Running In Pink

aka how to survive a four hour drive by yourself.

Ralph was supposed to come home with me this weekend to celebrate my sister’s birthday, but last minute he needed to stay home and take care of some things at our apartment.  I couldn’t let my sister down, I hadn’t been home for her birthday in years, and last year I didn’t even send her a birthday present until May (I like to think I was extending the awesome-ness of her birthday a few extra months).  Plus I love a good excuse to spend time with my family so I was making the trip solo.

This was good at least in the sense that I could leave the second I left work, and my boss even let me skip out a few minutes early.

essentials for survival = coffee.  ipod.  HEALTHY snacks.  (not pictured because I can’t for the life of me figure out my sister’s computer.  But thanks to her for letting me borrow it…)

It’s easy to grab a bag of chips, or something or the sort for a long road trip.  They are easy to eat while driving, and comforting at that.  Of course I’ve taken enough car trips in my time to realize that would only leave me feeling like a blob of grossness when I got home.   So I stopped at the closest Wawa I could find, and loaded up on one turkey hoagie with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and cheese on whole wheat, a large bottle of water, a cheese and cracker package, and a bag of mint M&M’s.  I made a large cup of coffee before I left work and poured it into my travel cup for the drive.  I’m usually good for most of the trip but it’s that last hour that really kills you.

When I drive alone, music is crucial to my survival.  I like to sing a lot but I am not very good at it, so I take advantage of car rides like this to belt out every note at the top of my lungs.  It’s very good for keeping awake once it starts to get dark out.

It was one of my better drives home, with little to no traffic, and I only ended up being hungry enough for my hoagie.  The cheese and crackers were enjoyed with a nice tall glass of cupcake wine as soon as I got home, and the mint M&M’s are packed in my bag for today’s lunch.  The water went unopened, but the coffee was enjoyed to its fullest.

What are your road trip snack essentials?  What’s the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?

I came across an interesting discussion the other night, while reading through one of my favorite wedding forum’s fitness boards.  While the original poster was inquiring as to the different ways readers went about loosing weight, a bit of a debate came up as to what “eating healthy” really means since it is so subjective a term.  Whether you are eating healthy, or being healthy, can enitrely depend on your lifestyle and beliefs.  Vegans believe not eating any animal products is healthy, whereas if you eat Paleo, your main focus is (animal) protein.  Some people think that being thin means being healthy, but there are plenty of unhealthy ways to get thin, and plenty of people who are naturally slim and have healthy issues.

Plain and simple, according to Merriam-Webster, Healthy: enjoying health and vigor of body, mind, or spirit : well.  Health: the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit;especially : freedom from physical disease or pain.

Healthy, to me, is providing your body with the most nutrient dense foods, and avoiding a lot of processed empty calories.  It’s making small changes that last a lifetime and turn into a lifestyle instead of going on a crash diet or an extreme eating plan.  I don’t count calories but I am very aware of when my body is satisfied from food and don’t over feed myself.  It means exercising regularly, because that is when my mind and body feel the best.  It’s not about loosing my winter weight to fit into a swimsuit, it’s not about looking good in my wedding dress, but about a consistency.  I refuse to deprive myself of something if I really want it, but at the same time I feel like I eat a pretty well balanced diet.

But what is a diet really? I was discussing this same idea with a friend of mine recently.  She recently had changed up her eating habits, and when co-workers noticed she was eating differently they made the comment, “but you don’t need to be on a diet”.  Keep in mind she wasn’t actively trying to loose weight, or restrict her calorie intake, but was adding more nutrient dense foods, like lean meats and vegetables.   If you want to get technical, diet is not only reducing your calories to loose weight, it is “habitual nourishment” or “food and drink regularly provided or consumed” (again, according to Merriam-Webster).  A diet is the food you eat, for whatever reason you decide to eat it.  Do I consider myself “on a diet?”, of course not. But do I regularly eat a lot of fruits and veggies, and limit my fat and sugar? Yes I do.  If all you ate every day was pizza and soda you would be on a diet too, a bad diet.  If people choose to consume foods that are good for their bodies, why are they instantly judged as “being on a diet”?  I have had co-workers (not many and not often, but a few) say the very same thing to me. “You don’t need to be on a diet”, and I wish I could tell them, how do you think I say this size in the first place?.

I’m no doctor, and I’m no dietitian, but in my opinion there are many ways to be healthy and happy and enjoy life.  The fact of the matter is there are so many options out there and different things work for different people.

So what is your version of healthy?  Do you consider yourself “on a diet”?

I interrupt this regularly scheduled workout blog to bring you a little something of the paper good variety.  Because at this moment my life revolves around three things, work, running, and wedding crafting.  And now that I have finally completed one of the major players I thought I’d show it off a little.

It’s become a pretty common theme lately that I change my mind a lot on what I want for our wedding.  I blame it on too much time scouring the internet for inspiration, and my constant quest for perfection.  I knew from the very beginning I wanted to DIY our invitations, from the design, to the paper, to the envelopes.  I guess the only thing I didn’t do was MAKE paper.

I’m usually good at making decisions.  I see something, and I know instantly if I like it or not.  If you have to think about if you like something, move on.  So after much thought and research I had come up with something I was totally in love with.  My sisters were less than pleased, but I was convinced that this was it.

My original invitation design - sisters kept telling me it looked to much like a pumpkin.

More than a few months went by, and there were more than a few conversations with my sisters pointing out how much they thought the colors were too “pumpkin”.   Slowly our colors started morphing, and we decided to use our Phillies themed engagement photos for our save the date.  Baseball elements started popping up here and there, and before I knew it my sister’s were ridiculing me that  my wedding was going to be a hot mess with no theme.

Our save the date post cards. Another last minute change from my original design

I tried to take it all with a grain of salt, after-all what do two teenagers know about a wedding?  But something about what they said stuck, and maybe they were right.  I was going in a million directions and needed some cohesion.   Sometimes, as much as I don’t want to be, I really need to be talked out of some things.  I started thinking more and more about it, and one day I came home from work and said to Ralph, “Don’t hate me.  I want to redesign our invitations.  What do you think?”  Of course he said he didn’t care (what a doll), but said I was ridiculous for changing my mind.  I went right to work, again, and was really inspired by this baseball invitation, where the stem of the flower was oh so cleverly made to look like the laces on a baseball.

The concept was winning me over, but the details were lacking a little something.  About 100 more revisions later, the final version was born.  The task of actually assembling the invitations took about a month.  I made myself a massive to-do list including every single step, mostly so I could get the satisfaction of crossing things off of a list.  Every component needed to be printed, every paper needed to be cut, envelope liners cut, and inserted, envelopes addressed, papers were glued together, RSVP cards were numbered, and a week before my self imposed deadline I was staring at a bad of completely finished addressed and stamped envelopes.  The day I brought them to the post office I did a little happy dance as I put them into the mailbox, on their way to houses across the country.  This was starting to get real, and I honestly couldn’t be more excited.

Simple clean design with pops of color, a "hidden" baseball element and a graphic version of our flowers.

Changing your mind, or being indecisive can have negative results, it can backfire, or it can turn out amazing.  A lot of people asked my why in my right mind I would ever want to do something that requires this much work, and my answer was usually something along the lines of “because I can, and I enjoyed most of the process”.  Which come to think of it, could be a conversation about wedding invitations, OR marathon training.  There are lots of people who think both tasks are not worth it in the end, but for me, I enjoy the hard work that is put in almost as much as I enjoy the result that comes out.  The effort always ends up being worth it in the long run, and nothing can compare to the pride you feel when it is all over.

DIYing invitations is most definitely a marathon, and not a sprint.  Give yourself lots of time, do lots of practice runs, and pace yourself.

 *all personal details have been blurred for privacy reasons

What’s on my plate for 2012?

Ralph and I spent a good bit of time talking about what we wanted to do as far as races, distances, and our goals for said races.  We both want to try for a PR at the half, and run some other shorter races in between.  We also have to consider our wedding/honeymoon in April, my sister’s high school graduation/prom/graduation party in June, and then moving in to college in September.  (My little sister is going to go away to college…. where did the time go?)  Basically the summer will be packed with stuff and probably won’t be the best time to plan races.  Additionally, I love a good fall race because the weather is usually a little bit cooler.  So without further ado, our fall half marathons for 2012 are….

October 13th  ING Hartford Half Marathon - This was a toughie, we had three choices for an early fall race, Philly Rock and Roll, Boston, and Hartford.  In the end Boston didn’t work because we have a wedding to attend that weekend (yay for other people getting married!!) and in the end if came down to price.  Hartford is just drastically cheaper than RnR, and after what happened in Las Vegas this year, I don’t know if I feel like supporting competitor all that much right now.  Hartford is local to my parents and I love excuses to go home and spend the weekend with them.

November 18th – Philadelphia Half Marathon - Total no-brainier.  Ralph had such a great time at Philly last year he is totally set on making a repeat performance and improving his time, and this year I plan on doing more than just spectating and running him in.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get closer to my PR than I have been in the past.

There are of course a few 5k’s that will be sprinkled here and there, most of which  (ok, really its all of them, because we’re only signed up for one right now) are still TBD.

What are your big races for the year?  How do you plan your race calendar?

Lately I have had a few people ask me if I will be running Broad Street this year.  As in the Blue Cross Broad Street 10 miler that runs, where else, down broad street from North Philly to the sports complex in South Philly.  Running Broad Street has always been more of a tradition since it’s a local race, a good distance, and I always someone to run with.  But it has never been a race I go into with a time goal.  It has never been a race that I have been really proud of my results for either.  So tradition or not, when friends have been asking, the answer is I’m just not running it this year.

This year, it just wasn’t on my list of “races I have to do”.  It didn’t even make the list of “races I might do, maybe”.  Part of this has to do with the fact that Ralph and I will be on our honeymoon two weeks before the race.  As much as I might possibly want to run or workout while we are on vacation, I by no means want to be worrying about training every day.

The other thing is, it’s crowded.  Like really, really super mega crowded.  It’s the largest 10 mile race in the US, and it shows.  Of course, to be honest, I usually end up in one of the slower corrals so the first few miles are spent weaving around people and yes, I know, if I was closer to the front I wouldn’t have to worry about that.  And I’ll be even more honest to say its my own fault for signing up for a race and not training for it.  Enough years of not being ready, tells me I’m just hurting myself by continuing to sign up for this race.  If you’re not into something, like really into it, why put yourself through it for a tradition?  If I am going to spend money to be in a race, I want to really give it my all.  If I want to run a mediocre ten mile run, I’d rather do it for free, on my own time, and on whatever path I choose.

I feel like I am at a place in my running career where a race should be a race, and not just an expensive run with a number on my shirt.  I’ve covered all the distance milestones I want to cover, so it’s no longer about “just running the distance”.  This doesn’t mean I can’t run races just for fun, or that I don’t enjoy running for what it is.  But I appreciate a race for what it is, a challenge, and I want to be able to bring my best to every race I do.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel a little weird to be almost the only runner I know not participating in this event, but at the same time, I am really pleased with the races I have picked out for the year (more to come on those later) and I have gone with quality over quantity.

What’s your take on this?  Would you rather sign up for a local race despite the crowded course or would you rather travel off the beaten path for a smaller race farther away?  Or would you run the race anyways because it’s tradition?  Do you run races just for fun, or do you want them to reflect your best efforts?

{Source}

Last night’s workout was an easy 2 miles on the treadmill followed by some yummy BLT’s with cheese.  As we ran, I figured I could respond to a few emails that various vendors had sent me throughout the day that I hadn’t had a chance t reply to.  Over the past few years I have mastered the art of texting and running, as long as I am running at a slow enough pace, because after three or four miles I might die of boredom.

Although I am always frowning on reading books or magazines while getting your workout on, I seem to have no problem texting, twittering, and firing away emails as I tick of the miles.  Quite hypocritical of me isn’t it?  But how am I supposed to find time in the day to plan a wedding, work, workout, and eat healthy?  How did people plan weddings before email and smart phones?

Thanks to my short attention span, I am a chronic multitasker (which apparently spell check says, is not a word).  I am always doing about 5 things at once, and while I always tell myself its great that I get so much done at once, am I really putting my full focus and effort on the task at hand?  Is multitasking helping, or is it really hurting me?

Well, how many times have you dropped your phone/ipod/water/something else while running on the treadmill because you were trying to do too many things at once?  How many times have you almost tripped because you were trying to watch the TV at the gym that’s placed at a funny angle from the treadmill.  And seriously, when was the last time you left your headphones and watch at home and just enjoyed how great a run really feels.  This doesn’t exactly apply to the treadmill because it is the eternal wheel of boredom,  but for something I tend to be so proud for accomplishing, I really need to stop.

So tonight maybe I won’t event take my phone to the gym.  Maybe I’ll learn to set aside a half hour a day to write emails to vendors and such.  Maybe.  I’m not making any promises here kids.

Do you ever feel like you are taking your multitasking too far?  How do you get yourself to focus on one task at a time?

Confession – I have some really random workout habits and quirks.  I know you’re laughing right now because you can relate.

Long sleeve tech tees and I are NOT friends – What I am talking about is mostly the tech shirts you get for races.  I think they are awesome for layering.  They are great for cold outside runs when you need to say warm.  But I find the fit too loose, the neckline too small (see below #2) and the sleeves too short.  Something about them just doesn’t sit right with me.  I’d rather wear something tight fitting

I cut the neckband out of all my T-shirts – You know the saying “cotton is rotten”? Well I agree with it 100%.  But I also have this other saying that goes a little something along the lines of  ”Hey Sara you probably shouldn’t max out your credit card on all those workout tops.”  Aka when it comes to some of my shorter runs in spring like weather, or all of the times that I’m at the gym, I wear a T-shirt.  Because I have about 50 of them.  And I have the neckband cut out of every single one.  I don’t like to feel like I am being strangled my my shirt while I am running.

(I seem to have a lot of quirks about clothes…)

I do random bursts exercise during the day –  Like plie squats while brushing my teeth, or leg raises at work.  I can’t help it, I have a hard time sitting still as it is so if I’m up and moving around I might as well throw some exercise in the mix right?

Sloshing water drives me bonkers – As in water sloshing around in my water bottle that I carry as I run.  Because of this I went way to long with out carrying water with me on long runs.  I would either drop bottles along my route, or plan a route that had ample water fountains.  The last thing I need when I’m trying to zone out and run is to be interrupted by splashing water.  Unfortunaly the other last thing I need is to be dehydrated, so last year after much water bottle carrying practice I was able to come this one oddity.

I like to run in the “drivers seat” – When ever I run with someone else, I tend to like to be the one on the right, aka, drivers seat.  Unless you are in one of those countries that they drive on opposite sides of the road and then I guess I’d be the passenger.  But here in America… Driver.

What are your weird workout quirks?

Oh yea, that would be me.

In the middle of the winter, and not on one of those fabulously spring like days either.  Nope.  I wore shorts on a (just barely) 40 degree morning.

Busy weekends mean being flexible with your running plans, so the five miles Ralph and I had planned for Saturday morning had to be pushed to Sunday morning while we were staying with his parents.  While packing up all my running gear, I made the odd choice to throw shorts into our bag.  There was no logical reason to do this, I guess I just felt like being tough.  I had no idea what the weather was going to be, so no matter how cold it was I would be stuck with shorts.  Luckily I made up for this by packing lots of tops to layer up with.

Ideas like this never seem to hit me as poorly planned until it comes time to execute them, and as we walked out the front door this morning to head out for our run I was having serious outfit regret.

It.  Was.  Freezing.

40 degrees probably doesn’t sound that cold, but there was a chilly wind whipping through the neighborhood and I was with out gloves.  Even though it was cold, I was bound and determined to get this run in.

The funny thing was, after the first few minutes I realized “It can’t get any worse than this”.  Sure it was cold, but it wasn’t suddenly going to get any colder.  In fact my body just might warm up, and it wasn’t going to be that bad.

Sure I might have been crazy for deciding to wear shorts in weather more suited for tights.  But at the end of the day it really wasn’t that bad.  Ralph and I had a great run, figuring out lots of wedding details along the way, and five miles flew by like nothing.  There are a lot of mornings I dread getting out of bed because of the cold.  When you’re tucked into a warm toasty bed it’s hard to hard to convince yourself to leave that and go out into the cold.  I need to remind myself it’s not really as bad as I think it is.  It’s only cold.  Layer up, get out there and go.

It sounds so simple, but telling myself it can’t really get any worse really made a difference on my mindset.  Once I realized it wasn’t going to get any worse, I just went on with the run.  Sometimes the things that hold you down are all in your mind, and the only way you have to push through and keep going.

Do you dread cold morning runs?  Are you crazy like me and wear shorts in the winter?

Sometimes, you just need to skip a run to go to a sporting event with your fiance and his brother.  I’d say it was a night well spent.  Add to the fact that it was dollar hot dog night, and I was in heaven.

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.  I disagree.  It’s definitely through sports tickets.  See how excited he is?

OMG there is a Flyers logo on my chest! OMGOMGOMG YAY FLYERS!

We may or may not have been making fun of people who instantly grab and shake the logo on their shirts when they get on camera.

Happy Friday!!

It’s always the hardest thing to admit to yourself that maybe, just maybe, you aren’t as strong on your own as you thought you were.

That’s not to say I don’t know a lot, and haven’t helped a lot of people, but nothing can make up for the knowledge that time and experience can teach.        When I first became a certified coach, a really big part of me wanted to take some time to coach on my own and really get a feel for what I was doing, and to prove to myself that I was good at this.  I put a lot of pressure on myself to know everything all at once and wanted to see what I could do, both for myself and for others.  Typical.  I am super stubborn and must fail miserably at something, and even then it takes a lot for me to crawl back and ask for the dreaded H word.  ”HELP!”

The good news is, it didn’t have to come to miserable failure for me to seek out some advice.  I’ve just been noticing that the past few weeks have been a roller coaster ride of, “Oh my gosh I am so motivated I am going to CRUSH this 5k in March I-can’t-freaking-wait”, to “Work was miserable, I can’t even fathom moving from this couch nevermind putting on workout clothes and getting to the gym, I swear I’ll run tomorrow”.  The guilt I collect from all my lazy days always add up to be more than enough to push me into a few good workouts, but is that really enough for me?  Simply put, it’s not.  It’s not what I want, it’s not the right thing to do, and the longer I keep doing this the more and more disappointed in myself I am going to get.

I was chatting with one of my runners about something or other, when I had this incredible moment of clarity.  Yes I know a lot about running, and I am able to come up with great training plans, and give out great advice.  But just because I am smarter now than I was a year ago, doesn’t change the fact that there are a lot of people out there who have been coaching longer, and know more.  It’s just a matter of time.  I have to be patient, I can’t expect it to all just happen overnight.  I shouldn’t have to do this all on my own when there are people I know I can reach out to.

So I sent Jack a message.  Just asking for help made me feel better.  Like I was on the right track to getting somewhere.  And he wrote back saying he’d be happy to give me the kick in the butt I really needed for my upcoming race, I was overjoyed.

Even coaches need coaches sometimes.

xx Sara