It came and went

I had a great weekend. Fabulous, actually.

To be honest, I was more excited for this week. The thought about starting my program was looming over my head all weekend.

Sunday was probably the best because it was one of my best friend's birthday. We grilled some patties, bloated our bellies with homemade sangria and had a great time.

Training

Started the 18 week program yesterday and it's going well. Mondays are rest days so I was ecstatic to go home after work and just RELAX. Hellish hangover.

This means on top of not drinking much, keeping a much more detailed log of my nutrition, runs, stretches AND the weights/core exercises.

I'm going to be one busy gal.

Excited? Hell yes.

I promise more fitness/training talk tomorrow. I have to go and clean then watch the Prefontaine movie one of my readers recommended me (Thank you again, by the way. I love Jared Leto!).

Then coffee with a friend. And THEN my 2 mile run.

I have to do strictly 2 miles; I think I'll run outside today.

Loving this: New artist I discovered over the weekend. A german artist with interesting themes for each of his tracks and albums. This is one of his songs that I've played about 30 times. I really can't stop listening to it. 

Much love!

xoxo,

MK

Splurt.

A good runner will take care of her wounds, nay- will get ahead and prevent these injuries from happening.

I got a blood blister on Thursday. It was horrific. Big, bubbly and blood red. Tell me why I didn't even see this coming? I don't know.

I'm going to guess this happened because of my socks. And my worn out shoes.

On my quest to getting fit / healthy / athletic picture. Jul 30, 2011. (Yeah, I'm a dork. :P )

Reminder to self: Get new shoes (Go to NIKE!). Look up Sugoi Apparel in Vancouver for socks and sports bra.

My training program starts in August; It's a 18 week long program. I've tweaked the original Tom Holland's program to adjust to my fitness level. Lengthened the miles and added more core workouts (to strengthen my abs and lower back for better running form/gait/endurance).

Quitting ALL negative habits starting august 1st. I'd stop this weekend but this weekend is very important to me and my best friend. Birthday bash all weekend so over indulgence may be required.

xoxo

Back to my old roots (pun intended)

After talking to my friend / marathon and training mentor online along with some more expected research, I'm beginning to comprehend the clockwork and the motor of my body: What works for me and what doesn't. The body really doesn't work in mysterious ways; If you feed it the right amount of fuel and deliver the right training, you can reap the rewards of learning more about your body and fixing mistakes along the way.

This running process has given me a lot of insight; It has provided me with the recollections of the mistakes that I've made such as punishing my body for frivolous and unrealistic goals (ie. naive weight loss goals).

In fact, it's amazing to me, even today, that I can pull myself out of bed at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning to go running, despite how I feel (emotionally).
Wait, no. I take that back. I look FORWARD to my runs almost every day. Yes, I used to have days when I thought I COULD compensate for it by doing a harder workout the next day.
No. It doesn't work like that.
I've lightened emotional burden (negative thoughts regarding eating and weight loss), rid myself of bad habits that resulted in an abused body and made things simpler and healthier. It really isn't so hard.

Training 

Wednesday
- 2.68 miles in total
- Ran 2.18 miles in 21:43 minutes with 1 minute of walking in between miles

Thursday
- Rest day

Friday
- 2.18 miles in total
- Ran 2.13 miles in 21:17 minutes with 1 minute of walking in between miles
- 30 regular crunches
- 30 bicycle crunches
- 8 girl push-ups

Nutrition

I'm having a hard time adjusting my diet. I have some off days but my days are usually affixed to a vegan diet. I haven't gotten too far into researching about how many calories and how many servings I should eat as a runner.

This is what I have gathered so far:

- 2 servings of meat/meat alternatives

- 2 servings of dairy

- 4 servings of fruit

- 5 servings of vegetables

- 11 servings of grain

- 2 servings of fat

- 1 serving of sugar

Will figure this out soon enough as I run many more miles. If anyone has any suggestions / advice, I'll eagerly take them.

It's been a long day (with work, hair change, marketing information) so I'm off to bed.

Good night, world.

Thanks for reading.

A week of firsts

My apologies for being the worst blogger.

What can I say, I've been busy. Working non stop, getting reading in as much as possible and running.

Exercise/Training

Two reasons why I've been going crazy lately. One, I still have not been able to formulate a training program for the half marathon. Albeit, I have been running consistently and I am proud to admit that I can now run 2.0 - 3.0 miles without looking like I'm going to die.
Two, I've been so triggered lately with food. I can't seem to get these damn thoughts out of my head. I will confess, I did screw up a couple of days ago but... I think I'm okay now.
I am in the process of severing the ties with my eating disordered thoughts / actions that  suffocate me so.

This week has been motivating so far, running/workout wise.
Monday:
- ran 2.0 miles at a comfortable pace of 6.0 - 6.7 mph @ incline 4%
- 40 crunches / bicycle crunches
- 5 girl push ups

Tuesday:
- ran 3.25 miles at a comfortable pace of 6.0 - 6.4 mph @ incline 4.5%
- 40 crunches / bicycle crunches
- 5 girl push ups

After work today, I'm going to probably run another 2.0 but increase my speed. And more push ups and crunches today.

Loving this: Ari Gold. Ari Gold. Ari Gold.

Seriously, what's not to love?

HALT.

Last night was wonderful.

Vintage antique shopping followed by some much needed girl time with my girl, N. N decided to use up the last bit of her chicken for the dinner (great idea) and finish the batch of baby potatoes (greater idea !). N cooking? This means one thing: high anticipation for all involved.

Great conversations, yummy nibbles (thanks to my guacamole and N's fabulous onion marinade chicken and potatoes) and fabulous company.

Sounds like a friggin' good night to me, no?

Exercise / Training

Running has been going extremely well. I have seen a lot of progress in stamina and endurance. I'm trying my best to incorporate weight training in my regime as well to strengthen all of the major muscle groups (especially the legs and back/arms).
This will improve my performance immensely.

I ran from monday to wednesday, did a cross fit exercise (cycling) on thursday and had a full rest yesterday. Back to running today. I'm thinking about a long and moderate run for the evening after work. (Moderate meaning keeping my heart rate at 164-178).

I'm also VERY excited to use this audio coaching program my friend, Jon, sent me the other day. I love that I found him on twitter and kept pestering him with questions. :P
It paid off in the end and he's provided me with a great deal of knowledge/information about running. Thanks Jon!

Run, girl, Run!

Exercise/Training

My run/walk/jog was 6.56 miles. For the first time, I ventured off into Stanley Park. I turned around after 30 minutes in and turned back to jog back to the Cambie Bridge. Jogged at probably at 6.0 pace for 20 more minutes and walked back home. Limped / waddled back because my blisters were baaaad. 3 blisters bad.

I was starving when I got home so I made myself a huge dinner. Yes, HUGE. Volume eating at its best.

Quinoa with veggies/veggie meat and caramelized onions. YUM.

I was full after my quinoa dish but still ate this cucumber/red pepper salad with non-fat Italian dressing. Flax seeds too. 

I'm off to bed. Running again tomorrow morning at 6 hopefully.

Plans

I used to be nonchalant, 'flexible', but it always ended up, discomfortingly, into not caring enough. Not caring (going to be vague here) actually produced repulsive mannerisms and wasted time.

I gave that up and turned to good old numbers, exact dates, times, routines.

Then that got obsessive too.

It was a vicious cycle I couldn't get rid of. 

Now? I think I turned it for the better. I'm not obsessive over calories but I do have an idea of what goes in my body and the outtake. I measure how much I run, the duration, heart rate and started my first training log yesterday night.

I'm still having a hard time choosing a program for my half-marathon. I'm also having a tough time with my nutrition; I can't tell what's enough or not for my body as I've been running 2-4 miles a day.

I wish I had the day off today to finish my marathon books (they're SO over due at the library...) but oh well, this is life.

Exercise/Training

I'm not going to go running today because I ran 9 days in a row. These legs need rest. I'm going to do cross training today (to those who don't know: anything other than running or walking such as swimming, cycling, weight lifting...etc). I'm trying to strengthen the muscles in my legs and my upper body so I can train better.

What I did this morning:
- 30 regular crunches
- 30 bicycle crunches
- 30 leg raises
- 10 butt lifts 

- 10 push ups

Loving this: My breakfast. Almond butter, strawberries and banana on toast. NOM!

Aspirin, ice pack, massage chair. Repeat.

I just got back from an emotionally/physically painful time at the gym (and no, I didn't run. I walked at 3.0 mph for 10 minutes...Not a good idea...I know.). I noticed the subtle pain in my leg (mid-calf) on saturday. This was the day after my rigorous 2.0 mile run (last friday / Incline 6.5 - 7.5 @ 7.0 - 8.0 mph).

It got worse on sunday night but I ignored it. Although, I didn't push myself and run over the weekend, I tried my best to give my body a rest.

Today, it was a lot worse. I was limping everywhere I went.

As explained in my last post, I haven't been training properly. I've just been keeping up with my running, increasing mileage each week without accurate and safe training knowledge.

I have been doing light stretches before/after my runs but I may have pulled muscles and tensed them up while doing them.

I'm studying all night tonight for my training.

I'm so upset I can't run for a couple of days but it's all fair since it is my fault for exerting myself this hard.

After some tears, I iced my leg and took some aspirin.

Rest. Research.

Sounds good.

Not loving this: Some idiot at the gym asked me about my limp and after I explained, his best advice was, "Run through the pain!". REALLY? Yeah, I'll just run 2.5 miles and assume that my injury will go away.

This may be a curse

Today was a long one indeed, woke up and went to work. My body was running low on energy seeing that it was only fuelled by morning coffee and one apple for the entire day. And obviously, this made every single millisecond of my day gruelling.

This is not, however, a relapse of my eating disorder. I just forgot to pack my lunch on my rush to work in the morning and packed only two apples the night before as a snack for today.

Magically, at the end of my work day, my boss let me go home early. Met up with my friend for a quick chat before rushing off to make dinner.
- Fried tofu teriyaki with quinoa.
- Green smoothie
- Cereal with almond milk
(told you I was starving)

Exercise/training:
Unfortunately, I have not been able to train for my half-marathon yet. I'm still researching tons about the workouts, nutrition and different types of programs before I start. Moreover, as soon as training officially starts, I will be making separate posts about training. Day 1, day 2...and so forth.
I suspect this will begin in July or end of June.

Power reading started last night.
I've been a little study bug on my desk, researching and taking notes. Teehee.

Loving this: 

Summer. The beach. Bikinis. AHH! I love summer.


Not loving this: I think the Canucks are cursed when it comes to playing on Boston ice. I swear to god, nothing's working for them right now. I mean, they missed SO many open net chances in first period. What the hell, guys? But whatever, I'm still a believer that we can do this. Still 2 periods left, Canucks. You can do this.

Crossroads

I received a bunch of emails yesterday from the admission officer from one of my schools that I chose, notifying me I got into my second choice for a program. Seeing that this was my second choice and I already got into my other backup program for school...I'm having a very hard time deciding.

To put it shortly, the two programs I need to decided between are vastly different.

Business or medicine.

Business...or...Medicine.

I've already reserved my seat in the medical program just in case I change my mind about business school and now...I'm just having second..no, umpteen thoughts about school. This is my life.

It comes down to one program and I don't know anymore.

I'm just going to breathe, look things over, research for a couple of hours and decide. Maybe making a list of pro's and con's should help...?

Anyone ever this indecisive about their life? Suggestions on how to decide? Maybe I should just do rock paper scissors.

Sound good?

Yeah.

Loving this: My new marathon book came in the mail. BOOYAH.

Loving this 2: I kind of have a big crush on Brendan Brazier. Ironman Triathlete sexy vegan.

Not loving this: My brain, right at this moment.

Beach day

Let's face it. It's June and the sun is ready to make a full-time appearance from now on. This, in turn, means that it's time to get those cute and skimpy bikinis and hit the beach.

With coming back from New York, dealing with my struggles, training and readjusting my diet to a vegan diet, my weight's been all over the place.

Up, down, tears, up, sweat, up, down, up, up.
And now it's at a very high number and I still haven't been able to kick that nasty "weigh myself every morning" habit to the curb.

I know I need to fix this habit, no matter how hard it is. I just cannot deal with the havoc it wreaks on my psyche, shattering it to bits and creating frustration for no reason.

...Anyways, I've been doing well with the eating. Vegan, still.

Planning to pack a delicious stir-fry rice mix for lunch for the beach today. Going to venture around Kitsilano with a friend and have a picnic on the beach.

This is what I had yesterday for lunch and I can't wait to taste it again:

Green Monster smoothie and veggie burger with sauteed tomatoes, 1/2 avocado on a bed of sauteed spinach. (I used tomato slices as buns instead of actual bread to save calories.)

It was so, so good. 

I've already done so much this morning. Felt like a sexy minx after my run too.

To do today:

- Run 2.5 miles

- Return some library books

- Go buy cereal

- Create menu for sister's birthday dinner

- Make new playlist for workout mix

- Clean apartment

- Beach day with friend

Enjoy your day. I sure will.

xoxo,

MK

Winning Wednesdays

Despite being very good with saving money ever since I got back from NYC, I did indulge in a little overdue happy hours with my girlfriends. I couldn't help but be drawn by the temptations of girly cocktails and pleasant evenings out.
It was definitely a treat, after not drinking more than one glass of alcohol for two months before that.

First night would have been friday. I won't mention much else because that night was a bit chaotic.

Saturday: An adventure downtown. We didn't make it to the "Singles Party" but still had our own fun.

Monday: Assembled furniture and without a doubt, after polishing off two bottles, we were tipsy enough to think going downtown (on a monday!) was a good idea. Turned out...to be....fun. Despite walking around for a bit to find a bar with at least 3 people in it, we went to Society then George. Free shots and all that. It was lovely.

The cute jukebox at the diner (Templeton on Granville) the wife and I went to. 

Yesterday: Very light dinner with my best friend followed by a lychee-tini and thai food with my other best friend. It was lovely.

Today: We're going to win. I know it. (Hence the title) I'm probably not going to go out tonight to pinch a couple of pennies but who knows... I may just get excited.

Things to do today:
- Interviews
- Finish 4 chapters of Marathon book
- Return books to library
- Send email to admissions officer
- Run 2.5 miles
- Clean room/reorganize closet
- Rearrange file folder
- Finish 2 chapters of PR book
- Watch game with friends

First day being vegan again.

xoxo,
MK

Bad girl, bad bad bad!

7:30PM

Just ran my first 5k since I've been back from NYC and it felt so good. I could have kept going and would have kept going but I know better than to push myself right now.

Post workout Power snack would be:
Cottage cheese, chopped almonds, raisins, ground flax seeds and one honey date.

----------------------------------

So my friend pointed out a couple of days ago that I've been really slacking on this blog. It's not the only thing I've been slacking with. I've been really inconsistent with my runs.
I'm taking tentative note and making subtle changes. Things don't usually happen all at once and it takes a lot of time and effort to accomplish something.

I usually write down all my runs on my iCalendar as well as on a separate documents (one online and one offline). Seeing my iCal pop up every morning reminding me I haven't run this day and that day has made me feel really guilty.

Which makes me feel more motivated to start running every morning again. I look back at my past runs for the past two months and it's religiously noted that I ran every morning 6/7am for 6 days a week.

If I had motivation back then, I can do it again. Not that my urge to run has run dry (no pun intended), no. With my training for the half marathon day looming (June 1st), I can't wait a day longer to get my body used to the surge of adrenaline and energy.

People have asked me and quipped in their two cent in about my half marathon goal.
"Why don't you just do a 5k or even start with a 10k? Don't you think that's a bit more feasible?"

Yes, it's true. Maybe I should start with something small but I have this naive habit of attempting things that may seem a bit too challenging. And perhaps I should start with something easy but I really want to do this. The whole focus is to stay on track stride forward (literally and figuratively).
Who doesn't love a challenge?

As for the diet, I've been having some good days and bad days. The tendencies to binge and over eat without the compensation of exercising have been happening a lot lately ever since I got back from New York.

Takes time but I'm working on it.

Loving this: I made my own almond butter. And it's GOOOOOOD.

Loving this 2: Girls night tomorrow at my friend's new apartment. Making dinner and drinking wine like the classy girls we are.

Loving this 3: Got into my backup option program for school. Every gal needs a plan B.

Homemade almond butter. So easy to make; you just blend a cup of roasted almonds for 15 minutes. All you need is patience. 

Writing Wednesdays

I've been writing, reading, researching all day. I went to the library yesterday and borrowed a stack of books. Books for my program in September, nutrition, fitness and a couple of medical books.

With the short amount of free time I'll have until September, I'm trying to indulge as much as possible on researching and absorbing before I fall, head first, into marketing management.

With this, I have a lot more to do before it hits 11. I also borrowed this marathon training book that I need to finish by the 31st.

I leave you now with one of my favourite recipes.

Rosemary Flatbread 

This is so simple to make as a quick appetizer or a side for salad (or whatever you please). 

This recipe also comes with a warning as it is highly addictive.

Serves: 4-8 as a light appetizer

Ingredients:

- 3 cups flour

- 1 tsp salt

- 3/4 tsp sugar

- 1 tsp instant dry yeast

- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp)

1. Combine all dry ingredients (except rosemary). Add 1 cup cold water. Mix on low speed until ingredients are combined, increase speed to med-high (electric mixer) and continue to mix for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and cleanly pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. (You don't need an electric mixer if you don't have one.)

2. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and allow to rest for 2-4 hours until it has doubled in size. Split the dough into halves and form each into a log. Place log on a floured surface, and allow it to rest until the formed dough doubles in size again, at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 520 degrees, on broil. Put dough on a lightly floured on a lightly floured baker's peel/oven pan. Dimple dough by pressing it down with your fingertips. Work the dough outward toward the edges of the peel until you reach your desired size and thickness, about 1/4 inch. 

4. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, rosemary and sprinkle with remaining salt.

5. Slide flatbread on a pizza stone (if using baker's peel). Bake until the bubbles range from golden to deep brown in color, 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy.