Epicurious Runner

Happy Saturday!

After a rough week (minus the HOOD TO COAST announcement) I am feeling a thousand times better today! My mind was not in a good place all week, so let’s hope today is the start of getting back to normal.

Derek and I had plans to wake up today and grab a juice for breakfast. We have been eating very poorly recently and we are on our way to cleansing our systems. We had a few errands to do first, including stopping at the gym so I could test out my lower back/butt and how it would feel on a bike. I am attending my very first SoulCycle class tomorrow and I DO NOT want to miss it. Luckily, I couldn’t feel any pain and if anything, being on a bike made me feel better! I figured it was just the impact that was making my lower back hurt, but I wanted to be sure.

Anyway, it’s been a full week since injuring my back and even though it’s still sore, I feel like I am finally making progress. I admit, I didn’t really do any stretching or much of anything to try and help it all week. The pain was very up and down and I couldn’t figure out if it was actually getting better or not. The pain initially started in my lower back and has now settled into my glutes and I am convinced they are super tight and that’s why I hurt. I read something that said tight glutes cause lower back pain, so it’s definitely starting to makes sense.

And after having an awesome glue stretching session at the gym, I can already feel a difference. So while I still can’t run just yet, I am going to focus on stretching the heck out of my butt all week. I also have plans to run 11 miles next Sunday with my friend Jeremy, so I better be able to run!

It felt so good to work up a sweat after a whole week of doing nothing. I promise to not be lazy this week! I biked, lifted some weights, and stretched a whole bunch. PUMPED for SOULCYCLE tomorrow!

  

Hope y’all have a good rest of your weekend!

The New Plan

(Click to enlarge)

It was time to make a new schedule. I thought I would be able to survive just working out freely without any specific plan, but I can see now that that’s not going to work. Besides the More/Fitness Women’s half in 2 weeks, I don’t have anymore long races coming up for quite a while.

I am going to focus on getting my ass into good shape! After not PR-ing, I’ve decided that I need to do more strength training. In the past, it has helped me a lot and I know it makes a difference in my running. Most weeks I will be doing it twice a week and focusing on the quality of the workout to make sure I get the most out of it.

I’ve also upped my Tempo speeds since my runs are going to be shorter overall. I’m planning on maintaining a 10 mile long run, so that by the time July rolls around and NYC Marathon training begins, I will already have a good base under my belt.

This starts on Monday!

I’m racing the Colon Cancer Challenge 15K on Sunday and I’m so excited to be upgraded to a new number and color for my corral! This was thanks to my 4 mile PR at the Gridiron Classic in February. It’s had to believe that was my last NYRR race.

Yay, for being a 3!

FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD

I was home sick from work today, I’ve been suffering from a nasty cold. I woke up, got around and then found myself on the couch with zero energy left. I decided to call in to work, take some more NyQuil and head back to dreamland on the couch.

I woke up feeling groggy, but a hell of a lot better. I figured now was the time to get some movie watching in on the flicks that I knew Derek wouldn’t be too interested in watching.

First up; Spirit of the Marathon

I hadn’t heard much about this film, but it had nearly 5 starts on Netflix, so that’s gotta mean something right?

This documentary first of all, was really well made! The concept of the ‘overweight to healthy transformation’ has already been done several times, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. As you can tell by the title of this post, this is the film that stood out to me the most.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and even though I am not overweight or that unhealthy, I got a lot out of it. It was super inspiring to see the journey that these men went through and how it bettered their life.

In the beginning of the film, I had an idea of replacing my morning coffees with fresh juice, but by the end, I was convinced that a 10 day juice fast would be extremely beneficial. One thing at a time though, I don’t even have a juicer! It definitely makes me want to drink more juice!

I also really enjoyed the animated segments, they were not only fun and light hearted, but they did a great job helping to explain certain things that would be otherwise difficult to understand.

This was my favorite one: Cells

I’m terrible at film reviews, so I’m sorry if this is boring. But, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND everyone to watch FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD. It’s a very well made and super inspiring documentary that will stick with you for a while.

I was slightly annoyed when I visited the website for the film though, it looks like a big advertisement for the Breville juicer. Looking back on the film, I could sense the gimmicky juicer ad in there, but unfortunately I guess that’s to be expected.

Where The Hell Have I Been?

Sorry, sorry, sorry!

I really have no excuses for why I haven’t blogged, except for a lack of motivation. I feel it coming back though, so that’s a good thing! I’ve been working on a couple of honeymoon recaps over on IReallyLikeFood if you want to check them out.

I feel bad that I haven’t recapped the actual wedding yet, but it’s hard without pictures. I do have some pictures so I am going to start working with what I’ve got. I don’t want to forget it, so I know I have to do it now or never.

I have been really struggling with my running and just being overall healthy. I feel myself slowly (okay quickly) falling back into my very old habits of eating poorly and not exercising! I hate it.

I Heart Sweat

Today was another day where I did not wake up and run. I am dying to get my running mojo back, but I can’t figure out what’s wrong or where it went for that matter. Today my stomach felt off, it mostly felt like it was filled with junk food and that is not a good feeling. I’m considering doing a 3 day fruit/veggie diet, but I’m not sure if I can actually pull that off. Anyone out there ever done that or have any advice on if it helps or not?

I feel like I need to cut all processed and unnatural sugar from my diet for a little while.

Tonight after work, I attended an event at JackRabbit Sports put on by the fabulous Ali. She was there to promote her Run For the Rabbit campaign where she is raising money for the Crohn’s and Colitis foundation. So happy to finally meet you Ali! I had a great time and met a lot of fun people.

I bought this shirt! Isn’t it awesome All proceeds go her fundraiser. I also bought some raffle tickets and played some trivia. I only stayed for 2 rounds of trivia, but I did answer 2 questions right! I of course got the Full House question! I know every Full House episode ever! So proud.

Anyway, hopefully my awesome new shirt will motivate me to get my lazy butt out of bed tomorrow morning to go for a run.

Brussel Sprouts FTW

Tonight for dinner, I sauteed brussel sprouts in this tiny pan in some olive oil and then I sprinkled some of this fancy new salt and pepper over it. We picked these up at Trader Joe’s the other day, we were in desperate need of salt and pepper and we don’t have a real grinder for either, so we always end up buying throw away ones.

We also picked up these Curry Chicken Tenders, which I was super excited to try.

Unfortunately, they were somewhat disappointing. They didn’t cook as smoothly as I had hoped, probably because I need a bigger skillet. They came out kind of dry and I was hoping they would be a little more saucy. I can’t really put my finger on it, but they were definitely a little disappointing .

The brussel sprouts however, were amazing! I don’t know what I did differently or if they were just extra good ones, but they tasted so sweet and delicious. It was so nice to finally be eating a vegetable again!

I’ve lost 5 pounds over the last month or so, but tonight I’ve realized that it’s probably all muscle weight I really need to start exercising again, well what I mean is I really WANT to start exercising again. I’ve lost my motivation and it’s been extremely hard getting it back. I wish it was easy to just jump right back in. I’ve been feeling very weak and unhealthy lately and the wedding should be a big enough motivator to push me back on the wagon, but apparently it’s not working?

I’m setting a few small goals for the rest of the week and we will go from there.

Goals:

• Run 6 Miles Total
• Upper Body Strength Train (1x)
• Do 20 squats and lunges before bed every night

How do you get back on track after an exercise or running hiatus? Have any tips or tricks?

16 Weeks: Week 1

I have exactly 16 weeks until my first wedding dress fitting. Yikes! I don’t know why, but I am nervous. I know I am by no means fat or overweight, but I am going to be completely honest and open about this from here on out.

I am trying to lose 10 pounds for my wedding. There, I said it. I don’t like to talk about it because I know I don’t HAVE to lose weight, I just want to and I don’t want people to think I’m trying to be unhealthily skinny.

In 2008, I lost a little over 25 pounds and went from 147 to 120. I held on to that 120-124 for about 2 years and then after I ran my marathon, I just stopped. I stopped doing just about everything, I didn’t run, I didn’t work out, I was burnt out, it was winter and we were getting snow dumped on us every week. I gained about 7 lbs since I ran my marathon and since you are supposed to look and feel spectacular on your wedding day, I am striving to get back to that 120.

I know 120 may seem a little low to some people, but I was by no means underweight or too skinny. I was extremely healthy and I felt great, so there is no reason for me not to try and get back to that point for the happiest day of my life.

I weighed 8 pounds less when I got measured for my dress.

I have 16 weeks to literally kick my ass into shape. My main goal of exercise will be running and I’ve been doing pretty well with strength training once a week. I’m currently stuck at 132, I’ve been here for like 6 weeks and it’s driving me crazy.

My friends and I have a little weight loss chart going between us and we have been keeping track every week. I’m also going to share my results on the blog to help hold me accountable, especially since I know have a set date. I would like to think since the weather is warming up, it shall get easier.

3/17/11

Weight: 133.2

Measurements:

Waist: 27″

Hips: 38.5″

Left Thigh: 23″

Right Thigh: 23.5″

Image Source

Veni Vedi Vinaigrette

I made a delicious salad last night for dinner and I even made my own croutons and salad dressing! For the croutons, I cut up  some stale italian bread into small cubes and placed them on a cookie sheet. I then drizzled some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over them and sprinkled some italian seasoning. Then placed into a 350° oven for 10-12 minutes.

• Green and Yellow Peppers
• Mushrooms
• Romaine Lettuce
• Carrots
• Celery
• Tomatoes

The dressing was of course an Alton Brown recipe: Veni Vedi Vinaigrette

I’m trying very hard to eat a lot healthier right now because I have not been eating well at all. I’ve also gained a few pounds over the last few months and it only bothers me because my pants are fitting a little tighter. Like the rest of the world I am setting some weight loss and healthy living goals. I am going to take it slowly and steadily so it will be a lot easier to maintain. I think my new training schedule will give me a nice push in the right direction, exercise wise.

Just to keep things clear though, I only want to shed a few pounds so I can fit into my jeans better. I also need to rid my body of all the junk that I’ve been eating. The best way for me to do this is to eat a lot more fruits and veggies than I have been. It’s really as simple as that. Wish me luck!