Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Get back on the horse!

It's inevitable. I set some totally awesome goals for my health: never eat sugar again, ban carbs from my cabinets, run every single day for the rest of my life, adopt a raw food diet, and so on. Then, my company has an amazing party where they serve 12 different appetizers, 8 desserts and 4 themed cocktails and I find myself chowing down on all of it! It happens to all of us, right? What? Your company doesn't have super parties like thati in the middle of the day? Hmm, well, you know that I mean. We all fall off the "health horse" at one time or another. Whether it's a quick happy hour with friends where you skip a workout and down one too many beers or a stressful week that ends with a big bowl of brownie mix, we all have set backs on the road to health and fitness. When that happens, I have two choices. I can fill the tub up with brownie mix, speed dial Pizza Hut and let my running shoes rot. Or, I can remind myself that as much fun as being slothful is, I feel a lot better when I eat a bit healthier and do something physical. In other words, I get back up on that dang horse.

So tonight at Target, instead of buying junk, I bought some easy, healthy foods like frozen edamame, spicy black bean burgers, containers of grapefruit, and Amy's vegetarian burritos. They're not the best choices, since it's all pretty heavily processed, but it's a step in the right direction. Now to get back onto the road in those running shoes that have been sitting in my closet!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

It was a run in the park...

Central Park, that is. Well, I have officially run in 2 different states so far this year. One is obviously Missouri and the other, well New York baby! I made the trek to NYC last week to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and my new (uber-cute) nephew Thomas. It was a very relaxing trip to say the least. I caught up on much needed sleep and got much needed cuddle time with a cute baby.

It seems that every trip I have ever taken to NYC in the past has been filled with sight seeing, food-filled adventures, and lots of other typical things that New Yorkers can do every day that us rural Missourians find exciting and out of the ordinary. This trip was different in many ways. I mean, obviously, the entire point of my trip was to spend as much QT as I could with the fam and get to know Thomas.

Now, don't get me wrong, we still managed to fit in some dining out and I also Stumbled Inn to the biggest stuffed burger I have ever eaten (and I ate it all!) as well as filling myself with Yellow-fin tuna tacos with hearts of palm and the most delicious margarita that I've ever come across. That margarita has set in motion another goal for 2012...and that is to be able to re-create the wonderfulness that was the Watermelon & Basil margarita. That's a whole different adventure and I've already enlisted the help of my sister-in-law Priscilla who agrees with me that we should try to create as many delicious margarita recipes as we can...you know, for the good of man kind. So, while the rest of you are out doing this and that this summer, know that Cil and I will be sacrificing ourselves to create, taste, re-create, taste again, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc. so that we may pass along these concoctions.

Okay, back to NYC. The other completely new adventure on this trip, and probably most obvious from the title of the post, is that my brother and I actually took a jog on Friday afternoon (before the taco/margarita adventure) in Central Park. It was a bit chilly and the walk to the park was cold and windy but we made it there and off we took. I would like to give a shout out to my brother at this point who not only ran at my pace, but took the time to point out the different sights that we ran by as I was too out of breath to respond very much. My brother is much more of an athlete than me and in fact, is going to run a 1/2 marathon in April AND the NYC marathon in November. The marathon is a first for him so that's very exciting as well!

Anyway, we made two 1.7 mile laps around the park - not all of the park, because that's much longer and this was a pretty easy trek. But it was great - LOTS of runners all around, bikers everywhere, and some other interesting hobbies that required people to be on skates and holding sticks. I'm still pondering those athletes....or whatever they were. It was a great feeling to get in a run and do something good for myself while on vacation. And it was fun...yes, running was fun. I said it...it was a nice way to spend time with my brother and see some sights.

All in all a great trip and a run in another state. And, I hope to run in at least one more state this summer while on vacation because at that point I will be in the thick of my 1/2 training schedule and I will have to. So a beach run to look forward to in the Summer of 2012 too!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Criss Cross It UP!

No, we are not suggesting you wear over-size workout clothes backwards. That would be awkward and people would stare. But, we are suggesting you mix up your workouts and cross train! Obviously we're here because we want to run a half-marathon. Does that mean we're spending all of our workout time running?  NOPE! Honestly, that would bore me to death. I'm not someone who can spend a lot of time running. It's just not that interesting. (Sorry running, hate to insult you.) But, I know I'm going to need to spend a lot of my time on the road or the treadmill. So, to keep my workouts interesting and to build some sweet muscles, I do a lot of different things.

I love yoga and am lucky the gym at my work offers a class almost every day. On Wednesdays they offer Power Yoga! Not only am I getting stronger I'm also getting an hour's worth of  "reflective" time. Win!

I hate lunges (they are the devil) but if I want superfly legs, I gotta do them. While I'm doing the hated lunges, I figure I might as well work out the rest of my body with weights or machines.  Hate working out with weights or think you are going to get bulky from them?  Well, ladies, I've got news for you. Weights are awesome! Cardio can help you lose weight but weights will tone your muscle and make you look HAWT. Win-win!

Finally, there are days when I can't run outside and just can't handle an extended amount of time on the treadmill. On those days, I hit the elliptical and crank up the "random" program. It works my heart and my legs and booty get a great workout. And everytime I'm doing a run and am able to power up a hill with no problems,  I know it's because I spent the time challenging myself at the gym on the elliptical. Or with those stinking lunges. Win-win-WIN!

If you love running, congrats! Keep it up. I'll see you out there 2-3 times a week. But, if you want to get a little more from your workouts, have fun doing it and get toned, remember to criss CROSS it up!  The Mac Daddy and Daddy Mac would completely approve.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Myth Busters!

There are three things that are on my mind today in relation to running. And...since it is Friday the 13th, I thought it fitting to write about those myths that are freaking me out right now. So, can these be confirmed or busted by anyone?

#1. I read an article today about the effect of music on your run. Now, if you're like me, you like to run to music. I love keeping pace with the beat and I can convince myself, especially at the end of a run, to keep going if a good song comes on. So...the article talked about how music could help improve your time, make your workouts more enjoyable, blah, blah, blah. Here's the shocker. A particular song has been shown in studies only to positively effect your mind during a workout for the first 3 times you hear it. Huh?

Okay, begin rant. If I can only listen to a song 3 times before it loses its effectiveness - I'm screwed. Here's how I figure. I have approximately 40 songs on my "Workout" play list that get randomly shuffled. At about 3-4 minutes each, I have no more than 160 minutes or two hours and 40 minutes worth of music to listen to. After I begin (seriously) training to run this thing, I can make it about 3-4 weeks before my melodic motivation is gone. It also seems that I hear the crappier ones more than the super-motivating mind erasing, kick ass songs that really keep me going. I hit skip as quickly as possible and hope for the next song to be better.

So...I am less than convinced that there will be enough super fun, run worthy songs that I either discover or that are released in the next 9 month to cover a 13.1 mile run and all the training time that entails. And, now I find myself scared to listen to Yahoo music at work and I can't get to the Skip button quick enough when a really good song comes on - I don't want to waste one of my 3 listens on work. I think I'll tune into some classic jazz from now on during work time. End rant...for now. I cannot CONFIRM or BUST this myth, but I will be able to soon.

#2. I also read another article for beginner runners that a good sports bra is as or more important as your running shoes when training for and running long distances. Okay - there are so many things concerning about this that I don't have time to address them all, and I don't run long distances (yet) so I'm no expert, but I have a hard time believing that the shoes that cover and protect my feet that will be pounding the pavement/gravel/grass/etc. for hours on end is MORE important than the small cotton contraption that covers the barely "B"s. So for now, I'm calling this myth "BUST"ED!

#3. I also read on this blog I follow, sometimes that there may not be ipods or other devices designed to play music allowed at the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 and Marathon. Really? Someone BUST this myth please. I can't find anything on the website but if this is the truth, please disregard all of my rant on #1 and lend some suggestions on what one might do to pass several hours worth of time while trying to distract oneself from running.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Actually Three Girls, My Brother, and a Half. Anyone else?

After I decided to go ahead and sign up for a 1/2, I of course wanted to tell the world. As I was telling the world, I also recruited a couple more runners. So, I figure this is a good time to introduce everyone (er...the 3 people that follow this blog and my loving husband who insists I need to make more posts than I have been) to our other running partners.

So...also running with us will be my brother, AJ and a new friend of mine Natalie. From time to time, I plan to get their take on the training process and any other thoughts they may have and use them to contribute to the blog. Who knows...maybe a periodic guest blogger or two is in order?

The great part about this all is the new recruits are 1/2 newbies too. So, this makes it more exciting and also more intimidating because none of us know what to expect - well, other than the running 13.1 miles part. I'm pretty sure that's the one thing I can count on happening that day. And beer. There will be beer Erin!

It will also be nice to have people around Salem to run with, at least some of the time. I'm also hoping they provide some extra motivation and incentive to make longer runs during the hot and painstakingly humid Missouri summer.

So, lastly I will use this post to invite anyone else who is interested in running a really long way in October to join us. Whoever you are - St. Louis is going to rock that day and you can be a part of it too!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

This is My Jam - The Constellations

Today’s run was brought to you by the band The Constellations. Usually I try to have a good mix playing when I exercise and I thought I’d set mine up to play this evening as I started my run. It was 20 minutes into the run until I realized I’d been listening to The Constellations’ album “Southern Gothic” the whole time! (Not completely my fault…I was focused on running the 3 miles without stopping!) When I finally caught onto what was happening on my phone, I realized that “Southern Gothic” is not only a great album, it’s full of great songs to run to!  So, if you haven’t heard The Constellations yet, Spotify them now!  What’s that? You don’t Spotify?  You are missing out! I just built an all-new running playlist without having to spend a fortune. On Spotify? Find me and let’s share our playlists!

I'm curious - do people like running while listening to music or not? I usually do when I'm training or running for fun (haha, just kidding, I never run for fun!) but I don't have to have it during a race. I wonder if the 1/2 will even let us use iPods. Hmmm, that will be good info to have before the big day.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

I did it, I did it!

My goal this weekend was to run. The good (and possibly bad) thing about posting goals such as this onto a blog that you’ve shared with all of your friends and family is that the next time you talk to them they will ask you if you’ve met your goal. In my case, I had 5 people ask me if I ran on Saturday. I wanted to run on Saturday, but here’s a quick list of the things I did instead:

-cleaned out my fridge
-did my laundry
-went to the mall (didn’t buy anything!)
-went to Target (boughts lots of yummy fruits, veggies and a box of hair dye)
-dyed my hair
-watched Law & Order: SVU reruns (see my profile, I’m obsessed!)
-had a super fun dinner with my sister, niece & brother-in-law, and my boyfriend and his son
-watched more Law & Order: SVU (seriously: obsessed)

There were plenty of opportunities for me to get up and go for a quick run, but I just never made the time.

So, as soon as I woke up this morning I put on my running shoes, my running outfit, grabbed my adorable running buddy (picture below) and got out there and ran!  It was hard – the wind was blowing, I hadn’t had anything to eat yet (unlike my training partner Dru….thanks for that post, now I am craving biscuits & gravy!), and it’s always a challenge trying to keep up with my crazy 60-lb. running buddy.  But, I did it and it felt great! I came home and made a healthy breakfast of soy sausage, egg beaters with spinach, feta and cheddar and a banana. Now, I can relax the rest of the day knowing that I did something good for me.  That will make the Law & Order: SVU episodes I watch that much more enjoyable!



Running buddy, post-run


Really????

"Can I still be foodie (or in my case, just REALLY like to eat everything) and lose weight?" I think I've struggled with this thought my whole life. Like a lot of people I know, I really like to eat, so it bears repeating. I like to eat. This, again, is where the running or exercise in general comes in.

I feel like over the past year or so I've taught myself moderation in many areas of life. But, I also learned that moderation is not deprivation. I can still eat pretty much what I want and continue being or getting more healthy. It goes without saying that I: #1 Still pig out (without guilt) every so often and I #2 Can no longer pig out that way all day every day because it makes me feel like barf physically and mentally.

Running makes me feel good - well, mostly after the running part is over, of course. I never really feel good during the run. My legs feel heavy, my mind is scattered and weak, and mostly my heart feels like it might jump right out of my chest and land on the pavement in front of me. It's quite a wretched feeling actually, but I keep going because I know most of this stems from my mind that tells me to quit about a mile into a run. But I'm learning that my body is much more capable than my thoughts allow it to be so I keep going - at least long enough to prove my own self wrong.

When I'm done, and I'm sure I've run further and longer than I wanted to when I started, I tell myself, "I told you so." and vow to be harder on myself the next time I run so I can have that internal dialogue again. This morning the dialogue was fierce, but more so with my stomach and the biscuit, gravy, eggs, bacon, and 2 cups of coffee that were sloshing around while I pounded the pavement. Lesson: Do NOT eat said biscuit, gravy, eggs, bacon, and 2 cups of coffee for breakfast before 1/2 marathon. Goal: Find suitable breakfast for running 13.1 miles. Anywho, next time I tell myself, I'll digest longer. But nevertheless, I got off my duff and ran (2.5ish miles) in the cold morning and now I feel good...after the run!

You Can Still be a Foodie and Lose Weight

You Can Still be a Foodie and Lose Weight

Friday, January 6, 2012

Weekend Goal & Inspiration!

We are officially 289 days away from the Rock ‘n Roll ½.  When I say it like that, it makes me feel ok that right now I’m sitting on my couch, getting ready to eat some pizza!

But, I know that this year will fly by and it will be time to run the ½ marathon before I know it. Full confession: I haven’t worked out in three weeks. Technically I went to power yoga last week, but since then I have done nada. The last long run I did (3 or more miles is long to me….we’re just going to ignore the fact that a ½ marathon is 13.1 for now because that many miles scares me) was back in October. So, clearly I am not a super fit, amazing athlete. But, I am someone who started running WAY back in junior high for volleyball (shout out Coach Bates!) and then kept running because I figured out that when I run, I can still eat pizza and keep most weight off. And when I keep weight off, I like how I look. Vain? Yep, you betcha. But, I also figured out that when I run races (who am I racing? Usually people who are running with strollers…I'm not kidding) and finish them, I sort of feel amazingly bad ass.

Anyway, I’m ready to eat pizza so I’ll get to the point. My goal this weekend is to RUN. That’s all. Just get out, in the beautiful almost-70 degree weather (LOVE Dallas in January!), and run. Hopefully for around 30 minutes. Dru runs with a running group in Salem (I’ll let her talk more about that if she feels inclined) so I know she’ll be running this weekend. And since we’re doing this race together, I figure I owe it to her and to myself to run this weekend, too. 

Thought I’d also share a little inspiration, thanks to Pinterest! This sort of sums up the way I always try to live my life, but especially at the beginning of the year I think it’s a good reminder.


Thursday, January 5, 2012

Registered - Take 2!

Well, I started thinking about running a 1/2 marathon about an hour before I emailed Erin and said, "Do you want to run a 1/2 marathon with me?" Who else would I/should I do this with if not the one person that became my lifelong friend after a chance meeting during a double-date and a drive home bonding experience over NKOTB? There you have it...we're a go! Oh - that and she came up with a coupon. So, naturally if you're offered a coupon, on the excessive amount you're paying someone else, to run an excruciatingly long distance for "fun," you have no other option.

Let me say too that I am absolutely, positively, completely, in my wildest dreams, NOT an athlete - I am a nerd, a quirky, weird, sometimes funny nerd that attempts this thing called running on a casual basis. I do not run for fun either. I actually very much dislike running. So, why a 13.1 jaunt doing something I despise? Well, I'm not sure yet, but it has something to do with facing fears...and hopefully not puking or fainting along the way. Or maybe, actually the puking part would be okay. It would keep people off my tail during the race.

Anyway, my whims like this come and go often times, but in 2011 I made a commitment to losing weight and I (to my own surprise actually) accomplished that goal. So 42ish lbs lighter and later, I am committed to staying healthy and doing things completely outside my comfort zone. It's proof to myself that I can, and it's proof to the two little human beings that take up residence in my house rent free, that being healthy and strong and active is fun, challenging, and not an option!

So, here's to 2012 - the year of the half.

Registered!

A month ago Dru emailed and asked if I would want to do a 1/2 marathon with her sometime in 2012. I didn't tell her this at the time, but last year when I relayed the Dallas Rock 'n Roll 1/2 marathon (I ran the 7 mile leg) I decided I would never do a 1/2 marathon! I felt that running 7 miles was a pretty great accomplishment and didn't see why in the world I would ever want to run for 2 or more hours.  But, I love my friend Dru and am so proud of how hard she's worked to get into shape over the past year.  So, I said I'd probably consider it.
Here we are, one month later, officially registered for the St. Louis Rock 'n Roll 1/2 marathon on October 21, 2012.  EEEEKKK!!!!  What have I gotten myself into?!
Because I know training for this run is going to be a beeyotch, especially since Dru and I are in two different states and only see each other a couple times a year, I thought we'd use this super awesome blog to keep connected and stay focused. If nothing else, it provides a convenient location for us to complain to one another about the training.  If you are reading this, I apologize in advance for whining. But, maybe you'll find a good song to run to or at least find our journey to 13.1 miles a little bit funny.
Watch out St. Louis - these two girls are coming to get you!!