This morning, I was supposed to be running the Railrunner 10 Miler, but the race was postponed because of some extreme weather a couple days ago. Here in Kentucky, we got some crazy amounts of snow. I ended up with 20 inches at my house!
Liam really enjoyed playing in the snow!
Although it's been cold and snowy, it sure makes for a beautiful sunrise!
Anyway, the race was postponed till March 21st, only one week before Run the Bluegrass...so we'll see how that goes. I don't think I'll be "racing" it now. Most likely, I'll treat it as a training run. Oh well.
With the race date being changed, I planned on hitting the treadmill for 11-12 miles, but I overslept and that totally threw me off. So now I'm drinking coffee, making breakfast and chatting with you fine people. I hope that the roads are clear tomorrow and I can run long outside! I'm so ready for spring!
Ok, back to my original point. On March 2nd, I finished the Whole30. It was a really great experience and I learned to really enjoy eating in a different way. Actually, I learned a lot of things. First of all, I discovered how important it is to read and understand food labels. They put sugar in everything! Second, I don't need to eat breads or pasta every day to be a distance runner. Third, I can make it through Valentine's Day without eating any candy hearts. (Not gonna lie, that was really tough. I love those stupid things) Lastly, I am absolutely in love with Lara Bars! They are made with real food and only a few ingredients. Several of the flavors are Whole30 approved and are totally delicious!
The Cashew Cookie is my favorite!
As for my results, I didn't really take any before and after pics, but I did lose nearly 8 pounds in 30 days.
I have found that I don't really need to be as strict with my calories to keep my weight going in a downward direction. The type of food you eat, is more important.
I think the biggest struggle was figuring out what to eat prior to/during a long run of 10+ miles. I used to eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich on wheat bread before, and during I'd have some sort of energy gel. Since, peanuts, bread and all sweeteners are out, that left me with just a banana. So what do I eat with my banana??? I have turned to baked sweet potatoes and either almond or cashew butter before my run. During my run, I've been bringing a couple of the Lara bars. This has been working well, as my last 10 mile run, was one of my best in a very long time. Even with walk breaks, I was able to run 10 miles under 2 hours. I haven't done that in months!
This pic was taken during a training run over the Horse Capital Marathon course.
I've decided to keep eating according the Whole30 plan for a little while longer. I've lost another pound since I finished the 30 days and that has really got me motivated. Last year, I struggled on a daily basis to lose weight, and I eventually lost about 9 pounds with restrictive eating and lots of exercise over a period of 5 months, but I slowly gained most of it back around the holidays. Blah
The Whole30, on the other hand, has been so easy! I can't believe I've lost 8.5 pounds in less than 5 weeks! What a difference!
Some people would say that I don't really need to lose more weight, but for me, it's not really about losing more weight, it's about not gaining. I don't ever want to go back to my nearly 240 pound self. That would be devastating. So, yes, I want to stay as far away from that number as I can. And, yes, I monitor my weight often, because I know how easy it is to gain it weight. It's a daily struggle. Maybe one day it won't be, but right now this is how things are. The most important thing is that I'm happy...and I am.
If you've been thinking about trying the Whole30, you can find info at
www.whole30.com
(P.s. Go ahead and try it, you'll be happy you did!)
Have a great weekend!
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