Lately, all of my running has been done for one reason: to train for this crazy ass goal of five half marathons in five days. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about my goal and a lot of my runs have been enjoyable, but they all have a goal: to build my mileage high enough that I can run 65.5 miles in one week and not get hurt. Not very exciting, huh? I'm just plodding along for a really.long.time. every day. In fact, running has become the thing I schedule everything else around. When a run is going to take up more than an hour every day (and often more like 2.5-3 if you consider the getting dressed and ready, running, eating, showering time), it plays a major role in the daily planning. If I'm not running, I fill my day to the brim … [Read more...]
WIAW: Tiptoeing towards Paleo
After I fell completely off the Paleo wagon, it became apparent that a drastic change wasn't going to work for me. Maybe if I wasn't running major mileage, I could handle the lack of energy. Maybe if it wasn't winter and I wasn't already dealing with grey and cold, I could handle the crabbiness that occurred. But I can't. Not right now. So, instead, I'm moving slowly towards a paleo lifestyle. I know I'll never be 100% for more than a few weeks. Why? Two words: beer and cheese. Anyways, I've been debating the best way to start. I thought about cutting out wheat, or legumes, or most grains, but in the end, I decided that rather than cut out any one food, for now I'll work on decreasing them all. Here are some of my successes and … [Read more...]
It Starts With Food Review
I've been toying with the idea of Paleo eating for a while, but I didn't really understand the "why" of it. I was not sold on the concept of "eat like a caveman" and didn't really believe that our bodies haven't adapted since caveman days. I'll be honest, I'm still not 100% sold on the idea, but It Starts with Food did a great job of explaining the science and biology behind that way of eating. The basic premise of the book is that grains (even whole grains), dairy, sugar, and legumes cause inflammation in the body and that removing them from your diet can lead to improvements in a large number of medical conditions. Instead, they recommend eating meat/seafood/eggs, healthy fats, vegetables, and fruits. And they want you to … [Read more...]
And then I fell off the wagon…
And I didn't just fall. I plunged. It started with a fruit leather. Ok, really it started with running 34 miles in the last five days. And did I mention the yoga class? Ok, it started because I was hungry. I should have grabbed an apple, but frankly, that thought never crossed my mind. So, I grabbed a fruit leather and some nuts. But really, I wanted chocolate. So, I had a few chocolate chips. And that was just the beginning. When I got done, this... was empty... Once again proving two rules *I* live by: 1) Everything in moderation - including diet changes. I needed to cut sugar. I'm not going to deny that. But, I have no reason to believe I have issues with whole grains, beans, or dairy. I'm not saying that … [Read more...]
Sweet Potatoes FTW!
Who knew that this... Would equal this... After my awful, very tired, long run on Sunday, I knew I needed to get more carbs in. If I weren't in a major training plan right now, maybe I'd be willing to have a couple of weeks of missing my mileage, but I can't afford that right now. Despite eating what felt like a ton of food, I lost 5 pounds in 5 days when I went Paleo. While I do have about 5-10 pounds that could stand to go, I had no intention of losing weight like that. I know it was mostly "water" weight, but I have to think that losing it that fast was a definite indicator that I was just not eating enough carbs to sustain my running. Enter the lowly sweet potato (and a can of pumpkin LOL). I pretty much added sweet potato … [Read more...]
