Allison's Big Toe

GAPS Introduction Diet Re-do (Plus a Recipe!)

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:11:00 -0800

This was a hard post to write, after not having written anything here for three months. I told myself a little while back that I wouldn’t turn this blog into a food blog, but the problem is, all I’ve been thinking about for the past 40 days is food, so I haven’t felt inspired to blog. But, I’ve decided it’s time to let you in on what I’ve been up to lately anyway :)

Running, and really all exercise, has taken a definite backseat for me lately. I decided back in October that I wasn’t going to run the local Santa to the Sea Half Marathon that I had tentatively planned. I just wasn’t feeling well enough to run all the training mileage. I’ll talk more on how my thoughts on exercise have changed in my next post. But, today it’s about food, and digestion, which really need to be figured out before exercise is a priority, considering that 80% of our body composition comes from what we eat, and only 20% from how we exercise. So here we go!

Come November 2011, I had been on the full GAPS diet for a full year, and I honestly thought I’d be having less intestinal distress than I was having (lethargy, bloating, etc.). So, I went to a Naturopathic doctor in Santa Barbara, and she did some tests, and voila, I still have strong food sensitivities to egg whites, gluten, casein (a milk protein), and medium sensitivities to many other foods. Mine are not authentic food allergies (IgE response), which can cause anaphylactic reactions for example. That’s good, because it means I can eventually eat the problem foods!

Instead, I have what are called “food sensitivities” (IgG response): my body produces an autoimmune response when proteins that I eat, like gluten and casein, leak through my damaged gut lining into my bloodstream, undigested and therefore toxic to my body. Food sensitivity symptoms vary for everyone, but mine is extreme muscle weakness and lethargy.

Why is this happening? After a year of research and paying attention to my body, I think I’ve figured it out. Let’s work backwards:

1. My gut lining is damaged because of Candida albicans (yeast) overgrowth over the past many years.

a. Candida’s method is to attach itself to the intestinal wall and poke its little yeast tendrils through the lining, creating holes.

b. It is a VERY long and difficult process to detach and get rid of Candida. A person must starve it out by a combination of eating foods that heal and seal the gut lining, like chicken broth and animal fat, and not eating foods that either feed the Candida, like sugar, or further damage the gut lining, like high fiber/carbohydrate grains.

c. With careful implementation of a diet like this—a la the GAPS diet—the Candida dies and releases its bacterial toxins into the bloodstream, which have to be processed by the liver, and then are eventually eliminated. This is called “die-off” and causes a variety of different symptoms in people, like constipation and headaches. (That’s the reason why I’ve been feeling worse before feeling better!)

2. The Candida overgrowth was caused by my over-consumption of: the birth control pill, antibiotics, fiber, and high carbohydrate foods. My under-consumption of enough probiotic (lacto-fermented) food in my diet over the course of my life exacerbated the problem.

Now, if you’re still with me, let’s go back to the beginning of this post. Why wasn’t I feeling better after a year on the GAPS diet? My naturopath’s detection of food sensitivities (because of leaky intestines) was the key. I still hadn’t done enough to eliminate that nasty Candida—it’s still hanging on and causing problems.

Fast forward from November to today—I have moved further in my healing process than I did all last year! Hallelujah!

What did I do? I bit the bullet and went back on the strict GAPS Introduction Diet for a much more extended time than I tried last year. This is a food elimination diet, intended to quickly heal and seal the gut lining, coupled with a protocol for introducing new foods one by one to test for reactions to a possible sensitivity. A life-saver in making the decision to start was Cara’s e-book What Can I Eat Now? 30 Days on the GAPS Introduction Diet from her Health Home and Happiness blog. Thank you, Cara!

There are 6 stages to the intro diet, and I’m only on Stage 2 by now, but for the record, let me just say right now how much I LOVE the GAPS Introduction Protocol. I finally realized that I have to follow it exactly as written by neurologist Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride in her book: Gut and Psychology Syndrome.

The protocol has given me new hope of healing myself! Yay! Because it is so restrictive food wise, I finally know what’s going on, if, beyond the food sensitivities, I’m bloated (too much fiber), have a headache / spacey or “drunk” feeling (too much probiotic good bacteria causing toxic bacteria die-off), or my stomach is heavy (not enough stomach acid for protein digestion, or not enough bile for fat digestion). I would never have been able to figure all that out if I hadn’t gone to Stage 1 and stayed there for the past 40 days!

So, what am I eating? My daily diet has been: boiled vegetables in chicken broth and cooked chicken skin/fat pureed into a soup, with added boiled meat with fat on it, liver, and extra animal fat by the tablespoon(s) melted into the soup. Yes, all that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. KISS = keep it simple, stupid! :) And, I have to say, my body has been loving all that fat and protein…demanding it at every meal. Every time I introduced a new food beyond this, I would watch for some reaction like those above, and then continue introducing in tiny amounts, or eliminate it for the time being.

For those of you worrying about my fat or animal product intake, I give you permission to worry no more, and here’s why:

1. All that fat is actually good for me because it is sealing my intestinal lining.

2. I make a huge effort to only buy organic and/or local meat, organs, and fat from pastured animals. No factory farmed food for me.

3. In terms of numbers, I have been eating a diet of at least 50% fat (mostly saturated from animals**), and up to 50 grams animal protein at every meal. If you’re worried about me getting a heart attack, read The Primal Blueprint: 21 Day Total Body Transformation by Mark Sisson, pages 67-74, or his more scientific explanation here. He uses scientific evidence to debunk all the “Conventional Wisdom” about saturated fat and cholesterol leading to heart disease.

4. I lost 12 pounds in 30 days, and the cellulite I had on my legs and thighs has noticeably reduced from all the gelatin/collagen in the chicken broth. The weight loss was obviously not the goal in this enterprise, but it was awesome to stop feeling bloated and fit into my old pants once again. Over the past year, I had gained those 12 extra pounds from eating carbohydrates that I wasn’t digesting properly!

5. My irritable moods have improved dramatically. Thank you, Julia Ross, author of The Mood Cure.

**Side note for me to rant just a little: If you’re a vegan or vegetarian and all this talk about animal eating grosses you out or bothers you in any way, we need to have a talk :) For reasons I won’t fully go into here, a vegetarian lifestyle is not the solution for a healthy body or environment. Yes, the amazingly effective Gerson Therapy cancer treatment program is vegan, but it is a misunderstanding to think it prevents cancer. All vegan diets at first do make people feel amazing as toxins leave their bodies, but eventually (up to 20 years for some people) veganism and even vegetarianism leads to mass nutrient deficiencies, body degeneration, and chemical imbalances in the brain that cause a person’s thinking to become very rigid and black-and white; s/he becomes unable to make the neurotransmitters that support healthy moods and as a result feels persecuted and angry all the time. If robust health is your goal, go out and eat a grass-fed, local beef hamburger wrapped in lettuce, with buttered veggies on the side. You know, deep down, that you want to. Listen to your body—it is brilliant and will smile. I would also recommend reading The Vegetarian Myth, written by a recovering vegan named Lierre Keith. Please comment below and we’ll start a healthy dialogue!

CASSEROLE RECIPE

Last weekend, on Day 42 of the GAPS Introduction Protocol, I ate something other than boiled meat and vegetables in a soup! I made this healing casserole:

Here is Cara’s recipe on p. 25 of her e-book, with some modifications of my own:

2 pounds hamburger (I used ground pork)

1 large butternut squash

1/2 tsp sea salt

fresh thyme and sage

2 cups chicken broth

Butter or animal fat (I used duck fat—yum!—found at this awesome meat market in Ventura).

Preheat oven to 360. Mix ground meat with sea salt, 1tbsp fat, and 1tsp each thyme and sage. Set aside. Peel and remove pulp from butternut squash and chop into bite-sized pieces. Grease a 9x13” pan with fat. Place squash in the pan and pour broth over the squash. Place pieces of the raw hamburger mixture over the top of the squash, covering evenly. Bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 45 min, then remove foil and bake an additional 30 min or until squash is soft and meat is cooked.

The sweetness of the butternut squash mingles with the saltiness of the meat and it really was tasty. That said, it could have been great just because it wasn’t soup! Enjoy :)

ChiRunning Fatigue Fixers

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:48:55 -0700

This morning I woke up and my body felt a little weird. I was slightly shaky, and feeling “underpowered”. But, I planned on going for a run today, so I ate a pre-run snack of homemade yogurt cream, chia seeds, 1/2 banana, raw honey, and raw cacao bits. I headed down to the Ventura boardwalk, where I like to run on the weekends. When I started running, my rational brain assured me I’d just run until I was too tired to keep my form in check and then walk the rest, but my competitive brain (what, I can’t have two brains?) told me that I should try to increase my mileage today and run up and over the bridge that I stopped at last week. Although now I’m quite exhausted, I’m proud to report that on the run I was able to both increase my distance to about 6 miles, yet not have to stop and walk, with the help of the ChiRunning Fatigue Fixers.

Today, at about mile 4.5, I thought I was ready to stop and walk, as my quad and calf muscles were getting fatigued. Having spent 2 years now working on my ChiRunning form, I can tell when my muscles get tired and cause my form to break down, because I get mild pains in certain joints and tendons. If I can rally the strength to bring the form back in check, the pains disappear. On page 254-255 of the ChiRunning book, Danny Dreyer lists some great tips for reducing fatigue on a run. I had read these a long time ago, but this morning I found myself cycling through the ones I remembered to keep me going. Happily, they worked! I’ve ordered them below—1 being the most helpful for me, 2 the next most helpful, and so on:

Tips for Reducing Fatigue

Slow down your pace until you recover some strength.
Imagine your upper body as suspended, with legs relaxed and simply swinging from spinal pivot point in the middle of the back. Engage arm swing in upper body to maintain efficient pelvic rotation. (I added this, because for me it’s the magic focus that brings everything else into line. If I’m too tired to do it, then it’s time to walk.)
Breathe more from your abdomen.
Relax your shoulders. Let your arms dangle at your sides for 30 seconds every 2 minutes.
Don’t focus on your fatigue, or you’ll get more tired. Look up and take in the world around you. (I tried to smile at everyone I passed.)
Engage your lean again, but don’t bend at the waist.
Correct your posture. Make sure your feet are hitting behind your upper body, not in front of it.
Stay away from a shuffle. Pick up your heels and get your feet moving in a circular motion.
Shorten your stride.

Hope this helps you run further, pain-free and without injury!

How Racewalking Affects My Running

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 15:04:00 -0700

So, last week I posted about how Walking Is Underrated. It’s been another week of walking and strengthening exercises in the mornings since then, and while I was running this morning, I noticed some interesting things about my abilities:

1. Racewalking helps me practice rotating my pelvis. I’ve been working on my ChiRunning form for the past two years, and only now do I feel like I’m getting the Pelvic Rotation form focus figured out. If you have the ChiRunning book, it’s described on pages 99-101. Doing all that walking and really swinging my hips as I do it makes my body used to that kind of motion, so it’s easier to implement in a run. Also, it strengthens my abdomen so I can keep my pelvis leveled for longer periods of time. When I do focus on rotating my pelvis in this way while running, I start to feel my legs relaxing and the rest of my form solidifies.

2. Proper ChiRunning form requires upper body strength. My arms are getting stronger with the push-ups, triceps dips, shoulder presses, etc. that I’m doing in the mornings. But, because I do them every weekday, by Saturday my arms are a little tired. On the run this morning, my arm swing was great and I felt a powerful momentum and balancing effect from it, but I think my arms pooped out before my legs did! I’ve realized that the ChiRunning arm swing technique is something that I have to make an effort to do, to pull my elbows backwards as I move forward. To me it feels more like an arm “pump” than a “swing”, because the idea of swinging my arms makes me think they’ll just do it on their own, which they don’t. That’s why it takes some extra muscle and control to make the technique work well for me.

3. Racewalking strengthens my calves, but not my quads. Usually, when I’m out for a long run, I know it’s time to stop when either I’m too tired to keep my form solid which leads to my tendons/joints hurting, or my calves start tightening up. Walking in my FiveFingers makes it easy to remember to peel my foot off the ground, heel to toe, and that is a great calf workout. Today I ran about 5.5 miles, and surprisingly, I felt my quad muscles aching. I say surprisingly because I’ve never really felt my quads on a run unless I’m doing sprints or something. This tells me that training for long weekend runs by running on the weekdays builds up my quads, but training for long runs by racewalking builds up my core and calf muscles.

Obviously, a combination of both walking and running for training is in order if I’m going to have a successful half marathon in December. I think I’ll eventually add in one weekday run after school, maybe a sprint workout, and see how that feels. What do you think?

Walking is Underrated!

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:21:00 -0700

I am getting a sneaking suspicion that my speed walking for 30 min. every weekday morning keeps up my endurance as much as running 2 times on weekdays used to. A fitness goal I’m about 60% committed to right now is to run a local half marathon at the beginning of December. For the other halfs I trained for, I used the ChiRunning Pain Free Half Marathon Training Program and it was great. But, I had to run a lot after work, and I was always so unmotivated and tired or hungry or whatever when I started running that day that it was difficult. (Over the course of the run I usually would feel better and then be glad I did commit to it.)

I started the school year a month ago intending to train again, but to do my runs before school because I don’t teach first period this semester. With my husband’s encouragement to not jump into a drastic schedule change too quickly, I started speed walking with him in the mornings instead of running right away. And now I like the walking routine so much I don’t want to run instead! Here’s what my morning currently consists of:

We get up at 6:00, are out the door by 6:10. Walk around the neighborhood till 6:40, then I do my 10 min. morning workout that I talked about in my last post. Meanwhile, husband is juicing veggies so when I’m done with the workout I can gulp down a GAPSdiet smoothie of carrot juice, a raw egg (pastured), and homemade sour cream (you’ve gotta try it to believe it, but YUM). Then I shower and and am out the door again by 7:10 and off to school. This routine does take advance planning the night before to have my lunch packed and school clothes ready to jump into after the shower, but after 3 weeks of doing it, I’m finding it energizing and worth the thinking ahead!

The wake-up call about walking being underrated came this past Sunday when I went for a run and I was able to run a full mile and a half further than the last run I did two weeks ago. I felt strong in my muscles, lungs, and heart and was really surprised. I went into the run feeling like “Oh, I’ve been bad not running during the weeks, but I’ll just go as far as I can”. I guess I needn’t have worried. That experience psyched me up big time because the speed walking is already built into my get-ready-for-school routine, so I know I won’t slack off or forget to do it. I’m curious to see if I can keep increasing mileage every weekend while only walking during the week.

Maybe I should buy the ChiWalking book. Maybe it will be my new thing…anyone else try it?

photo by lil 1/2 pint

My Updated Morning Workout

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:56:07 -0700

My Updated Morning Workout:

I originally posted this workout a year ago, and since have upped some of the reps and added some new exercises. My arms are getting strong! Especially with all the bone broth, butter, and lentils that I’m eating :)

RIP Garmin Forerunner 305 :(

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:52:00 -0700

Never. Leave. An. Expensive. Electronic. Gadget. On. Top. Of. Your. Car.

You will forget about it, drive off, and let it slide down the back window and out into the fast moving freeway to be lost forever. Well, that’s what happened to me anyway after a run last weekend. I had been in a rear-end car accident the week before, so when I heard a strange clunking noise from the back of my car as I was driving home from the run, I figured something fell off as a belated result of the accident. But no, it was the Garmin bumping off my bumper. At least that’s what I think happened. My husband and I drove the section of the freeway where I heard the noise probably 10 times, trying to see it on the side of the road, but it was just too dangerous to go any more slowly, and I couldn’t get out and walk it on foot. Such a stupid mistake!! Lots of foot stamping and tears ensued.

So, a wedding present from my brother that got me through training and running two half marathons and a ton of other outdoor activities is now dead on the side of the road somewhere. It seems silly to be so upset about a gadget, but it actually had a lot of sentimental value because of the places it went with me and my husband. It was a fun toy to check elevation and distance on our hikes. My natural hippie side is telling me that I lost it so I could learn to run without obsessing about my pace/mile and to just run how far I feel like running, but I haven’t gone on a run since I lost it. Now that I speedwalk 30 min. and do my workout before school every morning, I feel less motivated to run in the afternoons! But I still am interested in running the Santa to the Sea half marathon in December, so I’ll try to get back on track.

Back At It

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:21:36 -0700

I went for a run in my Vibram KSOs this afternoon for the first time in about a month and it felt really nice. I have been doing a lot of walking in them lately, and so running felt very free and bouncy. The day was hot and breezy, and the sun was welcome after having been inside all morning. I kept the run short, about 2 miles (Garmin died before I got home), and just tested out my left knee. Happy to note that it didn’t hurt during or after running, but I took an epsom salt bath afterwards just in case :) I have to say that reading on my kindle in the bathtub with this thing to keep it dry is definitely one of my favorite pass times.

My best friend has decided to train for and run the Santa to the Sea half marathon on December 11 in Oxnard, and I’m very tempted to sign up. It looks like a fun race, but the registration price seems a little steep at this date. I wish I had known about it before the price increase! Yes, the registration helps donate money to scholarships for local students, so I’ll probably end up signing up. Anyone else want to join me?

FiveFinger Sightings in Budapest!

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:13:18 -0700

Well, seeing that my last post was back in June, I obviously didn’t spend my summer blogging like I thought I would. I spent the weeks touring around Hungary and my husband’s hometown, reading 10 novels and various nonfiction on my Kindle, running / walking, and eating so much home-cooked food I didn’t want to leave! I’ll share some thoughts here about these last two items.

Running / Walking

Once we got settled into my husband’s childhood home where his parents still live, I set out exploring the area to find running paths. Turns out there were a lot of options! I developed a 4 mile hilly loop that wove around the local University

as well as a 1.5 mile loop into downtown Gödöllő.

Combining and/or doubling these loops gave me some great choices of distances based on how I felt that day. I enjoyed running in the mornings, with a half banana as fuel, and for a few weeks I maintained running every other day.

Never did I see anyone in Gödöllő or the surrounding areas wearing Vibram FiveFingers like I was, and I got a lot of pointing and stares. I swear one kid called me a “frog monster” in Hungarian. The neighbors were fascinated too, and I did a lot of modeling. Only in my last week in the country did two different men run by me wearing FiveFinger Sprints! If it hadn’t been raining and if they hadn’t been running briskly by, I would have struck up a conversation. Wonder if they were tourists too. I would imagine so, as most Hungarians seemed to prefer the other shoe fad, those shape-up style shoes with the huge built up soles. Tragic :(

One day as I was running fast on a downhill stretch by the University, my left knee started giving me the same pain that led me to ChiRunning (see chapter 4) almost two years ago. I should have stopped and walked, but instead I kept running, a little slower, and tried to use perfect ChiRunning steep downhill form, landing softly on the heel and rolling to the toe. It did help, but the knee hurt the next day upon waking and so I rested for a day or two. The next run caused more knee pain, so I gave up running and started doing fast-paced 4 mile walks in the mornings instead. That lasted for a few days and then we started getting really busy packing to come home. I think I’ll be ok to run again now so I’ll try it slowly soon. I know that I was stomping too much on the downhill, not keeping my feet landing behind my hips, and not absorbing the impact with my form as I got over-confident and ran too fast downhill.

The school year started on August 31, and I have first period prep, which means I won’t start teaching until second period. I’m toying with the idea of starting a morning run schedule, perhaps 2-3 days a week. Even though I’d have to be at school by the first bell at 7:50am, I wouldn’t have to get there by 7 like I used to, which would give me some extra time. What I liked about running in the morning in Hungary was that I felt the same each morning, having slept and digested all the food from the day before. Running in the afternoons last year, I would either be super tired from the day’s work, or get a stomachache from a late snack, or it would be too hot, etc. I think running in the morning will eliminate a lot of those variables, so I’m looking forward to trying it out. Maybe I’ll even get in a track workout at the school once a week, too.

Food, Food, and more Food

The subject of food this summer was ever-present. Some highlights:

1. Watching my mother-in-law grind fish heads (freshly caught and given to us by a neighbor) to make the stock for Hungarian fish soup.

2. Walking to the daily farmers’ market to get lacto-fermented pickles and sauerkraut for about 1/5 the price of what I buy here at the health food store. I came home and learned to make my own. So proud :)

3. Consuming large quantities of grass-fed organic raw milk, cheese, sour cream, butter, and cottage cheese from these cows

4. Visiting the family friend beekeeper down the street and coming home with honeycomb

5. Finding snails tucked into the freezer section of a Costco-type grocery store (we did not buy them…)

6. Marveling at how orange the local lady’s eggs’ yolks were, compared to the ones we buy at our farmer’s market here in CA. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture, but the bright orange yolk below

(thanks FoodRenegade) is exactly what we were gobbling up at a fraction of the price of what we pay at our market in SoCal. And, the eggs we buy at the market look pale yellow, which shows the hens aren’t totally free to roam and eat worms and grass. I felt very disillusioned upon returning home, and am on a quest to find orange egg yolks.

7. Learning how to make raw milk kefir (notice the cream layer!)

and sourdough bread. Experimenting with properly activating the sourdough starter and making a loaf of bread in the gas oven took ALL summer, but I finally got a loaf I was semi-proud of. It was, as my father-in-law said, “nehéz”, or still dense in the middle.

Even though most of our daily meals were homemade, we still ate at restaurants a fair amount, and my stomach and digestive system started to get out of whack and needed a break from strange food upon returning home. I’m back on strict full GAPS diet now, and am not supposed to eat any grains. I was bending the rules with eating the sourdough bread, which when made properly can break down much of the enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid in the flour, but it still has a lot of carbohydrates. So, for now I’m back to nut flours. Maybe will try it again in 6 months or so.

Hope you all had a great summer. Happy Labor Day weekend!

Gödöllő Trail Half Marathon Review: Part II of II

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:44:00 -0700

Gödöllő Trail Half Marathon 6.25.11

That look says, “What the hell was that?!”

Official times and distance: 2:42:03 / 11th of 17 women See All Results by clicking “competition results->2011->half marathon” to the left.

Check out a map with kilometer markings of the race course and also the elevation profile.

Background:

My husband and I are two weeks in to a summer vacation in Hungary visiting family here. While we were planning the trip from the US, we thought it would be fun to add in a race or two, just for the novelty of it. My husband found a half marathon event that winds through the forests of Gödöllő, about 30 minutes outside of Budapest. Interestingly, the event includes both a bike race and a running race over the same course and 21 kilometer distance. The bike race started at 10:30am, and the running race started at 11:00am (late, but it was actually really nice to wake up at a decent hour and have time to digest a full breakfast). My husband registered for the cycling, I registered for the run.

Husband starting the race (front left)

While viewing the elevation profile online from our cozy apartment in CA, I remember saying “oh, it looks like some rolling hills…not even a big elevation change throughout”. I guess I failed to notice the more than five times the course inclines over 100 meters in less than 2 kilometers. For my last half marathon review on this blog back in October 2010, I did a mile-by-mile breakdown of the event. The race was over familiar roads of my hometown, and while writing the review, I could go back to the map and remember how I felt at various points. That race course was also so flat that I kept myself entertained by looking at my Garmin constantly to check my pace, distance, and time.

The Race:

Last Saturday’s trail half marathon in Gödöllő was different than the Camarillo half marathon in both respects; it was not over familiar territory, and it definitely was not terrain that I could space out on or let my mind wander. Instead of remembering how I felt at specific mile markers, the big hills are what stand out in my memory, and everything between is a memory mush of continuous right and left turns that always led to another stretch of forest for another .5 mile or so. While running, I had the sense that I was just meandering, constantly focused on the here and now, lest I make a misstep that would cause me to twist my ankle and forfeit the race (thank goodness that didn’t happen). I didn’t even look at my watch very much, because after about mile 5, I realized there was no sense in trying to make a certain time goal. I just wanted to finish without hurting myself or having to stop to rest for any extended period of time.

The weather was perfect for running; cool and sunny with a light breeze, and didn’t feel too humid. At the beginning I tried to keep my pace slow, but people just took off around me and I went with the flow, especially because most of the trails were single track and there wasn’t a lot of room to pass, so I didn’t want to hold a bunch of people up. I walked the first time when we hit a big mud puddle and everyone stopped to wade around it. On one of the first big hills a woman passed me who I had passed earlier, and I ended up following her and another lady in front of us for at least 3-4 miles. When they walked, I walked, and we kept pace together pretty well. I had to use my ChiRunning “non-runnable uphill” focuses while walking up the hills just so I didn’t stop or fall backwards. At one point, I groaned out loud when a downhill was really steep and hurting my knees, and the lady in front of me turned around with a smile and said something to me. I said, “Nem beszél magyarul” (I don’t speak Hungarian) and she apologized. On a course like that, it would have been really nice to be able to say a few words of encouragement and keep each other’s spirits up, but oh well.

A man walking using walking sticks and a backpack passed me walking up one of the hills, and at that point I started to worry that I was in last place, because I thought he had been walking the whole race. But then I saw him tuck his poles under his arms and start running at the top of the hill. Eventually the two ladies I was with started going slower on the downhills than I wanted to, so on a more gradual downhill section I passed them and tried to keep up with walking stick man. I saw him here and there for the rest of the race, but I was pretty much by myself after that.

One of the best parts about the race was the awesome organization of the race coordinators. All parts of this crazy course were incredibly well marked, with arrows taped to trees or long white tape cordoning off the paths we weren’t supposed to take. There were race volunteers at every potentially confusing trail junction, pointing the correct path to take. And, there were tables with water and volunteers spaced well throughout the course. I drank at those stations just so I could conserve the water I carried with me. It was so nice, with all the other things I had to concentrate on, to not have to worry if I was going the right way through this forest, especially because I ran alone for probably half the race and didn”t have the words to stop anyone to ask for directions even if I could find someone to talk to. Many of the volunteers said things to me as I went past, and all I could say back was “köszönöm szépen!” (thank you very much). Each time I hoped they were telling me that it was all flat from here on out, but I knew that was unlikely :)

Just once I tried to commit to memory by focusing on my watch that 2 hours in, I was at 9.84 miles (.64?). I knew I was on the home stretch, and was actually pretty surprised to be nearing the end of the race. I felt like it was going to go on forever! Meanwhile, my husband had finished his race in 15th place out of 36 riders, and he said he was the first one in who wasn’t part of a cycling club, or a professional rider. I am very proud of him! After cooling off, he came looking for me and was able to get some pictures as I came in. My forward lean and ChiRunning form are all off because I’m just so tired, but I was running!

When I got to the finish line the volunteers stopped me right then to put a medal around my neck and give me my t-shirt and goodie bag, and I almost knocked them over. In Hungary, they don’t give you all the goodies until after you finish!

Then I started crying from exhaustion and hyperventilating. Soon though, I calmed down enough for some more non-perky pictures:

Recap and improvements for next time:

1. I was feeling a little bummed that I hadn’t been able to run the whole race, even though I knew it would have been impossible to have done so; my body rebelled at anything uphill after about mile 5 and forced me to walk. But my attitude changed when I read this helpful article by a man who ran an uphill race and had this to say: “To clarify what I mean by “running” when I talk about uphill running, I would like to underscore that many times in a ‘running’ race, it is to a runner’s advantage to walk parts of the uphills. As I noted in my recent article about a hilly, 50K, trail run in the ChiLiving eNewsletter, the “marriage” between ChiRunning and ChiWalking is an efficient and successful one whenever hills are involved.” Thanks Coach Keith, I feel better now :)

2. The raw honey and Salt Stick capsules that I carried with me for calories and electrolytes worked really well. I didn’t get any cramping, and I never felt hungry or shaky. Yay for natural fuel!

3. Vibram KSO Treks with the Injinji base layer toe socks were awesome for this course. I hadn’t had time to try out the KSO Treks with those toe socks before the race, and I know that wearing something new on race day is a big no-no, but I thought it was worth the risk to minimize blisters or rubbing. The 4mm tread on the bottom of the shoe was just enough to give me the traction and protection that I neeed from the trail. I recovered so well that I was able to go for a mountain bike ride two days after the race, and ran 4 miles or so yesterday, no soreness.

4. Based on this experience, I would do another trail half marathon, but I would make sure to train intensely for hills, and remember that walking does not equal failure. Perhaps something in the Xterra series would be worth a go.

Any questions, just comment below. Thanks for reading!

Gödöllő Trail Half Marathon Review: Part I of II

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 07:23:00 -0700

Were I a better writer, I could perhaps find the words to describe the insanity that was the trail half marathon through the Hungarian forest that I ran this afternoon. Because I am not, perhaps the familiar image of cresting a slow and grueling uphill on a roller coaster only to look ahead and see nothing, nada, before it begins a stomach turning decent will help to paint the picture of the course that I ignorantly submitted myself to today. And that uphill/downhill experience happened over, and over, and over, and over again (yeah, it felt like that).

Well, I’m proud to have finished the race, even thought it was at a snail’s pace. At least I don’t have any broken bones or big blisters. My Vibram KSOTreks were champs and got me through mud puddles, deep sand, and tall grasses with no slipping around or tripping. I’m too tired right now to do a full review, but I will tomorrow once I’ve recovered a bit.

Until then, it’s off to town to see the day’s festivities. Apparently it is some holiday today that they call Freedom Day, so we’ll go until we crash :)

Top 10 Foods To Take To Mars

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 04:31:36 -0700

Top 10 Foods To Take To Mars

Made it!

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 06:38:16 -0700

Made it safely to Hungary a couple days ago and am settling in to life here. Husband and I are going on a bike ride right now to scout out a 10 mile loop that I’ll try to run tomorrow, for my last long run before the race next weekend. I have a lot to write about the food here too, so will update soon!

All Packed and Ready to Go...Almost

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:13:51 -0700

When we get up at 2:30 in the morning, and I pack the rest of the little odds and ends, then we’ll be ready to go to Hungary for 9 weeks to visit my in-laws. Flight leaves at 8am, and we’ll stop in New York and then London before the final leg to Budapest. I went running this morning about 7 miles (didn’t take the Garmin), and just tried to keep it slow based on paying attention to my breathing. Luckily I was able to run strong, as the last couple runs have been difficult. I think I ate too soon before the last long run last weekend.

Not having run a full 11 miles by this point only two weeks before the trail half marathon on June 25 makes me a little nervous. I will run about 9 this coming weekend in Hungary. Don’t want to overdo it though, as I want to rest a lot before the race.

Phew. What a crazy last two weeks—heck, year—this has been. A much-needed unplug from our life here is going to be so fun. My mother-in-law is a wonderful cook, and I look forward to spending time in the kitchen with her, but not having to be in charge of planning out all my meals, for a change!

That’s about all my sleepy brain can manage right now. Hungary, here we come!

Week 4: Great News!

Thu, 26 May 2011 18:03:00 -0700

I was able to donate blood today! This marks a major step forward in my health. I have tried to donate blood at least 3 times before, and have been turned away each time because I failed the hemoglobin/anemia fingerprick test that they give at the beginning. They send me away with a brochure on how to get more iron into my system, and I feel like a total loser reject. I do everything I can, from eating tons of spinach to taking prenatal vitamins. Nothing worked.

Then, I found the GAPS diet and realized that because my other symptoms indicated gut dysbyosis (allergies, candida overgrowth, etc.), the extra iron I was taking in wasn’t getting properly absorbed! My whole digestive system was off, and I needed to heal my intestines. Now seven months into the diet, I decided to try donating again today at our high school’s blood drive. The lowest hemoglobin count allowed is 12.5, and I scored a 12.6! Squeaked by, which tells me I still have a lot of work to do to get my iron count up, but it was good enough, and I felt “strong as an ox” throughout the whole donation process. No dizziness or extreme lethargy. Thank you GAPS diet and Nourashing Traditions! It is so satisfying to get such a concrete indication that my health is improving. I am proud that I can join the ranks of healthy and strong individuals who can afford to lose a pint of blood and save someone else’s life.

That said, here’s a brief update on my half marathon training: lately I manage 5-6 miles two times during the week after school, but my weekends have been very busy or I’ve been out of town, so I missed my 9 mile and 10 mile long slow distance runs that were scheduled. Instead of 9 I did 6 two weeks ago, and instead of 10 I did do a 6.5 mile hike on our camping trip last weekend in my KSO Treks (which worked well with the injinji socks; I decided not to return them). This weekend is another 10 miles scheduled for Memorial Day, which I’ll attempt. I’ve never jumped from 8-10 before, but I’ve been feeling pretty strong on my runs lately, so if I keep it slow it should work fine.

The end of the school year is approaching fast, and so is my trip to 9-week trip to Hungary this summer. My senior students are restless and so am I :) Lots of work to be done before graduation, so I’ll blog as often as I can manage. Once in Hungary I plan to do much more writing!

Week 2: 8 Mile Long Run

Sun, 08 May 2011 15:44:59 -0700

Distance: 8 miles / Time: 1 hour 19 min. / 9:57 average pace

The run today was enjoyable, but a little difficult because again it was very windy. I felt strong, and I’m pleased to note that I’m getting faster as the distance increases. However, that could be due to the fact that I ran once instead of twice last week, and that I used my SaltStick caps for electrolyte salts as well as coconut water. I also ate a bigger breakfast and put honey on my cashew bread with lots of butter.

I cut out almost all fruit, nuts, and beans from my diet two weeks ago because I was eating a lot of them and I think all the sugar and carbs was making me gain weight. I decided that honey and fruit will be saved for big run days when I’ll burn it off. So far that seems to be working well. What I didn’t cut out was grass fed butter, coconut oil, and meat. In fact, I’m eating more of it than ever before because I’m trying to convert my body over to using that for fuel. I read everywhere that fat is the body’s preferred fuel source, not sugar. Interestingly, the weight is dropping off even as I up my fat intake; it is so contrary to everything I’ve ever been taught, but I’m trying it out. Seems to be a delicate balance, because if I don’t eat enough, I get really sluggish on my mid-week runs.

All you paleo people out there, what do you use to give you fuel for intense exercise? I know people like Mark Sisson advise against too many beans or fruits, so where do you get the long-lasting energy?

I have been looking for a review on the chi running marathon training dvd for beginners. I have been wondering if the DVD is the same as there Chi Running DVD, which I own, along with the original book. I am a big fan of the original book, but as I prepare for my first marathon, I was wondering if purchasing the Marathon DVD and book would be worth it. Thanks so much for taking the time. Bill

Sun, 08 May 2011 09:26:07 -0700

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your question. I can’t directly answer about the ChiRunning marathon training DVD for beginners, because I don’t own it nor have I seen it. But, I do have the original book, and I decided that, when training for my first half marathon, I should buy the ChiRunning “Pain-Free Half Marathon Training Program”. It’s a spiral bound little book and it was a wonderful purchase. I would really recommend the marathon for beginners book because I’m sure it’s similar. It is a very detailed plan of how many miles to run each week with form focuses, cadance, and time built in. It also has some great appendices with useful information condensed from the ChiRunning original book specific to racing. Hope that helps!

One Week Down, 8 To Go...

Tue, 03 May 2011 21:17:00 -0700

…’till my first trail half marathon!

What a busy weekend. Seems far away by now. I worked seven hours at two different jobs, went to dinner and a New West Symphony concert, made all my lunches for this coming week, and somehow managed to fit in a 7 mile run Sunday as well. Between all that, I read a lot from my new favorite book/cookbook: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

As a side note before I talk about running, anyone who would like to know more about real nutrition, not mainstream nutrition which warns that saturated fats are bad for us and cause heart disease (not true on either count!), needs to at least go to the bookstore and peruse the book above. I am learning so much, and feel very domestic now getting excited about making all the recipes. Basically, the emphasis is on real foods and techniques for preparing them that traditional cultures used for centuries to maximize nutrition and digestibility. Not being able to digest well a lot of the food we eat now (cereal grains and legumes for example) causes major health issues in our American culture, mostly because we have forgotten how to prepare it correctly! It’s why we all feel so yucky all the time and take drugs for everything from yeast infections to depression. Anyway, read the book. Even if you don’t like cooking, you’ll make better food choices after reading the wealth of information; it’s not just a cookbook.

Ok, now that I got that off my chest… :) The only reason I mention it here is because I’m realizing that this cannot just be a running blog. I know most of my followers are runners and might not be that interested in nutrition per se, but I am finding that the two cannot be divorced from each other. Those who eat well run well, and I feel like I’m experiencing that already.

Week 1 Recap:
I ran twice last week at 4 miles each and then ended the week with a 7 miler on Sunday.
I was feeling really sluggish on my 4 mile runs and was worried that the 7 would be difficult, but luckily it went well. By mile 4.5 I was tired, but kept concentrating on keeping my running form accurate and increasing the pace slowly. I finished with an average pace of 10:03.

I had brought along my race water belt to run with, which I usually do for anything longer than 6 miles. This time I filled one water bottle up with water and the other with C2O brand coconut water which I get at my local health food store, Lassen’s. I love coconut water! It has close to the optimal potassium/sodium composition that ChiRunning advocates for electrolyte replacement, and it is all natural! No more sugary gu gels for me. I had been drinking coconut water a lot after runs, but this was the first time I drank it while running. I was pleasantly surprised by the energy boost it gave, and it didn’t sit heavy on my stomach or give me a cramp. This will definitely be a new component to my half marathon running routine. It’s always somewhat of a logistical feat to successfully manage hydration, electrolytes, and calories during a long run.

This week’s first run is tomorrow, 5 miles.

3rd Half Marathon Training—Officially Begun!

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:34:26 -0700

That’s right! I registered for another race. Yesterday I did an easy pace 6-mile run to kick off training for my third half marathon on June 25, 2011, which will be totally awesome for (at least) three reasons:

1. The event is in Hungary (my husband’s birthplace)
2. It is a trail race (never competed longer than 7 miles on trail)
3. I am going to wear my new kangaroo leather Vibram KSO Treks

Hungary
I am a high school teacher, and one of the perks is obviously the summer break. This year, my husband and I are taking full advantage of the time off and traveling to Hungary for nine weeks! (He is a web programmer and can work anywhere with an internet connection) We will stay with his parents, who still live there, and do a bunch of trips around the area and hopefully other locations in Europe. Typical to our lifestyle, we’ve already signed up for some big athletic events: he’s doing a 5000 meter swim across the biggest lake in the country, and I’m going to run the trail half marathon. There’s also a half marathon bike ride on the same trail that day, which he’ll do. Does that count as a triathlon between the two of us?

Trail Race
The only trail race I’ve competed in was the Xterra Point Mugu Trail Run in September 2009. It was a lot of fun, but I injured my knee on the extremely steep extended downhill at the end of the race. It was because of that injury that I bought the book ChiRunning and started my whole transition into natural running form. The Hungarian trail half marathon has an elevation profile (find link) that’s not too intense, although it looks like rolling hills through the forest the whole way. My First half marathon at Lake Casitas in April 2010 was trail the last 5 miles over rolling hills, and it was pretty intense, so I know a little of what to expect.

KSO Treks
I got these shoes one month ago and so far have run about 15 miles total in them on trails around where I live. I was super excited and pleased with them until realizing after the most recent run that they’re really too big. Major bummer! I couldn’t really tell at first because the 4mm sole is so much more stiff than the 2mm KSOs that I’m used to, and they fit different, but I thought that was normal.

However, I’ve been getting blisters on the balls of my feet that I think is because my foot slips around too much in the Treks. When I push my heel to the very back of the shoe, I have a lot of gap at the toe, but when I cinch the strap up tight, the heel comes away from the back of the shoe and the toe comes to the front. Because of this, I didn’t think they were too small at first.

I called the store that I bought them from, KayakShed.com and the helpful young man who answered the phone suggested wearing Injinji toe socks to prevent blistering. Thankfully, I did buy these at the same time I bought the Treks, so I’ll try it. He said I could also return the shoes dirty for 1/2 price off another new pair. I’m going to see if I can clean them up enough to count as “new” (I doubt it), but if the socks don’t help I’m not going to risk blisters on the half marathon and should probably get a new size. $125 was steep enough, though, and I really don’t want to bring the total cost to $185 with a return. Ouch.

My suggestion to any of you buying the KSO Treks: try them on in a store first if you can find them! (Not so necessary with the regular KSOs, which fit fine from the size guidelines)

Race Training
I’ve been a little sick with a cold since last week, so didn’t push the 6-mile pace at all yesterday and finished with a 10:04 average pace. To keep me honest, on my calendar I scheduled in each of my three runs per week in the exactly two months from today I have until the race. It’s too easy for me to say, “Well, I’m a little tired today”, if it’s not on my calendar. Hopefully everything goes well!

RACE REVIEW: Camarillo Kiwanis Club 10K Official times and...

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 13:21:00 -0700

RACE REVIEW: Camarillo Kiwanis Club 10K

Official times and distance: 55:56 / 8:57 average pace / 5th in age group out of 9 women 20-29 yrs (It’s a small race!)

Wow, I did not expect to beat my goal by this much! I trained to run the race in less than an hour, and was aiming for 9:27 average pace. Yesterday I set a personal record, running faster than I did in any of my previous 9 races. Cool!

Ever since my hip flexors were really hurting during my last half marathon back in October, I’ve been training at a faster running speed, because it means I have to lean more from my ankles and not lift my knees up from the hips. I think that paid off yesterday.

I started the day the way I normally do for a big morning run. Got up two hours before race start and ate a cup of homemade yogurt with blueberries, chia seeds, 1/2 banana, coconut milk, honey, and two dates. YUM. I’ve found this breakfast to be sooo sustaining on runs because it has a great mix of natural sugars for quick fuel and fat from the yogurt for endurance. If I give an hour to digest I never get cramps or feel heavy from it.

The race was only about 20 min. from our apartment so we left at 7:20 for an 8:00am race start. Probably less than 200 people registered for the whole race, and I knew there would be plenty of close parking and a quick package pick-up. I had time to do my ChiRunning body looseners and run up and down the parking lot a few times to loosen my feet up. It was about 45 degrees outside, so we runners were all bouncing around trying to keep warm in our shorts.

I started out as slow as I could with the rush at the beginning, about 9:00 min/mi. Then I backed down to 9:30 and held it there for the first 2.5 miles. I was trying to run at a good clip but not too fast because I wanted to save energy for the big hill at mile 3. It’s the steepest, longest hill I’ve run in a race, and demands a lot of focus. I made it up nicely using the ChiRunning hill technique, seen here in another short video clip of mine.

After the uphill, it was all moderate to steep downhill from mile 4.5-6.2. I think this is what allowed me to finish with such a good time. I played with the “runnable downhill” and “non-runnable downhill” techniques described on pages 180-185 of the book ChiRunning by Danny Dreyer (click on the ChiRunning widget to the right to check it out).

The race was a big success in really all aspects. I beat my goal, my dad won first in his age group and I didn’t get any blisters or cramps. It was a small community race with no time chips, medals, or fancy prizes, but all the important aspects were solid. The course was well marked, and there were volunteers everywhere with stop signs and helpful directions, water, or just a smile and a cheer.

And, before I go, I must thank my wonderful husband for riding along on his bike to videotape and photograph my race and for putting together the awesome video above. Enjoy!

Comments/Questions? Use the “Ask” button down at the bottom right.

Kangaroo Leather is Awesome

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 19:06:07 -0700

Before:

After the trail / mud / water run:

My sister and I ran a 7 mile route through Sycamore Canyon in Malibu, CA this morning, on the maiden voyage of my new KSO Treks. There were about 10 stream crossings that we had to jump/rock hop across, very rocky terrain, and even a baby rattlesnake sighting. I’d never actually seen one before! Glad the mountain bikers warned us, and that it was time to turn around anyway :)

I was happy I got to test the shoes on so many different variables (rocks, mud, water). We’ve had a wet winter, yet the streams were unexpected, and the shoes held up wonderfully. The KSO Trek soles are 4mm thick, and while I could feel the rocks underneath, they weren’t painful like they would have been in my 2mm KSO soles. As far as mud went, the soles were quite grippy and I didn’t slide around much. The best part was the water crossings. I’m very impressed how water resistant these shoes are. The first time they got wet, the water just beaded up and rolled off the shoe without getting my toes wet. Subsequent partial submergings did leak through, but the water seemed to drain out and I didn’t feel any sloshing around, just a little dampness between the toes. Very nice.

Oh, and the kangaroo leather was silky against the skin and didn’t rub anywhere. Only drawback is that I didn’t get all the stares and questions about my footwear that the green/grey KSOs always prompt. (Yes, I like the questions!) I guess the brown leather doesn’t stand out very much. Don’t think people even saw the toes.

I have faith these shoes will carry me through many lovely trail runs, including the 1/2 marathon in Hungary this summer through what they promise is a hilly course through sand, dirt, and grass.

My pace for the run was 9:48 minutes / mile. I stopped the garmin when we did the stream crossings, so this was just the speed of actual running time. At the 6.2 mile mark, I was just under one hour, so I think next weekend’s goal is doable! I plan to run a short run maybe Tuesday, and then rest until Saturday. I still like that it’s a 10K for my 10th race. I’ve already decided to try to find a ~15K trail race in May to prep for the 1/2 marathon in June. Hopefully there’s something local.

Race review next weekend! Have a great week, everyone!