My First Half Marathon and Runners are Cool People

WHY DOES TIME GO SO FAST?! It’s been over a week since I got home and I had been fully planning on writing this right away. Now it’s literally 9 days later, and I am a joke. Work’s been definitely busy, and last weekend started a string of travelling weekends that goes until mid-February. Being a person who would never intentionally fill every waking moment, this is a lot for me. Not to say I fill every waking moment- or many moments at all for that matter- productively.  In addition, I drove to North Jersey (actually NYC as I missed my exit and had to loop into NYC and back… EZ Pass bill for days), several places in Jersey, and home all in a matter of three days. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing my highway driving firsthand, this trip was an incredible act of bravery on my part. Am I making excuses for not writing this post earlier? I don’t even remember the point of this anymore. Well anyway, I got to see lots of friends in New York and escaped right before Snowmageddon aka the Great Dusting of 2015. Seriously, I woke up this morning and there wasn’t even a layer on the road. So much for a snow day! Although I am headed to Boston tomorrow night and they got slammed, so hopefully my plane can land. On the phone with my Grandma last night she told me “Don’t even bother going. If you’re up in a plane and they can’t land, you have no chance. You’ll never make it down.” So if no one hears from me in a couple days I’m probably living out my last days in the skies above Boston, because that’s how it works.

Anywho, the Sunday before last my dad and I went to Phoenix to run the Rock’n’Roll half marathon and 10k! I took lots of pictures, so you can have a respite from my usual giant block of text. You are welcome. We landed Friday night, and got a full day of awesomeness on Saturday. It was 65-70 degrees, sunny, 0% humidity. Why does anyone live anywhere else?

Dad and I got up early and headed to the race expo in downtown Phoenix. AWESOME expo- they even had a little sign making station for people who would be cheering runners on to make signs. I saw some funny signs during the race. I liked “Blisters are braille for awesome” and the classic race sign “Run? I thought they said Rum!” Another one that made me smile was “hurry up! My legs are tired of standing here.” Also there were several versions of “smile if you have to poop.” Which obviously I’d smile because it was funny… but you see the conundrum. I didn’t want to get escorted to the nearest port-a-potty by a concerned citizen.

Speaking of, they had a port-a-potty CITY there. Call me weird but it was impressive…check out that pano!

I also got this shirt, which I love:

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And a few free packets of this stuff:

I’ve written about my selectively sensitive stomach, and nothing exacerbates that like running a lot.  Never used this powder before and praise the lord I did not have to…but it made me feel better to know it was with me during the race.

After the expo, we mapped out our entire entrance and exit strategy, since we had to book it to the car and straight to the airport right after the race (yep, no showers. Oops sorry plane neighbor). After realizing we were probably going to commit to a two mile walk from the finish line to car (which it did indeed end up being… and the finish line wasn’t where we thought it was so all our planning was semi-in vain anyway), we headed to Pinnacle Peak to hike our favorite little mountain. We go to AZ every year as a family and Pinnacle is practically in our backyard, so it was great to get a bonus visit in this year.  We wrapped up that day with some pool time and dinner.

We also took a brief shopping trip for throwaway sweats. Basically, we didn’t think about the fact that while it would be 60s for most of the race (which I ran in shorts and a tank), but about 45 when we left at 5:30 am. So off we went with the goal to find sweats under 10 dollars. This was actually quite a fun mission and we hit the jackpot at Kohl’s where we got matching navy sweatshirts and I got some weird harem pants. The tragic part was once we were back at the hotel that night we put them on…and fell in love. We were literally sitting in the hotel room in our matching sweatshirts trying to plot a way to recover them after the race. There was a group that came around and picked up the sweats from the course and donated them, so it wasn’t a total waste of money…and we were very happy to have those sweats on from the 5-8 am hours pre-race. But man it hurt my heart a little to take off those weird pants and toss them away…I still miss them. I wish I was kidding.

OK- RACE TIME! 5 am wakeup call, and in the car by 5:30. I drank a small coffee, a water bottle and ate a banana and pb all before 6:30 which was perfect I think. Go me. We parked and walked to the starting line. We then still had like an hour and a half to kill so we pretty much just walked around and planned how to contact each other after the race for our quick escape, since he didn’t want to run with a phone. The genius solution was that dad wrote my number on a dollar bill he had on him and then borrowed random people’s phones to call me as I ran and leave voicemails detailing his most recent location. We started at the same time, and he did the 10K while I did the half, so he was waiting around for a while at the finish.  Here’s us wandering pre-race in the world’s greatest sweatshirts:

Since it’s the Rock’n’Roll marathon, there was live music throughout the course. They were little dinky bandstands with local bands, but it was a fun element that kept it interesting. What weird performance will I see next?! Side note: my playlist crushed it. I needed music for the miles between bands, and that playlist saved me a few times. The course was perfect: flat and you could see mountains. A few parts were kind of desolate desert with no motivating crowds (or signs), but that was okay. I did the first few miles kind of slow getting in my stride, then picked it up in the middle and slowed down at the end (felt like I did, anyway). Having never run more than 10 miles at once before, I will say those last 3.1 are not easy. Mostly because after mile 11 they quit marking the miles (unless my eyes had stopped functioning which I won’t rule out) so you were just kind of in limbo until you could see the finish line. I ended with a 1:45, which I was happy with for my first half marathon. I felt pretty good and strong for most of it too! I will say getting on a plane right after made for some seriously stiff hips. I was straight up waddling the next day. Dad and I agreed that next year we’d take Monday off and have ourselves a nice pool day after the race instead. There’s also a big concert after-party, which we had to skip. Luckily I did NOT skip the post-race free food section, which was abundant with chocolate milk and fruit cups. Not necessarily what I was looking for, but who am I to turn up my nose at free snackage? Here’s us afterwards, and my super cool finish line picture…listening to my dad’s voice mail. Botched that one:

One thing I kept thinking about the whole weekend, surrounded by runners at the expo and at the race, was how great runners are. I know a lot of people hate distance running (and 13 miles for me is major distance, so I’m still a total noob), and I’ll be the first to say it’s not that good for you, but there’s something really special about races and the running community. It’s such a battle of mind over matter, and there’s a lot of strength that comes with making your body do things it doesn’t want to do. Sure, many runners have thin bodies, but many don’t. In a crowd of runners, you get a total mixed bag, but there’s such an air of confidence around everyone. No matter what they look like, every runner chick I saw was working her shorts or her crazy color spandex because honestly…they were about to run somewhere between 13 and 27 miles. There’s something so powerful about knowing what your body can do that totally overpowers societal body image expectations. Why should you have to look like a model in spans, when your legs can run for 4 hours? I just really, really was loving the vibe of the whole thing. I completely believe that there are more effective and efficient ways to get in better shape than running could ever get you in… but I could never give up this race scene, however infrequently I do it. I don’t really count myself as a runner…more of a person who runs. There is, in fact, a difference. But it really is worthwhile to experience, I think. Runners have a physical and a mental strength that is unique, and there’s something special in the collective struggle of a long(ish) race.

Speaking of long races, I thought about turning around at the end of my race and doing it again (aka, a full marathon) and almost vomited. There are no marathons in my foreseeable future.

Anyway, that’s all. Pray for me as I enter the treacherous Boston airspace tomorrow.

I’m basically Million Dollar Baby now

Ok, I gotta be honest. I revived the blog more because of this post than the previous one. I wrote that post about self-experimenting a long time ago, because it took some research and it’s fun to write, even if I don’t publish it. Which I fully intend to do henceforth, so I can subject the internet to my every thought! Anyway, I just really wanted to share my first boxing experience, because it soundly kicked my butt.

So on Tuesday my alarm went off at 5:30 AM and found myself velcroing on some boxing gloves by 6. I try to avoid the five oclock hour, as a rule, but this was totally worth it.

A new kickboxing gym opened near my house, and was offering a free trial week. So my friend Kaleigh (Also known as the previously mentioned 5 am running friend. Also dance class friend. Why do I hang out with her? She keeps waking me up!) suggested we go try it out at the earliest possible class offered. It was just us and one other woman, being taught by a woman. Six am girl power!

So it was basically a circuit, with every bag as a station. You went around the room completing a minute at each bag, for about 45 minutes. Warm up and cool down included, it took an hour. Some were punching and kicking the bag in various combos, some were abs, jump squats, you name it. One station was those big heavy ropes that are anchored to something and you whip them up and down…know what I’m talking about? I always see people doing that on The Biggest Loser (love that show…weird, I know) and always kind of thought I’d be good at it. No, I was not. First ten seconds in I was thinking “heck yeah, I’m so strong!” Twenty seconds later, my arms were on fire and the rope was just sort of limply wiggling despite my best efforts.

It was seriously an awesome workout, and I really liked it. Also, it set the stage for a fabulous nap later that day. It was when Kaleigh and I went back the next day that the real struggle set in. It was taught by a young guy, and we spent A LOT more time on the bags. I mean I tried to pump some hand soap today, and that hurt my shoulders, so that’s where I’m at. He had us do walking pushups back and forth across the room between sets of combos on the bag, and through my sweat and tears I was thinking about how funny that had to look. It just three people again: myself, Kaleigh, and another girl in her 20s. Once none of us could manage a correct pushup anymore, we moved to our knees. So basically this guy is standing there watching three red-faced, panting girls crawling across the floor at him. It was like the Grudge gone wrong.

I kind of love workouts like that though- swiftly redefines your concept of “I’m in shape.”

Hope everyone had a great New Year’s Eve! Mine was pretty low key- hung out at a neighbor’s with some friends and played a great game of fishbowl. If you haven’t played, learn, because it’s that fun. I had been planning on going to the Mummer’s Day Parade in Philly for New Year’s Day, but bailed last minute to hang out with another friend who I haven’t seen in a while. We’re doing a half marathon together, so we got in a solid training run then watched The Babadook. Um, what? Anyone seen this? It’s like a Sundance horror film that got 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Super creepy but SUPER bizarre ending. We both kind of walked away scratching our heads, so I don’t know if I can even recommend it or not. Well that was a useless paragraph, sorry about that.

Have a great weekend!

And finally…us dying post class. Super attractive, I know. I said “make a struggling face” and she started strangling herself…

Back again! I need to get it together. And…Learning to self experiment

I have been AWFUL at keeping up with this blog. My goal is once a week, but I just get so lazy. After a day at work the last thing on earth I want to see is a laptop. But since I really do love to write, and I really do want to make this a thing, I need to get it together. I also know that I am no social media expert. I actually have read things on how to create a successful blog, and I do almost none of them. Fun fact for anyone who blogs/wants to: a tip I learned (at a job interview, actually) is that you should comment 3x as much as you post. That’s how you get a name in the blogosphere, rather than just creating content that floats around on the internet.  Gotta work on my blog trolling, for sure. I generally opt for the silent creep. Another one is create content that is helpful to people. That’s something I certainly want to work on, but since I am neither a nutritionist nor trainer (yet!), I can only share what I like, and what works for me, and hopefully some of you get something out of it!

So I want to talk about something that I’ve done in the past year and a half that I truly believe is the best thing in the world….self-experiment with food. For many of my teenage years, I had stomach aches. I’d have weeks or months where it was almost every day or even every time I ate, and times when it wasn’t so bad. I hated it, but just accepted it as part of life. When I became more physically active in high school and worked out/played sports often, I became more conscious of what I was eating before a workout and how it was making me feel. I mean a 400s workout at track practice with a stomach ache is literally hell on earth (curse you, delicious Villa white pizza), and I avoided that situation like the plague. I did try to make healthy choices most of the time, (which is essentially the opposite of what I consider healthy now, but hey, A for effort) but I honestly envied people who could just eat and move on with their life.

This continued on and off until the summer before college, when I discovered www.marksdailyapple.com . Mark Sisson is the founder of the Primal Blueprint, and one of the earliest advocates of the now hugely popular (Ok, and trendy) “paleo diet.” While I have totally chugged the primal kool-ade and believe with all my heart it is the best way to eat to achieve optimal health, that’s not the point I’m making. Although I highly recommend checking it out ;). Anyway, I decided to try this “primal” thing. My friends who have seen me take down a pizza laugh when I call myself  paleo, but pizza is just something I’m not willing to give up. Or ice cream. It’s a loose interpretation, and I can live with my paleo sins.

The moral of this story is that the primal lifestyle is all about what finding what works for YOU, which is an amazing thing to learn. Everyone’s biochemistry is different, everyone has different cravings, activity levels, stress levels, digestive issues, you name it. Of course, the basis of eating primally is to eat a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb, plant-based diet. But by learning more about the science and the rationale behind this style of eating, I started to think about the way each and every thing I ate made me feel. This type of n=1 experiment allowed me to get to know my own personal best style of eating in a way I never had- and I honestly feel better than I ever have after taking the time to get to know the diet that is optimal for me.

Of course, I haven’t nailed the perfect formula to never get a stomach ache again. And sometimes (cough, often), I ignore what I know about myself in favor of afore-mentioned pizza and ice cream. And that’s okay too, but the cool part is KNOWING what works, and how to eat to feel great (if I so wish).

If you can relate to my random stomach ache tale of woe, or simply want to learn your personal best diet, I really recommend trying some self-experimentation. Even if you feel just fine now, sometimes you don’t know what your true baseline is because we have been doing the same thing for so long…and you don’t know how good you CAN feel.

Here are some different things you can try in your own n=1 experiment, whether it be eliminating, adding, tweaking, whatever you want! Just give it at least 2-3 weeks to see what happens.

1. Gluten. I know, I know. Gluten-free is the trendiest thing ever right now. Suddenly the whole world has a gluten problem. Some people, of course, have very serious gluten intolerance known as Celiac’ s disease. This is a digestive and autoimmune disorder that results in damage to the lining of the small intestine when foods with gluten are eaten. However, the reality is that the way gluten is processed does cause issues for many people and often causes some form of systematic inflammation in the body. Some people are sensitive to it, and some aren’t, but even if your daily bagel feels just fine, you may be surprised to feel better without it. One important thing to note is that buying gluten-free cookies/bread/etc. is not HEALTHIER. In fact, they often have higher sugar content to improve the taste. The point is not to substitute, but to remove. People with serious gluten issues know there’s sneaky gluten in many things (soy sauce, ice cream and multivitamins are potential offenders), but for the sake of a personal experiment, just avoiding wheat should do the trick in learning if gluten is making you feel meh.

Some helpful sources (call me biased with the Marks Daily Apple links, but the man does his research! Many of his links, if you check them out, actually really investigate both sides of each argument):

http://www.glutenfreeschool.com/2012/02/09/gluten-effect-inflammation/)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-myers-md-/effects-of-gluten-on-the-body_b_3672275.html

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-common-is-gluten-sensitivity/#axzz3GFCB4XMk

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/does-gluten-have-any-effect-on-non-celiacs/#axzz3GFConqaV

 2. Dairy. Lactose intolerance is very common in adult humans. Know what’s weird? We are quite literally the only animal to drink ANOTHER ANIMALS MILK, or to drink milk BEYOND INFANCY. Not only are we milking a mammal that is not our mother, we are drinking the milk of an animal (cow) that was created to nourish a gigantic baby calf that would become a huge cow. There’s stuff in there that us little humans weren’t made to drink, especially to such advanced ages. Again, I know almond milk is quite the fad these days, but I personally drink it and love it. Never a stomach issue and it’s actually delicious. Coconut milk is another great alternative, although one I’ll admit I don’t enjoy as much. Fermented dairy like kefir may not have the same effect as regular dairy, as a side note. I personally am fine with some dairy, but try to avoid a lot on an average day. Give it a try!

 http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/lactose-intolerance-14/diagnosing

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-common-arguments-against-dairy-consumption-explored/#axzz3GFEKT6y6

3. Soy. Speaking of milk substitutes…NO SOY MILK. Soy really isn’t very good for us, and it’s in EVERYTHING. So trust me, you’re getting enough inadvertently without eating more voluntarily! Because it’s cheap and has certain functional properties, soybean oil and soy protein have found their way into all sorts of processed foods, so most people in the U.S. are consuming significant amounts of soy without even knowing about it. I admit I have been known to order soy lattes and eat edamame with my sushi. However, I do these things once a month max, because soy is crap. I assume, like most things (besides hard drugs), small doses are okay. Soy includes dietary estrogen and has been linked to cancer, unhealthy pregnancies, accelerated puberty, all sorts of weird stuff. This is definitely a heavily-debated matter- but try cutting it where you can. You may feel better.

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/170-scientific-reasons-to-lose-the-soy-in-your-diet/

http://www.optimumchoices.com/Soy.htm

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/soy-scrutiny/#axzz3GFKIKlcm

Here are some more foods that can easily irritate people with digestive issues (issues like IBS-Irritable Bowel Syndrome- and Leaky Gut often are undiagnosed and can be helped/healed with dietary changes). I won’t go into long reasons, but just other things to consider if you find yourself having frequent tum troubles:

-Coffee (breaks my heart to say it. Its dehydrating affects can be harmful to people with IBS)

-Broccoli (really high fiber, harder to digest, especially when eaten raw)

-Cabbage/ Brussels sprouts (can cause really painful bloating in those with IBS)

-Green peppers (apparently red peppers are easier to digest because they are the riper version!)

-Legumes (beans, lentils, etc)

-Fried foods (Well we all know this, but high fat content can be really hard to digest if you have intestinal problems, ESPECIALLY when fried in unhealthy oils like corn and canola)

-alcohol (maybe wait to try this experiment… til you’re dead. But really, we all know it’s not great for us and can live with that. But it really can do harm if you have a pre-existing condition…and there’s the gluten thing with beer, should that be an issue you have)

-Spicy stuff

http://www.activebeat.com/diet-nutrition/20-foods-to-avoid-with-ibs-control-your-symptoms/18/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/509349-food-that-is-an-irritant-to-the-stomach-lining/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ibs-and-gluten-tweaking-calories-for-fat-loss/#axzz3GFSWGsVG

Ok, so if you made it through this block of text, I applaud you. I will definitely be better with pictures next time.

Goodbye my Friends and I think I actually took a Barre Class

Hi guys! How’s everyone’s week going? I need to learn the secret of having work and a life…maybe it just comes with time. After work I usually get in a workout, a walk with someone (or my dog), food, and hopefully a little reading and asleep before 11. THERE HAS TO BE MORE! It’s okay actually, but I’m getting worried for when summer ends. For those who don’t know, I moved home after graduating because work is only half an hour from there, and I’m being financially savvy. Plus I really do love home and my parents wanted me back. Unfortunately, not too many home friends did the same. And by not too many I mean none. And my college friends didn’t live around me in the first place, so even if they’re home it’s not doing me any good. While a few people are “around” (by Nova and other such hour-ish distances), the people easily accessible for random hangouts, like my favorite neighborfriends and college age brother, are leaving me within the next week. Really, I’m lucky. I had an awesome time with my awesome college friends last weekend, and it didn’t even involve that much driving (for me anyway…sorry New Yorkers). But still, it’s always sad to part with the friends who can play with me at a moment’s notice and have made my summers great since ’96. So I’ll be hanging out with a 15 year old and 10 year old most nights, let’s see how much more mature I get.

 My pupper because he’s adorable…conked out after some aggressive beach play.

Work has been great, I’m starting to really figure out my role and get my hands in a lot of different things, which is cool. Plus, I really like all the youths who were hired with me. I’ve been saying youths a lot since binge-watching New Girl. I have honestly never laughed that much at a show, WATCH IT NOW!

The aforementioned neighborfriends are all about bonding and making memories, which I’ve been trying to do a lot of before they all leave. There have been morning coffees and apple cider donuts at the local orchard (how adorable does that sound?) and nature walks (also sounds adorable…except picture a field, private property, full of knee high saw grass and probably tick hoards), and workout fun (never a dull moment). So, last week, off we went on a 45 minute journey to Springfield, Pa, where we piled into a little dance studio and tried out two new-to-me classes: Mix It Up and BalletBod.

First of all, this studio is great. It had an awesome teacher (who is also a guidance counselor at my high school and phenomenal dancer), great music, and good energy. Mix It Up was a dance-based class with elements of hip-hop, Zumba, and cardio kickboxing. SO FUN! Oh man did that hip-hop portion take me back to my dance days. Anyone who knows what “pulsing” is  (It’s basically arching your back and sticking your belly out, then arching your back the other way like a cat….but quickly. It’s pretty much a fundamental, first day hip hop skill. Really very simple.) will be able to envision my hip hop career: The concept of pulsing was beyond me for weeks. Literally all I could do was stick my belly out and shake it around. I was little, but 9 is probably old enough to do better than that. I wasn’t in the back corner of all my recitals for nothin’! But anyway, I have finally conquered the pulse and hip hopped my way through some Missy Elliot with great joy and gay abandon.

After finishing that class, we went right into BalletBod. We’d driven all that way, might as well get everything in! So as you know, I tried to take a barre class at my YMCA and it turned out to be the plié squat shimmy shuffle fest of the century, complete with improv jazz. This was, I imagine, way closer to what barre is. Proof point numero uno: we used the barre. It was lots of repeated, small movements and focused on certain muscles at a time. The ab part on the floor killed me…maybe I need to work on that. Anyway, this is a class I learned you have to be a little flexible for. A few exercises I couldn’t even do the move right- ergo couldn’t work the correct muscle- because my hips and hammys are so absurdly tight. Another thing to work on. Luckily the teacher is awesome and tried to fix me…and laughed when she couldn’t (rather than demanding to know what the devil I was doing at a dance studio when I can’t even get within a foot of touching my toes).

 Embarrassing dancers everywhere.

Book recommendation time! Most people who know me well enough know I am a HUGE Stephen King fan. I’ve read a lot of his books, and someday I’ll read them all (he keeps cranking them out, though). There are mostly good ones, some bad ones, but all interesting ones. However, I just finished what may be one of my all time favorites: “Duma Key.” I highly recommend it to everyone who loves a good Gothic novel. It’s just a really great story with the right amount of King supernatural horror thrown in. Doooo ittttt and tell me what you think!

So that’s that for ya! Hope everyone’s Monday is not too rough…it really is heartbreaking to spend perfect days like this at work, but alas. I was telling my littlest brother that he has life easy all day while I’m out at work bringing home the bacon. He looked at me incredulously and said: “You’ve literally NEVER brought me home bacon.” Technically he was not wrong.

Breakfast Secret Revealed and I Tried to Take a Barre Class

I usually wake up pretty hungry and ready for breakfast. It’s seriously the best meal of the day. I would love to eat breakfast for every meal. Which I actually did senior year quite often…my roommates had a running joke about the amount of eggs I consumed on a daily basis. They’re easy and delicious! Sadly, I really think I egged myself out senior year, because I can’t get amped about them anymore. Plus I’m not as hungry when I’m waking up at the crack of dawn for work, so I’m all about the to-go meal. Now I will share the best thing I ever came up with (dramatic), the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning (sadly, true)….the breakfast of champions. HERE SHE BLOWS:

(that’s some awesome paleo granola my dear mama made on top…it’s like crumbly cookie dough)

Gorgeous, right? Just kidding, it looks like puke. A co-worker actually came over the other day to inquire with a grimace what it was. Well, I’ll tell ya! First, some plain greek yogurt (I like Fage), topped with almond butter, sliced banana and whatever berries I have on hand, all topped with nuts, a crumbled KIND bar, or granola. Then, the piece de resistance: a smashed up piece of super dark chocolate. Mix it all up and you have literally the most delicious breakfast ever. In addition to being amazing, it’s full of healthy fats and protein and all sorts of fabulous things which keeps me full til at LEAST lunch time. That’s a good 4+ hours of satiety, which is very rare in my life. So how about them apples. Give it a try, you will not regret it.

Two days ago, I tried my first Barre class. Correction, I tried to try my first Barre class. I’ve wanted to try this style of training for a while now. For those who haven’t heard of Barre or are curious about it, there are several styles (you’ll notice classes have names like Barre3, Pure Barre, the Bar Method, etc.) but they all have the same basic premise:

Barre workouts are ballet-inspired, and may utilize very light weights, resistance bands, or a mat, in addition to the barre (picture ballerinas at a bar stuck to the wall a la Channing Tatum in Step Up– that’s you). The classes emphasize muscular endurance with very high repetition sets as well as isometric holds and pulses. AKA you will make a tiny movement a million times until the fires of hell are lit there. Emphasis is on lower-body/core, and the goal is to work each muscle to fatigue. Right after working a muscle, you’ll stretch it out, which allegedly causes it to grow lean (versus bulky). Honestly, I think that is BS and it’s the workout itself causes lean muscle (you’re not lifting heavy!). But whatever, the stretch must be a nice break from the pulsing squats, I’d take it. These workouts are definitely low-impact and focus on form, and are a cool twist to traditional resistance training.

Here is a good article with some tips for anyone looking to try this out but learn/prepare a bit more: http://www.fitsugar.com/Tips-Barre-Exercise-Classes-24951417

So anyway, I grabbed two friends and headed to the local Y for their evening Barre class. Late, naturally, we came sprinting in with my friend muttering that “the ballets don’t appreciate lateness.” Luckily, it was just us and two other participants, and nothing had started yet…BECAUSE it was a sub instructor who wasn’t certified in barre, so she was teaching Balletone (ballet- tone get it). I think she thought we were big barre snobs because we asked if we were at barre, and she reassured us repeatedly that Balletone was similar and we would get a good workout. She really could have just gone ahead, we were clueless. From what I understand, there’s more of a cardio element to Balletone, but I will say I did more plié squats in that hour than I’d ever care to count. Honestly my shoulders were the most tired from flinging my ballet arms up and down the whole dang time. At one point we were doing a sort of grapevine squat shuffle with arm movements and I think I broke into a demented Charleston with jazz hands sort of thing, and the teacher had to tell me to stop.  Honestly, I was tired, it was hot, and I can’t keep rhythm anyway… I didn’t know what I was doing anymore.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would definitely do it again, although I do think it was quite a different experience than a regular barre class.  I was sweaty and beat by the end, and I can feel my legs today for sure. Now to try actual Barre…

This is a funny thing I actually saw on Facebook today about pure barre coincidentally…maybe those who have actually taken a class can relate (I still chuckled): http://forevertwentysomethings.com/2014/07/31/100-thoughts-i-have-during-pure-barre/

Hope everyone’s been enjoying this beautiful week…HAPPY FRIDAY! Time for some of this:

 

5K weekend, a workout, and potential kidnapping scenarios

Hey hey!

Running and I go through phases and right now, I’m over running. When it got warm this spring and I could finally venture out without fear of a polar vortex ending me, I went on a running spree. Plus I did the Broad Street run in May, so I was trying to get in a decent amount of longer runs. I really have no clue how to train for long runs, I usually just sort of wing them. So when I was getting ready for Broad Street I probably went out for 7-9 miles three or four times beforehand, which worked fine! Anyone who’s not into distance running, I really recommend the Broad Street. It’s my favorite race ever. Any Jersey shore-ers may know the Sea Isle ten miler…that was brutal. Broad Street is an awesome, totally flat course that goes all through Philly and is lined by cheering people, high school marching bands, and all sorts of festivity that keeps you fully entertained and excited the whole time. Seriously, it’s so fun. And I am not one to say that about ten miles.

But anyway, nowadays you won’t usually find me out for more than three or four miles. Sometimes running is just wildly unappealing.  My point of that rant was a) Broad Street’s awesome, run it with me next year! and b) tell you I did two 5k’s this weekend (sort of) which was a shocker considering my current displeasure with running.

The first was Thursday night, which was part of the Chester County Summer Running Series (if you live around here, check it out, there’s a few more I think). My dear boyfriend joined me (we don’t always agree on pace/distance when running together so this is a fairly uncommon occurrence) for the Beethoven 5K in which we had to finish before some Beethoven symphony being played at the finish line did. Kind of cute idea, right? The first two miles were majorly hilly, which was ROUGH, but the end was flat. We did indeed beat the symphony and I was pretty pleased with our time! The second race was the Philly Color Run on Saturday, which I did with some of my best friends. Obviously, it was a good time (and we got free KIND bars), but I wasn’t real into the course. I did Philly’s Color Run last summer and it was actually around Philly…this one was literally laps around the Xfinity parking lot. Miles of laps. Maybe Philly just got tired of cleaning up the mess? Who knows.

At dinner with aforementioned friends, we were discussing how fast you could run if you were literally running for your life. I think we could all whip out some serious speed. Also: a thought provoking question: If you were being kidnapped by a person holding a butter knife, would you go with them? Our conversation escalated to being kidnapped by someone with a plastic spoon… one of my friends was still hypothetically going with the spoon-wielding kidnapper, which is concerning.

FUN TIP: For all the treadmill runners out there, run at an incline of 1.5. This mimics the forward motion of running outside, so you can more easily switch back and forth. In case anyone was treadmilling and finding the road much more difficult…this could help. There’re also hills outside, but what can you do.

 

I also wanted to share a workout! I did this the day before Thursday’s 5K. I wanted to run that one semi- for time, so I didn’t want to be sore or have tired legs going into it. I’m real into Crossfit-inspired workouts (Although I have never tried actual Crossfit, even though I think it’s awesome. It’s also a bit intimidating. Someday….)- and by that I mean short and to the point.

First: 15 minute easy run to warm up (any steady-state cardio works)

Second: 20 minutes AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:

10 burpees

20 kettlebell swings

20 pushups

30 squats (I used lighter weights for a little extra resistance, but body weight works too. The point of these is that they aren’t heavy, so you can do the high reps)

50 second plank

A short cool down and you’re donzo! I was sweaty and panting afterwards, but my legs felt fine the next day. Let me know if you give it a try!

 

Hope everyone’s having a great week :))) HUMP DAAAY

 

Back in Action and Real Personhood

This blog was starting to take the direction of my Italy blog I started while studying abroad… aka nonexistent after a few posts. Life gets in the way, you know? But I look at my precious few posts from Italy and wish I’d kept going…they remind me of little, hilarious, special moments I’ve forgotten. Remembering those moments reminds me that there’s a million more that are just lost now, because I didn’t record them. So while I am not venturing around the world anymore (I WISH!), I’m still living parts of my life I’ll probably want to remember. Plus when I’m old and fat maybe this will inspire me to move. And that whole career in health thing I mentioned….

So! I am officially a college graduate and a member of what we ex-fake people (aka students) like to call The Real World. We named it after the reality show. Graduation was bittersweet… Lots of late night tears on the Kelly’s dance floor- and even more amazing times taking selfies with Father Peter, taking a shot in every room my friends and I had ever lived in on campus with the current residents, Senior Week shenanigans, and spending every waking moment with the people who had become my family over 4 years. Fitness was the world’s lowest priority then- and I know a lot of people were feeling the Senior Week(s) struggle. Just eat the free food and accept dance floors and Dirty Shirleys as your primary workout/hydration methods.

So I graduated, and then I had a fabulous 3 weeks full of a whole lot of nothing, and then I started work! I work as a Marketing Specialist at a chemical company, and have been there for about 5 weeks now. Okay really 4 because I took a week off for my annual family Arizona trip. For those who don’t know about the legendary AZ trip, I’ve been going to the same place in Scottsdale with my family at the start of summer for a solid 15 years. No one misses this trip, no excuses. So I used up most of my vacation days in my first month…oops. But it’s my favorite week of the year, so it’s worth it. Fun fact- I finally spanked my brother in tennis! I played tennis in high school and was pretty decent, and could never beat him. He never played on a team, but he just flies all over the court like a psycho, and I just didn’t know what to do with that. Now that I’ve lost essentially all ability to play tennis technically well, I can beat him! We are just two psychos baseball swinging at each other.

So now the angle of this blog changes slightly. Rather than writing as a student, this is life as a workin woman! So how am I keeping up healthy eating and fitness in this new lifestyle with a far more structured schedule and limited time, you may ask (no one asked, bear with me)? Wake up and run at 5 am, like I did this morning! Ha ha ha! Just kidding, I’d wish that on no one. It was dark and raining and a spider web made itself into a nice face mask for me when I ran under a tree. This has been a thing probably once a week, and only because I love my dear friend who does it with me. And while it’s nice to get a workout in the morning, leaving your evening open for other things like having a life or lying in bed, it’s still really hard to do. I’ve been known to set crack of dawn alarms most mornings in the hopes I’ll get up…it probably happens 10% of the time. But to those who can regularly get up and git ‘er done, I applaud you. It’s a great way to start your day.

Fun fact, women work out better at night and men work out better in the morning. Males’ testosterone levels are high in the morning, so they’re all ready to get swole. Generally, females hormones are at the right levels for max effort later in the day, which may be why any girls trying to become morning workout-ers are having a hard time. This definitely isn’t true for everyone, and not necessarily true for cardio (like a run). But I find if I’m trying to do intense intervals or -god forbid- lift, I’m a useless noodle until I have a few meals in me.

Moral of that story, mornings happen for me sometimes, evenings happen for me far often. And sometimes nothing happens. As for eating, I’ve been packing salads for lunch because it’s easy and gets my veggies in, but I’m already getting sick of them. I do have a breakfast of CHAMPIONS though, which I wake up every morning amped to eat. I’ll share that little gem later.
Basically, everything is new, and I’m figuring it out. It’s exciting though, isn’t it? WILL SHE GET UP AND RUN?! WILL SHE PACK AN APPLE WITH HER SALAD….OR A PEAR?! I’m totally kidding that isn’t exciting at all. Working on it. What’s exciting is the fact that this is the rest of my life, and there is almost nothing certain about it. For example, I’ve been researching trainer certification, because now it can actually happen. I HAVE INCOME! And why waste a minute figuring out what I’m going to be when I grow up? (Although tell that to me when I’m wasting many minutes binge watching Orange Is The New Black— anyone else obsessed??).

Later, new Real Person out.

 

PS. My littlest brother is reading the Harry Potter books for the first time… I am so jealous he gets to experience the magic. It’s rekindling my love as we watch the movies with him after he finishes each book… so here’s a link for fellow HP fans I thought was funny:

http://www.dose.com/lists/2915/14-Charts-That-Only-Make-Sense-If-You-re-A-Diehard-Harry-Potter-Fan

 

Why I Love This Stuff

Hello people! Hope everyone had a fabulous Erin’s Express/ St. Patricks day weekend. Snowy St. Paddy’s Monday was fairly mediocre over here. Although I did have a delay and missed a three hour painting class in which I am painting a heinous dress on a headless mannequin, so I was definitely okay with missing that thrilling morning. I proceeded to have an afternoon of class, gym, class, and homework. It’s finally 11 and I am plopped on the couch watching Criminal Minds and attempting to bake a cashew meal loaf (it was supposed to be muffins but our tins are MIA…also I used orange champagne vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar? I’ll letcha know what happens). Does anyone else think Criminal Minds is phenomenal? After a 13 hour marathon one day my roommates and I contemplated setting up a Behavioral Unit in our house since we felt sufficiently trained. Alas no one has called us for help finding serial killers as of yet but the option is on the table.

So I thought I’d share my own personal fitness journey and why this stuff has become so important to me. This is about how I work out, since my weird eating process is its own tale. I have to credit my friend Walter for this post idea, who’s been army-ing and college-ing far from me the past several years, and missed the growth of this stage in my life. He commented on my first post with the question “where’s this dedication coming from?”, which got me thinking….

So where did it come from, you may ask (or probably not, but I’m telling you anyway ha ha!). I’ll start with about age 12 or 13 when I started running. My neighborhood friends would go for runs and pick me up on their final mile, during which I would die and roll on the ground wheezing with cramps while they looped cul-de-sacs around me. I actually stuck with it though, mostly because I wanted to be a part of their little group. Eventually, thankfully, I did get better, and could do several miles without going down.

Enter high school, throughout which I ran track with many of my best friends. I loved the team, and the weird bonding that came with running 400s in 30 degrees. I was definitely in running shape (not to say I was any kind of star runner), but I didn’t love the sport itself enough to work for it. I liked working out as a team, but it wasn’t that exciting to me when I was alone in a gym, nor was I particularly sure what to do with myself. Then I decided to pick up tennis going into my sophomore year. I’d played every sport under the sun without loving or excelling at any of them, including swimming for 12 years, but nothing captured my heart quite like tennis. Suddenly I found something I was willing to work for! I was training hours every day with the goal of first making the team, then making varsity, and finally ending my senior year in a top singles spot. Sadly, those gains went down the drain pretty fast after I stopped playing often (shout out to VCT ;P ), but I still love the sport. And it’s really what sparked my love of fitness. I was lifting (ish) so I could hit harder, jumping rope to be faster…it was exciting! But off-season track/tennis, when I wasn’t practicing, I had this totally unsustainable relationship with working out. I had this routine that hopped from cardio machine to cardio machine, with abs and leg moves thrown in, that could last two hours. I’d do this every day for a week or two, totally burn out, stop for a week, and repeat. It was unvaried and often felt more like a chore than anything else. I’ve always loved how I feel when I’m working out regularly, but the actual time spent in the gym wasn’t always that great.

Enter college!  Suddenly sports were casual, fun, club/intermurals and in no way were gonna keep me in shape. Plus I landed this roomie who went to the gym every damn day, so I had no excuses. Freshman and sophomore year remained fairly similar to high school. I went most days and did essentially the same thing every time, primarily cardio.

Then…I went to Italy for a semester. Anyone who’s been to Florence…imagine running there. Teeeeny cobblestone streets and a bajillion people. Eventually I did find routes I was comfortable with, but working out took creativity. I wasn’t able to do nearly the amount I was used to, and I had to come to terms with that. I’m sure a lot of you understand that weird anxiety that comes with not working out the way you want…and this was 4 months! So I ran some, jumped around in my apartments living room courtesy of YouTube (Sorry people under me. I think I literally almost took down the ancient floor), and started doing yoga videos with my roomies. Suddenly the world didn’t end if I didn’t do an hour of cardio! And when I came back, I discovered a couple fitness blogs that literally changed the way I thought about working out forever. Holy moly weights! Intervals! Attempting to run sprints for the first time since high school track! Which I will tell you occurred in a park near my house at school on a 90+ degree day and ended with nearly vomiting and telling my roommate she might have to pick me up. I staggered home but it took so long she drove around looking for my corpse with water bottles and cold towels…life saver.

I started reading everything I could get my hands on about fitness. And this year has been the most amazing change so far. I’m still a little intimidated by the boys’ section of the gym (we all know the unspoken divisions), but I’m confident in what I know and can do. I know how to listen to my body and push myself or take it easy…or even off!… as it needs. I know how to (gasp) vary my workouts and change up the muscles I use! I think the most important transformation…which has been a long process and by no means a sudden wake-up… is that I don’t work out to look good as much as I do to feel good. Not training for a sport made it hard to find motivation, but now I find motivation in the times I’m able to run faster and lift more than I was the month before.

But best of all, I have amazing friends with the same love of this stuff I have, who are willing to try out workouts I both find, and make up, with me, teach me what they know, and have so much fun (usually haha) doing it. I definitely have tons more to learn, but I’m in the best relationship with fitness I’ve ever been. I’m not fighting for a spot on any team anymore, and I’m not trying to burn 700 calories on the treadmill (or bygollyIwon’tgetoff!!) but I’m trying new things, setting mini-goals, and loving every (okay- most….no one likes a burpee tabata are you kidding me) minute of it. So much so that I started this little bloglet and want to make a career out of writing about this stuff! I also have dreams of getting various certifications, including Zumba instructor, because it’s JUST SO FUN… but I need to fix my white-girl salsa aka spasms before I get there. And I still love a good run with my neighbors, sans cul-de-sac death rolls.

  <— high school track buddies taking it off the track and into the sewers

 **shoutout to Jessica who may have missed SkyRobics but still inchworms around Davis with me on the reg.

<—- We may not be working out, but this is that freshman year roomie who kept me on track, and is now a top interval buddy/co-workout creator. Plus it’s St. Patrick’s Day.

 <–The Italian yoga studio, better known as the hostel.

Coconut Oil: Eat it, Love it, Rub it on your face

Hey guys! Hope everyone is having an awesome day. Bahamas was amazing, as expected, but I’ve been trying to be a real person again this week (although after this 28 degree day I am ready to go back to the beach stat). This is actually my first request post! Shoutout to Paige O’Neill my coconut guru. I am working on a couple more right now, but I need to educate myself and be a guinea pig for a little while first. If anyone ever has a request just let me know!!! Because I will literally eat or try anything (within reason), so I volunteer as tribute. 

Okay, so let’s talk about coconut oil. This stuff has exploded in the past couple years. Everyone’s cooking with it and loving it, but is that just because it’s a fad? Greatest thing since green smoothies? Health miracle? Troublingly high in saturated fat? You’ve either got a opinion, or you’re just using it because everyone else is. Or, of course, maybe you’re still sticking with olive oil, which is delicious and healthy too.

Today I’m going to explain why coconut oil’s praises have been being sung by angels and nutritionists around the world. First, I’ll say it, this stuff is 92% saturated fat. That’s why it’s solid at room temperature. But don’t panic! Fat is way better for you than everyone thinks, and eating fat does not equal being fat. There’s a whole lot of other foods, like refined carbs, that your body will store as fat much more quickly and easily.

The way the body stores fat depends on how insulin resistant your body is. Insulin resistance is complex, and I definitely will not explain it in proper detail, but here’s the gist. You’ve probably heard this term in reference to diabetes, but everyone has a level of insulin sensitivity that varies, depending on how glucose (ahem sugar ahem simple carbs) is processed.  But basically all insulin-resistant patients have excess fatty acids. Insulin sensitivity (opposite of resistance) is increased by any activity that reduces fatty acids in the tissues of the body,  such as exercise. Bottom line is that clearing the body of excess fat increases insulin sensitivity and, thus, decreases symptoms associated with insulin resistance (which include easily storing fat).  Coconut oil can positively affect our hormones for thyroid and blood-sugar control. People who use coconut oil tend to have improvements in blood sugar since coconut can help improve insulin use within the body. Read: Eating this fat source helps us stop storing fat! A study in 2009 found that women who consumed about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil daily for 12 weeks not only did not gain more weight, but actually had lowered amounts of abdominal fat, a type of fat that is difficult to lose, and contributes to more heart problems. (Source: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/surprising-health-benefits-coconut-oil)

There’s more good news where that came from! Studies have shown that consuming coconut oil can help our bodies resist both viruses and bacteria that cause illness, and it can help to fight off yeast and fungal infections.  In regards to that thyroid function mentioned above, coconut oil has been shown to boost thyroid function. This helps increase metabolism, energy, and endurance. Fun fact: Over-exercising can actually suppress your thyroid and lower your metabolism. SO MANY CONTRADICTIONS!

Some more random benefits of this deliciously scented oil: it increases digestion and helps absorb vitamins. It has been shown to help Alzheimer’s patients. It can improve rosacea, acne, psoriasis, eczema, and a number of other skin issues. It improves dandruff and strengthens hair. It improves both types of diabetes. It helps preserve muscle mass. It adds a delicious texture and taste to food, especially in baking (brownies with coconut oil- I will never return to canola again).

Basically you can put this stuff anywhere and it will be good for you. It’s excellent ingested, but is an amazing skin moisturizer and hair conditioning treatment used topically also- 100% natural. I personally have used it on my face and elbows and such before and LOVED the results, as have friends. It’s a little pricey to use that way regularly on top of cooking though. If you’re going to rub it on your face, be warned it feels greasy at first but absorbs quickly and makes your skin super soft.

I hope this encourages some of you to try it if you have’t yet….And if you’re already a groupie, now you know why!

For an extensive list of all coconut oil’s potential uses check out this link of literally 160 uses including airplane fuel and age reversal! lolz jk but everything else is here: http://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/09/no_author/160-uses-for-coconut-oil/

Strength segment of workout vid (Part 2)

Sorry they wouldn’t upload together! This goes in conjunction with previous workout video post.