Crap. In My. Belly.

I don't have a sweet tooth.

I can sit in front of a bowl of candy and be fine. It doesn't tempt me.

So why have I been doing nothing but stuffing my face for the past week with sugar? Candy corn. Sweet Tarts. Nerds. Chocolate. Twizzlers. Laffy Taffy. If it's there, I'm eating it. And I don't know why!!!

Besides causing extreme confusion, my sugar overload made my 5-mile run this morning not as exhilarating as it should have been. Sure, the 28-degree temperature could have played a role, but I think it's the lump of processed sugar trying to break down in my stomach. Here has been my daily routine all week:

AM: Come into work with my standard coffee (black with three Sweet-N-Lows...this has been my drink every day for years).
Mid-AM: After a piece of left-over Halloween candy from the admin's desk at work, I pull my cereal from the refrigerator for breakfast.
Late AM: Getting hungry. Lunch is in an hour and a half...what to do? Head over to the offices across the building where our CTO has stashed a whole bag of Willy Wonka delights.
Early Afternoon: Eat lunch, "treat" myself to a piece of chocolate for desert.
Mid-Afternoon: Feeling kind of blah. Sure could use a pick-me-up. Scrounge around the production department for left-overs...find the cookie jar.
Early Evening: Leaving for the day--but I have a 45-minute commute ahead of me. Better take a piece of candy for the road.
Evening: Time to make dinner. I'll eat a cookie while I bake.
8ish that Night: I now have a good, old-fashioned belly ache...the kind that you used to get when you were 10.
9ish that Night: The sugar has worn off. I crash. Hard.

This entire realization came to me last night as I ate a malted milk ball...then realized I didn't really remember opening the bag. I don't know why I eat this candy! Ted was always the sugar-person in the relationship. I leaned more towards carbs and salty snacks...Ted was thrilled with the candy. Now I'm giving him a run for his money. Or candy.

Today is my "NO MORE CANDY" day. Four days of binging is plenty. I brought in left-over packs of animal crackers from home to help curb those candy cravings when they hit (which have been every half hour or so). I have to do this not only for my physique, but my training. Because there is $70 that says I'm running the Philly Half, I might as well try my hardest and watch what I eat...and I'm sure Candy Corn is not on the training plan.