Anamal

Well done on the 12 miler! I would probably die of fright if a moose came at me.

Today's workout was: 4 Miles - recovery run (I'm definitely feeling leg day today) Then a quick upper body session: Lat pull down (because I can't do pull ups yet) Push ups (25 strict, 25 on knees) Running mans (stand on 1 foot with 10lbs in each hand - move arms in running motion while maintaining balance and slight bend in knee 30 reps/leg x 3) Tricep extensions thrown in between running mans Back Extensions I think I'd rather do 2-4 quick but effective strength sessions per week than 1-2 really hard ones, it just seems easier to fit a 30 min session in after a run since I'm often at the gym for a shower anyway. Diet is going strong, I've ordered my scale, and tape measure, so the weight loss goal prep is well under way. I've been eating at a slight calorie deficit for two weeks now (about 1,800/day or 1/2lb weight loss per week according to My Fitness Pal) and then only sometimes eating back my exercise cals burned, and typically only on really long days so we'll see where my starting place is once the scale arrives in a few days. Generally feeling good and I'm going to get a Chipotle burrito bowl for dinner after work Higher carbs is definitely equating to a happier Awk! I remembered this post and totally had overnight oats for breakfast today! They were super amazing and so filling. I feel like we're in a similar boat, when I'm doing lots of endurance training I really function better on higher carb. I think the only time I ever really succeeded in becoming fat adapted was when I was pretty much just lifting and rarely running at all. But I also think that's an issue with the paleo community, there is so much emphasis on "low carb" when in reality that's just a fad and paleo says nothing about how many carbs to eat, other than that you'll probably eat fewer once you stop eating processed foods. Have you read Loren Cordains "Paleo for Athletes"? I just started and he definitely has some interesting points about endurance athlete diets and how low carb doesn't work for them, and he's one of the fathers of paleo! OMG pistols left my glutes so sore today! Gahhh, they're the worst, and by that I mean the best, but I still think I hate them. I really want to live in SF one day. I seriously think one would become so much more fit just because it's such a walkable city and so lovely and it has several massive parks that are easy to access.

Back from the weekend! I had planned to get at least one run in during this weekend, but instead the bf and I walked a ton. San Fransisco is such a wonderful and walkable city that we ended up walking about 10 miles Saturday and 12-13 on Sunday. In terms of time on feet and effort I feel like this far out weighs my 4mile jog I had scheduled. My diet this weekend was about 60% awesome with most of the infractions coming in the form of chocolate and drinks. Most meals were pretty good, except for the two times I had french fries. Speaking of drinking, after not drinking for two weeks I really noticed how alcohol effected my muscles and general feeling. I drank (about 4ish) drinks each night, typically wine or cider and each morning woke up with a stomach ache and tired feeling legs. Now while I do enjoy drinking on occasion, now that I can see/feel it's negative effects on my training it will be much easier to abstain from. The same thing happened to me with dairy, once I realized that it was causing chest congestion each time I ate it, it immediately became easier to cut out because I didn't want to labor through a run just because I wanted some ice cream. So unless there is a special occasion I'll plan on abstaining from alcohol until I go to Salt Lake City in two weeks. Finally I really need to re-asses my goals in terms of what is possible and what I have time for. I know we're in the 4th week of this challenge, but better late than never. Goal # 1 - Follow Matt Fitzgeralds "80/20" Marathon 2 training plan. This is going well, but I've noticed a few issues. Of course no generalized training plan will work for a person it wasn't designed for. The main changes I'll be making to this are: 1 - De-load weeks every 4th week to coinside with my Aunt Flow visit. 2 - Instead of running 7x a week I'll run 4-6 with one long hike in addition to a long run, and cross training or HIIT after weights Goal # 2 - Cross-training. I just way overestimated my free time and the amount of time I can dedicate to training. So I'll be downgrading to something I can maintain. 1 - Drop from 3x core and 3x hip mobility to 2x hip mobility 2 - Drop from 2x cross training to 1x cross training each week + 1 hike or long walk 3 - Keep strength training, but simplify the program to focus more on body weight for upper body, and single leg stance strength for lower body. I just started a pistol squat progression today and I'd love to focus on these and be able to knock out 5-10 good ones per leg by the time my race rolls around in May. And now it's time to add a 3rd goal (probably not supposed to do this, but watch me). Goal # 3 - lose weight. Can't say how much currently but I'll get to that in a minute. This goal requires several steps to get started. 1) Buy a scale that measures body fat (this is certain to not be 100% accurate but it will give me an idea which is better that what I have now which is no clue). 2) Calculate bf% and weight loss needed to reach a 20-22% bf range (that will give me a goal in lbs). 3) Take measurements as well as before pictures. I just swapped phones and none of this info made it to the new phone so this is an excellent opportunity for a fresh start. 4) Draw up a calendar with reminders for bi-weekly weigh ins as well as monthly measurements and new progress pictures.

Wow! All I can say is wow and that I'm so incredibly proud of you! I just caught up on your whole thread and you're doing some seriously amazing things! And house shopping **squeeeee** that is so exciting! You are one bad ass lady and a major inspiration to me.

Congrats on finishing your Whole 30! That's certainly something to be super proud of!

HI HI HI! I swear I'm not dead, just crazy busy and as a result social media has dropped down to zero usage. But here is a quick update. Last Saturday - 10 miler - felt awesome. Ran along the empty PCH because it was shut down due to construction. http://instagram.com/p/yTUh40w2La/?modal=true http://instagram.com/p/yQKJQFw2Eg/?modal=true Last Sunday - 7 Mile hike. I learned that hiking after running is way harder than 2 days hiking. http://instagram.com/p/yTQpuPQ2Es/?modal=true http://instagram.com/p/yTRDVJw2Fa/?modal=true The week was a total blur! I was up at 4am for work Monday, we've been shooting/editing/finalizing a super bowl spot all in the course of a 7 day period, on top of that all the social media that goes out to support it and things have been nuts! For those of you who don't work in advertising know that this is NOT NORMAL! On average a commercial that will be broadcast on TV takes at least a month to make, maybe more. But regardless I'm SO EXCITED to even get to be involved in any way. IT'S SO COOL! All I know is that my diet was pretty ok, I got at least three runs in and one upper body/core day. No strength training for legs, and minimal hip mobility but I did learn that I can do standing side- leg raises at work so I can do hip strengthening more often. Win! Today I got up crazy early and got in my long run. 8 miles - its a de-load week. Today I learned that I'd rather have a de-load week every 4th week instead of every 3 like the program I'm following has because I'm a lady and I get monthly lady troubles and I'd rather have an easy week around that. http://instagram.com/p/yfksnSw2F2/?modal=true As I write this I'm about to rush out the door from work to catch a flight to San Fransisco for the weekend, hence why I got my long run in this before weekend. I'm packing my running gear and will get at least one short-ish recovery run done while in SF. Things will be kinda normal Monday. Happy Friday Nerds!!!

Holy moly -13C?!?!?! Can't wait to hear that race report. Good luck!

Oh well that's good to know Certainly will bump my weekly mileage a significant amount. Thanks for looking into this!

Actually I agree, I'm less like this with running as well. I was specifically refering to when I played competitive team sports in high school and college. But maybe it is just about proving yourself and strength training. Nothing wrong with that so long as you don't end up injured, go crush it!

Wow that's really impressive! Good job on.... well basically everything it seems!!

I'm loving this idea of balance drills during the day! I already have a standing desk so they'll be easy to incorporate... as if my boss needed another reason to think of me as the weird health nut girl.

"Wooah livin' on a prayer!"

Ohhhh the honey stitch scarf looks so pretty! Like any good white girl I have far too many scarves and always lust for more. Just squish all the yarns and then buy one that won't break the bank, if it's soft and gets the job done you'll never notice once it's out of the package that it's the cheaper model. Plus if you talk to your book club friend you totally get socializing points, right?

Wow, you have a lot on your plate! Take some deep breaths and do the best you can, we're all here rooting for you I cannot speak to the meds thing, but as to the no running thing I'd be careful what you jump in to. I know insurance and health care providers can really make things challenging, but I'd encourage you to seek a 2nd opinion from a sports medicine doctor. Or even swapping your primary care physician to somebody who works with athletes. I learned early on that regular doctors don't understand the importance of exercise to an athletic person. So to them "just stop running" is an easy fix, where as to an athlete is a much, much bigger deal. However, a sports medicine doc will be more inclined to work with you and explore more options. Or at least push back on your regular doc. Ask lots of questions and demand more explinations and options. Remember, just because they're in a white coat doesn't mean they're not working for you. You're paying them after all. You got this! Keep fighting for you!

I actually have this sort of mentality as well, especially with endurance sports. I rarely care that if I win (because mostly that's an impossibility) but I want to know that I tried my best and that even if I royally fail I did everything in my power. That being said I did have to learn to reign it in and more importantly asses the situation and learn when it's just not worth it. It took a few serious injuries to have that concept drilled in my head. I remember I had a coach who once said, if you're fighting between first and second place, you give it your all. But do you want to sustain an injury to come in 14th instead of 15th? And I think he has a good point. How much are you willing to risk and is the reward worth it. Everybody has their own answer to that.

Sorry to hear the kiddo is having a rough time, hopefully things start moving in the right direction for you guys! I know this is jumping back a ways in the thread but the lifting and running is something that really interests me. I can't see how some people still have a hard time reconciling the two. For example the 80/20 book I'm on now has absolutely zero info on strength training of any kind, not even form drills or plyometrics. But another book, Byran McKenzies "Unbreakable Runner" was almost exclusively focused on speed sessions, crossfit, and form drills. So confusing! So I combined the two hahaha I think this is especially important for trail runners since the terrain is so varied. My biggest problem comes from trying to fit all that training volume in. I'm jealous of your home gym!

You guys. I feel like a goram idiot. When oh when will I stop trying to go low carb? When will I finally learn that my body hates dropping carbs (intentionally or unintentionally) and rebels? When will I learn to tailor my diet to my training instead of trying to fit my training into some arbitrary diet macros? Who came up with sub 100g of carbs daily anyway? My name is Awk, and low carb is not for me. In hindsight I already knew this, and I believe it's one of the main reasons I fall of the paleo wagon just to jump back on. Because I truly do believe that it's an excellent way to eat, but as a naturally carb reduced diet it can also be challenging for certain people. As Robb Wolf said "a high fat diet is great for people whom a high fat diet works for." I'm paraphrasing here, but you get the point. If it doesn't work for you, it just doesn't, and trying to force your (my) body to adapt has simply resulted in weird cravings, bad moods, and even worse athletic performance. In the last week I've found myself waking in the middle of the night with the strong urge to eat. Strange cravings for cereal. I DON'T EVEN LIKE CEREAL! AND I NEVER HAVE!! And last week while hiking I was almost drooling over my bf's trail snacks (teddy ghrams), usually I don't even notice what non-paleo foods he eats, but this day I wanted them soooo bad! And it's probably why I actually felt good after eating plain oatmeal for breakfast. Geez. How many clues does a girl need before she starts listening to her body? So starting today I'm going to gradually increase carbs, keep working out how I like, and start reading Loren Cordains "Paleo Diet for Athletes" in which he details important dietary considerations for very active people. Carbs = shiny. Today's really weak workout in which I got frustrated at everything and almost punched a car for cutting me off in the cross walk. 25 dead lifts @ 135lbs 2x25 russian twists @ 10lbs 2x30sec supermans 20mins lame/annoyed run/walk thing.

1 Hour on the bike today - boring but I had to wait for the plumber to arrive so I couldn't go out and run. I feel it's safe to say I'm past my achilles injury, but working in cross training is still a good idea. Plus now that my butt is used to sitting on the bike for an hour at a time, I have an effective tool for incorporating 2 a days during the winter. I'm glad that it's already Wednesday! Saturday after my long run the bf and I are headed up to the mountains to camp/bonfire with some of his work friends, and then getting another peak climb in on Sunday! Work promises to be stressful as always, but I'm resolving not to get hyped up like everybody else. it won't make getting the work done any easier and so I'm striving to provide a calm and efficient face going forward. I cannot effect others, I can only manage my reaction to them. Bahahaha I love it! Ya know I haven't been intentionally restricting carbs, but I do think that paleo naturally does that to a certain degree. It seems like there are so few paleo approved carbs and when I get strict I rarely increase my fruit or potato intake to accommodate the white rice and beans I take out. But I like you're idea so on the way to work I picked up some uncured salami and dried nuts for snacks. Hopefully this will make me feel more sane. I also wonder if it's just my body going through a change as it switches back into being more fat adapted. I do find that sometimes when I'm running low on cals I get cranky and kinda frantic, but not always hungry so it's hard to recognize that I need to eat. Hopefully this is another thing that will improve with better fat adaptiveness.

Shadri has a really good point. I really notice how good my diet has become and how good my body feels as a result when I mess it up. I know it can be hard to get back on track after a few days off (something I'm struggling with this week too) but don't let one bad day ruin an awesome week!

Alright, let's call this post: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly - Weekend edition. The Good: This weekend was totally awesome! The bf and I escaped LA somewhat early Friday afternoon and drove up to one of the few open camp grounds in Angeles National Forest. The plan was to chill in hammocks, relax and do lots of hiking. I am glad to say we accomplished all of these things, maybe running a little low on hammock time since the sun sets so early and it gets cold. Saturday we did 11 miles and climbed Mt Islip. I really tried to keep my heart rate within the 80/20 zones I set for myself, but was almost always above the aerobic threshold! It's really hard to stay low when altitude and elevation gain are conspiring against you. But still it was an absolute blast, really beautiful scenery and I didn't feel too out of shape. Sunday we woke early with the ambitious plans to climb several new peaks in a long chain along the PCT. However, three miles in we came across some super sketchy snow/ice along the north facing trail. Without micro-spikes or trekking poles we decided it was a bad idea to push forward and instead turned around, taking a more scenic route down we covered 7.5 miles that day. The weekend total was just about 18.5, maybe a little more. As part of my ultra training I plan to start adding in longer and longer hikes on Sundays. Saturdays will still be a long run, and then Sunday will be for developing aerobic capacity and spending time on feet. Plus, this is an excellent way to include the bf in my ultra training! The last big race I did we hardly did any training together. I really can't blame the guy, who wants to follow their girlfriend as she slowly trudges up a dirt road dragging a tire and cursing. Nobody. That's who. The Bad (or the less than ideal): This is mostly about my diet for the last few days. I'd say this weekend I did about 85% strictness with a few infractions as follows: Saturday: Hot chocolate at breakfast, and 2-3 pieces of caramel chocolate candy. Sunday: 2-3 pieces of caramel chocolate candy, oat meal at breakfast, dried fruit with added sugar in the oatmeal, and some potato salad made with non-paleo mayo at dinner. Monday: Paleo banana bread with dark choc chips - mostly I just over ate this day both banana bread and regular food. Tuesday: More banana bread for breakfast (finally threw that away), and I'll probably have sushi or chipotle for dinner since the sink is broken and I don't want to generate even more dishes. What I am really proud of is my ability to avoid alcohol! Normally camping trips mean at least a little wine around the fire pit, but I know alcohol limits physical progress so I'm abstaining from drinking until our trip to San Fransisco the first weekend of February. I also avoided most chocolatey stuff (see above) including trail mix and all of the sweet things I was craving. It's weird but lately I've been having real cravings to eat. Just eat. I haven't been giving in since they're not usually associated with hunger, just cravings for meat and potatoes. It's odd but whatever. So far it's been pretty easy to keep things in check, but this weekend I really wanted a drink. Which brings us to... The Ugly: Nope, no major diet or training infractions here. Mostly I just totally lost my shit on Friday night. I guess I was way more stressed from the week than I realized and one minute my bf and I are joking around and the next I'm yelling at him and the next I'm crying more or less hysterically and venting something fierce to my poor unsuspecting bf as we sit in LA traffic. I'm an elegant creature, what can I say. Anyway, this means that I'm definitely internalizing stress, maybe it's from more training, maybe will power is low because of increased diet strictness, or maybe I'm just letting work get to me in a way that I really shouldn't. I need to find a way to better cope with the stress, or rather the perceived stress. Since exercising more (6-7 days a week is plenty thanks) and drinking are off the table, I'll have to come up with something new. Whew, that was a long read! If you're still here, have a pretty picture for your time: http://instagram.com/p/yBBKzIQ2Fu/?modal=true Sorry it's on my IG. I find the NF image gallery and absolutely frustrating and poorly conceived tool. Sorry not Sorry.

http://instagram.com/p/yBBijeQ2Gj/?modal=true

I'm fine with real names personally. I saw that you can log bike miles, but I've been riding on my trainer at home and it doesn't do anything more than serve as a prop for my road bike and provide resistance. However, I'll be hiking this weekend and can hopefully bring back some good miles.

***RACE CALENDAR UPDATE*** April 10-11, 2015 - SoCal Ragnar! Just got myself on a team with some other NF rebels and some people from Team Red White and Blue (RWB - awesome charity) May 9th, 2015 - Whoo's in El Moro 50k! This race will be an awesome first timer ultra, close to home and on similar trails I can train on near me. And hopefully my friend Bryan will be willing to join me. 16 weeks out from my first Ultra! WEEEE! Oh my god yes! I am not a "jogger" I am a runner.... albeit a very slow one. Still, it's the principal of the matter! True, and I'm glad he caught me at a good time, when I was trying to hit my max HR instead of shuffle run/walking a hill to keep my HR in check.

Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god! So my boss saw me out on my run today, asked if I was the woman he saw "sprinting" down the median trail in Brentwood. From his description I'm 100% sure he did see me. However I find this mortifying for some reason so I lied and said it wasn't me. Gahhh! Now I'm gonna feel awkward about going back there and running. Apparently wearing a hat isn't as concealing as I once thought. *sigh* and now you have the reason behind my screen name. I am an awkward spaz.

I like to play a game called "what vegetable can I get the boyfriend to eat if I cook it with bacon?" I'm proud to say kale is now on that list along with brussels sprouts and purple cauliflower.