A Beautiful Day

Ok. After a great yoga class and a super relaxing night of backing up all my computer files, I felt finally recovered from my Ice Cream Meltdown. I got up early and went out for a run. It was seriously one of the most beautiful mornings we’ve had in a long time and it felt good to be outside. Since it was so nice (and cool), I decided to tackle the hill again. This time I didn’t do as well as my last hill adventure. About halfway to the top, the gentle breeze turned into a gust, and it was hard to keep moving forward. I also wasn’t able to conjure my imaginary Coach Ramon, so I had no one to yell at me to keep going and push harder. It still felt good, but I think I could have put a little more effort into it.

On an un-running related note, I want to apologize in advance if you don’t hear from me for a while. Remember I spent a relaxing evening backing up my computer files? That’s because my computer is sick. I’m taking it to the doctor today, but I don’t know if I’ll have to send it in for repairs. I’m also going to DC to meet the BF’s parents (eek), so I might just be a little busy for the next few days. But don’t you worry. I still plan on doing my long run on Saturday, but this time it will be along the Potomac. It should be lovely.

PS I get a four and a half day weekend. Don’t you hate me!

Ice Cream Melt Down

In general, I don’t talk about food here. There are so many other blogs that do a much better job of discussing food, nutrition, and recipes, so I generally stay out of the discussion. This time is the exception.

Hi. I’m Lisa and I have a problem. I can’t say “No” to free food, especially when that free food is dessert. Sometimes my coworkers bring in little goodies to share, like mini cupcakes. Sometimes there are leftover cookies or pastries when a meeting is over. Today there was free Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream bars in the lobby. It didn’t matter that I had just eaten lunch. It didn’t matter that after lunch I had one of the above mentioned mini cupcakes. (Yesterday I ate two of those mini cupcakes. WHY WON’T THEY JUST GO AWAY?) I still went down and got myself a free Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream bar.

I got to the lobby and it was mayhem. People had 5 or 6 bars each. Everyone wanted one. I saw that they had Half Baked Ice Cream bars and had a minor flashback. For those of you that don’t know, I used to be unhappy and overweight. When I would get a little extra unhappy, I would drown my sorrows in a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream. (It has cookie dough and brownie bits!) I basically haven’t had this flavor since I lost the weight. The old me really wanted one so I let the old me have one. I went out to the park to relish in my (free) ice cream. I took a bite, and it was good, but I just kept thinking about the old unhappy me. About the times I would eat my ice cream until I was numb. About how guilty and disgusted I felt after. I started to hate my ice cream bar, but I kept eating it. It was free! Then I started talking to my ice cream bar. “Why can’t I throw you away?”

Wait, why couldn’t I throw my ice cream bar away? The trash can was right there. It would be easy. Before I changed my mind, I ran to the trash and threw away my mostly uneaten ice cream bar. I settled back down on in the grass, this time to relish in my book and enjoy laying on the grass in the sunshine. You know? I was happier with the book. It caused a lot less anxiety.

I still can't say "no" to free desserts, but at least I know I can always throw them away.

Running Thoughts

I was totally planning on going for a run last night. You know what I did instead? I took a nap. The very fact that I even wanted a nap helped convince me that maybe I should be nice to myself and just take a damn nap. Did I run when I woke up? No. I went to have girly drinks and fried food with my friends.

Since I took the night off, I figured I should get up early for a run this morning. I’m still sore from my long run on Saturday, so I went for a nice, easy 25 minute run. Since my unplanned run in the rain, my headphones have been on the fritz, and I haven’t had time to go get new ones, so I’ve been thinking more than usual on my solo runs. And what do you think about when you’re running? Why, running of course!

Here’s a few recurring thoughts from my music-free runs:

1. I’m a slow starter. A REALLY slow starter. I curse myself for at least the first 10 minutes of any run before I submit to the running.
2. I recently learned that running shorts are meant to be worn without underwear. I’m really enjoying my newfound freedom.
3. Running isn’t exactly glamorous- unless you consider swallowing bugs, chafing and black toenails glamorous.
4. Because of said black toenails, I should ALWAYS keep my toenails painted. No one wants to see that.
5. Distance running is an odd hobby. When you think to yourself “Gee. I could really use something to fill my free time” I’m sure the first thing that leaps to mind isn’t exactly getting up at 6am to slather yourself with Body Glide and Vaseline so you can go run for 2 hours. Not sure how I picked up this hobby.
6. I didn’t know I had so many muscles in my legs until all of them started hurting.
7. Some people seem like they’re born to be runners. They have that perfect runner’s body, never seem to get an injury, and can run really fast. I’m not one of these people.
8. It doesn’t matter if I run for 20 minutes or 2 hours, I always seem to end up DRENCHED in sweat.

Despite all of this, I still get up 4 days a week to go for a run. I’m still not exactly sure why. Maybe I secretly like to torture myself. Maybe I relish the challenge. Maybe it’s just a way to sort through all the random thoughts that jump through my head.

I guess I’ll have to think about this on my next run.

A Super Exciting Saturday

I did manage to make myself go for a run on Friday morning. It was completely uneventful, so let’s just skip ahead to Friday after work. I went by Jack Rabbit to stock up on running supplies. This included another pair of running shorts. The cheap ones I got at Target were fine, but not good for long runs. So I went to the professionals.

Jack Rabbit is like a toy store for runners. And the lovely ladies that helped me out informed me of something I didn’t know- running shorts are made to be worn without underwear. WHAT? REALLY? I always struggled with what kind of underwear I was supposed to wear when I ran. Nothing really worked for me. So this made me super duper excited. (Is it sad that this made me so excited?) I also picked up some energy gels. I tend to get nauseous from super sugary things when I run, so I like the Honey Stingers because they're made with natural sweeteners.

The pink package is a chew, kind of like gummy bears. I eat these before my run. The other package is literally honey, fortified with good things for runners. I eat these during my run.

Saturday was a beautiful morning to go for a run. It was sunny, with a light breeze and low humidity. I still wasn’t particularly looking forward to it because of my previously discussed general ickiness. And because I was supposed to run 12 miles. That’s a whole lot of miles.

I met up with my DetermiNation teammates for our long run. Michelle and I decided to be rebels and went on a different route than everyone else because we were planning on running longer than everyone else. So off we went. It’s nice running with a friend. We had enough to talk about to help pass the time. It went by faster than I thought. And when I was feeling like I couldn’t make it up the last hill, she kept me going. Yay for running buddies!

After my runs I’m basically ravenous. It’s estimated that the average person burns about 100 calories per mile. So if I run 12 miles that’s about 1200 calories that I burned, and therefore, get to replace. Usually I use these extra calories wisely, but sometimes it’s nice to splurge. I spent the rest of the day eating, drinking beer, eating more, drinking more, etc, etc. By the end of the day I was so full of beer and food (especially taco truck tacos!), I ended up falling asleep on the couch around 11pm.

Ah yes, the life of a runner really is exciting isn’t it?

News and no news

First and foremost, scroll up. See that? I have a new header! And what’s even cooler is that I pooled my limited graphic design skills and did this myself! I think it’s pretty awesome. Don’t even argue with me about that one. I will win.

Now to the running. There hasn’t been a whole lot of that. I did get to run at our Tuesday DetermiNation practice and it was a little awful. I remember this workout from last year, and I remember that it hurt in the same exact way as it did on Tuesday. We did out an out and back course practicing our effort levels. Run out at an Effort 4 (that’s a 4 out of 5) and back at an Effort 1. We did that for about 30 minutes. It sucked, but I think it was supposed to suck.

That was Tuesday night. I was totally planning on getting up this morning for a 3 mile run, but I didn’t. I feel very blah today. I’m sure this is TMI, but I also feel super low energy and blah during my “lady times.” I don’t want to exert myself and I get dehydrated and crampy really easily. And since I can’t just lock myself in a hole and not move for a week, this doesn’t exactly suit my lifestyle. If anyone has any advice on any foods to eat, supplements to take, etc, to make this super exciting time a little easier, I would greatly appreciate it. Sometimes, being a lady runner sucks.

That being said, I solemnly swear to drag my butt out of bed tomorrow and go for a run…unless I feel icky.

July 4th Weekend Recap

Well, this has been an eventful July 4th Weekend.

Saturday I got up early for a run, as usual. But this time I was just going to go for a quick run so I could come back to get ready for my friends’ wedding!

These are my friends Chung and Amy. Aren’t they cute?

I had a great time at the wedding on Saturday, but then I had to get down to business on Sunday. I woke up early for my long run, but my bad weather luck struck again. As I was getting ready with my pre-run snack, the sky opened up with a huge KABOOM and it started to pour. The sky was telling me to go back to bed. I slept a little more but when I woke up it became clear that I was not going to run this morning. There was a steady stream of rain that looked like it wouldn’t let up for a while. Instead I grabbed a bagel and watched Wimbeldon. A good alternative in my opinion.

That afternoon it cleared up a bit and I was able to head out for my 10 mile run. The sky was still spitting a little, but that was fine. It was like running with a mister. I ran from my apartment about 2 miles to the park, one loop around Central Park, and back. That brings me to my next edition of As Seen on My Run.

As Seen On My Run: Tourists

I entered the park at Harlem Hill and went to the left, so I didn’t have to run up the bad end of the hill. I’m not used to being in the park at this time of day, and I found it oddly quiet. Until I got more south. There was literally a line that I crossed somewhere around 96th St. THIS is where all the people were. I can’t even count how many lost tourists I saw. They were all wearing silly ponchos, standing in the middle of the running path in groups of 4 or 5, huddled around a map, arguing if they were here or there. I think next time I run in the park I’m going to wear a shirt that says “LOST? Directions! Only $5!” I could make a fortune.

The park was the park. I struggled. Then I felt amazing. Then I got a Gatorade. Then I ran next to this lady for about a mile and pretended like we were running together. Her presence was very comforting. I left the park strong and headed home.

One of the things I like about running in my neighborhood is finding cool things I don’t normally see. There are two new beer gardens not too far from my apartment that I don’t think I would have found otherwise.

I was nearing the end and feeling really good. Actually feeling even better than when I started. I could see the big yellow Deli sign that’s on the corner near my building. That sign is always like a beacon pointing me home. It’s how I can tell I’m almost there.

I finished my run strong (10 miles in 1:37:49) and was doing my stretches on the park bench. A guy across the street yelled, “Do that yoga, girl!” His friend corrected him and said, “That’s not yoga. That’s some stretching shit.”

Ah. It’s good to be home.

The rest of the weekend consisted of eating, drinking, and more eating. There’s nothing more American than that.

Remember a while ago a posted about joining Social Workout? Yea, me neither. To refresh your memory, Social Workout is like Twitter meets the gym. You can set lifestyle goals and you and your friends can challenge each other and log progress. I set two goals:

1. No after dinner snacks
2. 20 pushups a day, even if I have to do them like a girl

I’ve (for the most part) stuck to my goals, but I totally forgot about logging them on the site. I thought having someone to “report” to would make me feel more accountable, but not really. I still think it’s a really good idea, but maybe it would be better if it were integrated with Facebook or Twitter. I don’t want to have to sign into ANOTHER site.

Plus, I think my arms are looking pretty good.

There’s a muscle there, right?