I Ran a Half Marathon!!!

by

I did it!!!

I am still disappointed in myself that I didn’t train, but I finished it and I had the time of my life 😀  The entire experience was seriously a blast and I can not wait to (train first!) and do it again.

I ‘tracked’ myself and had the updates sent to my e-mail so I could check my pace later.  Here’s the final e-mail:

EMILY WAX, 02:37:55 (NET) @ Finish Pace 12:02 .

Waking up this morning at 3:15 was no where near as painful as it should have been, I think I was running on excitement.  I had layed out all my stuff the night before so the morning could be pretty stress free.  Kristen lives 45minutes away from Disney so we dressed and checked our stuff and then ate breakfast in the car.

I had a bagel with a little bit of strawberry cream cheese and a Rockstar.

I also packed some mid-race snacks into my new belt pack.

I took way too many things but I wanted to be on the safe side.

Camile and I were both running in the race and it was really nice to have Kristen to drive us there, soo much less stressful than finding parking.  She actually slept in the car for most of the race!  We reached the course around 5am and began the 20minute walk to our starting corral.  I drank a TON of water last night with dinner and it definitely caught we with me; we used the porta-potties 4times before the race!

It was pretty cold out (40*) but once we got into the corrals I was so excited it didn’t even matter.  We were in the last corral so our start time was about 30minutes after the original group.  Sadly the five corrals didn’t do much to help the bottlenecking, I felt like the the race never really thinned out.

My longest training run (more than a month ago) was only 6miles so I really wasn’t sure what to expect.  I wasn’t even positive I was going to finish, although I’m pretty stubborn once I set my mind to something.  In the end I ran the first 8miles, a pr in and of itself 🙂  I did the run/walk method for the rest of the course, although I attempted to run the last mile.  I never really stopped to walk but I was definitely dragging from 12 – 13.1.  I got something to drink at all but 2 of the water stations; I walked through them but never stopped running for more than 30 -45 seconds to drink.

Here’s a breakdown of the race (approximately) –

  • I started running as soon as I crossed the start line
  • mile 1 – mile 5: running
  • mile 5: stopped for 7minutes to use the restroom
  • mile 5 – mile 8: running
  • mile 8: at 1hour and 33minutes
  • mile 8 – mile 12: running and some walking
  • mile 9: took an Espresso Love Goo (this was really tasty!)
  • mile 10: at 1hour and 58minutes – apparently I was really booking it between 8 and 10!
  • mile 12.1 – mile 13.1: running, but dying, I really really wanted to sprint here but I was just spent

When I saw that I crossed the finish at 2hours 38minutes I was shocked!  I figured that if I finished I would take at least 3 hours.  AND I feel pretty darn good!  My already injured leg hurts a ton (8+ out of 10) but the rest of my pieces feel pretty ok.  I did ice my legs in the car though.

With ice from the gas station where I got a Big Gulp of Coke Zero.

Mmmmmn!  I told my husband after the race that I’d probably go home with the first man to hand me a diet soda but thankfully Kristen was able to fulfill the craving for me 😉

Here are Camile and I post race.

Looking happy!

Camile got pulled off the course around mile 8 for not maintaining pace so she was a little angry.  She pr’ed as well though with 8miles and I am super proud of her.

We left from the race to go get breakfast at Perkins.  I wore my heat rate moniter so I know I have a 1968 calorie deficit to make up but sadly my hunger is pretty stifled.  I ordered sunny side up eggs which came with buttered toast and breakfast potatoes.

I was not hungry enough to kill this whole plate,

I’m definitely still a good 1000calories in the hole.  I feel pretty good though so I’m not sure I’ll force myself to eat if I’m not hungry.

Today was a great experience.  I did learn a few things:

  1. I was in the wrong corral.  I spent the first 4miles running much slower than I was able to and weaving in and out dodging people.  Next time I think I will list my pace as at least 12minute miles so I can start off at full force.
  2. I should have taken another Goo closer to the finish.  Next time I will aim to take one every hour or so.
  3. I need to get my leg checked out by a doctor, asap!
  4. This experience, which was probably the best day of my life, would have been more fun if I felt like I had earned it.  I am so excited to start actually training once my leg heals!

 Have you done any half/marathons?  What was your experience like?

Bad Decision

by

It’s 10:30, my alarm is set for 3:15, this is the dumbest post on Earth.  My leg hurts right now.  Not terrible, like a 2 out of 10, but it’s a bit concerning because I’ve yet to start running.

Lunch at Chili’s.

Chicken and green chili soup and spicy cole slaw.

I also had a strawberry mojito.

I kept lunch light because we were heading back to Menchies!

Dulce de leche and pistachio with cheesecake, cookie dough, berries, and a bit of fluff.  Pistachio rocked my socks.

Shopped all day, outlet mall = good deals.

Dinner at Macaroni Grill.  Carbo-loading.

Bread, baked chicken and shrimp pasta with cream sauce.

SLEEP!

Hopefully when I see you all again I will have run 13 miles.  However, it’s more likely I’ll have run 4 or 5miles.  Please be proud either way?

Oh the Places We Went!

by

Hey guys!  My second day in Orlando was so much fun; we are having a great time and eating lots of tasty foods.  Sadly, I feel like I need to keep this post quick because it’s bedtime and I’m tired.  It’s funny how the better the quantity of blogging material I have the more the quality of my posts go down.

Kristen was great about getting food requests to have in the house this weekend.  Breakfast was Dannon Greek yogurt with a chopped nectarine, topped with a tsp of strawberry jelly, in a go cup.

The nectarine was so delicious, Florida is definitely the place to be for fresh fruit right now.

After breakfast we trekked to Disney to pick up our race packets and hit up the expo.  I had a good time checking out the fun shirts and stuff but didn’t really have money to spend.  I did pick up a belt pack (i.e. fanny pack) which I proceeded to wear for the rest of the day.

We did lunch backwards today, dessert first then grown-up food.  First things first, Menchies!

I’ve been jealous of Meghann for months and my envy was totally justified, this place was ridiculous!

I got original tart yogurt with fresh fruit and a small dab of marshmallow sauce.

YuuuuuuuuM!

Lunch was not new to me, but is something I’ve been missing in Buffalo – Whole Foods salad bar.

I got seitan and veggies, bbq seitan, kung pow chicken, a stuffed grape leaf, and some roasted veggies.

Then we met up with a bunch of our friend’s friends at Universal Studios.  Seriously?!  I could not have had more fun today.  This was my first time at Universal and it was amazing.

Even if I did get a little wet.

My favorite part was the Dr. Seuss area.

Fun fact – my tattoo was partially inspired by the star bellied Sneetches.

It was so great to walk around all day and stretch my legs.  When we left the park I, ahem, refueled with a white chocolate and heath covered marshmallow stick.

Our dinner plans were for Seasons 52 but sadly there was an issue with our reservations and the plans fell through at the last minute.  We had driven past an Elephant Walk on the way that my friend Camile was super excited about so we ended up going there.

I had a diet coke and amaretto to drink before dinner.

And I ate 2 pieces of tempura salmon sushi for an appetizer.

I really wasn’t sure what to order for dinner.  The food choices were more American-Chinesse than what I usually prefer (authentic as possible Thai).  They had honey shrimp, sesame chicken, and similar things that sounded good but I knew would be unpleasantly unhealthy.  I ended up ordering tofu and veggie stir fry and asking for the sauce on the side.

My meal ended up being pretty tasty, I was definitely not disappointed.  I didn’t eat any of the rice but I pretty much decimated the rest.

We had big plans of heading out after dinner but we were all so tired it seemed much more pleasing to come home and go to bed.  I know 11:30 isn’t exactly early, but it will make for a better wake up tomorrow than a night of drinking would have!

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss story?  I am a really really big Seuss fan.  The Sneetches, Yurtle the Turtle, and The Butter Battle are all favorites but Oh, The Places You’ll Go really has my heart.

Go Jet Blue

by

In Orlando.  Things are good.  Miss the husband.  Super excited.  😀

Split sandwich with the husband before class.  Tuna wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, pepperjack cheese.

Sandwich from home at airport.  Bun, turkey, 2% provolone, hot pepper peach preserves.

Tangenelo.

Dried mission figs and peaches.

Plane snacks from 2 flights, Jet Blue is fun.

Can’t wait for tomorrow.

What the best plane snack you’ve gotten from an airline?  The cookies were all-natural and had 120calories total, pretty impressive.

The Only Date That’s a Command

by

It’s finally here!  Today is the day I march fourth and board a plane to Orlando.  Perhaps my 1/2 marathon is not the event I originally pictured, but I am super excited to see two of my bestest friends and travel somewhere new (ish, I went to Disney when I was 7 but all I remember was holding an Alligator).

Today is almost as busy as it is exciting though.  I’m missing my chem class today so I attended another section this morning.  I dropped Adam off for his 8o’clock class first and officially officially finished up all my pre-test Chem work!  Including this ridiculous color-coded flow chart –

I’ve been way too busy to eat (I ran some errands too) but I did grab this Tangerine Mix-1.

And I have high hopes that I’ll find time to pack a plane snack.  Wish me luck!!!

P.S. I’m not sure what the posting sitch will be the next couple of days.  My girlfriend has wireless at her house and I’m bringing my laoptop so let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best 😀

Busy Busy Bee

by

I want to get my packing done this evening and I HAVE to squeeze in some quality time with the husband so I’ll keep this snappy.  `_< (oh yes, that was an alligator!)

I like to make to-go smoothies for breakfast on the mornings I have 8am lab.  My first proclamations were not wrong: I love Green Monsters!

This had 1 frozen banana, 1 cup oj, and 1 cup frozen spinach.  I took a better lit picture at la escuela to show of its Kermit-esque awesomeness.

I was in the bathroom because I realized I couldn’t not show you guys today’s layered look!

Love it!  Adam and Katie both asked me why I was dressed up today.

I was with Katie because we had a lunch date today!  I packed us a lovely spread from home to save a little $.

 Turkey and 2% provolone sandwiches with hot pepper peach preserves.

And caramel Oikos with blueberries.

We ate at the Wegman’s coffee bar area and Katie bought me a lovely Nutty Irish (hazelnut and Irish cream syrups) skim milk latte.

After lunch we walked around the store a bit and I managed to get some gifts for the friends I’m seeing tomorrow that I’m quite excited about.

On the way home we split this package of Newman’s Own Peppermint Cups.

Meh.  They aren’t bad I guess but I much prefer Yorks.

Adam had a suture clinic from 5 – 8 so he dropped me off at the Spot to do some studying.  I am completely caught up for Chemistry, yay!  I got dinner there, a Mike’s cheese and egg bagel sandwich.

Plus a skim iced latte.

Still on the agenda for tonight?

  • pack everything but my chargers into my suitcase
  • separate the laundry
  • paint my toe nails and shave my legs, eek!
  • cuddle with the husband and try not to cry about 12 days apart

Gotta get cracking!

*****Updated to add – packing is never fun.  Which is probably why this seemed like such a good idea –

Shamrock Shake!  😀

Is March My Month?

by

It’s been a good day, I think March is going to be my month!  However, the day is sadly far from over so I’ve got to keep this quick.

I have to show you my best layered look to date!

Oh yeah.  And it was so warm (40*) that I didn’t even wear my coat today, score!

I spent so much time looking for tall socks to wear with my Uggs that my planned lunch couldn’t get packed.  Thankfully Mix1 recently sent me some drinks to try out so I grabbed the dark-berry flavor.

The taste was a bit off to me but it got through the lunchless hour so I’m a fan.  Oh yes I did pick the purple one to match my outfit!

My doctor’s appointment went perfectly: my surgery is almost 100% healed and I have no more foot warts!!!  I was seriously grinning so big when I left that office 😀

I got to campus an hour before my first class so I grabbed lunch while I worked.  You can’t go wrong with a bagel and Diet Coke.

I went with a cinnamon raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese, yum.

I asked the woman to use 1 scoop (~1.5T) of cream cheese only and that was perfect.  A “traditionally” made bagel from that spot is a bit too much of an indulgence.

When I was leaving campus after my second class – 5hours later – I complained to the husband that I was hungry again and he pointed out my favorite chips ever as we passed the vending machine.

I’m sorry, at 150calories for buffalo and blue cheese all in the same place these chips are never wrong!

But to keep things healthy I made my dinner nice and green.

A leftover turkey burger with blue cheese and carmelized onions.

Some steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

And a pile of roasted collard greens.

I put a little bit of lime ponzu on the veggies and there was a side bowl of ketchup for the collards.

It’s after 9 and I have at least 2more hours of to-do’s today 😦   Hopefully I can get enough done today and tomorrow that I can leave stress-free on Thursday.  Tomorrow is my 8am lab and then I have a lunch date with my friend Kate so I’m not sure when I’ll be posting.  I hope everyone else is having a stress-free week!

What is your favorite kind of chips?  I seriously almost never ever used to eat chips, I don’t know what is with me these past few months but it’s like I can’t get enough!

Vegan Challenge Recap

by

*Sorry this is a little late!

If you didn’t check it out already, click HERE for the intro/explanation to my vegan challenge.  I knew going into the two weeks that I had no long-term plans to become a full-time vegan.  That did not change, at this point I can’t see my life without eggs, yogurt, and the occasional turkey burger.  That said, I really enjoyed the two weeks and would like to repeat the challenge again at some point this year.  Maybe even a Vegan Month.

I am really proud of myself for sticking to this challenge.  Maybe I can’t be bothered to train for a half marathon, but I did successfully make it two weeks without losing it to any meat or dairy products.  I am also proud that I did not depend on imitation products during this challenge.  No soy yogurt breakfasts and tofurkey sandwich lunches here!  While I recognize that many people have healthy, happy diets with those products, the point of the challenge was to rely on whole foods.

Here are some of the main things I learned during my 2 weeks as a vegan –

  • Green Monsters rock my socks
  • I prefer smoothies without milk or yogurt in them
  • Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan is a book no kitchen should be without
  • I actually like tempeh
  • vegan baked goods taste better than ‘normal’ ones

How do you classify your eating habits?  Vegan, semi/vegetarian, raw, carnivorous?  For now I am semi-vegetarian who doesn’t eat mammals.  But I’ll be eating a little less dairy than I used to.