LITERAL
(a) “I, Bobbie Rodriguez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
(b) Since my main focus for my second independent component was to research how, and if diet effects your training I used a few articles and books about dieting. One that I found particularly helpful was Runners World, The Runner's Diet: The Ultimate Eating Plan That Will Make Every Runner (and Walker) Leaner, Faster, and Fitter. I found this book to be especially helpful because it helps you find a place to start and it target every type of runner and dieter. I found it easy to revolve my independent component around the concepts in this book, such as reducing quick energy snacks.
(c) 43.5 hours
(d) For my independent component I researched different types of running diets and created a dieting plan to use on myself. I wanted to see if I noticed a change in training. I began by creating a log of what I already eat. I did this for about 2 weeks, by doing this I was able to see where my wholes were according to my research and make the correct changes. Once I knew what I needed to change, I created a meal plan using my dietary knowledge. I did this for about 2 more weeks, in addition to my training. Since I am not currently training for a race, my training intensity was less.
INTERPRETIVE
Here are a few photos from my diet journal.
These are my logged day from my normal eating habits.
These are the log days from my changed diet.
APPLIED
The purpose of my independent component was to help me understand the importance of a runner's diet. By the end of my 30 hours, I realized that even though it is important to eat healthy it's not crucial. When I changed my diet, I noticed that at first I was always hungry, but as the month progressed I noticed how much more energy I had while running. However, it did not actually improve my training. Yea, it gave me more energy and I felt better but I did not feel like it quite answered my EQ. By doing this independent component I realize that it's not going to be one of my answers. Now I know for sure, and from personal experience that running while on a specific "runners diet" does not actually improve your overall marathon running abilities. I found it was more valuable to those who want to lose weight while running. Which was not my overall goal.
