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2.17.2012

my BEST friend

who is my BEST friend? like, absolute, no doubt about it, who is always there for me, best friend? well, my answer is Jesus. yeah, yeah...whatever...sunday school answer, i know. yet, it's true! how is He not?

besides Him? my wife. she is the most amazing person i have ever met! i'm so confident that she is the most amazing person i'll ever meet that i'd bet my life savings on it! why? because. (yeah, i went there!)

here's why, dude!

-no matter what...she supports me!
-she can ALWAYS make me laugh
-she is so freaking beautiful!
-no matter what she says...it's brilliant! (trust me, i'm not biased)
-she's independent (in a good way)
-she takes initiative...she knows what she wants and she gets it
-her heart for others
-she is constantly thinking of ways to help everyone else. seriously...i think once a day she comes at me with a new idea on how to help someone.
-umm....have you seen her smile!?! uh-may-zing!
-she's 5'5"...that's the world's most perfect human height....i'm not gonna lie...i made that one up
-she is a runner (and soon to be cyclist and swimmer) ;)
-she's a night owl (opposite's attract!)
-she can make a MEAN bowl of chilli...honestly (sorry Mom)...the best i've ever had!
-she loves me...is that not the win-all!?!? what woman puts up with me 24-7!?!?!

there you have it! my best friend: a CRAZY woman! call her crazy, but my wife is the most amazing person on the planet! the end. no seriously...there is no debate.

2.06.2012

nutrition overhaul

most people who know me know me as somewhat of a "health nut". i used to think this was a lame title, and some people currently do, but either way you look at it...it's potentially a healthy way of life. i say potentially because being a health nut can really go two ways (in my opinion):

health nut #1: obsessive compulsive about what foods are or aren't consumed and it's on their mind every minute of the day.

health nut #2: aware of what foods are or aren't being consumed and base this solely on the fact that either the food is healthy or is not healthy.

i'd love to sit here and type out reasons why/how i am health nut #2...unfortunately, i'm not. i mean...i am now, but i wasn't before very recently.

emily and i have a friend who is a registered dietitian and she knows a lot about nutrition. she knows a lot about sports nutrition and more importantly...she is actually interested in it. there's nothing worse than talking to someone that knows a lot about something, but doesn't have any passion for it, so when they share the information it comes out robotic. does that make sense?

recently i've been realizing that i really need to recommit to my nutritional needs so i start getting the full benefit out of my workouts. for the past couple years i've been caught in a "restricted eating" mindset that all started when i lost all of the weight. this way of thinking has kept me pretty stagnant in my training for races and other goals i've set. most recently, my first full marathon experience when i was so concerned about not taking in too many calories that i wasn't properly fueled to run the marathon i wanted. result = totally bummed out.

so last week i was able to meet with our friend who is now my "sports nutritionist" and she's helping me understand my nutritional needs. my first need? eat more food. i found out last week that i should be eating about 1,000 calories MORE per day than i do now. whaahuh!?! the night before meeting with her, emily asked, "so...what will you do if she tells you to do something you don't agree with?" i proudly responded, "i'll do it. i've been trying it my way for a couple years now and it's obviously not working. she's smarter than me, so whatever she says i'll try." for some reason it was harder to commit to that way of thinking when my friend told me i needed to eat 1,000 calories more in a day. i think i almost said, "you're out of your mind!" but i resisted. fortunately, she's having me baby step up to my new goal and starting with just adding a couple hundred calories per day this first week.

to most people understanding how important nutrition is in endurance sports isn't that complex, but applying it to my daily life is for some reason. somehow in the transition of being an obese, lazy, non-endurance athlete into becoming an endurance athlete i'm just now realizing how important sports nutrition is in reaching new levels. i'm really excited to see what my sports nutritionist will offer. of course i'll be tracking all of the numbers cause i'm a nerd like that and it's no shocker that i will of course update my blog on all of my new achievements. no matter what happens...at least it sounds cool when i tell people i have a sports nutritionist. next up...sponsorship!! is that free, too!?