Let Me Explain

"If a person's bodyweight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese. If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. If your BMI is 30 or over you are considered obese." - Medical News Today

That is fact. It's not an opinion on the topic, but merely a definition. I don't believe you have to be skinny to be healthy.

This is about my misadventures in finding a FIT and happy place to be.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Marathon Training - Week 10 Wrap Up

Aug 20th-Aug 26th ~ 23.7 Miles

Day 65 ~ Breakaway Bardog 5k (3.1 - 10:00 pace)
Day 66 ~ WRWM Coaching (2.78)
Day 67 ~ Rest (Doc's Orders)
Day 68 ~ Base Miles (6 miles)
Day 69 ~ Rest
Day 70 ~ Rest (Red Robin DGB Burger with Fries and Onion Rings for Fuel)
Day 71 ~ Long Run (12 miles)

FOOD PREP MEAL -  Cold Spicy Thai Shrimp Bowl

After running really hard Sunday, then obligations that kept me from resting on Monday, I decided to skip the extra-curricular gym activities this week, and just let the anti-inflammatories do their job. I continued going to the chiropractor as ordered as well. So there's not much meat in the way of physical activity this week. I will say that thanks to the rest and actually listening to my body, I had a stellar run Saturday morning (after I got past the mental part of it, which I will talk about in a minute.)

I changed my strategy this weekend on my long run. In the past, I've done the long runs with a quarter mile run interval/one minute walk interval. I thought my running too hard during that quarter of a mile was the reason I was finding myself so exhausted, and I think that might've been part of it, but I'm also thinking it had more to do with all the stopping.

A co-coach of mine was telling the beginner women that slowing down to the point your heart-rate drops significantly essentially makes your body have to warm up all over again, and that will tire you fast. So I marinated in this thought for a little while and I adjusted my own run. It paid off. I didn't skip or shorten a single interval. I'm thinking next time I get on the pavement for a long run, I might even try one mile run/one minute walk. I know I'm capable. I've run nine miles without stopping before. But I also want to be smart and find whatever is going to work for me come game day. I. Must. Finish. Failure is not an option.

I've also found that I might have a little superstitious side when it comes to night before fueling. My best half marathon time ever (2:22) was fueled by Red Robin. I'm not even kidding. The first time I met my 2:30 half marathon goal (2:29 in Greenwood, MS.) I'd fueled with Red Robin. Call me crazy, but I see a trend. I'm laughing as I type this, by the way. I had zero stomach issues. Even Saturday I was 100% comfortable for 90% of the run. Sooo... what was up with the other 10%, you might ask? It was all mental.

So, I'm going to go ahead and put this out there, because talking about it face-to-face with people doesn't work. It makes me all watery-eyed and I HATE being all watery-eyed. But I am very lonely. Incredibly lonely. Not because I don't have awesome, supportive people in my life, but because I'm looking for something that I lost when I moved away from Mississippi. I have a best friend down there. She's the kind of best friend I have my own language with, one who can finish my sentences and relate to me on even the most unrelatable level. She's the one who I can absolutely share my space with and enjoy every second of it. She doesn't run. When I say I'm going to run, she's like "Okay, you do that, Pookie. I'll be right here." And that's totally okay with us because she knows I love running and she loves me and that's all that matters. I rely on her. I know I can rely on her. I know if I say "Pookie, I need you, get your ass up here," she'll do everything in her power to make that happen.

I didn't realize how badly I needed a running "Pookie" until Saturday. The 19th, I ended up running the last two miles fighting tears because I was alone. It made the entire run miserable. Saturday, I spent the first two miles of the run in that same headspace. I was ready to say screw the marathon, screw the training. I wasn't going to do it anymore. I was prepared to turn around, go back to my car, and never show my face in the running community ever again. Honest to God, had Rich and Julianne Tutko not been there with big, warm hugs when I came running up to the next turn, I would have marched my ass across the intersection and gone back to my car. Nothing sucks worse than trying not to cry while trying like hell to breathe. It's scary. I've never hyperventilated before, but I imagine it's just as scary.

I say all the time that I'm a solitary person, that I don't need people, and for the most part, I still consider it true, but it's hard to feel like you're on the outside of a "tribe" you're supposed to be a part of. I've been finding that when I'm out on these long runs, I feel very much like I'm an outsider trying to fit in. That's when I need my Pookie. I don't need a group of people who smile and ask "how're you doing?" just to make small talk. I need someone I can look over at and ask "am I going to fail" when I get in that bad headspace, and have them tell me "hell no, you're a beast." That's what I'm missing. Unfortunately, there's not too many people who want to get up before dawn on a Saturday and follow me for distances in the double digits just to tell my crazy ass I'll be okay.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Marathon Training - Week 9 Wrap Up

Aug 13th-Aug 19th ~ 28.3 Miles

Day 58 ~ Recovery Miles (2.5)
Day 59 ~ WRWM Coaching (4.93)
Day 60 ~ 55min Bootcamp
Day 61 ~ Base Miles (6.06)
Day 62 ~ Base Miles (4), Dance 55min
Day 63 ~ Rest (Shrimp Quesadilla, Chips and dips, and Churros to fuel)
Day 64 ~ Long Run (10.83 miles)


Clearance from the doctor gave me a new lease on running this week. I took the miles gently, and there were many more to be had. I just wanted to run and run and keep on running, and for the most part, I did. It was nice to get back into my routine with boot camp and dance. I did feel like tweak a little dance class on Thursday, and I called it quits a little earlier than I wanted to. I just didn't want to take any chance on overdoing it. 

For now, I'm treating with an anti-inflammatory and three to four visits with the chiropractor. I think Monday will be my third visit. That being said, I've told him he's my guy for the rest of the year. By the time the marathon rolls around, I want to be running like a well oiled machine. I believe Dr. Aaron is the guy to get me there. He seems to understand runners. It helps that he's really nice and truly listens, then explains everything that's going on.

Our wonderful Memphis heat and humidity decided to make reappearance. It's my fault. One day last week I wondered when the heat wave would be back. We were wayyyyyy too lucky to get out of summer without too many triple digit days. Yeah, Mother Nature got me good for that one. She rolled in a heat wave that made me sweat buckets, which made for a few excruciating run days, but I got the miles and at the end of the week my legs were feeling pretty good. My mind that got the best of me Saturday (which happens), but we've had a talk and it's not going to do that shit again. If it does, I'll torture it with reality TV.

Also new this week... (2 new changes, actually.)

I've started using MyFitnessPal again. I absolutely hate counting calories. Hate. It. I can think of more pleasant ways to be tortured. However, everyone I know keeps warning me about how I'll want to eat everything in sight while training for a marathon, so I thought I should get control on that now. Especially since my weight seems to be hovering in the same five pound range. It's frustrating to exercise so much and not get anywhere, but then I remember the slice of cake or ice cream or the entire pizza I ate after pounding the pavement for two hours. I'm also very aware that I need to eat better. I need to fuel my body better to get me through all this working out. I'll still have my cheat days on Saturday for sanity's sake, but Monday-Friday, we gotta get real.

Which brings me to the second thing I changed this week...

I've jumped on the meal prepping bandwagon. Oh yeah. Totally did. I went to IKEA and bought two - 3pks of containers. My husband cut up all these veggies he swore I wouldn't like. We mixed up the recipe, and he tweaked it a little by adding some garlic. I think it could've used a little more dressing, but overall it was a success. Each portion came in under 400 calories and filled me up all day. I was impressed. So we're going to do it again next week, with a different recipe that pushes the line of my incredibly picky taste in food. Tune in to found out how it goes. 


Monday, August 14, 2017

Marathon Training - Week 8 Wrap Up

Aug 6th-Aug 12th ~ 19.8 Miles

Day 51 ~ Recovery Miles, 22 Mile Cycle
Day 52 ~ Rest
Day 53 ~ 50min Bootcamp, Therapy Run
Day 54 ~ Painful Run
Day 55 ~ BENCHED (11 Min HIIT)
Day 56 ~ Rest (Or visit a chiropractor)
Day 57 ~ Long Run (10 miles)


Not every chapter of our lives will be a good one. Some days we'll see sunshine and rainbows for as far and wide as the eye can see. Some days, no matter how hard we search, we can't see past the grey skies. That was pretty much my week. And I just realized that my post last week started out much the same way. I guess it's safe to say I'm in a funk. 

It's no coincidence that you don't see a bunch of pictures of me drenched with sweat and smiling from ear to ear. I just didn't have it in me this week. I wanted to put on my big toothy grin and get through the pictures, simply because it seems to be more inspiring when people see you having fun. But that's not real. Don't mistakenly think I'm saying running isn't fun. It is. Besides my husband, it's probably one of the best things that's happened to me. It's just hard to explain and I'm trying hard not to sugarcoat anything. Not even the mental aspect of this journey.  My first promise to myself was to do this blog for me. So when I go back and relive this journey--for whatever reason I need to--I'll have an accurate account of everything. So in the spirit of being real, this week sucked for me, both mentally and physically.

So... about that chiropractor. 

My therapy run on Tuesday did the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do. I was supposed to hit the pavement and clear my head after I let my emotional state keep me locked in the house Monday evening. As soon as I started running I knew it wasn't going to be good. By the time I got to the 1.5 mile mark, my entire left leg hurt. I'm talking from the hip to the bottom of my foot. Something wasn't right. I'd hurt myself. I wasn't going to be able to do the full marathon. I'd screwed up. I'd over-trained. I didn't do something right. I thought I was doing everything right. What. The. F$%@!?!?!

By the time I got back to the house, all I wanted to do was crawl in bed and cry.

I soaked and iced and wore compression, and I knew that Wednesday night I could run with the beginner ladies and go super, super easy, and those ladies always cheer me up. I needed all of the above, but I swore if I felt the least little bit of pain I would stop. So I went out Wednesday evening and everything felt okay enough. I didn't run hard. I finished 3.25 miles and life was good. 

Come Thursday my left leg hurt all over, just walking wasn't comfortable, not to mention the popping that has been coming and going for awhile was LOUD. I was scared again. Scared enough I desperately started searching for an orthopedic doctor. Every time I hit the wall of receptionists and found myself trapped at another road block, I nearly lost it. I was on the verge of panicking while my dreams of success where slipping out of my hands. (Yes, I really am this dramatic.)

Of course, like most people in the modern world of too much information sharing, I took to Facebook looking for recommendations from other runners. Very specifically, I needed a doctor who I could get a damn appointment with and someone who wasn't going to tell me I couldn't workout or run, because neither of those were an option. My friends suggested this chiropractor in Lakeland, TN--Dr. Aaron, they called him. Or Dr. Wonderful according to my friend's kid. Admittedly, when I left his office on Friday, I agreed with her. I can't remember everything he said, but I know he said I have some IT band issues and some inflammation of my Anterior Tibialis. All I know is he was saying all these Latin words while bringing the pain down on my leg. My husband paid attention to the words. I drooled all over the chair.

At the end of my session with Dr. Wonderful, I was cleared to run my ten miles on Saturday, with the caveat that if starts to hurt, pull back. I honest to God listened. I took it super easy the first three miles. When I was sufficiently warmed up, I picked up the pace for the next few miles. The hills in Germantown aren't friendly. We fought. I'll say I won more than I lost. At mile 9 I was feeling phenomenal. The only thing that would've made the run better was less humidity. And I felt every bit of that 100% humidity between mile 9 and mile 10, in the depths of the Greenway's lush green jungle like atmosphere--breathing was almost impossible, but at the end of the day, I enjoyed every single mile.

Next week, we'll see what the orthopedic doctor says about my leg...

"A champion is not made when he succeeds; a champion is made when you look back at the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months, he has spent preparing." ~ Eliud Kipchoge

Monday, August 7, 2017

Marathon Training - Week 7 Wrap Up

July 30th-Aug 5th ~ 19.7 Miles

Day 44 ~ 5k Recovery Miles
Day 45 ~ Sick
Day 46 ~ 50min Bootcamp
Day 47 ~ 5k Base Miles (Bad Day)
Day 48 ~ Base Miles (dreadmill), Dance
Day 49 ~ Rest (Carb up, Grocery shopping, Chill with the hubs)
Day 50 ~ Long Run (9 miles)


Not every week or every workout will be paved with rose petals and showered in rainbows. Sometimes, life gets in the way. Sometimes, emotions get the better of us. This week was like that for me. Actually, let me re-phrase. Sunday was amazing. I had awesome splits. The weather was perfect. I had the best time running the 5k loop around Cancer Survivors Park. I volunteered for MRTC (Memphis Runner Track Club.) Life was good and I felt great about myself. Then Monday happened. Stupid Monday. 

Mother Nature kicked my ass Monday morning. I wasn't even trying to fight her on that one. But it was a really sucky start to the week. It seems like if I have no motivation on Monday, the rest of the week ends up shot too. So we chalked Monday up to being a total bust. I told myself I'd work through it and everything would be okay. I wasn't going to let negative Allison get in my way. 

Tuesday I crawled my hind parts out of bed and went to the gym. Boot camp felt pretty good. I had a good feeling that the rest of the week would get progressively better. I went to work, prepared to do the damn thing and turn the week around, then I got a call from my dad. My mom was in the hospital and it sounded serious. The doctors never seem to be any help when you're trying to find out what the hell is going on. It was frustrating. I didn't have anything to tell the family, nothing to tell work, and I didn't want to leave until I knew what was going on, or at least until it looked like she was feeling better. I spent most of Tuesday at the hospital with her, went back after work Tuesday night. Still didn't know much and had a really hard time sleeping because of it.

Wednesday came and I couldn't roll my butt out of bed no matter how badly I wanted to. All day long I beat myself up for not rising and shining and hitting the pavement like a good little runner, but I just couldn't do it. Later that night, I made a promise to myself that I was going to take all that bad energy out to the trail (asphalt trail) and leave it there. I was supposed to run five miles, but I didn't. Instead, I ran three incredibly hard and possibly too fast miles, and I left every bit of the icky on the pavement. I felt like a million dollars after.

The rest of the week got better. Thursday, I did five miles on the treadmill watching The Barkley Marathons on Netflix (by the way... I will NEVER reach that level of insane. I'm putting this in writing... NEVER. EVER. EVER. Watch the documentary and you'll get it.) After the miles, I spent seventy minutes in my most favorite class of all time--Dance Fusion at Germantown Athletic Club with Cari. Her dance class is one of the best things to ever happen to me (from a fitness perspective.) She honest to gods makes working out sooooo much fun. I was so exhausted when it was over, I slept like a baby. Thankfully, Friday was a rest day.

As always, the end the week ended on Saturday with a nine mile long run--which is still not long for me. I won't start getting worried until we're above fifteen miles. The great thing was four miles were long gone before I started feeling it at all. The long, gradual hills from downtown to midtown were a pain in my glutes. But I got it done. I pretty much slept all day after. My body needed it. Badly. And to make things better, by the end of the week we knew what was going on with my mother and she was on her way to recovering. 

ALSO...
In my search for perfect fuel, I came across two new to me products that I foresee becoming staples in my running gear. 


The first was the Cinnamon Waffles from Honey Stinger. I had one before my two long runs to knock off the grumbling belly and give me a little extra boost in the begging. Oh. My. Gods. Those things are freaking delicious. I think I might have to carry them for my actual run. Most of these Gu/Jellys/Gatorade things have a weird taste to me. I mean, I pretty much know I'm eating pure sugar, but this was liking siting down with a cinnamon waffle. Sooooooo yummy! (Click on the picture for more info)


The second was Tailwind Endurance Fuel. I tried the Tropical Buzz first, and again, it was absolutely delicious. I liked this because it didn't make my water fizzy and salty. It added a wonderful fruity taste without color, and to make it even better it's all natural and all organic. 
(Again, click the picture for more info)