Uh oh

Someone's in trouble.

Well, I've completely neglected this blog for about 6 months. Wooops! A majorly quick recap:

Summer - fun, but too short
New job - awesome, but lots of work
New apartment - beautiful, but not totally digging the new area
Fall - fantastic

Overall everything has been pretty great EXCEPT on the exercise front, in which I've been 150% lacking. Like, worse than ever. I can make a list of 100 different excuses but I've gotta stop doing that. I'm signing up for a 5k this weekend as a way to dedicate myself back to short runs. I'll start with that! I'm also going to try to take pictures of all my meals (not including when I go out to eat)...which should be easy with my fancy shmancy iphone. I'm not sure if I'll upload them here or not, but we'll see!

On a totally different note, I can't believe 2011 is about to be over!! I'm going to do a post similar to the one I did last year with some accomplishments, but for now want to list out my goals for 2012 (not resolutions!):

1. Read 26 books
(How: Use my huge e-library of kindle books, sign up for a library card in Boston, track all of the books I read in a google doc. Will have to read approximately a book every 2 weeks.)
2. Run another half marathon
(How: Sign up for one! Create a training plan and stick to it, but keep slight flexibility. Time doesn't matter.)
3. Achieve a healthier weight
(How: Track my eating for as long as I need to. Go food shopping more often. Eat fruits/veggies as snacks. Meal plan as often as possible!)
4. Take a dance class
(How: just sign up, and stop thinking about it so much!)
5. Take a cooking class
(How: See above)
6. Go on a vacation somewhere cool
(How: pick a travel buddy, don't cave to vacations I don't want to go to. Save some money and don't feel guilty for spending on an exciting trip!)
7. Make a South Africa scrapbook
(How: This is overdue. Just. Do. It.)
8. Run a 5k in less than 30 minutes
(How: Train! And just push! My fastest time was 30:05 this year. If I can get myself to that level I can easily push for 5 seconds faster.)

Okay that's all for now folks! It's back to Boston in the AM..woo hoo!

Back to the Exercise Grind

I'm happy to say I'm back on the exercise wagon and it feels awesome. Gym classes are seriously motivating. And luckily I usually get home from work after the window of time where I can cancel out of the class...so I have no choice but going. Because of scheduling I've only been able to take strength classes so far and surprisingly have been loving it. It feels AMAZING to be sweating and breathing hard and I'm even enjoying (??) the soreness in my muscles. Last night I took a cardio-sculpt class. The cardio kicked my butt butt the sculpting was pretty easy. I think the instructor was concerned about newbies so she took it petty easy. Tonight is Total Body Sculpt and this KILLED me last Friday. I was sore until Tuesday! Hopefully I will feel slightly better this time?

My friend from home is coming to visit this weekend and I'm super excited! Tomorrow is the Great Boston Beer Marathon so the day is bound to be full of lots of drinking (duh). I'm hoping that tonight will be a quiet night so I can rest up for tomorrow!

I realize that this I have totally neglected this blog of the "love" parts of my life, but it's difficult for me to write about. I'm currently having a tough time figuring out what I want in a partner. I think I know what I don't want, but am worried that I'll never find the perfect combination of characteristics for me. It seems that every guy I meet has a few things that I really like, and then a few that I really don't. Am I being too picky or should I keep looking? Why can't I just combine their traits and make my perfect guy!? Anyway, that's as far as I'm going into this on the blog...for now I'm keeping most of my thoughts in my head :)

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Case of the Mondays

I'm trying really hard to get my act together today but am having some trouble. I had a pretty wild weekend and simply can't recover from the lack of sleep.

On Friday I finally made it back to group fitness classes! I took total body sculpt and I'm still feeling it 3 days later. The class was amazing though and I'm so excited to go continuously. It felt really great to be back in the gym and sweating and moving around. I haven't done that in a while! Unfortunately that's all the exercise i got over the weekend (besides an hour long walk on Saturday morning) but that's okay. That night I went to a club to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was a fun night but I spent way too much money. I've been getting really nervous about my recent spending habits now that I'm supporting myself. My salary isn't exactly high and I'm going to have to pay 3/4 months rent when I move into a new apartment. Who knows how I'm going to do that...

On Saturday I went to go look at an apartment then headed over to a ltitle town outside of Boston to watch a Gaelic football game. It was a very interesting, but fun!, day. Yesterday was a lazy day and all I did was go food shopping and hang out with friends. I meant to go to bed early but ended up watching a movie called "HappyThankyouMorePlease." The movie was sooo good and I ended up staying awake till 2 am watching it. So now I'm paying! I have to take a walk over to the bank in a little while so I'm hoping being outside and walking around will wake me up a bit.

Tonight I'm going to look at another apartment. I'm so sick of it. Gahhhh...happy Monday?

Half way through 2011

Howwwwwww are we half way through 2011?? I can distinctly remember sending annoying emails out to my friends about what we should do for New Years eve. Crazy.

It's been a while since I've updated so I'll give a brief synposis of the last 1.5 months. I ended up getting a job in Boston and moved back here the first week of June. I love the job but it was tough getting back into the swing of things. I was semi-homeless for a while but am now comfortable settled into my room. While in NY, I surprised myself (well, not really) by calling Jonas and setting up a lunch date. Meeting up with him spurred a range of emotions in me. I was very upset for a few days following but am doing greater than I could have imagined now. So that's all I'm gonna say about that!

As for food and fitness, boy am I out of it. I couldn't go food shopping for the first few weeks back in Boston because of lack of fridge/cabinet space so I was eating whatever was available and wasting a ton of money. I'm getting slightly back into it now but am finding myself trapped in the healthy Monday-Friday dinner and then go crazy Friday night- Sunday. I'm not too worried about it though. I also haven't worked out at all. I really can't help but smile when I write that. I have taken a loooong break and am ready to hit the gym again! I signed up for group fitness classes for the summer and can't wait for them to start. No zumba though :(

So I like the idea of reflecting on the past 6 months so here goes:
1. I went on spring break in Florida
2. I trained for and ran a half marathon! (3/20/11)
3. I graduated from college! (5/7/11)
4. I spent a month in NY doing nothing :)
5. I let go of a lot of anger
6. I got an awesome job!
7. I moved back to Boston
8. I rekindled (and attempted to rekindle) some fading friendships

Hmm that list is pretty short, but there are definitely some things to be proud of in there! Looks like I'm going to be busy the next 6 months... Happy 2011.5!

Good News!

Lots of good news for this post!!

Today was my first weigh in for weight watchers and I lost two pounds! I'm kind of surprised because I spent 3 days in NYC and ate out every meal! I also only worked out once (why oh why can I not get my exercise mojo back??) but I guess I was making good decisions after all!

I also tried my very first green monster smoothie this week and now want to drink them every day. This was SOOO good and as a non-coffee drinker it felt great to get a bit of energy in the morning. I put 1/2 cup of almond milk, 2 handfuls of spinach, 4 frozen strawberries (froze myself), half a banana, 1 tbs of natural peanut butter, 1 tbs of chia seeds, a few ice cubes and cinnamon into a blender and mixed away! Just typing that makes me feel healthy haha! I'm looking intro purchasing my own blender to bring back to Boston because I can imagine this smoothie becoming a big part of my summer!

Green Monster!

And yes, I did say back to Boston! I got offered a job! An amazing job in fact, and I'm starting in just two weeks. I was a little scared of the start date, but figured that it wasn't worth giving up a great job for. The job is exactly what I was looking for and I think will be a really great experience for me :)

Like I said this week was tougher than expected when it came to eating. On Sunday I went to my cousin's law school graduation and we had a "light dinner" afterward which consisted of lots of fried appetizers. I was really hungry and ate more than I wanted but figured those 49 extra weekly points had to be used up somewhere.
Me, my cousin and my sister

I ended up spending the next few days in NYC with my sister and got to try some amazing food! The biggest highlight was definitely this spread below:
Yes, that was ALL for me! It was soooo good though and I can't stop thinking about it. On the big red plate is a quinoa salad with apricots, cranberries and yams. I also got some housemade hummus and pita and they brought some olives over to the table. Everything was so fresh and although I wanted to scarf down every bite I managed to wrap half of it up.

While in NYC I also got sushi, some interesting grilled cheeses, a few amazing tacos and corn, frozen yogurt, and a fresh salad. I wish there were more make your own salad places in Boston. I also made sure to stop into a little shop called "Pickles & Olives" aka my dream come true. I am obsessed with pickles and almost died when I walked in and saw all these barrels lined up.

I had a great week and am just going to try to soak up the rest of my time at home before I have to head back to the Bean. I've been toying with the idea of getting in touch with Jonas before I leave and can't decide if that would be a good or bad idea. I think I need to just stop asking for advice because no one is going to make this decision for me. I just can't figure out what is best for me and what will bring me the most peace. I don't want to just "follow my heart" because I need to make a smart decision. Either way I know that in the end I will be fine and that I'm about to start a new, exciting chapter in my life. That's all for now...

Day 2 and a Family Dinner

I really suck at coming up with titles.

Day 2 on WW was great...although it's not exactly over because I'm about to go get some frozen yogurt. I just wanted to give a quick update on this awesome dinner I made for my family tonight. I based this dinner off of a recipe I found on the WW online database.

Ziti with Chicken and Vegetables

I basically mixed together grilled chicken, pasta, and lots of veggies (artichokes, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, spinach all cooked in garlic) and cooked them in a sauce made with white wine and chicken stock thickened with parmasean cheese and parsley. This dinner was sooo good and I think it was a hit with the whole family! There was definitely a good amount of prep (lots of veggie chopping etc.) but it was worth it. I'm so happy to be back to cooking again because I was taking quite the hiatus from the kitchen. It definitely is more tough cooking for 4 people than 1 though. Everyone likes different foods/tastes/portions and it's hard to figure out the amount I'll need for multiple people instead of just making one serving of everything. I guess this is good practice for when I have a family of my own.

My exercise has been lacking so tomorrow I'm going to make sure I get something in! If it's nice out I'll go for a run and if not I'll do a workout video. I gotta get moving!

Sorry I'm Not Sorry

The past week has been pretty crazy. It's funny how I was complaining and complaining that I was so bored, and then suddenly, I just wasn't. On Friday night I hung out with an old friend who happened to be driving to Connecticut the next morning around the same time I planned to go for a graduation party. We left the next morning and I arrived in Fairfield for some fun, friends and lots of food and drinks. Even though it had only been a week since I left college it felt amazing to see my friends from school again. I just feel so comfortable with them and I'm so happy with the little family I've created for myself in Boston. It's just another reminder that I made the right decision in applying to jobs only in Boston. That's where I want to be right now in my life and I can't feel guilty for that.

After the grad party a few of my friends ended up coming back to New York with me for a few days. It was great to have people around and to be able to show two of my best friends my home. I basically took them on an eating tour of Long Island which included an Italian/seafood dinner, pizza, deli subs, etc. We didn't get a chance for any bagels though! Next time I guess :) My family also threw me an amazing graduation dinner at a really wonderful Italian restaurant. It was so nice to see my family again and eat amazing Italian food...plus I had some cool cocktails (watermelon and french martini anyone??!).

So as I've alluded to for the past month and a half or so, my eating and exercise has spun out of control. I pretty much gave up on any attempt to eat healthy or work out during the last few weeks of school and being home has proved to be much more difficult than expected. There is just SO much food in my house. I have found myself constantly bored and therefore always thinking about food. When I live on my own I don't surround myself with snacks or what I used to call "trigger foods" (chips, string cheese etc.) but I can't control that now that I live with my family. It's unfair for me to restrict certain foods in my house just because I have no self control!

So last night I made a decision. I decided to join Weight Watchers. After much research of the new points plus program and discussion with friends I know who are on Weight Watchers, I decided to dedicate myself to 2 months of following the program. Worst case scenario: I hover around this weight and lose $80. I'd take that any day over continuing this steady weight gain.

I don't know why I feel the need to keep justifying this decision and this is going to be the last time I do it. I feel like I shouldn't need weight watchers because I've spent the last 2 years slowly losing weight without a diet plan. I have learned everything I possibly could about nutrition and am fully aware that this is simply a matter of boredom and lack of willpower. It's not that I no longer understand how to eat healthy, exercise, or treat my body well; it's simply that I no longer feel the drive and motivation that I used to.

I always commend people on asking for help, so I should treat myself with the same benevolence. Joining Weight Watchers is my way of asking for help in this. I need to surround myself with people who are on a similar journey, and unfortunately for at least the time being I need a structured way to track my food until I feel comfortable again. I used to disagree pretty heavily with Weight Watchers' program but the new points plus is an extreme improvement. What I'm hoping is that I'll be able to reignite my healthy eating flame by following a program that is very similar to how I was eating in the first place. So that's my justification. I'm not perfect, I need help with this, and sorry I'm not sorry!

So today was my first official day on WW. The damage wasn't as bad as I thought...I gained 6.4 lbs since I had last weighed myself before I became an eating tornado. I enjoyed the meeting and had a great first day. I love the new program, I already feel better, and I'm excited! Day 1 = success.

Back to

Graduate

Wow it's been almost a month since I've updated this thing. Unfortunately this is not going to be that great of an update because it's almost 12:30 and I am le tired. Here's a little of what's been going on with me in the past month...

1. I have done VERY little working out...in fact I think this may be the least I've exercised in about 3 years. Eek.
2. I have been eating like a pig. I didn't go food shopping for the last month of school because it felt like people were always wanting to eat out and I didn't want to miss anything. As a result I've put on a few pounds...
3. I graduated from college!!!!
4. I moved back to NY for an unknown amount of time.

So today I decided to dig up my dusty sneakers and attempt to run. It's pretty hard to believe that just a month and a half ago I ran 13 miles without stopping. Today I huffed and puffed my way through 2.5 miles before calling it quits and walking another mile or so. I probably could have kept running but I know myself too well -- if I wear myself out too early I'll just stop. So who cares that I could only run 2.5 miles? I'm sure no one but me! Anyway, I'm happy to be getting back on the exercise wagon. I've been feeling sluggish and tired alll the time and I'm sure my lack of exercise is playing a huge part in it (and the tons of booze and food I've been consuming the past month...)

Being home is nice but the boredom is already starting to hit me. My family and friends are all either working or in school so there's not much to do until 6 PM when my mom comes home. I'm really trying to just enjoy this time I have off but it's tough when all I do is sit in a house full of food. I'm going to try to make somewhat of a plan for tomorrow...

- Wake up
- Eat a small breakfast
- Do day 1 of p90x! (yes, i have illegally downloaded p90x onto my computer and plan to loosely follow it just to attempt to get some weight lifting and varied cardio back into my life without a gym)
- Do a very short run (1 mile?) depending on how i feel after p90x
- Shower
- Eat lunch
- Lay outside and read 1 of the new library books I picked up
- Apply for a job or two
- Go to Target and spend my gift card from Christmas (haha)
- Hopefully it will be 6:00 and Mom will be home to make dinner with and hang out with me :)

Sounds like a fabulous day to me. I'm having a lot of trouble with my eating lately and am going to dedicate a whole post to it very soon...like tomorrow. Maybe I should add it to the list?

This post is getting rather rambly but I just want to leave with one note that I'm pretty proud of: Coming home always brings up a lot of Jonas related emotions, especially this time because there is no real end in sight to my time at home. The thoughts of running into him and the questions of whether I want to see him or not are constantly on my mind. Anyway, tonight while downloading p90x I realized I needed to delete some stuff from my computer in order to make room. In going through my files I came across some videos that Jonas had made for me...mostly of him making goofy faces etc. It was hard, but I decided to delete the videos in order to make space. The fact that I deleted videos that make me feel pain and sadness in order to make space for something that will inevitably make me feel healthier, stronger, and more confident makes me feel incredibly proud of myself and is rather symbolic of how far I've come since this breakup. I still have tons of letter and photos of Jonas on my computer but deleting these videos to make room for something better was a small, but significant step for me.

So that's that. Time for the hilarity that is 30 Rock and bed. Good night!

Playing Hookie

Today I skipped class! Hah. I hardly ever do that so it was strange. I only had one class today and my Professor made it clear that we weren't going to do anything, so I just went for it. I ended up sleeping in and having brunch when I woke up: 2 eggs (one dippy and one cooked), a piece of very burnt toast (grr) and a small salad with some feta cheese on top.
After brunch I went for a run! The weather was beautiful and I'm terrified I'm going to lose my running skills so I slipped on my old sneakers and headed out for a short run. I ran about 4 miles and it was tough! Whyyyy do I lose my running stamina so quickly? I didn't really care because the stress related to racing is gone, but I do plan on running more! My feet didn't hurt at all which is good. I'm not sure if it's because they're recovered or because I went back to my old shoes. I guess I shall see. After the run I went to Trader Joes and picked up lots of treats, likeee:
These are sooo adorable and of course I had to have one as soon as I got home :) I also then proceeded to strategically hide them in my freezer so my roommates can't find them!

Last night I made something slightly new -- roasted potatoes! I sliced up 2 mini red and 1 mini white potatoes and coated them in olive oil and a bunch of herbs, heavy on the rosemary and black pepper. I cooked them at 475 for about 30 minutes (I like things well done) and flipped them halfway through. They were so good but shrunk a lot! This is a before picture:

(Why do my pictures always look so blurry?)

I ended up eating a serving of them with a burger. I made a very small patty out of lean ground beef on the George Foreman grill, topped it with cheddar cheese, and poured pickles and ketchup onto a slice of toast. You can see how small the patty is in comparison to the toast...haha! I probably should have just used 1 piece of toast. Oh well.
So as I mentioned yesterday I went to an AWESOME event on Tuesday night. I write restaurant reviews (for free...haha) and was invited to go to the opening of a new up scale Mexican restaurant by Boston's waterfront called Temazcal Cantina. The restaurant was so beautiful and all of the food was amazing.

I drank a few margaritas and a few glasses of sangria -- this was a raspberry margarita, sooo good.
Everything was served buffet style and the first spread included chips with guacamole and a bunch of other dips, and a ton of exotic fruit. The fruit was possibly the freshest I've ever seen and I absolutely loved the prickly cactus pear! You can barely see it but it's that little pink thing peeking out of the top left hand corner.
The next course was full of meat! We have a chicken taquito type thing, bacon wrapped shrimp, a bacon wrapped quail stuffed with sausage, some sort of fried cheese chorizo thing, and pork which was scraped from a full pig! The taquito was definitely my favorite but everything was delicious and I love trying new things.
And dun dun dun...DESSERT! I am a chocolate lover so I wasn't too crazy about the desserts offered but of course just had to try them all. I absolutely loved the fruit thing and of course ate the chocolate covered banana, but that cheesecake covered in sugared corn kernels was just a little too weird for me!

I do need to briefly give myself some props on how proud I am that I went to this thing alone. I'm definitely not a follower, and am always happy to spend time by myself (i.e. I have no problem going out to eat alone), but I'm just not a great networker. Over the summer I went to one networking event for wok by myself, walked in and almost had a heart attack. I had a really hard time starting conversations and didn't feel confident enough in myself to talk to people who were so far in their careers. I'm not one of those people who can show up anywhere and "work the room". I tend to find one person and stick to them. I don't necesarily think this is negative because I end up having much more thoughtful and deep conversations with the people I meet, but I do get that it's not really conducive to networking.

When I RSVPd to this event at Temazcal I figured I wouldn't end up going. But I made myself! It's important for me to step outside of my comfort zone and even more important to meet new people who share my interests. I ended up meeting a lot of really nice people and am SO happy I sucked it up and went! Yay!

I need to get some reading done then it's off to bed. Good nighttt!

Weekend Recap

So I'm a little late...but this weekend was so good that it deserves a recap even if I'm 3 days late!

Although the weekend was fun, I failed pretty miserable in my goals:

1. STOP DRUNK EATING -- well this just didn't happen at all. I don't know what it is about the end of senior year that's making me go nuts. I seem to be drinking alcohol and eating junk food at ALL times. I'm still going to attempt to get this under control but I really can't beat myself up for it so much. This is the last time probably in my life that I'll be drinking excessively/eating whole pizzas at 4 AM.
Goal Update: Concentrate on eating really well during the week, then cut some slack on the weekend.

2. Go to the gym -- this didn't happen at all either. Like I said, I was literally drinking/eating from the moment I woke up until I went to bed the entire weekend. The gym wasn't exactly an option. I know I obviously could have carved out some time for it but I just didn't.
Goal Update: Similar to eating -- really concentrate on working out during the week then cut some slack on weekends.

3. Apply to 2 jobs -- not bad. I applied to just one but made a lot of mental progress this weekend. I also found someone to sublet my apartment which is awesome.
Goal Update: Continue searching and applying!

So now on to why the weekend was so fun!

On Friday I went to see Joel Mchale as I mentioned last week. He was HYSTERICAL. I'm definitely going to start watching Community as soon as I have some time.

On Saturday we woke up and went straight to the Fenway Park area to watch the Red Sox/Yankees game. It was really fun and we got to watch the game from the outfield at Bleacher Bar. While there, I ordered a few Sam Adams Summers (!!) and a buffalo chicken sandwich. We also ordered fries for the table. Yum.

That nightt we had out Springfest concert which featured Taking Back Sunday, Third Eye Blind, and Wiz Khalifa. We ended up only seeing the end of TBS which was upsetting but the rest of the show was really fun!

On Sunday I woke up fairly early but was not feeling too great. My friend came over and we watched a documentary called Good Fortune. It outlined the possible negative effects that international development efforts (with good intentions) may have on Kenyans. Interesting stuff!

We then headed over to Cheesecake Factory for lunch where I got a grilled cheese and fries. I forgot to bring my camera but it was huge. While eating lunch my friend's mom called and offered us tickets to Sunday night's Sox vs. Yankees game!! I was thrilled because she has 8th row seats and I looooove going to games -- even if I am a Yankees fan. We headed over to the Fenway area and split a few pitchers of beer with some other friends who were going to the game. Then we headed to our awesome seats!!
We were on the jumbotron twice which is seriously exciting! I can't even tell you how many people told me they saw me!

Of course we had to order some ballpark food. My friend got a regular hot dog but I went with the Italian sausage topped with every possible condiment...haha. This thing was massive!



In true New England fashion we also split some clam chowder, most of which was spilled all over my legs and bag...gross. The people around me started calling me "chowder girl" and I had about 50 chowder related jokes made at my expense throughout the night. Verrrry funny.

Okay this is a really long post! Tomorrow I will update about an aweeeeesooome event I went to last night with some unbelievable food :)

Love at first bite

I'm in love. No, not with a man. With overnight oats in a jar!

Oh my goodness...this was seriously the best breakfast ever! I was almost at the end of my jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams and decided to try out this blogger-lovin breakfast.

I added to the jar:
1/2 cup of oats
1/2 cup of skim milk
about a tbs of chia seeds
cinnamon
sprinkle of brown sugar

This tasted like cookie dough!! Will absolutely be making it again!
(And yes, I did eat this while in bed! Hahah)

This kept me full for so long and because I had a super busy day I didn't end up eating lunch until 4:30! I had a soft taco with ground beef, salsa, cheese, sour cream and lettuce and a side of chips from Q'doba. That held me over until about 8:30 but since I didn't feel like eating a full meal I just had some string beans and pistachios.

I went out with all intentions to just have one or two relaxing drinks with friends -- after all, I had a presentation to do this morning (you know, with that group I hate). Somehow one or two casual drinks resulted in playing quarters, which left me drinking a lot more than planned. I didn't realize how tipsy I had gotten until I was eating pizza and fries in the pizza place next door. I split a slice and an order of fries with my friend so it wasn't THAT horrible. But still, I probably should have eaten more before going out.

So I haven't made any goals lately and I think I need a few for the weekend:
1. STOP DRUNK EATING
2. Go to the gym
3. Apply to 2 jobs

Yay. I'm seeing Joel Mchale (the host of The Soup) do stand up tonight and I'm beyond excited. I looooove him. But not as much as overnight oats in a jar.

:)

Rants and...more rants

Well after yesterday's great day I should have expected today would be rough! I woke up with a serious headache, but didn't have time to do anything about it because I had a meeting to run to. After the meeting I had to show my apartment to a few people and then run to class. By 3:15 my head was POUNDING. I can't remember the last time I had a headache like this. I ended up going and buying a diet pepsi in hopes that the caffeine would help me out a bit. And it did :)

After class I had a group meeting -- which I hated. I HATE GROUP WORK! I have never once had a good group work experience and always prefer working solo. No one ever comes prepared and I end up doing all of the work myself, but still have to sit there and listen to people's opinions/comments that are usually wrong! Like don't sit here and offer a comment about a book you didn't read -- you'll save us both time! Okay that was a little bit of a vent but seriously, I hate group work. It took 3 hours to make this very simply power point that would have taken me 15 minutes to do on my own. Grrrr!

Anyway, because the group meeting ran longer than expected I had to grab dinner (which always annoys me when I have food in the fridge) then eat it while standing up at work. Great way to enjoy a dinner! I got a mini burrito from Boloco (whole wheat tortilla, black beans, brown rice, salsa, cheese and a little sour cream) and a banana. It was a good dinner but I wish I hadn't had to scarf it down.

Also, even though it's still very cold in Boston my body seems to sense it's April 6th and my allergies were out of control today! My eyes are killing me (plus I've developed a cute little sty) and my nose was beyond itchy all day.

Last but not least, I wasn't able to make it to the gym today which sucks. It's probably for the best because I am insanely sore from knockout yesterday! My calves, triceps and EVERYTHING in between are killing me. I am actually happy about this because it means I finally whooped my butt a little bit out of the comfort zone I've been in for a while.

On one good note, I made my very first overnight oats in a jar tonight! It was just an attempt because I had some milk on hand for once and we'll see how it turns out tomorrow! I'm off to watch some Top Chef and hopefully will wake up with a smile for a new day!

Happy Tuesday

Heeey there. Today has been a really great day with eating/exercise! I started the day with a Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut bar (sooo good) and a banana. For lunch, a plate full of colors:
A strange combination: One of the juiciest/best smelling apples I've ever had, string beans, a piece of oat toast with hummus, 2 pickles, and 2 hard boiled eggs with most of the yoke scooped out. I like the yolk in hard boiled eggs, but have found that I like it better when there's just a little bit inside. This was definitely a random, but healthy and filling lunch!

I had class until 3:30 then came home and had a handful of pistachios, plus the other 2 hard boiled eggs I made. I just couldn't let them sit in the fridge!

I took a short nap (why can't college students stay awake throughout the day???) and then headed to a class at my gym that hasn't seen me for a loooong time: KNOCK OUT! This class is awesome and so hard! It's an hour of cardioboxing/boot-camp/actual boxing. My quads and arms are already killing me and I was pouring sweat by the time I left. It was so much fun though and it felt great to be back in that environment. There is definitely something unique about tough fitness classes!

And for the main event...as soon as I got out of the gym I placed an order at my favorite sushi restaurant to FINALLY fulfill my craving!! I pronounce to you, vegetable and udon noodle soup!!This soup seriously hit the spot. It was exactly what I wanted and I'm so happy I just gave in and got it. Plus I have leftovers for tomorrow! On the side I had some cantaloupe and blackberries on one of the adorable little plates my sister bought me for Christmas.

Now it's time to get some work done! Hasta manana.

Dinner Fail

Here are a few things I learned today:
- I do not like broccoli
- I can no longer buy giant bags of Whole Foods popcorn (my most recent bag lasted about 48 hours)
- I rarely enjoy my home cooked Asian-style meals
- Serious cravings can really only be satisfied by the real thing

Today could have been a pretty decent day of food. I woke up pretty early because I had an exam at 1:30. I wasn't hungry when I woke up and by the time I heard my stomach growling it was 12:30! Woops -- skipped breakfast. For lunch I had a similar sandwich as the one featured yesterday: turkey, avocado, hummus, tomatoes and lettuce on oat bread and a side of cantaloupe. The smell of melon is making me CRAZY!! I feel like it's summer. Luckily I have the constant freezing rain of Boston to remind me it is not, in fact, summer.

I had a peach chobani greek yogurt as a snack, and then started on dinner. I have been craving that udon noodle soup for weeks now, but am reluctant to pay $10 for it. I know I just should since I want it so bad...now I know better! I thought creating an Asian-style dinner would satisfy the craving so I threw some shrimp, calamari, frozen veggies (broccoli, peas, and edamame) into a wok with some sesame teriyaki sauce, thin rice vermicelli noodles, and chia seeds. Even though I felt like it was all cooking for a while, the calamari was a bit undercooked and the texture just made me nauseous. Nothing like gagging through every bite of your dinner! I also realized I just do not like broccoli. Frozen, fresh, cooked, raw. Whatever. I'm done trying! I ended up just eating the noodles, peas, and edamame then chucking the rest. I hate to be wasteful but this was just not appetizing. This my friends, was a dinner fail. Oh well, they can't all be winners.

On a good note, I fianlly got myself back into the gym tonight! I really needed to show myself that I don't need to a. take a group fitness class or b. have a scheduled workout in order to get exercise in. I can't remember the last time I just went to the gym with no plan and did some cardio...probably not since December. Tonight I spent 30 glorious minutes sweating it out on the eliptical, 15 minutes on the stairclimber, and 20 minutes on the stationary bike. It felt really good to be sweating and feeling my heart pound again! Best of all, my feet don't hurt at all. I ended up switching back to my old sneakers to see if it helped. I'll keep monitoring this over the next few weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up! I'm off to do some homework...good night!

Sundays are No-Fundays

If there is one thing I'm excited about with graduation, it's getting Sundays off. My internships have definitely made me appreciate the weekend off that comes with being part of the working world (I realize not everyone has the weekend off...) and I'm definitely looking forward to it! I have a huge exam tomorrow so the whole day has been spent studying, and I'll probably be in the library for another 12 hours. Fun!

So March really came and went huh? That's fine by me...now we are one step closer to spring and summer! Although it doesn't really seem that way around here. We basically had a blizzard the other night with a mixture of rain, snow, sleet, and hail. It's just wonderful to wake up on April 1st to a blanket of snow on the ground. Riiight.

Speaking of April 1st, I didn't witness one prank this year! I usually try to come up with something but I skipped it this year. The best (and worst) April Fool's joke I ever played was on my roommate 3 years ago. I love her to death but the girl is gullible! And I know she isn't the type of person who looks forward to April Fool's day so she was the perfect target. This was back when I was dating Jonas and he was going to a different college about 8 hours away from Boston. When my roommate woke up that day I told her that I'd really been thinking a lot about it and decided I was transferring to Jonas' school. I told her all the (made-up) details and she started crying!! I felt really bad when she started crying so it only lasted about a minute...but she believed me 100%.

Now onto some food. I was at Whole Foods last week and saw this greek style orzo pasta salad that looked amazing. I try not to buy whole foods premade food because it's just too expensive, and I realized this was definitely something I could make on my own so I bought the ingredients and did some improvising. I ended up spending about $7 on this (I had a few ingredients at home already) and used it for 4 meals!

My Greek pasta salad contained: orzo, chopped olives, cucumber, red onion and spinach, a few roasted red peppers, feta cheese and was coated in Whole Foods pesto from the antipasta bar. If I had a blender this could have been even cheaper because I could have made my own pesto instead of buying it already made. This was sooo good! I definitely preferred it room temperature instead of cold so I usually let it sit out for a bit when I knew I was going to be eating it.
Yesterday I went out to lunch at a new place I found on yelp called the Corner Tavern. I always pass by there on my runs so I figured I'd check it out. The place had awesome reviews and I can see why. I ordered the sandwich below (turkey and brie on raisin bread) with pasta salad for $8! I don't usually eat turkey, brie or raisin bread so I kind of surprised myself with ordering this. But it was delicious! And it turned out I had met the bartender like 2 years ago and we are friends on facebook. Ha!
Today for lunch I made this great sandwich: toasted oat bread with peppered turkey from WF, avocado, tomatoes and pickles. I wasn't sure the pickle-avocado thing was going to work, but it did! Maybe I just love pickles too much? On the side were some blackberries and carrots with spinach and artichoke hummus. Yum.
I also had this new Papaya Mango tea snapple that I got for free the other day. It seriously tasted exactly like a pina colada!
And here is a random lunch from I think Friday: tuna salad with chopped pickles (more like pickle salad with some tuna), some wheat thins, a banana and carrots.Alright I gueeesss I'll go back to studying now. Boo.

A Pain in the Foot

I'm in serious trouble.

First things first, my eating is just out of control. I've been eating more white carbs than I have in probably the last year and it's ALL I've been craving. It's no good. I checked the scale this morning and luckily it hasn't budged, but I know for a fact that won't last long. Why do I go through these cycles where I just can't seem to get control of myself??

I need to add in a little reality check for myself here...no matter how "out of control" I think I'm being, I have to remember that it's always in context. Things feel out of control in comparison to how I've been eating the past few months. Eating 2 mini reeses and binging on pistachios is not even close to the crap I was eating a year or two ago. I have come FAR, and no matter how much I think I've "fallen off the wagon" I need to keep perspective.

So I'm hopeful. I will get back on track when the time is right. If I need a little jump of the scale to scare me back into it then so be it. I'm in no rush!

Secondly, I'm getting nervous about this mysterious foot pain I'm having. I bought new sneakers about a month and a half ago, and they've been working perfectly. The day after my half marathon though, I was having some serious foot pain. The only way I could think to describe it was that it felt like my arches had collapsed (this sounds a little dramatic, but that's how it felt)! I figured it would just go away and it did -- until I ran again. I went for a very short (and pretty unsuccessful) run on Sunday and pretty immediately felt the same type of foot pain. I had to cut the run short because of it, and because I was being pretty lazy. I stayed off my feet until today -- you heard me, I didn't work out at all Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I decided to go for another run today and was happy that I didn't experience any foot pain. The run still wasn't so great and I was only able to eek out 4 miles. My legs just felt heavy, plain and simply. I really felt like I was dragging and was surprised at how much I was really struggling.

As soon as I took off my shoes I was hit with the foot pain again, this time on the top and bottom of my feet. The same arch pain was there plus the top of my feet felt like they were bruised. I had to go to work and stand the whole time but my feet were killing me! They're still feeling pretty sore as I write this now. I don't know what's going on and it's making me really nervous. I don't know if I should take more of a break from running and do some other things, or if it's something serious that I need to go to the doctor for. Maybe it's just my shoes? I don't think so though because I'd imagine that it would have hurt me during my half marathon training. I think I'm going to do some googling and then possibly make an appointment with a sports doctor. In the meantime I'll try to stick to fitness classes and maybe switch back to my old sneaks. Wish me luck!!

Procrastination Problems

Wellllp it's 11:20 and I haven't even started the massive amounts of homework I have to do. What is wrong with me!? Okay this will be the last thing I do and then my computer is going to be SHUT.

I was supposed to go to the gym this morning before class but just didn't go :( This lack of exercise motivation is kiiiillin' me! I really wanted to sign up for a 5 mile race this Sunday but the place is far away and the thought of 3 public transportation transfers and over an hour of traveling just doesn't sound too appealing.

Instead of going to the gym I got some work done then made this yummy lunch:Tuna salad (1/2 can of tuna with a little mayo and lots of chopped pickles), in a whole wheat wrap with lettuce and tomato. It's wrapped in tin foil to keep it all together! Not too great for photos but ya do what ya gotta do. On the side were some veryy juicy blackberries, the rest of my tomato, and a handful of pistachios. I also tried this Hint strawberry-kiwi unsweetened essence water that I got for free at the Yelp event over the weekend. The water was good, but no matter how many times I try drinks like this I just always prefer to be drinking regular water. These drinks always smell SOOOO good, and then once I take a sip I'm let down that the taste doesn't reflect it. Oh well...it's still always nice to try new things -- especially when they're free!!

Speaking of the Yelp event, tomorrow night I'm supposed to go see a movie from the Boston Underground Film Festival. We received a free ticket at the event and Tuesday was the best night I could go. Now that I've looked at my schedule I don't think I'm going to be able to make it anymore which is really too bad. I was looking forward to it but work's gotta come first. We'll see if I can make it!

Okay it is time to stop procrastinating. Bye!

We All Live in a Yellow Submarine

Breakfast this morning was pretty delicious...and yellow.2 egg omelette with cheese, a banana, a few orange pieces and some orange juice. I woke up seriously craving some fruit!

After a relaxing night in I had a great sleep last night. I woke up feeling revived and ready for the day. I did some job searching last night but it was getting too stressful so I switched over to some documentary watching. I've been dying to watch Food Inc. for a while and when I saw it was free on netflix I hopped right on it!

This was SUCH a great documentary. During my last internship I had interviewed a few food and nutrition experts so most of the information featured wasn't new to me. My internship was actually a huge part in making me change my eating lifestyle. Learning about the politics/corruption behind the food we eat really made me think. I started actually looking at the ingredients in the food I was eating, buying as much organic food as I could afford, and attempting to eat/buy local when I could. I'm currently writing a report on obesity prevention and how it disproportionately affects low-income people and minorities so this movie definitely gave me some exciting new info to work with!

Sometimes I wonder if the entire population was forced to sit and watch a movie like this if people would even care. In evaluating my future career path, I find myself really drawn to food advocacy and other focuses in public health. But I'm discouraged by a lot of what I see around me. Even some people I know who can afford to eat organic and/or local food AND slightly understand the consequences of over-processed, high in sugar, genetically modified food still continue to buy it. Hopefully I'll be able to find a position that caters to this passion -- I'm finally realizing that in all of my studies, experiences, and internships this is what I care about most: providing ALL people with nutritious food that will keep them healthy and energized. We'll see what I can find...

In other news I had my first post half marathon run today. I only ran about 4 miles and even walked a bit because it was so windy. It wasn't a great run, but I'm happy I finally laced up my sneakers and did something! Now I'm off to study for the rest of the day :(

Happy birthday to my amazing, inspiring, and wonderful sister Liz!!!! I love you and hope you win big in Atlantic City!!

Exciting Saturday Night

After a very long day I think I'm settling on staying in for a quiet Saturday night. I woke up pretty early today because I was able to go to a free independent film screening and indoor bbq! The films were amazing and the food was even better....mac n cheese, pulled chicken and coleslaw, sweet potato salad and bacon wrapped hog! It was delicious but definitely not enough food to fill me up. My friend and I headed over to the Cambridge Brewing Company and it was amazing! I forgot to bring my camera but I had an awesome burger (I guess my post half marathon burger craving is still around!) and tried a bunch of new beers. Unfortunately I had to cut the day short because I had a shift at work, but it was still a really enjoyable day.

My eating and exercise this week has been really off. Since the race is over I feel like this huge weight has been taken off my shoulders. My problem now is that I don't have too much motivation to run or work out period. I don't really know what's going on. I think I'm going to sign up for a gym class right now so that I can try to get back in the swing of things tomorrow! My eating has been okay, but I just feel like I'm eating a lot more than normal. This is not good! Hopefully my recognition of this will help me get back on track soon. Anyway, my eating hasn't been horrible, and with all the new time opened up (umm....from lack of working out) I've been doing a lot more cooking! I feel like when I was deep in 1/2 marathon training I let go of cooking a bit. There just wasn't enough time and I always felt like I was grabbing and going.
Here are a few things I've made this week:

Salad and lentil soup...I can't remember what brand this was but this soup was horrrrible. It was SO bland and after dumping too much salt in it I ended up just throwing it away and eating something else. Can't win em all.
My first attempt at making mussels! These were great and were mixed with a little pasta sauce. I may have overcooked them a tiny bit but it was my first time. Some raw string beans on the side :)
A delicious lunch of carrots, smoked mozzarella pasta salad from whole foods and a chobani pineapple greek yogurt with some chia seeds. This flavor was amaaaazing!
I've been wanting to make the lentil and cous cous salad that I mentioned for weeks now and finally did! I pretty much followed this recipe to the t. I used a cup each of green lentils and israeli cous cous, 1/2 a red onion, 2 cloves of garlic, way more mushrooms and spinach than the recipe called for, and some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Everything all mixed together! This is not a great photo so it doesn't look that appetizing...
I didn't have time to actually eat the salad that day but I made sure to the next day with a side of blackberries. The salad was great! I may have added a pinch too much of balsamic and it needed more salt. I think it would have tasted soooo great with some feta cheese. I may add some in next time.
My new favorite soup! I just discovered udon noodles and I'm obsessed. These babies are thick and chewy and I could eat this veggie soup for dinner every night of the week. I may do just that starting tomorrow...

I'm having some job search related stress so I think I may get to work a bit on that. Have a good night!

New Bedford Half Marathon!

So I'm officially a half marathoner!! I meant to write a pre-race update but was so nervous I couldn't get myself to!

The whole experience still feels so surreal. I distinctly remember back in September/October when I called my mom in excitement because I had just ran 4.5 miles. Last year when I was in South Africa a few of my friends ran the "two oceans" half marathon, and I remembered feeling so jealous. I never would have imagine that just one year later I'd be running a half marathon. Not to get too cheesey here, but it really goes to show that if you set your mind on something you really can achieve whatever you want!

As far as sticking to my plan, I did really well for the most part. The last few weeks were a little iffy because there was so much going on, but I always made sure to get my long runs in. Probably the biggest mistake I made was going out on St. Patty's day. That Thursday was only 3 days before the race, but I got peer pressured into going out. I ended up drinking a lot more than planned and I know it affected me after the race because my stomach was not happy!

Now onto the race weekend:
I can't even begin to describe how happy and thankful I am that my wonderful mom, older sister and my sister's boyfriend came to support me in the race. They drove all the way to Boston Saturday morning and we did a little sight seeing. I wanted to make sure my eating was on point all day, so after eating a banana and kashi granola bar for breakfast, I made a homemade burrito for lunch. I stuffed my whole wheat wrap with leftover brown rice, refried vegetarian beans, salsa, sour cream and a little hot sauce. It was delicious! My family wanted to go out to eat when they got here and I ended up ordering shrimp cocktail, just so I wasn't sitting there not eating.

We headed to New Bedford around 5:30 and made it to our hotel around 7. The hotel was beautiful and filled with runners! My mom and I shared a room and she let me have the big bed. Thanks mom :) We split up and went out for separate dinners that night...my mom and I heading across the street. I started off with a huuuge bowl of mussels -- probably not the best choice the night before a race but I couldn't resist! The restaurant had a runner's special of whole wheat pasta, lots of veggies, in an olive oil based sauce. I was happy they had this on the menu and it was great, but a tiiiny bit too oily. We headed back to the hotel and after laying out my race clothes I was in bed by 10:30! I fell asleep watching "the best thing I ever ate: burgers" on the food network and knew EXACTLY what I'd be eating when the race was over.

The next morning we woke up around 8 to go down to breakfast. The race didn't start until 11AM which was really lucky for me because I am NOT a morning person. I ate a big banana and a whole wheat bagel with some peanut butter for breakfast. I drank about half of my blue gatorade/water mix as well. My mom and I walked over to the YMCA to pick up my race packet and then went back to the hotel to change. Around 10:30 we headed over to the race start!The weather was PERFECT. It was about 40 degrees and really sunny. I wore my favorite and most comfy shirt from South Africa with my Tufts 10k long sleeve underneath. I was sooo nervous at the start! I was shaking a little but couldn't stop smiling either.

As soon as the race started I suddenly felt calm. All the nerves I had been feeling just slipped away and I felt pure happiness. Who cares what time I finished in? I was doing something for me and I would not diminish my accomplishments by worrying about time or comparing myself to others. I had signed up for this race with 3 of my friends and I was the only one who followed through and actually ran it. I am beyond proud of myself for completing this on my own!

The first 3 miles flew by, and then suddenly we started hitting hills. More like gigantic mountains! While going up these huge hills I honestly felt like I wasn't gonna make it! Boston is pretty flat so I had zero hill training. But I did make it! And I loved the sign at the end of the hill that said "see, just a hill!". There were cute and motivating signs all throughout the race and it really helped make the time just fly by. I saw my family around mile 6 and it was such a great motivator! I gave my mom a hug and my sister ran with me for about a minute. I was sooo happy to see them and it definitely gave me more strength to keep on trucking.
The last few miles were along the beautiful harbor. I felt completely calm and happy while running, and couldn't believe I didn't have to stop at all! At mile 12 there was another big hill, and once I was over it I started feeling really tired. I got pretty slow and was ready for it to be over! As soon as I saw the 13 mile mark excitement just rushed over me and I started sprinting to the finish line. I saw my family cheering me on and I was just beaming. I crossed the finish line and took a biiiiig breath of relief! I was immediately handed a water bottle, some oranges, and my race medal! I FINISHED A HALF MARATHON!!!We snapped a couple of pictures and chose to skip the free food from the race and head out to lunch instead. I happily gobbled down my huge burger and fries! I said goodbye to my family and caught a ride back to Boston with a friend. As soon as I got home I showered, then hopped into bed and stayed there for the rest of the night :) My friends surprised me with beautiful flowers and since I was still hungry I ordered mozzarella sticks for dinner. Haha, not quite the healthiest dinner. But who cares?

I still can't believe I actually ran a half marathon. I've been taking it slightly easy the past few days (except for competing in an indoor triathlon last night...woops) and plan to continue taking it easy through next week! Then who knows, maybe another half marathon ;)

10 Random Thoughts

1. I just ate an entire box of Annie's mac n cheese. I've actually never done that before...

2. By this time next week I'll have completed my first half marathon!

3. I just started using StumbleUpon and it only took 15 seconds to get addicted. Not good.

4. I've been putting off my "final" long run for two days with really lame excuses. On Sunday I was supposed to but had to complete a work project first. Then it was just "too late" to go running. Today I was all ready to go and when I went outside it was snowing! I convinced myself I'd get a blister or something so I just went back inside. Is tomorrow too close to Sunday to do a long run?

5. The past 4 nights I've fallen asleep while having imaginary phone conversations with Jonas in my head.

6. I watched Jurassic Park today instead of doing homework. I love Allen Grant.

7. My mouth is watering at the thought of making this warm israeli couscous and lentil salad. Yum!

8. Last night for maybe the first time in my life I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the bathroom! It was so gross it was making me sick. It's rough being a college student.

9. I don't care about St. Patty's day. I'd rather be Italian than Irish any day!

10. I'm going to see my family (hopefully!!) this weekend!! yayyyy!!

That is all. Hopefully I'll be getting some sort of long run in tomorrow (> 8 miles).

Fear

I wanted to write this post a few hours ago and boy am I glad I waited until I got back from the gym. As usual, my mood has been 100% lifted after a good sweat session.

I returned from a verrrry relaxing week in Florida. I had an amazing time, but unfortunately lacked on my food and fitness goals. I managed to eek out a few runs (a 4 miles and an 8.5 miler) but that was about it for movement. As for eating, after just the first day I found it literally impossible to eat anything healthy. I attempted to keep breakfast simple, opting for my normal banana/toast/pb combo, but once lunch rolled around I was spent. I ate plenty of this:and this....
Anyway, since I've been back I've been feeling a little strange. I've been incredibly tired, which is pretty funny since I spent the entire week laying on a beach. I've also had a little trouble getting back into my normal eating routine. Today was a good day though, and I definitely feel back on track. I hit up the gym tonight with a 45 minute zumba class, a 2.5 mile run and about 15 minutes of strength.

The title of this post comes from the fact that my half marathon is in TWO WEEKS and I am terrified. I had trouble with my long run while I was in Florida and I can't believe I have just one more scheduled long run before the real thing. I don't really know what I'm afraid of. It's not failing, because I know I'll finish even if I have to crawl over the finish line. I think I'm just afraid of disappointing myself. I've mentioned my trouble with comparisons on here before and I just hope I don't spend the entire race wishing I had done something different. I don't know. My mind is feeling a little jumbled...

On a totally other note, I picked up my very first chobani greek yogurt today and I loved it! I bought the raspberry flavor and mixed in some chia seeds. It was delicious and sometimes I felt like I was eating fro-yo! Plus, the 14g of protein is insane! Yay for new healthy food!

Tomorrow I have zumba in the morning then am heading to Whole Foods to restock my fridge. I'm determined to eat as healthy as possible the next two weeks to make sure my body is up to par for the half marathon. The last thing I'll need that day is stomach cramps because I ate french fries all week. I'm off for some biggest loser catching up. Good night!

Double Digits

I really should be studying for my 9 AM midterm that I have tomorrow but I can't hold in my excitement any longer! Today I ran 11 miles!!!!

The proof:(My Garmin didn't start working until .8 into the run...equaling 11 miles total. I'm assuming the final time would have been about 1:56!)


I had missed my last two long runs and was nervous that with my upcoming trip to Florida I would get sidetracked again. My half marathon is less than a month away and with temperatures in the 40s, I knew it was now or never. I started "prepping" last night by drinking a bunch of vitamin water and eating some whole wheat pasta with the last of my Grandma's sauce. I made a great playlist and read a couple of blog posts on how to enjoy long runs. The furthest I had run up until today was 8.5 miles and that was with a friend, so I was beyond nervous about this run.

Today I woke up and had 2 clementines and lots of water before heading to class. About an hour and a half before my run I ate a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and drank a gatorade. I figured that would be the most filling and fueling food I could eat before a big run. I was so nervous all day that I felt myself becoming really nauseous and anxious at points. My mind was really tearing me down and I was filled with thoughts of "there's no way I can do this", and "I'm going to dissapoint everyone when I can't finish this race". These negative thoughts started after a pretty tough 6 mile run on Tuesday. I had just returned from a sedentary weekend at home and knew I had to get a run in ASAP. I couldn't believe it but I had to stop after both the first and second miles and walk due to a cramp in my side! I haven't gotten a cramp since the summer and could feel my nerves creeping. I was able to finish the last four miles without stopping but was still pretty upset with the run overall.

Today I ran the entire 11 miles without stopping except for the occasional traffic light! One thing I did realize was that those traffic light stops definitely helped. Even if I stopped for 5 seconds, it was enough time to just shake out my legs and keep going strong. I ended up finishing in a little under 2 hours which is great for me and right on target for where I want to be in my first marathon (average speed = 5.6 mph). My legs were super tight after the run but I'm sure that's to be expected. I also was starving once I got settled at home and was shoving pretzels in my mouth like crazy! I think on my next long run I'm going to experiment with gatorade/gu/some other energy fuel during the run to see if it helps/hurts.

Overall, I am SO proud of myself. I accomplished something I never imagined I could. I remember during soccer and track when I used to try to cheat my way out of running a complete mile! During this half marathon training I feel like I've been coasting a little. Keeping up with the workouts has been rough, but the workouts themselves haven't been that challenging. This was the first time I really had to push myself and push through the pain multiple times. I just kept repeating to myself that IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EASY! If it was easy, everyone would do it. So this is my big step at taking pride in this accomplishment and not diminishing it based on a time. I am proud. Period! Now off to study and eat some fro-yo. Florida in two days!! wooooo!

Comparisons

It's been a rough few days! I've had a loooot of school work this week and had a big exam this morning that I was studying for until 4:30 AM last night! Ahh the wonders of being a college student. I also have gotten back into my workout schedule which has been really hard. I was so sore on Monday after my strength training workout...it felt like I hadn't been in the gym for months, let alone just one week! I always find it so crazy how quickly my body gets out of shape (not that I'm saying I'm out of shape now). It feels like it takes years to build up strength, and then in just a few weeks it goes away! Crazy.

After my exam this morning I felt great knowing I had a little break coming up. I had taken off work tonight because I had plans, but since they fell through I was looking forward to my afternoon run, and then some quality TV watching. The weather in Boston was BEAUTIFUL today. It was about 50 degrees and sunny. Gorgeous. I went for a 4 mile run around the river and finished in exactly 41 minutes. For me this is really great. That's about exactly a 6.0 mph pace (I give myself an extra minute for the random traffic light stops and people that get in the way). Still, I find myself comparing my run times to my friends and the bloggers that I follow. It feels like everyone around me can just easily run 8 minute miles. It makes me a little apprehensive about the half marathon because I know for a fact I won't be keeping up a 10 minute mile pace the entire time. I don't know why sometimes I get so stuck in the comparisons that I can't really see my own successes. I do the same thing with my body image. Sometimes I feel like it won't matter how much weight I've lost or how good I think I might look, because people around me will always look better. It's unfortunate and it's something I feel like I've struggled with my entire life. When I got back from my run, I decided to look back to the goals I wrote down in August. One of my favorite goals I wrote was: Do not diminish, but take pride in my successes. I feel like I need a constant reminder that everyone is on their own path, people will always be ahead and behind me and I only need to concentrate on my successes, my failures, and my journey.

In other news, I found a do it yourself frozen yogurt place in Boston (Mixx Frozen Yogurt Shop)!! All I can say is oh my god. This place is awesome. Just check out this picture:Since it was my first time I overdid it a bit and tried a little of every flavor yogurt and a million toppings! This thing was unbelievable though and I cannot wait to go back.

That's all for now. I'm going to NY this weekend and can't wait to see some of my friends and family. It's been a looong time since I've seen a few of my friends and I'm getting pumped to have a fun night in NYC with them. Adiiiios!