But before I go on about my training this week, and dairy, let's congratulate the winner of the Heads Up Bands giveaway - Trish Parrell, please email me at lifeasarunningmom (at gmail.com). If I do not hear from you within 3 days I will need to select another winner. To make your email stand out put WINNER in all caps in your subject. Thanks Trish and congratulations!
Now onto running this week....here is what I did in comparison to what I should have done.
The best way to explain this week is to break down and tell you my story...dairy and all. And some fun random pictures of this weekend's crafting fun to keep things light!
You may remember that I was having tummy issues and was under doctor's care about it. I did tests to find the cause and the good news, all tests were coming back good. The bad news, my stomach was still not perfect. I had an endoscopy scheduled for 6/21 and my gut told me that it would find nothing either. On the 20th I made a choice for me. I was going to stop taking the prescription antacids (I don't like taking anything everyday besides my supplements - which I don't really take everyday either) and try dairy free. I had read this post by Amanda and felt empowered to try to find my best diet. I got the journal from Go Dairy Free and started working. Thing is, I was already tracking what I ate and how my tummy felt. This journal took me a step further to look at all symptoms I was feeling, not just the tummy. I had looked at this journal before in the past and my thought then, I am okay. No food bugs me.
Making homemade bird feeders
June 21st I stopped eating dairy and my congestion started vanishing almost immediately. June 23rd my head started draining like crazy but I could breath. This is a BIG thing for me. I always, always, always woke up congested. Every. Single. Day. Except when I was pregnant. It was just the norm for me. June 24th my throat was sore from the drainage. This is an important element as it is also the first day of this past training week. I hit my training goal.Tuesday I nailed my intervals, a day early. I was feeling good. Wednesday my legs couldn't get into my run. I could breath and felt good though. I felt I just needed that massage I had scheduled. The massage that night was wonderful! Thursay and Friday I was feeling worn down. The coughing was getting to me as it was interrupted my sleep. It was all triggered by that tickly feeling in my throat. I blamed the no dairy and my body cleaning itself. My extra busy life was getting to me too. I was runing around like crazy and didn't have time to put my feet up. I went to the doctor's Thursday and yep, I had an ear infection. I was sick. Bummer. And as much as I wanted to dig deep and do my scheduled long run, I knew it wasn't the wise thing to do.
Making 4th of July home decorations
As I type this today part of me is bummed that I only had a 25 mile week but another part of me is happy. Over 549 days ago (the length of my running streak so far...and it will get to 550 days later today) I would have used all those elements as excuses to not run. And I don't think that would be best for me in terms of achieving my goals.How am I feeling? I am energized and I can breath! The coughing is just trying to clear all this mucousy guck out of my body. I think going dairy free started it but I know once my body reestablishes itself, I will be feeling beyond great! And yes, I truly feel dairy is a problem for me because one day I accidentally ate some dairy and my nose started getting stuffy almost immediately. Oh yes, how's my tummy? It is doing great! I am not sure how much it was dairy or other elements. I could just be a coincidence that it was already overcoming its issue when I started this experiment.
And hand painting a tote bag!
I have always been a huge supporter of everything in moderation but now I am seeing, I really do need to listen to my body as it relates to food. The thing is, I kinda always knew since I was a kid that dairy could hurt. I knew not to drink more than a glass of milk. My tummy would hurt. I was cutting back the cheese, etc. I used on my foods. I just felt better not eating to much ooey gooey yumminess. Am I missing the dairy? No, not really. Only as creamer in my coffee but in all reality, the coffee wasn't making me feel awesome either. Neither does beer or wine.Is it worth avoiding foods that hurt? For me, yes. I know that hurt is small in terms of its impact. I won't die from a stuffy nose or a headache (wine gives me headaches) but I won't feel awesome either. So why bother? Why not just enjoy the foods that make my body feel energized along with a nice bottle of sparkling water if I feel like indulging?
Daily Gratitude: I am thankful for the support of my doctor while I investigate a dairy free diet.
Daily Affirmation: I am able to truly listen to my body.
