Runner Eats Only McDonald's For 30 Days Leading Up To the 2011 Los Angeles Marathon!

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I loved reading about this. Joe D'Amico of Palatine, Illinois finished the 2011 Los Angeles Marathon on March 20th in a personal best time of 2 hours, 36 minutes, 17 seconds. He deservingly got a lot of press across the country because as a fundraising challenge, he committed to eating ONLY McDonald's food for the 30 days leading up the marathon. He raised over $40,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Chicago and Indiana. Way to go all around, Joe!

Of course most of the press fixated on McDonalds and burgers in the headlines, with visions of Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me in mind. In Super Size Me, Spurlock had to eat EVERY ITEM on the McDonald's menu at least once. On top of that, he reduced his exercise level down to what the "average" American does. So of course he gained over 24 pounds over a month.

D'Amico, on the other hand, ate only McDonald's food for a month but ate at his own discretion. Over 30 days, he dined at 33 different McDonald's over 99 visits. Some highlights of his consumption:

  • Angus Burgers: 1
  • Filet-o-Fish: 3
  • Hotcakes: 97
  • Oatmeal: 24
  • Hamburgers: 23
  • Chicken Snack Wraps: 24
  • Chocolate Milk: 9
  • Fruit & Walnut Salads: 14
  • Cookies: 63.5
  • Soft Drinks: 23

This list is not complete but in general shows what I know well...that you can actually eat decent, healthful food at McDonald's. Joe appears to be a hotcake fan. Great source of carbs for the 359 miles he ran in 30 days. I think the oatmeal at McDonald's is pretty decent - he had it 24 times. 63.5 cookies seems like a lot, but not so much for a 30 day period given the number of calories he burned.

Missing from the list are Big Macs, Quarter Pounders and Sausage McMuffins. He did have fries about 17 times or so, but usually just a small bag or less.

So there is hope for you fast foodies who want to run a marathon! Read more about Joe and his training at www.mcrunner.com.

Run Streak Ended by Massive Rain Storm, 40-50 MPH Winds and Flooding

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At least I have a good excuse. My 3 month, 5 day, running streak came to a halt this past Sunday due to the massive rain storms that brought 40 to 50 mile winds and 5 inches of rain to the Conejo Valley.

My plan was to run 16 miles in 2 hours, but when I awoke up to torrential downpours I decided I'd wait it out. I waited and waited and the storm got worse. We have a large trampoline in the backyard and the howling winds blew it across the yard. I thought we would love some trees but they managed to stay planted to the ground (but hundreds of other trees around town weren't so lucky).

Then I discovered that the rain gutters in the back side of the house were clogged. So in rain pouring down as hard as 2 inches per hour, I was out in my jeans (I lack proper wet weather clothes...native Southern Californian that I am), soaked, on a ladder. I had attempted to band-aid the rain gutter issue by placing the green waste bin under the area where water was falling down. But it was full within 40 minutes and immovable.

And there were the drains in the backyard. The rain came down so hard that every leaf and piece of bark in the yard was inserting itself into the downspouts, clogging them up. So I spent over an hours in a 2nd pair of jeans clearing the drains and sweeping the water towards the front of the house.

After a trip to Home Depot and a Pinewood Derby appearance, I was beat. My body was sore in new places on Monday. And after seeing and reading about how many trees were downed, running outdoors on Sunday would have been a treacherous experience. Guess I could have run at the gym...but I hate treadmills.

So while my run streak has come to an end, I'm actually feeling pretty good. I think I needed that day off, with or without epic rainstorms.

Stark Reminder of My Need to Start Training Harder at Bubba Gump in Long Beach

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I'll make this one quick. I was at Aquarium of the Pacific this past Super Bowl Sunday morning with my kids. We thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium and then decided to go grab a bite to eat.

Adjacent to the parking lot is a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant and my 7 year old love shrimp. So we stopped in for lunch.

I've not missed a single day of running so far this year, which is good...though nothing to brag about. But my training has had zero direction. Just go out and run as much as my schedule allows. Well that's where I digress back to Bubba Gump's where we were treated to the following at the table:

Then there's another sign underneath that one that says "Stop Forrest Stop." Yes, I was reminded of my running while eating fried food in Long Beach.

Amazing, simply amazing, how Bubba Gump Shrimp was completely borne out of the movie Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump came out in 1994 and BGS first opened in 1996 and now has over 30 locations, including 3 in Japan.

But I digress again. It is now midnight and I best be getting to bed. I've got a running streak to tend to in the morning.