Some running and reminiscing about a cleanse

On Day #1 of the Cleanse I legit thought I would die. I was dizzy, hot, cold, clammy, downright miserable. I even ate avocado off the 'cheat sheet' because I was so damned hungry. Day #2 I started with a banana, ran 30 min and felt great so I stuck with the cleanse. By the end of the day I had so much energy and just felt GOOD. Day #3 I wasn't going to do. I was busy, I had lunch plans. I had a veggie egg white omelet and wanted to gag. I drank juice all pm and had steamed string beans with 1/2c of brown rice for dinner. This am I ordered juice from the gym, brought a leftover juice (yesterdays) and really wish I had more juice. We're going to a fancy dinner tonight and all I want is juice.

Part of me wants to juice for next week before vacation. My stomach is flatter, I feel great. I worked out for an hour yesterday with the trainer and did an hour of cardio this am and honestly, I feel great. I feel like I have energy and like idk.

Today I wish I was drinking juice.

There is something comforting about knowing exactly what you are having and when you are having it. there is something comforting to me about knowing your calories and nutrients. these blueprint cleanse people are on to something.

I am lucky. I can afford to buy these, clearly they are a luxury and are quite expensive... I really don't know what to do. Should I or shouldnt I?

Not following my baseline

So, if you've been reading my blog for a while, or if you know me, you'll know I'm quite finnicky about what I eat. I believe in being healthy but also enjoying life. I love large dinners and wine but also eat mostly vegan on a day to day basis...  I enjoy raw restaurants, will pick fresh fruit as a snack 9 times our of 10 and really do like how I feel when I'm exercising. I don't like chemicals or hormones in my food and make real attempts to avoid this. I've read all the crazy healthy people books like Fast Food Nation, In defense of food, and some crazier ones like the China Study.

At the same time I have been known to eat a sleeve of Oreos (honestly not since I had swine flu in Feb 2010) and overeat so much my stomach is distended.

I also, do not believe in fasting, "dieting" or restricted calories in a danger level. Before a month ago, I wouldve told you, I don't believe in cleanses.

Now, I've read a lot online, I've heard Dr. Oz preach and I've also read about all the fanatics. I believe that to truly cleanse, the body does a decent job. If you want to reset your metabolism (if you will) or just 'start fresh' I do think limited diets can be helpful. However, once when I was not as skilled/knowledgeable as I am now, I did Master Cleanse and almost passed out day #1.

Ironically, I am currently doing Blue Print Cleanse for 3 days with a co worker. I got the idea from my boyfriend who used it to jumpstart healthy eating before starting a diligent workout plan... and he was pretty solid while doing it. He wasnt sick or tired and he didnt feel weak or out of it.

We are doing the excavation cleanse which is the most stringent. Its 900 calories, as such, I'm adding in an avocado, a cucumber and a sweet potato (the avocado is on the cheat sheet) to make sure I'm closer to 1200. Apparently day #1 is tough, day #2 is awesome. If I don't feel OK tomorrow, I won't continue. I also want to do yoga tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

I need a schedule for working out so here goes:
Monday- 1 hr w the trainer
Tuesday- OFF
Wednesday- yoga for 1 hr
Thursday- 3m run, 1 hour with trainer
Friday- 4m run
Saturday- yoga
Sunday- 60 min spin

Not the best plan but not the worst. I liked the break off running. It's nice to skip a week every now and then!

More half marathon RACE REPORT

Here is my not so exciting race report:


My splits:
m1-11:11
m2-10:37
m3-10:34
m4-11:15
m5-11:24
m6-10:35
1:15 bathroom break
m7-10:55
m8-10:50
m9-10:53
m10-11:27
m11-11:13
m12-10:43
m13-10:26
0.1-00:58

Overall my time was 2:24. Not terrible for this slow-poke.

We started on the west side near w64th street which means that the m1 marker was on e 68th street as was m7, mile marker 2 and 8 were at e85th street, mile markers 3 and 9 were on e 104thish street, mile markers 4 and 10 were right past the 102 transverse, mile markers 5 and 11 were near w86th street, mile markers 6 and 12 were right by the start and m13 was on e72nd street.

If I re-order my splits here is what they look like-

Here is my not so exciting race report:

My splits:

m1-11:11     m7-10:55

m2-10:37     m8-10:50

m3-10:34     m9-10:53

m4-11:15     m10-11:27

m5-11:24     m11-11:13

m6-10:35     m12-10:43

                    m13-10:26

                    0.1-00:58

Looking at it this way it's not that bad. Although only the m5/11 had a 'negative' split (when compared against each other) My first 6 miles were run in 65:36 and my second 6 miles were run in 66:01 so pretty close albeit it not negative. My average pace during the first 6m was 10:56 while my second seven miles averaged 11:05ish. Oh well. 

Overall the half marathon was awesome. The expo was meh but I did try Silk Chocolate 'milk' and it was awesome which was worth the expo in and of itself. It was downtown which was a bit of a pain but that was that. I got to the start super early on Sunday. To be honest, I prefer Saturday races, get them done with. It was pretty cold on Sunday esp because it was so early in the am but warmed up a ton so I wore my NIKE wind vest and cropped pants with a cap which was perfect. It was nice and sunny but there was def some wind. 

What a difference though with a field of all women. No pushing, no meanness, lots of cheering, the porta potties even smelled pretty clean, It was amazing. The race was organized, started on time and just had a good vibe. A lot of women ran in groups and I was jealous I was alone. Also of note was how many spectators there were! SUCH a nice change!! I loved that. The park was packed and the field was pretty large. I also loved how far up I was in the field. SUCH a nice change as well. 

The run overall was nothing to really write about. I know that sounds silly but it was me working with what I had, some training but not a ton and I woke up with a not great stomach after a super busy Saturday. Never a good combo. The first 6 m I really tried to just run and take a break when I needed one but never really slowed down much past my pace. I didn't really have a goal but didn't want it to be worse than 2:26. If I hadn't stopped to pee (full bladder but made it quick because I held it until I hit an open portapottie near the start where there were a ton of them) my time would've been 2:22:30 which is on par with the Bronx half this summer. Now, clearly that was a Bronx bomb (can't help the joke!) but I was in such good shape then so I'm pretty proud that I made it through the winter in not such shitty shape. This is the first race of the season after a tough winter for me in terms of work, foot and some medical things last fall that made me quite out of commission. 

I only had two gels and they were Crank gels. I really do think the extra calories in them are worth it. I also had a ton of Gatorade which was great too. I love when races have Gatorade. Because the 15k didn't have it which was crazy. Anything exceeding 10k should have Gatorade. 

I am not sure what my next race is. Any suggestions?  I thought I'd be out of commission but now that my foot wart problem is healed (plantars wart on my cushion of my foot which I thought I would have to get cut out but now do not) I can run at my hearts desire. 

My only plans:

Bronx half

Gretes Gallop

WHAT ELSE DO YOU SUGGEST?

Also, I am taking the week off running. What do you do when you've just run a 'big' race?

Time flies!

It's been over a week since my last post -clearly indicative of how busy I've been.

Long story short I owe a post about the More half marathon from last weekend. In summary, not a bad race- 2:24. My best CP race was clockwise directionally and was 2:20. My Manhattan half in 2009 was a counterclockwise like the More and was a 2:25 so that was encouraging (even if it was freezing that day).

Last week I worked out every day but Thursday and Saturday. This week so far I have not skipped a day and I am not sure if I will. I know I need rest but yoga is basically rest. Actually Sunday I'm goign to a yoga conference so that's a rest day.

More to follow. Switched to an hour of trainer sessions (vs 30 min max program) and its exhausting!

Onwards and upwards my friends. No running this week to give my legs a 'rest'. That's what I will do each time I runa  'heavy' race. Week off, rest the legs.

Race report to follow. I promise.

Yoga Schmoga

Well today I wanted to sleep in but instead i went to yoga. I was so amazingly tired yesterday. I did have a glass of wine with my dinner (frozen veggie dumplings from Trader Joes- delicious and like 5 cents each of something insane.) The yoga class was a decent class- except at the end everyone ignored shavasana and left. Ugh. People- you're not as quiet as you think. Why can't you just lay there and rest and seal your practice for three freakign minutes. It's also just rude. I was mildly annoyed to say the least. THEN I realized I didnt have what I needed to shower at the gym (missing one key item, rhymes with draw) so I had t ohead home which meant I would most likely be late to work- awesome! Happy Tuesday to me.

However, despite the subway doors slamming in my face 2x (yes, 2x) and the connector bus (which I take only when I'm late- otherwise I walk the 0.5m) leaving me with dust in my face (proverbial not real), I was still on time to work. How does that happen?

The workplan (please note the lack of running- my shin is bothering me so I figured spin was a better option this week pre half as to not aggravate it further):

Today- eat healthy i had a banana and a bar this am and im having a wrap w egg whites now. ill have yogurt as a snack pre lunch. lunch w be the cold bar from across the street- asparagus, mango, avocado, greens. snack will be almonds. dinner will be 1 glass of champers and something semi healthy bc im going out.

Tomorrow- its an ambitious plan. 615 spin. 7am trainer. busy day of meetings.
Thursday- there is yoga in the am i'd love to get to.

Friday- i could use another spin class- not a super tough one either...

Saturday- off day

Sunday- half marathon.

and so begins the running season...

a PR!

1:39:27 (10:45 pace) according to NYRR for the Colon Cancer 15K which I ran this am. My 'secret' goal was to be able to run in 100 minutes. Unclear why I set this goal, but it's kinda where I thought I would end up. I have to admit I am enthralled that I made it (even by a hair) especially since my training has been crap at best. All in all I have put in deminimis mileage with hardly any speed work, absolutely no hill work (in fact I favor the reservoir because its flat!!) and my age graded result was 46.6%. My highest ever was the 5miler the weekend before the marathon last fall at 50.3%

I was not in the mood to run this am when I woke up never mind race. I had spent most of yesterday with a pounding terrible sinus headache and took a lot of meds including allergy pills, Excedrin and Tylenol (not at once!). After my terrible marathon (which I honestly chalk up to the meds in the weeks leading up to the race), I am very wary of what meds do to your system/tissues which only are exemplified when you're pushing your body. Needless to say I wasn't expecting much from this run and in fact I was using it as a training run for next week's More half marathon. I took a cab to the park (lame), went to baggage, porta potties, chatted with some old TNT friends and headed to the start. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people were running the 15k (I was concerned I would seriously be the last person in the race) and then surprised and happy when I crossed the start only 4 minutes after they started the clock.

The course was counterclockwise starting on the east drive at 65th street. My miles broke down as follows:
m1-10:45 (east 65th to 85th street- for the cat hill inclusion i thought this mile was entirely too fast albeit it comfortable... i tried to keep pace in m2 and decided during this mile I would make it up on m3 which would be on the west side along the beloved three bitches of hills) I ran with my headphones the entire time, something I haven't done in forever. I needed motivation today though.

m2-9:56- you hit the m2 marker just under 100th street. I love m2 in this race, flat/downhill and fast. Running in the park so much really makes you understand the ups, downs, where the pavement is crooked, where the holes are etc. I am also getting really good at running tangentially (is that a word) which is to say that I avoid running up the curve with cat hill and instead run straight.

m3-11:41- you hit m3 at east 90th street. I was quite tired and realized really quickly I needed to eat my gel (crank sports!!!)because I hadn't eaten enough for breakfast- what a silly mistake. Total rookie, but I was so tired this am I wasn't thinking straight. I knew this mile would be slower because of the walk up the hill (to eat my gel) and just in general I was dragging. At this point I was pretty down in my performance and on how I was feeling.

m4-11:04- the m4 marker is just at 72nd street. I abhor w76th street to about w65th street. I find the incline to be uncomfortable and have never appreciated this part of the park. 11 min pace was my goal though and I knew I only had a few 'banked' seconds if I wanted to be near an acceptable time goal. I hadn't decided on my 100 min goal yet.

m5-11:07- we hit m5 right about e64th street. I realized then that if I didn't get a Gatorade I was going to hit a wall as I came back around the park. I also realized that I hit m5 in 54:30 and remembered I only had 4 more miles to go. I realized then that 9 miles in 99 min was totally do able and got excited. I gauged when I should purchase a Gatorade (yes, I ran with $5 in my back pocket) and realized the closest vendors were on e70th and then e85th. I went with e70th because he had no other customers and e85th usually does. I veered off course really quickly and prob only lost about 10 seconds. I def got some stares from people but I was OK with that.

m6-10:57- We hit m6 right at 80th street. I started to feel like I was in a groove. I am a person who just needs Gatorade and more sugar/salt than others. Read my summer entries when I almost die from dehydration every other week. It's tough to be as delicate as I am. I'm still learning about what my body needs, for sure. I def realized that I needed to pick up the pace and make sure I bank a few extra seconds to pick up any delay from the west side. I also realized that I miscalculated. 9.3m at an 11 min pace needed 102 minutes. I was so pissed at myself. I work in Finance for Christs sake. How can I still be so terrible at running math?

m7-10:30- we hit m7 at e100th street. I was a bit bummed this mile was as slow as it was. I have no idea why it was, but it was. I had hoped to bank a minute with this mile, but figured 30 seconds had potential. I needed to make up 2:45in order to beat my 100 min goal. I knew I had banked a minute at this point and I knew I was coming into the part of the course I struggle with the most.

m8-10:40- we hit m8 at w93rd street and quite honestly I was in the mode. short strides, pumping my arms, swigging Gatorade when I needed it. I passed a ton of people, I felt strong, I know I looked strong comparably. I just felt alive. I can't explain it more than that. Even at that pace, I was working hard, but I had my goal in mind. I knew I had to book it in the last part of the race to even come close and decided I wasn't going to just accept my fate, I was going to give it my all. I knew I had just over a minute banked before this mile and 1:20 wasn't cutting it. I had 1.3m to make up 1:20 at least. YIKES. At least there was only 1 hill and then a lot of downhill before m9.

m9-10:07- m9 was just before the transverse- say w75th street. I knew coming off m8 that I needed to run close to a 10 min mile to even be in contention for my goal... I didn't look at my watch, I just ran. I controlled my breathing, I pumped my arms, I didn't flail as I came down the downhill and I def wasn't paying attention to anyone else, I was picking people off left and right and knew there was potential.

0.3m-2:38 When I hit the m9 marker I started my sprint. I've done enough yassos to know how what 0.3m feels like (yassos are speed repeats for 0.5m at your marathon 'goal'. Bart Yasso defines 'goal' in a fun way. If you have a 4:30 marathon time goal you run 0.5m repeats 6-10x in 4min 30 seconds with equal rest periods. Sounds easy, it's pretty hard.) Anyway, I ran my little heart out without looking at my watch (a hard thing for me!!) and crossed the line feeling nauseated. Isn't that the goal of each race? Give it your all and feel sick at the end as the sugar/salt sloshes around in your stomach? Well, I always felt like it should be.

Anyway I crossed the finish line and my watch said 1:39:29 and I, being the math genius that I am, was immediately bummed. Then I realized instead of being 29 seconds over, I was 31 seconds under. VERY PROUD. I set a goal, stuck to it and pushed through when my math was wrong. I know I'm not in the best shape I've ever been in, but I'm not in as bad shape as originally anticipated.

Next weekend: More Half Marathon. It's 2 loops of the park (harder than most courses) so it's unclear what sort of goals I will set. Stay tuned!

Freaky Friday

I love Fridays. Always have, always will (I hope). I love Fridays more than Saturdays and definitely more than Sundays. Sundays are impending gloom, Saturdays you are rushing through everything that needs to get done so you can enjoy the weekend. Fridays are all about hope and anticipation. I love it. I particularly love not having to run on Saturday mornings. I love winter running if not only because it affords me the luxury of not having to wake up at the crack of dawn to get my miles in before the sun rears its hot little head. I am running the Colon Cancer 15k this Sunday. I have never run a 15k so I will PR. That's a nice thought as I sure as hell know that it will be no sort of PR. I have not worked on speed. I have not worked on anything really, except getting myself back up to running up to 10m without feeling shitty. I suppose that's some sort of positive outcome. The More half marathon is next Sunday. Unclear how that snuck up on me, but it did. I wanted to PR this half. At the very least I wanted to PR on the course which I believe to be the same as the Manhattan half in 2009. It was 13-18 degrees that day and it was so freaking cold out!!! I doubt I will PR. Ce'st la vie.

I ran 2.75m at the gym today at 9:40-10:40 pace. I also did kettlebells for 30 min.

I'm at 210 minutes of working out for the week. Clearly Sunday will be another 100 at least... YAY for reachign my time goal!