How To: Create your own appreciation month*

Posted on by
4
Two plates = more room for cake.

Two plates = more room for cake.

I pride myself in being an only child that isn’t normally spoiled and terrible and bossy. Maybe one at a time, but definitely not the trifecta. But, let’s be honest.. being the only kid at home for most of my life made me very comfortable being the center of attention. Of all the typical only child traits, I think that being a performer is the one that stuck.

Pair that with being born a Leo, and it really only makes sense that I would make the event that normal people celebrate one day a year into an excuse to draw attention to myself for a whole month. I’ve even convinced other people in my life to refer to August as, “Your birthday month,” or, as I would like to rebrand it, “Lizzie Appreciation Month.”

Growing up, my birthday fell before school started, so when I started college I realized that I had a lot of birthday celebrations to make up for. Plus, I think most people are looking for a reason to party in August, so it has really been a win for everyone.

So, if you would like to commandeer a month for your friends and family to celebrate you, but you weren’t naturally born with the instincts to convince others of the benefits of your self absorption.. here are some tips.

  1. Pick a month. For me, it was easy because August is far enough away from the major U.S. holidays that my birthday month isn’t normally disturbed by people celebrating something that doesn’t start with L- and end with -izzie. But maybe you were born in December? Or you share a birthday month with a close friend or family member? Don’t worry.. just pick a different month that works best and declare it yours.
  2. Commit to your month and talk about it, ad nauseam. Don’t hesitate to hijack conversations or events months in advance to let people know what is coming – this is about branding and building anticipation. For example, Friend 1: Oh, the French Fries and Ice Cream Festival is happening next month, let’s go! You: OMG! That’s a great addition to _____ Appreciation Month! Let’s add that to our event calendar! People may roll their eyes at first, but after a while it will become so engrained that they will start viewing all the events in that month as appropriate or not appropriate to celebrate you. [For advanced only: Take it to the next level by congratulating people while also planting your Appreciation Month flag squarely in "their" day. For example: "Congratulations on your 50th wedding anniversary! Your party was so elegant, which made it an exact fit for an event in my appreciation month!"]
  3. Establish your month’s brand with images and phrases. For me, I’ve picked a song (DJ Khaled – I’m on One), a color (aqua), and several adjectives (magnetic! lovable! True story.. I found myself saying the sentence, “Oh it makes sense that they were born in August too, since we are both so magnetic and lovable,” in conversation. With a straight face.
  4. Distance yourself from events not designed to celebrate you. I’m not saying don’t go, I’m just saying feel free to say things like, Wow, this iguana wedding/work webinar/toddler graduation is really rainy/sluggish/chaotic! I bet this would be better if I were in charge of making this event more about me. No need for you to take responsibility for things outside your brand.
  5. Wear something fancy. Not only will it make you feel important, but it will let other people know you’re important too. You don’t need to wear a crown, but maybe a tasteful rhinestone hair piece would be a subtle indication that you are something special.
  6. Smile. Don’t be a Birthdayzilla. I’ve watched enough episodes of Bridezilla to know that if you act like a jerk trying to make sure everyone knows it is “your time,” you may be able to trick one person into loving you, but the rest of your friends and family may call the police on you and they will definitely point out your wedding dress back fat on national television. So, smile. And be nice. And have fun. Your month should be about what you like and why you are awesome. Don’t make it too hard for people to see that part too.
*I take no responsibility for the loss of friends or family that may result in following this advice. I do, however, take all the credit if this experiment results in more presents, excitement, parties, self esteem, sunshine, good hair days, cake eating or dance-a-thons. 

How guilt and hoarding have made me resourceful

Posted on by
4
Anyone who knows me really well knows that I am often powered by guilt, honest, but sometimes inexplicable and often self-gratifying guilt. My guilt these last few weeks – letting food go to waste. I try to remember that food in my garden isn’t taking food away from other people, but the thought of squandering pounds of food because there is just too much makes me panic with guilt.
Today, 11 million people could die because of drought and famine in parts of Africa alone – not to mention the millions of hungry people in my state and country. I’m trying to shift from guilt, a relatively useless emotion in terms of action, to mindfulness and gratitude for my land and for my plate. 

I’ve tried finding friends to take stuff, and I even looked for local food banks that might be able to use some of this stuff but their policies didn’t really welcome it.

And so.. here we are. This isn't even everything, these are just all the ones that I could carry in that day.

And so.. here we are. This isn't even everything, these are just all the ones that I could carry in that day. Last year the squash fizzled out early in the season after some hungry animals gobbled up the blossoms... so we may have over compensated slightly this year.

Combined with guilt is the “You might need this one day”- Depression Era hoarding gene I inherited from my grandfather. When we cleaned out his cabinets after he died, we found dozens of boxes of Ziplock bags and sugar. While some people hoard things that are not useful – dirty blankets, used up chapstick containers, cats – the gene I inherited says stuff like “Do NOT throw away 50lbs of squash because you can’t use it today, because in a few months you might need some squash,” in the same way that my grandfather couldn’t pass up a deal on Ziplock bags and sugar because some day he might need them.

So, I’ve made squash in some way or another for every meal, chopped squash to use later in the week to keep in the refrigerator and even made a squash curry soup to freeze for later. And I still have squash everywhere.

Oh look! More squash!

Oh look! More squash!

After doing Google “research,” I realized that squash could be frozen. It isn’t complicated, but it involves a step I’d never thought about. If you have extra squash you want to save, 1) Wash and chop them to the size you want, 2) boil them for 3 minutes, then quickly remove the squash from the hot water and 3) put them into a bowl of ice water. This is called blanching, something I’m sure everyone but me knew about before now. Blanching the squash stops the enzyme that normally causes decay so when you freeze them they will maintain their color and texture.

After squash, I tackled my next nearly useless bumper crop..hot hot hot peppers.

But, after the "I just sliced peppers before putting in my contacts and I feel like someone just maced me"-debacle of a few weeks ago... I wore protection this time.

But, after the "I just sliced peppers before putting in my contacts and I feel like someone just maced me"-debacle of a few weeks ago... I wore protection this time.

I’ve frozen peppers without blanching before with success, so for these I just washed, deseeded and chopped them before bagging.

I still have no idea what to do with these. There is enough hotness in this bag that I thought about pureeing it, putting it in a water gun and using it as pepper spray. But seriously, you could feel the heat in the air in the kitchen as I was cutting them.

I still have no idea what to do with these. There is enough hotness in this bag that I thought about pureeing it, putting it in a water gun and using it as pepper spray. But seriously, you could feel the heat in the air in the kitchen as I was cutting them.

Just as I was beginning to get the squash/pepper situation under control, I went outside to see that a storm had blown over a pear tree. I picked some of the fruit before it could go bad.

A bucket of pears. And also the rain boots that I wear in the garden. Because that's just how I do things.

A bucket of pears. And also the rain boots that I wear in the garden. Because that's just how I do things.

From these, I made our whole house smell like Christmas by making first a batch of Asian Pear preserves (we have several trees of Asian Pears that were ready to be picked) by cooking down cubed, peeled pears, sugar, lemon, ginger and a little cinnamon. Next I took another 20ish pears, peeled and finely chopped them and cooked them down with cinnamon, sugar, cloves and ginger to make pear butter. I don’t have a recipe for any of those because I just used the “little of this and a little of that” method, and cooked them until they were the right consistency. Because I’m still terrified of actually canning, these have to be refrigerated and consumed in a reasonable amount of time.

I kind of love glass jars.

I kind of love glass jars.

In other garden news… the bell peppers are finally starting to turn sweet, we have one little watermelon hanging on for dear life in the 100* weather, the tomatoes are pretty much finished, a dozen butternut squash (probably my favorite food) are starting to turn, and yesterday I picked one single fig off our some forgotten fig bushes. Heaven for me.

Peppers, peppers, more peppers.

Peppers, peppers, more peppers.

At the risk of you thinking my extended blog absence has been spent entirely in the garden and in the kitchen.. I actually just got back from a few days at the beach with these wackadoos:

That's my happy face.

That's my happy face.

Any ideas for how to use hot peppers? Or squash? Or basil? Or pears? I’m open to suggestion! 

BBR 11 months later… I ran five miles!

Posted on by
6

So, after moving my running goals indoor, I temporarily moved myself about an hour away from my gym. Which, as you may imagine, hampers my use of the indoor track, but having limited access pushed me to finish my goal of running 5 miles without stopping and didn’t give me time to think too much about it.

Friday, I was in my gym-home-town waiting for kitty #3 to get out of surgery, and so I headed over to the gym. Although I hadn’t really run in more than a week, I knew this would be my only chance in the next two weeks to get back on the track before my birthday in August. And, a week off from running isn’t great.. but three weeks off was likely to set me back further.

Even though I hadn’t thought about it until the morning of… I told myself it had to be done and that I was going to do it.  I broke the laps up the same as before – 7 sets of 5. After each set, I’d evaluate how I felt physically and realized that I felt good! As corny as it is, I utilized positive self-talk, “You are doing great. You have done four sets already, and you feel fine… three more and you’re finished!” and it actually worked.

Long ago, a therapist told me that if I had thoughts that bothered me, to mentally “file them away” until a better time to work through them. I didn’t let myself get caught up in the cycle of, “I probably can’t do this. I probably won’t be able to meet my goal. Everyone rolls their eyes when I talk about my goal anyway, so it isn’t like anyone really expects me to finish…” And the good thing about filing it away.. I finished and I proved my negative-self-talk-self WRONG. So, next time when the self-defeating thoughts appear, I already know they are lying. 

On literally lap 34 of 35, I felt the blisters on my feet arrive – like, “Haha! Guess you forgot your $10 running socks today, dummy! Well here we are! Fashionably late!” but I wasn’t going to stop for that.  I pushed through and even sprinted the last 1/2 lap.

I did, however, realize that one of the positives to running a race is that you can show emotion about your accomplishment in a way that is inappropriate in a gym setting. I got a little teary on my cool down lap, but I figured the other gym goers would probably wonder what the hell was wrong with the crying girl who just ran around in a circle for more than an hour.

But I wanted to cry because… I accomplished something that I’ve never done before. Although five miles isn’t a lot for most “runners” .. I am not a runner! I’m the girl who couldn’t run a mile without stopping for most of her life, and I just ran five freaking miles without stopping, without throwing up and without anyone there to cheer me on!

And from here, I don’t know what’s next.  I told myself last year that if I could prove that I could run five miles then I wouldn’t have to run anymore. Ever. Because it sucked. And now, even though it sucks less, there are other fitness things that I would like to focus on. So, we shall see.

And, I didn’t have any photographers with me at the gym… so here is a representation of how I felt:

This is my natural, pre-groove lost state. No pants. Trophy. Gifts. Hairspray. This is the ZenLizzie I've been looking for.

This is my natural, pre-lost groove state. Pairing no pants with shiny shoes. Trophy. Gifts from my adoring fans. Hairspray. This is the ZenLizzie I've been looking for.

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Posted on by
1

From our 32 part series, “How to eat as much zucchini as possible without turning green”

Cheese + Vegetables = Heaven

Cheese + Vegetables = Heaven

I used this recipe from Cooking Light, but didn’t really measure anything. I tried both the flour tortillas that were recommended, and corn and everyone agreed that the corn tortillas were better. I also subbed a white onion for red and used pepper jack cheese. You could easily drop the chicken from this dish, but I kept it because I was cooking for my family.

I love Cooking Light, but sometimes they over complicate their recipes. This is super easy. You just cook your toppings, broil the tortillas for a couple minutes with nonstick spray, add the topping and cheese and broil for a few more minutes.

I love Cooking Light, but sometimes they over complicate their recipes. This is super easy. You just cook your toppings, broil the tortillas for a couple minutes with nonstick spray, add the topping and cheese and broil for a few more minutes.

Easy, inexpensive and a good way to sneak in some more summer squash and zucchini!

Other ways I’ve used zucchini in the last week:

Vegetable stir fry x 2 – Served with brown or black rice

Raw zucchini and squash thinly sliced over salad

Zucchini and egg white casserole: Chop 1 large zucchini, mix with 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 2 eggs, 6 egg whites, salt and pepper to taste. Pour into baking pan, and  sprinkle top with bread crumbs and cheese and bake at 350* until solid and browned on top.

I brought this in Sunday - clearly I have some work to do. I keep trying to give stuff away but none of my friends are voracious vegetable eaters.

I brought this in Sunday - clearly I have some work to do. I keep trying to give stuff away but none of my friends are voracious vegetable eaters.

And now I’m off to the garden! Thanks to everyone for their support on my “Lost and Found” post! 

Lost and Found: Getting myself back

Posted on by
11

The moment I realized I wasn’t “myself” felt like an out of body experience. Like the ghost of ZenLizzie past was paying me a visit and didn’t even recognize the person she saw – a frumpy, tired hermit. Even my yoga pants, clearly a uniform of giving up, were ragged.

Who is this girl? Even her cat disapproves.

Who is this girl? Even her cat disapproves.

In trying to explain this situation to people, I’ve come up with two superficial but relatable experiences. The first: You begin shaving your legs, but after the first one you just think, “What’s the point?” and skip the other.

The second: It is like the in-between phase when you are growing out your hair, when you just accept that your hair is going to look terrible for six+ months so you throw it in a ponytail. And a year later, you only vaguely remember being a person who didn’t wear a ponytail every day.

When I say I’ve “lost my groove,” I mean even though I’ve had great things happen in the last four years, and even though I’ve accomplished things I’m proud of… the fun, confident, social part of my personality just became a shrug.

A SHRUG! Life should never be a shrug. 

I think I started losing myself during the transition from carefree undergrad to being a semi-grown up working full time in a very serious relationship. I loved those things and wouldn’t change them, but I didn’t really take the time to grow into them. Even saying transition is a stretch – it literally took two weeks for me to get a job, fall into a big, serious love and move away from all my friends and family.

And for two years, that’s where I was. I had a hard time making “hang out” friends in Florence, and I spent most of my time off with my long-distance boyfriend. It started to feel like I only needed to be fun or cute it relation to major events or seeing him every few weeks. The rest of the time didn’t matter, because it was just me, right? Wrong. Of everyone in your life, you should be fun and cute for yourself because nobody wants to spend time with an unfun frumpster, and you have to be with you all the time.

About the time that I started this blog, my life changed big time. I quit my job. I volunteered. I started grad school. We broke up and got back together and moved in together, repeat ad nauseum. In the last four years, I have moved six times. Many of my college friends have moved away, or worse – gotten married (jk!). Despite my efforts, I’m still not in the same shape I was four years ago. A combination of being both too comfortable and too uncomfortable with how I looked just made it easier not to try.

I give these as examples, not excuses. The moment when I realized that I missed myself was important. I don’t want to live life as a shrug anymore, and I devised a three-part plan to find the me that I liked the best:

  1. Try. Every day. Put on some mascara. Stop wearing yoga pants instead of real pants. Find clothes that are flattering and make me feel good and wear them, not just for someone else or special events but for me, because I’m special enough even if nobody else is looking. I don’t mean I want to be more vain or replace my interest in real things with frivolous things. But… damn, girl, it won’t kill you to put on some pants without an elastic band.
  2. Go. Stop turning down invitations to hang out or flaking out just because it seems easier to stay home. I love hanging out. I love my friends and my family, and strangers and parties and events – those things recharge me.
  3. Work on it. And work hard. Instead of waiting for some magical day to come when things change (Surprise! It won’t!), I will work for the changes that I want because no matter what else is happening, I’m still stuck with me and if everything falls apart, I’d rather be stuck with someone I actually like.

So, that’s where I am now. I’ve found that even after a couple weeks of trying, going, and working on it, I’m starting to feel more like someone I actually want to spend time with.

I’m open to suggestions or sympathy! Have you ever lost your groove, and if so, how did you get it back?

Lazy Summer

Posted on by
3
For the next few weeks my blog will feature the new series "How to eat as much zucchini possible without turning green." This was a quick lunch from last week - zucchini sautéed with homemade pesto over brown rice. Boring, but it did the job. This photo is not related to the rest of the blog, I just thought it was better than a photobooth picture of me typing.

For the next few weeks my blog will feature the new series "How to eat as much zucchini as possible without turning green." This was a quick lunch from last week - zucchini sautéed with homemade pesto over brown rice. Boring, but it did the job. This photo is not related to the rest of the blog, I just thought it was better than a photobooth picture of me typing.

I’m subleasing my school-apartment for a month before school starts, which is fine except that today I am stuck in my school-town apartment-less waiting on one of my summer pet project-cats to get fixed so I can take it back to my home-town. I’m posted up at a chain salad-and-sandwich restaurant with free Wi-Fi trying to figure out how much longer I can sit here without ordering more food…sooo.. yes, the glamorous life. I haz it.

Actually, this morning I felt like a Real Housewife of South Cak because I spent two hours lollygagging around my university gym and then two hours at the pool. I probably could have stayed all day, but I forgot to pack extra rations (sunscreen and snacks), so instead I’m here trying to avoid eye contact with the pastry display.

I was hoping today would be my Five Miler day, but after three laps my legs felt like dead weight and my shins were yelling at me. I asked myself if I was just in the “first few laps funk” or if I was really just wasting my time, and decided to cut it short. The combination of 1.5ish beers last night at trivia (we won a round!) and spending the last three days squatting/lunging/twisting awkwardly while painting my house just left me unprepared for my “long” run. I always forget to cool down and stretch after unofficial work outs, but I’m feeling it today, and clearly I forgot how terrible even a little alcohol makes me feel when I try to run. 

So, instead of running, I did some intervals, spin bike and arc trainer. And LOTS of stretching. Tomorrow is Body Pump, and if I can get to the gym early enough, maybe I’ll feel like running. Earlier this week I did my first real outside summer run about 8 p.m. It was hot and sweaty, but not the worst run.

And now.. off to kill another 90 minutes before I can go home! 

Curry Zucchini Cakes

Posted on by
6

One of the most popular searches reaching my blog is about the Ruby Tuesday zucchini cakes that I posted about in my all-vegetable lunch post. Unfortunately for the googlers, I don’t have a recipe for those zucchini cakes (like crab cakes, not like cupcakes), but I did use the concept as a jumping off point for this this recipe.

Also, at this point in the season, I'm looking for any healthy squash/zucchini recipes. This is a photo of what I brought in from the garden yesterday.

Also, at this point in the season, I'm looking for any healthy squash/zucchini recipes. This is a photo of what I brought in from the garden yesterday.

These Curry Zucchini cakes have a mild flavor, and could be served any time of day, like potato pancakes. I think they would be good with greek yogurt or sour cream.

Perhaps not the most photogenic dish, but good all the same.

Perhaps not the most photogenic dish, but good all the same.

Curry Zucchini Cakes

Makes about four 3-inch pancakes.

Ingredients

2 cups shredded zucchini (About 2 medium sized or one jumbo – You could also use yellow squash)
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cumin

Super easy steps to zucchini cakes.

Super easy steps to zucchini cakes.

Directions

1. After you’ve shredded the zucchini, squeeze the extra liquid out and discard. I tried this several ways, and the easiest and most effective way was to just use my hands to squeeze the liquid out of handfuls of the zucchini over the sink. You’d be surprised how much water will come out. This is probably the most important step.

2. Mix the drained zucchini with the other ingredients until the mixture is uniform.

3. Spray non-stick spray into a large sauce pan over medium-to-high heat. Spoon mixture into pan, and flatten with the back of a spatula until they are about a half inch thick.

4. Flip cakes after you see bubbles on top, like regular pancakes. If your mixture is too thick for bubbles, just test the doneness by sliding your spatula underneath. You can flip them when the side is golden brown.

I’d recommend serving these immediately while they are still warm.

Nutrition per cake (1/4 batch) - Calories: 73.6; Fat: 2.3 g; Carbs: 9.5g; Fiber: 1.5g; Protein: 4.1g. WW+ Points: 2.

Bro Talk: Real men don’t always love their bodies

Posted on by
7

(ZL: After my post about body image, I was really moved by so many of your comments. One that stood out to me was from my brother from another mother and resident bro correspondent, Jordy, who shared his perspective. I think the male voice is sometimes missing from this conversation, so I asked him to expand on his comment for a guest post.)

Hello again, friends! It’s the guy that gives Lizzie her sports side (but not her love for Reggie Bush—that is all her). When Lizzie approached me about writing something on this subject, I actually thought, “Why in the world would she think that I had something to offer on this subject?” Then I walked by a mirror, looked and corrected my posture so that it looked like I had a six pack. So, OK, maybe I know a thing or two.

Before I begin, here’s some background: I used to be about 40 pounds heavier than I am right now. Now, this was a fact that wasn’t lost on people in Florence, where I’m from. I would get a lot of “Jordy, you GAINED SOME WEIGHT!” (Hey, guess who knew that already?) Or “Looks like you are a prime example of the Freshman 15! What did you gain, 25 pounds?!!?”

Junior Year of College

Junior Year of College

I suppose that the weight jokes are just jokes when they’re thrown at a man. But let’s just say that they stung a little. I hated looking at pictures of me circa 2002-2006. It was just a bad sight: Big belly, baggy clothes, puffy face, nappy hair and a big nose (OK, so the nose is still there).

So, I lost all that weight. And there was really no plan; it was a breakup—sadly, that sort of thing works wonders. Of course, with the weight loss came the “JORDY YOU LOOK SO GREAT! YOU LOST SO MUCH WEIGHT!!”

I mean, was I really a whale or something? Was I pillaging people’s pantries and taking all the ice cream out of the freezer? Was I insisting on taking the elevator up one floor every time? Really, was this weight loss that big of a deal to other people also? The “praise” was bittersweet. I was happy to get compliments, but I obviously had to have been rather…rotund (?) to warrant such praise. But hey, I guess I was looking good, so why not keep things up? I started to be a little more serious about the gym, I ate more fruits and vegetables, and I walked to more places (that’s easy to do when you don’t have a vehicle!). So, yeah, I guess I cared.

Today, I think I have an OK body. On a scale of one to ten, I’d give myself a 6.5ish? I can sit here and brag about how I work out all the time, how I post my runs to Facebook and Twitter, and how I make my own lunch everyday and it usually includes yogurt (Yes, I just did that)… But at the end of the day, I’m doing these things for…3 reasons:

  1. It’s expensive to eat out (like you didn’t know that)
  2. I LOVE working out. It’s really one of the few things in my life that I have complete control over. So what if I like that sort of thing?
  3. I am secretly (well, not anymore, I guess!) terrified of man boobs and diabetes. No, those things are not related. Now, if only I believed that…
Jordy today! I'm sure that's a big glass of water.

Jordy today! I'm sure that's a big glass of water.

So, yes, it’s a struggle. While I do enjoy the feeling of a good workout, and I internally high five myself when I eat something healthy, it’s really to ward off self loathing about my body. Those things go together, I think (My mind. It’s a damn wasteland!).

I am constantly making sure that I have correct posture anytime I pass the mirror, just to give the impression that I have a nice midsection. I started the 100 Push Ups challenge not to be good at push ups, but because I thought I was starting to get man boobs. Yes, I wear tight shirts to show off my upper body…but I am embarrassed by the stretch marks on my arms. I have this cool…something (looks like a vein?) on my hip (does that come from working out?). But I have to stand up straight and sort of suck in to make sure that my midsection looks OK.

So, all of this probably means one thing: I am the vainest person in the Carolinas. This could also mean that I have some serious issues with accepting my body for what it is. I know I should say, “I’ve worked hard, these are good results!” Instead, I say, “MY GOD, I’M NEVER, EVER, EVER DOING A SIDE PROFILE IN THE MIRROR EVER AGAIN!”

So, 750 words (or so) in, you’re probably wondering, “What does this all MEAN? And where the hell is the post about Lizzie’s peach cupcake recipe?!!!?” I suppose the goal of those previous passages is to let you know that it’s OK to be concerned about your body. Men do it too.

Not everybody can look like Chad Johnson/Ochocino shirtless.  Not everyone makes millions of dollars to catch a football and block every now and then, but don’t let me get into semantics here. But dammit, we’ll try to get as close to super chiseled as possible. And, in the meantime, there will be the struggle to just be OK with the fact that we’re never going to have the 3 percent body fat and end up on the cover of magazines, although I’m still hoping to get on US Weekly, only for getting in a fist fight with a celebrity.

I am mostly OK with how I look today. But it’s never always like that. However, not being content with where you are only motivates you to get better…right? So, that’s me. I like me now. But I’ll keep working until I L-O-V-E my body. And if I never get there, that’s OK. Why is it OK, you ask? (So maybe you didn’t ask that—JUST PRETEND, OK?) Well, I’ll keep working to get in love with my body. And, well, that’s worked so far!

Big Booty (Indoor) Running Continued…Tackling the Track

Posted on by
6
or.. “How I made indoor running my bitch.”
Snoozefest! But air conditioned.

Snoozefest! But air conditioned.

So, after writing about how boring and terrible I expected running five miles on the track to be… I went to the gym and kicked four miles in the butt! For those of you not on my “HOLY CRAP CHECK ME OUT”- Twitter list… that’s the longest distance I’ve ever run.

I decided to group the laps in fives, and I collected a bunch of random elastic bands from my apartment and decided I would aim for 25 laps. By the end, I felt good enough to push through the last three laps to reach 28 – four miles! I felt fine, other than a little soreness the next day.

Yup... rubber bands, hair elastics, and one of those rubber bracelets I got on one of my tours in New Orleans. Aren't you glad I don't write fashion posts? Today I classed it up - Matching rubberbands!

Yup... rubber bands, hair elastics, and one of those rubber bracelets I got on one of my tours in New Orleans. Aren't you glad I don't write fashion posts? Tuesday, I classed it up - Matching rubber bands!

Tuesday, I went back and ran 30 laps, only five away from my goal! I’m going to try to hit 35 laps by Friday, because I’ll be going home for a few weeks and my only options for running will be 95* weather or the treadmill. I’m pretty confident, and even though I’m not running very fast, I’m proud of myself.

Several of you guys commented on my last post that you got through long runs by using the time to work through problems. I know that seems like an obvious move.. but not for me. I usually spend my time dissecting rap lyrics and fretting over time/distance (omg, math).

This time, I gave the whole “thinking” a try, and I was able to finally put in words what I’ve been feeling for a while: I miss who I used to be and I need to get my groove back. Ok, I also need to figure out a less 90′s way to put that, but just generally, I decided that I want to make a concerted effort to be more.. myself.

I miss the me who spent time taking care of herself (beyond just the gym), had more than enough confidence, and spent more time with people than finding ways to stay busy alone. Over the last few years, I’ve become a version of myself that I hardly recognize. There are lots of reasons why, and I will revisit this topic again soon, but I’m glad I took the “thinking” advice.

Thanks for the advice everyone! If anyone has any problems they’d like for me to work out for you, I’ll have an hour free tomorrow on the track :)  

BigBooty (Indoor) Running.. the tale of 35 laps

Posted on by
10

So, the goal of running 5 miles before my birthday has been looming over my head since… I set the goal last August. I always manage to make it to 3.5ish miles, and then something happens. Exams. Vacation. General laziness. Even though I haven’t taken large amounts of time out from “training,”  I seem to kind of lose my momentum when it comes to adding mileage. 

I know the prospect of adding 1.5 miles is nothing to many of you, but for me, that’s like.. increasing by a third. Honestly, I think that I can physically do it. I’m just mentally hitting a road block in part because it is something that I’ve never done before. And the other part… I am so bored. 

Instead of whining and dry heaving through the 100* weather this summer, I decided early on to move my running indoors. At first, I forced myself on the treadmill, hating every. single. moment. It was a flashback to when I first started running, and the sound of my feet hitting the belt were the drum beat to my “I hate this. I hate this. I hate this….” chant. 

So, I moved to the indoor track. Which I hate a lot less, but running seven laps per mile is still.. boring. And in a moment of quick math I later regretted…  I realized I would need to run 35 laps to finish five miles. THIRTY FIVE LAPS. And for me, this will take more than an hour, so it isn’t as though these are 35 quick laps. There is only so much to look at. People on the bike. People on the treadmill. Water fountain. Repeat x 35. 

I’ve decided to get some light weight plastic bracelets to help me keep track of the laps. Maybe seven, and then I’d move one after every five-mile set. Rather than thinking in miles while I’m running, I’m shifting my focus to laps. I need to make a good playlist and then… stop thinking about it. And just do it, and realize that I will spend an hour of my life running around in a circle because I told myself (and the rest of the world) that I would. 

Then, maybe by October, our nine month summer season will be over and I can go run outside again.

If you have any advice for how to make this more interesting, or if you just want to brag about how far you run so I’ll quit whining, feel free to leave it in the comments!