Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone. Haven't written in a while--I've been quite preoccupied. I picked the boy up at the airport last weekend and we've been doing stuff constantly since. We bravely ran together a few days ago through his very hilly neighborhood. It was pretty crazy and pretty cold, and by the end of it, I had a huge knot in my chest. The thing was though, as much as I dreaded the hills, I pumped myself up as I started up them and by the end was going full force and then I took it easier on the down slopes.

So for Christmas I traveled to the beach, where there are no hills *cheering*. I woke up at 8 o'clock this morning to get in a 3 mile run before a day of completely gorging myself with all sorts of savory dishes. Let me just say, Guinness brownies are my new favorite thing. Anyway, so I don't feel as bad about myself for eating so much (key word AS because I still feel like a pig). Needless to say, tomorrow is going to be healthier and lighter...It's also snowing (ugh) which is pretty, but when traveling, it is not so pleasant. So there won't be running, at least tomorrow :(

On a brighter note, I got an awesome North Face type of under-armor shirt that repels moisture and has a built in pocket so that I can carry keys/phone with me without having to put them random places like in my sock (painful) or my sports bra (awkward). I also got some awesome wool socks for outdoors stuff like running and/or skiing, which I really want to start up.

Merry Xmas!

Getting Back Into the Routine

Well, as everyone saw from the previous post, being at home was just a bunch of eating out and baking of cookies. I got back to C'ville yesterday with intentions to run, but the weather decided to be ridiculous and snow 4 inches. I barely made it back and once I was done sliding around in my 2-wheel drive tiny compact car, I took a long nap because I was so tired after that drive. So today I ventured out...to the bus stop to hitch a ride to the gym. I had intentions of running 5 miles but the minute I got on the treadmill I knew it was not going to be a fun run. At mile 2.5 I was panting and gasping for air and trying to chug my water whilst running (which I am horrible at let me just say). So I had water running all down my chin and was gasping...but in the end I somehow managed to run 4 miles in 42:24. I think part of the difficulty of that run may have been the celebratory champagne I had last night + the box of junk food I got in the mail (my exam box arrived after exams ended...hah) Anyway, it just shows how it pays off to consistently run without a 3 day break (ugh, kicking myself) and lots of junk food. Now that I don't have to go into work tonight I had time to make myself a yummy lunch (spaghetti and marinara) and I think I'm going to spend the rest of my day wrapping Christmas presents, updating my iTunes library and perhaps watching a movie while sketching or doing some water color. I also plan on running in the morning before I pick up the boy at the airport as long as I can manage to don enough layers so that I don't freeze in the snow.

Also, here's a good article on how to beat the blues of indoor treadmill running. It was an interesting article with some good ideas, although personally, if I have an awesome running mix to listen to, I don't mind treadmills at all.

Home

Welcome home, welcome to holiday cookie central, welcome to eating out! I decided to come home for a couple of days to break the monotony of C'ville. I'm going back tomorrow though which is probably a good idea because as of now, I feel like a fatty. The last two days have been a lot of eating out with family and friends, catching up over a yummy salad or sandwich that probably wasn't too good for me after all. Not to mention today I decided I'd make cookies for the boy, and ... well I had to test one...or two. They are great by the way. No running whatsoever because of the crazy wind, but thinking about a run tomorrow in the snow. Ugh. Snow. It's gonna be a cold one.

The Power of Gatorade

Never have I ever felt so deserving of a Gatorade. I'm sitting in a review session for Psych, sippin' on some lemon-lime Gatorade, feeling fantastic, and contemplating my run (the session hasn't started yet, okay? I'll pay attention when I need to). I just finished up 5.0 miles on the treadmill (it's gross and rainy and cold outside) with an average pace of 10:42, which isn't fabulous but I ran it in 53:30, which shaved 40 s off of my last 5-mile treadmill run. I usually don't drink Gatorade because of the calories, even though it's good for ya if you've done a lot of physical activity, and/or in the words of Mitch Hedberg, "if you're just a thirsty dude." I prefer Powerade Zero now that it's out -- but I rarely buy it because, well, before starting this running regime I lacked a steady exercise regime. Haha. Maybe I'll start because I want the replenishing drink minus the calories.

Right, so my run felt wonderful. I wasn't sure how it would go after my tough outdoors run on Friday, but it went well. I started running at a slower pace and toward the end of the run I was upping my speed to get some last minute sprints in to boost my time (and hopefully my stamina). And let me just say, showering at the gym is like a race against the hot water heater giving out. That's the only unpleasant part of the whole workout experience today...well and the fact that I've gotta face the facts (literally) and study for Psych.

Peace. Love. Run. ;)

Happy Feet

Happy feet:

Unfortunately, with my feet, this isn't what I'm facing here. It's more like this + the curse of flat, flat feet. The excess running isn't hurting my feet too much yet, but they aren't the happiest campers. I wear braces on them at night to relieve the pain. I fear surgery in the future, but perhaps it'll help. What sucks though is that you have to be off of your feet for 6 weeks after surgery!! I'm too active for that! Time will tell, I guess.

So today, there hasn't been running because I'm recovering from yesterday's run and working a double. Weekly tally for running though:

Sun: 3

Tues: 5

Fri: 4.1

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12.1 miles this week!! Not too shabby!

Happy weekend, everyone.

Outdoor Running

This is me. All pumped before my run.

This is me. Gasping for air and guzzling water after my run. Have I mentioned how much I hate hills? They are probably my least favorite thing ever. I think I'd rather do field suicides than run up hills:

www.ehow.com/how_2191504_run-suicides-agility-training-exercises.html

But seriously, that run was TOUGH. I've been training on a treadmill and am not used to propelling my body up inclines. I ran an ugly 4.1 miles in 50 min. 36 seconds which puts my average pace around 12:38/mi. Groooosss. I was definitely walking at least 5 separate times during the run. It didn't help that A. I forgot my gloves, B. I was holding pepper spray (I'm a paranoid runner), C. I didn't have a clear route drawn out D. my body is not used to this!!! E. It's frickin' cold outside F. Hey you. Yeah, you. The guy who blew a bike horn out of your car window and cat-called. YEAH!! You made me uncomfortable and so I turned around and walked in another direction for a minute until I felt okay enough to turn back around and continue my run in the direction I was originally going.

I can keep making up excuses, but it doesn't make my time any better. Anyway. So my legs hurt. But I'm looking forward to a piping hot shower and some dinner. Not so much looking forward to finishing one of my take-home finals, but whatever.

I guess the positive thing is that this is a start? I just hope I can get better and not lose heart as I continue to pursue my running goals.

~sigh~

P.S. I carry pepper spray because unfortunately it's not the same for women who run vs. guys who run. I worry that as I increase my time, I will be out after dark, so I carry it. Girls, if you're interested: http://safetygirl.com/pepper-spray-joggers.html?gclid=CP2kicDe4qUCFUdN4AodDlwz1w

Internal Battle

Today has been frustrating so far. I spent my morning running around campus trying to get things printed out for grad school applications. I planned on running, but I have lost all motivation. I have a headache that will not go away even after I've taken Advil, I feel groggy as though I slept horribly last night...which I didn't...and all I'm doing is internal whining--a never ending list of things like "I'll do it tomorrow, I don't feel like running outside it's WINDY AND COLD and there are hills, I'm hungry and I want ice cream NOW, craaaamps suuuuck, I'm thirsty but I don't want to drink boring old water, wah wah wah."

So you win, lazy, complaining self. You win today.

I am going to take a nap, eat a bagel with low fat crunchy peanut butter and a square of dark chocolate, go to work, get some good sleep and hopefully do better tomorrow. No. I will do better tomorrow.

On a positive note, I did some really girly push-ups last night because that's all I can handle at the moment. I also went dancing, which helped me get in about 30 min-1 hr exercise. And I read a good article about foods you should eat as a runner: >> http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--10200-0,00.html Voila. So I went to the store and got some good for me foods. Oh, and Kashi Go Lean Crisp is absolutely amazing. I think that's all I got for now. Time for a nap to shake this mood. I think it's safe to say I'm slightly disappointed in myself today.

Food for Thought

It's exam time. It's stress time. I was up until 2 AM writing a 12 page paper. Too bad for me I only finished 8 pages before I completely crashed, so I had the lovely task of getting 4 more pages out of me before noon today. Not to mention the day before I had to write a 6-8 page paper for Language and Gender, that my heart just wasn't into. Who am I kidding? I never like papers. Annnnd now there's a final due Friday and another final Tuesday in Psych. C'mon!! Something's gotta give. I just want to bundle myself up in a blanket, listen to Christmas music, and drink hot chocolate. RIGHT. Hot chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate chip cookies...which I just ate. Luckily, stress hasn't been sending me too far off the beaten path. During exam periods I'm used to baking a batch of cookies and then eating them in two days. I ate one cookie tonight at dinner, and it was good, but I shall stop at that. I'm getting an "exam box" in the mail though. This means a box full of really bad for me food items. I'm slightly worried.

So today, I didn't really do anything productive in terms of cross training or anything like that. The good news, however, is that I'm not sore after yesterday's run. My muscles feel good and feel like they're sort of recovering today though.

Right, so today I took a 3 hour nap after my paper was done. That counts for something. Right? But perhaps tonight I'll do some ab work and some push-up work. I wish I had free weights in my room so I didn't have to share them with the frat boys at the gym. UGH SO NOT MOTIVATED. I think I'll also browse 10K training plans while listening to my classical Christmas station on Pandora and pretending it's break. Seriously. I can't wait. The boy is coming home on the 18th, I'll see family on the 24th/25th and it will be fantastic. I hope to get some awesome hiking done in the Shenandoah, too. My one fear is that I will let my exercise regime go once the holidays roll around. Maybe I can snag a spare cousin on Christmas Eve for a run around Seashore State Park.

Anyway. Eyes on the prize. I. Can. Do. This.

Oh, and tomorrow I'm aiming for 4 miles on the treadmill 'cuz it's soooo cold outside.

P.S. I'm in dire need of food that will actually give me energy instead of love handles. What should a runner's diet be? Need to read some forums on that. And also? None of my jeans fit. This is fantastic yet frustrating news! (Although if I keep bringing my belt in, I'm seriously gonna look strange). And on that note...

Stay classy, C'ville.

My Philosophy on Running

Well, I'm not too sure about this "blogging" thing, but one of my friend's running blogs (http://runhappyrunoften.blogspot.com/) has inspired me to start one--mainly in part because I need somewhere to track my progress and perhaps more importantly, somewhere to rant and rave about the little thoughts that pop into my head while on the treadmill, huffing and puffing my way up that damn hill, or whilst trying to contort my body into strange shapes while doing recovery yoga and stretching. Actually, blogging isn't the only thing she's inspired me to do. I mean, I've always had this somewhat distant goal lurking in the depths of my brain (probably some really shady corner toward the back...psychologists wouldn't probably endorse this statement. Anyway...) that I wanted to run a marathon sometime in my life. Whoa, whoa, whoa. "A marathon?!" You might ask, mouth agape. Of course that's not my goal right now.

Quick background story on my running:

I started to appreciate running probably after I graduated from high school. I ran in school for field hockey and basketball, but I never appreciated a good run. I was running because I had to. I started running in college, just to stay in shape and I found that I actually sorta liked it. I'd always get into a good routine, but never surpassed 3 miles and once winter came, I started storing up food for the winter for hibernation. That is part true--In fact, I did that and stopped running. Not the most brilliant idea.

I was always disappointed in myself that I would stop over winter, and every spring, I'd try to start up again, hating myself on the first few runs of the season (damn you, Christmas cookies).

In short, I let life get in the way too often. However, this summer while in Morocco, my roommate and classmates had me run with them in a park in Rabat that had a 2 mi. loop winding through it. By the end of the trip, I had mastered 4 miles, but back at school, I had no idea how to get beyond 4 miles. WELL FOLKS, tonight I pushed myself and I hit 5.0 miles in 54:10 and am SO frickin' happy. So right, I've mastered the 5K and then some, and am fairly happy with my times, but now my immediate goal is to train for a 10K. I want to run one in early spring and I'll hopefully keep this updated as I go. After that, I'll set my eyes on bigger things such as a half marathon (!!!).

Why do I run? Because it's energizing, because it's empowering, because it pushes me to be stronger, because it makes me feel amazing, because when I run, it's just the sound of my breathing and the rhythm of my feet hitting the pavement.

These shoes have seen many miles

and hopefully will see many more.