Discipline Strikes Again Part Deux

I really believe diet is the single most important factor in our general health.  More so than exercise.  More so than sleep.  Don't get me wrong --- all are critical.  And using my running as a proxy of general health (yea, let's not debate that this is / isn't the ideal proxy) --- I run my best when I eat well.

I've been running for a few years now with the goal of getting into Boston.  The closest I've come was at Napa in 2010...when I was doing the discipline off for the first time.  Nearly cut my PR time by 20 minutes.  I've since run solid races --- and intensified my training.  But I've not breached that PR time.

Now back to disciplined eating, I'm back on the PR train.  I ran a 1/2 Marathon a few weeks ago and set a PR by about 45 seconds (1:24:30) --- and my training of late has been blistering to say the least.

We'll see what happens in Chicago in a month ... hope I can remain disciplined and get lighter come race day.

Discipline Strikes Again

Been about three weeks in this second go-around of the Discipline Off.  And just like last time, it's working wonders again.  Here's what's happened without any refined sugar:

Week 0 Weight = 153 lbs
Week 3 Weight (3 day moving average) = 151 lbs

Two pounds may seem like noise, but I can definitely notice the difference.  My runs are much easier given that I'm not eating clif bars / chocolate squares / oreos mid-day.  I'm finding that I'm resorting to eating nuts and pop chips instead ... not an ideal replacement.  But I find that I can't eat 1000 calories of nuts / pop chips (unlike 1000 calories of the stuff that's floating around my office...like Kara's cupcakes or delicious delicious brownies ... dammit i want a slice of pie).

When I first started the discipline off last year, I also set a few running PR's (1/2 and Full) by 3 months into it (still directly attribute this to nutrition as opposed to a static training regimen).  And following suit, I beat my 10k PR by a good 2 minutes (37:21 from 39:32)!

As a final note, here's me exercising some discipline with friends at the SF Pride Parade.

I'm Bringing Discipline Back

To the throngs of followers who have been missing my witty posts --- the drought and misery is over.  For I am re-vamping this blog and my disciplined efforts.

I just ran the San Diego Marathon last sunday at a decent clip --- 3:20:13.  Not my fastest marathon, but close.  When I finished, I realized that all of my PR's occurred when I was in peak Discipline Off Mode.  

Starting from scratch, I am giving up refined sugar this month.  More witty posts (and progress updates) to follow.  

And I'll leave you with this.  You're welcome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fWvub_WBho

Week 1

As my late 20's quickly roll by, I am preparing an overhaul to my health. I will be changing the food I eat, the type of exercises I do and tracking key statistics on this blog.

Week 1 (10/30/11)

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 202lbs
Waist: 35.5"
Body Fat: 15.3% (31lbs)

More to come...

gave in

back at this, dammit.

let the good times roll.

Keep it up Joey!

All good things must come to an end ... and alas, my run with discipline is OVER!

In doing this, I've definitely improved in numerous ways --- lost weight, body fat, gotten faster --- but most importantly, I've learned that I am capable of pushing myself in ways I never thought I could.

More importantly, Joey is still in this for the long haul. And his determination, discipline, and kickass-ness needs to be recognized. Eight months ago Joey and I were chit chatting at a potluck. Looking back, I didn't really know the guy all that well. I knew he was one of the most 'tenacious' basketball players I've ever seen (meaning that he played like a reckless crazy big dude out there...) and that he enjoyed breaking glass at all hours of the day (his rotation in packaging engineering where he would work 16 hour days). So when we were chatting about new year's resolutions and Joey mentioned how he was giving up a food group each month after reading a book about Christ....the first thing that came to my mind was 'man this crazy-basketball-playing-glass-breaking dude is a religious nutjob too'. The conversation progressed and being a proud sonofabitch, I wanted to show Joey I could give up food groups and exercise discipline as well. This blog was made that night and as an awkward sportscaster eloquently put it, "boom goes the dynamite."

I could have never done any of this without Joey. Sure it may have started as a rivalry (at least for me), it quickly turned into a team effort. Joey would push me to keep going and would definitely root for my success. When there were months that Joey's body fat would plummet while mine would decrease only by a small percentage, he'd give me some ideas towards how to get on the fat-burning trajectory he was on. Joey also championed the pre-discipline potluck as a ritual before giving something up, inviting friends to enjoy the foods we would no longer be eating. Throughout this time, Joey has ben subtly encouraging others to exercise discipline. And above all, what's impressed me the most is that Joey has been doing this for himself (and maybe for Jesus, but really I think it's for himself...for Jesus???). Bottom line is that he'd still be doing this if the blog didn't exist --- this blog is purely a vehicle to encourage others to get on board (and some already have).

My hat is off to you, Joey, for keeping this going. I'm impressed by how much progress you've made (more so than me!), how your basketball skills have gotten immensely better (keep dominating out there), and how determined you continue to be. Oh, and you're still a religious nutjob (oh I kid --- I've even been to Joey's church and everyone is quite nice and not nut-jobby in any way shape or form).

And let's not forget this was a competition --- and Joey is definitely the winner.

I'll join the masses now who read this blog (in awe? admiration? ha, that may describe...none of you out there). And because of it I'll think twice about eating that twinkie after dinner.

Signing off!

F

Oh, and this video was also inspiration during my discipline off days. I hope it inspires you too.

Your Turn & the SF Marathon

My sincerest apologies to the throngs of Discipline Off followers (all 2 of you) that have been aching for another post by me. Well here it is! And I'm sure you'll find it half-assed and disappointing (that's what she said?).

1. It's been over 6 months since the discipline off started....and it just keeps on going. What started out as a "gay narcissistic challenge" (not my words) has blossomed into a ***really awesome** gay narcissistic challenge. It's always been fun talking to people about the Discipline Off and I've often heard 'I should give it a try.'

Well, why dont you?

Joey and I would love to have some company in this Discipline Off! It doesn't have to be as ridiculous and borderline unhealthy as what we're attempting. Say you want to give up candy for a week, work out more, or stop frequenting rest stops late at night for that 'adventure club' of yours --- we say go for it!

Let us know what you're planning for August (it can be for any duration you like though) --- and we'll toss it up on the blog too. Hopefully these stories can really motivate others to take part in this discipline off phenomenon. We'll gladly take emails, pictures, youtube videos, or whatever media you would like to send us for the blog. We'll also be making a video of our own soon --- stay tuned!

2. In another test of discipline, I'm running the San Francisco Marathon tomorrow. What's been a focus of mine in each race has been trying to get faster (and I've made significant improvement over the last 6 months) --- and oddly enough, I do not want to PR this race! I won a free entry through my running club, PacWest Athletics , and am using the race as a long training run. With my goal race being Chicago in October, the goal is to not get sore after the race (usually I'm out 1 week after a marathon). To do this, it will take a bit of discipline to actually hold myself back. To make myself accountable for this, I resort to this blog (nothing like "public" accountability as a motivator). So here's the gameplan:

1) Run the race at ~3:35. I've been doing my 20's at ~7:15-30 / mi, so this pace (~8:00/mi) will hopefully carry me through feeling fresh as a daisy (that's the goal)

2) Reverse split each third of the race. This means start out really slow, pick it up mid way, and be that guy blasting it at the end.

3) Eat a twinkie after. Post marathon tradition, and no, it's not a break day (but I'm making an exception for this).

Happy Discipline-Off-ing!

F