Weekend Recap

My last blog entry was very long so I decided to have mercy on my faithful readers by trying to do some shorter posts more often. After all this is not the most intriguing thing on the Internet. But I thank you for reading and I enjoy sharing my experiences with you.

Saturday our Team Epiphany run for the advanced team was 7 miles. Melissa's intermediate team ran a 5 miler. In actuality, my run was 7.35 miles according to mapmyrun.com so I got a little extra in. I felt great on the run! I ran with a few different people throughout the run and had some good conversations and my body was feeling good throughout the run.

After the run, Melissa and I went to the pool and swam for an hour. We did our standard 300 to 400 yard warm up and then did drills for the rest of the hour. It was a great workout and I seem to be improving. I lost track of how many yards total we swam but I know it was well over the distance that my training plan calls for. So I guess I am ahead of the game on that.

I did not get a bike ride in on Saturday because I went to NOVA to visit with my family and help with some projects. It was nice to see everyone, especially since I did not see my nieces at Christmas. They entertained us with song and dance and various silly games. It was a nice trip although sort of a whirl wind tour.

On Sunday, we did another 1 hour swim. Again we did our standard warm up followed by lots of drills. I felt pretty good in the water again. I did more sprints to see how fast I could go without losing my form. Eventually I will have to see how long it takes me to sprint a whole 300 and then later a whole 400. My first Tri swim is a 300 and the second is a 400. Then in June I will have to swim a 1000 and that one will be an open water swim in current.

After our swim, we got lunch and did some shopping at Whole Foods. It was delicious and nutritious as always. I really packed it in. The fresh kale salad and cooked bok choy are always so good. I don't mind filling up on greens since they are so good for us. I also got some extra stuff to make some fresh juices this week.

After lunch, I did a 20 mile bike ride on my road bike. It was a lot warmer in Richmond - almost 50 degrees. But it was still cold on the bike. I was able to wear shorts but but the wind kept my arms and feet a little cold. Towards the end of the ride, my feet were starting to freeze a bit and when I was done, they were a little sore.

Once my ride was completed, I changed and went on a short run. I was shooting for 3 miles but ended up just shy of 3. It was supposed to be an easy run but I was pretty jacked up from my bike ride and ended up running at about an 8:30 pace. I felt pretty darn good and was happy with the run despite the tingling in my feet as the blood returned to them.

So there you have it. That is my weekend of training in a nutshell. I feel pretty good about it although I am tired and I imagine that 6AM will seem to come very fast. Tomorrow is a rest day as far as running and biking goes. I plan to do a P90X workout and maybe some strength training exercises. I still need to work on my knees so I have to try to work that in sometimes.

Thanks for reading.

Weekly Wrap Up

As I come to the end of my first week of structured training, I want to recap the workouts and how I felt. From what I can remember anyway. I think I will try to do a weekly recap on either Thursdays or Fridays unless something significant happens that drives me to write more often. With the increase in training, there is less time for blogging and other things.

On Saturday we had our first Team Epiphany 10K Training Team run. Melissa had to skip it as she was under the weather. She was feeling pretty bad and had a fever. She pretty much determined that she had food poisoning rather than the flu. So while she rested, I met at 7:30 AM at our church for our first team run.

We have several groups of runners as well as walkers. We have the walking group, the novices, the intermediates, and the advanced group. I run with the advanced group. We ran 6.2 miles for our first training run. It is the longest I have run since last summer's 10Ks. I must say I felt great. The companionship of fellow runners was so wonderful and helped the miles melt away.

After my run, I changed and went to the pool for a 30 minute swim. I had planned to go longer but I started having calf cramps a bit so I decided to call it a day. After my swim, I took the mountain bike to the park but unfortunately, it was so cold, I had to cut it short. I need better winter riding gloves and I need some booties to cover my bike shoes. Or, alternatively, I could use 50+ degree weather. I would rather take the warm weather as gloves and booties are not cheap.

On Sunday, I got another 30 minute swim in while Melissa stayed home. In the 30 minutes that I swam, I was able to do the mileage specified in my training plan so I think that was sufficient. After the swim, I came home and Melissa was feeling better. In fact, she was up for a trip to Whole Foods for lunch and she ended up eating well.

After lunch, I went for a road bike ride. I had wanted to check out this place called West Creek that all the bikers talk about. There is a two lane divided road with very little traffic that many bikers workout on. Again, it was so cold and I thought my toes were going to fall off. I had intended to run afterwards but my feet hurt from the cold so I just bagged it after I completed my 12 miles of riding.

For my first weekend of structured training, I give myself a B. I did not get as much cycling or running as I had originally intended but I got a good start on multiple workouts per day. In fact, that is something I have been meaning to do-doubles. Doubles refers to working out once in the morning and then a second time in the evening. I decided I would try something new and get up 1 hour early during the week so I could do doubles.

On Monday, I got up early and since it was my first day getting up a little early, I did a short workout in the form of Ab Ripper X. Ab Ripper only takes about 16 minutes to complete. I used the extra time to put my lunch together and have a little more leisurely morning than usual. After work I did P90X Chest and Back as my second workout. Usually Chest and Back is followed by Ab Ripper but I decided that splitting them up would give me more time in the evening to eat properly and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

On Tuesday I started the morning off an hour earlier than usual again. I did another 30 minute time trial workout on the bike trainer. I felt really good during this workout and feel like my fitness is starting to improve already. It is amazing how great a workout I can get in just 30 minutes. After work, I did my 30 minute tempo run. Tempo runs are hard for me right now but I managed to do this one pretty well. For my 30 minute tempo run I am supposed to run easy for 10 minutes to get warmed up and then run 10 minutes at about 5 seconds faster than 10K pace followed by 10 minutes of easy running. Using my PR 10K time of 46.01, that would be about a 7:22 min mile pace (5 seconds faster than my 7:27 pace for my 2008 10K).

According to one online running calculator, my tempo runs should be done between 7:30 and 7:49 minute per mile pace. Since different coaches have different ideas about what a Tempo run means, I am going to shoot for around 7:25. I accomplished this on Tuesday night. In fact, I think I ran closer to a 7 minute mile pace for my 10 minutes of fast running bookended by the slower running.

On Wednesday we had swim practice. We did a lot of kick drills and a drill called breathe-away which I call the 'drowning drill.' Towards the end of the hour practice, I started to cramp again in the calves. Currently I am working on rectifying the cramping situation. I have done some online research and have started to incorporate Heed (a sports drink by Hammer Nutrition) into my diet. It could be that the cramping is a result of my stiff ankles according to what I have read so far. I will try to run it by my coach if it continues to be a problem.

On Wednesday, by the time I got home from work, it was snowing like crazy. But I had running on my schedule. So I put on my hat and gloves, some long sleeves and my shorts, and headed out to run in the snow. I had a great run but it ended up being roughly 3 miles which was short of the 4 miles on my schedule. Oh well. I am not too worried about the numbers at this point.

Later that night we got the call that schools would be opening 2 hours late Thursday morning and I would also be going in 2 hours late. Bonus Time! I got up and did 30 minutes on the bike trainer. I did a little different workout than I did on Tuesday morning. Instead of doing the time trial workout, I did the sprint/power workout. This workout entails a warm up and then 10 seconds in a high gear going as fast as possible followed by 50 seconds easy spinning in a low gear. We did 12 repetitions and then a cool down. I say we because there are a couple hundred bikers setup in a big gym doing the workout under the direction of the coach so I sort of feel like I am working out with the group on the DVD which is neat.

Thursday after work I went to the track to do my speed work. I have not done speed work in a long time but was determined to gut it out as speed work is the key to running faster and farther. My plan called for 6X400. Basically this means that I would warm up and then run a 400 (once around the track) fast and then recover with a slow jog and then repeat. The plan I am following calls for the rest interval to take the same amount of time as the sprint interval. When doing the 400, the idea is to be able to go as fast as possible while keeping the exact same pace for all 6 repeats. So it is not an all out sprint but it is definitely a hard run, faster than conversation pace.

I ran a mile around the track to get warmed up. For my repeats, I ran the 400s in 1:40. My slow jog recoveries also took 1:40. 6 repeats was a very attainable goal and I did well to pace myself so I could finish each repeat in 1:40. We'll see how future speed work goes. I used to play soccer which is an hour plus of speed work. I think I still have some of those fast twitch muscles that I built up over the years. Plus P90X helps develop some of those fast twitch muscles when we do Plyo.

Friday is a rest day. I slept in slightly on Friday and then after work, we did our 1 hour X Stretch routine. I followed up the stretching with some foam roller action. That is always a bit painful but very helpful. I have been having a problem with my knee since Wednesday. It feels like I twisted it a bit. After I am finished here, I am off to ice for the rest of the night. I also decided to take some Motrin which I rarely do.

For my first work week of structured training, I give my self a B+. I was about a mile short on my workout plan although I did get an extra 30 minutes of cycling in. I could have easily given myself an A but I have to have room for improvement.

Tomorrow morning we have our second day of Team Epiphany training followed by a swim. Hopefully I will also have time for a quick bike ride before I head up to Vienna for the rest of the day.

Thanks for reading.

End of the Work Week

Looking back on the work week, I got a good start to my training. I have to be careful not to ramp up too much all at once. So far, I have done pretty well. Wednesday morning was swim practice with Pro K. We did lots of kick drills and we got to swim with fins which is always fun because it makes me seem fast.

On Thursday I did another 30 minute time trial workout on the bike trainer. This time around was even harder because the first time through the other day, the DVD stopped and I just winged it with my watch. Little did I know that there were some minor changes for the last 2 sets and a bonus set. My legs were burning, my lungs were heaving, and my heart was racing. After my ride, I did a 2.5 mile run around the neighborhood. Finally I finished up with Ab Ripper X.

Friday after work, Melissa and I had planned to stretch but she has some sort of mild flu. She has not been sick in at least 5 years, probably more. I really do believe if she was not as healthy as she is, her symptoms would be worse. Not that she does not feel bad, because she does but as far as flu goes, it is more on the mild side. She is hungry but does not feel like eating. I hooked her up with some toast and a fresh juice (carrot, apple, ginger, lemon, and lime).

So instead of stretching, I did P90X Chest and Back. I had a great workout. After these workouts always feel so strong. They are quite invigorating workouts. Afterwards, I had a nice protein shake before settling down to making dinner for one. Hopefully after a good night sleep, Melissa will be back to normal.

Tomorrow morning we start our 10K training with Team Epiphany at our church. Melissa will have to skip it. It is supposed to be about 15 degrees and she will need her rest. After I run with the team, I plan to head to the JCC to swim. Beyond those two workouts, I am not sure how the rest of the day will pan out. But I will let you know.

Bonus Time

This morning our phone rang at 5:30 AM. As I ran to get the phone, I could not imagine who would be calling but then as I got near the phone I realized who it was. It was an automated message from Henrico County Public Schools (my employer) alerting us that schools would be opening 2 hours late due to the inclement weather and that included employees. I guess the rain turned into ice in enough places to cause the delay. Bonus Time!

I was glad to get the 2 hours and I used the time wisely. I did a P90X workout-Chest & Back and Ab Ripper X. I usually don't work out in the morning but I had the opportunity. I was not able to bring it as hard as I usually do because I was still half asleep I think. But I did get a quality workout and followed it up with a delicious protein shake.

A good portion of my work day was spent eating and being on the phone with a vendor. When I got to work I had my banana, an orange, and a Lara bar. Later I had some nuts and before you know it, lunch was upon me. I had brought a really yummy salad with leftover salmon on it and some soup. I also tried out my new Ezekiel bread for my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The Ezekiel bread was very different in texture and taste than what I am used to and also very filling. There are many types of Ezekiel bread. I went with the Wheat & Gluten Free Whole Grain Brown Rice Bread that is sweetened with fruit juices. I have never had a problem with wheat or gluten but several trainers and nutritionists recommend cutting it out of ones diet for maximum performance. So I am trying it out. Finally I had my usual apple on the way home from work. It seems like a lot of food but I am really starting to rev up my machine so I will need the fuel.

After work I did a 30 minute cycle on the bike trainer. I had a great workout! I did something called Spinervals which is a DVD that came with the trainer. Basically it is interval workouts where you warm up and then go hard for 90 seconds and then ease up for 90 seconds and then repeat for a total of 7 times. I was a sweating nicely by the end of the workout.

After my cycle, I did a strong leg workout. I have decided to go back to doing my PT exercises to help improve my knee. I always feel really good afterwards and tonight was no exception. After my half our or so of PT, I iced for a bit and then made dinner.

Speaking of dinner, tonight we had something that was off the menu during our diet. You would not think something as simple as pasta would be so good but it was. Earlier I mentioned that I wanted to try to cut gluten and wheat from my diet. However, since we had some whole wheat pasta in stock, we went ahead and ate it. It was delicious! I will probably do some more research on whole grain gluten free pasta and give it a whirl.

I may go back to eating wheat and gluten but I want to experiment to see if I can tweak my diet. In many ways I think that striving for perfect nutrition will give me an advantage in my training. Ultimately, I want to be able to compete at the highest ability possible. I could train really hard and leave it at that. Or I could train hard and smart. Nutrition is part of that process and will help me reach my goals.

Speaking of goals. One of my goals is to be able beat my friends. It does not look like we will be competing against each other anytime soon but when the stars align and we end up doing the same races, I want to be ready to crush them!

Monday's Workout

My workouts today were pretty good. I woke up and ate an orange, a banana, a Lara Bar, and had a protein shake with my new plant based protein powder, some almond milk, and two bananas. I think that combination of fuels really helped during my 1 hour bike ride. Both the Lara Bars, the almond milk, and the protein powder were off the menu during the reboot diet.

After my ride, I did a 2 mile run. It has been a while since I have run. It was a good run but just slightly boring really. It was a dreary and cold day and I think that made it less than exciting. It is good to be running again though.

After my run, I did many leg extensions on the leg extension machine as well as some exercises I learned in physical therapy last year. Then it was time for the ice.

After my 15 minutes of icing, we went to Whole Foods for lunch and to get some groceries. It was nice to eat some vegetable fried rice and I got to add walnuts and sunflower seeds to my big green leafy salad. Again these were items not on the menu during the diet. For dessert I had a couple of bite sized vegetarian spring rolls. Delicious!

After our trip to the store, we did 90 minutes of P90X Yoga which is hard but so very beneficial. I am very glad that we did it.

I have yet to put together a training plan which means I will likely not be waking up early to workout tomorrow. I may try to get up a little early to do a nice juice or two though.

Thanks for reading.

Reboot Diet - Final Day

Today was the last day of our 15 day Reboot Diet. We started the day off with our hot water with lemon and morning fruit before going to the 8:30 church service. After church I finally gave in and did some much needed yard work before we headed out to Whole Foods for lunch. As I mentioned yesterday, eating at Whole Foods is great. It is so easy to get a big healthy meal that is also very tasty.

After we got back from the store, I was torn between taking a nap and exercising. Yesterday afternoon I felt the same way and ended up with a 1 hour bike ride. Today, napping won. I took a very long nap, for me anyway. After my hour and a half nap, I did not really to much else until it was time to make dinner. We had a very yummy salad, leftover potatoes, and some leftover soup. I tried to salvage the soup by adding sauteed mushrooms but that did not really help. We made at least a few soups during the reboot diet that did not really turn out all that great. Tonight's was not bad but then again it was not great.

The main purpose of the reboot diet is to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in one's diet. During the reboot process, some detoxification usually occurs for most people as they cut out processed foods. For some this is also accompanied by weight loss. Regarding my own weight loss, I have gained back some of the weight already. I am back up to 133.5 and believe that this weight is very near my fighting weight. I will probably gain another few pounds but I imagine my operating weight will be less than it was before I started the diet.

The following is some of the behaviors I have learned and incorporated into my diet. I have picked up the habit of drinking hot water with lemon in the mornings which is a great way to start the day. It is relaxing and the lemon helps the liver do it's job. Plus there is a good dose of Vitamin C in lemon which we all know is very good for the body and mind. I have also increased my consumption of leafy greens which numerous studies have shown to ward off several diseases including several types of cancer and Alzheimer's. Making fresh, healthy soups is also something I would like to continue to pursue. I have learned to relax more when I eat and enjoy each bite as much as possible which is better for digestion. And finally, I have learned about great juices that I plan to incorporate into my diet on a semi regular basis.

All in all, I thought the reboot diet was a good experiment and a good way to learn more about healthy eating. The jointhereboot.com website was very helpful with lots of information in addition to a healthy and knowledgeable community of people to help answer questions and offer words of encouragement. I can see myself doing a juice fast again but not for 5 days. I think that was too much for me. I can see doing a 2 day juice fast every now and then just to give my body a little rest and to help jump start things now and then. Then again, you never know.

Tomorrow we start back to our normal diet. Our normal diet will be just like the current diet except we can add a few things. We will start eating breads, pastas, fish, beans, and nuts again. And I am very much looking forward to my Lara Bars. I never did get a ruling on them-because I never asked. Lara Bars have no preservatives and are just made up of fruit with no added -well, anything. They are quite nutritious and delicious and satisfying.

Now that the reboot is over, my blog will probably shift focus a bit. My plan is to start blogging more about my training and how I am feeling as I gear up for race season. Today was a rest day-yard work does not count. One thing I need to do is come up with a training schedule. I find that if I don't have it on paper, it is harder to get motivated to do what I need to do. I will be working on that some more tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Reboot Diet - Day 14

Today was a glorious day spent almost entirely with Melissa. We woke up around 7:30 or so to get ready to go swim. Usually we get up right at 6 and get ready and head out the door by 6:30 because our window of opportunity is from 7 to 8 and that is it. But today we had basically all day to swim because they had 6 lanes open at the JCC from 8:30 until 7:30 PM. So we were not in a rush and Melissa took some time before we left to register for a couple of triathlons before the price bump. We ended up at the JCC at about 8:50 to swim.

After our 1 hour swim, we came home and ate more fruit before heading out with our mountain bikes to go to one of our favorite places to ride, Poor Farm Park in Hanover County. Melissa had not been riding in quite a long time so we planned to take it easy so we could gradually ease back into riding. We had a great ride! Melissa lead the way through the woods. It was as if she had not been off the bike at all. She rode with skill and pace and only had to get off her bike once for a sketchy log crossing. She rode over all the other obstacles like a veteran mountain biker. We ended up with about 40 minutes or more of riding which was a great start to the season.

After riding, we went to Whole Foods for lunch and some groceries. Lunch at Whole Foods is always the best. I had cooked Kale, some spicy cooked cabbage and veggies. Some spicy Cajun potatoes and a leafy green salad. It was all so very good and healthy too.

After our shopping trip, I did an hour ride on my road bike. It was quite windy so it was a good workout. I have not had a chance to ride my road bike all that much because of the weather. I am looking forward to warmer weather and building up to doing long mileage. I did just over 12 miles today. I plan to work my way up to 50, 60, or even 100 milers on that bike. Riding the road bike is great for my knees and will prepare me for the big race at the end of the summer.

For dinner tonight, we cooked up some collards and spinach and roasted some potatoes with spices. We also had salad with guacamole as well as some homemade soup. We have tried our hand at several homemade soup recipes during the reboot and have yet to find a great one. Tonight's was very close. We made a roasted potato and Jerusalem artichoke soup. I think there was a little too much water and we decided afterwards that mushrooms might complement it well so next time I will add the mushrooms and use a little less water. I think with some further tweaking, that recipe could be a keeper. Also once the reboot diet is over, I can make a new split pea soup recipe that I made on New Year's eve that was quite delicious. I am looking forward to that recipe as well as some other new ones from a cook book I got for Christmas.

Tomorrow is our last day of the reboot diet. I plan to write one more blog posting about it tomorrow night. Hopefully I can summarize what I have learned for the diet.

Tomorrow will be another day of exercising. After morning church we will likely do some running or biking or both and we plan to do our P90X Yoga routine at some point. I also would not mind swimming again. I would like to work up to swimming 3 times a week. Also we have Monday off and I would love to get some more exercise in if possible. You are probably seeing a trend here. In case you did not know, I like to exercise.

Another quick health note before I sign off. I received my "papers", as the doctors office called them, in the mail today. Basically they are orders for blood work. On Tuesday I will call and make an appointment with Labcorp to get my blood drawn and have several tests done. There is nothing wrong with me but when I switched to my current doctor in 2007, he wanted me to come in for a physical. I am finally getting around to it.

Thanks for reading!

Reboot Diet- Day 12 and 13

(Tonight's Dinner)

I ran out of time yesterday to blog about my experiences on day 12 of the diet so I will combine both days into one post tonight.

Day 12 was much better overall than day 11. My lunch on day 12 was tastier and healthier than the terrible salad I had at Carinis. I had brought leftovers in for lunch from dinner the night before. That was much better and much more nourishing. Having healthy food makes a big difference on how I feel and I am very sensitive to what I eat, now more than ever.

After work yesterday we had a nice green juice before going to the JCC to talk to someone in the membership department about joining up. They gave us 10 day passes that we will start using tomorrow. Rather than get up at 6AM and pay the nearly $2 in tolls to drive down to the southside for our morning swim, we will instead sleep until about 7:30 and then make a shorter trip to the JCC to swim. I am looking forward to trying out the new pool. New to us that is.

Today was also a pretty good day. I had a decent salad at Red Lobster. It was a co-workers last day and a bunch of us went out to lunch one last time before he departed. I had the side salad but I had them swap out the regular iceberg lettuce for romaine lettuce which made it much better. The vegetables on the salad were decent so for $2.09 I had a decent lunch. The salad was was not very big and there was lots of fried and fattening food all around me which was not really hard but also not exactly the best way to enjoy my lunch. After we got back to work, there was cake, soda, pretzels, and chips for our farewell gathering for my co-worker. I, of course, did not eat any of it. Luckily I had a banana at my desk so after all that was said and done, I had my banana and I had my coconut water.

After work, I did a P90X workout-"Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X" for those of you familiar with P90X workouts. I have decided I am going to do P90X again. But I am not going to do it everyday and I am not going to do every workout. I am going to substitute different leg exercises for "Legs and Back" and just work in some extra pullups. I have leg exercises that my physical therapist prescribed for me and I am going to go back to doing those as they are not hard on my knees. I will probably also not do Kenpo X all that often and I will not do Plyometrics all that often-again because it is hard on my knees.

I will probably end up doing P90X upper body and core workouts 1 to 3 times a week once I start ramping up my biking, swimming, and running. But I will follow the program as if I was doing it every day. That is, I will do them in the order laid out in the program. But as I shift my focus to triathlon training, I won't have time to do them each day. Plus we want to continue to do yoga and stretching which will also take some time. Speaking of Yoga, the guy who won Ironman 2010 World Championship says he does Yoga 3 times a week. I try to model my workout routines around these guys who win. Why not. If it works for them, maybe it will work for me. Not that I will ever "win" anything. But if it helps me do my absolute best, I am all for it.

Finally, while writing my blog tonight, I took a break to register for my first road triathlon. First I had to register for a one year membership to USA Triathlon (USAT) and while I was at it, I took them up on the free USAT Training DVD (of course I had to pay the $6.95 shipping which is where they make their money). So now I am officially signed up for two races. Tomorrow another race opens up and I plan to sign up for that one too.

Reboot Diet -Day 11 - Time to Bring IT!

As most of you know, today was the day we started the last phase of our 15 day diet. Today we got to eat! It was an interesting day. It started out for me with a 5AM wake-up for swim practice. I had my hot water and lemon which is a new habit I picked up from this diet. And then I broke in a banana. It was so early in the morning that I really did not get to dwell on it's texture and taste. I almost think it would have been better to not be rushed but I had to fuel up for swim practice. I had an apple on the way to the gym and that was fun to eat. I have learned that I really like things that crunch. I used to get my crunching from chips and that was pretty much one of my last vices. I am not saying I will never have another chip but am definitely going to cut way down. Even though I always made sure to get the ones with just oil, potatoes, and salt, I know that they are less than healthy.

Swim practice was tough. Lots of kick drills and swimming with fists instead of open hands. And breathe away. That one is always a killer. Overall though I had a great practice. I feel like I am coming along with the swimming and our coach is really great.

Since our schools were opening two hours late due to the inclement weather, I had the rare opportunity to relax after swim practice. I laid down for about 20 minutes and then had time to make a big green juice and enjoy it leisurely while surfing the innerwebs. That was certainly a treat.

At work I had more fruit in the morning and then the whole crew went out to lunch for a co worker's birthday. We went to an Italian restaurant where I ordered the big salad. I snuck in my own healthy dressing. Overall the salad was a big disappointment. I ate it all and it filled me up but it was really not that good and it did not sit with me very well. In fact, I may have eaten it too fast. Again, I did not have time to savor each bite because I was out with a big group of people. The salad sat in my stomach like a big ball of yucky goo all the way to dinner.

After work I did a P90X workout which took about an hour and 10 minutes. I felt pretty good through most of the workout but started to peter out towards the end. The salad was still bothering me a bit and I considered skipping Ab Ripper X but then again, I was lying there on the floor after doing my last set up push-ups and decided I might as well do it.

Dinner was all vegetables and was very tasty. However, I think I ate too fast. I am going to try to concentrate on slowing down and trying to savor each bite. I won't always be able to do it but I can strive for better eating habits. It is best to eat slowly and make sure to thoroughly chew. I think I felt so good though that I was talking too much. We all tend to talk to each other during meals. I think mostly that is because that is the one time when we all come together and sit and face each other. However, it is probably not best for proper eating to talk while we eat. Again, I am going to try to be more mindful of this. Lately I have really enjoyed our post dinner talks at the dinner table where we sit and talk and talk and talk. It is a great way to digest-sitting and talking to Melissa.

So overall I would say my first day of eating was a little disappointing because my lunch was a bust. However, I do have leftovers from tonight to enjoy tomorrow so that is a big plus. Also I have more energy than I had during the juicing phase of the diet. I had plenty of energy when we were juicing but not as much as I usually have. After all today I did a double (morning and evening workout-both pretty strenuous), worked 8 hours, prepared dinner, did the chores, and am still up writing. Not too shabby. Of course that is how I roll. I like to Bring IT!

Reboot Diet- Day 10

Some people look forward to all the fixins at Thanksgiving. They picture the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pie, etc in their minds and think about how wonderful it is going to be. Or perhaps one may think about a favorite dish at a favorite restaurant and how delicious it will taste. Be it Drunken Noodle from Pad Thai or maybe Chana Masala (pictured above) from Anokha.

As day 10 of our diet winds down, I have similar visions of food. But all I can think about is that morning banana and apple before swim practice which will be followed by another banana and an orange. For lunch, I can picture the big salad I am going to eat. And finally, for dinner I can picture the collards, spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, and baked sweet potato that I plan on eating tomorrow night. That's right, tomorrow we eat again. We are still limited to fruits and vegetables-no grains, no pasta, not nuts, etc.

Yesterday evening was hard as I was pretty hungry. Not only hungry but feeling pretty weak. Before I went to bed, I posted a question to my online nutritionist. She told me that I was not likely getting enough calories. (well duh, right?). So today, I upped the amount of juice I have been drinking and I felt a lot better. Plus the store where I buy my coconut water had the good kind in stock so I had one of those as well. It turns out, I should probably have been taking in more juices each day. That is actually hard to do when at work all day. I did pretty well but perhaps could have done better.

So tomorrow we start eating again. And as this diet finishes I can't help but think about the next thing - the slow ramp-up of my training. Also I would like to schedule a doctor's appointment for a full physical since someone my age is supposed to do such a thing. I am interested in getting my cholesterol numbers and all the other health indicators one gets from a full physical. I am guessing I will be given a very clean bill of health. I plan to schedule the appointment after we finish the diet and after I have ramped up the exercise a little bit.

As I write this, my stomach is grumbling slightly. I plan to drink some hot water with lemon and ignore the grumbling. My nutritionist suggested drinking a few mugs of herbal tea but I can't stand the taste of it. She also suggested drinking coconut water. I may do that as well.

Hurray for tomorrow!

Reboot Diet - Day 9

I did not have time to write last night. To be honest, I was just wiped out and, well, hungry. If I had to summarize yesterday, that one word pretty much does the trick.

I have lost 10 pounds on this diet so far and that really was not my intent. After discussing with my online nutritionist and my wife, I determined that I probably was not taking in quite enough calories. The nutritionist recommended doing more juices and gave me some ideas to increase my caloric intake.

Today is the last day of the juice part of the diet. I am looking forward to tomorrow's morning fruit and I already have my evening meal planned!

Reboot Diet- Day 8

As I wind down for the day, I want to give a brief update on how the diet is going. Today was pretty good all things considered. We did have some juicer problems and we will have to get a part of it repaired. We think we can limp along OK for the last 2 days of juicing. Tomorrow morning we will have to get up extra early to ensure that we can make all the juice that we both need for the whole day. Monday will be the first day that we both are taking all of our daily juices to work with us. I am hoping that the snow that is coming is enough to close work on Tuesday so our last day of juicing can be a relaxing one at home. It is still too early to tell as this storm has been a hard one to track according to the experts I follow.

I did have visions of eating food today in the afternoon and was having a weak moment. Of course my support system came to my rescue. Melissa said that we could do it. With 2 more full days, I think we can. I am looking forward to all the yummy foods that we ate during our first 5 days of the diet. Lots of vegetables, fruit, and salad.

I am keeping it short tonight as today was pretty much uneventful regarding the diet. We did our normal juicing on a relaxed schedule and my energy levels were normal. Tune in tomorrow for an update. Thanks for reading.

Reboot Diet - Day 5 + 2 otherwise known as Day 7

Well we made it though another day of this second phase of our diet. We did another full day of just juices and no solid foods. The day started out early with an early morning orange juice with lemon before heading to the pool for our normal Saturday morning 7Am workout. The juice really woke me up and I was raring to go. There was some unexpected snow and ice accumulation on the car so we ended up about 10 minutes late to the gym. But we had a great workout. I felt strong and relaxed in the pool. I did a 350 meter warm up without stopping which was the most I have ever done without stopping. My first planned triathlon is not until April so I still have plenty of time to improve my stroke.

After the swim we went home and took a short nap before making our second juice of the day. We did a green juice (green chard, spinach, arugula, Kale, 4 red apples, 2 green apples, two pears, lemon, and ginger). We took this juice to go as we had some shopping to do. We both needed new swimsuits. We also needed more fruits and veggys of course. And then we went and toured the Jewish Community Center. We are going to join so we can use the pool and do yoga classes, cycling classes, and other fitness classes.

We did another couple of smaller afternoon juices that were quite tasty. One was cucumber and pineapple which has a mild and pleasant taste. The other was beats, carrots, and ginger. Surprisingly, you can get a lot of juice out of a beat and the recipe was a great one. I can see juicing beats on a regular basis once we are off the diet.

We still had one more juice to make up for the day but we had to take it with us. We went to a party that our swimming coach was throwing. All of the athletes on her team were there. There was lots of food and drink but we stuck with our green juice. Only two people asked about it. They were the hosts of the party. And they both had the exact same reaction. They both happened to say the same thing, "Well, have fun with that."

We stayed out of the food area. Most of it was nothing I would eat anyway but had we stayed in the room, I may have started to hear the shrimp, chips, cookies, dips, and whatnot mocking me and my juice. All in all we had fun and met a few people and got invited to the weekly track workouts. I met a guy who has done 6 Ironmans who was fun to talk to about racing and training.

At most parties where there are lots of youngish people (late 20s up to early 40s) and an abundance of alcohol, there is inevitably a time in the evening where someone challenges someone else to some game, feat, or other kind of test of one's muster. While I did not get to witness it, apparently there was a "plank off" between our coach and some of her athletes. Only at a party of triathletes would something like this happen. The guy who won, held plank for 5 minutes.

As I complete my evening sitting here writing, I have a very slight hunger plus my stomach muscles are a little sore from a quick Ab Ripper X I did before the party. Plus I did plank when I got home to see if I could have contended with the guys at the party. I think I could have.

I must say I am looking forward to next Wednesday when I can eat a banana. That is all for now. Thanks for reading.

Reboot Diet: 5 +1

Today was our first day of juicing only. No solid foods. I must say it was very interesting. I was a bit rushed this morning as I had lots of juice to prepare. The first thing I had was my hot water with lemon which is a nice gentle way to ease into the morning. After juicing, I ended up with two 16 ounce bottles plus a medium size glass of a green juice (spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, carrot, apple, pear, lemon, lime, and ginger). I drank the glass of juice while getting ready for work. I also juiced almost a full 16 ounces of a citrus only juice which was three oranges and some lemon. I took that to work also. On my way to work I drank my usual water.

I had the citrus juice first and that lasted me up until about 10 AM. I then switched to water. Then I tried on the green juice. It was still good although I think I prefer it at room temperature but I have to refrigerate the juice in an opaque container to preserve the nutrients as much as possible. Fresh is best but not really possible since I have to go to work. The green juice was quite invigorating. That is the most interesting thing to me. I felt like I had drank a couple of red bulls but without all the jitters. I had lots of energy. I had a very slight feeling of hunger now and again but when I sipped my juice, that went away.

My afternoon juice was another 16 ounces of the same green juice. In fact, it tied me over until I got home. Technically the diet calls for 3 big juices in the morning and afternoon, a coconut water, and then an evening juice and then some tea later. I don't drink tea and while I did buy some coconut juice, it was so expensive so I decided to save it for tomorrow. So I was over the prescribed amount of juice because I did do another smaller cucumber and pineapple juice later after some quick shopping. That was also really delicious. And also, like the green juice, very invigorating.

The juices really gave me a lot of energy. I am tired for sure but still feeling pretty sharp. My stomach is starting to complain. But I often go to bed with it complaining a little. I have my water here to tide me over until I fall asleep. I should nod off pretty fast.

We are getting up a little before 6 AM tomorrow to do a quick juice and then go swim. It will be interesting to see how that goes. It will be the first strenuous exercise we do during this phase of the diet.

I must say I am looking forward to the morning orange juice! Speaking of looking forward to things, during the first 5 days we ate lots of salad. Twice a day. And we were starting to get tired of it. Now we can wait to have a salad again! REBOOT! I think it is working. Although I have not had any signs of detoxification yet.

I did lose 5 pounds since Sunday which has the unintended effect of revealing some of the abdominal muscles I have worked so hard on building for 90 days. The weight will probably come back when we start eating again and weight loss was really not my goal. But I am pretty sure I am down to the weight I was when I got out of college. It reminds me of what my dad used to say sometimes about his weight. He is not over weight at all but he used to say that he would have to lose about 5 to 10 pounds to get down to his "fighting" weight. I am down to 135. It will be interesting to see if this affects my training when I start training again after this diet. I am looking forward to it. I may even add a few more races into the mix. More on that later.

Day 5+1 was not bad. Not bad at all. I am feeling hungry at the moment but in the words of Dr. Larsen, a Psychology professor I had, "this too shall pass."

Thanks for reading. Comments are encouraged.

Reboot Diet- Day 5

Today was another good day in the sense that I did not dwell on food too much. I was busy at work and I had a 16 ounce to go juice that I took with me for the afternoon. The afternoon juice was tasty (carrots, celery, kale, apples, pears, lemon, lime, and ginger). Actually it was quite invigorating. I felt like I had drank a big red bull or something. It was interesting.

This evening was our last regular meal before the next cycle of the reboot diet (meal pictured above). Tomorrow we start the juicing only phase for 5 days. I had been worried about it but then after sipping my afternoon juice and feeling all that energy, I realized that as long as I prepare enough juices to take with me to work, I should be OK. Plus I learned that I can have coconut water during the juicing. Since I have never had coconut water, I think the novelty should help keep me going and provide some variety.

I do have to get up early tomorrow to start washing and cutting all my vegetables. It does not take too long to do the actual juicing but the preparation and cleanup does take a little time. I likely will be juicing for one tomorrow morning as Melissa will be working from home and can do her juices on demand.

When we decided on the date to start our Reboot diet, we worked it out so that our swim days would be eating days. There would just not be enough time in the morning to do all the necessary juicing. And I think that was a good decision. However one thing we realized was that we would be in the juicing phase of the diet when we go to a Saturday evening party. The invite says food and drink will be provided and it starts at 6PM. That should be interesting. I will have to juice up an interesting green drink to take with me. Only with Melissa's approval of course. The party is an end of the season party being thrown by our swim coach who won Ironman Canada in 2005 and there will be lots of triathletes at the party so hopefully there will be some understanding about our diet and they won't think we are-in the words of Andy Sipowicz- whack jobs.

Tune in tomorrow as I describe my first day of juicing. It should be interesting. To me anyways.

Reboot Diet: Day 4

Day 4 of the reboot diet started at 5Am with my early morning wake up. It was the first swim practice of the new year after about a 2 week layoff. I had a banana and apple before practice. The coach said, "happy new year, today we are going to do something special." Kick drills! Lots and lots of kick drills. I was exhausted by the end of practice.

Unfortunately when I have swim practice, I don't have much time afterwards to dilly dally as I have to jet off to work. I grabbed my fruit and headed for the door. Work was pretty good. I was feeling pretty awake and alive and I had some things to work on which kept me relatively busy. But I was HUNGRY! Swim practice really works up an appetite. I had another banana and orange in the morning before having another leafy green salad with lots of raw vegetables. It was very satisfying although I think I have eaten more salad in the last 4 days then I usually do it several weeks. It is a big change from the PB&J, chips, and a pickle that I used to have quite often.

When I got home from work, I did some short exercise in the form of one mile on the bike and then Ab Ripper X. Interestingly enough I felt very strong during Ab Ripper and got a nice core workout. And it only took 16 minutes. I also did some light stretching before getting to the task of making dinner. Pictured above is what we had for dinner. Leftover cauliflower mash from the night before, zucchini with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and spices (the cumin really brought home the flavor although I could have used more tomato) tossed in olive oil and then baked at 4:00 for about 20 minutes, some steamed Kale drizzled with Organic Ginger Soy, and a green salad with fresh avocado, carrots and red pepper. Melissa mixed up some oil and vinegar for the dressing which turned out very good.

After the feast and cleaning up I decided to take the advice of the Join the Reboot web site and do an Epsom Salt soak. A little King Crimson live from 1974 with the Fripp, Bruford, Wetton, and Cross lineup made for some good relaxation.

Today was another good day. I managed a vigorous swim and Ab Ripper X for exercise. My bike ride was cut short by the sun going down but it is encouraging to see that the days are already getting longer. Plus dinner was a success.

We have one more day of eating and then it is on to 5 days of juicing. It is going to be hard for me I think. I am going to have to get up early on work days to make sure I have time to make tons of juice to bring with me. I was joking with Melissa that it will be hard for me to not eat and if I cave, I might end up calling her from our favorite Thai place and saying, "I just woofed down some Drunken Noodles." I don't think that will happen but I am predicting some hunger pangs. I am so used to eating on a regular basis. It is actually a habit that I would like to break. I would like to be able to go without food every once in a while and still be able to perform. You never know what might happen and I might need that ability.

Melissa has done a fast before so I don't think she will have too much difficulty. I will have to work out some mantras to help me stay focused. I may even print out some pictures of my heroes to have at work to remind me why I am doing it all.

Now before I sign off, I want to give you a brief summary of my P90X results. The numbers don't actually convey the results. The mirror does and my 5K PR also is a testament to my advances. But people like numbers so here they are. The first numbers are from pre-P90X and the second are from after the 90 days. Also some of the measurements I will just say stayed the same.

• Body Fat 16% down to 14% (as measured by our scale-who knows how accurate it really is)
• Weight 144.5 down to 140.5
• Chest -stayed the same
• Waist -32 inches down to 30.5
• Hips - stayed the same
• Thighs and Arms-Roughly the same although they look a lot bigger so maybe our measurements were off.
• Pull Ups 6.5 to 9
• Vertical Leap - improved by 2 inches
• Push ups 18 to 28
• Toe touch - we sit on the ground straight legged and bed over and touch the toes. Before P90X, I could extend my fingers half an inch beyond my toes. Afterwards, I could extend them 6.5 inches beyond my toes.

There were a few more measurements but they are not too interesting. Not that any of this is all that interesting but I know some people who were curious about the P90X results (Rachel-http://dirtdivadynamo.blogspot.com/) so I thought I would go ahead and share.

No doubt P90X is for real and I plan to stick with the program in some fashion. I will be biking and running and swimming more but I still plan to also do some P90.

Day 5 tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Reboot Diet: Day 3

As I reflect on Day 3 of our reboot diet, I have to summarize it by saying that today was a good day. So much better than yesterday. I think yesterday's juice was too fruity and that got me off to a rough start. Plus I was in a hurry yesterday and had to drink it down pretty fast. For those of you who have never chugged freshly squeezed apple and pear juice, it can do a number on your tummy. Specifically it can create a very gassy situation. This morning's juice seemed to sit with me better. Details in a moment.

Since I was so tired yesterday, I decided to forgo the morning exercise and get an extra 30 minutes of sleep this morning. I still woke up 30 minutes earlier than I normally do and made my hot water with lemon. I never drank coffee or tea so I never really experienced the benefits of a nice hot morning drink. Lemon is good for the liver and since I am doing a cleansing diet, it is recommended to give the liver a hand. Although I could see getting into this habit even when we are done with the reboot diet.

After my hot lemon water and my banana, I had a nice green juice with the following ingredients (remember this is for 2 people).

2 red apples

1 pear

2 green apples

2 celery stalks

2 medium carrots

about 2 cups of fresh spinach

half a lemon

very small piece of ginger

Ginger can go into any juice according to the guidelines on the reboot web site. And it does add some serious taste to any juice. But you have to be careful not to use too much or your juice may bite you. Also the lemon gives it a nice zing.

This juice has lots of variety and is quite refreshing. It was really a great way to start the day. It really got me pumped up for the day. Plus I had more time to sip and enjoy it although I still was a little hurried in getting out the door to get to work but I made it on time.

I have this trick to help me drink the proper amount of water each day. I carry a CamelBak drip-free water bottle with me no matter where I go. My commute in the car is about 20 minutes. I find that this time is ideal for sipping water. I can get a good 10 or more ounces in me before I even hit my desk. Drinking water is key not only in the reboot diet but also all the time.

I was very busy today at work which is always nice. I made it to about 10AM before having my second breakfast of a banana and an orange. I was task swapping (what most people call multi-tasking but most people really mean task swapping) which helped me keep my mind off the can of peanuts that is sitting next to my desk. I will probably resume the mid morning handful of mixed nuts once the reboot is over.

For lunch I went to Martins and got a salad from the salad bar. Today's salad was better than yesterdays. Today I included some crunchy lettuce along with my mixed greens and spinach. I don't think this whiter, crunchier lettuce has nearly as much nutrients at the darker leafy greens but the crunch gives the salad some more texture which makes it better. I also included a few pieces of cut fruit as a little dessert. It was really only a few bites of fruit but it was a nice treat. I really don't know if the fruit from the salad bar is organic or not. Also fruit is supposed to be eaten by itself and mostly in the morning. But I get so hungry in the afternoon, I usually have some more.

In fact, that is exactly what I did later in the afternoon. I was on a 2 hour support call with a vendor. While he was researching some things and poking around on our server, I had another apple. Then later another banana and finally another apple on the way home from work. For a long time now I have been in the habit of eating an apple on the way home from work. In fact, whenever I travel by car, I always make sure I have some apples. Eating apples while you drive is a great way to keep alert. The crunching and sugar from the apple are great for staying awake. In fact, I think it is way better than my old method of drinking Red Bull to stay awake.

Once I got home, Melissa and I did our P90X Post 90 Day Fit Test. That took about an hour and while it was not an intense hour, it still counts as exercise. Melissa did 75 in and outs for goodness sake. If I have time, I will report on the results of my P90X either later in this blog or tomorrow.

After P90X, we made up dinner. We had what I will call a medium salad, some leftover soup from the night before (that soup was a disaster in my book and even though I added some red pepper and garlic, I still did not get through it all), a small baked sweet potato, and the cauliflower mash recipe from the jointhereboot.com website.

It was all very good and much more satisfying than last night's meal. While I was eating, I did feel like I was getting filled up. Shortly after finishing though, I had a momentary craving for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but it passed.

So again, today was so much better than yesterday. Some of it has to do with my mood, attitude, work schedule, as well as what we ate. I am tired but at the same time I seem to be bubbling with some energy. I feel like I am accomplishing a lot. I was able to get some laundry folded and get all my swim stuff together for tomorrow and write this blog. I am not sure if I will reach my goal of getting to bed by 10 but I still feel pretty good about today, tonight, and the future of my overall diet and training.

Tomorrow will undoubtedly be a long day. I will get up at 5AM to go to swim class. It will be the first swim of the new year and the first swim after a couple of weeks off. Likely the coach will put the hammer down on us. However it will be the first swim class that I go to where I did not do Plyometrics (jump training) the night before so maybe my fresh legs will help a bit.

I think that about wraps it up for now. Thanks for reading.

Reboot Diet- Day 1 and 2

Day 1- Sunday, January 2, 2011.

This morning was day 1 of our 15 day Reboot diet. We got up late. In fact we have been sleeping in a lot on Sundays recently and today turned out to be no different than the last several Sundays.

Our first order of business was to do some Sun Salutations which is a very short bit of yoga.

Then we had heated water with lemon and then later our morning fruit. After our morning fruit, we made a yummy green juice (spinach, celery, apple, and lemon). The green juice was invigorating. With each sip, I could feel a burst of energy.

Then we went to Whole Foods to pick up a few more fruits and vegetables and to have a big salad from the salad bar. My salad consisted of mixed greens, lots of spinach, raw cucumbers, raw yellow and green squash, some broccoli, and some carrots. It was a lot of chewing but I took my time and made a meal of it.

After we got home from the store, I decided to take a long hot bath. Hot baths are recommended during the detoxification process. Although this was only day one, a rainy Sunday afternoon is perfect for a long hot bath listening to live King Crimson. I usually mostly listen to the music but if I do let the mind wander, I usually think about what I can do to be more healthier and think about my upcoming training.

After the bath, I reheated some homemade split pea soup that I made the other night and we had our afternoon snack. We then completed our final P90X routine and did all of our post P90X measurements. We still have to do the fit test so I won't be posting my results until we get a chance to do the test.

After P90X, we had our dinner which consisted of a baked sweet potato, a raw salad with lots of leafy greens and raw vegetables. We also steamed up some kale and at that as well. We did not put anything at all on the kale just to see how that would go. It was actually not bad sans spices or oils. I think I could get used to eating it that way.

After we completed the after dinner cleanup, I must admit, I was still a little hungry. But I had a big glass of apple juice to tide me over until bed time. As we get into the diet, it is natural to feel hungry as the process of releasing toxins into the bloodstream can make one feel hungry. I don't really think I have released too many toxins yet. To be honest, today's diet was only slightly different than my normal diet. A bit more raw perhaps and more salad than usual.

It will probably be hard to sit at my desk tomorrow and not snack on peanuts, Lara bars, and yogurt like I used to. But I will bring plenty of fruit and I plan to bring a 16 ounce container of a green juice and some homemade soup for the afternoon. Lunch will be a big salad from the Martins salad bar. That will be easy enough. I have some healthy dressing that I keep at work. I don't like to use the dressings at the salad bars because I don't know what is in them. Probably HFCS and/or other sugars or sugar substitutes.

Finally, this reboot diet was inspired by the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Great little film that I highly recommend. But I also got some additional inspiration from a book Melissa gave me for Christmas. Jack LaLanne's "Live Young Forever" is his latest book. In the book he outlines several things for optimal health. One of them is juicing and exercising every day. Also he does not eat sugar, or white flour, and stays away from processed foods. The stories in the book are a true testament to the lifestyle I am striving towards. When Jack was 70 is swam 1.5 miles fighting high winds and currents. That may not sound too impressive but he was also towing 70 small boats and each boat had a person in it. Still not impressed? He did it all while handcuffed and shackled. Wow. What a role model. At least to me.

I feel like the diet we are embarking on is a great way to jump start our nutrition so that we can live a long and healthy life. It may be hard as we are used to eating certain things. But I think I can do it.

Day 2-January 3, 2011

Day 2 was a lot harder than day 1. I got up an hour early to do some light exercise and stretching and to have my hot water with lemon and eat my fruit. Then I made a morning juice of pears, apples, and lemon. It was quite tasty. While I finished getting ready for work, Melissa made me a green juice to take with me to work.

I felt pretty tired at work today and had trouble motivating. I had a mid morning snack of banana but definitely did not eat as much as I usually do while sitting at my desk. By lunch time I was darn hungry. For lunch, I had a salad from Martins with some healthy dressing. It was good but it was a lot of salad. I decided to heat up my homemade split pea soup and have that with my lunch rather than an afternoon snack. It was the highlight of my day as far as food goes.

For dinner we made some vegetable soup and stuffed squash. I have to admit, neither really did it for me. I ended up not finishing it all and left the dinner table still hungry. I had a banana and as I write this I am having some apple juice hoping that it will tide me over until I fell asleep.

Overall, I would summarize the way I feel as - tired. Of course today was the first day back to work after nearly 2 weeks off so it is not too unusual for me to feel tired under the circumstances. Also this is the first day in at least 90 days that I have not done an hour or more of exercise.

We shall see how tomorrow goes. I was craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich earlier. I am hoping that the way I feel now does not become the trend. I am sure if I made up some fresh juice, that would liven me up but honestly, I am too tired.