Detox days 4 & 5

Oops. The non-sleep drama continues in our house! I was rocking AJ until 11pm last night when I finally gave up and brought him to bed with me, in hopes of getting just a few hours of sleep!

So yesterday was awful. Early wakeup at 6am by my little man. Sinus pain. No nap + hours of screaming, then the whole bedtime issue. My eating was less than stellar!!

Breakfast:
Jimmy Dean sandwich
Tea

Lunch:
Cracked pepper turkey (4 slices)
Ah!zeefa lentil dip with carrot sticks
Kettle chips (lots and lots- these we're my stress eating food yesterday)

Dinner:
Homemade spaghetti sauce & angel hair pasta (ridiculous amount, probably 2 cups?)
Buttermilk biscuit
Salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green pepper) with herbs de Provence dressing


Today, also not stellar in the opposite direction...

Breakfast:
Licorice tea

Lunch:
2 slices of cracked pepper turkey
Chips (1.5 servings)

Dinner:
Cuban sandwich
Waffle fries (passed on ketchup, one of the many hidden sugary foods!)
Beer


Today was a lot better as far as being ridiculously tired. I definitely didn't randomly fall asleep anywhere - yay! Feeling a lot better with my cold, too.

AND! My LEG is finally feeling better!! Combination of ice and foam rolling. Learning a lot about muscles this week!! Who knew - IT band starts at your hip and goes all the way to your ankle. So the soreness I've felt above my hips for weeks now? PROBABLY related to the pain in my lower leg now!  Rolling out my thigh has eased the pain in my lower leg.

I bought some KT tape this morning, which I will apply tomorrow (it says it will stick for multiple days). This stuff is the stuff you see on Olympic athletes when they look like they are wearing duct tape all over them. I let my four year old daughter pick the color, so of course I have HOT PINK :-)

So tomorrow, I will tape my leg and rest some more for our race! *Did I mention my daughter is running in the kids' fun run? one mile for my big girl!*  Our "carb load" will be sweet potatoes and baked chicken.

Detox Day 3; still kicking!

Still here. Still have a brutal cold and two kids who are waking CONSTANTLY at night! I picked a doozy of a week to quit caffeine!

Took the morning off to lay around in pjs with my kids, watch movies and rest. I am planning on attempting a run tomorrow to see how my leg is feeling. Hoping to get outside and run instead of a treadmill.

Breakfast:
Lemon & Ginger tea
Jimmy Dean D'Lights Turkey sausage & Egg muffin

Lunch:
Kale, turkey sausage & potato soup
Slice of homemade wheat bread
String cheese

Dinner:
Spinach wrap with buffalo grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato & ranch (oops, fell off the wagon on that one, I didn't even think about it having HFCS!!) 
Sauteed zucchini, carrots & portobello mushrooms
a few steak fries

Octoberfest & a glass of rose´ wine

I've only had about 20 oz of water so far, but I tend to load up on water just before bedtime, so I imagine I'll get another 40-60oz in before bed.


So T-4 days to my 10K and I'm just hoping to be able to run a few miles tomorrow. I'm still angry - all the training and I SHOULD NOT be in this position!!

I have a friend who just ran an AMAZING half marathon. She has been SUCH an inspiration in her training and weight loss, it makes me just want to go out and RUN and I feel so helpless that I can't do it! 

Regardless of how my leg feels, I WILL be running my race on Sunday. Dressed as Minnie Mouse if I can pull it all together in the next few days :-)

Detox Day 2

I went to bed at 8:30 last night. However I didn't sleep well because of the cold/sinus infection I'm working on!

Today has been pretty decent, aside from being sick.

Breakfast:
Dandelion tea (oops, forgot to eat more!!)

Lunch:
Slice of homemade wheat bread
2 slices of angus roast beef
2Tbsp red pepper hummus
1oz pita chips

Dinner:
1 serving Undone stuffed peppers
1 homemade roll
1 Sam Adams Octoberfest

40 oz water


I picked up my produce co-op order tonight. That included:
5 bunches of kale
10lbs jumbo carrots
8 apples
6 pears
1 lb grapes
1 head of Romaine
1 head of iceberg
celery
tomatoes
3 cucumbers
Coconut oil
Sunflower seed meats (for hubby!)
2 butternut squash
4 peppers
7 bananas

*Speaking of which, I could use a few butternut squash recipes!! I have NO idea what to do with them!*

So I'll be good for juice for awhile. Now if I could just get my energy up so that I can stand up long enough to MAKE the juice!  All in all, I have no headache, I don't feel BAD except for tired. I'm not missing sugar yet.


AFA my leg: the pain is still there, but it's MUCH less now. Hoping if I give myself one more day off, I can test it out on Thursday or Friday, then run my race on Sunday. Here's hoping!!

Detox Day 1

Breakfast:
Plain Greek yogurt with 1 tsp cinnamon
Dandelion tea

Lunch:
2 slices of angus roast beef
Pita chips
22 oz green juice (kale, watercress, lemon, 2 carrots, a few grapes to make it palatable!)

Dinner:
Turkey sausage, kale & potato soup
Homemade wheat bread
Wine

So far, no caffeine headaches or irritability. Just extreme tiredness, as expected!! I do have a cold or sinus infection, but it's unrelated to the quitting!

I saw this today and it was exactly what I needed to read:

Angry.

I'm angry today. I was angry yesterday too, but at least I still had hope.

My leg is injured. I can't pinpoint if it's IT band pain or some kind of shin splint. 

I've been searching the internet trying to find SOMEONE that has pain in the same or similar place.  I visited a running store yesterday that suggested IT band pain and I purchased a foam roller. As I've been rolling, I've realized the pain is different than I was able to explain.
 

I found this drawing and can identify now that my pain is in the Tibialis anterior muscle. Foam rolling down the side/front of my leg is EXCRUCIATING.   It doesn't hurt all the time, just when I put pressure on the ball of my foot. It doesn't hurt to go up and down stairs, it doesn't hurt to walk except about every 15th step. 

I feel like I COULD go running. But is it worth the pain I might experience just to prove I can still do it?




Now I'm just angry.

I'm angry that everything I've read says to rest until it's better. I want someone to tell me to RUN THROUGH THE PAIN. I want someone to tell me a magic stretch or pill that will take the pain away.  I do NOT want to let myself down with the races I have coming up.

I'm angry I wound up skipping my 10 mile run this weekend. I was so excited to go, I was excited to see what my time would be. I've been so happy to see my training run times going down from races I've run in the past.

I'm angry because I feel like I've let myself, my family & friends and all of you down. I still plan on running my races, but I don't think my times will be anything special.

I'm angry because I'm sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else's success. While I am HAPPY for them, I have been working my TAIL off to accomplish something too. But instead of running a great exhilarating 10 miles today, I've been eating all.the.things and moping.

I'm just angry.

/pity party

Monday is Coming!

What I wanted to have for dinner:

Homemade cinnamon rolls

What I did have for dinner:

Kale, beets, carrots, cucumber, lemon, tomato & apple juice

Monday is my goal day. I am quitting sugar again. I am also going to {attempt} to quit/dramatically reduce my caffeine. I have been reading up on half marathon tapering and the benefit of quitting caffeine before a race has come up several times.

A little caffeine is often a habitual start or pick-me-up during the day; however, when daily caffeine consumption becomes so routine that a continuous IV would work just as well, some question whether the ergogenic effect may be dampened. According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, ergogenic response during endurance exercise is greater and lasts longer in nonusers versus users.  Running Times

So with one week before the 10K and two before the half marathon, I am hoping to help my performance along with some good fuel and hard work!

So starting Monday - keep me accountable!! No sugar, no caffeine!

Now I'm off to chug my juice, have my cinnamon roll - because come on, they are delicious- and get some sleep. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting a cold and that is NOT what I need right now!!

8 Miles - Check.

Ran 8 miles on Saturday. The cool part? It took me less time to run 8 this year than it did to run my 10K last October.  THAT, my friends, is accomplishment!

I don't know if I'm on track to do a sub-60min race at the 10K, but it is still on my radar.

This week's plan:
10/1 ~ Monday: Two miles in 20 minutes // Circuit class
10/2 ~Tuesday: Rest
10/3 ~Wednesday: Four miles (dreadmill) // Circuit class
10/4 ~Thursday: Six miles (trail)
10/5 ~Friday: rest
10/6 ~Saturday: 10 miles (trail)
10/7 ~Sunday: Rest


I have to say, I felt awesome after my 8 miles on Saturday. I stretched at the park, then came home and sat in a cold bath for about 10 minutes. Chilly, but it did it's job. I took a shower then popped two Aleve, yay for no knee pain!

However, after my "easy 2" on Monday, my shins were so.sore. Thankfully the trainer in the circuit class showed me some stretches that relieved the pain and I haven't felt it since!

I will be stretching my shins a bit before my run tomorrow and Thursday for sure!

I just read the other day to wean from caffeine