So 16 of us headed up to do the Whistler 50 Relay Race. It was awesome, super cold and a ton of fun! Here’s a clip and some photos from the event!

Whistler 50 Relay Race

To Your Health!

Ryan

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You’re probably going to call me crazy but until recently I had been training for half and full marathons without proper nutrition. How? Well for starters  I was running between 1 – 1.5 hours without water. Yeah, total FAIL.

I decided if  I want to step up my game and rock some races I better start training. On Friday I headed over to North Shore Athletics and spoke with a fellow named Noel. He gave me some tips, and even opened the door to a running clinic where I can train for full marathons. YEAH!

With that being said, I picked up a nifty water bottle made by Ultimate Direction which is BASS ASS and not to mention BPA FREE Plastic. Even though I drink from stainless when I’m not running. I also grabbed some CARB BOOM GELS which are TOTALLY BAD ASS too! Love em’!

Half And Full Marathon Nutrition Tips

Overall for spending about $20 at Mountain Equipment Coop it was a smart investment. Both great tools to rock your running and health! I ended up going for a 11 mile run in about 1.5 hours and only took one Carb Boom gels. If I was running a half or full marathon I’d bring at least 2 -4 for sure.

I found taking 1/2 every 30 minutes worked well for me.

Have an awesome day my friends! If you have any questions please leave your comments below!

To Your Health,

Ryan
Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of "Love" and we'll place 20% of the proceeds into a "Dirty Runners Pot!" Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you'll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!

This vegan lentil wrap was super easy to make but also was an EPIC FAIL. Why? Look at the rice shells. They totally broke!

All good because it tasted amazing. I’ll usually eats something like this for lunch, or better yet during dinner after having a protein shake before. It’s a healthy balance of carbs and protein.

Vegan Lentil Wrap

The great thing about this meal is that it’s EASY! No Joke, here’s the break down about the Vegan Lentil Wrap:

• Organic Rice Wraps (Frozen at Whole Foods)
• Organic Cooked Lentils
• Organic Mexican Spice Mix (Or cumin, chili powder ect)
• Mustard
• Romain Lettuce

Side Of Green Beans

• Coconut Oil
• Sprinkle Of Nutritional Yeast
• Throw in Broccoli like I did

To Your Health!

Ryan

Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of “Love” and we’ll place 20% of the proceeds into a “Dirty Runners Pot!” Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you’ll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!

I met Lanny several months ago during a birthday party for a mutual friend. My first thoughts? WOW, that’s a big dude. We started chatting with each other and I quickly realized he’s extremely knowledgeable when it comes to training properly for fitness.

We had a great time chatting, he showed me some scars from past hockey accidents, I told him I was an Internet Marketer, you know the deal.

After that night we started to get to know each other better and I can honestly say Lanny has a huge heart, is an amazing person and has an incredible skill set when it comes to kinesiology.If you’re in the Vancouver, BC areas and you’re looking for a great Kinesiologist or trainer connect with Lanny!

Lanny Taschuk Inspired Kinesiologist

Lanny is an inspired Kinesiologist whose focus and expertise for the last 13 years has been in athletic development and rehabilitation.

He has spent the last 21 years working on his own personal health and conditioning, and brings a wealth of fitness, conditioning and health wisdom to the table working with amateur to professional athletes throughout his working career.

Deciding to run in December of 2008, he chose his first running event to be an ultra-marathon called Knee Knacker which traverses 30 miles and over 8000 feet of ascending and 8300 feet of descending. Having a taste of what it takes to push his body he has now decided to take on an even bigger challenge.

Over the last year he has dedicated his training life to complete Ironman Canada 2011 which is this August. Taking this event on was a big challenge as he wasn’t a swimmer, and as with running he dedicated the year at progressing and learning this sport.

In training for this big event, he also registered for the first half marathon, called the First Half in February. And furthermore, he competed in the Oliver Half Ironman on June 5, 2011. Not bad considering at the age of 14 he was hospitalized for over 30 days after fracturing his femur which required two subsequent surgeries and required a year before he could walk without the use of crutches or a cane.

He now understands and hopes to inspire in others that whatever is wanted in life, there are no limits once you dedicate yourself.

Connect With Lanny Taschuk:

Website: TRAINING FOR PUPORSE

Facebook: LIKE THIS FANPAGE

Email: lanny@trainingforpurpose.com

Speak soon my friends!

Ryan

Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of “Love” and we’ll place 20% of the proceeds into a “Dirty Runners Pot!” Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you’ll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!

When does your mind break? This past week of training for me was pretty intense. In fact, one of the hardest training weeks of my life. Why? Well mostly because I was training hard with anaerobic workouts. Meaning lot of acid pumping through my body.

After speaking with my buddy Sukhi Muker who’s an Ironman athlete he was dropping some tips about aerobic training which I’ll be incorporating tomorrow. Still, I needed to find where my mind wanted to break!

3 Hour 20.2 Mile “Mind Break” Run

Yep, at the 2 hour 20 minute mark the mind chatter kicked in! All the sudden I didn’t think I was in that good of shape. To tell you the truth, I actually thought I was doing pretty well and had a bit of a big ego so to speak.

After doing this night run I posted this on Facebook and got a pretty stellar response!

“I don’t care how big your ego is, How much money you’ve made, how successful you are in business, or how great of shape you think you’re in. When you push your body to your limit all of that goes out the window. Pushing your physical limits is a BIG ego check. It’s strips away illusions and when your mind “breaks”, it surfaces the real you.”

Here’s the break down of my workouts this week. Its was pretty stellar and I seriously had to push myself the last couple of days…

Last Weeks Workouts:

Tuesday: 1 hour Back/Biceps/Abs + 11.5 Mile 1.5 hour run

Wednesday: 1 hour Plyometrics + 9 Mile 1 hour 12 minute run

Thursday: 1 hour shoulders/arms/abs + 9 Mile 1 hour 15 minute run

Friday: 1 hour Yoga + 20.2 mile 3 hour 1 minute run

Saturday: 1 hour shoulders/arms/abs + 5 Mile 45 minute run

Sunday: 1 hour Kenpo Karate

TOTAL HOURS:  13 hours 42 minutes | 54.70 MILES or 88 KM

Enjoy your day my friends and we’ll speak soon! Leave your comments below!

Speak Soon,

Ry
 
Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of “Love” and we’ll place 20% of the proceeds into a “Dirty Runners Pot!” Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you’ll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!

People always ask me what are the “benefits of going vegan”? The other day someone told me they were going to start eating vegan beacuse I was! It’s super cool to be inspired by people for sure, just make sure you’re going vegan for the right reasons.

As you may know right now I’m training for several half, full and team marathons coming up. I’m hooked. After doing my first half I was ready to rock! So why do I train on a vegan diet? Check out the video to learn about all the details my friend!

“Benefits Of Going Vegan”

It’s worked really well for me. In fact, changed my entire LIFE. I’d love to hear if you’re thinking about going vegan or are already. ALSO, if you’re training on a vegan diet share some of your tips!

To Your Health,

Ryan

Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of “Love” and we’ll place 20% of the proceeds into a “Dirty Runners Pot!” Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you’ll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!

I have low energy, I’m up and down, I feel like crap, I’m lazy, I’m tired, I need a nap and I don’t feel like doing it. This is how I felt growing up. Can you relate?

For all of my growing up I ate food without questioning if it was good for me or not. It wasn’t until I was 22 that I realized, HEY, maybe some of the stuff is actually BAD! Insitead of just “eating” and not thinking about what I’m eating. Ya know?

I LOVE my parents to death, but when I look back on it I know a LOT of what I was eating was acid forming, not alkaline. Ok, just so you know I don’t eat ANY of this stuff anymore since going vegan. Love you mom! And hey, I’m grateful we had food to eat and I know you were doing your best.

30 Foods I Dropped From Childhood:

• McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Time – It took me years to clear this stuff out. Filot of Fish anyone?

• Fish and Chips – Tasted great and does and excellent job at clogging your arteries.

• Frozen Macaroni – Costco style of course.

• Ice cream, Revels, Fudgesicle – I easily had 5 a week

• Olivieri Pasta, Cream Sauce – Whole cream and more whole cream

• Pizza Hut – Probably one of the tastiest, and cheesiest thing you could eat

• Food From Chuck E Cheese – I’m not even sure what it was. I only remember almost dying in the blastic ball pit

• Burgers From Disneyland – $150 a Burger and ooooozing with sauce

• Cheese Buns – Every time eating during grocery shopping

• Frozen Pizza Pops – Doughy and cheesy. enough said.

• Sausage Rolls – I even ate rotten ones once. uuuughhh.

• Salad With Kraft Thousand Island Dressing – Kind of kills the healthy salad right?

• Frozen Chicken Nuggets – I don’t even think it was chicken looking back now

• Fried Spaghetti – Hands down my favourite. One of the best home cooked meals.

• Fruit Filled Crepes – Ok, these rocked. I still eat vegan versions of this.

• Cold Chicken Sandwich With Skin – No Joke. My mom knew I liked skin, and made me a sandwich with it.

• Campbells Tomato Soup With Butter – Sugar, Water, Tomatoes and Butter. Good combo.

• Gherkin Pickles – Tasty little suckers.

• Stove Top Stuffing – Instant stuffing anytime of the year.

• Kraft Macaroni and Cheese – Enough said.

• Hamburger Helper – I liked this stuff. Cheesy meat goodness.

• Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks – No chickens were hurt in the making

• White Spot Triple O Burger – oooozing with Triple O Sauce. The pickle what great.

• Baked Salmon – Ok, this was good.

• Ambrosia Salad – Hey mom, can you pass the potatoes, oh and the marshmallows? Tasty stuff though!

• Tim Horton’s Donuts – Double glazed and I could eat as many as I liked.

• Ribs and Pork Chops – Man, these rocked. Salty and usually home made!

• Chicken McNuggets – I was an addict. Give me a 20 pack and I was zoned.

• Deli Meat And More Deli Meat – I think I easily ate 10,000 pounds of this stuff growing up.

• Ball Park Franks With Wonder Hot Dog Bread – Explain to me what type of meat is hotdogs?

There you have it! Like I said, I’m SUPER grateful we had food on our table. It’s really interesting to look at what I eat NOW compared to 3/4 of my life. Switching over to vegan is hands down one of the BEST decisions I’ve ever made for my health and life.

For more VEGAN CHOICES see our Vegan And Vegetarian posts!

To Your Health,

Ryan

Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of “Love” and we’ll place 20% of the proceeds into a “Dirty Runners Pot!” Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you’ll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!

I hope you had an AWESOME weekend! I can honestly say Summer is FINALLY here in Vancouver! This weekend was EPIC being able to cheer on Sukhi Muker during his first sprint interval which he defines as being always in “the red zone!”
 

Check Out The Sprint Triathlon

I’m so inspired by Sukhi and what he achieves. So much that I ended up working out for 3 hours after doing sprints and Kenpo X. It`s amazing how being around inspiring people really takes your life to the next level. I can tell you when you hang around people who are constantly inspiring you naturally want to go out and achieve more.

After the race we decided to grab some VEGAN pies. YES, it was 10am on a SUNDAY morning but you know what? I woke up at 6am so I didn’t care! lol. Awesome pies and if you’re ever in the Vancouver area check this place out!
 

BTW, Be sure to connect with Sukhi Muker on his OFFICIAL BLOG as he’s truly doing some amazing things!

To Your Health!

Ryan
 
Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of “Love” and we’ll place 20% of the proceeds into a “Dirty Runners Pot!” Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you’ll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!

All I can say is the NIKE Free Run 2 just might be the BEST shoe’s I’ve ever bought, no joke. You’re probably wondering if the Nike Free Run + 2 are any good and if they’re worth your money. Great question, I ask myself the same thing.

I recently started running half marathons and I was looking for something that was light and fit my running style. Initially I was looking at the Vibram Five Fingers but the truth is that I’d have to train for at least a few months to run a half with those.

So, what’s a guy to do? I went with the Nike Free Run + 2 and started to test them out. Here’s a real quick note. They are AMAZING, however I am finding I’m working muscles in my legs that normally don’t get worked with my old Nike‘s, so just a heads up that they are very close to bare foot running.

Watch My LIVE Nike Free Run + 2 Review

Of course there is some awesome news about the Nike Free Run + 2 BUT, there is also a few things to watch out for too of course. After all, it’s best to do testing for yourself.

Nike Free Run + 2 PROS:

INCREDIBLY LIGHT

Seriously, I feel like spider man wearing these Nike running shoes. They allow your feet to STICK but you feel SO in control. I’ve been using them for plyometrics jump training and short distance running. Most of my runs have been from 7-10k.

With the jump training I mean HOLY SMOKES. I feel like I’m flying off the ground and when I land it’s extremely easy to stick a clean landing. I’ve been working out consistently now for 2 years and have NEVER used a shoe as nice as this for jump training.

AMAZING GROUND CONNECTION

I truly feel connected to the ground while being totally light. As you can see in the video the control you have in the Nike Free Run + 2 are simply amazing.

You really FEEL your form and the “push” off your stride. It’s extremely powerful when you start running and I began to feel it right away for sure.

Nike Free Run + 2 CONS:

BREAK IN TIME:

Beacause the feel is SO close to “bare foot running” I have had muscles that I’m not used to working! So I’ve been taking it easy and breaking them in BUT, there are muscles and tendans that are REALLY sore!

My best advice, DO NOT use these for a half or full marathon unless you’ve been training with them for a couple months. You’ll find they’ll work your legs in new places.

WIDER TOE:

I personally like shoes with a little bit narrower toe. The Nike Free Run + 2 kind of remind me of a pair of New Balance I used to have with a really wide toe. I do find my feet have a little bit of movement in the toe area but overall pretty good. I know I’ve got the right size, it’s just the way the shoe is manufactured.

Final Thoughts On The Nike Free Run + 2

Great shoe, love them for short distance and strength training during intervals. Wouldn’t wear them during any kind of weight lifting just because the ankle support is really low.

OVERALL DIRTY RUNNERS RATING: 8 / 10

For more information and tips  on running a better time on your half marathon read my FIRST half marathon post and also watch this video here!

To Your Health!

Ryan

Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of “Love” and we’ll place 20% of the proceeds into a “Dirty Runners Pot!” Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you’ll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!

Buying organic fruit and veggies is expensive. I know this and I’m sure you do too, I’ve been eating this way for years and know first hand how it attacks my grocery bill! So, how do you cut down your grocery bill and start saving some cash? Find local farmers markets and organic fruit and veggie warehouses.

If you do some Google searches you should be able to find some awesome places in your local area.

Where I Get My Organic Fruits And Veggies:

If you’re in the Vancouver, BC area you can find Pro Organics here.

Pro Organics
4535 Still Creek Avenue
Burnaby, BC V5C 5W1

Phone: 604.253.6549
Toll Free: 800.461.1122

I started eating organic about 6 years ago. Seriously, I noticed a HUGE difference in taste. Non organic foods taste down right bland to me now, not to mention all the chemicals that’s packed inside them!

Remember that 99% of the restaurants out there use NON organic fruits and veggies. The way these fruits and veggies are grown is down right NASTY. Seriously, if you haven’t watched the movie Food Matters WATCH IT. It will open your eyes to what’s really happening with our food supply.

What REALLY Happens To Your NON Organic Fruits And Veggies

I hear people say to me, “Organic foods are just too expensive!” It’s true they are more, but there is good ways around it, just liked I showed you here. Of course I’m not able to get EVERYTHING I need from here, but for the price it’s worth it.

Over a month I save about $100 on my grocery bill. That’s an extra $1,200 a year! Think about that! That’s a small getaway or some great Christmas presents for your family.

Expand your mind baby! There is always ways to get around challenges and make it happen. Start eating more organic foods today, your body will thank you!!

To Your Health,

Ryan

Get A FREE $100 Giftcard Towards New Runners!

Yep! Support Dirty Runners with ANY amount of “Love” and we’ll place 20% of the proceeds into a “Dirty Runners Pot!” Once we hit a total of $100 and YOU made a donation with ANY amount you’ll get a random shot for a FREE $100 Giftcard to your favorite shoe store!