First TNT Saturday Run

February 7, 2009

This morning I woke up at 7am, and had to somewhat rush to get ready. I drank a Usana strawberry meal replacement shake, and it certainly gave me quick energy without bogging me down with digestion. I accumulated some clothing and my bike and my mom drove me the majority of the way.

Today all the runners in the Mid-Peninsula(Silicon Valley) and North-Peninsula(San mateoish) met at Stanford around 8am for our first longer training run.

It was pretty chilly at the beginning but as the blood started flowing, and the sun made more of a presence the morning became quite pleasant. Our warm up consisted of approximately a half mile and then stretching. They split the runners into 2 groups, 3 miles and 6 miles. They suggested that people running the San Diego full marathon do the 6 miles, so I ushered myself to that group.

We began our run, and I somehow ended up near the front of the pack. We were on a 3 mile loop, and one of the runners at my pace was a captain, we kept a solid 9 minute pace. The run was nice, running along El Camino and passing by the Stanford fields and Palo Alto High School, then along a trail and through Stanford campus, and then did it again. On the second loop, as we approached the turn El Camino the sun really beamed down and provided some necessary heat.

I talked to the captain Romelie for a while, and she decided to head back and talk with another runner, so I was kind of left to myself, though 2 other runners had caught up and I just listened in on some of their conversation.

An excellent thing about Team in Training is that everybody is enthusiastic and willing to help. Plus you can learn from just about everybody. I never really felt fatigued until the last mile, but by then I knew we were really close so I just continued as if it were my duty to complete at the same pace. Plus the fatigue was minimal. Another loop could have been completed, but it certainly wouldn’t have been ideal.

Upon arriving at the finish, I was greeted by cheering and enthusiasm. It was very nice, and I can only imagine what it will feel like at the end of 26.2 miles and thousands of enthusiastic onlookers. Hopefully the training will enable me to truly enjoy the marathon experience and not feel terrible when I complete, and be able to enjoy the remainder of the day, and the next week where I plan to lie on the beach and relax.

The only problem I faced during the morning was post workout. I noticed that the food being offered was mostly refined carbs and juice drinks. While I did dabble in some of the grapefruit juice, which surprisingly wasn’t too sour, it should be noted that if you eat a piece of fruit or some other whole food, your body will probably process it slightly more efficiently. Immediately after finishing I ate an oatmeal raisin usana bar, and to this point(about an hour and a half later) haven’t been hit with any hunger. I’m assuming that the meal replacement shake this morning is still active in my system. I stretched for what felt like 25 minutes, but also know that the people who didn’t stretch afterwards and went straight to the food may feel some additional soreness. Yoga has taught me to keep it slow, steady and long term.

I’m planning to post these journals on a blog, but probably won’t get around to it until next week.

If you haven’t read my other journals, and are interested let me know and I can send them to you. Also, if you’re interested in forwarding these messages to anybody, please go ahead.

Anybody that has any nutritional advice, or is looking for some, I want to set up a separate blog concerning nutritional information.

Read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, it has drastically changed my life and I feel better because of it.

This is something that Plato said:

“We shall eat animals only at our own peril”

Here are some of my day-to-day goals
• Not drink alcohol for the entire training period from a few weeks ago until the marathon
• Eat meat sparingly
• Have at least 1 salad per day
• Consume less dairy products
• Sleep 7-9 hours per night
• Read everyday


Have a great Saturday,
Ryan