Day 24: Seeing progress

Summary

Monday was a public holiday here in Australia, celebrating the arrival of the first fleet, or Invasion Day as the indigenous people view. Either way, my family and I headed for the mountains to spend some time at the highest peak in the state I live in.

I did my first trail run while out there, and finally the penny has dropped as to why people love trail running. It is simply awesome. The views, the trails but most of all just being on my own with nature.

Peak of Mount Buller, Victoria, Australia

I did the peak climb twice, which was nice. I am feeling great overall, my fitness level is improving and I am increasing my volume of running to 1.5 hours. Time to step up.

Also I have chosen my first major run that I would like to do. It is a trail run for 50km on November this year.

Exercise

1.5 hour run
1 hour bike ride (evening)

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Sweet pumpkin salad
Dinner - Roast chicken an mushrooms, with a side of salad

Day 17: A great day to be alive

Summary
Yesterday was much of the same, lots of rest, though I still managed to go for a run. However, this morning, I woke up feeling absolutely awesome. I have been thinking of my career a little and often that gives rise to anxiety. But I managed to put all that aside and focus on my only goal for this year - run!

As a tribute, I have decided to up my running time. I will still maintain my heart rate, but am planning to increase my running time each day by an additional 30 minutes to 45 minutes. This will mean I will be running for 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes with the normal 15 minutes of warm up and cool down.

Let's see how I cope. The weather has not been great either with the thermostat reaching 39 degrees Celsius the past 2 days. Hoping for cooler weather.

Exercise

1 hour 30 minutes (including 15 minutes of warm-up and cool down)

Day 15 & 16: Man down! Man down!

Summary
I have been unwell for the last two days. It could be the common flu or perhaps it has been the over exertion from my climb on Saturday. I have been sleeping quite a bit and needless to say am feeling a little sorry for myself. Perhaps tomorrow will be better and I will be able to go out for a run back again.

I have also not lost as much weight as I expected after 2 weeks of diet change and exercise. I was expecting to lose at least 500g, but not even that. I am cutting down on the fat in order to force my body to use the vast stores of body fat I possess!

Exercise

None for the last 2 days

Diet

same for the lsat two days, minus added fat into my diet. I am sticking with the coconut cream for breakfast, but no additional (except cooking oil).

Day 14: A New Hope

Summary
As mentioned, I am not one who gives up easily. Today is a brand new day and I intend to continue pursuing my dream. Though my legs are a little sore, I decided to still go out for a run. I took it easy and came across Bill.

Bill is an 81 year old man, who used to box as a young lad. As he has gotten older, he has taken up sweeping the street he lives on, which is close to where I live. Every morning, Bill sweeps his street, going door-to-door to clear the driveway of his neigbours of dead leaves and fallen twigs. He never asks for payment or any reward. He does it because it keeps him healthy and he says helps him clear his mind. After more than an hour of this, he takes the neighbour's dog for a walk. Amazing and such an inspiration for me to keep going!

Bill, 81, sweeping his street

Exercise

15 warm-up
1 hour run
20 minute cool down

Diet

Breakfast - nothing

Lunch - Goan Fish Curry (may need to post the recipe - it was delicious)
Dinner - Roasted cauliflower and Sweet Pumpkin salad

Day 13: The Day I almost died

Summary

The family and I decided to do the Kokoda Memorial Walk (1000 Steps) on Mount Dandenong. It is a beautiful part of Melbourne with mature gum trees and amazing ferns. I felt confident heading to the walk given that I have been training a little and generally felt good. But was I wrong.

The trail itself starts off gradually on a well worn path. It takes about 800 metres or so before reaching the foot of the climb... all on stairs, totalling 700+ steps with steep gradient. The walk itself is dedicated to the soldiers who perished in World War 2 in Papua New Guinea's Kokoda Trail. The entire path is littered with plaques and boards telling of the story of these war veteran and their journey to fight for freedom.

Freedom is one thing I didn't feel. By step number 100 or so I was struggling. My 10-year old son who was behind me had had enough trailing and decided to speed up and run all the way up. By this time, my wife also decided to take the lead. By the half way mark, I was literally grasping on to the limited oxygen that was entering my body. My heart was pounding and sweat was poring down from my bald head. I thought I was going to die.

Thankfully, my wife was kind enough to encourage me all the way to the top. I was panting when I reached the peak, with my son grinning from cheek to cheek loudly proclaiming for all to hear that he was no.1! But other concerns were raising through my mind, such as if I can't even do a 15 minute climb, how am I to survive 100km? How did I allow myself to get so unfit? Will I ever be able to achieve my goal?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but all I can hold on to are, like the soldiers at Kokoda during World War 2, courage to believe in what I am doing, endurance to persevere the next 487 days and sacrifice the comforts that I have grown accustomed to like lazing around.

The Kokoda Memorial

Breathing again at the top

Downhill time

Exercise

A walk up the Kokoda Memorial walk

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Nothing
Dinner - Roasted cauliflower and Roast chicken pieces

Weight

87 kg and 26% body fat
Looks like I have not lost any weight, or more importantly body fat. I will have to fine tune my diet further, and perhaps cutting down on my fat intake a little to kick-start the usage of my own body fat as an energy source. I will have to lose weight if I am to succeed in running 100km!

Day 12: The MAF Test

Summary

I always like Fridays (now who doesn't). I look forward to the longer runs and also the quality time that I get to spend with my family.Today, I have scheduled to perform a test on my maximum aerobic function (MAF). I have written the purpose of performing the MAF test here.

I have decided to use my stationary bike for the test. Using the bike allows me to ensure that I can control as many factors as possible, such as distance, terrain and ease. Further I can accurately measure many of these using the bike computer.

I have chose to test my MAF based on how much time it takes me to ride 5km and I time this three times, as in collect three data points. I will perform this test once a month to determine my progress. I expect a few things to happen:

1. The time taken each round should increase
2. Over the months, the time I take should decrease
3. I may need to adjust the intensity if my current intensity setting (at 3/10) becomes too easy.

Exercise

MAF Test:
15 minute warm up
3 x 5km
20 minute cool down

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Nothing
Dinner - Roasted cauliflower and Morroccan Lamb

Weight

Will have to wait till weekend

Maximum Aerobic Function

Many people have heard of VO2max, beep test or even sprint test as a benchmark for fitness. But have you heard of Maximum Aerobic Fitness (MAF)? If not, you should!

The test was developed by Dr.Phil Maffetone to determine how well an athlete is progressing in developing the aerobic system. According to Dr.Maffetone, the body is made of two key muscles (there are others, but these is the primary muscles that make up our body) which are aerobic muscle also known as slow twitch muscle and anaerobic muscle also known as fast twitch muscle. Both muscles enables us t perform tasks the most efficient and effective way.

An endurance athlete will need to maximise the usage of aerobic muscles which have the ability to keep performing for long periods of time. Of course training using the 180 Method is an essential approach to achieving this. However, Dr.Maffetone also recommends testing the development of this aerobic system at least monthly to determine if your program is working and whether there are any other stress such as chemical (think food and environment here) or mental (yup! how you feel and the stress you face at work or home for example) stress that is hindering your progress.

The logic is simple. As you develop your aerobic function, you should in theory be able to run faster at the same heart rate compared to when you first started out. To do this we need to hold the heart rate as a constant (in my case 132bpm) and another such as time or distance. In my case I have selected distance, hence I measure the time (variable) taken to ride my bike in 5km.

Ideally, you will need to collect three measures. So I have chosen to cycle 15km, measuring the time taken every 5 km. Once you have decided the approach to measure your MAF, stick with it as that's the only way to demonstrate progress. Over time, according to Dr.Maffetone, the time will reduce. Mine to-date are:

Date	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
16 January 2015	15’05”	15’15”	15’21”

Day 11: A little tired and stressed

Summary

Felling a little tired this evening, but that's also because I have had a stressful day. Not much to write, except I wondering whether the stress at work will impact my progress. Tomorrow I intend to do a test on my maximum aerobic function (MAF). More on that later.

Exercise

Run - 1 hour downhill run (I feel I am getting faster, not only downhill, but I can jog uphill slowly without my heart rate increasing

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Nothing

Dinner - Sweet Pumpkin Salad with a can of tuna (95g)

Weight

Will have to wait till weekend

Day 10: A day about nothing

Summary

We often feel that days are filled with excitement, joy or even something to look forward to. I am glad to report that today was certainly not one of those days. Neither was it a sad, gloomy and worrisome day. Truth be told, it was a day about nothing. No feelings, no concerns, nothing. Just another day.

The only difference is today my son decided to run with me. His first comment when running with me was "Dad, you are running so slow! Look I can run faster". He zoomed ahead of me on the trail and made loops around me. I had to control my ego and stick with my program under the Maffetone Method. We completed the run together. He was buzzing with energy after the one-hour run, so I took to a cafe where we enjoyed a drink and just watched the rain fall. Magical! Indeed there are marvelous moments in our lives that we often miss. I would have until I started writing about this. I am glad I did.

A slow run on the trail with my son

Exercise

Run - 1 hour (with son who zoomed ahead and did loops around me!)

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Coconut cream with water
Afternoon Snack - Crunchy Cheese

Dinner - 2 small sausages and Sweet Pumpkin Salad

Weight
I have decided to only weigh myself in the weekends. I feel that the day-to-day fluctuations may frustrate me.

Ketogenic Diet - A quick guide

The whole premise of a ketogenic diet is to get the body into a state of ketosis. What this means is rather than burning sugar for fuel, your body starts using fat (or fatty acid) and also producing ketone bodies which are used by the brain as fuel. There are numerous benefits from this, which include:

• Higher energy levels once the body has switched to using fat as a fuel source. This is because the average person has enough fat stores to last a few days but only limited stores of glycogen (aka sugar). I can't tell you how much more energetic I am. Afternoon snooze brain has now vanished!
• Better sugar control. This is particularly important for diabetics, but most others will benefit too. (For those of you who know about diabetes and are managing your sugar levels, my current HbA1c is at 5.2 mmol/L, which is considered non-diabetic!)
• Lack of hunger. I no longer feel hungry when I skip lunch or miss a meal. This was almost impossible in the past given my reliance on carbohydrates. Further, there doesn't seem to be a dip in energy levels.

I structured my diet based on two books and following the various advice given by these thought leaders:

• Diabetes Solution by Dr.Bernstein  (truly inspirational M.D. who is a diabetic himself. This book saved me 2 years ago, otherwise I would have had some form of diabetes complication. Again for those of you who are familiar, my HbA1c then was around 10-11 mmol/L)
• The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living by Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek
• A blog from Phil Maffetone. This guy is a legend and way ahead of his time. His blog is not pretty but contains truck load of valuable information. If you are not familiar with him, get his book called "The Big Book of Health and Fitness".

The Basics

This diet or as I view it lifestyle is not for everyone. However if you feel like you are ready for a transformation, then read on. 

1. A very very very low carbohydrate consumption. I average 25 grams per day primarily from the green leafy vegetables, seeds, coconut cream and double cream. There are many no-no foods and most internet sites list them accurately. Just do a search. 
2. Moderate protein. Most people tend to over consume protein. There are many sites and sources touting the "paleo diet" which promote healthy eating, yet do not mention anything about protein amounts. The thing about protein is that the liver happily converts the excess to glucose through a process called gluconegenesis. This in turn stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin, resulting fat storage. I currently average around 80-90g of protein (100g of Chicken breast contains 21g of protein)
3. High fat. Consume good fats such as coconut oil, ghee, fish oil etc, but not seed and processed oils such as canola, sunflower, rice bran etc. These contain high levels of Omega 6 which disrupts our bodies natural fat burning pathway. I average 250g of fat a day, mainly from coconut oil and ghee.

I am still surprised by many dietitians saying that we need to consume more carbohydrates etc. I know I got into discussion with one, and when I asked her what is the reason to consumer "whole grains", she said for the energy. To which I responded isn't it easier to consume fat since you get twice the energy and none of the side effects of insulin.

Also you will find very quickly that is impossible to eat "junk" or processed food without blowing out the carbohydrate tolerance. Hence I find this diet or lifestyle as I view it one of the healthiest. 

Again plenty of resources on the Internet if you want to give this diet a go. I do recommend the books above and Phil's website as a start.  Once you adopt this lifestyle, you will wonder what took you so long to adopt it. I have many friends that I have thought this too and now swear by it.

Happy eating! 

Day 9: First positive reading

Summary

As mentioned in my initial post, I am on a ketogenic diet, which means that I consume very low carbs, enough protein to sustain my fat, and high-fat. The purpose of this is to allow my body to produce ketone bodies, which like sugar (or glucose) is used by the brain as fuel. The good news of this is the liver produces ketones using fat and as we know, I have plenty of that! Whilst at first read this may seem crazy to adopt such a diet, but as a diabetic, there has been numerous studies demonstrating the positive effects of such a diet.

Today, I tested my blood ketone levels and discovered that I am demonstrating a positive concentration of ketone bodies. It is only at 0.9 mmol/L, on the lowish end of the range I want which is 1 to 3 mmol/L. However, it is a positive sign that the diet is working and with the gradual weight loss, I am totally encouraged.

Another thing I have started is taking a unique supplement called Alpha Lipoic Acid. It's meant to be an insulin mimetic, which means that it acts as insulin, sensitising cells to uptake glucose, but does not have the same effects on fat cells. I don't purport to be a scientist or attempt to describe it here, but the limited research I have been reading indicate positive results. It is the best anti-oxidant around, and as I increase my exercise load, I am going to need it. But for now, I am just using it to ensure a lower glucose level in my blood stream whilst allowing my body to remain in a ketogenic state.

Exercise

Run - 1 hour

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Nothing

Dinner -Ate out to celebrate my wife's birthday and she choose Indian. Still low-carbs, but I am not sure what they put in the curries :-(

Weight & Body Fat

86 kg and 26% body fat

Supplements
600 mg R-ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid)
1,200 mg Curcumin (I use the brand "Now Foods")
1,500 mg Ginger (same brand as above)
10g Fish oil (I buy a high concentrated fish oil)

Day 8: A Brand new week

Summary

Monday's are my days of rest. And rest I did. There are a couple of reasons why I have chose Monday as my day of rest. One, the rubbish truck comes through on Mondays, and I just don't like the sound the truck makes. The thing I have begun enjoying is my runs in the morning, where the neighbourhood is still asleep and there is total silence. The truck just destroys that for me.

The other is Monday has always been the most stressful day of my live, ever since I can remember. Well actually since school. See, I am a care free spirit, born to be free and to do whatever I choose to do. But Monday represents the removal of that and hence I get stressed. So I figured that if Monday is my most stressful day, my body does not need any additional stress created through running. As we all know, the body releases cortisol (the stress hormone) during exercise as well whenever you feel the footsteps of your boss walking towards your cubicle. hence impacting on the development of my aerobic fitness.

Exercise

Just road my bike with my son through the local trails. Nothing serious, just us mucking around.

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Pulled pork (if you have not tried this, please do - I ate out today but am sure it is easy to cook) and a side of vegetables

Dinner -2 chicken drumstick and  a bowl of Sweet Pumpkin Salad
Dessert - Coconut Ice-Cream

2 cups of coffee with 2-3 tsp of double cream

Weight & Body Fat

I completely forgot to measure my weight this morning!

Brain Training
Meditated for 10 minutes. However emotionally I am missing my holidays and am contemplating on my life's purpose (as we do). Both thoughts have not created a positive outlook for me today.

Ghee or Clarified Butter

Ghee or clarified butter is versatile oil with a high flash point. This means it doesn't burn easily and will take much longer to smoke. Cooking with ghee ensure that the structure of the oil remains unchanged during the cooking process, allowing a healthier outcome.

Ghee is very easy to make out of butter. You can also but them at shops, but I find making them so easy and cheap that I make my own every weekend. I use it in all my cooking as well as for my breakfast smoothie. According to Ayurveda, an ancient Indian medicine, ghee is known to have numerous health benefits. Regardless, the flavour is just awesome!

Ingredients
500g Unsalted Butter

Method

1. Place the butter in a large enough saucepan so that the oil does not spill once melted.
2. Heat the butter slowly until melted on low heat (make sure you don't rush this, otherwise the butter will burn).
3. Leave the butter on pan for at least 30 minutes. 
4. Skim the foam that collect at the top after 15 minutes. I tent to do this a little more because I am obsessive.
5. When there are no more foam forming, and n white creaming milk in the bottom of the pan, the ghee is done.

Melting the butter

Slow boil

Foam starting to form

Lots of foam. Skim it

Ghee beginning to form

A good batch of ghee

Sweet Pumpkin Salad

This is a great salad that will please even the fussiest salad eaters. I have this regularly, and have dished it at dinner parties. And have always got raving reviews on it. It is easy to make and really nice to eat. The pumpkin brings adds sweetness to the bitter spinach leaves,  that is balanced by the feta's sharp saltiness and finally the walnuts add a good crunch at the end. Well balanced!

Ingredients
3-4 cups Baby spinach
1/3 cup Walnuts (raw)
300g Pumpkin (I use a variety called Kent)
100g Feta (I use this goat milk feta which has a really nice flavour)
4 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter)
Salt for seasoning

Method

1. Heat an electric oven to 180 degree celcius (350F)
2. Cut pumpkin to 2cm cubes. Coat pumpkin with 2 tbsp ghee and season with salt
3. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning once and being careful not to burn the pumpkin.
4. While the pumpkin is cooking, heat 2 tbsp ghee in a sauce pan on low heat. Break the walnuts (I just crush them using my fingers). Cook, stirring frequently, until the walnuts are slightly brown. Be careful not to burn them. It is better to under cook them than have them burnt. Let them cool.
5. Combine all ingredients and serve.

Day 7: A day of reflection

Summary

I decided to use today as a day of reflection. One week in and I feel I am making progress. I certainly feel more energetic, but can still take hold of at least 3 inches of fat :-(

Anyway, I wanted to make today a reflection on resilience and the ability to keep going no matter what the challenges I face. If I am to run 100km and more, I will certainly do that. To set the scene, my wife decided to go on short road trip to Marysville, Victoria (in Australia).

In February 14 2009, a devastating forest fire decimated this entire picturesque township on the Yarra Ranges. Some estimates put that only 5% of the entire town left standing after the fires. However, the towns folks, rather than leave the now desolate place, decided to rebuild. Six years on and the town is flourishing.

Just being there in the vicinity of buildings that once were rubble inspired me and instilled a sense of solidarity and the feeling that I can keep going despite the challenges I face.

At Steveanson's Fall - Life returning

View of falls after the fire in 2009

  

Exercise

Long walks, not timed

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Nothing

Dinner -5 chicken  wing (I think I ate too much protein today) and  a bowl of Sweet Pumpkin Salad

2 cups of coffee with 2-3 tsp of double cream

Weight & Body Fat

86kgs

26 % Body fat

Day 6: Wet but not washed out

Summary

It was raining cat and dogs today. I was planning to do my long run today and was hoping to get at least 2 hours. But since the weather has been hot most days last week, the rain had brought a cool reprieve, which meant a Saturday morning sleep-in!

I did make an effort to clock some time exercising today. Instead of going out and facing the elements (if I am to run an ultra, I will need to get myself used to weather changes, but not yet), I jumped on the stationary bike and logged 1.5 hours. Was great!

Exercise

1.5 hours on the stationary bike

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Sweet Pumpkin Salad

Dinner -1 roasted chicken thigh and  a bowl of Sweet Pumpkin Salad

2 cups of coffee with 2-3 tsp of double cream

Weight & Body Fat

86kgs

26 % Body fat

So it seems I have lost 1 kg in one week. And a slight drop in body fat. A good sign :-)

Day 5: Downhill Runs Are Great!

Summary

We have all heard of uphill runs to improve performance. But what about downhill runs? Well that's exactly what I am doing. Instead of the typical program, mine involves off-the-beaten track methods, and one of them is the downhill run.

I don't just fly down the hills, but instead control my speed to a constant heartbeat. This is actually harder than it sounds as the leg muscles has to work hard to go against gravity. Further, it also allows increased leg turnover. This I am hoping will gradually increase my speed on the flats through the increased number of muscle fibre my brain controls and  the increase energy output per muscle fibre.

Amazingly, though the training was easy, my legs did feel like they had a workout later in the day.

Exercise

45 mins down hill run at heart rate of 135bpm

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Nothing (keen to maintain my ketone levels but didn't feel hungry at all)

Dinner - 3 pieces Crunchy Coconut Chicken Tenderloins and  a bowl of Sweet Pumpkin Salad
Desert - Coconut Ice Cream

2 cups of coffee with 2-3 tsp of double cream

Weight & Body Fat

87kgs

26.4 % Body fat

Brain Training

Meditation for 15 minutes - twice during the day.

Easy Peasy Toasted Cheese

This is a great snack, especially when you are keen to grab something fast that taste great but is also low in carb. We have tasty cheese slices that we stock up in the fridge. Two to three slices is all you need to feel satisfied.

Ingredients
1 slice of Tasty Cheese (aged cheddar)
Baking paper

Method
Wrap the slice of cheese with baking paper, put it on a plate, and microwave on high for 50 seconds to 1 minute (depending on thickness, so start with less). Remove from wrapper and place on another plate to cool for about 1 - 2 minutes. While the cheese is cooling, make yourself another!

If you are a cheese lover, this is absolutely delicious.

Crunchy and nice!

Day 4: A well deserved rest

Summary

I woke up later as I intentionally set it for 6 am. I felt I deserved a good rest after my long "hard" work-out. Maybe not, but I certainly felt like I earned it.  I am adopting the principle:

Endurance = Training + Rest

I am keen to pace myself so that I do not get injured and that I am making progress gradually so that my body actually naturally adopts to the increasing exercise requirement. Note that for many, what I am doing may be a gentle stroll through the park, but for an overweight guy like me, I think I am running a marathon. 

My mind is another thing I am training. I am a believer that true endurance comes from the brain's ability to control every single muscle fibre in the body. To achieve a stronger brain, I need to ensure that I don't over-stress myself, and also I am focusing on enjoying music. Apparently music has the ability to not only calm the brain, but also enhance its function including the ability to adequately control the necessary muscles I will require to run an ultra.

Exercise

None what so ever!

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Nothing (I was too full from breakfast, and didn't feel hungry at all)

Snack - 2 slices of Easy Peasy  Crunchy Cheese
Dinner - 1 piece roasted chicken thigh and 1 buffalo wing + a bowl of salad
Desert - Coconut Ice Cream

I had no coffee today!

Weight & Body Fat

87kgs

26.4 % Body fat

Brain Training
I used a pair of good headphones, lied on the couch, closed my eyes and intently listened to:

Gravity by John Mayer

Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie

Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie
This smoothie is absolutely amazing. It provides me with all the nutrients I need and the essential fats to keep me going all day. One of the things that I notice about the smoothie is how good I feel immediately after drinking it. Sort of feels like my body breaking out in song and dance thanking me for looking after it.

If you want to have a go (and I encourage you - it is certainly very good for your body) here's the recipe. You can of course play around with it and adjust the content to suit your own taste buds.

Ingredients
1 cup raw spinach
1-2 inches cucumber
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup red capsicum
1 tbsp flaxseed - we all know it contains heaps of Omega-3
1 tbsp black sesame seed - provide an antioxidant oil called sesamol
90ml coconut cream (I use a brand called Ayam - it's pure coconut cream with no preservatives or emulsifiers
1 tbsp coconut oil (I use virgin organic coconut oil by Niugini)
1 tbsp Ghee (also known as clarified butter)
1 tbsp psyllium husk

Method
This is the easy part. Just blend them all up on high speed for a few minute until its all blended.

All the ingredients in a blender

Finished product

Ready to drink

Yum! Yum! Yum!

Day 3: Alarm, what alarm?

Summary

Now, how could someone sleep through an alarm? I know I certainly can because that's exactly what I did today. Set the alarm for 5am, and instead I woke up to the sun streaming through the room when my wife opened the blinds at 7am! I literally dragged myself to the edge of my bed, sat up, rubbed my fat belly and felt sorry for myself.

I decided to work from home today, so was hoping to go for an extra long run, but that was just a dream. By 9am I was feeling lethargic and guilty. I started work on my couch and as the layers of fat in my body rolled about with each stroke of my keyboard, I knew I could not carry on pretending that its OK. I got changed and jumped on my stationary bike for an hour. It was like a sauna combined with a bike ride in my garage as the thermometer hit 35 degrees celsius (i.e. 95 degrees fahrenheit).

That got me going for the rest of the day so much so that I decided to take my son to the local pool too. Dr.Phil Maffetone, the renowned coach of Mark Allen the 6 time Hawaiian Iron-Man champion, says that for a non-professional athlete like me, I should include all my other activities that I do as part of my training volume. I don't know whether this is true or useful in achieving my goal, but after today's incident, I am redeeming myself by including the swims and splashes I had with my son at our local pool as part of my daily exercise today. 

Exercise

Morning 
Stationary bike - 1 hour (in a sauna like garage and outside was no better)

Evening
Swim and splash at a local pool with my son. Total time spent there was 1.5 hours (it was fun, especially the water slide)

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - 3 slices of crunchy cheese + 1 scoop of Mouth Watering Coconut Ice-Cream

Dinner - 3 beef burger patties with cheese and lettuce leaves (I was only meant to eat 2 but as you do in a family, you tend to eat the kids leftovers... I know I shouldn't)

I had a cup of home made cocoa with cream (no sugar) in the evening.

Weight & Body Fat

87kgs (I think yesterday's measurement was wrong)

26.4 % Body fat

Day 2: Now I am Rolling

Summary

Did I ever mention that waking up in the morning is hard??? The alarm rang and I swear I could have just slept through he noisy buzz if not for my wife giving me a gentle nudge!

Once I was up and moving, I certainly felt more energised. Could it be the ultra-low carb diet I am on is giving me the boost of energy since my body is now burning fat? I don't really know. I also decided to include a short session of meditation this morning. Recent research has indicated that mediation helps keep the mind calm and allows it to focus better. I feel that if I am to run for more than 15 hours (yup that's how long I expect, anything less will be a bonus!) I will need to keep my brain calm and focused.

I am also running barefoot. The feet apparently is made up of the highest number of bones and ligaments in the entire body, and by running barefoot, I will be training the elasticity of these tissues (i.e. the ligaments) and enable them to act like miniature springs. This will allow me to run with greater running efficiency.

Running barefoot was not entirely easy, but given that I am running at a very low speed (training using the Maffetone method), it was doable.

Exercise

Morning 
Walk (warm-up and cool down)  - 30 minutes

Run - 30 minutes

Evening
Since it is summer here in Australia, I decided to take my son to the park and play with a frisbee. Just trying to be as active as possible and maximise my use of the extra sunshine hours!

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie 

Lunch - Met up with a friend for lunch. Had "Make my own salad" consisting of spinach leaves, avocado, cheese and egg, with olive oil as dressing.

Dinner - Cooked Chicken pieces (approx 100g) and lettuce leaves with feta cheese

Desert - Mouth Watering Coconut Ice-Cream (low carb!)

I also had a couple of cups of decaf coffee with cream (appox 2-3 teaspoons per cup)

Weight & Body Fat

86.4 kgs

26.4 % Body fat
Amazingly, I appear to have lost more than a kg since I last weighed myself. I assume that the difference is due to the timing of when I took the measurement, the former after dinner and the latter upon rising this morning. Will check tomorrow.

Books I Am Reading
Big Book of Endurance  by Dr.Phil Maffetone

Day1: On the road

Summary

It was hard waking up this morning after being on holidays for 3 weeks. But I dragged myself out of bed at 5am. Needless to say, my brain was telling me to get myself back to bed and I had to muster all my will to get changed to my running gear. 

Fortunately for me the summer sun was already breaking through the horizon when I stepped out of the door. My goal is to train using the Maffetone method (a topic for another day) to maximise my fat metabolism. Post-run I was feeling energised, and in fact could have kept going.

For my diet, I have decided to adopt a ketogenic diet (i.e.low-carb/high-fat diet) to get my body keto-adopted. This will allow me to continue to metabolise fat in the long runs and reduce the likelihood of bonking. Further, there is growing evidence that a ketogenic diet helps lower blood glucose levels for a type 2 diabetic like myself, thus lowering the possibility of any diabetic complication in the future.

Exercise

Walk (warm-up and cool down)  - 30 minutes

Run - 30 minutes

Diet

Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie (I will provide he recipe soon!)

Lunch - Nothing ( I am trying to increase the ketones in my body)

Dinner - Beef patties (homemade) with cheese and 1/2 cup spinach leaves

Desert - Mouth Watering Coconut Ice-Cream (low carb!)

I also had a couple of cups of decaf coffee with cream (appox 2-3 teaspoons per cup)

Weight & Body Fat

87.7 kgs

26.7 % Body fat -- this is pretty high. I will need to lower this to around 12-15% to be light enough to run longer.

I am feeling pretty positive, and still feeling energetic. Looking forward to tomorrow!

The First Step

As they say, a journey of  thousand miles starts with the first step. This blog is dedicated to my own personal journey of being a causal runner to completing an ultra marathon within 2 years. I know it is a long time away, but there is a famous saying which goes, "Look after the days and the years will look after itself". So this is just a daily log of how I am progressing and hopefully I will get there.

Why run 100km or more? I don't know. Perhaps it is the sheer audacity of the goal, or maybe I just want to achieve something beyond the commercialisation of running such as a marathon. Being a diabetic, I am conscious that exercise is crucial to my longevity, and am hoping to inspire others in the same predicament as me through my actions.

I intend to post daily on my progress based on the following:
1. Summary of how I feel and think
2. The exercise I performed.
3. My diet
4. Weight and body fat

That's it! Do leave comments and words of encouragement. It sort of inspires me.

Karl