Personal

Mutt Strut 5k

Posted by Peter on April 22, 2012
Posted in: Fitness, Personal. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 3 comments

While running isn’t my first choice of exercise, it seems like there is a race every weekend in Birmingham. Yesterday there were at least two races in town. I can understand the obsession with running around here, there is some really beautiful scenery, and the hills make the runs that much more interesting.

This past Saturday, I took part in the Mutt Strut put on by Hand in Paw, an organization that specializes in animal-assisted therapy. I was a part of the CrossFit Rebellion team, so I had to put my best running-shoe clad foot forward. Until this race, the only other race I ever really participate in is the Crescent City Classic, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

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I think there were a little over 500 people signed up for this race, which seems about right based on the crowd that was there. Considering it usually takes me 3-8 minutes after the gun of the Crescent City Classic just to get to the starting line, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to walk right up to the front before the starter pistol fired.

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That’s the start line. And behind me….

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This just about a minute before the race actually started. The runner wrapped to the left out of the picture, but it wasn’t too crowded. I kind of like the smaller race. Although I did almost have an incident with a dog at the start, I was happy to not have to run around the walkers, people with strollers, and other obstacles.

I was shooting for a 20 minute finish, which would have been pretty fast for me. Before this race, I had never really run a 5k, so I wasn’t really sure how I would fare in comparison to my goal. On top of that, that I had no idea where the route was going to take me or where I was at any given time.  Still, I finished with an official time of 21:13, and was very happy with the results.

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CrossFit Rebellion team: Robbie, Jackie, Anna, Peter, and Rodney
Photo Credit: Alima Deneke

My time put me the 5th overall finisher and 2nd in my age group. Two of the people in front of me (including the one in my age group) were CrossFit Rebellion members: Rodney finished first at a little over 17 minutes (an easy pace for him) and Robbie finished just over 20 minutes. The CrossFit Rebellion girls did great too, which helped us to dominate the competition. Our team beat the second to best team (all male) by a combined time of 27 minutes and an average of over 7 minutes.  We got some sweet medals to take home and all the pride and glory that CrossFit Rebellion can hold.

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This isn’t the first race in which CrossFit Rebellion has taken home the bacon (mmm…bacon), and I know it won’t be the last. I give credit to our awesome trainers Kyle, Alima, Nick and Brittany. We’re going to need to invest in a trophy case for the gym.

Crescent City Classic

Posted by Peter on April 8, 2012
Posted in: Fitness, Personal. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 comments

For about the last 10 years, my friends and I have run the 10k Crescent City Classic. It’s a great event that let’s you run the streets of New Orleans with the promise of beer at the finish line. While I always try to run my best, I’ve never really been fully prepared for the race. Running for close to an hour isn’t something I want to normally do, so I get no real training. The best motivation for finishing CCC is a icy cold Abita Beer at the end of the race.

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The goal.

However, since I’ve been doing CrossFit for almost a year, I’m in the best shape of my life (with still plenty of room for improvement). Therefore, we set a goal of 50 minutes to run the race.

The night before the race, we made the necessary arrangements for carpooling and getting to the trade. I considered the appropriate morning routine and set my alarm clock accordingly. Race morning, I failed to wake up (the ole set the alarm for pm mistake). Needless to say, the morning’s plans were shot. I sprung from my bed, gathered what I thought I needed, and rushed to the race.

We made it with little time to spare, pushed out way through the sea of walkers and made our way towards the starting line. As we weaved through literally 1000s of people they shot the starting gun….which is a canon for this race.

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Runners entering the CCC festival at the end of the race.

Ultimately, we crossed the start line about 3 minutes after the race began (one of our better start times). Now the real work begins. I love the Classic, but people can be freaking idiots. The race attempts to line all of the runners up by their expected finish  times. Nevertheless yearly the first two miles are jammed with walkers. This makes running the first third of the race a major challenge. To keep a decent pace requires running back and fourth across the street weaving in and out of and passing ask the show goers (WHO SHOULD HAVE STARTED BEHIND ME ANYWAYS! …..frustration). This process takes an obscene amount of energy and the moves of a shifty running back.

Even with the extra effort, we kept a pace slightly under 8  minutes for the first two miles. After mile two, the race generally opens up a bit, my nerves begin to cool and I get to take stock of the situation. I noticed that it was a beautiful morning, a little warm, but fairly mild compared to some previous years. I felt great and was running a perfectly paced race.

As usual, in addition to the official water stations, the route was lined with well-wishers, people offering hose mist, and good Samaritans with orange slices. If you’re a brave or crazy runner, you may choose to partake in the offerings of free hotdogs, beer or jello shots along the way. I did not.

The rest of the race was fairly uneventful. One foot in front of the other for the whole six miles maintaining the 8 minute mile pace, despite wanting to walk it out  a few times.  Ultimately, I crossed the finish line with an official time of 53:33 and was the 1, 447th person to finish. Subtract the 3 minutes it took to reach the start, and I’m withing 1% of my goal. I”ll take it, especially considering it’s a Personal Record by a good 6 minutes.

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The first 1500 people enjoying life at the end of the race.

Like everything in New Orleans, the race ends with music, food and beer. It’s a great time, and I highly suggest if you have the chance and you like to run to come run the CCC in NOLA.

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Bradley, Emily and I listening to some music at the end of the race.

Inauguration

Posted by Peter on March 28, 2012
Posted in: Personal. Leave a Comment

Welcome to ContempoPaleo.com

Let me start by introducing myself.    Hi, I’m Peter.  I’m 30 years old and married to Sarah, a neurology resident at UAB.    My current job is attempting to keep up with my 21-month old daughter, Sophia.  Prior to this life, I was a Louisiana attorney, which in no way prepared me for my full-time job as a dad.  I love it.

In May of last year, I began CrossFit at the recommendation of my best friends, Bradley and Emily.  It was then that my perspective about food and fitness began to change.   Prior to beginning the CrossFit journey, I had tried to stoke my exercise fire every different way possible: running (which just gets boring), P90x (which I completed 60 days of before quitting), lifting weights in the gym (that lasted all of about 3 sessions).  Nothing really kept my interest.  But I love CrossFit.  It may or may not be for you, give it a try.  I’m not an elitist, but I do think it’s the absolute best training program for me.  I’ll blog more specifically on CrossFit later.

When I started at CrossFit Nola, several members of the “box” (what CrossFitters call their gyms) were in the middle of a “Paleo Challenge.”  I had no idea what this was other than eating lots of meat.  It seemed oddly restrictive and burdensome.  But then, I knew nothing about it.

In July, my wife and I moved to Birmingham for her residency at UAB, and we became members of CrossFit Rebellion.  The owners/trainers, Kyle and Alima, are exceptionally health conscious, and my conversations with the two of them led me on a quest for more knowledge.  I owe a lot of my interest in the paleo diet to them.  At their recommendation, I bought The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf.  I began making “paleo choices.”   Diet combined with regular exercise led me to see and feel gains that I never knew possible.   At 30, I’m in the best shape of my life, even though I have a long way to go.

CrossFit Rebellion’s Paleo Challenge started mid-February.  I plunged in head-first.  I bought the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook and was all in.  For 45 days, I ate pure paleo (the first thirty allowed NO sugars or baked goods).   Turns out, paleo food is actually pretty delicious.  It’s fresh, it’s unprocessed, it’s good.   Despite being home in New Orleans for Mardi Gras (where we celebrate with Randazzo’s King Cake, Popeyes fried chicken, and Abita beer), I was able to stay true to the diet (even if I did have more than my allotted 2 glasses of red wine).

So, now I’m starting a blog.  Here I can share recipes, talk fitness, and argue semantics of the paleo diet.  I’m not 100% paleo, but I’m close enough.  I consider my diet the modern version (because we all need a beer or some chocolate on occasion) of what our primal ancestors used to eat.