Detoxing and Training Run #2

To be honest, I started the week off with great intentions, but it did not end well.  I succumbed to too many splurges and then after the Easter Bunny threw up in my house, I ate more candy than I should have.  As a result, I am in detox mode this week.  Sugar is like a drug to me and once I eat it I have a hard time not wanting to continue to eat more and more.  When I say "detox" I simply mean that I am focusing on getting more greens, such as spinach and kale and staying away from anything sweet, to help curb those sugar cravings.  As for exercise, I took the week off of work to spend Spring Break with my daughter while my husband and son went hunting so I was able to go to all my favorite classes and do 2 interval runs and an 18 mile run on Saturday.  The workout portion of my week was fabulous and I felt great!

I met with Evelyn today and we set some new goals regarding my eating:  (1) I am going  to cut 100 calories out of my meals, (2)  I will replace 1 serving of fruit with 1 serving of vegetables and (3) I will limit my intake of my beloved nuts, she encouraged me to eat other healthy fats, such as salmon in order to get my omega 3 fatty acids or even take a fish oil supplement.  We tweaked my schedule a little bit this week.  I will still be doing kettle bell twice a week, but I will go on Mondays instead of Wednesdays to accommodate work and family obligations better.  Tuesday and Thursday I will still do cross training of my choice, she encourages biking and swimming.  On Wednesday I will do 8 high intensity intervals of 400 meters hard running (1:3 intervals of hard running:recovery time).   Friday is Kettle bells and Pilates with a single set of lower body.  Saturday I will run 12 miles, keeping a pace brisk.  And then Sunday I get some rest, relaxation, and stretching!

After our discussion she paced me on a run outdoors.  We did what’s called a Yasso 800 meter.  These are intervals that can be used to predict your marathon time based on how long it takes you to run  ten 800 meter intervals with a 400 meter recovery between each 400 meters.  The theory is that if you can run these ten 800 meter intervals at 4 minutes and 0 seconds (4:00), then you should be able to run a marathon in 4 hours 0 seconds (4:00), which is my goal.   My average time for the 800s was 4 minutes 4 seconds (4:04), so I still have some work to do.  It was fun to get to know Evelyn better and to get some more advice.  She pushed me harder than I would have done on my own, which was painful but good.

Yesterday I posted on my Facebook page a detox smoothie.  Since I ate it for breakfast, I had added some fruit in it.  Tonight I was a little bit hungry since I ran 9 miles and went to both Pilates and kettle bell classes today.  Since I'm decreasing my fruits and increasing veggies, I did a green smoothie.  I blended a handful of celery (probably 2-3 stalks), handful of cucumbers, steamed kale, juice of 1/2 lemon, and protein powder (I used Matrix's Banana and Cream because it has both whey and casein.  The casein lasts longer, so hopefully that will help me to sleep better throughout the night), and cinnamon to taste.  My daughter said that it looked nasty, but I thought it was really quite tasty.  I highly recommend adding the lemon, but only 1/2 for this serving size.  Without it, the smoothie tastes too bland, but a whole lemon is overpowering.   I think that these green smoothies are a good alternative to the chocolate protein powder with peanut butter that I love.  They aren't as delicious, but I have to make some sacrifices to reach my goals.  If you want more info on detoxing, check out "Confessions of an Easter Bunny".  I'm not totally following her plan, but I am following her "no's" and eating more green leafy veggies and less fruit.  A detox is also good if you are just starting out with clean eating.