The Little Things
January 18, 2012

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About a week ago, a friend came over to watch Midnight in Paris. I don’t remember seeing the trailer on TV when the movie was released to theater this past summer, but saw it pop through on a “what’s new to redbox” email. After hearing a few good things about it, I decided to check it out. I had some expectations about it, but they weren’t too high as I hadn’t read much about it.

The movie is a romantic comedy about a young couple who travel to Paris. The man, a writer, has this romanticized view of Paris in the 20’s, and desires to go back to that time. The film is beautifully shot, with a number of fantastic actors and actresses giving excellent performances. The movie was incredibly enjoyable, and I would definitely recommend it.

Midnight In Paris is an excellent reminder of how easy it is to romanticize the lives of others, which is generally challenged once we actually get an “inside look” into their lives. It’s something that many of us struggle with from time to time, and the temptation of the grass being greener on the other side pops up from time to time. This movie discusses these themes through its beautiful and well written story.

If you’re looking for a good movie for a dinner and a movie themed night, this would be a fantastic pick!

I’ll leave you with a final quote from the movie: Paul: “Nostalgia is denial – denial of the painful present… the name for this denial is golden age thinking – the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in – its a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.”

Now it’s your turn: Have you seen Midnight in Paris? Do you tend to romanticize other people, places, or eras? 

January 16, 2012

Life gets busy, and cleaning and organizing gets pushed aside. Motivation can easily go down in the winter because, when it’s 10 degrees and windy outside, doing anything but sitting under a blanket reading or watching TV just seems like a stupid idea. Between work, family & other relationships, exercising, making dinner, sleeping, and every other responsibility that we have, it’s easy to push cleaning aside, isn’t it?

The hard thing for me, and most people if we’re being honest with ourselves, is that the state of cleanliness and organization we live in tends to have an impact on our mental health. Of course that doesn’t mean you need a perfectly clean and organized house to be healthy. Honestly that’d probably create more stress instead of less stress. However, to some extent we need organization and things not stacked high around us. After an exciting day of watching the Olympic Trials, yesterday was spent attacking some cabinets that haven’t been touched in awhile.

The result? Let’s check out Exhibit A:

I found all of these in my containers cabinet. Jammed in the back. Never used. Yet I continue to collect each old butter container because “i might need it store something.” YIKES! Saving some of them is fine, but EVERY. SINGLE. ONE? Ridiculous. I cleared all of these out and can now open my container cabinet without fearing that something will fall on my head the moment I open it!

Alright, now let’s check out Exhibit B:

Yes, that’s right. That’s 7 bags of trash that I threw out. Some of it was old food (we all have those things that get jammed in the back of the cupboard and are past its expiration date), some were old magazines (does anyone else have a difficult time parting with old mags?), and some of it was a very large stack of junk mail and receipts that have been accumulating on a table. Again, yikes!

While my kitchen feels a bit lighter and more organized, and I don’t have to panic when I open my cupboard anymore, I was also reminded of an important fact- cleaning doesn’t have to be all or nothing. We can attack a cupboard, a drawer, or a room at a time. This makes it more manageable and much more do-able given most individuals’ schedules.

Now it’s your turn: Do you enjoy cleaning, or is it the last thing on your daily or weekly “to do” list? Do you tend to save old containers? 

January 15, 2012

As of yesterday I’ve now completed the first 2 weeks of my half marathon training! It’s been really nice to get back into running after taking about three and a half weeks off over Christmas and New Years. The end of week 2 included my celebration of the Olympic Trials, and I am now anxiously awaiting the Olympics this summer!

This is the breakdown of my week:

Total Miles: 9.5 miles running + 3.29 miles Cross training

This week I definitely felt like I had a much easier time running then I did last week, despite the fact that I ran further and cross trained. The strengthening/stretching/pilates days have been great, and I think will definitely help with my overall strength and training!

Lesson Learned: When running outside in the cold, bring Kleenex with you! I ran outside on Tuesday, and despite it being a nice, sunny day, my nose got runny and I had nothing to take care of it. I finally just caved and blew my nose into my hands and then rubbed it on my running tights. UGH. I hated doing it, and vowed to bring kleenex from now on.  ewww.

Biggest Struggle: The treadmill! Twice in the last week the treadmill I was on quit suddenly. Yesterday it was during my cool down, so it wasn’t a big deal. However, on Thursday it quit while I was at either 5.4 or 5.6, and I almost fell and smacked my head on the monitor thing at the front. To go from 5.6 to nothing instantly without expecting it is quite a jolt, and I’m not a little freaked out about hurting myself that way. It’s been a different treadmill both times, and in each instance someone had kicked the cord out of the plug.

Now it’s your turn: What do you do to deal with runny noses during runs outdoors? What’s your favorite stretching or strengthening move? 

January 14, 2012

Happy Olympic Trials Day! As I sit typing this I’m watching the Olympic Marathon Trials down in Houston, and am absolutely amazed at the strength and speed of these runners! I think it’s safe to say that I won’t get anywhere close to that in my life, but I’m ok with that!

Today I had 3.5 miles on the training plan. I’m planning to do my long runs on the weekends outside as much as possible, but today the road was icy, and that’s one thing I’m not willing to deal with on a run. It’s not worth it to slip and hurt myself! To this day I still struggle with slight pain when I breathe too heavily while running due to an injury I obtained from slipping and falling on ice while running.

I got up and made myself a serving and a half of oatmeal plus 10 ounces of orange juice, which keeps me well fueled and hydrated while I run. Then it was off to the gym.

Today I decided to celebrate Olympic Trials day by breaking in my new pair of Brooks Adrenaline’s, so I was interested to see how how my feet and legs would feel after the run. After your advice from last week regarding my shins hurting on the treadmill, I put the incline up to 1 and had no shin pain at all! Throughout the fall I really struggled with going out too fast on runs, and therefore each mile got progressively slower. Even in races, I haven’t been able to kick to the finish very well because I feel spent. That’s no good, and I’m attempting to correct this as much as I can.

In that vain, I hopped on the treadmill and did the following workout for a total of 3.5 miles:

Unlike other runs where I feel like I’m dying by the end, this time I felt strong in the last minutes of my run, which was fantastic! I’m starting to see that a benefit of running on a treadmill is that your body runs at a consistent pace, which can help train you to know your body and pace. I felt great after this run, and plan on using this technique again!

I came home to take an ice bath, which was miserable but not quite as much as the first time! I wore clothes and drank warm tea, and it was at least tolerable. Now I’m watching the Olympic Trials and am just so incredibly impressed that these runners are able to keep such a fast pace for so many miles. AMAZING! It’s making me really excited for the Olympics this summer!

Now it’s your turn! Did you watch the Olympic Trials today? If so, what are your thoughts? What’re your favorite treadmill workouts to complete? 

January 13, 2012

Whether you exercise or not, nutrition is an essential component to healthy living. I don’t love spending hours in the kitchen, nor do I have the time to do so. Because of this, I’m always on the hunt for easy ways to add nutritious snacks or meals to my life. Enter the Green Monster Smoothie, which is quickly becoming an important part of my half marathon training.

Ingredients:

The great thing is that spinach doesn’t change the taste of the smoothie at all, but packs in some great nutrients! This is a perfect breakfast for those on the go in the morning, or a great way to hydrate post-workout! Of course you can throw in whatever fruits you would like!

 

January 9, 2012

In my post on Friday I made a big announcement: I’m starting to train for my first half marathon! I finished the 1st week of training, and thought I would recap it here. I should start by saying that my training is 18 weeks, which is much longer then the approximately 12 weeks that most training plans call for. I want to build mileage slowly, and be able to take some “rest weeks” with decreased mileage to try to decrease the likelihood of injury.

This week was all about getting back into running, as I had basically not gone on a run since the second week of December. This is what I did for the week:

Total miles: 7.8 miles

Each run this week got progressively easier as I loosened up from the long break from running. Wednesday will normally be my cross training day, and my “long run” will take place on either Saturday or Sunday (aiming for Saturday). I’ve built in 2 rest days and at least 2 days of Pilates, yoga, or other core strengthening activity. I’m also stretching and FOAM ROLLING after every run.

Lesson Learned: The miles tend to fly by much faster when I’m on the road instead of the treadmill. By about 1.5 mi in on the treadmill I’m getting really antsy. Also, my shins hurt more while running on the treadmill. Is this just a weird thing with me, or has anyone else experienced this?

Biggest Struggle: My thoughts! The minute I created my 18 week training plan, doubts began to fill my head. I watch people run on the treadmill at the gym. They run faster, easier, longer… and I begin to doubt myself. I’m developing a good plan to fight these thoughts. Running certainly is mental exercise as much as physical exercise.

Now it’s your turn: Would you rather run on the road or on the treadmill? What’s your favorite stretch after exercising? 

January 6, 2012

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? The last post I did was on December 10th when I recapped the Jingle Bell Jog that I had just completed. Since that time, I enjoyed a long Christmas break with family, and rang in the New Year with some good friends. It was restful, enjoyable, and ended much too quickly. Other then that, my IT band was aching even before the Jingle Bell Jog, so I decided to take a few weeks off. Instead, I took a few spinning classes, took a yoga class, and did Pilates many times.

Working my core

The cross training was good, worked out different muscles, and kept my cardio out without running, which was ideal. I’m blessed to have a family who loves to exercise, so we make time each day of Christmas break to work out.

I guess it’s time for my big announcement now. For Christmas, my brother registered me for my first half marathon race! I’m excited and nervous, and trying to get my act together for training. Over the last week I’ve spent countless hours reading information about training for half marathons, as well as printing off four or five different plans. This week and next week is all about getting back into running, as I’ve taken almost a month off. I did two runs this week, 2 mi and 2.5 mi, and both went well.

A few things:

I could use your help! I know that many of you are pros at training for and racing the half marathon distance, so I’ll take any advice I can get from you all. A few questions I have:

 

December 10, 2011

This morning I ran my 3rd race (again, it was a 5K). Like I said in my last post, I’ve been battling through some IT band pain, and it definitely played a role in today’s race.

When I woke up this morning, I checked the temperature, and found out that it was 13 degrees. I don’t know what it was with windchill, but 13 is cold either way. The coldest I’ve run in (I think) is the mid 30’s, so I didn’t know how my breathing pattern and lungs (or feet for that matter) would hold up in the race. I dressed warmly, with 4 layers on top, and stayed toasty while running (minus my feet and neck).  For a 5k, this was perfect. For even a 10k, however, I probably would’ve had to shed a layer.

I layered starting in the bottom right and working counter-clockwise. The pink shirt, closest to my body, is a wicking shirt. The top layer is a running jacket, which I am in love with. It covers half of my hand and has thumb holes. LOVE.

Arriving at the race, I was given my race Bib and shirt.

I guess the race organizers decided that, to be festive, we would all run with bells on our shoes.

See, bells on my shoes. I tried to tie it on to my laces tightly so the bells didn’t bounce.

We lined up at the start line, and were off! It snowed yesterday morning, but most of it melted by yesterday evening. However, along the race course there were a number of patches of ice, which isn’t great for running. That automatically slowed me down a bit, as I shuffled across the ice instead of running. Like I said, during the race it went between 13 and 15 degrees; SUPER cold but at least there wasn’t much wind and it was sunny. I dressed well, and my arms, legs, ears, hands, and core were fine (the shirts I have a picture of above, and I wore running tights, a headband over my ears, and cheap little gloves from Target). However, my feet were FREEZING and no amount of running warmed them up. In fact, by mile 2 I could hardly feel them. It was definitely a weird sensation to run without being able to feel your feet. The third thing that went wrong was the cold affecting my breathing/swallowing. While the rest of me was warm, my neck was not so warm. My throat felt like it was frozen a little bit, and I had a hard time swallowing. That, along with my lungs feeling like they were burning from the cold, made breathing pretty difficult.

Because of all these things (but especially the last 1), i took a few short walk breaks, which was incredibly frustrating. I crossed the finish line at 32:30, disappointed that I was 1:45 slower then my last race, which is my 5K PR. Given the conditions, though, I was feeling ok about the time.

When I got home, I stretched, foam rolled, and took my first ice bath. Oh my- that’s a story for a different post. But let’s just say I don’t think I’ve ever shook so violently from the cold before. Pure misery.

When I pulled up my GPS stats from the race at home, it says that the race length was actually 3.24 miles. That’s an extra .14 miles, which would take me about 1 minute, 40 seconds to run. And of course, seeing I was within 5-10 seconds of PRing in the race, I would’ve pushed myself much harder. But I can’t go back and change that. I think, had the race been an actual 3.1, I would’ve PR’d, even given the conditions. But I’m not sure. So I can’t really count this as a PR, but I also know that my official 3.1 mile time was faster then 32:30.

So, in summary:

Now it’s your turn! Are you planning on running a “jingle bell jog” race this Christmas season? What are your tips for cold weather running? 

December 3, 2011

Is it REALLY December already? The weeks seem to be flying by so quickly! This is my first free weekend since sometime in September, which I think has made the fall go much faster then usual as well. Two weeks ago I hurt my IT Band a bit while running. I’m not sure what I did, but it hurt to squat down at all. I decided to take the week off.

I ran on Thanksgiving day with my brother. It’s the first time we’ve gone running together since we were outside playing as little kids. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was fantastic. I forgot to take a picture, but it was almost 60 degrees and sunny out! The thanksgiving break was fantastic, and provided a great opportunity to allow my IT band to heal. I foam rolled regularly in hopes that it would heal a bit faster.

I had a LONG 13 hour car ride home after Thanksgiving, and spent the rest of this past week feeling very behind on my life. I have yet to go grocery shopping or unpack my bags. I didn’t work out, partly because of extra work commitments, and partly because of a nasty winter storm we got on Tuesday.

That all changed today, however. Today I went out for a nice 3.1 mile run, finishing in about 4 minutes slower then my PR during my last 5K. I tried out my new running jacket (an early Christmas present) and I loved it. Despite it being in the 30s, I felt nice and warm during my run!

Windblown w/a red face- That’s how I do my runs:)

I’ve missed running over the last few weeks, and it felt great to be out on the road once again! I have a race coming up next weekend, so this week it’s back to taking care of myself and watching my health!

Off to stretch, foam roll, and ice!

November 13, 2011

“Eventually you learn that competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.” -Sheehan

I’ve completed my 2nd race! Through reading other blogs, I noticed many people doing Turkey Trots last year. It sounded fun, so I’ve been on the lookout for one since September. Last week, through my work email, came an announcement that the place I work would be hosting a Turkey Trot for the community. WIN! I ran my first 5k one month ago, and since then I’ve not come close to hitting the same time on my training runs (32:45). I hoped to beat my time in the Turkey Trot!

Luckily the race wasn’t TOO early, so I set my alarm for 7:45. I quickly consumed about 6 ounces of juice and a Luna bar before getting dressed quickly. My ankle was bothering me a bit, so I grabbed an ice pack and iced it on the 20 minute drive to the race. It was about 35 degrees when I got there, and quickly registered and starting walking around to warm my muscles up. I tweeted nervously (thanks for those that responded with great words of encouragement!) as the 1 mile fun run finished.

I created a new 5K run playlist, and I was excited to listen. As I stepped up to the starting line I hit start on my Runkeeper app on my phone, and the playlist began.

Random? -Yes. Fun?- Absolutely

Then I was off! I knew I was running a bit faster then usual, but I was ok with that. I wanted to push myself, and I knew I could do it. When I hit the 1st mile mark, my phone told my time was 9:20! I started to feel a little worried, as this is about a minute faster then my fastest mile time previously. I haven’t run a sub 10 mile in years! Hoping I could maintain a similar pace, I kept running. Once I hit mile 2, I thought a sub 30 5k was in me, and I pushed it hard.

The last mile I just wanted it to be over. I was running miles MUCH faster then in training, and I was feeling it big time. My last mile I slowed a bit, and realized that I probably wouldn’t finish in under 30 minutes. I still wanted to beat my last 5K time of 32:40 (ish), so I kicked it towards the end. As I crossed the finish line someone yelled 30:48! While I didn’t get my sub-30 5k, I beat my best 5k time by 2 minutes, and I was elated!

I grabbed a banana and a water, and found some space to stretch out a bit. I felt GREAT. And now I know that a sub-30 5k IS in me, and I have something else to push myself towards. For a girl on medicine that makes it difficult to run, and believing for years that this was never possible, I’m really proud of myself. The course was also much more hilly then the one I train on, so the fact that I pushed myself in an environment I wasn’t used to and was ABLE TO DO IT is great.

Yes, I got 60th place. I’m OK with this considering an entire cross country team ran the race as well. The place I get doesn’t matter. I’m not racing against anyone else. I was running against my previous 5k time, and I DID IT!

Now it’s your turn: Have you ever run a turkey trot before (or are you planning to in the next few weeks)? What’s one thing you did that was an accomplishment for you this week, whether it is “big” or “small”?