One week - Eek!!

OK. It's Monday. The half is Sunday!! I am already having half-related nightmares - yay....

I seriously dreamt I was running through some kind of Chinese import-export business and got lost! Then I tried to check in at the first station (you had to sign in!) and they were testing some new technology so I had to stand there and wait before I could sign in!!  When I finally got past that, I ran into a marching band (walking a half marathon with instruments). I was all set to be almost done and when I finally found someone actually running the race and asked how far we'd gone - they said 1.5 miles. *sigh*

So if my week continues like this, I will have some good stories come Sunday!

For now, I am just trying to make it through the week. Tomorrow I will do a SUPER slow 6 mile run. I need to mentally convince myself I have no where to be, nothing is stopping me from going slow and that SLOW will not injure my leg like sprinting seems to do!

Thursday I will hit yogalates at the gym and stretch myself all out. I am definitely planning to skip some of my more intense cardio classes this week. That pesky IT band doesn't need any encouragement this week! I was feeling pretty good after my run this weekend and I don't want to ruin anything!

I skipped a LONG run on Sunday because we were camping. The WHOLE campsite, all the way around both sections, was 1 mile. There was a hill on the site that climbing to get to the restroom from our campsite (which was about halfway down the hill) counted as FOUR flights of stairs on my FitBit. By the end of my run, I was at 34 flights climbed!! I only wound up running a 5k (32 minutes) but it was a definite challenge. Instead of pushing myself (potentially hurting myself!) I decided to shorten my run and do my longer run at home where the hills aren't quite as bad. :-)

So, less than a week to my fifth half marathon.  I am nervous, anxious and excited!

T-14 Days!

It was a good week for me to be a runner! 

Thursday I headed to the park for that "no more than 4 mile" run I mentioned when I last posted.  I have found that I am better with out-and-back runs - the certainty of knowing where I stop, the "run home" that always gets me moving - they just work for me. So with four miles in mind, I started running. I hit 2 miles, though, and was making such good time and felt good, so I said what the heck, let's go for 2.5 before the turnaround. 

I ran most likely my FASTEST 5 miles EVER on Thursday!! I felt good! I know I can SPRINT that fast, but I can't usually go for longer distances with that pace. I was on a such a high knowing I had it in me to run that! 

Sara has having some foot and leg pain so she was unable to do our first taper run this week. Hoping she rests up and gets better (only TWO WEEKS until the MO' Cowbell race!) in time for the race!  I seriously considered just not going this morning.  My family was out late last night seeing our favorite Beatles cover band, I had a few drinks, stayed up late to finish some laundry, etc.  Sara and I have been meeting at 6:30! That means I've been setting an alarm for 5:45 (and getting up around 6 ;-).  I told myself last night I would "sleep in" and set my alarm for 6:30.  I contemplated rolling over as "Sunday morning" started playing, but I got up anyways.   I was running a little behind my own schedule but still forced myself out the door.  

I despise the first mile, mile and a half, two miles of a run. Is that just me?! They are SO hard, drudgery and if it were up to me, I would quit during that part every time (is this why I see so many people RUNNING before RACES??). I feel heavy, clompy, slow and in pain for easily that long. Once I pass through that, I can ease into a rhythm.

  

Apparently, I excel at "the turnaround."  If you look back at my runs, especially recently, more often than not I get faster the further I am into my run!  My "turnaround mile" is usually one of my fastest (my last few runs my last mile has been my speediest of all.)  I love having my Garmin and being able to analyze the data from my runs. It gives the number-geek in me a chance to shine. :-) 

Total stats for today looked good! I cut 4 minutes off the 8-miler time from August 31st, so that gives me a small hope that I am improving, even slightly.  

I took Terrie's Friday morning cardio class this week and didn't fall to the back of the pack like I have been in recent months. THAT felt good too! The class had the equivalent to **34** flights of stairs on Friday - it's an amazing workout! Another "NSV" on my journey. 

My IT band has been acting up today, so I am going to scale back this week. Yoga and a run around my neighborhood (slow and low mileage) on Tuesday, hopefully a quick run Wednesday and Thursday will be Yogalates and another quick neighborhood run. Sunday I am planning on a 6 mile run as my *gulp* LAST taper run!! I can't believe the race is coming so quickly! I can't believe how excited I am for this race!! 

Now to make myself a Uni-Kitty costume for the Halloween 10K! 

Last long run ?!

 Sara and I tackled our longest long run yet - 10 miles - on Sunday. Having quit my Whole30, I wasn't sure how I was going to be feeling. Truth - it was amazing. We were pretty consistent through the whole run. It was closer to the average pace I will need to PR the Cowbell race in (YIKES!) 17 days and I felt GOOD at the end (you know, like maybe I could go another, say, 3.1 miles ;-) 

I had NO knee pain whatsoever. I sat down trying to figure out what I did different this past week that I hadn't done in the previous weeks. The ONLY thing I can think is that I didn't run on a treadmill at all last week. Again, not sure that is the thing that caused my pain, but it can't hurt me to avoid the treadmill until after my races. Downside is that the elliptical, stationary bike, rowing machine, etc just don't raise my heart rate the way running does. So my total calorie burns will be considerably lower, but I will deal with it. 

This weekend starts our taper, we'll be going 8 miles. To be honest, I would feel better going another 10 simply because I still don't feel ready for this race!! But I also know I need to trust the process. I keep telling myself I will go for a longer run during the week but, well, life gets in the way. I had planned to run Tuesday (the weather was PER-FECT!) but had some errands I needed to run. I had one hour before I had to get Little Guy from school so instead of giving up, I ran 2 quick miles in my neighborhood. BOY do we have hills! My "quick" 2 miles totaled 14 flights of stairs on my FitBit! 

 Tomorrow is yogalates, but it isn't until 10. I am hoping for a quick run (probably no more than 4) tomorrow before class. 

Confession.

That should read "confession." 

Because I've realized that the only person putting pressure on myself to complete a Whole30 - is me. 

I stopped my Whole30 last week. Friday, to be exact. It was a hard week. A REALLY hard week. And all I wanted was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (sidebar: for our family, that is sprouted grain bread, peanuts-only peanut butter and jelly with no added sugar.) But nothing in that is "Whole30" approved. So instead, I would wander around the house, wringing my hands trying to find something that was "acceptable" to eat. Some days, I was hitting 800 calories eaten (not counting the calories I expended through exercise.)  And it hit me. A pb&j at our house isn't an "unhealthy" meal and yet it was STILL not ok on Whole30. And I don't understand that. Maybe it's my emotions this week, but maybe, just maybe, I need to start rethinking why I am doing this. 

This time in particular, I feel very disordered in my thinking. I "quit" my Whole30 on Friday, yet almost all of my meals have been compliant since, with very few exceptions. I ran 10 miles on Sunday with Sara and had a minor panic attack when faced with eating a Jimmy Dean egg white/turkey sausage english muffin in the 15 minutes I had to eat before church. The thought of eating the English muffin scared me. I had half (I gave Little Guy the top muffin). I am easing back into grains, it's getting easier, but it bothered me how much different my experience was this time than last.  

I just saw this article on FB. It spoke to me, volumes.  I am still struggling with what "healthy" eating means to me. Like the author of this article, I don't have allergies or intolerances to any particular food or food group.  I don't have an autoimmune disease that will benefit from a paleo lifestyle. And I do have extreme guilt and shame about my food choices when I "break the rules." For now, Whole30 is going on the back burner and I'm working on my mental health. 

I may revisit a Whole30 - maybe during a less emotional/stressful time in my life. It IS a good process and it does have a ton of benefits, but for me, right now in my life - I just need to refocus and get my head right first. 

So I won't apologize - like I said, I have realized the only person I have disappointed is myself (I don't quit things!). And if you're considering a Whole30 - do it. Because you never know how you will do until you try it. Don't let my experience discourage you. My first Whole30 was awesome and someday - I will succeed again! 

Tomorrow  - stats from Sunday's 10 miler!

HALFWAY!! Oh, and a long run.

HALFWAY DONE WITH WHOLE30!! 

I had a rough weekend (see this post) so I did slip, but not as much as "old me" may have.  More on that later. First off, Sara and I met up for another long run on Sunday! 

We both had 9 miles on our training plan, so away we went. It was a GORGEOUS morning with almost perfect running weather. I was severely dehydrated and probably under-nourished from Saturday that I felt like I was running with lead legs. I honestly wasn't sure I would make it to 9, but we did it!

The pace is about 40 seconds off of my average mile/min that I will need in order to PR the race, but after the week I've had, I'll take it. I am going to go on at least one "longer" run this week (hoping for 6 miles tomorrow morning) and go for a speedy run on Thursday (after my new "yogalates" class!) to get some more mileage in. Then Sunday, we'll aim for 10!! After that, people - it's TAPER time already!! What the what?!?!  This training season is going SO QUICKLY!! 

Day 11! 

Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, blueberries.

Lunch: Leftovers. Salmon, carrots and an orange (Lunch brought to you by the color orange obviously!) 

MIdafternoon: Lara bar, roasted rosemary almonds. 

Dinner: (This was my daughter's plate! I was so hungry I ate quickly so my daughter got seconds of everything so I could take a picture  Dry rubbed grassfed beef roast, mashed potatoes (no dairy) and green beans.

This was day 12!! I was off by a day!

Day 12: 

breakfast: 3 egg muffins

Lunch: 3 hb eggs (only the whites, I don't like the yolk). olives. cucumbers. peppers. blueberries. 

Dinner: again made pizza for my family and I ate sausage, onions, portobello mushrooms, peppers, on zucchini noodles with a homemade marinara.

 Day 13: 

Today was bad for emotions. I was so nervous for the vet appt I only drank 2 glasses of coffee & ate a Lara bar. I had lunch at 2:30 (hot dogs and pickles) and a glass of wine with dinner. Dinner was a seafood stew with tomato-saffron broth. The menu didn't say rice but there it was  thought I was staying mostly compliant. My poor pup, I miss him desperately.

Day 14:

Woke up, ran 9 miles. Came home and was too nauseous to eat. I ate about 1/4 sweet potato with cinnamon. 

Lunch: Chipotle. I am still so out of it that I ordered CORN SALSA! WTHeck?!?! So I spent the first 5 minutes of lunch picking individual corn off of my barbacoa salad. *duh*

Dinner: Omelette with onions and peppers, homemade hash browns and Pederson's bacon.

Day 15: 

Breakfast: Banana & coffee

Lunch: peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and onions sauteed with chicken sausage. grapes.

Dinner: balsamic crockpot chicken, giant pile of zucchini.

The last few days I have walked numbly through, barely eating. Mostly because all the things I wanted to eat (pb&j, mac and cheese - comfort foods really) aren't compliant. So instead of completely derailing my progress, I have been doing the opposite - barely eating at all. I am trying to get better about forcing myself to eat, but it's just so hard right now when all I want to do is fall face first into a cake. 

*************************************************************

Soooooooo stayed mostly compliant through a very difficult time, which makes me pretty proud. I'm usually a severe stress eater, and it would have been easy to get something sometime in the last three days. It would have been easy to just throw back a few beers to numb the pain.  I did have wine, but ONE glass (one Saturday, one Sunday) instead of half a bottle. 

My knee felt AWESOME on Sunday, which was the one bright shining moment (aside from the wonderful company, of course!). Even at our turn around I didn't feel the pain like I have been feeling, which was SOOOO encouraging!! 

I wasn't THAT off diet on Saturday night but I could FEEL the difference in my run on Sunday.  Now, to be fair, that may be a result of dehydration, low calorie intake etc. But it was enough that I am definitely staying on track with my Whole30 through my races, even though I will technically be "done" by September 23.  I will add in a few things once my 30 days is up, but I will largely remain grain- and dairy-free until after my 10K on October 12th! 

Off Topic - Hardest Day

This one isn't fitness related or health related, but it's love and family related. 

My husband got Porter about a year before we started dating. For 2 years before we were married and 4 years after, he was our only "baby."  

When Ellie came along, we were nervous how he would react - going from an 'only child' to sharing us. Of course he did famously. He tolerated a lot through her toddler years - from being fed one piece of dog kibble at a time to being chased around by a tiny person with a bowl on her head. And he handled it all with ease and grace. 

Another little person came along. This time, he was different. He wanted to sleep in AJ's room, outside of his door.  They were instant buddies! 

In the last year, his health has declined. Our formerly 90-100 lb dog was tipping the scale at 85, 75lbs. By Christmas of 2013 we knew it was our last Christmas, but Porter fought!  We were told in March that the vet was SURE he had cancer, he just couldn't find it.  We chose not to put the pup through tests and prodding, and to just watch him closely. His weight continued to go down, despite our efforts to give him more food.

When I saw the injury to his foot on Friday night, I knew we had to take him in.  And I had a strong feeling that I knew what the vet was going to tell me. 

And she did. Unrelated to his foot, she said his gums are white, he's only eating enough calories to continue breathing and he had lost so much muscle tone she was surprised he could stand up. 

But he did stand up. Every morning.  Every single morning he greets us, he still wags his tail, brings us toys. I think we have been in denial because he was still caring, kind and loving. His demeanor hadn't changed, which I had always heard was a good sign it was "time." 

Saturday, I was able to bring him home to say goodbye to the babies. Or for the babies to say goodbye to him. For us to say goodbye. 

Thankfully, Jen was available to love on my kids while my hubby and I took Porter back for the last time.  It was peaceful and I'm so thankful we got to say our goodbyes. We miss him desperately and not a day goes by that we will not think about him.


He never barked. Ever.
He always put up with the kids crawling all over him, poking his eyes and pulling his ears.
He loved to eat watermelon and corn just like a people :-)
He always had a stuffed animal in his mouth, most of the time a giant dog we called Ralph.

There are so many other things to remember about him. We will be taking time in the next few weeks to make a memory book about him to keep. Hopefully that will help our hearts begin to heal! 

 

One Third Done!

Day 10!! 1/3 of the way done!! 

Feeling great. Emotional today for reasons unrelated to my food. I definitely had a nightmare last night that I mindlessly ate a forkful of pasta and started yelling because I was so angry I messed up my Whole30! I woke up all angry and moody because of that dream.

Breakfast: Omelette with sauteed peppers and onions. Avocado. Blueberries. 

Lunch: 2 hot dogs, sugar snap peas, applesauce.

Dinner: Jalapeno chicken burgers, sweet potatoes, guacamole and a few plantain chips (I didn't eat all of those) and a side salad with Tessamae's balsamic dressing.

Breakfast: 2 egg/pepper/prosciutto muffins. Blueberries. Power greens. 

Lunch: 1 1/4 jalepeno chicken burgers, grapes, romaine, roasted potatoes. 

Midday: Lara bar

Dinner: Taco salad with meat, tomatoes, black olives.

Spoonful of coconut butter - yum!

Breakfast: 3 egg muffins

Lunch: Taco meat, romaine with a hardboiled egg. Grapes.

Dinner: Salmon (recipe from the Well Fed cookbook), cumin spiced carrots (also from Well Fed), cauliflower rice that I burnt.

My leg is still giving me trouble, but I went to yoga on Tuesday and did a bit of foam rolling and yoga moves (pidgeon anyone?!) tonight. HOping that loosens me up enough to get about 6 miles in tomorrow while my little guy is at school!