catching up...

Well, lets see where we left off... oh yes, that's right, the evening of the Monarch adventure. So...since then, this is how it's gone...

Monday- a day off...slept in, went to yoga, visited with Chelsea, watched the Batchelor with Jill. No agenda. Heaven. Those who truly know me understand what a feat this is.

Tuesday- Work, followed by a tough speed workout (via John)- 2 x 2mile Neilson Challenge course-ugh. It was freaking freezing, and wind was absolutely blowing in my face both ways, yes people it's possible. I rushed home to gather some food and clothes for our last NUTrition session. We had a great class (thanks Monika) with great adjusters, just for us...one of the benefits of doing a CPY program:). After we ate and shared our battle stories from our food testing so far. Some of the shares were absolutely hilarious. From baths, to poop (or lack there of), to alien bellies...we covered it all, and had some big laughs. Our class of 12, plus four coaches grew very close and I will miss seeing them on a regular basis. They made taking part in this journey so memorable. I tested greek yogurt today...having some with my breakfast, lunch and dinner (just plain). I don't know if it was the pear before my run, or an overkill on the dairy, but I drove home with a major alien belly myself. Booo. Not giving it up completely...just going to watch what my body does whenever I have it. After two evening workouts, I hit the hay hard, and early.

Wednesday- This morning, work started off with a clinic from MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology). These are pretty amazing shoes and we are now selling them at the store. These shoes basically rest your entire body weight on a teeter totter and force all of the stabilizing/not often used muscles to activate. Many runners/distance athletes often get injured because of under-used/under-developed core and stabilizing muscles not taking part in what ever continuous movement (swimming, cycling, running) they are performing. The woman that presented to us used to run track and field for the University of Indiana and trained for the Olympic trials. She had plantar facitis/sciatica for 15 years and the MBT's were the first and only thing that made both issues disappear. Anyone reading this (living in the springs:))must come in a try a pair on...you won't get it until you do. I wore them for about six hours today and I definitely felt it where I'm most weak...my hips.

After work, it was off to Monika's C3 yoga. Ahhh...love her classes, absolutely amazing. Such a challenge, yet my body loves to be pushed in an unfamiliar way. Tummy was rumblin' after class, and I was luckily headed to Fujiyama for a little sushi action with the Madster. Loved the time with my dear cousin:).

After a warm soothing bath and a little hot almond milk with cinnamon, this girl is headed to horizontal.

Nanight!

Lot's o' white stuff...

A grand adventure to Monarch today with the girls! I sooo needed some time away from the normal routine and got just that. Thanks friends! A few shots to capture the memories...

Dani is not slow by any means...

Lift pic...

Jess and I are standing...and moving!

This is what not standing looks like...

Today was also another food testing day...item up for bid...hummus! The batch I made last was very tasty! Along for the car ride home I brought some cucumber, carrots and homemade chips (which were just brown rice tortillas cut up and baked in the oven-yum! ). It was pretty hard to tell what the effect was...there were too many non-routine variables. I did want to take a nap in the car after eating it...but, I too had woken up at 5:30am (3rd day in a row), snowboarded all day, was sitting in a warm car after being frozen all day...you catch my drift. I had some more hummus for dinner with my left over HEAB stir-fry veggies...and after that long of a day, managed to pump myself up enough for a Super Bowl party:). So, unfortunately there was no definite verdict on the hummus. I love hummus and will continue to eat it and try my best to take notice the effects it has on the bod in the near future. Tomorrow is another clean eating day, and then I think I shall test greek yogurt!

Nanight folks, I'm pooped!

Weekend...thus far.

A fun evening for Danielle and Shanes going away party. They are headed off to Turkey! A few fun photos from the eve...

Forgot to share about my first test day! I tested red wine last night...and yeah, most def did not sit well with my tummy. After just one glass it was talking to me, upset and you get the point. It continued all night and into this morning...booo I say. Oh well, guess I need to expect that will be the case when I drink it! Tomorrow is hummus... and, I made my very own today thanks to my awesome food processor! Gordon gave me a scrumptious recipe! Off to bed, early morning for snowboarding tomorrow at Monarch! I haven't been in at least two years, this should be interesting.

Nanight!

FOOD! Ha!

It felt like Christmas morning today! Made it through the intensive part of the cleanse, now it's on to the interesting part- food testing! Today was just another clean eating day...and tomorrow is clean, plus the testing item of choice- red wine!

Day 3 of broth...finally.

Almost through the broth...thank goodness. Energy level was fine, hunger didn't exist...again, just slowness in the brain. I had the day off and it started with waking up with no alarm clock, what a treat! Laundry, followed with a photography adventure downtown, a trip to Whole Foods and Kings, ending with a great C3 class with Monika.

I got lots of yummy food for the next phase in this program- food testing. Every other day, a different food will be tested, in company with the many other clean foods we have been eating since the beginning. We can test anything we want...but foods that we love, eat a lot of, and that are in our energy loss category (according to our particular blood type- I'm an A) are encouraged to be on the list. This time around I think my list goes something like this...

Sweet potatoes
Red wine
Chicken
Hummus
Greek yogurt
Nightshades- egg plant, tomato

The list still may go through some adjusting...we shall see.

Hopefully it's not too snowy in the morning...a run is on my agenda.

Nanight!

Broth day 2...

Today, energy wise, was much better than yesterday. However, I had the overwhelming feeling that my body wanted to move at the usual 100 miles a minute, while the brain was about 100 miles behind schedule on every task I attempted. How frustrating! It's weird though not feeling hungry at all, just slow moving.

The store was crazy busy all day and everyone (customers) needed me to think, hard. The staff and I went through a Superfeet clinic with Brett (also our Saucony rep) that turned out to be a really fun time. Stay tuned for a super fun contest we are having on Facebook via The Colorado Running Company page! :) A preview of the contest below. When I walked out of there, I realized I hadn't sat down, for more than mere seconds, since about 10:30am or so. My brain needed a break!

I attempted a run with Staci in the Garden and ended up psyching myself out...convincing myself that I felt worse than I did. Oh well, sometime you just have to chalk em' up as that! Off to Tues NUT was next on my to do list...and I was sooo looking forward to getting together with the group for yoga and shares on how everyone else was doing throughout this whole thing. We all fluctuated from giggly to groggy to delirious and back...it was pretty funny.

I say goodnight tonight with a floating head, hoping it will reconnect with my body soon. Thursday maybe!?? :)

Broth day 1...

Day one of broth came and went for me. However, compared to last time around (last NUT program)...in which my day one was a complete disaster mentally and physically for me...it was pretty good. After yesterday's 11 mile run with the Sunday clan and then Nan's yoga class last night, today was a much needed rest day from exercise. I went into work at 9am and then John and I headed up to Boulder to visit the Prana store in the afternoon...just got home in fact. So, the day was busy enough to keep me distracted from food. Of course, just for torture sake, the Prana store in Boulder is located in between a Haagen daaz and ben and jerry's...are you serious??? Ba!

Day one of broth is in the books...two more too go. Tomorrow night we have another NUT yoga class and group session. It will be great to reconnect with the group and get a bit o' support for the last day on Weds!

Nanight...much needed sleep for me!

NUT day 4...

Today was probably the best feeling day I've had since Thursday, not sure why...especially since it started with an 11 mile run. ?? :) We decided to do the Boulder Spring 1/2 Marathon March 14th, and with much of the course on dirt, lodging costs more reasonable, and a less of a drive...this option is sounding better than the original plan of the Better 1/2 in Gateway, CO.

Post run and beverage at Starbucks (decaf vanilla robiuss tea for me), I got to spend some quality time with the Madster for a bit (who is a stud and ran the longest she has today and did great!), see the Kol Kol's new house (that is so amazing), and hit up yogs with Brads (Jill). I came home and made my broth for the next three days...I know, your mouth is watering:). My house def is a'smellin like some veggies.

Nanight folks!

NUT day 3...

Day three of the cleanse was not one for the record books. Didn't feel satisfied again all day. I am guessing this is mostly due to my frustration with cooking things! Arg. I don't know which spices go with which, how long to cook vegetables before they turn to mush, what tastes compliment each other....and the list goes on. One of the main reasons I like to do this is that it forces me to experiment and try new flavors. For some reason, I just wasn't into it today.

Today was a normal Saturday at the store, busy rush, then not...repeat numerous times. I hit up Julia's hot yoga class (hot is very hard for me, definitely have to pump myself up for it) at 4:30pm, then quickly showered and met some of the local running crowd for the Full Moon Run. The moon was absolutely gorgeous, however some of us were thinking about the armed and dangerous man that was being searched for in the area by the Manitou police. Just a short 30 min run this eve as tomorrow is long run day with the girls:). Off to bed!

NUT day 2...

Day 2 of NUT started off much better than yesterday...a C2 class with Julia at 6:30am. There is something grand about waking up to yoga...low lights, warm room- ah, perfect. I didn't do such a great job with food choices and packing today:(...didn't feel satisfied all day until about 4pm when I had some buckwheat with rice protein, almond milk, almond butter and blackberries. I am going to be testing chicken and turkey (the only meat products approved for blood type A's), and we can't have soy (tofu) right now, so my protein sources are nuts, nut butter and rice protein. My bod is used to more protein so I think it's having to adjust to that. I've been upping my fats, which I think is helping. This weekend will be a test as the Full Moon Run is tomorrow night, followed by long run Sunday with the gals....then, it's broth time starting Monday. I love my coach and group...they are all so great. Reading their daily emails about their experiences, frustrations, mini celebrations, has made going through this that more memorable.

Tonight was my first Photography class! It was so awesome, our teacher is great.. and I know I will definitely learn a lot throughout the next 6 weeks. And whether or not you like it...pics and experiments will be documented here:). Time to upload my pic of the day!

Day 1...

Day 1 of the cleanse went very well...that is, after my snowy, cold, uncomfortable run. I ate my am snack too close to running this morning. My tum tum felt no good the entire time- boo. Lesson learned. Post run I enjoyed a healthy serving of buckwheat with almond milk, blackberries, toasted walnuts, and a dab of almond butter. This kept me full for several hours! Like usual, my tasty kombucha tea helped get me through my afternoon slump. I find myself having minor cravings for the nasty 3...sugar, alcohol and caffeine. Another boo. Three more days of tasty clean eating...then, the dreaded broth.

zzzzz's...

I woke up feeling pretty rested after NUT weekend. I felt refreshed and content having had a change in my normal weekend routine. Around two o'clock, while at work, I started to feel super tired all of a sudden. I had eaten really well throughout the day (kobucha squash smoothie, fruit, spinach walnut turkey salad, kombucha tea)... slept well the night before... what could it be? Then I started looking back over the last 10 days or so and realized my workout regimen has been a little OC (out of control). Four out of the last 7 days have been double workout days (mostly run + yoga), and I can't think back far enough to remember the last complete day off from physical activity I've had. Hum, not good. So, instead of 90 min hot class after work, I came home and crawled into bed for a, what turned out to be, two hour nap. I totally passed out so I really must have needed the rest. I love being active, it's something I've done my entire life. Being physical is part of my daily routine, what gives me a spring in my step the rest of the day...however, sometimes the bod just needs a rest. I just hope I can stay present in my body to realize when those moments are.

reality...

Day 3 of NUT wrapped up this evening, and after a fabulous weekend full of meeting new friends, hours of food talk, outstanding food and tons of yoga, I pulled out of the CPY parking lot feeling like I'd been hauled back into reality. Harsh. After a few moments of ponder, I realized that just because the weekend was over, didn't mean my focus on me was over...it's actually just beginning.

I can't wait to feel the effects food has on my body again. If you had asked me Friday morning if I had really gotten off track since the first NUT program, I would have told you "no, not really". I have indeed made huge changes in my diet that stemmed from the first time around, but bad habits (i.e. my cravings for sugar, drinking alcohol too often, coffee creamer) have crept back into my daily routine. This was made apparent about an hour into Friday night.

We have another great group (of all women) and I'm so glad to have a village by my side throughout this experience. The first of four days of clean eating officially starts on Thursday, but since we've been eating clean since Friday night, I don't intend on changing that in the next four days.

More food sharing to come!!...

NUT round 2...

We had quite a showing for the Friday morning 7am run + Wooglins breakfast (which is the real reason this weekly run exists). I love feeling like I'm starting off the weekend early, with friends and with lots o' laughs. Yes that is my giant blueberry pancake sitting there in front of the empty chair.

Speaking of pancakes... Tonight kicked off another CorePowerYoga NUTrition progam! I got so much out of the last program (in mid October), that I just had to participate again. You know when you've experienced something new once, and you have this drive to do it again to see what you missed out on the first time around because you may have let too much of your head get in the way? That's exactly what I'm feeling. I've made HUGE changes in my diet since October (lots of soy, no more meat, low gluten), and have been feeling really good, so I can't wait to see what results I get from new foods that I test. I have remained eating pretty clean since the last program, but my desire to cook, pack my lunch and experiment with new foods has seriously plummeted and I am needing a jump start. This program also provides a huge personal gift...time/focus on just me. A block of time where I make no excuses for not putting me first. I noticed last time that when I am eating clean, preparing my food, packing my meals...my life/my days seem to move at a slower pace. I am in control of my mood and energy when this is the case.

This time around, we have a smaller group (which is good) of all women (except Gordon of course:)...the co-lead). I am really excited for the weekend, full of lots o' yogs, scrumptious prepared food from Whole Foods, and feeling a sense of community and friendship with perfect strangers.

In honor...

After a glorious run with Chels in the Garden, I decided to kick it HEAB style...:)
My smoothie...

1/2 c light van soy milk
1 c unsweetened van almond milk
1 TB van rice protein powder
1/2 tsp royal maca powder
1/4 tsp of xanthan & guar gum
cinnamon and nutmeg
1/3 avocado
1 TB almond butter
Ice

= yumstick. However, I was expecting a more avocado flavor...oh well. Next try. :)