Day 21

Well folks, we are in the home stretch here.  Today is Sunday and that means I attended the "Sunday Morning Church of the Long Run".  I think I finally figured out this Paleo fueling thing.  I woke up a few hours before the start of the run and made up a batch of the sweet potato and apple hash.  This is a fairly carb dense meal for a Paleo dish and it seemed to be the perfect anti-bonking fuel.  I also added two chicken & apple sausage links to round out the meal.  The run for today was petty intense.  The only thing more demanding than running up Mt. Washington during a long run is running up Mt. Washington twice.  I made it through 16.5 miles and although tired at the end I didn't feel miserable.

Needless to say, when I got home I was starving.  Now was the time to try out that mango salsa I purchased last week as a chicken marinade.  The lovely wife was kind enough to start making this while I was driving home from the run.  By the time I got home and showered, the chicken was ready.  I really enjoyed this dish; the mango provided a little bit of sweetness while the peppers in the salsa gave it a nice kick.  The lovely wife tried a bite and decided to pass.  She has never been a fan of combining sweet flavors with protein.  Ah well, more for me. 

Mango Goodness

After scarfing down the chicken, I was still pretty hungry. Since I was feeling a bit veggie deprived, we made up some awesome brussel sprouts and bacon.  We followed this recipe except we added the sprouts directly to the pan with the bacon fat in it and put the whole thing in the oven.  The lovely wife complained that she didn't like brussel sprouts, but I convinced her to give them a try.  I piled my plate full and she opted to take only one...and then another...and another.  "They taste like the inside of an eggroll", she beamed.  And that is how 1/3 of the brussel sprouts disappeared.

"It tastes like the inside of an eggroll"

For dinner we used another of Nicole's recipes - this time for Paleo Chili (the girl knows her soups/stews).  I never really considered eating chili without beans before the challenge.  I won't say that I didn't miss them, but the bacon really makes up for their absesnce.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeehaw!

Workout:
16.5 mile long run with insane hills

Food Jorunal:
Breakfast: Sweet Potato & Apple Hash
                   Chicken & Apple Sausage
Post Workout: Orange
Lunch: Mango Salsa Chicken
             Brussel Sprouts w/ Bacon
             Orange
PM Snack: Raspberries & Blueberries
                   Macadamia Nuts
Dinner: Paleo Chili
              Blueberries

Sleep:
8 hours

Day 20

I started this morning refreshed after a good night sleep and proceeded with a very light breakfast and a very hard workout.  We had made arrangements to meet the grandparents in Slippery Rock so that they could get their granddaughter fix.  Dining out is always a bit problematic because 95% of most menu items are not Paleo and having some deep fried pub pretzels or cheese fries right in front of you is a bit much to resist.  My strategy for dealing with this temptation was to eat a small lunch before going to the restaurant so I wouldn't be too hungry.  So after my workouts I created the GLBT salad.  That's Guacamole, Lettuce, Bacon, and Tomato.  It used up a lot of leftovers from last night's taco salad and put a serious dent in my appetite.

Always be careful when tossing the GLBT salad

Lunch was at the North Country Brewing Company.  It was a pretty cool place -  possibly the best that Slippery Rock has to offer.  I was able to find a nice Paleo option in the rosemary chicken breasts.  I ditched the coleslaw and fries for sides and got sliced apples instead.

Since I ended up with two lunches in one day, dinner was just a few eggs mixed with salsa and scrambled.  I also downed some more pineapple and called it a night.

Workout:
I ended up more or less doing a running/Crossfit brick workout.  I met a bud at the gym an hour before the WOD and did a 5.5 mile run.  (He is signed up for the marathon relay and wanted to get his legs ready).  The WOD itself was a hero workout - dedicated to the memory of a fallen hero - which almost always means a tough one:

“Blake”

-Buy In-
Row 500M
“Blake”
Four rounds of:

• 100 foot Walking lunge with 45lb plate held overhead
• 30 Box jump, 24 inch box
• 20 Wallball shots, 20 pound ball
• 10 Handstand push-ups

I finished the WOD in 25:28. Not too bad considering the run before hand. The walking lunges were a huge pain. I did everything Rx’d except the HSPU’s because I knew I would be able to get full ROM if I were doing 40 of them – doing them on the box is still no joke. On an addition high note, I think I finally figured out the mechanics of the kipping pull-up during the warm up today. I was able to do 10 of the easiest pull-ups I’ve ever done in my life.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Pear
                  Carrot Sticks w/ Almond Butter
Post Workout: Whey Protein Shake
                          Pineapple
Lunch #1: GLBT Salad
Lunch #2: Chicken breasts w/ Garlic, Rosemary and Olive Oil
                  Apple Slices
PM Snack: Cashews
                   Macadamia Nuts
Dinner: Eggs and Salsa
              Pineapple

Sleep
8 hours

Day 19

Today was another busy day at work.  I'm glad that the weekend is here but it is definitely going to be a working weekend.  I'm thankful for the lovely wife as she put together an incredible dinner for me tonight, unassisted.  I owe her a nice evening out after this upcoming software release. 

We tried a new recipe for breakfast this morning: sweet potato and apple hash.  This is a nice meat free breakfast that didn't involve sausage in any way.  It is pretty simple to make:  just cut up a sweet potato and an apple into small cubes;  put a little grass fed butter or coconut oil in a pan; and let it cook until the sweet potato is nice and soft.  Then sprinkle some cinnamon and nutmeg on the top.   I found that it works best to cook the sweet potato a bit before adding the apple.  That way the apple isn't mush by the time the potato is cooked.  If it starts to stick, just add a little water to keep it from burning.  I found that one large sweet potato and an apple were enough for two servings.

Although hash, this dish contains no cannabis - if it did, it might still be Paleo.

Today was another day in the field at work.  These are usually long days of extensive testing but it is nice to get outside.  It is one of the perks of the job.  The only problem with it is that the sponsor often buys lunch for those in the field.  The selection this fine Friday was from Primanti Brothers.  Although a Pittsburgh staple, their menu is far from Paleo.  Luckily I brought myself a nice serving of last night's chicken soup and some left over sweet potato and apple hash so temptation was averted.

By the time 6 PM came around, I was starving.  Lucky for me I have the lovely wife who after a hard day of work herself, kindly began making dinner for tonight: Paleo Taco Salad.  The Paleo version of this recipe is about what you'd expect: bed of lettuce, seasoned ground beef,  huge dollop of homemade guacamole, and homemade salsa.  This might be my favorite dish so far in the challenge.  It was also nice because the lovely wife was able to enjoy traditional tacos while I was able to feast on my salad.

El guapo taco salad

Workout:I ran out of time and energy today - I'm planning a double workout tomorrow to make up for it.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Sweet Potato and Apple Hash
AM Snack: Big Bag of Almonds and Walnuts
Lunch: Chicken Soup
             Sweet Potato and Apple Hash
PM Snack: Carrot Sticks
Dinner: Taco Salad
              Banana, Walnuts and Almond Butter

Sleep
8 hours

Day 18

The two idioms of this morning were:
Always look before you leap
-and-
Necessity is the mother of invention

I woke up a bit groggy and was trying to cook something new for breakfast.  It was a recipe for salmon scramble from Robb Wolf's book.  The instructions were to heat some frozen veggies in a sauce pan with the lid on, add canned salmon and spices serve with some eggs and voila.  Things started out just fine.  I had the veggies going on the stove and I cracked open a can of wild caught Alaskan salmon.  I dumped the can of salmon into the pan when I realized there were a fair amount of skin and bones below the pristine surface.  I know, I know, they are edible but ewwww.  No thanks.  As I valiantly tried to scoop out all of the salmon to remove the gross parts, I failed to turn off the burner.  By the time I returned to the pan, my veggies were nicely charred and stuck to the bottom of it.  At this point, I may have slammed shut one of the kitchen cupboards in frustration...not my finest moment.  However with a deboned can of partially warm salmon and eggs at the ready I proceeded with reckless abandon.  I scrambled the eggs and then I added the salmon, some dill, dried shallots, and pepper. The result was quite delicious and filling.

Dinner tonight was also some new Paleo fair.  Tonight we did successfully make the chicken soup.   I thought it was most excellent.  The lovely wife had a hard time getting over the fact that the noodles were replaced by cabbage.  If Nicole were present, she would have told the lovely wife to suck it up :).

Don't feel bad for the lovely wife because I'm picking on her.  She is taunting me with French toast and syrup and butter right now.  The house smells like a freaking bake shop. :-/

Workout:
I did another Crossfit WOD today.  This one was interesting and unlike most other WODs.

-Buy In-
40 Back Extension
-WOD-
12 Rounds For Time Of:
1 Rep Deadlift (75% of your 1 Rep Max)
50M Farmers Walk As Heavy As Possible
-Cash Out-
30 Dumbbell Thrusters

I completed the 12 rounds in 23:12.  I used 225lbs on the dead lifts (I probably should  have gone heavier, but it has been a long time since I've tested my max) and 70lb dumbbells in each hand for the farmers walk.  The tricky part with this one was the farmers walk.  By the end of about the 5th round my grip started to wear out.  It ended up being a great test of endurance to carry the weight in the later rounds.  I'll be ready to crush coconuts with my bare hands soon.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Salmon Scramble
AM Snack: 2 Hardboiled Eggs
Lunch: Leftover Pot Roast and Veggies
            1 Orange
Dinner: Chicken Soup for the Paleo Soul
              Applesauce & Walnuts

Sleep:
8 hours

Day 17

Sometimes the best-laid meal plans oft go awry.  The plan for tonight was to dine on a delicious and hearty chicken soup - recipe courtesy of my gym friend Nicole.  Unfortuantely, neither I nor the lovely wife made it home before 8:30 in the evening (Fear not. We did not forget to pick up Annabelle from daycare.  She was with the lovely wife).  By that time, neither of us were terribly hungary - I had numerous Paleo snacks at my office - and the though of eating soup at 10PM when we both had been up since 5AM didn't sound that appealing.  So the soup is on hold until tomorrow night.

Other than that, there today was pretty uneventful on the Paleo front.  I woke up, I worked out, I ate Paleo, I went to work, I worked, I ate more Paleo, I worked more, I worked even more and I ate Paleo.  The good news is that the work schedule should be calming down in the coming week.  There are still dozens of recipes I want to try out before the challenge is over :)

Workout:
-Buy In-
Hang Squat Snatch Skill Work
-WOD-
21-15-9
Hang Squat Snatch
Calorie Row
Chest To Bar Pull Ups
-Cash Out-
3 x 30 Sec L Hold

I completed the workout in 11:45 Rx’d (used 65lbs on the squat snatches).  My pull-ups are slowly getting back to where they were at the end of the summer.

Food Jorunal:
Post Workout: 1 Whey Protein shake mixed with water
Breakfast: 2 eggs (scrambled)
                3/4 Chicken & Apple Sausage Link - yup that was the very last of 'em :'(
                1 orange
AM Snack: Walnuts, Almonds and Pecans
Lunch: Leftover Paleo Pancakes
PM Snack: Leftover Pot Roast and veggies
Dinner: 1 Hard boiled egg
            1 Orange

Sleep:
8 hours - just barely

Day 16

I'm still fighting this cold quite a bit.  The worst is the feeling when you wake up in the morning and it feels like there is a Chinese throwing star lodged in the back of your throat.  A hot shower and two cups of tea with lemon eased the sensation enough to allow me to function for the day. 

For lunch I revived one of the dishes from week one: cabbage, tuna and sesame oil.  It is pretty simple but very satisfying.  I combined half of a small head of cabbage, a can of wild caught (high omega 3) tuna fish and a generous drizzle of sesame oil in a lunch bowl and tossed everything around to coat.  I ate about half of the bowl at lunch time and finished the rest for an afternoon snack. 

Dinner tonight was courtesy of the Pioneer Woman.  If you aren't familiar with her blog, I recommend you check it out.  Most of her recipes are very un-Paleo (cinnamon rolls...mmmmmm cinnamon rolls) but the lovely wife spotted this one and it fit the bill perfectly.  We made two changes to the recipe:

1. Instead of serving it with a side of mashed potatoes, we added cauliflower right to the mix.
2. We seared everything as called for, but then used a slow cooker to cook the roast while we were at work.

The result was beautiful to both the eye and the palate.

I decided to do a light workout this evening and I ran an easy 5 miles just to get the blood flowing.  Tomorrow I'll rise with the sun and hit the gym for my first Crossfit workout this week.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Ham steak
                  2 eggs over medium
                  Blueberries
AM Snack: Orange
Lunch: Cabbage w/ Tuna Fish and Sesame Oil
Dinner: Beef roast with Carrots, Onions and Cauliflower
              Orange

Sleep:
8 hours

Word to the Wise:
Whenever you are eating blueberries and you picked through all of the delicious ones with nice firm skin, stop there.  Do not decide to chance it with one of the old wrinkly ones.  It will leave you with a mushy sad taste in your mouth.  You may even need to wipe your tongue off with a paper towel.  Just saying...

Day 15

So the bad thing about long runs is that they totally wreck your immune system for several hours after your footfalls come to a stop.  This is especially bad when there is a twenty pound lovable germ bag just waiting to cuddle you at home.  Needless to say, I have a doozy of a cold.  Sore throat, sinus congestion, you know what I'm talking about.

The good news is that I've made it through half of the challenge and I haven't slipped up yet.  I'm not even craving any sweets right now, except for a nice tall glass of O.J. to try to shake these sniffles.  I decided to take an ad-hoc rest day today to give myself a better chance to fight this off.  I'd love to show you fabulous pictures of new and exciting meals, but today was a day for cleaning out the leftovers in the fridge.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 2 Chicken & Apple Sausage links
                2 Eggs scrambled
AM Snack: Almonds
                  1 Orange
Lunch: Leftover Pork Roast & Veggies
           Leftover Smothered Green Beans
           Leftover Indian Style Broccoli Slaw
Dinner: Leftover Jambalaya
            Blueberries

Sleep:
8 hours