It's ok to not be ok

 This weekend would have been the Detroit Free Press Marathon races but, thanks to COVID, it went virtual. I'm actually not participating in any of the activities, however, I still hold this race near and dear to my heart. It was my first marathon. Detroit is the best city in the world. Michigan is my home and damn, I wish I was there right now running in the beautiful fall weather.

I literally just got off of Twitch with this live panel that included the amazing (and my personal favorite), Des Linden. She even gave a shout out to Rochester, my hometown. Let me tell you, I think Michiganders have thick blood especially if you train outside through the winter. I actually miss running in the snow. This would have been my cousin's first year running the Freep and I'm bummed it won't be on the actual course. I may be biased but this race doesn't compare to anything else out there. How many races do you run into another country and back, going through an underwater mile? I hope to make my return next fall. 

Alright guys, so it's been a week. It's actually been a few weeks. What I mean by that is I went through a rut that ran pretty freckin' deep. I took my first mental day off of running in probably......ever. You know what? It's okay to not be okay. Last week's speed workout kicked my ass. I felt like hot garbage for the rest of the day. The rest of the week just felt like I was throwing myself at the ground like a limp fish. My fatigue level was 100 and my motivation level was -100. I adjusted my long run to just be an easy, slow run. I'm extremely thankful for my always understanding coach. She lent me some great words of wisdom. Going into the beginning of this week, I still wasn't feeling right, both mentally and physically. Monday passed and I woke up Tuesday saying to myself, "No. This isn't happening today.". As runners, we toot our horns saying we work through the pain and suffering of whatever it may be and we fight our mental ability to want to quit. When it's something completely different, it's ok to take a day off. Take care of yourself. Your body will always be the one to tell you whether it's ready or not. So I did just that. I didn't even bother going out. I didn't bother getting dressed. I mean, my running clothes. I put real clothes on. I didn't do any warmup or stretches. I didn't even work. I took care of myself. I did a long meditation. I put on some yoga for anxiety. I ate a heck of a lot of Oreos. I also treated myself to something on Prime Day. 

I hate how excited I got about buying a salad spinner but I guess when you hit your 30s and love cooking, kitchen stuff is literally just as amazing as buying a new car or something. I also finally got some Stasher bags!

I've been wanting some for a long time. They aren't cheap, though, but they pay off in the long run both with less waste and not having to buy more plastic bags in the future. Plus, I actually saved $15 on them with Prime Day. Winner, winner! I'm slowly but surely ditching plastic or products we just throw away after one use. My running coach sent me a bunch of extra silicone muffin baking cups a few weeks ago and they work amazing! I whipped up some vegan banana muffins. They lasted a whole two days. 

Can't you tell I didn't have enough walnuts?

No clue why I didn't get these sooner. They don't stick and they are actually really easy to clean as well. Another way I'm ditching throw aways is making my own running fuel. So I've been on the fence about honey as a vegan. I've talked about it before but I was a Honey Stinger ambassador and loved their products. It was pretty much the only non-vegan thing I was consuming. Well, we finished our stash of that stuff and I finally said "I'm done". I'm going back to my roots of a fuel I used at the beginning of the year: Endurance Tap. Here's the thing, though. They're kind of pricey. For 6 pouches, it's about $16. For someone who's ballin' on a budget, that adds up quick, especially during distance training. But I wondered, can I make it myself? It's three ingredients: maple syrup, salt, and ginger. The ginger is especially my favorite because it's great for keeping your stomach in check as well as your GI system. But what would I put it in? I searched "reusable food pouches" and came across some I couldn't say no to. 

Come on, how cute is it, though? It's a whole set of animals. It was $12 for 6 pouches. They're 3.5oz, if I remember correctly. I measured out 2oz of maple syrup, added in the salt and used powdered ginger. It literally taste the exact same as Endurance Tap. But how would it do on the road? It worked great! These pouches basically work the same as what Endurance Tap uses, with resealable lids and all. I may look a little funny taking fuel from something a baby probably eats food out of but hey, if you aren't having fun then is it really worth it? They're easy to clean and again, better for the environment. I'm all about saving money these days and each of these little changes helps.

I forgot what week of training I'm on but I can assure you I'm in a much better place after taking care of myself. Remember, it's ok to take a day off. A week off. Heck, if you need a month, take a month. Use a resource like Headspace to start some meditating. That's been a game changer for me since May. I told myself I need to start journaling again. Whatever your niche may be, roll with it! Happy training.

Crafted Energy

 Wait, it's September already? Looks like it has been for like two weeks, I'm just super lazy with writing anything. Between working, trying to get my CEUs in order to keep my Medical Assistant certification, and race training, I guess I use up most of my time! Of course, when none of that is going on, I'm sleeping. Work hard, rest harder, am I right? 

Speaking of training, how are things going? Much better than half training because the weather is finally cooling down, hence me being able to drink coffee outside without sweating. When I say cooling down, I mean it's just 105 instead of 115, but the mornings are crisp, in the mid-70s. I kicked off week three of 5K training yesterday. The knee seems to be cooperating about 85% of the time. The first week went well, just relaxed runs to get the body back into the game after a week off. Week two ended up swapping a run for biking due to knee annoyance. I had my first fartlek workout of this cycle today and it went exceptionally well. I told my coach last week that if this week ended up in shambles due to my knee being an a-hole again, I'm pulling the plug on running until 2021. *Knocks on wood* Really though, I'm hoping it works out. A girl can only do so many quad sets in a day.

So I have something new to write about today, at least from what I can recall. I don't think I've given a food product review before. Maybe I have? I didn't care to scroll back and check so we'll roll with it. Before I continue on, I will mention that because I am a Switch4Good Athlete, I received these bars for free. 

I honestly had never heard of Crafted Energy before until they popped into my Inbox. Surprising since they're located right here in the heart of Arizona. A bar that's Vegan, Gluten Free, AND full of clean ingredients? Sign me up. I was very excited to give them a try.

I'm a total geek for cool packaging. Some say it's a total waste of money that the company spends on, which I suppose is true, but if you have unique packaging, I'm giving you bonus points. It comes with a type of graph outlining all of the different nutritional aspects of what they are achieving in their products as well as a little run down of each bar. 

Crafted Energy has created bars for specific sports to support athletes in their endeavors. Kind of an interesting concept. I found it very unique because I've done all three activities. Boy, do I miss climbing, though. 

As mentioned, they focus on specific sports. The sampler pack is one of each bar, all of which have their own unique flavor profile. I tried the Climber one first.

Pretty hefty in calories but that's a good thing when you're doing endurance sports. 

Here is the list of ingredients for this bar, specifically. Talk about clean ingredients!

The texture and appearance reminded me of a Larabar, another one of my favorite brands. It was soft on the teeth but hearty enough to provide a good snack. You can really get a great flavor profile as well, especially the ginger. 

I didn't capture anything from the other two bars but they were very enjoyable. The blueberry flavor in the cyclist bar reminded me of pie. I have to say though, the runner bar was my favorite. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a runner but I'm from Michigan and I think we have cherry flavor in our blood. Overall, I was super pleased. I'd definitely buy some in the future. If you are interested, you can get a sampler pack of your own by clicking here. It's $7.99 with free shipping! I do not get any kickback from the sales, I'm just simply here to spread word about a cool company who is doing something great.

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend and we'll see you next time!

Crush the Doubt

Doubt. It's something that can creep into any athlete's mind at any given time. I definitely had a lot of it last week. When you can't mentally focus it can really affect your training. My knee has been up and down lately and my long run the weekend before felt like the most garbage run I've had in a while. But, I'm always one to preach about not getting down on yourself even if your performance is lacking. I legit cried for a moment during that run as I was coming into the home stretch. "I don't know if I can do this", I said out loud to my husband who was cycling next to me. Going for a personal record can bring on some of the toughest training. After I got home, I snapped out of my funk and focused my mind back to what mattered. Today. One day at a time. The race isn't for another 8 or so weeks. One day will not make or break the finish. This past week, I took some time off of running to give my knee a rest. I cycled Monday through Wednesday. I feel like biking workouts are harder than running workouts! Tuesday was roughly 86 minutes in the saddle full of different intervals and a heavy climb. I got my butt handed to me but it felt SO good. Sometimes you have to power through that fog to really see yourself again. If you're ever having doubt in yourself, just stop and take a moment. Breath. Rise up. Say to yourself "You are strong". That's something I learned from my yoga instructor. 

I'm going to try and get through this quickly as I can since I only have 23% battery left. The charger is on the other side of the room and I'm content on the floor icing my knee. Give me a break. This entry will probably be shorter than the others. 

During my Whole Foods order this past week, I put some JUST Egg in my cart to finally give it a try. I typically am just one to make tofu scrambles when I want something that's "egg" like. I'm all for trying these new fad vegan foods, though. 

So, for starters, it was $4.99 for this 12oz bottle. I still buy eggs for my husband and they are $5.99 for a dozen (Vital Farms; it's the only brand I'll buy because it's as close to 'humane' as I can get). There weren't any real instructions on the bottle. It literally just says "scramble like an egg". Okay. I ended up going to their website to get a better idea of what to do. Oil? No oil? Butter? Do tell me so I don't mess this up. Their site confirmed to add some oil or butter to a warm pan. I poured enough in the pan to basically coat the bottom, as seen above in the background. They start to bubble as they get warm so I moved them around, as you would with eggs. As they started to become closer to being done, the serving was smaller than half a piece of bread. I ended up cooking the whole bottle to make enough to feed us. I eat a lot of food, what can I say.

They definitely do turn out fluffy but again, you need to make a lot to get a good portion size. Overall taste? Not terrible. Definitely doesn't taste like eggs, but not terrible. Not delicious either, though, in my opinion. I do like that they are cholesterol-free. Would I buy it again? Probably not. While I do appreciate that there is a plant-based egg replacement option, I think you're better off just cooking up some tofu. I definitely would get more of a serving size from 3-4 eggs than the whole bottle of this stuff. Maybe you've had JUST Egg and loved it. That's great! We all have our own sense of taste and likes. I am curious about their mayo but I think I'll stick to making my own. Not all of these fad vegan foods taste amazing. However, it makes me happy to see so many options available. I think the number of people trying plant-based diets has increased, especially during these pandemic times. Go team plants!

What's on your plate?

Two posts in one week? Who am I? So, this was actually a request I received via a friend on Instagram. It's been a while since I've done a "day in the life" of what I eat. However, this week, I decided to part ways with Instagram and deactivate my account.

It was actually a huge sigh of relief. I've been considering this move for a while now but never got the guts to do it. I thought about who I'd miss seeing or the ambassadorships I'd miss out on but in reality, neither of those things matter. My running, cycling, or whatever I do is really my own thing at the end of the day. While I know I've inspired many people in the past and I always do appreciate the messages I receive, I also need to step back from broadcasting my life on the internet. Having this blog is enough for me. I also will still keep my Twitter. I was going to wait until July but what's the point of waiting. It was time to step away from that particular platform and focus on other things more important to me. Will I come back? Maybe. For now, I'm happy not having to deal with it though I'm curious to see who will still contact me. Many of my friends on there have my phone number. I suppose this is when you find out who actually cares about everything behind the scenes rather than on the screen. I know Anne will read this and I'm glad she has her blog so I can still keep up with her writing! You should definitely check out her page. It's full of awesome stuff and she happens to also be vegan.

So, what does a day in the life of eating look for me? I suppose I'll start with a semi-explanation of how I cultivate my nutrition. I don't count calories or macros. I used to count macros as if it were my specialty. It actually helped me lose a lot of the weight I did but I'm not into that anymore. I pretty much focus on real food, or as much of it as I can, that delivers good nutrition and keeps me satisfied. I don't deprive myself of any sweets, either! If you open my pantry, you will find plenty of Justin's almond butter cups and Enjoy Life cookies.

Let's dig into it. I won't lie, these first two photos are from the day after but that's because I was too tired to remember to take pictures the first day. So, the first thing I do when I wake up is I drink 16oz of warm, freshly squeezed lemon juice and almost all of that blue bottle, which is just water. This is at roughly 5am.

This was a run day. Before my runs, I eat 2-4 pitted dates, depending on the length, and about 4oz of beet juice. I just recently started incorporating beet juice into my pre-run routine and I have to say, the hype is real. Maybe it's psychological but my Fartlek's are not as terrible. These dates came directly from a local farm! I'll set out to run about 5:30-5:45am.

If my run is longer than an hour, I bring more dates with me. Pitted dates are something I started eating as fuel about two years ago. Just two of these guys gives you about 35g of carbs. On my long runs, I'll eat 2 every 30 minutes. 

Post-run is always a big 'ol bowl of oatmeal. I literally eat this stuff every day, run or not. This particular bowl is oats, water from the kettle because I'm too lazy to cook it on the stove, flax meal, Orgain vanilla protein powder, walnuts, almond butter, and banana. I drink about half that bottle of Coconut water to replenish my electrolytes. Coconut water has been my jam lately, especially with these hot temperatures. Let's say this was around 8am. 

Lunch this day was a vegan "bacon" sandwich with some grapes. The bacon is actually tempeh. I cut it up into strips and fry it in a cast iron pan. I whisk up some soy sauce, liquid smoke, some maple syrup, pepper, and powdered ginger, and throw that in the pan at the end to give it that extra flavor. This sandwich is on Dave's Killer Bread with some vegan cheddar cheese, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, red onion, and vegan mayo. Of course, I can't forget the pickle. Lunch is typically at 11am.

Okay, let's get real with the size here. I like my sandwiches big.

Around 2pm, it's like clockwork, and my stomach is like FEED ME. I deem 2pm snack time. My snack probably looks like a meal to some people but hey, like I said, I don't deprive myself. When you're hungry, eat! Today, I mixed in some muesli into cashew milk yogurt and topped it with blueberries. 

Dinner time is almost always at 5pm. We eat really early but we also go to bed early. I wish I had a better picture of this but what can you do. These are jackfruit tacos with a Cuban twist. So, back when we were meat-eaters, we used to get these tacos at our favorite Mexican place. It was ham, this Asian slaw, mustard, and pickles. Sounds really weird but oh man, the flavors were insane. I knew I could slightly mimic it in a vegan way. Jackfruit to the rescue! I cook that up with some BBQ sauce, toss the slaw in an Asian dressing I make that's literally soy sauce, rice vinegar, some sesame oil, and ginger, and top it off with mustard and pickles. Of course, we have to have tortilla chips. They are literally one of my favorite things to eat. I could annihilate a whole bag in one sitting. 

That's pretty much it! Some may ask, "Well, what do you drink during the day!?" and the answer is simple: water and coffee. I drink about a gallon of water per day. I drink two cups of coffee. When you live in the desert, water never gets boring. Sometimes I'll get crazy and have some herbal tea. I'm a simple person, really. I don't drink much alcohol anymore. To be honest, I haven't had a drink in over 30 days. It's just something I don't crave anymore. Everyone has their fancy!

There you have it, folks. A day of eating with me. See, being vegan isn't so boring. I don't eat heads of raw broccoli or salads all day. What's on your plate today?

What the H....

What the h....but not what you think. It's actually h for health. 'What the Health' was a documentary I watched last night that was rather mind-blowing. But we'll get into that in a minute.

This is actually a real-time photo. Like, I literally just took this as I'm writing this.

We closed out week 4 of training with roughly 28 miles ran and also, 28 miles road. I had two big highlights during this past week. I had an awesome long run with a faster finish and didn't lose my breathing technique like I tend to sometimes do when I speed play. I also survived my first double workout. My coach prescribed my typical Friday recovery ride but also threw in the option of doing a short run. Of course, I was going to go for it because I wanted to see how it felt. I hopped on the bike, road steadily for 45 minutes, keeping my RPMs between 85-90. Afterward, I set out for a 20-minute run. Is this what it feels like to do the beginning of a duathlon? One day I'll know what it feels like to train for that. Either way, I was happy how my body responded despite the run being in the mid-80s. My legs felt slightly tired at the beginning of my long run but quickly got into their proper form. I'm really thankful to be in a mindset where I appreciate my performance for what it is. Is every workout perfect? Absolutely not. But, I don't dwell on it anymore like I used to. I used to be so hard on myself for not hitting specific paces or whatever. I see so many people on Strava or whatever platform they share their stuff on throwing up a million excuses as to why the run they did wasn't what they wanted it to be. Maybe instead of creating an excuse, just accept how it went. You went out there and you did the dang thing. Be thankful your legs still turn over. One day, they might not. Positive mental attitude. On to week 5 and it looks like we're getting spicy with tomorrow's speed work.

Okay, so back to what I began with. I'm a little behind on watching the documentary (it came out in 2017), 'What The Health'. I'm on a free trial with Netflix right now (just to have access to one show, lol), and it popped up on there. I'm all about watching documentaries in general, especially if it involves supporting plant-based diets. Going vegan was the best decision I've ever made. My husband and I just got our yearly blood work done and his cholesterol numbers dropped dramatically. I highlighted this in my Instagram stories but, my protein level is perfect. You know where all protein comes from? PLANTS. Sometimes I just want to slap every vegan hater in the face and tell them to go read up on science. Anyway, the documentary. 

I'm pretty bad at summing up films but I'm going to do my best here. Of course, this film is criticized for "cherry-picking" specific information to make it look like the food industry is terrible and vegans rule the world in health. Maybe we don't rule the world BUT the food industry is indeed horrible. I didn't need a film to tell me that. However, the amount of detail poured into this film was intense. Kip Anderson basically goes on this hunt to talk with all of the major organizations and just simply wants to know why they promote eating specific foods that have direct links to causing cancer and other diseases. Dairy alone has been proven to cause breast cancer yet the Susan G. Komen Foundation has a sponsorship with Yoplait. WHAT THE H. Komen also receives sponsorship from Kentucky Fried Chicken, for Christ's sake. How does that even make sense? The American Cancer Society is sponsored by Tyson Foods, one of the largest corporations that produce poultry products, yet there is also scientific data linked to eating meat and poultry to specific cancers and disease. Shoot, even the American Heart Association is linked with the Texas Beef Council yet we're told not to eat red meat because it could cause HEART disease. I was seriously mind-blown by the end of this. My husband still eats eggs every once in a while but he must have said multiple times "I'm never touching eggs again". I wish I took notes or something to show the specific data that was presented. Even the interview between Kip and the American Diabetes Association ended with the chairman walking out because he couldn't talk about how their promotion of specific diet changes actually doesn't help mitigate diabetes at all. It's all a vicious circle, right? I've never been a fan of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Do I think they've done a lot of good for breast cancer and raising awareness? Yes. However, organizations like this shouldn't be paying their board members millions of dollars every year. If everyone decided to adopt a plant-based diet then there would be less sickness in the world, fewer cancers, and less chronic illness. But then, fewer visits to doctors and hospitals which in return means fewer prescriptions. Heaven forbid the drug companies don't get paid. Then the government....oh the government. It's all a crooked scheme. Anyone that comes to me thinking about adopting a plant-based diet, I automatically tell them to read "How Not to Die" or "The China Study". Both books are huge and super long but full of specific scientific data proving that this way of eating works. Maybe I'm just up on my vegan high-horse but in reality, I just want people to be healthier. The next time you put a hot dog in your mouth, you probably should light up a cigarette too while you're at it. Both are in the same category and labeled as carcinogens. For the record, I don't think you're a jerk if you eat meat. I don't think of you any less. However, I would hope you would drop the stigma of how we vegans are crazy and don't know what we're doing with our lives. Clearly, we're on to something. 

Phew, that was a doozy. I'm still pretty fired up about it. I even put a hold on "How Not to Die" from the library to read it a second time. 

I know I haven't shared a recipe in like forever and today, you aren't getting one but I will share something I made! My husband was saying how his yoga mat wasn't smelled the greatest. I also realized that mine was getting rather dirty. You know tile floors and living in the desert means your floors are NEVER really that clean. My friend, who is an RYT 200, told me you shouldn't clean a normal mat with just water and soap. It actually can make the mat deteriorate quicker. I did some searching around and long and behold, my yoga guide, Adriene, had made a video on how to make homemade yoga mat spray! I already had all of the ingredients, minus the little spray bottles.

Got this set on Amazon for like $6. Three glass bottles with sprayers and a little funnel!

Three simple ingredients. Yes, it says facial mist but it's fine.

Boom! Homemade spray!

Tee tree oil smells so good and clean. I learned it has anti-fungal properties in it, too. I sprayed down both our mats and used a microfiber towel to wipe them down. I highly suggest this easy combo.

The end!

Ultra Dreams

"You've been out here for quite some time!" my neighbor yelled as I turned the corner, coming in front of her home.  She continued on to say, "You were out here when I left for work!" She leaves for work at 7:30am. It was now 11:00am. She walks dogs. "Yeah! I'm doing a race today!", I replied. "Where at?" she asked. "Right here. I'll be out here until 7:00pm." After I said that, I glanced down at my Garmin to check the countdown. There was still 8 hours left.

12 hours is a long time to be on your feet, let me tell you. I knew I wanted to complete an ultra one day, I just wasn't sure which one would be first. Last year, after reading my friend Rob's book, Training For Ultra, and spectating Javelina Jundred, it was time. I signed up for Hotfoot Hamster and texted my friend to put my name on the calendar to rent his decked-out Sprinter van for the race. Why sleep in a tent when you can sleep on a super comfy foam mattress inside a van? Obviously, this was all before we'd get bashed with one of the worst pandemics in history. The race ended up getting postponed to July but they gave me the option to complete it virtually, which I was all for. Obviously, you know, I ran the Mesa Marathon and felt amazing after. Not one bit of pain or soreness and then started training two weeks later for this race. I wasn't betting the same result here. I put in 10 weeks of work running roughly 5 times a week. I would do one day of speed work, some days of strides and drills, and the rest was recovery runs. I was so happy to finally be back with my coach. She really is the glue that holds me together. But enough of the training. How did the race go?

We'll start with 24 hours before the start time. I had a short run with some strides thrown in. I spent most of the day laying on the couch, doing some PT exercises whenever I'd get up. I prepped some food for my aid station, which would be in the garage. I cut up a big 'ol watermelon, cooked up some potatoes, and peeled oranges. I made some peanut butter sandwiches and put cans of coke in the fridge. I like to watch a movie that will pump me up. For some reason, The Game Changers ended up being the one. Some people would be confused by that but that documentary is just on point. (Shameless plug time: if you are an athlete or really anyone who is curious about how you can perform like a friggin' well-oiled machine on a plant-based diet, watch it. It's on Netflix for free so you have no excuse. Okay, back to your regularly scheduled recap.) My husband cooks me homemade spaghetti before all of my races so that's what was for dinner. I hit the hay around 8:00pm.

I actually slept really well. Maybe it's the fact that this race was so relaxed. I had nowhere to be except right outside of my own house. I woke up at 5:00am. Ate my typical race day oatmeal (Shalene style), drank some Nuun, and brewed some coffee. I had everything laid out the night before so I didn't have anything to do but chill. Time went by quick, though. I hopped in the shower, did my pre-run warm-up, and before I knew it, I was counting down the clock to start my attempt at my first ultra. Pressed play on my iPod Shuffle and the loops racked up. I ran on a 0.41-mile loop right in my neighborhood, passing my house every lap, which made aid easy, including the use of my own bathroom. No lines! Yay! The actual racecourse is 500 meters so I tried to keep it as true to that as I could. This just made the most sense. I tried to (remember to) change directions every hour. Clockwise was harder due to the slight incline of the street but that meant different leg muscles would get woken up every once in a while.

Now, as with most races, I had a plan of execution I would try to follow. I wanted to try and power through to a marathon, ease into a 50K, and anything after that was just bonus miles. I started very fresh as if I was just doing another long run. The heat came quick, though, and I knew I had to change my pace or I would burn out really quick. The forecast called for 97 degrees that day. I am not a heat runner. I run early in the morning when it's maybe 70 at the warmest. The sun here is much more intense, too. I would end up using about 30oz of sunscreen at the end that would give me some sweet tan lines that will probably never go away but no major burns. I think it took me as soon as mile 6 to know this would be a really long day and I would really have to fight through whatever thoughts may cross my mind of calling it quits early due to the weather. My husband was my aid station/crew chief. He had all of my food out, threw me bottles of whatever I wanted to drink, and a big bucket of ice-cold water. I'd dunk my buff and hat in it. At one point, I'd just put my whole head in. But what did I eat/drink?

Scarfing down a peanut butter sammie.

I started with some gels and energy chews, then Larabars, then needed actual food. I'd eat my peanut butter sandwiches and put potato chips in them. So salty but so good. I had some vegan ramen which actually tasted amazing. Maybe it was because, at that point, I'd take anything that would keep me going. The cold watermelon and oranges were lifesavers. What was the MVP, though? Coke. I'm not a pop (Soda if you're not from the midwest) drinker much. I love having glass bottle Mexican cola with my burritos or a Zevia every now and then but I never have it stocked up in my pantry. Today, Coke was the dream come true. Around 1:00pm, I was taking a longer break to kick my feet up for a bit. "Do you need anything else right now?" My husband asked. "I really want a cup of coffee." He ended up telling me that probably wasn't a good idea and he was probably right. I opened up what would be first of like five cans (the baby ones) of Coke I'd drink and I literally said out loud, "Holy crap, this tastes perfect!". When you don't drink or eat specific foods for a long time, they taste so much better. Later in the afternoon, I'd have some potato burritos which, for how simple they were, hit the spot. I never had issues with hydration or stomach pains. I never lost my appetite. Dean Karnazes had told me about ginger chews when we talked a few months back. They help settle a bad stomach. I ate one at some point not because I needed it, but it sounded good. I took one of my longer breaks (roughly 20 minutes) when I hit a marathon. After that, it seemed like every mile took forever to get to. It was really hot then. I changed my clothes and shoes. My husband wiped my feet off with a baby wipe and put some new socks on them. That felt so good.

Once I hit the 50K mark (31.some change), I wasn't sure what would happen after. I was so happy and astonished with myself at that point already. 31 miles is a long way to go. But what else could I add on? My coach was the only person I kept in contact with that whole day. She told me, "movement is miles, no matter how fast or slow it is" and she was right. The beauty of a fixed-time race is exactly that. Some people do try and go balls to the wall but this was my first one. I'll admit, I wanted to try and get to 50 miles but I didn't let that goal be my make or break moment. I had my A, B, and C goals. Given the weather conditions, I knew that wasn't going to happen and I was completely fine with it. I was already an ultramarathoner at that point. Nothing could make me upset. I reevaluated my love of running earlier this year and I told myself I'd never let pace or time ruin my dreams. If it happens, cool. If it doesn't, you tried and that's more important than anything.

It felt like the sun was never moving and stayed directly above me the entire time. I walked a lot after mile 31. I ended up meeting more people that lived in my neighborhood than I had ever talked to. Guess that's what happens when you're out in the middle of the day. One couple was from Michigan, too. Someone was moving into a new house down the street and as I walked by I said, "Welcome to the neighborhood!". He was from Florida. He didn't ask what I was doing but I know he was curious. I got a lot of weird looks as cars drove by. I wave at everyone. Eventually, I'd get sick of listening to music and would turn on the audiobook I was in the middle of; Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain. 35 miles would come. At this point, I had a little over an hour left. My coach said she could totally see me get to or close to 40. She was right.

My husband hopped on his bike and said, "Come on, let's get you to 40.". It was as if the second wave of energy came out of nowhere. I was running, slowly, but I was running after being on my feet for 11 hours.  Determination was fueling this. Every time my watch beeped, I was closer. 36....37....38. "I'm so close", I said out loud to myself. I wanted to allow at least 30 minutes of extra time, in case I needed it. My watch went off at 40 miles and it was almost 11 hours, 30 minutes on the dot. I had done it. I wasn't finished with the race but 40 miles was completed. I walked the rest of the way. I was so proud of myself and how far I had come that day. I also wanted the sun to go down because I was sick of being in it. It's also as if my body knew that I was almost finished because I instantly got really tired. Right at 7:00pm, my watch stopped, and I was a winner. I walked up the driveway with my arms up like Rocky Balboa.

How did I physically feel afterward? Aside from my feet being a little store, I was fine. The next day, I got out of bed, walked out to the kitchen, made coffee, and stood there, not even thinking about it. "I just ran 40 miles less than 24 hours ago. How am I not walking like a baby giraffe?". Seriously, my legs felt fresh already. I took an ice bath anyway, did some stretches and foam rolled. I ended up going for a walk. I'm seriously impressed with myself for feeling the way I do. Call me crazy but ditching meat and dairy was the best thing I have ever done for my recovery. It's been roughly three days now and my body feels completely recovered and is ready to get moving again. However, I'm a compliant athlete, and what coach says goes. I'll be hitting some yoga practices for the rest of the week and that's it.

What's next? I'm signed up for the McKirdy Mile. I had to miss the first one due to race day but will pick up with everyone else on May 16th. That mile will be pretty slow but I'll have two other chances to see what my legs can give me. I also plan to do some virtual Ironman challenges. They've been doing duathlons and I've been very interested in participating, especially since we have an indoor bike now. But what about other races? Well, I won't be registering for any proper races until we're in the pandemic clear zone, which I don't see happening for quite some time. I haven't been trail running since the virus hit because I don't want to be around people. This will probably impact my decision on running Javelina but that's quite alright. Worse case, I'll find another virtual run to crush! I honestly like running solo. I pretty much always have so it's not new for me to be alone.

Another chapter is written and successfully closed in my running career. I hope you are all still determined to crush goals even with the conditions given. It can be hard to dig into that inner motivation when we aren't traveling to races but don't let that stop you from becoming better every day.

Times Like These

"It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again..."

I figured it was appropriate to start this entry with a Foo Fighters song for two reasons. The current circumstances of probably every one of us are totally off schedule and we're learning to adjust to a (hopefully) temporary normal. The second being that I had tickets to their upcoming 25th-anniversary tour and it's been postponed until December. That really put an imaginary dagger in my heart but it's definitely for the best. 

Before we go way into that rabbit hole, let's glance over how training was last week. Strides were the magic word for week three and I loved every minute of it. It's been quite some time since I've done an actual prescribed workout of any type of help with speed or drills. When my coach put it on the schedule, I was so amped up! Strides aren't anything long but to really get your legs fired up for those short bursts just feels so good. Here's a clip from Friday's run which was probably the most consistent, pace-wise.  

We had a real s-show of weather during the week. It rained for roughly four days. Wednesday (3/11) was met with some light drizzle, to begin with, followed by a downpour as I got halfway into my strides and drills. I don't have access to a treadmill anymore so not going out isn't an option anymore unless I opt for biking instead. You never know what race day will bring. Don't be afraid of a little weather. 

I started week 2 of the Argentina series on my bike. This endurance ride was quite the challenge and boy did my legs start talking to me. Once you finish those last few minutes before the cooldown, it's like that fire just grows and grows! It's definitely been a great compliment to my running.

So yeah, about this crisis we're living through right now. Crazy, ain't it? I've seen some majorly disappointed people on the internet after races getting postponed and canceled. I mean we're talking major races, people. Boston, London, even the Barkley Marathon! While my race wasn't scheduled until May 2nd, I wasn't really holding my breath. Sunday, our governor put out a statement of limiting groups to 50 people or less. "Well, it's only a matter of time now," I said to myself. Sure enough. Sunday evening, I received word that my race has been postponed. Now, last year I dealt with my first deferment but this is totally different. While at that very moment I felt super upset/sad, I quickly shifted gears. This is for the better. I've definitely learned that you can't think of yourself in these moments of bad news after bad news. I texted my coach and told her I'll keep training and I'll run on my own on May 2nd if I have to. They are offering a virtual option so that's what we'll do. The actual in-person race did get rescheduled to July but twelve hours in that summer heat? I'm not about that. We'll still carry on and break so many barriers! 

We have a joke in our house right now and the saying goes, "Covid-19 is sponsored by Amy's". 

Amy's is really the only "premade" food I buy. That pizza is SUPER good, especially if you throw some vegan feta on it. The Indian-flavor burrito is my new favorite. I stopped doing my full grocery shopping in the store a while ago and now do delivery with Amazon Prime but decided to make a trip last Friday to Whole Foods myself. The cashier asked me if this was "doomsday prep" and I said, "Nope. This is a typical day!". She laughed. I don't believe in keeping major access amounts of food in your home. I never understood why people had pantries full of crap all the time but never ate any of it. I also hate the thought of wasting food. If you come to look at my fridge on Friday's, it's typically empty minus some beer or other beverages. Did I grab a few extra things that I otherwise wouldn't this time around? Guilty. But, trust me. We'll eat it all. As a runner, my metabolism works like a stage 4 Audi S6. You probably don't know what that means but it's a super-fast car. Just because we're being told to stay home doesn't mean you can't eat like a normal human being. I still have plenty of produce and am still eating my normal staples every day: oatmeal, almond butter toast, this new shake recipe that's THE BOMB. 

Yep, that's a quality picture I took with my phone of a YouTube video so I could remember it. I know, please give me an A for effort. Paula Findlay shared it and I don't know when I'll make something different because it's been super refreshing after my workouts. Side note: the word 'triathlon' keeps toying in my head. Future endeavor? 

I will share a tea recipe I tried today. In the midst of all of this sickness going around, you better be keeping up on that immune system. If you don't eat like an idiot all of the time, hydrate, and maybe get a little movement in, you'd be surprised how much you can fight off. I've incorporated turmeric into my daily diet almost every single day in the past 6 months or so. It's a great anti-inflammatory! I buy the actual root of it but you can also buy the pre-ground stuff in the spices section at your local store. A little goes a long way. I just throw mine in smoothies most of the time and add in a little pepper. That aids in the absorption of turmeric. I recently found this tea recipe and had been wanting to try it. I'm big into herbal teas and it's pretty great! 

It's super easy to make. You just need a lemon, ginger, turmeric, and a dash of cayenne or pepper. Heat it up, strain it, and voila, you have tea. Super easy, super cheap. I'll link the real recipe here. 

Well, for now, we carry on. I hope you do too. 

Across The Years

Anyone else still writing 2019? Hope I'm not the only one. All of the Christmas decorations are put away, the house is back to normal, and the days are slowly getting longer. We're now 30 days away from the Mesa Marathon. The full is sold out! I'm getting pretty amped up about this race for many reasons. This will be the first race I'm running for fun. Now, that wasn't always the case. When I first started training, I had a set time goal in mind but I also didn't want to rely on hitting specific paces. I basically just wanted to show up and see what would happen. When my knee issues set in, I threw that out the window and while I was bummed at missing so much running, it almost felt like a big weight was lifted off of my shoulders. No expectations. No keeping of time. Show up and run like this is the one thing that makes you the happiest person alive. It will also help having company along the way! My friend and fellow Volée bird, Trinity, who hails from my home state of Michigan is flying out to join the fun. Party pace!

Alright, let's get to Across The Years! If you aren't familiar with Aravaipa, they put on some of the most popular races in the Southwest, including the 'Burning Man' of running: Javelina Jundred. 

That's Rob (Steger) up there, mid-200 mile race. I had the privilege of crewing for him and his endeavors. Rob is a very established ultra runner, with his most recent accomplishment of the Triple Crown in 2019. I met him via the wonderful world of Instagram right before his book launched. I really appreciated his approach to becoming a runner and representing us middle pack runners. Fast forward to about a month ago and he messaged me asking if I'd like to help out at the race. He stated it'd be a great way for me to learn a lot as I'm about to start my own endeavors into the ultra distance.  I jumped on the opportunity right away. With a few weeks of back and forth, specific planning of what his expectations were, fueling, timing, and everything in between, he was landing in Phoenix. We met up Friday (1/3/2020) morning, picked him up from his hotel, and set off to the race. The vibe was very chill. This specific race is set on a loop that's just over 1 mile in distance. When we arrived, there were many other participants that had been running since the previous weekend. That was 6 days ago! And they still had 4 days to go. 10 TOTAL DAYS OF LAPS. So epic. We set up shop right along the course, just feet from the timing block corral. Time flew by and before we knew it, Rob was off. It was great to watch him in person. He's a great athlete and has an even better sense of humor. Now, Rob was actually attempting two races at the same time: 200 miles and Last Person Standing. This was the first year they added Last Person Standing and it was definitely an interesting race to watch. Remember, I had the best seat in the house. With LPS, you do one loop at a time with a 15-minute time limit. If you finish your lap in, say, 8 minutes, you have 7 minutes to basically just relax and wait. Sounds great, right? It's not so great when you're coming off being in flow with a different race that has no rule except get your miles in a set amount of time. Rob ended up DNF-ing Last Person Standing after 3 laps with a little advice from me and his own head. 

I think my favorite part about this race, besides being part of the action, was watching all of the other people running. I saw so many different abilities and people with so many goals. At one point, I was in the aid station around 1am Saturday morning, and one of the athletes, who was from Australia, had clocked in over 500 miles. The oldest participant was 84. He clocked in just over 100 miles. Seriously, so amazing. People will ask me, "well, you see people of all ages at road races too" and yes, you do. Something about this community, though, is different. I basically felt like I was surrounded by a bunch of my closest friends yet I had just met them. A girl, who's table was set up next to ours (Aisling), was all alone. Unsupported 200 miler. While those many hours might seem lonely, she kept a smile on her face, went whatever pace she felt like going, and was so nice. I still wish I would have gotten her contact info. So, fast forward to Rob's 68th lap. He started feeling it. The disadvantage of a totally flat course was getting to him. Now, I know some of you will read that and think "how is that a disadvantage". It is when you aren't used to it, especially after running on it for like, forever. I'll skip over a bunch of little details but he ended up calling it quits, which I found smart. Pain is temporary but injuries suck and that's not what we needed, especially since he'll be running Black Canyon in February. I downed my 7th cup of hot water, which I was basically using to keep warm, made sure he was ok, and headed to the van to sleep. It was 2:30am. I was awake for 22 hours. I can't remember the last time I did that for fun. 

Side note: I can't wait until we have one these guys ourselves (this is a friend's). This is seriously the ultimate way to transport to a race. With a full kitchen set up and a big bed, what more do you need? Okay, back to the race. Takeaways? I have a lot to learn about fueling for a race that's longer than 6 hours. Be organized. Strategy. Lube. Baby wipes. Vegan grilled cheeses. That last one is an inside joke. Will you see me at Across The Years 2020-2021? Probably. Crewing or running? We'll have to wait and see! 

If you want the audio recap, Rob has a podcast you can subscribe to via Apple, Google, and on his website. You can even witness my podcast debut and what my running goals are for this year. I'll give you a hint, they're epic! 

Did I mention the port-o-potties had entertainment of their own?

Let's shift gears here. I've decided to go dry for January. I would think most of you know what that means but just in case, to clarify, I'm not consuming any alcohol. It'll actually continue into February leading up to race day. Why am I doing this? Because I want to. I'd like to keep my epinephrine levels up so I can have better and quicker recovery. I don't like feeling like a sack of rocks during my long runs because, let's be honest, what day of the week do we normally consume adult beverages? Fridays! What day is my long run? Saturdays! It just doesn't work. I've also noticed that I feel a heck of a lot more sluggish after not a lot of drinks. A sign of getting older? Maybe. Now, I'm not a regular drinker at all. I maybe consume one drink a week, if that. Yes, I have a big wine collection, but I'm not busting corks every day. It's been 10 days and I feel good. It's coinciding with Veganuary very well. That's vegan+january. Yep, another month! I went Vegan in November, why not do it again. I'm actually finding it way easier this time around than last. My body feels great. I don't feel inflamed or "fluffy", as I like to call it. I don't go vegan to "detox" or lose weight and if you think going vegan is the key to both of those, you are doing it for the wrong reasons. For the record, I'm vegan for ethical reasons. Watch Dominion and then we'll talk about it.

*Steps off soapbox* See how I distracted you with a photo of bread? Hello beautiful loaves of carbs. This is the first vegan dessert (if you want to call it that) that I've ever made. I had some VERY ripe bananas chilling and instead of freezing them, I baked! I present to you, vegan banana bread. 

I have baby loaf pans, so I made two. I'd be lying if I said they weren't already half gone. They came out perfectly moist and delicious. They pair well with some coffee. Just make them already! I'll link the recipe here.

I think that's it for now. We'll chat soon. Adios!