but I just noticed) that I refuse to let myself be hungry. At the first tiny little sign of hunger, I start eating. Not to mention the times I start eating because I am stressed, bored, sitting, standing, breathing, etc, etc. I tend to graze. Which seems to work well for gazelles, but not so good for us bovines. Hopefully, raising my protein intake will help while in the strength building phase of training, or what I like to think of as the off-season. Once I get down close to the weight range I need to be, I can start upping the carbs to off-set all of the endurance work. Call me crazy, but I like to think of it as my "Common Sense Diet".

That is the plan as I see it now. Keep in mind, all of this is subject to change at my whim. Think of this as either the fine print at the end of a contract, or all the auctioneer-speed babble at the end of a car commercial.