Vegan by Valerie

Making the right choices

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So, I thought I was a genius for inventing the “wheatgrass mixed with a shot of OJ”.  And ok, let’s be honest, I still am  

But…. why is it not curing my cold?!??!?

This morning I pulled out all the stops.  Breakfast was in liquid form, x 5:

- glass of water

- Airborne (dissolved in more water)

- iced coffee

- chocolate Amazing Meal mixed with water and crushed ice

- wheatgrass mixed with OJ

And yet….. I’m still feeling quite under the weather.  Lunch was the same old, same old (yes I’ve had the same lunch Mon-Fri).

After work, I sucked down a chocolate flavored Clif Shot and then took off for my 8 miler.

To be honest, I wasn’t feeling this run, even before I left.  My throat hurt, and my legs – which I went to yoga instead of spinning yesterday in hopes of letting them rest up – were VERY sore from yoga!! Silly, silly Val.  Yoga is always harder than I think!!

And, I was supa dupa tired.

So, the 8 miler wasn’t the best.  I say this every single week, but it bears repeating because noone has given me an acceptable explanation… WHY oh why was my 20 miler soooo glorious, but my 5 miler and 8 miler so gosh darn hard?!?!

Hmm.  I am baffled.

I had made these up yesterday in my lovely Excalibur Dehydrator…. some kale leaves (a full bunch worth) sprayed with this white truffle oil from my mom, and some sea salt.24 hours later, they morphed into crunchy little delights! Mike was a little weirded out that they didn’t look like his “normal” chips, but he still went back for second.  I loved this spray…. it makes it so easy to control how much you spray at a time!For the second week in a row, we ordered in Thai. Mike’s good friend Charlie and Charlie’s girlfriend, Joey were in town from California and they came over for a bit.  We embarrassed Charlie by putting in our wedding video so we could replay his speech… good fun   Pad thai, as usual:

I finished this entire, ginormous plate!! I always feel like I should eat when I’m sick… do you put any stock in the old adage “feed a cold, starve a fever”?  Haha, apparently I do…..

I haven’t juiced in forever, and I have missed it. SOO. MUCH!!!!!!! Truly I have.  This one is made from lots of fennel, carrots, cuke, lemon, and apple, and it WILL cure my cold, I am sure of it.

And now I am off to bed! Goodnight everyone!

Gratitude Journal:

1)  I may have had a less-than-awesome run today, but you know what?  I feel lucky to be able to run 8 miles.  Many people wish that they had the ability to do so, and I do not take my health for granted.  I am lucky to have a healthy heart, lungs, and legs!

2) It was fun playing Apples to Apples with Mike and Charlie and Joey! Love that game, even though it was quite a beat down for me ;)

3) I am sitting here, blogging in bed, munching on vegan chocolate chips.  Yes, my friends, it is possible to eat unhealthy as a vegan!! And sometimes, unfortunately, I am exhibit A. (Oh yes, that reminds me about the picture that failed to make it onto this posting of my 10,000 bites of vegan 7 layer bars!!)

I’m ok with the bars and chocolate chip chow session.  It’s been one of those weeks when all I want is chocolate due to lack of sleep and stress… and that’s ok.  HOWEVER, I also know that I don’t run 8 miles – and consider it a “short” run – for nothing!  It’s silly to put my body through such a rigorous marathon training program, only to feed it crap.

Therefore, I am officially putting it in writing that beginning tomorrow, I am NOT going to eat food that does not provide me with healthy, wholesome fuel for my upcoming marathon.  It’s just over two weeks away, and I am pretty sure it won’t kill me to eat healthy for 2 weeks!! I will be attending a wedding on Saturday and will probably have a glass or two of wine, but really those are the only exceptions.  Please don’t misunderstand me…. in general I am a huge advocate of snacks and treats, chocolate in particular , but gobbling down vegan chocolate chips by the handfull is not going to improve my running at this point in the game.

Thanks for letting me make this “official” by putting it on the blog, and I may need your help to hold me accountable! This sweet tooth thing has gotten outta control.

That said, I am grateful (getting back to #3) that I will have the drive, dedication, and faith in myself and my own willpower and abilities to be able to follow through with this plan!

How do you hold yourself accountable for lifestyle changes that you know will not come easy to you??

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