Oh, the Hippy in Me Seems to be Winning

so, i am running a half marathon in 8 weeks as part of a fund raiser for the leukemia and lymphoma society. 13.1 mls is a long way and involves a lot of training. the race is in florida, so will likely be in the 50's-60's when i run it, but here and now where i'm doing my training, it's in the balmy teens and twenties. running in the snow is like running in the sand- there's a whole lot of resistance dragging you down. plus, the slushy snow then freezes and becomes hazardous, foot-catching, ankle-rolling pot holes along the way. but over all, it's actually really enjoyable! the obstacles kind of make it more fun and as far as the cold, you bundle up so nothing freezes and falls off, but once you're moving, it's rather comfortable. and i guess if i have to survive winter in the midwest, i'd rather get through it at high(ish) speeds.

and with all the running we've been doing, you'd think the Christmas season lbs would just be melting off, right? wrong. i've been half-assing weight watchers for a few weeks with no results, and now i'm ready for change. the BHE has been reading a book on eating right while training for long distance races called "Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide" by Brendan Brazier, a vegan professional iron man athlete. he talks a lot about whole, simple foods. like fatty acids instead of complex fats, amino acids instead of complex proteins, simple sugars, etc. lots of sprouts and whole grains and greens and fruit and stuff. the idea is that you're giving your body only valuable energy that it can use and not store. i know this will be a challenge, but recall that we're already vegetarians, so the stretch is maybe less than it would be if we had to come off meat, too. and i'm not sure if it requires this, but i will be giving up caffeine and alcohol, too. i don't want to pollute my body while simultaneously giving it the good stuff. the book includes menus and recipes for 12 wks, so starting this coming weekend, we're going to follow it up until the race. i'm excited and nervous. excited to feel awesome and clean, nervous to feel hungry. excited to lose the weight, nervous to not eat cheese and coffee and booze for 2 months!! excited to be back in control of what goes in my body, nervous about how much is going to come out of my wallet at the health food store.

so i'll keep you posted on how it's going. should be an adventure!