Running and diet and sleep

I'm not always the best with my diet, but the husband and I have decided to do something healthier when it comes to food.  We are  loosely following a commercial diet plan that we happened to have a cookbook for as well as some success in the past following said diet plan.  It's really more about us actually planning our week's food and eating in rather than giving in and eating out when we have nothing planned. Which is why I'm not really going to mention the diet - it's way more about balance and eliminating fast food than what the diet actually says.

That's been interesting because at the same time I've been avoiding junk food (my favorite) and alcohol (I like it, but this is not such a big deal).  Meanwhile our summer student at work is driving me to drink.  Or at the very least crave large amounts of salty, crunchy food.  Or giant plates of pasta.

Did you know that the Germans make a dessert that is essentially ice cream extruded like pasta.  Often topped with strawberry sauce?  There is something wrong with that, but probably only to someone who loves pasta more than ice cream and sees this as sacrilege.

These are the things you can find on the internet when you're trying to ignore your hunger while googling "German Ice Cream" to see if there's anything your coworker needs to be aware of before she departs for her vacation.  Because, priorities. Also because killing summer students is frowned on and it seems somewhat harsh to request he be fired.

So, having changed our diet for a whole three days (seriously, today is day three, I'm not good on diets), I've noticed that the one benefit promised in the book of benefits (otherwise why would you buy the diet book?) is actually valid.

IMPROVED SLEEP.

I'm actually sleeping mostly through the night (pets notwithstanding) except for that bizarre 12:30-12:35 am time period where I continue to wake up every night.  Sure, I have a bit of trouble falling asleep (I'm surprised I was asleep by midnight last night to make my 12:30 wakeup call) now and again, but I seem to be getting better quality sleep.

I say this because I'm actually waking up at 4:30 to run with a lot less, "OMG! NO!"  I can also get on the bus on running days and not sleep for the entire trip into town.  And out of town.

On non-running days, I also don't feel the need to nap on the bus so much.

This could also be because I switched from coffee to tea at the same time as starting this diet so perhaps the sleep thing is not so related.  BUT THE BOOK SAID!

Regardless, the early mornings are getting easier, my speed is getting faster unless a hill is involved, and I'm kind of enjoying this running thing a little bit more.  And for some reason Hank is getting better behaved on leash.  Except for that poor cat he chased into the park yesterday.  In other news, turns out a good whistle will bring that dog back, even with a small furry animal to chase.

The one result I haven't seen much of, you know after three whole days, is actual weight loss, but I'm sure that'll come if I manage to find my patience.

Running this week - even at 4:30AM!

This is what Hank looks like after a 2.8 mile run/walk at about 24C.  

That was Tuesday night after I felt really crappy about consistently not getting up to run early. I'd even written off running that night after we'd stopped at the vet, the library and the post office to get some errands done.  We still had to have dinner and it was almost seven.

I was bummed.

Then my super-awesome husband said, "why don't you take Hank for a walk or run now and I'll make supper."

So, off Hank and I went.  He had some issues that night with being a bit aggressive to other dogs, but we hadn't walked him that morning so I think it might have been more our fault for leaving him with way too much energy.  That's also why the run ended up being 2.8 miles instead of the usual shorter distance.  When we caught up to a family walking two dogs very slowly, I made the decision to not follow them down the path they were going, instead running out to the main road and some extra hills.

Hank got home, drank water and crashed - first on his bed, then he decided he'd rather hang out with my husband downstairs (where he can make sure no one leaves the house without him) and he sprawled on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

This morning when my alarm went off at 4:30, I turned it off planning to go back to sleep.  About 5 minutes later I dragged myself out of bed and got ready to run.  Then I realized that my phone wasn't charged so I couldn't track my run (the horror!).  I attempted to get it charged before leaving the house, but it lasted less than 5 minutes before the battery saver shut down the GPS.

But that doesn't matter.  What matters is that I actually went out and ran in the morning again.  In my new running skirt!  Without my phone, it's hard to judge, but it looks like I even managed a good time.  So I manually added it to Runkeeper with my estimated time.

In June, I ran 13.1 miles.  I targeted 20 miles for July and today I pushed past 20 miles with a distance of 2.3.

July has a lot of records, but most importantly, I met my distance goal!

Here's the thing, sometimes it's hard to get back into the routine.  It's hard to get motivated.  We have lives and families and sometimes we just want to sit on the patio with a bottle of wine.  It's been a huge struggle for me to get back into it, which was a surprise for me.  I missed it so much when I couldn't run, but apparently I got in a couch rut.   This article from Runners World helps a bit.  Ugh, I have to get back into weight training.

Then I packed myself a delicious breakfast - a peach, some jarlsberg and saskatoon banana bread.