day two

Two posts in two days?! Don't get used to it... I ran up into Reading today, skipping the typical around the lake loop. Gave me a different view and some elevation changes, too. The lake is pretty flat so to get any sort of hills into my training, I have to get creative with my routes.

What's notable about today? The weather. Sunny and 50+ degrees in January...um, yes please and thank you very much. Couldn't have asked for a better day two training run. 3.75mi locked in!

day one

Have I mentioned I recently registered for a marathon? If you're counting, this will be number 8. Wahoo! In four months from today, I'll (hopefully) be checking off another state I've run a marathon in. So far, it's 7 marathons and 7 states - we'll see how long I can keep that up!

Today was training day number one. 5 miles? Check.

I've been finding it very hard to find motivation to start and continue training for this race. So I figured, I have this blog and perhaps I should use it for some accountability. Starting today, we'll count up to marathon day, May 29th. I won't post every day, but I'll keep the count going. We've got 113 days until the photo a day countdown.

Along the way there will be mundane training runs, some cross training, perhaps some food pictures, and even a couple of other races. Looking forward to another marathon journey with you!

it's fun

The preparation for a midday, cold weather run doesn't have to be serious. In fact, it rarely is with these two!

With the sun shining and the temp in the high 30's/low 40's it was a perfect day to hit the Minuteman Bikeway for a few miles at lunch time. We ran just over 4mi.

We all, for one reason or another, haven't been running as consistently as we'd like to so we are of similar mindsets: we're starting from scratch. No expectations, no demands on ourselves. Just go out and run and try to have fun, too. We've got that last part down.

duh, food

After many years of training, about two years ago I finally got it. What's it? Well, the fact that it's not just about getting the miles in and the workouts in and the crosstraining in (that crosstraining lesson sure took a while...), but it's also about the nutrition. And everyone reading says, "Duh, Angela."

For too long I relished in the mindset of eating what I wanted because I was training for a marathon (or whatever I was training for at the time). I enjoyed that! I love food! I love bagels and pasta and chips and cheeseburgers and ice cream. Oh, I love ice cream.

clockwise from top right: breakfast (eggs, sweet potatoes, broccoli and coffee),
dinner (roasted chicken, sauteed veggies, and yucca fries from Whole Foods),
a post-workout snack and a pre-workout snack, and lunch (chocolate chili over
spaghetti squash and more coffee). Not pictured: lots of water!

So after a year of sporadic workouts and a race thrown in here or there, I've seemed to gained a few more pounds than I'd have liked to. And now that it's a new year, I figure why not start now. (But I firmly hold to the belief that turning the calendar to a new year does not mean anything...it's just another day. Any day of any month of any year can be the start of something.)

I plan to take pictures of all the food I consume to hold myself accountable to eating well. I did pretty well on day one, if I do say so myself. :) I'll be following closely to the rules of the Whole 30 (cutting out sugar, grains, dairy, beans, and alcohol) for an undetermined amount of time. I say that because I hope I'll have some motivation to continue eating this way as much as possible. Some people love it, some hate it - for me, it works in helping me feel more like me. I feel less bloated, less brain fog, and just feel better all around. Something else might work for you!

Don't worry, I won't flood the blog with food pictures everyday, the pics are more for my own accountability. But if I happen to make something especially tasty, I'll let you know.

Here's to a new year (new month, new day!) of taking care of our bodies and minds. Cheers!

winter is here

It has been a relatively warm winter so far. In fact, it was nearly 70deg on Christmas Day! It looks like that weather is behind us and we have some cold days ahead...

Tonight was my second run in as many days. This is good news because I haven't been running consistently since, oh, I don't know: November of 2014?! I've been very bad. With a marathon only 5mo away, I need to get a base back so I can build up my mileage. Which means braving whatever weather comes our way!

As I drove home from work, I was monitoring the temp in my car, deciding to either run outside or go to the gym. When I arrived home, my car registered 24deg. I thought, "Sure, with the right layering, that sounds just fine." But what I neglected to take into account was the windchill. Whoops.

The first half of the run was really, really cold and into the wind. The second half on the pretty side of the lake wasn't nearly as bad, running with the wind. I got just over 4mi in on this brisk evening.

I always feel a little BA when I run in weather like this. Makes me feel like my workout was that much more worth it. I'm sure I'll have more runs this winter that are just that much more worth it...

it's been a year...

...and what a year it's been! Here are just a few highlights:

In May, I had surgery to remove half of my thyroid. The other half is functioning just fine without the need for medication - small miracles! My parents came out while I was recuperating and we did as much stuff as we could, with me needing a lot of sleep and rest time.

In July, I hosted VBS at my church in Wilmington. Over 100 kids, a silly side kick and fun experiments. It's one of my favorite weeks every year!

At the end of July, my mom's side of the family met in northern Michigan for our bi-annual family reunion. Seeing family I hadn't seen in at least 12 years? Definitely a highlight. Oh, and a few solid days on the lake was time well spent.

I earned a delicious beer in October running a Mudderella race with a couple friends for charity. It was cold, windy, and fun! I also took a day off to go up to the White Mountains of NH for some solo hiking. This was one of the hardest, and yet most rewarding hikes I've ever done. There's nothing like getting outside to rejuvenate one's spirits!

Thanksgiving morning I ran the annual Feaster Five race with a few of my favorites. Lots of time spent with good friends and remembering to be grateful for all my blessings. It was a good day!

And now Christmas is here, followed quickly by a new year. A year full of new possibilities, another marathon (yep, that's right!), and many more memories made with really great people.

Much love and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

christmas vacation

What did you do over Christmas vacation? I had my family in town for about nine days and we made the most of their time here! A trip to NYC, a day trip to the Northshore and Portland, ME, and an afternoon and evening spent in Boston. I joined my brother for a couple of runs while they were here...but apart from that, I've been taking some time off - and it's been great! I will admit that I am very much looking forward to getting back to training (and losing a few of these newly acquired pounds) in January.

A few pictures from our 24hrs in NYC: (clockwise from top left) 9/11 Memorial, NYSE decked out for the holidays, Grand Central Station, Times Square, and Rockefeller Center

Few random pictures from Boston: Celtics game, Faneuil Hall, Park Street, Boston Harbor, Boston at night

And just a few random shots, because why not?! 

Here are a couple other things I had small parts in during the Christmas season. Hope you enjoy them, and if you do please feel free to share them! 

I hope you had a very merry and joyous Christmas and wish you all the very best in 2015. 

xo - Angela