Run, Eat, Date, Sleep

Out of all of the places I’ve lived, I’ve felt most at “home” in Pennsylvania (which is 2 hours from where I live now). My friend Theresa and I met while working at a restaurant up there, and since working there, we’ve been meeting for lunch to catch up. This time, it had been over two years since we had seen each other! We met at Cosi, our usual place, and chatted and laughed for almost 3 hours today. It was so fun hanging out with her again! Plus, I get to cross another item off of my 101 in 1001 list.

After lunch, I drove on over to my old neighborhood to see my old apartment. All of the trees had grown so tall. Everything look beautiful!

One of my favorites things to do up there is to get pumpkins and ice cream from the Milky Way Farm. Unfortunately, I failed to check to see if they had started selling pumpkins before I left home this morning. But I thoroughly enjoyed a cup of Polly’s Pumpkin Ice Cream.

I also got to shop at Trader Joe’s today for the first time ever! It was packed! But I ended up with a lot of great food at inexpensive prices. I can’t wait to try them all!

How did you spend your weekend?

From now until September 30th, you can purchase ANY item in my OpenSky store at 50% off. Just use coupon code FIFTYRUN at check-out!

You can get a Silver Maple necklace for $25

Or a yoga mat for $15!

Or a Gracie’s Gear tank for $20!

And so much more!!! Check it out!

Just a little disclaimer. The toddler spoon and fork set is unavailable until OpenSky’s platform supports personalized items. Also, the One More Mile necklace from Silver Maple is unavailable because the platform does not allow you to choose your preferred jewel.

Only 5 people can use this coupon code, and 3 have already used it. So if you want the discount, get there in a hurry And thank you for shopping in my store!

EDITED TO ADD- All 5 coupons have been used, but please feel free to browse the store anyway!

I set out for a long run of 7 miles yesterday at my trail, Breakwater. The plan was to run 3/1 intervals, but after the first mile, my knee couldn’t take it. I was feeling heavy and out of breath. It finally hit me that I’ve absolutely dreaded running for the last few weeks. I no longer enjoy it, and the pain I feel afterwards is not worth it. After that first mile, I stopped my Garmin and headed back to the car. After a few minutes, I received a text from Jeff. It was a cute picture of him. He’s a constant source of inspiration for me without even knowing it.

I turned the Garmin back on and continued to walk the rest of the way. I walked a total of 5.5 miles… not quite the 7 miles I was hoping for but my decision to not lather up in Body Glide came to haunt me and my inner thighs. Instead of hating every minute of my time outdoors, I enjoyed the walk. However, by the time I got home, I was in tears. I’ve fallen out of love with running. My six-year-long dream of running the Walt Disney World Marathon was quickly being flushed down the drain. I’d never again be able to call myself a “runner”, and I started to feel like I’ll never again feel the intense joy of finishing a long run or race. This would never happen again…

(Me finishing the NYC Half Marathon with a smile on my face)

And I’d never look like this again…

(I’ve gained 19 pounds since this picture was taken)

I knew if I tweeted about my meltdown, I would certainly find someone else going through the same thing. Thankfully, Sana came to my rescue. She’s going through an injury as well and feeling quite bitter about it. We g-chatted, and she gave me so much to think about. She learned while travelling in Europe that they stay fit over there by starting and ending their days with a walk. She encouraged me to try new things while I give myself time to heal and learn to love running again. My brother also told me “no one can be that motivated all the time” referring to me wanting to train for something all the time. I need a break from running.

Therefore, I’ll be starting my days with a walk and ending my days with a (stationary) bike ride, swim, or yoga session. There will certainly be rest days, but I’m not scheduling them on specific days. I’ll take them when I need them.

Armed with a new sense of confidence about my new workout routine, I woke up before the alarm went off this morning at 6am. Normally, if I had been planning on a run, I would have hit snooze and bailed on the run altogether. But today, knowing all I had to do was walk, I woke up feeling motivated. I got out the door before the sun had come up and walked 3.4 miles around my neighborhood. It felt great!

Tonight, I rocked out 8.7 miles in 30 minutes on the stationary bike. I also ran in to the personal trainer at the Y, Daniel, who is competing in Disney’s Goofy Challenge. I go to him for a lot of my questions. I told him about my break from running, and he gave me the encouragement I needed to not completely give up on the WDW Marathon. He advised I lay off running until late October and kick it in to gear for 2 months (if I feel like running again).

I finally feel revitalized and ready to start something new!

If you’ve taken a break from running, what did you do instead?

Whenever anyone asks me for advice on how to get started running, I tell them to volunteer at a race. The inspiration you’ll get will push you farther than you can imagine. Last year, I arrived to volunteer at the Dewey Beach Triathlon before the sun even rose. I body-marked all of the fit, athletic bodies and watched all of them compete in a grueling triathlon. I gained so much inspiration from this event, which is why I volunteered to do it again this year.

I woke up a little late, so I wasn’t there in time to body-mark, but when I arrived I helped set up and was set in place to help direct the bicyclists when they arrived back in the transition area.

I know these pictures defy all rules of photography with the sun being in the picture and all, but oh well.

The American flags lined the sand dunes from the beach to the transition area. They started the event with a swim of 0.5 miles in the ocean.

Next would be a 7 mile bike ride.

And then a 3.1 mile run.

My last duty of the day was to clip off their timing chips, which were attached to their sweaty, sand-encrusted ankles. But we were all rewarded with 16 Mile beer.

Once we were finished and all of the people left the beach, I went to go look at the ocean and reflect since this might be the last time in a while I might see the Atlantic Ocean.

After all of the work was done, another volunteer (Stephanie) and I headed over to the Starboard for a delicious lunch! I had a crab quesadilla, and we shared some sweet potato fries. Unfortunately, it happened to be Bike Week, so we had to wait over an hour for our table. But the food was well worth the wait.

Dewey Beach, you’ll be missed while I’m living it up in the Colorado Rockies!

Sorry I didn’t say too much in this post. I’m not feeling very talkative tonight.

If you’re ever looking for motivation and inspiration, volunteer at a race!

Have you ever volunteered at a race before? Did you have fun?

Remember when I broke up with the treadmill? Well, we had a little chat tonight and made up. I need to utilize the treadmill to work on speed and discipline. I love running outside, but I let myself slow down. The treadmill keeps me going at a good pace, and I have to hit a button to go slower. Hitting that button is a mind trick for me. I somehow think the whole gym will see me slow down.

It’s like eating when I’m alone. I’ll eat more when I’m alone, but if I’m out around others, I’ll eat less. Same with running… I’ll go slower if I think no one is watching.

So, with that said, I had a successful night on the treadmill. Marathon training called for a 2-mile run today, and I upped my intervals to 3/1 instead of 2/1. I’ll eventually build up the endurance I once had when I was training for the half-marathons.

My first mile was 12:30, and the second mile was 11:49 (negative split!!!) , for a pace of 12:09/minute.

I spent the greater part of today feeling pretty enormous. I definitely no longer fit into my size 10s, and my size 12s are getting tighter every day. I even almost left work early to change in to yoga pants and a t-shirt so I could be comfortable. But when I got on that treadmill and could see the side view of myself, all I could think was “look at those calves! They look awesome!” I feel great!

That’s all for tonight! I’m tired!

In case you missed it, I’m moving to Glenwood Springs, Colorado!

Jeff will be flying in on October 28 and helping me pack the rental truck and make the 2-day drive to Colorado. That’s only 47 days away!

I’m really looking forward to the drive. Ya know, Nebraska is so scenic! This is what the majority of the drive to Colorado looks like.

(picture taken from Jeff’s move to CO)

I already got a job as a mortgage loan officer, but it’s all commission. To say I have heart palpitations regularly would be an understatement. But I’m trying my very best to go in to this without fear and knowing I’m dang good at my job, even though it will be in a town where I only know one person. I’m scared of working on commission, but I’m really happy to finally have a work-at-home job.

What’s really exciting is all the town has to offer. It may be in the middle of the mountains, but it sure has a lot more than Milford (my current town) does. First, I cannot even wait to go to the Hot Springs Pool, the country’s largest, natural hot spring pool. They keep the temperature of the therapy pool at 104 degrees… perfect for after my long runs!

Source

Jeff said it’s more of a tourist thing to do, but I don’t care. I love this pool!

I’m also really excited to use the rec center in town, which has an indoor aquatic area, a rock climbing wall, indoor track, zumba and yoga classes, and a lot more.

And get this… they’re building a Whole Foods Market in town! I’ll finally be living in a town with a Whole Foods! I can hear angels singing.

I’ve already found a lot of great running trails on MapMyRun, but I’m not looking forward to the altitude acclimation. I’m going from sea level to 5700 feet. This shall be interesting when I try to run there!

I’m going to spend today packing up some items to be donated. Since Jeff and I will be merging our households, it’s time to get rid of things we both have like dishes and such. I will eventually be getting rid of an old couch and a TV. So if you’re in my area and want anything, let me know!

What are you doing today?

For the past few months, I’ve been part of  a planning committee for a 5K. It would be the first annual 5K associated with my town’s Riverwalk Festival, which commemorates 9/11. We had a great turn-out for our first year- 148 walkers and runners!

And they’re off!

Unfortunately, I decided to only volunteer (and cheerlead!) because I was having some soreness in my knee. But watching everyone else surely was inspiring!

Throughout this week, I’ve had a terrible time figuring out quite what to do with my marathon training. I ran in to the personal trainer at the Y (which I joined again after a 3-month hiatus), and he told me I should stop running because of my plantar fasciitis. But after some research, I’m not even sure if I have plantar fasciitis. It’s described more as heel pain, but my pain is only in my arch. I’ve seen two general medicine doctors, but I’ll see a podiatrist soon.

Intensifying my urge to run was what the scale told me today. I had been afraid to step on the scale for a few months now. I haven’t been eating as healthy as I should, and I certainly haven’t been moving enough. I’ve gained 18 pounds since finishing my last half-marathon in March. Eighteen pounds. I need to be okay with this. I need to know I’m able to take it off again. I know running is the quickest way I slim down and feel so much better about myself, so I set out today for a 5-miler on my favorite trail, Breakwater!

I started the first 2.5 miles off at 2/1 intervals, but I ended the last 2.5 miles with 2/2 intervals. Here’s my stats:

An overall pace of 13:00 minutes… I’ll take it! That’s pretty decent for walking more than a third of it.

After my run, I stretched and headed over to the running store where I am usually greeted by Bob, the man who has taught me so much about training. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there, and I just didn’t get the great experience I usually get there. Boooo. But I went there with one item in mind. I wanted a Moving Comfort sports bra.

I had read so many great reviews of this bra, especially for us “bigger” girls, and since mine is so old (and painful), I decided to splurge.

For the rest of the day, I’ve watched a lot of 9/11 documentaries. I remember that day so well. I was a junior in college at the University of Delaware. I was so busy getting ready for the day, I barely heard the IM from my friend James telling me to turn on the news. After sitting on the couch with my head in my hands for a while, I continued getting ready for class because I had not heard a word from my professors. I figured I would muster up the energy to go onto campus. I got ready to head to class as I watched the second plane hit, the plane hit the Pentagon, and the towers crumble to the ground. I went to my first class. Professor Sestak held class for about 10 minutes and let us go. I walked around campus for a while, trying to call everyone I knew on my cell phone with no success. Mostly everyone on campus was silent or a complete mess. University of Delaware is notorious for its large percentage of students from New York. Trabant Student Center was filled with students and professors gathered around the TVs. I stood there too, thanking God my family was safe at home. And then I thought… Chad. My brother was in the Navy, and I immediately thought he would go to war. And he did, eventually. I went to another class, and I can’t really remember if Professor Nelson held class or not. After a while, I went home, sat on the couch, and called my mom. I got through this time, and I couldn’t hold back my tears of fear that Chad would have to go to war. She spoke in her cool, calm manner she always does when she knows I’m upset.

Nine years later, the tears still flow. My thoughts go out to all families who lost loved ones on that tragic day.

Where were you that day? How are you spending your weekend?