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!