I’m very glad the sun is starting to rise halfway through my run in the mornings. It makes running in the wee hours of the day a lot more enjoyable.

The past two mornings I have been feeling really good—good energy levels and able to maintain a faster pace overall. I think the slightly warmer temperatures (mid-30s vs. the mid-20s) and the dry roads really help with my pace.

I covered 8 miles this morning and completed my run in 1:09, which is a 8:36 minutes/mile. This is about one minute faster than my average pace in the dead of winter, so that makes me very happy. I figure the faster I can train, the faster I can run the marathon!

I’m just hoping this week of 65 miles isn’t too hard on my body. (Rosy red cheeks from the cool air in the morning.)

Lunch

I don’t share all of the food I eat, but I do like to highlight really good recipes I’ve tried.

I know my lunch looks incredibly gross, but it was incredibly delicious! Ashley’s Not Dal Saag was definitely a winner. The recipe was basically lentils, spinach, and a lot of spices, and I think the spices really made the difference.

I almost always have half of a sweet potato with my lunch. I will baske 2-3 sweet potatoes over the weekend, refrigerate them, and pack them in my lunch each day. I actually eat them cold, which may sound gross, but I love them this way.

Food Sensitivities

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned I had some blood work done in order to get tested for food sensitivities.

Initially I went in with the hope of helping my bloated stomach that causes some discomfort in the afternoon and evening hours. (I also have bad gas that doesn’t seem normal.) Plus, I simply wanted to see if I was sensitive to any particular foods.

Well, I finally got the results back, and I was quite surprised by what the lab tests concluded.

I had the following tests done:

- white blood count (good!)

- sodium/potassium/chloride/etc. (good!)

- calcium (good!)

- iron (very bad!)

- vitamin D (good—it must have been all that Hawaiian sun!)

- vitamin B12 (good!)

- thyroid (needs some help)

- food sensitivities (not too sensitive to most foods, except one)

One of the big problem areas was my level of iron/ferritin; I am definitely anemic! I actually suspected this back in college when I had breathing problems, but I did not know my iron levels were still too low. And to think I have probably been functioning at this level for several years!

I am supposed to be between 50-60 ng/mL, but I was at 12 ng/mL!

I will now be taking a strong dosage of iron to help get this back up to where it should be.

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The one food that I was severely sensitive to was cow’s milk.

The nurse practitioner laid out the following categories:

less than 10 mcg/mL – trace of sensitivity

10-20 – mild sensitivity

20-30 – moderate sensitivity

30+ – severe sensitivity

I was at 69.2 mcg/mL for cow’s milk!

Here are some of the other foods that I have a trace of sensitivity to:

cacao (chocolate): 7.8

beef: 5.6

wheat: 4.8

egg whites: 4.8

peanuts: 4.4

rice: 3.9

garlic: 3.2

tomato: 3.0

pork: 2.8

orange: 2.5

soybean: 2.2

 

The following foods did not affect me:

- codfish

- corn

- peas

- potatoes

- shrimp

- tuna

- walnuts

- yeast

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Since I am was severly sensitive to cow’s milk, I am going to abstain from eating any dairy for the next 6 weeks to see if I notice any difference.

In addition, I am now taking these supplements:

- iron complex

- multi-vitamin (I’ve always taken this.)

- fish oil (highly recommended for overall health)

- probiotic (50 Billion)

- Nature-throid (for my thyroid which was a little out of whack)

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I’ll be sure to give an update in a couple of weeks on how things are going. I’m excited for what these changes will do for my health; I hope they are all positive!