Born to Run

Hey guys!

Tonight I went for a run.  Shouldn't be that big of a deal at this point, right?

Wrong.

This week marked the second week of my return to the great land known as Broadway.  Right now I'm Monday through Friday 10-6 PM.  By the time I get home I'm cold, tired (because I still haven't gotten my sleep schedule readjusted) and hungry.  The old me wouldn't have even contemplated going for a run in nice weather, let alone the frozen tundra.  While I'm not running as frequently as I would like (4-5 times per week) I am staying consistent with a minimum of 3 solid runs.  My eating isn't too bad, and I managed to lose a pound during my weigh-in this week.  I'm readjusting my unemployed work-out schedule with the employed work-out schedule and I'm pretty happy with the results.  The old me would have used this as a perfect reason to quit.  Not the new Maia.  Tonight when I walked through the door my voice kept telling me to just blow off the run tonight.  It was too cold.  You have things to do.  But instead, I put on an extra layer, my heavier earmuff head band and a pair of gloves and I got out there and ran.  A very wise man has said that the only run you'll ever regret, is the one you didn't take.  After tonight's run, I totally agree with that statement.  I have never been so happy I ignored myself.

I do have to admit that tonight's run was a bit of a challenge.  After I signed up for the half marathon I realized that I needed to try and quicken my pace and so during the flat straights of my run I decided to sprint.  This was a good idea until I got to the first hill...  Towards the top I was grunting, growling, swearing and it was not a pretty site.  I never make these sounds while I'm running but I decided that I was going to push myself and so fought the desire to slow to a walk and just kept running.  The second huge hill wasn't as bad, but again I fought the desire to slow down.  The result?  I cut my record for this path by 5 MINUTES!!  I'm pretty happy with that!  During the last half mile as I was sprinting my iPod started playing Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run.  I thought it was very fitting.  It kept me pumping.

This Saturday marks my second official race.  I'm running a 5K about two blocks from my house.  I'm excited.  The weather is supposed to be decent (40 degrees instead of the 25 it is currently...) and it's in Riverside Park which I haven't run in yet.  Some new scenery should do me good.

On a couple of personal notes (because this blog isn't personal enough already) I'm encouraging everyone to please head over to skinnyemmie.com and donate towards her half marathon fund raising goal.  She is completing the half marathon in honor of her late mother (an amazing woman!) who passed away WAY too young due to Young Onset Parkinson's Disease.  If you know anything about Parkinson's, you know that it is a wretched disease that needs to find a cure.  And now.

Also, a little shout out for the new show I'm working on.  It's called Baby It's You and its coming soon to Broadway.  We start previews the end of March and officially open on April 27th.  We started rehearsals this week and I'm having so much fun!  I'm working in a new office with a great bunch of people that make coming to work everyday a blast instead of a chore.  I mean, I work in theater.  It should be fun, right?  Anyway, check out the video below.  It's an interview with our star, Tony Award winner Beth Leavel (who is AMAZING and so funny) and was filmed during a recent photo shoot.  If you are in NYC and want to see the show, let me know!  I'm the lady who knows how to get things...;)

Half Marathon Mania!

Alright, I did it.  I bit the bullet.

I signed up for a half marathon!!

Brooklyn Half Marathon, May 21st.

Holy CRAP!

I have a lot of training ahead of me.  A lot of sweat and probably a lot of tears.  But I'm going to do it.  I'm scared, but that's probably a bit of a good thing, right?  I'll keep you posted on my training!!

Also, in half marathon news...

Skinny Emmy (an amazing blogger who you should follow if you don't already) fortuitously decided to run a half marathon in Kentucky as well!  Please check out her post on the subject.  She is completing the half marathon in honor of her amazing mother who died way too young due to Young Onset Parkinson's Disease.  Her vlog says it best.  So please, if you can, follow her, support her, donate, etc.  She deserves every bit of support we can give her!

Yay for half marathons!

New York Road Runners Gridiron Classic 4 Mile Race

I did it.


I can't believe it.  The furthest I've ever gone is a 5K.  I was hurting at about 2.5 miles, but I just kept pushing and changed my music to something pumping to drown out the "you know, you could just walk the rest..." thoughts in my head.


I had an unofficial time of 1:02:14.  That's about a 15 min/mile pace.  While that is slow compared to most, it is probably the fastest pace I've ever kept.  I ran the entire time, no walking for me!


I do have to say that it was a little frustrating at the beginning.  My starting corral was the last one, and being a slow runner I was definitely at the tail end of the race.  I just have to remember that I've only been running for 3 months, and the majority of these people have been running for years.  I do have to say that I was a little frustrated when a woman who was easily 100 pounds heavier than me was kicking my butt and finished a good 5 minutes ahead of me.  But, then I just decided to shrug it off and say "good for her!" and realize that I was doing the absolute best I could, and running the fastest race I could.


So, all in all it was a great morning!  Now I'm going to sleep.  I'm exhausted!


Oh, and P.S. to the New York Road Runners volunteers?  I know you may think that you are being encouraging when you tell me "Don't give up!"  You can keep going!" but really in my head, it's like saying "I'm assuming because you are a bigger girl that you want to give up, so I'm going to help you not to by giving you encouragement!"  Thanks anyway, but giving up was never an option...

Pop, Pop, Fizz, Fizz

This has been a bit of an odd week...

My drug of choice

Let me start with the good news.  Hell, the GREAT news!  On my weigh in this past Wednesday I am down FOUR pounds from last week!  I made some alterations to my diet/exercise last week and I'm thinking those 4 pounds are proof positive that I made a move in the direction.

One of the biggest changes that I made last week is that I cut down on drinking diet soda.  This has been the one thing that I've been holding onto and refusing to give up.  It wasn't until I realized just exactly how much I was spending on soda and how much sodium even a Diet Coke contains that I decided it might be wise to cut back a bit...  As we all know, salt and sodium causes us to retain water and I wondered if the extra sodium I was intaking through diet sodas was in fact hindering my weight loss.  I'm guessing the proof is in the pudding.  I still drink it, but not nearly close to the amount I was drinking before.

Last week I also started to increase the length of my runs.  Instead of doing a full loop in north Central Park (2 miles) I'm going 3/4 of the loop and then turning around and run home the same way I came (3 miles).  I'm getting in three huge hills this way and its definitely kicking my butt.

I'm also doing some more ab work again.  Mostly crunches and planks.  Ugh, my abs hate me.  I'm feeling stronger than ever before so again, I'm definitely thinking that even if this isn't really causing weight loss, its helping me get healthier and that's the goal.  Always have to keep my eyes on the goal.

The last major change that I made this week is that I am no longer logging my exercise in my food diary.  May seem like a weird decision, but here's my thinking behind it.  Before, I would not only log my calories in, but my calories out during the day.  With the food diary that I use, it automatically adjusts your calorie goal for the day to accommodate for the calories I burned.  Meaning, that according to them, I could then eat more and still stay within my calorie goal for the day.  This was a dangerous thing for me.  I didn't usually eat back all of the calories that I burned, but I did love to use that cushion as an excuse to eat more.  Even though according to the site I was still able to lost 1-2 pounds per week by eating back my calories I just think I was using it as a crutch way too much.  So, what I've done is actually increase the number of calories I'm eating each day (albeit it only slightly...  I'm at 1300 now.  Was at 1200 before.)  But, that's it.  I'm trying my hardest to not go above that number no matter what.  So far I've been able to stay pretty close.  So, by not logging my fitness I'm not as tempted to use my "extra" calories.  Make sense?

Now on to the odd part of my week...  My appetite has been huge and insatiable this week and I had to FIGHT through my run tonight.  Hell, I even walked a couple of times for a minute or so each time.  I haven't had to walk in a long time!  It was a bit discouraging.  I'm running my first official race this Sunday and it will be the longest I've ever run at one time: 4 miles.  I really hope that I don't have to walk during the run.  I know its not a horrible thing if I have to walk, but its my personal goal to be able to run the entire thing.  The massive appetite I'm hoping is stemming from an increased metabolism.  A girl can hope, right?  Who knows... All I know is that when I finish each meal I'm still hungry.  That hasn't been the case since the very beginning of my journey.  Hmmm...

I did start my new job this week (yay for having a paycheck again!  Woohoo!) and I am curious to see how this ends up affecting my weight on the scale next week.  The weather has, once again, been a factor in my work outs.  We didn't have a blizzard this week (shocker!) but we did have an ice storm, so having an inch of ice on the ground made running even that much more difficult.  I ran tonight for the first time since the Do Life 5K last Saturday, and even though the ice storm was two days ago I was still really scared I was going to bite it during the run and break my tail bone.  I just have to fight through my urge to be a sloth when I get home at the end of the day.  I need to keep up my progress, because I do still have a long way to go.  If I keep my eye on the prize, I'll get there.

Just like the tortoise that raced the hare, it's slow and steady that wins the race.  I'm definitely slow, but I'm staying pretty steady too.

What a Day This Has Been!

"Do Life*" Definition :


Do Life is a choice to take control of our lives. 

It is refusing to accept that life has to be ordinary or inconsequential.

It is identifying the areas of our lives that need improvement.

It is deciding to change.

And the key thing about Do Life is that it’s not about just one thing; if you want to become a better father, you become it. If you want to be a better student, you do it. If you want to run a marathon, you run until you can’t run anymore, and then you keep running.

Do Life is a movement dedicated to achieving these things and helping others as they Do Life as well.

(*Do Life is a trademarked phrase, because Ben is smart...  Mission statement from Do Life Facebook page.)

Well, today... I did life.  :)

NYC Do Life runners

This morning at 9 AM, I ran with about 45 other people through Central Park for Ben's Unofficial 5K.  It was was an eclectic bunch of very enthusiastic people.  Every single person there had been touched in one way or another by Ben's story.  There were people like me who were on a weight loss journey and other people were just there because doing life has helped them through their life journeys.  

I had feared prior to the run that I would be the slowest one there, that I would feel awkward because I didn't know anyone, that feel weird because I was a potential internet stalker of Ben's, etc, etc, etc...  But I gotta tell you the moment I walked over to the statue in the center of Columbus Circle, all of my fears disappeared.  Everyone was so nice, and Ben walked over and introduced himself to me within about 3 minutes of me arriving.  Seriously, he's just a cool dude.  He even remembered that I had commented that his unofficial 5K was a week before my first official one.  

Ben, me and Pa
I'm actually taller than Ben, but I purposefully slouched... :)

After the run the majority of people headed over the Whole Foods in the Time Warner Center for some breakfast/brunch/coffee/water/.  We ended up staying for about 3 hours.  Seriously.  Everyone just talking with everyone!  I met a couple of people that are running the same races I am in the coming weeks and we agreed to wear our "Do Life" t-shirts and to look out for each other.  I chatted with Ben's "Pa" a bit, from whom you can easily see where Ben's awesomeness comes from.  Pa actually jogged with me for a bit during the run.  He checked in to make sure that I was okay and to get a bit of my story.  But considering my pace (a personal record setting pace for me, I might add!) was about 20 times slower than what he was used to, he ran on.

It left me with such a "high on life" feeling.  I mean, it was seriously awesome.  From my PR setting time, to just the great aura surrounding us all.  It definitely reminded me why I set my goal of a marathon, and resurged my belief that I can actually do it.  I gotta be smart about it, but I really can do it!

After departing from the gathering (because we were kicked out of our table!) I ventured upstairs to the NY Running Company to buy a new pair of running shoes.  Gotta tell you I spent a pretty penny, but I'm in love!  I broke down and bought a pair of Brooks.  They are like having clouds surround your feet...  I never knew running shoes could actually ever be that comfortable.  Worth every penny.  

When I got home and saw the pictures posted from today on the Do Life facebook page (from which I lovingly borrowed/stole these pics...) I was kind of in shock when I saw the picture of Ben, Pa and me.  Man, I could really tell how much weight I've lost!  I decided to do a little side by side comparison...  Below is a picture of me taken last May at my little sister's graduation next to the pic from today.  The body its harder to tell, but look at the faces!  Damn...

Officially Over It

I'm done.  It's official.  I'm OVER it.

What am I over?

I'm over it snowing 8 inches every single week.

I'm over not seeing the sun for over a month.

I'm over this weight loss plateau (ZERO weight loss this week.)

I'm over my hip aching so I have to take ibuprofen to feel normal.

I'm over this feeling of inadequacy and the constant need to feel wanted.

I'm over being disrespected.

I'm just over it.

That's all.

View from my bedroom window.  Over it.

Run, run, run as fast as you can! Can't catch me, oh wait... you can.

February 6th.  Mark your calendars people!  What is on this date?  The Superbowl you say??  While, yes it is Superbowl Sunday, however its an even more epic day for me.

It's my first official race!

That's right, at 9 AM February 6th I will be running through Manhattan for 4 miles.  If I'm serious about my goal to run a marathon (now less than a year away!) I need to get into the mind set that racing requires.  This means that from here on out I will be signing up for as many races as my legs, my knees and my bank account will allow.

Since this first official race is slightly longer than a 5K (and the furthest I've ever run is 3 miles and that was well over a month and a half ago) I realized today that I needed to step up my running, so I altered my route.  I didn't check the mileage of my new trek until I got home, and I was very happy to discover that it was a little over three miles!  I fully expected that at the end of my run I was going to be gasping and wheezing trying to catch my breath, but to my great surprise I felt great!  I felt like I could have gone for at least another mile.  I know, it was the endorphins that gave me a "runner's high" but really my legs felt great.  Granted, I did slow my pace slightly to ensure that I didn't over do it, but either way I was proud of myself.  It made me feel pretty confident that come race day I'll be more than prepared.

Aside from my first official race, this Saturday I'm running in an unofficial 5K that I'm also quite excited about.  One of the biggest influences to help me start running was a blogger by the name of Ben Davis (bendoeslife.com).  He started his journey 2 years ago and since then has lost over 120 pounds, has run marathons and even completed an Ironman race.  He's unstoppable.  Since his inspirational video  went viral a few months ago, he has decided to expand his "Do Life" philosophy and is wanting to create a series of races across the US.  One of his first races is going to be a 5K right here in NYC.  It's unofficial, so there is no sign up or anything like that.  Just show up this Saturday morning at the statue in the middle of Columbus Circle.

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous.  Even though I've gotten slightly faster as I've grown stronger, I'm still really slow in terms of a running pace.  My biggest fear that I'm going to totally be hauling up the back of the pack, but you know what?  Oh well!  The whole "Do Life" mentality is all about just getting out there and living your life and to stop caring about what others think.  I can't live my life in fear, right?

On a scale related note, tomorrow is once again my weigh day and I still haven't shaken my fear of what my scale will say.  I didn't run as much this week as I wanted because NYC was frigid.  Like, I got cold just getting out from underneath my covers.  I was afraid to run in that cold of weather.  I wasn't completely horrible in terms of my diet, but I definitely made some choices that I shouldn't have.  Oh well, I guess the scale is going to say what its going to say I just need to not worry about it.  I'll just keep working hard, stepping up my routine when I feel comfortable about doing so, and try and get that scale back out of my mind.

Always easier said than done, right?

Oh, and by the way... Oscar nominations came out today.  Go King's Speech!  Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie, get out from under the rock from which you dwell and get thee to a theatre!  One of the best movies I've seen in a long time!  Seriously.  Go.  Now.