Coeur d'Alene half marathon 2011 race report



I finished

This may be the least informative race report ever. 

My day started out at 5:30a.  I woke up just before the alarm went off, immediately drank a large glass of water along with my supplements and ate some leftover pork loin, half an avocado, and some blueberries.



The biggest blueberries ever

The night before, I had laid all my clothes and gear out to make sure I wouldn't forget anything.

Just a little after 6:30a we drove down to Riverstone.  My husband dropped me off and I went to go mill around while he found a parking spot.  While he was parking I made a pit stop at the porta potties.  Luckily I was able to get in line right after the full marathoners left so the line was actually pretty short.  I was surprised at how long it took for the glass of water I drank to go through.  If I was doing it again, I definitely would have given myself a little longer between waking and leaving for the race.  The potties were not bad in the morning, but we passed by again after the race and people were opening doors and immediately closing them to look for another potty.  Use your imagination... or don't.

Amazingly, my husband and I found each other again while we were waiting to line up for the race start.  Not much later, it was time to line up and we said goodbye.  I took a place at what I thought was near the back, but as we got closer to our 7:30a start time, I went even farther back.  I had heard that you can get run over if you line up too close to the front and I definitely wanted to pace myself and not get caught up in the crowd or tripped or run over.

And we're off!  My husband says I am somewhere in here but I have no clue where.

I honestly don't remember if there was a countdown, or a bell, or what they used to start the race, I just know that it took about a minute to get from my starting point to the start line.  I couldn't see the front very well but everyone really seemed pretty courteous and I didn't see anyone fall, trip, or get pushed.  Even though I was consciously trying to stick to my planned pace I was surprised at how hard it was to actually do it. 

The trail narrowed off after about a half mile so we were packed together pretty tightly for awhile.  I saw a number of people walking 3 or 4 abreast, blocking almost the entire trail, and it took a fair bit of patience to get through the first mile and find a decent spot with other people who were going my pace.  There were a couple other sections where I had to pass through a dense crowd, but for most of the race I had plenty of room.

About a mile in?  Feeling strong!

I wish I had some sweet details or funny stories about stuff that happened during the race, but I couldn't have planned a more perfect race, really.  I felt great, I kept a good pace, nothing out of the ordinary happened (well, there was one thing that I was unable to plan adequately for, but it's kind of too much information to post here), and I don't think I could have run a better race.

Here are my stats, with commentary:

Chip time:  2:41:04
Avg pace (chip): 12:18/mi

Garmin moving time: 2:37:04 (I made two pit stops, slightly off course)
Garmin Avg pace: 11:46/mi (this is a significantly faster pace than any of my training runs)
Avg HR: 147 bpm (almost 10 bpm over my training rates)
Max HR: 168 bpm

As I said, I'm really pleased with how I did.  I came in 1146 out of 1412 finishers, which kind of made me chuckle.  Not too great when you compare me against the others, but when you consider that the goal was to finish, and I did that plus ran better than I trained, I'm quite satisfied  =)

Here are some more pics from the race:

Motoring along.  The runners had thinned out by this time

That chick in the purple was tough to get around, but she fell back after awhile.  She would walk and then when I tried to pass she would start running again.

Right before the turn around

Just passed halfway!  Still feeling good

Refueling with dates and coconut oil

Significantly after turnaround... feeling good and rocking out to music  =)

At the finish

Looking a little haggard

Tired, but happy

The dreaded ice bath.  Not as bad as I had anticipated.

Here are some of my best training/recovery tips:
- Strength train. Especially your legs. The course in this race was really pretty flat (I think my Garmin said there was a total of 320 feet elevation gain) so I didn't train for hills but I did squat and deadlift a lot and I really think that helped with the few hills I did encounter. Most of the people going my pace walked up the hills we came across, or they were really laboring to slowly jog up them. I was able to just motor up the hills with no problems, and I really attribute that to the squatting and deadlifting. Learn how to squat to full depth (erm... ass to the grass. Youtube is a decent resource... check out this video), and if you don't know how to deadlift then do lots of lunges and work up to lunges with weight. You will thank me!

- Ice bath after the race.  Maybe it's just me, but I did this, plus a contrast shower, and I was not sore today.  Fill the tub with cold water, dump in a bag of ice, and sit in it until the ice melts.  The water doesn't have to be high... just covering your legs is fine.

- Contrast showers.  It sounds crazy but there is science behind it.  After training, at the end of my normal shower I would just turn the water to cold and make a couple turns in the cold water, then turn it back to warm for a minute, then do the cold again.  I actually kind of started to enjoy it  =|   I did these after a lot of my training runs because they are really supposed to help with recovery.

- Do a short run the day after the race.  Getting some circulation going the day after the race will also help with recovery.  I felt good this morning so I did a 2.5 mile walk with a few intervals of slow jogging.

- If possible, have support along the course.  I initially told my husband not to worry about following me along the course, but he did anyway and I was so glad to see him!  I never really got a 'down in the dumps' feeling but it really lifted my spirits to see a friendly, familiar face and to hear him cheering for me.  He was so sweet to follow my progress, cheer, and take pics.  I love you, Aaron  =D

I'll post more tips as I think of them!

Taper week, 10 mile run, bacon party, and faileo

It's been a bumpy ride the last few weeks, but I've officially reached my taper week.  Or maybe I should say, I've finally reached my official taper week.  Over the last few weeks I've been dealing with overtraining, lack of motivation, some poor food choices and the consequences of those choices.  As a result I've backed off a little from my training schedule and it's had me a little concerned I might not be prepared enough by race time.

But, Saturday I completed my 10 mile run and it felt okay.  Not good.  Not great.  But okay enough that I feel confident I can complete the race.  Here are the stats from my 10 mile run on Saturday:

Distance: 10.03 mi

Moving time: 2:08:13

Avg HR: 139

Max HR: 159

Avg moving pace: 12:47:17

My pace was a little under what I figured my race pace would be.  I think part of that is that I just didn't want to push too hard the week before the race.  Maybe part of it is due to sub-par nutrition as well.  If I can tighten up my diet this week and get some good rest I am sure I'll have more in the tank come race day.

Something struck me as funny as I got started jogging, heading out of my neighborhood while chewing a rough spot on my nail, which I feel a silly need to state is not something I make a habit of.  I thought, "I'm chewing my nail as if I'm just mosey-ing along with nothing better to do.  I think this running thing has just become another part of my life" and I chuckled slightly to myself.

In other, food related news...  I spent most of Friday preparing for our bacon party.  I must have sent 8 or more pans like this through the oven!



Bacon, ready for the oven

The menu was not paleo (though I managed to keep the whole affair gluten free!) and it consisted of:

Almond stuffed bacon wrapped dates

Goat cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates

Caramelized onion and bacon dip with veggies

Bacon explosion

Baked potato salad

Broccoli and bacon salad

Chocolate chip cookies with bacon

Bacon and toffee cookies

Dark chocolate bacon fudge



Here is the spread

Stupidly, perhaps, I planned to do this while I was still logging pretty high mileage.  With the exception of the copious amounts of dark chocolate I've been consuming recently and the occasions I've gone, uh, nuts with the nut butters, my diet has been pretty clean. 

As I mentioned, I managed to keep everything gluten free, but there was a fair bit of sugar in several of the dishes.  I did not cut the sugar in the cookies, and dates are, of course, just little bits of sugar.  There was dairy in the dip, and obviously the cheese.  The fudge was dairy free, but the toffee bits clearly aren't sugar free, and neither are the gazillion dark chocolate bars I used to make it.

Dark chocolate, I've come to realize, is a slippery slope for me.  It's one of Mark Sisson's sensible vices, and has positive qualities including mood enhancement and a high antioxidant content.  There are also downsides including added sugar, caffiene (though some may consider that a plus), and a really high calorie content. 

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a LOT of quality dark chocolate for Christmas.  I mean, it honestly must have been well over $100 worth of chocolate.  But it's been a blessing and a curse.

First, chocolate is not paleo.  It sounds stupid to say, and it sounds obvious, but it has taken me a long time to realize this, due in part to the fact that dark chocolate is pretty regularly consumed by people who follow the primal movement.  A chocolate bar, no matter it's quality or country of origin, is a highly processeed food that contains added sugar.  I think it can be a very occasional treat, but should not be a regular part of a clean natural foods diet.  At least not my natural foods diet.

Second, it seems I've become unable to resist the stuff.  Shortly after Christmas I taped all my wonderful gifted chocolate in a box and placed it in the closet because, honestly, I had further weight loss goals and was having a hard time looking at the tower of chocolate all day long.  Not long after that taped shut box was in the closet, there was a ripped open and retaped box in it's place.  And then, there was a double sealed, double ripped open taped up box on my desk, until I asked my husband to put it somewhere I wouldn't find it until May.

Then, I started buying small size dark chocolate bars at the grocery store, and eating them before my run.  At first, it was nice to have a little bit of chocolate before a run.  I got a nice little energy and caffiene kick and felt really good while running.  But I soon started to not feel so hot during and after the runs where I ate chocolate.  By then, I knew where the chocolate box was and the last few weeks have been a full on dark chocolate fest.

I have eaten 3 to 4 oz bars of chocolate before several recent runs, and every time it's been a poor experience.  Once I got really sick afterwards, and the stuff jacks my heart rate so high I have a hard time keeping my heart rate down where I want it to be, causing me to run on sugar instead of fat during my run, which hasn't been working well because my carb intake is pretty low, which raises my cortisol and....aaahhh!!!  It's a cascade of stress on my body. 

Basically, I can't control myself and it has been taking it's toll on my energy and health and fitness goals.  I've also been getting some nasty muscle cramps since my chocolate consumption has been high.

With the exception of two Trader Joe's 85% dark chocolate lovers bars, which I'm saving for a really special occasion, I have now used up my chocolate stash.  I also forced myself to dispose of the remaining chocolate bacon fudge which I have been less than successful at restraining myself from today.

I have to say, I am hugely relieved!

The bacon party is over, the chocolate is gone, and I'm ready to get back on track.

For the last several days I've been waffling about what I want my next health and fitness goal to be.  Now, I've decided: after the race, I'm going to take two to three months to really dial in my diet and refocus on exercise with the goal of losing 8 lbs.  Then, I will reasses and switch my focus to something strength or aesthetically related (ie: building muscle).

Coming up in the next several posts: recipes and pics from the bacon party, and details on my nutrition and fitness plans.

Running update

Last Saturday I completed my 9 mile long run.  I felt really good when I was finished and my body seemed to recover from the effort really well.  I wasn't even sore the following day.  Last week's stats:

Tuesday 5/3  5.42 miles
Time: 1:08:28
Avg HR: 139
Max HR: 159

Thursday 5/5  5.38 miles
Time: 1:10:44
Avg HR: 139
Max HR: 157

Saturday 5/7 9.5 miles
Time: 1:53:53
Avg HR: 141
Max HR: 157

Something happened this week, though.  I was feeling pretty great Tuesday before and during my 5 mile run, but when I got home I got sick to my stomach and very achy.  Thursday's run was tough and I probably should've cut it short.  I did an 'easy' 5 miles of sprint, walk, run intervals and was able to complete the 5 miles.  My recovery from Tuesday's and Thursday's runs has been difficult, so last night I went to bed early and got a couple extra hours of sleep and skipped today's planned 10 miles.

I think, honestly, I'm riding the edge of being overtrained.  I've had some hyper-cortisol symptoms this week, some difficulty sleeping, and some stress going on here at home.  I've also been dealing with some inflammatory symptoms -- connective tissue pain, inflamed gums and other things.  Even though it was difficult mentally to not complete my planned training today, I know I'm doing the right thing for my body.

This training process has really shown me that I have the mental toughness to set a big goal and follow through with it.  It's shown me that I'm able to affect change in my body.  I've developed a love for running and made it a part of my life.

I have never been under the impression that chronic cardio is health promoting, but training for the half has really brought that fact home for me.  Between my last couple (rather stressful) months at CrossFit and this near-overtraining experience I'm beginning to recognize the ways in which I need to guard my health and wellbeing when I'm trying to... improve my health and wellbeing!

So, as I said above, I've developed a love for running but I will be so glad to be done with training for this race!  I've got a few plans I'm considering as 'the next big thing' but nothing's set in stone yet.  Possibilities?  Taking a couple months to focus on leaning out, or maybe just enjoy hiking and backpacking this summer and looking forward to starting CrossFit in the fall... though, that's a topic all on it's own.

Back to the present.  One big training week left and then taper week!  Hopefully I can rest up enough over the next couple days to be able to hit it hard (and smart) next week.

Playing catch up

I hate to be one of those bloggers that says, "Oh, sorry I haven't posted in a long time..."  But, sorry I haven't posted in a long time.

I have still been running, still been keeping paleo, and am feeling pretty great!  Here are some quick stats from recent runs.  It seems I've been doing some pretty shoddy record keeping, but here's what I have:

3/22
3.5 mi run
Time: 55:57
Avg HR: 141
Max HR: 168

3/23
3x3 press and deadlift

3/24
3.5 mi run
Time: 45:10
Avg HR: 142
Max HR: 168

3/26
5.1 mi run
Time: 1:04:05
Avg HR: 137
Max HR: 164

3/27
3x3 bench press and squat
assitance work (squats and pushups)
clean and jerk skill work

3/28
5 rounds of
50 jump rope
25 kb swings 25#
5 60# c&j
3 pullups

3/29
4 mi run, no other stats

3/30
5,3,1 press and deadlift

3/31
4 mi run, no other stats

4/2
6 mi run plus 1 mile with husband later
Time: 76:03
Forgot hrm at home

4/3
5,3,1 bench and squat
50 sq, 30 plu
5 c&j 55#
40 situps, 40 back extensions

4/4
no workout recorded... can't remember if I rested or not!

4/5
4 mi run
Time: 53:09
Avg HR: 141
Max HR: 180

4/6
3x5 push press (55,60,65) and deadlift (105, 115, 125)
3 rounds of
30 lunges, 10 pullups
c&j - 55#, 60#, 65#

4/7
am 4 mile run
ran fasted, lost stats in my hrm but the run went really well

4/9
on vacation!
6 mi run
Time: 1:20:56
Avg HR:  146
Max HR: 172

4/10
took rest day

4/11
on vacation still!
ran/walked 3 miles, every 1/4 mile did 20 squats, 20 psu for total of 160 each exercise.  This was a good workout

4/12
4.5 mi run outside, felt great

Strength training wise, I've been keeping with Wendler's 5/3/1 program up until this last week where I decided to switch to mostly bodyweight exercises.  I was getting a little bored with the program, but the main reason I switched it up was because we were out of town this last weekend.  I am not sure if I want to go back to 5/3/1 at this point or if I want to work on some other stuff at this point, but I better figure it out soon since I have a strength workout scheduled tomorrow.

Twice in the last week or so I've experimented with some different pre-run fueling.  I did one fasted morning run, which actually went really well surprisingly, and two runs after eating a small dark chocolate bar.  I figured, the dark chocolate (Dagoba 87% is what I've used because the small bar is the perfect size) is high in fat and has a little bit of carbs.  Since I'm primarily trying to run using fat as fuel I though this might work out well.  It's also nice that dark chocolate has a little bit of caffeine.  I may experiment with this some more.

On our vacation I had the privilege to be in charge of most of the meals for myself, my husband, and my father in law.  I was also able to share some information with my father-in-law about the paleo diet, and it was awesome to actually have someone willing to listen, and maybe even a little bit interested!  The other thing that happened was that I ended up losing a couple pounds on vacation, weighing in this morning at 154.4, which is the lowest I've been in over a month.  Overall, I think we all ended up coming home feeling pretty good instead of run-down from eating a bunch of crappy food.  Well, my husband had a little too much sugar, but I think he knew what he was getting himself into.

My training schedule really starts ramping up now until race day, adding an additional mile every week.  Depending on how I feel, I may back off a little one of those weeks.  With the exception of some hip pain during our vacation I'm feeling strong and injury free.  I think the hip pain was due to sitting a lot during travel... Monday we spent 9 hours in the car!  Hopefully it will stay away from now on.

For those interested, I photo blogged just about every morsel I ate while we were gone, it's all over at my food blog.  I did succumb to a piece and a half of salt water taffy while we were gone.  It was good, but I know I feel better without it and I have to say I enjoyed the smoked salmon a lot more!

Saturday's long run

My training plan had me scheduled for 5 miles on Saturday.  I'm happy to say I completed it and dare I even say... it was easy?

Distance: 5.1 miles
Time: 1:05:48
Avg HR: 141
Max HR: 162

I didn't push the pace much, but the couple times I did increase my effort I found myself in a pretty sweet groove and it felt awesome.  A little weirdness in my left ankle, a little weirdness in my left knee and shin, but other than that I was pretty pain free.

In other training news, I'm on to my next cycle of 5/3/1.  The book suggests that people training twice a week should skip the deload week so I started again, adding 5 lbs to my military and bench press, and 10 lbs to my squat and deadlift.  It's definitely a little more difficult this time.  Near the end of this cycle I may consider switching strength programs but I haven't decided yet.

And now, bedtime!

Long run stats, menu plan, disappointment, and pain. Plus a new strategy!

Wow, could I have come up with a more depressing title?

First, a warning, this post is not 'all about' running or paleo.  It will probably be filled with whining.

The week has been rough.  Nothing's really wrong.  I haven't injured myself.  No one has died.  But, Wednesday I lost my running buddy.

When I first got the wild hair to run the half marathon, I asked someone at work if she would be interested in running a well known local 12k with me, which takes place a few weeks before the half.  It seemed like we had quite a bit in common and I was hoping to make a new friend.  She agreed, we discussed plans to do our weekly long runs together, I shared my training schedule with her and she liked it and decided to follow it.  We had been updating each other on our results via Facebook.  It was nice to have someone to talk running with.    Well, Wednesday she told me that she is having surgery the week before the race and so she's decided not to do it.

Now, surgery is a totally legitimate reason to cancel something.  But since there's so much time between now and then I asked if she still wanted to run on Saturdays and she said no.  Then she mentioned that she's "still following my training schedule!"  and, "has really started to love running!" 

We never actually got to run together because the weather here has been yucky lately, and I am probably taking this far too personally.  But I can't help but feel like I got, uh... honey badgered.  As in, "Thanks for the treats, stupid!"  (this video is not safe for work due to language)



I didn't think it would really affect me as much as it has.  Running the half was my personal goal from the start and I usually prefer to exercise on my own.  Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with running.  Maybe I'm just disappointed that it seems like she didn't want to run with me.

So, along with getting that news Wednesday, the rest of the week has had me in a little funk.  My legs were sore during my run on Tuesday and it was painful.  I still did my press and deadlift workout on Wednesday though I did fewer reps of the assistance work. Thursday I decided to skip my run due to knee pain (okay, okay, I was a little sad, too!  But mostly it was because of my knees) and of course Friday was my scheduled rest day.

Aside from the difficulty with running and my lack of a social life, I've been feeling bingey all week long.  I've had a couple run-ins with homemade almond butter and a little too much fruit.  The scale has been creeping up and I'm about 5 lbs over the weight I was at when I started this whole thing.

I guess that leads me to my new strategy.  Feeling disenchanted with running, for whatever the reason may be, I downloaded The Primal Blueprint.  I've always liked Mark Sisson's take on chronic cardio, and I had it in the back of my mind since before I decided to train for the half.  I haven't finished the book yet, but I've decided to change up my training strategy a bit based on Mark's recommendations.  Basically this means lowering my intensity during my runs, adding in sprints once a week, and continuing to lift weights.  See below:

I tried to keep my hr during today's run between 55 and 75% of my max (105-144 bpm).  This meant that instead of running I was pretty much at a slow jog, with a couple short walk breaks if my hr got over my target zone.  I have to say, it definitely took me longer to do my 4 miles today than it did last week, but I could tell I didn't dip into my glycogen stores as much as I have in the past.  I came home feeling pretty stable and I didn't need a piece of fruit or a sweet potato after my run.

Distance: 4.26 miles
Time: 56:12
Avg HR: 132
Max HR: 157

Along with switching up my training strategy, I'm trying a couple different things with food this week.  No fruit except berries, and no nuts except macadamia nuts.  The fruit is definitely affecting me in the same way sugar does (makes me want to binge, eat when I'm not hungry, and puts me in a nasty mood!) and the nuts are just too easy to overconsume.  I stopped buying almond butter for that reason, but it looks like even the 2 year old bag of raw almonds in the pantry is a trap, the nuts are just screaming to be turned into almond butter (delicious when roasted, salted, and ground up with some coconut oil  *drool*).  Anyway.  The goal is to try the lower intensity running for a bit, and to keep my insulin well controlled.  Hopefully I'll see a bit of improvement with these changes!

This week's menu:

Roast chicken

Carrots and curried cauliflower

Salad

Pork roast

Roasted root veggies

Salad

Meatballs and pasta sauce

Garlic green beans, spaghetti squash

Salad

Leftovers

Carrots

Salad

Macadamia nut chicken

Broccoli

Salad

Leftovers

Broccoli

Salad

Training week two is nearly complete and meal plan

Saturday I completed my 'long' run for the week.  I have to say that after an actual day of rest, I felt awesome and had a really good run.  Stats:

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 45:40
Avg HR: 150
Max HR: 169

So I shaved about 2 minutes off last week's time.  I'll take it!  The three mile runs are getting quite a bit easier at this point.  I have been having a little bit of knee pain lately but nothing too bad.  If it gets any worse I'll consider doing something about it, but for now the plan is to just deal with it.

I've been a little discouraged this week because my weight seems to be creeping up.  I know I'm lifting weights, I know I'm running, I know I'm probably building some muscle, but I also think I've been eating a little too much.  Since Friday I've been trying to eat primarily raw veggies because I think it's easier to avoid overeating that way.

For instance, I can easily put down 12 oz of broccoli if I roast it, because it loses almost half it's volume in water in the oven!  But, 12 oz of raw broccoli?  Uh, no way.  That's an entire dinner plate heaped with broccoli!  The same with cauliflower... I could put down an entire head of roasted curried cauli, but there's no way I could eat a whole head of raw stuff.  And of course, those veggies need a healthy dollop of coconut oil to be properly roasted. I'm not afraid of fat by any means but it's easy to consume too much food with (the oh, so delicious) roasted veggies.

So this week I'm going to stick mostly with salads.  I am trying out a new dressing and it sounds promising.  If it passes the taste test tonight I'll post the recipe!

This week's menu plan:

Roast chicken

Carrots

Salad

Carnitas

Broccoli slaw

Salad

Flank steak

Garlic green beans

Salad

Leftovers

Carrots and Broccoli slaw

Salad

Apricot sage pork chops with red cabbage and fennel

Garlic Green beans

Salad

Pork Roast

Broccoli

Salad

4 mile run is in the bag!

I just got back from my first 'long' run.  Stats:

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 48:09
Avg HR: 151
Max HR: 165

I have to say that my body feels pretty wiped out from everything I've done this week.  The training weeks technically run Monday through Sunday, so I still have one training day left this week.  Depending on how I feel tomorrow I might move that weights session to Monday. 

My husband and I went skiing yesterday.  It was my first time!  I had a great instructor and I only fell twice.  I didn't think much of it because I stuck to the bunny hill, but my husband says that's exceptional for a first time trip. 

The instructor asked me if I played any sports, and after a moment I replied, "I lift weights and I run".  It was such a foreign experience to be able to say that because for almost all of my life I've been inactive.  And when he asked me halfway through if I was tired, I was so proud to be able to reply, "nope!  I'm good to go!" and actually mean it.  Fitness is awesome!

Meat massacre and first two days of training

First two scheduled workouts down, many more to go!  Yesterday's mission was to find my 1 rep max for bench press, overhead press and back squat.  I ended up at 60, 55, and 95 respectively.  Then I did a quick 3 rounds of bodyweight stuff: 20 squats, 15 kb swings with 25#, 10 lunges with 10# and 5 assisted pullups.

Tonight was a 3 mile run.  Stats are as follows:

Distance: 3.1 miles

Time: 35:50

Avg HR: 154

Max HR: 171

Not too bad for a quick 5k.  Definitely an improvement over my first attempts at 3 miles.  And, even though I find the running boring, it's getting easier.  (Per the display on the treadmill) I was able to increase my pace comfortably, and I've noticed my HR is decreasing a little bit, too. 

After I got back from my run today I had a decent sized banana.  On Saturday I made the mistake of having some banana and water before my 3.5 mile run, and I found that I got a little heart-burny so I don't think I'll be doing banana before a run again.  Also, banana seems to be fine after longer runs, but my time is decreasing on these 3 mile runs and since my HR is right around 155-160 most of the time, I don't think I'm burning enough glucose to really need a banana afterwards.  I felt pretty darn good fuel-wise today in comparison to the first couple runs... I am pretty sure I basically bonked on the first run.  Lately I've felt comfortable at the level of carbohydrate intake I'm at.  Perhaps I'll save the sugary fruits for the longer weekend runs and stick to sweet potatoes after the shorter ones.

And now... the meat massacre!





Blood spray from tenderizing the meat!

 



Monday's lunch and breakfast: leftover salsa chicken on
zucchini, squash and onions.  Eggs and broccoli slaw,
avocado and blueberries.

I kind of messed up my Whole30 yesterday by marinating the meat in tamari.  I could've done without it, but I was trying to impress my husband (and he was definitely impressed with the flank steak)... so, not exactly sure where I'm going to go with that.  I'll have to consider it tomorrow and decide what I'm going to do!


Shoes and pre-pre-training week run

Hallelujah, I have new shoes!

I've needed some new running shoes for awhile now.  I started in these... two seasons old trail shoes:

Then, out of necessity (the New Balance's best days had long passed) I ran in my Pumas, which I had been using for CrossFit:

In general, I've found most Pumas to be very narrow and these are no exception.  I definitely do not have a narrow foot, so I always felt like my heel was sliding off the sole when I ran.  They work pretty well for CrossFit and lifting, but they are not a distance running shoe.

Today I bought these, the Nike Free Run +:

And I absolutely LOVE them.  The uppers fit like a comfy glove, the heel is just wide enough to feel stable, but not too wide, and there is just enough arch support, but not too much.  I took them on a 3 mile run this afternoon on the treadmill and from what I can tell, they are going to be a great pair of shoes.  I was going back and forth between these and the Free 3.0 v2, but I could only find them online and really wanted to see them in person before I made a decision.  My local sporting goods store had these in stock and they were $10 off, so I was pretty excited!

I struggled a little on this afternoon's run.  Miles 1 and 2 were okay, I kept about a 12 minute per mile pace, heart rate around 150 bpm.  Mile 3 was tough and I walked for a couple minutes.  I have had hip pain in the past from running and backpacking and it already hurt a little when I hit the gym today.  I saw a chiropractor a couple years ago who said my left leg is 3 mm shorter than my right (my guess is this happened when I fractured my pelvis 12 years ago) and he suggested I wear a small lift.  I lost it, but it may be time to get a replacement.

Today's approximate stats are...

Distance: 3.2 miles

Avg HR: 134

Max HR: 174

Time: 45 mins

I forgot to stop my HR monitor until I got home, so the time is a little inaccurate.

Unofficial plans for the upcoming week are to run twice, 3 miles each time, and two full body weights sessions.

On the nutrition front, I decided to come off my freaky diet early, and I've been eating clean paleo since I made that decision last Thursday.  It was very difficult to maintain something so strict, mentally and physically.  I know I made the right decision and haven't had any issues with overeating or cravings.  I'm still considering doing the Whole30, and our house is ramping up for a full month of clean eating starting February 20th.  I'm sure I'll be posting recipes, and look in the sidebar for a link to photos of what I'm eating and cooking!



I ran tonight for the first time in over a month...

and it went ok.

I can't say much about my time, but I completed 3.1 miles on the treadmill tonight after not having run for over a month.  Not bad for someone who has been on a pretty insane weight loss diet for several months!

Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 40 mins
Avg HR: 148
Max HR: 170

I felt pretty comfortable with my HR around 150-160, and didn't have any problems with breathlessness at higher rates.  I do realize my pace was pretty awful, but I'm sure that will improve with more training.

By the time I was finished I could tell I was reaching my limit as far as fuel goes.  My legs felt like jelly and I was starting to get a little bit dizzy at the end.  When I got home I had an apple, an ounce of leftover chicken, some leftover roasted broccoli and carrots, and a clementine and that seemed to get me back on an even keel.  I don't think the apple was the best carb choice but it was one of the only things I had in the house.  I'll need to try a few different things for post workout refueling.

I finished my tentative training plan for the half marathon and will be posting that in the next couple days!