Birthday post

Today is my Birthday! It was also my first day at CrossFit FiveStar, and let me tell you, WOW! I run and do a little cross training I'm in pretty good shape but these guys are intense! They're also really nice, I felt welcome and at home as soon as I walked in.  The best part? They all eat Paleo! Its like they go hand in hand.  It was awesome to not get weird looks when I describe what I cook or eat.  The energy they all have also goes a long way when trying to get through the WOD, it was a great time and I'm looking forward to going back.  My sister also sent me Well Fed as a Birthday present, add that in with tickets to see The Who (my favorite band, Thanks Laura!) and my Parents paying my entry fee to an Ultra of my choice (sweet!) I'm having a pretty great Birthday!

Get up and move.

Another good ESE this year.  It seems to change a little every year.  This year there was a lot of “fuel” companies there.  Some of the fuels, like the ZuKay Live Foods, were good, while some of the fuels, even while claiming to “natural fuel”, had various dyes in them.  Once again I found a couple for very cool races I might do and Laura found a sweet triathlon that's right up her alley (Snowboarding, Mountain Biking and Running).  One race in particular that I am considering is the Spartan Race.  While an Adventure Race is no Ultra it does present a unique challenge which is one of the reasons why I love Ultras in the first place.  An Adventure race isn't just a run, it has obstacles and mayhem to slow you down.  To complete one you have to be a good runner and have overall physical fitness along with mental toughness.  Unfortunately, the only one near me is a Spartan Sprint (3 miles plus obstacles) but I’d like to try the Beast (12+ miles plus obstacles).  The part of the Spartan Race that I think I’m looking forward to the most is the fact that my Daughter will be running the kids version on the same day! Many runners, for some reason, bash these adventure races and I fail to understand why.  No doubt that some people come out of an adventure race thinking their invincible but when you look at the large portion of the country that rarely even gets off the couch, in some ways it is hard to argue.  Here's my take on the Adventure Race scene, why I like the idea, and why it’s really Primal.

Good Morning Everyone!

I'm sorry about not having a new post ready for you guys by now.  Life has been a bit hectic as of late. Between my training volume increasing, spending more time in the kitchen, and, as always, work and my daughter, I've had very little time to actually sit down and write.  My Birthday is in a few days, which means I'll have even less time to myself and more time navigating menus trying to find halfway decent food while trying to convince friends not to order me "Birthday Dessert" (ah, first world problems).  I do have a rather impressive list of ideas for running, recipe, and primal posts along with some nifty reviews I'm trying to finish up, so once we get past my Birthday weekend it will be full steam ahead.  Speaking of weekends, this weekend is the Endurance Sports Expo in Oaks, PA!

ESE is an opportunity to check out some of the latest and greatest "stuff" for running, biking, and triathlons.  Its also a great place to find out about some really cool races and get pumped about the upcoming season (if yours hasn't already started).  I plan on being there Saturday morning so if any readers want to meet up and talk running or food leave me a comment, otherwise I'll give you guys a breakdown of the expo when I get back. Since you guys have been so good about checking the blog often (I'm averaging 15 views a day which is getting pretty good for me) I'll leave you with something delicious! Hit the break for the recipe.

Simple Hydration

One of the biggest challenges for any runner, especially an endurance runner, is the logistics of carrying your water and calories.  To overcome the issues with the latter I use Tailwind, but carrying water is an ongoing battle. First issue you can run into it is the plethora of options; there are handhelds, waist packs, backpacks, bottles, bladders, and it seems they are adding new options everyday; each have their various advantages and disadvantages.  I currently use a handheld because I didn’t like the constrictive feeling of my waist pack, but it was nice having my hands free.  Enter the Simple Hydration Water Bottle.

Help! I have to poop!

A very good question was just posed to me by one of my guys.  He asked why he is always pooping his brains out (gross I know but a very good question).  There are several factors that can go in to chronic diarrhea and some of the fixes are easier than you’d think. (There will be the word poop a lot.)

Baby Steps to Primal

We’re on day 11 of my family going primal and well, there’s a lot of cheating going on. I caught my mom eating tortilla chips the other night (Corn is a grain!) and my Dad is still eating his oatmeal about every other day. However, there has also been some huge improvements to the way my family eats. I've been able to get them at least going on Gluten free bread, Omega-3 supplements and more quality meats in their diet . We’re far from perfect but that's okay.  Some people (like me) like to just jump in the deep end and figure out how to swim as we go, other people (like my Mom) need to take it slow and start in the shallow end.  As long as there are improvements being made progress can be made, it will be slow but it will still be progress. Here are some of the best tips I have for slowly transitioning to Primal.

Eat & Run

If you follow the ultra scene at all, or even just read some articles about trail running, chances are you've heard about Scott Jurek.  Scott is a world class Ultra marathoner whose accomplishments include; 7 consecutive wins at the Western States 100, 2 wins at the Badwater Ultra (a 135 mile run through the heart of Death Valley) and has set an American record of 165.7 miles in 24 hours—6 1/2 marathons in one day!  Scott is one hardcore dude with some awesome stories.  Lucky, he decided to share those stories and wrote a memoir called Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness.  

Maggie is here

Maggie is here and she brought me a present! I'll give you a clue, we're going for a run to test it out ;) I'll post about it when we get back. So hit the break when you see it.

Pre-run reading of the new Paleo Mag!

Brownies?!

Supposedly there is some big sports game happening tomorrow that everyone is making a big deal about.  I was invited to a few parties and will being going to one in Maryland with some good friends. Unfortunately, this almost certainly means a lack of “good” food choices.  Almost everything will have Gluten in it and what doesn't will inevitably be loaded with sugar.  So, what's a modern day caveman supposed to do? For me, I’ll be bringing most of my own food.  I’m covering the basics of snack style foods with Grass-fed Jerky, Raw Almonds, and Veggies.  But that leaves, of course, the all powerful dessert. 

2013 Race Season Preview

I love running.  I love it to the point where I will make time in my day to do it the same way some people make time for their favorite T.V. shows or to read their favorite book.  I’m also a very competitive person. I wasn't always, I was very shy in high school and often thought very little of myself.  Thinking back, that might be the reason why I’m very competitive today. The fact that, for so much of my life, my default was to think trying my hardest wasn't good enough so, I wouldn't even try. Whatever the reasons may be, I love running ,and being competitive therefore I love Races! Here's a look at my (tentative) 2013 Race Schedule:

 Man, today turned out to be a pretty great day.  I was able to sneak in an hour long treadmill run while my daughter slept, I made some awesome burgers with guacamole, and my daughter and I played with a ball in the empty bedroom (awesome full body movement workout!).  On top of all that I received some pretty sweet stuff in the mail:

Food For All

One of the greatest challenges of eating Primal is going out to eat. Most restaurants use an immense amount of sugar in their sauces and their meat sources are usually grain-fed at best.  That’s not to say it’s impossible to go out to eat, but thought must be placed onto each order.  That is, of course, unless you live near Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania.  That's where you will find Food For All, small restaurant serving everything, ready for this? Gluten-Free. The restaurant is small, but has a cozy and relaxed feeling. Of course, I wasn't there for the atmosphere, I was there for the food, and boy is the food good.

Primal Blueprint Supplement Preview

Mark Sisson is a pretty amazing person. He is a former distance runner, triathlete and Ironman competitor. On top of that he has also written The Primal Blueprint and runs the MarksDailyApple.com Blog. Considering how much respect I have for the man and how much his thoughts on primal living basically saved my life, when it comes to supplements, I'm pretty excited to give his a try.  Let me start by saying that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the vitamin regimen I'm on now,  I'm just a big fan of using myself as a Guinea pig until I find the absolute best for me. That's most likely the reason my running shoe collection rivals most girls high-heel collections.  

New Post Coming

New post coming tomorrow! I got a present in the mail today for a review I'm pretty excited about. Stay tuned!

Tailwind Review.

Two of the biggest challenges any runner will face as they progress into longer distances is knowing how and when to fuel.  With so many fueling options out there, figuring out which one is best basically boils down to trial and error.

Pork Chops!

Food and running go hand in hand.  When you run food taste better and when you eat the right food your runs feel better.

The beginning of... something

Trails are my favorite place to run

In order to have an effective (i.e. popular) blog, I’ve found you need to be both creative (being original helps, but if you can creatively use others’ ideas it can usually work) and a good, if not excellent, writer. Unfortunately, in my quest to start my own blog, I have found I am neither of these.  I am, however, extremely passionate about things I enjoy and absolutely love sharing my passions.  Therefore, I have decided to dedicate this blog to sharing with all of you my adventures in running, cooking (primally), and sometimes insane forms of entertainment I get myself into.  Maybe you’ll only read this blog as a form of entertainment, but hopefully you’ll learn something or take something away from it.  I plan on posting some of my favorite primal recipes and links, training advice I have received or have found through my own runs, race reports, product reviews, and links to some of my favorite products.  This is my first attempt at blogging, so suggestions or constructive criticism will always be appreciated.  Stay tuned and maybe, just maybe, you'll discover something wonderful.