A transformation is brewing.......

It was 55 degrees out, mostly sunny, and I came back into my subdivision after an 11 "easy" run.  I felt fantastic.  Legs were strong, lungs were clear, herat rate was right where I wanted it.  Pace: 7:44? Damn, that's awesome. 9 months ago that was my goal marathon pace, now it was an easy stroll.  Week 5 complete.  191.85 miles ran, 644 to go.  Something was changing.....not exactly sure what it is, but I like it. I feel like my body and mind are finally synched.......if this were NBA JAM, I'm pretty sure you'd see me running with flames coming off me because...I'M ON FIRE!! 

So what's changed? I thought about this a lot throughout the week.  I'd been running ok, ups and downs, but this week was great.  I think I can boil things down to two major changes.....

1) Mental Training: When I ran my first marathon, I was also reading Hal Higdon's book "Marathon", which I might add is an amazing book if you're training for a marathon for the first time. Reading that book in parallel with my training got my mind in a place where I developed a good mental balance that benefitted my training. As I read I gained confidence because I was learning about things I didn't know about.  Obviously, reading that book again won't do the same thing, so I needed something that would create the same stimulation and motivation.  Introduce "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall.

I started reading this just before my training but never really got too far.  Now I'm making a habit of reading it a little every night and I think it's making a difference.  The premise (I'm not that far) is about a writer/runner from Men's Health tracking down a hidden tribe of "Super Athlete, Endurance Runners" in Mexicos Copper Canyons.  Reading about this tribe is (as the Honey Badger would say) pretty bad-ass.  Needless to say I know wanna be a part of the Tarahumara tribe on each run.  Whatever, I think it's helping :) This book also helped me discover my #2 change of the week....

2) Ch-ch-ch-CHIA (Seeds)
I read about these seeds in Born to Run and I had to check this out for myself.  Yes, the same ones used in the infamous Chia Pet.... Apparently they were what the tribe used as their fuel for these long ass runs.  I looked online and it looked legit.  Here's the stats I found:

•2 times the protein of any other seed or grain,
•5 times the calcium of milk, plus boron which is a trace mineral that
helps transfer calcium into your bones,
•2 times the amount of potassium as bananas,
•3 times the reported antioxidant strength of blueberries
•3 times more iron than spinach
•copious amounts of omega 3 and omega 6, which are essential fatty acids...

You can eat these raw, like on a salad, or cook them, which I've heard hurts their nutritional value. I have been making Chia Gel.  Add 1/3 cup seeds, 2 cups water......stir and let sit.  It looks gross as hell, and has the consistency of rubber cement.  But it really has no taste, so I just take a table spoon, stir it into some juice, shoot it back and BAM! I've only used for a few days but I gotta say I did feel rejuvinated after only about 10 min of taking it.  It slows the use of water and transformation of complex carbs so basically it's like adding a fuel additive to your car, thus improving gas mileage.......I guess. 

It's hard to keep yourself motivated for 20 wks and its a lot like a sports team.  You need to peak at your race.  I'll take any advantage I can get and welcome those things I find along the way that give me a kick in the ass and just hope my training shows it.  I'm feelin' pretty damn good right now and I think I'm on to something here.......let's see if we can make it last!!