A few things: Dr. Oz, flip flops and the next race

This is gonna be kind of a hodgey-podge post of ramblings so bare with me.

The first thing on my mind is: 

BRAVO DR. OZ!!! 

I am a big Dr. Oz fan and now he further gets my vote for taking on the GMO debate. I've been striving towards a more organic lifestyle and flipping myself out by reading books like Seeds of Destruction that really delves into the GMO bio-engineered safety debate.  

This week, Dr. Oz had that books author, Jeffery Smith on to discuss the possible safety issues as well as Prop 37 - a bill that would label all foods in CA.

Yay! Dr. Oz!

Unfortunately, a baseball game pre-empted the episode but I'm hoping to catch the repeat next week… that is if he doesn't get bullied into pulling the episode. It seems that the pro-GMO folks aren't pleased with Dr. Oz (of-course they aren't), even though they were invited on the show to defend their points but declined. Apparently, they did have some folks from the 'other side' on but they are still threatening. - You can read a note that was sent to Dr. Oz from the pro GMO folks and learn more here.

No matter what - I appreciate Dr. Oz being unafraid to explore these type of edgy and controversial topics!! It's the most the main-stream media has ever dared to cover about the topic. Good for him.

Did you see the show?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

credit

What a flip flopper! Did you hear about Keith Levasseur who ran the Baltimore marathon with a time of 2:46:58 wearing flip flops!? Flip flops! Shit. 

There's so much to talk about. 

First of all. Holy speed Batman. My last half marathon was 2:30 something. In an extra 17 minutes or so he doubled me! And I had sneakers, and compression socks, and everything else I need to run. I don't think I could run a mile in flip flops. 

You can read more about Keith at Miss Zippy's, she happens to live in the same town as he and got a little insight to his challenges and training.

What kind of running sneakers do you run in?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Atlantic City, here I come.  The babysitter is booked and I'm hydrating. I am heading to Atlantic City this weekend to run my next half marathon (the last of my season). I'm excited because my husband is coming and this will be his second half - so we'll be doing it together. You can read about his first half here. 

I'm a little nervous because the last half I ran was so mentally hard. I'm hoping that my hamstring holds up, the cramps stay away and my positivity remains strong. Will have more after the race next week.

our first half together!

XO

Jen

Carrageenan: Another food enemy?

Every day I'm learning about some other poison or hazard in our food.

It's very annoying and very overwhelming.

I find myself longing for the days when I was much more clueless and I wasn't so overwhelmed with the whole GMO, organic, processed food, etc. issue. Not to mention my own personal sensitivities to gluten, almonds, dairy and artificial sweeteners.

Oh the good ol' days when I could just grab a slice of pizza on the go and not think twice.

Anyway, so I've been going along merrily on my gluten-dairy-almond-artificial sweetener-free, mostly organic journey and now I've learned of a new thing I've gotta worry about.

Carrageenan.

Have you heard of it?

It's in all kind of "organic" products including most soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, flax milk, cheese alternatives, non-dairy frozen desserts, many Applegate cold cuts and much more. You can see a complete list here.  In short, almost everything I've used to cut out the dairy or use as substitutes contain carrageenan.

ugh. always something

So what is it?

Carrageenan is an additive that is used primarily as a thickener.  According to Healthkismit:

Carrageenan is a polysaccharide that’s derived from red seaweed. On a molecular level it’s actually very similar to plastic and is popular for that reason. It bends easily but snaps back into place, which makes it a useful additive to foods, gels, and foams.

The problem?

Well if you begin to dig it could be linked to gastrointestinal inflammation and colon cancer!!

But wait. It's organic! It's in all those vegan foods! How can this be?

Now even after cutting out all of those foods that I'm sensitive to, I'm still often experiencing tummy aches. Can it be the carrageenan in my organic soy milk that I use every morning? I'm not sure. But as of right now I'm going to try to eliminate that too. An article I read recommends that if you suffer from IBS or gastric distress you should experiment with cutting it out for two weeks.

Will it ever end? Soon I'll be just consuming air and water.

According to Cornucopia Institute:

Research links the controversial food ingredient carrageenan to serious gastrointestinal inflammation and colon cancer.

Yet it is still found in many foods, including some certified organic foods.

At the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board meeting in May 2012, Dr. Joanne Tobacman, a physician-scientist at the University of Illinois School of Medicine and the nation’s foremost independent expert on carrageenan, presented her research and urged the NOSB to remove carrageenan from organic foods.

Oy vey. The carrageenan lobbyists teamed up with some of our favorite organic companies and fought back hard so in many of our favorite brands they remain. If you google this ingredient you'll find all kinds of research worth considering.

Have you ever heard of this ingredient!? Thoughts?

XO
Jen

PS: so out of curiosity - I found a few more interesting reads - here's another from The Charis Holistic Center out of Los Angeles that leans towards it being something to avoid.

Here is another interesting read from the Organic Consumers Association where you can read about Stonyfield Farms and Organic Valley responses. They are not concerned with risks.

Race day woes and oh no

This running thing ain't easy. Scratch that. Running isn't so hard - it's racing that can be tricky.

I mean, you would think that all you have to do is train, throw on a pair of sneakers and get going.

Maybe for some.

Not for me.

I have suffered from just about everything you can during my races. From massive tummy troubles like what happened at my San Diego RNR marathon debacle to painful, ridiculous cramping as what happened to me at the Hollywood Half and most recently having to battle a host of negative thoughts and issues last week at the Long Beach half… plus other little rumbles and bumps along the way.

Some of you probably have some challenges too. Maybe for you it's 'hitting the wall,' dealing with chafing, blisters, bloody nipples, injuries or other fun stuff. 

It sucks. You train for months, you look forward to the day, you plunk down this large amount of cash and then BAM. OH NO. NOT NOW! Why today? Why does (insert woe) have to be happening?

Uh. Why do we run again?  Running is fun!

We could let these issues stop us in our tracks but most of us are committed to the sport, the lifestyle, the awesome feeling we get from accomplishing goals, the incomparable feeling of crossing that finish line, and yes, even the bling.

So here are three issues I've dealt with and how I've tried to improve - everyone is different so you'll need to experiment with what works for you. 

Tummy Troubles (Runner's Trots, cramps, nausea…): Ugh. I am queen of the stomach ache. It really is the big thing I'm always dealing with. I have IBS, dairy sensitivities, gluten issues, and on top of all that - nerves. It all sends my GI tract over the edge. Good times. It's a wonder I ever make it thru a race without "pantsing my poop." 

HELP!

I've learned to live with it best I can. I eat very blandly the days leading up to the race (A little quinoa pasta, some rice, no dairy, nothing spicy, nothing with too much fiber, avoiding fatty stuff.) I experiment with nutrition and hydration well before race day and have swapped from commercial sports drinks to coconut water for electrolyte replacement. I still had some tummy trouble running this past half but it was markedly better than previous races for me (no potty stops!). I also pop an Immodium prior to the race for extra insurance. After having to run off-course during my marathon to a 7-11 to buy it 12 miles in, I usually carry some in my race belt just in case.

The tough thing with the tummy thing is finding the right balance - you have to hydrate and have nutrition when racing half and full marathons -- I'm still working on getting it perfect. Found out during my last race that skipping a heartier breakfast (oatmeal) for a lighter one (rice cake with a little PB) didn't work for me. I need the calories and I felt hungry and like I was fading by mile 4.

PS: This is common advice worth repeating. NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY. Not a new sports drink, not a new gel, not a new breakfast.  NOTHING. 

Cramping: (Legs) Aside from stomach cramps, I seem to have been suffering a lot from cramps in my feet, calves and hamstrings during the last few miles. This really sucks. I had such an awful time in Hollywood that this cramping thing has really worked its way into my psyche and is seriously "cramping" my style. I have been researching how to avoid this and there's a plethora of different advice including: making sure you are well hydrated, making sure you have enough electrolytes, making sure you are trained enough and stretching.

Am I smiling or grimacing
from cramps?

Well, I don't stretch much so I'll start by trying that next time. I've been working on hydration and perhaps I have to up my nutrition? I've been using 2 gels during halfs but maybe an extra one (for the electrolytes?) would be helpful. Maybe I should try salt? I am definitely going to take weight training more seriously. I also may try taking a magnesium supplement because I read that, people who cramp could be deficient in magnesium. This will be a continual work in progress but I'm determined to find a solution to this problem.

Negative thoughts: Well if you're like me, sometimes half the battle are the bitches in your head. Sometimes the negativity starts because of legit reasons (like tummy troubles or cramps), sometimes it's for other unexplained reasons. Your thoughts are usually MORE IMPORTANT than anything else going on. Your thoughts will dictate whether you let the 50 porta-potty stops make you throw in the towel or power thru to a finish no matter what. Your thoughts will make the cramping and other physical issues fifty times worse or something to overcome. 

If you truly can't continue that's one thing but I can't think of anything worse than letting the voices in my head win by talking me into quitting. DO NOT GIVE THOSE VOICES THAT TYPE OF POWER.

Come up with 2 - 5 go-to mantras to help beat down negative thoughts - I pulled them out of my bag on my recent half… "Pain is temporary, pride forever," "If it was easy, everyone would do it," "Suck it up buttercup, I am strong.""Suffer now and eat a feast later…" Were a few easy-to remember mantras I pulled out. 

My other tricks include, turning on a favorite power song, remembering to focus on all I have to be grateful for and looking for funny race signs. You have to control your thoughts. Learn to quickly recognize when you are going to a dark mental place and then change it. You might have to "fake it 'til you make it" but just forcing yourself to "think of happy thoughts" really does make a difference. If worse comes to worse, call a friend who will give you a quick pep talk and get back on track. 

What are some of the race day woes you've had to deal with? How did you fix them? Any useful books, information or advice to share?

Happy racing!

XO

Jen

Long Beach half race report: When the wheels fall off

I have been in sunny California for the last few days for work. While out here, I ran the Long Beach half marathon.

I will start by saying, it wasn't my best race.

I really tried to go into this in a good place. I still have post traumatic stress syndrome from my Hollywood half and what happened there: I crossed the finish line and every muscle from my ass to the tips of my toes on both sides seized in unbelievably painful cramps. It was an awful, awful way to end a race and possibly the worse pain of my life. 

I've been determined not to repeat that experience though I live in fear of it. Even at the end of many of my long runs, I feel the threat of a bad cramp so, it is something that haunts me.

I went into this race trying to safe guard from that. I did several 6 -8 mile runs in the last few weeks and two 10 mile runs.  The days leading up to the race I guzzled more water than usual and even included tons of coconut water in my routine, hoping that the electrolytes would help.

So here comes race day.

First of all, I'm always a little nervous on race morning. I like to get to the race nice and early - go to the potty, get a little stretched out, get into my corral, you know. The usual. With no rush.

Well, we left with what should've been plenty of time - but the single road to the parking area was backed for a few miles and we sat in race traffic for close to an hour.

By the time we parked and got to the starting line area, the race had already started. Even though I still had time to potty and find my wave, the fact that the race was already underway stressed me out more. I guess there was no real reason to be stressed but it's just how I roll. 

Soon and with out much ado, I was off. I wanted to maintain a 10:20 - 10:40 pace thru out the race which, for some reason, seemed reasonable to me. 

A few things to note, it was way hotter than I anticipated. I thought it was going to be chilly on the water in October. I brought sleeves and a jacket that I was gonna ditch "once I got warmed up". It was so warm that I needed neither at all and when I got out of the car and felt how warm it was - I was shocked. I thought I was going to be running in nice cool weather. I thought that I would be jumping around trying to keep warm, I envisioned crisp chill. OK. Not so much. Not at all.

This is a huge race, 22,000 racers or so and a "corral" yourself type system. There was about 4 million people in the corral I was in. When my coral took off many were walking from the get-go - 4 and 5 across from the start. Others were trying to zoom past at far faster pace than the corral - and all of it was tight. There were narrow parts of the race where I felt way overly crowded. But, even with all that, the first few miles were OK. I kept looking down at my Garmin - A few times I'd be running a 9:45 or a 10:08 or something but I'd keep trying to slow it back down to a 10:30'ish pace or so.

prettiest part of the run - Queen Mary in the background
photo credit: Angela Lee

I don't know why but early on crappy thoughts started creeping in to my head. Negativity about being trained enough, about "not feeling" like doing this today, and all kinds of shit I kept trying to bat away. For some reason I was feeling like this wasn't gonna be my day. And I guess by me continually thinking that in my head, I kind of made sure it wasn't. By mile 6 I was feeling really low. I was hot and dizzy. I walked thru every water stop and was carrying coconut water with me for hydration. I took my gels at the right time, I really tried to properly execute this race and the wheels were falling off left and right.

My head hurt, my stomach hurt, my legs were achey early on, my ankle started bothering me and if I could've quit, I might've. I just felt like shit and I couldn't understand why. I started to take more and more walking breaks by mile 7 - I was feeling kinda like a failure. The perfect shirt passed me by it said:

this made me smile. perfect timing

I did tell myself to "suck it up buttercup," I reminded myself that "pain is temporary, pride forever," I promised, "the medal will be worth it, quitting is for quitters." 

I knew I wouldn't quit. I told myself even if I had to walk the rest of the damn way, I'd finish it. I plugged on and counted down the miles running, walking, shuffling. In the final mile, my hamstrings began to quiver on the verge of those dreaded cramps - and my feet actually did cramp a few times -- it never got to the point of Hollywood Half pain though, thank goodness for that. 

I ran it in, crossed the finish line and got my medal. I was happy, probably more happy it was over than anything else, but whatever.

Post finish line was a mess of people too many people in too little of a space. I knew I needed to keep moving or possibly suffer those bad cramps. I was cranky by the poor set-up and my crappy performance.  

But still, bling has a way of making things just a wee bit better: 

And even with all the BS - it doesn't look that bad on paper. You'll see my 5K / 10K times are OK - you can really see where I fell apart:

2:30:36 tag time with an avg. of 11:30 pace. And with crappy as that race was -- I'm still happy I did it. I feel sore today. But I'm so glad I stuck with it. Perfect or not - in hindsight, I'm still proud of this race -- another opportunity to learn and I didn't quit.

I think to get better I'm going to have to truly commit to strength training. I'm going to have to maybe play better with nutrition - there is a reason for the cramping and whether it's a mineral deficiency, hydration thing or electrolyte thing - I'm doing something wrong and I have to fix that. 

Maybe 10:30 is too aggressive for me early on? Perhaps I should be aiming to keep steady at 11 min. mile early on and open it up at the end if I'm feeling good? I'm not sure. I guess I'm confused about race pace. I don't want to underestimate myself but overestimating is a recipe for an icky race too...

I think I ate too light pre-race this time around. I skipped my morning meal of oatmeal/walnuts and banana (my usual perfect pre-race fueling) for a half a banana, rice cake and a little peanut butter instead. I was trying to see if my tummy would behave with a little less bulk. But I felt a lack of energy early on and felt hungry by mile 2 --  I think I might need a heartier breakfast.

So there you have it. Half number 9 in the books (or my 10th race if you count my full marathon). 

The next one is right around the corner and I hope to have a better time!

Do you ever struggle mentally during races?

XO

Jen

I could run 100 miles

With a few half marathons right around the corner I've been trying to get more miles under my belt and the mileage has added up.

I was excited to see on DailyMile that I've had this epic week of logging 30 miles!

I haven't had anything close to 30 miles since my full marathon training. Even for my Spring halves the longest weeks I reached were 24 miles or so - So I'm pretty thrilled.

In fact the whole month has been pretty epic:

24, 26, 24 and 30 mile weeks… Note the last time I came close was a 24 mile week back in January right before my February halves.

And those epic weeks all added up to one epic month for me:

109 miles!! Woo hoo. I'm so excited about this month -- and you'll notice it's nearly double the miles of most of my months since January. 

This week, I'm tapering down and will keep my miles relatively low in preparation for my half this Sunday in Long Beach, CA. 

I'm not shooting for a PR - I'm actually shooting for a conservative 2:30 or so since I'll be running another half in just a 2 weeks I don't want to over-do anything. But we'll see how I feel on race day ;-) 

Are you training for any upcoming races?

XO

Jen

PS:  Still time to support the From Fat To Finish Line documentary film project and snag your DVD copy and other goodies for doing so!! Click here for details.

More stuff I'm loving!

who doesn't love a little George Michael?
source

OK - I must be in "running appreciation mode" because all week I've been finding stuff to love in my running world.

Obviously, I'm loving my running buddies (and I got to do another 10 miler with them this morning.)

I'm loving coconut water post long runs - it really has made a difference in my recovery and I feel good when I drink it. The flavor of the plain one takes a second to get used to but I found one that is flavored with pineapple puree that's delish.

I'm loving revisiting the 80's on my iPod - recently downloaded a little old school George Michael and who knew "Freedom" was such a fun song to run to?

I'm really loving my local Road Runner's Sports in Paramus. Today, I decided to swing by to pick up a handheld water bottle and a few gels (more about the gels later). While there I thought I would take a chance to return a pair of sneakers that I had already worn AND no longer had a receipt.  A few weeks ago I ordered a pair of sneakers from their website. I figured I would keep them - they were the brand and size I like but in the next generation, so I tossed all the packaging and stuff. Unfortunately, it's been a few runs and they just don't feel right.

Well, 3-4 runs, a few weeks and no receipt later and the store didn't bat an eye in letting me return them. They even let me take my time and try on a bunch of sneakers, even letting me run on one of their treadmills to test them all out. I love that everyone there are runners, in fact a bunch of the salespeople are even doing a Ragnar this weekend.

And. I'm loving my new sneakers… beauties! Brooks Trance 11. Though I'm yet to run in them - so that will be the true test -- and of-course, I can bring them back if they don't work out!

Sooo purdy

Back to the gels. I am also loving these new gels I found - they are called Ignite Naturals. I was immediately drawn to them because they are gluten/dairy/artificial sweetener free and organic. Since I am always having tummy troubles, gels are tough for me. I couldn't wait to give them a shot.

I emailed the company and they sent me a few samples. The first one I tried was a little tart for me (the Raspberry pomegranate flavor) but the other two - blackberry blueberry and wildberry are great. They are a little bigger than the average gel which might bother some but doesn't really matter too much to me. Impressively they really delivered in the energy department and most importantly NO TUMMY TROUBLE. CARTWHEELS!!

I thought I was going to have to order them online but lucky me saw a box of them at Road Runner today, so I bought them.  :-)

sample pack of 3 

I'm also loving Udi's breads. Thank you for making a tasty gluten-free bread. It's pricey but for this soup and sandwich loving gal it's worth every penny. I made a lovely BLT today (made with another fav. turkey bacon from Applegate Farms) and it was sooo yummy.

All in all a good all-things running day.

What are some of your favorite things?

XO
Jen

PS: No one has paid me or asked for these reviews -- they are entirely my 'off the cuff' fav. things… though Ignite gels did send me a few samples and if any of the mentioned products feel like sending a few coupons - I wouldn't be mad at you ;-)

Ladies Night: Instead SoftCup review

This is a post only for the girls (guys feel free to read if you must but I'm warning you - it's gonna get girly and not in a good "pillow fight" kinda way… more like a "I've got cramps and pass the chocolate ice cream" kinda way… yeah. That. Thanks for swinging by.)

So back to our "Ladies Night" discussion.

Recently I was invited to give Instead SoftCup a whirl.

What exactly is SoftCup?

Well it looks like this:

And it's made for our 'favorite' time of the month. 

I know. It looks strange. I was a bit apprehensive at first but I followed the directions and gave it a shot.

The first time I tried it, it was a little tricky getting the thing in but I did it.

By the second time, I felt like a pro. And I have to tell you, I loved it. Once in, I never felt it. It was able to hold up for my heavy flow and it didn't leak while I slept in it overnight.

It also held up while I ran and that's always a concern for me. Especially on long runs and, uh, my "heavy" days. 

The pros:

Easy to use

Can be worn up to 12 hours - yippee!

They say it can be worn during sex (I didn't try this but that's only because I'm married for 16 years and eh, "I had a headache.")

Super comfortable (didn't feel a thing!)

Great during running

Not linked to TSS

Doesn't cause irritation

Cons?

Takes a try or two to get the hang of inserting it

Can be messy when removing it but there are great tips at the website!

I definitely would recommend giving this a shot. I used one or two of these a day rather than several tampons like usual.

Have you ever tried this product? 

XO

Jen

PS:  I received the Instead SoftCup for free to review. But these opinions are 100% mine that I thought I'd share with ya.

PSS: If you're a blogger and interested in checking out this product for review then check in with Tina at her blog For Love of The Run.