nutrition | Outrunning Doubt

Day 16

Posted on November 12, 2014 by kalynsara

I have bad news and good news. I will start with the bad news and end with the good news.

The bad news: I did not make it to the toning class this morning. I took a sleep aid last night because I have not been sleeping well lately and this morning when my alarm went off I sleepily shut it off and went right back to sleep without skipping a beat. I didn’t even remember until I woke up about an hour and a half later form my husband’s alarm. I did make it to the gym to get in a mile run, a quarter mile walk and some arms and stretching.

The good news: My nutrition was on point today! For breakfast I had one cup of cooked oats made with a teaspoon of Nutella and a teaspoon of chia seeds. After my workout I had a huge smoothie with strawberries, pineapple, greek yogurt, half a banana, water and a huge handful of kale. If you are ever looking for a way to eat healthy on a budget check out your local Farmer’s Market. We got an entire bag of kale for $2.00. My husband and I have made two smoothies each and still have a ton left.

For lunch I had some Triscuits dipped in hummus, a cheese stick, an apple (from the Farmer’s Market where a bag with 10 apples was $5.00 and they are all local and delicious) and a Kind bar. Trader Joe’s is a great place to find organic protein bars like Kind, Mojo, Luna and Larabars for a really good price. For dinner I had grilled chicken, steamed spinach and rice.

I am going to strive to eat just as well tomorrow and to try and get a more intense workout on the books.

Day 15 and Reality

Posted on November 11, 2014 by kalynsara

There is nothing like looking at the pictures from your sister-in-law’s wedding and realizing why you haven’t been able to meet the goals you want. My sister-in-law got married the week before the marathon. It was a perfect wedding, the pictures are incredible and I definitely had a lot of fun. But looking at those pictures made me realize I am not physically fit enough to be running a marathon. Don’t get me wrong, I do not think I am fat. However, I do think that I have a lot of work to do in terms of losing excess fat and building and maintaining muscle.

I have always been naturally thin and I have definitely let that dictate my nutrition choices in the past. It has always been easy for me to eat a piece (or 50) of candy or order dessert after I had a big, carb-filled dinner because I know deep down that I am not going to really see any weight gain from it. It’s the reason it was so easy for me to eat so much candy these past couple weeks. And all I am doing to myself is canceling out all of the hard work I put in at the gym. Feuling my body with empty calories and tons of sugar is doing way worse than I am probably accounting for.

So, with that said, I am going to really pay attention to every single bite of food I put in my mouth the rest of this week and really push myself at the gym. It will be the only way I can meet my running goals this year. It will be the only way my body allows me to keep running for years to come. How can I expect my body to get through a 26.2 mile race (at less than a 4.5 hour pace) and the countless miles and strength training leading up to the race if I don’t treat it properly?

Today I took a rest day. I got a headache around mid-afternoon and it is still lingering. It is probably because my body was craving processed sugar and I refused to give in to my cravings.

My nutrition was decent today and I plan to be even better tomorrow and the rest of the week. I started the day with the special breakfast I was talking about last week: overnight oats. Has anyone ever tried these? I used this recipe and substituted the almond milk for regular, organic 1% milk. It was so easy, tasted incredible and I (and my husband) felt really full until lunch!

For lunch I had a salad with mixed field greens, spinach, red onions, cucumbers and carrots. I put a little bit of ranch dressing on the top and had a freshly baked roll on the side. My snacks included a handful of Cheeze-Its, a Farmer’s Market apple and a cheese stick. For dinner I had three small slices of a Trader Joe’s organic, frozen pizza. Not the healthiest dinner, but my day was not too bad.

And let this be my promise that I will wake up for a 7:00 am toning class in the morning and follow it up with a run.

Days Nine and Ten

Posted on November 6, 2014 by kalynsara

Tuesday was a fun day. I slept in a little bit and felt too lazy to get to the gym so I did this workout video at home. It is a great video and she has all three levels on YouTube for free. YouTube has some other great videos that I have done in the past (and will share later). They are perfect for anyone that doesn’t want to pay for a gym membership or is just feeling to lazy to get to the gym. Back when I used to live in NYC, I did YouTube videos a lot in the winter because it was always way too cold (in my opinion) to get to the gym before and after work. For this particular video I use a yoga mat that I bought at Target and some weights I bought on Amazon for around $15.

Nutrition was pretty good (aside from the tremendous amount of candy that I ate). I had organic cereal with organic milk and two handfuls of blueberries for breakfast.

For lunch I had a salad with spinach, mixed field greens, red onions, tomatoes and cucumers and a little ranch dressing. I also had two freshly baked rolls. For dinner I had half of a salad and half of a pizza from Brixx Pizza. Like I said before, if y’all only knew the amount of Halloween candy I ate it would completely blow your mind. I had a banana for a snack and drank a ton of water throughout the day.

Today was much better in terms of candy. I had none and it is officially out of our house. Phew. For breakfast I had organic cereal with organic milk, a handful of blueberries and a banana. For lunch I had an organic bean and cheese burrito, hummus with thin pretzels and a pumpkin greek yogurt. It was OK. I am not a huge fan of pumpkin flavored things, though. I thought the Limited Batch Watermelon this past summer was incredible.

For dinner I had spaghetti with steamed green beans and garlic bread on the side. Just one cheese stick for a snack today. And as I look back I wish I had incorporated a little more protein and veggies into my day. I think that is going to be a constant struggle for me this next year.

My fitness included a toning class, a half mile walk around the indoor track and two miles on the stationary bike. I stretched and rolled for a bit. My knee has actually been bothering me today and I cannot figure out why. It better be better tomorrow because I have an intense day planned for fitness.

Day Eight

Posted on November 4, 2014 by kalynsara

Day one of my second week was a long one. I woke up early to get my pup walked and to get ready for work. I had a busy day at work and then had a business meeting after work. I was tired. I wanted to have a rest day, but I knew that I needed to push myself to get to the gym. I went and now I feel so much better for going (and so much more excited to get in bed!).

The gym was an easy one tonight. I walked for a half mile on the indoor track and then ran for a half mile at a 5:00 minute pace. I was expecting to go faster, but the gym was unusually busy tonight so the indoor track was pretty crowded. I think the weather finally getting cold and the fact that it gets dark at 5:30 pm may have had something to do with it. I stretched and then did two different leg machines and some free weights for about 15 minutes. No knee pain and my run felt pretty good.

I stopped by Target on my way home from work and got a new sports bra. These are my absolute favorite sports bras (I think I own about five of them) and I don’t know what I will do if they ever stop making them. I also got a new workout headband. The headband is incredible. It stayed in place for my entire workout and kept all of the hair out of my face. And it is super inexpensive.

My nutrition was great today! For breakfast I had cereal with organic milk. I never drink the leftover milk. For lunch I had a Which Wich veggie sandwich. I always get a small tomato and avocado on wheat. I have them “skinny my which” (they just take the extra bread out of the middle). Then I add hummus, provolone cheese, spinach and pickles. I skipped out on the chips and a chocolate chip cookie because I had a fun-size pack of Skittles and two Starburst out of the Halloween candy bin. For dinner I had grilled chicken, steamed green beans and rice. For a snack I had a cheese stick and a small slice of homemade banana bread. Not too shabby for a Monday. Tomorrow I need to step it up in the fruit department.

Day Seven

Posted on November 3, 2014 by kalynsara

Who watched the NYC Marathon today? I did! It is my absolute favorite sporting event to watch (other than the Summer Olympics every four years). It amazes me how fast the elite marathoners are and how effortless they make marathon running look. It is also incredibly inspiring as a runner to watch them and learn from their form and fueling. I read this article the other day and wanted to share because Meb is pretty awesome. And he came in 4th place today! Not too bad considering the conditions (although I was really hoping he would win it for the Americans).

I had a great day in terms of fitness and nutrition. For fitness I took it outdoors with my husband and pup.

I did a 1.6 mile walk around this beautiful lake and then jogged for a half of a mile. My pace was five minutes and it felt really good. I am thinking later this week I will tackle a one mile run. It is so hard to not keep running when I feel so great (like today), but I know that I really need to focus on getting my IT band loose and getting my knee better. It didn’t help that I had beautiful scenery! After our walk/run, I stretched, rolled and did 50 full sit-ups.

For breakfast I had one cup of cooked old fashion oats made with a teaspoon of Nutella and two handfuls of blueberries. For lunch I had an organic bean and cheese burrito with carrots on the side. Snacks included a string cheese, a greek yogurt and a slice of homemade banana bread. For dinner I had grilled chicken, rice and steamed spinach. I have resisted the urge to eat Halloween candy all day and I am pretty proud of myself!

I am excited for this next week to see how much I can push myself in terms of training and nutrition. I am off to cuddle up on the couch and enjoy the rest of my Sunday night.