Speed Work, Calories, New Medication and Crooked Hips.

I started some new medication last week which seems to have suppressed my appetite. This is kind of a bad thing, but so far it's been working out ok. I try to stick to 2200 calories per day with enough +/- variance to keep my body guessing. Unfortunately, due to this medication, I ended up with 2 days eating 1700 calories or less. This is bad when you're running and lifting like I am, but so far I haven't ended up too exhausted. I'm worried that my training might suffer if that goes on too much longer. Thursday was my weekly cheat day (Where I ramp up my caloric intake to ~2500 calories) and I sure the hell had fun making up for my caloric deficit; I had the best cheat day ever! I had 3 peanut butter cookies at lunch and a donut when I got home from work. I was so full and my stomach hated me for it, but damnit I feel great this morning!

I had been visiting the chiropractor these last few weeks to treat a muscle pull in my lower back from a stumble I took on the trails last month. He asked me to get some X-Rays after I told him that I've had lower back pain throughout my 20s. I always assumed it was from being a fatty or from my cheerleading days, but it turns out I was completely wrong! Apparently one of my legs is slightly longer than the other so my hips are off. In the X-Ray it was really apparent that my hips were crooked and he marveled at the fact that I've been able to run ultras with no major back issues. We determined that the uneven terrain varies each stride enough to make my crooked hips less problematic. This also explains why I would have lower back pains when doing long runs on the road, but not on the trails. The flat road would stress my crooked hips because my longer leg would dominate each stride and put more pressure on my already tweaked hips.

This week was a pretty good week in running, but I spent 2 days biking, so I didn't get the mileage I was looking for. I did a 20 miler on Saturday, which was my longest run since August and my body handled it really well. I decided to up my Gel intake on longer runs to a serving of Hammer Gel every 20 minutes and Stinger Waffle every 5th cycle. It seemed to work wonderfully. It worked so well that my 20th mile was actually as fast as my 2nd mile which is a freaking miracle. I had serious stomach issues between mile 16-18, but after some dry heaving and gas relief, I was fine! I also did my longest bout of speed work since July and it went really well, but I'm still sore 2 days later. I was so sore the day after that I had to ride the bike for an hour in lieu of running and follow that with a day off for muscle recovery. It felt really good to run fast and I look forward to working on speed work next week! I'm never gonna be fast, but that's ok. I like to think that the speed work definitely has its benefits on the trails. Today, i'll knock out an easy 5 and do another 20 miler Saturday before we head out to Disney World!

 On Saturday my mom and brother drove over here from San Antonio to drop off my nephew. Stevie will be watching the house while Tracy and I take Lilly to Disney World for the first time. Lilly is pretty excited and she's ready to see some Disney princesses! I have to admit, Tracy and I are probably just as excited about this trip as Lilly. I plan on taking the week off from lifting, but squeezing in four to five 5 milers as time permits.

Here's a pic from one of my first trips to Disney World 13 years ago.