Marathon Mom

Linking up with  Jill  and  Laura  for menu planning. Getting better on the meal planning habit as we keep forgetting what our plans were. Tomorrow also marks the start of the sugar detox I am doing with Laura. I decided to take this one step further and also cut out dairy (most if not all animal products) and limit processed foods. Still time to join us, check out this post for details. I love cheese and need to get all dairy gone for my allergies to clear, this will be my toughest meal planning obstacle. With planning I think this can work, my biggest trigger is afternoon snacking so I am going to work hard to keep that under control and have healthy options to quickly grab. What are your on the go healthy options? Very fitting with my weekly goals ( Source ) Breakfast Banana Breakfast Cake (my usual) Overnight Oats Smoothies Lunch/Dinner Roasted asparagus, mashed cauliflower & lentil loaf - Easter Spinach & Edamme salad S...

Can you believe it is almost Easter and April and there is still snow? Yuck! On Wednesday I sent my girl to preschool in a sweater, complete with the sunglasses she insisted on only to find out it was outdoor day, yep mommy fail! We have just gotten to the point of being done with this and honestly 30s don't feel bad anymore. With the hassle of jackets off and on in the car seat we just opt for a sweater instead. Luckily preschool had a stash of clothes! Like I have mentioned before we go to a church preschool despite not going to church frequently but she is getting more out of this than sitting through a service (please no negative comments on our choices). The combination is great balance, they not only learned the story of Easter and hammered nails to the cross (brave teacher) but also took part in an egg hunt. I helped with the party and once again had a fun day, until I learned that Easter lilies are delivered that day, by the time we left I was miserable thanks to my ...

I used to be one of those people who had to eat immediately upon waking and could barely workout without my normal breakfast but a couple years ago I started getting up and on the bike trainer at home for 30-60 minutes at 430am and it went okay, easy but it woke me up. Running was a different story, I rarely ran in the morning because somehow the treadmill nearly kills me before 7am more than usual and getting outside before 5am is short lived around here. When I did run I made it about 30 minutes and was without energy and starving. Last Spring I started the regular morning spin, then boot camp and some running and it has gotten easier but I always wonder if I could have a better, stronger workout with some fuel. I first want to note I am not talking about long workouts here which is is much different issue. Instead these are the early morning crawl out of bed and go workouts of maybe 60-90 minutes at most. Sometimes I find myself grabbing a small handful of GF pretzels or...

I have mentioned multiple times my frustration with the high amounts of sugar pushed on us and my many food intolerances, well as I stick with a gluten free diet I have strayed from the strict diet I once followed and can tell. I’m sure it is a combination of this never winter and high carb, processed food intake but I am lacking energy and quite headachey lately L Last weekend I started thinking it was time to get strict again. The gym is offering a 4 week detox but me not working doesn’t bode well with paying to give up foods so I was thrilled when Laura suggested a sugar detox. I am taking it one step further and also giving up processed foods and all animal products, gluten (duh!) and sugar. Sorry can’t do the full thing and give up my coffee, but more power if you can. Is this how you eat? Do you see any problems with the breakdown? Notice sugar/treats is now missing! Laura did a great job talking about the The Sugar Addiction so I will focus on the reasons to give up su...

Week 9  means the peak weeks of training and luckily for me a happy hamstring! Unfortunately it also means I am entering the big weeks of the semester too, yuck! After another week off and lots of rolling, ice, etc I am running again and feeling great. I knew things were looking up when I managed to roll pain free and progressed to the tennis ball (or dog's Kong for lack of tennis ball one day!) for even deeper hamstring massage.  Is there anything better? Spring is here but you'd never know looking outside: snow and cold continue and I am done with it. It did make not running slightly more tolerable. Monday:  Yoga DVD in morning & 1:15 on elliptical Tuesday:  Morning Spin, weights with trainer & 1 hour elliptical in evening Wednesday:  Speed intervals on elliptical 90 minutes, now this was boring! Thursday:  Slept in a skipped Spin, but 30 min elliptical and weights in afternoon Friday:  Morning Spin Saturday: ...

Here I sit in the midst of yet another running concern over this stupid hamstring. It has been nearly 2 weeks off (minus the half last weekend) filled with plenty of foam rolling and icing. I have continued with strength training and cross training (elliptical and spin) and increased my stretching during this time. My other bad habit just behind running through pain is returning too soon. Last year was a great example, I came back a little early to run Boston felt fine but quickly realized I needed to take a little more time and this cycle continued all year. This time I am taking a new approach and attempting at great work to listen and be smart. This was actually pretty easy when it hurt and then earlier this week considering the 40+ mph winds and temps near 0! But now I am pan free and the weather is looking better, if 30s can be better, so here I sit wondering what I should do. Hamstring issues have a high re-injury rate if the return is too soon. How do you know when t...

Where to even begin writing about this race, I almost want to skip it and not have record of the worst race I’ve run in years, but how else do we learn but to remember the things that don’t go smooth. After nearly a week off of running thanks to hamstring issues I knew it wasn’t going to be fast but I just wanted pain free. We woke up to yet another cold morning (9F) and more snow making roads icy in places. I once again spent too much time debating what to wear, but this time only regretted my choice for a few minutes. I have never raced anything more than 5K in temps this bad before. We finally got the car parked after a long line and ran to hit the porta-potty where we learned a new trick. The 2 guys in front of us went in together to make it faster, so Matt and I followed. Why have we never done this before? Seriously there is a urinal and toilet so it works. Okay enough potty talk onto the race… I get to the start and weave my way up as far as I can and see the 1:45...

Week 8 means halfway through this training cycle. After a few good weeks I am even more frustrated than I was a year ago with my less than stellar 2012 in racing. Well my first injury of 2013 marathon training has decided it will be hanging out for longer then I hoped. This has meant limited running and plenty of time with the foam roller, ice and cross training. Monday:  Yoga to start the day & 1:15 elliptical Tuesday:   Slept in and skipped spin. Weight class (trainer cancelled), Easy 2 miles (morning) & Easy 5.5 mile Run (coaching) Wednesday:  1:15 Intervals on elliptical (not as fun as it sounds L ) Thursday:  Morning Spin & weights with trainer Friday:  Morning Spin Saturday:  Half Marathon (report tomorrow) + 2 miles to help friends finish. Not close to my goal but it was not the day for this Sunday:  1 hour spin + 1 hour elliptical & Weights And what's ahead for  Week 9  of marathon training?...

Source As I mentioned in my  race recap  from this past weekend I started having hamstring issues well that soon migrated to my calf leading to a failed run attempt on Sunday and then time off. The last I ran was An easy run Tuesday with my team which included walking. A similar calf issue crept up last winter while I was training for Boston and my approach was to keep running and just complain about it, not such a smart idea but I know every runner has done it! This resulted in a tibial stress fracture and continued calf and hamstring issues all year. This time I am taking my own advice and a new approach: no running! I am still early in the year and I can not deal with another poor racing season. So my plan this year is to  Be Smart  and  Listen to my Body.  I have been sticking with elliptical, strength training and biking instead, had hoped to do some pool running but the deep pool hours are terrible and often too early or during naptime....

I saw this saying the other and day it pretty much sums up my daughter's behavior and gives me as a mom another way to think of the underlying reason. I know I am not the only one out there raising a child who is a drama queen and social butterfly and so determined to be independent, know all the answers and insists she can do everything on her own. Like I have mentioned before from early on there was every indication that my child had taken after me in my stubbornness and inability to relax, great! Now add to this the one personality trait I lack: being a social butterfly and you have a tough parenting role. How do we survive... 1. Keep routine! 2. Make sure she naps: this is huge for us, time to reset and shut her mind down. No nap means miserable mommy, daddy and O! 3. Encourage quiet activities throughout the day: The combination of her energy level and outside stimulation builds without these little "breaks" we get to the point of no return. Throughout the ...

Okay, not truly the race name but how I felt much of the race! The weather was bad but not as bad as predicted, rained all night and we had the fun opportunity to dodge puddles and ice until the rain returned about 5 miles into the race. Now add to that wind, belly pain and the start of a new sport of tackle running and you have my race!   I made a stupid choice on Friday and ate a pile of cinnamon tortilla chips (good thing they are only a holiday item and no longer available). The belly pain started shortly after this and returned a few miles into the race. The race prep was filled with multiple clothing debates and changing way too many times. It was low 30F, windy and rain on the way. Finally got dressed and headed to the race start with minutes to spare, decided to skip the port-a-potty and figured I’d be fine once I was running (stupid move!). I had high hopes until the gun went off! Less than ¼ mile in was an ankle deep puddle covering the entire road, up on the...

What a week! First a snowstorm (2 feet+) with cancelled school, then rain and wind. Come on sun and warmth! Early week runs were great considering the conditions but that all changed when Saturday turned into a puddle jump/ice skating race.  I tried a new pre-run fuel this week and not sure what to think. My trainer gave me some Generation UCan : a starch based fuel that sounds great, no GI issues, and can get someone through a marathon on nothing else. I mixed up the packet for Wednesday and tried, I really did, but could only drink maybe 1/4. It was like it said, starchy. I can only compare to what I assume drinking corn starch would be like, yuck! Anyone else try this? Tricks to get it down? My issue is I either have too much in my stomach or not enough fuel to get started. How is it after 20 marathons I still haven't figured this out? Not too appetizing! Monday:  9 Miles Hill intervals on the treadmill Tuesday:  Morning Spin, weights with train...

Not just any rain here, but freezing rain! I love running in warm rain but this no way! I am registered for a 10 Mile race tomorrow and the forecast is for upper 20s/low 30s and rain, seriously? Finally not terribly cold and we get rain, come on mother nature. There is already talk of cancelling the race if the conditions on the roads are icy but better be prepared. I have run in similar conditions one other time; a half marathon years ago and the result- my only DNF. It sucked, I was cold and miserable and and about mile 7 had enough and headed back to the hot tub at the hotel. I found it funny that someone actually conducted a study on running in cold rain and there results: Running in cold rain is miserable! Really, didn't need a study to tell me that. The results did find that with the lower body temperature there was higher oxygen consumption and higher plasma lactate levels meaning an increase in energy demand ( Source ). Not a reason to skip a cold rainy run, but reason to...