Rapid Fire Friday II

Prettiest pink smoothies this week.

My sister graduated with her Bachelor's in Health Science!

I washed my baby for the first time.

Still sick but I coughed my way through volleyball this week.

About to go a month without sugar so I'm trying to kick my York habit.

What did you do this week?

Deciding on Whole 30

As of Saturday I’m going to attempt the Whole 30 program. I’ve been reading about it for months and slowly pinning meal ideas on Pinterest in case I decided to take the plunge. This week I finally decided to try it out.

Whole 30 is a plan to “reset” your system. It’s supposed to help with inflammation and your metabolism, and uses many other words I truly don’t understand but hear tossed around all the time regarding nutrition. What I do know is that there is less of a focus on weight loss and a bigger focus on healing (without the word “detox”) and after reading the rules I figured it couldn’t hurt.

I finally decided to try out Whole 30 based on the following things:

1. I’ve been sick for the last week and not just with one thing. If I can get my system back on track and work on my nutrition and build healthy habits to avoid this again it’s worth a short.
2. I have no big events or milestones in the 30-day window I chose except for a baseball game. No birthdays, anniversaries, or anything else that will make me feel tempted to “cheat” on Whole 30.
3. Free. Seriously, there are very few free plans out there. Whole 30 is literally a list of rules, they don’t provide you with a meal plan but the Whole 30 community is huge on Pinterest and a few other platforms to help me feel inspired when I’m running out of meal ideas.
4. I have nothing to lose - maybe some weight from cutting out junk.
5. I have always suffered from stomach issues which led to me going vegetarian for two years. This plan has the potential to help me figure out what could be causing these issues.

Things that made me resistant to trying Whole 30?

1. I love junk food. I had to give myself a couple of days before the start to get myself into the right mindset. Giving up chocolate will be tough.
2. I also love cheese and yogurt. Part of me knows it causes me to break out and makes me bloated but I’m a sucker for dairy.
3. Baseball. The one event I do have planned is a baseball game on Canada Day. Do you know how hard it is going to be going to the ballpark and NOT eating a hot dog? Pretty damn hard!
4. I’m wary of fad diets. I don’t know if this is counted as a diet and I’ve only heard good things about it… but I’m still a little wary.
5. It’s a little more restrictive than I’d like to see. Like, I’m not allowed to eat beans, any grains including quinoa, and no peanut butter. NO PEANUT BUTTER! I might quit before I even begin…

Not my picture -- Thanks, Google Images

I’m interested in seeing how I feel at the end. As I said, I’ve only heard good things and know if I put the effort I will survive 30 days with no peanut butter.

Have you ever tried Whole 30 or any other “diet” (paleo, Tone It Up, etc)? How do you feel about these sorts of plans?

Give Me All the Soup & Bagels

NOTE: I thought I had published this Friday night but just noticed today, Monday, an error occurred and it never went live. Huge fail.

Wednesday I woke up with a sinus infection. I was working a later shift that day at work and had so many errands I was going to run and instead I sat on the couch with a cup of tea.

 

I ate my first bagel and soup of the week that afternoon at work, and stocked up on all of the essentials.

OJ, throat lozenges, and OTC sinus medication.

One of the guys at work decided to tell me I "looked rough."

Thanks for the confidence boost.

Unfortunately I only got "rougher" from there.

I barely got any sleep and I struggled through work on Thursday (with the help of my second bagel and soup of the week). After thinking I just needed some sleep I skipped volleyball and came home to lie in bed.

Instead of getting sleep I ended up coming down with a stomach flu. I don't know how a sinus infection leads to the stomach flu but this is awful! Today is the very first time I've ever called in sick to work... Ever.

Luckily I have the best boyfriend in the world that brought me my third (!!!) bagel in three days and a huge box of Popsicles. I might have ate six of them. 

I didn't eat a real meal until after 7PM today and I was way too lazy to make anything for myself. I ordered in some soup (number three!) and rice.

Also, I have spent my entire day watching How I Met Your Mother. Thank you, Netflix.

Anyways, I'm taking a few days off from running and working out. No long run this weekend. Instead I think I'm going to curl up with another slow on Netflix (I have three episodes of HIMYM left as I'm writing this). 

Any Netflix suggestions? What do you like to eat then you're sick?

Marathon Training -- Week Four/The Week That Wasn't

As soon as I got a sinus infection last Wednesday I knew I wouldn’t be completing my long run this weekend. I’ve struggled with trying to run with a sinus infection in the past and it’s never gone well for me. I decided to ditch all of my workouts and focus on feeling better.

Wednesday’s sinus infection led to a stomach flu that started Thursday evening, and that led to a cough that burned my chest that started Friday morning. I still don’t feel “right.” Since Wednesday I’ve only had one night of good sleep and it’s a struggle to feel like a functioning human being.

I don’t know when I’m going to starting working out again. Running is definitely out of the question, I’m too tired and weak for strength training, and even yoga bothers my head.

I don’t know what to do to help me sleep, but I’m focusing on what I’m eating. I’m drinking lots of clear liquids, eating fresh fruit and veggies, and skipping the added sugar and dairy. My appetite hasn't really returned so I'm trying to keep lots of small portions on hand.

I think that a big part of marathon training is not only being able to push yourself beyond your so-called limits, but knowing when not to push yourself. A year ago I wouldn’t have been disciplined enough to allow myself the time to rest and now I think this is one of the best ways to show how I have grown as a runner.

Marathon Training -- Week Three

My third long run of marathon training is done! Every week I’m running further and further and each week I can never believe that I’m accomplishing that distance. Right now I’m so over what my speed is or how I look to other runners I pass… this is all about my own feats and accomplishments, and I am so proud of myself.

I usually schedule my long runs for Sunday mornings but I had to leave my house at 9:30am to get my sister to the airport, so I tried out a Saturday morning run. I also changed up my usual paved trail along the waterfront but this week I did an out-and-back through the city so I could get more water if I needed it. I carried a few dollars with me and stopped at a convenience store around 16K.

Running through the city instead of along the quiet waterfront was surprisingly a nice change. I was out early enough that the roads were still pretty dead. The weather was sunny and cool for most of my run but the wind picked up around 19K and I struggled against it.

Instead of my typical pre-run bagel and banana I only ate the bagel and by 18K I was starving! I will not make that mistake again. I’m trying not to eat too much meat but I devoured way more turkey sausages post-run than I’m willing to admit.

I’m still focusing on running 10 minutes, walking 1 minute and it seems to be the best way for me to build up my distance. I also think having a routine helps (6AM wake up, water, banana, bagel, 7AM run) and knowing that running is not the be all, end all of training. I’m trying to eat with the focus on nourishing my body, I’m drinking almost a gallon of water a day, and I have as many strength training sessions as I do running days.

I have to admit I’m slacking on the foam rolling and stretching lately and I know if I want to stay strong and injury free I need to make it a priority.

Overall I’m really satisfied with my running and progression so far, and I can definitely see my growth as a runner.

Do you have a running route  you like to stick to? Do you have a routine to prepare for your long runs?

Worst Blogger Ever

Do you know how many times I eat something, read something, do something and realize later that if I had just quickly snapped a picture it would have been a perfect blogging opportunity? More often that I care to admit. Or when I do manage to remember I to take a picture I forgot to blog about it (or anything) for an entire week. Whoops.

Worst Blogger Award Goes To...

Anyways, here are the things I managed to record for blogging purposes but conveniently forgot to actually blog about last week:

I kind of broke my Garmin charger. It still charges but it won't snap on anymore. It's okay though, because I'm super handy.

The Nike Toronto 15K released a map of the course we'll be running in a few weeks. I'm hesitant about getting on and off Toronto Island but I'm starting to really look forward to the run. Before they made all the changes they did I had planned to run it in Washington, but Toronto is waaay more convenient.

I've been going for more trail runs lately. I forgot how much I love it. It's much more peaceful but definitely more of a challenge than running on pavement.

Friday mornings I'm able to get to my favourite Farmers Market before work. One of the booths allows you to fill up a bushel for only $5 of any of their produce, and their rule is you can fill it until it topples. Everything looks so vibrant and smells amazing.

My boyfriend is nearing the end of his Masters program but our dog really doesn't care. He thinks that there are more important things in life than finishing your thesis... for example, paying attention to him.

Are you a Farmers Market fanatic like me? What's your favourite item to buy?

Do you prefer running on pavement or trails?

Marathon Training - Week Two

Happy Victoria Day, Canada! I wish I could say I had huge plans for today to take full advantage of this long weekend but I'm quite happy over here, hanging out under my covers.

Side note: instead of "under" I had written "hunger" twice. This is definitely reflective of the second day runger I'm experiencing right now.

Yesterday morning I pushed out 23 kilometers. I'm trying to slowly ease into increasing my distance. Instead of constant running I'm working on a 10-minute run, 1-minute walk cycle until I feel a little stronger. Distance, not time, is my focus.

My body has definitely changed since I ran STWM in October. Although 23 kilometers was not easy for me it's incredible how much stronger I feel while I run. My posture feels better, my body recovers faster, I'm not as tired after I run long distances, and I don't feel as if I need to stuff myself full of chews or gels anymore.

While running and training for 21.1 kilometers I felt like I needed a pack and a half of Honey Stinger chews sometimes. Yesterday I ate about half of a pack and didn't feel the need for more. I know that fueling while running is and will be important in my training, but I think my improved nutrition and hydration habits that happen outside of physically running are really helping me feel sustained during long runs.

The weather was gorgeous yesterday and made for a great run. The sun was shining throughout my run and the temperature was warm but not too hot before 10AM. Getting out earlier in the day rather than later is likely going to be an essential part of my long-runs.

My sister and I had lunch with my dad yesterday afternoon so that cut into my nap time for the second week in a row. Last weekend after missing an afternoon nap I felt like I was really dragging my feet throughout the day but yesterday I felt pretty good. It wasn't until after dinner that I started feeling tired. Although the weather was still beautiful my boyfriend and I curled up with some big bowls of fruit, the new S'mores Oreos, and American Horror Story on DVD. Perfect end to my 23-kilometer day.

Do you fuel while you run? What do you prefer to fuel with?

Have you tried these new Oreos? I'm trying to eat better but these are fantastic!