It's coming back (shh -- don't talk about it!)

I ran 8 miles today, with 5 tempo miles in the middle.  I've been doing speed stuff on Tuesdays the past several weeks now.  Today, I planned on aiming for about 8 minute pace for the tempo miles, but I had the 7:50-55 pace in the back of my head from my last marathon training plan. 

It was super windy, and I stayed conservative on the first tempo mile.  But despite that, my first two tempo miles were right around the 8 minute pace, and the next three were in the 7:55-50 range.  I slowed down for the last mile and made my way home.  Good run.  The running might just be coming back.  But don't say anything -- I really don't want to jinx it!

I ate an entire bowl of popcorn and a wheat pita stuffed with avocado and tomato slices.  Changed my clothes and then headed to 90 minutes of hot yoga.  The room got up to 100* tonight, and I was SWEATY!  Problem is, I didn't rehydrate enough after my run and my salty sweat was pouring into my eyes through the whole class.  Ouch!  But the concentrated, meditative stretching was awesome anyway. 

I'm pretty psyched my legs are working and my running is getting solid again.  I've been thinking a lot about what it took to get me here, and I'll post about that later.  I've learned some really important stuff about returning from injury. 

Have you ever had an injury that sidelined you?  How did you make your return? 

"You were like Forrest Gump!"

What a weekend of running! 

I started out on my long run later Friday afternoon, and almost right away realized I was going to be cold.  But, I really just felt like r u n n i n g so I kept going.  About 8 miles in, I stopped at my sister's where I had stashed a small bottle of water and a banana.  Ate half the banana and a couple swigs of water, grabbed my gloves and kept running.  And running.  And running.  I kept the pace slow and easy and after 13 miles decided to add a couple more on.  I kept running.  By mile 14, I headed toward home.  I was losing energy by mile 15, and after 16 miles I was freezing and hungry and it was getting dark, so I decided to stop. 

I haven't run 16 miles since the marathon last May.  I just wanted to run on Friday and keep going.  I wanted to remind myself I can run long.  It was a good run. 

Saturday morning I did 4 easy miles before heading to work at the running store.  Then, this morning, I wanted to keep running.  So I headed over the bridge to the city to run around the Art Museum loop on Kelly Drive.  I love driving up the Ben Franklin Parkway with all the flags flying and the museum up ahead.

I set out up the Kelly Drive side of the loop and questioned my attire.  Again, like both runs the past two days, a cold wind blew through me and chilled me.  But there were lots of people out and lots of stuff to see along the run today, and as I made my way past one of my favorite parts of the run, this big rock,

I grinned a bit.  It's been a long time since I've run over here because of the time off last fall, and I love running this path!  The river was jammin' with dozens of crew teams assembled for a regatta.  There were other runners and cyclists and in-line skaters (people still do that?) on the path.  The skies were clear and blue and sunny.  The wind was at my back on the second half of the run so I wasn't as cold.  As much as I was feeling good and could've kept going, I decided to play it safe for my leg and call it a day after 8 miles. 

28 miles in 3 days.  I stretched, wore my compression socks, and was careful to rehydrate and refuel well after all 3 runs.  Tonight, I feel good.  I feel like my running is getting solid again.  It's been a long time coming.

Last night I went out to dinner with friends.  I told them about my run Friday night, and one of them replied with, "You were like Forrest Gump!  You just kept running and running and running!"  I giggled at that, but it really does sum up my weekend.  I just wanted to keep running.  I didn't care about pace, and I kept it comfortable.  I just wanted to run. 

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Thanks to RFTL, Aimee, Jen, Charisa, Maria, and HRG for your comments on my last post.  I'll keep writing entries here even if no one reads them because I like to have a record of my life -- but it is nice to know people are checking in here every so often! 

Maria -- I'll check out that recipe!  While I'm not officially still doing the clean/vegan eating challenge, I haven't fully added everything back into my diet yet.  I had pan seared flounder last night, and I did have some coffee this weekend -- and while I tried it with just almond milk (nah) and just the non-dairy vanilla creamer (eh), it wasn't good until I put a little sugar in it.  So, my time of not eating added sugar is officially done.  I will allow myself a small teaspoon of sugar in my coffee, but I'm not planning on adding it elsewhere just yet. 

On that note, here's what I made for dinner tonight: Tofu Veggie Quiche from the savvyvegetarian site. 

I tweaked the recipe a bit (added some mushrooms and omitted the sauce but added a couple things in its place) and it was pretty good. Oh - and I also made the crust with all whole wheat flour and a Smart Balance vegan spread.  Next time I make it, though, I'll use less parsley (too overpowering!) and play with the "sauce" a bit more to adjust the flavors.  It was perfect with a side of melon and grapes, but it would be yummy with a small side salad, too.   Leftovers for the next couple days! 

A Bowl of Cereal.

On Monday, I was really wanting to add some stuff back into my eating.  I wanted to, but I was nervous.  I was uncertain about where to start.  I was nervous about the effects on my weight.  I was hesitant to open that door -- afraid that once I do, I'll easily fall back into my old habits.  Not to say my old habits were bad -- I was a pretty healthy eater to begin with -- but the past 14 days have been so clean. 

It took me all day.  I had my smoothie for breakfast, a salad for lunch, an apple and grapes for a snack.  Finally, late in the afternoon, I broke into the good stuff. 

A bowl of my yummy cereal.  Kashi Heart to Heart honey toasted oat cereal.  With almond milk.
 

After a trip to the grocery store, I didn't come home with much outside the vegan world.  I got a loaf of the delicious whole wheat bread I usually eat -- and was happy to note there's no added sugars in it, and few ingredients.  Hmm.  That's it, actually.  The rest of the stuff I got was for salads and the veggie/lentil stew I made last week. 

I enjoyed slices of the bread with smashed avocado with my stew for dinner that night, and since then I've had a couple spoonfuls of the fat free frozen yogurt that's been in my fridge.  I may throw the rest out.  If it weren't there, I'd likely not want it.

I may try coffee with almond milk and no sugar this week.  We'll see. 

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Aimee suggested (funny - no one else is even reading this blog these days) what I would feel if I did this for a whole month.  I'm curious about that, too, actually.  I know I could do it -- once you make the switch it becomes "what can I eat today" vs. "what can't I eat" -- but I was feeling stuck and my running seemed lagging.  And I miss some of the other stuff. 

I'll do the strict challenge again.  Maybe longer next time.  Heck, I'm sort of still in it now. 

Clean Eating Challenge -- two week recap and the first day of Spring

For the past two weeks -- 14 days -- I've eaten only vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans.  For the first few days I used skim milk and a raspberry viniagrette, but by the 3rd or 4th day, I stopped that as well.  I've used soy sauce, but no other condiments.  I've switched to almond milk.  I have not had:
*any meats -- no chicken, beef, fish
*any added sugar, other than that from natural sources such as fruit, honey, agave nectar, molasses -- so no white sugar at all.
*any bread.  I did try two bites of the Irish soda bread that my sister made on St. Pat's, but that's it.
*any pasta.
*any dairy.  No cheese, yogurt, etc., at all, and no milk since day 3, when I stopped the skim milk. 

The only drinks I've had are water, some 100% OJ (though pasturized), and two cups of herbal tea -- sweetened with agave nectar.  I did break this, though, on two occasions:  a few beers on St. Pat's and a few beers last night at the running store's anniversary party.  The first time, my stomach wasn't happy at all.  After last night, my stomach was ok, but my head hurt terribly. 

I'm rarely bothered by what I can't eat these days.  I've had some moments of really wanting cheese, or coffee, or the yummy dinner my sister made the other night -- but those moments don't really bug me, and they don't really last.

I've lost about 6-7 pounds, and anywhere from a half inch to an inch in places on my body.  People keep asking how I feel, and I'm conflicted about that.  If I weren't so stuffed up with a sore throat and head cold last week, I think I'd have a better handle on things.  I think I feel normal, actually. 

But I do know that my running the past few days has been weak.  And that's one of the reasons I think I need to add some stuff back in.  It could, honestly, have more to do with the time of the month, but I feel like some things I want to reintroduce, anyway, so maybe they'll help, too. 

I think I'm going to add some whole grain bread back in.  That's what I eat normally, anyway, so that won't be tough.  I also will probably add some chicken.  I like chicken. 

I miss coffee.  I don't need it -- and I only have one cup on days I drink it -- so it wouldn't kill me if I never have it again, but I like it in the mornings.  I'll experiment with what I put in it, though -- because I'm going to stay strong with limiting the added sugar in my diet. 

I also miss the greek yogurt I started to like, and my Turkey Hill fat free frozen yogurt.  I'll probably add those in sparingly.  I like my Kashi cereal, so I want that, too. 

And as I write all this, I have a small nervousness about adding any of it.  Right now, I'm planning on a smoothie for breakfast tomorrow, and I've made a salad of mixed greens/veggies/chick peas/walnuts with  balsamic vinegar and olive oil for lunch...

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Today is the first day of Spring.  I drove to the beach with my sister and her family and got to run along the coast.  It was a bit chilly and windy but sunny, and it was a good, quick, run.

Clean Eating -- Days 9 & 10. I passed up a Hershey's Kiss.

Yesterday I headed back to the track.  With my cold, I wasn't sure what I'd do or how it would feel, but I planned on trying for 2x 400 and then if that went well I'd do 2x 800.  First 400's went ok, and low and behold, so then did the 800's!  I was right at the paces I was shooting for.  It wasn't easy, but I wasn't dying either.  With how my head was so stuffy, I'll take it! 

After a post-run/really early dinner of a baked sweet potato and a small bowl of cucumber/tomato/avocado/black bean salad, I headed to yoga.  I warned my teacher I may need to bail if I got dizzy again (the room's at about 95* during the class) like I did the last time I went to yoga while sick, but I ended up doing just fine.  I didn't feel like I had as much strength as usual, but I completed the class and felt really good about it.

Rather than listing what I've been eating, I'll just say I haven't added anything new.  Yesterday and today's menus were typical of what I've been eating over the past week.  People keep asking me how I feel -- and I have to tell them I'm not sure.  With my cold, I don't feel great in general, so it's tough to know how my body would be feeling 10 days into the clean eating if I weren't sick.  I do know I'd like to drop a few more pounds, and I'm not bugging out for a burger or sugar or anything just yet.  Yesterday I really wanted cheese, but today it's not bothering me. 

There is something that I'm sorta weirded out by, though:  Someone put Hershey's Kisses in our mailboxes at work today, and I took mine out and gave it to a coworker without even a thought.  No pang of man, I really want that.  Just gave it away.  I guess that's good, but whoa.  That's new for me.  Weird. 

Today's run was in the hilly part of town.  First 5 by myself, last 3 with the group run at the store.  So now I'm hanging on my chunky chair with my feet up and my legs wrapped in compression.  Ahhh. 

And for the best part of today:  I met my sister and nephews at the store where my 7 year old nephew registered to run the kids race -- a 1/4 mile run around the high school track -- after the store's 5k this weekend.  He was SO excited!!!  I gave him the money, and then he filled out the registration on his own, handed it in,  and then got his number (they all get #1) and his t-shirt.  He wore it for the rest of the day.  :)  How awesome is that?! 

Clean Eating -- Day 8. Razorblades In My Throat.

I'm forcing a rest day today.  I haven't taken a complete rest day in just shy of 3 weeks -- on my off days from running I've been swimming or biking -- and with my throat feeling like there are razorblades in it and my energy low because I'm not sleeping (because of my throat), I figured it would be smart to give my body some rest.   And as I say that, I'm a little embarrassed because my volume of training is so minimal compared to others.  Well, anyway, a rest day it is.  I napped for a short bit when I got home from work, and then I did all sorts of house stuff -- taking out the recycling, cleaning out my old handbag and putting stuff in the new one, emptying the dishwasher, etc...  

(As an aside, how many other people carry a tennis ball and a GU in their handbag at all times?)

When I got up this morning I made a cup of decaf herbal tea.  First drink other than water and a little oj since the challenge started.  I just really felt like a hot tea might make my throat feel better.  I put a little blue agave in it and it was pretty good!  My throat still hurts this evening, but the tea was good enough that I had another cup later in the day.  Here's how the rest of the food played out:

*breakfast -- smoothie

*lunch -- bowl of the veggie stew from last night.  Some pineapple chunks.  One of the cookies I made.

*snack -- popcorn and an apple.

*dinner -- haven't had it yet, but I'm going to try for some salad.  I feel like I need some raw veggies.  Probably mixed greens/chick peas/carrots/tomato/avocado/walnuts with some balsamic/olive oil on top.  We'll see how well that works.

*dessert -- will likely be one or two of those cookies. 

I'm off to the running store tonight to hear a talk on hydration and fueling in the summer heat.  Since my body hates runnning in the heat, I'll see if they have anything new for me to consider. 

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Stats from the first week:  My weight fluctuates a couple of pounds through the course of the day every day.  Weighing myself in the morning before I get dressed for work, it looks like I might be down about 5 pounds.  I've lost about one inch in my boobs (yay!) and around a half inch in other places like my waist, hips/butt, thighs.  One of the reasons I've decided to continue the clean eating is to drop a few more pounds, but I'm not sure if that will happen or not.  Ideally, if I could lose about 5 more and then hover there, I'll be happy.  It's not race weight (that would be 3 more) but it's where I'm most comfortable.

Jen -- thanks for asking -- my calf is doing well!  I've been babying it with compression and stretching after each run, and my super slow return to any quality running probably helped, as well. 

As another aside, it was one year ago today that the craigslist stuff started... 

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 6 & 7. Not Enough Water.

I'm fully engulfed in a head cold now.  Grr.  My nose is red and stuffy, my throat hurts, and there's some sort of ringing in my ear.  Fabulous.

After running an easy 5 miler with my sister yesterday morning, I worked at the running store all day.  We were so busy I never had time to eat and I barely had much water.  I got about 10 free minutes late in the day, so at that point I ate an apple.  I was hungry when I got done, so I ate more for dinner than I should have.  Here's the breakdown:

*breakfast -- smoothie.  I'm loving it with the almond milk, but I'm in desperate need of a new blender.
*lunch -- one apple and a handful of almonds
*dinner -- the salad I had made for my lunch -- mixed greens/spinach, chick peas, tomato, carrots, avocado, walnuts.  Balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Then I had a small bowl (1/2 cup?) of brown rice with peas, seasoned with soy sauce.  I cut up a pineapple and ate a few chunks while I did, and then I had some popcorn, too.  Sheesh. 

Not.enough.water.today. 

Went to bed with my cold raging.  Saturday night, and I think I was asleep before 10:30pm.  Sooo dehydrated when I woke up.

Sunday's eats:
*breakfast -- smoothie

Then I spent an hour in the grocery store, pouring over the produce and organic foods sections.  Got some good recipes to try today and some good food stocked up. 

*snack -- rest of the brown rice/peas (about 1/4 cup)

Then I went for a 6 mile run.  With my head super heavy, it wasn't that easy, but I ran on a trail near my house for most of it and really enjoyed that part. 

*post-run snack/lunch -- pineapple and popcorn.  And one of the yummy cookies I made this afternoon:

I got this recipe from the internet, but I can't seem to locate which site I found it on.  Rats.  I'll have to dig more tomorrow.  They are made with oats/molasses/whole wheat pastry flour/cinnamon/baking powder/vanilla/raisins.  With all those ingredients, I feel like I'm cheating a bit.  The cookies are good, but I have what I think is a simpler (cleaner?) recipe to try later in the week.  I'll keep you posted!



*dinner -- After a brief rest on my deck chair with my face in the (warm) sun (but cool temps!), I set about making the veggie stew I found on this blog.  It was delicious!!!

Lots of veggies, lentils, and quinoa made this a thick, rich stew.  I do feel like I got away from the "raw-ness" of what I've been eating, but everything in this and the cookie recipe is as close to clean as I could go.  With my sore throat, having a stew was way more appealing than another salad...

*dessert -- another cookie and a couple pineapple chunks. 

Not.enough.water.  Again today.  I'm actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow just to increase my water intake.  Maybe lots of water will flush this head cold/sore throat out of my system.

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Aimee asked about my weight.  I've been keeping stats on my weight and some body measurement since Day 1.  Tomorrow, after 7 full days on this challenge, I'll post some of the differences. 

I do plan on continuing this eating challenge for one more week.  I feel like 5 days/7 days isn't enough to really reset things.  The only thing is St. Patrick's Day is this Thursday and I'm planning on meeting friends at a bar after work.  And, the running store's anniversary party is next Saturday, so I'll have to see what those two days will bring.  As of now, I'm thinking I'll keep up the eating, but I might enjoy a beer or two :)

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 5. A Surprise Long Run!

Yes, it's Sunday, but I'm going backwards for a quick post about Friday.  It was the end of the work week, and the end of what was originally the Clean Eating Challenge time frame.  I have continued my challenge through the weekend, and I'll update on that in a separate post...

Friday's eats:
*breakfast -- same smoothie as yesterday
*snack -- handful of grapes
*lunch -- chunked cucumber/tomato/avocado/black bean salad (with salt/pepper/balsamic vinegar and olive oil).  Also, an apple and some popcorn.
*snack -- small bowl of cantalope

Then, I left work and went to get my oil changed.  I changed into my running gear and told the guy I'd be back in about 45 minutes.  He said he'd call if he needed to check in with me, so I carried my phone with me. 

About 2 miles in, I took in just how comfortably I was running and how nice the temps were.  Capris, a tank, and a short sleeve shirt.  I noticed how I felt a little lighter while I was running, and though I woke up this morning with a runny nose (NO! I don't want another cold!), I was really enjoying this run.  I started to think, I should just do my long run today...

I was nervous heading into the weekend, wondering how my body would handle a long run on the type of food I'd been eating.  Seeing how comfortable this run was going, by the time I hit mile 4 I thought, I'm just gonna keep going!  I made my way back to the car place by mile 8, signed the paperwork and grabbed my keys, and made sure it would be ok for me to leave my car there a bit longer.  "Wow, do you bust out miles like this every day?" the guy asked.  I giggled, told him no, and gulped down some water from the cooler.  I ate half a banana from my lunch bag, and headed out for the remaining 4 miles. 

When I finished, I was thrilled with how good that run felt.  Everything working well, feeling a bit lighter, and the fueling wasn't an issue at all.  I finished the other half of the banana and drank a bunch of water and headed home.  Since I was working at the running store on Saturday, I was psyched to have this run done today!

*dinner -- this was a challenge.  I was heading into the city for dinner with some friends, so I ate a sweet potato and a grilled portabello as a post-run "meal" and hoped they were at least making a salad at my friend's house.  I took a ziploc with some baby carrots and red pepper sticks to munch on while they ate. 

It turns out we did have a good salad I could eat -- so I had a small bowl of mixed greens, snap peas, red pepper, tomato, and cucumber with balsamic and olive oil. 

It was a fun night after a solid afternoon long run, and though I really, really, really wanted to have a glass or three of the yummy pinot noir I brought, I didn't have any.

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 4. I want a cookie.

The idea of eating from the earth is becoming not such a big deal anymore.  Yes, I still have to get creative with my meals, etc., but it's a matter of what should I have, rather than what can't I have.  Snacks aren't a big deal either -- popcorn, almonds, fruit, carrots, etc.  What I'm missing, though, is the bread/baked stuff.  Cookies.  Cereal. 

I need to find a cookie recipe that I can make this weekend.  Any ideas, anyone? 

I didn't run today -- it was a scheduled swim day -- and so I can't really comment on my energy level with my workout.  All day I felt good, so that's a good thing.  I did feel good in the swim, too, but it was cut a little short because of squeezing it in between work and a hair appointment, AND fighting with my new goggles.  I think the real test will be my longer run this weekend.  I have to figure out what to eat before the run... 

So here's what I ate today:

*breakfast -- same smoothie (strawberries, blueberries, spinach, walnuts, banana) but with almond milk instead of skim milk.  It was delicious!  Creamier.  Good.
*lunch -- mixed greens and spinach with apples, grapes, avocado and walnuts. About 2 Tbs of raspberry viniagrette dressing. Cantalope chunks for dessert.
*snacks -- banana and a handful of almonds (pre-swim), popcorn (post-swim)

*dinner -- one grilled portabella mushroom (seasoned with just a little olive oil), a small handful of grilled red pepper strips, leftover cucumber/tomato/avocado/black beans mix (seasoned with a little salt and pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar).

Yeah, that portabella doesn't look so great in this pic, but it was delicious! 

*dessert -- couple handfuls of popcorn and a couple juicy strawberries and half an apple.

And now I'm feeling a weird combination of being so tired I can't keep my eyes open (truth: I just fell asleep writing this post) and being a little hungry.  I shouldn't be hungry, 'cause I just ate a couple hours ago, but I sort of feel like I'm always hungry.  I'm just going to go to bed and ignore it, I think.  A cookie or a bowl of cereal would make me feel better, though. 

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Jen - thanks for your perspective on the cow's milk.  When you put it that way, yeah -- I can see why you don't drink it.  While my almond milk says it's vegan, I'm not sure what some of the ingredients are, so I need to research that.   At least now, for the remainder of my current challenge, I'm now completely animal-free. 

Who has some good recipes?  Send them my way, please! 

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 3. Popcorn!

I felt good today.  It might be psychological, but I felt healthier.  I felt like I was breathing cleaner.  That was in between trips to the bathroom.  I'm drinking LOTS of water these days.  More than I usually do.  My coworkers are starting to wonder if I have a kidney problem. 

Here's what I ate today:

• breakfast -- smoothie (same as past two days.  Tomorrow I try almond milk instead of the skim milk.  More on that later.)
• snack -- one empire apple
• lunch -- the last of the veggie stir fry over brown rice.  I made a big batch the other night!
• snack -- this is pre- and post-run snacking:  small bowl of cantalope chunks, a handful of the baked edamame, the last few potato chips. 
• dinner -- mixed greens salad, with avocado and tomato chunks, chick peas, and chopped walnuts.  Small amount of olive oil/balsamic vinegar for dressing. 

                     And a bowl of popcorn!  Just a little olive oil (for the popping) and salt.  Yum!

• dessert -- nothing, really.  I did have one apple slice when I was making my lunch for tomorrow. 
• LOTS and LOTS of water.

I ran 8 miles today after work, through the hilly part of town, with my sister.  It wasn't the easiest run through the first few miles.  I just felt sort of sluggish.  I felt a bit better by the end of the run, but I could tell something's off.  Must be my body resetting/reacting.  Nothing terrible, and I'm guessing that will diminish the longer into this challenge I go.

So now, 3 days done.  I'm certain I haven't lost any weight, which is what people keep saying will happen, and I want my body to feel strong enough through my runs, but other than that, this is getting a little easier each day.  I even decided to extend the challenge beyond this work week -- I'm planning on carrying it through the weekend, so that I've eaten this way for at least one whole week. 

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I'm going to add a section at the end of posts.  Inspired by Hungry Runner Girl.  This is where I'll put random stuff that's in my head that doesn't apply to the rest of the post, or any questions/comments that the 3 whole people who read this blog may ask/comment about. 

*Alison suggested I try almond milk instead of skim.  Hi, btw!  Yes -- I'd like to try this.  I've been hesitant for one main reason -- I don't know all the ingredients listed on the carton.  I'm guessing it's all natural stuff, but I have to look into this further.  I'm not against having animal products in my diet normally, so I'm totally comfortable with just using skim, but for this challenge I will now be using almond milk. 

*I'd like to find some sort of cookie I can make.  I'm going to look at the sweet potato cookie recipe that Maggs sent me to see if I can somehow make it fit into this challenge's parameters.  I haven't made them in a bit, so I have to dig out the recipe. 

*Have you ever attempted a "jump start" or "cleaning" or "detox" of this sort?  What did yours look like?  How did it affect you? 

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 2

Today was Fat Tuesday.  Coworkers brought donuts, soft pretzels, cupcakes, and more.  I ate none of that. I did fixate a bit on all that stuff, though.  I struggled with what snacks and foods I could eat, and how much more work it seems to be to eat this way. 

But I once I left work I felt better -- more in control -- and I got some good ideas as I wandered around the produce section of the grocery store.  It helps that I feel a bit better today than I did yesterday (no headache, not as tired).  So far, so good.  Here's what I ate today:

• breakfast -- same smoothie as yesterday (frozen strawberries and blueberries, a banana, handful of walnuts, about 3/4 cup of skim milk, and some spinach)  and a few of the homemade potato chips, just because they were that good. 
• snack -- half an apple and a handful of baby carrots
• lunch -- leftover brown rice and stir fry veggies
• snack -- a small banana, a handful of the baked edamame
• dinner -- chunks of tomato, avocado and cucumber, tossed with black beans and a touch of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Yum! 

• dessert -- handful of cantalope chunks
• drinks -- tons and tons of water, plus two swigs of 100% OJ

I also got out for a decent run in my new shoes.  Brooks Ravenna 2.  Love the bright blue laces! 

Man, was I overdue for those.  I ran after work, and as I started my run, I realized I had planned on running a speedwork workout at the track.  Hmm.  Ok, so today's run became a tempo run.  I was a little slower on the tempo miles than I'd have liked, but it was decent overall. 

So Day 2 is in the books.  I feel good about it.  And the best part?  Realizing that I can have popcorn for a snack!!!  Yeah!  It occured to me that if I air-pop the popcorn, it's just corn!  A little olive oil and a touch of salt, and I'm good to go!  Bring on tomorrow! 

Clean Eating Challenge, Day 1

A few days ago, a friend mentioned she wanted/needed to jump start some better eating.  It got me thinking.  I need to do that, too.  My meals are healthy, but I've gotten lazy with snacking and desserts and other stuff.  To tell myself to stop eating that 3rd cookie, or to not grab those couple slices of cheese wouldn't work.  It would be fine for that moment, but in order to really get the effect, I needed to do a bit of a detox from all that. 

I need to drop some extra pounds*, I want to make better eating choices, and I'd like to possibly re-calibrate my system.  *I'm not sure that this eating will cause me to lose pounds, but cutting out the desserty stuff leads me to think it might... 

So, I challenged my friend to one week of eating as much from the earth as possible.  What that has come to mean for me, for this week, is the following:

• I'm eating fruits, vegetables, rice and other grains like quinoa, etc.
• I'm eliminating animal products (chicken, fish, eggs, meat, etc) with one exception:  skim milk.  But I'm only using the milk in my morning breakfast smoothie.
• No sugar, other than the natural sugars in fruits
• No bread/pasta
• Some basic condiments are acceptable:  salt/pepper, herbs, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy/teriyaki sauces, and my raspberry viniagrette salad dressing. 
• No coffee/tea, basically because I like sugar and cream/milk in my coffee and sugar in my tea, so because I'm eliminating those, I'm eliminating the coffee/tea

I think that covers it.  The original idea is one work week -- Monday through Friday.  I'll evaluate on Friday, and decide whether to carry this longer. 

So, today was the first day.  Here's what I ate:

• Breakfast:  smoothie -- made with frozen strawberries and blueberries, a banana, some spinach, a handful of walnuts, and about 3/4 cup of milk
• Snack:  half an apple, and a few baby carrots
• Lunch:  salad -- spinach, half an apple, red grapes, walnuts, avocado, with about 2 Tbs of dressing.  A couple chunks of pineapple. 
• Snack:  handful of grapes, handful of homemade red skin potato chips (baked, with olive oil, salt/pepper, and dill)

• Dinner:  stir fry veggies (red pepper, broccoli, edamame, carrots, baby bella mushrooms, water chestnuts) over brown rice -- flavored with soy/teriyaki sauces, salt and pepper

• Dessert:  half an apple and a banana 
• Lots and lots of water -- it's the only thing I drank all day, with the exception of a swig of OJ

I also made some baked edamame for snacking tomorrow.

Reflections:  I don't want to eat that much apple and banana in one day, but my biggest struggle here will be dessert.  I wanted strawberries or cantalope for dessert, but there were no good berries at the store yesterday, and the cantalope isn't quite ready for me to cut up. 

I'm not sure my body feels any different today. I mean, it is only Day1.  I was really tired -- but that's normal for a Monday, and a busy one at work.  I'm a little hungry now, after dinner, but that's not entirely unusual, either.   I am a little headachy, but it's not a migraine, and I'm not sure what's causing it. 

I know that after all this certain things will quickly and easily find their way back into my diet.  I don't believe there is anything wrong with chicken, or eggs, or cheese.  Or cookies, for that matter.  But for this week, I'm eating clean.  I'm hoping to feel better energy, a sense of clarity, and maybe a few pounds lighter.  We'll see how it goes...

Sportcount

Most of my swimming is just long consecutive lap swims.  Sometimes I do intervals, sometimes I do some kicking only and pulling only laps, but mostly I just swim and count laps.

I stink at keeping count.

I tried to do sets of 5 laps, and I'd count them by my sister's name -- her name has 5 letters, so I'd just spell out her name every time I completed a lap.  Then I switched it up and started doing sets of 8 laps.  Somehow, I found it a little easier count laps this way.  I really have no idea why.

No matter how I count, I usually get to a point where I lose track.  Or I get exasperated that I've only done ___ number of laps.  Or the counting gets monotonous.  I spend the entire swim focused on what lap I'm on, and that contributes to me not liking my swim time much.

And then I found sportcount. 

This little stopwatch-type device is awesome!  I think it's a little pricey at $29.99 for this model, but I paid it, plus about $5 for shipping.  This is the combo model, and it does several functions:

• Counts laps
• stopwatch function keeps track of overall swim time
• shows split time when you hit the lap button (but it doesn't record them)
• notes fastest lap, slowest lap, average lap time in summary at end of workout

I could have ordered a lesser model that would just count laps, or a more expensive model that actually records each split time for review later.  This middle of the road model is just fine for me.

So when I was at the pool at 5am yesterday morning, and I wasn't feeling fully awake and sharp yet, I didn't have to think through my entire time in the pool.  All I had to do was remember to hit the button with my thumb whenever I finished a lap.  I did 2000 consecutive yards without really thinking about it.  I was able to think about other stuff -- like I do when I'm running.  And somehow, a long swim at 5am was actually good.
Awesome.