Day 38...

The diet continues and going strong, well sort of.. It has now been 38 days of joyful bliss.. 38 days of enjoying the same fine foods, over and over and over. It is funny how many recipes you can come up with making the same food and how you can change things up and the crazy things you add to your foods. Being that I am allowed to eat Hot Sauce and seasonings, I have made all kinds of ketchups and dipping sauces. Lemon has also become my friend throughout this time. Although I am miserable, the diet is not that hard as I have a good plan every week, but the one bright note is, I am leaning out. Never before have I followed a diet like this. There have been good days and bad days and just last week I was ready to quit, until I came up with my latest dipping sauce. Buffalo wing sauce with Kettle corn seasoning.. Wow, what a treat, better than ice cream.
I have set a date of March 3rd to be my coming out party, and on that day I have begun planning my eating, and I can tell you I will not be eating oatmeal, or chicken all day. Still trying to decide if I will get back on and alter the diet or change my lifestyle back to the Zone diet. Regardless, it has been an experience and I look forward to continuing my journey and seeing great results.

Onward.

2012 Austin Livestrong

What a difference a year makes, training and nutrition. Yesterday I completed my 4th Half Marathon and this was my first non 3M Marathon. Yesterday’s Marathon was the Austin Livestrong Half and Full Marathon. Unlike last year, I opted for the half this year. My training has gone well, but I was not really ready for this and although my diet was super clean and I have leaned down, this was not the best nutrition for me.
For the last few months, my running has been going well, and my diet has been clean, but lack of Carbs during and before the race really hurt. Regardless, I was really happy with my results this year and the fact that I pushed myself when I thought I was broken.
I will be working on my speed and stamina the rest of year and plan on doing a few Tri’s, but at the end of the year I would like to redeem myself and go back to SA where it all started and crush my 2009 Marathon time of 4:49. I think I should be able to do it this year, all I have to do is train and believe in myself.
The rest of the year, I do plan on finding a training group so that I can learn extra things and increase my speed and bust through the WALL. Look forward to the rest of 2012. The diet is in check and I know I can do it, now it is time to combine Diet, determination and hard work.

Onward.

Living Livestrong

Well, been a while since my last post. Much has happened, and many races and events ahead. This weekend is the 2012 Austin Livestrong Marathon, and without training I am going for it. Well, i have been training, but not like last year.
This year, looking to finish at a 9:00 average clip and the conditioning is much better than last year, but best above all is I am healthy and my diet has been strong.
For the last 32 days I have been following the TKOnutrition.com diet written up by Mr Rich Stone. It has been one of the hardest diets I have ever followed, but this was at the beginning.
Now, this has gotten a lot easier and we will see how I feel after the run.
Speaking of diets, in the last 32 days, I have managed to drop a cool 8.5lbs and have lost a significant amount of body fat. Lets see what happens in the next day 30-45 days, and who knows I may go a full 3-4 months on this diet.
For now, the training continues and lets see what happens on Sunday.

Onward.

Getting motivated again

So much has happened since my Marathon, had a baby girl and completed another triathalon. Best of all, I have discovered how to eat better and also am feeling much better physically and mentally. Unfortunately the workouts have not been as intense as they used to be, but the funny thing is that i have not lost that much in terms of stamina and speed. Matter of fact I am in the same or better shape currently.

What have I been doing? I have added tons of veggies into my diet and when i am at the gym I am switching from intense training to a bit longer stable intensities. Working out with weights 3 days a week, and doing cardio for 3 for a total of 6 days of cardio and weights.

On the weights, I am going heavier than before and do have a harder time recovering, but with the help of Vitamin B12, I have found a good recovery source. Also, I have stepped up my carbs and fruits significantly.

Later this year, I will be in training again for the Austin Marathon where I will be redeeming myself from last year and setting a PR. All the chips are in place, now it is a matter of getting it done.

Onward.

ME

Believe in Me! This is my motto this week, time to let the hard work pay off and believe in what I am capable of. A week from today is the Austin Marathon, and so far I think I am going to go ahead and try to do the whole thing although I am not ready. I know that I have put in a lot of work in the past and will hope that my previous conditions guides me to the finish. My only worry is my feet and the pain I will have on Sunday and the next day, but one thing at a time.

In preparation for the Marathon, today the clean living and hydration starts. I have been eating good and training for the last two weeks including the days I was sick. However, this week it is ultimately important to make sure I eat plenty of clean foods and drink tons of water. My coach told me that Friday for lunch is going to be the meal that is going to give me the fuel from miles 5-end, and Friday night is going to be mile 2-5. The day of the marathon, is going to dictate the energy I will have for miles 1-3. So, I am planning on eating the best food I can, drink as much water as possible and get my rest. Lastly, it was suggested to me to consume 1 Tsp of salt every day which is going to help me absorb sodium, and also will be taking in 1 Tsp of baking powder which helps with the lactic acid build up.

Cardio wise this week is going to be relatively easy, but will be going out for a 5-8 (easy) run, and then mostly drills that I will be working on.

Planning on doing a lot of stretching in the sauna and at home along with my foot exercises.

Really looking forward to some cold weather this weekend to help with the run.

The journey is long, but I know I can do it. Believe in ME!

Onward.

Its almost here and I am not ready.

In a little over a week I will be running my second full marathon, and I have never been so unprepared for anything. Previously I was injured and took a few weeks off, and then as I started back, I got sick. This last week I was sick for 5 straight days, and so again, I did not run.

This week, I finally got two miles in, and although I felt good, it is no 26.2 miles, so what to do?

As I embark on my last solid week of training, next week is going to be an easy week and there is no way I can increase my stamina or my training before the race. I am going to have to rely on what I know and how hard I have trained in the past.

Been running Pose for a while and have been putting my trust in my coaches and they think I can do it. I now have to believe in myself as well, and fight through the pain I am going to put my body through. This will be one great accomplishment once I am done. Having to understand I will not have a good run, and also not going to PR and will not run the whole way. The determination of simply finishing will be what will distinguish my heart and ability this time around. Who knows I may just dig deep, and have a great race. The thing I have to remember and know going into this race is that I have trained very hard in the past, and I can do this. I have to believe in me!

The one good thing that has come out of this is that my diet has improved and I have lost a few pounds and strengthen my core, so at least this will help.

The thought of dropping out crossed my mind and then I have been toying with the idea of running a half and PR'ng but I have not trained so hard to run a half marathon I can do any weekend, so the road may be long, but I BELIEVE in ME!

Onward

The Setback on Marathon Training

As I have added mileage to my training, I have suffered my first setback of my training. Not sure if it is because of the added mileage or an injury. Been feeling tons of pain on my feet, especially the balls of my feet and at times the side of my feet. Taking some time off to rest my feet, and taking it easy but the real question is how to stay in shape while I rest for about two weeks?

1) Biking-Because there is not much impact on my feet riding a bike, i have been working on the stationary upright bike and have been riding various speeds. Trying to ride 30 minutes to an hour and the speeds are slow and tough. Been riding the maximum level which is 25, and at times I drop the resistance so that I can work on speed and making sure my hips are turning at faster speeds.

2) Swimming-Been swimming and also have been running in the pool.

3) Weight training-Working on hips and endurance so have been working out using HIT training.

On Wednesday I go to the Dr to get an X-Ray and hope that it is just a matter of days before I can start my running back.