EVERYTHING IS AWESOME.

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!