Goodbye French Fries... We are breaking up... for now.....

After a long hard week, I decided to go do some good ol fashioned retail therapy at JCREW outlets (need some mileage on that new JCREW Credit Card - what a mistake this will be).  While standing in the poorly lit dressing room trying on clothes I could barely afford, I had a mini meltdown.  

I felt about this fat. Inflated blow up Halloween toucan sam fat.

 I was mortified by what I was seeing and decided it was time to ditch the fries and commit to healthier eating habits to help maintain a healthier body weight, image, and a better foundation for running and working out.  

Monday is a fresh start to the week so I decided today was the day.  I woke up at 6:45, put Olive on a leash, put on my new Neon Newtons (if you don't know me, I love anything bright and obnoxiously colored- AKA neon)  and  heading for a long walk downtown to break in my new sneakers.  

( I was very excited about my new shoes and coffee, Olive was less than thrilled about wearing her coat)

I met my friend Chelsea at her apartment and we walked down town.  I knew it was going to be a WONDERFUL day when I saw that my favorite little Coffee Shop, The Captains Cup in Essex ( I know, so cute )  had my favorite flavor: Geneva Chocolate.

I threw some milk and splenda in this wonderful Cup of Joe and contemplating getting another cup to double fist on my way home, but then I remembered my dogs less than ideal leash manners and my white pants that suffered the last time I double fisted coffee. Even Geneva Chocolate isn't worth it.... 

When I returned home I decided it was time for breakfast.  Thanks to Pinterest, I found an AWESOME site that detailed how to make little egg mcmuffin sandwiches you can make ahead of time and freeze. In the morning you can just pop them in the toaster oven and VOILA! easy healthy breakfast. 

 I make mine with whole wheat english muffins, low fat cheddar cheese, turkey, one egg, and lots of siracha.  You can even bake the eggs in muffin tins in the oven. So much easier.....
  Instructions Here!

I also decided lunch was going to have to be healthy and opened the fridge and got to work.  I really need to hit the grocery store but I figured I could make do what what we had left.  

\

I settled on carrots with low fat blue cheese, vanilla yogurt with cinnamon apples, a banana, and oatmeal.  

Dinner is a whole different struggle. 

 One meal at a time!!!

Need some dieting humor?  Get into Thought Catalog
things-i-miss-most-when-on-a-diet
I dont miss a lot of these things.. because I still eat them. I will NEVER GIVE UP COFFEE.

If you dont feel like dieting, or running, then just stay out of JCREW dressing rooms and use PICMONKEY for editing all your photos.  They have an option to SKINIFY yourself, and yes it works.     (you can also make yourself look fatter but I don't know what idiot made up that feature...)

Meeting Chelsea for a run tonight to take the new Newtons for a spin.  

Wish me luck and Happy Running !

N N N NEWTONS!

Its about that time of year again, when the stitching comes undone on my sneakers, and I waltz into the local running store, SOUNDRUNNER, with my credit card and worn out sneakers in hand.  

I have been interested in the Newtons for some time but was always a little hesitant on the price ($160 is a little steep for sneakers).  The bright colors drew me in and the comfort, style, and extra padding at the ball of my foot kept me intrigued.  When Newton and Soundrunner teamed up to host a Newton Demo run...... I decided this was a good time to see if Newtons and I were a match.  

7:30 am on a Saturday morning I dragged myself out of bed, grabbed a water and a banana and headed to the running store.  (I dont understand the breed of person that can run this early, especially on a weekend).  A lovely Newtons rep fitted me in a pair of sneakers and we headed about for a 3(ish) mile run down to Saybrook Point.  

                                      During the group run I tried on a rockin Hot Pink pair.

  While I really liked the shoe, the Newton rep suggested I try the gravity (equally as hot in neon blue and green!) ---they have a little more support in the heel ( I do some serious heel striking toward the end of a long run when I am very tired and very sloppy)  so this shoe would give me the support when I needed it.  

When I saw and felt the Newtons added support in this area, I was really excited to give these sneakers a try.

(Note that Orange cushy goodness at the bottom/middle of the shoe).  

They were a little weird to get used to but all in all I really liked them.  I felt springy, light, and excited about running again :) 

I have been trying to get into this more "natural" form of running and stay away from heel striking.  The makers of the Newton sneaker claim "Newton running is different.  We call it an active running experience that supports and strengthens your natural running motion".  

My ADIDAS Adizero's were a good transition shoe into this more "barefoot style" of running.  I focused on running on the balls of my feet instead of heel striking.  While I felt a large difference in my shins and knees, the balls of my feet were swelling up, most likely due to this new running motion.   I am hoping that these Newtons with that extra support "bump" solves this issue.  Only way to see is to lace them up and hit the roads!

Will Report Back!

Happy Running!

Fall 5k s

There is so much to love about the month of October.  

Pumpkin flavored anything, foliage, cider, slutty costumes, cool nights, bonfires, and 5ks.  

Key to running (for me) is committing to races and running with a group.  To get back on track, I decided to do both on Saturday.  One of my good friends Stacie organized a group costume for the Ivoryton Read Local Run Local 5k.  

High School Track Team was the theme this year so out came the sweat bands and tube socks.   

Yes, those are side ponies you see? Maybe we were 80s track stars?

Olive came to cheer on the track team- And I had a good number- 60 !

  I was amazed at how hard the race felt.  I had run a half marathon just a month ago so I figured this 5k would be a breeze.  WRONG-  2 miles of the race were in the woods on trails which were hilly, steep, and rooty (is that even a word?). 

 By the time I hit that 3.1 mark I felt like I had been running for days- Thank god for those sweat bands-   Looks like I need to get in better shape...

The running may have felt a little tough and it wasn't my best 5k time, BUT we won the best group costume- third year in a row for Stacie! Thanks for a great race girls!

After receiving our lovely prize (books titled "Houses of Essex") I raced home threw Bradley on the horse trailer, and headed to Lyme for a lesson. 

 Per usual he was absolutely amazing.  My legs were a little tired from the 5k but we had a wonderful lesson regardless!!  Because I think im superwomen I continued to ride 3 more horses, and then drove home like a crazy women to change for the afternoons festivities. No rest for the wicked....

Chelsea, Christine, Thatcher, Chris, Bobby and I headed to Lyman Orchards for some ol' fashioned apple and pumpkin picking. It was a gorgeous day, 70 and sunny for October.

I was very excited and very posey-  Dont hate. 

We had such a good time and it was a good idea to keep on moving after putting my poor stems through a hilly 5k and riding four horses.  


The girls and I decided to schedule in some group night runs to keep us motivated and running.  Chelsea and I hit the pavement for an easy 4 miles on Monday night donned in our loserville reflective vests and headlamps.  Hoping I can keep motivated and commit a few more days to the run this week! Time to find an upcoming race to sign up for.

Happy Running 
&
Happy Fall! 

Sneakers, Tall boots, and Fins

I always find myself a little burnt out after a race.  This race was no exception.  Between horseback riding, scuba diving, and running that half, I had a pair of tired legs.  I got two dives in this week, rode 4 days this week and ran once.   Can you see where my dedication is lacking?  I decided to not worry about running this week and enjoy some of my other hobbies, diving and riding.

(I love love love lobsters :)

Thankfully riding and diving have proven themselves as a good workout and a nice alternative to running.  This weekend I found myself in Gloucester Massachusetts for a diving and drinking adventure.

Saturday morning I met my dive buddy Tom in East Lyme and we made the 3 hour (ish) drive to Gloucester MA.  The "big kids" were doing a boat dive for scallops while Tom and I did two shore dives.  The visibility was breathtaking, the sea life was abundant, and the water was FREEZING.

After the dive I headed back to the hotel room, took a hot shower, and got dressed for a night on the town.  A few beers and a lot of Jack Daniels later I was bouncing around the bar in denial of my early wake up call to make it back to CT for a horse show.  Such an amazing night with some amazing new friends led to a less amazing morning racing home to get back in time for my horse show, hang over in tow.

Now that fall is approaching and the temperature is dropping, horse showing and diving are slowing down.  That means it is time to boost my running schedule.  Winter is my favorite time of the year to run.  Anyone else love running when the thermometer drops below 50?

Another 13.1

I am the kind of gal who needs some serious motivation to run....sometimes its an upcoming race and sometimes its the piece of pie waiting for me on the kitchen counter.  

When I hit my summer running rut in June I decided to find a local race to help get me back in the grove of running.  I found the Niantic Bay Half Marathon and 5k in September and decided to set my standards high and signed up for the Half marathon.  

Training was basically non existent.  I forced myself to get out there for a 2 miler here, a 3 miler there,  I even hit 6 miles one day out of the blue.  When August rolled around and I had not run in a few weeks, I talked to my friend Stacie who had been training regularly and also signed up for the Niantic Bay half as well.   She had just come back from her 8 mile run.  Welll.... if you did so should I- so I laced up my sneakers for an excruciatingly slow (11 minute miles) 8 mile run the following morning. 

The next weekend Stacie and I had another conversation about our training habits.  She had just conquered a hilly TEN mile run.  Once again I started to feel guilty, so I laced up my sneakers and hit the road.   

I didn't even get out there until 8, and I had not eaten since lunch.  I was amazed at how easy this run felt.  10 miles came faster than I thought.  Once I hit that beautiful double digit I knew I was back in the game.  This was my first double digit run since my Half Marathon in April :)

Finally it was Half Marathon Weekend.  Instead of staying in and resting, I went scuba diving with my dive buddy Tom in Rhode Island.  While we had a great dive, this made for some very tired legs on Sunday morning.  

I went to bed at about 8:30 Saturday night after eating my bowl of boxed pasta and cold sauce right out of the jar.  Sunday morning I had some toast and peanut butter, took the dog for a walk, and managed to get a lovely swelling bee sting on my right ankle.  Just what an under-trained runner needs to start off her race.  I  loaded up on antihistamines and met Stacie and Tracey at the start line.  

Stacie and I ran the first few miles together and kept a pretty good pace under 9 minute miles.  After a few miles we went out separate ways so we could spend the race running at our own comfortable paces.  The first 6 miles I kept under 9 minute miles and I was feeling good.  Miles 7, 8, 9, and 10 ranged from sub 9 to 9:30, even after attempting to stomach a chocolate mint flavored gu.  11, 12 and 13 reminded me that I would never be able to run a full marathon as this was the half way point and I felt like I was crawling.  I truly felt like I had nothing left and my lack of training was rearing its ugly head.  I originally went into the race with the goal of just finishing, but the day before I decided I wanted to run a sub 2 hour half marathon....

Which I missed by 54 seconds. 

Photo credit to Island Photography 

I was super bummed about missing my goal by 46 seconds (going by watch time), but I then remembered that my last half marathon time was 2:07 and I managed a PR without really training.  Imagine what I can do if I actually train. 

Next 13.1..... Ill get you!  I guess I am hooked......

Anyone else PR when you lease expected it? Or run their best race after being VERY under-trained?