I went to grad school with Rae and silently love her from afar :) This post inspired me so much. I met Rae right around the time she started running (I’m guessing, from this post)…which is funny to me now because I thought she was always a runner, always a marathoner, etc. Little did I know she was embarking on a whole new path right before my eyes. Go Rae Go!
Day 6
I started running in 2008. That’s me during my first 10k - the Nike Human Race in 2008. I had never considered myself a runner before then. In fact, I loathed running. But at the time, I was working 3 jobs, putting myself through grad school, and having huge relationship problems.
My sanity threatened to pack its bags and leave.
So I hit the treadmill. Then, eventually the beach strand. One foot in front of the other - this motion, the air flowing through my chest, and the mental challenge to stay focused and committed in a run, became my therapy. It became my escape, my time; My time to dream, my time to think, my time to push out all the negative energy. It was my time to push myself and to work out my aggression.
A little over three years later, I have my own media company, graduate school is done, and that relationship is over. The one thing that has stayed constant is my running. In so many ways it has kept me on the straight and narrow. I’ve powered through a dozen races/events including 3 marathons and 2 Tough Mudders. And I’m proud to say, the best is yet to come.
My sanity unpacked its bags and has settled in, but only after I made a pact to travel with my running shoes always at my side.
I don’t have any plans to run another half marathon, but I feel compelled to get this, especially after just one week of using Bluefin Software’s awesome Couch to 5k app and also seeing that the half marathon app uses Hal Higdon’s training programs. I used the C25k plan to start my running career and Hal Higdon’s plans to get me through two 10-milers and two half marathons.
Yes I am soooo amped they finally released this app!
I am battling some ankle injuries, hence the non-running i am doing, but I can’t wait to be able to use this app someday soon!
My girl Tina ran the NYC Half Marathon last weekend! It was her very first race. She began running last summer, lost 60+ lbs and continues to run and race.
She’s such an inspiration to me.
Thanks for being so awesome, Tina!
A Mile or More in My [Running] Shoes: Oh arugula, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… I’ve always...
Oh arugula, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
I’ve always been a good vegetable eater - ask my mom… But as a kid, my fondness for salad was limited to iceberg and romaine lettuce. Whether it was the bitter taste or different texture, I can’t be sure what turned me off to the more…
I LOOOVE Arugula!!!! Nom Nom Nom. I wish it were cheaper than the other leafy greens though :(
I graduated today!!
Today I did my final run for the C25K workout. Now I can run jog for 30 minutes straight without stopping. This is something I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to do? I’m pretty sure I never thought there was a good reason to be running for this long, which means I probably never attempted it.
C25K is a 9 week training program, but I probably took 15 weeks to finish due to my laziness, the weather, and my travel schedule. I am SO HAPPY to be done though! I sort of never thought I would make it but I did. I remember that time I thought I couldn’t run for 18 minutes, or 20 minutes. Now I can do 30!
I am still somewhat of a bad runner. I mean, I am jogging pretty slowly, averaging between 13 and 14 minute miles on my good days. I am not stretching before and after my runs, and I have ankle injuries I am nursing. Today’s run was a bit painful. Even though I didn’t run for 2-3 days, no sooner than I started to jog, my legs just felt achy all over. I don’t know if it was the weather or my lack of stretching but….it felt like my femurs were trying to quit on me.
I am mulling over the idea of racing. Well, running a race. A friend from my Haiti trip posted some info about a 5K coming up which supports her grad program and medical research. It’s really informal (it’s a walk/run), and she said the goody bag is really good so I should try it out. I am a little afraid though. I almost don’t want to go by myself but I also don’t want to tell my friends to come. I need to stop caring what other people think and just do what’s best for my health. Either way, I have a few more days to think it over.
Now that I finished the program, I need to focus on getting a better time and staying active. I honestly feel like my running time is not going to get better until I lose more weight. The pain in my legs made it seem like my body is saying, “Look. We can’t be carrying all this weight around when we’re running. Lose some poundage, then we’ll talk.” Sigh. My eating habits are a MESS right now (due to stress), so I don’t feel confident in being able to change this as I did before. I am going to pray about it though. I really need to see some improvement in my diet so I can make a solid attack on my unhealthy lifestyle.
Besides the 5K race I may or may not run, I was thinking of moving on to the Bridge to 10K app, which is a program designed by the folks who did the C25K app. It’s only 6 weeks long, and looks doable. I guess I just can’t figure out should I work on speed for my 5K or continue to work on longer running endurance. I’m not even sure what is best right now considering my injuries.
On my next run I am going to go back to one of the old C25K workouts and run intervals, but just run them faster. I mean the smaller intervals, like run hard for 30 seconds, then walk 90 seconds. I think the C25K app is great for helping time intervals for you.
Actually, I might do both: faster intervals and the 10K training program, then see how it goes. Glad I wrote this out so I could think it through :)
Happy running!
fiftymileride-deactivated201110 asked: hi i just got over the surgery on my foot and still have to get some more done, im going back to the gym in the new year and i need some new footwear so obviously i need to pick the right ones with how my foot is now, how can i pick the best ones for running? and for the gym in general? (can you leave your answer in my ask or ill lose it in my dashboard)
I honestly have nooo idea what to do when it comes to picking out running shoes. I have always been loyal to Nike, so with my last pair of shoes, I picked out some Nike running shoes that were also Nike+. But, I think those are giving out on me (it has been over two years now), so I plan to go to a running store to get fitted for a proper set of running shoes once I get the money to dedicate to a fancy pair of shoes. I would actually suggest you do the same if you can. I think a lot depends on how you walk/run. For example, I am very flat footed so I probably need a special type of shoe to support this. Hope this helps! Sorry it took me eons to reply!
leroyw asked: Not really a question..but just wanted to give you a few words of encouragement. We all fall, we don't all get up...keep at it and you will be ok
Aww, thanks!! I am still trying to stay positive. Even though I haven’t updated here in a while, I am still running and almost done with my C25K training, which feels kind of awesome.
Made Red quinoa tonight to go with my salad. So worth it!!! I made too much though, so I am going to be eating it a lot over the next few days.
Sigh.
I have fallen off the wagon.
The last time I ran was 7 days ago when I did the Do Life Unnofficial 5K here in NYC. Great times. More about that later.
But now, my weight loss has stopped and I am gaining weight again.
It’s my eating. I basically am under a lot of stress and I am stress eating. Between work, finances, family obligations, and things I signed up for and I’m wondering WHY, I have like no time for myself. No time to run or think about what to eat properly. I just want comfort.
It’s getting to the point where I feel out of control about it. I go to the grocery store and buy ice cream, chips, and packaged pastas for dinner. My digestive system feels like crap. So does my skin.
I’m hoping to get over this soon. I think today I will work on just detoxing my body. It’s gonna suck. But I gotta get off this train. I don’t even wanna look at the scale to see the damage I’ve done.
Sigh.
Winning, Running, Injuries, Foods and Godly Bodies
Today I discovered I won a $25 iTunes gift card!!!!! All because whenever I tweet about my C25K workouts using the @c25Kapp, I am entered into their weekly contest. I WON THIS WEEK. How awesome. Just the other day I was feeling like a lame for tweeting my workouts (I find tweets of every checkin on foursquare, miso, get glue really super annoying), but HEY HEY now there are some benefits to this here tweetin. I dunno what I am gonna blow my iTunes winnings on, but it will probably be a bunch of apps or something.
I’m on Week 7 of the C25K workout and I am able to do the full 25 minute run for realsies. I still have these negative thoughts before and during my runs, but they are less intense now. What helps motivate me is that I have been training on the same path all these months, and all I do is reflect on the times when I could barely run the path. Remember when I couldn’t run longer than 30 seconds? Well now I’m doing 10 minutes without blinking. My pace is pretty slow, but I am still running nonetheless.
I have an ankle injury. Each day I run, my ankle hurts for the rest of the day. Kind of like a sprain, but mild. If I try to rotate my ankle, the muscles on the top side of my left ankle hurts. It usually only hurts the day of the run though. I started stretching it but my ankle still hurts from yesterday’s run, to the point where I’ve got a slight limp. I’m pretty sure it’s because my weight and the increased impact from running is stressing it. I thought it wasn’t getting worse, but today is the first non-run day where it still hurts and I am still limping. I thought about icing it. Sigh. I need to be careful, I do not have health insurance for this.
My diet is way out of control. I’ve been eating junk. Ramen. Pizza. Drinking soda. Pints of ben and jerry’s. It’s been crazy. So. I’ve been stressed. And strapped for cash. Though, I’m sure if I put my mind to it I could afford my fresh food. I’ve just been so stressed lazy and have been looking for comfort. I gotta get off this carb-mobile and back to my veggies. I buy my veggies but let them rot in the fridge. I’ve gained a little weight but not that much. Maybe 5 lbs.
One of these days my diet AND my exercise will be on the SAME page.
My church has this series starting this weekend called Bod 4 God….where we talk about honoring God with our bodies. Now, when I think of this concept I think of sex and abstinence. But…no, we’re talking about health here. So for the next 6 weeks, my pastor(s) are going to be teaching what the Bible says about health, and how to stay motivated:
- January 30 - D: Dedication (Honoring God with My Body)
- February 6 - I: Inspiration (Motivating Myself for a Change)
- February 13 - E: Eat (Managing My Habits)
- February 20 - E: Exercise (Managing My Habits Pt.2)
- February 26 - T: Team (Building My Support Team)
- March 6 - Seeing Myself as God Sees Me
I don’t think I have ever been to a church where they spent this much time talking about physical health. I may have heard Joel Osteen do like 2 messages on health before, but…6 whole weeks? This should be interesting. I see my health related to my faith in terms of keeping myself alive. How can I perform whatever mission God has planned for me on Earth if I abuse my body so much that I take myself out before I really needed to? I think about this a lot. I also watch too much Terminator. I look forward to this series, as well as checking out the book that I am sure this series is based on.
Until next time….
