It Was The Tequila That Screwed Up My Training Plan

This week starts my taper for the Mercedes marathon which is coming up this Sunday.  I'm doing the half marathon, not the whole, but I'm still going to cut back on my volume of training this week.  Last week was a big training week for me.  I've started putting more time either on the spin bike or my bike trainer and still doing the same amount of running and weights.

My long run is usually on Sunday, but this past weekend I decided to run with the group on Saturday morning instead since the Murph and I were going out with friends Saturday night and that would involve adult beverages.

 I still tentatively planned to do a short run with L and M on Sunday morning too, but the longer run was Saturday so I didn't have to worry about what I ate or drank (or so I thought!).  The only problem was that I got up in the freezing cold Saturday morning, ran 8 miles with the group, then went to the gym with the Murph and put some time in on the exercise bike, then got on the bike trainer at home for another hour and a half and THEN back to the gym for weights.

I guess I didn't eat enough during the day Saturday or before I got the drinks because after about three frozen margarita's later, I suddenly wasn't feeling very good.  And the drinks were only about this size.

photo from foodio54.com

The Murph said I didn't eat enough, but I was shoving chips and salsa down the entire night.  This reminded me of that time last March when we were in New Orleans doing the Rock and Roll New Orleans marathon and I got a little ill. ( New Orleans Blog Post)

All I remember is I was feeling really good and having a great time and we were about to get burgers at midnight in Harrah's casino and then BAM!  It hit me out of the blue.  And I can usually hold my liquor, especially tequila.  No problemo!

This was me right before the fun stopped.  Never before published picture.  As you can see I am already looking a little pale.

And then things started spinning and I got really, really sick.   It's all fun and games until you get on that merry-go-round from hell that just won't stop.  That wasn't a fun night.  I vowed to never, ever drink tequila again.  EVER!  Okay, well at least not on the day I run a marathon.

It was almost the same feeling Saturday night.  I was feeling great and not even that hungry, but I did eat anyway and only had those three very, very small margaritas.  Needless to say, by the time I got home I was hugging the toilet and the room was spinning.  Cadence, my cat was looking at me like, "geez, mom's got a hair ball too!  I can so relate!"

 The Murph missed all of it because he was downstairs eating a roast beef sandwich, but knew something was wrong when I didn't want anything else to eat and he had gone through Arby's drive thru to get some more food.  (at least I think it was Arby's)

The cat followed me to bed and The Murph tucked us in.  I didn't make it to run with L and M like I had planned, but at least I had already done my long run for the week and now it's taper time.  I'm going to have to take tequila off the list of safe foods/drinks during my intense training weeks/days.  Maybe forever.  I know, I've said that before!

Sunday morning I woke up to find the Murph standing over me and Cadence, my cat, saying, "Oh, what do we have here?  The VomiTER (that would be me) and the VomiTEEE!  (that would be Cadence because he's usually the one doing all the vomiting).

My training plan wasn't too screwed up Sunday though.  I still made it to the gym later to do 30 minutes on the exercise bike.  The Murph thought I was too sick to do doubles at the gym yesterday so he was a little surprised when I did 40 more minutes on my bike trainer and then 1/2 mile on the treadmill while I watched Honey Boo Boo's Christmas special last night.  I think he got a little upset that he missed his workout because of me and then I ended up doing doubles anyway, just not at the gym.

I've tried to explain that a little vomit doesn't stop workouts.  It can just delay them or make them less intense.  I mean how many times have I felt like throwing up after a race.  I can't count the number of times.  A 5k race has more throw up potential than a full marathon does for me.

I can't blame that on the tequila though.

Prosecco

I have been searching for a replacement drink for my usual margaritas.  I am trying to cut back on hard liquor.  A lot people I know stay away from tequila because they don't want to end up dancing on tables stripping their clothing off.  I never had this problem with tequila.  I handle it extremely well.  Really...  I do.  My other drink of choice when I'm not drinking a margarita is Riesling.  

Lately however, I have been drinking prosecco, an Italian sparkling white wine similar to champagne.   It is very light and works perfectly with cranberry and pomegranate juice.  I don't even miss the tequila. Last night the Murph and I met some friends at Satterfield's.  I decided to stick with a prosecco cocktail and got a drink called Strawberry Splash.  It had strawberries, balsamic, vanilla syrup, tarragon extract and prosecco.  Delicious!    My usual Satterfield cocktail is called The Royal Flirt and has vodka, fruit juice and prosecco.  It's not as sweet, but still very good.

I have cut back on alcohol and processed foods and snacks overall in an attempt to eat healthier.  We'll see how long it lasts.  At the grocery store today I told the Murph that I wasn't eating meat anymore.  He totally ignored me as he was picking out steaks and chicken and other dead animals in the meat department.  Then as I'm in mid sentence explaining why I've suddenly decided to become a vegetarian, he looks at me and says...

Murph:  "Are you ok on sandwich meats?"

Me:  "You're just totally not listening to me!"

Murph:  "No I'm not."  as he's tossing a big fat dead chicken in the cart

Me:  "I just said I'm not eating dead animals anymore."

Murph:  "We'll see how long that lasts." followed by a snort and some more bloody meat in the cart

The problem is he's right.  Becoming a vegetarian and not eating meat is about as tough as following a gluten free diet.  I tried gluten free once when the Boy had just been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.  I read a book on gluten free diets for children with Austism or Aspergers and became inspired.  I spent a small fortune on "gluten free" items at the grocery store that ended up tasting like cardboard.  The Boy ate most of it without complaining too much and I tried to eat it because I felt if he had to go gluten free than I should too.  We went gluten free for less than a month before I broke down and ordered a pizza.  It's just tough. And I'm weak when it comes to food.  I ended up buying drinkable yogurt and giving the Boy one every day.  That seemed to help most of his stomach issues.  We didn't have to go lactose free.  Thank god for that.

As far as not eating meat, I've done pretty good so far.  Last night for dinner I had a cheese tray with some apple slices and bread at Satterfields.   No meat.  Today I had cereal for breakfast and for lunch the Murph "saved" me from eating meat by stealing the Arby's beef and cheddar sandwich that I had tucked away in the fridge.  He apologized and said he thought it was his sandwich.  All he left for me were the soggy curly fries.