Minimalism and #runnerproblems

I’ve recently become aware that I have a bit of a problem.

The week before I came back to Storrs, I went on a mission to replace my tired-looking pair of Nike Free Everyday, which I got on sale three or four years ago. They lived a good life, but when I bleached them this summer in an attempt to return them to a shade somewhat resembling white, I knew they were on their way out.

Mine were this clean at some point... I think.

I attacked the sale rack at DSW with the same hope and vigor I had the day I snatched up those Frees for $35 (shoutout to the DSW birthday coupons, that bargain would not have happened without it). What I found really surprised me. Although I did not score another pair of Frees — anyone looking to curry favor should feel free to buy/ship me these beauties — there were pairs on pairs of minimalist-type shoes. Apparently while I was busy ignoring the barefoot/Vibrams craze, every other sportswear company decided they needed to design some lighter kicks.

After trying on half a dozen pairs, I settled on these adidas ClimaCOOL Oscillations. They’re ridiculously light — 7.5 ounces, according to the website — and feel like nothing on your feet.

Happy feet in new shoes!

I’ve worn them on the bike at the gym, as well as doing circuits and Insanity. They made me feel a lot more agile than running shoes while my roommate and I were crashing around the common room trying to keep up with Shaun T. and the gang.

The Reebok RealFlex Run was definitely the runner-up. Admittedly, I liked those as much as the adidas but wasn’t crazy about the bright blue color of the Reeboks. Shallow. Sue me.

Close to ludicrously comfortable. Highly recommend!

So, how does this mean I have a problem, apart from the fact that I like to analyze my shoe purchases? Well, I also realized a couple weeks ago that I needed to replace my Asics. I searched intensely for a pair of the remaining Gel-Cumulus 12 (the 13s are out, hate when they change for no reason) and tracked down a pair on Amazon for about $75. Score!

They've even got that new shoe smell. Second only to new car smell.

Now here’s where I realized that I have a #runnerproblem. Around the same time, I got really excited about finding some flats at Payless on sale for like eight bucks and it occurred to me that I would pretty much never drop $120+ in the course of 3 days on 2 pairs of shoes if they weren’t for running/working out. My justification is that I want to do right by my feet while I’m trying to do right by my body as a whole while working out. That makes sense… right? Right, guys?

At any rate, I’m pumped it’s going to hit 50 degrees tomorrow here — perfect opportunity to take my new kicks out for a run and get them nice and dirty (pristine running shoes kinda freak me out). Gotta put together the new playlist I’ve been working on (again, #runnerproblems) and I’ll be good to go!

Everybody have a great weekend, and of course… stay awesome.

Three words for 2012

This blog has definitely devolved into a place where I try to keep myself accountable for new training/diet plans. Well, so be it — if that’s what it means to follow my 2012 “resolutions.”

Let me explain.

In retrospect, I did pretty well on my 2011 resolutions (still working on the Brandi Chastain abs). However, I feel like I need to take a different tack this year. Over the summer and late last semester (see previous three posts), I tried to kick-start my fitness regimen with numerous and specific goals for food, drink, and exercise. I’ve now tried this twice in six months, and it just didn’t work. I’d do well for a week, fall of the wagon, and get discouraged. As 2012 approached, I needed another way to inspire myself.

I think I’ve found a strategy that will work.

At the beginning of the school year my roommate and I bought a huge “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster and hung it on her closet door. It’s one of the first things I see in the morning there, and those five words helped me get through a few extremely stressful situations last semester. Corny? Yes.

But that phrase helped me realize that what I needed for 2012 was a mantra — something simple but resonant enough to keep me focused. I chose three words/concepts:

Diligence. Wellness. Happiness. 

Briefly, and mostly for my own benefit: Diligence — I have a thesis due at the end of April and am enrolled in a Publication Practice class this semester, both of which will require hours and days of hard work. After that, I need to find a job and really apply myself — I’ll be forming new impressions and want them to be positive.

Wellness — I got a gym membership for Christmas and have combined running, biking, and lifting into workouts that have me feeling good. I even finished a 9.5-mile trail/road run yesterday! My challenge will be to maintain this fitness when the semester picks up. Eating and drinking mindfully are also important here.

Happiness — Above all, when I “stop and look around once in a while,” as Ferris Bueller advocated, and ask myself if I am happy, I want to be able to say “yes.” No one is perfect and no one’s life is perfect. It’s being happy with who you are and what ya got at any given time. (I think I feel a song coming on).

Those are my three words for this year. Hope everyone had a great holiday and is loving 2012 so far. Stay awesome!

Figuring it out

The weekends are gonna do me in.

I do great during the week. I don’t get enough sleep, but I eat well (enough), have a couple great workouts, and generally feel good. That all falls apart Friday night when dinner contains an average of 1345 calories, the fridge is full of beer, and vegetables become a foreign concept. Argh!

But I feel like a lot of what I’ve done since I’ve started writing again is whine, bitch, moan. Here’s the positives: I got off my butt and went for a walk last night, ate a good dinner, and got enough sleep. This morning I had an awesome run, banged out 6 miles in 20 minutes on the bike at the gym, and had my new best thing for breakfast (Smart Start, where have you been all my life?).

For an extra push in the morning as the week goes on, I just printed out a new quote that I keep going back to: “You’ve only got three choices in life: give up, give in, or give it all you’ve got.” As far as I can tell, it applies to every part of life — fitness, health, work, relationships, you name it.

It’s a gorgeous fall day, and we’re not getting any younger. In fact, I realized last night that graduation day is 6 months from yesterday (I know, say what?).

Go make today count. And of course — stay awesome.

Had to go up to the Hill for this view today. Going to miss this...

 

Good so far

First full day of my Six Weeks to Awesome (I’m trying out names and Barney Stinson is a big influence, bear with me) is on track!

After a mild setback this morning (fell asleep after 1 a.m. = my 8 a.m. alarm turned into staying in bed until roommate’s 8:30 one), I got in a 40+ minute run around campus, including a mile on the track. The one around the UConn turf field is really nice, and I felt pretty badass pushing my pace on the straightaways during “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

A goal I forgot to mention yesterday is to pursue something a friend mentioned last week — eating vegetarian periodically. In a conversation about the soup she was having for dinner, she said she eats vegetarian one day a week. As a meat and potatoes kind of girl, I could stand to experiment with this, and what better time than now (and what better place than here #uconnfootball)? I’m going to finish up that way today if I can!

Spent my break between classes at “Countdown to Commencement,” which was a celebration of senior-ness filled with S.W.A.G. (Stuff We All Get)… and ice cream.

I'm secretly sobbing on the inside. And will be on the outside at Commencement.

Off to finish writing my alphabet book on the Bill of Rights (god, I love my major). How does one explain “liberty” in a way seven-year-olds would understand..?

Stay Awesome, guys (yeah, the title’s staying).

I mean it this time

On January 2nd, I posted my New Year’s Resolutions. And then, like approximately 73 percent of those who make New Year’s Resolutions, I never looked back at them.

Until tonight.

I got angry with myself today. I look in the mirror these days and I don’t like what I see. And what have I done about that lately? Nothing. So, like any time I get angry, I went for a run–just 20 minutes, I still had two classes to get to–and I could feel the extra weight. I’ve done a mediocre job since the semester started of regulating what I eat and establishing a workout routine. Add in alcohol calories and it’s no wonder that I’m not 10/12 of the way to the six-pack I envisioned in January.

So there’s the rant. Solutions? That’s the hard part. I’m an avid reader of Nerd Fitness, an amazing fitness and lifestyle blog written by a fellow Mass. native that decided one day he was going to start his own company. Now he’s traveled the world, amassed tens of thousands of followers, and writes funny/informative blog posts as part of his job. Hero? Just a little. Anyway, NF has regular “Six Week Challenges” to keep members of the “Rebellion” accountable. I’m a day late for the latest, so here’s my own.

OCTOBER 25 – DECEMBER 6

Diet goals: 

1) No liquid calories besides milk and alcohol (college senior, sue me).

2) 4 servings fruit, 3 servings vegetables a day.

3) Less crap. Eloquent and specific, I know. But I know what it is, and it’s got to go.

Fitness goals:

1) Run 3 times a week. It makes me happy (see Resolution # 3), and I haven’t made it a priority the last 8 weeks. That desperately needs to change for the sake of my health and sanity.

2) Abs/strength twice a week. Doesn’t make me happy (quite the opposite), but I need to mix things up or I won’t get the results I’m looking for.

Personal goal: 

I’d argue I did a decent job of satisfying Resolution # 4. My summer internship came with a host of challenges and there was whining and — I’ll admit it — tears (sleep deprivation wreaked absolute havoc on my nerves). In retrospect, though, I really value the experience. Serious shoutout to the family who put up with me and the friends that didn’t give up on me. That being said, new goal:

1) Secure a volunteer opportunity for winter break. Make the most of 4 weeks.

 

Ready, set, time for bed so I can start the first full day of this awesomeness tomorrow. Like the title says, I mean it this time.

New favorite song!

I was driving home yesterday when this song came on the radio, and it was one of those that makes you turn the volume up and actually listen. It has that happy, smooth melody (is that the word? I’m not a musical person) of a summer song. I’m thinking it will be the “I’m Yours” of summer 2011. Just a prediction:) Check it out – the newest from the Plain White T’s:

Speaking of Jason Mraz, he’s one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter and Facebook (he also has a blog). His posts are always so positive, which is more than I can say for a lot of people on those sites (including myself!). Something he posted the other day really resonated with me and I wanted to pass it on:

“We’re not here for a long time. We’re here for a good time. My Uncle Tommy told me that and it resonated in a way that reminded me This Is It. Life is a constant pattern of remember forget, remember forget. The tools I rely on to keep me awake are everything from seminars to street art, audacious parties to positive articulation, retweets to sweet foods, music as prayer, and sweating as a form of showering. I’ve seen many ideas born and many ideas perish. I’ve lost close pets and relatives to the untimeliness of passing. and I’ve known kids and cancer alike and at present the score seems to be even. Thereby I choose death just as I choose rain. It simply is – and it is so. And just as I acknowledge I am – I let go.”

There’s many reasons Jason is one of my favorite artists, and this sums those up well.

His show at the Bank of America Pavilion, August 2009

Thinking spring

It’s cold. Still. There’s hope for New England, though — Daylight Saving Time starts Sunday and the first day of “spring” (as usual, kinda forcing it) is a week later. I also have official clearance from my doctor to start running again (yay!).

I think I feel a playlist coming on…

I’ve been working on a really good soundtrack for the first few good-weather runs that I keep telling myself are right around the corner. Ever since it got too cold to rock out to my fall fair-weather playlist, I’ve been keeping an eye on Accuweather for the first sign of 60 and sunny in the forecast. It hasn’t happened yet, but when it does, I will be ready with shorts and iPod! Here are my picks for shaking off the winter and getting back into a groove:

1) Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups – starts out slow and then picks up. Perfect!

2) Magic – B.o.b. & Rivers Cuomo – great for hills or an instant pick-me-up if you’re starting to drag in the middle of a workout.

3) If You’re Wondering if I Want You To (I Want You To) – Weezer & Sara Barellies – absolutely look for the version with SB (couldn’t find it on iTunes). I love her voice and she’s a really good complement to Weezer on this song.

4) Cornbread – Dave Matthews Band – my roommates and friends who are hardcore DMB fans say this is a song they usually do live and it’s never the same twice. All I know is that it makes me want to move: run, dance, whatever.

5) Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast) – Lostprophets – I pick up a lot of random songs from listening to my brother’s iPod while we drive.

6) Animal – Glee – a playlist of mine wouldn’t be complete without me Gleeking out at least once. Blaine and Kurt killed it on this one!

"Sexy faces." Love it.

7) Basically anything from the Dropkick Murphy’s new album, “Going Out In Style.” I’ve only listened to it through once, but that was enough to decide it’s awesome. They have the music video for the title track up on their website.

I tried to throw of upbeat and more steady, chill songs into the mix – starting out too hard after pretty much hibernating for the winter (I know I’m not the only one who has) is rough the next day. To round out the list, I’ll add some favorites – Semi-Charmed Life, Grace Kelly, I’m Shipping Up to Boston, and the like. Perfect for almost-spring!