Last Week’s Runs
…continued.  Saturday was an 8-miler @ 8:03 and Sunday was a 13-miler @ 8:15.  The week ended with 57.3 miles averaging 8:10.  I usually don’t pay attention to how the week averages but this was worthy of note because, in looking through my logs, the only times I’ve had such a quick weekly average was when speed, tempo or a race were included but this was all “regular” runs.  The combination of the weather mixed with a happy head from no “have to’s” or “shoulds” made for some lighthearted, lightfooted miles.

I also wore my HR monitor for Saturday’s run and was very pleased with the result.  As a matter of interest, right after my 2-week break I wore the monitor see what time off does to a girl’s heart and was shocked by how high it was: 162 (76%HRR) for 8:42 avg.  Not a bad HR as a whole, but very high considering the pace.   Comparatively, Saturday’s run was 164 for 8:03 avg…way better!  Additionally, the knee is happy again.  It’s all good in Flo Camp.

Appetite Suppressants
…continued.  I found an entertaining video of a guy taking us through Yerba Mate preparation and explanation.  Not only is the guy charming and quite a cutie, but it’s informative, too.  I’m supposed to get my Yerba order in tomorrow, btw, so I’m looking forward to trying the different ones out.  As far as taking it late, since it does have caffeine (more or less depending on if it’s a first infusion and the amount used), I’d say you’ll have to experiment to see if it messes with your bedtime or not.  Here’s an excellent article that a commentor linked to in the last post (thanks Illiterate Primates) if you want to read about the chemical and study stuff behind it.

I also found another appetite suppressant that doesn’t contain anything stimulating at all.  This is a good thing if you don’t want the energy/mental boost Yerba can give (and is surely better for evening consumption if caffeine is a problem).  This one is called Glucomannan and all it is, is fiber.  It comes from a  root that’s been consumed in Japan for over 1000 years.  Here’s some info on it.

You have to take water with it or you can choke (seriously, that’s on the bottle) because it turns into gelatin, which fills you up.  Apparently, it’s also good for constipation due to its fibrous properties so it’s used for that as well.  I haven’t tried it yet though I did get a bottle at Whole Foods this morning.  I’m holding off on testing it out because tonight is date night and if it makes me fart, that could be problematic.

A common way to use it is to open the capsule and put it directly into a smoothie or in oatmeal which seems to thicken it up.  I read some woman used it for a sauce thickener.  I’m not that brave so I’ll be testing it out by keeping it in capsule form.

That’s it so far in the land of experimentation.  I’ll check in with the results of this stuff in the next post.  In the meantime, have a great day, all!

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