I'm pretty sure the REAL final countdown is going to be the last ten days...but it is absolutely terrifying how quick these weeks are going!

First of all, BAM.

For the first time EVER I have hit 400km in a month!!! For us 'muricans, that is almost 250 miles! The more miraculous part is that I have not needed a single ice bath, nor have I needed to crawl into my desk after lunch to nap. I remain a fully functional, house cleaning, grocery getting, hard working, energetic little bee!

I wanted to organize a chart in which I could visualize my progress a bit better (yeah, that's the artist in me). I'm sure there's an easier way to do this in google docs, but I managed to do okay. The first column is the date obviously, the 2nd is the mileage with the orange and yellows being my long runs, the middle is the average pace, and the last is heart rates. For the middle, I picked the cooler purples to show the faster times, and the red to dark red to show my slower times. And for the heart rate, everything over 149 is in orange, and everything under is in green, and yellow is JUST right. You can see that there is definitely some progress even though I seem to be pushing my heart rate higher than I used to, but only by a couple of beats. Keep in mind that I've also increased my mileage a lot since I began.

Runs have gone well for me, except for maybe today. I ended up stacking all five together without taking a rest day between, for scheduling reasons next week. Tomorrow will be my off day, and I will resume Mon-Wed, rest, and long run on Fri and Sat. It wasn't bad doing my runs stacked together. My legs feel so great that I would really like to run every day if my brain wasn't telling me that I'm asking for trouble.

My run on Wednesday was my fastest overall run yet, at a 10:22 pace. The 10 miler the next morning was also pretty fast for me, at a 10:25 pace. This morning I tried something new and went up to Marin for the San Francisco Running Company's 2 year anniversary run. There were a ton of people including quite a handful of elite runners. I'm a little fan girl since I listen to podcasts on my runs and am familiar with a lot of runner names. Unfortunately I'm also extremely introverted and awkward, so I didn't introduce myself to any of them, wah wah...

Since I still wanted to follow my MAF pace, I ended up being completely alone at the back of the pack. I knew that would happen, because the runners in Mill Valley are another species, I swear. The entire pack is lightning fast! It's fascinating. There is also a great love for the SFRC, and everyone is proud to wear the logo. You can now order stuff from them at their store online HERE, so I highly recommend checking it out! The mug is my favorite mug that I own, Brett, the store owner, CLEARLY cares about the quality of the items he has his logo on. The shirts we have are ones we want to wear daily, and the mug keeps things hot for hours!

I ended up running through the Tennessee Valley trail which is a relatively flat out and back to the beach. It was much hillier than I'm used to unfortunately, so I really struggled through it. At least I got to enjoy the beach which was brilliant and peaceful. I ended up doing an additional four miles on the bike trail in Mill Valley, and that was flat but the sun was harsh. And no, it actually was probably still in the 60's but I am a baby with anything that isn't windless, 60 degrees, and flat apparently.

Tennessee Valley Trail, the BEACH!

So what's next? I need to start working on hills...FOR REAL. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but this week, I might start walking up some and running down for both leg strengthening and turn over. The trick is not over doing it, so I might just do one hill day per week, and maybe incorporate some on my longer runs on the weekend. I also need to get off the stupid bay trail but it's so easy and close!

Lastly, FOOD. I love it, and I've been experimenting with new things! I found this awesome bread recipe here. Don't get put off by the name, I am not exactly looking to be in ketosis but I don't think it's a bad thing either. These buns are delicious and taste really great! I love that there aren't a billion ingredients, and I leave out the fake sugars. I make sure to only eat a half a piece, because they do contain a lot of fiber. I haven't had any problems with them though, if anything they've been great for my digestive system. I also experimented with this Cloud Bread. While it's pretty delicious and has a nice texture, it is super light and unsatisfying. The tops also tend to be a little sticky, not sure if that was my fault. I would continue making them since they are so easy, but I prefer the keto buns. 

Keto Buns - SO GOOD

Cloud Bread in the making, so light and fluffy!

Great texture, very light.

I've also REALLY been enjoying our meat from US Wellness. Despite them being frozen, the meat has been very soft and delicious. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Here's a burger that we made from the 85% fat ground beef. I threw on some spicy mustard and sauerkraut with tomatoes and onions. I could eat this every day. We are going to be regular shoppers.

Last is our usual scallops with tomatoes. Jon and I stock up on the big bags of frozen scallops at whole foods, which makes for a really quick and easy source of protein. This time I threw in some more greens and put it on some zucchini noodles. Also, amazingly delicious. I'm getting really hungry just looking at this food again.

I took out a lot of the dairy I've been eating aside from the occasional goat cheese and greek yogurt, and I've also been eating less red meat and more fish. I think it's helped a lot with inflammation. I used to have tired feet sometimes, but that has completely gone away. I've never realized just how important and impactful each type of food can be on your body, and I've also never felt better! I don't eat before any of my runs, and I will only eat during my very long runs over 3 hours. It's been good so far, and my energy has been very consistent. Can't talk enough about it...(sorry)

I apologize for cramming all of my info into one weekly post! I'm going to try to break it up a bit more next time. OH YEAH, and I've ran a lot in the Hoka One One Valors this week and they've been awesome!!! They're my go-to shoe now, and I haven't had an issue with them at all. I also ran in some of the new Bondi 4's today, and did the 12 miles in them no problem. I don't really like how they did the tongue on them though, and prefer the Valors. The Bondi's seemed to run slightly large, I usually wear a running size 7, but I kept tripping over the toe since they were a little too big. I AM curious to try out the Cliftons since I've heard nothing but rave reviews about them, but I'm going to wear out some other pairs first before I can justify another shoe purchase. Ok, going now!

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401km DONE! And 9 weeks left!!!

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It feels nice to get your long run out of the way. I know I'm probably supposed to be loving the journey, or something like that, but running at an 11 min mile for 22 miles can be rough, especially if you do a mile of warmup prior to that.

The challenge today was running with my hydration vest again. It had been a while. I use the Ultraspire Spry, which is hands down my favorite vest for my size. I am 5'0" so some packs really weigh me down. This one packs a liter of water. I switched the original bladder to the Hydrapak 1 liter bladder, and it's got a much better straw and drinking valve. I generally don't like carrying extra weight, so I DO think this did effect my heart rate overall. I need to get used to wearing it, since I will want something for the race.

Thug Life Running. Me with my Ultraspire Spry vest.

I've found that with these super long runs, my heart rate inevitably goes past my MAF (Maximum Aerobic Function) hr of 149. I am sure that in order to achieve that, I would have to break down to a walk, and you know what...I think it's okay for me to push past that at a certain point as long as I don't go wild. Today I allowed my heart rate to get up to 165 toward the end. Keep in mind that I'm still doing an 11 min mile, and my breathing is still completely unlabored and slow. Five slow breaths in, four out - each breath going with every foot step.

Whoops, hr really spiked in the 2nd half. I blame the nut butter! and the sun!

Yeah I know, I'm making up my own rules, but it seems to be working alright for me so far. I do try to keep the first half at MAF pace.  

It's hard to measure my progress because my very first two MAF runs were at a 10:30 min mile. Granted, I was doing less than half the mileage. After those two runs, my paces took a sharp decline due to numerous things like being sore from horseback riding, or sick with food poisoning. Recently my weekly runs are back to averaging a 10:30 min mile, and my long runs are also getting slightly faster. Knowing that I'm steadily increasing my mileage, I think I am improving even though it's a little difficult to tell. I have not been doing the Maffetone tests, because I keep running the same route anyway so I think it's fine to just see the improvement over time.

Random photo for your viewing pleasure.

I have learned a few things that help me keep my heart rate down somewhat. I'll list them out for you, and hopefully they can help improve your runs.

• Deep Breathing. As soon as you find your breathing start to get shallow, stand tall and really open up those lungs with a big slow breath in, and then slowly breathe it out. I find that the yoga style of breathing where you breathe in through your nose and really feel your stomach expand, and then breathe out through your mouth...even with a slight breathy noise, it will help.
• Meditation. Stop thinking. Once I start to think about things, I notice my heart rate will go up. Work, miles, plans, JUST STOP IT! If I get distracted by birds swooping around, I notice that my heart rate will instantly go down a couple of beats. You can also mentally chant a calming mantra, and that will help clear the brain.
• Stand Tall. Seriously, it will help with the deep breathing and your running overall. Imagine a string at the top of your head pulling you up.
• Eliminate Unnecessary Annoyances. You want the run to be as smooth as possible, so if you have anything that's bothering you such as a flapping jacket or a watch that's too tight, fix it. It's worth the extra 30 seconds of time, trust me. Also, eliminate any extra weight that isn't necessary. If you can get away without a water pack by using some fountains along the way, that's ideal, unless you will need it for training and mimicking your race day.
• Drink Water. I just started doing this...I was never the best at hydrating properly, but I did find that drinking cool water did help bring my heart rate down. 
• Avoid Upbeat Music. It won't help. I tend to listen to podcasts or will just turn it off to tune out.

I think that's about all I can think of for now, but I'll be sure to mention it if I find anything ground breaking.

Maybe you noticed, but I switched my long run weekends, so that my easy week is NEXT week, so I'm hoping to see some faster times in the couple of upcoming weeks. 

I ended up switching back to my Altra Olympus' because the one 8 mile run with my new Hoka Valors left me with an unusually achy left leg afterward. I'm not sure what that was about, it didn't feel like an injury, more of a blood flow problem. I rolled it out, slept hard and was fine the next day, but I'm going to ease into these shoes. They felt great at the time, with no issues. I'll keep you updated.

Hm, well that seems to be about it! The diet hasn't changed much except I have REALLY been getting into eating omelets. Like, a lot. I also ate some of Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Almond nut butter for my mid run snack, and it seems to be just dandy. Maybe even better than the Pocket Fuel, and slightly less sugar. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I need to eat at this point, but it can't hurt. 

Another masterpiece of an omelet made by Jon. Goat cheese, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers!

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Tips to Lower Your Heart Rate - MAF training

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I just got my new Hoka One One Valors in the mail today, from the ever so lovely Running Warehouse. I swear by them, and have only good things to say about them. They have an awesome 90 day no sweat return policy, as well as lightning fast free shipping and returns! Since I live nearby I get free overnight shipping. It's sort of amazing. Not to mention that they seem to select the best running products out there, and the prices are hard to beat!

And no, I don't work for them. But...call me RW! I LOVE YOU!

I love shoes. I am obsessed with learning about them for some reason, and could probably babble off a billion different brands and shoe styles, as well as their advantages/disadvantages and drops. I tried to get into the minimalist thing, but I really believe that my high and rigid arches works against me there and I always end up with shin splints. I still try to run in flatter shoes every now and then to keep my foot strength up, but for the long efforts I stick with my cushy shoes. 

Right now I'm alternating most between the Bondi3 and the Altra Olympus. I like the Olympus, but I find that out of the box they are pretty stiff and a bit heavy. It took me a long time to get my first pair to where I want them to be, and now I think they are the softest shoes ever! I have put in over 500 miles on them, so I retired them, but I wear them around town and am in heaven! I'm still breaking in the 2nd pair, so I'll probably retire my Bondi3's now.

I love Hokas. I can usually wear them straight out of the box for a half marathon (and many times, I've actually done that) and they are usually fine. I loved the Bondi2, but haven't been too crazy about the Bondi 3 shoe, which you can see on the right of the valor in the photos. The upper was too roomy and my foot felt very loose in them even though I ordered a half size smaller than I usually do for running shoes. I also DESPISE those speed laces, I don't know how they lasted so long on this particular pair. I think I lost the other ones.

The Valor seems to fix those issues, and the upper fit snugly and like a dream. I got them in a size 7, and while they look slightly larger, they actually fit the same length wise and feel perfectly cozy. One of the best improvements I think is the tongue. I hated the paper flat tongue of the Bondi3.

The height and drop is very similar. 35mm heel, 31mm forefoot, 4mm drop for the Valors and 35mm/31mm for the Bondi3. There is a bit more durability in the sole of the Valor, but it seems like most of the improvements are made to the upper. They are also TWO ounces lighter than the Bondi3's. Not to mention they just LOOK cooler in my opinion.

If it's anything like the Bondi, I expect a lot of soft cushy goodness on my first run. Maybe with the improved upper I will be less likely to get blisters. I always used to get blisters on the outside of my big toes when doing marathon distances.

Anyway, I just wanted to show them off before I get them dirty. I will be updating more on them later!

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The Valors have arrived!

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What a week! I managed to log in 55 miles, but the best part of it all *KNOCKS ON EVERYTHING MADE OF WOOD* is that I feel totally fine. 

The first part of the week I was feeling a bit swollen and sluggish. My shorter runs were all in the 10:45 min/mile pace, and they weren't terrible but not the best either. I just felt slow, like my legs were very heavy. The sunrises were all incredible though! 

A foggy run on Tuesday...the fog was like a blanket!

Saturday came and I went out on my 20 mile run. The first ten miles felt unusually good, but as soon as I turned around my heart rate started creeping up. I have to say, I think part of it is mental because it is just weird that exactly at the turn around point is when it starts to go up. The increasingly hot sun was also making my heart rise. Before I had gone out, I drank a cup of decaf coffee with a tablespoon of coconut oil and a tablespoon of grass fed unsalted butter. I also brought one of these Pocket Fuels with me. I wish it didn't have added sugar, but it was delicious! They have plenty of other flavors, but I'm a sucker for chocolate.

Honestly, I don't think I even needed to take it. I wasn't hungry at all during the entire run. My regret is not drinking any water. I didn't realize that I needed water really, because I don't sweat much and I don't really crave any water when I'm running this slow. However, while reading Phil Maffetone's Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing, he mentioned that it can really raise the heart rate and cause a plateau or reduction in performance. I THINK this might be an important piece of the puzzle, because I know for sure that I do not drink enough water when I exercise.

When I finished, my Garmin enthusiastically announced that I had a new half marathon record. I was a little surprised! I was tired and my legs were a little sore, but surprisingly not near what they usually are. I rested, then we went grocery shopping and they started to feel better. My feet feel a lot less swollen than they did the week before. I have been cutting back on the amount of dairy I take in, and I really believe that it's helping reduce inflammation.

I drank a lot of water throughout the rest of the day and tried to eat a lot of vegetables. I passed out pretty early, and then woke up bright and early today (Sunday) for my 10 miler this morning.

I was shocked that I actually had to push myself a bit harder in order to reach my heart rate of 149. My legs were fatiguing!!! This is usually a very good sign for me, and I had a feeling it would be a faster than usual run. I stopped twice at water fountains after learning the importance of hydration (haha), but overall my run was pretty quick. I finished, and realized that I had my best 10k time (cutting about 30 seconds off), and my overall average was 10:29 at 149hr. INCREDIBLE! This is only two weeks after my previous 10 miler that I was ecstatic about, that was a 10:44 min mile.

I couldn't be happier with my progress this week. I have an easy week lined up next week, with the "long" runs being 10 miles Saturday and 8 on Sunday. I am curious how my body is going to handle this, and if I will see some faster than usual times this week and next. :)

Some cute birds that I creeped up on.

Okay enough with the run talk, now about the food! I have also improved my diet a lot this week. I had placed a large order with US Wellness Meats, so Jon and I indulged in some grassfed steaks on Wednesday. I think eating organic grass fed meat is important because of the balance of the fatty acids are different than grain fed meats. It includes a lot more of the super healthy Omega 3 fatty acids which balance out the Omega 6 fatty acids. I'm learning that it is very important to have your fatty acids balanced, so having my daily teaspoon of cod liver oil is helping me out there too. I certainly wasn't eating enough before.

My Filet Mignon

But back to the steak. IT WAS SO AMAZING. I got the filet mignon, and I got Jon a ribeye. They weren't cheap, but they were worth every penny. The steak came to us frozen, and I thought that it would really hurt the flavor of the meat. We were WRONG. My steak was sooo buttery, soft, and makes my mouth water just thinking about it. It doesn't hurt that Jon is a great cook. We also included some sautéed mushrooms and greens (spinach and asparagus).

I really liked it.

Another food that I got this week was sauerkraut. I have to admit that I never...actually...TRIED sauerkraut before, because I thought it looked gross. :( I certainly was missing out. This sauerkraut in particular is so good! I'm trying to take in more probiotics, and I think my digestive and immune systems are thanking me. I would be all about having kimchi with my meals, but it really makes my skin (and everything it's near) stink. :P I would like to be a bit adventurous and try making my own sauerkraut soon.

Grassfed beef hotdogs with sauerkraut! MM good!

Jon and I also have been devouring a lot more vegetables than we used to. Our recent Whole Foods trip was kind of ridiculously healthy (also, expensive...). We had about 3 bins of spinach and greens (I'm really digging the Mache blend from Organic Girl), and red peppers, mushrooms, kale, green beans, asparagus, tomatoes, and all sorts of good foods. 

We also just went to the farmer's market today. We found a stand with grass fed beef and organic free range chicken. We got a chicken, a dozen eggs, two rib-eyes, and two filet mignons for under $40 total. The steaks were buy one get one free because they were frozen from December. We also walked away with more veggies that were going for cheap. The trick is to go the hour before they close! One of the vendors even threw in a free bag of organic lettuce mix for us. Jon cleaned up our beets, saved the greens and stems, and I plan on sautéing them later this week!

This week really ended on a high note for me. I have never felt so on the right track before. I feel incredible, and having faster runs is giving me a lot of hope. Jon has been reaping benefits from this as well, even though he still eats pizza, beer, and chocolate. He has trimmed up, and his running has improved dramatically. 

Looking forward to my easy week! More updates to come!

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A fantastic end to the week! Running recaps, and diet tune ups.

HeatherIhn 1

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It's been a while since my last visit to the sports chiropractor. I used to be a regular there with my string of random injuries, ranging from shin splints, to light plantar fasciitis, to strained calf muscles, and hips being out of place.

I used to attribute my injuries to the fact that I have minor scoliosis, and one leg longer than the other. While I do think that it plays a role, I must admit that low heart rate training has been eye opening, and has helped me realize that I was just pushing myself way too hard.

Sports chiropractors are awesome, and I always make sure the ones I see are skilled in ART. Active Release Technique. This technique can be painful at times, but I think it's very effective at breaking down scar tissues, and bringing more blood flow back into the area. I love it, and I think it really increases healing times. I also like that sports chiropractors can analyze your entire body, and find the root of the problem. For instance, your foot injury might be stemming from a tight muscle in your hip that might need some work on. There have been many times where the injury stemmed from somewhere much higher up on my leg that I had no idea was so tight.

My doc is Dr. Dade Donovan in San Mateo. I had previously gone to a different sports chiropractor in the city but wanted to find one closer to me since I had moved. Luckily Yelp steered me in the right direction, and due to his shining reviews, I decided to go see him. After a couple of visits, I realized that not only is he a great doc but he has the same subtle sarcastic humor that I have and we get along swimmingly. He's quickly become one of my all-time-favorite docs.

I am comfortable telling him that no, I didn't do your stretches you told me to, and yes, I did this really stupid run that probably broke me. In return, he's rarely surprised, and kind of tailors his treatments to my schedule and personality. Despite what it seems, I do take his advice, and have a high respect for what he has to tell me.

It had been several months since I last saw him due to the new diet and heart rate training, but I was still sheepish to admit that I'd taken such drastic measures. I had assumed that he'd be disappointed with me falling into diet trends, although I really felt like I did a lot of solid research before diving into this one.

When I confessed about what I've been up to, it surprised me that it was right on target with what he was going to tell me to do! He seemed kind of shocked, and had told me he expected my legs to be in much worse condition. He explained that my new diet was precisely what I need, and would keep the inflammation in my body down. Basically, I had been doing everything right! Once I opened up, it was like a flood of information coming out. I couldn't stop talking (anyone that knows me, knows that me talking non-stop is a RARE occurrence), and I wanted to tell him about every detail. It really has been life changing.

I just wanted to share that. I was really excited to get his stamp of approval, and it just encouraged me and made me a bit more confident in my approach to this 50 miler. :D I think the only nutritional tweaks I want to do is maybe cut down on my dairy and red meat, due to how it raises inflammation. I say this, but also steak is on the menu tonight. :| And I am also posting a picture of some provolone cheese chips I made. THEY ARE SO EASY AND SO GOOD. All you have to do literally is put the oven to 350, tear up pieces of provolone...any shape is fine, and slap those suckers on some parchment paper laid on a cookie sheet. I think a lot of cheeses will work, but I was really surprised with how good the provolone came out. But yes, going to try my best to ease off all the cheese, haha.

provolone chips with some pepperoni slices. 

OH! And this soup is SO GOOD. You all know how much I LOVE the crockpot, I think this is going to be one of my new favorites! I made it with spinach because we didn't have kale on board, but the kale would have been even tastier. Chicken, Sweet Potato and Kale soup! You might start to notice that a lot of the recipes I find are Paleo. Don't be afraid of Paleo. It's a wonderful thing, and probably one of the most nutritious and sane diets out there. If it makes you think of Crossfit, and you hate crossfit...you should get over the hate, because everyone I know that does crossfit has a six pack, so they must be doing something right. :|

 Ok, that's it! Fer real! I'm out!

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Sports Chiropractors - keeping things working smoothly!

HeatherIhn 1

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The daily beautiful sunrise

 It's been a while since I posted. I haven't had too much to report, but today I ran my first race with low heart rate training and I think that's worth noting! I still kept it low, but I'm getting a little more flexible with the heart rates. I allow it to go up to 156 without freaking out, but I generally like to keep it between 149-151.

The race was the 2015 Hot Chocolate 15k in San Francisco. You'd think with Ghiradelli being here and all that they'd hook it up, but it's just random chocolate and sweets. I didn't partake in the saccharine goodness, but the swag was pretty great for this one. The best part was the hoodie that they provided. The girls and boys hoodies are different colors, and the cut was very flattering. It was a nice quality too, and made of a material that was fleecy inside but not too thick. I love it! You also get this giant medal at the end that looks good enough to eat, as well as this plastic mug filled with melted chocolate, hot chocolate, a banana, and other random snacks. There were plenty of bathrooms, plenty of volunteers, and I think three or four aid stations along the course that winds through the Golden Gate Park. You even get a chance to run past the bison!

Bison!!!

I got in pretty early so the price was only $69. I splurged an extra $20 to get a shuttle from Millbrae to the race and back. They had these nice Bauer shuttles hauling people back and forth, and they seemed to fill up rather seamlessly. I happened to be the last person on both of the busses that I chose. I think that the price I got it at was a very good deal considering everything that they provided.

There were SO MANY PEOPLE, almost 8,000 just for the 15k. I couldn't believe what a big race it was, since it was kind of off the radar for me. The crowd seemed to be mostly newbies to racing. You could tell by the bibs on their backs. If you don't know, you should try to keep your bib visible in the front so that volunteers can make sure you're not a bandit, and also that's how they identify you in the race photos. It's a common mistake, and when I ran my first race I'm pretty sure I had it on the back to begin with.

So here's my results. 1:48:05. I used to be able to finish a half marathon in this time! It's only a mini kick to my ego though, I think this time was what I was expecting to do. The course had a couple hundred feet of elevation, which isn't much, but was way more than I've been doing for my training. I managed to run up most of the hills at a VERY slow/nearly walking pace. But you know what? I'm kind of proud of that! I was on tired legs, and running on a tired body (two nights of very little sleep), so I'm going to just pat myself on the back and hope that this week shows some improvement.

I ran with my friend Rini who is also doing the 50 miler in April with me. She is a mountaineer, and I think that kind of training has made her aerobic base amazing! Check out her heart rate before we started. Guess who is who? Not gonna lie, I'm totally jealous, she's going to go far (badum-chhh) in the ultra running world.

I think something is wrong with me. Or Rini. 

The rest of the week's running were great. The sunrises were stunning! The three runs mid week (Tues, Wed, Thurs) went quite well and most of my times averaged at a 10:30 min mile. My 18 mile run Saturday was a serious struggle though. I have been feeling a bit swollen and a bit off the past few days, so my pace was much slower than normal. What's funny is that my first miles were around an 11 minute pace. I had fashioned a iphone armband out of an old sock like this tutorial shows. It's a great concept, and I imagine it would work fine if I picked out a compression sock, but the sock was too elastic and the phone was slowly sliding down my arm the entire time. As soon as I took the phone off, my heart rate eased up and I was going over 30 seconds a mile faster! Lol, it's amazing what little things can really throw you off! I'll be getting my new iphone6 armband soon. I tend to stick with tuneband iphone cases because they are simple, have never failed on me, and come in nice colors at a great price. My pace toward the last 5 miles kept creeping up quite high in direct correlation with the exhaustion and soreness of my legs.

My 18 mile stats. Look at that heart rate soar!

For this week and last week I have reached over 51 miles. It's a big milestone for me, I've never actually done this many miles in one week before. But it also hit me that this is how many miles I'll be running in less than one day. :| YIKES.

Lastly, I'm still toying with food ideas, trying to find replacements for noodles. I took a picture of my zucchini noodles in Pho. I think they shine best in the delicious pho broth. I don't even miss the rice noodles to be honest. The only thing is that they are very low calorie, and when you run as much as I do, you really need all the calories you can get.

Delicious delicious fatty beef pho with zucchini noodles.

I tried these tofu shirataki noodles. You're supposed to thoroughly rinse them, and then microwave them and pat them dry before using them. I even went the extra step and sautéed them in butter before slopping a bunch of spaghetti sauce on top, but man, they were disgusting. It might be fine for people that aren't sensitive to smells, but they smelled nasty to me and the consistency was a little too chewy for my liking. I still think spaghetti squash is the best replacement for noodles with tomato sauce.

rinsed, microwaved, patted dry, and still disgusting. 

Well that's it for now! I'll keep you updated on next week, but I'm crossing my fingers that this rest day will give my body the big boost it needs to get through another week! :) Thanks for reading!

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Hot Chocolate 15k, and the most weekly mileage ever!!!

HeatherIhn 1

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It's been rough run, after rough run, and as you can tell from my previous post, I was on the verge of giving up. It didn't help that I was very stressed out in my personal life, and that was definitely effecting my runs and health. 

It's kind of funny that I was so stressed because I was planning on my New Year's resolution being to reduce any unnecessary stress in my life. Doing this low heart rate training has made me realize how sensitive my heart is, and how sensitive my body is to stress. This can show up in so many forms, including inflammation, high heart rates, injuries, and illnesses. Reducing stress, and getting enough sleep is very important for everyone. 

Yesterday I was still stressed out, not sleeping well, and I think the stress was causing my entire body to ache including my head. I had to take ibuprofen in order to get my headache minimized so that I could do my 16 mile long run. My heart rate started out very high, and I just thought, SCREW IT and got my heart rate into a previously untouched 180 zone. For my run I chilled out a bit, but by the 2nd half my heart rate was creeping up with the increased aching and random pains in my legs. I ignored my heart rate. 

See my heart rate creeping up? No bueno!

I don't regret ignoring my heart rate. In fact, while I praise the low heart rate training, I need to learn to not be married to my hr monitor and to chill out a bit. I still kept an eye on it, I didn't want to go above 160, which I managed to do. It was still a pretty awful run and I finished at an 11:15 min mile pace, but for the last 6-7 miles my heart rate was well over my MAF zone and around 155bpm.

I fixed the issues that were stressing me out, and I woke up bright and early this morning to get in my additional 10 miles. I was a bit worried since my legs and feet were pretty achy yesterday, and I hadn't gotten much sleep. I also woke up with a headache still, but decided against ibuprofen because it's not something I like to take. I also didn't eat nearly enough yesterday and was under by about 1000 calories. (that happens when you run 17 miles). 

The warm up started with a high heart rate. I was just walking and my heart rate was at 125. I thought for sure it would be a struggle of a run.

Well I was wrong. I was so wrong, and it amazes me how much my body can turn around in one night. I found it hard to actually reach my 149 heart rate because my legs were tired. As I got even more warmed up and started shortening and quickening my strides, things got easier. I stopped for a bit by the beach to take photos since I could hear barking sea lions. I VERY rarely see them in this area, so you kind of have to stop to watch them when you can. It was also a bird's paradise this morning. Pelicans galore, and all these pretty herons, gulls, and loons. 

BIRDS. 

SEA LIONS.

  

I apologize for taking photos of the same things all the time, but I honestly never get sick of the sunrises or the birds on the bay. You would think it'd get boring running the same flat trail over and over, but I really love it. I do need to vary it up, once I get a bit stronger of an aerobic base I will venture out.

So many birds!!!

I finished the run, almost as strong as the beginning. When my heart rate would creep up a bit, I would just shorten up my steps and try to take some very deep breathes. I'm talking deep yoga style breathing. 4-5 step-counts in, and 4-5 out. I didn't think that this kind of breathing while running was possible before. I never understood how other runners didn't look like they were in pain, or they weren't breathing heavily, but this is definitely the key.

Here are today's splits. I need to mention that I do stop my watch if I have to go to the bathroom, or if I have to take my jacket off. Some people might give me flak for this, but my stops are so short and seldom, that I do this to calm my brain down a bit.

So yeah! I managed to get my best 10k time in this run, and was pleasantly surprised about that! The best feeling of all was that my legs felt totally fine and fresh and the run was a breeze. I never knew I'd be so excited about a 10:44 pace run, but I am probably most proud of this run after all of my patience and hard work. It's going to be a long road with MAF and a lot of love/hate will remain in our relationship, but today was a good day. I'll take it. 

Lastly, if you're curious on how the low carb/high fat diet is going, it is still going strong, and still going great. For the 16 mile run, I had a scoop of vanilla ucan (the stuff is pretty nasty, but you will not get insulin spikes and it is a steady flow of energy), and some decaf coffee with butter and coconut oil. I felt totally fine for the entire 16 mile run. No need for any food. For the 10 miler this morning I just did the coffee with butter and coconut oil and also felt totally fine. I've also been really into sauteed spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. I think I'm going to slowly start reintroducing additional healthy carbs (sweet potatoes, squashes, more fruits), but I feel really great. I think most important is learning how your food effects your body, and how you burn it. Learning the science of it allows you to adjust your diet specifically to your needs (for example, if you do a lot of strength training and speedwork you will want to include more carbohydrates). It's life changing. Do your research!

low heart rate MAF slow running

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME.

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