I am just the worst

I still intend to write about the marathon this year... yes, the marathon that was 4 months ago.  Let me just say, it was rough. Like, really rough in so many ways.

Let me get to a little bit of a spoiler and say that I haven't been able to run since Memorial Day weekend due to a whole bunch of bad things happening with my foot. Here's the deal with running long distances- things are going to hurt. They're going to hurt a lot. Often, they get better as you get stronger. So, I assumed some foot/toe pain was just my feet needing to be stronger (and, that is possibly what it was). I ran through it. Actually, I sought out advice on how to mentally deal with the pain and run through.  Training this year was tough for a lot of reasons (a fall early on resulting in PT, snow and ice, food poisoning...) and I'm guessing that I just didn't train as much as I should of and caused some bad foot trauma.

Right now, I'm dealing with plantar fasciitis, a heel spur, a torn tendon, a pulled muscle, a bone bruise, and a little arthritis.  I've not been able to teach or do any kind of activity with impact since the beginning of July.  Before that, we tried anti-inflammatories and a cortisone shot before finally getting an MRI and getting the full picture.  I'm missing teaching classes and running pretty badly.

My last run was the Run to Remember in May. I had just started going to the doctor and was told that I could still run, but I should avoid hills.  It was a flat enough course and I switched from the half marathon to the 5 mile course. It was not great. Lots of pain. But, running just the five miles gave me the chance to watch some friends finish their first half marathons!

So happy to be at the end! 

Bish killing it!

Andrew kicking ass!

But, I've been swimming and I love it!  My first few tries were pretty bad.  I was never a great swimmer. I could tread water and move pretty slowly, but I've never really used swimming as an exercise. I had to force myself to get through 15 minutes of "laps" and then 15 more of aqua jogging. My generous and wonderful friend, Lynne, offered a free lesson and it gave me things to work on!  She showed me how to breath correctly during freestyle and taught me proper technique for both freestyle and breast stroke.  I'm still not great, but I'm good enough to actually get a work out!  She also taught me how to pick out goggles and for the first time, I have some that fit.

I also bought this swimming cap. It keeps the hair out of my face and the added bonus is, given the choice, most swimmers would rather share a lane with someone not wearing this.

LANE TO MYSELF!

Updates!

Oh, hey!

It's been a long time.  Since the last time I blogged, I finished up my long training runs (missed the 20 because of injuries and a bad cold), ran in the marathon, and ran a half marathon.  I plan on writing separate blogs about the Boston Marathon and about the Run to Remember (half).

So here's what's new... since I last blogged, two shows opened and closed (A New Brain with Moonbox productions and Legally Blonde with NextDoor Theatre), I've been cast in three shows (Fiddler on the Roof as Fruma Sarah with Reagle Music Theatre, A Little Princess as Miss Amelia with Fiddlehead Theatre, and Company as Amy with Moonbox).  I started teaching a new club- Shad Hall at Harvard Business School, plus I'm still at the North Suburban YMCA and Today's Fitness.

A New Brain.  Just a typical day. Tutu,
spinning plates, dude dressed as a frog in a blazer.

Ok. I have to admit, I've been struggling with tracking and staying on plan food-wise.  It's not hard. I know it's not hard.  I've done it before, I'm just having some trouble.  I've put some weight back on, and it's coming back in different places than it used to!  This ends. Now. Seriously.  I know I need to get back to meetings and that will help a ton.  I keep thinking back to what one of our meeting members in Woburn said about becoming lifetime and staying at goal.  Once you hit lifetime, you only have to weigh in once a month, but Frank said he goes every week and weighs in because otherwise, you're just "playing games with the scale".  He's totally right.
I was on plan yesterday, and I'm on track today!  I'm going to go to a meeting this Friday in Burlington with my favorite leader from the now closed Woburn location.

To inspire myself, I bought a new cookbook, Appetite for Reduction: 125 Low Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Last night, I made:

I promise, I'm wearing shorts.

 Delicious!  Toasted cumin seeds will soon make their way into other things I cook.  Also, I made way too much quinoa, so there will be a lot of quinoa dishes this week...

I tried a hot yoga class yesterday!  I was the first one to sweat. Like... before class started, already sweating.  I'm going to add it to my routine.

I'm also training to teach Insanity this weekend!  I'm terrified.

December 29th? Seriously?

I am terrible with time.  Well, it goes by super fast lately. This whole year!  Ah!

Ok- So I didn't finish out my week blogs, I don't remember the specifics, but I can tell you I didn't stick to plan as much as I would have liked.  I found myself saying that I would get back on track "tomorrow" pretty often this past month.  Very quick recap-

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opened and is closing tomorrow. So that whole month happened.  The show, cast, and crew are a lot of fun and I will really miss it all!  I caroled a bit this month, I fell on the ice and had to take it easy for about a week, and I didn't not work out as much as I would have liked.  I let myself slip a bit.

But, I don't want that to ruin all of the good things that happened this year.  Fitness wise- I made my Weight Watchers goal, I ran a half marathon, and I started teaching again.  Personally, I got married, we got an awesome dog, and I'm proud of all of the shows I've been in.

Looking ahead- I need to make this whole thing work- I'm great at losing weight, and I'm great at gaining weight.  I need to get back to where I was and figure out how to maintain it.  I'm not crazy far away from it at all (luckily!) but it's so easy to let things creep back to the way they used to be.

Goals for this year:

I registered for Boston's Run to Remember again!

I would really really like to find a marathon for next year.  If anyone has any ideas for a good first marathon, please let me know!

I still want to be more mindful of what I'm eating.  More consistently.  I have decided to add some fish into my life because sometimes dining out can be tricky and if I did eat fish, I could make some healthier choices.

I would like to blog more. :)


Everyone- have a safe and Happy New Year!

Run to Remember Half Marathon

This past Sunday, I ran in my second half marathon (the first was the Wicked Half Marathon in Salem in 2007).   One thing I wish I were better at is taking picture while I run... though, maybe I'm amazing at it and have no idea, I didn't actually try.

I was worried on Thursday as I did my last pre-half run because it kind of sucked. It was hot and humid and I had been running in the cool rain so much that it was weird to get used to.  

Saturday, I think I may have over done it on the carbs.  No, no, I'm positive I over did it on the carbs.  I felt fine on Sunday, but I just had a one person carb party on Saturday (ok, and Sunday).  I mean, I only ran 13.1 miles... not 13.1 hours. (I did make sure I had those magic wheat berries, though)

Capris from Marshalls, tank from Old Navy,
sneakers, my number, my phone arm band,
heart rate monitor, bandanna, and NOT a
fanny pack... GU belt... shut up.

The night before, I set out my clothes because I was going to have to get up pretty early if I was going to eat a little something and then give myself some time to digest so it wouldn't bother my stomach as I ran.  I'm terrible at eating before I run.  (I will say, I felt great while I was running, so I should figure out how to do it without getting up at 4:30am to do it) 

So, I got out of bed at 4:45am and ate my breakfast while watching a really old episode of Law and Order.  that guest starred Julia Roberts.  

ugh

Breakfast of champions. I hope this sale at Target doesn't
mean the end of the Honey Pretzel variety of Luna Bars. 

I'm possibly still asleep here.

I got ready and drove out to Boston. I think I made it there at about 6:15am.  I parked in a lot close by (never again... we'll come back to this) and walked over to the Seaport World Trade Center.  

People were running from their cars to the start line....
cool it, guys, there'll be plenty of that later.

I wandered around the expo for a little while, avoiding the pushy sales people, picking up some free GU to add to my stash, and then walked over to my pacing area so I would have a space.

I was hoping to run around this time.

I hung out for a while and ate one chocolate GU packet 15 minutes before the start.  PS- they mean it when they say wash it down with water.  It just kind of hangs out and threatens acid reflux until you do.

So many people!

I decided not to use my GPS app because it's a total battery killer.  I just listened to my playlist.  Oh! I decided (a little late) to ask some friends for one song suggestion so that when it came up during the race, I would think of them and (hopefully) be happy.

Here are some highlights from my list- it was pretty great:

"Don't Stop Me Now"- Queen

"Sir Duke"- Stevie Wonder

"TV Eye"- Wylde Rattz (Stooges cover)

"Good Day Sunshine"- The Beatles

"Put It In a Love Song"- Alicia Keys featuring Beyonce

"Pump it Up"- Elvis Costello

"My Freeze Ray"- Dr. Horrible

"The Pretender"- Foo Fighters

"Pulling the Rug"- Imelda May

"Super Bass"- Nicki Minaj

"You're So Damn Hot"- OK Go

"All Fired Up"- Pat Benatar

"Live and Let Die"- Live version from Paul is Live

I started the playlist and my heart rate monitor a minute or so before we started... and we were off! And then we stopped... and then we ran!... and stopped... this happened a couple of times until everyone was off for a while and could actually run without bumping into each other.  

I was a little concerned because nerves and excitement raised my heart rate a bit at the start.  Also, there was the acid reflux no water GU feeling.  I just took a few deep breaths and tried to relax and enjoy the run.  The first water stop totally relieved the acid feeling, my heart rate came down to normal, and I just ran and enjoyed.

I got into a good rhythm at the water stations... I was nervous about getting in the way, about drinking too much, not drinking enough... I eventually decided that I would drink a cup of water, drink a cup of Gatorade, and then dump a cup of water on myself.  It was a good system.

The first friend suggestion song that came up was Pantera "Five Minutes Alone", suggested by Brian M.  Good suggestion!  It came up around mile 3.

Around the 4.5 mark, we saw some police motorcycles driving towards us.  The cops were telling us to move to the right and slowly our group realized at once that that meant there were people that already had looped around in Harvard Square and were coming back.  The way back was a little longer, so they probably had... 5.5 miles left to go?  And we were on 4.5. Yep.  We cheered the two front runners on as they flew past us and then the next few groups.  After a while there was a more steady stream of people (a lot closer to the loop around.

I think Sarah J's song was the next friend suggestion- and perfect timing! I was losing some steam and Beyonce "Girls Rule the World" got me through mile 9 to the next water stop :)  That song was quickly followed by "I'm So Tired" by The Beatles and I became the idiot laughing alone during the half marathon.

Around mile 11 or so, I was treated to some Candide. Oddly enough, "Bon Voyage" and "Auto de Fey" are fun to run to. 

We got to mile 12 and I tried to pick up the pace... the final friend suggestion came on, Corey J's, "Call Me Maybe". Yes. He did.  (I totally did the dance from the video for one line while it played).  

The final song was a really awesome streak of luck (it was just on shuffle), "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison. That song always comes on when I'm having a bad day either on my iPod, phone, or even Pandora.  It cheers me up.  (Also, the only song I've ever 'played' on the guitar in front of people)  It was a really lovely way to cross the finish line.

Woohoo!

I found Kevin waiting there! It really meant a lot to have him there at the finish line. :) (I think I mentioned before that at the other half, I finished alone, ate a bagel, and then left...)  I went inside, got my medal and a banana and some peanut butter and then found him in the crowd.  We walked around a little, but decided we should get going to my faaaaavorite brunch place, Red Lentil (they do more than brunch, they're a Vegetarian place in Watertown, they just have amazing brunch). 

As I said, I parked in a nearby lot.  Kevin had parked in a garage a little bit down the road since he met me there.  I waited LITERALLY an hour in line to get out of the lot... Next time, I park in the garage.  A little walk is so much better than sitting in the car for an hour after running 13.1 miles, no matter how much you stretch.  

I'm smiling because I don't know how long it will take to get out of there.

My official time was 2:16:05!  It's 14 minutes faster than the other half I did!  

I think my next half will be The Wicked Half in Salem in September.  It was a pretty race (though it was super hilly) and I think being more prepared will greatly improve the experience for me.  I have 17 weeks until the race and already put the training in my calendar.  This time, I'm doing some work on speed!  So far, I've only ever just run at a comfortable pace and worked on mileage.  I followed the Novice Program on Hal Higdon's site.  This time, I'm following the Intermediate.  

Thanks for reading and for all the kind words of support from my friends!  I really had a wonderful time running this race and I really am looking forward to the next one!

Next day post half marathon pedicure :)

I'm a terrible blogger

Yes, I'm a terrible blogger.  I never update and I haven't really told anyone that I have a blog.

So- on the Weight Watchers front, I'm very close to goal. I'm 1.2lbs away. I have to admit that I TOTALLY cheat and weigh myself every morning. I was at goal yesterday, and today I'm up 3.4lbs.  I know this is why they say that you shouldn't weigh yourself every morning.  Eh. 

I've never been so close to the Weight Watchers goal range before. I'm not totally sure how to feel about it.  It's a strange place to be because I know it's not my personal goal, but it's still a big accomplishment.  I mean, I totally look forward to not paying them six weeks after I get to goal (don't judge me), but  I don't know what my personal goal is just yet.  I feel like sometimes 10lbs lost doesn't make a huge difference, and then 5lbs lost looks like 30lbs, so I'm not sure of a final goal weight.  I always thought I would just kind of "know" when I was there, but honestly, I'm a little afraid that maybe I won't know.

In other news, I made a hasty decision.  I'm running a half marathon May 27th. What? Yes.  A high school friend (who, I think I haven't seen in person since then? We may have only had social media contact for a while) noticed a tweet via dailymile about running and one thing led to another and now I'm joining her in the Boston Run to Remember.  She said the magic words "very flat course".  Also, she assures me that she is also not a really fast runner.  I like having something to work towards (not that being fit and healthy is not something to work for) because then I'm less likely to miss a run. I think of getting stronger and more fit with each mile and I try to think about how that will benefit me come May 27th.

Other than that- I'm super excited to be rehearsing for The Full Monty in Stoneham!  Fabulous cast and creative team and such a great show.  

Oh, and I got new head shots. Pat Piasecki is a genius and has luckily chosen to use his powers for good.