8 posts tagged “marathon”
Finally posted my marathon pictures so I have a few to share!
I carried a lot with me during my marathon but it was my first and I wasn't sure what I would need. So here's my pile:
I had my back pack, coconut water, dates with salt, 2 Vega bars, coconut chap stick, my watch, my time chip, my time band, race number, clothes and sneakers. Also in the picture are the very important map and vaseline, which I did'nt carry with me! I didn't eat the bars but I ate all but two dates. I left my jacket behind too and it was cold! oops!
The tents at the Expo/Starting line.
Love it.
I did it, I ran my first marathon. The experience was emotional and uplifting. The post experience has been calm. My body feels good, a bit tired but good. The hills were worse then I had planned for and that set me off of my time goals but I quickly let that expectation go and enjoyed myself, the view, the memories, the people, my body and the music on my ipod.
The race began in Union Square a few blocks away where I used to work between 1997-1999. Lunches, racing to and from the BART train, shopping, showing visitors around, becoming a brave city girl in San Francisco, all these memories swirling through my head as my feet barely touched the ground- I felt like I sort of floated through the first of the 26.2 miles. Then the hills came and they were big! I decided to not run up all of them, I was very concerned about conserving my energy and that became my theme of the day I think. I was so worried about "the wall" and getting hurt and not finishing and any combination of those things that I was very careful. If you know me you know I tend to over think and I did it during my marathon too. But, I'm okay with that because it was my first experience running that distance and I did it!! And I never hit the wall, and I sprinted to the finish line, and I was relaxed and my recovery has been strong. I feel fantastic. I'll test my speed in some small races maybe or just on my own, we'll see.
The evening of the marathon we spontaneously ended up in a pimped out limousine that brought us to our long planned dinner at Greens with twelve wonderful friends.
What a marvelous day.
xoxoxo
I'm getting up in nine hours to ready myself for the marathon. I mean, I've been getting ready for this since January of 2006. That's the month I joined Bay Area Boot Camp (now AlaVie) and changed my life.
When I started those 5:30am classes at the park I had to imagine my child, my 18 month old baby at the time, at the end of a short run around previously mentioned park in order to keep running. I was a terrible runner. And I got better. I've imagined myself with wings, I've imagined myself being a tall Ethiopian man, I've imagined myself as the wind.
I'm really excited for the big city run, 20,000 people deep through the streets of San Francisco. Thank you husband for your support. Thank you Eliot for being happy for me. Thank you dear friends and family for ears that listened to my ups and downs during training. Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement, I need it and I love it. I love you all for running with me.
xoxo
ami
PS~ My brother knows Brendan Brazier (The Thrive Diet) and he surprised me today by asking Brendan to personally call me and wish me luck for tomorrow. I still am so excited over this! I got the call while I was in the Embarcadero BART station and I started jumping up and down. And even got a little teary afterward. What a nice guy- Brendan and my brother.
Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out if they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.
- William James
My first marathon is next weekend. So sorry I haven't kept up with the compliment challenge, I found myself derailed and had to get other things on track first. But I will say that I'm proud, beautiful, strong, determined and ready to run 26.2 miles next Sunday. And that's exciting.
I've learned some valuable lessons for training my body that I want to share:
*While running I have to drink before I'm thirsty
*" " eat before I'm hungry
*After a run I eat within 45 minutes of finishing my workout. It completely encourages better recovery.
*I'm eating a lot of carbs leading up to the race and I'll need to be mind-full of the changes I'll need to make about one to two days after the race. I think I'll give my body a gentle 2 week break from strenuous exercise.
*Coconut water is my gatorade
*Foam rollers for massaging out sore muscles are amazing
*Ice
*Yoga is a god send
*Squats and lunges are the most complimentary exercises for running
*Bouncing on my rebounder, also fab
*Being in that meditative place while running is the most freeing beautiful feeling. When I'm one with the wind and all.
And thanks to Snowy for this appropriate quote:
"A human being is a part of the
whole, called by us, "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the
rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a
kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection
for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this
prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and
the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely,
but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and
a foundation for inner security." : Albert Einstein - (1879-1955)
Physicist and Professor, Nobel Prize 1921
After reading this marvelous idea I thought I'd join in:
http://laidoutinlavender.vox.com/library/post/what-big-eyes-you-have-my-dear.html
I'm going to publicly give myself a compliment every day until I leave for San Francisco for my first marathon in 4 weeks. Wow, that seems much more daunting seeing that sentence in print- precisely why I should do it!
Today's compliment: I am a very determined person.
Good, got through day one. Thanks for the wonderful challenge miss L!
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I think I'll add the lyrics to today's inspired title. Judgement of the Moon and Stars by Joni Mitchell.
No tongue in the bell
And the fishwives yell
But they might as well be mute
So you get to keep the pictures
That don't seem like much
Cold white keys under your fingers
Now you're thinking
"That's no substitute
It just don't do it
Like the song of a warm warm body
Loving your touch"
In the court they carve your legend
With an apple in its jaw
And the women that you wanted
They get their laughs
Long silk stockings
On the bedposts of refinement
You're too raw
They think you're too raw
It's the judgement of the moon and stars
Your solitary path
Draw yourself a bath
Think what you'd like to have
For supper
Or take a walk
A park
A bridge
A tree
A river
Revoked but not yet cancelled
The gift goes on
In silence
In a bell jar
Still a song
You've got to shake your fists at lightning now
You've got to roar like forest fire
You've got to spread your light like blazes
All across the sky
They're going to aim the hoses on you
Show 'em you won't expire
Not till you burn up every passion
Not even when you die
Come on now
You've got to try
If you're feeling contempt
Well then you tell it
If you're tired of the silent night
Jesus well then you yell it
Condemned to wires and hammers
Strike every chord that you feel
That broken trees
And elephant ivories conceal
big horrible binge day all mcdonald's food, it's all i wanted- egg mcmuffin with sausage, shakes, salty french fries, big mac. oh my i'll never go back to raw!
HAHA just kidding! april fools!
started the day with one hour of trampoline bouncing! jumping! dancing!
after workout: a scoop of coconut butter and a big glass of water
B: smoothie: 2 tiny bananas, peaches, blueberries, hemp protein powder, scoop of almond butter, cacao powder, water and maca.
L: green drink: kale, peaches, yellow apple, mango, water, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla.
D: i made up some more not tuna with almonds, nori , garlic, parsley, apple cider vinegar, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, celery and avocado. i placed a scoop on a bed of mixed baby greens with orange pepper sticks. wish i'd taken a photo but i was too hungry!
BIG NEWS and no april fools joke: i got into the nike women's marathon in SF! i'm so excited and nervous already, i seriously need to calm down, this will be my first marathon. i'm so happy it's going to be this one i've heard such great things. back to marathon training on monday the 7th!
so my days as a double agent are over! i'm officially on a raw vegan diet. over the past three weeks i've been experimenting with a cooked meal here or a dessert there and i've felt horrible and paid the price. when i've had raw days i've felt wonderful, clear and fabulous. the experience, so far has converted me.
less then a year ago i started to eat vegan. before that i had been vegetarian, pescatarian and searching for a couple of years for the best ways to eat for me. i'm so excited and happy to post this, and i do still feel like i'm in the experimenting phase, that for my own record and for those who are interested i'll be posting what i'm eating almost every day. you'll read, if you want, what my raw diet consists of, how i may learn and change it, and what my training schedule is like as i train for my first marathon.
thank you so very much if you've read this far. hope we can learn together.
3/5:
B: smoothie: raw chocolate hemp protein powder, cranberries, peaches, cherries, a banana, a pear and water.
L: orange. lara bar
5 mile run
S: raw chocolate mousse
D: raw broccoli salad with cashews that i love
side note: i was going to wait to post this until the end of the week, but it's getting a little long. you get a gold star if you make it to the end!
on my birthday this week i began a new way of eating, and the week before i began a new training regimen.
first off, i'm using a book to increase my running mileage to possibly run a marathon. it's a 16 week plan where you run 4 days a week and the forth run of the week is your long run. i'm in week two. last week i ran 15 miles and this week i'll go 16.
my slight change in diet is to eat 98% raw until dinner time when i'll eat a (most likely) cooked vegan meal.
so here's what i ate this week:
tuesday: a tablespoon of E 3 live (a supplement), an apple, a banana and a raw chocolate truffle- all before noon
a big salad at blossoming lotus with nuts and veggies, a rice paper roll- this had cooked tofu in it. for dessert
i had chocolate mousse, also not raw but it was my birthday!
dinner was at nutshell, i had a kale and chard cooked salad and a quinoa and peach stew. dessert was more
chocolate this time a torte.
wednesday: a tbs. of E 3, an apple, a raw truffle and a pear.
got the new blender out and made a spinach, apple, kiwi and maca drink! that thing can blend! and a
piece of raw fudge from blossoming lotus.
early dinner was leftover quinoa stew i threw some broccoli in
snacks- a chocolate cupcake and a pumpkin cookie
thursday: smoothie- one kiwi, package of fresh blueberries, one lemon, one lime, vanilla extract, vanilla creme stevia, pinch of pink crystal salt, maca powder, E 3, bag of spinach and coconut oil.
lunch- a cucumber, red pepper, cilantro salad from whole foods that i put on top of a pile of romain. raw fudge for dessert.
dinner- cooked kale, red chard, broccoli, red pepper and garbanzo beans with curry and garlic. dessert was
a piece of dave's killer bread with a little pb&j
* another side note, i was very fatigued on my run this morning. i didn't listen to music, so i think that was part of it. but, after my massive drink this morning i've just felt amazing! i've been quick thinking and i can't explain this "clean" sort of feeling. my nose has been a bit runny which i read is pretty common when eating more raw and cleansing foods. i'm trying to eat a bit more today then i did yesterday because i don't think i had enough calories. i love to eat!
