Fat. Girl. Runs.

All aboard HMS Fail Boat

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 13:50:00 -0500

I haven’t been blogging for about a month (maybe more?) which also means I haven’t been running. I could go through the list of excuses I’d made for myself, from bad weather to a busy schedule. The truth is.. I don’t know what happened.

Oddly enough, I’m somewhat of a perfectionist. I try to do things as completely and as well as possible. But when there’s a snag in the fabric, the entire weave just unravels and I completely fall apart. I missed a day of running. One day turned into two and the next thing I know, I hadn’t donned my trainers in over three weeks. With the 5k coming up, I just accepted a big fat ’maybe next year’ as my destiny.

And then last night happened.

My brother was visiting and somehow we got on the topic of my weight. He knows a thing or two about getting fit. This time two years ago, he was teetering on the 300lb mark and was well on his way down the path of heart disease, diabetes - much like our father - and any other number of complications. But through a strict plan and lots of hard work, he’s looking and feeling great and is in the best shape he’s probably ever been in. So I listened to what he had to say. It was hard, answering his questions. I’ve never told anyone in my family my weight. But he said something very poignant to me.

“If you can’t be honest and open about that number, you’ll never really be open to changing it.”

After a very honest and terrifying hour, we had a game plan. It will be difficult and I will get discouraged, as always is the case. But this time I don’t feel like I am alone. I have the support of someone who not only believes I will succeed, but expects me to. Sometimes, that’s all the difference.

Off my game.

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:06:18 -0500

This weather is killing me! It’s been hovering around 3°F for the past week and I have NO IDEA how to run in those temperatures. I don’t have the proper gear and am really too broke to buy anything Under Armor, or whatever. I hate making excuses, but I’m honestly quite scared to run in this cold. If not for the cramping, but because my lungs will suffer. I’m just not that brave.

Should I just suck it up and try treadmill running? Am I really going to need a gym membership for days like this? Ugghhhhh This 5K feels impossible!

This was originally a vegan quinoa salad I made for my birthday...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:24:10 -0500

This was originally a vegan quinoa salad I made for my birthday party.

Quinoa, shredded beets, carrot, raisins, cilantro, cumin, salt. This morning, I made it not-vegan by adding feta cheese.

Dinner. Persian cooking is traditionally pretty healthy (aside...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:54:08 -0500

Dinner. Persian cooking is traditionally pretty healthy (aside from all that white rice nonsense) and tonight is no exception.

Shooli. It’s a soup made with beets, lentils, kidney beans, spinach, and vinegar. That’s how I make it anyway. It’s sweet and sour and full of great nutrition. Yum!!

My legs are DYING. Help!

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:26:00 -0500

Ok runner/fitness types: How the HELL do I beat these shin splints? It’s like my legs are sand bags on fire. I never had this before. What am I doing wrong? Or, be honest, is it the consequence of being a beginner of my size?

Other than the searing pain during the last half of my training, today was probably the best day all week. My pace feels less sluggish already and I’m focusing more on my form and not on whether or not I‘m going to collapse. Improvements, yes?