Evil In Frozen Form

So, I went to the gym today, as part of my let's-get-healthy-and-don't-forget-you'll-be-living-on-a-lake-this-summer plan.

I had a great workout, pushed myself, felt awesome, blahblahblah--you get the point.

Exiting the gym, I turned the corner to begin my delightful, 10 minute walk home, and there it was: the white truck of doom.

The ice cream truck.

Now, mind you, I'm (obviously) not a super crazy health nut, I believe in moderation, and it's been lovely weather for a Good Humor bar and a stroll. However, I had just had this awesome workout, and didn't want to be tempted by a popsicle of lactose-y goodness.

Walking back to my apartment, of course, I passed a bazillion (Note: Not a real estimate) people walking with ice cream. Boo!

Almost home, I ducked into the nearby organic store and purchased some vegan udon noodles and an orange--I was going to be a good dobby!

I turned on to my street, proud of my healthy decisions, when I heard it...

Dee dee ding ding dumdedum ta da, dee dee dedum dee ding ding!

Alright, typing it out doesn't quite express the terror of it, but it was the Good Humor song--another (or perhaps the same?) ice cream truck was behind me! Curses!

I didn't change my stride, but merely laughed to myself about how I couldn't seem to avoid the frozen milk of terror. But, I stayed strong, and am currently enjoying my noodles.

I'll just have to start watching my back when I'm out in the neighborhood--I'm pretty sure the Good Humor man is out to get me...

Dee dee dedum dee ding ding!

Hi There, Remember Me?

Once upon a time, a girl started a blog.

She was pretty good about updating it, but a few months in she had a (of many) quarter-life crisis. Yeah, it would totally be one of many... But, regardless! Then, just as she was super bummed out and searching for new jobs (shock!) in new cities (awe!) and considering going back to being a brunette (gasp!), things started to turn around.

Moral of the story, the First: Things get better.
Moral of the story, the Second: It helps to be prepared to mix things up.

I'm not sure if anyone still reads this, but whether or not they do, I'm going to start updating again. I recently obtained an awesome new day job and even more recently (read: three days ago) was offered a contract for a summer performance job! Today I went to the gym for the first time in months--yikes--and have revamped my eating habits. I am starting to love salads--wha?!

Don't worry, bacon's still my buddy, we're just in a long-distance relationship.

So, once again, I find myself starting over--and that's ok. I forgive myself for my slip ups, and that's important; you can't move forward until you let go of what's happened in the past.

It's a new day, and I'm on an awesome path :) And it certainly helps that I've got a ukulele and frozen yogurt to keep me going. Little victories.

I'm back!

Pump You Up!

Went to the gym for the first time since Disney.

It wasn't bad, or painful; in fact, I was really quite excited to be working out again!

But, now I need to figure out a goal to focus on that somehow requires working out. Like, I enjoy working out by itself, but I feel (at least for now) that it will be easier to keep it up if it's tied to something specific. Working out for a purpose (and not just lose weight/get healthy).

Hmm. I do have an audition coming up, but I won't speak on that quite yet.

It's time for turkey hot dogs, anyway.

I'm Still Here, But My Laptop is Not

This is the first time in over two weeks that I have turned on my computer--it is seriously broken, and trying desperately to fight off a virus!

I tried updating from my iPhone but, apparently, one of the few things it cannot do is update using blogspot. Boo.

Regardless, I am hoping my computer will stay on long enough so that I might post an entry, considering it's only FOUR DAYS UNTIL THE MARATHON.

Yeah, holy poop.

To sum up the past few weeks: my long runs haven't been great, my right hip is slightly wonky, and I'm terrified by the fact that I may be running in 40 degree weather. Not awesome.

In spite of all this, however, I am really excited for Sunday! I keep going over the course in my mind (it is, after all, one I know well), and watching fellow marathoners' videos of their past Disney run experiences, and while it is definitely scary, I am actually looking forward to it!

I'll admit: between Thanksgiving and now, my training has not been good. I have not been as motivated, nor have I been working as hard as I could have. I'm not denying the fact that I may have screwed myself over. However, I really am still of the mindset that I want to FINISH. I don't want some incredible time, I just want to finish the race.

But I do know that I may have cheated myself out of even that. Not trying to set myself up to fail, but I know that there is a chance I won't be able to finish. It is after all, a marathon, a huge undertaking. But, I won't punish myself if I can't make it. These past 4 months have been incredible, and I plan to continue with training and working out and even--yup--blogging after it's all over on Sunday.

If not this marathon, than you better believe I'll be hitting up another.

This goal was, all along, not about the end result, but about the process. I now enjoy working out and heading to the gym. I'm trying my best to eat healthier. I want to keep training so I can sign up for other races. Maybe one day, I'll be seeing how fast I can run a race.

I really am quite proud of what I've accomplished :) I can almost taste those turkey legs.

I Wish I Had Bionic Woman Legs

...Then again, were her legs bionic? Because, if not, then I don't want them. I know she had a bionic arm. I think.

Tangent, sorry!

Anyway: I am definitely feeling training pains as of late. My hip joint is still being a little monster, and today it started affecting my knee. Thankfully, I didn't feel this until I was walking home from my workout.

I am sure that my being exhausted comes from training in the morning and then working/being on my feet for 8-9 hours; however, this situation will be changing soon.

As I need to be going soon, I will save my explanation for the next post, and hopefully learn to stop writing about how exhausted I am, as I am sure it is terribly boring!

As a means of apology for a--once again--boring entry, I bring you this:

Two hikers on a trail came around the bend to find an enormous brown bear about 75 yards up the trail. The bear spies them and begins running toward them at a full gallop. One hiker drops his backpack, sits down, throws off his boots, and starts lacing up a pair of running shoes. The other hiker says: "What are you doing? You will never outrun that bear!". The first hiker replies: "I don't have to outrun the bear..."

Wokka wokka wokka!

Whee, Progress!

Today marks the end of the first week of training, bringing my sister and me ever closer to the big finish in January!

I must admit, when I got started today, all I could think was how I haven't really been able to run for more than a few minutes at a time (not to mention, my right hip-leg joint has been bothering me). But, I decided to try a new method: I would power walk for a few minutes (no slower than a 15 minute mile) and then run for one or two at a 12 minute mile pace.

This helped me so much! Using this method, I'll be able to work up to power walking for a couple minutes and running for at least five, and then switch to running entirely. See, just when I'm feeling down, I realize that not all hope is lost.

Also exciting news: I bought a scale and have finally started tracking my weight. I must be nuts to put it out here in the open, but it doesn't sound embarrassing when I think about the fact that I'll be making such progress.

Now, I've never been obese, but I've never been the healthiest weight I should (except for that time in 8th grade when I had the stomach flu and mouth/sinus surgery within weeks of each other--I looked awesome).

When I first moved up here, I was around 180 lbs, the heaviest I've ever been. This was a result of senior year stress, auditions, and discovering McDonald's chicken sandwiches. Mmm.

When I went home for a few doctor's appointments at the end of August, I was down to 167.

Today I weighed 160 lbs.

Seriously, I could not be happier to type that number; even knowing that total strangers and good friends will be completely aware of how much I weigh doesn't bother me. I have come a long way and am so excited to think of where I'll be in January:

Healthier, a runner, the right weight, and (oh yeah) in Disney World.

Whee!

A Day of Rest

That's what Fridays are for (in the training plan): resting.

I figured that I could sleep in today, relax my muscles, take it easy--you know the drill.
However, I found that instead of making me feel rested, not going to the gym made me restless.

Is it possible? Am I actually craving working out? Have I started to enjoy it?

Go ahead and play the "Twilight Zone" theme, folks, because it's true: I kind of sort of maybe am liking this whole marathon training thing. Whatever.

But, in all seriousness, this is a great thing to know for those of you who are not keen on gymming it: after a week of sweating your butt off, exercising begins to become fun. The endorphins are awesome and you really do feel the extra energy all throughout the day! It's beginning to look like I might keep up this whole running thing, even after the marathon is done.

But not before I eat, like, 12 turkey legs in Epcot.

Feeling Good

There really is something amazing about the way you feel after working out.

The endorphins kick in, and, instead of feeling tired after the gym, I feel energized and excited! I am really happy that I've gotten to the point where working out is enjoyable--it still takes a while for me to force myself to pull on my shoes and go, but by the time I leave my apartment, I am eager as can be.

After going to the gym, I also feel more motivated to do other things: I want to eat healthier, I want to take care of errands. This is probably why I prefer going to the gym first thing in the morning; that way, my whole day starts off right and I am energized to boot.

Even if I don't accomplish anything else major during the day, I feel as though I have done something really good for myself, and that goes a long way!

And so, on that note, I go forth to be productive and buy a book (the new Dan Brown one--whee!) and walk about Manhattan with this lovely burst of energy.

Fancy Machines with Buttons

If you're not a big fan of going to the gym or just haven't been in awhile, your reconnecting with them can be a little intimidating.

I mean, time travelers could mistake it for an ancient torture dungeon, what with the pulleys and weights and executioner-type trainers walking around.

And the machines by themselves? Treadmill, elliptical, gazelle--buttons and foot things that I just attempt to figure out on my own; but, I finally figured out the one button I've really been looking for! The button on the treadmill that tells you how many minutes per mile you are moving, ie. the PACING button!

I now know that (for my gym's treadmills) level 4.0 means a 15 minute mile (Disney requires that you be able to finish the marathon at no slower than a 16 minute mile pace). If the slowest I ever power walk is at a 4.0, I'll build up the muscle memory to where that is a comfortable and memorized pace--but it will also keep me in the marathon, should I need to walk portions of it.

This button-knowledge will also allow me to run and create muscle memory for a specific pace, say a 9:30 or 10 minute mile. My sister says it will probably be easier for me to train since I am starting from scratch; my body doesn't know what pace is comfortable yet.

I am hoping (as the official training start date grows nearer) that all this knowledge and pacing will help me as much as possible, because at this point, I still need it! Nevertheless, I will continue making my daily trek to my modern day torture dungeon and pressing all the buttons I can find.

The Last Time I Ran...

...Was my junior year of high school, required for P.E. class.

Seriously.

I mean, I've done dance classes and I really do enjoy using the elliptical, but I am not a runner. For one thing, my feet are completely flat and I'm knock-kneed. So, when I tell you that I ran/jogged for 5 minutes at the gym today, it's a big deal.

My gym (Planet Fitness) is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment--I make it using a brisk walking pace that serves as my warm-up. Today I hit the elliptical, power walked on the treadmill, jogged/ran, and walked to cool down, all for a total of a mile and a half; by September 21st, I need to be able to run an easy 3 miles.

And the amazing thing? This minor goal seems possible.

Which then makes me begin to think that perhaps, really, my big goal is possible, too.

They say that one of the toughest parts of a marathon is getting past the mental battle. I think that I may have begun to take that one on: I'm seriously beginning to believe that I can and will do this.

Not to mention, when I'm running in January, it won't just be along some road. I will be with my sister, running through Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, Disney/MGM Studios, and the Animal Kingdom. We will run through Cinderella's Castle.

I think I've got more than enough fight in me for the mental marathon.