Protein Needs

A while back I posted about eating clean. I'm still eating clean (with the exception of my weekend cheat) but I've modified things a bit. The eating clean plan calls for pairing a lean protein with each mini meal and this was definitely new to my diet. To see where I was at with this new way of eating, I calculated my totals and was shocked to see I was getting a ridiculous amount of protein. So, I revisited the chapter in my personal training text book to see what I should be getting and did some reading on line. Turns out I was getting waaaay more than I needed.

I think most of us know that protein is important because it builds and repairs body tissues, including muscles, but did you know that excess protein is stored as fat? And in addition to this, if you get too much protein, it puts unwanted stress on your kidneys and can cause leaching of calcium from your bones. It's also really important that you consume adequate amounts of carbohydrates with your daily protein because if you don’t consume enough carbohydrates, protein will be stripped from the muscle and used as an energy source instead of being used for muscle repair. I need to take my own advice with this one because I fear the carbs and they are the first thing I scale back on when trying to lose weight. I know, as a runner, this is terrible.

While there are a ton of different sources out there, most state that an active adult should get around 0.8-1.0g of protein per kg of body weight (note: to convert your weight from lbs to kg, divide your weight by 2.2) while athletes should get around 1.2-1.8g. If you'd rather calculate based off total calories, this is equal to around 12-20% of total caloric intake. For example, 150lb athlete would need 81.6-122.4g protein per day:

150/2.2 = 68 kg

68 * 1.2 = 81.6

68 * 1.8 = 122.4

81.6 - 122.4 g protein

I think too many of us are protein happy adding protein powder to shakes, munching on protein bars, etc. Well, without doing any of that, and without even really trying, I'm getting just the right amount of protein by eating a balanced diet. So it can be done and here's an example of my day yesterday:

Breakfast:
1C Skim milk – 8g
½C Oatmeal – 6g
1T Wheat germ – 2g
1T Agave – 0g
Snack:
Peaches – 0g
8 almonds – 2g
Lunch:
Spinach – 3g
3oz chicken – 18g
1T Guacamole – 1g
Slice Ezekiel – 4g
Apple – 0g
Snack:
Carrots – 1g
Banana – 1g
Dinner:
4oz Chicken – 24g
½C Quinoa – 5g
12 Brussel sprouts – 6g
Snack:
100 calorie pack popcorn – 5g
½C fat free plain yogurt – 7g
1T flax seed – 2g
Drizzle agave – 0g
TOTAL: 95

While this number is on the lower end of my range, I also didn't strength train yesterday and just did cardio. However, today I spent 70 minutes lifting so I added some protein to my breakfast to aid in the muscle repair immediately after my workout.

There are a ton of sources of healthy protein out there. You're not limited to finding protein in only meat/poultry and you definitely don't need to load up on powders and supplements. Try beans, low fat dairy and even grains. Grains are an excellent source of protein and they're delicious, too!!

Hope someone finds this useful, I know I never paid much attention to protein but I'm glad I learned about it.

On My Own

Last year when I registered for my first Ultra, I quickly realized after doing some research that I might have bitten off more than I could chew. I was so new to running, having completed only one marathon, and here I was ready to tackle a 50 miler. I didn't have a clue as to what I had gotten myself into. While running with a friend from the club, she mentioned that she was using a running coach. Honestly, I didn't even know such a thing existed for the normal, every day average runner. I thought only elite athletes used coaches. After chatting with Andy we both agreed that we didn't want me to die the day of the Ultra, so I enlisted the help of Coach Jack (and then Coach Dana). I've had a coach for the past year and have loved the guidance, support, and most importantly, the friendships that I've gotten out of it. I love getting my schedule every Sunday and not having to stress about finding a schedule to follow, what paces to train at, etc. It's all laid out there for me; all I have to do is run. Well, after a year of coaching, I decided it's time for me to tackle this running thing on my own. If money were no object, I would keep a coach forever. But running isn't cheap and now I have the pricey gym membership on top of it. This is technically my last week with the Coaches and I'll be honest, I'm sad and a little stressed. They have taught me so much and believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. I had a great year of running, which I know they played a huge part in, and I hope to make them proud going forward. I have 2 marathons coming up, an Ultra in July and then I want to finish up the year with some marathons and another BQ attempt at Philly. I better get planning and figure things out. No more having someone think for me!!

So, where do you find your training schedule? When I trained for my first marathon I used a schedule I found off the NYC marathon home page. Any other suggestions?

Running post Shamrock has been going well. I feel completely recovered but my legs are still a little tired. I went out for a 8 miler last Friday and it was a sloooow 8 miles. My legs just didn't want to move. I'm itching to get back to some higher mileage but am forcing myself to take it slow and easy so I don't get injured. Hmmm, wanting higher mileage...I wonder if I'll feel this way when I hit 80 miles a week during Ultra training.

I'm so behind on blogs because the weekend was spent shopping and packing for our upcoming trip to Jamaica. I'll be catching up tomorrow.

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 3 mi (but I might take a step class tonight instead)
Tues - 4 mi (plus cardio)
Wed - Off or 3 mi make up run from today (lift total body)
Thurs - 4 mi (plus cardio)
Fri - 3 mi (lift upper body)
Sat - 13 mi
Sun - cardio, lift total body

Post Shamrock Thoughts

First off, I hope no one thought I was insensitive by being disappointed with my finish time of 3:51. It's not so much the time I was upset with but more that I had such a crappy race. I'm happy I finished and am even happier I finished in less than 4 hours. I know finishing a marathon, no matter how long it takes, is an incredible accomplishment. Just wish the day played out a little differently, that's all. It also turns out I wasn't the only one who crapped the bed on Sunday, either. There were quite a few posts on Runners World Forum from people who had a day exactly like mine. Sounds like the heat got the best of a lot of us. Congrats to all the runners who pushed through and finished, I know what those last few miles felt like.

Anyway, even though I didn't have the race I wanted, I'm trying to take away from it what I can. Gotta turn it into a learning experience, dust myself off, and get ready for the next one.  Here's where I'm at:

THE DISTANCE. It's freaking hard. No matter what pace you run, flat or hilly, it's 26.2 miles of hard work, determination and mental toughness. I let my mind win the battle this weekend. I'm disappointed about that, but now know I have to be so much more prepared going into a race...which brings me to my next point.

RACE PLAN. Whether I'm racing or not, I need to have a game plan of how I want the day to go. I didn't have this for Shamrock and was teetering on the border of racing and having a no pressure race. Looking back, I don't think the two go well together. At least not for me. I have NJ marathon coming up, where I'll be pacing the 4:15 group, and while I'm not "racing" I still need to be prepared mentally. Even though I'll be running slower, I'll still be covering the distance and I need to stay strong throughout the entire race.

LET IT GO. I've always told myself that I need to keep this fun. Every race to date has been fun, even when pushing myself hard, and I've enjoyed being out there. Well, the last 6 miles of Shamrock was anything but fun. I wish I could have just let go the drive to finish in a certain time and just had fun with it. I wish I would have stopped for that beer around mile 23, I wish I would have taken the few extra steps to high five the little boy on the sideline, I wish I could have smiled at the girl dressed like a clown handing out candy rather than wanting to strangle her...you get the point. Next time it's not my day, I'm going to accept it, back off and enjoy what's left.

So, I'm taking all this and applying it from here on out. I'm sure I'll learn a ton more along the way, and I look forward to doing just that. But before I go, here are some pictures from race day. This first one is during a little break down of mine. I actually said to the photographer, "are you kidding me? perfect timing." I can't believe it turned out half decent. Oh, and I hope I don't blind you with my pasty legs.

Andy's reaction to this one..."That's my girl! Way to scowl!!" He always tells me I'm a mean runner.

Shamrock Marathon Race Report

"They all can't be PRs." - Coach Jack

I headed to VA beach early Saturday morning with Coach Jack and my friend Colleen, who were both pacing the the 4:00 marathon group. We arrived to beautiful, warm, sunny weather and headed to the Expo. Expo was nothing special but we did get this awesome shirt and cute race bag. I was hoping the shirt would be green!!

I got to bed later than expected Saturday night but managed to get a few hours of solid sleep. I woke up completely calm Sunday morning and headed out of the house in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. It was a beautiful morning and we knew it was going to be a warm day. One thing I didn't know is how much the heat would affect me during the race...

Anyway, this was a pretty small race with less than 3000 finishers. The half marathoners started an hour before us and the marathoners didn't even use corrals. I lined up just in front of the 3:40 pace leader to avoid the pack of runners around the pacer and my goal was to keep the group in ear shot. Race started off fabulous. I was feeling great and my pace felt so comfortable. The only thing I noticed was that I wasn't focused. I knew this from the get go. Hard to explain but I get into a "zone" and I wasn't there for this race. I was chatting with some runners and that's not something I typically do when I'm focused. The first few miles flew by and the temperatures were perfect!! There wasn't much crowd support but the energy of the other runners was still high and it kept me motivated. At one point we ran through the military base and there were some soldiers/cadets out there cheering for us. It gave me chills to see them and all I could think was that this is nothing compared to what these people do to protect us.

From Coach Jack's advice, I assessed where I was mentally and physically at mile 10. My body was still feeling good but I felt like the race had been long. I couldn't believe I wasn't at the half way mark yet. I remember at Philly I felt incredible at mile 13 and was ready to race from that point. So yesterday, when I was feeling like this, I sort of knew it wasn't the best thought to be having. My splits up to this point were a little quick, but I was feeling good. Looking back, I probably should have scaled back a bit, but hindsight is always 20/20.

Mile 1 - 8:23, Mile 2 - 8:04, Mile 3 - 8:06, Mile 4 - 8:10, Mile 5 - 8:19, Mile 6 - 8:14, Mile 7 - 8:10, Mile 8 - 8:14, Mile 9 - 8:06, Mile 10 - 8:21

We wrapped back around towards the start of the race, running on the boardwalk for a while along the beach and then headed back out the other direction to finish the second half of the race. I was at 1:47:16 at mile 13 which was about 2 minutes ahead of a 3:40 finish. I was happy to see the half way mark, knew I had to keep going strong and was excited about the possibility of a potential PR. We passed the half marathon walkers coming to their finish and this provided a nice distraction and kept me going for a bit. Well, we eventually hit Shore Drive at mile 16 and this was a long stretch of nothing. It was 3 miles of nothing but trees. I started feeling sluggish along this part of the course and really need a pick me up. Unfortunately, there were no pick me ups around and close to mile 19 the 3:40 group passed me. I tried to stick with them but I didn't have it in me. At mile 19 we turned onto Atlantic Ave which was a long and extremely boring stretch. We were out in the sun at this point and there was nothing around us. It was around this point that I officially went to shit. This was such a long stretch and I was surrounded by people walking and saw a runner unconscious waiting for EMT. I can't put blinders on to this stuff and it really affects me mentally. I know I haven't run a ton of races but I have never seen so many walkers! At one point it was only me and 8 walkers. Needless to say, this didn't help my mental meltdown. And yes, I did the unthinkable and I started to walk. I couldn't believe I was walking, and it killed me to do it, but I had nothing in me at that moment to keep me running.

I walked a bit at mile 21 and then started to shuffle along again with tears running down my face. It's a terrible feeling watching 3:40 slip away, then 3:45, then hoping you can hang on for a 3:50. I thought about hanging back and finishing with Coack Jack and Colleen but I wanted to be done as soon as possible so I pushed ahead. It was pissing me off that I was giving up and I can't even explain why I walked. I was tired but I wasn't in pain. I was a little nauseous at one point and my stomach was funny but it wasn't anything debilitating. My mind however, was just shot and I wanted to be done. I spent the remaining miles of the race shuffling along and taking little walk breaks. At mile 24 the 3:50 group came up and I gave it everything I had to stick with them. But I just couldn't. I ran as far as I could with them and then came to a dead stop and starting walking. What a shitty feeling. It was heart breaking to go back and look at my splits, but it shows how down hill things can go so quickly. Up to mile 19 I was holding my pace.

Mile 19 - 8:53, Mile 20 - 9:13, Mile 21 - 10:36, Mile 22 - 9:49, Mile 23 - 10:54, Mile 24 - 10:17, Mile 25 - 9:43, Mile 26 - 9:53

So, official result is 3:51:43. My third and slowest marathon. I'm tearing up just typing that. I know I didn't need anything out of this race and thank God for that. If this was my BQ attempt I would be devastated. It's a flat course which is great for a BQ but I need a little more excitement to keep me going and I clearly prefer to race in cooler conditions. I have a lot of thoughts about the race, but I'll keep that for a later post when I'm feeling a little better. I know a 3:51 isn't easy to come by for a lot of runners but I can't help but beat myself up. It's how I am. I'm very hard on myself and I can't stop wondering what I could have done if I didn't give in to my crazy head and didn't walk. I can't change anything now but I can take what I learned and apply it to the next race. Thankfully, there will be many more where I can redeem myself.

The volunteers along the course were great and when you crossed the finish line you not only got one of the coolest medals ever, but they gave us a hat and a long sleeve t-shirt. Then there's free beer and let me tell you, a Yuengling never tasted so good!!

Overall, I had an incredible weekend. It wasn't the race I was looking for but I got to spend time with some amazing people and those are the memories I'm going to take away from it. We laughed so much and had some hysterical conversations. I'm happy to say that once again I was able to entertain everyone with my poop stories. I won't go into details but let's just say I entered a port-o-pot wearing underwear and came out going commando.

Shamrock Goals

What is going on with me? I'm running a marathon on Sunday in another state and I haven't packed a thing or checked the weather! Who am I? And what happened to crazy, neurotic Denise?? I think I better get moving though so I don't end up rushing around and forgetting something.

As for this race, I've never gone into a race without having a goal. This is so new, and weird, to me. I'm worried that without some sort of goal though, I'll lose sight of what I'm doing out there on race day and not run smart. Regardless of the finish time, I still want to run smart and have it be an enjoyable experience. I don't want to not finish or finish well past where I hope because I started off too fast, didn't hydrate or eat correctly, etc. If I don't finish where I hope, let it be due to a bad day, pooping myself, something other than me doing something stupid. So I decided I will set a few goals for this race, just to keep me in check.

Goal # 1 - PR...but I just laughed to myself when I typed that. I'll give it a shot, but if I were you, I wouldn't go waging any bets on me beating 3:38:02.

Goal # 2 - finish: 3:45 - 3:50. I'm thinking this is a little more realistic and I'm hoping this pace feels considerably easier than a 8:23 (pace for a 3:40 finish).

Goal # 3 - Finish with a smile. As with any race, I just want to run pain free and cross that finish line!

I'm also going to do the unthinkable and not carry my own water this race!! I always carry my handheld. In fact, when getting ready for Philly, this was probably one of the things that stressed me out the most! I like to be able to drink when I want to drink and I hate going through water stops. I worry about slowing down and losing my groove and timing the water stops with when I take my Clif bloks. But since I won't have anyone lined up along the course to hand me a new water bottle, I'm going to be wild and crazy and use the water stops.

While I'm really looking forward to this race, I just realized this will be the first race that Andy won't be waiting for me at the finish. That sort of sucks. I like knowing he's there waiting for me and getting one of his great hugs. Speaking of which, here's a pic from my first marathon. I can honestly say that I will NEVER forget this hug.

Wet Weekend

Ugh, what a weekend. Should have been a fun filled weekend with an old friend who I haven't seen in over a year, but that's not how it turned out. Saturday it rained ALL day and when I say rain, I mean it poured!! On top of it, we had winds like you wouldn't believe. The lights flickered a few times and at one point we lost power but it came back on after a few minutes. Well, my friend no sooner got to our house when the power went out again...this time for much, much longer. No power means no sump pump and within minutes we had water coming in the basement. Talk about a helpless feeling! At one point I was just standing in the middle of the basement watching the water creep in saying over and over, "oh my god, oh my god." We hustled around and got what we could to higher ground and I did what all daddy's girls do and I called my Dad!! He got up to the house as soon as he could with a generator and a can of gas and once again saved the day. We spent the night watching the basement and set our phone alarms for every 15 minutes through the night so we could start the generator. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep. Power came back early this afternoon and we spent the day cleaning up the damage. We didn't lose anything valuable but had to get rid of a remnant piece of carpet we had down in our workout space. Not the weekend I was looking forward to, but it was interesting. We obviously weren't alone in the flooding...surveying the neighborhood, we're not the only ones with mounds of trash at the curb.

Now it's time to turn my focus to racing!! I'll be racing Shamrock marathon next weekend and in fact, by this time next Sunday, it will all be said and done. I've made up my mind that I'm going to head out with the 3:40 group and see how it goes. I don't feel as conditioned to run an 8:20 pace as I did for Philly marathon, but I've been feeling really healthy on my runs lately so I'm going to give it a shot. I really like this no pressure attitude I got going! In fact, I'm so calm I'm not even thinking about the stupid things that stressed me out in the past (Should I carry water or use water stops? What if it's too hard? What should I wear? What if I poop myself? What if I can't do it?, etc). I'm just looking forward to getting out there and racing! Should be a great weekend!

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 3 mi (plus cardio, lift upper body)
Tues - 4 mi, with 2 mi at race pace (plus cardio)
Wed - off (lift total body)
Thurs - 4 mi (plus cardio)
Fri - 3 mi (lift upper body)
Sat - off
Sun - 26.2

Shoe Clinic Video

First off, I'm dabbling with the twitter thing these days and put a link in my sidebar if anyone is interested in following me. I'll try to keep you entertained with Andy's obnoxious comments and my poop stories!!

Now, on to running...my running coaches, Jack and Dana, are the official coaches for the Philadelphia chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation Team Challenge. The mission of the Foundation is to cure Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of those affected by these diseases. The members of the team are training to walk or run a half marathon in Boston this summer.

Since I actually know two people afflicted with this disease I was excited when the Coaches asked me if I would be willing to volunteer at some of the group training runs. At first I wasn't sure what to expect but after the first meeting last weekend, I know this is going to be a great experience. It was fun seeing and meeting new runners, excited, with a lot of questions. It sort of made me realize that I'm moving up the ranks. Up to this point, I had considered myself new to running, still wet behind the ears. But after this I realized that while I might still have a lot to learn, I'm not the new kid anymore...I've been around the block a few times so to speak. :-)  It feels good to have some experiences and knowledge and hopefully I can use this to motivate people new to the sport. I'm looking forward to the upcoming weekends when I'm able to help out; I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

Anyway, after basic introductions to the coaches and volunteers, the group was given a shoe fitting demonstration. I thought it was really interesting and even learned a few things. I wanted to share it with all of you so if you're interested in checking it out, it's on YouTube and can be accessed through the links below. Due to the length, 30 minutes, it's broken up into 3-10 minute segments. If nothing else, check out the first 10 minutes...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Size Doesn't Matter

No offense to all my male readers but if my husband is any example, men say the dumbest things. Andy is known for putting his foot in his mouth from time to time. For the most part, it's funny and I've learned to take everything he says with a grain of salt. However, last night was one of his finer moments. We were out for a drink before dinner and I was telling him about what I bought shopping earlier in the day for our upcoming trip to Jamaica. Knowing my weight is a sensitive subject and the fact that I can NOT drop a single pound; I mentioned that I was happy that I was still able to buy a size small. The point I was getting at was that even though the number on the scale has gone up, I was happy to see that for the most part, my actual size hasn't changed much. Well, I barely got out "I was so happy I could still fit into a size small" when the following conversation took place:

Andy: Well, yea, they make sizes bigger so women feel good about themselves.
Denise: Um, did you just really say that?
Andy: Say what?
Denise: That I'm a porker and the only reason I can fit into a size small is because they are making it bigger on purpose?
Andy: You're not a porker.
Denise: You're an asshole.

We went on with our night and at dinner I politely declined the roll when Andy offered it and said, "No thanks. Apparently I already have enough of them."

Don't get me wrong, I'm cracking up thinking about his stupid comment and know that he is indeed right. Clothing stores have been doing this for years and obviously it works. I did feel better about myself for being able to buy a size small and Andy, in his analytical/scientific mindset felt obliged to point out the facts. I'm sort of glad he did though because it got me thinking that size really shouldn't matter. A size small at one store could be a size large at another. And who the heck cares what size dress I'm wearing? I'm the only one that knows what size it is anyway. People don't admire someone's outfit and say, "I wonder what size that is." They admire it for how it fits and how it looks. Bottom line is that it's just another number that we get hung up on. When I think about the numbers I worry about each day it's ridiculous...the number of calories I ate, the number on the scale, the number of miles I ran...these stupid numbers define me and it's something I need to change. So while Andy's intention wasn't to make me see that I was being silly, that's exactly what he's idiotic comment did. I need to stop worrying so much about the numbers.

And for all the women out there who want to strangle Andy, he's actually a really good guy. He's really good to me and puts up with my craziness, which is no small feat. I milked the comment for all it was worth (like any smart woman would) and in addition to making him feel bad, I will now be getting a present from Tiffany's. I just hope they make a ring big enough for my sausage fingers.

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 3 mi (plus cardio)
Tues - 5 mi with 2 mi at race pace, 8:23 (plus cardio)
Wed - off (lift total body)
Thurs - 3 mi (plus cardio)
Fri - 10 mi
Sat - 4 mi (plus cardio)
Sun - off (cardio, lift total body)

I've posted a lot of new reviews...including one of my all time favorites, the Snacktaxi. Go check them out here.

Almost Famous...(and Chobani WINNER)

I see a lot of blogger awards passed around from one blogger to another. Then I see people who have sponsorship from big companies, stories written about them, photo shoots done, etc. I see the awards, read the articles and think, "these people are so inspiring, well deserved." However, when I think about myself and what I've accomplished, I don't think too much of it. I recognize that I've done a lot in a few short years but I'm not very good at giving myself credit for stuff. In fact, I'm shocked when someone leaves a comment saying I'm inspiring, a rock star (thanks, Mich), etc. I'm just a ordinary girl who likes to run and is having fun doing it. So needless to say, you can imagine how I felt when Natalie asked if she could write an article about me for the Examiner, to be featured for Motivational Monday. At first I wasn't sure what she'd write about but I was completely flattered so I agreed. Even if I had nothing remotely interesting to say, it was cool that someone out there thought I was worthy of an article!! So pleeeeease, check out my 30 seconds of fame HERE.

The winner (picked by random number generator) of the Chobani giveaway is Rick over at Marathonman101108. Rick, email me at dclaffey76@yahoo.com and you'll be hooked up.

Have I Been Training?

If you haven't already, don't forget to enter the Chobani GIVEAWAY.

I got my schedule for the week from Coach Dana and the first thing it said was "taper time!!!" With Shamrock marathon on the 21st that makes sense but there's one little issue...I don't feel like it's time to taper. In fact, I don't feel like I've even been training for anything. Now, maybe things have just been going really well but I'm suddenly wondering if going for a 3:40 is a little overzealous. I trained so hard for this finish time when training for Philly and I'm not feeling like I put that effort in this time around. Was it because going for the BQ at Philly was stressful and that made the training seem more intense?? I dunno...but I'm second guessing myself. That's not necessarily the way I want to go into a race. But I will say, it's nice knowing I already have Boston in the bag so I can give Shamrock what I got and see how it goes. I'm sort of curious to see what kind of finish time I can get when I don't have the added pressure of qualifying.

And speaking of finishes...um, if there was an award for worst finish line photo, it would definitely go to me. Here are some pictures from the Frostbite 5 miler I ran a few weekends ago. I can't believe I'm even posting these but they are so horrendous I couldn't resist. I forgot to mention in my race report that I had a major wardrobe malfunction. I didn't wear my normal "tight-in-case-of-poop-emergency-underwear" and my pants were a little too big. So between the two, I spent a good part of the race hiking up my drawers. By the time I hit the final stretch, I obviously didn't give a crap hence the nice shot of my gut.

Here I am in shock when I see the clock time:

Here I am looking like I just got my ass kicked by a 5 miler

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 4 mi (plus cardio)
Tues - 6 mi, 2X climb the ladder
Wed - lift total body
Thurs - 4 mi (plus cardio)
Fri - 6 mi
Sat - 15 mi

Sun - lift total body