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........

What's happening here???

Mostly an Update.  

Primal three weeks.

I pretty much did it.  I had a couple days off, one before my last half marathon.  (Recap to follow)  I feel much better, that's for sure.  I have better habits and I'm cooking more.  That's the most important.  Plan on keeping the plan up with occasional but very few "cheat" meals.  

Running.

Mostly not.  The pain in my leg is pretty aggravating.  I finally made an appointment for the Sports Medicine Doctor for this Thursday.  I really think it's my sciatica nerve starting at my hip.  The pain moves around and sometimes it's hard to walk without a limp.  That needs to stop and I mean now.  I wear my compression sock on my left leg almost all the time.  That seems to help.  Still icing, resting and doing my core exercises.  Hoping to get back on track by the end of the week.  

Still lost a toenail and my big toenail is going to bail soon.  Probably from the last few half marathons.

It was fun running a half marathon with a tender toe without nail.

Kinda.

Challenge

I changed the battery in the shaggin wagon.  Just to see if I could.  It was an interesting experience and only minimal injuries.  I'd do it again.  

Tight spaces!

'

Cleaned up the battery holder.  Battery acid caused some rusting on the wheel well.

Battery IN. Challenge Accepted and won!!

Mt. Nebo Half Marathon Recap!

Awesome race and great friends!  I didn't run between the Run Elevated half marathon and this one.  I was happy with the time and my leg pain was less then the last half marathon.  

Outfit planned.  New Lululemon shorts (on sale for 34 dollars!) and running in my new Hokas!

(I did a short 3 miler 2 days before the half to make sure they'd be ok)

Tera, Jason and I went to dinner Friday night and then stayed overnight in Payson.  We drove the course the night before and saw this little angry friend.  

 Running with the steers?

This is how you park when you are pulling wave runners in Payson.

I'll just park HERE. 

Huge fires to keep us warm before race time. It smelled wonderful!  I miss camping.

Before the race

13.16 miles in 2:05:00 (2:04:58 official)

Average pace 9:30

Average HR 148 bpm

Wore calf compression and knee brace.

Mile 1 – 9:28

Mile 2 – 8:46

Mile 3 – 8:59

Mile 4 – 8:32

Mile 5 – 8:39

Mile 6 – 9:24

Mile 7 – 9:47

Mile 8 – 9:09

Mile 9 – 9:30

Mile 10 – 10:25

Mile 11 – 10:58

Mile 12 – 10:06

Mile 13 – 10:04

Mile .15 – 7:45

Mile 6ish I started getting nauseated for some reason.  But after a mile or so I felt much better.  That prevented me from having my second GU at 90 minutes so I just had a cup of power aid at the aid station.

It was a really fast race and both Jason and Tera PR'd.  I was 10 minutes faster then the Run Elevated run and I felt awesome. It was so amazing to hear Tera yelling my name as I came into the track.  Best friends are the BESTEST!  Thanks Jason and Tera for letting me be part of your party. 

Oh...vibrates!

 This is definitely a race I'd like to run again.  Hopefully I can get back on track soon because I really miss the training.  

Dog rescue on the way back to the hotel.  Returned safety to her owners

Flying

Did some.

It's always amazing.

Comedy Festival!

Our local outdoor music venue put on a Comedy Festival.   I bought the tickets a few weeks ago on Groupon.  I asked my kids to go with me but they were busy. I should have taken offers up from my girlfriends.  I took a man I've been dating off and on for the last few months.  I was pretty much over his shenanigans.  Then we went to this concert and ended up sitting with his friends.  It was a pretty lame date.  The Comedy was AMAZING though!  Until it started to rain and we left during Louis CK.  My favorite comedian!  We were so far away and the rain was just soaking us and it just wasn't worth it.  

Other artists we saw were Aziz Azaria, Sarah Silverman and a few others.  It was pretty awesome.  

Yeah.  Difficult to see.

I've never really liked this venue.

Dating is pretty annoying anyway.  I'm holding out for a guy that I really enjoy spending time with.  Sounds simple huh?  But I'm not getting into that.  Yet.  

So that is the last few weeks in a nutshell.  

My new addiction is Cashew Butter on a celery stick with Craisens.  Do it.  Try it!  

Costco/Grocery day

Four bottles of Cashew Butter.  

BAM!

What is your favorite craving right now?

Leg pain. Anyone?? Ideas?

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.........

Abtastic!

Last night during my Pilates class we did some cool stuff with the exercise ball.  I go to a studio that has the Pilates Reformer and so there isn't always floor work involved.  I was so excited about some of the ab work we did on the ball I went out and bought one to have up in Rock Springs for work.  That way I'm not limited to just floor ab work or even core work.  

I pumped it up while watching a program about plane crashes.  Interesting choice for a flight nurse.  I found that if you put your legs on it while your on a lazy boy you can have your legs up and STILL rock.  Genius.

Pretty hot look eh?  I'm wearing my thermals, wool socks and running shoes.  Boom.  Fashion statement.  It's all about being able to throw on the flight suit and get out the door quickly.  

Core work done today on the ball:

Oblique Crunches both sides.

2 sets of 12

Photo

V-Pass

12

It was a butt kicker, and I'm sure my form was not this great.

Photo

I found the next two pictures on a website called Suzworks.  There is a great article on abdominal exercises too.

Regular crunches although I did them more from an extended position to flat. I was looking at the wall behind me then crunched to a flat position.

2 sets of 12

The push up then crunch in ab blaster.

I'm not sure what the "name" for this exercise is, the website calls it Tuck in the Ball, I call it an ab blaster.  I did this last night in class and I think that is what is making my abs a little sore today.  I love it!

I would do 2 push ups and 2 crunches or tucks.  I did a total of 5 sets or 10 of each.  Very slow, using good form and tightening up the core as I go.  Plus I'm crappy at push ups. 

Not too shabby.  I started out my day with a long drive to work and then we went on a little jaunt down to Salt Lake.  My pilot had to get some training done ASAP.  The crew goes just in case we get a call.  I had 2 awesome 40 minute naps.  Some wicked cross winds and landing on a different runway woke me up and then I remembered how our pilots kick ass!  Smooth as silk landing. 

Nice to see blue skies and fresh air.  That is a picture right over Rock Springs, Wyoming.  My home away from home? 

I'm reading the Whole30 book It Starts with Food.

 

Anyone read it or tried the Whole30 challenge?   So far I am liking it a lot, but I've adopted the Paleo/Primal lifestyle for about 15 months.  Unfortunately I've allowed a few things sneak into my diet that I know are causing the inflammatory process that these lifestyles are trying to avoid. I stayed away from bread until January when I went to Florida.  I haven't had any since, but I've indulged in a few rounds of homemade nachos with lots of shredded cheese.  And popcorn, I love me some popcorn.  

The WORST offender is crack aka Dark Chocolate Pomegranates.

Evil and addictive and so delicious.

I've decided to revamp my diet and wanted to do the Whole30 challenge in January, but decided against it because of the traveling and races.  Then I started reading all the stories of how awesome everyone feels and decided to buy the book.  Lately I've had headaches and trouble sleeping and I know I'm stressed.  My foot hurts more (inflammation?) and I'm spending more days frustrated and flustered then not.  This week, after my epic Moonshine hangover I am definitely in a good spot to start working my way back to feeling better and healthy eating.  I'm reading and cutting stuff out and learning and planning for 30 days in March.  

Anyone want to join me?  

Keep that ab work up!

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

Mid day run

What I really should call it is learning to procrastinate until it's noon and starting to get toasty outside.  

I have to confess a couple of things.  
1. I have weird sleeping problems.  
2. I have been deemed Lord Procrastinator.  (I know this because I procrastinated this post until I couldn't sleep)


It all started 9 years ago when I became a nurse and was working days and sometimes nights.  Last year I tried all nights and that helped a little except on my off nights I was sleeping from 4am until noon.  Then I became a flight nurse and things improved somewhat.  I'm certainly not up all night as regularly and as long as I was when I worked in the hospital but lets face it, people need critical transportation even at night. Couple that with not sleeping great when I'm on shift and having a good night sleep is just out of reach.  I know it's making me age faster, I can feel it.

Gone is the life when my eyes would get heavy around 10 and I'd shuffle to bed and sleep great until the early light.  I remember years ago getting up at 530am to do a power walk before my ex-husband left for work and the kids woke up.  I can still do that but the times are few and far between.  I can't really do THAT specific thing, with the kids being older and the ex-husband refusing to come to my house at that hour to get ready for work. rude!

Now I go back and forth from sleeping as little as 3 hours a night to sleeping like a rock for 14 hours a night coupled with a 3 hour nap.  It makes it difficult to plan for early morning runs.  What usually happens is the alarm goes off and I've only had a couple of hours sleep and I'm exhausted and stay asleep in bed.  

I have sleeping pills that I try to avoid or at least try to avoid taking every night.  I have tried to avoid TV and internet a couple of hours before bedtime and taking that time to read and relax but it doesn't make much of a difference.  

That leaves blogging at 6am after only about 4 hours of sleep and complaining.  I'm at work now, so I look forward to a good nap.  I usually have great naps at work.  It's encouraged so you don't have to tell my boss.  We are to rest and eat when we can because before you know it we could be on an 8 hour transport with neither of those.  

My run:

I drove to a great park that is close to downtown SLC.  It's flat and you have many options for running around it.  Concrete, black top, wood chip path or grass.  Its rectangular and around 1.4 miles around once.  There is an Aviary, pool, grass and pond with lots and lots of trees. There is also a couple of sets of restrooms and an ice cold drinking fountain.  I love it for speed work and like today, a chance to get 5 miles in while working on form, breaking in new shoes and trying not to trash my foot.  

Yes, yes and yes.  I ran 5 miles, I felt great about my form and my new shoes are heaven.  A lot lighter then previous stable running shoes that I've had and comfy.  I only had to correct myself a couple of times to look up and increase my cadence.  It did get pretty hot and I had to keep slowing myself down.  I still managed to hit under 8 min miles at some point in my split.  I know how important keeping it slow and keeping hydrated when it's hot but I still had to pull it back a couple of times.  I was starting to feel that headache come one.  Luckily it never completely blossomed. 

I would love to share my splits right here....
But unfortunately my Garmin is in the trunk of my car in Rock Springs and I am in Salt Lake at the AirMed Hanger.  My plane is flying to St. George with the OB team.  Yep, my job is all about the glamour.  

I remember that I ran an average of between 10:11 to 10:30 min/miles each mile.    


After I was done I changed my shoes and ran errands.  I can't say my foot didn't hurt at all but it was more of an ache.  I didn't get any pictures of my sweaty self in my most comfortable running outfit (Purple Sugoi shorts and white tank)  but I did get a picture of all the guilt food I bought my kids.  

I left last night for work (I work about 175 miles away from home and stay there for the duration of my shifts) to do an extra 12 hour shift for a sick call. I will be here for about 6 days.  My kids had to be home one night alone because my husband, who also works out of town a lot, is on the road for his job.  My kids at home are 17 and 19, so really, I shouldn't feel too guilty.  Plus my 24 year old is back in Salt Lake (he works in North Dakota - I'm sensing a theme here) and he said he would go check on them.  

I bought them plenty of treats so at least they wouldn't feel like they had to starve to death too.  Yes, wheat thins is a treat at our house.  I rarely buy crackers or chips. I eat a low carbohydrate diet with lots of fresh veggies and fruits and there is always plenty of that in the house. To a teenager that is not food.  Food to a teenager is a Hot Pocket.  My son was shocked and awed by my purchase of Oreo's.  Oh heck, why not.  Once in a while wasn't going to hurt anyone.  Plus there was this awesome sale at the grocery story if you buy 10 certain items throughout the store you get a smokin deal.  I refused to buy double stuff Oreo's though.  That is just gluttonous!! 

Here's to a day complete with an awesome nap!!

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

Slow Saturday

Still totally exhausted.  I dragged myself out of bed at 9am after 9 hours of sleep and went to Pilate's Reformer class.  I was just going to lay low and do my best.   Well, it was suppose to be a small class of 3 but 2 didn't show up. Although I am super grateful for the one on one class, I was dying.  My muscles in my legs and even my abdomen were so fatigued that I kept having muscle cramps.  I learned a lot though and did get a good work out.  I rewarded myself with a delicious Cafe Breve from Coffee Garden on 9th and 9th.  It wasn't the best one I've had there - but it did the trick.

Stopped at Costco on the way home:

My medic, Brandon talked me into the Whey Protein.  I think it was a good choice and a lot less expensive then the protein powder I usually buy.

The high protein and Paleo lifestyle has me feeling great and today I was finally a lower weight then I've been in probably 5 years.  I think I saw 4 pack abs.  I'm almost embarrassed to say that I even took a picture in the mirror.  In the right light it is pretty impressive.  Don't wait around for me to post it, because that is not going to happen.  

Matt is having a guys day with one of his old friends that is in town.  I decided to have a steak from the meat we bought a few months ago.  We purchased a fourth of a cow from a local farmer.  The meat is delicious and this steak turned out great!

I also made cauliflower mashed potatoes.  EW. YUCK.  I really thought they would be good with butter and cream in them and even some Irish Cheddar.  No.  Not even a little.  I am going to try to fry them up in "tater tot" fashion.  I might as well since they are left over.

Nothing else for the day, nothing.  What a great day!

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