The Next 30 Days

On the Brooklyn Bridge, Bitches!

After spending the last 6 days having an awesome time in NYC (incidentally 20 minutes before this picture was taken, a lady at the library, who I hope had tourette's syndrome, said "you're dressed like a slut" as she walked passed me, and to clarify any confusion of who she was talking about, 5 minutes later, when my friend asked her a question, she told me to cover up. I can't make this shit up, folks) summer travel is officially over. And now it's time to get down to official business.

What official business, you ask? Remember, I signed up for this little gem of a race: Stumpjump 50K why couldn't I be a sadist instead of a masochist??? And since the race is less than 3 months away, I suppose it's time to start training for it. No more excuses.

I'm still hammering out the actual running part of the training plan (I'm too anal to start a training plan on any other day of the week besides a Monday. Duh), I do know that it's going to consist of 50-60 miles per week, with one hill day and one tempo day a week. And every other week, I'm going to force myself to run for at least 90 minutes on trails (or, as I'll refer to it, my biweekly 90 minutes of hell). Sounds totally awesome, right? Ugh.

I do plan on actually getting all accountant-like on this training plan and busting out some spreadsheets this weekend to map out exactly what to do when so that I'll feel even more guilty when I end up slacking. So, the running part should be awesome.

But that's not all, folks. Ohhhhh no. I'm taking the next 30 days to do the Hot Yoga Challenge. 30 consecutive days of Hot Yoga. But, I'm not stopping there.... ohhhh no folks, you know me... I've gotta aim even higher. I'm taking these next 30 days to clean up my body, too.

Now, honestly, my body is pretty clean. I haven't told you guys, but I've been eating a mostly raw diet, and an almost exclusively fruits, veggies, nuts, popcorn, and diet coke diet. I've just been experimenting with it, occasionally I'll have a cup of yogurt or a little cheese. And I've been feeling awesome and have seen results in my body.

The truth is... I've got this beer belly that I've been trying to get rid of for like 2 years now. I've tried everything, I've tried counting calories, I've tried strength training, I've tried ab exercises... and those things would help a little, but they wouldn't work long term. And lately... with the hot yoga, and the super clean diet, I've started seeing and feeling ACTUAL results. Aside from body results (vanity is number 1, of course) I feel amazing. I've got loads of energy, my head is clear and I'm able to concentrate and focus at work a lot easier, my skin and nails are in great condition. I'm just overall much healthier and happier. It's great.

So, to coincide with the 30 day yoga challenge, I'm also going 30 days vegan with a diet of mostly fruits, veggies, and nuts. And, I'm going 30 days without alcohol (EXCEPT for the beer mile race, in which I must defend my title), and possibly the hardest of all, 30 days no carbonated beverages (I am a diet coke fiend). I just want to see how I'll feel during and after those 30 days.

And lucky for you, I plan on posting more frequently and documenting these next 30 days closely. I'm not sure what to expect, Always the optimist, I'm expecting it to be easy and for me to be all zen and hot afterwards. But, as you guys are always the realists, I'm sure you're expecting lots of cursing, cheating and failure. We'll see what happens.

P.S. So, I'm going to take it easy on the P90X. I feel like with the running and the yoga, I'm getting enough exercise. I will probably still incorporate the 3 strength training videos each week. But, I'm not going to consistently keep up with the whole program. I'm not worried, Tony will still be available when I need him.

P.P.S. If, in about 21 days, I start asking you about knots, please don't give me any information.