Training SLOW and a Favorite Recipe!

Steve and I follow a low heart rate training plan.  That means that most all of our runs, and certainly anything over an hour, are done at a very low, easy pace... easy enough to chat together while we run, and easy enough that we don't feel devastated at the end of the day.  

There is soooo much information out there about low heart rate training. We started several years ago by following a program developed by  Dr. Phil Maffetone. Dr Maffetone has coached world class athletes into record breaking performances by the use of low heart rate training.  Here is his book, which will detail much of his training regimen.  He also has a holistic approach to health that i like, though he is NOT vegan.  But he has a balanced view of training, racing, diet, and health.

Maffetone Training Plan

 We did about 20 miles on snow today at 9000 feet elevation.

This is Marley... she is quite the athlete - she also did 20 miles.  She was found as a very young pup, thrown in a ditch, nearly starved and badly malnourished. We adopted her, and feel like we got a real gem.

Basically, this is the idea.  There are two fuel systems in your body.  One is the aerobic system.  It uses fat stored in your body for energy.  We all, even the most lean runner, have virtually unlimited fat stores.  Burning this fat does not produce the metabolic waste products like lactic acid that can make our legs fatigue quickly.  

The other system is the anaerobic system. Anaerobic training (that gasping-for-air kind of running) has to grab quick energy in the form of glycogen, a sugar stored in the muscles and liver. There is limited amount of this in the body, a fact which you have experienced if you have suddenly tried to sprint for any distance at all. or hit the wall at mile 20 of a marathon.  Once you're out of glycogen (we call it "bonking") then it can take hours for the body to recover enough to continue. 

So, it doesn't take a genius to see we gotta learn to burn fat as a fuel.  If we want to train our bodies to run long, we need to increase our ability to use that aerobic system.  Running long, slow distance (LSD) gradually trains the body to adapt to the miles, and to utilize stored fat.  This happens all the way down in the cellular level, where increased mitochondria can crank out energy... and even increased blood flow (and oxygen carrying capacity) from increased capillaries. it does this without creating further stress on the body from the metabolic wastes and by products of using glycogen as a fuel.

Basically, you are creating a bigger engine that will have more power to keep you going in the late miles of an ultra.

My little Toyota truck is great, but it is a 4 cylinder.  It really struggles on hills sometimes.  Now, my neighbor has a Tundra, basically the same truck, but with a much bigger engine.  It cruises up the mountain roads here. That bigger engine means better ability to process the gasoline and turn the wheels. 

That's what we want as runners! Build a bigger engine, better and stronger performance!

Staying at a low heartrate is the best way to train this aerobic system.

   

There are lots of ways to calculate how fast you should be running.  A very basic, easy one to use is this:

180 minus your age. 

Say you are  50, then 180-50 = 130.  That's the maximum heartrate at which you should be doing your training. ( a heartrate monitor is very useful)

Some say that if you are already pretty fit, then  you can add 5 to that number.  That would mean 135 in our example.

Sure, harder training comes later, but it is necessary to build an aerobic base -Expect this to take months.  It is not a quick fix.  In fact, when I first started training this way,  it was downright embarrassing.  Even though I'd been running for several  years, my engine was still pretty small.  I had to walk a good bit of the time to stay under my target heart rate.  My muscles were stronger than my aerobic system. 

"But, I need fast work if I'm going to run fast",  you say!  Again, yes, faster, harder work can come later, but you gotta build the engine first!  

There are other benefits to this kind of training that I'll talk about in another post.  But if you've ever dreaded going out for a run, or felt like crap afterwords, or stayed tired all the time... then consider checking into low heart rate training

Here's a short video of how we run. (I didn't know Steve was going to film ME... but this way you can see we are just jogging along.. no stress!)

slowwww running example!

And, here's our favorite "plant based Taco Salad"

This was our dinner  last night before the 20 mile run today.  We both felt great!

The "meat" in this taco salad is my Black Bean Burger recipe, so we'll start there.

Black Bean Burgers!
These are fast, easy, and very versatile.  They are a 'ground beef substitute" in just about any recipe.  I make a batch of these, and keep them in the freezer, so I can whip up a taco salad like this, or veggie burgers, or even add them to soups.

One can black beans, rinsed and drained, or about 1 and 1/2 cups of home cooked beans.
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup grated carrots
2-3  cloves garlic
salt and pepper to tast
optional: finely chopped kale or other green

I just throw all this in my blender, but you can do it separately if that works better for you.  sometimes, I reserve some of the whole black beans  and add them after everything else has been processed, just for some texture in the burgers.

Make patties. They will be soft and sticky and not easy to form, but you'll get the hang of it. If they are REALLY soft, you can add a bit of  dry oatmeal, oat flour, or barley flour.

Cook these in a skillet with a small amount of good oil, until they are getting browned and crispy on the outside and they are easy to handle..  I lay 'em on a plate to cool, and then put them in freezer containers with a bit of wax paper between each one so they don't stick together.  They keep very well in thefreezer.

Now, to use these in our taco salad, I took two patties, crumbled them, and put them in my good ol' cast iron skillet with chili powder, cumin, minced garlic, and a bit of salsa, and let that heat up and mingle all the spices.  Meanwhile, in BIG bowls, I put several cups of salad mix (any kind you like), grated carrots, yellow bell peppers, a bit of thawed, but not cooked, frozen corn, and a half avocado each, sliced.
You could add any veggies you like.

On top of the salad, I placed the "taco mix" from our black bean burgers,  and then topped the whole thing with fresh pico de gallo
(chopped fresh tomatoes, onion, seeded jalapeno peppers, and chopped cilantro)
a dash of lime juice, and enjoy!  

How Do You Start Eating a Plant Based Diet?

Steve on the way down the La Luz trail, Sandia mountains above Albuquerque

Steve has been  vegetarian off and on for the last couple of years.  But after seeing what a great year I had last year, being strictly vegan, he has decided to jump on the plant based bandwagon with both feet, and see how it will impact his training and recovery  So, leading up to our big race of the year in July, he is going to commit to a plant based diet..  We will keep you posted on how he feels things are going.  It is good to have a real partner in this, especially since I don't have to cook two different kinds of meals!  He is also going to vastly reduce the amount of wheat in his diet, ( I am wheat free) since we both think that wheat, even if you are not gluten sensitive, causes many other health problems, and has even been  shown to have an addictive quality  - more on that in another post!

Being over 60, recovery times are a real issue.  We believe that eating plant based will reduce recovery time,  which means we can train harder, and increase energy.  

In fact, this morning, I intended to  simply mop the kitchen floor, but ended up scrubbing it with a scrub brush on my hands and knees to get it "really" clean.  Steve commented, "Maybe you ought to lay off the vegan diet, hon".

Well, eating this way DOES make you feel like you can accomplish anything.  

Maybe you're reading this, but you think "I could never go totally vegan, because I couldn't give up (insert your favorite food here). Maybe it seems too overwhelming, and too hard, and inconvenient,  or just weird. Maybe you think you will be reduced to eating carrot sticks and lettuce. You just know you're going to starve to death.

Let me clarify something here.  We are about whole foods, natural foods, unprocessed and unadulterated foods.  I suppose you could call yourself "vegan" and still eat Doritos and Twinkies. (although, didn't they just quit making those?)  We are less about not eating meat, and more about eating REAL food. 

"Real food", by the way, is something your great grandmother would recognize.  That generation did not have McDonalds, or fast food, or pink marshmallow snowballs coated in sweetened coconut (what ARE those things anyway?).  Real food looks what it is, and probably only has one ingredient.  Real food is how it comes out of the ground. Real food hasn't been hydrolized, sterilized, colorized, or any other adulteration.  Real food is not frozen low carb dinners or low fat salad dressing, or basically anything that comes in a package.  

So, whatever your diet plan, if you start adding in some good, wholesome healthy foods.. you are going to kick up your health a notch, and that just might get you buzzed about doing even more. Baby steps!

So, start by doing this. Rather than focusing on what you're NOT going to eat, how about just ADDING one good, wholesome, plant based food to your daily food plan. 

ADD:

A big green salad topped with crunchy vegetables - have one every day!

a piece of fruit as a snack... maybe you wont want that cookie after all.

Some colorful veggie to your dinner plate.  Focus on fresh, rather than canned, and it's especially great to get some dark leafy greens, either raw or cooked, into your diet daily. Kale, swiss chard, turnip greens (really!), bok choy - give 'em a try!  

Little by little, replace an entire meal with good, whole plant based foods.  Rather than your cocoa puffs for breakfast, have some oatmeal, or homemade granola, or some.wholegrain pancakes (recipes coming!)   You may be surprised how good it makes you feel.

On the other hand, maybe you're the type A personality that has to do everything "all or nothing".  I have to admit, that's what I did.  I decided this was what I needed to do, and I just dove right in.   If that's you, then I suggest you do some reading and research, and get some really good recipes.  

Here are three great resources.   They are all fabulous references. 

The Engine 2 Diet 

Thrive

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant Based Nutrition

And, if you want some inspiration on how one ultramarathon runner became a superman by switching to plant based eating, try this:

Eat and Run

The important thing is, START.  Take control of your own health.    Eat real food, mostly plants.

Why Plant Based?

me at about mile 30 of the Hardrock Hundred, 2012 heading down Bridal Veil basin into Telluride

 July, 2012, Sunday morning at 5:47am.....
I crossed the finish line of the Hardrock 100 mile endurance run, arguably the toughest ultramarathon in the US, and certainly ranks up there in difficulty with any race, anywhere. With over 33,000 feet of elevation gain through the rugged San Juan mountain range of SW Colorado, its wild and rugged terrain over high elevation (average is over 11,000 feet), river crossings, snow fields, incredibly steep climbs and descents, exposure, often severe weather, and a 48 hour time limit make it an amazing event.   This was my 10th attempt at this race.   I had been successful only once before, in 2003.. 9 years ago. I was 49.  But, in 2012, I'm now 58 and the odds of my finishing are growing slimmer every year.. age does take it's toll, after all.
But here I am, crossing the finish line, I wasn't fast, in fact,  I was the last finisher, but, I finished!

So, what made the difference between this attempt, and 9 previous tries?

A good friend asked me that question after the race.  I jokingly replied "going vegan!".  Well, maybe it wasn't such a joke.  Could it be possible that diet- simply changing what I ate, could have been a determining factor in a Hardrock finish?

Personally, I believe the answer to that  question is "yes"- but before you  go toss out the ribeyes, and get some kale,  I will say that I'm still learning what it really means to eat "plant based".  I don't have all the answers.  I' m not sure I even know all the questions.  I DO know that eating this way has changed the way I feel, and look, and even reduced or eliminated some health issues that previously prevented me from doing everything I want to do.

This blog will chronicle my experiences and experiments with eating a whole food, plant based diet. I happen to also be wheat free - and let me tell you, eating wheat free is harder than eating meat free!  Almost by necessity, removing wheat from my diet eliminated almost all processed foods.  that's okay, as these are really not healthy choices anyway, and I don't want them on my plate.   I make just about everything from scratch.  We'll talk about that in later posts.  I'm also a full time artist (can't you tell by that fabulous rendition of veggies in my header?), and part time homesteader.  There might be photos of chickens somewhere along the road...(which begs the question: why does a vegan raise chickens? - more about that later!)

Primarily,I'll chat here about training for ultramarathons ( races of distances greater than 26.2 miles) my take on eating a plant based, whole foods diet, some recipe ideas,  how I shop, how to incorporate more whole foods even if you are not a vegan, and who knows what else? Hopefully some interesting and entertaining info...

White Rock Canyon.  Down there out of sight is the Rio Grande  River.
 We did a long 5 hour hike with some friends.  I did say "hike".  
Walking is good  training for ultramarathons, and uses different muscles than running. You WILL be walking at some point in just about any race over 50K - so why not train for that?