"wait... maybe I should have had breakfast."

“OK… Here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed.

One winner. 42 losers. I eat losers for breakfast.

Breakfast. Wait, maybe I should have had breakfast. ”

I’m going to start eating breakfast.

Fascinating, I know.

I am not a breakfast eater. I never have been. And some days, that has meant going for a run at noon on an empty stomach. And I’ve felt great before, during and after. In fact, my first half marathon distance training run was at 1 in the afternoon, and I hadn’t eaten anything all day, and I felt great.

So, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

Well, I didn’t start this whole journey to become a runner. I started it to become the “me” who had been missing for a while. The “me” who has always been there, but had been hanging back for a while, letting other things take center stage, as other things sometimes need to do. And it wasn’t about “getting happy,” because I’ve always been a pretty happy person. It was more about “getting intentional.” Doing things with purpose, rather than just continuing to do what I’ve always done.

To be honest, the reason I started working out with such purpose is because I knew I need to make some changes regarding my health, and dieting just wasn’t an option. I’ve come a long way since last April, and while I’ve never officially dieted, I have changed my diet in many ways for the better. Just simple changes like eating more fruit and vegetables, fewer simple carbs, and while I don’t call myself a “vegetarian” because I really have no moral or ethical stake in the matter, I couldn’t tell you the last time I ate meat. If the right meat presented itself, I’d be all over it in a heartbeat, but at least in the last couple of months I haven’t felt it, and haven’t missed it.

Signing up for this Dopey Challenge has been less about the actual running, and more about continuing my journey of learning about myself. As part of that, I’ve committed to really learning about proper nutrition, and, if I’m gonna do this, a runner’s diet. I spent a lot of time this week just scratching the surface—there is SO MUCH to learn about food and how it works to fuel your body! It’s kind of overwhelming. So I had to take a step back, or I’d never get started.
I decided to approach nutrition in kind of the same way I did fitness: one step at a time.

When I started working out, my entire training routine was this:

one hour on the elliptical.

That’s what I did. Every day. And I was really happy with that! It was something I could wrap my brain around, and I lost 30 pounds in 4 months without making myself crazy. It worked for me. Then I went for a run in Central Park, and got hooked. And then I had to learn about resting. I signed up for a 5K, then a half marathon, then a sprint triathlon, and had to learn all about different kinds of training. But it all started with just one simple thing.

I’ve read so many different things about nutrition and fueling long runs this week. My hero, Jeff Galloway, has told me it’s fine to skip breakfast or just have a cup of coffee and maybe a half a banana before a run. I’d sort of been hanging on to that. But when I’m faced with a bunch of different information from different sources, I’ve learned to look for the common threads—that’s usually where the truth lies. And with nutrition, other than drinking lots of water (which I already do!) the one thing that jumped out at me from every direction was “eat breakfast.” So I’m going to start with that.

I realised I have two stumbling blocks when it comes to thinking about breakfast: I love breakfast food, but don’t usually have time in the morning to cook what I’d want to have; and I’m always reluctant to “spend” all those calories first thing in the morning! But I’ve read a lot that says you don’t have to have a huge breakfast for it to be beneficial, so I’m going to try small and simple. Some protein and either fruit or even vegetables. I never feel like I can eat enough vegetables, so I’m going to experiment with getting a jump on that in the morning.

I’ve gotten along fine all these years not being a breakfast person. I’m more like Piglet here:

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh.  ”What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.

I don’t wake up thinking about breakfast (some of my kids do!). I wake up thinking about what exciting things the day will have for me. And I’m hoping that incorporating breakfast will help me be better prepared for ALL the excitement. I bet Pooh’s right, it really IS the same thing.

How about you, do you eat breakfast? What’s your favorite meal that helps you “rise and shine”?

yes, I am Dopey


"You’re mad, bonkers, off your head. But I tell you a secret. All the best people are."

So, I ran this half marathon on Sunday… it was pretty awesome.  But before that happened, there was madness.  ‘Cause that’s how my life is. 

When I was training for my first half marathon, I ran into a moving SUV about 7 weeks before the race.  I was sidelined for a few weeks, but in the end Iwas able to run the race.  Training didn’t go as planned, but the weekend of the race, I had all my ducks in a row: good food, relaxation, peace, and quiet.  I was by myself in Disney World, and for a few days, I was able to do whatever I wanted (or not).  That’s pretty rare for me. 

A race weekend here in Raleigh goes more like this:  Out late on Friday night catching up with a friend, up early on Saturday for a yoga retreat (ok, that’s also rare, and it was awesome!), then Saturday afternoon: Birthday Party!!  My five-year-old niece and I share a birthday, and I LOVE celebrating with her.  This year it was an Alice in Wonderland theme, complete with the Mad Tea Party and at least a dozen kids! 

I intended to be careful about what I ate, really, I did.  But it was a MAD TEA PARTY!  And there were cupcakes:

I only had one cupcake, but the frosting… O  M  G!   As luck would have it, the kids sitting near me did not share my passion for the frosting, so I was happy to help out.  I’m pretty sure I had the frosting equivalent of at least 6 cupcakes!  Then, it’s my family, so we always hang around too late.  Got home after 10, and we still hadn’t walked (my kids and I walk a mile every day… some days it’s a challenge).  So, we walked, got home before 11, and I was thinking I’d still get a little more than 6 hours of sleep (for me, that’s very good!) 

Then the power went out.  Our power hasn’t gone out since 2001—we’re on the same grid with three nursing homes, it just doesn’t happen.  This inspires my daughter to launch into “Blackout” from In The Heights, so now I’ve got that stuck in my head!  (“has anyone seen Benny?...”)  I set the alarm on my phone, and had just dozed off when the power came on—and so did all the lights, the TV, the flashing alarm clock…

I finally got to sleep, slept like a rock (as I do) and woke up to the alarm(s) at 5, but I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed until 6, and we had to leave at 6:30.  Instead of a leisurely breakfast, 30 minutes of yoga and then foam rolling like I did in Disney, it was a pretty quick foam roll, no yoga, and an apple and almond butter in the car on the way.  Not the ideal meal to eat while driving.  My son: “um, Mom, since we’re out of the neighborhood, do you think you should drive with BOTH hands?”

And did I mention the weather?  The forecast for Sunday was gorgeous, but at 7am?  45 degrees.  Colder than when we ran on New Year’s Day!  At least it wasn’t raining…

None of this was how I would plan to prepare for a half marathon, but it’s my real life. 

And the race was awesome!  After about 5 minutes, I didn’t feel the cold, I had my Camelbak, so plenty of water, and the course was gorgeous and FLAT!  I was able to find myself an opening where I felt like I was pretty much out there alone, just me and my music, and aside from a little concern about getting lost, it was heavenly!  I did easy 2:1 intervals, and wound up finishing with my best half marathon time yet! 

Today, I’m feeling great!  I was looking forward to a quiet day of relaxing and rest from training, until I get this message about race registration!  Yikes!  I hadn’t really even decided what I was going to do yet!  I had made up my mind to go for the Goofy Challenge—a half and a full back to back—when they announced the Dopey Challenge!  5K, 10K, half, full… six medals.  DOPEY!    

I could explain all the crazy reasons and why it makes sense for me, but the bottom line is this: I got the idea in my head that I’d like to try, and couldn’t convince myself to walk away from it. 

When I started to write this post, I wanted a quote from Dopey himself.  Then I realised Dopey never said much.  But here’s what Happy had to say:

Happy:  This is Dopey.  He don’t talk none.

Snow White:  You mean he can’t talk? 

Happy:  He don’t know, he never tried. 

That pretty well sums up why I’m going for the Dopey Challenge.  I have a bunch of “rational” reasons for thinking I can do it, but the reality is, when I first signed up for the Princess Half, I did all the math, counted the weeks, and knew I could get to that distance.  Turns out, I wasn’t following the plan that included running into a moving SUV.  Even with all the math and training, in the end, I had to go with Plan B.  I’m hoping to steer clear of moving vehicles from now on, but no matter what I set out to do, there’s no telling what might cross my path.  I can think I “know” how things are going to play out, but the truth is this:

I’ll never know if I never try. 

Thank you, Dopey.  

all over the place

“I could go running and racing and dancing and chasing and leaping and bounding hair flying heart pounding and splashing and reeling and finally feeling… now's when my life begins!”

Yeah, that line from my girl, Rapunzel, pretty much describes this past week of training.  Honestly, it’s a fairly accurate picture of any given week in my life, which is why I love Rapunzel—she’s all over the place with energy and excitement about what’s ahead! 

That’s me—all over the place! 

The weekend after finishing the half marathon, I ran an 8K and a really short (1/8 mile) Kilt Run with a friend, and then enjoyed some short easy running days.  Recovering, I was.  Losing focus, I was.   I truly enjoy running, but my life is filled with a wide range of possible distractions and I quickly realised I need a goal, a target to shoot for, or all the other things creep in and take over and I start to get squirrely. 

I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next, but going through the mail that piled up while I was out of town, I found this postcard.

I have a bunch of friends who've said they want to start running, so this looked perfect for us.  There are about a dozen of us registered, and everyone is rocking their training!  I’m really looking forward to crossing that finish line with all these amazing women!

  

I was also looking at a few different races trying to decide what was next for me—another half?  a full marathon?  A friend found a Diva Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach that promised to be a fun moms’ weekend, but the timing and travel were going to be tricky for me.  Then, in the midst of this interminable NC winter, we were blessed with a pretty Saturday and my daughter suggested a bike ride.  

I posted this photo on Facebook, and a friend asked if there was a triathlon in my future.  

www.ramblinroseevents.com

My wheels started turning, and within 24 hours, I was registered and studying training plans! 

Then, I came across this:

I love the medal, I love that is says “Raleigh Rocks,” the timing works well with my triathlon, it’s local, and a friend’s band is going to playing along the race route.  Could it BE any more perfect??? 

So, yes, 3 events happening in the next several weeks.  Overlapping training schedules, and just to keep it interesting, let’s throw in some swimming and biking.  Crazy!  Just the way I like it!

This was last week’s challenge:

Triathlon Training

swim 55 minutes (25 + 30)

bike 75 minutes (30 + 45)

run 55 minutes (25 + 30)

one day= swim 25, bike 30,

two rest days

PLUS, Half Marathon Training

long run = 14 miles (before I start to taper)

Triathlon training calls for one swim/bike day.  I also did a run/bike day so that I could do my long run on its own, and have two rest days afterward.  It made for a crazy week for me, taking off Wednesday and Thursday.  I usually get a little nuts after one day of not running, but that 14 mile run was clearly the mega-dose of vitamin D (it was an absolutely gorgeous day!) and endorphins I needed to survive a mid-week 2-day rest.  I also do some kind of yoga every day—either an hour-long class or just 20 minutes at home. 

It was all good until Friday. I had coffee with a dear friend. She’s a teacher at a year-round school, and I only get to see her 4 times a year—during her school breaks.  Coffee lasted 6 hours.  (no joke)  It was lovely.  It was also a really chilly day, and when I started thinking about running, I also started negotiating with myself.  This is what I do when it’s cold.  I come up with all sorts of very reasonable arguments and alternate running plans.  But on a Friday afternoon, when I still had some swimming and biking to fit in, there was no time for Plan B.  (And the forecast for the weekend wasn’t promising, either!)

Some days, I need to put my inner voice on mute, lace up my shoes, put in my headphones and GO. 

As I was negotiating with myself, I thought about January, and how happy I would have been to run on a 50 degree day in January.  This particular January, I would have been happy just to be able to get out and run, regardless of the weather.  I missed a lot of running days in January.  But I didn’t have to miss this day.  I went, and I’m so glad I did.  Because as it turned out, it was beautiful.

would you rather? (runner's edition)

Have you ever played this game?

We are major board game fans here, and when I saw this post today over at Olive to Run, I was excited to play along! 

The Questions:


1. Would you rather run a 5k or a marathon?

I have to cheat and say half marathon.  I do enjoy running 5Ks, but my thing is distance.  I’m not fast, but at the right pace with the right rhythm, some days I feel like I could run forever.  I haven’t actually done a marathon (yet) so I don’t know for sure… 
I might hate it.  
It’s not likely.  
I’ll find out in January… maybe even before then. 

 

2. Would you rather run in the heat of summer or the icy winter?


Heat of summer, no contest.  I’ll take hot, humid, even a thunderstorm any day.  This first winter of running for me has been the coldest, nastiest one I can remember here.  If it wasn’t bad enough here, I spent most weekends in January and February in cold cities like New York, Syracuse, and Chicago.  Even had to make peace with the treadmill.  
I will be so happy to see it warm up, if it ever does.  
The groundhog and I are not on good terms at the moment. 

3. Would you rather have new running shoes or a new running outfit?


A new outfit.  I get very attached to my sneakers, and hate to even think about replacing them.  But I’m always ready for a cute new Running Skirt! 

4. Would you rather run alone or in a group?


Alone. 

I love people and love to be around people more than anything.  There is nothing better than sitting and chatting with a friend—I could do that for HOURS and often do.  I love human interaction, crave it some days.  If given the choice, I’d usually choose being with people over being alone.  

But when I run, I run alone.  I like to go at my own pace, listen to music, stop to take pictures when I want to stop to take pictures, and run longer just because I feel like it. 
I do enjoy running with friends, but in my mind it’s really a “visit” and I’ll do my training run another time.  
Alone.

5. Would you rather run next to someone in a race who tries to talk to you constantly or someone who breathes heavy and grunts?


I’ll take the talker!  (see number 4, above.)  As long as they don’t mind if I mostly listen, I don’t mind if they talk.  Frankly, someone who loves to talk, I imagine we’d become fast friends.
 

6. Would you rather run a race because of the convenience (location, price, travel) or the swag?


In real life, convenience.  It’s hard for me to travel for a race with all the other things I’m juggling.  But I won’t lie… I love an awesome medal, and plan to finish ALL of the Disney races!

7. Would you rather run a race with a group of friends or by yourself?


With friends.  When I train, I prefer to run alone.  But on race day, it’s all for fun.  I’ll never set records, so as long as the group of friends is of the same mindset—in it for the joy of the experience—I’d much rather run with a group and enjoy it together!

8. Would you rather run a PR but result in an injury or finish strong and missing a PR?


Definitely finish strong.  Don’t care much about PRs, but I’ve been injured once and don’t care to go thru that process again if I can avoid it. 

9. Would you rather eat a big meal the night before or a big meal after a race?


The night before.  I usually run best on an empty stomach, not much of a breakfast person. When I finished my first half, I thought I wanted food, but after half a banana, I realised what I really wanted was just a hot shower!! 
  

10. Would you rather be chased by a swarm of bees or a pack of dogs?

Seriously??  I’m going to say bees, and I’m allergic to bees!  But I think the dogs could do a lot more damage, and I might have a shot at evading the bees, or at least running to the nearest dose of Benadryl!

What would YOU rather do?

Choose one, two, three, or all and share your would you rather.

choose happy

If I could give everyone one bit of advice about starting any kind of fitness routine, it would be this: do something that makes you happy! 

I’m not kidding.  I know everyone has different opinions on things like this, and this is just mine.  I’m not qualified to give medical advice, but other than talking to a doctor, I think this is the most important thing you can do to put yourself on a path to success.

I am not a “run through pain” kind of girl.   Never have been.  And I didn’t start this whole journey by lacing up my running shoes and running a 5K.  FAR FROM IT!  If I had, this whole deal would have been over LONG ago.  As a matter of fact, I only started working out because I needed to lose some weight (OK, a LOT of weight) and I can’t stand to diet!!  But before I even started working out, I had to get myself to a place where I could just make time to do something every day—something for me. 

I started out walking.  One mile a day with my kids. (sometimes more, but most days, just one was all we could squeeze in.)  I didn’t have grand visions or plans, I was just trying to do something EVERY day.  My goal wasn’t to lose weight or get in shape, it was consistency.  Some days it was a struggle to find time, some days it was cold, or rainy, and a couple of days there were even TORNADO warnings (hello, NC in springtime)  We called them “tomato warnings,” we laughed, and we walked anyway. And we’re always busy and on different schedules, but we stuck with it, and after 4 months, while I didn’t lose a single pound (in fact, I gained more weight!) it was a great “exercise” in making a plan and sticking to it!  It was also an experience in feeling good about doing something just because I said I was going to do it.  It was nice to be outside every day, it was good to be moving every day—neither of these things were part of my routine at the time.   And I got a TON of positive feedback from friends on Facebook! 

I’ll tell you this:  if you want to make a change in your life, announce it on Facebook.   Then, when you’re having a bad day and think about giving up, you also have to think about all those people who cheered you on, and know they’ll know you’re giving up.   If you’re like me, that’ll be enough to keep you going. 

It may sound silly or too simple, but all that positive feedback – first from others and eventually in my own head - was the first piece of the puzzle for me.  From there, I had just enough momentum to get myself into the gym.  And I didn’t start out with weights or in yoga class.  It was blinders on, straight to the elliptical, the only thing I knew how to do.  It had taken me a while, but I got to where I could last an hour on one (it doesn’t happen overnight, but I kept at it every day, just 5 minutes, then 15, then 30… ).  It does happen a lot faster than you’d think.   I did nothing but that elliptical for 4 and a half months.  And I didn’t love it at first—you’d see me, on that elliptical, watching Food Network, checking Facebook, texting friends, anything to keep my brain happy while my body worked.  Over time, I got to where I loved the feeling of working hard and sweating, and all I needed was music to keep me motivated and happy, but it took TIME for me to get to that point.  In the process, I lost 25 lbs. and that’s about when I started running. 

Even when I started running, it was going to be a “one-time” thing, just to get me through a day in NYC where I had no access to a gym.  I was just looking for a one-hour work out, something more challenging than a walk.  Just for that one day, nothing more.  And just to do that, I needed EXTENSIVE instructions on how I was going to do it, what I’d be thinking about, how I’d make it a whole hour.  I’m talking PAGES of Facebook messages from a very patient friend.  It took me an hour to run/walk 3.5 miles, and it never occurred to me that I’d start running.  It never occurred to me that I’d fall in love with it. 

After I started running, a friend suggested we run 5K.  Ask anyone I talked to back then—it was like I was training for a marathon—I was just that anxious about the whole thing!  I look back now and laugh, but I remember being terrified and worried about every little detail.   I remember a friend who runs marathons saying, “Oh, I love 5Ks, that’s such a fun distance.”  I could not even wrap my brain around that statement.  I was worried about where I was going to stretch, should I “taper” before the race, (I couldn’t even bring myself to call it a “race” back then!!! and taper… if you’re a runner, just try not to laugh..), what if it rained that day, what if they wouldn’t let me use my headphones, what was the crowd going to be like… (600 runners.  At my first half marathon, there were over 20,000…) But I ran with a good friend, which made it FUN!    

A couple weeks after that first 5K, I signed up for a half marathon.  And that’s when I had to change my training plan.  No more elliptical trainer between running days.  So I tried yoga.  Let me just say, for the record, if I was “not a runner”, I was even less a yoga person!  But I wanted something to do on my non-running days, and by now (this was November—11 months into this journey, 7 months of regular workouts, and 45 lbs. lost)  I was feeling much more confident about a lot of things…  Not that I was good at it—I wasn’t.  But I was in a much better place to laugh at myself.  And I had spent the last 11 months realising that I was good at some things, even if I wasn’t good at everything.  That first class, I amused myself (and some others, although there are those who are pretty serious about their yoga… I had to get it together!)  I was the clueless one in class.  But every week I came back, I got a little better.  And eventually, more new people showed up,  and after a while I wasn’t the most awkward person in the room.  In fact, while I’m not naturally very flexible, I’ve got excellent balance—better than the regular instructor.   I’ve gotten better since then, although I still have to work at anything that requires flexibility in my hips or hamstrings.  But I’m a LOT more flexible than I was just a few months ago, and tonight, I got to class a little late and happily took the spot in the front of the room (you know, the one no one else wanted). 

My point in all of this—if you’re in an exercise class and you’re just spending the whole time feeling awful, quit going.  If you’re running and you hate it, stop running.  If you’re lifting weights and it bores you, try something else.  Find something that brings you joy, and makes you happy where YOU are now.  You won’t always be where you are now, but you won’t get anywhere making yourself miserable.  I don’t believe in suffering.  You’ve got to know what makes you happy, what motivates you, what will make you want to keep coming back.  And you don’t have to do everything at once.  Find one thing.  And later you can find some other things.  Just make sure that whatever you’re doing, it’s something that makes you smile.  Otherswise, what’s the point?  

(and if there’s anything I can do to help you find a place to start, please let me know in the comments!)