McGuire's St. Patrick's Day 5K

I love St. Patrick's Day and yes, for the most obvious reason- the beer! 

This year E and I celebrated early with the McGuire's St. Patrick's Day 5K. A 5K may seem harmless to most but not this one. It is basically a huge party but in order to gain entrance you must run 3.1 miles first. The McGuire's run is a really big event here in Pensacola. This year ~ 14,000 ran it (or at least registered for it- that's what they said at the start line). They claim it is the largest prediction race (meaning the winner is the person that comes closest to the time they predicted at registration - also meaning no watches or timing devices allowed) in the country. It starts at 9am and when you cross the finish line the party is already underway. Heck, the party is already underway before you even begin running. The post race festivities include live music, beer, Irish wakes and Irish stew. There is also water, soda (including McGuire's own root beer), bananas and oranges for the people, like me, that want to attempt to rehydrate before they dehydrate. 

We had an amazing time running this 'race' together even though navigating the crowds and the groups of walkers that at times spanned the entirety of four lanes (nothing against walkers- I am pro walkers- but I do have something against those that don't follow race rues) during made it quite the cluster. If I had a GPS watch I guarantee I ran closer to 3.5 -3.75 than 3.1 miles. But it's all in fun. We weren't out there to race it- we were out there to enjoy ourselves and that is exactly what we did. 

We spent the after party hanging out with old friends and new and then as things wrapped up at the after party we headed out to grab some lunch and enjoy some more beers. Oh, and then we hit up the local running store that always has a big winter clearance sale the day of the McGuire's run where I scored me some new Newtons for 75.00 that were originally marked 155.00. Not gonna lie, that was one of the best parts of the day ;)

All in all we had an amazing time at the race and the after party. Next year we will prepare more in advance and try to be a bit more festive and come up with some fun costumes or at least a bit more St. Paddy's gear. Also next year we will be sure to bring the sunblock. E and I are both still red from the sunburn. Typically we know better but we are just out of the slathering ourselves in sunblock before we go anywhere habit. Lesson learned. And noted for this week's half marathon. 

Had to represent Fitbloggin'!!!

Did you do any St. Paddy's themed (or Pi Day themed) runs this weekend? Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxoxox

Broken Windows

Have you read/heard about the broken windows theory? A few weeks ago I was having a discussion with friends when this topic came up. I hadn’t heard about it until just recently but here is an explanation of it from the Wikipedia page:

“Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside.

Or consider a pavement. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of refuse from take-out restaurants there or even break into cars.”

As it was explained to me, the general concept of this theory, my friend began to talk about what were her ‘broken windows’- the things in her life that could trigger further undesirable behaviors. For example; eating one ‘bad’ meal and using it as an excuse to make poor eating choices all day/week because of it.  You know, the whole well ‘the day/my diet/my point allowance is already ruined’ mindset that so easily takes over our minds after indulgences. I know I have felt that way, especially around the holidays…taking seconds or thirds during Thanksgiving dinner, feeling like I just went way out of control with my food choices, and then letting those decisions impact how I eat later that day and the following day and possibly even the week or entire holiday season. There have definitely been years where I spent the entire stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day just not giving a shit about my eating choices. You know, because it’s the holidays and that’s what you do…

For me, the holidays, and the food choices I made during them, used to be my broken window. Thankfully, that mindset has changed and now taking seconds on Thanksgiving doesn’t trigger additional ‘bad’ behavior food or otherwise. And in case you were curious, yes I did have seconds on Thanksgiving and even the day after when I ate leftovers. And I don’t regret that decision at all. I made sure to eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, drink soymilk, eat a filling a nutritious breakfast – just make the best choices I could throughout the day- to ‘counteract’ those indulgences. And that worked. But only because I have taken away the power food once had over me.

And that’s a really big deal for me. Living a life feeling guilty about what I ate and why was not fun. I am thankful for gaining control over those thoughts and behaviors.

However, that doesn’t mean I still don’t have broken windows.

I do.

Nowadays, I am more likely to get sucked into the chaos of…chaos and let it pull me down. If the state of my affairs is overwhelming, then I will feel overwhelmed. The person I am now needs order in my life to be successful. I wasn’t always this way (ok, I probably was but never recognized it) but messiness, clutter, disorganization in my home can easily send me spiraling off course. Not saying that I am a neat freak, because I am not, but when a few items left to be washed in my sink turns into an entire sink worth of dirty dishes well then, the rest of my life kind of falls by the wayside too. Laundry piles up, I don’t make the best food choices (because I don’t have anything clean to cook with), I skip the gym (because I don’t have anything clean to wear) and my old TV/couch potato ways set in. And then, once in full blown couch potato mode, it’s really hard to push myself back into my normal routine. I literally have to dig myself out of the chaos I created. It’s not easy.

And because I know how quickly things can spiral out of control I try really hard to stay on top of my life, to keep it (somewhat) in order, and what needs to be done to do so. That means laundry and grocery shopping/meal planning weekly, kitchen (at minimum dishes)/general apartment clean up daily-when home, and setting realistic goals for being active/working out. This also means making time for schoolwork so I don’t fall behind- which of course makes me feel overwhelmed. And since  schoolwork trumps almost everything,  if I don’t stay on top of it means I will sacrifice workouts, cleaning, or cooking meals at home to make time for school, which albeit it at times necessary  is not really a good thing.

So this holiday season, as I prepare more for the time I will spend out of work recovering from my surgery versus the actual holiday itself, I will need to make sure I put my life in order so that way I don’t fall into the broken window spiral.

 I owe it to myself to do so.

 I have worked too hard not to.

Plus, if I know what my broken window is why wouldn’t I do everything in my power to fix it?

What is your broken window? What changes have you made to help repair it?

Challenge NOT Accepted...

I’ve come to the recent realization that I can’t do fitness challenges anymore…

Ok, I mean I am sure that physically I can but mentally, spiritually, whatever, I just can’t commit.

And now, when the interwebs are all a glow with piles of miles and skinny snowmen (which are awesome challenges); I am just over here in my corner hoping to make it to tonight’s boot camp class. There’s no run streak, 30 day shred (well at least not 30 days continuously, lol!) or any of that end of year push through the holidays with some sort of daily challenge for me.

I just can’t (yeah, yeah I get it…won’t) do it.

Why? Well that’s a good question.

I think what has happened is that working with a nutritionist who has told me to do less and eat more and somehow I weigh less now than I have all year in over a decade (even with gaining back 2 pounds from what I lost during the super stressful parts of the divorce) and I am having fun living a ‘normal’ life has made me not want to do anything extreme. Not if I don’t have to.

I’ll be honest with you…I still love being active (that is something that is very important to me)...and I try to get in two boot camp classes plus some additional cardio (running or cycling) every week…BUT I am really enjoying not waking up at 430a-5a every day. Not working out before AND after work. Not planning my life around a training plan.  That life caused me to be too focused, too committed. I had tunnel vision. All I could see was that one path, with only one option.

Now…

I love my classes and runs on the track after work.

I love being able to stay out late on a Friday or Saturday without worry of how it will mess up my training schedule.

I love not having to stress about not doing enough or not eating everything just right or worrying I will gain 500 pounds if I have one little beer.

I was so focused for so long on losing and training and I was so scared that if I slowed down even the slightest I would immediately revert to a 286 pound couch potato that I stopped living my life and just lived the life I thought I needed to in order to stay on the ‘right path’.

Ok, so maybe that is a bit of an extreme recap of what parts of my journey were like but those of you who know me from the very beginning you may recall I was a bit uptight about everything.

Luckily, that behavior did get better over time as I realized I needed balance in my life. My focus started to shift to include all of the fun stuff I wanted to do as well. Dinners out, beers with friends, hockey games, movies, girl’s night at the skating rink, etc., all the social things I had been skipping out on -in addition to being active.

But even more recently, just a few months ago, I was still being a little bit extreme with the activity levels. Somewhere in my subconscious I must be very afraid of gaining back weight. Either that or I became so used to working out all the time that it became second nature…not sure. But either way, my behavior needed to change.

And change it did.

My nutritionist told me less cardio (meaning fewer workouts per week at a shorter duration than I had been- no more 5-6+ hours a week of straight cardio) and work towards a balance of strength training (1-2 times a week) with a little bit of cardio thrown into the mix (like 1-2, 30 min sessions of intervals) and to up my calorie intake to 1800/day regardless of if I work out or not.  Plus we switched up the foods I was eating as well and voila- that was the magic mix.

At first I felt scared to move less and eat more…it went against everything that helped me lose weight in the first place. But I listened to the expert and was able to comfortably and happily lose weight AND I didn’t stress about it either which made/makes life a whole lot easier. AND for the first time I am officially at what I would call my goal weight…156 lbs. That’s where my nutritionist wanted me and that is where I have been at or below for almost all of November. Yay!

But I digress…

My point, and there is one I swear, is this…

Over the last couple years I had needed the focus and drive and push from these type of challenges (or training plans) and they helped keep me going on this journey even when it got hard. And for that I am eternally grateful.

But this year….well, this year I am opting for something a bit different.

Something less stressful.

Something less involved.

Something less intense.

For me, for the next month or so, I am just committing myself to being happy, taking care of myself, having fun, celebrating life and making sure I don’t take any of it for granted.  Yes, I will still be active. Yes, I will still plan and grocery shop and bring my meals to work. Yes, I will still put my health first.

Of course I will.

But I will do so while drinking a beer, or spending the afternoon at the movies, or going out with friends to dinner, or even curled up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and some dark chocolate (watching movie previews) and I will make sure to say to myself…damn, this life is good!

Because damn, this life really is good!

Love and kisses-

Dacia

Oh and since I forgot to say it yesterday with my Thanksgiving wishes…Happy Hanukkah!

FMM: the Holidays- Parts One and Two

If you’ve taken part in Friend Makin’ Monday (FMM) then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Make sure you share your link over at All theWeigh so everyone can see your responses. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s (and last week’s too) topic!

The Holidays: Part 1

1. What are you plans for Thanksgiving this year? I am quite fortunate that a number of my friends and co-workers invited me to spend the holiday with them this year. My plans are to go with a friend of mine and spend Thanksgiving with his family. It will be nice. It’s been 5 years since I spent Thanksgiving with my family so it will be a welcome change to spend it this way.

2. At what point do you being celebrating the Christmas season? Typically I try to wait until after Thanksgiving before I start celebrating Christmas however, there are Christmas songs already on the radio 24/7 and decorations already up around town so it is hard not to get sucked in.

3. Do you celebrate Christmas, or do you celebrate another holiday? Christmas

4. If you could have one present (you know, a material good, not love or world peace) what would you want? Wow….that’s a tough one. I feel like I already have everything I need and my list of wants is pretty small. I would say I would love some new earrings to replace the hummingbird ones I lost or even a new necklace to replace the one I broke (sorry James)

Oh and this pillow...it is completely ridiculous and far too expensive for a throw pillow but I love it so much. That would be the one present I would pick...

 

5. Share an idea or two that you can plan to do for someone who may need to feel loved throughout the holiday season. I have been on the hunt for really unique and meaningful gifts this year. This year I expect Christmas will be a lot different for me and instead of just getting hung up on me being alone I am trying to focus on showing those around me (and all over the country) how much their love and support means to me. This year I am going to try and make the holidays about giving thanks and spreading loving joy and celebrating life. You know- the real reasons for the holidays.

6. Would you rather spend the holiday season on the beach or in the snow? BEACH! Don’t get me wrong, I love the snow…for like a day or two…but I love the beach more. The beach feels like home to me…I think that’s why I love Pensacola so much.

7. What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? That’s a tough one…I would say either pumpkin pie or mashed potatoes. I did have some oyster mushroom cornbread stuffing a few weeks ago (which I will be preparing for this Thanksgiving) and it was so yummy….it may be my new favorite.

8. Will you participate in Black Friday shopping? Nope. I hate crowded malls/stores so BF is like a nightmare for me. If I shop at all it will be on Amazon…from the comfort of home.

9. Will you travel for the holidays or stay at home? If you’re traveling, are you flying or driving or making alternate plans? Like I said earlier, I am spending Thanksgiving with a friend and his family. We will be driving. It’s like an hour away from here- nothing too major. For Christmas I will be at home resting after surgery. The only travel plans I have for Christmas is spending what I am dubbing ‘Christmas weekend’ (the weekend before my surgery) traveling to Mobile (which is only an hour from here) to see the Nutcracker and a Christmas light show at Bellingrath Gardens.

10. List at least 5 things for which you are currently thankful. I have so much to be thankful for but I will keep this list short.

·         My family (which includes my furbabies, whom I miss oh so much)

 

 

·         My friends

·         My health

·         My job

·         Pensacola….my home

The Holidays and More: Part 2

1. What state/country do you live in? I live in Florida…the sunshine state :)

2. Where were you born? Were you raised there? I was born just outside of Philadelphia and grew up there until I was 8 (I think) when we moved across the bridge into Jersey...yep, I’m a Jersey girl…watch what you say ;)

3. How do you feel about stores like Wal-Mart opening on Thanksgiving Day for pre-Black Friday sales? Will you participate? Absolutely not! The whole idea is revolting. People (especially those who work in retail) deserve to spend Thanksgiving with their families (or at least not working) and I think being open that day is completely unnecessary and completely ridiculous.

4. Have you ever participated in a Turkey Trot? Yes! Last year; for the first time. It was a four-miler and it was awesome. Don’t think I will be doing one this year but hopefully I can get in a post-Thanksgiving feast walk to help the digestion ;)

5. What was your favorite toy as a child? I think you might need to ask my parents this one to know for sure but I feel like I had a giant doll that was the same size as me, maybe bigger, that I really loved. Oh and the doll house my great uncle Richard built for me.

6. Will you count points/calories on Thanksgiving Day? I don’t most days so no, I won’t be tracking on Thanksgiving. I will, however, try to not overeat or eat when I am already full just because I love ALL THE FOOD. I will try to treat it like a normal day and listen to my hunger cues. But, it is Thanksgiving and I’m not a robot…I will probably eat more than I would on a normal day. Lol!

7. Will you watch football Thursday? I am guessing we will. I definitely know I will be watching some football on Friday and Saturday. Oh and I get to go to two hockey games this week; Wednesday and Saturday. Yay!

8. Do you decorate inside/outside of your home for the holidays? Usually I do. This year, in my new apartment, I probably won’t do much though. I do have this little ceramic tree (that looks like the ones my grandmothers had/have when I was growing up) that makes me feel so happy every time I look at it. Definitely makes my little home super festive.

 

9. Do you have allergies that prevent you from eating traditional holiday meals? No allergies but as a vegan it is pretty difficult to eat most ‘traditional’ holiday food items. For my Thanksgiving dinner I am making baked tempeh with roasted veggies, cornbread stuffing, and probably some green beans or broccoli. I am also bringing cupcakes from a local bakery that sells both vegan and non-vegan cupcakes so I am going to bring a mix.

10. Is it snowing where you live? Ha! Nope…and I certainly hope it doesn’t. This Florida girl is not prepared for snow.

What about you? How will you be spending the holidays this year?

Happy Thanksgiving loves!

XOXO- Dacia

The Holidays: My Plan of Attack

It might seem on the surface that it would be easier for me to ‘survive’ the holidays what with being alone, having no parties to attend, no family around to bake for and whatnot. And yes, I will probably have much less temptation to overindulge around me then most people will. I will, however, be alone.

On Christmas Eve.

And Christmas.

With nothing to occupy my time.

Which for me is far worse than being surrounded by indulgent foods and sweets at a party or gathering. It means I can easily spend two whole days sitting in front of the TV and eating everything in sight. For real. This could totally happen next Monday & Tuesday.

But I don’t want that to happen. And since I know me and how I am capable of behaving I needed to create a plan to help get me through the holidays without becoming an emotional, overeating wreck.

That plan really started this week. I wanted to head into the holidays feeling strong and I always feel that it is much easier to be active if you are already being active. Does that make sense? Like it’s easier to keep going then to start again after a long break.

This week I have continued with my training schedule for 3M (which is now less than four weeks away, yikes!) and tonight I will be attending my third barre class of the week. The rest of 2012 will hopefully go like this:

Friday, 12/21: Rest Day. Fridays are almost always my rest day. 

Saturday, 12/22: 6 mile run and barre class. I am attempting to do both since this will be the last day before my monthly barre membership expires. I have scheduled myself for the 945a class but if I am feeling exhausted after the run I will just cancel. I am ok with that but I would like to do both.

Sunday, 12/23: Gym Day. I plan on heading up to post and using the fitness center. I would love to swim, if the pool is open, maybe use the stair climber, rower and do some weights too. Now that my monthly membership for barre is over and I am out of classes on my account at Synergy I will be taking advantage of my free access to the post fitness center to supplement my running whenever I can.

Monday, 12/24: Santa’s Reindeer Run- an organized, group run around the river walk and up to the Alamo- approx. 5 miles. We will be dressed up in holiday outfits/costumes and hand out candy canes all while running around and being merry. It should be a lot of fun!

Tuesday, 12/25: Rest day. I don’t really have anything planned for Christmas day itself but if the weather is nice I plan on taking the dogs to the park in the morning.

Wednesday, 12/26: Run in the morning (intervals) and then gym after work for swimming

Thursday, 12/27: Run in the morning (hills) and then Thai Yoga therapy after work

Friday, 12/28: Rest Day!

Saturday, 12/29: Long Run - 12 miles

Sunday, 12/30: Hopefully we will have a group bike ride this week but if not I will be hitting up the gym (maybe I’ll even bike there) to use the pool and maybe some additional machines and weights

Monday, 12/31: Gym day to end 2012 unless I can find someone to accompany me on a hike. I would love to spend the last day of 2012 the same way I spent the last day of 2011, hiking Enchanted Rock.

I am also super excited that I will be celebrating the New Year in a healthy way by participating in the Commitment Day 5K on January 1, 2013.  There are Commitment Day runs being held in 30+ cities around the country. It’s all about committing to living a healthy lifestyle and helping others do the same in 2013. I am super excited for this 5K. Check out their website for more info and last I saw on FB they had a $10 off discount going with the promo code: holiday.

Keeping active is only part of the puzzle though, isn’t it? It certainly plays a big role in my health and wellness but there are also factors that play a part as well. Like what I eat.

I haven’t finalized my meal plan for next week yet but I know that I will be keeping my breakfasts, daytime snacks and lunches the same as what I eat any given week. I will plan out some fun and healthy dinners for the weekend and weekdays and for Christmas Eve and Christmas I ordered two different vegan dinners for one from Whole Foods. They are the perfect way for me to indulge in the foods I wouldn’t normally eat and at the same time help with portion control. Of course I will also partake in some special dessert treats from Whole Foods. I am super happy that WF sells vegan desserts in single portions. One slice of cake is ok, having a whole cake just sitting in my fridge- well that’s just Bad News Bears.

And last but certainly not least, for fun this long weekend (in addition to all the activities which I also really enjoy) I plan on going to the movies TWICE! I have a voucher for two movie tickets so I figure why not take advantage of it. I am going to see ‘This is 40’ on Christmas Eve and ‘Les Miserables’ on Christmas day. I so thankful that two different friends asked if they can come with me, one each day, so that way I won’t be spending my holidays in a crowded theater, alone. I am also excited about some of the new books I have and hope to read at least one of them over the next few weeks.

Also, now that Paul has cell phone access I am hoping we can Face Time. This way we can at least ‘see’ each other on Christmas. That would be awesome!

Looking back over all that I have going on I am not only very excited for the holidays I also feeling very fortunate for the life that I have.  Yes, there are days when I feel like being away from my husband, living across the country from my parents and my best friend are all less than ideal circumstances. But I am thankful every day that I have amazing people in my life that I miss and love and that I am missed and loved in return.

And I am thankful every day to be alive.

Happy Holidays!  

My sweaty self after the 10-miler on 12/15/2012. It was HOT for December!