A tough workout

As soon as I got the kids off to school today I put a movie on for the other 2 and quickly made my way down stairs for an interval workout on my elliptical. I wasn't alone either, since Chad was able to join me for the first 20 minutes of the 40 minute workout. I've been taking this week really easy. Sunday, off, of course. Monday, off. Tuesday, 4 mile run, nice and easy. Wednesday, I ran stairs for 20 minutes. And then today...killer. It's my first tough workout since the half marathon, and my body was aching to be pushed a little. Intervals never fail to make me feel like I'm going to throw up. It reminds me that I need to push myself a little harder in my races because I feel so much worse after and interval workout than I do after a race. The interval is pure torture, but I love it. I was nauseous for a full half hour after. It took every once of will power to keep my breakfast down.

Can I also say that I love running stairs? Every time I go up or down, I can't help but smile. It feels good on my legs.

Anyway, eating is going better today. I faltered a little last night and ate way too much banana bread batter. The batter was gluten free and delicious. I can't say the same for the 4 baked loaves though. I ended up throwing them all away. Gluten free cooking is so tricky, and purely trial and error. I'm going to take a break from baking gluten free goodies for a while. The batter is too good to resist and I can't seem to figure out how to get a good consistency in the end.

I'm looking forward to next week, when I can jump head first into building up my miles again. Marathon, here I come!!!!!

Race day came...and went! It was a blast, and my body felt great. Here's my race day stats:

Weight:125

body fat percentage:18

muscle percentage:36

Time for the half marathon: 1:43:08

I'm really excited about this because it gives me hope that I can qualify for Boston if I work really hard. I've got 8 months to train...after I take a week off though. I'm going to enjoy a week of easy workouts, and I'm so glad that my stomach is feeling so much better. What seems to be working best is gluten free plus avoiding processed foods. I've been sticking to lots of fruit in the morning; almonds for snack; soup, salad and potatoes for lunch; celery and peanut butter for snack; lots of veggies, brown rice, and a lean protein for dinner; and a string cheese for my post workout snack.

Two days away from race day and I can't wait! There is just so much wonderful energy hovering around the start line, just waiting to be snatched up! Saturday morning I will wake up really early, eat my breakfast, get dressed and head into DC for my half marathon. I've had a couple of rough weeks with my eating and my digestive system. Although I've been eating well and avoiding wheat, I haven't felt well. I'm not really sure what is going on. It seems like there is more bothering me than just wheat. In an effort to get things feeling better, I decided to try eating only fresh foods, nothing boxed or canned. That seemed to help, and I went to bed feeling great...no bloated stomach aches. Here's what I ate that day...

Breakfast:

blueberries

Strawberries

Lunch:

Low sodium organic butternut squash soup

Low sodium organic tomato soup

brown rice

Dinner:

Chicken Breast

Jasmine Rice

Asparagus

Cherry Tomatoes

Snacks:

Carrots

Organic Creamy Peanut Butter

String Cheese

Raw Almonds

Simple enough! The snacks fit in right between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner. It was a great day! My body felt strong and happy during my Taikwando class at 1 and also during my ab workout in the evening.