Amazing Athletes - Aussie Will Attempt To Run From the North Pole to the South Pole

Now this would be an amazing feat:

Aussie marathon man to run from North to South poles

Apparently, Pat Farmer will be doing this on the North American and South American continent, then air lifted to Antartica, where he will be running the rest of the trip to the South Pole.

13,000 miles, in 11 months? That is about 40 miles per day, with no rest.

And this is in weather that ranges from sub freezing cold, to hot, moist weather, then back to sub freezing cold again.

And in politically unstable regions such as mexico and other parts of Central and South America.

That truly is amazing folks. I wish him luck, and hope to track him as he attempts the impossible.

The Paleo Diet for Athletes? Points in the Right Direction

In today's dietary menu of processed foods, one has to really make an effort to try to eat right. By perusing through the regular supermarket, I can probably count with my fingers the number of good foods that are out there (outside the produce department).

If you eliminate all of the foods that have high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in them, you probably eliminate more than half the foods in the supermarket. Heck, the ingredient is so prevalent that the stuff is in most baby formulas. I really don't think you want to start your baby's life on the wrong foot by introducing them to HFCS right away. High fructose has been shown in all sorts of different studies to promote obesity and is arguably worse than pure sugar, as fructose cannot be metabolized in the body as well as glucose can. So the body converts it to fat.

Of the remaining foods, if you eliminate your so-called "diet" foods like diet soda and sugar free gum, you really have very few foods that remain. The problem with these "diet" foods is that they contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame (Equal) and sucralose (Splenda). Both chemicals have been shown in studies to be extremely harmful to the human body despite the approval of the FDA. Read the links provided and do some Google searches and you'll come up with plenty of articles related to this.

So what is really left? One can argue soy products and grains are good for you, but are they? Grains are not normally edible in nature and is usually a kernal surrounded by a toxic sheath. Before technology, they weren't easily accessible to humans and therefore not normally in the human diet. Even with processing, grains have a slew of problems associated with them. You can read a good article here about these problems. Grains are a lot better than HFCS and artificial sweeteners, but chances are that maybe they should ideally be just a small part of your diet.

So what is left. Raw foods, nuts, berries, eggs, and meat. All of these were plentiful in the days before technology, back when there was no such thing as diabetes, obesity, and other related illnesses brought on by bad food. Such as which is promoted in the Paleo Diet.

And this is what intrigues me about this diet. It just seems the most natural diet out there and something that I'm currently trending towards. I won't follow the diet to the letter, but will gradually maximize on those foods recommended by the diet while I minimize those foods that it opposes. Will I have an occasional can of Coke on any given day? Sure, but if I limit those cans of soda to maybe 2-3 cans a week, that would be all the better.

As for doing this as an athlete, this might help me lose a little weight and even optimize performance in my workouts, if done right.

I'll probably talk more about this in the future when I discover more about it, but right now, this regimen shows a lot of promise.

Rebelling Against The Machine - I Am An Individual

One of the things I have a knack for is pinpointing problems, addressing those problems, and then solving them in the best way possible. That is what makes me a coach, helping athletes find whatever problems they have and help them solve the problems.

Outside of coaching, I work the same way. A lot of people know that there is a general sense of "wrongness" in this country these days, and it adversely affects their health and livelihood in the process. I have pinpointed a lot of these problems to certain sources, but it would take an eternity to explain these sources on a blog such as this. Some issues do fall into health issues and since this blog is intended toward health and fitness in the ultra world, I will address those issues here.

Today's society has become more like a machine these days, with every person a cog that helps the machine run. The machine "helps" in a way to sustain us and keep us alive, but will not help in bettering our lives over time. It is an existence that ultimately destroys an individual's free will and health. The machine doesn't care about your health anyway; if you, the cog, breaks down, well, those who run the machine can replace you with another cog so that the machine can keep on running.

The Borg are a perfect example of a machine-run society. Each Borg was part of a collective and were not allowed to express their true talents on an individual basis.

And therein lies the problem with people in this country. There is an internal war going on within the minds of many individuals. Human beings are not cogs; we are not all the same. Each individual is talented in different areas whether it be scientific, artistic, or mechanical. These talents are being repressed in today's society where the shapers of this society discourage the use of your talents and reduce you to that of a cog. Since each individual is not being allowed to flourish and be human, it is ultimately his/her mental and physical health that is sacrificed. Last year, I read an article that antidepressants are up 75% the past 10 years. I argue that there is really nothing wrong with the individual who takes antidepressants; it's probably the situation the individual is in that is making him/her depressed. Heck, if I was stuck in a cubicle all day for 5 days out of the week, I would probably be popping pills also.

It's a tough situation that a lot of people find themselves in. Of course, the easy way out is to take the medication, do as you're told, and try to conform to society. Yeah, you'll live your life out, even possibly getting to retirement, but you'll never see your true potential, as your individual strengths and talents are suppressed. Remember, there is nothing special about being a cog. So sit there, shut up, and help the machine work. Of course, with the suppression of your talents, and therefore your humanity, lies a lot of health problems. Some are physical, like obesity. Some are mental, like depression. That both are dominant problems in today's society is surely not a coincidence.

The other way is to start exhibiting your true talents and make them work for you. This can be a tougher road to take than the antidepressant route, but the fulfillment of your full potential is worth the extra effort. There will be failure along this path, but the ability to get back up from failure and learn from it is always the trick to succeeding in the end. My blog about living outside your comfort zone relates to taking the tougher path to fulfillment.

As a coach, I certainly help people realize that they have the means to realize that their potential can be unlimited and that they can succeed in doing whatever they want as long as they work toward their goal. The beauty of being an endurance coach is seeing those individuals finish distance races they couldn't possibly hope they can do a year ago.

As an individual, I am always trying to translate what I have done to that I can have the confidence of minimizing my exposure to the machinery of society. The next series of blogs will go through what I have done to minimize my exposure to this machine.

The tougher road is always the road to take to fulfillment. I always encourage my athletes to take this road rather than the easy way out. It has enabled me to do several Ironman triathlons. An even tougher road has enabled me to run 100 miles in a race. And the toughest road, the road that I am currently taking, will hopefully help me find the full realization of my true self, transcending all and exceeding my greatest expectations, which is a lot more than the machine can give.

Why I Might Not Qualify for the Hellgate 100K Race

So I have one 100 mile run under my belt. While it does open the door for many other ultras, like the Massanutten 100 or the entry into the Western States 100 lottery, it still might not qualify for some of the more hard core races out there.

The Hellgate 100k could be one of those races...taken from its website:

The first 100 to 110 entrants that are deemed QUALIFIED will be accepted. QUALIFIED will be determined by the race director ( ME ), David Horton.   

Now David Horton is a legend in the ultra world, running the 2100 mile Appalachian trail in record time, running the TransAmerican Road Race from Los Angeles to New York, among other mega accomplishments that he's done. To view one person doing one 100 mile ultra might not be "qualified" to his eyes.

No matter. If I am not qualified as of yet, that is a testament to what he wants in his races. It also shows me that his races are of the highest quality and that I still do need to prove myself in his eyes before I can enter this race. 

The Vermont 100 Miler was certainly not my last. And I would love to use the Vermont 100 Miler as a kickoff to many other races here in the ultra world. And maybe, just maybe, I can finally be seasoned enough to qualify in David Horton's eyes.