testing, testing...

pH testing

decided to at least do some additional baseline measurements. if i am to do all the juicing i thought i'd best get some pH baselines to go by. i know i have already been doing it for a week and a half so i should expect the reading to be better than before i started. my saliva registered 6 and my wee 6.5, so although still acid not as bad as it would have been 2 weeks ago!!

my son eats vegetables sparingly and usually once i have pureed them or disguised them as a sauce, but he does take lots of smoothies. his pH was 8.5! so he is doing something right!

so will carry on juicing [now making my own!] and eating 5 a day wherever possible and see if i can improve my levels. i will also try and find some evidence based research that gives validity to the acid alkaline diet.

On the other foot...

Since the marathon i have been having pain that started in my right foot and has gradually crept all the way up my leg to my hip! At first i put it down to the marathon after effects, but i rested well and started back by the book building slowly again. The pain hasn't subsided but it hasn't stopped me running although it is getting uncomfortable afterwards and sometimes during a run. Lately i have also noticed that my running shoe was feeling too flappy and i was having to tighten them up. my shoe size [4] in any other shoe was now too big! i was having to buy size 3 again. many moons ago before pregnancy ballooned me from 7 to 11 stone [all water of course!] i had a high foot arch and was a neat 3 in a normal shoe and 4 in a running shoe. after pregnancy i was left very much flat footed and up a whole size in all shoes! i had to change from an asics which were great for high arches to a nike for over pronators and that is what i have run in for the last 13 years! however recently i have noticed if i am standing for a long time i am rotating my foot outwards - supination! in fact i was even walking like that in bare feet! so i decided to do the wet foot test!

http://www.runnersworld.ltd.uk/foottype.htm

My result

My result confirmed what i had now suspected - i was back to having a high arch and supinating and not over pronating - which means i am wearing the wrong type of shoe!! so is this the reason i am getting sciatica and shooting pains in my foot, calf and inner thigh? Possible!

So now i will have to get new shoes and see if this helps my sore leg and hopefully improves my running!

beans means turning over a new leaf!

i absolutely abhor the idea of becoming vegetarian but i will give in to eating less meat and adding more vegetables to me meals. had been doing well till yesterday and had a poor diet relapse. i started with my usual tea and toast with butter - or rather butter with toast - organic lurpack tho', lunch i missed, for dinner i had a small meaty quiche and supper was cream of tomato soup with roll and more butter! My fluid intake on the other had was better than normal with one glass veggie juice, one glass lemonade and a pint of diluting orange!

on that note today i went healthy food shopping!! Mostly organic fruits and veggies have now been stacked in their categorized shelves in the fridge, with expiry dates duly noted in my notepad from which i can collate daily menus.

So breakfast is always my normal - can't let go of that comfort blanket yet. My stomach churns at the thought of anything cold, juicy or out of the ordinary for my first meal of the day. it will take a bit longer than that to change the habits of a lifetime! one of my pet hates when going on holiday is that no breakfast tastes like my own scottish tea and toast. in france i put up with sweet croissants and minging tea because the bread is too crusty and just doesn't have enough E numbers or preservatives in it to taste like the stuff at home. actually i am not that bad - i converted to soft additive white to wholemeal and occasionally organic wholemeal but i am not keen on the latter. in new york and canada i gave in a had orange juice and pancakes with syrup because nothing came close to the taste of my tea and toast - although i didn't complain as loudly as my waistline at that! in italy, austria, menorca and majorca i made do with the nearest to soft white bread and butter and either tea or orange juice depending on which i found most palatable. so i you think i am changing to healthy fruits, yoghurts, juices and nuts immediately you've got another thought coming!!! i might start taking porridge with yoghurt and maple syrup on run days but that is a few weeks off yet. i did try on sunday after i tried the dog's concoction of such and thought it was quite nice but gave in and had my usual - but the thought was there and that gives me hope...

my lunch i am munching just now is - wait for it, you'll be impressed - three bean salad!!! and the ever faithful veggie juice. hey i am so impressed i wouldn't be upset if i just eat chocolate for dinner! kidding - i don't like more than a taste of chocolate at any given time and most of the time only with wine! and no sis it wasn't three tins of heinz beans either!! three bean and mint salad from tesco! and surprisingly yummy! cannellini, black turtle and soya beans. dog enjoyed the dregs too! oh and the veggie juice! this batch was better than the last one as donna went back to the second recipe she gave me. i think it is the adding of the pineapple that makes it sweeter. anyway feel bagged now so can't really think of dinner at the moment. i'd better go look the list and examine the recipes in my new books and see what appeals. will get back later!!

More beans!

Well i am sure i will have enough wind to fill a hot air balloon tomorrow as i had spicy been burgers for dinner!! Why? Well the problem was that yesterday when i had the notion for a spicy bean burger my other half came home with the quiche because marks' didn't have any! unfortunately the notion never left me and it was the first thing on my mind for dinner. i did have it with coleslaw and tomato sauce [yes my favourite, sis!] so more veg!

The books i had ordered came today, so tomorrow i will plan something from them. i may replace some of the ingredients as i haven't even heard of some never mind be able to buy them. And i will have to start making my own juices now donna has got me started. i have all the raw ingredients - now i just have to dig the juicer out from under all the dog dishes and cat baskets in the garage cupboard and clean it up ready to get juicing!

And maybe tomorrow i'll start looking at running plan! did nothing today although had great intentions, but had too much work to do i gave it a miss. shame because i like running in this drizzly weather. i keep hoping my sore foot will get better but i think i need to look at the possible cause. i suspect my pronation has changed and if so i am not wearing the right shoes anymore. will look at university internet to diagnose the problem and get back to you on that one!

First week of trial

Baseline recordings:

weight 47kg bmi 17.3% heart rate 60bpm bp 110/60

hey i know you are saying wow 47kg but it is all round my mutton tops and dimpling up my ass!! i wasn't like that after the mara!!

Well today was the first day i used the garmen to record my run and i think i should have left it at home!! i ran better last week on a harder route! Last week i ran to strathblane and back from milngavie to include the hilly ascent up the khyber! pass and cuilt brae! chappin at the bit behind mo on both ascents we averaged a 9m 15s/mile over the 11 miles. we were both disappointed but it was hot [it seems to always be hot when we run then pisses down when we stop!] and mo had raced the week before and managed a couple of mad club runs too. me - i had no excuse! i had run the day before but i didn't exactly exert myself! anyway this week we decided on another hilly route the bearsden [highland games] 10k with an extra mile thrown in! ok there are 10 hills on this run [we counted] and again the sun came out. but we planned to take it easy. so we were both disappointed when the garmen stated an average of 9m 45s / mile for the 7 miles! in my head the strathblane run was much harder but either we both crawled this week or the run was harder than i imagined. so after 6 days of juicing i have this paltry result!

on the bright side i never felt out of breath and recovered immediately. i even gassed the majority of the run, although that is my normal as anyone that knows me will verify. in fact kas always used to say i made her ears bleed!

so what do i do now? the participants in the beetroot study were tested after 6 days also and showed a 16% improvement. ok i am not doing any proper tests here but i just wanted to see an improvement in my performance. although i can say i felt good the whole run, recovered well and now have a baseline to compare future runs with.

aslo donna said i wasn't drinking enough of the superjuice and i should have been drinking 3 or 4 times the amount - not if i wanted to be able to leave the toilet!! so letting my body gradually adjust to the veggie change i will up the dose by double 500mls [like the amount drank by guys in the study!] and next week mo and i will do the same run and compare the results! mo kindly offered to be the control group/ bod with no super juice! god love her but that is like testing the hare against the snail [me being the snail of course!]. god help me but if she tries the juice i may as well tie a rope round her to keep up! hey isn't that a training method? if not it should be!

not for the weak stomached - do not read on if you do not like talking poop!

i mean it...

now whilst i have informed you i am peeing like a hot spring gusher, the other ain't doing so good! normally a twice a morning person and a number 3 or 4 on the bristol stool chart [i know too much information!! you were warned! i'm sorry but you will get all the sordid details as i can't escape my previous knowledge gained when i was a continence adviser, or incontinent or pish nurse as i was more fondly known!]

don't laugh! this is a credible poop assessment chart!

anyway, i am not performing to my usual pattern! you would think with all the veggie juice i would have the runs but no - the opposite! and one day not at all!!! ok i'm obsessing but i don't feel my normal self if i am not regular! so what has caused this? is the fibre content higher in veggie juice and has that increase soaked up the little daily fluids i ingest with the resulting constipation? after all the juice is really food! and i drink like a camel! my normal fluid intake [excluding juice trial] is: 2 cups of tea [500mls], 2 diluting orange drinks [700mls] so daily intake per non alcohol day is only about 1200mls. sometimes i have 250mls lucozade post run but only if it is really hot or after a ten miler or more! tragic! and at the weekend i drink a bottle of wine - it lasts about 4 days and i now dilute it [i now - sacrilege you scream!] with a third water! this is because i was getting terrible headaches with anything over 9%vol and because i am not the best at hydrating i felt this was the best solution! so yes the wine will add to the dehydration effects too. plus i have added more veg to my meals! so going from 2 veg a meal [and often per day] to five a day will also have an increase to the roughage intake! so yep i need to drink more fluids if i am to get back to regularity "doon there" and double the veggie juice!! just checked [without doing a proper lit review] the juice isn't considered to cause dehydration so it is probable the extra fruit and veg with dinner!

so i have pontificated long enough and it is now time to go drink the drink!! i have tried to put it off today as yesterday i forgot to shake it and had a weird tasting liquorish sort of tasting sweet version. today i noticed there is swirling green swamp stuff lying in what is left!! i am baulking at the thought but it is either that or the beetroot juice i bought as an emergency supply - and since it tastes like...well i can't describe how bad it tastes! let's just say swamp drink is more appealing!! mmmm yummy! ciao for now!!

ps the green stuff was fine! i just added juice from half an orange and kept stirring it with my straw as i drank it! probably all the spinach donna said she'd used. i like spinach! bring it on!

pink pee!

well what can i say? i am peeing for scotland and peeing pink!! and you don't want to know about my other eliminations!! worried my teeth will go pink or at least my fillings - so been brushing after -just in case! at least to protect the fillings!

well been reading the science bit - the research from which the beetroot article was about. seems there were only 8 participants and the stats bit was really ropey - and i am not great with stats but it did seem to suggest there was a 16% improvement in oxygen uptake which improved endurance. they drank 500mls per day and the outcome tested after only 6 days and compared against a control group. so i am thinking only 6 days to note improvement means i should start to see improvements in my running by next monday!! so until then i will not look at performance on the garmin!!

Today's intake was the usual glass, nice and chilled, with half and orange squeezed into it - i like orange juice! after downing that i noticed i had a little left over (and since donna was bringing a new batch today) i though i may as well use up the rest and give her her bottle back! lunch was to be pea and ham soup so i just threw the rest into the bowl. hmmm not sure how i felt about it! it had that post vom aftertaste! and even a few carrot chunks -though where they came from i am not sure! ignoring the aftertaste, because it didn't taste too bad -just didn't taste like pea and ham, more like cucumber soup - i downed it hot! 'twas a lovely maroon colour too!

now i am preoccupied as to what to make for tea tonight! pleased with myself that i managed to incorporate 5 veg into last night's dinner, i am now at a loss on what to make tonight. i need a recipe book! yesterday i browsed the local store and was disappointed to only find many weight loss recipe books. i was looking for alkaline or pH balanced diets/ cookbooks/ recipes! so onto amazon for a search revealed so many i couldn't make up my mind about - so i ordered 4! oh and pH test strips - well might as well take experimentation all the way! but that won't help me find a recipe for tonight so will surf net to see what is there that complements what my fridge can provide! will keep you posted! maybe talk to donna later about recipes too!

Juicy!

Ok been really lazy after mara.. hardly run. lucky if i am doing 18 miles a week and mostly at weekend! been feeling really tired and lethargic too. maybe not running enough to keep up stamina. anyway the hypochondriac in me thought i may have "footstrike" anaemia after mara and the training so i went and got bloods done. the good thing is the came back normal, the bad thing is i have no excuse for such pish running!

this is more noticeable on the sunday runs with mo! we started off at a similar level - mo recovering from injury and me from mara. now 6 weeks on mo is leaps ahead of me [and yes she always was way ahead normally] even tho she is doing as little milage as i am.

so i have decided that something has to change!! i will try make a more concerted effort to fit more running in but this is difficult doing 2 jobs and running a family and my mara training was only 4 days a week [even when doing 40 odd miles] so i am not too bothered as long as i try for 4 and maintain 3 as a minimum when time is short but make them a quality run!

the other aim [and probably the most important one] is my diet! it is dreadful! i am ashamed to say how poor it is on fruits and veg! even tho i am happy to say most of the food i eat is organic [don't start me on that soapbox - that's another blog!] this NEEDS to change. to help me in my efforts my best pal donna is going to juice me up! this decision was made after reading the beetroot research in the news all week - after all 16% improvement is not to be sniffed at. it can make a significant difference to any pb and even if it helps me shorten the ever increasing distance between me and mo then it is worth a try!

i also keep getting constant pester emails from a website i subscribed to ages ago and never get round to unsubscribing from. to be honest i think my subconscious likes the wee reminder [or should i say chastising?] to get me to rethink my diet. the site is all about alkalising your body, and at the moment mine is probably so acidic i could probably give the genetically modified ripley a run for her money lol, so i though i'd look at this diet again.

i hate having to think about foods i hate making efforts to buy fruits and vegs then watch them rot in their bowls till i throw them out - yes i need an easier alternative. why can't supermarkets just sell packaged alkaline meals as easily as they sell the packaged junk?

anyway donna to the rescue suggested i try her juices! now remember i don't even like most fruit and veg and when she listed all the horror ingredients i baulked at the idea and wondered what i was getting into! but needs must!

i started yesterday. and maybe it was psychological but who cares cause it is working but after just one glass i felt i was breathing better - that is only way i can explain it! like i felt more oxygenated! i even noticed when i took the dog a walk the 24 stairs i climb at the start of my walk to the path i was hardly breathless! normally i am gasping at top. can this be possible after only one glass [actually a glass and a half]?? and here comes the bigger shock - it was not only palatable - it was actually nice!! - and it contain all the things i said i hated and contrary to what i thought i couldn't identify the taste of any of them in the juice!

so here goes to day 2!! i will take a glass a day and see if this makes an impact on my running. as i log all my times on my garmin it will be great to make comparisons of before juicing and after! watch this space!!

Race day!

Retrospect

Well I haven’t raced big miles since may 2005 when I did Edinburgh to north Berwick in 3hr 13m. my pb for the balloch Clydebank half mara in march 2005 was 1hr 43min much to maz’s surprise which had gained me entry to the 2005 new york mara! But due to the drastic year that lay ahead of me I missed the mara in nyc and was lucky to be able to just keep on running! Happy to say I was yet to run the real run [as the geddi maintains - yer nae a real runner till yev done a mara!!] so at last in 2008 I was coaxed by jill to enter the Edinburgh mara the following year! Bloody ages away I thought - yeah good idea - gives me something to aim for. So far away I’ll probably pull out anyway!! Ahah - red rag to a bull there I was training away and happy to be enjoying the training and managing to fit in 4 days a week!! Ok it was nothing like the training I did in 2005 but hey I wanted stress free easy version and that’s what I did. To the point that I actually enjoyed everyone of my long runs. In fact I feel the distance thing is my cup of tea although maybe not to the same extreme as my running buddy Debbie [read her post www.debsonrunning.blogspot.com to see what I mean] but hey never say never! Mo and I constantly say yes we will do something ultra in a couple of years and I do quite fancy something big - Duracell bunny big!! Anyway back to Edinburgh 2009!!

The big day!

The course was scenic travelling down from the centre of edinburgh along a coastal route and finishing at musselburgh racecourse - mostly flat with a good downhill start.

However the weather was not as expected of a May day in Edinburgh and even with the coastal breeze was akin to running in the desert when you are not used to such heat. In fact, none of my training runs came near to such temperatures! When i got out the ca on arrival it was already 15 degrees. On return it was 23 degrees!

Well where do i begin?

Mistakes

1) ate breakfast 3 hours before start too early!

2) wore new shoes today [same make and model] only 10 miles on them - never had a blister on 22 and half miles in old shoes!! these blisters started at 10miles!!

was doing sub 4 hour pace till 20 miles ran out of blood sugar, running on marshmallows on zigzags with buzzing in my ear!

lessons learned

1) eat more food

2) drink the wine i wanted to [150cals per glass]

3) no new shoes.

andrew and dec had a great time sunbathing!

thanks donna and carole for running me in!!!

Splits for the anal!
1- 7 49 too fast
2- 8 07 still too fast
3 - 8 09 yep
4 - 7 57 shouldn't have chased that guy with the nice arse!
5 - 8 12 still too fast
6 - 8 38 more like it
7 - 8 38 yeah
8 - 8 36 cruising
9 - 8 45 yep
10 - 9 00 perfect
11 - 9 06 slipping
12 - 9 21 slipping more
13 - 9 31 still calculating no bad!
14 - 9 36 oops
15 - 9 52 the rod's set in
16 - 10 03 yep
17 - 9 58 - got boost from seeing maz!
18 - 10 14 - held boost after seeing rob , lewis and victoria!
19 - 10 42 the beginning of the end
20 - 10 58 had it!!!
21 - 26 - don't ask!!

andrew did some sad spreadsheeting for me , just to make me feel worse....the 20mile pace should have turned out a 3hr 57m talk about whipping a dead horse. Away to boil some needles and squirt some juice!!

this is first time i have lost whole nail and bed immediately! the whole thing was floating in that blood blister completely detached!

To boot at mile 19 there was nae water!! and no one to complain to either. and that was after 2 miles of blistering heat in an open field!! murder! NEVER AGAIN..

…well till next year!

donna juice never tasted sooooo good thanks! xxx

carole ran the last 4 miles with me talking me in all the way [even the "move your ass woman" comment had good effect]! if you hadn't i'd have still been there 2 hours later. thank you petal. xx

Maz ran a stormer! She thinks she broke 3 h 27m - phenomenal! Jill also ran a stormer coming in at 3h 43m but did her knee in during race and ended up injured, limping home to the finish line. Kas too was happy finishing under 5 hours in this heat. i saw her running last half mile as i was hobbling to car!

This is the hardest physical thing i have ever done!

We are all celebrating today with lunch at in west end!