Kevin: Day 5093

Day 5093. Pretty solid run this morning. Since Merrick was born at the end of May, my schedule has been thrown for a loop. Prior to May 26th, I was in one of the better fitness grooves of my life. A large part of this groove was predicated on diet. Since we last reminisced, I have adopted a low carb diet. Perhaps you could call it Meditaketo, with pizza allowed most any day and sweets, most often ice cream, allowed on the weekend. I'm not sure how long, but for several months I went pure Keto.

For a long time my weight had hovered somewhere around 210-215lbs. Now, I'm in the 200-205lb range. It seems small, but it's not. Along with the diet change I have incorporated quite a bit of new wrinkles into my lifestyle:

- push ups on most days. I can do 100 in a row now. My record, I think is 117 straight

- I had been doing dumbbell workouts, pull ups, and sit ups.. but this tapered off in May.

- Intermittent fasting typically somewhere from 7-9pm to 12-3pm. 

- No processed foods or drinks

- Try to, often fail, at cutting off technology, cell phone, when in bed and reading instead *the dichotomy between how I feel in the morning after bedtime with cell phone usage vs without is tremendous. 

- No Juice

- Try for all organic and grass fed

- Green tea in the morning, Chamomile tea at night

And certainly some other things I'm forgetting. No milk... not easy. 

All of this has improved my thinking and energy, as expected if you think about it. The challenge is simple and known. Can you identify your habits and routines. Then, can you be consistent in changing the ones that need work. So much of what I do is on autopilot. For example, a few months ago I opened up my freezer. There were Dove Chocolate Ice Cream Bars in there. Without hesitation, I instinctively reached for the bar. If I hadn't put a no dessert rule in place, it would have been over. I wouldn't have thought twice and would have crushed that bar. Instead, I, wait for it... had a conscious moment and pulled back. You have to put black and white barriers in place. Sometimes certain circumstances can and should change these barriers, but not often. Child birth is a pretty valid routine changer, in my mind. Although, there are certainly individuals that don't bend even for child birth. 

This morning it was my turn to feed Merrick sometime around 5:30am. Afterwards, I saw a nice little window/opportunity and grabbed a hold of it. I got some push ups in, laced up, and headed out the door. I ran to New York Avenue and back, about 2.5 miles. I haven't been getting in many 5+ milers recently. Perhaps with Serafina back in school, those opportunities will arise again.

As I hit the turn at New York Avenue I looked up and saw a rainbow. I don't know what the alleged significance of a morning rainbow is if any, but they are certainly rare and a pleasant addition to a beautiful early day run. When I got back home I was able to get some other household odd jobs done and truly felt a sense of normalcy that's been elusive this summer. 

2.5 miles down

4 dogs