Run Woof Me

Part of this “new thing” I’m doing involves a cleanse/detox, aka, torture and hell on my mind, body and taste buds.

 

I’m a ball of emotions. Sometimes elated about things to come. Sometimes extremely sad. Sometimes I have so much anxiety I want to leap out of my own skin. Sometimes I’m lost somewhere in the middle. Hence my up and down posts lately.

I’ve never done a cleanse before so I wanted to give it a shot and see what it was all about. So far I’ve found it’s about headaches, an aura migraine specifically, up and down emotions, hunger, anxiety and a little like drinking the sand you scooped off the beach right where the tide hits the smooth, heavy, thick part of the sand with all sorts of bits of grit and crushed shell mixed in. Throw some seaweed in there too for extra taste and texture.

Needless to say, I gagged. Several times I have gagged, but it got better. This is good for me, right?!

 

What I’ve noticed as results so far, far less bloating and a lot more energy especially in the morning. I am very sensitive to caffeine so I don’t drink coffee except for an occasional cappuccino that leaves me shaking like a crack addict in between hits by 10am especially if I don’t eat a HUGE breakfast. I’ve never even gotten inches close to an energy drink of any sort, and a pop is usually all I need for a little boost when needed. Sometimes even tea will do the trick. There is an all-natural energy drink with this challenge, but I find it even a little too strong for me. I half it now and that seems to work perfectly. I’m able to get up, workout, and make it into work without being overcome by tiredness or too jittery.

 

My morning routine consists of:

 

• Alarm: 4:30am on the bedroom clock 4:18am on any other clock in the Central time zone. (If you’re asking, I have no idea why I do it. I just do it that way.)
• Get dressed in my fav workout clothes – Hair up, shoes on
• Hit the kitchen for a glass of water
• Sabotage my workout time by looking at Facebook or Instagram – sometimes
• Hit the living room floor for a little Insanity or Ab Ripper X – whatever I’m feeling like that day
Or
• Hit the road for a run into town (Yes, it is dark)
• Stretch
• Grab something quick to eat
• Shower
• And hurry like hell to get ready and get Weston dressed to get out the door at the max 20 minutes late. (Thank God Dale handles helping the other 2 out of bed!)

 

During my run:

My 1st mile is usually slow and I hate it and ask a million times why I do it. My butt feels tight and my breathing gets fast quickly. And I pray to God I don’t get sprayed by a skunk or step on a snake.

 

The 2nd mile feels ok if I can find my rhythm and I spend it hoping I don’t see any Meth addicts out on the roam due to no sleep looking for a kill or something. My thoughts are usually “just get through it and stride out”

 

The 3rd mile I feel strong and I push it more than the other two miles. This is when my mind turns the page and stops being such a pansy and accepts the challenge. I usually chant, sing or pray to myself. This morning it was all 3.

 

1. Lord, keep me strong. Keep me safe (repeat)
2. Yes Lord, yes lord, yes, yes, lord
3. Strong quads, strong hammies, strong legs - when my stomach got tight or my breathing didn’t get deep enough. My legs always feel strong so I try to shift my focus and have them be the focus to distract my mind from what is hurting.
4. Then I told myself that I’m doing this to be strong. Every step stronger than the last. Christian, Mom, Wife, Christian, Mom, Wife. That’s what brought me home.

This morning I ran my fastest 3rd mile in a long time and I didn’t even check my app for my pace. It is all about the mind and turning the page. It’s about believing in myself and letting the strength take over instead of the doubt. I need to get over the doubt I have a lot sooner in my run!

 

I’m not sure if this “new thing” is making a huge difference yet or not, but I will keep you posted for sure. Have you ever done a cleanse before? What was your experience? Would you do it again?

 

I’m also using the Nike+ app, which I love because I can double tap and it will tell me my time, distance and pace without having to remove it from my arm band. I can also use it as a source of light. The dude that talks to me to tell me my mile stats scared the crap out of me the first couple of times. Imagine running in the dark, scared of what’s going to pop out anyway, then this dude just all the sudden starts talking. Whoa! I can also log onto the computer and see my pace all along my route. I love it!!! It sets records for me and notes and all sorts of good things. Beats a GPS watch any day in my opinion. Yeah, it’s free!!! What do you all use? GPS watch, apps, etc?

I might be looking for a running partner soon, whether it is a borrowed dog, or something else. Maybe a can of mace or maybe something that looks like meth that I can throw in one direction and run in the other, I don’t know!  What's meth look like?  Maybe I'll just borrow a dog!  Any other crazies out there want to join me at 4:45 for a kick ass way to start your day?

PS - Waylon always says "woof" instead of "with"  I think it is adorable and don't plan to correct him anytime soon.  (Reason for the title.  I thought it was clever even though you probably wouldn't have gotten it without the explanation. I didn't promise knock your socks off blogging today did I?)