Category Archives: Running

I Have to Keep Reminding Myself . . .

Posted on 7 January 2011 | Leave a comment

that if I lose one pound each week this year, by this same date next year I will be 52 pounds lighter. I think the reason I never lose the weight I want to lose is that I get discouraged because it doesn’t come off as fast as I want it to come off. This year, though, I am trying something new. I am trying to mingle my weight-loss goal, my running goal, my creative-endeavor goal all into one fancy collection of pictures and short blips about my days. Each day I take a new picture and write down what I eat, how I feel, what exercise I’ve done, and what I’ve read. Once the year goes on a little more, I’ll put a link to that other stuff from here.

My eventual goal is to make an art project out of the whole experience, but in order to do that I need to get a decent digital camera and fast. So far, I have only taken pictures with my cell phone and Photo Booth, because those are the technologies I have, and neither device takes really good pictures. Although, my cell phone takes as high of quality photos as the camera Becs and I previously purchased for over $300. Maybe it was only $200, but at any rate my cell phone takes a similar quality of photograph. Oh, the strides technology makes in 6 or 7 years!

I hope my exercise regimen holds out, because by the end of this week I will have run 15 miles, walked 7 miles, rowed for twenty minutes, played racquetball for 60 minutes, and worked out with my new medicine ball for 40 minutes. And eating healthy has helped out quite a bit, too. I like it when I don’t cheat; I didn’t even cheat and get a Mister Misty (I can’t bring myself to call them Arctic Rushes!) at Dairy Queen last night. I feel great! I feel like a million dollars.

Now, just to keep this up for the next 51 weeks!

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Posted in Fat, Food, Running

A New Year. New Goals.

Posted on 2 January 2011 | Leave a comment

2011. For it’s ability to bring hope and fresh passion to an otherwise apathetic and decaying culture, I embrace the celebration of the new year. I understand that we might experience failures in the new year; we are a fallen people. This is no longer Eden. However, the festivity of New Year’s Eve and the solemnity with which people make vows, create resolutions, and set goals that theoretically will make them better people makes me know that each new year brings restored passion and compassion. There’s hope in the air. People have faith that this year will somehow be better than last. And, we give forgiveness for those failures we’ve previously experienced. Presumably, our goal is to make ourselves better this year. Here are my goals for this year. They’re not much different than last, but they attempt to take what I have been trying to do and to do it better.

  1. Read. Both the bible and other books. Hopefully a little bit of each, each day. Watch less television, even though I already don’t watch much. It’s amazing to me how productive I can be when I don’t watch the television. I will however watch Bones and Big Love.
  2. Run. Every day except Sunday. My goal is to run three miles a day on Monday through Thursday. On Friday, I’ll run two miles, and on Saturdays at least six miles. I also plan to add some other types of exercise. I want to finish two marathons: my own Ivanhoe’s Marathon and the Towpath Marathon.
  3. Eat. Only food I can recognize as food. I want to remain vegan, but I want to narrow this down a bit more and eat only whole foods, such as beans, rice, vegetables, and the like. Cut out processed foods and sugars.
  4. Dissertate. Two chapters. I want to finish two chapters of my dissertation this summer, and I have set forth a plan to make this happen.
  5. Teach. To the best of my abilities. Love each student. Be firm with each student. Guide each student to his or her highest potential. Be more diligent in grading.
  6. Attitude. Change it. I need to work on being more relaxed and carefree. I need to talk less and listen more. I need to remember that I don’t always have to be right. Loving people is more important than anything else. My stress level is through the roof, and I need to remember that the only person I have to please is God. What this means and where this will take me, I don’t know, but I am open to doing whatever it is I am supposed to do. I would just like to know what that is!

I am also working on an art/writing project. Once I get it going and hammer it out, I will post a link to the ongoing project. I am pretty excited about it.

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Posted in Dissertation, Fat, Food, Goals, Gym, Reading, Relationships, Religion, Running, School, Teaching, Vegetarian or Vegan

Corby’s Marathon: Or How I Will Run to Ivanhoe’s on June 18

Posted on 20 December 2010 | 4 comments

Since I won’t be running Grandma’s Marathon this year, I have decided to run to Ivanhoe’s instead. I will get up and set out at 5AM, so it doesn’t get too hot while I run. I think in June if I can finish by 11AM (which means in six hours), the weather won’t be too hot. I plan to have Bec bring clothes and meet me at Ivanhoe’s for lunch. I will end the run with a huge Strawberry Lemonade and vegetarian pasta salad with French dressing. It’ll be very.

Here is the beginning route from my house to my parents’ house:

Here is the second route from my parents’ house to Ivanhoe’s:

I planned it so my friend Molly could bring me water in Eaton, and so I can stop by my parents’ house for water in Hartford City. I am going to ask my brother to ride his bike or run or walk along with me for the last 7 miles. I needed a goal. I plan to run the real marathon in October, as I noted before.

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Posted in Running, Summer

I’m already thinking about summer. Sigh.

Posted on 20 December 2010 | Leave a comment

I am trying to plan how my summer is going to go. I think I have decided it will go a little like this:

  1. Get up early, like 5:30 AM early. It’s too hot to run much later, and it’ll be light shortly after 5 AM.
  2. Run 3-5 miles, depending on the day, to get ready for the Towpath Marathon in Peninsula, OH.
  3. Walk the dogs on their summer route.
  4. Eat breakfast and brew some coffee.
  5. Spend from 9 AM until 1030 AM reading good literature, and from 1030 AM to 12 PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday writing for pleasure, creative nonfiction and poetry. I might even try to eek out a couple of pieces of fiction while I’m at it. On Thursday and Friday, I will work on house projects, like painting, refinishing the floors, and painting the house.
  6. Eat a good lunch from 12 PM to 1PM.
  7. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 1 PM to 5 PM, I will work on my dissertation. On Thursday and Friday, I will make appointments and spend time with friends and family.
  8. At 5PM walk the dogs.
  9. Saturday will be for long runs (of six or more miles), and Sunday for long bike rides, church, and grocery shopping with that lady I live with.

My goal is to limit the amount of time I spend figuring out what I am supposed to be doing and to spend more time actually doing it. I also want to increase the amount of time I spend considering literature and writing about it. I have found that when I have my student read more before they write, they tend to write better and more effectively Their writing is smarter and more eloquent when they’ve been reading writing that’s difficult for them.

Another goal I have is to eat healthy, whole food, which is the same goal I keep setting for myself. I find myself gravitating toward the unhealthy. In fact, yesterday, I wanted to eat some fish, and instead of ordering the salmon salad I love so much, I got fish and chips. Unhealthy choice #7, 365, 289. I am sure that even baklava is more healthy for me. At least I can name all the ingredients in it. I couldn’t begin to tell you what might have been in my fish and chips. And, I could feel it later.

On that same note, I think I am going to incorporate meat back into my diet (very rarely) because I have been feeling a little protein deprived. I simply can’t get enough protein while also trying to to lose weight, and I need to lose weight to run the marathon. It’s a never-ending cycle. I am too fat. It’s hard to run. I lose weight. It gets easier. I gain weight. I get fat. I need to break the cycle! I feel like Susan Powter. Wasn’t that her catch phrase? Maybe not. At any rate, I simply HAVE to figure out a way to lose weight.

EDIT: I can’t eat meat. I ate fish yesterday, and I just feel guilty today. I just need to figure out how to get more protein and fewer calories. I am sure sticking to eating whole foods would help!

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Posted in Biking, Fat, Goals, Running, School, Summer, Writing

Krispy Kreme. Nanowrimo. Marathon.

Posted on 4 December 2010 | 1 comment

I am sure the fruit pie I ate this morning is not congruent with my desire to eat “healthy” whole foods. But it was so delicious.

Nanowrimo was a complete failure.

I think I am going to wait until next fall to marathon. I was hoping for a spring one, but training for the Indy Mini is about all I can handle while teaching. I have decided to wait until fall and I think I am going to shoot for one near Akron, OH. It’s called the Tow-Path Marathon, and it’s run on a tightly packed limestone gravel trail. Flat. “Fast.” And beautiful. Maybe Grandma’s is in my future the next spring. After this injury, I just need more base-training in place before I go 26.2 miles. And, maybe this will give me a chance to lose some weight.

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Posted in Fat, Food, Running, Writing