I'm too old for this!

Hey everyone! I'm currently on the couch recovering from a night out at the bars last night. I'm not hungover, just wayyyyy exhausted. I spent yesterday in Philly with one of my college roomates and we walked around and shopped all day and then hit up a martini bar and a pub in Old City. Then we came back to her house and drank on her porch and then went to the bars in Manyunk with some of our other college friends that came to visit at night. It was so much fun but I am so exhausted. I woke up around 8 and packed up and headed home. On the way home I met up with 2 other friends from college for breakfast. I got a egg/cheese/veggie wrap and it was delicious. Then I came home, cleaned/vacumed my car, watched the Jets/Patriots game and passed out on the couch for several hours. Now I'm hanging out with my parents watching the Giants game. I finally got back into the habit of making real dinners instead of eating cereal so tonight I made myself a TJ's turkey burger on a 100 cal pita with salsa and a huge salad of veggies. For desert I tried one of those vitatops that so many people seem to love. It was delicious! I tried the chocalate one but I really want to try the corn muffin tops next.

I ran my first 20 miler last weekend. I dont know if it was just a coincidence or if its just lack of sleep catching up with me, but I literally crashed this week. I could barely get out of bed in the morning and went to bed super early each night. I got amost 10 hours of sleep each night and would wake up still tired. Saturday I got 14 hours of sleep and woke up refreshed but then being out so late last night kiled me and now I am exhausted again. Oh well.

Well its down to the final weeks of marathon training. I am running a half marathon this coming weekend and then have another 20 miler and some 15-16 milers left. I am so excited for Oct. 25 to get here!

TGIF!

It is finally the weekend!! I am a little tipsy right now, I sat out by my pool with my fam and some friends all night and drank vodka with orange juice. So delicious. Now I am in bed hydrating and preparing myself to wake up early to run in the morning.

My alarm went off at 5 am this morning and I did not feel like getting up but luckily I was meeting a friend to run and I didn't want to bail on her. I had a blueberry clif z bar on my way to the gym to meet her and we ran a quick 6.5 miles.

Fridays at work at casual days so it was so nice to just throw on a pair of jeans, a cami, a cardigan and some ballet flats and be comfy all day. After I got dressed I made myself an almond butter and banana slice sandwich (see pic above) it was amazingggggg. I never expected to like almond butter but I love it. Stopped for an extra large coffee with light cream on the way to work.

On Fridays at work we get out an hour early so we work for lunch. I heated up a Trader Joes meal, it was grilled veggies with couscous. It was delicious! I had that with some watermelon and a luna tea cake. Snack time was an apple and some oatmeal.

When I got home from work I collapsed on my bed, shoes on and all and slept for two hours. When I woke up my sisters and I ran to the store and to pick up pizza. I got myself some stuff to make a salad and a slice of veggie pizza. I didn't eat pizza for almost a year because of the calorie content, so this was a pretty big step for me. I had pizza about a week ago also. I can't believe when I was younger I was able to eat 2-3 pieces! Now one is more than enough. I also ate some choc chip cookies and a ton of pretzals so I def went over my calorie goal for the day but thats okay, I will get a ton of exercise tomorrow. Today was just a hungry day.

I'm off to bed, gotta get up at 5:45 to run and then take a spin class! I love my Saturday morning workouts and then I plan on collapsing next to the pool for the rest of the day. Week 6 of marathon training is almost complete! Have a great weekend everyone:)

4 days until the weekend!

Hey everyone!

Monday is almost over! 4 days until the weekend. Today was a pretty easy day at work, we are kind of slow right now because so many people are on vacation so I basically fooled around on facebook and runners world all day. Even my boss was on facebook so there really is not much to do these next few days.

Today was a rest day, definately needed after my 13.5 yesterday. It wasn't the best run, I havent been eating too "cleanly" and definately felt heavy and sluggish on my run. My pace was a 8:54. Oh well got it done. One of my friends I ran with gave me good advice...I was saying how it is runs like that one that make me think how am I ever going to run 26.2 and she said just to file this run away and not think about it. So that is what I am going to do. No point in stressing over it.

Today I woke up to crazy hot/humid weather here in NJ. I made myself my favorite breakfast- packet of low sugar oatmeal with half a banana sliced up and mixed in, half a banana mashed in, tons of blueberries and a spoonful of peanut butter. I promise to start remembering to take pics of my meals! Then I got to work and saw that someone brought in panera bagels for someones bday. I decided not to deprive myself and took one for later. I ended up getting hungry at about 11am so I ate part of mine, it was a french toast bagel. I have always wanted to try one and it was soooo good. Since I ate that at 11am by the time my lunch break came I was not really hungry so I went and hit up the Gap and Pier One and some other shops and just ate my yogurt and some fruit. I saved my turkey and laughing cow wrap and had it for a snack later on with a clif z bar.

I hit up Whole Foods and Trader Joes after work and bought way too many clif/luna bars but they should last a while. Also bought some premade veggie enchiladas, a big box of puffins, almond butter, and some low fat blueberry bran muffins. Looking forward to trying my new stuff out!

Well I am off to do some yoga and then start a new book. I love to read and can read super fast. On Saturday afternoon alone, I spent 3 hours sitting by my pool reading and read an entire 360 page book. (Shopaholic & Baby-I highly recommend it). The book I am starting now is a memior by a 9/11 widow. I can't remember the name of it butit looks good/sad.

Running 7 miles at 5:30 am tomorrow, ugh morning is going to come too fast. Have a good night everyone!

Weekends Go By Way Too Fast

Hey everyone! I am sorry I have been M.I.A for quite some time. I started a new job just around the time I started marathon training and have been quite busy.

There is not really much to report in my life, I am following my training plan and it is going well so far and trying to really focus on appropriate fueling. I think I am maintaining my weight which is good. My speed is starting to come back after my long lay off from being hurt and I am hoping for a sub 4 hour marathon come October.

I will be back once I have something more interesting to write about!

Awesome weekend!

Hello everyone! I hope that everyone had a fablous 4th of July. I did.

Started yesterday (the 4th) by sleeping in until 9am...unheard of for me! I knew I wanted to run even though it was much later than I normally run on Saturdays so I fueled up with a sesame seed bagel topped with pb and half a banana sliced up. Then I went to feed/walk the little doggies I am watching and came back and headed out for a run. I didn't know how far I wanted to go, it was my last run before marathon trainng started so it was just a fun run. I ended up doing 6.25 miles but it was so hot and humid. My legs were dragging from the workouts I did earlier in the week which was why I cut the run off at about 6 miles.

Later in the day we had my aunt, uncle and cousin over and a few of my friends stopped by for a BBQ. We swam and played pool bball and had some really good eats. I just started eating meat again recently and my hamburger was delicious! I topped it with some guac and had some breaded chicken on the side. For dessert I had a few cookies and a brownie. It was definately a "cheat" day and I did not count calories this weekend.

I ended up going to see an awesome firework display with some friends later on in the night and came home and passed out, being out in the sun all day will tire you out.

Sundays are usually a long run day for me but I decided to skip the run and do a long bike ride instead. I did 24 miles on a trail with a friend and burned about 1200 cals...not bad! I had breakfast before and made myself a 100 cal pita with pb and sliced banana. When I got back I had a big salad topped with hummus and hot sauce, a turkey wrap with laugh cow and a ton of fruit. And a cookie of course. I layed out by the pool all afternoon and swam quite a bit-the pool was 82 degrees! Left for a friends BBQ later and then came home to eat dinner because I am a picky eater and I liked the food at my house better. Had basically a repeat of my salad at lunch with breaded chicken on top and a brownie.

Well tomorrow begins marathon training! I think my plan starts with a rest day. I am going to try and plan out meals for the week that I can make ahead of time or at least make sure I have all the stuff at my house so I can make it quickly...any suggestions on some easy/nutritious meals?

Have a great night:)

4 Day Weekend!

Hello everyone! I promised a much more optimistic post today so here it goes. Today is the start of my 4 day weekend! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend.

I decided to take today as a complete rest day since my legs were dragging yesterday. It was nice to be able to sleep in before work and I am taking care of someones dogs this week so I headed over there before work.

I woke up and had oatmeal, pb, and blueberries. This is seriously my fav meal. It would have been better if there was a banana to add but my sister eats bananas like crazy and there was none left.

Work was okay, I can't tell if the guy I am working for likes me, he is really hard to read. I am doing a good job though and the day flies by which is nice. I packed a wrap filled with tuna, low fat mayo and lettuce along with a nonfat Breyers vanilla yogurt and some strawberries and pb cereal to mix in. I finished my lunch off with a peach.

Later on in the day I had a choc rasp luna bar and a graham cracker. I got out of work early, 5 instead of 5:30 so I headed over to take care of the dogs and then came home and snacked on some pretzals and a balance bar...I NEED to stop snacking after work. It is more of a habit than anything.

My dad and I got Subway for dinner and I got the veggie delight on flatbread <3 it was SO good. I just read the new Runners World (my FAV mag!) and ate a few more pretzals and some strawberries.

A friend suggested to me that seeing a nutritionist might be a good idea and I cannot wait to get a full time job and have some money so I can go see one. I want to eat well enough to fuel my running but not eat too much. I have no idea each day how "well" I ate and I end up being aggrevated with myself because it always seems like too much. I guess it is just a result of gaining so much weight in college and working so hard to take it all off that I have a permanent fear of gaining even a pound more. I just need to see someone that can give me pointers and let me know if I am eating the best foods/correct amounts to adequatly fuel my running and keep me healthy.

How do other people who run long distances/exercise a lot know that what they eat is enough/too much? Any advice for me?

Well I'm off to let the dogs out one more time and then bed...meeting a friend for a 6 mile run in the morning then helping my parents get ready for our 4th of July BBQ. I'm spending my 4th hopefully taking a 24 mile trail bike ride with a friend and then a family BBQ. Also, I think I have a date at some point this weeekend with a guy I met at the gym:)

Bad Body Image Day

Well first of all, sorry I have not posted in a while. I just started my new job as a paralegal and have been quite busy.

Today was a very bad body image day. I just feel large, heavy and slow all the time. I feel like I can't keep up with my fast running friends anymore because I gained weight since I was last able to run. Then this morning I tried on a skirt that fit me back in March and it was a bit tight. It doesn't help that I am completly bloated and feel even fatter than normal.

It is just frustrating because I don't know if I will ever fully feel "skinny". Even at my thinnest I was always paranoid about gaining weight. I don't want to always be worried about this for the rest of my life.

The good news is I am eating very well, even though I think it may be a little too much. I want to run this marathon the best I can and not get hurt or sick during training. Today I had 2100 calories...I don't even know anymore if that is perfect/too high/whatever.

Ugh, sorry for being all Debbie Downer on you guys. I promise a much more positive post tomorrow!

Finally Sun!

For the first time in what feels like weeks, we had an afternoon of sun today! I spent the day lounging out by the pool after an intense spin class taught by my 2 favorite instructors at my gym (and in my opinion the best instructors).

I started my morning off with a cup in a half of pb bumpers cereal in skim milk. I got up too late to run before spin class so I headed off to the gym. Afterwards I stopped at the store for a powerade zero, a diet coke and some peaches. Ate a luna bar on my way home from the gym and came home to shower and lay out.

Around 1 pm I got hungry for lunch so I microwaved a veggie burger and put it on an arnolds sandwich thin with a slice of 2% cheese and a few pickles. Then I heated the sandwich on my george forman grill to make a panini. Sooooooo good! On the side I had a peach and a carton of Breyers lowfat vanilla yogurt with some strawberries, blueberries, and a handful of cheerios mixed in. Pictures above!

I spent the rest of the day sweating by the pool and getting some laundry done before coming inside to make chicken and spinach calzones for my family for dinner! Pics to follow...

Well I am off to finish preparing dinner, I am trying to eat early tonight so I can digest before heading out on a 3-5 mile run with a friend. It is so humid so we are trying to wait until later on tonight. Have a great day!

Protein-Packed Snack!

Although it appears kind of messy and not very pretty, I wanted to share my go-to snack with you all. I eat this almost everyday, either as part of my lunch or for my afternoon snack. It consists of a carton of non fat vanilla chobani greek yogurt, 1 cup pb bumpers cereal, and whatever type of berries we have in the house. It is a yummy snack that has a lot of protein (which I tend to not get enough of during the day), calcium, and it gets in a fruit serving or two.

Recovery Day

After a 4 mile run and an intense toning class last night, I took today as a recovery day. I slept in until 9 and then went to the gym. I did 10 min on the elliptical to warm up and then did a strength training routine that I had a personal trainer develop for me. It was a quick workout and my legs were begging me for a break from cardio today. I came home and had a big bowl of oatmeal. (packet of lower sugar maple nut oatmeal with 4 strawberries sliced up, a banana sliced up, and a spoonful of pb mixed in).

For lunch I hit up Subway with my mom and sister and got the veggie delight on flatbread. It was amazing! Finished lunch off with a chocalate chip cookie.

Now I am just messing around with this blog and will start to take some pics of my food starting with my snack this afternoon and tonight. I am off to do a session of runners yoga from yogadownloads.com. Have a great afternoon!

My story

** I had pics up but took them down....they will be back up soon!!! Thanks for all the compliments though!! :)

All through my childhood until my freshman year of college I was super skinny. I went to college my freshman year and decided that I was not skinny enough so I crash dieted and lost 10 pounds. Because of my poor nutrition, this was not maintainable and I gained all the weight I had lost back, plus an extra 30 pounds over the next two years. For someone who had always been skinny and active, I was miserable in my own skin.My senior year of college I had to take a gym class where we wrote a paper about the goals we wanted to accomplish in the class. My goal was to lose weight. I am a perfectionist and since I wrote a whole paper on my goal, I had to achieve it. My sister, an avid runner, found a 8k that took place on Thanksgiving and convinced me to sign up for it. I also learned to control my portions a little bit and cut down on drinking that semester. By the end of the semester I had lost 5 pounds but I could definately see a difference. I ran that 8k on Thanksgiving in 45 minutes. I was so proud of myself but could never imagine running any farther.Throughout my senior year of college I lost a little more weight as I took up spinnning but was still not skinny by any means. I graduated and moved home, unemployed and bored. I joined a gym in my town and was instantly motivated by all the accomplishments of the people who went to the gym. I became a regular at the spin classes and took tons of cardio and strength training classes. I also decided to train for a half marathon.Throughout all this, I was slowly cutting back on my calories and weight was dropping off at a pretty decent rate. By September, when I ran my first half marathon I had lost 20 pounds since college and was feeling pretty awesome. I did not fuel myself properly during that time though and was exercising a few hours a day. I signed up for the Philadelphia half marathon with the goal of beating my time. I lost more weight before that race and trained harder and was able to shave 4 minutes off my time.I continued to run and decided I would run a spring marathon. My hours long exercise sessions and poor nutrition caught up to me in January when I was started having IT band problems. I refused to slow down and ran through the pain. I dropped more weight during this time and people started telling me I looked gaunt and not well. Being as stubborn as I am I still kept trying to lose weight and run through the pain until April when I knew my knee was just shot. I took off from running until the first week of June, gained 10 pounds back and am now waiting to start my marathon training on July 6. It is my goal to listen to my body and eat to fuel my running.Overall I lost 40 pounds since college, but since gained 10 back. I am now at a good weight for my height and of course would love to lose 5 more just for vanity reasons but I could lose 5 and still be at a healthy weight. I will not lose more than 5.

First Post!

Well hello everyone. I have been a long time reader of health and fitness blogs and have decided to take the plunge and create my own. I plan to chronicle my quest to train and complete a marathon while improving my eating habits. I have also been unemployed since March and will include stories on my job searching, my travels, and my attempt to become a better cook!

I am training to run the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington D.C in Oct. I have completed 3 half marathons. My first two I ran in under 2 hours (1:58 and 1:54) but during my most recent half in May I had terrible ITBS (illotibial band syndrome) and participated in the race only to finish it, not to race it. I ended up having to walk 9 miles of it but managed to finish in 2:44. After that I took over a month off of running and have been making my comeback ever since!

My goals for the Marine Corp Marathon are to make it to the starting line without getting injured, to finish in under 4 hours and to fuel my body properly to make it through the intense training.

Earlier this year I struggled with finding a balance between exercising and food. I was exercising over 2-3 hours a day and that was when my injury occured. I am now trying to find a balance and not take exercising or eating healthy to extremes. As a result of that, I am trying to become a better cook and will be taking pictures of many of my meals.

Besides running, I love to swim, spin, and take cardio/toning classes at my gym. I am an avid reader and love to shop. I am pretty much your typical 23 year old girl!

I hope you all check back regularly and if you have any suggestions on how I can improve my site please feel free to let me know.