Wednesday, March 9, 2011

An out of body treadmill experience...

I had a strange thing happen today.  I was on the treadmill and, for just a moment...

I kind of forgot I was running. 

It was like when you're driving a really familiar route and you sort of space off for a while and then go "Oh. How did I get to this exit?", and realize that you don't exactly remember the last few minutes of your drive.  Well today, about 50 minutes into my run I had the same experience (except with my legs instead of my car).  I don't think I've ever allowed my mind to wander that far off while running before.  It was like being on auto-pilot.  It kind of freaked me out for a second.  But, then I thought about how awesome it would be to be able to get into that frame of mind during a longer race.  To just turn it on and zone out.  Obviously, this meant I wasn't pushing myself terribly hard today, but I was running at a pace that I'd be happy with for a half marathon.  I ran close to 8 miles today--farther than I've run for some months now--and it felt really good.  I felt like I could've kept going, but it was time to pick up my little guy from preschool.  Today's run made me feel like I could definitely pull off a half in under two hours this year.  I would be plenty happy with that.

So, I think all of this body jostling (aka running) may be wreaking havoc on my lower intestines (if you know what I mean *wink wink*).  And, speaking of wreaking, my husband has politely asked me to take a break from all the beans for a few days.  You know what they say "beans, beans, the magical fruit..."  I made chili, with both black beans and kidney beans, for dinner last night and had a big salad for lunch today with a bunch of garbanzo beans on it.  And then, this is what we had for dinner tonight:

I almost got away from beans but, alas...not so much.  Refried black beans with our cheese quesadillas, avocado, salsa and fat-free plain greek yogurt (this is my new sour cream substitute--love it).


Do you ever go into "auto-pilot mode" during your runs/workouts?

Does running mess with your digestive system?

***Now I've got to go figure out how "The Tooth Fairy" is going to scrounge up a couple bucks for my little girl, who lost her fifth tooth tonight after dinner!  There is no cash in this house right now!!  And, this "Tooth Fairy" usually delivers a new book along with the money.  I hope there's still some in the secret stash!***

13 comments:

  1. i do tend to go on a mini-adventure when i am running. is that weird?

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  2. Haha! Oh good luck with the tooth fairy. That actually happened to me earlier this year. I had to wait another day to get any money. I told the girls that soooo many kids lost their tooth that since our last name is towards the end of the alphabet that they had to wait another night. It worked but I hope that never happens again.

    I've had a few out of body experiences. I'd like them to last longer! :)

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  3. I've experienced this only a few times, most the time I think of every pounding second and how soon I'll be done. Man dinner looks awesome!

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  4. I LOVE when I fall into a big thinking hole while I'm running and forget what I'm doing... Very nice & relaxing.
    I can have a helluva time with my poor belly. I find that sticking with my "p" diet is trustworthy- pretzles, pasta, popcorn, pepto bismol... you get the picture!

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  5. I love that feeling of not knowing how I got there...when I'm running, not driving (that freaks me out!)

    It's so nice to have your body feeling so good that nothing (no calf pain, no tight chest, etc) takes your mind off of just relaxing and enjoying the run.

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  6. One of the things I love about running is getting into that zone of thinking when out there. It is out of body, no doubt.

    So funny you are from HoCo! We have swapped places--I grew up in the midwest and then moved here as an adult. If you ever visit out here, drop me a line!

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  7. Nice 8 miles in the zone! I havent been there in a while.I'm too much of a headcaselately plus I too am constantly watching the clock for moms taxi duty.

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  8. This is interesting---I've definitely experienced that, and it's amazing. I love getting into the zone!

    Running has definitely messed with my digestion...usually with longer runs...

    Love your blog---I just found it through someone else's and I can't wait to read more!

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  9. First of all - I am loving your blog and you've inspired me so much with running! I have done a few 5K's, and I'm doing a 10K the end of next month. Considering a half marathon in September... we'll see how the longer runs go once the weather gets better around here. I only aspire to run as fast as you do... I still do a steady 10 min mile for my longer runs.
    Once I started running more than 3 miles I had some digestive upset as well, and a few things I've done have helped tremendously. First of all, try not to eat a huge salad the night before a long run (hard for me, we love our salads around here). The morning of a run, no dairy. I usually have a slice of whole wheat toast and peanut butter. Right after a run, eat something with potassium (banana) or salty (pretzels). These really helped me, so good luck.

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  10. I have never had that happen. I now want it to really bad. The whole time I run I am thinking of man, there is another hill. Or.. I am really tired. Haha

    Dude. Seriously what is with running and making you have to poo your pants? Sorry if that's too forward, but my poor stomach is out of sorts so bad. I hate it. I want it to go away, but when I miss a day of running or something, it gets worse. Either way it's not fun. That's the only part of running I dislike. I need to figure out what I can and cannot eat FAST.

    Love your blog by the way!

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  11. I am so happy that I just found your blog. I LOVE to exercise but running has never been my thing. Recently my hubby lost 100lbs and LOVES to run, so he's trying to get me on board. Reading your posts and comments from your readers...I think I'm ready to step it up! Today, my digestive system messed with me at mile 4, so I was done :)

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  12. I just stumbled across your blog and you are inspiring and funny! Great motivator and now I want to run like the wind blows!!

    www.skinnyondime.com

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