Friday, February 5, 2016

Runner's Reset...Lessons Learned

I was so happy to be able to be part of the Runner's Reset with Laura again this year.

 I know that I have written a few things that I have learned from doing the reset but I wanted to put a final stamp of reflection on it.  Laura is incredibly knowledgeable and a very easy person to work with!  If you are struggling with nutrition or just feeling off...check her out!  She's great!  So here are a few of the many things I learned on this 21 day reset.

Prep is King...I knew this before the reset but it was a great reminder after the holidays and life being crazy.  I prepped my lunches and snacks for the week on Sunday.  This meant I was cooking big batches of chicken and broccoli, boiling a bunch of eggs, making a big batch of soup packed with veggies, and portioning it all out so that at the beginning of the day I could stand in front of my fridge and just fill my lunch box!  The portioning out is key for me because I have about 30 min in the morning to pack my daughter's lunch as well as my own and everyone's breakfast.  If everything is already packed and weighed then it is a 1 minute process!  I also tried to prep a few things for dinner for the week too but I wasn't always successful.  Going forward my goal is to continue this as well as add an additional prep day Thursday or Friday for the weekend so I can stay on track!

Wait it Out...My cravings come at two very distinct times of day...late afternoon when I am walking in the door from work and after the girls go to bed.  Late afternoon cravings are ALL THE FOOD cravings while the nighttime cravings are more sweets.  I found, especially with the night cravings, is that if I just would wait even just a half hour, they would either go away or it would be time for dinner...or I fell asleep!  This admittedly is a challenge for me especially for those afternoon ones and has always been a weak time for me.  I am going to practice more waiting it out and busying myself to allow the craving to pass.

Mind your Training...The biggest revelation that I had was when it came to my training and weight I was/am carrying.  As a distance runner(I still feel like a poser every time I write that!) I take 4 month or so cycles to train for a race.  I would say in the past 4-5 years (with the exception of when I was pregnant) I have been keeping myself at half marathon ready.  This has meant I am more or less always following a training plan.  Now I do this because I love the structure of a plan but also so that I can maintain the cardio base that I have built.  As a mother runner, I have a small window of time to get in my runs most of the time.  During the week I have about an hour and about 2 hours (that's pushing it) on the weekend to get in a long run.  What does that mean for me?  Lots of speed work!  What I have learned from Laura is that I may be training my body to hold onto weight especially around my middle!!!  During the reset (and I fully admit I am an absolute work in progress on this because it is changing a deep-seeded mindset) I tried easy runs, fasted runs (which most of my runs are fasted by nature), and speed work.  I also started incorporating more Omega 3s and a probiotic into my daily practice.  I will get back to you on that progress as I continue longer.  It has been hard to really mentally make myself run easy since I want to fit ALL THE MILES into NO MINUTES but I am willing to keep trying if it is going to mean a better feeling...and let's be honest to get rid of my belly!!

Have you ever changed your way of training?  Have you ever done a reset?


1 comment:

  1. So glad you could join us, Nancy! It's always a fun way to kick off the start of a new year. Now let's hope we can keep the momentum going. :)

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