Day two in the life of a marathon runner wannabe

Several things come to mind as I think about what to say about day 2 of my 365-day marathon training experiment. First, I am excited about committing to this blog. It helps me stay mindful of my health and fitness goals throughout the day as I see and hear things that I wish to include in my blog later on.

Today it was rainy and cold in Chicago so I did not get to do my walking. I have walked an average of 5 miles per day, every day this week (Monday through Friday). Perhaps tonight I will do yoga. I can't make any promises though.

I did adhere to my diet. I avoided carbs. I am doing this to lose a little weight and look more toned as I get into this pre-training phase. I also want to detox from sugar because sugar contributes to the growth of candida in the body. Breakfast consisted of an omlette with mushrooms and cheese. I ate a late breakfast because I slept in. Dinner is the same as yesterday. I was not feeling creative. I made Mexican style chicken salad. I had boiled some chicken earlier before I went to work. I boiled it with some Chipolte peppers which gave it a lovely flavor. I took the chicken off the bone and mixed it with a little salsa and sour cream. Then I put it on top of some mixed greens. I threw in a little hot sauce and some balsamic vinaigrette spritzer. Yum!

I made sure I took my vitamins today. I LOVE my Juice Plus. I feel a huge difference when I do not take it. It contains a bunch of nutrients from the dehydrated juice of fruits and veggies. It is also supposed to clean your blood after 90-120 days I think...I could be mistaken. Just check out the site if you want to learn more or contact me. I don't want to make my blog into some sort of infomercial kind of thing...that is just annoying. I also take a thyroid supplement from Vitamin Shoppe. I love this too because I think that my thyroid needs a bit of adjusting. Additionally, I have started taking Maca powder (a bitter tasting Incan superfood that I mix with juice when I am not avoiding sugar...). This is an awesome source of natural energy. It also stimulates the hypothalamus which controls the endocrine system which regulates hormones. I have noticed very nice changes in my hormones and awesome energy levels (not to be confused with the "energy" one gets from consuming caffeine which is not actually energy but inflated adrenal glands). Again, if you want to know more about Maca you can contact me.

In addressing the nervousness and trepidation that I mentioned earlier about maintaining my commitment to this goal, I read some very inspiring and applicable quotes today. One showed up in my in-box.

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."
-George Edward Woodberry

I of course like this one because I am definitely committed to trying. But then this reminds me of that quote from Yoda that goes "Do or do not but do not try". Hmmmm......

I am going to go with the above quote because it makes me feel better about things.

While reading my yoga book today the first page I came to says, "All limitations are self-imposed"
This really caught my attention. So much so in fact, that I did not read anything else in the book. I just sat there and thought for a while about what limitations I was imposing upon myself. The yoga book this came from is called Living Yoga Creating a Life Practice by Christy Turlington. It is pretty good.

When I was on the L train heading home from work I was reading an article I printed off from the Committed Parent. The author discusses the notion of "deliberate practice".
"Deliberate practice is a method of continual skill-improvement that takes us far beyond the notion of simple hard work. Here is how Ericsson describes it:
Deliberate practice is a very special form of activity that differs from mere experience and mindless drill. Unlike playful engagement with peers, deliberate practice is not inherently enjoyable. It does not involve a mere execution or repetition of already attained skills but repeated attempts to reach beyond one's current level and is thus associated with frequent failures.

This reminds me of what Tony Robbins refers to as CAN I (constant and never-ending improvement)

How does this look in terms of meeting my fitness goals? Well, in terms of building endurance it can mean doing something as little as taking one additional step each day I go jogging. I can push myself to do one additional step each day.

If I chalk today up as my "day of rest" and consider the fact that I have not taken any bites of Brian's pumpkin pie (at least not yet anyways) then technically I have successfully engaged in CAN I!

I am very inspired by what I have read today. My faith is strengthened and my hopes are set high. My specific fitness goal for the next two weeks that I am in Phase 1 of the South Beach diet are to walk at least 5 miles every day (with one day allowed for rest). If I can't do the 5 mile walk then I would like to get in an hour at the gym doing a workout of my choice and/or a yoga class. The walking is a good form of low impact cardio which is a great way to burn fat. If I choose an hour in the gym then it will consist of low impact cardio exercises and some weight lifting.

Good night!

Sincerely,
the marathon runner wannabe