Monthly Archives: April 2011

Life After Round 1 of P90X

2 Replies

 

Big Changes from My First Round of P90X!

So as you probably read in my P90X Results post, we made it through the first 90 days of P90X and are absolutely ecstatic with our results! Now what?!

Marathon Training Mileage Increases

Well, with 6 weeks until the Rock n Roll marathon, we are ramping our mileage significantly. On Tuesday I ran a 6 miler before work and Thursday I ran my first “Medium Long Run” of 8 miles after work. Next week we’ll ramp up this mid-week long run to 9 miles, then 10 and then we’ll begin the taper. Our long run this week is 16 miles, 18 miles next week, and 20 miles the following week. We are truly in the home stretch!

P90X With Marathon Training

As for P90X, we plan to incorporate Legs & Back (and Ab Ripper) and Yoga for sure each week. Then, we plan to get 1-2 upper body workouts in, if possible. Ideally, we’d do P90X Legs and Back Monday mornings, and switch off between Chest & Back/Shoulders & Arms and Chest/Shoulders/Tris and Back & Biceps on two other mornings. Then we’d run Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and cross train (spin for me, biking to work for Mike) on Wednesday. Oh yeah and Yoga on Sunday! If we can’t get both of the P90X upper body workouts in, we’ll sub in the P90X Upper Body Plus workout DVD which we tried for the first time this morning. More on P90X + in another blog entry.

My Workouts This Week

 For example, my first week as a P90X Grad and a Marathon Runner will look like this:

  • Monday: P90X Legs and Back
  • Tuesday: Run 6 miles (1 mile easy with 4 mile lactate threshold intervals with recovery jog and a half mile or so cool down)
  • Wednesday: Plyometrics (I wanted to spin in the morning but got home so late Tuesday that there was no way I could convince myself to wake up at 5 to get to class in time)
  • Thursday: P90X Plus Upper Body Plus AM, 8 mile Medium Long Run PM
  • Friday: Rest (first day of rest in 10 days…oops!)
  • Saturday: 16 mile long run
  • Sunday: Yoga

An Ideal Workout Schedule

Here’s My P90X/Marathon Training Schedule during an ideal week (ie no social/work obligations holding me back, getting enough sleep and feeling GREAT). I know it’s a little excessive but I think I may be addicted to exercise!

  • Monday: P90X Legs and Back AM; 4-5 mile run PM
  • Tuesday: 6 mile interval run & P90X  Chest and Back with Ab Ripper (times dependant on schedule)
  • Wednesday: Spin Class at 24 Hour Fitness AM
  • Thursday: Chest Shoulders & Tris/Chest and Back AM; 8-10 mile mid-week long run PM
  • Friday: Biceps & Back/Shoulders & Arms AM
  • Saturday: Long Run
  • Sunday: Yoga (I consider Yoga active “rest”)

Ok now that I’ve written it down I realize how ambitious it sounds. I don’t intend to stick to this plan every single week – this would be an ideal to work off of. I am figuring that I will probably miss spin class, the Monday run and/or one of the upper body workouts every single week, more likely two of these. Basically, the main P90X workouts I want to get in are Yoga, Legs & Back and one upper body workout per week.  I think these are essential to preventing injuries, making me a stronger runner, and maintaining my upper body muscle tone. Ideally, we’ll get more workouts in than these, but these should be the bare minimum. My running schedule calls for runs 4x/week. I am going to dedicate myself to getting 3 in, as I have consistently throughout my training. If possible, I’ll add the 4th.  

And we also plan to add a “recovery” week of P90X into the mix. This will be the week after our highest running volume week (ending with a the 20 miler on Saturday). We will probably do Yoga twice and Core Synergistics twice that week. I also plan to take the intensity way down the week directly before the full marathon.

What Happens After We Run the Marathon?

Now AFTER the marathon…that’s another story that is TBD for now. I am pretty sure that I am going to sign up for the Solana Beach Triathlon which takes place July 24. This will be my first sprint distance triathlon (1/4 mile ocean swim, 9 mile bike, and 3 mile run) so I will probably start adding in swim and bike workouts as soon as the marathon is over. I think cardiovascularly I will be prepared for a race (it only takes a little more than an hour), but I need to focus on the swim and bike technicalities. I swam in high school so I know the technique and I have taken spin classes before, but I’ve never ridden a road bike and I’ve certainly never swum a race free-style through the open water ocean before. So, this will be an adventure to say the least!

I will also be training for the America’s Finest City half marathon which takes place August 21 in San Diego. This is the third half marathon as part of the San Diego Triple Crown. I have already raced the previous two half marathons, Carlsbad and La Jolla. Mike and I plan to incorporate P90X into our triathlon and half marathon training plans as well, but they will be far from the focus. We are considering picking up P90X from day 1 and completing it all over again but that probably won’t happen until late August (or we may wait for MC2 to come out!).

Potential Roadblocks

All of this training is going to be difficult to squeeze in to say the least as Mike and I have been invited to 8 weddings this year and Mike is graduating from his MBA program in June. Additionally, Mike has a bachelor party in Vegas in June and I have a bachelorette in July. Also, we will be attending a wedding and  staying at an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic for the first week of August.  It’s going to be hard to keep up with the diet and the exercise during these busy months!

Start with One Foot in Front of the Other

On that note, I better finish with a  motivational quote because I’m getting a little overwhelmed just reading what I just wrote! Luckily, I bizarrely enjoy working out (as you can probably tell), so this is all kind of “fun” for me.

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as you mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.”

Mary Kay Ash

P90X Day 90 – Before and After Pictures & Measurements

We made it!  After so much talk and anticipation about starting our P90X journey, it’s hard to believe that it is over. Well, our first “round” is over. P90X is definitely going to continue to be a big part of our workout routines each week even though we are now “P90X Graduates.”

If you want to purchase P90X and have me as your Beachbody Coach, click here.

How I Did It

First, in order for everyone to understand exactly how I got where I am now, I want to list some of the nuances of how we followed the P90X fitness and nutrition program. The main factor that will be different from most people’s P90X experience is that we were training for a marathon during P90X. Here is how I got my results:

Phase 1:

  • Completed every P90X workout
  • Starting Week 2, ran twice a week, no more than 12 miles/week (double day blog post here)
  • Followed the P90X nutrition plan portions very closely (i.e. only 1 carbohydrate/day!)
  • Ate 1,800-2,000 calories/day
  • Only one cheat meal
  • Cut out completely: soda, coffee, caffeine, fried food, chocolate and alcohol
  • See more about how we tackled Phase 1 on my blog post here

Phase 2:

  • Completed every P90X workout, except Kenpo (replaced with long run on Saturdays)
  • Ran 2-3 times a week, from 17-22 miles/week
  • Followed Phase 2 P90X nutrition plan closely, but with more exceptions (more carbohydrates and fruit on double workout days or long run days)
  • Aimed to eat between 1,800-2,000 calories on single workout days and 2,000-2,200 calories on double workout days (i.e. P90X in the morning, 6 mile run in the evening)
  • Had at least one cheat meal/week
  • Drank alcohol on three occasions (2-5 drinks at each)
  • See more on Phase 2 results at my blog post here

Phase 3:

  • Completed every P90X workout, except Kenpo (replaced with long run on Saturdays)
  • Ran 2-3 times a week, from 22-27 miles/week
  • Followed Phase 3 P90X nutrition plan closely, but with more exceptions (more carbohydrates and fruit on double workout days or long run days)
  • Aimed to eat between 1,800-2,000 calories on single workout days and 2,000-2,200 calories on double workout days (i.e. P90X in the morning, 6 mile run in the evening)
  • Had about 1-2 cheat meals/week
  • Drank alcohol on three occasions (1-3 drinks at each)
  • More on Phase 3 nutrition plan here

Results

Ok now on to the good stuff. Where did all this working out and dieting get me? To a GREAT place. My boyfriend Mike also followed the plan with me and is training for the marathon as well. Check out our measurement changes (mine are in pink, his are in blue):

From Day 1 to Day 90

Weight Change from Day 1: -10.8 lbs; -5.6 lbs

Waist Change from Day 1: -2.25 inches; -3.5 inches

Hips Change from Day 1: -1.5 inches; -1.75 inches

Chest Change from Day 1: -1.75 inches; +0.75 inches

Legs Change from Day 1: -1.5 inches;  +0.25 inches

Bicep Change from Day 1: -.05 inches (apparently overall my arms shrank!);+1.25 inches

I was so pleased with our measurements. I was definitely not expecting to lose nearly 11 lbs during this program and over 2 inches off my waist! Mike’s waist shrank by 3.5 inches – incredible! It’s interesting to look back at my before pictures. At the time, I was pretty content with my body. I knew that I could make improvements, but I was happy enough with the fact that I could eat whatever I wanted on weekends, indulge a few times throughout the week and still be considered in fairly good shape. My clothes all still fit (I would always cut back when they got too tight), and I had just achieved my half marathon goal time of less than 2 hours.  I felt that I was fairly healthy and that my weight just seemed to want to stay where it was, as it had for the last several years. My current weight is less than I can remember seeing on the scale. It’s just a little more than the weight as I was when I was 19 years old (and I didn’t have a 4 pack then!).

Before and After Photos

We’re planning to take the Fit Test within the next week so stay tuned for a post on that. But now let’s get to what you really want to see – before and after pictures!

Ab Ripper Really Works!

I plan to write an entire blog entry on my thoughts on P90X as a whole, but to sum it up – I LOVE this program. As I’ve mentioned before, prior to P90X I had run 3 half marathons and consistently worked out 5 times a week for the last year and a half (and probably 4-5 times a week for years prior to that). However, I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. I hopped from workout fad to fad diet, trying to find something that worked, and ultimately I think I wasn’t really focusing on anything. The biggest change for me with P90X was the diet – cutting way back on frozen yogurt, alcohol, sugary coffee drinks, diet soda and big meals on the weekend really made the difference. Another huge change was going from strength training possibly 1-2 times a week to consistently 3 times a week, with less focus on full-body strength training and more focus on specific body parts.

I am SO pleased with my results. I can’t wait to see how we look after the next 90 days! No, we aren’t starting P90X over from day 1, but we do plan to incorporate it into our marathon and triathlon training (marathon June 5 and triathlon July 24). Another blog post to come on my post P90X workout plan! Stay tuned for even more changes!

Update – since receiving such amazing feedback on my results I have become a Team Beachbody coach. If you would like me to be your coach or if you want to purchase P90X or P90X2 for yourself, please go here: http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/fitnessfatale . I would love to help you!

Carbohydrates – My Ultimate Frenemy

1 Reply

Frenemy is defined by the Urban Dictionary as “An enemy disguised as a friend.” I’ve learned that for me, carbohydrates just that. My best friend and my worst enemy, all wrapped into one.

P90X Phase 3 – Carbs, Carbs, Carbs!

This last phase of P90X, “Endurance Maximizer” allows me to eat three healthy carbohydrates per day, in addition to some extra fruit and other carb-heavy snacks. As I wrote in my blog entry P90X Phase 3 Nutrition – A Lifesyle not a Diet, I really enjoy this portion of the diet and feel that it is the most sustainable and realistic of the three phases in the P90X Nutrition Plan. It has provided me with a lot of energy and also has kept some of my cravings down. However, I haven’t seen any significant weight loss results. Basically, I’ve lost no additional pounds in the last 5 weeks. I lost the majority of my total 10 lb weight loss during Phase 1, Fat Shredder, which was a very low carbohydrate diet. Despite little weight loss in the last month, I did gain a significant amount of strength. I crushed my previous half marathon PR by over 5 minutes. I can now do 5 unassisted pull-ups during a session of P90X (not consecutively, but soon!). I’m curling 15s for the nearly the entire set of Biceps & Back and I use 20s during Lawnmowers. I can do at least 25 push-ups consecutively.

So basically, I have similar sentiment regarding carbohydrates as Tony does about Ab Ripper X, “I love it but I hate it.”

Low-Carbs For Weight Loss

To be fair, I don’t have a significant amount of fat left to lose. It’s not like I started with 30 lbs to lose and lost 20 in the first phase and only 2 in the last few months. I think I’m about at my ‘happy weight’ and when I’m eating such a large volume of carbohydrates, my body doesn’t want to shed that last layer of fat. Basically, I’ve plateued. Well, last week was the half marathon and as usual, I carbo-loaded for the three days prior, and ended up gaining about 3 lbs by race day (this is normal and to be expected/desired as each gram of carbs holds 2x the amount of water). With my impending weigh-in and final pictures just 7 days post-half marathon, I decided to get rid of my frenemy for the week. Starting Monday, I went back to my egg white breakfasts and my salad lunches and also banned my favorite carbo-loaded post-dinner treat, frozen yogurt.

I experienced three things when reverting back from my carb-rich diet to my low-carb diet:

  1. I felt full for longer on fewer calories
  2. My stomach was flatter
  3. I lost weight.

I am now back down to my happy, pre-carb weight and I feel much better. My stomach feels flatter and my hips and torso is more firm. On Saturday night when I went to bed before the race, I felt like a bloated cow, stuffed full of pasta, white bread, pita chips, fruit and frozen yogurt. What just four days of a low-carb diet can do! However, today is Friday and tomorrow I have a 15 mile training run so I’m back on my Phase 3 carb-loaded diet as of this morning, starting with a delicious bowl of oatmeal. See the love/hate I have?

You Are What You Crave

I think that everyone has different tolerances for different foods. I have a really unofficial theory that whatever people crave most probably makes them the most fat (since our bodies are predisposed to crave the type of food that we can store for use during times where the availability of food is uncertain – ie why we don’t crave veggies). Some people crave salt, I crave bread. I may have to say that the most delicious thing in the world to me is a good piece of warm or toasted bread with butter. Or a bagel with cream cheese. I love carbs. They are my comfort food. Although I don’t let myself eat massive quantities of bread, when I give these things up (particularly the bread and pasta), I always see big results. I tried the South Beach Diet about 5 years ago and saw a great results in the short period of time I managed to stick to it. The only problem was that I almost fainted at work from hunger when my manager at my internship ran a meeting a little too long (more proof that my body loves those carbs).

In the End, Carbs Win

In the end, carbohydrates are fuel. According to this article on www.nba.com,

“Carbohydrates are the gas in the athlete’s tank and provide the major source of fuel for exercising muscle. Carbohydrates are important to control blood glucose level. It is especially important for athletes during exercise and to replace the glycogen in the muscles. Carbohydrates provide essential energy. If athletes do not get the needed amount of energy,lean tissue will be used to fuel [ie muscle] the body.”

And right now, I’m training for a marathon, not trying to lose weight, so in this battle, carbs win. At the very least, I’ll be calling carbohydrates my friend during these last five weeks of marathon training.

Post-Race Recovery Training

Leave a reply
I ran the La Jolla Half Marathon on Sunday (see that post here) in record time. Usually, I celebrate a great race with a big meal and take a few days (or weeks) off and cross-train. After my first half marathon,  I didn’t run regularly for a year and a half! After my 2nd half, I took 2 months off. After my last half, a week. This time? 2 days.

The reason for the short break is of course the fact that I am training for the Rock n Roll marathon in June. The La Jolla half was actually a “training” run.

Post-Race Nutrition

 
Burned this baby off at Mile 5!
As for the big meal, nothing changed there. After the race, we had the usual free post-race fare (oranges, bananas, recovery drinks), and then after an hour or so of chatting and picture taking, we made our way to a restaurant near the La Jolla Cove called The Spot. The main concept of the American restaurant is build your own burgers and pizzas. Of course I had to oblige! I immediately knew that I had to get the parmesan garlic fries with my creation so I decided to build a semi-healthy burger: grilled chicken breast patty, whole-wheat bun, pepper-jack cheese, caramelized onions and guacamole. The fries were absolutely delicious and I didn’t regret ordering them for a moment, despite the fact that I had wanted to be able to say I went the entire 90 days without fried food. Oh well. I went 80 days…pretty good!

After lunch, we went straight to our pre-determined destination: Sprinkles Cupcakes. I’ve been literally fantasizing about a Sprinkles cupcake for the entire time we’re been on P90X. I don’t even eat cupcakes often and usually I prefer a cookie or ice cream to cake, but for some reason people have been bringing cupcakes into work, talking about cupcakes, and posting pictures of cupcakes on Facebook or Twitter for the last 80 days and my desire to eat one has been pretty intense at times. Our favorite healthy restaurant also has massive vegan red velvet cupcakes behind the counter that I crave every time we go there. I even found a fellow blogger via Twitter who competes in triathlons in order to eat cupcakes. She has an entire blog devoted to them. After I read her blog, I decided to find out how many calories are in one cupcake – 500. That means I only have to run 5 miles to deserve it!  Needless to say, our post-race visit was a long time coming. Mike and I ordered 2 cupcakes – Red Velvet and Brown Sugar Praline (an specialty cupcake that is only in stores until April 24). We split them as soon as we got home and it was everything I had hoped for. Delicious.

After an attempt at a nap (our amped up bodies and sore legs wouldn’t really allow for one), we were back in the kitchen to make recovery drinks (one scoop powder with 1 cup almond milk and 3 frozen strawberries for me). After more relaxing, that evening we went to dinner with a friend at a local Asian-fusion restaurant (and I made a healthy choice of a shrimp rice bowl with plenty of veggies). Admittedly, my post-race nutrition could use some improvement. It’s highly recommended that you fuel your body post-runs with high quallity, nutrient filled food. However, who the heck wants to run a half marathon if you can’t eat whatever greasy or sugar-laden thing they want to afterward?!

I definitely went a little overboard this weekend, especially considering that I have my big weigh-in and Day 90 pictures on Sunday. I decided that starting Monday and ending Thursday, I’d go back to Phase 1 diet – one carb/day – in order to get a little leaner before the final pictures. Why only til Thursday? Because Friday I need to eat carbs in preparation for our 15 mile training run on Saturday.

Post-Race Workouts & Massage

Our VAVI running coach sent out an email on Monday telling us to NOT run that day. Instead, we should take a walk. That was fine with me becuase I slept absolutely horribly on Sunday night (perhaps from that cup of coffee before the race or just being amped up in general). At lunch, I took a 40 minute walk and my legs felt significantly better. After work, I went to my favorite spa and got a 60 minute massage, with extra focus on my back and legs. It felt amazing. I was walking on air when I left. My massage therapist uses hot stones, warm towels and aromatherapy during the massages and I always leave feeling fantastic. It is probably a good idea to get a sports massage after a run, but I prefer the relaxation type.

Luckily, this is recovery week for us on P90X. So Tuesday morning, instead of a heavy strength training workout, we did our Yoga X workout. Despite waking up at 5:20 for the workout, I actually felt fantastic. I put my full effort into all the moves and by the end was feeling very energized and stretched out.

Yesterday evening I went for my first post-race run. Due to obligations at work, I had to skip my group run and ended up running by myself along the coast near our house. I realized that I hadn’t run alone in over a month and it felt good to do so. Lately I’ve been so caught up in Twitter/Facebook/blogging/event planning/training/working/P90X that I have very little time to myself. I don’t even have much time to let my mind wander during my drives because I usually call someone (and my commute is only 20 minutes).  Although the first mile was pretty painful (and painfully slow – 10:30 pace!), by mile two I was feeling much better and by the time I reached 2.5, where I was planning on turning around, I was feeling so good that I kept going until 3 (it helps that miles 2.5-3 are probably the most scenic of the run). I was so caught up in the beauty of the ocean and coast that I really enjoyed the run. Around mile 5 though, I was beginning to regret adding the extra mile. However, I finished feeling good and stretched out at the viewpoint near our house which overlooks the ocean. I couldn’t help but keep reminding myself of how good life is.

Workouts Planned For This Week

This morning we were back at P90X with Core Synergistics. Tomorrow morning we plan to replace Kenpo (which we never do) with Legs &Back and Ab Ripper since we missed it last week due to our run (we usually do it on Sundays). Tomorrow evening I’ll get in a 5-6 mile easy run. Then Friday we’ll do Core Synergistics, Saturday run 15 miles, and Sunday finish with Yoga. I can’t believe this is our final week of Round 1 of P90X! However, we plan on continuing right on with a modified version of P90X when we’re finished. There will be another blog entry on our plans for that coming up shortly.

P90X Made Me a Faster Runner

2 Replies

Yesterday I completed my 4th half marathon (3rd within the past year), the La Jolla Half Marathon. As I’ve explained in previous posts, this race was definitely not the focus of the past 3 month’s training. After my last half marathon, I started P90X. (January 27). For the first phase of P90X, I ran 2x/week and starting in the 2nd  phase, jumped it up to 2-3x/week and starting skipping Kenpo in favor of long runs that were anywhere from 8-14 miles long. The whole reason I ran La Jolla was because I want to be a San Diego Triple Crown finisher (complete 3 local San Diego half marathons within the same year) and I wanted to use it as a training run for the Rock n Roll Marathon, my ultimate goal.

Going into this race, I was a little nervous. First, La Jolla is the hardest course in San Diego, and one of the more difficult halves in the U.S., as it is very hilly. The ultimate challenge is the 420 foot climb beginning at mile 6 (about a 6% grade) and continuing to mile 7.5.  The steep decline on the other side is even worse on some runner’s poor knees and quadriceps. The race finishes just after a 150 foot hill climb and decent (see the race profile in my blog about hills here).

As emphasized in my post about the Carlsbad half marathon, I was dead set on breaking 2 hours. My friend Asia and I attempted this feat last August at AFC and failed. Although I was able to break 2 hours at Carlsbad, Asia was out of the country for the race, and she was determined to break 2 hours at La Jolla. Asia is the friend that introduced me to P90X and she is currently on her 2nd round (modified for marathon training this time). So, although I was trying not to put pressure on myself to break 2 hours again this race, I knew that if my good friend and running partner was trying to do it, I would be too.

Pre-Race Preparation

One thing I tend to do before races is get a little excited about the “carbo-loading” aspect. I tend to go a little overboard and ultimately feel stuffed and bloated before the race. Not a good idea! This time, I tried to stick to mostly P90X friendly foods (swapping out whole-grain bread for white bread when possible to avoid a lot of fiber). However, I still ended up eating a little too much on Friday and Saturday and was feeling pretty lethargic by Saturday afternoon. At around 5 p.m., Mike and I laced up our Nikes and headed out for a super easy 1 mile run (see my other pre-race taper exercises here). San Diego was unusually warm on Saturday (about 80 degrees), so the 1 mile run was enough to work up a sweat. We came home and stretched for about 15 minutes and then showered and ate my ceremonious chicken sausage pasta (I’ve had it before every race). We also decided to have a recovery shake after dinner as our dessert. I went to bed Saturday night feeling a little too full (not a good idea for race preparation!).

As for hydration, I definitely had that one down. I drank massive quantities of water on Friday and Saturday and was going to the bathroom every 45 minutes it seemed! I was worried about the heat wave approaching. The morning of the race, I drank about 16 ounces of water about 1 ½ – 2 hours before the start. My breakfast was my typical banana peanut butter toast.

On the way to the course, we decided to do something VERY off-routine and stop for coffee. Our running group had a nutrition clinic a few weeks prior and the nutritionist said that if a non-coffee drinker (or former coffee drinker in our cases!) were to drink coffee on race morning after not having it for at least 10 days, their performance would be boosted. Given that we haven’t had coffee since the day before we started P90x over 80 days ago, we were definitely prime candidates to feel the effects of coffee. Although I was worried about it upsetting my stomach, I went ahead and got a small cup of coffee with creamer and 1 sugar. It tasted like heaven and Mike and I were bonkers for about 20 minutes afterward, hopped up on caffeine.

The Race

The Vavi Running Club - The La Jolla Half Marathon 2011

Luckily, the fog rolled in for the race and the sun was nowhere to be found on Sunday morning. It was nice and cool – perfect racing temperature! We met up with our friends, took the traditional pre-race pictures with our VAVI running group, made one  last bathroom stop, and then lined up for the start. The La Jolla Half Marathon has two different start groups – the sub-8 min/mile group and the above 8 min/mile group. We decided to start in the middle of the first group, although our estimated time was 9 min/mile, mostly because we didn’t want to spend the first mile dodging slower runners. We figured we’d let others dodge us!

Pre-Race Excitement!

I was very nervous waiting for the race to start – more nervous than before Carlsbad. After the horn blew, we took off, and were glad to find that we weren’t being passed by all that many people. Apparently a lot of other runners had the same idea as us to start with the faster group. Our plan was to run the first 5 miles at a 8:50 average so that when we got to the bottom of Torrey Pines hill at mile 5 we’d have some cushion to work with when our pace significantly decreased up the hill. We ran the first mile at a 9 min/mile pace. For mile 2, we increased our speed and clocked about a 8:35 mile pace. By the 4th mile, our average pace was down to 8:45 or so, despite having run up a two fairly significant rolling hills. Around mile 4.5 I downed my first GU, in anticipation of the water station at the bottom of the hill at mile 5.

The Dreaded Hill

When we reached the hill, I was feeling good. As predicted by both Blake, our running coach, and by Mike, my boyfriend, we flew up the hill…well maybe not flew, but we definitely passed a TON of people. In preparation for the race, we ran up Torrey Pines hill a total of 6 times. Two times we met after work and ran up it TWICE in one workout (a 6 mile hill workout). We were ready for this hill! We took the most direct route up the hill – straight up the center and never hugging the corners. Although I was very winded and my legs were screaming, I felt pretty good going up the hill. I was confident in our pace and our ability to achieve our goal. At the end of the most difficult and steep portion of the hill (about ¾ a mile up), some people hooted and shouted in excitement. I would have, but I was too winded.  After slowing down a bit to catch our breath, we powered up the remaining ¾ of a mile until we reached the top. I opened another GU and had about half at this point, with water. We continued on the flat part of the race that overlooks Torrey Pines golf course. At this point, I was elated. I took off one of my headphones and excitedly told Asia that we were on pace – our average pace had only dropped to about 8:55 and we still had a two mile run downhill to take advantage of. I was so proud of us! This was the first time that it crossed my mind that I could break 1:55 (which was going to be my goal time for AFC in August).

Right before we headed down the hill, I took the 2nd half of GU and stopped at the aid station, then we powered down it. Some people were literally sprinting down, but we kept a steady pace of between 7:30 and 8 min/mile, not wanting to do damage to our quadriceps and knees. I definitely felt it in my knees! By the bottom of the hill, I felt great. I had total control of my breath, my legs felt light, and I was ready to get after it. We were now at mile 11. I took another half of a GU, and set my sights on the finish. Around this time, we hit another water station, but I was so amped up that I ran through it. I had been going through the aid stations slightly faster than Asia, but she would catch up to me shortly after. However, this time I was feeling so fantastic that I kept up my 8min/mile pace and unfortunately I didn’t see Asia again until the finish.

Finishing Strong

At this point, I was passing people pretty frequently. As I approached the last hill, I knew I’d have to dig down deep but that I could do it. I powered up the hill, passing several very fit men on my way up, including one that I recognized as a strong runner from my running group. I felt great. As I reached the top of the hill, there was a group of supporters with signs indicating that the end was near. I dug down deep and powered forward down the hill, at one point slowing down significantly in order to avoid slipping on wet cobblestones. After a very steep section of the hill, I saw the La Jolla Cove, one of the most beautiful sights in San Diego, and more importantly, the finish line.  For the last few hundred meters, I literally sprinted my heart out. I had plenty of gas left in the tank! When I crossed the finish line, I knew it had done it – a sub 1:55 half marathon! And the best part was that it wasn’t that hard! It was by far the most energized I’d ever felt after a race. I felt like I was walking on air.

I looked back and Asia crossed just about 45 seconds behind me. I was elated. I couldn’t believe how much we had improved since we re-started our endurance journey just less than a year prior.  Last May I struggled to finish 6 miles at a 10 min/mile pace and here I was running 13.19 (according to my watch) miles at a 8:44 pace!!!

P90X Improves Running Speed

We all PRed - Winners!

Now, let’s recap. After running AFC at a 2:01:59 last August, I took a month off and then ran 4x/week in preparation for Carlsbad in January. I finished this relatively flat course exhausted with a 1:59:26. I started P90X three days later, completing 6 P90X workouts/week plus running 2x/week for the first month, then 5 P90X workouts and running 2-3x/week for the next 1 ½ months. I then proceeded to run 5 minutes and 5 seconds faster on a significantly harder course just 12 weeks later…. With LESS running? Hmm… Do you think P90X had something to do with this?! I do!

I’m not the only one that showed drastic improvements. Asia PRed by TWENTY minutes! Asia is on her 2nd round of P90X. Her boyfriend Jeremy, who hadn’t run a half marathon since he ran with Asia in the Silver Strand Half Marathon in 2008, ran La Jolla in 1:36, a whopping 40 minutes faster than his first half marathon. And then there’s my boyfriend Mike,  whose previous PR was at La Jolla two years ago when he was training for his Iron man triathlon. He improved his PR by 2 minutes this year, with a of 1:34:00.  More significant though, is that this is a 7 minute difference from his time at Carlsbad 3 months ago (pre-P90X).

How My Results Have Changed My Marathon Training Plan

I was planning on dropping the Legs & Back and Plyometrics workouts of P90X after we finish our first round, since I would be adding one more run per week and also adding a mid-week long run of 8-10 miles each Thursday. However, after my results at La Jolla, I think I am going to continue to work in Legs & Back every week (except recovery weeks) and try to get a few more Plyometrics sessions in (probably not every week). I really think that strengthening my legs was the main reason why I was able to PR on such a difficult, hilly course. Hills are about strength more than endurance. I want to be as strong as possible when I run 26.2 miles in 6 weeks!

Stay tuned for more improvements and hopefully more (personal) record breaking runs!

The Ultimate ULTRA Runner

1 Reply

Dean Karnazes, Ultra Marathon Man!

Let me preface this by saying, no I won’t be running in any ultra-endurance events in the near future (and probably in my life). However, I have recently become fascinated/obsessed with Dean Karnazes, a very famous ultra marathoner. Mike has mentioned his name to me on several occasion, and I’ve read tid bits here and there about his legacy. However, it wasn’t until the last month or so that I really started to getting to know this crazy man and am currently

Dean’s Crazy Stunts:

Spoiler alert. If you want to read Dean’s book, “Ultra Marathon Man,” I would recommend skipping to the next section of my blog. If not, here are some interesting/fascinating/crazy feats that Dean outlines in his book:

Dean Wearing Protective Gear While Running in Death Valley

  • Dean wasn’t a normal child - on his 12th birthday, he decided to ride his bike to his grandparents house which was 40 miles away. He had no idea how to get there and it took him all day (and undoubtedly more than 35 miles on the bike), but he made it.
  • Dean helped his team win a varsity cross-country race as a high school freshman but never ran again after that.
  • Dean ran again after over 15 years off on the night of his 30th birthday. He left the bar drunk, put on his gardening shoes, and ran 30 miles through the night in just his underwear. Why? Because it felt good.
  • This ultra-runner ran his first 100 mile race shortly after he rediscovered his passion. He ran the Western States Endurance Run which takes place mostly on mountainous trails  (with a cumulative climb of 18,090 feet and a descent of 22,970 feet). More on that run here.
  • Dean is one of the only people on earth to run a marathon in Antarctica at -40 degrees Celsius.
  • In 2006, he ran 50 marathons in all 50 states in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the New York City Marathon, which he completed in three hours and thirty seconds.

Current Challenge

Dean has been receiving quite a bit of press lately due to the fact that he is literally running across America. Yes, you heard right. He began his journey on February 25, 2011 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and will be running up to 50 miles per day for 75 days, finishing in New York. Currently, he’s running through Indiana. You can track Dean’s progress here.  As of April 15, 2011, he has run 2,097 miles in 49 days, 4 hours and 47 minutes (that is about 80 marathons and counting).

Dean’s Running Fuel

Not only is Dean’s ability to run astounding, his ability to EAT while running is astounding. He starts “Ultra Marathon Man” with an anecdote about a time he was running through the night and called a Round Table Pizza to help him fuel. He knew that Round Table was the only pizza joint that would deliver without an actual address. He dials his phone and orders a large pizza with extra everything to be delivered to a cross street. He also adds a full cheesecake and a large coffee to his order. The delivery kid is astounded when he finds Dean running down the street alone at midnight and probably was even more impressed with his ability to carry and eat all of that food while running. I mean, it’s difficult for me to down a 100 calorie GU during a race, let alone a massive meal full of saturated fat!

Upon further research, Dean is actually a very healthy eater. I think when times are tough and he doesn’t have a crew waiting for him and he’s not running a race, he’ll take what he can get.  During a day where he runs 40-50 miles, he will need to eat at least 8,500 calories. According to his blog which is currently being maintained by his personal coach and trainer, Dean eats the following items during the runs where he has a crew to prepare them: yogurt, Ensure, granola, avocado, crackers, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, mixed nuts, brown rice, salmon, lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, cheese, black beans, tortillas, crystallized ginger, salt, bulgur, ginger snaps, a locally sourced berry pie or pastry, scrambled eggs, chocolate covered espresso beans, and Zico coconut water. He eats about 60-75% of these things while he’s on the road running!

Dean’s Lesson to Me

I’ve noticed lately that I’ve started really thinking about some bigger fitness goals (i.e. a half marathon is starting to seems too easy now) and I think part of it is attributed to reading Dean’s book. When I think about the fact that he ran 200 miles straight as a one-man team for a Ragnar relay race (usually 12 people complete the mileage) or that he ran from Death Valley to Mount Whitney, it makes my little 14 mile training runs seem insignificant! Not that I’m getting down on myself – clearly Dean has a few screws loose because some of his stunts are just plain dangerous.  However, what has happened is that Dean has inspired me to take on more goals of my own! Personally, I have no desire to run 100 miles straight, but I may have a desire to run a few more marathons (and get faster at them) and sign up for a few triathlons (even possibly ones that are VERY long?!). I am at a good place right now with my fitness outlook –  I feel stronger than I ever have and I am excited for all the races to come!

My P90X Modified Half Marathon Taper

Leave a reply

In the past, the majority of my exercise routine while training for a half marathon was running. I’d usually run 3-4 days a week and throw in strength training and/or cross training 1-2x/week, if possible. The main focus of my weekly exercise was running.  So in the past, when it’s come to my pre-race week taper, I just lower my mileage and intensity.

For example, my taper plan before the Carlsbad half marathon in January looked like this:

  • Saturday before the race: 8.5 mile easy long run
  • Sunday: rest
  • Monday: 5 mile pace run (9:10 min/mile pace)
  • Tuesday: Easy 5 mile run
  • Wednesday: Rest
  • Thursday: Easy 3-4 (can’t remember and didn’t log it)
  • Friday: Rest/walk around expo
  • Saturday: Very easy 1 mile

I carbo-loaded starting Thursday for this race, ate a banana, bagel and peanut butter on race day, and ended up PRing with 1:59:26.

P90X and Marathon Training Taper

When it comes to tapering for this next race, I’m quite conflicted. First, we are training for a marathon in June, not a half marathon in April. Our running group coach had us run our longest run to date last Saturday, which included the massive hill that we will be conquering on Saturday during the half marathon. Not an easy run. Second, I’m trying to finish my first round of P90X without taking too many shortcuts. We already substitute Kenpo for our long runs, and I don’t want to skip a bunch of P90X workouts due to the race. Therefore, my pre-half marathon taper during P90X and marathon training looks like this:

  • Saturday before the race: 14 mile run, 1.5 miles up a 6% grade hill
  • Sunday: P90X Legs and Back and Ab Ripper
  • Monday: Rest
  • Tuesday: AM – P90X Chest, Shoulders and Triceps & Ab Ripper; PM – 5 mile easy group run
  • Wednesday: P90X Plyometrics
  • Thursday: P90X Biceps and Back & Ab Ripper
  • Friday: P90X Yoga X
  • Saturday: 1 mile easy jog & walk around race expo
  • Sunday: RACE!

I originally had decided to skip plyometrics and throw in a easy 4 mile run on Thursday, but decided that I didn’t want to miss my last plyometrics exercise before we finish our first found of P90X. Plus, I think plyo burns more calories and builds more strength than a 4 mile run. Last, I’m working long hours at work and it’s not feasible for me to get in 2 workouts on Thursday. It may seem risky to only run 1 time before the race, BUT I think it’s ok because 1) I usually only run 2 times during the week and 2)I’ve skipped my Thursday run before and had a GREAT run that Saturday (8.5 miles at a 8:50 pace which felt “easy”) and 3) I ran only one time before AFC due to a bruised foot.  I actually think that hardest part is going to be trying to convince myself NOT to run on Thursday. Part of me wants to get out and do a 3 miler but at the end of the day, it’s not going to help and I know rest is better.

The reason I’m most conflicted about this race is that I know that PRing isn’t my main goal, but it’s hard not to think about it! Both of the girls I’ll be running with will be aiming for under 2 hour half marathons, and I know that my competitive spirit will keep me right there with them, no matter how painful it is! Reducing the intensity and number of my workouts this week would definitely help me on Sunday, but in the long run, I’ll be better off if I stick to my schedule.

Sleep

Ah, the importance of sleep before a race. Unfortunately, this week is my busiest week of the month at work plus I have some other obligations. I’m aiming for at least 8 but have fallen short so far. I’m hoping that 7-7.5 hours per night until Friday will be fine and then Friday night I plan to get at least 10 hours in. We have to leave our house at 5:50 a.m. on Sunday morning so that’ll be a 5 a.m. wakeup call. We’ll try to be in bed by 9:30 on Saturday.  

Carbo-Loading

I feel like I’m already carbo-loading during Phase 3 of P90X due to the 3 servings of whole-wheat carbs I’m allocated a day, plus the double serving of fruit that I’m allowed. However, starting Friday I will be switching from high-fiber whole grains (ie oatmeal, whole wheat couscous, brown rice) to white grains. Since I don’t eat a lot of fat on P90X, it will be easy to avoid this pre-race no-no food (other things to avoid are high fiber and high dairy foods). The night before the race, I’ll have my pasta with low-fat chicken sausage dinner that has been my pre-race meal for every race so far. Starting Friday, I’ll be eating fruit, granola bars, cereal, pasta, greek yogurt, low-fiber bread, frozen yogurt, pita chips, and of course a moderate amount of protein and “good” fat (avocado). The key ratio for carbo-loading is 55-60% carbs for the week prior to the race and 70% carbohydrates for the three days before the race.

Carbo-loading is useful for half marathons but not nearly as important as it is for full marathons. This is due to the fact that your body really doesn’t tap into your stores until about 2 hours into a race. This is why many marathon trainers hit the infamous “wall” if they don’t provide themselves with enough nutrition. The body physically can’t sustain itself for as long as it takes to complete a marathon without nutrition during the race.

Another fun fact about carbo-loading: for every gram of carbohydrate that you store, you also store 2.7 grams of water. Therefore, it is ideal to gain between 2-4 pounds before a race. It seems counterintuitive since the lighter you are, the easier it is to run, but the glycogen and water stored in your muscles will provide plenty of fuel to get you to the finish line. Although I’m only 1.5 weeks away from my final P90X weigh in, I plan to gain weight this week. However, it should be gone by the end of the race!

Here’s a good, brief summary of carbo-loading by one of my favorite marathon experts, Hal Higdon: http://www.halhigdon.com/Nancy.html. Hal has several marathon and half marathon FREE training programs on his website. I actually used his beginner half-marathon training plan for my first half-marathon 2 years ago!

Here goes nothing….

Wish me luck! Check back on Moday to see if my P90X version of a  taper week worked!

My Pants Don’t Fit!

3 Replies
I decided to write a quick post on some big physical changes I’m seeing. As I’ve mentioned, I haven’t lost many pounds on the scale since Phase 1 (hovering between a 9-11 lb total weight loss, 8 of which were during Phase 1). However, recently I’ve seen some big changes physically:
  1. People keep commenting about how “skinny” I am. Haven’t been called that in a while!
  2. I see pictures of myself and can’t believe how I’ve changed.
  3. I tried on an old pair of work slacks this morning . Ok so the back story on this one. These pants are a size 6 and were my “skinny” pants when I used to work at a company that required business casual (now I wear jeans). On a good day, these pants fit me perfectly. On a bad day, they were slightly too tight. After I got back from my 4 month backpacking trip in Southeast Asia at the end of 2009, these pants literally did zip.  Today I put them on and they looked like clown pants! Now that’s results!
  4. I am down a bra size. I got fitted for sports bras on Saturday I have gone down an entire band size.

BEFORE - Costa Rica December 2010 - 1 month before P90XAFTER - March 25, 2011 - Day 59 of P90X

 As I watch the scale bounce back and forth between 11 and 9 lbs lost, sometimes I get discouraged because I tend to gauage my results on the scale. I especially get down on myself after a weekend that included one or more cheat meals or snacks. Although I’ve always told meyself that I need to look to my measurements and my increased strength as indicators of my body changes, today it really hit me that I need to stop focusing on the scale and start focusing on what really matters – how I look and feel!

AFTER - March 25, 2011 - Day 59 of P90X

There are only two weeks left until I’m a P90X graduate and I can’t wait to re-take the fit test and really see how much stronger I am! Until then, I’ll keep bringing it!

P90X Week 11 – Why I Love Workout Buddies

2 Replies

We just finished Week 11 of P90X – literally. About an hour ago I begrudgingly pushed play and mentally tried to prepare for the P90X Legs and Back DVD. This week has been long, to say the least. I am an accountant, and during the first 15 days of the month, we are busy trying to close the books. This past week I worked several hours of overtime, completed 5 P90X workouts and ran 26 miles, including the longest run of my life, a 14 miler on Saturday.

Accountability Partners

In addition to my normal work and workout-load, I volunteered for a charity event today called Chefs of Del Mar, which was put on by Casa de Amparo, which works to help abused and neglected children in San Diego. I was on my feet for 5 hours straight, setting up and then trying to convince attendees to bid on the auction item I was holding (private 6-course dinner for 10 hosted at your home with wine pairing!). When I got home from this event, Mike was in bed napping and I joined him. At that point, I had given up on doing the workout, justifying not doing Legs and Back because of the upcoming half marathon (this Sunday). However, Mike wouldn’t concede to my suggestions to skip the workout or to do it on Monday, or usual day off. Instead, he insisted we push play at 6 p.m.

I was glad we did. Although I didn’t use weights (except during calf raises), in order to spare my legs which are exhausted from the 14 mile run, I felt great within 15 minutes of the workout. I even was able to do 2 chin-ups), one pull-up, AND my first close-grip pull-up, for a total of 4 unassisted pull-ups in one workout!

Runs This Week

Tuesday we ran the 3 mile round trip, 6.5% grade Torrey Pines twice, just as we had the previous week. This time it didn’t feel nearly as good as last week due to a terrible night of sleep the night before, but I made it up both times without walking and by the end felt pretty good. Thursday I ran an easy 6 mile run along the coast with Allison. And when I say easy, an easy pace, but not an easy run. For some reason Thursday night runs are the hardest for me. This Thursday was particularly difficult because of the very strong winds that were pushing against us for the entire three miles back home. I went to bed that night exhausted and woke up for Yoga the next morning feeling the same.

Saturday I woke up feeling fairly refreshed, although nervous for the longest run of my life. Luckily, the weather turned out absolutely beautiful, despite a prediction of rain. Although next Sunday we are running the La Jolla half marathon, our running coach still had us run 14 miles on a route that included Torrey Pines. Luckily we hit Torrey at mile 3.5 when we were still feeling strong. By the time we reached the aid station at the top, we were feeling great. We finished our 7 miles out and turned around in high spirits. The next 7 miles flew by and before we knew it, we were back at the start, having finished 14 miles in about two hours and sixteen minutes.

After the run on Saturday, Mike and I were euphoric. I felt like I could conquer anything and started plotting out my future adventures, including a competing in my first triathlon, and possibly even going for a half-Ironman. We went to a great breakfast and ate healthy egg dishes but split whole-wheat banana-blackberry pancakes as a reward for our hard work. All we could talk about during breakfast was our future conquests and our personal fitness goals. I feel so lucky to have found someone who shares the passion that I have for fitness. Every day Mike and I are inspiring and motivating one another to achieve our fitness goals.

Workout Buddies

Asia, Jeremy, Mike & I at the Del Mar Mud Run - Nov. 2010

At the end of that Thursday night run, I was very thankful to have such great workout buddies. I realized that I haven’t worked out alone in weeks. Mike and I push play together every morning for P90X and I always run with either with Jen and Miranda (who I met in my running group), Asia, Jeremy, Allison, and/or Mike. It makes completing this rigorous program SO much easier. It also makes the fact that I spend 10 or more hours of the week working out that much more enjoyable, since I can kill two birds with one stone by catching up with friends while I run.

Another great benefit of having workout buddies is that they understand me and motivate me. It’s nice to have a support group that doesn’t think I’m crazy for doing a 1.25 hr P90X workout in the morning and then a 6 mile run at night. These friends also inspire me to do my best. Each of my workout buddies has qualities in them that I admire and that drive me to be a stronger athlete. Mike’s unbelievable strength heading up Torrey Pines hill, Asia’s non-stop energy and ability to do multiple pull-ups and an obscene number of push-ups, Miranda and Jen’s drive to follow the advanced marathon training plan rather than intermediate, Jeremy’s great running improvements, and Allison’s unbelievable strength in the weight room are all admirable. Each of us has our own fitness goals, yet we achieve them together.

All of this is coming from formerly solo gym rat. Before this time last year, my workout schedule consisted primarily of group fitness classes, all of which I mapped out on my own and rarely was accompanied by a friend. One piece of advice I have for anyone embarking on either marathon training or P90X, find a friend to do it with you. I guarantee that you will be more dedicated to your program and also find it much more enjoyable.

Thanks to all my workout buddies! I couldn’t do it without you! :)

P90X Phase 3 Nutrition – A Lifestyle, not a Diet

3 Replies

Phase 3 of P90X doesn’t feel like a diet. My coworker asked me today if I would be excited to finish P90X so I could go back to eating whatever I wanted. I realized that I already do eat a lot of my favorite things. Now, there are definitely some things that I miss and will probably have on occasion when I’m finished, but I won’t allow myself to make eating them habit. Besides my random and obsessive cupcake cravings, I really don’t feel deprived on this diet. Below is a list of some of my meals and snacks during P90X Phase 3. I try to aim for less than 2,000 calories per day, which usually allows me to have a recovery, 2 snacks and dessert in addition to my three main meals. On double workout days (Tuesdays and  Thursdays), however,  I will often eat 2,200 or more calories.

Breakfast:

Mike's Famous Oatmeal - Perfection!

  • 1/3 cup (dry) Coach’s Oats (cooked on the stove with half water, half almond milk)with ½ banana & sliced strawberries, served with a dash of cinnamon and 1 tsp brown sugar (only 15 calories)
  • 1 ½ cup Kashi’s Strawberry Fields cereal with 1 cup almond milk and half a banana
  • 2 whole-wheat waffles coated with 1 tbsp peanut butter and ½ banana (tried this one for the first time today and discovered 1 tbsp of peanut butter really isn’t much!)
  • 1 slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter and one banana (pre-long run breakfast)
  • P90X’s whole-wheat oatmeal pancakes (probably won’t make these again as they were fairly dry) with Agave nectar and bananas

Recovery Drink:

  • 1 scoop GNC AMP Recovery (vanilla) blended 3 frozen strawberries or 4 pieces frozen mango, ice, and 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 scoop GNC AMP Recovery (chocolate) mixed with 6-8 oz water

Lunch:

  • Nicole’s world famous turkey avocado sandwich (this is the best thing on earth): 2 slices Milton’s Multigrain bread (or any wheat bread), 1.5 oz avocado, mustard,  3 oz freshly sliced turkey, red onion, cucumber, roasted red peppers, spinach and tomato.
  • Tuna sandwich (tuna mixed with low fat mayonnaise, served on whole-grain bread with mustard, onion, tomato, cucumber and spinach)
  • Subway sandwich
  • Chicken sausage breakfast burrito (see Phase 2 recipes blog for recipe here: http://femmefataleconqueringmarathonwithp90x.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/p90x-phase-2-recipes/)

Mid-Day Snacks

Snacks!

  • 1 oz (1/4 cup) almonds
  • 1 Kashi GO Lean Protein Bar
  • Fruit (Oranges, Pears, Berries or Grapes)
  • Carrots with hummus
  • Whole-Grain Pita chips with (or without) hummus (good pre-run snack on double workout days)
  • String cheese
  • ½ cup organic non-fat greek yogurt with sliced strawberries and/or blackberries

Dinner:

Turkey Veggie Pasta with Brussels Sprouts

  • Turkey Burger with avocado and salad (from our favorite local restaurant)
  • Chicken Stir Fry (see phase 1 recipes)
  • Homemade turkey, mushroom, onion, garlic and red pepper marinara sauce over whole-wheat or rice-wheat pasta with brussels sprouts
  • P90X Phase 3 Peanut Butter Noodles (Mike liked this one better than me)
  • Yam and Black Bean Chili (from Tony Horton’s new book, “Bring It,” this is the best thing I’ve made so far!)
  • Chicken with a tex-mex rub served with baked sweet potato fries and asparagus or brussels sprouts
  • Cheat meal of the week (averaging about one cheat dinner/week)

Dessert

  • 4-6 oz frozen yogurt
  • 1 frozen fruit bar

Everything I eat is delicious! The oatmeal mike makes for me in the morning could easily win first place in a oatmeal contest at a state fair (if that were a category!). The recovery drink blended with fruit is probably one of my favorite parts of my day. My sandwich at lunch is seriously (not to toot my own horn but toot-toot) one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. I would rather eat it than any (healthy) sandwich  from a restaurant or deli. During Phase 3 we were able to experiment with some new dinner recipes. Tony Horton’s Yam and Black Bean Chili is probably going to be in my recipe repertoire until I die. However, the peanut butter noodles are a little too sweet for me at dinner (didn’t think that something could be too sweet for me!). I have learned to make my sweet potato fries to perfection and we discovered the deliciousness that is brussels sprouts during this phase! I had never had them before in my life and they are my new favorite vegetable (behind onions of course).

Phase 1 vs. Phase 3

I do have to say that Phase 1 was the most effective for cutting fat. I lost the majority of my weight during that phase, but at this point I don’t feel that I have much more to lose. I am gaining strength week to week yet the scale is staying at the 10 lbs lost mark, which means that I am losing some fat and just replacing it with muscle. I’m not sure that if I were to go back to Phase 1 that I’d lose a whole lot more weight. One big difference between Phase 1 and Phase 3 is that we didn’t drink at all during Phase 1 and we only had 1 cheat meal. Since beginning Phase 2, I’ve had probably 1 cheat meal per week, and I’ve drank about 4 times. But, that’s part of life. In the end, Phase 3 is probably the most sustainable and realistic nutrition plan of the three and we plan to stick to it after we finish the 90 days and continue on to our final 6 weeks of marathon training.