I wrote in my Believe Training Journal this morning that at only one month into the new year I already feel like throwing out all my goals and starting over. I knew 2016 was going to be a rebuilding year / year of invention, but I thought that just pertained to changing up my training plan. And then I hurt my hip…

I was supposed to start half marathon training yesterday. Who starts a training plan the day after the Super Bowl? That was a dumb idea. Sunday night into Monday morning I had a serious guacamole hangover as well as the beirock farts. Needless to say, I did not train yesterday. Today I got up and did the Foundation Run 5 that was on schedule for Monday. Five minutes in Zone 1, 30 minutes in Zone 2, Five minutes in Zone 1. Nice, slow miles for 40 blissful minutes. My hip felt a little tight in the last 10 minutes, but I felt a definite improvement when I stretched. Stretching doesn’t hurt anymore! It just feels like stretching…progress! I knew my hip was going to hurt later, but not nearly as bad. And I was right. It hurt when I stepped out of my car after my drive to work, but now when I get up from sitting at my desk, it barely registers on my “ow” scale.

I’m going to skip the interval training scheduled for Tuesday. Tomorrow I’ll do a 40 minute bike, instead of another Foundation Run. Thursday is supposed to be a Fast Finish run. Not sure if I will attempt it or swap it out for another Foundation Run. In the 80/20 Running book, they list several options for XTing, including incline walking and elliptical. This is much different than than Run Less, Run Faster which only allowed for bike, swim, and rowing as XTing. At least I have a plan and can keep training, which greatly helps my sanity and my waistline.

Speaking of waistline, I had an epiphany this week. One of my BASE teammates posted this article about the “Endurance 15” in our group the other day. It spoke volumes to me. I gained weight during both hard training cycles in 2015. I lost most of that weight after my goal races. I racked my brain trying to figure out why. I didn’t feel like I was treating myself extra. I counted calories a few days here and there and never felt concerned that I was eating more than I was doing. That article made me realize I was doing two things that caused the weight gain. Starting in May 2015, two days a week I was getting up well before dawn and killing myself on the treadmill for an hour or more. I was way above my fat burning HR, in addition I was doing all that hard work on an empty stomach. My body was entering starvation mode. No wonder I packed on an extra 5-10lbs.

And I think this is my solution…

Being a BASE ambassador allowed me to try two products that I probably wouldn’t have…Aminos and Hydro. I figured their salt was enough for me. But 1 scoop of Amino + 1 scoop of Hydro + 1 scoop of salt = Rocketfuel! It has 80cal, so I can sip my calories, wake my digestion up, and keep my body from thinking I am starving it. The 80/20 Running will also keep my heartrate longer in the happy fat burning zone.

This is another solution…

My snacking does get a little out of control during training. I also tend to overbuy snacks at the grocery store. I find something new that I really like and end up buying way too much of it. “I love these new fig bars, so I’ll buy four boxes of them.” After two boxes, I’m tired of them and then a year later, I end up pitching the boxes because they are way out of date. Enter NatureBox. It’s another one of those subscription services, but this is one I can get behind. I signed up for the 5 snacks every two weeks. It ends up being about 20 servings, which averages out to about $1 per snack. Definitely what I would consider a good price for a good, healthy snack. And they come in the mail…so no driving to the store, no extra items thrown in the cart that weren’t on the list. So far I’ve tried the blueberry almonds, the strawberry carrot fruit chews, the blueberry almond quinoa bites (my favorite!), and the cocoa belgium waffles. I loved them all. I also got the honey dijon pretzels that I haven’t opened and my surprise snack of lemon tea biscuits, which have milk in them and will get eaten by Runner Boy. Use this link to get 50% off your first box.

Do you have weight issues during training cycles?

What do you snack on?

Are you a fan of subscription services?

Stay neon!