Cap 10k recap: it stunk

Sorry I’m so lame and have been missing lately. I promise I’m not off having secret, fun adventures. I am studying for my Master’s degree comprehensive exams which are in a week and are draining my brain and my social life. But enough about that.

Amidst the studying, I have had some time to keep running. I knew going into this semester that I would need to keep running up after my half marathon for my mental sanity. So I signed up for a few races to keep me on track. It was a great strategy and reminds me that I need to get out of my apartment and take a break from the studying. Physical movement is good for brain function. It’s science or something.

(Side note: I’m totally into this picture in a narcissistic way. I keep staring at it. I think it is the way my leg looks so long and svelte? Or is it that my shining paleness attracts the eyes?)

I ran the Statesman Capitol 10k this past weekend and I had this idea that I’d be able to come back and tell you all that I had a big PR and was so proud of myself. But the morning of the race, I kind of knew that wasn’t going to happen. I had done some speed work and actually dropped 30 seconds off my average pace/mile (huge for slowpokes like me) and I thought I could drop time off my old 10k time. But then I realized the race started at 9am. And then I woke up not excited at all. I just wasn’t there, mentally.

Like my awesome Hunger Games shirt? Not a single person complimented me. Jerks.

WTF who plans a race at 9am in March in Texas? It was already 70* and climbing by the time the race started, which really isn’t that hot. But then the sun wouldn’t go away and there was not even a breeze. I saw people on stretchers and passed out on the side of the road with IVs because of the heat. It didn’t seem like it was that hot, but everyone around me was dying too. I took far more walking breaks than I did during my entire half marathon and crossed the finish line looking like this:

So sexy it hurts. I know.

I may or may not have puked at the end. The combination of needing water to not dehydrate and not needing water because it makes me feel sick when I run is not good. I drank too much for my stomach but not nearly enough for the warm run.

Discouraged, I grabbed a banana and hiked back to my car. I was pretty upset. I spent all day sulking. And then I got over it. I have another 10k coming up in a couple weeks, at 8am instead of 9am, and I’m going into it prepared to remember that “bad” races can happen and I should just enjoy what my body can do, no matter what speed.

Countdown to exam: 6 days
Countdown to visiting Rahul: 7 days
Countdown to moving to DC: 45 days

livestrong half marathon recap

So yesterday I shed (metaphorical) blood, (real) sweat, and (copious) tears as I finished my very first half marathon.

13.1 miles later, I am still alive, really sore, and really proud.

At 6:15am, I headed to Austin’s Capitol building to meet up with my teammates from Team Asha and took some touristy pictures. Here’s my #1 cheerleader from the course… Rahul!

He came to town to visit, cheer for me, and to make me look even paler than I already am.

He took off at 6:45am to start on some mimosas with my other cheerleaders and I nervously made my way to the start line, pairing myself with some people from the Austin Fit pace group I’ve been doing long runs with. The race started at 7am and since 15,000 crazy people had to cross the start with me, it took me until about 7:15am to even run.

The first few miles were great, I was feeling strong and even saw Rahul and my friends Mary and Cliff cheering for me around mile 2.5. It was a huge boost as I saw the steady 3 mile climb up South Congress from there! The turn around to the 3 mile downhill was wonderful, as I saw another few teammates, smelled bacon from a local restaurant, and saw how I was rocking my pace nearly 30 seconds under my usual. I was cautious not to go out too hard, but I was doing okay except some nerves affecting my stomach.

I saw my cheerleading squad around mile 7 for the last time and took off the rest of the way on my own. I had only run up to 10 miles prior to the race, since I missed the 12 mile run with my group. I got to mile 10 and hit a wall, realizing I had never taken in more fuel (Shot Blocks) at mile 8 like planned, and I felt it. With a short break to chew I got reenergized and tackled some rolling hills.

Then I got to mile 11.8 and wanted to cry. I suppose this is the race organizer’s fun little way to torture us all? It was awful. You saw it coming and dreaded it the whole way and climbed something like 8 stories in .15 of a mile. I walked up part of it and felt really out of breath at the end of it. I tried to pull it together but ended up having to walk up another short hill at 12.6… so close to the end!

I finally did manage to pull it together and rounded the corner towards the finish line. I was slightly ahead of pace so I wasn’t expecting friends to be there and I just gave it my last bit of energy. I cried and threw my arms up as I ran the last .05 miles to the finish. I have been dreaming about doing a half for 3 years and had finally completed it!

I felt momentarily like I couldn’t catch my breath but after chugging some water and getting my medal, things got better. I found Rahul, who is the most amazing person I could ever ask to be with, and he was so proud of me that it made me even prouder of what I had accomplished. We reunited with friends, had a mimosa, and then I stuffed my face with bacon and eggs and all was right with the world.

So there it is. My first 13.1 in 2:26:41. I couldn’t be happier. Well, maybe I would be happier if I wasn’t hobbling like an old lady right now.

some January motivation

Ahh January… the time of year when gyms are overcrowded and diet commercials abound! Some people take January seriously, and others are totally annoyed by the so-called “January joiners” who invade the gym and produce section. When people roll into the gym with jeans and water bottles full of Diet Coke (bless their hearts), I have to force myself to remember one thing: that was me 3 years ago. Lost, unhappy, 250 lbs, but trying to fix it.

Yep, 3 years ago today I started to change my life on my own terms. As I’ve written about before, my dad died in November of 2008. Here is a picture of me from my mom’s wedding, just a day after his funeral:

Shortly after this, I finished my semester and had about a month of winter break to process things. Slowly, the wheels of change started to spin in my brain and I found blogs about healthy living and weight loss. I investigated my choices. I invested in myself. I started Weight Watchers on January 12, 2009.

I learned about making smarter choices with my food. I liked the burn I felt in my muscles when I exercised. I knew that I had to do something proactive to become a happier person and turn things around for myself. It all started to click.

I started on the elliptical, moved to running (using the Couch to 5k program!), and ran my first 5k! I then ran a 10k and a handful of other 5k’s. I got back into swimming, my childhood sport and first love. I took spin classes. I was healthy.

Over the next year and a half, I lost 80 lbs. I was happy. I was a new person.

In the 1.5 years since I’ve moved to Texas, I gained 10-12 lbs back (depending on what day you asked me). I got a little disheartened after falling out of some new habits and back into some old habits. But since August I’ve been trying to pick myself back up by my bootstraps (because I actually have bootstraps now) and I’ve gotten back on the bandwagon and lost the “moving-weight”. Now, I’m looking forward to getting rid of the final 15 lbs I want to shed. Full disclosure: I’m using Weight Watchers again and have been since November.

So why am I sharing all this with you? I wanted to write it out for myself as some positive reinforcement and motivation for me, as well as anyone out there looking at the calendar and wondering if this year is the year. It is! I did it. And not to sound like one of those tv commercials but… if I can do it, so can you. It wasn’t always easy, and it certainly wasn’t always pretty, but I did it.

My advice: pick some small things you can change and go from there. One change will snowball into another. You’ll be amazed at what you continue to accomplish. Find yourself a mantra (the one I’m using these days was 100% stolen from the Minute Maid orange juice slogan, but it works): “Put good in, get good out.”

Are you using this January to change things up? Are you looking for ways to get healthier? Did you already find a better lifestyle? I want to hear everyone’s stories! I need the motivation and I know other people want it, too!

 

no fun november

Apparently people are participating in No-Shave November by growing beards and lovely lady leg hair.

I will not be participating in that. However, I will be participating in No Fun November in an effort to push myself to do something not fun, but which will help me.

With the input of some friends and a few ideas of my own, here are my No Fun November goals:

1. Do 15 push ups every day with correct form <— I usually wimp out and do the girl push ups;

2. No fried foods (as in, deep fried);

3. Find a way to get back into yoga, no matter what;

4. Drink 8 glasses of water every day!

Are you going to make any No Fun November personal goals?

perfecting an imperfection

I’m not perfect. Nor will I ever be. Though I may, jokingly, claim that I am “the perfect woman” or that I’m perfect for some job or role, I am actually imperfect. And that is okay.

I’m imperfect because, as I mentioned in this post , I burn toast, trip often, and hate wearing socks. In fact, I’m so imperfect that in the process of typing this post, I somehow managed to hit my head on the metal cabinet above my desk in the grad student workspace, making a lot of noise and attracting attention. I sweat a lot, I get cotton mouth when I’m nervous, and I don’t always eat right. I have a hard time letting things go and I sometimes put all my proverbial eggs in one basket. Also, I decided to quit my half marathon training.

If quitting makes you imperfect, then I can deal with that. I chose to stop training because my knee injury isn’t healing fast enough. It is healing and I can run again, but I lost a lot of endurance in my down time and I just don’t want to push it hard and give myself more problems. I also stopped because, while I lose $125 in the race entry fee (the Nike Women’s (Half) Marathon), I won’t lose $400 flying to San Francisco, staying in a hotel, eating out, and then being disappointed because I had to walk half the race with a knee injury. My friend Mary who was running it with me is of the same state of mind, so we both decided that, while we are disappointed at missing the opportunity, more will come and it is the more responsible decision in the end.

Since I have no big races to train for anymore but maybe a 5k on the horizon, I’m slowly working on building up my endurance and really enjoying running again. I’m not looking at distance or speed but just running and walking when I see fit. I love this! But I do need some kind of goal to work towards so I’ve devised a clever scheme to deal with some other “imperfections”.

I want to tone up and feel better about my imperfect body. This body will never be perfect, and I’m okay with that, but I think a weight training regimen will be something I can work on with a goal in mind and still be able to change something about me that I think can be perfected. And perfected does not imply perfect.

It is pretty simple but I have a basic calendar:

From my days of lifting weights with my club and high school swim teams, I know some basic moves that really help. I know how to use most of the machines, safely, and also some hand weight moves. I am going to use both the gym and exercise videos with a resistance band and an abs ball to accomplish all these exercises and make sure I rest, stretch, and don’t burn out. If you have links to workouts or recommendations for videos, let me know! I think that I might also look into personal training, if they have it at UT for students, and consider investing in a session or 2 to really help me out.

Suggestions and ideas are, as always, welcome! I’m not trying to be perfect, because that will never happen, but I am going to do my best to work on an imperfection that I see in myself and feel better about it.

That said, I’m off to find my tickets to the gun show.

how to be epic

Based on the comments from my most recent post and the well-liked statement ¨… I am epic and so is my life,” I have decided to elaborate on the concept of being epic and what it means to me.

1. Always believe in yourself. Be you and don’t worry about getting judged.

2. Be nice, but don’t be afraid to show your inner-bitch (when appropriate). Firmly stand by your beliefs and never be sorry for them.

3. Appreciate the epic-ness of life. If something particularly awesome happens, call attention to it.

4. Don’t half-ass anything. Do everything to the fullest and never fear failure.

5. Eat chocolate daily, just for good measure.

6. Find something you love doing and do it every day, even if its just 5 minutes.

7. Listen to inappropriate music too loudly with the windows down in your car. Head bang and fist pump when necessary.

8. Laugh often but allow yourself to cry when you need to.

9. Have no fear and take no prisoners. Need I say more?

10. And, finally, to steal a popular British phrase, “Keep calm and carry on.”

peachy keen

Good Thursday Wednesday morning! I am so confused, I am a day ahead of myself and had to look at my calendar 3 times to confirm it was Wednesday.

Anyways, I invented a successful recipe last night and just had to share it with you guys! My mom was really stressed from some work stuff so I made her dessert when she got home! (I went out to dinner with my grandma, or I would have made her dinner, too!)

Maple & Brown Sugar Peach Crumble

Maple & Brown Sugar Peach Crumble (serves 2-3)
- 1/2 cup  old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 T margarine/butter/vegan margarine
- 2 T brown sugar
- 1/4 cup crushed walnuts
- 2 T maple syrup
- dash of cinnamon (to taste)
- 2 peaches, sliced into bite-size chunks
Melt butter/margarine and put into a mixing bowl. Add in all dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Toss peach slices in and stir in milk & maple syrup. Once throughly mixed, place in a small baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350*, making sure peach pieces are soft. Serve warm with an optional dollop of Greek yogurt or ice cream on top!

I made my mom taste test it, because my opinion is biased, and she gave it the stamp of approval. It is like a crumble mixed with a cobbler but healthier. We didn’t have ice cream on hand, but it would have been killer with my favorite coconut milk-based ice cream!

After a sound night of delicious dessert-induced sleep, I got up and went to the gym to have my first official run on my half marathon training! Today called for 2 miles or cross training and I did the 2 miles since and I will swap out tomorrow’s run for cross training and then get onto the schedule. I definitely need the structure but I’m glad I can be flexible with it!

In other news, head over to The Power of Progress for some motivation! This blog is written by the son of my mom’s cousin (so my 2nd cousin??) who I have sadly never met. But my grandfather passed it along to me and we’ve since been in touch. It is awesome, please read!

snowball effect

Happy HOT 4th of July!!! For the past few days we’ve had pleasant temperatures in the 80s but of course today it has already reached that by 9am. Sigh. All good things must come to an end. So in the usual blistering heat of a Virginia July, thinking about snowballs makes it all better, right? Right.

I’ve only been at this summer “camp” for a week and a half and already I can make some sweeping generalizations: 1. Our kids are more annoying than last year; 2. Exercise creates a snowball effect.

No, exercise does not cool you down nor does it smack you across the face after being thrown at you by your older brother. Rather, this “snowball effect” has to do with how we make a big snow ball. It starts out small and we roll it across the snow as it gets bigger and bigger until finally we’ve accomplished the base of a snowman. Well this idea has a lot to do with exercise, surprisingly.

On the (few) mornings I’ve felt alive enough to go out for a run, I spend the rest of the day in a better mood and make better food choices. On the days where I sleep in another 45 minutes because sleep is precious at this summer job, I tend to spend the day making poor food choices and just not feeling 100%. So wouldn’t this be motivation enough to get up and workout?

Not really, unfortunately. The snowball must first be started to create the effect but the snowball maker must make some pretty critical decisions first. Should I stay inside and get much needed rest? Or should I wake up, put on all that gear, and labor away in the snow? Is it worth it to sleep in? Is it worth it to wake up?

My current job (which only lasts 4 weeks by definition of the Spanish immersion program’s calendar) is tiring. We have to be up with the kids at 6:45am and I work until 11pm. Then you need time to decompress and talk to your friends, the counselors of the other language programs, which cuts into your much-needed sleep. The days where I get extra sleep I feel like sleep is worth it, but come 2pm I start to make really bad food decisions. This is very frustrating!

So this morning I actually got to sleep in (we give the kids Sunday morning off to rest) and I went to the gym with Harris to run 3 miles and I’m already feeling good and making good decisions. Let’s see how today’s snowball turns out, shall we?

Oh, and my good choice for breakfast included my favorite Greek yogurt, dark chocolate AB, and a banana

back in the game

Good Monday morning! Happy first day of summer!! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and had someone special to honor for Father’s Day, be he a dad, a grandpa, or just a good guy in your life!

Yesterday I was really thinking a lot about my dad, naturally, and I really wanted to go on a run to clear my head and shake off some of my blues. But, the gym was closed so I couldn’t do any real work out, but with my knee issues I was afraid to go out. I’ve discovered that running really does help to clear my head in a way that no other cardio workout, except swimming, can do and I’ve missed that lately.

Well I gave my knee a pep talk and decided to try a run out this morning. My knee has steadily been getting better and over the past 6 weeks I’ve taken it way back, cutting milage down to 1 mile and steadily increasing. I’ve also taken a lot of time off between runs. My last run was 2 miles just over a week ago through the vineyards in France (swoon) and I could definitely tell that my knee was improving. It still hurt, but not nearly as bad as before and the pain disappeared quickly afterwards. So I psyched myself up and decided I’d try to go 2 miles again this morning and see. And let’s be honest, I was afraid I was telling myself my knee was improving when it really wasn’t.

Well I pounded out 3 slow miles on the treadmill this morning with hardly any pain!!! It twinged a few times and I readjusted my stride, but afterwards it felt FINE! I stretched and iced as a precaution, but I am just so excited to be back in the game. I was starting to freak out about training for my half marathon and afraid I would permanently disabled from running (slight overreaction?).

And the run really helped to clear my head and made me feel human again! I’d been really down about workouts and my inability to run over the past 6 weeks, so I am really happy to be feeling more like myself again and more motivated to lead a healthy, active life. Yay for a victorious Monday morning!

Of course I followed up my run with one of my favorite breakfasts. Since it is already 1000* outside, I figured a smoothie would be perfect!

Standard green smoothie (1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk, handful spinach, 1 frozen banana); wheat toast with soynut butter!

I didn’t have a huge appetite when I was making my breakfast, but an hour later I devoured a giant grapefruit and I’m getting hungry again at 11:30am!! I shall make a yummy lunch to combat this!

Have you had anything great happen on this Monday?

biggest loser finale!

Okay the finale of “The Biggest Loser” is on, therefore I have no coherent thoughts to share with you. I have some issues with this show, but when you need motivation (like me, now) it is inspiring. So here is a run down of some interesting eats today…

Oats in a jar: Bob's Red Mill 7 grain, 1/2 a pear, remnants of the almond butter

Let’s all take a moment to mourn the passing of my favorite AB.

Hummus, squash, and red pepper on wheat; TJ's chips & salsa

Got to work from home today I also made it to the gym for a sweat session split between the elliptical, the bike, pushups, and other arm weights.

TJ's strawberry soy yogurt

I think I’m over my cereal obsession because I only had one handful today and it didn’t appeal to me any more once I finished it! I also snacked on some dark chocolate with chili.

Mixed green salad with homemade honey mustard vinaigrette; whole wheat penne with homemade pesto

Mona & I made dinner for Jeremy and 4 of his hungry guy friends. It was so delicious! I also had some chips & guac while cooking but my appetite was put off when one of Jeremy’s friends dropped guac on my Blackberry and I had to spend a few minutes scraping guac out of the speaker. Oh and a beer

Okay before I go to watch, here is a GREAT post I read today.