DAY 4:
What a beautiful day for a run! It was sunny, clear skies and the air was filled with the wonderful smells of Autumn. I got in a great 3 mile run and an hour powerwalk right afterwards with a client.
Which leads me to share with you my biggest challenge training for the IM. Not only am I doing my own training, I also have clients that I physically train with. i.e. powerwalk, run and strength train. So I try and incorporate my own training program with theirs. Therefore today, I ran 3 miles (at a relatively a fast past) to my clients house and then we powerwalked for 3 miles right after.
My legs were quite sore after the run and the powerwalk so as part of my recovery, I take a 15-20 minute epsom salt bath as soon as I returned home. Afterwards, I made a huge vegetable stir fry with black rice, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, celery, spinach, garlic, and loads of spices!
As for my 21 day cleanse, so far so good! I have managed no caffeine, dairy, meat, sugar or alcohol. I have no side effects and I'm starting to feel real good overall. More energy and less bloatedness,
DAY 5:
Today was tough. I had no desire to train but I pushed myself to run 3 miles at an easy pace. Quite often, the first 10 minutes of training are the toughest. But afterwards, I am good to go! Today was no different. I started off with an easy pace and once my heavy legs loosened up, I picked up my pace and continued. I felt great afterwards and as always, I was so happy that I got in my training.
For my recovery, I ate a tablespoon of almond butter, jumped in a cool shower for 10 minutes and then had leftovers from my vegetable stir fry to tie me over until dinner.
For dinner, I cooked a huge pan of vegetables (eggplant, celery, onions, garlic, carrots, white beans, and diced tomatoes) with a variety of spices. (cumin, cayenne pepper and crushed red peppers) I have to admit, this dish got rid of any congestion I may have had!
I found the cleanse challenging today because on Friday nights, I always enjoy a few glasses of fine red wine. Tonight, I had non - alcoholic beer. The bad news? The beer tasted awful and it was not natural! I did not read the label closely and when I did, I found it was full of coloring and other processed ingredients. The good news? I still refrained from having red wine!
DAY 6:
Weekends can be very hard to be discipline and train. Family obligations come up, chores have to be done and who doesn't have social events to attend on the weekends? And sometimes, weekends are great to do absolutely nothing! So, how does one motivate himself/herself to train when there are so many other "better" alternatives? For me, it was putting on my bike workout clothes and then doing my house chores while wearing my bike workout clothes. I discovered early on in my training days that there is something about wearing my workout clothes that motivate me to workout. But today, I discovered something new. I found that I was actually doing my chores faster! I was making it a part of my workout! I will definitely have to try this little experiment again. If I can make doing chores more fun and get them out of the way faster, I will have more time for the other alternative options to my weekends!
PS. Due to the rainy weather, I completed my scheduled 30 minute bike ride on my trainer at home.
DAY 7:
Today is my day off! Yahooooo! But will still make sure that I get in my 10,000 steps! That is a must, no matter what.
Scenic views on my run!
Stay active and anything is possible!
