Archives

A Fatty Tale

May29

20130528-193921.jpgI work out. A lot. I go through spurts of doing nothing and then get crazy and try to do too much to make up for my lack of nothing. Lately however, I have been on a streak where I have done something every day. I haven’t stopped doing something since the day after Turkey Day 2011. You would think that after doing all of that working out, I’d be as thin as a toothpick.

You’d be wrong. In fact, I am by all intents, purposes and definitions obese. Well, maybe not obese but definitely overweight. Why? Because at times I have eaten like complete crap and while you can exercise to your heart’s content and even so much that you pass out (I’ve kind of had that happen) unless you clean up your diet, you will be overweight. It doesn’t help when you end up using food for comfort when all other things in life are going as badly as possible. And it also doesn’t help when for so many cultures, food is a way to show affection for people. If you go somewhere and don’t eat, then it is viewed as an insult. Sometimes not eating is just because you aren’t hungry and can’t stomach another bite, but you will eat anyway so as not to offend others.  Continue reading →

Food Glorious Food

Apr2
who doesn't love red velvet pancakes for brunch?

who wouldn’t love red velvet pancakes for brunch?

It’s kind of obscene how much I think about food. While working, watching sports or television and even when I am working out, I am thinking about food. Not necessarily what I am going to eat. Sometimes that is the case, but other times it might be what I should eat because I am not hungry and I have to eat so that I can keep running. Other times, I am brainstorming about how I can make an interesting dish. Or in reality, how I can make myself a feast for lunch.

Last year, I went to see a nutritionist. I wasn’t eating too badly, but at the same time, I wanted to do it better since 1) I am a vegetarian and 2) I was concerned that I might not be getting enough of certain nutrients. Secondarily, I wanted to lose weight and while I was already pretty good about doing the working out thing, I knew that ultimately, I needed to change how I ate to really make that goal happen. Seeing the nutritionist was the best thing that I could have done for myself. I met with someone who was okay with me not liking certain foods and not forcing me to eat them because “it is what vegetarians should eat.” She also was very helpful in helping to understand that and look at food as a way of fueling my body to do what I wanted.

Continue reading →

I’m a Runner

Apr1

running shoesThere, I said it. I’m a runner. I’ve been at the running thing since 2006. It is now 2013 and I feel like a runner. I am a runner. Some people would say that I’ve been a runner since 2006, but back then, I felt like a fraud. Sure, I would jog / run a little bit, but more of my time was spent with walk breaks. But last August, something finally clicked and I started to feel like I could accomplish things with running.

It is now April and so far this year, I have run over 221 miles. Yes, over 200 miles. In January, I started the year with a 5K race and over the course of the month, ran over 50 miles. February turned out to be an even better month. There were three fewer days and I ran over 10 miles more. The big month so far has been last month where I put in over 105 miles. If that seems like a lot of miles to you, imagine how it feels to me. Before this year, I thought I was having a good month when I got in 30 miles in a month. A run longer than three miles seemed like forever. Granted, I had done way more than that on numerous occasions, but those were just for races. Running more than three miles in a race was a no-brainer to me. It was what races were for. Continue reading →

The Ignored

Mar31

Middle kid syndrome. If you are a middle kid, you understand this. If you are an oldest or youngest, chances are you don’t really have a clue about it, unless something happened in your life that caused you to suffer. What exactly is middle kid syndrome? It is that situation where you are ignored by your family because attention is paid to the older kid or the younger kid. You learn to be invisible so as not to cause grief because you parents have other stiff to deal with. Quietly, you go about your business. If people notice you, it is mostly because you ended up doing something really amazing that called for praise.

Perhaps in school, your parents got a note from a teacher about a great thing you did in school. Or maybe you play a sport and scored the game winner. In any event, most of the time what you do goes unnoticed.

There is another group of people who suffer middle kid syndrome and these people really go out of their way to not be a burden to their parents and family. Those people are siblings of those who have cancer. Specifically, I am talking about kids who have a brother or sister who has cancer. Continue reading →

Adjusting

Feb9

I start training in earnest on Monday. I am planning on running about nine races this year and the first really big ones are in May – the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon and the Soldier Field 10-miler. I have a race before those and I’ve already done a couple this year so far. However, I’m really excited about those races. Both races will allow me to run at some amazing football fields. Additionally, I get to express my inner sports meatball and wear Packers attire for both races. At Lambeau it will be feel right. At Soldier Field, it will just annoy Bears fans and I’m all about poking them.

running shoesAnyway, last week I got my training schedule and it caused a mini panic for me. HOW was I going to fit in all the working out I do along with the added running that would need to happen so I can smash my previous best half marathon time. I knew I was going to need help, so I emailed my trainer with the schedule. She was thrilled to see there were planned rest days because right now, I’ve been working out for over 430 days without taking a true rest day. I just have easier days where I will just do yoga, but I always have to be doing something.

The group I am training with has two different programs for the half marathon training. One that involves taking one rest day a week and another that has a total of maybe five rest days through the entire process. Since the Green Bay Half will be my ninth half marathon, I figured I should probably do the advanced program. But then I had this fear of will that make sense if I choose to run / walk it? Why can’t I just run the entire time? Then I started to wonder if maybe, just maybe I could run this race in under 2:05 because that would mean I could do something else later in the year. Seriously, why not? Continue reading →

I Hate Shopping

Nov15

Yes, I said it. Yes, for some people, that is a blasphemous statement to make. I don’t enjoy shopping. At least for clothing. Nothing ever fits very well. Even after losing a few pounds, clothes still just don’t fit well so trying to buy them is the world’s most frustrating experience at times for me.

Yet, there is one type of clothing that I actually don’t mind shopping for. Running and workout attire. Could that be because it is typically stretchy and therefore will fit? Probably not. Especially when I think of all the hassle and drama I must endure when purchasing new running shoes each year. And that time has just come and it looks like I still might not have a pair I really like. But that is a story for another day.

Last week, Fleet Feet Chicago had its annual Fall Fashion Show. And just like last year, this year’s show did not disappoint me. Last year, I walked away with the feeling that running outside was really no big deal. This year, the motto was “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.” The outfits that we saw really seemed to drive that point home for me. And honestly, I can’t wait for it to be cold so I can run outside. Weird? Maybe, but it is al true that I’m more excited than ever to run outside. Continue reading →

Can’t Best Them All

Jun14

Recently, I have had a couple of absolutely terrible races. Part of it due to weather and part of it due to just not being as ready as I should be.

Last month, I ran the Soldier Field 10-mile race. It was my first time doing the race. It should have been the second time, but last year I had to bow out of the race due to an absolutely horrible headache that prevented me from running.

This year, I talked a friend into running the race with me and meeting up with her before and after the race was fun. But the race itself was the worst race I have ever done. It was just terrible.

Not due to any organization problems (those make me despise races and never want to do them again) or course issues. No, this was my absolute worst race because my wonderful friend calf cramps came back to haunt me.

I kind of knew I might be in trouble as I was awakened in the middle of the night by a cramp in my calf. I was hoping it would just be a night thing and not bother me during the race. Continue reading →

New Personal Records

Mar25

Today was the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago. The race is known officially as the start of the running season. This was my second year doing the race and I really enjoyed it.

I was hoping I would run the race in under an hour, but as usual plans went awry. This was because earlier in the week, I was starting to come down with a cold. The weather in Chicago has been fantastic lately, so coming down with a cold was not something ideal. I was hoping it might just be allergies, but sadly it was an actual cold.

I did manage to keep it from becoming a full-blown cold however. Just a bit of a runny nose and stuffiness in the morning. It did make life less than idea since it interfered with my running. Somehow though, I managed to set a new PR with the Shamrock Shuffle today. Continue reading →

100 Days and Counting

Mar3

The last day I didn’t work out? November 24, 2011. That happened to be Thanksgiving. The only reason I didn’t workout that day was because I had traveled to my hometown for the holiday. Thought, it is entirely possible I did something that day once I returned home from traveling. In an earlier post, I talked about how my gym had a 30-day challenge to combat the weight gain the Average American experiences between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I breezed through those 30 days no problem. And I haven’t stopped. Yet.

February 29, 2012 was day 100 for me of working out. Nike even had a running challenge that day, which I did as part of my workout that day. At this point, I just can’t seem to stop. Every time another milestone, such as 90 days approached, then I would add more days. I even thought, I should stop after 100, but I didn’t. I worked out the next couple of days. Continue reading →

Fifty!

Jan13

I did it. I worked out for fifty straight days. Day 50 was actually a weight day and some yoga as well. I am slowly getting used to the fact that it *is ok* to have “easier” days of working out. When I was first doing the 30-day challenge at my gym to get a month of dues paid for, I was in a go-go-go mode. To not work up a serious sweat felt wrong.

But I knew my body needed the occasional break. After the thirty days and subsequent 50-day challenge from Julie, my spin instructor I started to add more days of weights to my workouts. And also the yoga. Sure, I will take the occasional hot yoga class which can be pretty intense. But I am also starting to really appreciate the easier days of just lifting weights.

This experiment has been good for me. It has made me feel guilty if I don’t move. As a side bonus, my clothes are starting to be looser as well. Always a bonus. The best part of the looser clothes is that I haven’t really done anything too drastic to make that happen. I think my body has just decided now is an ok time to do that.

In any event, I am now on a mission to see just how many days I can work out before I feel that enough is enough and I need a break both physically and mentally. I have a had a nice by-product of this experiment in that I am addicted to working out. It’s a wonderful feeling to have this kind of addiction. I’ll be sure to let you know when my streak of working out ends and what caused it. Knock on wood I haven’t gotten sick.