Blog | Carrie Regan Coaching - Resources for the everyday athlete

Riding with heart (rate)

December 12, 2012 | Author: admin

In every Spinning class you’ll hear me refer to the suggested effort level for a particular interval, stated as a % of your max effort/max heart rate and comparing it to an everyday activity:

60%– Easy warm up or cool down pace.

70%–“Brisk jog” pace: Still a conversational pace, but you’re riding with intention, not slacking off.

80%–“Race” or “brisk run” pace: You can speak, but when we do a “talk test” you need a breath every 3-4 words. You’re huffing and puffing and open mouth breathing is required. This is the max you can sustain for around 25-30 minutes

90%–Surge pace. Not a pace where you want to speak. You should feel a burn in the legs.

Of course, there are days when it’s a little harder to find that get-up-and-go. We tell ourselves that we’re working at 80% during those race-pace intervals, or surging at 90%–but are we really?

Conversely, there are also times when we know we should be dialing it back–when we’re recovering from a cold, injury, or have a race coming up and should be tapering–and we end up pushing too hard instead.

How can you avoid falling into those traps? With one simple tool: a heart rate monitor.

The problem is that if you go out and buy a heart rate monitor, enter your birthday and gender, then slap it on your wrist and ride at what it tells you is 70%, 80%, or 90% of your max, it might be off. Wayyy off. If you trust the watch to calculate your heart rate zones instead of entering them on your own, it’ll likely use a standard formula (220 minus your age, or sometimes 225 minus your age for women), and that standard formula may be off by as much as 30 beats, which can really affect those percentages. 30 beats might not sound like much, but it could mean the difference between slacking off when you should be surging, or running out of steam 3 minutes into a 30 minute time trial.

So once a month in class we’ll do a 30 minute time trial–an opportunity to go all out for 30 minutes. For those who’ve done time trials in my class before, you know the secret is in the pacing: going hard enough so that you don’t have lots of extra energy at the end, but not so hard that you run out of steam partway through. It’ll require focus and paying careful attention to your body. As I mentioned last week, it’ll also help if you take a rest day before class.

Here’s where the fun comes in: Our “race pace”– the max you can sustain for 25-30 minutes–is about 80% of your max. So if you have a heart rate monitor, you can use this time trial class to set personalized heart rate zones on your watch, assuming you’ve taken that rest day the day before and really work at your max for those 30 minutes.

Here’s the way the class will look*:

-We’ll start off by warming up for 10-15 minutes

-Then, we’ll dive into our 30 minute time trial. I’ll try to keep it moving by providing reminders about posture, pedal stroke, and points of focus throughout.

-Ten minutes into the 30 minute time trial, I’ll have you start your heart rate monitors (or hit “lap” if you have lap function).

-Your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes of the time trial will be your lactate threshold (LT)–simply stated, that dividing line between aerobic and anaerobic work which is around 80-85% of your max heart rate. This will be your new, refined and defined “race pace.”

Now that we know what your LT–or 80-85% of your max–is, we can determine the rest of your heart rate training zones with some simple math. In future classes, when I say “70%” or “80%” or “90%,” you’ll know exactly where you need to be in order to get the most benefit from the class–and can use those zones for training outside of class as well. I promise–it’ll keep you honest, push you to work when you don’t feel like it, and force you to dial it back when the situation calls for it.

Over a season your LT shouldn’t change much–but you’ll be able to see how much your fitness improves each month by keeping track of the distance recorded by your bike during the 30 minute time trial. At the same heart rate, you should see that distance and your average speed increase as your fitness builds.

So come ready to ride tomorrow–and if you don’t have a heart rate monitor, don’t worry. You can still use the “talk test” to dial in your proper zone…and in the mean time, put a heart rate monitor on your holiday wish list!

* Shout out to Joe Friel for his most excellent blog and this indoor cycling LT test.

Do you need an “off season”?

December 2, 2012 | Author: admin

We hear the term all the time in relation to professional athletes– the “off season.” But could an average Jane or Joe who works out regularly–and perhaps participates in the occasional triathlon and/or cycling/running event–benefit from an off season too?

If you stress your body on a regular basis in any way, the answer is yes–and whether you know it or not, you may already be taking one.

The off season is a time to dial it back a notch and allow your body to recover from the stresses you put on it during regular workouts the rest of the year. It’s not a time to slack off completely, but rather reduce volume and intensity. Many of us tend to do it naturally over the holiday season, when travel and cold weather causes us to reduce our physical activity after an activity-filled spring, summer, and fall.

Signs you need an off season
If you’ve hit a fitness plateau, where you feel like you’re putting in the time but see no fitness gains–or if you’re constantly getting sick, injured, or feeling run down–allowing yourself an off season may be just the trick to get back on track so that you’ll come back stronger in the spring. If you’re losing motivation and feeling burnt out, an off season will give you the opportunity to introduce some variety into your workouts, try new classes and reignite that spark. Keep in mind that the off-season shouldn’t last the entire winter–a month or two should suffice.

What to do during the off season
Some fitness experts suggest eliminating high-intensity workouts completely during the off season and subsequent base building period (and if you’ve had recurring injuries and/or colds over the past year, I would too). Others suggest maintaining a certain number of high intensity workouts to focus on building speed in a specific sport over shorter distances. All agree that the off season should be a time to increase rest and recovery–so if you still hit those hard intervals, take twice the recovery you normally would. Also–if you spend your spring, summer, and fall running, cycling, and working out outdoors, hitting the weights with some targeted strength conditioning in the winter can translate into better performance next year. It’s a great time to work on technique in your specific sports as well.

I’m the first to recognize that touting the benefits of an off season is one thing, while putting it into practice is another. When you’re in that spin class and everyone is pushing those high intensity intervals, it can be awfully hard to dial it back. But research shows that just as weekly rest days are necessary and beneficial, an off season will serve you right in the long run as well.

So go ahead and sleep in an extra day of the week over the next month or two. Skip one of your weekly spin classes and give yoga or Pilates a try instead. If you’re an injury-plagued runner, try introducing a lower-impact sport like swimming or deep-water pool running. And most of all, enjoy your off season!

Home-for-the-Holidays Workout!

November 15, 2012 | Author: admin

The holidays are here, and if you’re like me, that means travel–travel away from home, your favorite gym classes, familiar running paths, bike riding routes, and pool.

Maybe you’re going somewhere where you can’t easily run outside or find a gym. If so, don’t despair! There are quick and easy workouts you can do in your hotel room or mom’s living room to maintain fitness and enjoy some guilt-free holiday eats.

Workouts On Demand
First, if you have access to cable television and an On Demand service like Comcast’s, check out the selection of fitness workouts in the Sports & Fitness category. Sample workouts include “Ten Minute Workouts,” “Cardio Blast,” “Kickboxing,” “Core & Abs,” and “Pilates & Yoga.” Bonus: if you have a Comcast account, you can also watch them on the road–via computer or the Comcast Streampix app– through Streampix. Check out the lineup here (you may need to log into your Comcast account first).

Inspiration from YouTube
You can also find great ideas for routines on YouTube. Ubtfitness has some solid routines crafted by credentialed personal trainers–like this Thanksgiving home cardio/strength routine. The “20/10” interval workout contains 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest, running through body weight exercises like pushups, squat jumps, lunges, and burpees.

Resist it!
Resistance bands are also a terrific portable workout option that you can do anywhere. Check out this full body resistance band workout, packed into eight simple moves–with demos–courtesy of Daily Spark.

Of course, if you simply can’t fit the workouts in, don’t feel too guilty. Our bodies need a break, and what better time to take one than the holidays? Just don’t let your down week turn into a down month: our bodies start to lose cardiovascular fitness in as little as a week or two–and we all know that it takes a lot longer to get it back.

Here’s wishing everyone a happy, healthy Thanksgiving!

High Intensity Intervals & Ironman Inspiration!

November 1, 2012 | Author: admin

Hi gang!

Good work to everyone who tackled those high intensity (or Tabata) intervals this morning.

As promised, here’s a link to a great article from Active.com that talks about the benefits of high intensity training. Named for Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata, the four-minute protocol (composed of eight reps, with 20 seconds at your lung-burning max followed by just 10 seconds of rest before your next rep) may do more to boost your performance than an hour riding at 70% of your max.

Don’t believe it? Read how Tabata tested it out, subjecting one group of elite athletes to the four-minute Tabata protocol five times a week over the course of six weeks. A second group rode at 70% of their max for an hour, five days a week for six weeks.

Who’d reap the greatest gains–the “Tabata protocol” group, who worked out for a total of 20 minutes a week, or the second group, who worked out for a total of five hours a week?

The group following the Tabata protocol improved their VO2 max by 14%, and their anaerobic capacity–or ability to perform at the highest intensities–improved by 28%. The second group didn’t show any improvement in their VO2 max or anaerobic capacity. This New York Times article describes a similar test that shows parallel endurance gains between the two test groups as well.

The Tabata intervals we perform in class are modified, with more work before (and after for the 60 minute folks) than Tabata permitted in his training, but the benefits are similar as long as your really are pushing yourself during the hardest parts of the Tabata protocol. And despite his test, I wouldn’t recommend such high-intensity work more than 2 times a week, which can lead to overtraining and injury. To mix it up, you can also do them running, swimming, on a rowing machine–basically, any cardiovascular sport. Be sure to get in a good warmup and give yourself a down day after to allow for proper muscle recovery.

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In the last post I mentioned the Ironman World Championships, that annual competition featuring the best of the best in an event that includes a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run–all of which must be completed in under 17 hours.

Among the inspiring stories this year is that of the amazing 77 year-old Harriet Anderson, who came in just under the 17-hour cutoff with seconds to spare (see the emotional finish here and an interview with her here). She raced her first Ironman when she was 53 years old and has since raced Kona over 20 times. Among her incredible achievements: in 2009, she was bumped by another cyclist 80 miles into the bike leg, fell, and broke her clavicle. Undeterred, she got up, finished the remaining 32 miles of the bike course, and walked the marathon with her arm taped to her side to finish seven minutes before the cutoff.

If that doesn’t amaze you, get this: three men over the age of 80 also finished the Kona Ironman this year. The oldest was 82 year-old Lew Hollander, who crossed the finish line about 14 minutes before Anderson.

So if you ever thought you couldn’t do a marathon or triathlon, think of Harriet and Lew and get out there!

Must-see TV: Ironman World Championship this weekend!

October 25, 2012 | Author: admin

Chances are you’ve seen the iconic video —in my opinion, one of the most moving in all of sports history.

In it, a woman struggles to the finish line of a little-known race that billed itself as the toughest one-day test of endurance on the planet.

The year was 1982, the event was the Ironman–just five years old at the time–and the woman was Julie Moss.

Exhausted, repeatedly collapsing and rising to wobbly legs after 140+ miles of swimming, biking, and running, 23 year-old Moss was passed just yards from the finish line. Moments later, in a gutsy display of determination, Moss refused all help and crawled across the finish herself to nab second place.

The moment was captured on ABC’s Wide World of Sports and helped propel the Ironman World Championship to its current status as a major sporting–and media–event. With 28 Ironman races each year around the world that build to the World Championship race, the main event boasts a prize purse of $650,000 and a significant number of sponsored athletes who build careers around competing for its title. This year’s race was held on October 13 in Kona, Hawaii, and the NBC Special about it airs this Saturday, October 27 from 4-6 PM ET.

One of the more interesting races-within-the-race involves that very same woman who crawled across that finish line so memorably 30 years ago: Julie Moss. Now in their 50’s, Moss and the woman who passed her for first place, Kathleen McCartney, will go head-to-head once again in this year’s race. You can read about their friendly rivalry here.

Also racing this year is Natascha Badmann, a six time winner who, at the age of 45, pulls off a finish this year that proves that age is but a number. The men’s race is worth watching as well, with 3-time winner and current course record holder Craig Alexander returning to defend his crown against smack-talking 2-time winner Chris McCormack (who beat him in their last matchup in 2010).

If you’re a member, the DC Tri club is hosting an Ironman viewing party at Penn Social at 801 E Street NW. Check out details here. If you’re not a member but have been thinking about joining, there’s never been a better excuse to do so–and a better time and place to get inspired. You can join the club here.

Catch the action this Saturday, 4-6 PM ET on NBC!

Inspirational Fitness 3: Lina’s Fantastic 330-mile Bike Camping Adventure

October 18, 2012 | Author: admin

Lina’s back from her inspirational 330 mile bike trip from Jacksonville, FL to Charleston, SC and agreed to share the details. All her careful planning paid off: she survived rain and warmer-than-expected weather, rode the whole way without equipment failure or injury, built up a hearty appetite but never went hungry, and successfully found places to pitch her tent along the way.

If you missed the pre-trip Q&A with plenty of tips for plotting your own bike camping trip, read all about it here.

So Lina, what was the best part of the trip? Your fondest memory?
One afternoon we got caught in heavy rain and decided to keep riding through it, to make sure we reached our site in Patterson, GA before dark. It was around 80 degrees and the cooler water was surprisingly energizing. We were in swampland, and as the rain relented everything around us turned a lush electric green, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Another great memory is this epic dinner we had at Denny’s on our fifth day. We’d been craving a good milkshake, and their Oreo Mud Pie shake is sublimely good.

What was the hardest part of the trip?
Parts of the fifth and sixth day, where my legs were tired and slower. Another tough part was the road we took to Charleston, which ended up being treacherous, as it was heavily trafficked, winding and hilly, and had almost no shoulder. South Carolina drivers also aren’t the kindest to cyclists.

Did you ever think of quitting?
Not really. 60 miles/day is more than manageable, and gives you plenty of time to take it slow if you need.

What do you wish you’d packed that you didn’t? What did you pack that you didn’t need?
I’d pack more rubber bands, as they ended up being endlessly helpful for camping and organizing our things on the road. I had packed a couple of warmer shirts that I didn’t end up needing, as it stayed hot throughout. Bike camping

Would you recommend this route to others?
It depends. If you’re new to touring and particularly interested in exploring the south, it’s a great route because it mostly keeps to low-traffic back country roads and takes you through tiny towns, removed from commercial centers.

What did you do to celebrate the finish?
Bought a box of Fudgsicles. They started melting before I could finish them all, so I ended up offering some up to people at the Charleston train station.

Are you planning another trip?
I’d love to. This Adventure Cycling map is a terrific resource for identifying existing routes:https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/RouteNetwork.pdf

I already have my eye on the west and midwest tours — there’s so much to see.

Thanks for sharing Lina! I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired!

Inspirational Fitness Part 2: Great Fall Fun

October 8, 2012 | Author: admin

Fall is officially upon us, and those nice cool days seem to scream “get outside!”

If you needed some inspiration, check out these ideas for enjoying the great outdoors in the Washington, DC area (and beyond)–from casual afternoon activities to events that will get your blood pumping.

Running Races

There are few more thorough resources for finding a race in our area than the Washington Running Report’s online event calendar. You’ll find pages of links for all distances and types of events– everything from the Boo! Run for Life 10K right here in DC on Oct 14 to the Annapolis Half Marathon on December 1–as well as a few triathlons and organized bike events. Pick any weekend and you’ll find pages of options.

Adventure Races

Like the Amazing Race? Urban Dare claims it’s a one-day version–an adventure race that combines trivia, photo hunts, and dares–and the race series comes to DC on October 27.

If you want something a bit more rigorous, check out the Tough Mudder series–with a race coming up later this month in the Carolinas.

Also coming up this month in Maryland–your chance to jump over fire, scale walls and crawl through mud in the Rebel Race. If you didn’t already register, this year’s Maryland race is already sold out–but you could always go cheer on the athletes and get inspired for next year!

Bike Rides

The fall is a great time to check out the C&O Canal towpath–in my mind, one of the greatest outdoor resources in the DC area. You can go for an easy day trip out to Great Falls and add a hike on the Billy Goat Trail to make it a multisport afternoon, take it out to Harper’s Ferry just over 60 miles away and spend the night in a B&B, or even plot a multi-day 184-mile trip out to Cumberland, Maryland. Check out BikeWashington.org’s fantastic C&O Canal Bicycling Guide, which breaks down all 180+ miles with suggested places to sleep, eat, camp, and even find a bike shop along the way.

Looking for an organized event right here in the city? Try the Best Buddies Challenge on Oct 20–with optional 20 or 62 mile rides (or a 5K run/walk).

The Washington Area Bike Association (WABA) also has a great events page–including an upcoming fall foliage ride and Ride4Red, an event here in DC to raise support for HIV/AIDS initiatives.

Or–why not make a fall vacation of it and find an organized event in another part of the country? BikeRide.com has an events page organized by state or region.

Apple Picking

If you’re looking for a mellower activity with the added bonus of a healthy treat at the end, the Washington Post has rounded up all the great places to go apple picking in the area. Check out their list here.

Take a Hike!

Fall is a great time to enjoy the local foliage. For an adventure close to home, try Great Falls. I’m partial to the Billy Goat Trail.

Got a car and ready to make a day of it? Shenandoah National Park offers an array of options–many detailed on Trails.com.

Horseback Riding

Did you know that you can go horseback riding right here in the city? Check out the Rock Creek Park Horse Center just off of Beach Drive for beautiful trail rides, riding lessons, and more. You won’t believe you’re still in the city. No experience is necessary for the trail rides–and an hour is just $40.

If you’re looking to get out of the city, About.com has also compiled a long list of local stables here.

Whatever you do, get out there and enjoy this great fall weather while you can, because Accuweather is predicting big snow for the DC area this winter!

Inspirational Fitness: Lina’s Mega Ride!

September 25, 2012 | Author: admin

The weather is wonderful here in DC after a long hot summer, making it the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors with long bike rides, hikes, and runs.

This week, dedicated spinner Lina Khan inspires us with details of her upcoming 330 mile bike trip from Jacksonville, FL to Charleston, SC.

Want to plan a multi-day cycling trip of your own? Read on for some great tips from Lina about how she planned her trip–from researching itineraries to deciding what to bring. She departs this Saturday and will hopefully share the scoop–and photos–from her adventures when she’s back.

Thanks for sharing with us Lina!

What made you want to do a long cycling trip to begin with?

I started biking to get around the city about a year ago. The autonomy and ability to bypass traffic is thrilling, and now I find myself weighing whether it’s worth walking even five blocks. A good friend in New York had gotten really into biking too, so we just started throwing around the idea of a longer trip. This coincided with a sudden interest in exploring the south, so we decided to plan something out.

What websites have been helpful in your research (for locations, equipment, etc)?

There’s no shortage of stuff out there. For help in mapping out trips, we relied on Adventure Cycling Association, which has put together an extensive map of prime cycling routes across the country. Another site that is some combination of immensely helpful and endlessly quirky is CrazyGuyonaBike – kind of like an attic full of bike journals tracking people’s trips all over. You can get extremely detailed accounts of, say, how wide a shoulder is on some highway in Georgia, or a rogue encounter with chasing dogs. Both sites also have forum where people post equipment lists, like this,this, or this.

How/why did you choose your location, where are you going, and what’s your itinerary ?

A friend had told us that the coastal low country in Georgia and South Carolina is gorgeous in October, so we started exploring around there. For a while we had considered starting in Atlanta and riding west towards Alabama, but we’d been warned about a dramatic series of hills around there, and also needed a convenient way of getting back to DC and NY. We settled on a ~330 mile trip from Jacksonville, Fl to Charleston, SC, which roughly follows a segment of the ACA’s “Atlantic Coast” route.

We’ll be logging an average of 50 miles a day, though a bit lighter on our first day as we don’t arrive in Jacksonville till the afternoon. Our itinerary is:

SAT: Jacksonville, LF–Callahan–Hilliard, GA

SUN: Folkston–Nahunta—Patterson, GA

MON: Patterson-Reidsville, GA

TUES: Reidsville-Statesboro, GA

WEDS: Statesboro-Clyo-Ridgeland, SC

THURS: Ridgeland-Yemassee-Walterboro, SC

FRI: Walterboro-Charleston, SC

How are you getting to your starting point?

I’m taking an Amtrak from DC to Jacksonville. Amtrak allows you to check-in bikes on-board for $10, and an extra $15 for a bike box.

How did you select a bike for the trip?

I found some how-to guides that list the various criteria to consider (like this one, by The Bike House). I narrowed down by type (road bike with lower eyelets that can carry some weight) and a price range and then just visited bike shops around town to try some out. Staff at REI were especially helpful and keen to make sure I found the right bike. Once I started researching the quality of components, I found it’s easy to get caught up in very fine distinctions; so partly the challenge was just assessing which factors even matter for my riding purposes. I ended up asking several cyclist friends for their opinions, and decided on the Giant Avail 5, which has been terrific so far.

Aside from your bike, what equipment are you bringing–camping equipment, how many sets of clothes, food, etc?

-Basic camping equipment: a lightweight tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mats, stove, cooking pot, cutlery

-Bike tools: tire levels, hand pump, tubes, patch kit, chain lube, multi-tool

-Clothes: couple of riding shirts, long-sleeve shirt for cold, bike shorts, rain jacket, bike gloves

-Food: We’re bringing some energy bars, trail mix, and a jar of peanut butter. We figure we’ll make sandwiches along the way, and pick up some beans and vegetables to cook at night for dinner.

-Misc: flashlight, bug spray, band aids/mini first-aid kit.

Where will you stay along the way?

In our “super light-weight” (product terminology) tent! We’ve researched camp sites we hit along the way and have mapped out each day roughly according to where there are sites. We’ve also heard that southern churches can be gracious with their front lawns, for when there aren’t good camping sites in the vicinity.

What are you most excited about, nervous about, etc?

Most excited about the small towns we’ll be stopping through and the locals we’ll encounter. Also about how good meals taste once you’ve been riding all day, and about falling asleep outside for a week. Most nervous about getting hit by a truck.

How have you trained/prepared for the ride?

A few weekends ago I rode out to Brunswick, MD for the night and back the next day — a 120-mile trip in all. I’d never ridden more than 40 before, or with camping gear in tow, so it was a good test of endurance. Other than that I’ve been taking longer rides (Beach Drive, Mount Vernon) and spinning and running regularly.

What will you do in case of bad weather?

On the trip to Brunswick we encountered torrential rain and ended up just taking cover under a tarp for 30 minutes until it passed. Haven’t thought too extensively about the weather beyond that — at worst we’ll have to make up for lost miles on another day.

How has Spinning helped you prepare?

Spinning first got me comfortable with riding intensely for an hour or longer, and encouraged me to make the leap to taking more challenging rides outdoors. Definitely feel more able to tackle steep hills.

Post Cleanse: I see fake food everywhere!!

September 15, 2012 | Author: admin

I did it! I survived the cleanse: ten days of eating nothing but “real,” unprocessed food (so no dairy, meat, gluten, refined sugar, caffeine, or alcohol).

The first question I’ve been getting: “Was it hard?”

As I mentioned in my last post, the hardest part was finding the time and energy to shop for and cook real meals. Finding the space to store the fixin’s and prepare food was also a challenge: I’ve a very small galley kitchen with limited storage space, and at any given time the countertops were piled high with oatmeal, nuts, fruit, avocados–you name it–even overflowing a bit onto a credenza in the living room. But that was a minor irritation.

While I’d crave the occasional Coke in the afternoon, that was easy enough to get past. The thing I missed most was simply being able to pick up a quick sandwich or time-saving take-out dinner. And I admit, I failed miserably in the “conscious eating” part of the cleanse challenge: shutting off the TV, eliminating all distractions and focusing on just eating. As a born multi-tasker, I think my head would have exploded if I weren’t able to surf the web while eating lunch at my desk at work or watch the news while eating dinner. A speedy eater, I also couldn’t get used to slowing down and enjoying my meals. Maybe some day I’ll get there. Baby steps.

The second question? “Did you notice a difference?”

The answer: definitely.

The major change I felt was when I woke up every morning. Instead of dragging myself from bed, wishing I had another hour of sleep, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day. Nothing changed but my diet: I wasn’t sleeping more or working out less. I also started the cleanse with a bit of a cold/allergies, and found that I was far less–forgive me–phlegmy. While I’ll be slowly reintroducing gluten into my diet to see if that may be the culprit, I’m pretty sure sugar is to blame. And skipping the occasional evening glass of wine probably didn’t hurt either.

Finally–did I lose any weight? Yes, 2-3 pounds. My very patient (and hungry) man lost about four.

The greatest benefit of the cleanse, however, came from taking ten days to really consider the food I was putting in my body and the effect it was having on my moods, health, and energy levels. When I woke up today–my first morning post-cleanse–and considered the sugar content of my normal morning cereal (Post Great Grains–13 grams of sugar, the equivalent of more than three teaspoons of the stuff!), I opted for a cleanse-approved almond milk-strawberry-banana-spinach smoothie instead. Walking the aisles of the grocery store now, I notice all the “fake food” so much more–the nutritionally void snacks and packaged meals with questionable chemical contents that dominate the shelves. It makes it that much easier to resist it all.

It’s not to say that I’ve become a dietary saint. I’m still fantasizing about a hot fudge sundae right now. But when I eat such foods, I’ll be much more sensitive to the cause-and-effect relationship–and less likely to indulge as often. And that’s what the cleanse is all about: not being perfect all the time, but being aware, and noticing and enjoying the benefits when you’re able to simply say no.

The Cleanse Continues…

September 10, 2012 | Author: admin

If you caught last week’s post, you read about my cleanse–a ten-day experiment in better eating where I’m avoiding all refined sugar, gluten, caffeine, meat, dairy, alcohol…basically any and all processed foods.

How’s it going?

So far, so good. We’re on day six and for the most part, it hasn’t been that much of a struggle to give up this stuff. Occasionally I’ll crave a Coke, and passing by all the food stalls at Adams Morgan Day this past weekend was a bit of a challenge, but I don’t feel all that deprived.

The hardest part has really been finding the time to shop for and prepare “real” food. The first few days were particularly tough, when our bodies were still adjusting to a sugar-, gluten-, and caffeine-free existence. My boyfriend and I were dragging, and normally if we were in such a mood we’d treat ourselves to some take-out or grab a quick bite in the neighborhood. Finding cleanse-approved food at any restaurant has been a challenge, and cooking something that involves lots of chopping and waiting while food simmers is the last thing we want to do after a long day at work.

Enter the slow cooker! Plop ingredients in in the morning, plug it in and you come home to a fully-cooked meal. Tonight it’s cleanse-approved chili over brown rice (also easy to prep thanks to a cheap rice cooker we already owned). We also splurged on an immersion blender with an attachment that makes all that chopping a breeze. Now we just need a larger kitchen to store all the new gadgets!

Over the past six days I’ve discovered some wonderful healthy new dishes (ahhh red lentils cooked in lite coconut milk–makes a delicious daal!), smoothies (go ahead and throw a handful of spinach in the blender! You won’t even taste it), and snacks that I plan to carry over to my daily life post-cleanse. According to the scale I haven’t dropped much weight, but I definitely feel less sluggish, lighter, and we’re sleeping more soundly than we have in months. The really interesting part will be seeing how our bodies react when we start reintroducing the “banned” foods–gradually, in small quantities– and if a negative reaction to them inspires us to maintain a clean diet from here on out. More on that next week…

Carrie Regan Coaching

Riding with heart (rate)

Do you need an “off season”?

Home-for-the-Holidays Workout!

High Intensity Intervals & Ironman Inspiration!

Must-see TV: Ironman World Championship this weekend!

Inspirational Fitness 3: Lina’s Fantastic 330-mile Bike Camping Adventure

Inspirational Fitness Part 2: Great Fall Fun

Fall is officially upon us, and those nice cool days seem to scream “get outside!”

Inspirational Fitness: Lina’s Mega Ride!

Post Cleanse: I see fake food everywhere!!

The Cleanse Continues…

2013 Race/Event Calendar

Owning a car in DC sucks!

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