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Tomorrow is March 1st.
For faithful readers of PR. Differently, you remember what I went through last year when I trained for the NYC Marathon. I started around early June, and went through until the marathon, dry, without any alcohol, training, running, lifting, boxing, etc. And it paid off, with a sub-four hour 3:58:02.
Of course, in the world of PR, you’re only as good as your last hit, and in running, you’re only as good as your last PR.
During my “off season,” of these past four months, I drank a bit, ate really good food, and in general, didn’t work out so hard, to let my body heal for next season. The downside of that is that I put on about 10 pounds since November.
When I’d finished the marathon, I went to Dr. Daniel Hamner, a well-known sports medicine doctor, who trained Flo-Jo and a bunch of other serious runners. Much to the dismay of everyone who knows me and has to deal with my upcoming insanity, he told me, after a thorough examination, that my muscle structure was such that if I got down to about 175/180 pounds, I could easily run a 3:30 marathon.
My mom summed it up best: “He couldn’t tell you to try for a 3:50? Give me his number. I’m going to kill him.”
So I did some homework, and figured out what it was going to take to run a 3:30 marathon, and to get down to 180 pounds.
Current weight: 210.4. Goal weight: 180. Time: 249 days. Or, just over eight months. I’ve gotta drop 30 pounds in eight months. That’s roughly a pound a week. That’s actually doable, and doable in a healthy way.
Instead of waiting until June like I did last year, I’m simply going to start on March 1.
I’m going dry again, no alcohol from tomorrow until after the marathon.
Here’s the kicker, though – what’s different between this year and last? (and hence the title of this post): I’m giving up refined sugar.
Consider this fair warning to stay away from me until at least March 20th. My body chemistry should settle down by then, and I should no longer want to kill everything in sight.
See, refined sugars, as I’m finding out, are simply evil. They don’t occur in nature. I’m not talking about the sugars found naturally in fruit – I’m talking abut high fructose corn syrup. This stuff is freakin’ EVERYWHERE. It’s in everything we eat, virtually. It’s in ketchup. It’s in bread. It’s in Twinkies. Ritz crackers. It’s in Slurpees. It’s in pasta sauce. It’s everywhere.
And well, it’s really, really, really not good for you. So I’m gonna try and give it up.
I have no idea how well it will work – But I’m going to try. And you know me – if I say I’m going to do something, no matter how insane it is, I’m going to do it, and stick with it.
Of course, running a PR firm that requires meals out at least three times a week should prove a fun little hurdle. “Hi, can I have the vegatables? Steamed? Yes, that’s my main course, you sarcastic waiter. How’s your acting career?””
Anyone out there ever gone sugar-free? I’d love to hear from you, how you did it, if it turned you into the video below.
Fingers crossed. A 3:30. Wow. If you ever told me I’d run ANYTHING in 3:30, I’d think you were insane. So the fact that I’m even trying for it, well, I suppose it’s a good thing. I’ve been told by members of my running club that it’s possible. But I’ve gotta drop the weight to make it happen. By June, I should be running upwards of 45 miles per week. By September, closer to 60.
Plus, about three weeks ago, I bought a road bike. That’s something else to add to the mix. So who knows. Maybe it’s possible.
180. Damn. I haven’t been at 180 since high school. Actually, even then I think I was over 180. Perhaps Junior High. Actually, I think I was born at 190. My poor mom. I was a C-section, though – that could explain it.
Leave me a comment, and if I make it to 180 by the marathon, I’ll send everyone who’s left me a comment a t-shirt or something.
180. Yeah. This is gonna be fun. A 3:30. Why do I do this to myself? Sigh.
I’ll keep you posted.
