Oh, hey! Let’s get right to it: I survived the Whole30 Whole20.

In the last blog post, I had introduced the concept of Whole30 and the reasons I chose to embark on this journey. All in all, I felt and saw great results! I learned an incredible amount of information and, more than ever, tested the limits of my willpower. This foodie definitely went into Whole30 scared about how daunting it’d be. Little did I know that it’d be such a great journey.

Before I get to how my program came to be the Whole20, let me show you just a peak at some of the foods that I enjoyed. This program was a great motivator for trying new recipes and cooking more at home.

Hey, I even made my own homemade almond milk!

Fast forward to Day 19, Friday, March 14th. The husband, pup, and I packed up our car and headed on a roadtrip down to Portland. If you’ve been to PDX, you’ll know that they have plenty of amazing food and beer.

Upon arriving in Portland, we are famished and ready to grab some food. The only problem was that there were so many restrictions affecting what I could eat. We decided on ¡Oba!, a well-reviewed spot in the Pearl District. By the time we had gotten there, the dining room had closed but happy hour was still on full force. While my hubby enjoyed a couple of beers, I longer for an icy margarita. Instead, I had water, grilled flank steak skewers, their Oba burger with no bun and no fries. Yeah, it was a good burger with fixin’s but just didn’t hit the spot.

The next morning, I woke up and prepared for my long run. The problem here was that I had failed to prepare properly for fueling my long run. Not good. What was I thinking? I had figured to only bring an apple, almonds, and dried organic mango. I proceeded to eat my apple and ordered room service for additional fruit bowl/banana and chicken sausage. This was a stark contrast to my typical go-to pre-run breakfast of oatmeal with almond butter and chia seeds, sweet potato, or bagel/toast with PB.

Armed with my bottle of Nuun and dried mango pieces, I ventured off on my long run from the Hotel deLuxe.

It was nice weather so I opted for short sleeves with arm warmers and the flow tights. I didn’t end up needing the arm warmers and wished during the run that I had worn my Rogas.

I started off running down to the gorgeous waterfront which was only a mile or so from the hotel.

Per Becky’s run route recommendation, I ran towards the Steele Bridge which I was familiar with from previous runs. Along the way, I admired the beautiful cherry blossoms.

Crossing the Steele Bridge, I smiled and waved at many other runners and walkers, love how Portland is such an active city!

I ran a couple of miles along the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade.

My run then connected to a long stretch of paved pedestrian and biking path called the Springwater Corridor which is part of a 40-mile loop. Boy. I never felt alone as I encountered plenty of other bikers and runners.

After entering the Springwater Corridor, I ran another nearly 4 miles and onto the Sellwood Bridge.

What a gorgeous view.

The rest of the run was just as gorgeous.

Got back to the waterfront area and did the Steele Bridge to Hawthorne Bridge a couple more times and then back to the hotel for a total of 16.85 miles at an 8:54 pace.

Wowza, I was done with running and starving!! Dried mango is not the way to fuel. I’m used to eating Gu, Hammer gel, and Honey Stingers. Looking forward to experimenting with my Feed Zone Portables cookbook for on-the-go fuel for athletes.

After the run, I showered up and we met Becky for lunch at Lardo which is known for their amazing sandwiches! Aaaah, no bread for me, that was a bummer. Instead, I had their burger made into a salad. Definitely delicious but my hubby’s “dirty fries” called my name. With lunch, I couldn’t resist and ordered a fresh lemonade. That was my very first taste of any added sugar in over 20 days. I consciously knew that it wasn’t compliant with Whole30, but really desired a taste. I only had part of it and drank mostly water.

It wasn’t until a few hours later when we were shopping that I debated whether I could end my participation in the Whole30. My initial thoughts were helllll no. Only 10 days to go!! But, the more I thought about it, I wondered what additional result, knowledge, or benefit would I experience from the remaining 10 days? 20 days was beyond anything I thought I could do. I had felt great, seen great results, and didn’t want to just end it. However, life is short. Life is about balance. You only live once. Therefore, I consciously made the decision to end the Whole30 and enjoy the rest of my time in PDX.

Here was my first taste of what life after the program would be like. And it felt and tasted pretty damn good!!

We had dinner at Grassa and I proceeded to enjoy an Italian meal of focaccia bread and Italian ramen. Yes, you know I enjoyed every bit.

We met up with our friend, Clarissa, whom suggested a new speakeasy beneath Clyde Common called Pepe La Moko. One more Moscow mule, please.

Am I sad that this is how I ended my Whole30? Nope! Quite opposite. I had a great experience being on the program, learned a whole lot, felt good, and I settled on balance and letting go a little. Thumbs up to the whole experience. If you’re interested and want ideas on recipes, cookbooks, or my take on the 20 days, let me know!;