FANS 24 Hour 2011

Now that I have had several days to think about my recent 24 hour race, it is time to do a little write-up about it.


My travel to the race was rather stressful. In order to save about $150 on airfare, I flew from Austin Texas rather than Houston. It is a 2 hour drive to the airport so I had to leave my home at 2:15 am Friday in order to arrive at the airport 2 hours before my flight. Here is the funny part. I flew to Houston and had to sit in the airport for 2 hours waiting for the next flight.

The race is called FANS 12 and 24 Hour, and is held at Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis Minnesota on the path that surrounds the lake. “FANS” stands for Family Advocate Network System and is a program of Pillsbury United Communities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pillsbury initiated the FANS project in 1989 with a group of sixth-grade students from North and South Minneapolis. The Project has a vision of sending inner-city kids to college or to another post-secondary institution. FANS works with the youth and their families in a wide variety of activities geared to providing support for the vision.
I paid the entry fee for the race a long time ago as I have had my sights set on doing a 24 hour race that actually has a walk division. Also, the race provides judges for a Centurion event if there are any walkers planning to attempt to walk 100 miles or more in 24 hours or less. I have had the dream of becoming a US Centurion since I attend such a contest in 2006, not as a participant but as a spectator, at Bear Creek Park in Houston. That particular race was held in February, 1 week after I completed my first full marathon in Austin Texas.

Back story… when I completed 100 miles walking the first time recently at Across the Years in Phoenix Arizona, I came home from that race feeling fat and defeated. I had gained back about 25 pounds of the weight I lost and things were beginning to hurt due to the extra weight I was carrying around. I was at a loss as to how to start a healthier program when I found out about the Paleo diet from some running friends in Houston. Since I was recovering from my first completed 100 mile race, they suggested it was the perfect time to try this new way of fueling my body. January 18 I gave up grains, refined foods and sugar (the only sugar I eat is a tiny bit of honey in my hot tea and the little bit that is in 90% Lindt Chocolate). I eat protein from a variety of sources, lots of veggies (I love my veggies) and lots of fat. It takes a few weeks for the transition from sugar burner to fat burner, so I was a real bear until about 3 weeks into the plan. Then, my energy level started to come back up and I felt stronger than I had in a long time.

I started training for FANS after about 6 weeks strict Paleo. Strict meaning absolutely no grains, sugar or processed food. Cooking the meals is simple, and it is very satisfying to eat something you prepare yourself rather than eating some crap that comes out of a cardboard box. I joined a gym so that I could get some help as a weight lifting beginner. I needed to make sure I was using correct form through the exercises so that I would become stronger instead of overdo it and injure myself yet again. I did not put together a real race training plan, which is the complete opposite of what I have done in the past when training for a long distance race. I just walked as far as I felt like walking, and made sure I did my strength training twice a week. Monday mornings were always reserved for what I call speed training with my high school racewalking friend Ruth. She needed to walk longer distances, which is what I do… and I need to walk faster, which is what she does.

Ok, so I lost all the weight my body felt like losing while I was always eating until I was fully satisfied. I only eat breakfast when I wake up hungry (a couple of times a week) and eat a healthy lunch and dinner. My skinny jeans fit me again, and I can see biceps and triceps and (my legs have always been muscular) and I am beginning to develop a waistline… something I have NEVER had my whole life.

Still training only as much as I felt like, the taper was uneventful. I went to Minneapolis feeling rested and ready for the race. It was great to meet up with Mellody and Dan and head to the race site after we checked into our respective hotel rooms. Packet pickup went smoothly and I really love the race shirt… Bright orange, it says run all day with a picture of running shoes on the front, and run all night with a picture of bunny slippers on the back. The pre-race pasta dinner was kind of an issue for me; I don’t eat pasta. So, I ate a large salad and picked up some Jimmy Dean Sausage and sweet potatoes when we stopped at Target on our way back to the hotel. I cooked that in the hotel microwave and had plenty to eat. I was filling my Hammer flasks while eating and accidentally spilled some raspberry gel on the sausage – it was delicious! I also cooked a couple of sweet potatoes for the race. I will not eat the junk food fare at the race aid station because my body would certainly reject it since I never eat processed foods. The sweet potato turned out to be the perfect ultra food for me. As I was getting the rest of my gear ready for the race, I realized I had forgotten a whole bottle of Endurolytes I bought for the race at home. I began to panic and decided that it was a subconscious act of self-sabotage. My mind was telling my body I could not possibly walk 100 miles in 24 hours. Mellody was critical here – she kept me from falling apart. I looked up local cycle shops who would surely have Hammer products and planned to shamelessly beg (and offer a bribe to) someone at the race to go and buy a bottle of Endurolytes for me. I didn’t have to beg for too long and a runner, Alison Fraser offered one of her crew members (her dad) to go and get them for me. If it was not for Alison’s dad, I would not have fared so well in the dry hot weather that was to come.

It usually rains race weekend in Minneapolis. Not this time. The sky was clear and beautiful and the temps rose to at least 86 that afternoon. I am used to the higher temps, but not the low humidity that we were experiencing. Back to the start of the race – The average pace to walk 100 miles in 24 hours is 14:17 and my plan was to walk at about a 13:45 pace for as long as I could to try and build a little time cushion in case I needed to stop and change shoes or had any problems later in the race. The day just proved to be too hot and I was only able to hold the pace for about 4 hours and when the clock reached 6 hours, I had walked 24 miles. I knew at that time I would not be able to walk 100 miles at this race. I did not let that stop me from trying to walk as many miles in 24 hours as was possible for me in the conditions that day. I just kept moving forward, following the nutrition and hydration plan I had painstakingly prepared for the race. Sometimes slow and steady does win the race; because that is exactly what I did… win the race.

I chose this race because it is the only 24 hour ultra in the country that has a walking division. People have come to FANS from all over the world to compete in the Centurion contest. I am really sorry I did not make the Centurion list. BUT, I did not give up even when I knew early in the race I would not walk 100 miles. Ray Sharp should have beaten me soundly, but the heat of the day got to him like it did to some of the runners. I spoke to one person who was having problems during the race and later found out he had been taken to the hospital. He is ok now, but we should never underestimate how important race nutrition, hydration and electrolytes are. This race keeps a close watch on participants, weighing each of us before the race, and then every 4 hours during the event. Should anyone lose or gain too much weight during the event, the race doctor pulls you from the competition and does not let you return to the race until your weight normalizes.

I never felt sick to my stomach and I only had one small blister at the base of my right heel which means my electrolyte intake was spot on. My weight only fluctuated 1.5 pounds during the race, which is also an indication I was taking good care of myself! I changed my shoes, socks and clothes one time, in order to put on a light weight long sleeve shirt and tights for the overnight part of the race.

I hope everyone who reads this will forgive my jumping around the story, but this is how my mind works. I am remembering going out at 1hour and 5 minutes remaining on the clock for one more 2.4 mile loop around the lake. I was starting to have more frequent bathroom stops towards the end of the race, and finished that last full loop in 40 minutes (including a bathroom stop). So, when I got back to the start/finish area, the 220 meter short track was set up and the timer told me I had a chance to get 80 miles if I kept moving. Ray Sharp told me he would probably walk about 78, and Marsha was gone. (Her 50th state marathon was 2 weeks out and I had seen the medical aid working on her feet… she stopped in order to save her feet for the marathon). That’s when I knew for sure the race was mine… with 25 minutes still on the clock. So I started racewalking (lmfao), if you could call what I was doing racewalking. The runner’s crews were all cheering us on, even the ones who were doing their first 24 hour race and looked like the walking dead. It felt like I was getting faster each time I went around a cone and missed getting to the finish of the last 220 meters by about 8 seconds. Oh well… I walked 80.77 miles in 24 hours. This is my personal best distance in 24 hours, all walking.

The post race award ceremony was great! If you participated in the 24 hour event… they brought your award to you, you didn’t even have to leave your seat. This was my first big win, and my hat is still a little tight, if you get my drift.

We went back to our hotel, showered and rested a little, then went out to dinner. I had the lucy (I totally forgot to ask for blue cheese :( ), and the server looked at me like I was crazy when I said, keep the bun, and give me an order of bacon on the side!

I highly recommend this race for anyone who wants to test their limits of endurance. It is a tough one because the path around the lake is mostly concrete and the bridge over one end of the lake started to look like a monster as the day got warmer and warmer, but the people who put the race on are amazing and they take great care of everyone. I just LOVE the fact that walkers are treated with the same respect as runners, although this is true at every ultra I have done, they give AWARDS to WALKERS at FANS.

This was my Strong is the New Skinny Challenge... to see just what I could do if I let my body be my guide.  I learned something about myself.  I can do things I never dreamed.  I will continue to work on my strengths, and do my best to improve on my weaknesses...  Thanks for reading if you took the time to follow my crazy train of thought this far!

My Rant.

a home schooled High School age girl and I work out on the 2 mile asphalt loop at Bear Creek Park in Houston almost every Monday morning. We have always left our water bottles sitting under one of the benches near the tennis courts and no one has ever disturbed them. We are also aware of the men in orange suits who do a very good job of cleaning up the trash that seems to be everywhere on Monday mornings.


Yesterday, April 25, we were extending our distance to 4 times around the loop, so we both had electrolyte supplement and some nutritional product with our water bottles, so that we could stop at each loop and hydrate properly. At the conclusion of the 4th loop of a very intense workout, we approached the bench where we left our water bottles and they were gone.

I asked a couple of other park patrons and they said the men in orange suits had been cleaning in the area. I jogged over to the van and asked their supervisor if they had put our personal belongings in the garbage. One of the bottles was stainless steel that I had paid about $30 for. He was not very interested in helping me, however, one of the orange suited men who was seated in one of the back seats of the van handed my stainless steel bottle to him and he returned it to me. Whan I inquired about the full bottle of Gatorade, my friend's plastic water bottle, and my Hammer Nutrition Products red and clear plastic bottle, they merely shrugged and suggested I could dig through the trash if I was inclined to do so. I was not aware that these men were allowed to keep anything they find at the park, and isn't it ironic that the bottle they chose to keep was the most expensive one.

This park is always fairly crowded with walkers, runners and cyclists, and I have never felt the need to lock my bottles in the car. I never expected that men who are doing forced community service would be the ones to force my hand in this matter. I intend to continue to use the facilities at the park, it is lovely. But from now on, my friend and I will be forced to return to the vehicle to hydrate.

Now for a personal observation.  Before I started the Paleo diet, and until I became very settled in to the lifestyle, I would NEVER have approached this van, or said anything to anyone about my belongings being stolen.  I would have just gone home PISSED OFF.  Of course, I am still pissed, but at least I got my Kleen Kanteen back.  I will just have to place another order from Hammer Nutrition and get another Hammer bottle.

As for the workout?  It was amazing... first thing Monday morning, I went to the gym and did a full body weight routine at 6am.  Yes, I said 6am.  When I was done, I drove to the park to racewalk with my friend.  She is amazing, and we had an awesome speedy racewalking workout!  8 miles, average pace 12:14!  It breaks down like this: Mile 1 - 12:20; Mile 2 - 12:00; Mile 3 - 12:09; Mile 4 - 12:16; Mile 5 - 12:24; Mile 6 - 12:24; Mile 7 - 12:25; Mile 8 - 11:47.  It's nice to still have something in the tank at the end of a long walk!

The Long Walk ;)

So, I got a little of a late start for my long walk this morning. I really planned to go out at 8am, and didn't get started until 8:30.  Not too bad, but as the day wore on and it began to get hot outside, the wind blew harder and harder.  I looked at the historical weather for the area and gusts were reported to be between 28 and 35mph with sustained winds of 20mph.  Almost as bad as the winds at Bataan, but with higher humidity.

I ended up walking 15.1 miles at an average 14:25 per mile pace.  Not too shabby, but I didn't count time spent stopped (stopped the Garmin when I was not moving).  I am finding that I need to take in more calories during my long walks since I have converted to Paleo.  When I first started marathon walking, I was trying to stay at about 100-150 calories per hour.  I am only walking most of the time, so that seemed like enough.  After all, your digestive system can only process so much while your body is on the move.  I had a serious bonk when I did a recent 20 mile training walk, so upped the calories per hour at Bataan for the marathon.  I guess that slipped from my consciousness today, and I only brought enough Perpetuem, Hammer Gel and a Larabar so the total added up to 600 calories.  That did not equal 200 calories per hour.  Need more gels for sure, and a full flask of Perpetuem.

After I got home from the park where I walk, I was kind of dead to the world.  I drank my Hammer Recoverite mixed with some Fage Total Greek Yogurt and a little pineapple juice.  YUM!!!  The only time I will drink calories is after a hard effort.

Life's a Challenge

So, my hubby has not been feeling well since I got back from my trip to New Mexico.  I have been a good lil wifey and have been cooking dinner every evening, trying to get him to eat a little more veggies, and a lot less bread.  So far, so good.  Fingers crossed that he will start feeling better so I can get on with the training I need to do for FANS 24 Hour and a possible Centurion walk.  For those of you who don't know... A Centurion is someone who has walked 100 or more miles in 24 hours or less at a judged event.  The judges only look for lifting (running), and are not concerned about the bent knee rule of Olympic racewalking.

I took the whole week off of training after Bataan, which seemed like a good idea.  Rest is as important, if not more important as training.  My plan was to walk 20 miles on Sunday, but 10.75 miles seemed like enough, so I stopped there.  I had an appointment with a gym owner to discuss some personal training, so that I can feel obligated to get some strength training done.  The great deal: $110 for 3 months of membership with no extra charge for helping me with a program to build strength without hurting my back (which tends to be problematic). 

Rusty walked me through a short series of exercises, which will be my starting point.  Leg raises, leg presses, lunges, lat pull downs, chest flys, lat raises, curls, and back extensions.  These are all at beginning weight, which will increase as needed.  The thing that Rusty stressed is proper form, nd isolation of the specific muscles the exercise is intended to work, which I agree with totally.  I found I like working out at a gym better than doing it at home.  I LIKE the way I look in the mirror!  That's totally new to me.

Monday's workout (remember, I am a beginner... so don't make fun of the amount I am lifting ;))
Leg raises on incline bench: 2 sets - 12 reps
Leg press: 3 sets - 12 reps - 90#
Lunges: 3 sets - 11 reps
Lat pull down: 3 sets - 12 reps - 40#
Chest Flys: 3 sets - 12 reps - 20#
Lat Raises: 3 sets - 15 reps - 5#
Dumbell curls: 3 sets - 15 reps - 8#
Standing calf raise: 3 sets - 15 reps - body weight

Still being a good girl and following the Paleo diet, but I think I have eaten a little too much fruit the past week... Time to go ketogenic for a couple of weeks...  All for now.

Day 2, March 27, 2011 Bataan!!!

We arrived at White Sands early enough to not have the worry of waiting in a long line of cars and were able to park very close to the starting area! That is a good thing; we could wait in the car while the wind gusted to at least 40mph and blew sand everywhere! Mellody named the wind Bob and Bob really blew that day! Bob blew so hard he seemed to move the rental car, and he forced the trees to bend over! Bob was however, good enough to blow a trash bag my way so I could wrap up in it in order to block some of the wind. LOL Bagpipes played for morning entertainment as we waited for the beginning of the opening ceremony. The three of us tried to stick together in the crowd and ended up near the front for the opening ceremony which began at 6:35am. The ceremony was very moving, as the role was called. First the survivors responded “here”, followed by the role call of all the survivors who have died since the last memorial march in 2010. No one answered. One of the survivors stood throughout the ceremony. He was wearing is full dress uniform with all his medals. What an impressive sight he was, and when the battle poem was recited, several cried out with a resounding YEAH! Then it was time for the fly over, courtesy of Holloman Air Force Base. The cannon sounded, and the group of Wounded Warriors started the march. 

 We had expected a wave start, but were warned during the opening ceremony that there were just too many of us to enforce corrals, so people just mingled and got into the starting chute when they were ready. No problems with all us civilians mixed in with all the military personnel! They seemed to be having as much fun as we all were!

I stopped to shake a few Bataan survivors’ hands on the way to the starting line. They are a proud group of men, totally deserving of this event to commemorate their suffering, and remember all the lives lost in service to our country. We were now out on the marathon course. The first part was relatively flat, though at a higher elevation than I am used to. We started out on the road for about the first mile before our turn off into the desert. This desert section was rolling and sandy, with little or no elevation gain. I started out running this section until I reached a team or group walking abreast, took a breather while following them, then ran to the next group of congestion, all the while trying to stay up wind of the blowing sand. I do not usually carry my camera with me during marathons, but really wanted to have photos from this one. I took several photos during this first section. I was making pretty good time under the conditions, averaging a 14:17 mile through mile 6. Then we turned out onto the road, preparing for the climb. I really expected the gaiters I was wearing to be a lot more effective at keeping the sand and rocks out of my shoes, but no luck. I had to stop here at the aid station and dump the debris out of my shoes, and needed a quick potty stop. There was a short climb out of the main base property, across highway 70, and then up the mountain into a 40mph headwind. Mellody caught up to me, (she took a lot more time shaking Bataan survivors’ hands than I did) and we made the climb together. I tried to take a picture of us with my camera and it would not open any more. Methinks me got sand in my camera.  I was amazed that the elevation did not bother me as much this time as it had at ET. I attribute this to Paleo. Of course, my big mistake that morning was not bringing any protein along for breakfast, (should have brought the turkey jerky or the buffalo jerky along) and the continental breakfast they were serving was all pastries, so no breakfast was presenting sort of an issue for me. I was fueling with my Hammer Perpetuem and Hammer Gel, eating a few oranges, taking my Endurolytes and alternating drinking Heed with water.

I had to stop at the next turn off into the desert to mix another bottle of Perpetuem, and it was still very windy, so I took a lot longer at this stop than I wanted to and Mellody took off ahead of me. It is all good when we do the same race, we can walk together, but we do our own race. I just enjoyed visiting with the soldiers, and took off when my fuel was mixed. We were still steadily climbing, and I was feeling strong… just slow. At this point, I already knew I was not going to break any land speed records, so decided just to enjoy the event. I had heard tales of an aid stop at mile 14 (the top of the climb) that would be selling hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and cold sodas. I was glad that I tucked a $10 into my fuel belt, because I was totally out of gas. I walked up to the table and told the guy I would pay the whole $10 for a couple of meat patties. “I’m hungry, and all I need is some BEEF!” That got a good laugh and $5 in change. My maniac friend Nina was sitting down finishing her hamburger, so I joined her. Those were the two best hamburger patties I had ever eaten. Now as it is time to rejoin the marathon, I came upon a young man with a picture of a Bataan survivor on his t-shirt. When I asked if that was his grandpa, he told me no, it was his great, great uncle. The young man must have only been about 14 years old, and he was not the youngest marcher I saw that day. I thanked him for being so tough!

The course began to head around the mountain with lots of rolling terrain along the way. I was still running a little on the down hill sections, mainly because it was easier to run down than to try and walk, risking slipping as some of the downs were pretty steep. I found out later from my other friend Deb (she is a nurse practitioner and stopped to render aid more than once during the race) that one soldier had fallen somewhere in this section, breaking his leg. The view from this side of the mountain was amazing! We could see the Organ Mountains, named such because the vertical rocks on the mountain peaks look like a pipe organ! White Sands Missile Range was also visible off in the distance (at +/-4500 feet), and far below the +/- 5,500 feet we were now motoring at. A border patrol officer was stationed at one of these high points on the course, I guess his job was to make sure all the people out there had race numbers attached to their uniforms.

The course then headed back to the road, and a steep downhill. I racewalked down the whole hill, averaging a 12:30 pace at this point, which was still pretty good, coming up on 20 miles of this really tough course. My racewalking form provoked a little teasing, which I took with a grin, inviting the soldiers to “Walk this Way!” HMMM, only 10k to go, and the infamous sand pit was still to come. As I made my way through the sand pit, which seemed more like the consistency of cat litter, I came upon two soldiers who were having serious muscle cramping issues. I had enough Endurolytes for me and maybe a couple of extras, but I gave each of them 4. I really hope it helped these two guys make it to the finish! I am sure I will never know, but it was the right thing to do at the time. I thought I would be ok with what I had left and I did still have some Heed. One more time, I had to sit down and dump the rocks out of my shoes, and this time I turned my socks inside out. I was told to get up off my ass because there were only 2 miles to go. I got up and caught the sergeant who had ordered me to get up… let him know I was passing him now. LOL I kept playing tag with a couple of other soldiers and one kept threatening to jump on my back so I could carry he and his pack to the finish. I said, come on, jump on – we will go down together!

I started to approach the finish area, and even at 7 hrs 25 minutes, there were lots of cheering spectators. I thought I would try to run across the finish line, since I had done a fair amount of running in this race. My legs simply said HELL NO, and both of my calf muscles locked up completely. I was very lucky not to fall on my face. Apparently, I needed more Endurolytes than I thought. ;) I grabbed the fence, stretched out those lead calf muscles, and proudly walked to the finish line! I had the key to the rental car, so walked straight to it and my Recoverite, pineapple juice and Fage Greek yogurt recovery shake. I was feeling fine, and looking for some of my friends who were also doing the race. I found Lori Sherwood and Susan Bell, her husband Britt and their friend Terri. We took some photos, and then I went to get some of the post race food. I asked for a hamburger patty, bratwurst and sauerkraut. No bread, still Paleo all the way. I could not eat it all and was hoping I would be able to eat a decent meal later… All I kept saying all day was fajitas for two, just for me!

I also had the good fortune to meet the parents of the young man who created the Bataan Memorial March as his ROTC project. It has grown into an awesome thing over the 22 years it has been held, and this young man should be very proud of himself.

Finally, Mellody found me and we went to watch more finishers coming in. We were beginning to worry about Deb, but she finished while we were looking the other way. Mellody had a great race, shaving time off her first Bataan march in 2007, and Deb shaved a lot of time off her first Bataan march in 2006. I was just happy to have finished! I have recently completed my first 100 mile race, and the difficulty level of this marathon is right up there with that, but the difficulties we faced here are NOTHING compared to what our military face EVERY DAY. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

We had our celebration meal of Mexican food, and all I could manage was a fajita salad with fresh sliced avocados, sliced tomatoes, sour cream and a roasted green chile on top!  It was delicious... and I did have flan for dessert, because if you climb a mountain in the desert, you deserve dessert!

I won't bore you with the details of the trip home... except to mention it was uneventful.  No accidents, no speeding tickets, no heavy duty border patrol activity.  I am happy to report we were not searched by the border patrol at the point of entry! Whew!

Catching up

I tried to make a commitment to write at least one blog post a week… and I failed. Oh well, my commitment to the Paleo diet is still going well. I am still training for upcoming races, but am finding it difficult to keep up with my weight lifting.

My weight has remained constant since the last post on March 1, so that is encouraging. I think it means that I am where my body wants to be. The stretched out skin from years of my weight fluctuating up and down is beginning to shrink, and I know this will take time and real effort on my part to make the extra time I need to do my strength training. I did slack off the last two weeks as I was tapering for the Bataan Memorial Death March marathon at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico (race report to follow). Now, it’s time to ramp things back up… Hog’s Hunt 50k is on April 16, and FANS 24 hour is on June 4-5.

My exercise activity since the last workout post on February 27: I have walked 61.4 miles, and done a mere 3 weight lifting workouts. I am not going to make any excuses for not getting the ST done, I promise to do better.

Specific Goals

So, I have been thinking long and hard about what I am trying to accomplish since beginning the Paleo diet. Of course, it is not really a diet unless you define diet as either 1a, 1b, or 1c from the following example. 1d most certainly is not what I am thinking when I say diet. I am eating when I am hungry and not eating when I am not hungry, simply because some silly schedule says it's time to eat.
Definition of DIET
1a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed
b : habitual nourishment
c : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason
d : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight
2: something provided or experienced repeatedly

But, to clarify, I did go into this desperate to lose some weight so that I could meet a huge performance goal... talked about that already: Make the US Centurion List. I was not feeling healthy, and I was totally lacking in any confidence in my ability to meet the challenge I had already signed on for.

There has been tons of discussion on Strong is the New Skinny about how the word skinny offends, shocks, startles. I cannot let words of any kind get in the way of my goal which is to get to the body weight my genetic makeup tells me I am supposed to be. Yes, I am weighing myself, because that is one measure of progress. I am also taking measurements... mainly waist and hip. I am also paying attention to how much better my clothes fit. I may never wear a bikini (I am almost 50 and have been moderately obese all my life) but I am fine with that... this is not about how I look, it's about how I feel and meeting that performance goal.

I also understand, as I have stated in the past, that being an endurance athlete does not exactly scream Paleo/Primal... but it is what I do. I also do some lifting, and maybe as I get to the weight my body is supposed to be, I will be able to increase my lifting to help speed up the body fat loss.

Talking about food again... baked pork country style ribs seasoned with garlic, a little cayenne, thyme and rosemary. Side of steamed butternut squash and a veggie salad dressed with high quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

My walking workout last night was amazing and spot on! the details:

so... the goal of these slower, steady paced treadmill workouts is to try and get my body to recognize that 13:30 is an ez pace. Start off the first mile for warm up, then increase the speed to 4.4mph or around 13:37 minutes per mile pace and maintain that pace while keeping the hr at around 70% for 4 miles at that speed, then slowly ramp the speed down in the last mile for cool down.
This was a very successful workout. 6 miles - 1:23:29 - overall average pace 13:55 - miles 2 through 5 pace 13:37 - Average HR: 128 / Max HR: 138

Next blog post will certainly contain a progress photo.

Paleo? Me?

I have been thinking about starting to blog again. But, finding the time to write is a real challenge for me. These pictures show the overweight, struggling me... the trainig pic is over the summer, doing a 12 hour overnight training walk with some friends in Houston.

I finished my first 100 mile event January 1, 2011. I was really overwhelmed at the time, so happy and proud! This was my third attempt, the first two ended in DNF. Not that a DNF in a 100 is the end of the world. Each race has its ups and downs, and Did Not Finish is better than Did Nothing Fatal! The self portrait below is how I looked right after the race, at my heaviest weight in a long time.

Immediately after the race, as I was driving home from Phoenix, I had a huge revelation. I will never reach my goal of having my name added to the Centurion list. I was 20 to 25 pounds overweight, and yes, I did just walk 100 miles, but it took me 45 hours of a 48 hour race. The more I train for ultras, the more crap I ate. I was desperately trying to keep my energy level up. It seemed as if cookies were the answer. I also ate twice as much fruit as I did vegetables. Trapped in a low fat, high carbohydrate cycle, I just kept gaining all the weight I had lost back, a couple of pounds at a time.

The back story on the initial weight loss: I have always been a carbohydrate and sugar junkie, and after I stopped drinking alcohol to excess… sugary foods were the next logical step. I moved from one addiction to another. When I realized what had happened, I was all the way up to 215 pounds. That was in 2004. My back was such a mess; I could hardly get out of bed in the morning. I went to the doctor for one thing or another (I don’t remember the reason) and the doctor finally got through to me. He told me if I kept this yo-yoing with my weight up, I was going to kill myself. You might as well just stay fat. That was the straw that broke this camel’s back. I started walking, a little bet every day. The more I did, the better I felt. So I looked for an eating plan I could live with. I changed my carbohydrate intake to brown. I ate more fat (olive oil and peanut butter), and I ate lots of vegetables and fruit. I lost 70 pounds in about 9 months and found racewalking. I never knew I had a competitive bone in my body… now I was racing regularly and have even won a few walking competitions. The more I raced, the more I wanted to race and I did my first full marathon in 2006! Wow, that was awesome, but I know there is more. That’s how I found about the Centurion list. In order to get one’s name added to the list one must walk 100 miles or more in 24 hours or less at a judged competition. Competition meaning there are more than one person making a Centurion attempt. This is the goal I have had in mind since 2006.

Fast forward to where I am now, driving home from Phoenix on January 2, 2011. I was ready to give up on my Centurion goal because I had let my food addictions take over yet again and was back up to 170. I mulled this over and finally posted something silly on Facebook about the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon. If they would count the 20 extra pounds I am carrying around, I could just add a 15 pound pack and enter the heavy division of the marathon. A new, awesome friend saw it and sent me a private message about Paleo, and the rest is history.

January 12, I flipped the switch and removed everything containing sugar from my food intake. I already drink high quality coffee black with no cream or sugar, so I could still have my cuppa joe. It is amazing how when I set my mind to NO SUGAR, I was able to just quit, cold. I was still eating a few grains such as one slice of homemade wheat bread made in to French toast, or a serving of organic oatmeal. I talked to a couple more friends about slowly cutting the grains and they suggested that would just be self-torture, so, January 18 I flipped that switch and have had NO grains since. It took a couple of weeks to learn to eat when hungry and to stop obsessing over food logging, and I lost 6.5 pounds by January 22. It was so easy; I didn’t even feel like I was depriving myself of anything. Oh, and drinking coffee is no longer a necessity… but a pure pleasure. My energy level had increased dramatically! I didn’t start my serious training until after I had lost a total of 12 pounds, which was January 30. Can you believe it? I lost 12 pounds in 18 days with little effort, and this time, I can actually see the weight coming off my waistline. It’s like a miracle for me, as I have ALWAYS been fat, even when I was thin. I know a lot of people who read this will understand that statement.

I have been absorbing everything I can find online and recently bought the revised edition of The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet for Athletes by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. and The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. I also love reading from Mark’s Daily Apple. I am sure I will buy Mark Sisson’s book next. The folks at “Strong is the New Skinny” are also great sources on inspiration. I love to read the testimonials people send in about their amazing transformations, physical as well as emotional!

Today is February 23, 2011, and my weight this morning was 151.2. That makes my total weight loss to date 18.8 pounds. I am back to my endurance training 4 days a week, and desperate to find a way to include more strength training to my routine. I know ST is critical… maybe with a little exterior prodding, I will be encouraged enough to find a way to fit all the things I need to do into my schedule. I posted on FB the other day and will repeat here that my lumbar spine is pretty jacked up… no disc material left between L5 and S1, so there will be none of that: “Lift Heavy Things”, I will have to figure out how isometrics and resistance bands, etc can make a difference. I am stronger, but don’t want to derail my endurance training because I did something stupid with weights. Oh, and check out this calf muscle. Isn't it awesome!




Maryann, who is so happy to be where she is today, only needing to lose another 5 to 8 pounds, but ready to let the body decide what it wants to weigh!