Tag: Running

Saying goodbye to alcohol

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As you may have already noticed (if you read multiple blog entries of mine), there are two things that I often write about which generally go hand in hand for me. These two things are:

  1. My love for running
  2. My love for food

Which do I love more? I couldn’t tell you. Let’s just say that when it comes to these things, I like to have my cake and eat it too (both figuratively and literally speaking)

I fight an endless battle between how much I eat and in turn, how much I then have to run or exercise to compensate for my overindulgence.

If you refer back to two of my past blog entries titled, “A pie of pizza and 10 miles to go” and “A sleeve of thin mints and 13 miles of satisfaction” you may see a pattern when it comes to my eating and exercising habits.

Disclaimer: I do not have an eating and/or mental disorder.

We’re all human and we all get those pesky cravings for a certain not-so-healthy food from time to time; some, more than others. Naturally, we sometimes slip and give into temptation and go for that extra-gooey chocolate cake that we see in the bakery window. It just calls out our name.

Personally, when it calls out my name, I come running with open arms. You could even say sprinting.

Nonetheless, I consciously make note that I have to burn off those calories right away

The weird thing is, you’d think that a person who is as into fitness and running as I am would have a strict diet to match.

That is ABSOLUTELY not the case. And I’m not just saying for me. I’m saying this on behalf of a majority of runners and fitness-enthusiasts who I know personally.

You wouldn’t think that a person of my size could take down an entire pie of pizza by herself in just one sitting, but you better believe it. I have quite the appetite. May I add, I stand at a mere 5’0 feet tall, weighing in at 108 pounds. It’s quite a remarkable feat for someone so tiny

Now, the reason why I am blogging today about this particular topic is because of a different type of over-indulgence which seems to also be common amongst runners and fitness-enthusiasts.

What is that, you might ask?

Alcohol.

Have you ever noticed how much beer is served after an event like a marathon, half-marathon, mud run, heck, even a 5K?

Beer is the perfect carb to refuel with after burning hundreds of calories from running a race.

For some people, the post-race beer may be their favorite part.

But here’s the catch:

Often times, we often overestimate how many calories we actually burned and tend to overindulge in food as well as alcohol. We feel like we owe it to ourselves, to our bodies, after putting it through such hard work.

That’s a big no-no.

So, last night, I had a few more beers than I would have liked to consume. To give you an exact number: It’s 4. And that’s 4 more than I should have had because I’m telling you, I felt awful afterwards.

If you have not already noticed, I am currently training for two races at the end of April; The CGI Unite Half-Marathon at Rutgers followed by the Big Sur International Marathon exactly one week later.

As I get deeper into my training, I’ve really tried to limit the amount of alcohol that I consume. Of course, it’s a bit difficult when you’re in your 20’s, live in New York City, and have friends that always want to drink on the weekends.

Last night, I hit my limit.

This morning, I went straight to the gym before work and ran a quick 4 miles on the treadmill due to the guilt that was overcoming me after those 4 beers. During that run, I made a pact with myself. Once April 1st hits, I am abstaining from consuming any alcoholic beverages until after the Big Sur Marathon is completed. This won’t be easy, but I know that it will pay off in the end.

In closing: A while back, I was deeply impacted by an article published in Women’s Health which hit pretty close to home for me (click the below link if you are interested in reading)

Exercise and Alcohol

To summarize the article, it discussed the irony of how runners and fitness junkies also tend to be the heaviest drinkers.

Moral of the story: When a craving calls, sometimes it’s better to not pick up the phone.

A pie of pizza and 10 miles to go

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So, my Friday night went a little something like this:

I had been putting off doing my laundry for about 2 weeks. Of course, it was only until I had plans to go out with my friends when I actually decided to get it done.

I did laundry for about 2 hours; I really underestimated how many loads I had to do. At that point, I was so frustrated that I just decided to stay in for the night.

Last night was a bit of a depressing night for me. It ended up being exactly what I needed though- a night to myself where I could relax and catch up on Season 7 of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. I haven’t done that in a very long time. Oh, and did I mention that I also ordered myself a personal pie of Papa John’s pizza which I finished by myself…in a matter of about 10 minutes.

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Thankfully, I knew that I was going to run that pie off today.

My night in ended up being a late night, ironically. I stayed up watching How I Met Your Mother episodes until around 4AM, so I woke up a lot later than I wanted to for my long run this morning.

When I woke up, the sunlight was beaming through my light blue curtains. The brightness woke me up which automatically put my in a great mood. My first thoughts: I’m going to run.

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I stepped outside and couldn’t believe how perfect the weather was. It was ideal conditions and I started my run a lot faster than I normally would. I’d usually take it out slow, but I just couldn’t contain my excitement, knowing that Spring was just around the corner. Subconsciously I knew that going out too fast on a long run is never a good idea. After about 3 miles, my calves started tightening up and feeling sore. I clocked in at about 25 minutes for my first 3 miles. Immediately, I was nervous that this run was going to go sour, but the minute that I turned into Central Park and saw the packs of runners everywhere, the soreness in my legs went away. I was able to maintain my 8:30-minute pace throughout the rest of my run.

I was aiming for 14 today, but I cut myself off at 10 because I wanted to leave off feeling great. I also really had to go to the bathroom.

Total Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes
Total Miles: 10.20 miles

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After today, I fear for a bad long run.

After today, I also absolutely can’t wait for Big Sur as it’s getting closer to April.

I still haven’t hit the mileage that I want to, but I know that I’ll get there (even though I’m really running out of time)

As mentioned in a past blog entry, factors play a significant role in the way our days pan out. You should never regret the decisions you make- only learn from them and grow.

Looking at it from a different perspective, I know that my decision to do laundry and stay in and relax was the most favorable for what I had to get done in my marathon training. This time right now, I just need to make sure that my body is in the best condition that it could be- especially for my VERY FIRST marathon.

I may have already also said in a past blog entry, but sacrifice is key when you want to accomplish a goal. Your time is precious and the way that you allocate your time makes all the difference in the long run (nice play on words there, right?)

In closing, think before you do.

Queen of carbs

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It’s 8AM and I’m making pasta again (for lunch that is). What else is new? As you become more familiar with my blog and my writing style, you’ll begin to notice that my most impulsive moments to write is when I’m cooking or eating. Aside from running and writing, the other big love in my life is food.

A lot of people have their own personal reasons for exercise. Some people do it to increase their quality of life, some people do it to lose or maintain weight, and some people do it purely because they love it.

For me, I run because of all of those things. But my most important reason: I LOVE TO EAT.

Living in New York City in your young-twenties is very overwhelming. There are millions of people to meet, places to go, and things to eat. The options are endless.

Of course, living in New York City also comes with a big price tag.

I wouldn’t say I’m struggling, but I’m definitely on a pretty slim budget. I enjoy going out with friends, but the costs add up.

From the time I’ve been here since December 1st, the one thing that struck me the most was how hard my bank account was hit…by food. A girl’s gotta eat, right?

And on the off chance that I actually go grocery shopping instead of going out to a restaurant, I usually stick to the staples: Pasta, oatmeal, granola bars, bread, etc. Or in broader terms, carbs, carbs, and more carbs.

It’s not shocking that I eat a lot pasta. I’m a runner. Carbs are my friend. Carbs are also my enemy.

I read numerous articles on what a runner’s diet should be. Really, the key is to have everything in moderation. As usual, this applies to most areas in life.

The thing is, after you exercise or go for a nice long run, you give yourself this permission to eat pretty much whatever you want. May I repeat, everything in moderation though.

So what I’m trying to say is that when it comes to eating, you just have to be realistic. Do you need that extra brownie? Should you really eat an entire box of pizza? Think about it. You may have burned away 700 or some-odd calories, but what is a plate of cheese fries going to do to refuel you?

This is something I need to work on for myself. It’ll probably come to me again during my pasta time (which is my favorite time)

Factors

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As suspected, I’m doing quite a horrendous job at keeping up with my goal of writing a blog entry every day. I was a bit over-ambitious when I conjured that up, but my intentions were there. It’s safe to say, it’s quite easy to veer off track when there’s so much to do and so little time. I clearly need to prioritize my time better when it comes to writing. That being said, I’d like to ask the question, “Can you do it all?”

Time management has always been a skill that I’ve been slowly, but surely improving on from high school up until present day. I like to put a lot on my plate, to the point where things are about to spill off the edges. Fortunately though, I always find a way to contain everything from overflowing.

In high school, sports defined me. I defined myself through my accomplishments in how far I’ve come after hours of hard work and practice. Naturally, running was a perfect way to define myself in that aspect. With running, you reap what you sow- or in simpler terms, you get out of it what you put in. This, of course, can apply to an endless amount of scenarios and situations. It’s a motto for life. But let’s get back to running.

I’d say that I’m a talented athlete. I’m good, definitely not spectacular and definitely not graced with the X-factor to become an Olympic athlete. But I’ve come about as close to “spectacular” in my own definitions of myself due to the dedication that I’ve given to the sport. After high school, the dedication fizzled out because I wanted to experience college on my own time, by my own rules. I couldn’t stay away though.

I continued to sign up for various 5Ks throughout college- about one per season just to make myself feel better and to keep the spark alive. However, I wasn’t fully committed. As stated before, time management became an essential skill for me. Between juggling academics, a social life, fitness, mental health, etc., running wasn’t at the top of my list. But I couldn’t stay away.

I yearned for the thrill of competing and I missed the feeling of training for a race.

You really have to sacrifice your body, your mind, your time, your energy, your life when it comes to seriously training for a race. Even the slightest factors can make the difference in shaving off minutes.

When I first signed up for the Big Sur International Marathon, I was just excited to say that I was even running it. I didn’t take it seriously. I didn’t care about time or if I skipped a run here and there. But as time is getting closer and I’m getting deeper into training, I’m beginning to realize how much this race actually means to me.

Factors play a significant role in running and in life. The decisions that we make day to day create a path for how the rest or our day, week, month, year, and so on turns out. You can choose to go out for a run, you can choose to eat something that you know is bad for you, you can choose to hate instead of love. Whatever your decision may be in life, think about how it will make you feel afterwards.

In closing, I found a random quote which I thought applied to this random collection of thoughts that I’m publishing here. Here it is:

“We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us”

A sleeve of thin mints and 13 miles of satisfaction

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So, apparently I’ve already disappointed my goal to consecutively write a post every day.

It’s okay though. I will just pick up where I left off.

To preface this entry, I will say that this IS about running.

My weekend consisted of (regretfully) eating an entire sleeve of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies followed by a satisfying 13-mile long run in Central Park on Saturday morning.

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(See above as glorious proof that my long-awaited order of thin mints arrived to the office on Friday morning. I graciously gave the other sleeve of cookies to my sister)

Getting back on track, I had been looking forward to Saturday’s long run for quite some time. I’m currently training for the Big Sur International Marathon in Monterey, California which is taking place on Sunday, April 28th. This would be my very FIRST full-marathon and I couldn’t be more excited to run my first marathon in such a beautiful location. On top of that, exactly one week prior to that day (Sunday, April 21st) I’ll be running a half marathon at my proud Alma Mater, Rutgers University.

It’s safe to say that I’m feeling the pressure of getting in my miles for these races.

It’s been a tough season of training for me because I’ve been sick twice during the month of February which really set me back in miles. But alas, I am back in the game.

About a week ago, I received an awesome present from a wonderful co-worker. I received the Asics Gel Noosas and have been running in them ever since. This past Saturday was the first time I have run in them outside however. I do a majority of my miles indoors, on the treadmill at the gym just because it’s more convenient for me, but running outside is always so refreshing. My feet felt great, my legs felt great, and my shoes were great.

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(Asics Gel Noosa Tri-7)

The only downfall of my run is that I still haven’t familiarized myself enough with Central Park and I often get lost (which is, in part, why I actually ran 13 miles) It worked out for the better though.

In conclusion, I’d like to say Happy March! I’m looking forward to more long runs outside and the much anticipated warmer weather which will hopefully arrive soon.

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(RunKeeper screenshot of my activity logged)

Two-a-days

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Internally, I immediately set a goal for myself that once I started this blog, I would frequently maintain it and publish content which is (hopefully) appealing to my audience. My identified goal is to write at least one post every day. I’m not exactly sure how dedicated I will be towards accomplishing this goal though. It’s difficult to constantly come up with new material. I can see how frustrating it must be for professional novelists, songwriters, poets, etc. who have made a living out of writing. I admire it though. It takes a lot of dedication. As I’m getting older, I’m understanding more and more how valuable my time is.

Now getting back to the point that I was actually trying to make; I felt the need to write something again tonight even though I have already technically accomplished my goal of writing a post for this day- Thursday, February 28th, 2013. I don’t fully consider my first post as being published today though.

For all intensive purposes, let’s consider today as my two-a-day writing day. For those of you who have not heard of the term “two-a-day”, it’s typically used in sport terms when referring to having practice twice in one day. My cross country coach in high school trained us to get used to these type of work outs whenever we needed to get our mileage in, but didn’t have enough time to get the distance completed in one shot.

I’ve started utilizing this two-a-day routine for my marathon training for Big Sur. I got sick several times this month due to the inconsistent weather along with my overall poor judgement in clothing choice when going for my long runs (Not wearing a hat or earmuffs in extremely cold, windy weather)

These two-a-day routines have helped me catch up and get back on track with my mileage. It also relieves the pressure of being on time crunch when working out after work.

Similarly to my two-a-day work outs, I’m going to try to make the same routing with writing; Not necessarily posting on my blog twice in one day, but at least getting a post in as well as an additional writing exercise such as practicing songwriting, or just writing down any immediate thoughts that pop up in my head. I feel that this will make me a stronger writer the same way that running twice in one day has made me a stronger runner.

You know what they say, ‘Practice makes perfect’

In a lot of ways, writing and running go hand in hand, which is why I feel that a lot of runners enjoy blogging. As mentioned in my previous post, I need some form of expression or means of venting. If I can’t write it down, I can at least run it out.

Fortunately, I was able to get a nice 3-mile run in after work, and now I have managed to post in this blog twice today. I seem to be on the right track. Hopefully, I can keep this up.

1AM is pasta time

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If you haven’t already read my short and sweet introduction yet, I’d like to debrief you on how I stumbled upon deciding to create a WordPress account.

I’ve always been drawn to writing as a form of expression. The only person I’ve ever really wanted to share anything with whenever I was frustrated, or upset, or angry, or even happy has always been my sister. However, on the off chance that I don’t want to share my feelings with her, I’ve always turned to writing because I strongly value my alone time and I prefer to be by myself, with my own thoughts. Perhaps that’s a dangerous thing, but it has always worked for me in the past.

This manifested into another form of expression which has become extremely significant to me: Running.

As a long-distance runner, I get the self-satisfaction of taking all of the irrational, lingering thoughts that are in my head and just letting them dissipate because sometimes, being too much in your head is not a good thing. These thoughts have to be released somehow. For me, that would either have to be on paper or distance through miles. Either way, I am somehow able to calm myself down.

The catalyst that sparked this random inspiration to publicize my thoughts tonight came from one simple act of cooking pasta to bring for lunch tomorrow at work.

I was standing in front of my stove, stirring my boiling pot of whole wheat pasta when one simple thought came to my mind; This is my life.

I live in New York City. I am a college graduate. I am independent from my parents. I have a job at an amazing Publishing Company which houses a magazine title that I idolized as a high school runner.

What am I missing?

This is the question that I’ve been asking myself for my entire life.

I can safely say that I haven’t had a rough childhood in the slightest. I was blessed with a great family; two loving, supportive parents and a sister who happens to be my best friend. I received a great education throughout my entire youth. I have great friends.

What am I missing?

Living in a city of insurmountable opportunity, filled with millions of people, how could anyone possibly feel certainly alone?

Life here moves so fast and it’s a type of life that I have pictured myself living, but now that I’m in it, I almost don’t know how to live it.

I run, I write, what more is there for me?

I know I just got here, but I feel like there’s so much more waiting for me.

1AM is pasta time. 1AM is also inspiration time, apparently.