Lets Approach This a Different Way

Time is passing me by ever so swiftly. Its already been 2 months since I last posted, I think. My runs have continued to go well. I still make it over to West Seattle once or twice a month to run to Magnum and I’v been getting in about 2 nice runs per week. However, that may be changing now that I have acquired a gym membership and have started training a new way.

The main reason I wanted to join a gym was so that I would have a place to safely train for the biking and swimming sections of the triathlon. However, recently its come to my realization that I haven’t been getting in too much exercise other than my twice-weekly runs.  Therefore, Iv decided to start running a little less each week- either one long run or 2 short runs. Then, all other nights I will work-out at the gym.  Additionally, Iv decided the reason my weight continues to maintain is because I haven’t cut out junk food and sweets, so Iv given them up!…mostly. Which I can already tell was a big influence on my diet. Giving them up these past 2 weeks has been very enlightening. I never realized how many times I come into contact with them each day, without even thinking about it.

The main reason I want to take more weight off (besides the confidence it brings naturally) is to improve my running time. I always run my fastest, but thats only a little bit over 9 min per mile right now. I ran into a fellow member of my high school cross country team the other day and she says she has managed to get her mile under 8 minutes! 8 minutes! She hasn’t been running all winter! My goal is 8 minutes, and considering how much better a runner I am now than I was in high school, I think I can succeed . But anyways, she is tiny and I don’t think she has any fat to carry along, so I think thats part of her key to success. If I could drop to a normal weight, I could run a lot faster and not tire as easily.

My new approach has been in action for almost 2 weeks now. It started last monday in April and I managed to run, walk, or do yoga until friday when I joined the gym. The only day I didn’t work out was sunday (but I did do a very short yoga routine in the morning) and made it there every day this past week (except Friday when I had to work)! Im starting with the bike, treadmill, and taking classes until I feel confident enough to break out the swimsuit.

So far Iv been pretty motivated to go to the gym every day and cut out bad food because Im directly paying for it and I want the most out of it. Luckily, the guy who signed me up remembered me from high school and he was able to give me on of his “family and friend deals.” So instead of paying $64 a month, im paying $39. LA Fitness is pretty pricey but I like having the option to go to different locations and Im planning to get really good use out of it. Plus, thats about how much I expected to pay.

Other than my exercise regime, life is going petty great. I continue to enjoy every day and never let myself waste an hour to a bad mood. I did rather well staying happy through the winter despite how gloomy it was outside, I only have memories of friends and fun (the endorphins from running helped)! Now that the sun is out it is even easier to be happy .

My bday party was a little over a month ago. Im 24, how weird is that?! I started this blog when I was a mere 22! (but almost 23). Following Kelly’s suggestion, I had all my friends dress up in 80s clothes and sing karaoke at Ozzie’s. We were hoping to do Rock-a-roke but that was the one week it wasn’t happening, due to a special guest. and guess who?! Mary K. Laterno’s husband- the 6th grader she had an affair with- was DJ-ing, and she was there too! There was this awkward moment in the bar where some girl was making light conversation with her and they were discussing her living on Mercer Island and dealing with traffic.

80s-tacular!!

The night actually started at Bamboo Garden, and there was about 8 of us at dinner. Then Kelly, Faith, and I headed to Ozzies, but Kelly left soon after due to her sprained ankle. About 10 or 12 friends were at the bar, then there were friends of friends. Most people dressed up and we all sang 80s songs. I didn’t mean for that to happen, but I guess it was a good idea given our costumes. I had all the girls sing “Dancing Queen” and then everyone sing “Bohemian Rhapsody”, both were a big hit with everyone at the bar. The whole bar also sand Happy Birthday to me the first time I did a solo (“Take my breath away”), which I was complimented on several times later. A lot of older women were coming up and telling me what a cool party theme I had, and to never stop living it up while Im young , it was very cool.

Dancing to Heather’s vocals

At the end of April I took another epic hike with a zoo friend and her roommates. We went to Oyster Dome up in Bellingham, where were got to climb on a giant boulder playground and see spectacular views of the ocean and surrounding islands. Im very excited to return there in the summer to play around a little more when the boulders are drier and the cliff at the top isn’t so frigidly cold . Every hike I take in Washington is better than the previous, and I can appreciate them much more now that I am healthy and regularly active. I’m generally the last to tire when I hike, I could climb mountains all day!

Beautiful view!

Next Saturday I may be fortunate enough to hike again, though the location has not yet been decided. Im eagerly looking forward to the summer when more friends are willing to make time for hikes. Im going to try and hit the mountains 2-3 times a month! And as much as I love my gym workouts, they don’t even compare to hikes. Hikes bring me 100% satisfaction because 1-I get a great workout, 2-the workout is using different muscles than I usually don’t target during runs or at the gym, 3- spectacular views, trees/rocks to climb, adventures to be had, 4-I love trail food, tastes even better with fatigued muscles and a great view, and 5-The all around healthy feeling I get makes me feel great for days

Defeat Accepted

Today is the last day of my 100 mile challenge. Unfortunately I did not reach my goal. This week became too busy and I was feeling somewhat unmotivated. I did, however, get in a 7.5-mile run on Friday, with my canine buddy Magnum. Therefore I completed about 87 miles in 8 weeks. Not bad!

I’m really glad I did this because I learned so much about my body. I have mentioned them in my previous blogs but I will list them here:

1. If Im not consistent with my milage from week to week my appetite changes drastically. Therefore when I upped my mileage to 21 one week, I ate too much because I was always hungry, but didn’t have time to make healthy food.

2. I was originally running far enough distances, usually 3-6 miles, but I wasn’t running them often enough so they weren’t helping me improve much.

3. Only the first 3 miles of the run is painful, then my mind and body adjusts to it and I can run much further, depending on how much time I have.

4. I need more sleep if I run more in a week. This and the food thing made the week that I ran 21 mi detrimental to my body b/c i wasn’t being healthy.

5. Running with a dog makes me go so much farther!

Im sure I learned other stuff, but Im sleepy and ready for bed. For now on, I am going to take at least 2 runs a week, which will total over 10 miles, and on weeks that I run more I will make sure to eat enough healthy food! Ill let you know how it goes .

Last 20 miles….

week 3/7: 3.5mi, 5.5mi, 6mi= 15mi

week 3/14: 7mi

week 3/21: 8.5mi, 6mi, 7.5mi = 22mi

 

A week ago I decided I had learned my lesson about falling behind on runs and accepted that I wouldn’t be reaching my 100-mile goal. Then I ran 22 miles this past week. I’ve been doing great trying to catch up on runs, but I fail at recording them! I can’t help but think I ran a 2nd time the week of 3/14- but maybe my lack of running is what made me accept defeat at the end of that week. As of right now I have a little over 20 miles to complete by April 3rd. If I run 4 times, and about 5 miles each time, I could make it!

If nothing else, I’v learned a lot about my body during this 100 mile challenge. When I started out, I figured I would be motivated enough to run a lot more and make it into a “How many miles can I complete in 8 weeks” challenge rather than the set amount. But I realized after the first month that when I took long runs, my recovery period was too long. I wasn’t intending to run as far as I did this past week, but I had the opportunity to run with Magnum, my friend’s dog, twice! He is a big Rot/Shepherd/Lab mix with great energy (he eats very good food)! Together we run at least 7 miles, but I was ambitious and ran 8.5 last tuesday. It felt great! And while Im always concerned he will run out of energy, he reassures me of his health by finding a stick/ball to play fetch the moment we get back! Another factor that helps me go further is running on the coast. My friend lives over in West Seattle so we run along the coast to Alki Beach, along a beach a little bit, then back to Lincoln Park area (we get lots of stares, both of us being so tall- and people clear the way for us!). And the craziest part is running up the fairly steep and long hill at the end; Im pretty much running it at a walk speed .

The best news about this week’s runs are my improved recovery periods. I ran tues, thurs, and fri- so the only time I needed the extra day of recovery was after the 8.5 mile run. I didn’t run yesterday or today because I was busy both mornings. Iv been very good about running every morning Im free .

I have, however, found a downfall to my running over 20 miles in a week. If Im not getting enough sleep, I end up becoming the same grumpy and insecure person I am when Im not running at all. The running gives me great endorphins, but if Im over-tiring myself I wont feel fantastic at the week’s end :/. Thats why I’v decided Im sticking to 10-15 miles a week when this challenge is over, then maybe working my way up so my body adjusts to the increased distance. Plus i’ll start trying to sleep more .

The interview at PDZA went really well but now the waiting process is keeping me in constant agony! I have a good chance of getting it as long as none of the other applicants had previous presenting experience . I did find out that there were about 80 applicants and they only interviewed 10 of us. There are 2 jobs opening at presentation, but another 3 jobs hired by the same zookeepers in the summer. So even if I don’t get this job I should be able to get an interview for one of those. I forgot to talk about owl hearing when I gave my keeper talk, and there was a situational question that I hesitated on, but they expressed compliments on my acting…who knew?!

Hope I have some good news to report next time I write!

In Over My Head…and Loving It!!

Recent Runs:

week of 2/14: 5.5 mi run ~54min

week of 2/21: 6.4 mi run (Greenlake outer perimeter twice): ~62min

This week: Mon 2/28: 4.5mi ; Wed 3/2: 4.5mi; Thur 3/3: 3mi (times were all between 9:30 and 10 min mile)

miles remaining/days remaining: 64.6/30

A week ago I was very depressed about my job and triath prospects. Then I started running regularly again and everything seemed to just fall into place! Funny how that happens every time.

As you can see with the final numbers, I have a little over one month to complete 64.6 miles! I knew keeping up with 12+ miles a week would be a challenge, but I didn’t expect to fall behind two weeks in a row. However, I believe I have gotten myself into a good schedule now and am confident I can finish the remaining miles. I found it helps me to stay motivated if I change my music often. Therefore, my morning routine starts with a healthy breakfast, then time to digest it as I edit my running playlist. That way, by time I’m ready to run I don’t have too much (or too little) food in my stomach, and I’m excited to move to my freshly chosen beats .

Another problem I have RUN into is food intake. Iv already gone 12 miles this week, but I think I’ve gained weight from the extra food I’ve consumed. When I don’t have time to run I generally don’t have time to eat a lot either. But when I run more, I feel more hungry more often, and instead of taking the time to prepare healthy food, I go for the immediate satisfaction of cheese. The good news is that I’ve realized this problem early enough and can mentally prepare myself for the second and final month of my challenge.

My overall mile time has been staying pretty constant at a 9:45 to 10, but I timed my mile.5 yesterday and it was at a 13:33…that includes a short break where I was trying to untangle my Ipod and dropped it! A 9 min mile isn’t bad, especially since I was only moving my regular starting-out speed. However, it would be nice to keep up the mile time throughout a 6-mile run. And fun fact! I currently have a friend who has to pull off a mile.5 in 12 min for his Police physical fitness test. But looking into the tests myself, some states allow more time for women and I easily beat those alloted times! Woot! I should be a police officer…but of course Id also need the crim-J degree .

As far as work prospects, I applied to the vet clinic my friend works at and have a decent chance of getting the Pet Nurse job if no one with experience applies. My current job is very unfulfilling and I want a challenge. I met the Vets during lunch on tuesday when I dropped off my res/letter/refs and they all recognized me as a bridesmaid at my friend’s wedding. They are a cool group of people and i’ll probably be spending more time with them whether or not I get the job.

On thursday I was about to bring back the actual application when I got a call from Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. I turned in an application there over a month ago but the deadline for the app was only this last tuesday and they just started setting up interviews. I don’t know how much of a chance I have at getting the job because its in their Wild Wonders Outdoor Theatre and I can’t act, but Im excited for the interview. Really, I don’t know if i’ll ever again get to have this much fun in an interview, I actually have to act out a scene on stage with staff members! And besides that I get the experience of a zookeeper interview– mainly having to prepare and present a keeper talk. I have a little less than 2 weeks to prepare so I’m going to have as many friends as possible run lines with me so I dont feel so ridiculous about the punny/silly script. If I got the job it would be amazing experience with training and presenting! Im very interested in getting into the training aspect of animal care…plus someone told me they have a clouded leopard in their presentation collection! How cool would that be if it’s true!

Well thats all for now. I took an awesome hike on the Olympic Peninsula a couple weeks ago and spent last weekend in a luxury snow-bound cabin in Cle Elum. I might post pictures if I get motivated. Or I might just keep that all on Facebook. Im always too tired to blog at the end of the day. PEACE y’all.

A Year in Review

First off! Runs of past few days:

Run: Thurs 2/9- 5.5mi Time: forgot my watch

Run: Sat 2/11-4.0 mi Time: ~39 min

One year ago I began my New Zealand adventure (literally- In fact I went white water rafting on Valentines day and caving the next day! ). The night before the 14-hour flight was spent frantically packing everything I would need for the next 6 months. Luckily I had checked the weather and realized that seasons were opposite, and I should be preparing for summer, before it was too late.  Good thing I had returned from a 3-month internship in Hawaii the week before and still had my tank tops and shorts packed . But honestly, I was not prepared at all for the adventures/life-changing experiences that awaited me in New Zealand…I didn’t even know the time difference.

So why New Zealand? I have to admit, the first time I started thinking about education abroad was when a friend of mine became determined to study in Scotland. That got me thinking to myself, if I could live in another country for a semester, where would I go? Then I remembered a beautiful documentary on the landscapes of Lord of the Rings and how I concluded that one day I had to go see that scenery first-hand. So there you have it folks! LOTR is what put New Zealand on the map for me! Plus..they speak English and I didn’t want to deal with a language barrier. The idea of studying abroad kinda died down for a while, but then one day I was browsing Half-Priced books and came across a scientific novel on penguins. When I flipped it over I noticed that one of the authors was a professor at the University of Otago, the same University I had considered applying to. Otago is the country’s #1 research school so I was naturally drawn to it from the start. I took that moment as a sign and started putting plans in action (Im a planner!).  It turned out that the best time to go was after I had attained my B.S. because I could go there with one degree complete, and still study for my B.A. Fortunately this got me noticed by the professor I wanted to work with. As a result, he offered me a book research job the very first time I met him!! Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to be paid because I was a study abroad student only staying for a semester, and not an exchange student staying at least a year…stupid rules. But! I have stayed somewhat in contact with him and there was one point where he offered to be my advisor should I ever choose to return there for graduate school. If he was serious that would be A-MAZ-ING!

With roommates at Otago’s festival of colors, put on by the India student assoc.

For those of you who know me nowadays, you can see how the semester abroad changed me. I became more confident, happy, relaxed, life-loving, self-loving (well I guess thats kinda like confidence), and even more outgoing and social.  Plus! I lost 75 pounds and had everyone commenting on how tall and pencil-ish I had become. I lived with the most amazing girls there, all of whom were great cooks. Throughout my college years I had lived on pasta and immitation meat. But fake meat was rare and expensive in NZ so I started eating more falafel and tofu…which go best with veggies!

With Sara, my mentor It doesn’t help that she is so petite, makes me look even bigger back then.

After: Not my favorite picture, but pretty slimming

When I started eating healthier I found I had A LOT more energy. My runs carried me further and further and my hikes became faster and faster. Although, that was partly because Kiwis like to get to the top of the mountain as quick as possible without stopping…I think this is because they have grown up surrounded by beauty and take it a little bit for granted. But I still take lots of pictures on my hikes…i just wait to bring the camera out on the descent .

As you should all know by now, this had become my training blog. I decided to keep the same blog for my training as I do for travels because life is one big crazy adventure.  Even though the adventure Im on now only involves Washington trails instead of NZ mountains, its my life and if I can’t I love them all the same Im not really living it up. New Zealand was amazing, and I will visit/live there again. India and Ireland sound like amazing places, and I will visit them one day. But for now, Washington is a pretty damn gorgeous place to live and I spend every day I can having adventures with my friends/family I love (because after all, they are what I miss most on long travels).

With NW Trek roommates on the New Nisqually Wildlife Refuge boardwalk. We spent this previous weekend together in celebration of Britt’s vet school offer

When I began the New Year I immediately felt stuck in a rut. It has unfortunately taken me a whole month to get over it and really start celebrating the new year of possibilities. I can’t live my life as though Im going to move out-of-state any day. I have to be more patient and realize that money is required for chasing dreams. Therefore my plan (there’s that planning again!) is to work more, earn more, keep career connections, and still have fun with life and friends. I will continue to apply to out-of-state zoos, but i’ll work on establishing a life here as well, just in case . So here is to 2011: a whole new year full of exciting opportunities and lively adventures!

Here are some photos when I re-visited Hawaii on my way back from New Zealand. I became too busy for blogging after my brother arrived in NZ for my last week of travel!

With Kara on the Big Island

With Adrienne on Oahu

The 100 Mile Challenge!

Im the kind of person who needs to set a goal, then work work work til I achieve it. Promising myself that I will run more isn’t going to make it happen. Additionally, this last year’s weight loss can be partly attributed to me feeling sad and insecure about life a lot and therefore needing the endorphin-loaded pick-me-up that a run grants me. Its at least what initially motivated me, then I started seeing awesome results! So anyways, Im not sad or insecure right now, but I will be if I don’t get in super shape for the triathlon in the next 5 months. This is why I present to you:

THE ONE-HUNDRED MILE CHALLENGE!! Obviously. Thats the title.

So what’s it about? Well last week I ran 14.8 miles. It was pretty inspiring. Which is why I want to keep it up by running at least 12 miles a week. I realized that taking a random 3 mile run feels great, but it doesn’t really help me in the long run (Im punny!) if Im not running that far/farther 3-4 times a week.  So how fun would it be to try and run 100 miles in 8 WEEKS?! One challenge is that some weeks ill need to run more than 12 miles, but I hope to be running closer to 15 anyways.

And heres the fun part! Im not counting last week’s 14.8 miles because I only thought of this plan last night. However, the short 2 mile run I took today does count! By my calculations (of you know, looking at a calender and counting 8 Sundays) I need to have all 100 miles done by April 3rd. Each time I make a post I will state at the top: my runs, the times on each run, and my current mile status. Tonight ill just post this here on the bottom to avoid confusion .

Run: Monday = 2 miles

Time: 19:00 min

Miles Remaining/Days Remaining: 98/55

Additionally, I want to encourage you to set a running goal if you are serious about taking the sport up. If you dont run much, I would suggest trying to do 25 miles a month. Thats a little over 6 a week, no sweat! If you are one of my fellow triath trainers, feel free to take this 100 miles in 8 weeks challenge with me and we can swap running notes and such! Alright lets do this THING!

P.S. Tomorrow Im taking my first mountain run, hell ya! So I might be ready to blog again by tomorrow night or wednesday morning. Also, Iv been taking pictures of my homemade meals so that I may share some healthy food ideas. After all, people ask me how I lost so much weight, I might as well show you .

Alright, Here Goes…

Hey there! Been a while since Iv written anything. As my “About Me” explains, I changed this blog into a triathlon-training motivator, but am yet to be motivated! At least, until this week. The big part keeping me back is that I cannot afford gym membership currently and can therefore only train for the 10K run at the end.

But run I have! I spent the first half of the new year sick and weak, but as my body regained energy I started doing some light jogs around the neighborhood, which grew into longer runs at the nearby trail. This past week I completed 14.8 miles! It all started when my body was craving a long run last week, but I never found the time. Then on Sunday I decided to go to the trail with my sis and was able to get in 3 miles in 28 minutes.  It felt good, but it wasn’t enough. So I went out on Tuesday and ran 6.2 miles in 60 minutes. After that run my hip was KILLING me and I feared it would keep me out of the spandex for at least a week. However, my hip felt fine by Thursday afternoon and I was ready for another run on Friday.  This time I was up in Seattle doing my regular penguin unit volunteer gig (which by the way, has some new baby penguins! One I got to see was less than 10 hours old! Talk about a career motivator-okay that was WAAAY of topic), so I ran around greenlake twice in 56 min.  I thought this was kick-ass until I realized it was exaclty a 10 min mile average…fail .  BUT I actually timed the laps separately and intentionally made the first one a run and the 2nd a more relaxed jog. So my first lap timed at 26min flat (9:17 mile!), and my 2nd at 30min flat (including a 2 min walk from being exhausted by the first lap). Ideally Id like to be running an 8 to 8:30 mile, and Im pretty sure I can already run one mile in that time so Im trying to pace myself and build endurance.

A few of my friends think Im crazy for wanting to run so much, but thats mostly because I haven’t admitted Im in training. Unfortunately I don’t want to admit it to all of Facebook yet because I might be leaving the state before the event. If I can find a full-time benefitted zoo job anywhere, Ill take it. So while I make fun plans for summer with friends, I always have to add, “IF Im still here.” Additionally, feeling in a state of limbo makes it more difficult to spend money on a place to swim when I feel running, hiking and yoga keep me sufficiently healthy. So this is where I have to be tare down that mental block by committing to a triathlon, no matter where I am, this summer. That way, all my training will not be in vain and I can prevent friends from thinking Iv become addicted to fitness and need help .

Im pretty confident about the running portion of the triath, but Im not so sure about the swimming. Number 1, I hate myself in a bathing suit. However, my self image gets better with each week and the regular runs help with that. Second, I haven’t swam a lap in perfect form ever…and I haven’t swam a lap in near-perfect form since I was about 9 years old. Last, we are talking triath swim which makes me believe an expensive body suit will be needed for this cold cold cold 1.5K.

It would be really nice if it didn’t have to worry about where Ill be in the summer and the money involved in training for, and completing the actual event. Mais…C’est le vie! I reeeeeaaaaalllly want to prove to myself I can do it, and have fun getting fit in the process!  Additionally, having something big to train for takes away the fear that Im going to gain all the weight back I lost in New Zealand (75 lbs!). I know, thats ridiculous to worry about. I have, after all, been able to lose a little more and pack on muscle during the 6 months Iv been home.

So, goals for the coming month? Run at least 12 miles a week! It would be nice if I could get in 2-5 or 6 mile runs plus 2 laps around Greenlake on Fridays, but every week’s work schedule is different and Ill have to plan my training accordingly.  Hopefully by the end of the month I will have a gym-membership and can finally pick my training program. Then the real work-outs begin!!

P.S. for now there will be no swim suit pictures, but i might get around to a spandex one .