Oh to be a running coach...

I received some great news today. I will be coaching middle school Fall soccer at the Trenton school I am to be teaching at this coming school year. I am either going to be the assistant coach or the head coach which depends on one other candidate's decision, but either way I am psyched! I have been looking forward to coaching youth sports for years now.

While I see myself as having the potential to be a pretty good track, cross-country, or other running program coach, I see this as a valuable opportunity--a stepping stone--that I can use to open up such coaching possibilities in the future. Maybe I'll get to be like Jason Hartmann who has just retired from racing to focus on developing his coaching career.

 

Jason Hartmann sporting Nike running gear however this elite racer was not sponsored during his running career.

So there are less than 3 days left before I am to toe the line for my 6 hour run put on my Montour 24 in Danville, PA. I am so thankful that Val and her uncle will be there for moral support as I make my way around a 1.5 mile loop for 6 hours. Going to be interesting.

But what I'm kind of worried about at this point during the week is that after my 5 mile workout this morning which involved going sub 6:30 for 3 miles, I started to feel slight strain in both of my feet around the arch areas. As of now, they are better (I was walking around in flip flops earlier which wasn't helpful) and I'm hoping that the strain will be gone by Saturday morning. It's a good thing I have a rest day tomorrow and can take one Friday as well if I need to. I might head to the pool and do some swimming and pool running in the morning to get some cardio in.

Had lost my Moji 360 Mini for a few weeks, but this foot pain made me look just that much harder. Found it in, of course, an obvious location: a bag full of running items. Going to keep massaging my arches periodically over the next couple of days which should help reduce any inflammation and stress that might be present in these areas. Hopefully that cherry concentrate gets sent over to those spots next time I take it. Oh...that's not how that works? Awkward...

Speaking of the tart cherry juice concentrate, Runner's World posted an article on the recovery powers of ginger for athletes. Does this mean I need to try ginger out next?

That's all for today!

Happy Running!


PS: Congratulations to my beautiful girlfriend, Val, for being an offered a job for now into the school year. Great way to get some part time hours in and boost her resume so we can get on to the next chapter in our lives. For her, this includes med school so she can become a Naturopathic Doctor. Go Val!

All Jacked Up!

I'm a bit drained from having a lot of reading and essay correcting to complete this week so this is going to be a short and sweet post today. 

I introduce to you...the Jackfruit. 

To watch a video on how to cut open a jackfruit, click here (link opens to Youtube). 

Val introduced me to the Jackfruit last week. She saw one at a local grocery store and showed me some Youtube clips of people trying to open the fruit. She went ahead and bought her own to try out.

This isn't even as big as they get. She might have needed one of those BJ's bed carts if it was any bigger!

How cool is this??!! No, I did not take this picture. Jackfruit are typically grown in South and Southeast Asia.

I ran a 7 mile run this morning with some fartleks  to keep to the speedwork theme of the week. I decided to run again later on in the afternoon, but when I was laced up and ready to go, I got an idea to bike instead. I haven't biked outside (not counting biking to class) in about a year so I knew I couldn't bike for too long. After 15 minutes of biking back and forth on a .7 mile road near my house I headed back to my house and went for a 3 mile run. Triathletes and cross-trainers call this a "brick" because when you run after biking, your legs feel like bricks. This was DEFINITELY the case today, but it was still a good workout. 

Almost ready for my 6 hour run in Danville, PA Saturday morning!

Can't wait!

That's all for today.  Happy Running.

PS: If you leave a Chia Pod in a hot car overnight and think that sticking it back in the fridge for a few days will somehow reverse what the heat did...you will regret trying to see if your efforts worked. Trust me.  

Blinged out

Happy Monday everybody. 

It was rough waking up today after a weekend of fairly early morning wake-up alarms, but I had to do it and get on with the day!

On Saturday, Val's little cousin competed in her first triathlon at the NJ State Triathlon sprint distance...and loved it! She's all set to do another one next summer and I couldn't help but remember that I had that exact feeling when I completed the same exact race back in 2012. Only difference is that I told myself (and Val) that I was going to go elite in 3-4 years! Pshhh. That ain't happening. I like the triathlon experience and the tri-sport training is pretty interesting and builds a lot of discipline, but I do prefer to focus on running for now.

 

Me and my niece after the 2012 sprint triathlon. Maybe a future triathlete?

Yesterday, I was up even earlier for the second day of the NJ State Triathlon which featured the Olympic distance. Val and her uncle were competing. Last year I completed this event with Val and her uncle as well and it was just dreadful. We were going through a heart wave during that week and at it had to have been in the mid-to-high 80's by the time I started the run. Even the water was a scorching 91 degrees. That swim was the worst. experience. ever. 

Val and I after our first Olympic triathlon event at NJ State Triathlon. It was also Val's first race as a member of the Rutgers Triathlon club team.

It was so great to cheer Val and her uncle on yesterday. The triathlon experience is so inspiring and the positive vibes are just contagious. Triathletes of all different shapes and sizes (unfortunately not ethnic or SES backgrounds) were out to compete and it was a beautiful day for racing and an even better day to celebrate healthy, active lifestyles. 

Even a pig came out to enjoy and support one of her owners! It definitely stole the spotlight for a while there.

 

Val and her uncle after her uncle finished. Val was being challenged to a rematch after beating her uncle last year. Only one possible result. My girl won. Now her uncle can focus on his Ironman Triathlon next month in Louisville, KY. Go Tim!

 

Blinged out, Val shows off her three medals. One for finishing the event. One for placing 3rd in her age group (!!!). And the third for being the 1st of those girls to be from New Jersey (it was the NJ State Triathlon after all). 

We celebrated the day yesterday with some healthy relaxation and cooking out with my family in my backyard. My parents were out at Whole Foods shopping for the small cook out when Val and I read that it was National Ice Cream Day. Immediately we dialed up my mom and asked her to bring back home some vegan ice cream. Our pick: Almond Dream's Toffee Almond Fudge.


     

I know it's no longer National Ice Cream Day, but if you live near a grocery store, please get out there and try this amazing vegan ice cream treat! While you're letting the cold, refreshing, dairy-free goodness melt in your mouth (or perhaps chewing the dairy-free goodness), just pretend that it is National Ice Cream Day and forget that it's nearly 10pm if you are reading this in the NJ area.



To run off said non-dairy goodness, I decided to get in some speedwork. As my Montour 6 Hour run is this Saturday, I decided that this past Friday would be my last long run (20.5 miles around 8:45 pace) and I would rest and focus on lower mileage and speedwork for the next week. So I rested over the weekend and decided to get in some mile repeats on the track today.

 

Val snapped this photo of me warming up on the track. I only did 3 mile repeats and a pair of 400's (and a warm-up and cool-down of course) before I called it a day and went home to make myself a banana almond milk smoothie with the tart cherry juice. 

The tart cherry juice seems to be working its magic and/or I'm just getting a bit more fit. After several weeks of mostly slow and longer runs, I was able to run each of my miles (3 of them total) today at 5:40 pace or under. While that may support the possibility that the tart cherry juice is helping to boost recovery, the fact that I ran a track session without any sudden joint twinges or pains is something I think I have to credit the concentrate for achieving. I felt like my joints had just been lubed up with some WD-40 before I took off on the track and it felt great! I mean, the taste of the cherry in my smoothies or just by the spoonful is enough to make me get another bottle when I finish this one, but I'm definitely keeping tart cherry concentrate in my diet for the foreseeable future. 

Okay everybody. It's a late post so that's all for now. 

The weatherman is predicting some pretty warm temps for tomorrow (in my area) so if you are planning some cardio, get out there early so there are no excuses! 

Happy Running! 

Sun didn't get me this time

Decided to put a tempo on my schedule for today and was really glad I did it. After my last tempo run two weeks ago, I was kind of nervous. I think I posted about how the sun kicked my A and I just broke down after only 7 minutes or so. Today was much breezier and a much cooler temperature (63 degree or so), but I was still kind of nervous. My weekly mileage has been increasing and I've been running twice a day a bit more often; these miles have often been on the slower side as well. Additionally, I HATE doing any kind of speedwork in the morning when my legs are not even awake yet.

But I got out there and after a mile warm-up I ran 25 minutes (I'll work my way back up to 40 at least) at tempo pace. I'm nowhere near the kind of shape I used to be in for speedier workouts, but I was happy with the pace I got down to.

When I got home I immediately grabbed the blender and whipped up a banana almond milk smoothie with the tart cherry juice concentrate. This time, though, I added blueberries, chia seeds, and cacao powder for some added antioxidants and nutrition.

 Not the best picture, but it'll do.


Next on my short list of topics today is brown rice. My childhood memories are full of family cookouts and dinner as a family at the table. As a Puerto Rican though, the most common food served was an still is rice. White rice or yellow rice, which is really just white rice in our case with a bunch of seasoning. Ever since Val and I went vegan though, my parents have altered their own food choices and have switched over to brown rice which much better for you than white rice. It breaks down slower and is more nutritious as well.

Well, in addition to my reduced processed food intake I've also been experimenting with a low fat, more carbohydrate thing (because I don't want to say "diet" or "plan"). Given that brown rice has now taken over white rice in my home, it has been readily available, in its cooked form of course, every night for the past several nights. And so I have eating said brown rice almost every night and, actually, for lunch or breakfast as well. I figured that since my mileage has been bumped up than these slow burning carbohydrates should help me out some during my runs.


So here was my dinner (okay, maybe I had two bowls) last night and I had some more brown rice and a smidgen of hummus (processed, I know but cut me just a bit of slack here) for brunch this morning.

Loving it so far, but let's see how far this goes before I can't stand to look at a bowl of rice!


Lastly, please please please watch this video through. I was never and will never be a ninja warrior fan, but this video came up on my Facebook newsfeed and I decided to check it out. This woman rocked the course and is absolutely inspiring when you think of the determination and dedication to fitness that this woman has which allowed her to completely crush this course.


That's all for today!

Happy running everybody

Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate

So after reading the latest blog post from No Meat Athlete's Matt Frazier (http://www.nomeatathlete.com/), I decided to jump on board.

This 16 oz bottle cost me $14.99 at the local natural foods store, but it's located on Amazon, for a little over $10 which is a pretty good price. I blended 1 tablespoon of the concentrate with some almond milk and a banana and it was delicious! My next try might include two bananas for a thicker smoothie and some cacao powder for added deliciousness and nutrients.  

According to the NMA post, after a week of consuming the cherry concentrate, Matt's shoulder, which has pretty much always been a bother, began to improve and he was able to sleep through the night which was apparently a rarity. I figured that since I had slight knee pain that comes and goes (ever since sprinting for my HS track team) I might as well give it a try. What I think is really going to be a plus though is the boost in recovery for athletes. I have quite a season of ultras (possibly 4 or more in the next 4 months) and I think I can use all of the antioxidants and muscle recovery boosters (vegan and natural) that I can find.

I'll be sure to keep you all update on how I feel the cherry concentrate is working. Basically, I'll be letting you know how my body felt during a run after a previous day's hard run/workout. Given that the knee pain isn't too persistent, it is not likely I will notice any effects until a month or more after I realized I haven't felt pain, if that's the case.

Read more about Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate here: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-tart-cherry-juice-concentrate-7126.html



So while Val and I were driving down to Asheville, I heard on a Rich Roll Podcast that Killian Jornet (the most amazing sky runner on the planet) has a book out that was published last year! As soon as we got to the B&B, while Val was getting ready for dinner, I got onto Amazon and ordered the book. It just came in the mail yesterday and while I have a couple books I need to read for teacher orientation that starts in less than 2 weeks, I will be weaving this book into my reading sessions for sure!


Check it out and order Here


My runs today were a bit sporadic. I had no idea what the weather was going to be like in the morning after a couple of days of weird stormy weather here in central NJ. I figured I'd wake up early and just see what my body felt like doing. I did just that and as I was grabbing the newspaper form outside, it began to rain and the skies didn't look to pleasant. I decided that I will just get in a quick 3 miles and then take off again in the afternoon after the skies cleared up a bit. So all in all I got in a good 10 miles today after a pretty tough 13 total miles (including a track workout) in yesterday's humidity.

Needing the protein, but avoiding energy/protein bars for the time being, I whipped up some tofu scramble which, come one, definitely looks like the real deal! And by "real" deal, I mean the old egg version deal that I would love for you to cut back on. If you cook up scrambled eggs for you or someone else at home pretty often, I encourage (okay, I challenge) you to try substituting firm tofu for eggs.

It's super easy to make. Cut the tofu into small cubes and as it is cooking, just keep cutting or dicing as you would some eggs. Add whatever vegetables you want and if you are a cheesy scrambled eggs person, add some vegan cheese or add nutritional yeast like I did. Find them at the links or look for them at your local natural foods store.


That's all for today!

Happy Running everybody!

NC take me back!!!

Oh how nice it would have been to wake up at Lion and the Rose in Asheville this morning. Being back home after such an amazing vacation still hasn't quite sunk it like it usually does. 

After a 2 hour run using my aerobic system (fat-burning, slow pace; a post for another day maybe this week) and 13 miles of nonstop sweating, I could definitely have used this breakfast that our innkeeper from the B&B provided one morning.

 Veganized huevos rancheros

But after listening to several No Meat Athlete podcasts (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/no-meat-athlete-radio/id476196931) and Rich Roll Podcasts (http://www.richroll.com/category/podcast/) I decided to minimize how much food I eat that comes out of a package (i.e. processed foods). I mean there are things I don't want to cut out such as tofu, tempeh, and non-dairy milk, but for the most part it has been going well. I felt great this morning when I woke up for my run which hasn't been the case in a while. And I figured after all the sweets from vacation I could use something to work toward. I'll post after about a week or so of minimizing processed foods and let you know how it's been going. 

                  We met this guy, Matt, in Asheville!

 http://www.richroll.com/category/podcast/                  http://www.nomeatathlete.com/

You'll probably be seeing a lot more about RRP and NMA in the near future given that I'm so inspired by these guys recently. Hopefully you'll start to follow them too, but just don't leave me behind in the process!!


A bit random, but I took this picture the day before I left for vacation and figured it's not too late to share it. This is indeed a peacock and it is but 1 of about 4 or 5 that stay around this home I frequently pass. Pretty sure there is one female and 3 or 4 males and they are even more beautiful than the ones you see in a zoo because well..they're not in one.

Lastly, before I publish this post, I just need to express how much I love that I signed up for my 6 hour ultramarathon  rather late! I mean it's only 11 days away and I have barely thought about it! Feels so great not to have been counting down for 3 or more months. And I already have more ideas for ultras lined up, but I shall not post about those until I am positive!

That's all for tonight. I'll leave you with a crazy story I came across last night regarding the 3rd place finisher at the famous Hardrock 100 in Colorado. The first link is about Killian Jornet who is a monster ultra runner who broke the course record with super ease just last week and the second link is about the 3rd place finisher. Enjoy!

Killian's win:

http://running.competitor.com/2014/07/trail-running/kilian-jornet-shatters-hardrock-100-record_107922

3rd place finisher's crazy occurence:

http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/runner-survives-lightning-strike-to-get-3rd-at-hardrock-100

Beer City, USA

Man oh man! What an incredible week it has been! Val and I decided to visit Asheville, North Carolina which is also known as Beer City, USA for all of its local breweries. I stopped drinking beer about 2 years ago after gaining so much weight during my early years of college, but I decided I couldn't visit Beer City without trying one.


 Val had to capture the moment.

We decided to visit Asheville, which my dad kept thinking was Nashville (as in Tennessee), because of a seed that was planted in Val's head after reading about the city on NoMeatAthlete.com This vegan, ultrarunner, blogger is a pretty big name in the plant-based world and Val and I are certainly part of the platform that supports his work and his message.




We reached out to him (Matt Frazier) and he invited us to a music fest that was occurring Friday night which was such a cool experience. We thoroughly enjoyed the vegan (not quite healthy) food, the music, the beer (yes, more beer) and the company of Matt and his friends and family.

I think Val summed up the trip perfectly when responding to a question Matt asked us Friday evening:

           Matt: So what have you guys been doing so far in Asheville?
           Val: Eating!

Yep. That's how I would sum up our experience. There were so many restaurants (Laughing Seed, Rosetta's Kitchen, Plant, Mellow Mushroom) and pubs for vegetarians and vegans to dine at we kind of went a little food crazy. I'm pretty sure about 40% of the pictures we took are of us eating!


 
Here I am at Mellow Mushroom about to share with Val the best vegan and GF pizza we've ever had.

 And here, I couldn't help but convince Val to share a Tofurky dog. I mean when are we able to get a tofu hot dog from a hot dog stand??!!


Even both the B&B and the AirBnB hosts offered up vegan breakfasts (The Lion and the Rose B&B) and vegan snacks.

We really did have a great time in and around Asheville. After soaking up the main city, we went out about 40 minutes to Brevard to stay there for two nights. There I had an awesome black bean burger on the best white bread (baked in-house) I ever did eat and Val got to meet a Naturopathic Doctor (her career goal) for the first time.  We got to check out Dupont State Forest where part of The Hunger Games was filmed and saw, climbed, and hiked around beautiful waterfalls.


Beautiful High Falls in Dupont State Forest


There's Val being Val.

I hope those reading this who have a chance to vacation somewhere new and different would consider checking out Asheville. We really did have one great vacation and even talked about moving down there one day. Even if we don't, we will definitely return to Asheville and certainly make our way to Brevard to see one of the best surprises of the trip: a Corgi that lived where we AirBnB'd. We have talked about getting a dog and settled on a Corgi long before this dog, Riley, surprised us in Brevard.



Now quickly onto the running ...

If the trip can be summed up in "Eating", then the running can be summed up in "Hilly". Not only were we thousands of feet higher than I'm used to running at, but I was climbing elevation that I definitely was not used to. It's all in my head I'm sure, but I feel like my quads are 5x bigger just from the 25 or so miles I ran and hiked in the 5 days we were there.

The running and hiking on the trails has me sold on leaving NJ and living in a place where I can take a quick drive or bike ride and run mountains and trails as much as I want. This is going to happen.

As far as fueling goes, I'm pretty sure all the food we ate was enough to fuel me for days of running so I didn't have to worry on that matter.

I guess that's all for now.

It's kind of hot out, but still....get out and do something!!

Happy Running!