Category Archives: running

Nike? Me Likey.

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I feel more excited to find out if I am selected for the Nike Half Marathon lottery than I was when we bought tickets for the $640 million jackpot.  Nike didn’t mention when they were going to announce the winners of the random draw but it should hopefully be by the end of the week.

I signed up with my best friend in another state and two co-workers who already run with one another.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am dependent on other people to motivate myself.  I rely on other people to keep me on track and it is damn near impossible to log a lot of miles at my own free will.  My current running partner doesn’t pace herself, doesn’t run with music and has been barefoot running for about a year already:

GoofyDoodle

 

Quarter Marathon, check!

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It has been quite the Sunday.  I don’t know if it qualifies as a Lazy Sunday since James and I both ran 6.55 miles today.  That’s right.  We completed The Emerald City Quarter Marathon! Woo hoo! The race was great and really well organized when it broke off for the half and quarter marathon runners.  I didn’t use the porta potty but it didn’t seem like there were long lines for potties or Gatorade. The scenery was nice as we ran through the park but there were squished frogs everywhere.  It was so gross and reminded me of the time I refused to dissect a frog in ninth grade Science class.  I saw intestines.  Blech.

www.nataliedee.com

Before the race, I woke up at 5:00am to take Penny and and get a glass of water.  Penny went on strike at that very moment and refused to go outside.  She looked at me like I was crazy.  She was a very tire puppy and wanted me to finish what I was doing so we could get back to bed.  I reset my alarm to go off at 5:40am and James and I got up and each ate a banana with almond butter and a piece of toast (I had mine with Trader Joe’s mango butter).

After getting dressed and figuring out where we need to go (which I know we should have done last night) we high tailed it to the start of the race, along with the 55 other cars trying to get off the exit.  Yikes.  We had four minutes to park and make it to the start line on time.  But we made it, with 33 seconds to spare.

I’m not sure of the exact time it took us to run since I didn’t have my Garmin working.  James said it was 1:22 which is almost a 13 minute mile.  Its definitely not the greatest but I’m just so glad to run it with James.  We stuck together the whole time, side by side, except when James was blowing his nose.  We kissed for the camera and held hands across the finish line.  Oooooh.

James is in the middle of a two hour nap and I’ve been eating like I just completed a full triathlon.  I need to step away from the kitchen.  But I can’t right now since I’m making Salted Caramel Ice Cream from Food Finery.  I’ve never made homemade ice cream before but the process seems to take forever.

Running Errands

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After work I picked up our race packets for the Emerald City Quarter Marathon.  I was reading through the race information and it says they give out free Bloody Mary’s at the end of the race to all participants.  Gag.  The highlight of the race packet was a sample-sized tube of Aquaphor.  The low-light of the race packet has to be the race shirts.  The men’s shirts are a normal white with a subtle logo on the side.  The women’s shirts are lime green! Lime Green! Wasn’t I just talking about my distaste of lime green?! I think its ironic but I’ll probably never wear it.  Its just not my color. My shirt is destined to the bottom of the drawer.  Its only purpose will be to act as a receipt that I ran the race.  In case anyone questions my participation, I’m prepared to prove them wrong.

During my 3.2 run, I went on a bank run.

Not that kind of bank run (did you watch all seven minutes of the video?).  I was putting money into the bank. Not taking it out.  Running errands during my run is probably not the best idea.  I don’t know what I was thinking.

Only four more days until the race.  I think I just realized I’m not really ready for it.  I’m going to put my race bib under my pillow case and hope my brain absorbs the great athleticism.

 

Daydream Believer

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After a long day at work, an impromptu trip to Target, and sitting on the couch for a few minutes, I finally put on my clean workout clothes and went for a jog.  I love evening runs with no music.  It really gives me the chance to think about the future and daydream about whatever I want.

www.nataliedee.com

A two mile run around the neighborhood.  Trees shaded me practically the entire time so I didn’t really sweat until I got home and stretched.  I love the feeling of drenching in sweat, it makes me feel like I really worked hard to reach my goals.

One of my non-running goals is to plan our meals and waste less food.  I always buy potatoes by the five pound bags and waste at least half.  I tried an Oven-Fried Potato recipe from Simply Recipes but I’ll have to try it at least one more time to get it right.  I also tried Sauteed Kale for the first time from and picked an easy recipe from Eating Well.

 

Kicking Butt, Taking Names

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Two miles. Done. Could have done more.  Didn’t.

James and I did an easy two mile run through the neighborhood this evening with a few short intervals.  One of my favorite running exercises is the butt kick.  I just make sure to do it when I don’t think anyone is watching as I look goofy doing it.  Here is a video of former OSU football player Eddie George showing how to do the butt kick:

About halfway through the run, I was freaking out about how I’m going to do the quarter marathon in less than two weeks.  Then I started freaking out about the wedding being only 82 days away.  Then I started freaking out about being able to fit in my dress.  Whenever I feel pressure to stay a certain weight or size, I tend to gain weight as I binge on junk and anxiety.  I wish that wedding dresses were made out of the same material as yoga pants.  I think I need to start a career in the wedding industry!

need-tox detox

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This weekend was so much fun but now I think I need to detox to get back to normal.  James and I went to a beautiful wedding in Pittsburgh that was one of the best weddings I’ve been to.  The ceremony was so special and so personal; there were so many cute details to the decorations and everyone that attending was just fun to be around.  One of my favorite parts were the infamous Pittsburgh Cookie Table and the wedding cake that was a tower of doughnuts.

doughnut cake that smelled as good as it looked

My eating feels completely out of whack from the weekend.  We’ve eaten out for every meal since Friday lunch at Subway.  For breakfast on Saturday I did eat oatmeal with bananas and strawberries at Bob Evan’s and felt like I got the day off to a great start but the rest of the day I have n idea how much I ate.  The food was so delicious at the wedding and I ate my fair share of cheese and popcorn favors.  The biggest mistake, that I hate to fess up to, was the 1am pizza that didn’t even taste good and wasn’t even worth it.

I woke up this morning after seven long hours of sleep (no Goldendoodle puppy waking us up).  I went to the hotel gym and thought I could bust out at least three miles.  I set the stats on the treadmill but only went a little over a mile.  I hate running on treadmills because it is so boring, I didn’t have my iPod and they always make me dizzy.  When I’m actually running on the machine I feel fine.  When I get off and start walking, I feel like I’m stuck on a conveyer belt at the grocery store.

I’ve had a bellyache all day and being in the car with an upset stomach is never a good idea.  I’m not a doctor, but I’ve come to the realization that any foods ending in “-itos” is not the best way to cure any stomach issues.

Long Run: 5 miles

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Today’s run felt like I was in slow motion.  It was like the dream I have where I’m being chased by bad guys running at normal pace and I run away like I have cemented shoes.

I may have gotten off to a late start and I don’t think I’ve been hydrating myself enough during the week. I ate a banana with a forkful of almond butter.  Bananas eaten with a fork taste more like a meal.  Another issue was that I felt really thirsty and I didn’t take my water bottle with me because I was carrying my giant iPod Touch (the iPod shuffle wasn’t charged).  I stayed dehydrated for the sake of vanity.

I walked a few times for about 30 seconds each time.  I don’t know why but I always feel like I’m cheating myself out of a successful workout.  I didn’t charge my Garmin and I left the house with only 25% battery life.  It died at mile 4 but I know I ran an extra mile because I’ve gone that route before.

never fully charged Garmin

I was planning on having my second breakfast but 10:00 seems too late since lunch is only about 2 hours away.  Now I’m sipping on some iced coffee with a scoop of vanilla whey protein.  I wouldn’t exactly call it delicious.

I’m a Bad Dog Mom

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I feel like I just had my first “bad mom” moment today.  I may have made mistakes in the last few months we have had Penny and her puppy training, but this one feels the worst.  I have taken Penny on a total of two runs, I think James has taken her on one.  All runs were less than two miles.  Penny enjoys the short run and sometimes it can tire her out and we can avoid the nighttime-crazy-time.

I wish I did a little more research before getting Penny too active.  Apparently, dogs shouldn’t run until they are about a year old.  Penny is only 4 1/2 months, a long way off.  To make it even worse, Golden Retrievers are prone to hip dysplasia.  Maybe the fact that she’s only 25% Golden Retriever, she could have the chance to miss that gene.  We walk every day and we’ll continue to walk a few times a day.  Exercise is important to prevent hip dysplasia but too much can also cause it.  Just like people, even dogs need good things in moderation.

Running with Puppies

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Last night may have very well been a rest day.  I didn’t get home from work until about 6:30 and James said he ate too much to go running.  I grabbed a few pretzels and sat on the couch for awhile and watched tv.  I don’t know what came over me but about 30 minutes later I figured I’ll just go for a run by myself, maybe I’ll take Penny.

We only went about 2 miles total.  I know she’s only 4 1/2 months old but she really likes to jog.  One of the best tips about running with a dog is to make sure they do their business before you really get running.  James said Penny already went in the backyard when he got home so I figured she wouldn’t need to go again.  She peed during our warm up and then we picked up the pace. About 4 blocks into the run, Penny did exactly what I was afraid would happen.  Of course I picked it up (I don’t want to be that neighbor) but I had to hold onto it for about 10 minutes until I found a trash can.  It was a really awkward addition to our little running club.  One mile into our run, Penny started to slow down.  I wasn’t going to force her into doing something she didn’t want to do so we took it easy going up a big hill and Penny took a lot of rest breaks.

 

Oh Marmaduke.

So two miles done, easy pace.  I can’t wait for Penny to get a little bit older, then we can go on longer runs.  The quarter marathon is in a little over 3 weeks.  I hope we’re ready!

 

Goofy Puppy Runner

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Penny woke me up at 6am this morning when she was barking at squirrels out of the living room window.  I took her out to do her business and then I took her for a short run around the neighborhood.  It was beginning to rain but it was only a little sprinkle; it felt like nature’s air conditioning.  It was still dark out and we stayed on streets with big trees to keep us dry.  I’m so surprised at how well behaved Penny was during the run.  She stayed at my pace and we still stopped at each corner to sit.  The only time we almost had a bad incident was when she found a bunny sprinting across a yard and Penny thought she should chase her.  I nearly broke my neck!

When it started pouring rain we ran a little faster until we got to the hill.  Penny was so good the whole time but I think she has a bit of a competitive streak.  Penny thought this was a real race and was weaving in front of her competition (me) to throw them off the trail.

We totaled 2 miles but I don’t know how long it took since I didn’t have my watch.  I ate a raisin bread toast, a Chobani Champions greek yogurt and a banana with almond butter.  I’m trying to increase my protein intake during training.

This morning I signed up for The Emerald City Quarter Marathon on September 4th.  James said he would sign up.  I hope he does because I don’t think my furry running partner is eligible for competition yet.