Do Differents

Last year when I trained for my first half marathon, I struggled to find any energy to do anything other than my 3 runs each week (with the exception of a handful of days of XC Skiing).  I wanted to cross train (translation:  do other fitness activities) but found I was way too tired.  Cross training is very important to keeping your body balanced.  Plus I was starving all the time.  Conclusion:  poor fuelling and sleep habits. 

I wasn't sleeping much and I was a grain whore.  Meaning that I wanted bread (and I think I ate it) every single day.  True, you need carbs for endurance sports.   Simply put, carbs top up the glycogen in your muscles.  But nothing is ever simple, right?  There are 3 types of carbs:  monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.  If you're interested in more detail, head over to this link:
http://fitnessforoneandall.com/nutrition/article/glycogen.htm

Then at some point, I remembered that carbs don't just reside in grain and starch (bread, rice, potatoes, beans etc).  You get plenty of carbs from fruit and vegetables too (Atkins taught all of us that, didn't he?).  Eat fresh fruit and veg, and less gluten and feel good - what a concept, right? 


I recently overhauled my food regime with the help of a "cleanse" (for lack of better terms).  I have broken my grain addiction, which I have always felt was impossible.  I always said "I can never give up my bread" (Yup, one of those!)....but did I ever really try? 

I'm now making a point to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep every night.  And this is quality sleep, people!  I've never slept this well in my life...maybe because I'm not saturated with gluten, who knows?  Don't get me wrong, I still eat flour products and grains.  But my main source of carbs is produce.  And it has really turned out to be quite delicious. 

Needless to say, cross training is coming easily this year.  And I'm pulling MORE miles than I was last year.  Since I'm training to race double the distance, I guess that kind of goes without saying (Thank you for your valuable input here, Captain Obvious!).

In addition to my 3 runs each week, I'm pulling off weekly spin, yoga and resistance training.  And even some core focus from time to time! 

The moral of this story is, take care of yourself, sleep well, train smart, feel good.