Staying Focused Is Hard

Howdy all!
        As I had guessed my return to work full time has cut into my motivation to turn out consistant posts. I'm trying to stay focused in our training but it has proved difficult with my work schedule. I have always been a '9-5' worker but since moving to France work has been spotty with not so much consistancy. It has proved very difficult for me to do my runs after work after the children have drained all my energy and sucked away my life force. I know that I'm not alone in these difficulties, not by a long shot.
          Last Sunday my wife and I were able to put together a 18km run linking together some unexplored trails (unexlpored by us) on a long loop from our doorstep. We approached it with a simple goal of just bringing water and no foods. I want to see how our bodies react after 10km of no added energy and how it feels to push ourselves. We both did fairly well with a good trotting pace and I believe that we'd both agree that tiredness really didn't kick in until around the 13km mark where legs started to get tired. I even got a little hungry. This is a good sign for me considering that I normally would start tightening up around 8-9km into my runs but usually I wouldn't be drinking water. I fully understand now that water is important for all distances of running but even more so for heavy sweaters such as myself.

           After the weekend we were supposed to run Tuesday evening but I had a bout of laziness and couldn't bring myself to go out. I'm really disapointed in myself that I couldn't just get up and go. I know that we, as runners, shouldn't beat ourselves up over these lapses in training but that when we do get back out there we need to hit it hard! Not only this should be kept in mind in training but also that training for a race is important but why are you doing the race? Is it for a challenge? Are just competitive? Or is it just for fun? Whether it is one or all of these reasons, I believe that the 'fun' reason is the most important facter to remember. If you're not having fun then be careful to burn yourself out. Keeping this in mind, tonight I will attack my interval training fun and competitiveness towards myself.

Back to Work and Staying Motivated

Howdy Monkeys!
It has been about 10 days since I've posted anything. I have made some changes to the layout and template but I think we're going to roll like this for September at least. I hope everyone has been doing what they do best the best they can. I had the good fortune of going to the Azores from the 26th-31st of August and then I had the misfortune of having to start work the following day. I can assure that spending all day in the airport and getting home at about one in the morning made me all the the less motivated to go back to work to welcome all my little monsters; yes, monsters. As I mentioned somewhere earlier, I work at a primary school with little dudes and dudettes with ages ranging between 2 in half years old to 4 years old and it is all but relaxing.

Coming back to work is going to be however, rewarding beacause as much as they tire me, I do care about the children. It will also allow me to bring some money back into our beloved household. With the mini-vacation and return to paradise, my training suffered for these last two weeks where almost no running was accomplished. There was a run planned for the Azores but beers and surf admiring prevailed. Hard, I know.

Upon returning, I was supposed to run after my first day back but the first day of work rendered me completely useless and I opted for rest. Thursday was more or less the same story. I finally mustered up the courage to get out a do a gentle run Saturday evening after my "welcome back to work headache" had subsided and it felt incredible. I even saw a little beaver swimming in the creek! I hope everyone has had a rockin' summer and lets all try to stay motivated for the coming Autumn months to keep our legs moving! It is good to be back!

Ciao for Now,

Cameron

The Powers of Arnica Gel and Oil

Hey Monkeys! Just wanted to do a quick post about my wife and I's love for arnica.

Pictured are three different varieties of arnica products. I do not know for the life of me why we have so many but I am glad we do. Arnica is like a wild plant or something found in the...well, the wild. It heals like an old witch doctor with super powers and it smells delicious! Just rub these delicacies on your achy skin and muscles and feel the love. The Weleda in the orange is by far my favorite. I cannot remember if it is available stateside or not but it is abundant here in France. I bought the Sports Akileine in an attempt to change but was sadly dissapointed in that it does absolutely nothing for me. Recently my wife picked up the Arnican gel and it actually is much more concentrated and you can actually feel the effects pretty quickly. In the simplest way possible arnica, for me, soothes my sore muscles and joints. It is a natural plant deal-y-o and does not contain rotten chemicals which is good in my book. Let me just say that after our run tonight I'm pleased to be able to rub arnica on my person to better satisfy my trail kicked ass. Oh! And it is great on Luna feet!

Ciao for now!

Cameron

Strava Segment

Luna Mono Val de Chevreuse

Hey Monkeys! Here's a little video from our run yesterday in the Vallée de la Chevreuse.  We did just over 17km and indeed in my Luna Mono traditional laced sandals. It was hot and sticky out there. The purpose of this run, besides the run itself, was to judge how much water I really needed for a run longer than 10km. I brought about 1.5L and finished it all, however, I didn't expect it to be as hot as it was. I seemed to be fine, although I believe I could've used some salt or electrolytes because I got really heavy in the legs at about 12km and I started to feel like I was getting heat stroke towards the end. You can check out the STRAVA SEGMENT here. Anyways, the run was beautiful and would love to try it again perhaps in reverse order. Take care everyone and get out there and run!



Ciao for now,

Cameron

My Current Diet (or lack-there-of) and Yoga

Tarte de Tomates, dijon mustard, tomatoes (obviously), zucchini, cantal cheese

Before a run, I guess this is how I feel; an uncooked tomato tart. I feel a bit cool, a bit heavy and a bit stiff. Then after my run, I feel much better. My cheese has melted, my zucchinis have softened up and my tomatoes are juicy. 

Finished product

You are probably asking, "What in the hell kind of analogy was that!?" Well, honestly, it was just a silly one. But you get it, right? After my runs I feel relaxed and groovy. Just as anyone should feel after a nice effort. Running also allows me to summon glasses of wine! 

Older photo, but this is how you should feel after a run

Howdy everyone, and how's it going!? I wanted to share a wee bit of what I eat normally and how I spend my days off from running. I have absolutely no training in nutrition so I will only share the knowledge that I have with my own experiences and what I have learned. Right now I am on kind of a forced vacation (sad right?), so my days off are plenty and tranquil! I head back to work the 1st of September as I am an English teacher at what I call a "tiny-tots" school. I take care of little ones with ages ranging from 2.5yrs-5yrs all day while doing activities and sing-song kind of things all in English until the afternoon, where I have some older kids doing more "mature" English excercises. My days are soon to be full and busy and no longer "tranquil", but with that 50km race in the distance and everyones motivation I intend to stay on track with training and having a good time. So, as of now here is what my morning to evening diet looks like and what has worked so far.

Breakie

• My favorite meal time. Lets face it. I love to eat so, when I wake up, the first thing I think about is food and coffee x2.

My coffee set up: old manuel Peugeot coffee grinder, inspirational mug, air tight coffee
container and coffee press. Coffee is normally something from Costa Rica or El Salvador.
My wife and I really enjoy bright medium coffee roasts that really bring the sunshine inside.

Not my photo but, this is what a normal breakfast looks like for me. A couple
pieces of "tartine" French for what we would call toast
but with a baguette with butter and jam.

Or it looks like this. Quaker's Cruesli is the bomb!
Plenty of fiber and carbs and iron and CHOCOLATE!
Two little bowls of this and I am set!

Lunchtime

• My least favorite meal to prepare but like all the others, I still love to eat it. For lunch I try to keep it light but with some good calories. 

Salad "guts": Green salad, yellow onion, cucumber, lentils and beaufort cheese

Finished Product: Yummy with a little shout-out to Opinel knives in France.
My wife and I have reduced our entire kitchen cutlery to two Opinel knives to see
how much, really, do we need?

I try to have at least one salad a day just to make sure to get my greens but I am not a salad lover. I enjoy eating them once they are put together but preparing them doesn't really excite me. I would much rather scarf a good quality burger or have something a little heavier. My wife and I are not vegetarians per se, however we try to really limit the amount of meat we intake. If we are eating meat it is usually fish. Some favorites for lunch:

• tartine de tomate (toasted baguette with tomatoes, cheese, olive oil and balsamic vinigrette)
• pasta (any kind) some veggies, cheese and sauce of some sort (served cold)
• omelettes (Normally I just have to use my imagination with what is lying around)

Afternoon

• Gouté: Afternoon snack or teatime. I never really drink tea unless it is bedtime. Coffee is my go-to. This is my second favorite time of day to eat. Usually a salty-sweet snack with a coffee or a beer or glass of whatever is around and good.

Dinnertime

Well, my first pictures of my bizarre analogy, are a good example of what we normally make for dinner when we have an abundance of veggies. My wifes parents have an enormous garden. When we visit them we are pretty much garanteed a giant sack of vegatables to take home with us. Tarts are great for making use of random accumulated veggie goodies. Other dinners loved:

• Pizza (Of course)
• Spaghetti
• Orientale rice dishes
• Quinoa with sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, citrus juice and chili powder

There are so many good things out there to eat! Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or a carnivorous caveman, I believe you can have a happy and healthy diet. 

When training and running like a mental person eating loosely is normally OK as long as the quality of food is good. Use your best judgement. Do you think that your Big Mac and fries are actually healthy? No, probably not. But get the ingredients yourself to fix up a kick-ass burger chez vous and make a memory! 

I have a weakness/sickness/love-obsession with ice cream and honestly this is the reason we have an itsy bitsy little freezer.

It is hard to fit much ice cream in there without losing all the space. Before we didn't have one at all and I ate no ice cream for almost a whole year! Unless my in-laws spoiled me when we came for a visit (YES!). To the left you may notice my newest friend. Magnum's Mint ice cream bars. My dear, they are absolutely lovely. It is so, damn, good! Like ice cream, beer is another thing that I love. However, I do not consider myself an alcoholic, nor an ice creamaholic, when the two are on-hand, I go through them rather quickly. The best defense for these sicknesses is to just not buy them. But to all of you running dudes and dudettes out there, just indulge yourself and enjoy the gift your taste buds have blessed you with. If you find that consuming these products is limiting your ability to lose those pesky pounds, just add one or two more up-hills in the workout and I promise you'll...well, at least even out. I was 95kg in California during 2014 and since moving to France I have dropped down to 81kg. That is roughly 210lbs to 178lbs. I'm happy at 81kg and as long as the running continues so does the beer and ice cream. 

I hope that you found this information helpful and if not, at the very least, somewhat ammusing. In between running days I take time to stretch and do my Yoga workout that is like a muscle workout and stretch-fest all-in-one.

Yoga 

While still living in California, I was practicing vinyasa yoga about 4-5 times a week. It was "hot'' yoga that for me, was really, too hot. I was pretty much a water truck filling a lake on top of Mt. Cameron's Yoga Mat. I could practically go swimming in my own sweat afterwards. A bit too extreme for me but the workouts were totally killer! I have started practicing again recently and found that the benefits of yoga are so super cool. It is a great muscle toner and strength builder for basically the whole body. The stretching is what I've come to love. I wasn't running much when I practiced yoga before so I just felt stretched all the time. Now, it is definitely noticeable that after a run, I tighten up. I don't like to stretch immediately after a run or even really the same day. 

I read somewhere, someday, (did you apprecitate my sweet citing details?) that stretching too much after an effort could actually damage muscle tissue. There are little micro-tears in the tissue of the involved muscles and if you stretch before they heal you could further damage them or cause them to take longer to heal. Anyway, it made sense to me and normally now, I wait until the next day or about 6 hours after the workout to do my stretching or yoga. 

The leg and balancing exercises in a "flow" are super awesome for stretching out the hamstrings and hips all while strengthening the abdomen. I definitely can't see any negative affects from yoga, particulary the Vinyasa style. I again, would like to reiterate that this is just based off of my own experience and not from any prior training I have. I'm not a health specialist or workout specialist but I do enjoy finding information and digesting different ideas and methods to suite my own. This is simply what has worked for me so far and what I continue to enjoy. 

Make sure that if you ever did want to jump into yoga that you should approach it slowly and at your own pace. This is not a type of excercise to rush. Your body will adapt at it's own pace. I am, by no means a flexible man but I have improved my range of motion imensely since practicing yoga. This is something that I can only see as beneficial to running especially when getting out there on those longer runs. Not only am I strengthening my body but also my mind. 

Like meditation and running, yoga is a mental activity as much as it is physical. Well actually, meditation isn't very physical (hehe). The breathing process in yoga is, to me, the most important part in staying connected to the exercise as much as it is to running. Rhythm in your breath is key to staying on pace in cadence, staying focused and staying mentally strong. It is THE key in yoga. Master your breath and feel the benefits of your practice imediately. This is what I have discovered anyway. 

Thanks for reading and staying tuned! Please to forget to follow the blog by email and check out my Youtube page as well. Thanks Guys and Gals!

Ciao for Now,

Cameron

Luna Sandals Tying Method

Tuesday Night Forest Facile

Good evening to all of you beautiful Monkeys out there!

Tuesday night is my wife and I's "jogging facile" (easy run). Tonight we explored an itsy bitsy forest nearby that we haven't seen much of. We started near the golf course which has a nice cutesy little trail that goes along the road and then dips it's way into the forest and we were off and exploring. How pretty is this "Forêt de la Tête Ronde"? So pretty! Beautiful single track that snakes up and down in the woods and is completely covered and protected from the nearby civilisation. We decided to do the outer loop of the forest which has a gnarly little climb heading back towards the start. Love having found a climb! We took the liberty in enjoying the loop twice before trying a different trail heading back toward the car. This will be a great loop to add a bit of an extension each week or every so often to increase distance and check on how we're improving. Good Tuesday night!

I hope that everyones week is getting off to a killer start and that spirits are high!

Ciao for now,

Cameron

STRAVA

Sunday Discovery and Fluffy Socks

Hey Gang, happy Sunday! My wife and I discovered a new trail today...Well, all they trails we find up here near Paris will be new to us because we are still pretty new here. Anyways, we found an awesome little trail that snakes around some ponds out in the forest of Rambouillet just south of Versailles and I do say that they were lovely. Yes, we are definitely missing out on some hills to climb but we hope we find them soon. The trail started in a quaint little neighborhood and made it's way down into the woods where we passed some hikers and Sunday Picnickers not to mention that they all noticed my sandals. The trail was very well groomed and very enjoyable and we even stumbled upon a pheasant! For the return leg of our loop, we took a direct route in between two crop fields which was called L'Ancienne Route de Chasse which means "Old Hunting Route". This was about 5km in a pot hole infested hay-run; but hey, we didn't have any hills so we made the flat more difficult. We returned to our car in good spirits with 11km finished in just over an hour. We are not the fastest two out there but we are psyched because only a couple of months ago, doing 10km in an hour was soooo hard. Now, it is consistantly attainable. Let's move on to my socks! I have two pairs of Injinji's "toe socks" and for running in sandals they are great when you need them! I have the standard sports socks in the mini-crew's and the outdoor Nuwool mid-weight mini-crew's (shown below). I love both of them and I encourage you to try them for the following reasons.

Fluffy Nuwool Toe Socks by Injinji

1. Cold- When it is cold, the feet will get cold. Put some socks on.
2. You don't like stuff on the trail touching your feet but you love running in sandals (not a problem for me but I am sure it exists for someone out there)
3. Prevent cut and scrapes on gnarly trail run
4. Great for traction in heavy-gooey mud. When squishy, gooey, slimy mud gets between your foot and the sandal the foot seems to want to do nothing but abandon ship and cause you tons of headache.

Number 1 and 4 are my two main reasons for wearing the socks. Number 4 I discovered this last winter after I had a terrible outing in the mud wear I kept slipping and sliding. This can be extremely frustrating because the only way it really is remedied is by dunking your feet into some clean, non-muddy water or by waiting for them to dry. On flat surfaces this is normally not a huge issue however trail running usually involves some sort of pitch in the trail where you are leaning left or right or worse, climbing or descending. Having your laces slammed in between your toes on a descent feels like your foot is a giant piece of cheese getting hacked at by once of those metal wire cheese cutters. Worse is on a steep climb and you slip out of the back of your sandal and you feel like you are running up a soapy mountain side. So, after all of my "blah, blah, blah", the socks are great in the mud and act like souped-up MGT (Monkey Grip Technology) beds for super duper traction. I tried the Nuwool socks today because the weather has been kind of hit and miss the last couple of days. These socks will be my go-to Cadillac socks for the winter. I can't help to have noticed that Injinji released a pair of USA flag socks just recently and I feel they would be an excellent addition to my repetoir especially living abroad. 

Trail was very enjoyable with pretty little canal bridges

Yes, 4km of this in one, very straight line

STRAVA

Is it OK to love fluffy socks as much as I do even though I love to be barefoot as well? Your thoughts below, please. 

Thanks for listening to my rant and reconting of my day and I hope everyone subscribes to the blog and follows along. I have fun writing these and I hope you enjoy reading them! If you do decide to follow by email you will receive a confirmation email from "feeder". Don't be alarmed! It's just me ;)

Cheers folks and à bientôt!

American Monkey In Versailles

You've heard of American Werewolf in London or American Werewolf in Paris but have you ever seen an American Monkey in Versailles!!!?

Today was supposed to be and easy run day, so I thought why not go to Le Palais and do an all flat run. The weather today was quite odd while it was only 11ºC and windy; not quite August weather. So Eglantine and I put on our favorite windbreakers and me, my sandals and we hit the road. Tomorrow we hope for something a little more hilly.

Strava

Version Française:

Aujourd'hui était une journée facile donc, j'ai decidé d'aller au Palais de Versailles et faire une course à pied tout plat. Les temps fasait si bizaire ainsi que il fasait que 11ºC et beaucoup du vent; pas tellement les temps d'aout. Donc, Eglantine et moi avons mis nos coups du vents et moi mes sandales et etions parti. Demain, nous esperons pour une course plus vallonée.

Running Le Bastille in Lunas

Lunas in Grenoble Learn to Run Uphill

Hello everyone et Bonjour à tous! This weekend my wife and I traveled to Grenoble, France to visit with some friends and we were lucky enough to sneak in a couple of runs. On Saturday we run up le Bastille in Grenoble which is simply a trail that snakes up the mountain to le Bastille which sits on top. Grenoble is at about 250m of elevation with le Bastille sitting at about 500m. We ran up that route but then continued a bit further to Le Monument de Troupes de la Montagne which is probably another 100m up from le Bastille. It was a beautiful day to run up this nice route.
Youtube Video 
Strava Info 

Arrived at le Bastille
Arrivé à le Bastille

Above le Bastille at le Monument de Troupes de la Montagne

Don't Forget the Rock n' Roll!

On Sunday we did another climbing run but with far worse weather. We started in Corenc or "Le col de Vence" which is up the mountain north of Grenoble at 782m of elevation. We had a storm covering with plenty of rain to share. Lots of fog and rain would make this climb to Le fort de Saint-Eynard at 1338 meters an enjoyable soggy adventure. This was my first time doing this trail and it was beautiful! According to the map we climbed over 600m but according to Strava only 542m but, hey, I will take either; it was hard!
Strava Info

                                                   

                                                             Grenoble is Down There Somewhere

 

 The wife and I took advantage of the sunshine and caught some rays!

What a View!

NOTES ABOUT MY SANDALS: To be completely honest, this was my first run in some really hot weather with my new tying method for my sandals. I enjoy taking the time to tie them in the traditional fashion, however, sometimes I just want to put them on and GO! On both of these runs I had one annoying issue with the laces. With the method I am using right now, when the laces got really wet with sweat or rain, the knot or the way that they are wrapped became loose and in turn, the sandals become loose. This happend, both days, with my right sandal. After stopping to tighten once they were nice and wet, I had NO problems at all. However, with the extra time in tying them in the beginning and then extra time fixing or adjusting the laces on the trail, I am becoming more and more interested in the Lunas with just the Tech Straps. I feel proud to be tying my sandals however sometimes, almost majority of the time, I am more annoyed then proud. I know that there are tons of Luna wearers who tie their sandals and probably have NO issues but I think for the simplicity of just getting out and going the Lunas with Tech Straps might be more for me.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and had a fun adventure!

Make sure to follow the blog by email and subscribe to my Youtube page, thanks!

Ciao for Now,
Cameron

Training in Lunas Video

Training Has Begun

Hello all, training has begun and today was already day 4. To bring you up to speed, my wife and I started training last Saturday with a 45km bike ride. Sunday was followed with a 11km hilly run in a nearby forest (NO MOUNTAINS IN PARIS!). Rested up Monday, Tuesday was a delightful 45min run that covered 8km. We rested yesterday and today we woke up earlier than normal (So Hard!!!) and did some nice hill efforts for a cardio training. We covered just over 5km and just under 200m of elevation gain. Today we are off to Grenoble to visit some friends and for those who don't know where that is, it is in the Alps! Hills!!! We plan on doing a climb of the Bastille on Saturday and then join up with our old running group where we onced lived on Sunday. Pictures to follow and everyone have a great weekend!

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Version Française:

Bonjour à tous! Les entraînements ont commencé! Ma femme et moi avons fait 45km de vélo, samedi. Dimanche, nous avons fait 11km valloné dans le forêt de Meudon (PAS LES MONTAGNES A PARIS!) Repos lundi, et mardi nous avons fait 8km en 45'. Hier c'était repos et aujourd'hui nous nous réveillés tôt pour les entraînements de vitesse. On a fait un peu plus de 5km un peu moin de 200m de denivélé. Ce soir, allons à Grenoble pour visiter avec les amis et nous eperons que ferions le Bastille et un peu de course avec notre groupe anciene de Saint Martin d'Uriage. Photos suiviras et bon week-end à tout le monde!