I'll be honest, I've never been a runner. In elementary school, I dreaded the Presidential Fitness Test because it meant I'd be stuck, yet again, running a mile and finishing dead last. I ran track for a year in middle school because all my friends were doing it, but the team was something of a joke, and I finished last in pretty much ever race I ran. I played field hockey goalie for two seasons in high school despite constant threats to my life (a bunch of preppy girls running around in skirts doesn't sound scary, but talk to me after you've had a few balls hit you in the head) because it involved not having to run up and down the field all the time.
The only time running has ever seemed like a good idea to me was when I've been going through boy issues. Right after high school ended, I remember doing a few solid days of running to try and clear my head about one particular guy, but the midwest summer humidity kicked in pretty shortly thereafter, and that was the end of that.
The summer after sophomore of college, I went on a general fitness kick trying to forget a particularly painful breakup. This involved three days of running that felt amazing, and then funny things started happening to my knee, and that was the end of that. Fast forward about six months to me being in England, studying abroad, and still not being over that boy, and getting really into running for the first time ever. As in, I ran consistently for probably about a month, loved it, and then exams happened and that was the end of that.
Fast forward to now. I have some weird feelings about this particular breakup as it relates to running, but I'm trying not to let those get in my way. I've needed something new and different, something I can set a goal with, and running feels like that. I know it's wildly premature, but I feel like this could be the breakup that really turns me into a runner.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
A new beginning
I'll be honest, today did not start out looking like a promising day. It's a Monday, I got slammed with a lot of tedious stuff at work, and it happens to be what would be our two year anniversary had I not broken up with my ex four months ago, which I thought would make me happier, but so far has not. So, in general, I was not enthused about life.
My one beacon of excitement was this whole idea of training for a half marathon. I procrastinated at work by looking at training plans and found a few that seem doable (okay, I found two at work, but can only find one of them again now. Sigh). My original goal for this evening was to do two miles, as I have not run really in a long time, but as the day wore on and got worse, I thought maybe I could do four miles with some sort of walk break in between.
Of course, I got home from work and the couch and the cat called to me and suggested that maybe I didn't have to go for a run. That maybe I should sit at home and wallow instead. It was tempting, but I managed to get going an hour later than my original planned workout time. I was still not excited. And then I started running.
It. Was. Magical. Like I said, I haven't been running a lot, so I expected it to feel terrible. It did not. It felt great. There were a few minor aches and twinges that subsided as I kept going. I made it through both two mile segments pretty easily, and did five miles in the 60 minutes I was on the treadmill, which I know is not amazing, but when you haven't actually run four miles at one time ever, it felt huge.
So, at the moment, I am wildly excited about running and completely infatuated with this half marathon concept. Maybe like all new crushes it will fade and disappoint me, but for now, I'm going to bask in the glow of this newfound love interest :)
My one beacon of excitement was this whole idea of training for a half marathon. I procrastinated at work by looking at training plans and found a few that seem doable (okay, I found two at work, but can only find one of them again now. Sigh). My original goal for this evening was to do two miles, as I have not run really in a long time, but as the day wore on and got worse, I thought maybe I could do four miles with some sort of walk break in between.
Of course, I got home from work and the couch and the cat called to me and suggested that maybe I didn't have to go for a run. That maybe I should sit at home and wallow instead. It was tempting, but I managed to get going an hour later than my original planned workout time. I was still not excited. And then I started running.
It. Was. Magical. Like I said, I haven't been running a lot, so I expected it to feel terrible. It did not. It felt great. There were a few minor aches and twinges that subsided as I kept going. I made it through both two mile segments pretty easily, and did five miles in the 60 minutes I was on the treadmill, which I know is not amazing, but when you haven't actually run four miles at one time ever, it felt huge.
So, at the moment, I am wildly excited about running and completely infatuated with this half marathon concept. Maybe like all new crushes it will fade and disappoint me, but for now, I'm going to bask in the glow of this newfound love interest :)
New workout plan?
So for the past few weeks, I've been trying to consistently do Bar Method in the morning, and yoga at night, with maybe some cardio beforehand to warm up. The cardio rarely happens. I'm starting to realize that maybe this is not getting me the results I want - I definitely feel like I'm toning up, but based on my near death experience in spin class and some wise advice from one of the yoga teachers about how she used to just do yoga and felt great but "would get winded running to the bus" I think it's time to step up my cardio routine. My new (insane) plan is to do five sessions per week of Bar Method, yoga, and cardio. Given I work out in the morning and evening anyway, this is 15 workouts to fit into 14 time slots, which just means I need to triple up on one weekend day. It seems doable, but am I nuts?
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Current obsessions
Things I'm obsessed with right now (besides recurring players Bar Method, veganism, and dessert):
Morning protein smoothie
I will give you, it is not much to look at in this picture. But it is delicious.
Recipe
10 oz coffee (cold, I brew it the night before and stick it in the fridge)
4 oz almond milk
1/2 c frozen raspberries
1/4 c Trader Joe's Chocolate Hemp Protein Powder
Ice
Throw in blender, blend, consume. It tastes much like my formerly beloved Raspberry Mocha Frappucino, except that this is way better for me, lower in calories, and also tastes better. Magic!
Avocado Toast
I love this. Some people think it is gross. Whatever to those people.
Recipe
Bread
Avocado
Garlic salt
Toast bread. Smear with avocado. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Consume.
The concept of running
Aside from a jog before yoga last week, I have not seriously run in awhile. But I am liking the idea of it. Had brunch with a friend this morning who ran the LA marathon this year and he's going to make me a training schedule for doing some sort of half marathon in the fall. I am excited. We'll see how far I get before I get lazy and/or my knees give out.
Morning protein smoothie
I will give you, it is not much to look at in this picture. But it is delicious.
Recipe
10 oz coffee (cold, I brew it the night before and stick it in the fridge)
4 oz almond milk
1/2 c frozen raspberries
1/4 c Trader Joe's Chocolate Hemp Protein Powder
Ice
Throw in blender, blend, consume. It tastes much like my formerly beloved Raspberry Mocha Frappucino, except that this is way better for me, lower in calories, and also tastes better. Magic!
Avocado Toast
I love this. Some people think it is gross. Whatever to those people.
Recipe
Bread
Avocado
Garlic salt
Toast bread. Smear with avocado. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Consume.
The concept of running
Aside from a jog before yoga last week, I have not seriously run in awhile. But I am liking the idea of it. Had brunch with a friend this morning who ran the LA marathon this year and he's going to make me a training schedule for doing some sort of half marathon in the fall. I am excited. We'll see how far I get before I get lazy and/or my knees give out.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
On nonbelievers in veganism
I have in the past expressed my skepticism about veganism. It's still not something I would want to do all the time permanently forever, because, fact, I love me a bacon cheeseburger sometimes. BUT. In my day to day life, I really, really am loving veganism, and this is very much because of how much better I feel, not any ethical whateverness. It is also because my scale at one point this week read 135, which is the lowest it has been in awhile, and was confirmed by the scale at my gym. Woo!
Anyway, (and I'm sure and sorry that I've been one of these people in the past), there's a lot of people that get really personally offended when I mention I'm doing veganism. It happened when I did it for Lent, and it's happening again now, and honestly, it's really irksome. Like, why is it your problem that I'm not eating cheese? I'm not asking you to not eat cheese, and I'm not doing it forever. I generally try not to be too annoying when people are picking restaurants and whatnot. When I was dating someone and vegan, I made a point of making my own food so I wasn't an inconvenience to him, and yet it still seemed to bother him. Bleh.
I think the worst was when I told a good friend that I highly recommended it and she told me that I was crazy and that really, if I was going to say stuff like that, she should stop being my friend. This girl has been having stomach issues and is trying to lose weight, and I was merely trying to suggest something that, in my experience, can work wonders and miracles for both of those things. Fine. Suit yourself. Be bloated and fat, it's not really my problem.
Anyway, (and I'm sure and sorry that I've been one of these people in the past), there's a lot of people that get really personally offended when I mention I'm doing veganism. It happened when I did it for Lent, and it's happening again now, and honestly, it's really irksome. Like, why is it your problem that I'm not eating cheese? I'm not asking you to not eat cheese, and I'm not doing it forever. I generally try not to be too annoying when people are picking restaurants and whatnot. When I was dating someone and vegan, I made a point of making my own food so I wasn't an inconvenience to him, and yet it still seemed to bother him. Bleh.
I think the worst was when I told a good friend that I highly recommended it and she told me that I was crazy and that really, if I was going to say stuff like that, she should stop being my friend. This girl has been having stomach issues and is trying to lose weight, and I was merely trying to suggest something that, in my experience, can work wonders and miracles for both of those things. Fine. Suit yourself. Be bloated and fat, it's not really my problem.
First Spin class
Spinning has always looked so scary to me. That, and it seems like one of those fitnessy buzzwords that makes you sound really sporty regardless of whether you are or not "Oh, I have to get up early for spin." Bleh. The people, in their bike shorts and their clacky shoes, drenched in sweat while instructors shout at them. No thank you. But my cardio routine has been lacking of late, and one of my friends wanted to try it, so I bit the bullet and went.
On the plus side, the instructor was super helpful with setting up bikes, and wasn't too crazy with the yelling during class. On the minus side, I was concerned I might die. On the also minus side, spin bikes are not really built for people who are 5'11". I'm still worried I freaked out my back from leaning over so far to get to the handlebars. The other thing is that I've heard spin is this calorie torching wonder, but my console said I only burned 140 calories for the class. I will give you that I was not pushing it crazy hard, but for the amount I was sweating/breathing heavily/etc, I was burning way more than that.
Overall, meh. But as I have learned, one should try everything twice, so I'll probably be going back. Just not this week.
On the plus side, the instructor was super helpful with setting up bikes, and wasn't too crazy with the yelling during class. On the minus side, I was concerned I might die. On the also minus side, spin bikes are not really built for people who are 5'11". I'm still worried I freaked out my back from leaning over so far to get to the handlebars. The other thing is that I've heard spin is this calorie torching wonder, but my console said I only burned 140 calories for the class. I will give you that I was not pushing it crazy hard, but for the amount I was sweating/breathing heavily/etc, I was burning way more than that.
Overall, meh. But as I have learned, one should try everything twice, so I'll probably be going back. Just not this week.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Veganism FTW!
After a long, tiring, junk food and drink filled but totally fun birthday weekend in Vegas, it's time for a change. I'm a quarter century old now, so it's time to start acting like it, or something.
Anyway, the day we drove back, I had a Jack in the Box breakfast burrito (gross), ice cream, and popcorn as the foods I ate all day. Needless to say, I felt terrible afterwards. And thus, I decided I'm doing at least a week of strict veganism to get myself back on track. So far, it is feeling great. Workouts are going well, I feel better physically, and I don't feel guilty if I eat a lot since I know that everything I'm putting in my body is substantial and nourishing.
Recap for the day:
~40 min on the treadmill
~75 minutes of yoga, tough class but felt soooooo good!
Breakfast
Oatmeal with almond milk (never again) and blueberries (300)
Banana (100)
Lunch
Salad with spinach, arugula, chickpeas, grape tomatoes, balsamic vinegar (200?)
Red pepper strips (50?)
Snacks
Otter pops! (160)
Fiber One bar (140)
Trail mix (170)
Dinner
Two black bean fajitas with avocado (600)
Anyway, the day we drove back, I had a Jack in the Box breakfast burrito (gross), ice cream, and popcorn as the foods I ate all day. Needless to say, I felt terrible afterwards. And thus, I decided I'm doing at least a week of strict veganism to get myself back on track. So far, it is feeling great. Workouts are going well, I feel better physically, and I don't feel guilty if I eat a lot since I know that everything I'm putting in my body is substantial and nourishing.
Recap for the day:
~40 min on the treadmill
~75 minutes of yoga, tough class but felt soooooo good!
Breakfast
Oatmeal with almond milk (never again) and blueberries (300)
Banana (100)
Lunch
Salad with spinach, arugula, chickpeas, grape tomatoes, balsamic vinegar (200?)
Red pepper strips (50?)
Snacks
Otter pops! (160)
Fiber One bar (140)
Trail mix (170)
Dinner
Two black bean fajitas with avocado (600)
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