the master cleanse: day four

so I think the more of this stuff {this stuff being the lemonade beverage} you drink the better the cleansing the next morning. that's just my theory, though. unfortunately I only drank two nalgenes today. sometimes I get a little sick of the whole ordeal it is to make this stuff. what with the peeling and the juicing and the adding of the other ingredients and then the washing of the juicer and all. oy vie it all gets old.

I guess I was a little lower energy today. it seems that every other day I'm feeling fantastic, then not as fantastic. (still not terribly bad, though)

I haven't eaten any food in four days. I can't even believe it.

the master cleanse: day three

well, day three wasn't bad at all!

my salt water concoction is still pretty hard to get down. it's that last little bit that gets ya every time! but it's been working nonetheless. not like that first day--man, oh man--but now maybe we're strippin' away at some gunk? who knows! I'm just glad I'm eliminating, as it were, 'cause I hear that some people just retain this salt water sometimes, and it'll make you all bloaty and uncomfortable. like your eyes will puff up. and you just feel miserable. I hope and pray each morning that that doesn't happen to me. so far, so good.

I've had a lot more energy today. I don't know if it was the fact that I went through three nalgenes or what. I got really sleepy around three o'clock'ish, but I'm not really sure that has anything to do with my cleansing. usually at work (and I did go to work today, whoot!) I get sleepy around that time. otherwise I've felt fantastic all day. you wouldn't even think I hadn't had anything to eat for three days by just looking at me. I'm bounding with energy, just bounding.

so there ya have it. I don't feel like I've really had any symptoms of the detox. and I know that my body is harboring all sorts of toxins, so I don't know what the deal is. maybe tomorrow.

I'm off to make some tea!

the master cleanse: day two

so they say that day two is one of the hardest. it was harder than yesterday, it's true.

I had a general feeling of "blegh" all day. I had more noticeable hunger pangs, as it were. I felt pretty thirsty all morning (could it have something to do with drinking ocean?)

I don't think I'm drinking enough of my juice. I only drank two nalgenes yesterday (64 oz for anyone who's counting), which is on the lower end--I had planned on drinking somewhere along the lines of three nalgenes a day, the max. and I'm on track for drinking only two today as well. maybe that's contributing to my feelings of hunger. my energy levels felt pretty low today too. I just felt kinda yucky in my system.

overall it's not horrible yet, though. I can tough it out six more days. (lemonade diet, eight days; post-cleanse eating rehab, two days) it's just the monotony of having the same thing over and over again. I like variety in my diet. and I miss the actual, physical preparation of food. preparing and cutting up the lemons is as close as I get to that these days. at least I get to bring out the cutting board and good knife for something! I think I will actual look forward to the herbal laxative tea every night, just as a change of scene.

btw, right now I feel hungry with a slight headache.

the master cleanse: day one

I woke up a little before seven o'clock. mixed the salt and the water. chugged. let me tell you, it wasn't the most fun I've ever had in my life. but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, either. it is hard to get that last bit down, though. that's just a lot of water in general, not to mention salt water!

but I think it's working.

I also made some batches of my lemonade drink throughout the day. it's actually not even all that bad! the cayenne pepper gives it quite a kick and it's nice and lemony. I'm juicing the lemons in our green power juicer {thanks again, grandpa!} and am still trying to figure out the best way to get the most juice out of each of these lemons.

at this rate I'll need about nine lemons per day. I'll also go through one jug of spring water per day. and I don't think this grade b maple syrup is going to last me that long (and it's kinda pricey). this cleanse might end up being slightly expensive. but hey, it's for my health.

I've been surprised by the fact that I really don't care about food. this not eating thing has been pretty easy. now tomorrow might be a completely different story. {I hear day two is especially hard.} so we'll see if I get any cravings or anything.

my energy levels are at a pretty normal level. I take my life-blood with me everywhere. anytime I'm feeling a dip, I just take a sip.

hurrah for cleansing!

{life-blood}

post script: fyi. when you go without this stuff for an hour, you start to get hungry. always remember to bring it to the young women's activity, even if you think it's going to be a short one.

the master cleanse: ten days to a happier, healthier me

so you're wondering why I would want to deprive myself of the things I really love? {food} well, a couple of years ago my friend, natalie, told me that the average person has about ten to fifteen pounds of, well, crap encrusted in her colon. I was horrified.

{now to clarify, this is not a weight loss scheme. the purpose of this cleanse is to detox my system. a lot of stuff builds up in those intestines over the years, and I'm lookin' to get rid of that.}

which takes me to the cleanse. it's called the master cleanse, also known as the lemonade diet. there's a book out there that you're supposed to read, The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs (or Peter Glickmans' book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days is another good resource) but it was all checked out of the library and I didn't really feel like buying it. {hey, this cleanse is already costing me a fortune!} so I've been researching it online and feel I've got a pretty good handle on things.

basically, the lemon and cayenne mixture break up the stuff that is in your intestines and the rest of your body (toxins and such) and the salt water flush removes it all. the maple syrup is what gives you the calories to sustain life for ten days without eating anything. I like to think of this whole process as the agitator and the rinse cycle.

they say you will go through many different symptoms (cravings, aches and pains, sinus issues, et cetera) as your body is flushing out the toxins. once the toxin has been eliminated, the symptom is gone. I'm interested to test this. {I've also heard about a lot of, um, crazy things physically coming out of your body, but I will spare you the details and leave it up to your imaginations. just know that if I have anything like that in my body, I want it out right now.}

I've heard people swear by this method, so I'm excited to try it out. I'm looking forward to increased energy, less unwanted waste in my body, and a healthier diet post-cleanse. and come on, who needs to eat anyway?

the master cleanse: pre-cleanse

right now I'm preparing myself both mentally and physically for this cleanse. it is definitely an unknown adventure that I am about to embark upon. it basically consists of drinking an herbal laxative tea every night (to get the bowels moving) and then a salt water flush every morning (to really get the bowels moving!) then throughout the day I drink about three nalgenes (it's a 32 oz water bottle, folks) of this lemonade drink. (they also call the master cleanse the lemonade diet for this reason) and nothing else. no eating. no drinking other beverages. just tea, salt water, and a lovely lemonade mixture. for ten days. sounds fun, no?

here are the goods:

and now for the recipes: (just in case you were wondering just what goes into this stuff so you could try it along with me at home)

herbal laxative tea:

• follow directions on the box

salt water flush:

• 2 teaspoons uniodized sea salt
• 32 oz spring (or distilled) water

lemonade beverage: (1 nalgene's worth, which is 4 servings)

• 8 tablespoons lemon juice (I'm juicin' real lemons, nothing fake)
• 8 tablespoons organic grade B maple syrup
• 4/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 32 oz spring (or distilled) water
  

I hope to chronicle this adventure here (don't worry, I won't get too personal), so keep checking back. tomorrow I will let you know how I feel and perhaps go into more detail as to why I am neglecting my body of the food I so dearly love.

post backpacking trip run

I needed to stretch out the legs a bit after the little backpacking trip we went on this past weekend. {I don't remember the exact mileage of the trip. somewhere along the lines of six to eight. not too terribly impressive until you add in the vertical gain -- about two miles roundtrip. between the two days we spent about eight hours out hiking, and a lot of that was through boulder fields. not easy, to say the least.} my calves, quads, and ankles were a bit tight yesterday and today. surprisingly, though, my hamstring held up quite well through the whole ordeal. maybe I truly am on the road to recovery!

I did the liberty park perimeter loop. the dirt path was easy on the legs and added more distance. instead of going home on 6th east, I headed up to 8th east to finish out those remaining blocks.

I feel myself getting stronger. I could feel it in the hiking. I can feel it when I go running. my pace was pretty good today. right after I hopped onto the dirt path, there was a girl running on the interior sidewalk. I thought to myself, if I can just keep ahead of this girl, I will be doing awesome! (since she was running on the inside track, she had a lot less farther to go than me!) it turns out, I smoked her! so that made me feel good. though she was probably just running incredibly slow. I felt fast today.

I'm starting my cleanse tonight, so I doubt I'll have the energy for any actual physical exercise in the upcoming eight to ten days. but afterwards we should see my energy levels skyrocket! and not to mention I will just be in overall better health. this is a total experiment for me, so we'll see how it all turns out. I'll keep you updated.

~3.5 miles; liberty park perimeter loop to 8th east

run team

we were maybe going to go for a swim, maybe for a ride. we ended up going for a run.

it was the usual liberty park loop. just a quick run. we were hungry and pete hasn't even been running in a long time. it was enough.

my hamstring felt okay. I stretched and iced afterward and feel pretty good about the whole thing. I've got a plan of attack for my tight muscles: a foam roller. I'm opting for this over the stick, since you can get a better, deeper massage out of it. though I do remember the foam roller being the implement of death back in my physical therapy days. yikes. but it is needed, I feel.

3 miles; liberty park

swim | run

monday: pete and I did the labor day swim. went up to steiner for some lap swimming fun.

we didn't actually last too long because we were both deathly hungry (we went to sniagrab first to get the annual ski passes: pete's altabird and my alta silver). it seems we always hit up the pool when we're starving. we were there for about a half an hour, though. for being quick, it was pretty good.

tuesday: I was going to go hiking, but that blasted storm blew in and ruined all my plans. so instead I didn't do anything all day. oh well, we'll take it as a rest day.

wednesday: went running along 800 east. probably just under 4 miles. my right hamstring was bugging me in the beginning, but must have loosened up mid-run. I had some good time to think about training philosophies, that will most likely be shared in future posts. (if I remember what exactly it was I was thinking about.) get excited.

oh, and my runner's world came today. that's always fun and refuels the dedication to the sport. hurrah!

run

I had it all planned out last night. I would wake up early, drive my little self over to some park along the jordan river parkway trail and run about five miles or so.

when I woke up today that plan didn't seem so fun. I hate battling the morning. I sometimes [more often than not] lose. so instead of going running I slept in, leisurely ate some toast w/j (just incase I decided to go at any minute), checked my email and the blogs. I started feeling like the biggest slacker ever. I needed to run. even just a few miles. I couldn't not run. I'd regret it later.

so pete gave me the encouragement I needed to get out the door. he's good like that. I felt stupid because if I was going to go now I might as well have gone two hours before (when the air was so much cooler). but it was still only seventy degrees, so I gave it a go.

I felt tight and slow. I took yesterday as a rest day, and was sore from the ride in the shoulders all day. I felt a little sluggish in the beginning. instead of the JRPT, I just did the perimeter of Liberty. it was quick and easy. I ran up to 8th east and headed south toward home. I started feeling tired in my whole body--sleepy. I have a sneaking suspicion that when I can't breathe very well through my nose (and I also have a sneaking suspicion that I have some sort of nasal/passageway/congestion problem) it makes me tired. I need that oxygen, dangit! anyway, I fought through it and made it home.

I stretched and iced afterward.

3.5 miles; liberty, 8th east

a nice long walk

a walk from our house to hire's big h. in chaco flips. my legs are beat. {don't worry, I stretched and iced afterwards}

4 miles (10,000 steps); 7th east'ish

the blok vs the gu

it turns out
I don't like
the Clif Shot
Bloks

as much
as I like
the GU
energy
gels.









{vanilla bean is still my favorite.}

the roadie

instead of running this morning I decided to go on a ride. I haven't been on my bike in way too long. it was about time.

I rode north on 5th east over to the downtown area, then I headed up city creek canyon via memory grove. I couldn't make it all the way up the canyon because it is actually closed to bikers on even numbered days. (I had no idea city creek even had these restrictions!) but the nice man in the booth said I could come back for two days starting tomorrow: August 31 and September 1. September 1?! how did it get to be September already?

I turned around and headed back the way I came. this time riding all the way out to 45th south before turning back a final time.

I tried to keep it a pretty easy pace. if I pushed too hard I could feel it in my hamstring. 5th east is pretty level (for the most part) so that helped the situation. It felt great to be out there again.

I didn't stretch too well when I got home, but I did ice.

18 miles; 5th east to city creek canyon then out to 45th south

realization

I almost didn't go running this morning. I woke up just wanting to eat. so I had a bowl of corn flakes and then about a half an hour later had this strong urge to get out the door and hit the streets. my stomach was feeling okay; I could probably handle it.

I'm happy to say I got out of the liberty park routine. I ran on an old, familiar running route of mine: 800 east. it definitely felt good to be out there. the air was still cool, going north was a slight incline (you really can't avoid hills in salt lake city, utah) but not too bad. after the turn-around (4th south) I even had that this-is-why-I-love-running feeling. it was great. I really do love running. when I was almost home the legs started to feel a little tight. but they felt tight when I woke up this morning too. so I stretched and iced when I got back to the casa. btw, I discovered cooking while stretching. now I can kill two birds with one stone and eat sooner post run. perfect.

I did realize that the reason why my hamstring was hurting yesterday after my run was due to the strength training I did. [thanks, brook. this post helped me put two and two together] lunges. squats. dead lifts. my hamstring is not ready for that. see, that's the thing. one thing I have to really focus on this time is patience. there is a method {and a madness} to this marathon training business. it's called periodization. you don't go all out at once. there are different phases and intensities you must go through. I have to constantly remind myself that I don't need to go too far or too fast right now. I am laying a foundation. I am building a strong, solid base. strength training will come later. speedwork will come later. higher mileage will come later. I have from now until late december to just run. and I am happy with that.

~4 miles; 8th east

my hammy

I was more disciplined this morning. Instead of stuffing my face with some breakfast, I ate a small piece of toast and was out the door. I did the usual run: liberty park. I need to get out of this rut I'm in. but it's just so easy to run the same route, and not to mention the fact that it's flat (I'm trying to take it easy on my hamstring). maybe I'll break up the monotony tomorrow.

while I was running my hamstring didn't really bother me at all. but now post-run it certainly is. I even stretched and iced when I came home. blast this certain large muscle group of mine! *shaking fist* I just need to get it under control. good thing I have nine months to prepare for my next race. . .

3 miles; liberty park dirt trail

swimteam

pete and I are trying to get back on the swimteam wagon. we went tonight and just did our own thing. we left right as master's was beginning. (I didn't want to face them... yet.)

my first length of the pool felt fantastic. when you don't realize you're already at the wall, that's a good thing. on my way back, after my flip turn, I started feeling it. but that's to be expected when you haven't been swimming in a few months. overall, though, it felt great to be back in the pool tonight. my right hamstring was kinda feelin' it on the breast stroke kick. and while I was doing some freestyle my left shoulder started hurting for no reason at all. fun. like I said, though, overall it was a great workout.

we only swam for about forty minutes, though. we were hungry and cafe rio was calling our name. it's a post-swimteam guilty pleasure of ours.

joint swimteam; steiner

cross country

I really like how it's cooled off lately. at least in the mornings. I was able to go running a little after nine o'clock yet again today. I really should just go right when I wake up, but breakfast lures me in. I'm surprised, though, that I'm able to only wait about an hour or so after eating and it hasn't really affected me too much. (I usually have a three hour time frame after eating for any physical exercise. maybe I've just learned to eat less and my body can digest it easier/quicker)

I ran the usual loop. this time taking the faint dirt path on the perimeter of the park. it adds a little more distance plus you get the feel of running cross country. because I think only cross country runners (not that I would know, maybe I should ask my husband) actually run on grass. I picture rolling hills in the mud and rain: what any good cross country race should be. everyone else tends to stick to the road, sidewalks, or trails.

instead of heading back the way I came, I ran up 13th to 8th east. I was headed that direction anyway since I wanted to get a drink at the water fountain on the south-east corner of the park. and it's good to change things up every once in a while; you never want to run bored.

my legs held up well. nothing major. I stretched and iced when I got home.

3+ miles; liberty park

just so you know

QUALIFYING STANDARDS*
Age Group	Men	Women
18-34	3hrs 10min	3hrs 40min
35-39	3hrs 15min	3hrs 45min
40-44	3hrs 20min	3hrs 50min
45-49	3hrs 30min	4hrs 00min
50-54	3hrs 35min	4hrs 05min
55-59	3hrs 45min	4hrs 15min
60-64	4hrs 00min	4hrs 30min
65-69	4hrs 15min	4hrs 45min
70-74	4hrs 30min	5hrs 00min
75-79	4hrs 45min	5hrs 15min
80 and older	5hrs 00min	5hrs 30min

*qualifying times for the Boston Marathon; any qualifying race must be USATF certified

run + weights

today I went running around nine o'clock. it was basically the same temp as yesterday, but felt hotter for some reason. oh well. you can't win 'em all.

I only went two miles today, but when I got home I did some weight training for my arms.

on the run I felt generally okay. my right ankle was having some weird, random pain. but it came and went, so I'm not too worried about it. the outside of my right foot hurts too. if I remember correctly, I was having this problem when I first got the shoes. maybe I have to re-break them in since I haven't been running in them as of late.

currently I have four bags of frozen corn placed under key areas of my legs. hurrah for icing!

2 miles; liberty + weight training (arms)

run!

it was nearly ten o'clock in the morning and I was in my kitchen doing the dishes. usually by this time of day it's already too hot to go running. as I scrubbed and rinsed I was thinking of what I could do for my physical well-being. swimteam? a ride? I had almost convinced myself to pull on that spandex and head up emigration canyon to see how far I could get when I looked over at our sweet indoor/outdoor temperature gauge thing. thanks again, eliza and paul! it was only 69 degrees. 69 degrees! maybe I could pull off a run, I thought to myself.

so I abandoned the dishes mid-soak, pulled on some running digs, laced up and was out the door.

it was fantastic. the temp outside was very reminiscent of running mid-day in autumn. it made me happy. the air was cooler, and even with that hint of heat, completely bearable. especially in the shade.

I ran the dirt path on the liberty park loop. I took it easy--my goal is to slowly build up mileage and pace. I want a good base below me for my next marathon training push. it was a great run. my hamstring didn't even really bother me!

okay, now I have to go finish the dishes. . .

3 miles; liberty park