born to run

I miss everyone!!! I am getting back on the bandwagon. I am giving up ice cream for Lent (I am not Catholic, but this is a baby step!) and I have been searching my moving boxes for my Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred video. I can't find it. Doh. I am trying not to eat after 8 PM, so at least I'm making a few improvements. I feel like weight just falls off while breastfeeding (yay), but if you're not careful and you overconfidently binge on chocolate, you can go in the wrong direction. But if I were to really try? Wow, I could seriously see success.

I just finished an awesome book. It was my pick for book club, and it was a winner! I think everyone loved it. It's called "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall. It's part history, part physiology, part story, and all about ultra-running -- marathons? Yeah, right. Think 100-mile races through the thin air of the Colorado Rockies or in the middle of the 130-degree Mojave Desert. And for good measure, do it barefoot. EXTREME running. And guess what? I'm absolutely convinced. Maybe after reading this book, I *would* try a marathon. Maybe. Let me get back up to a 10K first, OK?

The book was marvelously motivating, so I decided to type in a few of the quotes to preserve them and share. Please go read it! You won't regret it. The quotes below are either by the author or some of the many people he interviewed for his story. They really spoke to me. I am ready to start living... since I was born to run.

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"Know why he (a 95-year-old man) could do it? Because no one told him he couldn't. No one ever told him he oughta be off dying somewhere in an old age home. You live up to your own expectations." (pg 50)

"We've got a motto here -- you're tougher than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can." (pg 61)

"For some, running was a miserable two miles motivated solely by size 6 jeans; get on the scale, get depressed, get your headphones on, and get it over with. But you can't muscle through a five-hour run that way; you have to relax into it, like easing your body into a hot bath, until it no longer resists the shock and begins to enjoy it. Relax enough, and your body becomes so familiar with the cradle-rocking rhythm that you almost forget you're moving. ...You have to be in tune with your body, and know when you can push it and when to back off." (pg 69)

"That was the real secret -- they'd never forgotten what it felt like to love running. They remembered that running was mankind's first fine art, our original act of inspired creation." (pg 92)

"Was he a great man who happened to run? Or was he a great man because he ran?" (pg 98)

"Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that's all you get, it's not so bad. Then work on the light. Make it effortless, like you don't care how high the hill is or how far you have to go. When you've practiced so long and that you forget you're practicing, you work on making it smoooooth. You won't have to worry about the last one -- you get those three, and you'll be fast." (pg. 111)

"His nutrition strategy for an Olympic marathon hopeful was this: Eat as though you're a poor person." (pg. 119)

"Instead of cringing from fatigue, embrace it. Refuse to let it go. Get to know it so well, you're not afraid of it anymore. ...The only way to conquer something, as every great philosopher and geneticist will tell you, is to love it." (pg 124-125)

"I started running ultras to be a better person. I thought if you could run 100 miles, you'd be in this Zen state. You'd be Buddha, bringing peace and a smile to the world. It didn't work for me... but there's always a hope that it will turn you into the person you wanna be, a better, more peaceful person." (pg 149)

"If there's any magic bullet to make human beings healthy, it's to run." (pg 168)

"You don't stop running because you get old; you get old because you stop running." (pg. 202)

"The change (from wrong technique to right) should be awkward. You should go through a period where you're no longer good at doing it wrong but not yet good at doing it right. You're not only adapting your skills, but your tissues; you're activating muscles that have been dormant for years." (pg 206)

"Your body needs to be shocked to become resilient. Follow the same daily routine, and your system figures out how to adapt and go on autopilot. Surprise it with new challenges -- leap over a creek, commando-crawl under a log, spring till your lungs are bursting -- and scores of nerves are electrified into action." (pg 211)

"I knew aerobic exercise was a powerful antidepressant, but I hadn't realized it could be so profoundly mood stabilizing and -- I hate to use the word -- meditative. If you don't have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain't getting them." pg 213)

"You and I know how good running feels because we've made a habit of it. But lose the habit, and the loudest voice in your ear is your ancient survival instinct urging you to relax. And there's the bitter irony: our fantastic endurance gave our brain the food it needed to grow, and now our brain is undermining our endurance." (pg 243)

"Just move your legs,. Because if you don't think you were born to run, you're not only denying history, You're denying who you are." (pg 244)

"The Hopis consider running a form of prayer; they offer every step as a sacrifice to a loved one, and in return ask the Great Spirit to match their strength with some of His own. (pg 253)

"If it feels like work, you're working too hard. I decided to get outside of my head and stop obsessing about my stride. I began to drink in the view of the canyon around me, watching the sun turn the top of the foothill across the river to gold. Pretty soon, I realized, I'd be nearly as high as that peak." (pg 263)

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These were seriously beautiful quotes to me. What was your favorite?

Easy Oven "Fries"

Click the picture for the recipe.  :)

Exercise...

Self-Worth Based on Appearance + Idea for Action

Sometimes we feel that our worth is determined by how nice we look - at least, part of our worth.  We know that looks aren't everything, but we still feel like we wished we looked nicer.

I recently read about a trend on YouTube where young girls post videos asking if they are ugly.  Of course, from the small handful of videos I've seen, the girls are not ugly, but they seem to lack confidence.  Also, we all know that there are trolls out there who will post nasty comments on the videos.  I worry about what it does to the girl's confidence and if she feels that her worth is truly measured by her looks.

I have an idea that I may follow through with... hear me out.  :)

Now, I don't want to sound cocky when I say this, but I might... I was very hot when I was 17.

Case in point:

You can't really see it in this picture, but I also had the ideal body - an hourglass figure with no more than a 24" waist.

I'm still told that I look very young.  I am sometimes mistaken for a teenager if I put on makeup, fix my hair, and put on trendy clothes.

I already want to get back to the nice body that I had when I was 17-18 (or at least as close to it as I can get).  If I work hard, and get back to that size, I will look pretty smoking hot in society's terms.  (I recognize I don't have to be that size to be "hot" though, don't worry).  :)  Not to mention, but I could easily be mistaken for a teenager.

So my idea is that after I have recovered from delivering my baby, I will work hard to get down to that size (my goal is by the end of the year).  When I've reached that size, I'll put on makeup, fix my hair and put on some trendy (but modest) clothing.  Then I'll post my OWN YouTube video asking the same questions these girls ask.

Why would I do this?  I want to prove a point.  I'm sure that most of the girls will think I look beautiful.  I'm also sure that there will be trolls that come along and post about how ugly I am, when I clearly am not.  I want to prove that no matter how gorgeous you are, that internet trolls will still post nasty things.  My hope is to take away the credibility of these trolls in the sight of the girls.  If they see that they'll post nasty things about someone who clearly is not ugly, then maybe they won't put as much weight into the nasty comments they receive on their own videos.

It's an idea anyway.  I would hope it'd be useful, but maybe there's a flaw in my plan that I haven't thought of?  Please give me your candid feedback.  :)

Off Topic: Victory for Many Precious Babies!

UPDATE (February 3rd):  The decision was reversed.  To say that this is disappointing to me would be an understatement.  More information here:
http://news.yahoo.com/komen-drops-plan-cut-planned-parenthood-grants-163643930.html


Hello all!  This is off the topic of the blog, but I thought it was important enough to share with you all!


Susan G. Komen for the Cure stopped funding for Planned Parenthood.  They are currently hearing from a lot of angry supporters of Planned Parenthood.  They need to hear from many as many pro-lifers as possible to know that they are supported in their decision!


More information on my blog here:
http://eight-twenty-eight.blogspot.com/2012/02/victory-for-precious-babies.html


As we strive to make our bodies healthy and strong, let's help the unborn babies have a chance for a healthy and strong body too!  Thank you so much!  :)

Habits gone...well, almost

It takes 21 time of consecutively doing something to make a habit! I decided to make the habit of NOT biting my finger nails, and flossing. So far, flossing and not biting have been a success. The only downside is I've picked up a new habit...eating. I bite my nails when I'm nervous. Now it seems I eat when I'm nervous or stressed, or blah, blah, blah.

Current weight (141)

Gained weight and I don't feel so great about it. I need a new habit. How about sugar free gum chewing? Ah, I don't know. All I know is I'm frustrated with myself, but my nails and teeth look nice =)

I need help getting back on track

I'm trying to go to sleep but my stomach is too distended from eating too much. I'm really thirsty but if I put something else in my mouth I'm going to burst. I'm going to take pictures of my food tomorrow to bring awareness and make it public. At least I'm out of the ingredients to make vegan cookies --- the batch I gone already. I'm up 5 pounds! Ack!

In other news I've gone 8.5 miles in three days of excursions in the snow pushing 1or 2 kids and going at either my pace or my daughter's pace.