This was my workout last Friday night. I ran down to my yoga studio and then took an intermediate yoga class.
No matter how many times I do that, I never remember not to do it again because it just kills. It makes the running suck because I have to be somewhere at a certain time and it also makes the yoga suck because I’m so tired from the run.
One day I’ll learn.
Yesterday Justin and I awoke at an unusually early hour (for a Sunday morning) of 6:30am for the “Race to Deliver” in Central Park, benefitting God’s Love We Deliver. I think it’s a great organization and the timing worked out perfectly. We’d had several weeks to prepare (aka running a couple of times per week) and I knew it wouldn’t be warm out anymore – yessss.
We grabbed bananas and made our way to Central Park. We’d stayed up way-too-late watching the first episodes of The Man in the High Castle so we were running on about 5 hours of sleep – not the greatest idea to be honest. And it was chilly! My long-sleeved shirt was definitely not enough warmth when standing still.
We took our place among the 6,000 people running the race and just went for it. We ended up running the race in 40:52, which equates to 10:13 miles. Not too bad. I absolutely detest running hills so my quads felt like they were on fire every time we went up a hill. We just ran and ran and didn’t stop and it felt like shit most of the time (for me, at least) but we did it.
My reward was seeing a couple of corgis in the park as we were exiting. I almost died.
Afterwards we treated ourselves to brunch at Jacob’s Pickles on the UWS. We arrived a little after 9:30 and we were shocked to still see a mass of people waiting outside for a table. Luckily we grabbed seats at the bar. Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches on biscuits with coffee, fruit, and hash browns.
We might consider doing a 5 mile race next time – in the spring – but who knows. Running is pretty damn boring, but it’s a good way to burn calories and it’s not too bad when you’re running with a partner when you push each other to going farther than you thought you originally could.
I found out at my yearly physical recently that I’ve gained somewhere in the league of 5 pounds this winter. I’d eaten a big burrito that day so that might be a pound or two. Five pounds is not something to get dramatic over. I once lost 40, so 5 is nothing. I’m trying not to be dramatic about it, really. I’m still trying to think of things I can do to shed those 5 pounds and be healthier.
Stop the morning snacking. I typically have a snack between breakfast and lunch. It comes somewhere between 11 and 12. I generally eat lunch between 12-12:30. To snack is stupid. From now on I’ll drink more tea or water.
Run in the mornings. I get up an hour earlier now so I’m going to run for 20 minutes in the morning if. it. kills. me. Which it won’t, of course. But just the idea of changing clothes, stretching, and putting on socks and sneakers makes me tired. But whatever, I’ll do it. I’ll run at a super slow pace (12 minute miles, or maybe a bit faster). It won’t be so bad. (I did this this morning, FTW!)
Stop eating crap. I’ve stopped eating a lot of gluten and I rarely eat cheese by itself anymore (meaning I don’t pack it onto salads or pastas anymore). I’ve been super busy lately. I’ve been making my lunch and bringing it to work with me (usually chicken, rice, & spinach) but sometimes I just need something quick and/or cheap for dinner before and event or something and I just go with pizza. No more pizza or quick junk.
I think I need to just be more active. That’s mostly what helped me lose the originally 40, so these 5 should be easy. Any suggestions? For accountability, here’s a photo of me after a run last week after the cut. It’s really not an attractive photo at all. I wasn’t posing so, yeah, I look… fun 😉
I plan buying this t-shirt at some point. Because it’s true. It’s really, really true. I went for a run (a quick-ish 2.something miles) this morning because I didn’t think I’d have a chance to go to a yoga class. I also stopped running what feels like forever ago (but was probably only a month ago), because I got bored, and I also hated distance running.
The 2.something miles were fine. I finished them in under 20 minutes. But I was sweaty after (duh) and sore. And I decided that running, does indeed, suck. Running is good for your heart and your metabolism and that’s about it. I know people run marathons and half-marathons to prove to themselves that they can do it. That’s fine. But really, there are so many other activities that are good for your whole body and probably don’t destroy your knees.
Also: The first man in Greece who ran 26 miles died right after. I think that says something. Mainly: Humans are not made to run 26 miles at a time.
I also find running for extended periods of time to be incredibly boring. Doing the same thing for an hour just to get your heart rate up or prove something to your own ego? Meh.
Give me yoga any day. At least it’s good for my entire body (and mind) and it won’t destroy my knees. I’ll continue to run mainly to burn calories, but I won’t attempt crazy distances because like the t-shirt says, running sucks.
But hey, to each their own. If you enjoy running, go for it.
That Girl Allison 