Got it in! Paleo and thoughts on diet and exercise.

This morning started off slowly and almost lead to taking a rest day.

Mac Dog overslept a bit this morning which didn't give him enough time to finish digesting his breakfast before we went out on our run.  I was tempted to call it a rest day, but found the energy to make the run happen at lunch.  We even tacked on another half mile, and now Mac Dog is laying on his towel snoring away.  A sleeping dog is a good dog.

Mac Dog is in early negotiations to set up his own running blog and I encourage you to stay tuned for the official launch.

This morning, a blogger I follow made the announcement that they were going to try the Paleo Diet.  It seems to be a popular diet, but I'm a bit skeptical of these new fad diets.  Maybe it's a bit unfair to call this a 'fad' but it just seems to be gaining popularity unchecked and that screams 'fad' to me.

I read a recent article over at the Outlaw Fitness Blog that points out some serious flaws in the Paleo Diet.  In the end though, the article, while negative towards going Paleo points out that it's really all about calorie deficit and some of the concepts behind the Paleo Diet are sound, such as trying to eat more naturally, eating your vegetables and avoiding highly processed white grains.  Toss out the cookies, cakes, sugary drinks and fried food.

Oh yeah, and one more thing, go outside and be active!

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:44:12
Distance:	4.50 mi

Disappointed

Yesterday, the Marine Corps Marathon opened it's registration to the general public, a race that has received accolades for the way they manage a world class event.  For some though, the registration process didn't win any awards.

For an event that hosts 38,000 participants every year, some glitches are to be expected.  This year the glitch began with the registration process.  MCM partners with Active.com to register runners, while I personally have never had a problem using Active.com, yesterday it appears they couldn't handle the heavy volume.  This is the second major marathon this year to experience issues with Active's event registration process.  While it is likely due to the popularity of this event and large volume in a short period of time, I certainly hope they can figure out how to correct this in the future.

MCM Officials took a page right out of a public relations textbook, apologizing for the glitches, talking about the testing and monitoring process they followed with Active.  They talked about clearing any double registrants, and even encouraged runners who didn't get in to run the MCM for charity or wait until June when the transfer process opens.

I  have to admit, I love this race so much, because they go out of their way to take care of their runners; they give early registration to military personnel, allow you to defer your race for one year (I have taken advantage of that twice over the last 7 years) allow you to transfer your bib, and even provide runners opportunities to gain registration by participating in other events, most notably, the recent 17.75 K, where everyone that completed was given registration to the MCM.

So why am I disappointed?  Was it because I didn't get in?  No, I used my deferment from last year and was able to register a couple of weeks ago.  No, I am disappointed in my fellow runners and their posts on the MCM Facebook page.

Most of the comments are directed at their frustration about not getting in to this year's race, understandable, but I read a fair number that started personal attacks on other runners. Why did some feel they could stoop so low?  It blows my mind that we are a community of runners, looking out for each other on the roads, encouraging one another except when someone didn't get the chance to play and decided to throw a hissy fit.

Come on people, it's running...

Feeling sluggish today

Today was day three of getting back on track.  Mac Dog and I got our morning 4-miler in, but somehow I felt a little sluggish.  The average pace was only about 1 minute slower than yesterday, but it seemed a bit harder to get there than usual.

I should keep in mind that this is three straight days of running, and is designed to get me back in the running groove, I guess you could call it pre-base-building.  I still have a couple of weeks before Spring Training begins and that is designed to get me ready for training in mid-June.

For those of you following along:

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:40:36
Distance:	4.13 mi

Finally getting my ass in gear

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:39:37
Distance:	4.12 mi

So this week seems to be better in getting my schedule together. Maybe it's the fact that the Marine Corps Marathon registration opened up today to the general public and sold out in 2:27 minutes. That's faster than my marathon time! MCM Officials experienced some issues with registration crashing, but fortunately I'm registered due to my deferral from last year. Next year, though, I will have to deal with this madness by registering with the general public. I must get in next year, since that will be #5, and allow me to get guaranteed early registration. For those following along, I also registered for the California International Marathon and decided to run a race I've never done before. I've heard nothing but good things about this race and hope it lives up to expectations. I have almost 8 months before that race, so we'll see.

Pi Day Run

In an effort to show off what a geek I am, Mac Dog and I ran 3.14 Miles on Pi Day!  Yeah, I know, not really original, but at least I ran...



See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:30:46
Distance:	3.14 mi

Two marathons within 6 weeks of each other

I must really be a glutton for punishment.  In a moment of craziness, I committed to running the Marine Corps Marathon on October 27 and the California International Marathon on December 8th.  So what does that mean?  Either I'm freaking crazy or I need to get off my ass and start running more.  So I wrote out a plan on paper this time, for the MCM and the CIM.

Yesterday was Elliptical, due to rain, but today was great.



See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - General
Duration:	0:41:15
Distance:	4.11 mi