When I grow up, I want to be an Alicorn

Training Training Logs
1704

Warning: bloviation ahead.

I feel like it can absolutely be both. I’m not a religious person, but I still feel that all meals can be approached with a gratitude and thankfulness, and, from that, enjoyed. I, admittedly, have very simple taste, and can be totally happy with canned fish. But when I say “happy”, I don’t mean “fine” or “content”: I mean legitimately “this brings me joy”. A big part of that is the awareness of the fact that I am truly fortunate to be able to eat whenever I am hungry: a luxury that MANY do not get to experience one this planet, and the food I get to eat is free of disease, rot, filth, etc. I’ve dined in 5-star restaurants and enjoyed many exotic cuisines in foreign countries and been treated like royalty on a cruise ship, but last night (before we lost power) my wife offered to make me a meatloaf for dinner and I was overjoyed at the prospect, and have similarly when making a peanut butter sandwich to eat alongside my brother when we were home from college together.

You ever see a dog when it’s dinner time and you feed it kibble? And it’s the same kibble it gets every day of it’s life? They’re ALWAYS excited for it, to the point that, when they’re NOT excited for it, we take them to the vet to find out what’s wrong with them. I feel like we can learn a lot from them. Often, the joy of the meal doesn’t have to be the taste: it can be the joy of being able to eat when we’re hungry.

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1705

I agree so much with this. We absolutely won the lottery being born in America. Our first world problem of having too much amazing food at our disposal is mind boggling when you stop to think about it. Our lives are so easy.

The amount we could learn from dogs. We don’t deserve them. They are excited for whatever it is they get to do.
Kibble? Hell yeah.
Going for a walk? Oh that’s the best ever.
Ride in the car? Why haven’t we left yet.
Don’t even mention going to the park.

I think the lesson here is be grateful I live a privileged life that requires self-imposed food restrictions because I have the ability to get fat from the abundance.
And get a dog and take life lessons from her.

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1706

I frequently have to remind myself that i’m one of the luckiest 0.0000001% of humans to have ever lived. I’m often reminded of a podcast with (i think) Jim wendler, Matt Rhodes and Vincent Disomething where they have to remind themselves that life is so easy, they get to wake up every morning and piss into clean water. That food is so plentiful and life is so physically easy, they have to invent extra work just to avoid getting ill.

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1707

100% agree. The fact that we can all sit here and discuss what program to do next and if this or that diet is best. Makes us all undeniably lucky.

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1708

Fixed that for you.

And here is a smooshy pic to make your Friday better.

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1709

Oh that smooshy face. My heart just melted…
It’s been a crazy morning and that just made it all go away!

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1710

Saturday 3/22
Long Run

16 miles
1300 elevation change
3:05:24, 11:34/mi pace

This actually went better than the 14 last week. Less fatigue overall. Well, during. I just woke up from an accidental nap.
No trails on this one, too much rain lead to a soupy mess on the trail I tried.
Anywho, felt pretty good until mile 12, then the feet and ankles were protesting. I don’t remember all of my runs from back in the triathlon days, but I am pretty sure this is the farthest I have ever run in one go… For now.

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1711

Which running shoes are you wearing these days? Looking forward to reading all about the race!

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1712

I’ve been in Hoka Speedgoats for a couple hundred miles now. They have been pretty awesome. I’m definitely a high cushion runner now, after using minimalist shoes for years.
Also picked up some Topo Ultraventure 4s that I did one run in. The arch support and toe box is so much better than the Hokas (I have a wide foot). I’m working those in when I can run trails. I’ll be running the race in them. The idea is to wear-out the Hokas out on all these road runs and keep the soles nice and grippy on the Topos.

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1713

Funny because I’ve never been a big fan of Hoka, though I’ve never tried the Speedgoats. Maybe I’ll try them!

I bought a pair of Topos (MT-5) last year as more of a hiking and sightseeing shoe for traveling, but I liked them enough that I just got a new pair of Topos (Phantom 3) for running last weekend and already want another.

It seems like Topo are much better than Altra (for me, at least) in terms of fit and durability. I actually have quite a narrow foot and can fit into my other preferred brand (Saucony) quite well, but the extra toe space is comfortable. I also prefer a lower drop but not quite zero drop, or at least not all the time. Plus I’ve been really disappointed to experience my Altras fall apart so quickly.

1714

Monday puppy pic, you’re welcome

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1715

I thought I liked my Hokas a lot until I tried Topos. Now I can’t wait until they finish wearing out so I can only wear Topos.

Another advantage of Topos. They have all the benefits of Altras, but last about twice as long.

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1716

I like this Monday puppy face theme. Really starts the week of right.

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1717

Sunday 3/23
Easy Run

40 minutes, 3.3 miles

Shaking out the legs. They are so tired. Felt a bit better after this and rolling out, but overall, feeling trashed. Glad next week is a mileage back-off week.
Hunger was up Sat/Sun as well. Run-ger is a thing some days. Sticking to meal plan and servings. The accountability of having to send weekly weigh-ins and photos to my coach helps with the “F it, I’m eating everything in the pantry” moments.

Total of 29.2 miles last week.

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1718

Tuesday 3/25
Interval Run

10:00 Warm up
10x
1:00 @ <9:00/mi
1:00 easy
10:00 cool down

The first few of these were rough. Then my legs warmed up enough and I held the pace or did better than required.
Lifting will follow, hubby has been sick all weekend and hasn’t had the energy to go. We are hoping he will feel up to it tomorrow.

More first world problem rant incoming. I have pinpointed why this meal plan is challenging for me. I have hunger and restrictions like I am on a cut, while being in a surplus. So I have all the natural, human obsitiance of wanting all the things not “on the plan”, I’m hungry after most meals and I get annoyed when the meal is over.
On a cut, I am mentally prepared to embrace the hunger and the suck. But at least the scale goes down and I look better. Right now, I am wanting to eat with more flexibility, because that’s what I have in my head a surplus is for. I need to find a way to flip that script and embrace the suck. Otherwise, I mess up. Yesterday my accountability partner wasn’t at work, so I walked two miles to a grocery store to get snacks. A sushi roll, an apple and small dark chocolate almond bar. I’m not even craving cake, I just want more… That was after chugging water, a Coke zero and chewing three sticks of gum. I felt good after though, stopped the belly growl, I was instantly more awake and less irritated.

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1719

Wednesday 3/26
Coach’s Orders, W4D1

Standing Hip Abduction
30x35, 20x60, 12x70,
12,11x70-60

Leg Press
30x165, 15x360, 12x390,
10,10,11x380, 335, 290(dropset)

Hip Thrust
30x55, 15x70,
12,11,11x90,80,70, 12,12,11x90,80,70 (dropsets)

Glute Kickback
20x30, 2x10-12x40-30

+Ab Circuit

High gravity day. Actually had me sweating. Could be it’s 70F here and the gym hasn’t turned on the AC yet.
Got a good pump and mind muscle connection. I did have to drop the weight on leg press, that 10 I had put on just wasn’t happening. Even then, it was breathing reps to get through them. Effort was there. Sometimes I need to remind myself the time under tension and effort are what matters, not weight.

I let coach know about my hunger and lack of sateity. She very nicely said:
A lot of times your brain is more hungry than your stomach and learning to enjoy the suffering to get to your goals is part of the journey. Eating the same thing everyday helps your brain understand the purpose of food being used for fuel.
Drink more water, especially with electrolytes. Add more veggies for satiety and volume. I could hear @QuadQueen with the last comment.

So basically, suck it up buttercup. Eat your chicken, rice and broccoli. Focus on being able to run a crazy amount of miles and getting a six-pack. Anything.. for… Beauty.

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1720

But if your goal is performance, this may not be the best approach. For cutting, yes but for fueling your activity, not so much. While I do agree with the veggies and hydration part of this, I don’t necessarily agree with the suffering through hunger when your goal is performance focused. There will be time for abs later if that’s the direction you choose to go after the race. I know you didn’t ask for my two cents, but girl, your belly should not be growling considering your heavy training load. Call me if you need to talk, I’m always here!

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1721

It is intended as a surplus/performance, muscle building program. At least that is what she tells me. I added the meal plan up out of curiosity. Not that macros are everything, but I do love numbers and wanted context.

Training day (there is a pre-workout snack)
Cals: ~2150
P: 190
C: 230
F: 55

Non-training day
Cals: ~1800
P: 165
C: 160
F: 55

Huh.
I’m really wanting to trust her process because I get so in my head about this. Those sound a bit light on paper, but I am also gaining weight. So, maybe these are spot on.

Also,

I want any and all cents you share! You are so great and always have the best information that you give freely. It’s fantastic.

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1722

Thursday 3/27
Moderate/steady run

10:00 warm up
15:00 @ < 9:25/mi
10:00 @ < 9:00/mi
5:00 easy jog

Oh this one was a fun challenge! Just when you think you get a pace break, nope, add throttle.
Legs were a bit tired and sore, nothing more than normal.

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1723

I’d be curious what the meals break down to, and when the hunger strikes in regards to what meals.

My initial WAG here is that, looking at the low and unchanging fats, you may be having some meals that are primarily carb and protein. This gets a pretty big insulin spike, with the accompanying blood sugar spike and crash, which causes that “hunger roller coaster”. Fats are real good at blunting the insulin response, but with them being so limited here, I’m thinking they don’t appear often in the meal plan.

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