New Discoveries...Good and Not So Good...

As I've said before, my marathon training is teaching me a lot about myself and being an athlete.  This post will be discussing some new discoveries I have made about both injury and nutrition.

Injury:
As I mentioned briefly in a previous post, my knee has been hurting.  Through research, I have concluded that my IT band is stressed and probably inflamed.  This band runs from the outside of the pelvis, across the hip, and down to your knee.  It is a common injury and seems to be easily treated.  Since I have never had IT band problems before, I believe that the cause is my main running route.  The road I run on along the ocean is very slanted on the edge for water runoff.  I avoid running on the shoulder because it is gravel and my feet hurt when I run on gravel due to my minimalist shoes.  So, I run on the slanted part of the road which tilts my pelvis unnaturally and stresses my IT band.  The simple solution is not to run this way anymore.  It saddens me because it is a beautiful route that I love, but it isn't worth the injury.  I found some minimalist shoes at Ross that have more sole than my tosies.  I may run in these on this route once a week because the sole will allow me to run on the gravel.  So, what do I do about my existing soreness?  I bought a foam roller yesterday and after using it just a few times, much of my pain is gone.  While using the roller is painful in and of itself, it really did help my leg feel better.  I am also doing one-legged squats to help strengthen my leg muscles.  If I continue to have problems, I will look into getting new shoes, but I anticipate that these small changes will help the problem.

Food Sensitivities:
I've been vegan for about a month now and it has been going well.  I occasionally allow myself something with dairy in it and I have found that that helps to eliminate cravings for it.  It isn't completely off-limits, so I don't feel like I have to binge on dairy, but I actually consume a miniscule amount.  However, since becoming vegan, I have noticed that I have had more digestive problems than I did before.  I have been thinking for a while that I may have some mild lactose intolerance, but it didn't make sense for it to get worse when I stopped eating dairy.  I have read that other common sensitivities include gluten, corn, and soy.  I have also had a slight suspicion that I may have some sensitivity to soy.  I decided to do a little experiment today.  I decided not to eat any soy and I felt great.  This evening, I ate a chocolate bar (white chocolate, not vegan) and began to feel yucky.  When I looked at the ingredients (after I ate it), I discovered that it contained soy.  I had forgotten to check the label before I bought it.  It could have been the dairy in it that made me feel bad, but again, I don't eat dairy every day, but have been having digestive issues nearly every day.  My soy intake, however, has increased since becoming vegan again.  I will continue to go soy-free for a few days and see how I feel.  Even if I do have a soy sensitivity, I won't go back to eating dairy and I won't eat meat.  There are plenty of other protein sources out there.  I will just have to be more diligent about my nutritional sources and eat very little processed food (it seems like soy is in EVERYTHING).  Overall, these are probably better health decisions anyway.  I am glad that I have some clue as to what is going on with my body.  I just want to feel better and not knowing what was causing it was frustrating.  It is possible that it isn't soy, but it is at least somewhere to start.

I took a couple of days off to let my knee/IT band rest.  I will start up my runs again tomorrow.  My sister and I are running Color Me Rad on Saturday and I am so excited!  This will be my second race/fun run ever.  The last one was 3 years ago.  I'm thrilled to have a fun running event to look forward to.  I will be sure to post pictures after the run!

Cheers!
Ashley

The Meltdown

Well, I had a meltdown yesterday morning.  Work stress caught up with me and I haven't been eating quite as well this last week or two.  I was having one of those mornings where I felt fat and gross and I couldn't find anything to wear that would hide my little belly.  I ended up crying and begging my husband not to make me go to work.  After a minute, I got up, found something to wear (my husband earns points for telling me how cute I looked), and went to work.

I was frustrated because I've been working out for two months (marathon training for 1 1/2 months) and I don't feel like I'm making much progress weight wise.  However, I have to keep reminding myself of several things:

1. My goal isn't to lose weight fast.  While that would be nice, I'm looking for a sustainable lifestyle change.  While I'm trying to eat well, I'm definitely not counting calories.  That is not something I can maintain.  I know that slow, but consistent progress will make it easier for me to maintain throughout my life and keep the weight off.  In college, I lost 20 pounds over the course of a year.  While many consider that slow progress, I was able to remain the same weight for 7 years without regular exercise or counting calories.

2. I put on muscle very quickly.  I know that I am gaining muscle faster than I am losing fat.  This causes me to remain about the same size (or maybe even get bigger temporarily), but eventually things will turn around and I will lose the fat and turn to muscle.  Again, this has happened before, so I have no reason to believe that it will not happen again.

3. I am losing fat, but maybe not in the places I'd like.  I've noticed that my face seems thinner, as does my rib cage.  While I'd like to lose weight in my legs and tummy, those are the first places I put weight on.  I've always heard that the first places you gain weight are the last places you lose it.  So I'll have to keep working hard if I want my tummy and legs to shrink.

4. I'd rather be strong than skinny!  I have always wanted to be bad ass and strong.  I am lucky and thankful that I can build muscle quickly and easily.  I don't want to be thin and frail and I've accepted that I have to work hard to be strong, so that is what I will do.

I'm not going to let myself get discouraged.  I will keep going and try to stay positive.  I cheered myself up yesterday by buying a new book, a new running outfit, and two chocolate salted caramels.  I'm trying not to let myself eat emotionally because that is what causes me to gain weight, but I figure a couple of gourmet chocolates was better than a bag of chips or a piece of cheesecake.

I went running in the rain this evening and feel great!  I'm still motivated and excited about improving life.  This weekend, I will be researching half-marathons for this fall.  It will be a good motivating event, as well as helping to keep me on track for my marathon in the spring.

Cheers!
Ashley

A Change in Attitude

Well, a funny thing has happened since I began this journey a month ago...I LOVE RUNNING!  I never thought I would say that.  Honestly, running has always been a means to an end, never for pleasure.  It was always a way to stay in shape, whether it was for other sports or just to lose some weight.  I honestly never ran for pleasure, nor did I ever believe I would.

Since setting my marathon goal, my attitude toward running has completely changed.  I enjoy it!  I no longer dread my runs (well, rarely) nor do I count the seconds until I'm done.  I also find that I am making fewer excuses and looking forward to running.  I am enjoying the scenery and the fresh air, and just being outside.  I'm also exploring new places and plan to start trail running soon.

It is amazing what setting a reachable and exciting goal can do to your motivation.  I feel like I am already transforming into a newer and better version of myself.  My confidence and self-esteem are higher and I feel healthier.  I've always envied those who love running and are considered runners.  I've always wanted to be one of those people, but I never thought that would be me.  I am rapidly altering that view of myself and turning in to the kind of person I have always wanted to be.  I'm only a month into my training and I'm feeling amazing.  I can't wait to see what the next 11 months have in store for me!

Cheers!
Ashley

Guilt and Repentance

Sorry I'm a little late on this post, I had a busy weekend.  I want to fill you in on the strange workings of my mind.  I can't figure out why I'm this way, but recognizing it will hopefully help me change. 

Last Thursday, I was supposed to go running.  I knew I wouldn't have time this weekend and I really needed to get a workout in on Thursday.  I couldn't run from work because a co-worker needed a ride home and couldn't stay.  I'm learning that if I come home after work, I have a difficult time getting back out for my run.  It seems to work best if I go right after work.  

Anyway, back to Thursday.  I came home and, of course, was tired.  Nick had a headache, so we walked to the corner market to get him a soda (the caffeine helps).  I was really craving salt and vinegar chips, so I bought a smallish bag.  I say smallish because it was the smallest they had, but it really had a couple of servings (I wish the came in smaller bags).  When I bought them, I knew it wasn't a great idea.  It would be difficult to run with those chips in my belly.  As I sat on the couch eating them, I told myself I needed to stop or I wouldn't be able to run because my tummy wouldn't be happy.  At the same time, in the back of my mind, I also told myself that if I continued to eat them, I wouldn't feel good enough to run and could therefore be lazy and skip the run.  Unfortunately, I gave in to the latter voice and skipped my run.  I felt terribly guilty about it, but once my tummy hurt there wasn't much else to motivate me to run.

On Friday, I continued to feel horribly guilty for skipping my run.  I was trying to figure out if I could run after work, but knew I wouldn't have time because we were set to leave town for the weekend.  I decided that I had to run that day, so I ran on my lunch break.  I've never done this before.  I didn't want to finish my work day sweaty and potentially smelly.  However, I decided that I didn't have a choice.  So I ran.  

It was a beautiful day and I ran hard, knowing it would only be a short 3 mile run.  Recently, I've been running at an average of 11:30ish min/mile pace.  Friday, I averaged a 10:36 min/mile pace.  I always start slow and end hard.  My last mile I ran at approximately a 10 min/mile pace, while my last 1/4 mile I ran at a sub 9 pace.  I'm told that tempo runs are a special kind of run that need to be incorporated into your training schedule where you get faster as you run.  I always run like this.  I suppose that after years of having coaches telling me to finish strong, it became ingrained in me.  I guess most people don't naturally run this way.  I'm glad I do.  It gives me one last thing to think about.

I'm proud of myself for making up my run at lunch on Friday, but not proud of convincing myself to engage in unhealthy habits the night before because I felt like being lazy.  I am already growing from this experience and learning a lot about myself.  I hope that these revelations will continue to help me grow and develop a  healthier life.

Cheers!

Ashley

Word of the Day: Perseverance

Oh, geez...today was the day I was dreading.  I went for a run on this beautiful, sunny day, but after almost two weeks off, today's run was less than satisfactory.  During the past two weeks I kept up with my daily morning strength training, but didn't have the energy for much cardio.  I was also fighting a cough, and if you haven't tried, running with a cough isn't easy.  Today's run was slow and laborious.  I felt sluggish and had to walk a couple of times.  Honestly, I felt pathetic.

As history has shown me, this is the exact situation that usually causes me to give up on running.  I get frustrated because I feel like just a little bit of time off set me way back.  The good thing about this arising pattern is that I have identified it.  I knew that this was a likely scenario before I even set out today.  This time, it's not going to beat me.  I'm not going to give in to the frustration.  I'm not going to give up.  Life throws us set backs once in a while.  I am going to use my stubbornness against myself and not allow myself to quit.  My only option right now is to persevere.  So, I will keep going.

Cheers!
Ashley

Temporarily Sidelined, But Back on Track

Well, I've gotten a bit off track with my training.  The past two weeks have been a bust.  I've been fighting a cold, had a sore knee, had a ton of homework to do for a class I was taking, report cards, grading, lesson planning, etc.  I KNOW...EXCUSES!  Blah!  The unique thing about this situation is that this time, I didn't lose my motivation.  I really WANTED to run!  I ran a few times when my cough subsided, but there were several nights when I was feeling so yucky that I went to bed at 8:30.  It was still light out!

As of yesterday, my class is finally done (not the one I teach, but the one I was taking for credits), so that is a huge stress relief.  Plus, there is only one month until summer vacation!  Woohoo!  I'm getting my training schedule back on track this week.  I have time to do some fun reading (books about athletes and running), rather than textbooks, which is helping to amp up my motivation even more.  The challenge I am facing is that we have some family visits coming up and my long runs usually happen on Sundays, which may be travel days.  I will have to work out a way to get my training in while I'm out of town.  This has always been tricky for me because I want to spend as much time with family as possible.  Also, I'm slightly intimidated by running in unfamiliar territory.  I love to get lost on my runs, but I also like to have a general idea of where I am so that I can get home again.  I suppose my gps can help solve that problem...

I guess it is normal to get off track from time to time.  I've let set backs like this break routines in the past, but that isn't going to happen.  Strength, endurance, determination...I'm going to do this!

Cheers,
Ashley

P.S. I know this isn't my best post, but I missed blogging and didn't have a lot of new information to share.

The Diet...Dun, Dun, Duuunnnnn...

Diet?  Gasp!  I hate dieting.  I can never maintain one.  As soon as I cut something out, I crave it to no end.  That isn't the kind of diet I'm talking about here.  This isn't going to be a temporary "until I lose weight" kind of diet.  I'm making a life change.  I've been vegetarian for most of my life, but I have decided to go vegan again.  I've made this decision for several reasons:  1. The dairy industry is atrocious, 2. I think I may have a bit of lactose intolerance, and 3. When I was previously vegan and running, I felt the healthiest I ever have.  

I was vegan for a year and a half.  I quit when I hit a stint of depression that lasted a couple of years and cheese quickly became a comfort food for me.  I've been wanting to go vegan again, but I just couldn't figure out how to give myself that final push.  I've been cutting back on dairy for months, but once I decided to run the marathon, I gave up dairy immediately.  When I was eating vegan with a lot of raw foods, I felt healthier than ever.  I had more energy.  I could run faster and farther.  I was happier and my tummy didn't hurt as much.  Since I'm going to be working hard for this marathon, I've decided that I want to do everything I can to set myself up for success.  I've been reading some books about vegan super-athletes and I know that it is possible to be a healthy vegan athlete.  The books are listed in the bar on the right side of my blog, if you are interested in them.

How am I going to do this?  I don't really like to cook and I am one of those people who wants to eat as soon as I get hungry.  I don't want to figure out what to cook, prepare it, and then cook.  That is too much waiting and I will always reach for a processed quick meal instead.  My solution is to carefully plan out my diet.  I am shopping and cooking on weekends.  I'm making enough to get through the week, so that I can eat healthy all week long.  I eat salads everyday for lunch, but have started adding quinoa and tofu to my veggies.  This gives me more protein and helps me get through the school day easier.  It also gives me more energy to exercise after working all day.  I've also been making some sort of protein-rich "meat substitute."  Last week I made vegan sausage patties that I ate like burgers.  I discovered that I don't miss sausage and won't make them again.  This week I made vegan meatloaf.  It is yummy and hearty and Nick even likes it.  I'm also keeping lots of fresh fruits and veggies around the house.  My new favorite breakfast includes a small glass of juice with chia seeds and two pieces of whole wheat toast with almond butter and either apples or bananas on top.  Super yummy!  I realize that to be 100% vegan, 100% of the time, I pretty much have to give up eating out.  In Coos County, it is difficult to find vegetarian meals, let alone vegan ones.  I've decided that it's ok for me to have a bit of dairy or eggs if we go out to eat, but I'm limiting that option to once a week.  I don't think it'll even be that often.  I will also eat eggs if I get them from friends who have spoiled chickens.  I would like to have my own chickens someday, but until then, I'm going to avoid eggs.  

I've been vegan again for a week and I'm happy with my choice.  I get excited to cook and try new recipes.  I am having fun shopping at natural food stores and trying new kinds of food.  I feel healthier, even when I eat unhealthy things like dark chocolate.  I don't know if I can attribute it to my diet, but today was my farthest run and I took about a week off because I wasn't feeling well.  I ran 4 miles and included some short, but steep hills. Usually, after taking 5 days off, I struggle to run the same distance I left off at (about 3 miles in this case).  Today I was able to do 4 and had the energy to go farther, but my knee was getting sore and I didn't want to over do it.  

Anyway, that is my diet plan...for life, not a quick fix.  I won't preach veganism to you, but if you are interested, I am more than happy to talk to you about it or recommend cookbooks.  :)  

CHALLENGE:

My challenge to you is to change one thing about your diet to make it healthier.  It can be anything.  Maybe you eat a salad for lunch every day or give up sugar or meat one day a week.  Maybe you give up diet soda (the aspartame is REALLY bad for you) or limit your fast food intake to once a week.  Please feel free to share how you are making your life healthier through a small diet change.

Cheers!

Ashley