Yesterday

Yesterday was supposed to be an interval run for me, but it felt like everytime I attempted to go do it someone else needed something from me. After work I went home and realized that I was hungry enough that going to do an interval workout on that empty of a stomach was a bad idea, so I ate at around 9:30am. Just when enough time had passed since my meal that I could change and safely do these intervals without throwing up my son needed a ride to the school to get his saxophone. He had dress rehearsal last night for the Maple Fest talent show that is this evening. That's a little difficult to do or practice for when he didn't have his instrument. So I ran him around to see if he could get into the common school to get his horn which was around 11am. Once that was finally taken care of and I was starting to put my running tights on to go do this run my phone rings and it's Mariah who is 7 month pregnant now. She had blacked out at work and hit her head on the floor. So I took off my running tights, put my yoga pants back on and off I went to get her and take her to the ER. By the time that we got done there, by the way she's fine it was 1:30pm and I needed to eat again. At this point I just threw the towel in. Julie had a friend over when I got home and they were arguing with Kaylee. The house was loud and in complete chaos and my husband was trying to work. I think if I had left to go try and run at that point he might have killed me.

So I've planned today a little differently. I've got my running stuff already on. I brought bananas to work so I'm going to be fueled properly. Once work is over all I have to do is take a layer off, put on my running shoes, HR monitor, watch and outdoor gear if it's cold enough for it and run out the door. I figure if I go home and try and do if from there the same thing that happened yesterday will happen today and two days off for no real reason other then that life is crazy is not acceptable.

At least I know I wasn't the only one who had a frustrating day yesterday. Met my coach at the hospital he had fallen off a ladder and I later found out broke his toe. That was definitely worse then my day, and I can't imagine how he feels with a marathon only a month away.

I broke down and took a bath last night like I had thought I might. Shoot was the only time I got to myself all day. I got a glass of ice water, lit some candles, drew a hot bath added some shea butter bath salts and soaked for a good 45mins. When I was done of course I cleaned the whole bathroom, but I was good and relaxed and I think they ultimately helped me to fall asleep faster.

I'm tired today, but I expected to be. I went to bed last night no later then 9:30pm but two days in a row at 3:30am for a wake up time starts to catch up to me no matter what time I go to bed. I may sleep in till 5am tomorrow what a treat :). I won't get a day to sleep past that probably until Tuesday. I'm not entirely convinced that this is a bad thing. I certainly don't feel like I'm wasting the day getting up this early.

I ate a lot yesterday though for not being very active:
6 bananas- breakfast
1 1/2 cucumbers and raw red pepper hummus with honeydew melon (most of a whole one)
Smoothie: 4 scoops carob powder, 11oz coconut water, 2 to 3cups baby spinach 1cup frozen blueberries and 2 frozen bananas
rest of red pepper hummus and 1 yellow pepper.

It's hard sometimes to watch the rest of my family eat cooked food I once enjoyed. Some examples include: "cheese" sauce (LOVED this with brown rice crackers) Mac & "Cheese", "Cheesey" broccoli rice casserole, Cheater pad thai, GF bread with brown gravy, GF pasta and sauce, guacamole and brown rice crackers those are some of the highlights but the list really could go on.  I remind myself how eating that food makes me feel. Easy to stay focused on feeling the best I can possibly feel and knowing that in order for that to happen I need to eat the cleanest possible diet. For the next month I will take in no overt fats, no nuts, seeds or avocado. I will have no kombucha and I will be more mindful and only eat when I'm actually hungry. I want my cardiovascular system functioning as best as it possibly can for this race. I also want to hit that sweet spot of body weight so aerodynamically I'm unstoppable.

No matter how I do, I'm looking forward to the experience. To be able to say, I ran a marathon.

Thursday Ramblings.

Time has changed very little. I have learned some things over the last few weeks. One of which of course has to do with my body and food. I will not be going back to a cooked food diet EVER. I am not sure that I will ever go back to drinking alcohol either. First part of April my husband and I went away for a weekend. We had a great time, but this weekend included drinks (of course) and it ended with a cooked meal at an awesome taco place (still vegan) in Burlington. Was the worst impulse decision that I have made in a long time. I paid for this meal in my training for nearly 2 weeks. It wasn't until about a week ago that my system finally got sorted out. It felt like I was running with lead instead of legs and cardiovascularly running was a nightmare. Thankfully last Thursday my body finally got over it. That being said the husband and I are going away again the first weekend in May and I'm trying to decide if I'm even going to drink. It doesn't bother me physically too bad, but it does take me time to not be dehydrated. My skin breaks out a little bit the first week after having a couple drinks and I am more tired and run down as my body tries to filter out the poison I put into it. As I type that I'm thinking it's totally not worth it especially with the marathon being only 30 days from tomorrow. It's getting so close and what I put in my body and what I do nutrition wise between now and race day could mean a good race, or the worst run of my life. I'd like to lean toward a good race if at all possible.

Overall training is going well. I have days I don't want to run (of course I do it anyway). I have training runs that I dread, but I think that is just due to previously difficult training runs. Today is intervals, it's kind of cold out and it's supposed to be windy -_- which means these could either be easy or extremely difficult. Either way I NEED to do them so no sense stressing about it. Get them done and over with and move on with the day. Yesterday was a low motivation day. I usually try and get my runs out of the way in the morning so I can shower, dress and have a good rest of my day without a "You have a run to do." looming over my head.

I'm hoping to see the sun today. This weather the last few days just sucks the motivation right out of me. It's been off and on rainy and cloudy and not very warm. At this point I would even take cold weather if the sun came out for a few hours a day. I'm so sick of the dark gloomy skies it's such a downer.

I'm at work this morning and it's chilly in here. Brought my slippers with me though so my feet aren't at least all stressed from wearing my Dansko's all morning. Stressed arches + interval run= :( unhappy feet and legs for the rest of the day. Not a sinereo I wanted to deal with so I did a little planning ahead to avoid it. Now that I just found out I'll be here an hour later then originally planned not only is my run pushed out, but I didn't bring breakfast so I'm hoping I'll have enough reserved energy and can stave off hunger long enough to go home and change and get this run done before I NEED to eat. You wouldn't think an hour would make that big of a difference, but it really does.

I may take a bath tonight and pamper myself a little. I have to open tomorrow too, but I don't do much for myself lately but run. I have a bunch of errands I need to do today after I finally get my run done and my shower in. Mariah's baby shower is this weekend and I need to get a fruit and veggie platter ordered along with a cake. Decorations need to be bought and I need to firm up the details of the games that we will play. In all that between now and Sunday I need to clean the downstairs at least. Oh and not to mention I'll be running in the St. Albans 8.5 mile Sap run Sunday morning. Work tomorrow and Saturday, and Tyler's talent show tomorrow night. Busy week that's for sure, and then next week will be another heavy mileage week for my feet.

I'm pretty sure when I cross that finish line in May I will probably cry. I've put so much of myself into getting ready for this. Sweat, tears, blisters, lost toenails, I've fought through low motivation days when I didn't feel like running. I've gotten past days I wanted to quit and just give up. I'm doing something a lot of people can't and won't and I'm proud of the progress that I've made towards this goal. Something funny? I'm already signed up to do another marathon next year and I haven't even completed my first one yet. Addicted to running much? Yeah I might be :) but there are worse things to be addicted to I think.

Food

Our society is so protective of the way they eat. Anyone else doing anything other then the societal norm gets tons of questions and weird stares. Food in our culture has become fascinating to me over the last 2-3 years. I think part of that fascination has been the necessity for me to learn all I need to about what goes into my own body. It all started with a documentary December 2011 called Food. Inc. that was an eye opener. After that I watched Forks Over Knives, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead and any other food related documentary I could find. I couldn't believe that no one knew what a giant mess our food system had become. Then I realized something, I can't be the only one that's watched these films. Why wasn't anyone speaking out? Why wasn't something being done? Why didn't anyone CARE! Then it dawned on me, people are content to eat what tastes good even if the very food they put in their mouths is killing them. They are comfortable to remain clueless. If you try and tell someone that their cheese burger and fries could give them cancer (even if it's in a non attacking way) they get defensive. It's brought me to a whole new level of awareness. People don't want to change. They would rather be fat, sick and broke. I say broke because the health care system is bleeding them dry with every new drug they give them to offset the bad food choices they make. I'm sure I'll get a lot of backlash from this post, but I can't even begin to express how little I care. WAKE UP PEOPLE YOU ARE KILLING YOURSELF WITH THE FOOD YOU EAT! 

I suppose to each his own. If you want to grow old faster then you were intended to. If you enjoy giving all your money to the government or your HMO, by all means carry on. I choose health, vitality, vibrancy, energy, clear skin, no colds, allergy free, fit body... the list could go on and on. It's clear the advantages out weight the disadvantages so why is it even a question? It's habits I think, people get stuck in their meat and potatoes way and then don't know or don't want to change. Fat, salt and sugar taste good and appeal to the brain which is why we as a species crave it. It's sad watching people I know and love kill themselves bite by bite. What's even worse is family that once ate well and advocated for this lifestyle going back to old ways and eating antibiotic laden chicken, growth hormone filled beef, nasty cholesterol filled eggs, saturated fat laden cheese I can't stand it. It makes my eye twitch cause they know better, but I guess... it doesn't make a difference. Everyone can simply turn a blind eye to the truth, cause being ignorant is easier then doing the right thing even though it's hard some times. 

I think that's the end of my rant for now. I'm sure there will be more later. This is a topic that I'm passionate about and wish that people would wake up to. On a positive note, I've gotten some people at my work to try recipes I've made and they love it. So change is possible but it will take time and patience. 

Day 21- Fully Raw

So I've made it! I had one thing yesterday that for me was questionable as it had a minimal amount of added salt, it was a raw locally made cabbage kimichi (still raw). It was delicious but tasted VERY salty. I think once I finish this particular jar I wont buy another one (at least for myself). I've had a great journey being raw. Some days have been extremely difficult especially watching my family eat some of my favorite meals("cheesey broccoli rice inparticular). I have learned a LOT about my own body. I have tons of energy eating this way. I'm calmer. I know that may not make any sense, and when people were saying this would happen I didn't believe them. I guess it was one of those things I needed to experience for myself to really believe. It's true though I feel more centered emotionally, mentally and physically. When I eat a meal in the morning it's almost as though I can feel it nourishing my body (I know, sounds crazy!). I have overall enjoyed my journey being raw. The question for me is do I keep going? Or do I slip back into eating portions of cooked food? I'm loving the raw thing so far a lot more than I originally anticipated I would. Its easy overall but, it is hard to get used to having to eat so much food. I think for now I'm going to stick to it. This week especially I've seen a huge improvement in my running abilities and my food cravings have all but dissipated(which is a HUGE deal for me). I used to always crave pasta and rice and the cravings would control me till I caved and ate copious amounts of the food being craved. Now I can cook it, smell it, and even serve it with only minimal desire to consume it. I feel so much better that going back most days isn't even appealing. 

As far as my running is concerned I've gone 30 something miles this week so far and after my long run on Sunday I will have accumulated 54.5 miles in total for the week. So the mileage is stacking up, too bad it's been too cold to get outside here. Maybe sometime next week I can get back outside and start running on the road again.  

If anyone has questions about how to go fully raw, or what my experience has been like feel free to ask :). 

Day 5 Fully Raw

So today marks 5 days fully raw and I can't even begin to describe how I've been feeling. I am sleeping better. I'm calmer, and have a thousand times more energy then I've had in a LONG time. I feel centered and I know this may sound insane but I feel nourished, hydrated and like I'm actually doing this whole nutrition thing right. I don't believe I will ever go back to cooked food. 

1. I don't drink alcohol anymore. 
2. No coffee
3. No tea
4. Nothing cooked
5. Nothing out of a can
6. No added salt, sugar or spices (fresh herbs only)
7. 80% of my diet is raw, ripe fruit. 
8. I limit the calories per day that I take in from fat. 
9. I eat at least one large salad a day. 
10. It's so easy and I feel like my waste foot print has decreased. 

To further explain #10, since I don't eat anything out of a can, or very rarely eat anything that's been prepackaged I make less trash. The exceptions to this are raw seeds, nuts or kombucha, beyond that I don't eat anything processed at all. 95% of my shopping is done in the produce section of the supermarket, which simplifies grocery shopping for me at least. I'm still getting used to the quantity of food that I need to eat to get adequate calories, but I'm sure that will come with time.  

I am loving my new lifestyle, and most likely this is how I'll remain. The only downside is I live with people that still eat cooked food, so on occasion I still have to cook. Which is alright except since I'm not eating it so if it needs to be tested for doneness someone else has to do it. Minor hurdles I supposed in the big picture. I feel awesome and that's the biggest thing! Yay raw food diet, glad I've finally found something that works for me without fail and I can eat anything raw I want without stomach upset, or intestinal distress. 

As time passes I'll post again with my progress and updates. 

Transitioning

I have to say I'm nervous about transitioning to a fully raw diet. I mean don't get me wrong I'm also excited, but from previous experience I can go a few days before I run out of ideas and fall back into old habits. That's not an option this time. This time with the transition to raw I will also be giving up alcohol... obviously starting tomorrow. I had mimosas this morning, love me some mimosas. This will be an experience, but one I know will be worth all my hard work and effort. It will be hard and taxing as it further restricts the types of food I can eat. I will need to come up with raw meal ideas, which I haven't been that great at in the past. So here's to a new year, new decisions and a whole new lifestyle. Bring it on 2014! 

A New Year a New Start.

I don't believe in resolutions. Statistically of those that make them only about 5-8% of those that make them actually follow through with them. So I will be making some changes this year, but they aren't resolutions. I am not one that will be vowing to go to the gym regularly or lose weight. I am already a good size for my frame and my weight does vary some, but not a lot. I also already go to the gym more then about 95% of the people I know. The 5% that goes more then me are my gym family :). My changes this year are bigger than all that. 

1. I will be going fully raw within the next week. (This will most likely start tomorrow, since mimosas don't exactly qualify as raw ;)). 
2. I will run both a full and half marathon this year. 
3. And because of milestone 2, I will not be drinking after tomorrow until I've completed them which will be in May. (That means I'll be dry for 5 months, longest other then being pregnant.) 
4. I vow to be diligent with my training(missing days only in circumstances where it's absolutely unavoidable). 

Like I said I wouldn't call these resolutions, more like changes that I will be making this year. I've been trying to go fully raw for months and I'll go a few days and fall off mostly because I have a few drinks and get alcohol induced munchies (I'm not ashamed to admit it). I have my flaws and this year I intend to work through the remainder of them. 

Last year I gave up all caffeine and most all processed foods. This year I'm going to try my hand at all raw foods and see how I feel. I'm hoping for better digestion, more energy and vastly improved running performance.  So here's to a new year full of life, love and happiness. 

Happy New Year Everyone!