2008 Planning and Updates

Yippee….. Today is planning day!! The girls and I meet tonight to plan out the 2008 events. I just love these girls and we have grown and developed such a close bond through all of this running madness over this past year. What a blessing to be part of such a wonderful thing! More to come on the event planning….

Just a few updates:

Weight Training: I have managed to fit in three sessions of weight training per week. Funny how your mind can learn to like something it started out hating. Even more surprised that I actually sweat during my routine. This is a first for me!

Running: Last night my knees whispered to me that it missed the trails. By the end of my 7 mile run they were talking a bit louder. The hard surface of the road is not a friend of mine. I promised to hit the trail this Saturday and look forward to it already. It was a beautiful night out. Although it was light when I started I did not wear my head lamp and regretted this. Ended up running to our Sports Club and called my husband for a ride home. Safety first!

Sugar-free Diet: I am closing in on the last few days of this two week plan. So many things I am much more aware of now than before. My cravings for candy bars are gone and I am proud that I have kicked that bad habit. I have also become much more aware of what my body is saying to me. When I am balanced with my eating my runs rock. Last night was one of those runs. Now I am focusing on my post workout refueling. Still learning and enjoying this process.

Thank you all for your encouragement over these past two weeks. Some of you suggested books and websites and I am diving into those now. Changing a diet in any way is not easy. We find comfort in foods that sometimes are bad for us. I truly only derailed once and am very proud of this. If anyone is considering doing this in the future I will be here to cheer you on!!!!!

Robin

Planning is EVERYTHING

Fastest way for a perfectly good plan to crash…. Poor planning.

The entire key to being able to successfully remain ‘sugar-free’ is good planning. Thanksgiving Day came and went with very little problem. I did have my treat and enjoyed a nice glass of wine but did not struggle much with the holiday goodies. I set at a table full of temptations and felt in control. This was a welcomed surprise.

Friday arrives and Scott and I began the Christmas decorating and cleaning marathon that lasted about 10 hours. Breakfast happened and the day started off fine. Hours later I ate an apple with peanut butter on the run. This was my poor attempt at my lunch. Snacks never happened much less I stayed so busy I never really had much water to speak of. By the time dinner time arrived our youngest was starving and Scott and I were beyond exhausted. Too tired to think clearly I recommend ordering a pizza and 35 minutes later it arrived hot and ready to eat. Two slices later I was on the couch disgusted at my poor planning. Saturdays run was not good at all and after 3 miles I was headed to the bathroom for you guessed it. Greasy pizza… not good.

So yesterday was a new day. Better planning and a better workout. Still did not take in the water I should have but honestly anything was better than the days before.

Lesson learned: Planning is everything!! It blocks any crashes that are sure to follow.

Robin

Still Sugarless

Sugarless Update:
As I post this I am beginning day 4. For any one considering taking a 2 week no sugar challenge, know that is will be super hard and prepare for major ups and down. My irritability has lessened and today I woke up with no lingering headache. Sunday was the hardest day and I was just beside myself for most of the day. Almost gave up on the whole thing about a thousand times. The key so far has been good planning and being prepared in advance on what I will be eating and keeping busy. No plan only leads to struggles and weakness so I have to keep doing what I am doing.

Fitness Update:
Thankfully I have my running to battle the sugar challenge. Within three days I have ran 16 mile and have felt great on each run. Monday I did an all over weight / ab workout and loved it. Tonight I will opt for a spin class and then pick up another short run on Wednesday. Will have to be careful not to overdo it while I am kicking the habit…LOL!!

Thank you for all of your suggestions and comments. Following the two weeks I can add honey etc. but until then it can only be natural sugar found in fruits and veggies. I am eating LOTS of greens. Just last night I had a Fuji apple and it truly was the sweetest, best tasting apple I believe I have ever had in my life!! May all of this will help correct my GI issues and get my body more balanced… any change has to be better than what I was doing. Being healthy is my #1 goal!!

Robin

New Runner in the Family

I am very excited to report that we have a new runner in the family and she LOVES the trails as much as me!!!!



This morning my husband and I headed out to Paris Mountain for a early morning trail run. After a little bit of work it took Layla no time and she was off and running. It was so wonderful having her out running and doing what I love most. Scott and I just could not believe how well she did. She was so quick and precise on her feet. She knew right where to run and never was more than 10 steps in front of us. She loved it and I just did not want to stop. The leaves where beautiful and it was such a perfect morning. We will be doing this again!!!! Now she is passed out on the couch but she more than earned it.



Day one - having cut all sugar out is turning out to be just as tuff as I knew it would be. It is seriously all I have thought about today! Slight headache and would love to slam say.... hmmmmm....chocolate covered cherries like nobodies momma right now. This monster has a hold on me but I must stay focus. It is only two weeks right?!?!!!!


Robin

Coming Clean

First off my week one of maintenance training has gone great.

Cycle: 1 hr 15 minutes
Strength Training: One full body and one lower body (will get one upper body in this weekend)
Yoga: This is what I looked most forward to but just did not happen. Long story but will absolutely take place next week.
Running: Will finish with 20 for the week. Trail running with hubby tomorrow. SO excited!
Abs: Managed to add this twice this week. Really need to do these daily. It is a sad area for me.
So now it is time to COME CLEAN about something… I LOVE sugar…sweets…anything covered in chocolate. It was not until I made contact with Jennifer that Suzanne turned me onto that I realized I needed help. Sure I eat healthy food and drink plenty of water. Anyone that is around me often enough would say that I do pretty good. So I am outing myself and coming out of the closet. I have days where I eat candy bars between work and home only to walk in the house and pour Hershey’s syrup directly in my mouth. This bad behavior has only help escalate my GI issues of the past year. It is a piece of the puzzle and one that will be the hardest for me to address. Starting Saturday morning I will begin a 14 days NO SUGAR diet. I will have to monitor all foods and really be aware of the hidden refined sugars that hide quietly in our foods just waiting to be eaten. No alcohol at all (not a problem) and no candy of any kind (big problem). I took pages of notes while I spoke with Jennifer and was just amazed at the amounts of information that she shared with me. I will be adding more healthy fats back into diet and adding lots more fresh veggies and fruits. Things we all know to do but tend to put off. My weight is good just have to get my body back in balance. Something has to be better than what I have been doing. This girl does not want her race to end due to GI issues again and I am ready to do something about it.

Wish me luck… my body is already on high alert status!!!!

Robin

Maintenance Mode Training

I am already on my way with a new focus of Maintenance Mode Training. On Monday I met with Justin at the Sports Club to have my Program Assessment. We discussed what areas I would need to focus on based on my 2008 goals. He seemed amazed of all I accomplished in 2007 so when we started the weights I felt… wimpy …. lazy… pathetic to tell him that I needed to lower my weight since it was already rather low to begin with. Even worse when I could not get through a complete set of reps. To really top it off when we started some ab work I flat out could not even do one of the exercises. He suggested some modifications and still… nope … nothing. He was kind but I felt just plan humbled. This workout was crushing me!! One hour of this and I crawled to a spin class to work the fatigue out of my legs.

Weeks ago when I had problems with the knot in my back that resulted in a pinched nerve affecting my right arm I had to stop all weight training and ab work for more than 6 weeks. It just hurt too badly. Several massage treatments later and lots of ibuprofen it is on the road to recovery. I truly was lucky to push through the pain on our last training runs. Now I hate making excuses and will not so I will just move forward and focus on some much needed training areas.

Today will begin my Maintenance Mode Training and will include the following weekly:

Run 25 to 30 miles weekly
Yoga 1 to 2 times weekly
Full Body Strength Training 2 to 3 times weekly to include ab work
Spin indoor 60 to 90 minutes weekly

In another area of focus I am in contact with a food coach and will try and get to the bottom of my GI issues. While I have perfected going potty in the woods fast I would love to change this and actually make it through a long run or race without this issue. Sugar is likely an evil player in these problems and one I will struggle with letting go. Should have more info within a few days.

Lastly, I am excited to say that the girls and I are already tossing around lots of race plans for 2008. We hope to meet very soon so that we can get true planning underway. I am SO excited to see what 2008 holds for us. Miles of trails ahead of us with plenty of laughs and wonderful times to follow. These girls are truly the BEST around!!

Robin

Grounded

This weekend was far from normal. At points I would even bet that I drove my husband crazy. For more than 18 months I have been meeting other runners for early morning Saturday runs. For the last 18 weeks I would meet these 3 wonderful ladies and we would set off on an adventure in the trails for hours. So I should have been excited to “sleep in” this past Saturday morning ..right?? Well my eyes opened at 6:45am and the day was just an odd weird miss placed feeling all day long. I just felt out of sorts.

Last week I must have emailed close to 8 race directors trying to find a somewhat local 50 mile trail event. I did find two but just as you would think they were full. Some I never received a response from at all. Friday I found a 50k (thanks Wes) and emailed the race director to pose a crazy question of running his course for a 50 mile distance. Well I did hear back from him and he welcomed me to join his race. Told me that markers would be in place before the race and I could start at 5:30am two hours before all other runners. I think I completely lost Scott when I mentioned that we could just slee inthe car at the race site. This sounded perfect (to me) but…. I have been grounded. My husband and a dear friend helped me through this process. One - this race falls on Thanksgiving weekend. Two - I promised my family I would scale back on the miles and plan for something next year. My boys are concerned that I need to better address the stomach stuff and worry about me getting sick on these longer runs.

So with that said I am FINALLY going to LET IT GO. Can someone pass me a beer?

Today I have an appointment with a trainer at the Sports Club for a program assessment. This will be great and will get me focused and moving in the right direction again. I will also be adding some events to my sidebar on my blog screen so that I keep focused on future goals that have been set.

This girl will be more than ready come next season!! Now I just need to relax.

Robin

Recovery and Running

Lots of little updates:

This week has been great. I was able to run a few recovery miles and took a great spin class at the gym with very little talking from the legs. Had a dreamy 90 minute massage followed by a nice glass or two of wine. What a treat.

I will admit I did everything I could to figure out if there was a somewhat local 50 mile event that I could join within the next 2 or 3 weeks. Since my training and mileage was already in place I really thought it was a great idea. I emailed several race directors in hopes they could fit just one more person in but no luck. These events are normally full within a short amount of time once registration is open. Normal running field of 300 runners, so they fill fast. It was worth a try though.

I also made an appointment with my doctor for my yearly check up and also to discuss my stomach issues during the races. This will be in late December. Likely will be referred to a Gastrologist.

Other than that I have just been planning next year’s goals and events. My running will consist of trails and I will likely put one or two road cycle events in there as well.

Very weird not to be joining the girls for a trail run this weekend. We have been doing this for so long that it will be odd to wake up tomorrow and just be at home. I have promised the boys breakfast so that will be a nice treat. At some point these legs will be moving tomorrow!!

Monday I have a program assessment at the gym. Will implement a weight/strength training program to compliment the running goals. Yoga is once again in my future. If only I could stick with it.

Thank you all for your awesome comments. Time for some more planning…….

Robin

MMTR Race Report

How does a person start a race report proud only to report a DNF? Although I did not make it to the finish I earned all 33 miles that I pushed for. My stomach has been an issue all year with the longer distances but I really thought I had a good plan in place for this race. Imodium the night before and the morning of should have taken care of any problems that might come up right?? After a total of 4 Imodium pills during the event I knew I was loosing more than I could get in and the effects where starting to take place. At one point I had no trees to shield me on the trail and took 4 steps into an open field to “do my business” when a truck full of hunters came by and just stared at the crazy sight of me only steps from them. All I could do was wave and then laugh. The funnier part is that when I reached for some baby wipes I realized I was OUT!! So what is a girl to do…. Yes I sacrificed one of my gloves and carried on. When I neared what would be my last station I saw my husband and a course medic coming towards me. I knew it was over. The tears followed and my husband and dad embraced me with so much love. What a blessing to have so much support and love even when you fall short of reaching a goal. I have no doubt that I had put in the right amount of training and overall felt fine but my stomach just would not settle down. This lasted until 10 pm that night.

As for the race and the course… steep does not even come close. The elevation changes and climbs were crazy. Seeing the sun come up over the mountains is a moment that I think I will hold forever! We were told by several veterans that we picked one of the hardest out there. The aid station were well stocked and plenty along the way. Still I would not give nothing for the time I have spent training with these awesome girls. The runners that I met and spoke with along the way were like being reunited with an old friend that you loved. Truly fantastic stories shared along the way. Will there be another 50 mile in the future… YOU BET!!! This girl is going to figure out the stomach issue and put a plan B in place.

As for the girls, 2 out of the 5 of us reached the finish line. The cut off times were strict and made this a race down right hard!! I am so proud of each of us for having the guts to set a goal and reach for something most would be terrified of doing. No regrets!! I will take 33 miles any day on a course like that. What a fantastic day!!

Enjoy the photos...

Picture with race diretor, David Horton the night before the race.

Moving along.

Proof that I was taking in tons of fluids.

Feeling great and really enjoying a beautiful trail!!

Approaching an aid station uphill!

Scott running in to the last aid station of this race for me. I was dtermined that I would finish it running!!

Still standing and still smiling!!! What a great day! Girls ROCK!!