OMGosh, flippin amazingly excited!!!

Week 26/11/12 - 02/12/12 - 106.7km running (both barefoot and Luna Sandals)
Week 03/12/12 - 0912/12 - 92.9km running (both barefoot and Luna Sandals...including 50km race)

WHAT UP CREW!!!???  So, just a short summery of the last two weeks today as I have too much other exciting news (well for me anyway) to ramble about!  First up...race day...

09/12/12 - Kurrawa to Durranbah 50km road race.



Not the best photo as off my phone
but you get the idea!

So...for those of you who know me, know that I don't run road races...UGH (unless I am barefoot!), however after my disappointment of Glasshouse this year, I wanted to round the year out on a positive and this event is one that I have been wanting to do for some time so WHY NOT!?  So, Dad and I headed down for the event and it was an absolute hoot!  We caught up with the beautiful Woodward family on the way down for some lunch and also met up with the Tomlins for some good laughs and awesome company on the Saturday night.  The next morning, I was booked in for the 50k and Dad, still returning from injury was locked in for the 30k so it was time for bed in prep for the next day.



The spoils...

On the morning of, we headed down to the start line and caught up with some friends, had a laugh and got sorted...sandals, shorts and I'm good to go!  Before long we were off and on the way down (out and back course) I met a young fella named Sean.  He was a really lovely bloke and we got along like a house on fire.  It certainly made the 25km trip out fly by.  Before long we turned and started heading back.  Things were going well however I may have gone a touch fast on the way out...hum...  At about the 30km mark, for some reason my stomach started to disagree with me.  I found it hard to take on much fuel (very out of the ordinary for me) but still kept plugging along, on my own by this stage.  By the 42k mark I started suffering with bad cramps in my calf's and feet.  I never suffer with these but I think the combination of the heat, running on bitumen and concrete (yuck) and not being able to fuel so well made it all the worst!  I went into the ''pain closet'' and pushed through.  I started the race with a personal goal of under 5hours and ended up finishing in 4hrs 48min 40sec.  I was pretty darn chuffed!  My fitness/training and diet has improved dramatically over the last weeks and I am stoked with how the day turned out.  We mingled at the finish, chatted a heap and generally had a good time.  After a quick over night stop at the Glovers (love you guys) we headed home after what was a really, really enjoyable weekend.

The Engine 2 Diet - 11/11/12 - 10/12/12 - One of the most life changing, challenging things I have EVER done!

So, leading up to my 30th Birthday I had made the decision to go vegan.  I needed something to really kick start things and challenge me like I have never been challenged before.  I had heard of the Engine 2 Diet in some of my research but didn't know a whole heap about it.  I had bought the book about a month before my 3-0 and consumed the information like nobodies business!  So, come the 11/11 I was ready to rumble.

For those not aware of the plan, it is basically a complete vegan diet (no animal products including dairy, eggs etc), whole grains (brown rice, pasta etc), no fat and no stimulants (ie. coffee, tea etc).  What a journey this was going to be!  The first 4-5 days were hell!  I was falling asleep at lunch time, falling asleep at 7.30 at night and just so tired!  Who woulda thought my three coffees a day had such an effect!?  As the time went by though things just got better and better.  There were moments were I hadn't consumed enough calories therefore was tired, but apart from that I was powering!

The best thing about this plan, for someone like me who trains alot, is that as long as you stay within the guidelines, you can eat as MUCH AS YOU WANT!!!  This is because the food your consuming goes in, does what it is meant to and then goes out.  Simple!  The recipes in the book are AMAZING and the thing I found is that because it is American, and Texan of all places, if a recipe says it will serve 2-3, that means 4-6!  Ha!  Ripper!  Heaps of super tasty, gold left overs for lunches and extra meals!

One of the things I was worried about doing this was my training.  I didn't need to worry though as I trained pretty hard during the four weeks and my speed actually increased about 10-20seconds per km just by my change in diet, nothing different!  For the four weeks of the plan I ran (barefoot and in Luna Sandals):

120.9km
127.7km
106.7km
92.9km (race week)

One of the main reasons this plan was created by Rip Esselstyn (an ex-professional Ironman triathlete and Texan Firefighter...no wimps there!) was for Americans to lower their cholesterol (among a VAST number of other health reasons).  Being pretty healthy already, I wasn't overly concerned with this (it has always been in the 'normal' range) I made the decision to go vegan for long term health.  I have also wanted to get my eating and weight more stable and under control.  Although I was vegetarian and ate better than the average person, there were still alot of decisions and things about my diet I wasn't happy with.  This plan really kicked that right in the face!  Wait for the results below!

During the time I also ordered and watched Forks over Knives.  If any of you haven't seen it and want a wake up call about your health, WATCH IT!  I am sure you can get it from your local library or if your local to me, let me know and you can borrow mine.  INCREDIBLE!

So, overall the last four weeks of my life has been far and beyond what I could have expected and dreamt of!  I feel so much lighter, healthier and really love all the amazing food/recipes I have been cooking up.  Yeah it takes a little more effort but it is well worth it!  As I always say, nothing worthwhile in life is easy!  The only thing I don't like about the whole thing is that it has the word 'diet' in it!  This is not a diet!  It is a lifestyle change and choice that is sustainable, liberating and beautiful for YOUR WHOLE LIFE!

So, now I am finished the initial four weeks and going forward, I am going to continue to eat pretty much exactly the same as I have over the plan.  I am starting to have coffee and tea again but all the sugar is gone.  I am also coming up to some heavy training so I will have some sports nutrition (vegan obviously) to keep me going.  I am going to continue to keep my food journal and keep a close eye on how I feel and also my weight.  If things start to slide, or I'm not 100% happy with how I feel and am training, I will not hesitate to get back on the 100% clean Engine 2 plan and stay on it for good.

I just want to say thanks to all my friends and family who support me in my adventures, all the on line informantion out there, my beautiful wife and also all the crew at Engine 2 Diet.  Rip and your team, I know I don't know you, but thanks for inspiring my life and helping me to change for good!

SO....apart from feeling AWESOME and running/recovering better than ever, a VERY exciting result for me was on the scales!  I started the plan at 83.7kg and in the four weeks I lost 7.1kg and am now weighing in at 76.6km.  HOLY MAKRAL!!!!!  Words cannot even describe how amazed and proud of myself I am at this result!  I never would have thought it would have been possible, eating more, feeling great and losing that much weight!  SUPER STOKED!!!!  I have a few kg's I want to drop yet however have no doubt that by continuing to live this new beautiful lifestyle I will far exceed my goals and ideas of how healthy and lean I can get!

Well, that is it my friends!  I want to encourage you all to explore your options!  Broaden your ideas on what 'healthy' is and try to make every day, every moment, better than the one before!  Life is short friends, but with a wholefoods, low fat vegan diet, IT CAN BE LONGER! 

I love you all and there is some really cool stuff coming to round out my year!  I am a guest on a Podcast coming out in the next week or so, and I have a big training challenge ahead too so stay tuned for these adventures!  Keep smiling friends, say gday to a stranger, do something for free, chat to your Chrissy postman and...run on...TattooRunner.

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