My commitment to making Saturdays run the worst!

Before I get started on my whine fest.  Check out how awesome my phone is. 

Tells me how long it would take for me to get home.  How cool is that?  Yeah, I've had my iPhone for almost 3 years now.  I may be technologically challenged but I get there sooner or later.

I ran Saturday.  It was more then awful.  It's almost like the week leading to the run was planned out to sabotage it.  Of course when your a runner and there is a run on the calendar then you run.  I started out with good enough intentions but in the end my commitment to make it horrid was too much for even my running spirit to overcome.

WIND - I understand I don't control the weather.  I do know that my 8 miler earlier in the week on the same running path was pretty darn windy.  Somehow it forgot to click in my head how windy the Jordan Parkway can be this time of year.  Saturday the wind managed to be head on BOTH ways.  Magic wind I tell you!

LATE - I set my alarm for 8 and planned to be running by 9:30.  Not too bad for a Saturday.  It's getting cooler and I don't have to get up at O dark 30.  Night shift on Thursday night messed me up a little and I woke up at 3am ready to party.  Finally fell back to sleep at 5am and did not wake up until 1045.  YES.  I slept through a double alarm.  That, my friends, is talent.  Take note.  I started my run at 1:30pm.

PRE-WORKOUT - huh.  who knew?  I just perused the book 80/20 and decided to try the longer slower miles.  In order to make sure I'm going slow enough then it's good to monitor heart rate.  I bought a new pre-workout for when I start running really long miles and for some reason thought SATURDAY was the day to try it.  It works!  I couldn't even understand my thoughts my body was racing so fast.  My heart rate?  Don't ask.  For a little while I would have had to lie down in the grass to get it within my training range.  

PREPARATION - Usually I have all my clothes and gear out the night before a relatively early run.  I didn't do that.  It didn't slow me down too much but usually if it's out I don't procrastinate as much.  I also didn't tape my knee the night before which I usually do.

BREAKFAST - I wanted a good breakfast and had planned to make banana pancakes.  I did make them.  I made them for me and my son and added some bacon.  Really took my time.  But not very fast because I was on my feet within an hour of such a delicious meal that wasn't quite ready to run on.  

CORE WORK - I did some core work at PT on Friday but I didn't do all of it.  That is the secret to pain free running right now.  Really strengthen those glutes and hammies.  SO I did about 20 minutes of it just before I left for my run.  

Speaking of physical therapy.  These are the torture tools that are keeping me running.  "Hurts so good", Tera Schatz.

AND THE GRAND FINALE!!!
   I was on day 14 of the 21 day Primal challenge with my daily carbohydrate intake under 100 g.  (My big push to try and loose that 10 lbs before Ragnar Vegas)  I had ZERO energy.  I know the carb flu well and it was almost peaked on this day. I don't know if I could have changed this by eating a few more carbs or carbs the night before and that morning.  I just didn't feel well.  

Felt just like that only I was thinking....have I hit 14 min miles yet?

I had planned to run 8 miles.  The first 2 miles were not bad.  Pretty slow but I still felt like I could move forward.  The next 2 were awful and no good.  I tried having a GU (salted caramel) and I could barely choke down half of it.  Then I tried running 3 minutes and walking 2.  Finally at 4 miles I decided to turn back to my car that was 2 miles away.  I ran a little here and there but at 4.5 miles I walked and didn't run any more.  I don't remember having this bad of a run in a very long time.  My average pace was over 12 min/miles so I was barely scooting long.  I'm going to scratch that up to lesson learned and somedays runs are just bad.  I did take some pics to take up some time.

Lots of bikers

No selfie.  I was cranky.  Just a taped knee and the most awesome shoes EVER!!

Go Hokas!

Utah.  It's really beautiful.  Those mountains will soon be covered in snow!

Bug. 

Great running path!

No matter what I do know this!

TeeHee

Tell me about your worst run.  I mean, how bad can it be??

Blog on........

Eating my feelings.

Have I posted about this before?  It has been my biggest struggle since my divorce and liar confession.    It just feels better to eat cookies, chocolate or popcorn as I drift off to sleep.  It has NOT been good for my health and my body.  I've stayed right around 15-20 lbs over my ideal weight since then.  Good news?  Well at least I'm no off the charts gaining weight.  I can feel it when I run.  It is really not good on my confidence.  My body is actually looking better because of all the working out, but I can feel the extra weight.  

Plus I feel crappy.  The night before my race last Saturday?  I ate a Jr. cheeseburger and fries from 5 guys and 3 Rolos, not single Rolo's, three packages.  THREE.  I wasn't even hungry!  After my race I decided that I needed to reset something!!  

Years ago I read this book and spent a good 2 years following it almost perfectly.  

source

Then I stressed out and didn't follow it exactly.  To get back on track I tried the Whole 30.  

source

My recap

I did consider the Whole30 a success.  I did not consider it something I would do again.  I spent way too much money and time that seems prohibitive on a daily basis.  It was nice to go over my first book that was Paleo or Primal and remember why I loved it so much.

Paleo/Primal/Whole30.  It's all variations of a grain free, sugar free lifestyle.  Primal feels a little easier to maintain. I did it for a couple of years.  I stayed at a weight I felt good at and I was never hungry.  Saturday I decided to do 21 days to see if I could reset to my previous eating habits.  

I won't be posting pictures or doing any kind of updates as I do it.  I can barely throw down a blog post a couple of times a month, so I won't torture you with recipes and pictures.  

I am going to stop counting my calories too.  I've been doing that for a few weeks and it helps to watch my carbs.  I'll do that on week 2.  

Here's to hoping I can pass on that cookie!!!  

What is your food weakness?

What is the weirdest diet you have tried?

  I have tried juice cleanses and those shake diets.  I think the worst was Atkins.  Which is funny because it's a lot like Primal only more fruits and veggies.  

Blog on.........

Good news. Bad News. Either Or.

 Today I started out my day thinking I had plenty of time to recap my weekend race.  

Good News:  It was a great race and I had a blast.
Bad News:  I didn't take too many pictures.

My triple medal fuzzy picture.

Good News:  I had enough pics to do a decent recap.

Bad News:   I had a disagreement with Picasa and Picasa won.  

Good News:  I can still recap later.

Bad News:  I need to kiss and make up with Picasa. 

I did a bunch of cooking so that I can start back into eating a lot more healthy.  It took forever!

Bad News:  Every time I make this bread I'll think about MILF runners funny description.  (well, not all bad)

Good News:  This was my best batch and it is DELICIOUS!

Good News:  I finally got in to see my internist for my yearly fasting blood tests.

Bad News:  I'm slinging around about an extra 8 lbs of water and BLAH from a weekend of body abuse.  

Bad News:  They can't take blood without a bruise.

Good News:  It matches my awesome bed pillows.

Not only did I get my doctors appointment out of the way I was able to get my laundry done, cook, paint my toenails and get the gray out of my hair. 

Good News:  I put on my heated mattress pad!

Bad news:  There is none!!

I hope I'm not the only one that bloats up after a relay or even a big race.  The hotter it is the more I bloat too.  (Bloat is a disgusting word - I think of a dead fish on the shore)  It's almost like a party weekend but with messier hair, no booze and plenty of exercise.  

Bad News:  The day flew by and I wish I had more time to sit on my ass.  

Good News:  So glad I got some stuff done.

Bad News:  The pictures in this post are horrid.

Good News:   I won't post them straight from my phone again.

Bad News:  I don't have a DSL camera and all my pics come straight from my iPhone.

Good News:  I will never pretend to know how to take sweet pics.

Bad News:   I will always post silly pics and probably too many.

Just thought I'd have one big blog of pics and light banter.    Now I have to dry my hair and crawl into my warm clean bed.

GOOD NEWS!!

Do you tend to get a little "puffy" after a big race or relay weekend?

What do you use to take most of life's pictures?

Blog on..........

Picturepalooza

What a week!  After the Boston tragedy I spent a lot of time glued to the TV watching every update.  I'm sure most of the country did.  It's been great to see how much support and love there is in the running community. 

It's been a big week and the best way to recap is through pictures!  (That last bit just raise your voice up like it's Oprah giving out prizes)

Saturday I had lots of friends running the Salt Lake Half and Full Marathon.  Mile 8 water station was within walking distance of my house so I decided to go at least feel the spirit of the race and support my friends.

I had lots of layers on PLUS a water proof jacket.  It just rained more and became colder as time went on.  

The first runners behind the motorcycle police.

Water station

One of the first runners to go by running the full marathon (the half marathoners turned at the light, marathoners went straight)  and he was wearing a Boston shirt.  It was awesome! 

That is all the pictures I took.  After that I put my phone away because the rain was so bad.  I also gave out "I run for Boston" bracelets my friend Jason had made.

I am still wearing mine.  I can't do a memorial run but wearing the bracelet makes me feel better.  

Salt Lake did an amazing job with security.  Bomb sniffing dogs, helicopters, policeman everywhere!!  I am always amazed at how much of a sacrifice our public servants make.  Not many of us have jobs where your odds of getting hurt/shot/run over/threatened are so high.  I even saw a couple of fireman go by in a ranger.  

Cheering on the runners really fueled my excitement and I LOVED seeing my friends run by.  I even saw my brother!  He wasn't going to run it but joined his friends last minute.  Just an all around great experience.  I missed a couple of people, which makes me sad, but I was surprised how hard it is to see every ones face as they run by, especially with hats!  I stood there until the race was 2:15 into it and then I had to go home.  I was freezing!  I gave up my gloves to my friend Nicole for her sister and was chilled to the bone!  It took a heated throw, a huge blanket and a couple of hours for me to warm up.

Bloggers I saw at the race.

JOSH 

I have never met him but yelled his name and high-fived!

RACHELLE

Met her very briefly last year at Wasatch Back.  Accidently yelled Rachel...oops.  She was running super fast!

SUSETTE

Met at the Scott Jurek meet and greet and she actually yelled my name so I saw her!

So awesome.  I love the friends I've made online!  

FOOD

Naturally I took pics of my more memorable meals.

Back into the Paleo mode I made a delicious breakfast with bacon, eggs, avocado and tons of veggies!

I also tried making Cauliflower "fried rice".  I had been looking at the recipe for a while but just had not made it.  It was very good, but it doesn't taste like fried rice.  I would make it again, it's a great addition to pot roast and avocado.

Hehehe.  No, I didn't eat one of these.  They were in the EMS lounge in Denver when I went on a flight.  Last thing I need to do is eat something like that and then get on an airplane.  Toot!  Toot! 

WORK

Had a chance to see a Hyperbaric chamber and learn a little bit about CO poisoning. Crazy how much I learn at work every transport!

US Customs and their black SUV's with tinted windows.  

Who knew?

Our airplane next to another medical airplane.  

I'd like to say it's a little showy, red and shiny.  If you see it, wave!

Best thing about fixed wing flights?  Taking a nap on the way home after dropping off the patient.  This time it was a sunshine nap and it was spectacular! 

I take pictures with my iPhone, I don't really have another camera thanks to gravity.  I was trying to be artsy.  I think I love it!  I  may have this printed up and framed and hang it in my office. 

Sometimes our plane looks pinkish. It's my main office. My job is really awesome.

Today

Drove home from work and noticed all the windmills in Wyoming were barely moving.  Very rare for that great state of wind.

That's about it.  I'm completely out of the boot and I'm starting to plan my running schedule.  Slow and steady....

How was your week?

Blog on...........

Whole30 day 6 &7

The last two days have been....interesting.

Yesterday was a shitty day.  Hands down.  Most of it wasn't even related to my Whole30 challenge, but the great news is that I didn't have any problems staying on task with my food.  

I started at an EARLY morning meeting with my attorney.  EARLY!!  7am.  That is just crazy talk.  I packed up some food to eat because I knew I would be hungry and I didn't have enough time to eat before. 

The meeting was quick but I was glad to have my snacks.  I just ate the egg and some cucumbers, just enough to get me home.  

Which took a while.  

Then I had a conference call.  I kept alert by sipping some tea and Kombucha.  

I didn't do much cooking but I had taken some steaks out of the fridge.  I made a huge salad mix to take to work.  I also took some coconut flakes (unsweetened) and cashew pieces and roasted them up in coconut oil and cinnamon.   They are good, but next time I'll finish off with a little salt and roast them in the oven.  Speaking of salt.  I love Johnny's seasoning salt.  A lot!  Guess what.  The second ingredient is SUGAR!  OH man!

So I looked at the ingredients and mixed up my own little shaker full of delicious seasoning goodness.

My spoils of Day 6.

Then I grilled a few steaks for dinner so Daniel would have something to eat when he got home from work.

I ate my steak with a dollop of Sunshine Sauce mixed with Homemade Olive Oil Mayo and it was AMAZING!!

Last night we didn't fly but I spent an hour or so messing with the Night Vision Goggles.  We wear them for safety at night when flying the helicopter.  Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to wear them in the air yet!  So every time I work rotor I get them out and put them on.  Last night it was late so I went with the pilot out to the Helicopter and played with them while it was dark and I could turn them on.  It reminded me of the Geico commercial with the Antelope.

Hehehe

I couldn't sleep so I played with them a little bit in the middle of the night too.  Scandalous!!

So far day 7 is going fabulously.  I got up and ate a hard boiled egg, some cut up veggies and a half of an avocado.  I don't feel tired at all and I don't feel hungry.  Sometimes I still catch myself wanting to snack, but I think it's mostly just habit.  

Tonight I'll be cooking something to take to work up in Rock Springs tomorrow. 

What delicious morsel will it be?

I'm really diggin the Spicy Tuna Cakes!  

Blog on...........

Whole30 Day 5 aka Spicy Shenanigan Day

Today was a great day.  It started out pretty crappy but luckily I had eaten a good breakfast before I started my day to give me the energy not to burst into tears, stomp my feet and yell stuff.

Leftover Fajitas and eggs.  

Later my friends Tera and Nicole were asking me about all this madness.  Nicole stated that I need to post each recipe, that I needed to make that happen.  Hahahaha.....I am just not that motivated!   Plus I think the books/apps that I'm getting the recipes from are amazing and worth a few bucks.  Seeing them started the upswing of my day.  I wasn't super tired, cranky or hungry today.  Decreased my cashew intact by bunches!

I cooked a couple of wonderful things this afternoon.

Set up my recipes and ingredients

I made something called "Emergency Meat" from the Nom Nom App.  It's just Curry, ground beef and cabbage.  I made double the recipe and stuck a bunch in the fridge to add to eggs and other veggies for the next couple of days.

My lunch was a huge helping of Emergency Meat with an entire avocado.  I sprinkle a little ras el hanout (a Moroccon blend of spices I put together last week) on everything and it was super delicious.  Even Sami liked it and she eats Mexican food and ramen noodles.

I also whipped up these Spice Tuna Cakes from the Nom Nom app. 

I didn't have time to do anything special when they were done cooking and I just stuck them in the fridge.  When I got home, Daniel mentioned to me they were amazing.  And they were amazing!  Even cold out of the fridge.  Better warmed up.  SO easy and so good!

Thumbs up for the Whole30 so far!  It's the end of day 5 and I'm feeling good and ready to keep going!  

Another reason that I may be feeling awesome today is that I got to spend some time with these fine folks.

My mom and my brother, Joe.  My dad was there too. 

We were at a Bank meeting for a bank my dad helped to build into the success it is today.  I'm very proud of him and he's so super smart!    My mom is amazing.  She has had heart problems this year and I was glad to see her doing better.  I don't get to see my brother Joe too much and it really is always nice to see him. I love how my parents are so proud of their kids and how much they love us.  We are lucky kids!  I can't help but be happy after spending time with the people that love and adore me most. 

My mom will even take a silly pic with us at a serious bank meeting!

Missing was 3 other brothers and a sister.  They were all at work. 

Tomorrow is day 6!  I don't have anything fancy planned to cook.  

What pictures will I post??   Do you want a picture of me meeting with my attorney?  Getting my eyelashes done?  Talking on a conference call?  Working a night shift in Payson with the chopper? 

 

Such a full day and so many good eats in the ice box!

Blog on.........................

Whole30 Day 4

Today is "Kill all the things" day in the Whole30 plan.  Luckily I basically have eaten Paleo all the time and I'm not having the big emotional and physical swings like happened when I first cut carbs out of my diet in 2011.  

I just want to snack.  Snack, snack, snack!  I'm doing pretty good and have not ventured away from the plan, just probably ate more of certain food items that should be limited.  I try every day to lower those a bit.  I do have quite a craving for sugar and I know that I'll get over that.  I've done it before I can do it again!  

Pretty close. 

It's the addiction talking, the sugar addiction!

I've had a few people ask me about it once I started posting delicious pictures on Instagram.  I haven't taken a picture of ALL my meals.  Let's face it, that would take way too much effort.  Besides being prepared with the correct food, I am able to just wing it!

 I love cucumbers, olives and peppers.  I just threw on some precooked chicken (I made a huge bunch day one) with some of the best sauce ever!  It's called Sunshine Sauce and you can find it here.  It's also included in the cookbook that have recommended.

Over and over again.

Tonight I took that chicken from that same batch and cooked some peppers and onions, threw in the chicken and spiced it up mexi style and served it with an entire avocado.

Easy and Fast!  Just the way I like it! 

Last night I simmered chili for TWO hours.  It smelled so good and it was worth the wait.  So absolutely delicious.  I served it over spaghetti squash.  I love to have my meals all mixed together, that way I can get a little taste of everything in every bite!

(recipe also in Well Fed)

Overall I feel good.  I've had lots of things going on in my life this last week and instead of stress eating I feel better taking a pro-active approach.  I scheduled my Tenex procedure for March 22.  I'm nervous about sitting around for a couple of weeks and wearing a boot for 2-3 weeks.  OK, like every injury just the thought of not being able to exercise plunges me into a deep sadness that has me screaming "I'm gonna be fat!".  At least I'm eating right and staying full without a big chocolate month long binge. 

So far so good!

One of my favorite sayings:

Your body can only give back what you give it.  

Blog on................