8 miles and Sugar Free!

In the last 7 days I have run just over 22 miles and worked a very full week. I should be completely knackered, but I'm not.  The only thing i've done differently this week is completely cut sugar and white bread from my diet and i'm reaping the benefits already.  

Not wanting to sound like a North American infomercial but this simple change has revolutionised my training and every aspect of my life!  I have always been a sugar junkie and suffered the happy highs and sluggish lows (Not to mention massive weight gain!) that go with that on a daily basis for most of my adult life.  I would think nothing of chowing down on a few strips of dairy milk or a bag of fizzy jelly sweets pretty much every day! A couple of weekends ago though, I had an overdose and felt rough as a badgers bottom so decided to try to give it up as I can't carry on training and eating like this - my body can't repair itself with fat and sugar alone. I was fast becoming a sitting duck for diabetes plus I have to start seriously sorting out my weight cause I'm still 3 stone over what I should be so lugging all that fat around with me can't be a good thing!

Last week, I started to cut down and this week I totally removed all of the nasties from my diet by having a ready supply of frozen fruit in the freezer which I could add to a bit of yoghurt in the evening if I felt the need for something sweet.  I have also been having a few nuts for snacks and eating plenty of nutritious salad, and vegetables with a good serving of Quorn or eggs for protein. This has helped my blood sugar stay on the level and stopped the cravings.

So, the results after just one week are astounding! I'm not tired at all (until bedtime, also sleeping better) my groin strain has almost disappeared, I don't crave sugar any more (watched Andy watch a whole bag of jelly beans and I was not remotely tempted to have even one!), I'm seem to be more mentally alert plus I have shifted 6lbs in weight this week :)

As for the training, I have had to move things around this week due to going out all day tomorrow so had to shift the long run to this morning which was an 8 miler. I felt a lot stronger today and it seemed to go quicker with a lot less stopping for stretching along the way, plus I had more energy at the end of the run and ran around doing shopping and housework for a good few hours afterwards before I collapsed on the bed with my kindle! 

Next week is a recovery week, so no long run as such just 3 40 minute sessions and a 60 minute one next weekend in preparation for the big 10 miler the weekend after - might need some motivation......