Isagenix 9 Day Cleanse

The 9 day Isagenix cleanse is over.  It's actually 11 days, but either way, it's over.  And, I'm going to have pizza tonight for dinner and I'm going to enjoy every last bite.  I'm going to give a quick review and then let you know my results.

I know there are some studies out there that say it takes 7 days or 2 weeks or 30 days to break a habit.  Well, if it's 7 days, it's a lie!  After 7 days, I miss eating whenever I feel like it.  That includes just mindless eating in front of my computer while I work or during a movie or while at a friendly get together with finger foods.  Rarely am I ever actually hungry in these instances, but damn it, if I see a Dorito I want it.  That being said, there were only a handful of times, maybe 2 or 3 that I felt really and truly hungry.  I was also able to get in all of my workouts without passing out.  Although, my last 2 swims were challenging and I cut the last swim short by 450m.  On Saturday 3/22 I had a Honey Stinger Waffle in the morning before a 3 hour swim-bike-run training day.  I had one gel before starting the run and a protein bar that is allowed for my recovery/lunch.  On Sunday, I had track and completed 7.5 miles on one shot of the e+ energy that comes with the cleansing pack.  After track, I had the morning protein shake, ran some errands and went home.  When I got home, I convinced Daniel to go to the gym with me to lift some weights for about 40 minutes and did a 1 mile run with the dogs when we got back.  I took a shower, drank my afternoon protein shake and then Daniel and I tackled cleaning for about 2.5 hours.  This is one of those days that I felt really and truly hungry, to the point that I was light headed and could barely think straight or talk.  It wasn't late enough to eat dinner so I laid down to sleep to ignore the hunger.  I don't even have the words to describe how wonderful it felt to eat when Daniel and I finally got to eat dinner.

Let me back track a little and explain how the plan works (high-level).  It's 11 days long.  The first 2 days are pre-cleanse days that are just add'l 'Shake Days', followed by 2 Deep Cleanse days, 5 Shake days, and ending with 2 Deep Cleanse days.  What are Deep Cleanse and Shake days.  See below:

Deep Cleanse days - these are days where there is no real solid food except for 3 servings of one of the available snack options.  Every few hours you are either drinking the cleanser mix or eating a snack.  All-in-all on these days, the calorie intake is anywhere between 420 and 500 calories.

Shake days - on these days, you have an Isagenix protein shake for breakfast.  For lunch and dinner you can have either another shake or you can have a 400 - 600 low glycemic healthy meal.  You get a snack (options are listed for you but are generally no more than 50 or 60 calories) between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner.  Depending on your lunch, dinner, and snack options, you're looking at anywhere between 1100 and 1500 calories.

I don't know if completing this cleanse was easier or harder than racing Beach2Battleship.  As I was half way through the 1st of the last 2 days of the Deep Cleanse (last Wednesday), I was struggling to not snack on anything.  And, then I thought about the saying that I've seen around "Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels".  I got angry at this.  Instead, I thought "Nothing feels as good as full feels".  Not stuffed, but full.  That wonderful feeling when you've eaten something so delicious and you're stomach is happy, you're brain is happy, and you're just smiling from ear to ear.  Sorry, maybe that's just me, but eating makes me happy.  Maybe this is a habit that I need more time to break.  But, I'm not sure I want to.

Anyway, away from the tangent.  I hope that I am able to keep the weight off.  Hopefully I will if I can contain how many calories I am taking in.  I guess one good lesson from this cleanse is now I know that I really don't need as much food to workout as I thought.  Before I was taking in calories in some form or other before, during, and after just about every single workout.  I didn't notice any significant difference in my training during this cleanse, except the last two swims that were on the deep cleanse days.  

OK.  Now onto the results (drum roll please)...

	Weight	Body Fat %	Water%
Friday 3/14/14	123.8	17.9	61.3
Monday 3/17/14	128	* see notes below
Friday 3/21/14	119.4	16.9	62.7
Thursday 3/27/14	116.8	15.8	63.4

* The weekend before I crashed on my bike during a group training ride in Haines City.  I took a pretty nasty fall and had to call the rest of the day quits.  My hands hurt so bad that I just laid around Saturday and Sunday, taking anti-inflammatory and pain meds.  I don't remember eating 2 bags of Oreos or anything else that would cause me to gain 5 pounds over the weekend, but that's what the scale said and I wanted to mark my weight on the day we started.

In case you're curious about my workouts:
3/17 Monday - off
3/18 - 1 hr spin class and 40 min strength (legs and abs)
3/19 - :40 bike trainer
3/20 - 1:06 swim (3000m) and :45 min strength (upper and abs)
3/21 - off
3/22 - :30 min o/w swim, 90' tempo ride (30.62 miles), 34 min run (4 miles)
3/23 - 1:17 track (7.69 miles).  Went to the gym a few hours later for legs and abs

3/24 - off.  I was scheduled to do a swim, but it was raining outside and I didn't want to take a chance on it lightning.  OK, I know.  Lame.  My rationale at 5:30 in the morning is not always sensical
3/25 - 1 hr spin, 30 min treadmill run (3.25 miles), 30 strength (upper)
3/26 - :41 run (5 miles), 1:08 swim (3000m) - main set of this was 50 X 50 on 60"... yeah, barely made it through this one and the last 10 I had to take an extra 5 - 10" rest
3/27 - :57 swim (completed 2550m of 3000m).  The last 450 consisted of 50s X 5 with 20" between each and a 200m cool down.  I could do it.  My arms were jell-o.

In conclusion, cleansing is hard.  Especially if you enjoy eating.  But, I'm glad I did this and got through it.  I am at a weight that I am much happier at.  My biggest concern is trying to maintain this weight within 2 or 3 pounds.  Anyone do other cleanses that they hated or liked?


    
 

On My Mind

I haven't written in a while.  Sometimes I'm motivated to get something on here and sometimes (most times) I would like work out or sleep than write something on here.  I wish I could just think something and have it translated into words and posted on here.  I do like having a sort of diary of my activities and thoughts but it's just more work to do to put it to paper (or blog).

Anywho, quick overview of what's on my mind:

I'm fat.  OK, not obese or anything.  But, for being involved in endurance sports and trying to compete, I am fat.  This is relative to my current situation, so no one get in a tizzy.  I've gained a lot of weight (for me) and have decided to do the Isagenix 9 day cleanse.  I hope it works because that -ish is not cheap, or really even reasonable if I'm being honest.  But, if it works and kick starts me losing weight then I can at least say it was worth it.
Details of current sitchiation (yes, I misspelled that on purpose):  Current weight is 125.6 (that was this morning).  I was 127 on Monday afternoon.  Even the 125 is 10 pounds heavier than I was during B2B 2.5 years ago and 16 pounds heavier than I was when I was in tip-top shape (108, 14% bf, 2008).  I would like to get between 110 and 115.  Specifically, around 112 +/- 2 pounds and at 14% bf +/- 1%.  I know 108 is almost un-achievable at this point since my bone structure has changed.  I know this because when I was 108, I wore a 32A comfortably.  Now, a 34B is comfortable when I have it on the loosest latch.
Action plan:

• No carbs at night unless I have a big training day in the morning.  
• No breakfast before morning workouts.  If the workout is longer than 90 minutes then I will have something or bring a gel, depending on the length, intensity, and type of the training session.  I have been doing this for 3 weeks now.  I thought that I would be super hungry during my workouts.  Especially the mornings that I had spin or swimming.  But, so far I have not felt hungry or un-energized during my workouts.  
• Isagenix 9-day detox.  The 9 day detox users have an average of 7 pounds lost.  So, if I can lose at least 4 pounds then I will consider that successful and will think about doing the 30 day weight loss plan to lose the remaining 8 - 10 pounds.
• Adding 2+ strength training sessions to my weekly workouts.  I currently do 1 day with Jon for functional strength training, so this is in addition to that.  I have been going to the gym during my lunch breaks on Tuesday and Wednesday or Friday for 30 - 40 minutes of just pure strength training - dead lifts, squats, leg press, pull ups, curls, tri extensions, etc.  Nothing fancy, just working on strength.  This is because you burn more fat with more muscle.  I have been doing this for 3 weeks now too.  

I'm trying out a new gym - Harbour Island Athletic Club.  They are expensive.  But, they have everything I need (classes, weights, and pool) in one place and it's only 2 miles from where I live.  Currently I have 2 gym memberships - one at Powerhouse which is 1 mile away and is strictly weights and cardio; the other is at LA Fitness which has everything I need, but the closest one is 5 miles from my house, is usually crowded, and sometimes charges me $5 because it's a Signature Club of which I am not a member.  Between Powerhouse and LA Fitness I pay $70/mo.  HIAC is $125.  Like I said, it's expensive.  I've tried it out for a week and so far it's been pretty nice.  I don't have to wake up quite as early in the morning to go swimming and it takes me hardly any time to get home (7 min to be exact).  Meanwhile, the closest LA Fitness on a good day with the light's being nice and there being little traffic, a one-way trip will take me 20 minutes.  That's 40 minutes minimum out of my day just to go swim.  I tried out a group class today and it was great.  Reminded me of a boot camp class I used to take at Bally's about 6 years ago and I think contributed significantly to being in such great shape at the time.  Everyone has been really nice too.  The front desk people, the members, and the trainers.  So, that's that.  Daniel's not into spending $100 to join that gym, but he gets 2 free months with me and then he can move over to Powerhouse or whatever.  I was hoping we would get to work out together, but after the 2 month free trial for Daniel I'm not sure that is going to happen.

Race updates:

I somehow hurt my Achilles during Charleston Marathon.  Running RnR New Orleans 2 weeks later and then Gasparilla Half Marathon 2 weeks after that didn't help.  So, I am still trying to take it easy.  Easy meaning my longest run since Gasparilla has been 4 miles, one time, last weekend.  I have decided not do to the Sarasota Half Marathon even though I really like that race.  But, I need more rest on my Achilles/ankle and more time on my bike.  Jon is going to get a group together the same weekend to ride the bike course of Haines City 70.3.  So, that will be more beneficial to me than running Sarasota.  I am also dropping from the Half Distance to the Olympic Distance for HITS Ocala which is 2 weeks before Haines City.  And, I signed up for the Hurricane Man 2.4 mile swim on 5/3.  I have no goal for the swim.  I told Jon that I don't even want to train specifically for it.  Meaning I don't want extra training time devoted to swim just for this race.  I am doing it so that I can skip a pool session :) and to get a feel for a 2.4 mile open water swim in preparation for IMFL.  I would like to try to swim it how I would any long race (at about 80 - 85% of max) and see where I come in at.  I never give 100% in the swim of a race because it wears me out too much.  I like to build in my races.  Meaning, I start out at about 85% of max for the swim, progress to about 95% of max for the bike and then give whatever I have left for the run.  This works great for the longer distances, for me.  For the sprints and sometimes even the Olympic distance races, it's balls-to-the-wall all out effort until the end.     

      

2013 Recap, 2014 Thoughts

Everyone else is posting a 'year in review' kind of thing so I figured I would put one out too.  Not sure how much I'm actually going to remember about the year, but let's give it a shot.

I had some good races:
Sarasota Half Marathon
St. Anthony's Olympic Distance
Rev3 Half Distance

Some not so good races:
Hy-Vee Championship

And, a race I will never forget:
Boston Marathon

I made some new friends and had to temporarily say good-bye Sarah.

Here is the breakdown of my training (from Training Peaks):

Swim - 244,892 yds (139 miles), 83:56:10
Bike - 2,659.78 miles, 191:36:31
Run - 1,240.48 miles, 187:52:19 (this includes road races)
Strength - 111:12:33

Yeah, that was a lot more than I would have guessed.  Especially for the swim.

I qualified to race as a pro/elite at Rev3 Sarasota and I am planning on taking the opportunity (for now).  I want to see how much better I can get over the next 6 months first.  I think  how I perform this coming summer will tell me if I really am ready for the challenge.  I know I"m going to have to put in even more hours training and at a higher intensity that in 2013.  So, if I can make it through the summer and still want more, then I will be more confident taking the pro card.  I know I am going to get my ass handed to me and I know it's going to hurt every time even though I know it's going to happen.  I think what's going to hurt even more is that I probably will not place in anything.  At least for the first year.  This is what I'm telling myself now anyway.  

Other thoughts for 2014:
Non-tri Life - Well, I'm getting married in about 6 weeks.  So, that's a biggie.  Daniel is done with school so we are planning on doing a big trip this year since we didn't get to go anywhere (non-race related) last year.  I'm looking forward to spending time with Daniel... when I'm not training of course.  My goal for 2014 is to balance work-tri-personal life.  I want to focus on my personal life more.  This is something that doesn't come very easily for me.  I am so much better at spending hours working out than doing anything that involves human interaction for longer than 30 minutes... unless I'm drinking ;)

Tri-life - I'm working with Jon full time until at least IMFL.  I'm sure he's going to kick my butt with training and has already warned me that after my two marathons coming up I was going to have to put in more time at the pool, ugh.  I'm dreading it already.  So, I still don't really have goals here.  A broad streaking one is to be bad ass for IMFL.  Is that good enough?  LOL.  It'll have to do for now.    

Run the Connector 5K 2013 Recap

The Port of Tampa put on a race to commemorate the opening of the I-4 connection to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway.  I did this race because it's kind of a once in a life time thing... running on a major interstate with no cars before it has been opened to the public.  I did the race with friends from the Box Factory where I live.

I went in to have a good time but my Box Factory friends were putting a lot of pressure to "represent" the Box.  So, I did what I could.  I finished 3rd O/A female with a time of 20:16!  I definitely was not expecting that.  This course was hard too.  I thought just the on-ramp would be challenging but thought "at least it's downhill to the finish".  I was tricked!  The whole thing was up and down and the only straight parts were on a bend.  I was definitely muscling though it after mile 2.  I could feel my legs and chest burning.  I felt like I had run a marathon afterward.  Literally.  My legs hurt and I was waddling down the stairs.

Fun times!  

Gluten Free, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, What?

The more I read about nutrition the more confused I get.  It should be basic stuff, right?  Like, don't eat fried foods; don't eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; limit sugar intake; eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and protein.

I started thinking more about my diet after some friends were talking to me about them being on the Paleo diet.  It's very similar to the Atkins/no carb diet except I think a little more restricting (and confusing).  So, you can have nuts, but not peanuts.  You can have flour, just not wheat flour (i.e. can be almond flour, coconut flour, and others.  You can check out a list here).  No milk or dairy products (i.e. cheese.  I <3 cheese so much and this would mean no more pizza which should be another food group for me).  I started doing some searching around and found a documentary called "The Perfect Human Diet".  If you're part of Amazon Prime you can watch the documentary for free on instant streaming.  It doesn't explicitly say it's advocating for Paleo, but it (strongly) hints at it.  

Here are some of the points that I took away:

• Stay away from milk, butter, bread, potatoes, beer, and sugar
• One of the speakers, Lane Sebring, said to also stay away from grains and beans
• Societies that ate more proteins and less carbs (grains), were healthier, thinner, and had larger bone structures.  When cavemen started eating meat, this is when intelligence started to increase and why things began to rapidly change as people were more quickly learning how to hunt, provide shelter, and basically learn faster and better how to survive as well as create basic comforts and conveniences for themselves. 
• Lane Sebring also mentioned multiple times that grains prevent our bodies from absorbing nutrients.  So, even though the two slices of whole grain bread we're eating as a sandwich with meat and veggies has a bunch of heart healthy vitamins and minerals, we are unable to absorb them because they are being held in the gut by the grains.  Interesting, huh?  Anyone have any thoughts on this?  I need to do more research on this.  I think this is the foundation for claiming celiac disease or a gluten allergy and the push for gluten free foods. 
• Another statement by Lane was that after the age of 2 people are not meant to drink milk, especially from another animal.  This pushed me to watch "Milk?"  Yes, you guessed it.  All about the pros and cons of milk.  People who are for milk are basically sellers.  When I was talking to Daniel about this, he said "but people have been drinking milk for thousands of years".  So, I looked it up and people have been drinking milk for thousands of years.  But, it turns out that it is from a genetic disorder that allows people to drink milk.  So, back when food was scarce, people who could drink (and tolerate) milk were more likely to survive.  Thus, prompting the reproduction of more people that were able to tolerate milk. 
• Some vegetarians claim that people are not meant to eat meat because our bodies were not made to take in and digest it.  But, one of the researchers in the film rebutted pretty convincingly by saying that (summarized) "if people were meant to eat plants, we would have multiple stomachs so that we could pass the plant foods through multiple times and we would possibly regurgitate our food as well in order to absorb all the nutrients from the plants."  I had to look into this because I know of a few animals that only have one stomach.  Ehow explains it pretty well:
  Dietary adaptations allow animals to survive on available resources, exploiting plant or animal-based food sources. Herbivores, or plant-eating animals, have evolved to extract a large amount of nutrients from relatively poor foods, such as grass. Most grass-eating animals possess a four-chambered stomach that allows food to pass slowly through the digestive tract, prolonging the extraction of nutrients. However, certain species use a single stomach, offsetting the low nutrient content of their feed by consuming larger quantities.
  
  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/list_6772975_one_stomach-animals-eat-grass-plants.html#ixzz2mXgoisnu

So, not sure if you're as confused as me.  And, to throw another factor into the mix - meat from large farm, mass production companies.  All the stuff you see online and all the stuff you don't see but know happens makes me want to give up all meat.  I'm slowly trying to remove all meat from my diet except fish.  Daniel and I have been doing really well for about two months with sticking to meatless Mondays.  I am on the hunt for stores that sell ethically raised and killed chicken and beef.  I honestly don't know if there is an ethical way to raise and kill another animal, especially when it's for the masses. 

Along with this minor change in eating less meat, Daniel and I are going to attempt this no dairy, grains, and sugar thing.  The no grains to me is basically gluten free so I have been looking for gluten free stuff.  Came across this blog that was very helpful - www.glutenfreefitness.com.  Especially for athletes. 

Please send me comments and let me know your thoughts, insights, and experiences on all this?     

Women's Running Series Half Marathon Recap 2013

This will be a short and sweet race recap.  A little over due.  Sorry.

I was a week into my nasty cold, bronchitis, strep throat, whatever I had which lasted another week after this race.  I tried out a six miler on Saturday to see how I would feel and I actually felt better running than just lying on my couch or bed doing nothing.  Needless to say, I decided to do the race.  I gave up on any goals and just wanted to run it comfortably. 

Final time - 1:42:46, 9th place a/g   

Split	Hours:Minutes:Seconds Time	Miles Distance	Minutes per Mile Avg Pace
Summary	1:42:46.4	13.31	7:43
1	4:06.5	0.50	8:13
2	3:55.4	0.50	7:51
3	3:48.6	0.50	7:37
4	3:42.9	0.50	7:26
5	3:46.3	0.50	7:33
6	3:48.1	0.50	7:36
7	3:43.9	0.50	7:28
8	3:42.6	0.50	7:25
9	3:48.3	0.50	7:37
10	3:47.4	0.50	7:35
11	3:49.1	0.50	7:38
12	3:56.9	0.50	7:54
13	3:46.3	0.50	7:33
14	3:52.4	0.50	7:45
15	3:55.4	0.50	7:51
16	4:01.5	0.50	8:03
17	4:00.6	0.50	8:01
18	3:49.9	0.50	7:40
19	3:57.6	0.50	7:55
20	3:46.9	0.50	7:34
21	3:53.2	0.50	7:46
22	4:01.6	0.50	8:03
23	3:49.5	0.50	7:39
24	3:51.0	0.50	7:42
25	3:53.9	0.50	7:48
26	3:52.0	0.50	7:44
27	2:18.6	0.31	7:25

I started off with the 1:45 group so that I could force myself to just take it easy the first few miles and not get caught up in the excitement.  Plus, it was a great day for running, about 70* with overcast.  This never happens for this race.  It's usually mid to upper 80's with a fully exposed sun blaring down. 

My heart rate stayed very even, fluctuating slightly between 180 and 185. 

I think part of my success was due to falling to peer pressure and trying the new Beet Juice craze.  I ordered a few bottles and mixed 8 oz every morning with about 4 - 6 oz of Green Goodness for 3 days prior to the race and on race day.  I've read a lot about drinking Beet Juice and know a lot of people in my tri group that drink it and all have great things to say about it.  There are a few ways to take it:

• Before a race as I did -  8 oz (solo or mixed with someone else to mask the taste) 3 days prior to the race and on race day
• 4 oz daily to improve training and overall performance.  I am doing this now and plan to switch to the above plan before Charleston Marathon in January. 
• Combine the two options above

I had a bagel with PB about 2 hours before the race and one gel about 20 minutes before race start.  I had 3 more gels (mile 3.5, 6.7, and 10.25).  I drank water at every stop and Gatorade once between 3.5 and 6.7 and 2 more times between 6.7 and 10.25.

My stomach felt fine during the race, but I made sure to stick close to a bathroom for the next couple of hours.

Not my best half marathon time, but my best time at this race.  I was able to finish the race with a decent time for me so I am happy. 

Anyone else done this race (this year or year's before)?  What are your thoughts on how "challenging" it is?

  

So You Wanna To Be A Triathlete

This was so awesome that I had to post it here.  I find it a little motivational as well because it reminds me why I need to get my ass to the pool... heading there shortly  :)

Fact: you will not become efficient at swimming, biking or running over night. Sorry to burst your bubble. This is NOT an easy sport.
Check your ego at the door because chances are someone fifty pounds heavier than you will lap you in the pool. Not to mention she will be ten or fifteen years older than you.
You will be passed on the bike many times and you will never be the fastest runner in your town.
You will have early morning workouts. Really early.
You will plan your weekends around your swim, bike and run.
You are up while others are sleeping.
You are training while others are sitting.
You will discover others who also follow this blood, sweat and tears cult.
You will eventually get a flat tire... and have to change it all by yourself.
No matter what you hear, triathlon is NOT an inexpensive sport.
Warning, it is extremely addictive, hence the impulse spending on wetsuits, bikes, running shoes, aero bars, aero helmets, speed suits, power meters, GPS heart-rate monitors and many other ‘gotta have items.’
You will hate swimming more times than you like it for the first year.
You will suffer through road trips with whiny fellow triathletes.
You will suffer set backs.
You may experience an injury.
You will develop a love/hate relationship with a foam roller and ice baths.
You will at some point realize you need a coach.
You will hate swimming for the first year.
You will wear tight clothing.
You will not like how this tight clothing fits or looks.
Your age will take on a whole new meaning.
You will discover a whole new meaning for tan lines.
Food will become an extremely important part of your life.
You will learn new words such as GU, cadence and brick.
You will hate swimming for the first year.
You will spend more time on your bike than on your couch.
You may lose a friend or two because you spend too much time swimming, biking and running, and they could careless about your heart rate training, foam rolling pain or 20 mile bike ride.
You will learn patience.
You will be humbled.
You will start to realize you are paying money to put yourself through pain and suffering, but for some odd reason, you LOVE it.
This sport called Triathlon, becomes a part of you. You start to plan your entire year around sprint, international, half-iron or full-iron distance races. Your vacations become racing, and you start to realize that this sport called triathlon could become a life-long adventure.
Many people settle for things in life. They settle for a crappy job, marriage, friends, food, place to live and overall fitness and health.
Those who desire more or those who want more out of life than a drive-thru window and boring sitcom, will choose triathlon or an activity that makes them happy. An activity that will change their life. Triathlon will change your outlook on life, your career, your marriage, your goals, your friends and many other things you thought you had figured out. It’s not just crossing a finish line or a boring finisher medal. It’s the countless hours that got you to that point. A moment in time that you will NEVER forget. A moment that you will discuss with your family and friends for hours if not days after the event. These discussions will most likely be about how you could have done better. At what point could you have swam faster, biked harder or ran more efficient? This is what will go through your head everyday until you get the opportunity to suffer again.
So you wanna be a Triathlete? Enjoy the ride and train hard!

http://www.trifuel.com/training/general/so-you-wanna-be-a-triathlete#.UovxQWEo7L8