Running Free-ish

I just finished reading Running Free by Richard Askwith. The author references the ages of running repeatedly throughout the book. Essentially these ages are tied to your motivation to run or exercise. Are you in it to stay healthy, shrink your butt, become faster or to enjoy the sheer joy of running and the connection with nature (the one outside the door as well as human nature). As I was reading the book I had to ask myself what motivates me and I have to say it has to be a combination of the above mentioned factors. There are usually a couple of races a year that I really train for in earnest. I like to pick a target race in spring, because it keeps me honest and focused through the rainy and dark month when hibernating seems oh so tempting. These are the times when training principles like specificity (tailor your training to the demands of the event you are training for) or the 10% rule (don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% over the previous week) are somewhere in the back of my head. I might not have a written training schedule, but I do try to follow some cycles of progressively increasing mileage week over week with easier weeks roughly every four weeks. I also want to believe that I have a chance of bettering some of my past race results before focusing entirely on other sources of motivation.

Through much of the summer my focus shifts. Between work, the kids being home from school and holidays I am happy to keep some kind of weekly regimen going. Often times the majority of my workouts will consist of running or biking to and from work. Whenever I do have more than just the odd hour for playing outside I will try and bag some peaks or have some adventures. I love these activities as they motivate me to go out and explore places that I otherwise might not try to get to. These outings offer a welcome change from my regular running routine. The terrain usually requires me to hop, pull, bushwhack, scramble my way to my destination. Split times and pace are pretty useless indicators of performance on those occasions and more often than not I end up with my upper body being sore the next day rather than my legs. The change of scenery and general spirit of adventure of these outing help to keep things fresh and interesting. I am signed up for my third consecutive Frosty Mountain Ultramarathon this September and I intend to keep up that streak. For me it's a great indicator of what kind of fitness my random long run adventure summer routine has left me with.

Another big motivator for me is to meet and share the trails with like-minded people. Especially those long and wet workouts seem to go by a lot faster if you have someone to share them with.

Coming back to the book, the author seems to have the ability to find beauty and joy in each and any of his runs and rambles around his home regardless how grey, cold or wet the conditions. This is one of the things I aim to get better at myself. I'd like to tell you that my regular weekday runs involve gliding along in a meditative state while being totally present and alert to my surroundings. More often than not I start my workout -which I have been looking forward to- just to then be preoccupied with chores, blogging, my next workout or a million other things that pop into my head.

I really want to work on being more in the moment on and off the trail. How so? For starters I will ditch my GPS watch whenever I can (unless I am training of course). I will also incorporate some conscious breathing into my day (you can call it meditation if you like, but for now that's too big of a word for me). Whenever I notice my attention wandering to all the wrong places during a workout I will acknowledge the thought and try to let it go. Now that sounds relatively easy. I don't know if you ever tried though. It sure doesn't come easy to me. The best starting point I can think of is actively focusing on my surroundings rather than the incessant stream of thoughts in my head.

What motivates you and how do you manage to stay present or get in the flow as they say?

Now if you would excuse me, I shall attempt to bag a peak before going to work.
Have fun out there,

Marc

Vegan Secret Supper

With my wife out of town last weekend Daniel was my date for the night and we met at the not so secret location at six o'clock ready for the feast to begin.

This was to be my first secret supper. What is a secret supper you`re asking? It`s an underground restaurant or supper club, which is hosted at somebodies home.

The Vegan Secret Supper used to be a regular occurrence in Vancouver. That was before chef Mérida moved out of the city though. It was also before vegan cuisine and her book were on my radar, so I never made it out to any of the events before.

Daniel and I welcomed ourselves into a nice home already filled with plenty of friendly and hungry people. Although our seats were right next to a huge french patio door it was almost unbearably hot. Thankfully the evening kicked off with a cold watermelon and red pepper gazpacho which was really delicious and refreshing.

I will not go into dissecting the food in detail in this post. I will however say that we enjoyed three more wonderful courses and some good company. My wife and I are proud owners of the Vegan Secret Supper cookbook and we love most of the recipes we have tried so far. Many of them are quite complex though and I can only imagine how long it must have taken to prepare the 4 course dinner for the 25-ish attendees. Especially since everything (including the pasta) was home-made from scratch with seasonal, organic ingredients.

All I have to do now is wait for the email announcement for the next event and hope that my wife and I manage to get two spots for ourselves. And maybe I`ll manage to work on my food photography skills until then too.

Bon Appetit,

Marc

My family went for a trip without me on the weekend and all I did was getting high ...

... to high places that is. Well if you happen to live in Colorado or some other place above the clouds then my high places still seem quite low by comparison, but for a sea level dweller like myself they are the spots that rise above most of the surrounding landscape.

 I summited 9 peaks and worked my way up Helm pass north of Squamish in the light of a full moon in the last 3 days. In my books that's a pretty good weekend of being outdoors.

From Sea to Sky. Peaks as far as the eye can see.

Mountain peaks seen from a distance often seem ginormous, massive and inaccessible, but when you commit yourself to the process of climbing to the top you become aware that they are being conquered like everything else. One step at a time. Now I am not talking about Mt. Everest-esque climbs here. I am no technical climber nor do I aspire to become one. I find it's a good metaphor for life though. I tend to be intimidated by certain projects or events in real life too and if I could just remind myself to break it down to one step at a time, I will be just fine.

Happy Trails,

Marc

10 Reasons to love the Frosty Mountain Ultra

Everybody has their favourite event on the calendar each year and for me that is the  Frosty Mountain Ultra trail race, which has been  held in Manning Park BC since 2008. I will be going back for the 3rd consecutive year this September.

Here are the top ten reasons why I love the Frosty Mountain Ultra (and you can too):

1. Frosty is one of the most scenic courses you'll ever find anywhere with seemingly endless Mountain views. It's wonderful to be in a wild place like this.
2. The location is perfect for either driving in from Vancouver for the day or spending the whole weekend in beautiful Manning Park. The 8 am start time helps with that too.
3. The event has a great grass-root feel about it which I love. It's actually quite amazing how the race director Gottfried and a couple of dozen volunteers are able to pull off a quality event like this.
4. There is absolutely no cell reception in the area, so you will not be able to check your tweets, texts or Facebook as you make your way across the course or reach the finish. Nothing could be more relaxing.
5. My schedule allows me to do a lot of my training during school hours. It's tough for me however to do any kind of structured training in the lead up to the Frosty Mountain race due to the fact that my kids are off school throughout the summer. So there is very little pressure for me to do my best. I just show up and do the best I can with some run commuting, random long runs and peak bagging missions for preparation.
6. Making it to the finish before the veggie burgers run out is a good motivator (legend has it that this has happenend in the past).
7. Any race distance can be humbling, but there is also a realistic chance that you bump into somebody who just completed the Pacific Crest Trail which is a 4270 km trek from Mexico to British Columbia with the northern terminus close to the race start at 20 Minute Lake. Now that really takes self propelled long distance travel to the next level.
8. It's a "Goldilocks" course in terms of technicality. Not too easy, but no crazy ankle eating terrain either. Make no mistake though. There is lots of climbing and descending to be done.
9. It's a great value with the ultra distance costing $ 60 for the early bird registration.
10. There is a challenge for every ability level with a flat and fast 13 km, a one mountain 27 km option and a 50 km two mountain ultra distance.

Don't take my word for it. Check out the Frosty Mountain Ultra homepage and register for this awesome trail race.

See you in September in Manning Park.

Marc

The Workout You'll Love To Hate

I did quite well on my inaugural improvement of the month in May. I learned a lot about creating delicious smoothies in the process  and I have the recipes to prove it.

This month I set out to incorporate more strength and stretching exercises into my routine.
I vowed to strength train at least 2 times a week for a total of at least 90 min per week and stretch at least 3 times a week for a total of at least 60 min per week . I aim to implement this change permanently. So far I have managed to complete 2 strength and 3 stretch sessions per week, I am however not meeting my goal for the total weekly duration of the workouts. It's never easy to implement a new habit and make it stick, but I will keep working at it and maybe make myself a schedule to help me be more consistent.

I have however manged to design a little benchmark workout for myself and I would like to share it with you today. When I used to teach fitness classes a couple of years ago, many of the participants really hated a similar workout that I subjected them to once a month. Others loved to hate it. The reason for that is that it is quite hard, because it falls into the "get it done and get out" category.

So here is my little body weight pyramid workout that I designed:

Aim to complete the entire workout in the least amount of time possible without compromising form and execution of the exercises. Don't worry if you need to rest between exercises or even in the middle of a set at first. Push yourself, but respect where you are at. Remember: You are only competing with yourself. Note or remember which progressions of each exercise you are using and take down your times, so you can gauge your progress over time. As your fitness increases you might come to a point where you are unable to significantly better your time without compromising form and execution of the exercises. If that happens, pick harder progressions of the exercises where available.

• 10 Burpees   harder
• 20 Back Rows    easier: bend your legs   This exercise can be done on most playgrounds, with a sturdy stick between 2 chairs, on a sturdy railing or even using your dinner table
• 30 Push Ups   easier / harder
• 40 Side Bridge (20 on each side) easier / harder
• 50 Single Leg Split Squat (25 on each side)  easier / harder
• 50 Squats harder (forget about the flag - just do squat jumps and try to reach high with both hands)
• 40 Arm Reaches in Plank position (fully extend your arm above your head before returning to plank position - repeat 20 times with each hand) 
• 30 Close Grip Push Ups  easier / harder
• 20 Back Rows with underhand Grip   easier: bend your legs (Palms are facing up / you are pulling the bar towards your abdomen rather than your chest)
• 10 Burpees   harder

I always welcome new ideas for home or outdoor based core and strength workouts or stretching routines. What is your routine? What motivates you?

The Fine Print:

 I strongly recommend that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program.
You should be in good physical condition and be able to participate in the exercises described.
I am not a licensed medical care provider and have no expertise in diagnosing, examining, or treating medical conditions of any kind, or in determining the effect of any specific exercise on a medical condition.
You should understand that when participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this exercise or exercise program, you agree that you do so at your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge me from any and all claims or causes of action, known or unknown, arising out of performing this exercise program.

In July I will aim to be an UltraVeggie activist.
I will take action by signing petitions, inquiring at companies and in stores about vegan friendly products and choices and generally promote a plant-based conscious lifestyle. I will take action a total of 31 times during July or on average once a day.

Ready, Set, Go!

Marc Schmitz

UltraVeggie Smoothie Awards

For my inaugural improvement of the month I decided to challenge myself with manufacturing 20 new to me smoothie recipes throughout the month of May. I am always interested in improving my nutrition and I reckoned being well versed in the preparation of smoothies is a step in the right direction. Am I a master smoothie maker now? Hardly, but I did learn a lot and have a solid idea of what else I want to try in the future to adapt some of the current recipes to my taste preferences.

Among other things my self imposed smoothie ninja apprenticeship taught me that smoothies are meals. I always kind of scoffed at that idea, but many of the recipes I tried had plenty of wholesome ingredients and made me feel satiated for hours.

I was also quite impressed how many ingredients such as greens, ground flaxseeds or avocado,  you can "hide" in any given recipe without it being too dominant in taste.

I did use some recipes from the internet, borrowed books from the library, followed 2 different smoothie formulas and made some recipes up myself. Some recipes were simple, some more complex, but there are many different ways to end up with a tasty healthy smoothie.

High speed blenders seem to be the talk of the town right now. Throughout this project however my $ 50 department store blender impressed me time and time again. Would a $ 600 machine have produced smoother smoothies? Probably, but as I said I was thoroughly pleased with the results of my entry level machine.

I rated the taste and nutritional value of each smoothie I made on a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best possible rating. I furthermore decided to double the taste score, because regardless how good the finished product might be for your overall well-being you want it first and foremost to taste good. Therefore the best possible score is 15 points (5 points for taste times 2 plus 5 points for nutritional value). I realize that both values are very individual since everybody's taste, nutritional needs and the perception of the nutritional value of the ingredients will vary.

For an extra boost of protein I used hemp seeds rather than an isolated protein powder. It's up to you to omit this ingredient or substitute your personal favourite protein instead.

Add captionRoad trip without my blender. I had to outsource the smoothie making.Shamrock smoothie at the Glover Street Market in Twisp.

The Awards

Best Smoothie Formula

I found 2 smoothie formulas for my recipes. The formulas are great starting point if you like to experiment, but you are not ready to work without any kind of guidelines.

The winner for this category is the Green Smoothie 101 from simplegreensmoothies.com. It is the more foolproof of the two formulas I used.

At it`s heart is the combination of 2 cups of greens, 2 cups of liquid and 3 cups of fruit, plus added ingredients to supercharge the smoothie.

The best result I achieved so far with the simple green smoothie formula is this:

Green Smoothie 101 Sample

Taste: 3.75 Nutritional Value: 4.5 Total Score: 12

2cups of greens:

1 cup kale
1 cup spinach

2 cups of liquid:
1 cup water
1 cup coconut water

3 cups of fruit:
1/2 avocado
1 kiwi
1 medium sized apple of your choice (I like gala or ambrosia)
1 banana
3/4 cup blueberries

Boost it with:
3 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tbsp ground flax seeds

Start by blending the liquid and the greens, before adding the remaining ingredients.

No Meat Athlete Smoothie Formula Sample

Taste: 4 Nutritional Value: 3.75 Total Score: 11.75

1 soft fruit:
1 banana

2 handfuls of frozen fruit:
2 handfuls of frozen blueberries

2-4 tbsp of protein powder:
3 tbsp of hemp seeds

2 tbsp of binder:
2 tbsp of almond butter

1.5 tbsp of oil:
1.5 tbsp of coconut oil

1.5 cups of liquid:
1.5 cups of almond milk

1 tbsp of sweetener (optional):
1 tbsp of agave syrup

Superfoods , greens and other ingredients:
2 tbsp of cacao nibs
1 tsp of cinnamon

6 ice cubes (optional)

I suggest you use either formula as a guideline until you become confident enough to create your own recipes.

Best 30 Second blenderless Smoothie

Taste: 3 Nutritional Value: 5 Total Score: 11

1 pouch of baby food (banana, blueberry is my favourite, but pick whatever flavor you like)

1 cup of water

1 scoop of Vega One berry flavor

Mix all ingredients in a glass or a shaker bottle.

Tip:

Add the Vega One after the water or else you will have trouble getting the powder on the bottom of your glass to dissolve.

Best Own Creation

UltraVeggie Delight

Taste: 3.75 Nutritional Value: 4.5 Total Score: 12

1 banana

1 medium sized apple of your choice (I like gala or ambrosia)
1 mango
1/2 cup of blueberries
2 tbsp of flax oil
6 ice cubes
3 tbsp of hemp seeds
3 leaves of black kale
1/2 avocado

Just blend and enjoy.

Best Smoothie for Junior UltraVeggies

Taste: 3.75 Nutritional Value: 3.75 Total Score: 11.25

1 1/2 cup strawberries

1 mango

1 banana

3/4 cup of coconut water

6 ice cubes

1 tsp of maple syrup (optional)

Out of the more than 20 smoothie recipes which I tried throughout the month of May this is pretty much the only one that both my kids liked. If you are feeling adventurous try to sneak some ground flax seeds - or other ingredients that boost the nutritional value - into the drink and see if they will still like it.

Bonus Recipe

Angie's Carrot Creation

Taste: 3.75 Nutritional Value: 3.75 Total Score: 11.25

1/2 cup packed shredded carrots

1 mango (we really like mangoes it seems like, we usually use Ataulfo mangoes)

3/4 cup of coconut water

1/2 cup of orange juice
1 tbsp of lemon juice

Just blend and enjoy.

Links to more great Smoothies

Nice Chocolate Avocado Recovery Smoothie
Taste: 4 Nutritional Value: 3.75 (Maybe higher if you have it post workout) Total Score: 11.75

Oh She Glows Green Warrior Protein Smoothie
Taste: 3.75 Nutritional Value: 5 Total Score: 12.5

Oh my Veggies Pineapple Coconut Vitamin C Smootie
Taste: 3.75 Nutritional Value: 4 Total Score: 11.5

Healthy Blender Recipes Vegan Chocolate Spinach Shake
Taste: 4 Nutritional Value: 3.75 Total Score: 11.75

One Green Planet Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie
Taste: 3.75 Nutritional Value: 4.25 Total Score: 11.75
I used soy milk and a little extra maple syrup.

Here is the look ahead at my upcoming Improvement of the Month projects. I would be thrilled if you felt compelled to join me in my quest for more strength and flexibility staring on June 1st. If you do, let me know about your progress and challenges throughout the month, so we can commiserate ... I mean encourage each other.

June:

I will finally be more consistent about incorporating strength and stretching exercises into my routine.
I vow to strength train at least 2 times a week for a total of at least 90 min per week and stretch at least 3 times a week for a total of at least 60 min per week . Not huge numbers, but I am shooting for consistency here rather than a one time effort. This change shall be implemented permanently. I will share some of the exercises I subject myself to with you on my blog, but I always welcome new ideas for home or outdoor based core and strength workouts or stretching routines.

July:

I will be an UltraVeggie activist this month.
In the month of July I will take action by signing petitions, inquiring at companies and in stores about vegan friendly products and choices and generally promote a plant-based conscious lifestyle. I will take action a total of 31 times during July or on average once a day.

Happy Trails,

Marc Schmitz

UltraVeggie Exchange May 2014 - Recipes

The first UltraVeggie Exchange is in the books. There were 4 of us out for a great 2 hour evening trail run with a recovery smoothie and samples of Andy's coconut butter based endurance fuel waiting for us at the finish line. If you need packable energy for your long runs, this is a great recipe for some homemade fuel. Thanks for sharing, Andy.

Andy's Powerful Coconut Butter Recipe of Ultimate Power

Ingredients

• One 400g bag of unsweetened shredded coconut
• 8-10 pitted dates
• About 3 tbsp coconut oil

Preparation

Turning the shredded coconut into coconut butter is quick and easy. Dump the coconut into your blender (I think you'll need a high powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec although I've heard of some food processors working as well.) and blast it on the highest setting for about one minute. First the coconut turns into a thick, dry looking substance but then soon transforms into a nice smooth liquid. You might want to add the coconut oil as it blends to help it along into the liquid stage. Once you've got coconut butter attained, drop in the dates. The amount of date blending is personal preference. Sometimes I like the dates to be a bit chunky and sometimes I like them to be part of the liquid.

In cool weather, coconut butter will solidify so I like to pour it into an ice cube tray. Once it sets I have single serve Coconut Cubes of Power to take with me on my run. Or sometimes I pour it onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Once it sets you can bust it up and have bite sized Coconut Power Wafers. When the weather is hot, the cubes and/or wafers tend to melt in my pocket so I mash a couple up and jam them in a gel flask with a wide mouth (I've had success with a 3oz. GoToob from MEC)... Voila! Coconut Power Gel!

Here's an article on the benefits of coconut butter for endurance athletes and where I got the idea to try fueling with coconut butter... http://ultrapedestrian.blogspot.ca/2014/01/coconut-butter-my-secret-weapon-for.html

Andy's samples looked like white chocolate when we enjoyed them after our run and they were delicious too. The picture below displays the result I attained in my not so high powered blender and food processor. The squares still taste good they just lack a certain smoothness. Maybe I should have started with the melted coconut oil and gradually added the shredded coconut. I will keep experimenting with it. 

UltraVeggie Exchange Recovery Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp chia seeds (soak in 1/3 cup of water for about 15 min)
• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
• 1 handful of spinach
• 2 Tbsp shredded unsulphured coconut
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1 cm grated ginger
• 1 Tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

• Soak the chia seeds in a bowl for about 15 min
• Cut fruit, grate ginger and grind flax seeds if necessary
• Blend all ingredients until smooth