Beast Mode Still in Effect

So far so good on Beast Mode activities.  I got up bright and early this am and did a four mile run so I could get it out of the way.  This is a photo of me, in pan, sweaty, and hot....but satisfied.

This afternoon, I'm meeting a friend for a 'quick beer' (10) at a Mexican restaurant.  I'm already psyching myself up for this.  Beast Mode is also about balance so I'm not worried about the beers too much but I am struggling with those free tortilla chips they give you.  Normally I can down about four or five bowls of those babies myself but I want to keep it under control.  I just checked with my friends at Nutritiondata.com and apparently a one ounce serving of tortilla chips is 137 caloires.  That isn't so good considering I probably eat 30 or 40 ounces in one sitting.  Hold me.

Running Sucks

Even though I love to get on my bike and ride, I decided this weekend I need to start mixing in some runs so I got up this morning and went for a run.  Some passerby got this photo of me and emailed it to me.  Haha.  I know I fooled everyone, but that's not really me in the picture!  FOOLED YOU!

Anywho, even though running is hard, especially when you haven't done it in a while, everyone knows running burns more calories faster than bike riding (if you run five miles, you burn about three times more calories than say biking three miles).  Why did I decide to start running you ask?

1. I need to lose 800 pounds
2. Its good for you
3. It gets the blood flowin and the energy a pumpin!
4. I like pain

If you don't believe me, then read this thing I found on the internet.  If its online, it must be true!:

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/6-Benefits-of-Running.htm

Highway to the Danger Zone!

There was no post on the Gut Chronicles yesterday because even though I rode my bike and did an upper body workout, I was clearly not on my game due to many beers all day Sunday.  I was a mess and just the fact that I didn't shit myself on my bike ride was victory enough...felt no need or desire to write about it.

This morning, I realized that even though I've been living the high life, I am dropping a couple of pounds so I decided to get off my arse and go for a run.

On today's run, I decided to do something I've always wanted to do...risk my life for this stupid blog.  There's a stretch of dark path that connects a park by my house to the main trail I jog on and for years, this 1/4 mile stretch of un-managed trail has lived in dark neighborhood legend like some sort of forbidden zone that swallows up puppies and causes even the bravest of men to turn and run in fear.  It is that place where ye must not go.  Since I'm a big brave stud, I decided to check it out today....

The Vitamix Rides Again!

This morning, I flew out of bed at 6:30am (pretty good for an unemployed dude) and went for a big run (three miles....which was tougher than it should have been for me) and was powerful hungry when I got home.    Since I'm master of my own destiny now I figured I better figure out how to use the Vitamix 5200 on my own.  So, just before my wife went to the gym, I ordered her to show me how to work the Vitamix at once.

I put way too much spirulina in so she took over from there adding cinnamon.(above)

After the powdery substances, you add the fruits, kale, and anything else you want to go in there.  At one point, the wife said "I need a banana" and I replied with "Whoooa babe!  The kids are awake!"  She doesn't think I'm funny.

This part is key...after you add all the ingredients, you put it on variable speed level 1 and turn it on.  Then...you gradually increase the Vitamix 5200 speed from 1 to 7 (Lord only knows what happens if you blast that sucker all the way to 10).  Once it gets going at level 7, you hit high and watch it just liquefy the shit out of everything in the container.

After about 30 seconds on high, you power down the Vitamix 5200 and you're left with a delicious and nutritious green smoothie.  The one above is extra green because of my spirulina overload.  This morning's smoothie had a very earthy taste to be sure.

The Power and the Glory

Here's me in the middle of my 3.5 mile tune up run on hilly terrain in Maui at 0600 hours today.  Being on vacation is no excuse for sitting around like a fat tub of shit and just letting yourself go.  You need to make time to get your ass out of bed and do some serious exercise every single day whether you like it or not.  That's how serious athletes do it!

And here's me in the middle of having my 1,400 calorie Loco Moco breakfast a couple of hours after my run.  Being on vacation is no excuse for eating like some chick who's starving herself for a swimsuit photo shoot and just being a lightweight.  You need to make time to take advantage of having local cuisine like fried rice, a half pound hamburger patty, and two eggs, all smothered in rich gravy.  That's how serious chunky dudes do it!

Someone hold me

Run Like The Wind!

Ok, so maybe I'm not quite running like the wind but I got out of bed this morning, had some coffee, built a log cabin that could withstand a tornado, and then hit the road for a five mile run.  I'm still thinking about possibly doing the OC Half Marathon in May and I have just over a month to train.  My buddy Mark suggested that I just start trying to get miles under my feet and not worry about speed so that's what I did.  All in all, I'm feeling pretty good and confident that I'll be able to train enough to at least finish the damn thing.  Here's a brief capsule of today's epic run:

Bonus Material- My aweseome playlist during my run this am:

Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) - The Buzzcocks

The Cave - Mumford & Sons

Times Like These - Foo Fighters

Young Dead Men - The Black Angels

Little Lion Man- Mumford & Suns

New York City - Steve Earle

Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue

All You Wanted - Michelle Branch (tee hee)

Three is a Magic Number - Blind Melon

I Don't Care About You - Fear

Head Over Heels - Go-Gos

Ignorance-  Paramore

The Sun Always Shines On TV- Milk Inc.

Had a Little Whoopsie-Daisy

The above is a photo of what started my undoing yesterday.  After three days of being a stud at the gym and at the dining table, I had very sore legs so I decided not to work out.  Not working out is one thing but then going and eating four tons of sushi is another.  I figured the sushi isn't so bad, just one lunch, so when I got home I decided to have a glass of Dashwood Sauvignon blanc and that's when things went south.  After a couple of glasses I did the fatal "Ah..one day of being free won't hurt" so I had more wine, then some brownies (multiple), then some Trader Joes Parmesan crisps...then bed.  We can just consider yesterday a learning experience.

On the exercise front, I keep threatening to sign up for the OC half marathon but I'm trying to figure out how I can train for that thing and continue to ride Serena to work most days.  The problem is, my legs get sore as hell if I'm running AND riding the bike so I haven't worked out a solution yet.  I didn't ride today and I'm going to try a long run tomorrow to see what happens.  I need to make sure I remember to lube my nipples and asscrack so I don't get the long run chaffing that comes with a first time out six miler.

Stay tuned!

Mid Day Update...

Today for my lunch workout I planned to time myself running three miles.  Mark, an avid runner, was to be my pace man to keep me honest and worry about pace while I just lugged along like some kind of spastic turdbot (The Oxford dictionary will be adding turdbot in its 2013 edition).  I planned on taking the easy way out, hooking up the iPod and running on a treadmill in the nice climate controlled gym but Mark insisted we take to the SART and run like men. Yes folks, the SART isn't just for biking, you can do all sorts of things on it like bike, run, walk, spray paint, drink 40's of Olde English 800, and even live!

I haven't run in a few weeks and I've gotta tell you it wasn't pleasant but I was able to complete my three miler with a time of 28:22 (9:40 mile pace).  Mark was a big help in making sure I met my pace goal by offering me words of encouragement, told me to stay on his shoulder to keep close to my pace goal, and farting incessantly while making comments like "Ooof!  More tea vicar?" and "Mate, don't you worry, there's plenty more where that came from".  What a pal.  Overall I'm pleased I actually measured myself but its depressing that just two years ago I ran a half marathon at a pace of 9:06 so I've got my work cut out for me.

After sauna and shower time back at the gym (where Mark hopefully wiped his ass), I headed to El Polo Loco since I forgot my healthy lunch.  Yes, El Polo Loco is fast food but they do have a couple of healthy solutions that are quite tasty so I chose the 'Skinless Breast Combo' with no salad dressing.  Thus far, today has been a triumph so I'm feeling good about my progress.

El Polo Loco Skinless Breast Meal nutritional data.  Pretty freaking healthy for fast food:

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