Eating and stuff - day 3 random notes and pics

Eating, it's surprising when you stop and think about how this base instinct can get so out of whack. I'm not going to rail against processed foods, I'll leave that to others. This is simply my journey and my thoughts.

Days 1 and 2 progressed pretty well.

Day 1:

Breakfast was scrambled egg whites, oatmeal (actually an oats, barley, rye mix) with frozen berries and flax oil added, and green tea. 

Skipped snack since I ran first thing in the morning and didn't eat breakfast until about 9:30am.

Lunch was a grilled turkey burger seasoned with salt and pepper and steamed spinach

Afternoon snack was 15 almonds and a scoop of whey protein and coconut milk.

Dinner, well, attended a Pampered Chef meeting in Carrollton, so it wasn't a planned meal. Tried some skinny dips that were made, with fruit and tortilla chips for dipping, and had one of the small pulled pork sandwiches.

Since that wasn't planned, I had a little more protein when I got home.

Day 2:

Breakfast was a peanut butter and banana smoothie. 

Morning snack was an apple and 15 almonds.

Lunch was a grilled chicken breast and salad with evoo and balsamic vinegar (tbsp of each).

Afternoon snack was strips of zucchini and red pepper with roasted red pepper hummus. And wouldn't you know, I was FULL after a few pieces of veggie! Wow!

Dinner was another grilled turkey burger, brown rice and a baked sweet potato drizzled with evoo, salt and pepper.

Day 3:

Breakfast was another PB and banana smoothie (I think I'm officially addicted, so quick, easy and delicious!), and 2 turkey sausage links.

Morning snack was about 3/4 c. plain greek yogurt with 1 tsp local honey and 3/4 c. mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries and raspberries)

I'm about to have lunch, which is sliced turkey breast and hummus on multigrain bread.


Random thoughts:

So far so good, I like that I can mix up the food choices to a menu that I find palatable. 
I REALLY like that I'm making better choices and not taking the easy route. 
I don't care for plain greek yogurt, that's why I added the tsp of honey for a smidge of additional sweetness. 
Feeling full in the afternoon is great! 
Better choices, better food - all towards a better me.


Fitness:

Ran trail miles Sunday morning (my favorite)
Crossfit Monday
Crossfit Tuesday

I've got through the end of this month to get my CrossFit workouts in, then I'll be shifting to home workouts for a while, and continuing my running. The goal is running 3 days/week, with other workouts (CrossFit, or home) 4 days/week. There will be some overlap as I will take 1 or 2 rest days each week. I'm doing the meal plan to shift myself into a better way of eating going forward. 

My goal is fitness and overall happiness with myself. So basically, it's a permanent goal. 

Ch-ch-changes

It's been a couple years since I've blogged, my apologies. This has been a crazy year so far, a wedding and high school graduation to date. College graduation and college move in coming up. I've not exactly been a slacker, but I've definitely not focused on my eating thus far this year. CrossFit has been consistent, running not so much.

It's time to change that.

With the help of my friend Danja, who put together this meal plan for me, I aim to get myself back on track and feeling comfortable again. I'm going to focus on getting lean, and improving my running. Doing Merrill's Mile 12 Hour run again next month, and may add in another race or two for the last half of this year. Already started ramping up my running, now it's time to get my eating habits in order.

Eating every two to three hours (have alarms set on my phone to remind me), no alcohol for the first week, and no cheese. Just a good balance of protein, carbs and fats.

So tomorrow I start.  I've been asked to blog about it, so I will. Help me stay accountable, and I'll tell you how it goes. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Deal?

Just how crazy are you?

Darkside 8 Hour Run has come and gone. Managed 30 miles, which was WAY better than last year's 23, AND I made it through the entire 8 hours. As this one kicked off my 2012 craziness, now it's time to buckle down, train, get fit and train some more. Next race is the only one I've done every year since 2009, the Peachtree Road Race on July 4th. Since it's more of an event than a race for me, I'll just see how I do and not worry about being fast. 


After that, it's Hot to Trot 8 Hour Run on August 4th. That one is on trails vs the asphalt loop I did at Darkside, so I'll be hitting the trails as much as my schedule allows between now and then. Then Labor Day weekend, I'm raising the bar with Merrill's Mile 12 hour. And in December, raising it even higher with the Pine Mountain 40 mile trail race. I'm doing this, the challenge has been set, and I'm committed to finishing them all. This is what has really resonated with me in regards to ultras, the challenge to my body, my ability and my toughest competitor/cheerleader/devil's advocate - my own mind.


Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Boy have I been slacking...

No excuse for it, it just happened.

So what's gone on since last August? Well, Swept the Mystery Mountain Marathon 12 mile course in October, did finally complete my first 50K in November, changed the marathon in Louisiana to a half marathon in January, attemped another 50K in March (and failed), and now it's May.

4 days away from the Darkside 8 hour run in Peachtree City, I'm going to shoot for 31 miles. Lee Brown is doing it with me, so I think between the two of us we can both get it done. Here's hoping!

Hot to Trot 8 Hour Run

Well this day rolled around a lot quicker than I thought it would. It started out pretty optimal, overcast and a rain shower that kept everyone cool and happy (for the most part) through the first hour. Let's talk the loop, 1.18 miles of trail, with a small section of road to keep it interesting. The trail itself, well this is Sweetwater, so I love the trails; the rolling, roller coaster hills at the beginning of this loop were fun, for a while. The hill coming up from the creek on the yellow trail, has never been a favorite, but as Sarah says "it's not Jack's hill!". And it's not, but even after 4 hours, getting to the top of it proved harder and harder.

I was hoping for 30 miles, but knew that race day can either meet, exceed, or barely come close to stated goals. But I went out with every intention of hitting my goal, running as much as I could, walking the hills, pushing myself to power walk wherever possible. After the first five loops, Reann came out to join me (it gets tiring sitting there watching me go 'round and 'round), plus she was wanting to get some miles in. And boy did she! By the time Chelsea showed up, around noon, Reann had already logged about 6 or 7 miles herself, and was hoping for 15. Those two took a break while I went out for another loop, then they both came out the next time.

It started heating up after noon, but we still had the cloud cover for a couple more hours before the sun came out and really started heating things up. My mileage was dropping as the day wore on, but I was determined to keep moving. Of course, the pain in my feet was hard to ignore, but I was at least able to tuck it off to one side most of the afternoon. Running with my girls is always a treat for me, running a race with so many other runners I know is AWESOME!!!!! (that was for Aaron). I get such a kick out of seeing them all out running, pushing themselves, and being able to shout out encouragement to them, and receive it back. The running community is one I have embraced wholeheartedly!

It was great running with Babette Griffith, who went on to complete her first official ultra distance - you go girl! It was just great to be out there with so many runners of all speeds and abilities. Yes, got left in the dust by the hottest males and females, but that was quite alright! That's why they're so dang hot! Last year's "Cold Water Dude", Tom Wilson even came out and did the last 3 (or was it 4?) laps with the girls and I (as I was last year's "Ice Queen", it was quite fitting!)

But then on lap 19, just before we hit the road section, I was lucky enough to have a major ankle roll. I'd been able to catch myself in the past before it would roll too much, not this time. The momentum from coming down off that trail section rolled it almost parallel with the ground. Ooops! Well, it happens. Just had to walk, and walk, then walk some more. It didn't respond well to running, so yep, I walked some more! It's all ok, I managed one more loop after that, before my feet and my body said "you're done". 20 loops for 23.63 miles. I'll take it, it's all good experience for the next race. Well, next ultra distance anyway. I think I can manage the 12 miles I'll be doing as sweeper in October, and if I decide to do Silver Comet 1/2 again (ditched the Sizzler, am just going to focus on running for training instead of racing for the next couple of months). Let me just say this, I am REALLY looking forward to cooler temps for running again...

As for my girls, Reann knocked out 15 loops for 17.7 miles, while Chelsea managed 9 loops for just over 10.5. Are they awesome or what?!?!

A big THANK YOU goes out to GUTS and Sarah Tynes for another world class event. I know how much work goes into a race beforehand, and have volunteered at more than my share, so being able to run a GUTS event again was a really fabulous experience. THANK YOU to all of the volunteers as well, seeing you out there every time we came through the aid station was very motivating. I couldn't have continued on without you!