Reboot Program - Part 2

Today would have been day 7 of the Reboot... if I had to stuck to it.  I had a bad afternoon on Day 5.  I felt totally stressed out, and most of that stress was from the thought of having to prepare the recipes for the rest of the evening.  Then I realized that during my daily food shopping trip, I forgot to get the ingredients for Day 6's breakfast.  I thought I was going to lose my mind.  Hubby had a bad day too.  Before lunch he broke down and had a rice cake with peanut butter on it; he felt like he needed that in order to keep his mind functioning for work purposes.  By the time he got home from work and saw the state I was in, he suggested that we break the fast for the good of our family.  We had salads for dinner with some brown rice and beans.  Yes, brown rice and beans.  Rice cake and peanut butter.  These were our 'cheats' as far as the Reboot went.

I feel like I accomplished what I wanted to pertaining to the Reboot.  I'm getting back into the juicing routine, and I found some new delicious vegan recipes, and green juice and smoothie recipes.  I'm planning to make a file of those recipes that we enjoyed the most, as well as, try some of the recipes that we didn't get to try but sound delicious!

Would I attempt the Reboot again?  Yes and no.  I would attempt the Program again but with a different state of mind.  I would not go into it planning to cook all of the recipes that are listed day-by-day for the Program.  I make plenty of dishes that are vegan and light but require less work than some of the Reboot meals.  Time is of the essence in our family especially during the week when I serve as the taxi driver for M & O, as well as, the homework nazi.

Status on rest of the team:  As far as I know "M" is still going strong.  "A" was out day 4 of the Program. Hubby is with me: back to eating the way we were before Reboot but being more mindful of taking in those empty or almost-empty carbs.  "Am" is loving her new juicer so much that she enjoyed green juice for dinner last night.  "Ma" has filled up his Jersey Mike's frequent diner punch card.

Reboot Program - Part 1

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead?  Not quite in our cases, but we are looking for a 'reboot' for our bodies.  The holidays are always tough on a diet, and we are venturing into race season.  So six of us (including myself, my hubby, "A", "M", "Al", "Mi") decided to attempt the 15 day Reboot Entry Program designed by Joe of "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" (if you haven't seen this documentary, you may want to give it a try).

The Reboot Entry Program (http://jointhereboot.com/reboot-program/the-reboot-entry-plan/) that we chose includes eating fruits and vegetables and drinking them (juicing).  I don't think I could ever do a pure juicing program.  Although, if my life depended on it, I know I could do anything.  I was juicing (always green juice) on a regular basis last year, and I felt great.  I'd have a green juice about 5 times per week as my breakfast.  I felt full of energy, and starting the day making a healthy decision seemed to help me make better choices throughout the day.  In the last 3 or 4 months, I've fallen off the juice wagon; I've only been juicing once a week on a good week.  I, personally, am hoping that the Reboot gets me back into juice leading to better food choices.  I also hope to learn some new juice and vegan recipes from the Program.

Now this program is not for the weak of heart.  Or maybe it is, as it is a life style change for the better.  I go into this program as "Veganish".  I'm not into giving titles to my diet.  For the most part I eat what makes me feel good and what is going to work in my body to fight those ugly 'C' cells.  That is, I eat a diet heavy on vegetables.  I don't eat meat or dairy; I do have fish on occasion and I do request cream in my decaf coffee at Dunkin Donuts.  The program requires you to eat and drink only fruits and vegetables.  No meat, dairy, grains, breads, beans, caffeine, alcohol.  For those on the 'American Diet', I think this program would be a lot tougher to withstand.  For me, I just have to remove the almost-empty and empty carbs... for 15 days... shouldn't be very difficult.  Right?  I'm not so sure...

My trunk is overflowing with vegetables

Today is day 5 of the Program.  I feel like I have enough energy today to actually post something.  I kid.  I've been able to keep to my run schedule (even the long run), and I must say that I'm truly enjoying the coconut water that is allowed by the Program after a workout - instant recovery!  The Program does require A LOT of food preparation time.  It's difficult to keep up with.  Most, if not all, of the food recipes have been delicious and very flavorful.  The juice recipes have been fun and interesting except for the V28 juice which was difficult to stomach.  The Program serving sizes are absolutely huge.  We've learned to cut the ingredients by half or make one recipe to serve the both of us.  We've also skipped some of the snacks because we just can't find the time in the day to prepare and eat all that is listed.  I can't say that I've been hungry; it's more that I wasn't feeling satisfied.  I keep reminding myself that this is my body detoxing from the empty carbs that I've always gotten such comfort from.  Day 3 of the Program was the hardest so far.  I felt very grumpy and very empty even though I was eating.  Yesterday (Day 4) was definitely better though I found myself craving chicken.  I've been vegetarian for almost 4 years now and don't miss meat much at all yet yesterday I wanted poultry.  For those that have bought into what the Meat farmers have told you, you do not need meat to have enough protein in your diet.  We are getting plenty of protein from the vegetables that we're taking in all day long.  Reboot has even noted the recipe stats for each recipe so that you're aware of your protein intake.  I've never had a problem with having enough protein in my diet since removing animal products from my diet.

Group status as of today (Day 5):  I'm sticking to the Program to the letter.  I'm hoping today is a great day!  Hubby wasn't able to let go of the caffeine.  He's had his coffee each morning since Day 3 which includes some soy milk.  "Al" and "Mi" are sticking to the Program.  "A" dropped the Program on Day 2 but is being more careful and conscious of her food choices including eating more vegetables than she typically does.  "M"ventured to Jersey Mike's for a sub on Day 2.

Ragnar Relay: Miami to Key West 2012 Part 1

Ragnar Relay:  Miami to Key West Jan 6-7, 2012

From the Ragnar website:  “Ragnar is the overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport. A team is made up of 6-12 individuals; each individual runs 3 legs. The legs of the race vary in difficulty and distance, from 3-8 miles, allowing elite and novice runners to run together. Over 2 days and 1 night, teams run across 200 miles of the country’s most scenic terrain. Pair that with crazy costumes, inside jokes, a great finish line party and unforgettable stories. Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it Ragnar.”

I was thrilled that Hubby and I were asked to join the Ragnar Relay team that one of Hubby’s boot camp friends put together.  Our team was a mixed team:  6 men and 6 women.  About half of our team had done at least one other Ragnar in the past.  This was Hubby and my first.

Our team captain was super-organized from the beginning.  He organized us all through Google documents that we were asked to update throughout our training time.  He held multiple team meetings including one meeting where the group watched “Hood to Coast” which gave those that weren’t part of the Ragnar Nation yet a good idea of what the relay would be like.  Our captain’s organization skills were so key to us completing the race in a healthy, strong manner and winning a third place award to boot!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Hubs and I arrived in Miami in the late afternoon.  We travelled with two other members of our team.  Two members of our team (including our fearless leader) arrived in Miami in the early morning.  They secured the white vans that would become our living quarters for the next couple of days.  They also shopped for the items we would need to complete the race including food, drinks, pillows, and coolers.  In addition, the dynamic duo picked up some food for the team to carb load on for dinner that night.  From the airport, we travelled to the hotel.  Our team got two suites.  The runners assigned to van #1 stayed in one room and the runners from van #2 stayed in the other.  The team prepared dinner, as well as, made sandwiches and prepared snacks for the race.  I headed to bed around 9:30pm because I was so tired from not sleeping well the night before.  I guess I had been too excited and nervous about the race; I didn’t get to train for the race as I had hoped to due to some nasty shin splints.  Thankfully, I was able to get a great night sleep at the hotel.

Friday, January 6, 2012 – Saturday, January 7, 2012 (Because the days just blended together)

Van #1 left the hotel much earlier than us.  Van #1 included runners #1-6.  There are 36 legs of the Relay; each runner runs 3 legs.  Unless, you’re part of an Ultra Team; Ultra Teams are comprised of 6 runners who each run 6 legs of the relay.  Our team’s assigned start time was 9am.  (Teams were assigned start times between 7am and 4pm)  Our van, Van #2, therefore would be starting from checkpoint #6 sometime around 1pm.  We did need to get to the checkpoint a couple of hours early in order to pick up our paperwork, complete our safety check (this required showing that we had all of our required night running gear), and listen to a brief presentation regarding safety and rules.  We packed our two coolers:  one with drinks (water, Gatorade, and Muscle Milk) and the other with food (sandwiches we prepared the night before, fruit, vegetables).  We also had assorted food items that next time we decided we would purchase a plastic container or basket to assist in keeping them together:  protein bars, Pringles (can you say ‘salt fix needed’?), Gummy Bears!, nuts, and extra drinks.  Additional, much needed items packed into the van included our backpacks (we were each allowed to bring one backpack – backpack included an outfit for each leg, toiletries, night running equipment), cowbells, glass markers to decorate the van, pillows, snuggies, phone chargers, and glow sticks.  After the van was packed, we decorated the van with our glass markers.  Luckily, we had a runner with artistic abilities J .  There were some teams that had outrageously decorated vans and crazy costumes.  We loved checking these out!  Some vans even had magnets made up with their team logos and would ‘tag’ other team vans in parking lots.  Some did their tagging with their glass markers. 

To be continued………

Where to start?

I've decided that a blog might be a good place for me to record my personal feelings and views regarding the steps that I take throughout this year to keep myself healthy.  Regular exercise, vitamin supplements, and healthy eating are my current weapons in my battle against the big C.

Since the end of treatment I have completed numerous 5Ks, ran a handful of 10Ks, ran a half marathon, been part of a crazy relay team, race through the mud, and completed 2 sprint Triathlons.  I'm very proud of myself for these accomplishments and hope to continue to run races and try new athletic challenges.  We've found some great friends with similar mindsets along the way which is a big factor in keeping my interest at a high level.

Since end of treatment, hubby and I also became pescatarians.  About a year ago, I removed eggs and dairy from my life also mainly because it made me feel better not to eat that stuff.  I refer to myself as 'veganish'.  I also began juicing about a year ago as a supplement to my healthy eating plan.  I was very good about drinking my green juice every day for quite a while but have slowly fallen off the wagon.  I'm currently juicing about once per week now.  Hubs and I are planning to be part of a juice fast in the next couple of weeks.  He's going for a 10 day fast; I'm aiming for a 3 day fast and then having a morning juice for each of the next 7 days.  I'm hoping this will get me back into juicing so that I'm enjoying my green drink at least 5 out of 7 days of the week.

I'm currently running for exercise as well as doing some stretching exercises.  I'm looking forward to some warmer weather so I can get back on my bike.  Hub and I just took part in our first Ragnar Relay: 200 miles, 12 friends, 2 vans.  It was an incredible experience!  Something I have to thank the big C for.  I know I never would have been brave enough to accept this type of challenge before my battle with C.  Next race that I'm signed up for is a Duathlon in April: Run, bike, run.  Sounds more my speed than a tri since I so hate the swim part of the tri.  But I will swim again! I'm also signed up for a sprint tri in June.  I'll need to get into the pool soon to start training.  That's going to entail a gym membership. Ugh!  Hate the thought of laying out the money each month although when I signed up last year, I was very diligent about going so I definitely got my money's worth.

Life is good!