Wednesday, January 25, 2017

My "new" diet..... LOL

Well I've seen a lot of posts about people doing the Whole 30, drying out, cutting out sugar etc in January...I pondered it but after reviewing my December I decided I did not indulge enough to warrant a body reset.   or so I thought
Not your friend and they like to hitchhike
without permission 

We brought home lots of great memories from Santa Cruz, time with the kids, hiking and running and a real vacation.  And as an added bonus I brought home a tiny deer tick who made a meal in my arm. The day after we got home I was taking my arm warmers off post ride and went to brush off the dirt only to realize it was a tick, embedded.  I pulled him out whole and he was alive... watching him run around the sink before I torched him and put him down the disposal.  I did not think about saving him for testing.... The days passed and the arguments continued as to whether I would allow John to cut open my arm, as we was SURE there was a tick head in my arm.  See he really is a Dr in his own head.   Despite my insistence that I got the whole tick out he was pressuring me, but I held firm on that.  NO HOME surgery by my NOT Dr husband. 


John has a sister who has suffered from Lyme for years and it is horrific....so he was genuinely worried.  Meanwhile I had a low grade headache, was sleeping 10+ hours a night and feeling low energy but not sick perse.  I consulted with a fellow triathlete who is  MD and he said if it was him he would do the 21 day antibiotics - no question.  1- tests are often false negative for Lyme 2- it can take 30+ days for a positive test and the longer you wait to treat, the higher the risk of long term complications.

I went to see my Dr who immediately put me on 21 days of Doxycycline and sent me to the lab. He said regardless of the test results take the 21 days due to the % of false negatives.   As with any drug there are side affects but I was not too worried. I figured get on probiotics and up the yogurt.

I took my first dose and an hour later I had stomach cramps, chills, nausea and had to lay down.  1 hour later I woke up feeling sicker... it soon passed. I was convinced I now had Lyme disease until I took the pill the next AM and same thing.  For 4 days I was miserable. Thanks so Dr Google and a few consultations with some smart people I began to realize these symptoms were from the antibiotic.  Great 21 days of this!   It was suggested that antibiotics were wreaking havoc on my gut and my body- they are causing massive inflammation.

Gotta love a drug that says common side effects: nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, diarrhea, skin rash or itching, swollen glands, body aches, flu symptoms, weakness, increased pressure inside the skull, ringing in ears, dizziness, vision problems....And it seems I enjoyed most of these.  

Fast forward to the anti - inflammatory diet.... No grains, no dairy, no sugar,no legumes, no alcohol....Ok so maybe I will do a January detox.  At this point I was willing to try anything and yes anything....Cutting out all the stuff is just discipline but it is the adding in of grass fed beef, collagen and bone broth that made me pause.   The fermented foods are no issue- Kombucha, raw sauerkraut etc - Love that stuff!  

Buying frozen grass fed beef bones and cooking them for 2 days in the slower cooker was enough to make Roo and Mako crazy and me rubbing essential oils under my nose.  I swear our house smelled like a meat processing plant.   For more on why to drink bone broth.   
YUUUM  -#notsomuch

1- I am basically a vegetarian so this is a big leap
2- I am freaked out by meat on a bone, let alone a pot of bones in my house

BUT when your health is compromised, well mine anyway, and my training was halted, I was willing to yes try anything.

So..... 5 days after I started I woke up
- without a headache
- no nausea
- no stomach cramps
- muscle aches gone
- back to 8 hours a nigh and no naps (well maybe a 10 min power nap)

The idea is that grains/dairy/sugar/alcohol can cause inflammation. My normal healthy body does not react negatively to these groups normally but under the antibiotics it was.  And why the bone broth, collagen, fermented foods....to keep creating healthy bacteria in my gut that the drugs are killing every day.

I am definitely not feeling 100% but I had a solid training week and only have 8 more days of the nasty drugs.  I am doing okay with workouts up to an hour but longer than that and I am struggling. Why? the antibiotics reduce the glycogen in your muscles- hello bonk?  And i am not getting enough carbs. I am eating a lot of sweet potatoes but on my longer workouts this weekend I was hurting...

My plan for this week is to add in unsweetened applesauce pre workouts, add some dried fruit/plantains on the longer rides and work on increasing my carb intake with more potatoes. 

What does an average day look like- I do NOT log my food but thinking about the last week I can pull together what I have been eating...

Breakfast- - NOT all on the same day ( well maybe on some days)


  • SoDelicious Coconut Milk plain yogurt with berries, Pepita seeds and hemp seeds
  • Against the Grain Vermont Roll  with avocado  ( cassava flour)  Cassava is a root vegetable and used for some breads  ( Leslie turned me onto these- lucky for me (unlucky for her) she has been on this diet and is a chef and an amazing resource. 
  • Sweet potato with eggs, spinach and other random vegetables 
  • Coffee (this technically should NOT be in the diet) but come on- I have given up everything else- with Organic Coconut Milk
  • Guzzle glass of bone broth I think of this as medicine
Lunch - I am not a 3 meal a day person so I don't have a proper lunch perse usually a 2nd items from above or 
  • Eggs with whatever veggies are in the fridge with vegan cheese (ez to make)   But it does not melt so if you want melted cheese go for  Daiya  (but that is processed and I am trying do as little processed food possible ) 
  • Grass fed meat, organic chicken or some non processed protein in a coconut wrap with veggies and lettuce 
  • Nuts of any and all kinds
  • Fruits and veggies 
  • Sweet potato chips for that " I need a salty snack"
  • Jilz crackers 
Ride Food
  • dates
  • dried plantains (sprouts/Trader Joes sells them) 
  • Lara Bar, RX bar, Paleo Bar (OMG- they LOOK really good and I did not when I scanned the ingredients I was looking for grain/dairy and there was not any so I was happy.  Took a bite of the chewy vanilla pudding bar and it had an odd taste so I look again at the ingredients- #1 ingredient  "Hydro Beef Protein (grass -fed)  WTF... there is NO pudding than can mask a cow" That was too much 
  •  I need some more ideas..... 
Dinner - more of the same....bottom line whole food, real food, no f'ing good stuff Although I am told my body will soon "reject" or not want the inflammatory foods the longer I stay off them... 

The plan is stick to the plan until next Tuesday when the drugs are finished!  I may or may not crack open a bottle of wine and order a pizza or I may give this a go for a bit longer... 

Thursday, January 5, 2017

2 months off

I am good at coaching my athletes to take a proper end of the season break- even encouraging them to take a break from me, as much as they love the daily dose of Dunkle. It is good to take a solid break from swim/bike/run and a mental break from waking up to a Training Peak's email with your workout of the day.  But me personally..... I am not so good at losing fitness or taking that break, that is until 2016. The last few years have been do as I say not as I do. 

By the time we crawled, okay walked, out of the Grand Canyon after R2R2 I was so ready for a break, not "I want to quit kind of break" just a proper unstructured few months.  So I hit the pause button with my coach and just chilled out.   I am not a sedentary person so I was active most days,and with 2 Vizslas you cannot be sedendary. Prior to our trip to HK and Myanmar I was cruising the coast on my bike and taking some fitness classes.  My glute was seriously aggravated from, well a LONG season of 2x70.3's, 3 Ironman's and R2R2R, so I needed some time off running.  Then they closed the pool renovation and Alga is cold and well....really I wanted to take a break from swimming too.

When I landed back in the US on 12/4 I was eager to get on my bike, but more so because that is my social time, girl time and I was jonesing to catch up with everyone.  I logged quite a few miles in Dec on the bike but it was casual and slow, as in 40watts under IM slow, it was tooling around, chatting, being annoyed with traffic as it was cutting into my "chat " time. It was also logging miles to allow for holiday sweets and beverages.  Yes gaining a few lbs is okay but I was not looking go gain in the double digits. 

Sure we did some good rides, GWL + Descanso, Rice and Couser etc but the ride times were way way off.... so far off that I nearly missed an appointment.  I plan ride times within 5 min 90% of the time, that is until now and I was off 15-30 min off.  Off season pace.   To say it did not bother me would be a tiny lie, or a huge one as I HATE losing fitness.  Rationally I know needed to lose fitness, not care about watts etc, but when you see your Average Power and ride time for a ride you regularly do and it is shockingly off, it makes me pause and think the climb back up is not going to be pretty.  

The pool reopened mid December and well 4 weeks out of the water + 3 weeks of 1-2 swims a week takes it toll.   I refused to drop down a lane because I am a swim snob  so I suffered at the back of my lane until I had to put on paddles and when that was not working I got out.  Petulant? maybe.....but well it's December I was on my own plan.

The idea of hitting the gym hard in December is good in theory, but did not happen for me.  I went a few times, enough to feel it, but I was operating on do what I want to do. I hopped around to a few strength classes but resolved I know what I need to do and how to do it.  While clinching my cheeks for 20+ min in barre class may give my rear a boost I am not so sure it will help me in the back 1/2 of the marathon in an Ironman.  Functional vs vanity. 

And just like that Jan 1 rolled around and I woke up that familiar email from Michael Ricci:  Schedule for Sunday 01/01/2017 to Monday 01/02/2017.  And I am once again a "follower", although probably not as good of a follower as Coach Mike would like.  I still question, challenge and push a bit or a lot....but the plan is in place.  I dusted off the WahooKickr and reacquainted myself with the suffering on the trainer, can I remind you all how much I DISLIKE that beast.... OUr runs have a purpose again and the weight room is not optional. Biking changes too....as much as riding is my social life I want to "follow the plan" which may mean riding shorter than my friends are, doing intervals when I'd like to be chatting it up...yes this is a hobby but I have big goals for 2017!  So it's striking a balance of fun/socializing and following the place that was written by someone I trust and who knows me and what it will take to tick off the goals.  Got that Mike? 

Here's to 2017 and collecting hardware! 

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Back at it

Last blog post was 11/21 in the beginning of our Myanmar/Hong Kong adventure.  I started 7 blogs on the trip and just never finished them....what we saw and experienced simply could not be captured in pictures let alone words- so I quite writing and just traveled.  My advice to everyone is get out and experience this amazing planet.  Buy less stuff and experience more.  

Visit any place that inspires you, intrigues you, scares you or is interesting.   For all the negativity about the US, I challenge you to visit other countries, developing countries and you will appreciate all the good in the US.  While many are upset with the President-elect, be thankful we live in a democracy and we have a say in our leadership.  Are you frustrated with day to day challenges....try a country without paved roads or electricity.    And a trip away is good for the marriage.... no racing, just experiencing new lands together. 


Post trip we were unpacking and repacking for our next trip to Santa Cruz. Getting"ready" for Christmas. 

 We spent 5 days in Santa Cruz with the kids and dogs and it was fantastic..... It was 5 days of running with John and the dogs, amazing hikes with the kids and dogs, cooking in our VRBO, playing card games and the funniest game ever Watch ya Mouth, discovering SC dog beach and checking out all of Riley's favorite spots.  I was hoping for quality time and we got our money's worth.

My inspiration to write today is the book.  Shoe Dog  A memoir of Phil Knight and the creating of Nike.  The book is sensational on so many levels.....A humbling tale of how Nike became a $30Billion company....it was not overnight, it was not easy, it was not without so many near fails....the story is riveting, interesting and just plain fun.    


There are so many appealing factors.. running, sport, business, athletics etc.  There's something about athletes. Maybe they know about passion, defeat and team spirit better than others. And maybe that's why they are better than others in handling a real crisis. And when a bunch of them come together to create a company, the story had to be this fascinating. This book reveals a lot about Phil Knight. A humble man who saw the best in others. Maybe he was lucky to find such a driven team or maybe he could just appreciate the good in others better than anyone else. This story is about the time when entrepreneurs created real stuff. Bowerman and Knight, with their expertise in running came together to create shoes that would make running easier for athletes. It was creating something 'real'.  An honest memoir. Read it if you are struggling in a startup. No. Read it anyways ! I am sad the book it over....

Happy New Year!!  Bring on 2017