Fruitloop to cave girl!! Week 1...

Back in February I took part in a 30 day eat clean challenge with Essex Boot Camp. Eat clean, paleo, caveman diet whatever you like to call it basically means cutting all the crap and rubbish out of your diet, so no sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, processed food etc. it was tough to stick to but by the end of the challenge felt great, slowly though over the next few months the crap crept back in, not the occasional cheat meal which is fine, but back on a regular basis. Was feeling tired, sluggish and recovery after events was taking ages... And yes I know they were some extreme events which were going to need some recovery time but falling asleep on the sofa every evening watching TV just isn't cool! I'm still young(ish!). 

So time to sort the diet... It's been a week now of being back on the eat clean (with some adaptations) and already feeling better, sleeping well but not on the sofa! I am eating dairy, Greek yoghurt with fruit starts the day well for me and dairy doesn't seem to upset me in any way. Being the school holidays I have plenty of time to prepare and cook properly so it's all going really well, just need to be organised next week when it's back to work. 

So diet under control... What about training?

Well after two weeks off because of a slight injury after the 100 mile run in the Cotswolds, all was good and I can run again. (We'll gloss over the month off the A&E doctor advised!) 

Having done lots of reading into barefoot running/shoes I decided this may be a good time to give them a try, so ordered a pair of New Balance barefoot shoes... 

They are a bit odd and felt strange with no cushioning and being so flexible, for the first day or two I just wore them around the house before going out in them. Then I started to wear them to walk the puppy in no problems they felt ok so last Friday I went out and ran a mile, have to say it felt really odd and I was in no way convinced that I'd ever run far in them, I didn't have any pain or discomfort just felt I was running oddly!!! 

Over the weekend I continued to wear them to walk Duggie. This morning I decided to run in them again, didn't really have a distance in mind just went out and ran! Stayed close to home so could come back and change if necessary. The first mile was similar to Friday felt a bit awkward but then I guess everything warmed up and it started to feel good! Was only running 10minute miles but really enjoyed it, ran 5k in the end and suffered no ill effects! 

So this was week one of the transformation, I'm feeling good... My version of eating clean seems to be working and I will continue with the barefoot shoes...

Next year I plan to make my first 100mile ultra attempt, eating well and training hard are going to be vital...