US Wellness

Monday, September 30, 2013

Monday Runday

Alright, so my training was derailed last week after I came down with a cold on Wednesday.  Thursday was my worst day and then by Saturday I was feeling back to normal.  I am going to get on my soap box about eating gluten free at the end of this post so if you don't want to read that you have been warned! :) 

So, first run since last week was much better.  Not a great run by any means, but I ran about 4.5 miles at about 10:00 min mile pace and then walked 1.5 miles back.  I'm not *exactly* sure what I should be running every day to train for this thing.  Before I would just run whatever I felt like that day, but now I think I need to be more systematic about it.  Things I've read suggest maintenance runs [3, 4, 5 miles] during the week and then a longer run on Fridays.  For some reason I think I need to be running longer than that during the week - like 6, 7, 8 miles?  My goal in my head is to be comfortably at 6 miles again by next week so that way my last week can be a couple of longer runs and then a few days off before the race on 10/21.  

Good news is that I was out for a little over an hour today on my run/walk and no foot pain! Yay! I think these shoes were definitely a good investment ....and also the time off that I had letting it heal.  

Tomorrow I think I should try to get in a shorter, quicker run so I can wash last weeks failed attempt at a 5k out of my mind. ;)  

Okay....so the GF soapbox:

When I was a kid I was always sick.  Things improved when I had my tonsils/adenoids out in 3rd grade, but in spite of that I always spent a majority of the winter months going from cold to cold and then experiencing allergies and sinus issues in the spring and summer.  Now, as I've gotten older my allergies and sinus issues have become very manageable and I barely suffer from them at this point.   My colds until 2 years ago were awful.  Every time I got sick I was miserable for 2+ weeks at a time.  Then, I started eating paleo and essentially gluten free (without even realizing it) and I noticed that I hardly ever got sick and when I did it was a normal duration of a few days.  This last time was no exception.  I was sick on Wednesday, the worst was Thursday, and by Friday I was on the mend.  Saturday I went on a bar crawl with my friends and took it pretty easy, but still was out all day and felt great.  I know this is a direct connection to my diet and it's just another reason why I will continue this lifestyle indefinitely.  So, if you're always sick...can't shake your symptoms....new ones pop up....and you're just usually feeling like crap you might want to investigate eating GF because it's certainly changed my life for the better.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Blog Return :)

Long time, no blog!  I originally took a break from blogging about running b/c 1) it's hard to write interesting things about daily runs and 2) that would be incredibly boring for you guys to read.  I can catch you up in a few bullet points about how running, fitness, and health have been since 5/1/13.

  • I have a love/hate relationship with running.  I think I burned myself out a little expecting too much - as usual.  I love it, but I get really disappointed quickly if I'm not doing as well as I think I should be.
  • I ran a 10k in June at 56:25, which was not a bad time at all.  I was originally shooting for 55 mins so that was pretty close.
  • July was a rough month for me running-wise.  Work got very busy and I am not a morning person so it was hard to find time to run.  I do not do well on afternoon runs so if I got home at a decent time I tried to run, but if not, I just couldn't fit it in.  
  • At the same time, I got a foot injury that was VERY painful.  I took several (aka 10) days off between runs sometimes so that it could heal.  It was just a strain, nothing permanent, but I kept antagonizing it.
  • Josh and I signed up for a half marathon, which is just about 4 weeks away. 
  • On my first run back (post July) I pulled a 12 mile (9:45 min) pace run out of no where and just like that I was re-interested in running.  
  • I also got NEW shoes, which have nearly decreased/eliminated my foot pain.
  • We went on vacation to the Dominican Republic and prior to that I cleaned up my eating and drinking habits (no cheats!) because I was afraid of unflattering beach pictures.  I gotta say I am pretty happy the way they turned out and with me being so hypercritical of myself that's saying a lot.  
  • We did a Zombie 5k over the weekend that was pretty fun! I nearly survived and will know that I need to train with sprints if I ever do it again! 
  • I am actually going to go to the doctor next week to have some blood work.  I try to avoid diagnosing myself, but I seem to have a lot of symptom overlap with hypothyroidism.  I'm going to have it checked out.
  • I did have a few cheat meals last week after vacation, but I think my overall plan going forward is to be GF 100%.  My last real vices are cheese and coffee creamer/dairy in terms of non-healthy foods so I'm going to try to give those up, too.  
  • I'm going to go back to Crossfit and I'm so excited!!! I really miss it.  I will not quit running all together, but I just won't train for such long distances anymore.
Okay, so those are the highlights of the last 4 months.  :)  Like I said the half marathon is about 4 weeks away so I need to be serious now about my runs.  Today's run SUCKED.  Let's not even call it a run.  I have a sore muscle from Saturday and I had to walk a lot.  I think my plan is to quickly get myself back to doing about 6 miles by the middle of next week and then to try to keep that up, while doing 9 a couple of times....9 or 10....and then the week before the half doing 12 and then just a few easier maintenance runs.  I'm going to blog to keep myself accountable! :)  

Here's a few beach pix from our vacation:
 Obligatory jumping picture! :)
Josh always catches me making the worst faces! :P 
First day on the beach! Notice my running short tan lines! :)