The allure of an endurance sport

I am often asked why I run so much or get comments about me being a crazy runner.  To be very honest, I do not have a clear answer as to why.  I love being able to do what most people can’t do, I enjoy running and it helps keep me in tune with my body, more level headed and relaxed.

When I decided to run my first marathon in 14 years, it was because I wanted to see if I could do it again.  After running my last marathon in 98, I dropped out of the sport and kinda just let life happen.  I went to work for IBM, I started traveling, the kids were getting older and I started coaching.  Could I have kept running, sure I could, but I chose not too and got lazy when it came to taking care of me.

Once I decided to run the Dallas Marathon in 2012, things started to change.  I was even more focused on my health (I had already lost 50lbs) and I got very excited when I completed distance landmarks during my training.

Since that race in December, (I ran faster than my very first Marathon in 95) I decided that I wanted to see if I could run a 50K Race (31 miles).  Since I wanted to keep travel cost low, I decided I am going to run the Fort Worth Cowtown 50K in February.  But wait, I just ran a summer Marathon (I PR’ed that race), and I have the San Antonio Rock and Roll and the Dallas Marathon to run beforehand!  Is this crazy?  Maybe, but why not.  What I am finding is with proper training and good nutrition; your body can do almost anything!

I see others around me doing Triathlons and Cycling but that is just not for me.  I do not have that burning desire to do anything but run.  While I do enjoy lifting weights and adding in the extra cardio at the gym, running is my thing for sure!

I like to follow athletes like Rich Roll, Scott Jurek, Dean Karnazes, Vinnie Tortorich and Jeff Galloway.  These athletes have accomplished some amazing adventures and truly inspire me.

I often hear endurance athletes talk about how running long distances makes them feel alive!  In this convenient world we live in there are very few things that truly challenge us physically.  I think it is the call to do something outdoors that takes great endurance and mental toughness to see it though that makes us feel like we have accomplished something.

While I love driving fast cars and jumping off 118 story buildings, those things are short lived.  In 30 seconds or 10 minutes they are done.  Running however takes time, it is a lifelong journey, a commitment to a goal that can only be achieved through hard work and dedication.

Why I am not encouraging everyone to join the ranks of a Marathon runner, I do encourage you to find your passion, find that one thing that makes you get up and head out the door with the energy of an energizer battery.  This is what makes us strong and better human beings!

Reference to help get you started!

I am often asked about the books I read and the sources of my information.  Here is an overview of the resources that have helped me in my journey to Health and Fitness.  I will admit that some of the sources have conflicting information, but the overall guidelines support each other.  It also helps to read several viewpoints so that you can make your own decision about what is best for you.  Whether you are vegan, paleo, vegetarian or Atkins - many of the same principles apply.

As a runner, I also like to follow athletes who have overcome challenges in their life to achieve great success.  I have included those as well.  Enjoy!

Reference Material:

Vegan Lifestyle:

Dr. John McDougal, http://www.drmcdougall.com/, Podcast

John Robbins, The Food Revolution

Dr. T. Collin Campbell, The China Study

Other Dietary References:

Vinnie Tortorich, Fitness Confidential

Joel Furman, Eat to Live

Michael Pollan, The Omnivores Dilemma, In Defense of Food

Fat Chance, Robert Lusting

Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat

Michael Moss, Salt Sugar Fat

Dr. Michael Greger, www.nutritionfacts.org (great reference site)

Personal Blog:

http://bjtucker05.blogspot.com/

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/HealthAndFitnessTheSimpleTruth

Athletes I follow:

Rich Roll, Finding Ultra

Scott Jurak, Eat and Run

Christopher McDougal, Born to Run

Dean Karnazes, 50 Marathons in 50 Days and Ultra Marathon Man

Chris McCormack, I Am Here to Win,

Chrissie Wellington, A Life Without Limits

Miscellaneous

Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit

Short Films

Forks Over Knives

Killer at Large

Sick, Fat and Nearly Dead

Super Size Me

Food, Inc.

Podcast

Vinnie Tortorich, Angriest Trainer (explicit)

The Rich Roll Podcast

Endurance Planet

Plant, Run, Family

Zen and the Art of Triathlon

Ben Greenfield

The Fit, Fat, Fast Podcast

NutritionalFacts.org

Marathon Training Academy

 

America’s Drug Problem

Americans today have a huge drug problem, and it is not what you think.  I am not referring to the trash on the streets selling crack or marijuana, I am referring to the long line of people standing at the drug stores getting their fix of statins, viagra, and insulin!

Even though I have only recently returned to a healthily lifestyle, I have always known there is a strong connection between diet and most illnesses.  Now I know many of you will say not ALL illness is tied to diet and in some cases I agree, so this post is referring to the 90-95% of the cases that are!

I see a lot of people around me taking medications, complaining about being sick and then going to McDonalds’ to get a burger, or to sonic to get their soda fix.  Our society has lost its connection to food and we now “live to eat” vs. “eat to live.”  You can tell a person that is a diabetic that there is a better way and they will refuse to listen to you because of what their Doc says.  The chalk it up to “it is in my genes!”  I saw screw that!  You eat like your parents and you are sick like them!  How about you change what you eat and start a new trend in your family!  Quit being a whinny little kid and go out and change, don’t you owe it to yourself to at least try something new!  Do you not believe the stories and articles about those who have improved their health and reduced or eliminated their need for medications? 

All the drugs in the world will not cure heart disease, diabetes or many other chronic illnesses.  It can only be fixed by changing your lifestyle.  Now that Obamacare is the new law it will be interesting to see what happens.  At the current rate of disease in America there is no way the system can keep up!  We are already seeing overworked healthcare professionals trying to get everyone in the Dr.’s office, yet hardly anyone is addressing the true nature of the problem.  They prescribe the medicine, wish you luck and move on.

I am here to challenge you, if you have been diagnosed with a chronic illness, then take that as a sign you better change.  The drugs will only mask the symptoms but will NOT cure you.  You will still be sick, other health problems are also on the way and things will only get worse for you.  I have no sympathy for the person who does not take personally responsibility for their condition if they refuse to do anything but take the drugs.

I would be happy to help anyone who needs it and I won’t charge  dime.  It is time to start fighting back America.  Quit making excuses, quit blaming your genes and go out and live life!  It is truly up to you.  What is the downside?  There is none!

Americans let everyone else make them sick and overweight….

We have a huge obesity crisis In America today.  And it is not just obesity, it is a long list of chronic illnesses that are making us sick and ultimately killing us (diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis, high blood pressure etc.)  As I learn more about living a healthy lifestyle and sharing my story to help others, it is not hard to realize that the odds are against us creating change in America.  We have been so conditioned by society on what is "right" that even facts and logic are thrown out the window when you introduce what seems to be new ideas!  How did we get here?   Well this blog is not big enough to answer that, but I wanted to mention a few things that seem to come up all the time when I speak to others and see the trends on TV and internet.

Our government is heavily influenced by lobbyist, and who are the biggest food and health lobbyist?  Big food giants and pharmaceuticals companies. Do you think these organizations want us to get healthy when they make money selling their stuff?  Their influence runs deep and no matter what facts are uncovered, their influence will remain strong in government.  The foods that are the healthiest get little attention in Washington becasue they do not have huge lobby groups supporting them.  The apple farmer, or broccoli grower has little influence even though they have the best message to share.  It is all about following the money.

What about mass media!  How easy do you think it would be for ABC to run a documentary on how cereal giants make us sick and fat at the same time taking money from them to run their commercials!  Can you imagine Nickelodeon telling kids to not eat sugary snacks while they are running ding dong or fruit roll up commercials!

Remember big tobacco?  They are the best at hooking people on a known dangerous products.  Back in the day, Doctors even said smoking was ok or even good for you in some cases.  Did you know that several of the big tobacco companies now own big food companies?  What does this mean for the consumer?  It means that no matter what the food item is or what the nutritional values is, they can figure out a way to make you buy and eat it!  They will also spend billions of dollars fighting negative ads against their own products so they can keep selling them to us.

Our school provide some of the worst food for our kids and yet as parents, we are scrutinized for sending our kids with lunches packed from home.  Want to question your local school?  Go for it!  They will tell you they have to serve what they do because the government mandates it, no matter how much you are against it or provide evidence to how bad the food really is for our kids!

What about our Doctors and Nurses, are we any safer in hospitals?  Doctors traditionally cannot go against traditional medicine when more viable options are available.  They would rather give you a pill to fix a symptom than treat the cause.  Even the Doctors who go against the grain receive  a lot  of scrutiny by their peers, even though their programs work.  It is not always their fault, it goes back to the government and the training.  Where does the money come from to sell products to our doctors or to educate them in medical school, you got it – the pharmaceuticals companies.  Do you think they want the patients to know there is a healthier way to reduce high blood pressure by changing your diet vs. selling statins!  Our healthcare providers received very little nutritional training in medical school.  Their objective is to fix the patient and move on to the next.  I know this may seem harsh and an over generalization, but the core problem is we have too many sick people in America, and people do not want to know that we are eating improperly because that is judging them, they just want a pill so they can go back to work or not have to worry about the problem for a few more years.

When you tell a person there is a better way to live, or to reduce or eliminate the need for medication, 9 times out of 10 they do not care!  They want to take the pills and be done.

I am lucky, I did not get unhealthy enough to be chronically ill when I decide to make  a change, but what I have realized is I have reduce my chances of needing any future healthcare by a lot!  I was on the road to chronic illness but changing my lifestyle has reduce that risk significantly.

I wanted to write this post to make you stop and think!  You have a lot of forces working against you and I know it is not easy, BUT you do have control if you choose to take it!  If decide not to take advantage of the information that is your choice, but don’t say you do not have a choice, do not say you have to live with problem.  Step outside the box and take a chance on life!

Top 10 Ways to Get Healthy!

1. Sodas/Juices/Energy Drinks - Our bodies are not designed to drink our calories. Sodas, juices, sports drinks etc. are all filled with sugar or even worse, fake sweeteners. When you drink these products, you are still thirsty and you have not given your body any real food to sustain itself. The best and easiest way to lose weight? Drink water, we do not need to drown ourselves in it, but if choose to only drink water then you cannot go wrong.

 2. Fast Food - If you eat fast food then you will most likely struggle with your weight! Fast Food today is essentially a product devoid of most of its nutritional value, it is a chemically processed food and for the most part, it does nothing but add empty calories to your diet. Think about it this way, how can McDonald’s serve a “Big Mac” for the same price it did 20 years ago? They only way they can do this is by using a food that is completely altered and is no longer a real food. Fast food is designed to stay “fresh” for a long time by altering its composition.

3. Sugar - Sugar is one of the largest contributing factors to obesity today. Sugar and its 40 or so associated friends are hidden in everything these days. It is estimated that almost 80% of the foods today contain some form of sugar. Sugar is used to make food taste better, substituted for missing ingredients such as fat and used as a preservative. Sugar creates problems for the body because it raises insulin levels which drive increased fat stores. This is also true for sugar substitutes that can actually be worse for you because of the chemical composition and very little is known about the long-term health effects to our bodies.

4. Fat - Dietary fat does not equate to body fat! Fat in your diet is not a bad thing; our bodies actually need fat to stay healthy. How long have we been told to eat low fat foods only to see a huge increase in obesity in America! Eating fat should take place in its natural form; nuts, seeds, avocados, olive and coconut oils, butter, cream etc. When you see products labeled "low fat" or "fat free" then buyer beware, there is usually sugar and many other chemical hidden in the food to make up for the taste.

5. Nutritional Information & Whole Foods - Food labels have become a long list of unrecognizable chemicals and food derivatives. If you read food labels, do not focus on calories or fat, but focus on ingredients. Any product with more than six or seven ingredients should be avoided. Any food label with ingredients that you have never heard of is a problem! Focus on eating whole natural foods. Go back to eating the way we are supposed to, from the garden. Stay away from the middle isles in the grocery stores and you will make better choices. Making meals is easy if we keep the ingredients simple.

6. Diets - Diets do not work, lifestyle changes do! If you continuously chase the latest fad, diet, new food report about supper foods etc. then you will continue to get frustrated. Diets are temporary and usually create stress on the body because your body thinks that it is starving. When you starve your body, your body will do everything it can to retain the fat stores for survival. We cannot change the basic instinct to survive. The only way to lose weight and not starve your body is to change what you eat.

7. Exercise - Exercise is very important today because of our lifestyle and conveniences. Our bodies where designed to move. Because we sit at desk, drive cars, go through drive thru’ s and use elevators our bodies are not moving like they used to. To make up for this, just get out the door and exercise. Whether it is running, walking, hiking, cycling or going to the gym, get out and move every single day! If you do take up an exercise program, take it slow and easy. The biggest mistake newbies make is going out to hard and getting injured or hurt.

8. Calorie In / Calorie Out - We are taught that a calorie is a calorie. This is not true, if it were, then we could eat 2000 calories of sugar and be done for the day right? If you use calories restriction to lose weight then you will quickly find that it is not sustainable. Your challenge is to eat high quality foods and the calories will take care of themselves. The problem is when we eat foods devoid of nutrition, i.e. processed, then the body is still hungry and we need to eat more. When you eat whole natural, high quality foods, you will actually eat less food but be healthier in the process.

9. Drug Problem - We have a huge drug problem in America. We get sick, we take a pill, we have a chronic illness, we take a pill, we cannot sleep, take a pill. How about this approach: if you are sick then look at what is causing it. Chronic illness such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, impotence, sleep disorder, headaches etc. can almost all be alleviated or at least reduced to manageable levels by changing our diet. Not only can we cure these diseases we can also have a huge impact on long-term illness such as cancer and obesity.

10. How to get started – Starting today, do something to get you going. You know what you need to do, you just need to start doing it! I did not make all of these changes in a day, as I stated before it is a journey. Take one idea above and embrace it. Make it your own and try it for a month. What I found through my journey is this, when I made a change and felt better; I then wanted to do more. Then I changed another thing, and so on. It does not have to be difficult or painful. I enjoy life more today because I am living to my fullest potential. I sleep better, feel better, have more energy and I have not been sick or injured in 2 years! How is that for living proof!

Six Pack Abs, the Simple Truth!

So what do you think you need to do to get 6-pack abs?  Hundreds of ab crunches a day? Seven days a week at the gym? A special ab machine marketed on TV?  How about those “magic” fat burning pills?

Well if you think any of the above will work then I have some ocean front property in Arizona for sale at a really good price! 

The bottom line is 6-pack abs start to show after you lose the excess fat or weight around your mid-section.  This is typically the last place your body will lose weight.  Not good news I know but the truth is what it is!  The other fact is that 6-pack abs are closely tied to nutrition which leads back to losing the excess weight!  These are general statements and there are those who defy they but they are not the norm.

Do you know who has the best abs in the world?  A sumo wrestler!  That is right, how do you think they are able to manipulate all that weight or their opponent?  The problem is it usually hidden underneath layers and layers of excess weight!

A clean diet and consistent gym work will build those abs you desire, it is that simple but I know it is hard to do.  After 18 months, I am still trying to get there myself, but I can also admit I still have a few pounds to lose around the gut.  My mid-section is tight underneath but the abs are not defined and showing because the layer of fat is still there.

My goal is to get there by summer, but that means I must limit the sweets even more!  For you it may be those extra bottles of beer or glasses of wine.  For others it may be the sodas, sweet tea, or the extra piece of cake every few days.  If you look at what you eating and be honest then you will know what is holding you back.

Do not believe in the targeted workout for your abs, you are only wasting time by not working on your overall fitness.  Almost any free weight exercise will strengthen the core muscles and your abs.  Ab crunches help, but it is not the answer.

Running Injury Free

People are always asking how someone can run long distances and minimize injuries.  Well there are several things to consider when starting to run.

First, you must remember to run at YOUR pace.  What that means is to run within your current skill and fitness level.  Run at a comfortable pace without panting or pain.  There may be some discomfort but if you feel intense pain then stop.  Use interval walks with your runs, i.e. run 1 minute, walk 1 minute.  Work up to 3/1 and so one.  I consistently walk for 1 minute for every mile I run, even in long races.  Going from 0 miles to 3 or 5 miles in a very short window will lead to pain and eventually injury.  The trick is to go slow and just work up your speed and endurance.

For me, it took 6 months to run a solid 6 miles; it took another 6 months to go 12!  Keep in mind I started 60 lbs. overweight.  I did all this injury free with the exception of a small setback with my heal early one.  Outside of that, over the last 2 years I have not had any significant injuries and I run at least 3 days a week.  I do have the occasional pain and soreness, everyone will have that.

Cross training will help reduce your chances of injury.  If running is your main activity, then using cycling, elliptical machines, swimming or any other activity that keeps your heart rate elevated.  By using different muscles and keeping the heart rate elevated you can received the same aerobic health benefits of running without overuse injuries which tend to occur when doing one activity for more than 3-4 days a week.

Second, the better you eat, the better you will recover and the quicker you can ramp up your distance and times.  Adding high intensity training, running or any other physical stress will make your body weaker if you do not provide the nutrition it needs for recovery properly.

Lastly, unless you are working out (running, walking, biking etc.) for longer than 1 ½ hours, then do not worry about nutritional aides or sports drinks while you are working out.  Water will be just fine!

You can see my previous blog post about why Sports Drinks are bad for you.

Currently I am logging 20-30 miles a week and going to the gym 4-5 days a week.  The key is to get there at your own pace, have fun, and use a variety of activities.