Taking Time to Heal

No workout for me today. I decided to take the day off. My achilles tendon still isn't over that 4 mile run I did last week in my wonderful Vibrams and the 5k race on Saturday plus running around at work alll day Thursday, Saturday and Sunday didn't help matters. My body is telling me it needs more time to heal and with this trip getting closer and closer I'm happy to give it that time. I think it's crucial to listen to your body to prevent injury. In the scheme of things, missing a workout here and there isn't going to make much difference. Just don't make a habit of it =)

Side note: My dad registered today to run the Cleveland Rite Aid Marathon with me! There's no turning back now, we're doin this!

I tried to sleep in today, but that didn't work out too well because they started to replace the roof on my apartment building. Which is especially loud since I'm on the 3rd floor (which is the top floor) of the building. I need to be studying for my cancer biology final that's on Thursday.. but I'm so excited about this trip that I went to Target and picked up some expensive, travel-sized crap necessities, including stuff like athletic tape and those cold packs that are activated when you break the thing inside resulting in an endothermic reaction, making it cold =)

That black mesh bag has my snorkel and mask, but I think I need to buy fins too. The island is pretty small, and I'm under the impression that there aren't even medical facilities there. Knowing me, I'd be that person that gets hurt and needs to be flown out to a hospital, so I'm bringing a small arsenal of medical accoutrement.

Okay, I must go study, now. Finals are swiftly approaching.

Is anyone else as particular about packing as I am? I make lists and lay everything out early, I'm terrified that I'm going to forget something important!

Post-Turkey Trot PR

I almost didn't get out of bed this morning. It was snowing and cold and the last thing I wanted to do was drag myself out of my warm bed and go outside and run a race.. but I'm happy I did =) My dad picked me up at 8:45 and we headed out to McDonald for the Feed the Need 5k. I'd say it was about 28 degrees out, don't forget the snow and wind! The wind was a killer.. so was the GIANT hill at the very beginning of the race. Oh, I don't know if you knew this or not but Garmins work much better when you actually wear them when you run!

Yepp, there it is.. right where I left it.. Oh well, it was kind of liberating to not be looking at my wrist worrying about my pace the whole time. Even without it, we managed to run in 31:45. A PR by 2 seconds. Woot! Pretty good under the circumstances. And once again, I threw up.. Really perplexed why that keeps happening..

 That's me and my dad before the start, we forgot to take an after picture!

It was freezing before the start. There were a couple hundred people, not a bad turnout. And, yes, these 2 men definitely beat us:

See that log? Well those 2 men in the dark blue shirts carried that thing the whole time.. I lost them within the first mile.. hehe =) Overall it was a good, hard run and I'm glad that I did it. Race #5 = Complete! Now it's time to get ready for work..

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of fun, food and family =) Mine was spent at work.. We had a giant Thanksgiving buffet but they let me leave early. After work, around 5:30, I headed to my parents and collapsed on their couch. My brother and sister-in-law came over with their miniature pincher Peanut. We spent the evening eating a wonderful dinner that my mom prepared and then watched Elf and snuggle with out pups. Overall, a pretty good Thanksgiving!

These pictures aren't from yesterday, but that's my puppy, Presley (isn't she adorable?!.. so sleepy) and my sister-in-law, Brian and their dog Peanut at their house =)

I found another race to hopefully run! It's a 5k that's like 20 minutes from me tomorrow morning. Me and my dad are having a little trouble registering.. minor detail. But hopefully it works out and I can run race #5 for the year (since May, actually).

I'm not a big Black Friday shopper.. I think I've only ventured out once or twice in the past and today was no different. I slept in and then went on Amazon to see what kind of deals they had. Most of my Christmas shopping is done, except for my brother (no idea what to get him). I ended up buying a couple things for people that I already have things for and found a great present for my mom to get my dad.. still nothing for Brian.. I need to get this done before I leave on the trip! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Does anyone else avoid going out on Black Friday? I just don't like the crowds and the lines..

Operation, 4 miles

Nice 4 mile run today in 44:36. It wasn't easy, though. I've been doing 2-3 miles a couple days a week and this was the longest I've run since my half last month. I had to walk a lot towards the end. I need to start building up my mileage so I cant start marathon training in January! I ran in the wonderful Vibram Bikilas today. I wasn't sore after my run Monday like I thought I would be but my calves were screaming by the end of this run and I was glad it was over! I stretched a lot, and though it's uncomfortable (the muscle twinges, not the shoes - the shoes are great) I feel like I'm getting stronger, which is the point =)

I also had a yoga class today. I take a class through YSU and it's been every Wednesday morning from 9:00-10:50. I'm really gonna miss it, next week is our last class. I want to try different classes and there's a place in Canfield called Studio Oxygen that I think I'm going to join after I get back from my trip next month.. Have I mentioned my trip?.. I don't think I have..

Okay, so my trip: I'm taking a class this semester that has a study abroad component. So from December 9-18, I will be in San Salvador on an archaeological dig! I'm sooo excited! The only pitfall is that I have to leave in the middle of finals week, meaning I have to take/turn in all my finals early, which is going to be rough.. But I'll be in the warm Bahama weather soon, so that'll get me through. Also, I have no idea what to pack! I know I need to go buy snorkel gear, and I plan on taking my Vibrams for cave walks and such.. life is rough, isn't it ;)

On a different note (literally), I posted 4 Operation Beautiful notes today! I joined the website for 101/1001 and one of my goals is to post 101 Operation Beautiful notes.. I'm up to 8 =)

I put 3 of them on desks in the library and the "You are beautiful" one on a bathroom mirror, also in the library.

Last night in the Fitblog chat, we discussed things that we are thankful for this season. I'm especially thankful for my awesome family. Without their support, I wouldn't be able to keep moving. I'm also exceptionally thankful for my body; it's amazing what your brain can convince your body that it can do, I never thought I'd run a half marathon yet alone train for a marathon!

What are you thankful for this year?

Surprise 3rd Place Finish

I woke up rather late today and by late I mean 7:45 for my 9:30 class.. I meant to get up at 6 so I could cram in some studying before class, but I was very confused by my alarm going off this morning and shut it off instead of hitting snooze. That's one of the problems with touchscreen phones. I did have time to stop at Starbucks for a much needed caffeine fix - my usual quad-venti pumpkin spice, nonfat, no whip =)

Last night, my dad got a phone call saying that we needed to come pick up our medals from the Habitat Home Run 5k.. Apparently we both placed 3rd in our age groups! Who knew?! That was a nice surprise! After my classes he picked me up and we went and got our medals =) I added the medal to my little display on my wall. Hopefully it will grow much larger!



I got a text from friend Jamie this morning suggesting dinner. I, of course, accepted and we went to Rusty's Southside Grill (aka my place of work) for dinner and Christmas Ale. After dinner we wanted to go out for another drink, but I had left my I.D. at my apartment. We stopped back at my place and headed over to the bar Happy Hour.. turns out it was closed.. so we went to a place called Vineyard Estates and built our own six-packs. Here were my choices:



So far, I've tried the one on the far left - the 90 Minute Imperial IPA by Dogfish Head. It's not my favorite, a little too bitter for my tastes. I know that I like the 2nd and 5th ones because I tried them last time. I don't drink much so these should last me quite a while.

Do you display all your race memorabilia or just certain ones? I think every race is a major accomplishment and plan to hang/display every bib and medal =)

Bikilas!

I had a great run today! But before that, let's jump back and take a look at the weekend. Saturday was spent studying before heading off to work, I had to work a fraternity's formal party. It was.. interesting.. I won't state the name of the frat, but I thought their behavior was inappropriate for the setting and we'll leave it at that. After work I actually went out for drinks with some people from work. I haven't gone out in months so it was fun, but my Sunday was pretty underutilized as a result.

Back to today, I slept in, showered and headed to my 12:00 class wearing these wonderful shoes:



These shoes are pretty awesome I must say. These are the Vibram Five Fingers Bikila. This was my second time running in them and I just did a quick 2 mile speed workout. It felt pretty good, however, I'm betting my calves/shins and feet will be sore tomorrow!

I also received my Diabetes Action Team race shirt for my marathon in the mail today!

Front:

Back:


My dad and I had a mild panicked moment today when we realized the marathon is only 6 months away! Sounds like a long time but it's not really when you think of how many miles we need to log between now and then. We've got a lot of work to do! The rest of my night will be spent (you guessed it!) studying for finals.. woohoo (sarcasm).

Busy Busy

Last night through now have been pretty busy. Finals are already kicking my butt and they aren't even for another 2 weeks! Last night I picked up my sister-in-law, Stephanie, and we headed to YSU's campus to hear Dr. Adovasio lecture about "The Invisible Sex." It was about the role of women in archaic societies, and why they are rarely depicted in the archaeological record. It was pretty interesting. The lecture wasn't even an hour long and I thought he could have gone into more details, but overall it was pretty good.

This morning I got up around 6:45 and went to the Y to do a quick workout.. my alarm went off around 5:50 and I hit the snooze every 5 minutes until I successfully convinced myself to get up.. The resulting tardiness lead to me only doing a 20 minute run. 20 minutes is better than no minutes, right? I did 1.93 miles which is about a 10:20 pace (super fast for me, I'm a turtle.. or something even slower). Today was not a great run; I didn't feel right. Different parts of both legs hurt, including my hips, it was harder to control my breathing and I was nauseated almost immediately. Hopefully it was just an off day. The last time I ran was Tuesday and it was my first run with my new Vibram 5-finger toe shoes so my feet/calves were a bit sore. Oh well, tomorrow's another day!

I was going to go to the zoo today and write an observational essay of the primate exhibit for extra credit for my biological anthropology class, but I got a good grade on our last exam and I'd have to drive an hour and a half to the zoo. So instead I'm going to lunch with friend Amanda.. pretty excited about soup and breadsticks from Olive Garden =) Then, unfortunately, I will be spending the night studying for upcoming finals.

What do you do when you're having an off day, plunder through or cut yourself some slack?

Inaugural Post

Hello blog world, my name is Sara =) I've been reading healthy living blogs consistently for months now and decided I'd try to jump on board.

I'm a college senior soon to be super senior (I need to attend a 5th year because I added a second major!). I've been highly active in sports ever since I can remember (gymnastics, soccer, swimming, diving, etc) but a chronic, nagging injury of my left ankle had reduced me to the couch for the last year.. that is, until March. In March I decided that I didn't want to sit around and make excuses anymore, so I threw on my shoes and headed out for a run. Now "run" in this sense is a relative term.. I couldn't make it to the stop sign at the end of my street without nearly dying! But I got my butt in gear and signed up for a 5k in May.. then a 10k later in the month.. then a half marathon in October. I have no idea why my ankle is allowing me to do this but I'm going to keep moving until I can't anymore (hence the name of my blog).

I finished the half marathon with my dad (it wasn't pretty) and registered for a marathon in Cleveland for this coming spring. 26.2 miles, what could possibly going wrong?! I'm raising money for diabetes research (my brother has had type 1 diabetes since he was 2 but more on that later). Hopefully my ankle will hold up until then, if not at least I tried.. but I assure you that I will cross that finish line even if I have to crawl! Stay tuned as I battle with training, double majoring and staying healthy!