if you missed my intro post (explaining why I decided to try this), you can find it here.

If you missed Weeks 1-2, you can find it here.

So these couple of weeks were…..interesting.

First, I spent most of week 3 on my cycle, which increased my sweet tooth, even on the Plexus. Then, in a way that I can only describe as a combination of weather and breathing torture, it did this ridiculous sprinkling rain thing here (with some real rain) for 5 days straight, meaning the humidity was ridiculous. After that finally ended, my sinuses went completely out of whack for 3-4 days, which I had attributed to catching the twins’ head cold they had the week before, but may actually have been a form of detox. When I told my friend about my symptoms she explained that yes, it could be a cold, but she experienced something similar herself. She called it a ‘die-off’ or Herxheimer Reaction. In retrospect, it makes a lot of sense.

With that said, here we go:

Sugar Cravings

While on my period, even Plexus can’t completely kill my sweet tooth, so for that week I definitely ate more sweets than I did in weeks 1-2. However, it was still half (or perhaps less) what I would normally consume during that time of the month so I consider it a win. Afterwards it leveled back off. Again, I still eat sweets, I’m just finding I don’t crave them like I used to and generally eat much less. Yesterday I had a cupcake and a mini bag of leftover mini eggs (totaling 12-15 I’d say), and that’s what I would now consider a high junk day. It is nice that I can eat a cupcake and not eyeball a second one – one is enough.

Allergies/Asthma

As I mentioned above, a combination of weather and either detox or cold made my allergies and asthma kinda suck these last couple weeks. I had been doing well not needing my albuterol before workouts but did need it more frequently. When my Flonase ran out I tried stopping altogether but that proved to be a premature move because it made my asthma worse. I should note, though that I used it for 2-3 more days and have subsequently forgotten it the last two nights without much issue. I’m still taking my daily Allegra and Singulair. Whether due to a cold or detox my sinuses in general were a mess for a few days which always makes my asthma worse. Even with all of that, typically one puff of the albuterol was enough, and I’ve still been able to avoid the daily inhaler. Today finally my sinuses are feeling like they are less nuts.

Fitness

I am definitely seeing some fitness benefits. For the last two weeks I’ve participated in some track speed work. I’ve always done mine on the treadmill so I used a recommended pace calculator to find what my pace should be for the workout that was planned last Wednesday. The workout was 2×200 with 1 minute rest between, 8×400 with 2 minutes rest between and then 2×200 again with 1 minute rest between. The fastest 400 my most recent 5k time said was 1:39-1:44. My 400 times were between 1:28-1:32.

The following week the workout was a ladder. 400, 600, 800, 1200, 800, 600, 400 (with 1 min 30 seconds rest). It was also 81 degrees and sunny this week, something that typically slows me way down.

Recommended speed times/my times:

400: 1:39-1:44/1:30/1:32

600: 2:32-2:40/2:29/2:32

800: 3:27-3:36/3:27/3:37

1200: 5:19-5:39/5:37

So my second 800 and 1200 were slightly slower or within the recommendation but the rest were faster or right at the cusp. Considering the heat, I’ll take it.

I had hoped to run a 5k yesterday but stayed out too late Friday night, still felt off sinus wise and my back had felt tight all week so the goal is to run one next weekend.

Sleep

About the same

Energy

I feel like I’m recovering from hard workouts faster and they aren’t knocking me down as much as before. Granted, I’ve been doing more bike and short speed sessions lately and what I’m used to as far as “hard” workouts are long distance runs.

Other

Bryan said he has seen a change in me physically. Overall, and particularly during my cycle, I’ve noticed a huge decrease in bloating.

Bring on the next two weeks.