3-0 is STARING me in the Face!

So, I just turned 29 and I feel like 30 is staring me right in the face. I'm not a kid anymore! 

Okay, I haven't been a kid for a long time but you know what I mean. The 20s will officially be over! It's scary.

By the time I turn 30 next year I want to have accomplished something. I  want to feel good about these last few decades. 

So like the organized person that I am, I've made a check list.

  Said list is titled: "Things to do by the time I'm 30." 

Now, I have less than 12 months to do all these things, which means I had to make the goals reasonably achievable. There's nothing more discouraging than having those months go by with nothing to show for it because I was too unrealistic.

This is not a Hollywood movie. This is my life. As such, these are things that are important to me even if they are not earth-shattering to anyone else. So here we go.

1) Run as many races as possible (especially trail races) to prepare for my ultramarathon in 2015.

In the first version of my list I put "run an ultramarathon" but that was impossible with my time restraints. First off, the only ultras in Spain are either too long (think 100+ miles) or all completely trail (think goats climbing mountains). 

There is no way I can run 100 goat miles by next year. This is much more doable. In addition, when I started running I was always training for something. Now my motivation will stem from the pure joy of running and staying in shape. 

I figure I can run at least one race every month. In fact this month of September there are about 3 races in my local area I can run. 

I'm also setting myself another running challenge: run 5 days a week--no excuses.

2) Get a 6-pack

I want rock hard abs! I know a lot of it is genetics, and I have a really short torso...... but I want visible abdominals people. In my opinion, this is the hardest goal of them all because it will mean losing more weight and lifting more weight. Plus, I'm not really sure how much more of my diet I can change...

3) Shave my head

This speaks for itself. As for now I plan to enjoy my hair by wearing it out more instead of always putting it into twists. I will probably do a final length check before I cut it. I guess I just want to be able to say, yea, I wasn't afraid to cut my hair off!

I'm also tired of obsessing over length. My hair is healthy and will continue to be. I'm just at a point where I'm sick of doing the same thing. Hopefully this move will give me an even greater appreciation for my hair. I'll probably leave an inch of hair instead of cutting it completely off.

4) Buy a LBD (little black dress)

Turning 30 is definitely the right time to care a tinsy bit about fashion. So my goal is to scourge the Internet and shops to find a nice form-fitting dress I can use to show off my 6-pack!

5) Go to Prague

Always have wanted to go and I figure turning 30 is as good a time as any to fulfill this dream.

6) Have a full body spa experience every month

The point of this list is not to go broke. So I plan on having a spa experience at home with my own homemade, all-natural, ingredients. There are a bunch of oils I plan on getting immediately like: avocado oil, grape seed oil and almond oil. I figure I can get the essential oils little by little to not break the bank as they say. 

I need to incorporate a way to relax from daily life. I eat right and exercise but I don't take much care of my mental health. That's all about to change. Plus, who doesn't like manis and pedis?

7) Get some all-natural makeup and learn how to apply it

Again, 30 is the perfect time to at least try to create an everyday look and "party" look for when I want to go out. There are various websites out there that sell all-natural makeup products and I've been meaning to buy some for awhile now. 

I'm most excited about the nail polish! I LOVE nail colors but haven't worn them in a couple years because of the harsh chemicals. This summer I wore some on my toes only because I have runner's feet (black toe nails) and that's not cute when wearing open-toed shoes!

8) Read all the books by my favorite author: Isabel Allende

There are 14 books that I haven't read yet. Ambitious you say? Yea, you're right. But I've been meaning to read these books for so long and now I have no excuse....(except maybe time?) I'm currently reading Eva Luna. Oh, and did I mention I'm reading them ALL in Spanish?

Okay, that's the extent of my list. Maybe I'll keep adding to it? Dunno.

Nothing super extraordinary but all things that I have not done because of laziness or some other such reason. I'm still in the planning stages of all these things and I think I will go through a lot of trial and error. I'm excited though!

I plan to update the blog with all the tips, tricks (and failures) I encounter along the way. Especially websites and information I use to either purchase products or get my mind and body into gear.

Whew, it felt so good to finally write all this down...

May is Upon Us

Yes, it's me at la batalla de las flores.

So I'm gone for only about 2 months to find that blogger has a new interface! Grrrrr...annoying... 

I've switched to it now because I put off the Google one for so long that when I was forced to switch I had no idea what I was doing. Actually, I still have no idea what I'm doing so I don't know why I'm typing in the past tense. Might as well force myself to learn it now...

Anyway... I'M BACK PEOPLE! 

I am alive and well and still running and being vegan and taking care of my hair. 

This month will soon mark 1-year since I started my healthy hair care journey (HHCJ)! 

While I won't be doing any length checks I do plan to post some "before" and "after" pics of my hair.

I don't want to make this post too long...since I have A MILLION things to catch up on like...

1) My new running program (conditioning)

2) Future races

3) New vegan recipes

4) Hair stuff -- including styles and my 1-year anniversary!

5) May favorites

All of that and more is yet to come. Instead, here's some pics of what I've been up to today. 

Today is el día del trabajador (Workers' Day). So I have the day off. This also coincided with demonstrations to protest the recession and other politics in Spain that have hurt "normal people." The hubby and I went to show our support and protest! This is only the 2nd demonstration I've ever attended.

Also, in May, there is a month long festival in Spain full of events like: la batalla de las flores (battle of the flowers), el concurso de los patios (contest where people decorate their homes and the most lavisly decorated with flowers is the winner), and la feria (the fair). It's an exciting time!

La batalla de los flores was today.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and please come back to the blog! I'm here!

Half-Marathon Recap

The race is over! I finished uninjured and happy! Even though I went in knowing I wasn't trying to acheive a PR...my mind wasn't completely convinced. So afterwards, at home, looking at the race results, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment. It was just a tinge.

However, I ran the race in 1 HOUR AND 39 MINUTES. I RANKED 10TH IN MY CATEGORY. For some reason there were no total ranking results.

THIS WAS A CHALLENGING COURSE.

 It was super hilly. I mean, it was nothing but hills! I mean I have to incorporate some type of hill work into my training now! It's interesting, but it wasn't my legs that were burning. It was my lungs! I'm so happy I'll be starting Fartlek again.

My pace was 7.33, which I'm completely content with. At 6.1 miles I was at 46 minutes and at 10 miles I was at 1 hour and 18 minutes. I put effort into this race. My first marathon was completely flat. I held back because I just wanted to finish. I didn't hold much back this time around. It felt good though. I'm already thinking about a shorter race to run in December.

The only annoying part was that there was no one waiting for me at the finish line! I really gave it my all at the finish and sprinted. I expected my family to be there...but they were confused and were standing at a different finish line. To their credit it was a confusing event. 

There was a 10K, the half marathon, full marathon, marathon relay, and a kid's race. All running at the same time. I was confused a bit while running because they kept yelling out instructions and I was trying to focus.

Oh well, it couldn't be perfect, could it?

Race Preparation

It was so cold and dark! I got up at 430 am. I expected my phone to automatically update Daylight Savings, but it didn't. No, I don't have a smartphone. Why? Well, planned obsolescence. But I digress.

Anyway,

• I woke up
• Checked my ipod
• Checked Chema's ipod touch
• Turned on the computer
• Woke up my mother and asked her
• Turned on the TV...

I just wanted to make sure it was 330 am. It was. So I manually put the time back on my phone and stayed in bed (wide awake) until 4 am. At that time I got up and ate breakfast, put in my contacts, got dressed, then warmed up and stretched.

Chema, my younger brother, and older sister, came to see me run. My mom couldn't come unfortunately because of her injury. 

So in this first picture you can see how dark it is at 6am.

This is the start and finish line for the half and full marathon.

Here's where we could check our race results. However, when I crossed the finish line I was more concerned with finding my support team.

There I am! I was so excited. Even though this was a smaller race the energy was great.

Now you can really see how cold it is! I had on 2 layers and another one in the car for the finish! I was too incredibly happy that I had those gloves.

Cheesing with my sister.

And here I am cheesing with the teenager.

This is me right before the start. At this point there were only 10 minutes before the race!

More people getting ready for the race.

Not a huge showing but it was decent.

Not sure why the bird was there but he was scaring the little kids.

The spectators! Actuallly, there weren't very many people supporting the runners. They pretty much stayed at the start and finish lines. But I was more focused on those hills anyway!

Five minutes before the race!

Almost three minutes before the race!

There I go! If my face is any indication (the little of it you can see) I was in paradise!

They had those cool little foil wrappers at the end that I've always wanted to drape around me. I felt so professional! However, they don't keep you warm...at all. The food offered was bananas, bagels, pizza, and beer. Since I'm vegan I gave the pizza to my brother and gobbled a banana and 1/4 of a bagel.

A few hours later I had another snack then lentils with potatoes for lunch.

Thoughts

I had such a great time. I really do recommend races. It is so uplifting. It's a big accomplishment. Like I said, I'm already planning my next race.

The only negatives were that no one was at the finish line to snap a photo. Also I had a wardrobe mishap. My cool new running pants chafed. They have zippers at the ankles and they cut me on my right ankle. 

Luckily, I didn't even notice until we were driving back home. I guess I was on too much of a high. So yea, I either need to wear longer socks or get some different pants.

Something silly: I mentioned before how I felt a tinge of disappointment for not running faster. So, to make me feel better Chema "googled" the women who finished ahead of me. For some reason it made me feel better knowing these women are professional runners. All of them had run the race more than once and were on running teams. I patted myself on the back for a job well done.

Other than that, I have no complaints. My second half marathon is over and I can't wait to run another. 

I will definitely focus on running a PR! (After my marathon of course)

New surroundings: pros and cons

PROS:

It is a beautiful place! 

It's like a city placed in nature, instead of the other way around. Whenever I walk around I feel like an animal will jump out. Sadly, there's always some form of roadkill in the street.

The hubby saw some deer last week and there's always rabbits or something hopping about. There's a lake behind my mom's house so we're in constant view of ducks, geese, turtles and fish. 

We're only on the 3rd week so I don't know the "ins and outs" yet. Like where the good trails and paths are to walk around. It'll take some investigating but I'm excited about it! Plus, there are tons of running groups, events, and mini races (5Ks) around for me to get involved in.

CONS:

The negatives are ALL related to running, unfortunately. 

• I have to adjust to running on asphalt

• I have to do interval training next week and have no idea where to go! (More on that later)

• I need a static bike

• I need a mat to do my weight training on (my mother has carpet! EEEEW!)

• I have to find a gym/get my membership to the gym here figured out

• MY FOOT STILL HURTS!

• I need a car but I don't have a license. Hence, no way to get to all the cool running groups and events. It's sad, but before you judge let me just say it's because of circumstances. I never took driver's ed in high school. I then went to college for four years and never needed to drive. I'm from a big city (Boston) where public transportation is fabulous. So I never needed a license. When I graduated from college I went immediately abroad where I lived for 4 years. So, I never needed a license. Now I'm in the wilderness that is North Carolina and I need not only a license, but a car! Go figure.

Anyway, I keep telling myself that it hasn't even been a month yet. I know, I know. But when you're focused on something and then it gets interrupted...it stinks. Things will work themselves out but I'm impatient and hoping it isn't a detriment to my training.

Marathon Training: Running Schedule

When I started training last year, I was no expert. I'd only been running for 3 or 4 months but wanted to reach a goal. The Internet was the tool I used to give myself more information. I even found a 6-month beginners marathon training program. It was a great place to start. Currently, I'm only using parts of it. I prefer to listen to my body and go from there.

There are 4 components in this program:

• Long runs
• Short runs
• Fartlek
• Cross training

 

LONG RUNS

I incorporate only ONE long run a week into my running schedule. From a scale of 1 (walking) and 10 (very fast run) I do it at about a 5. The aim is just to finish so I don't necessarily focus on completing it in a set time. Although I do maintain a fairly constant pace so I tend to run miles at the same time.

SHORT RUNS

 

These are split up into 20-45 minute sessions depending on the week. If I run a longer run one week I might shorten it and vice versa. From a scale of 1-10 I run this at a 6 or 7.

 

FARTLEK

 

These are basically cycles of sprints. They are useful for runners because it helps to break up the monotony of training and build up endurance. It helps to make you a stronger and faster runner. Typically I will run at a 7 or 8 (on the 1-10 scale) for 4 minutes and then jog slowly for 1 minute. This is one cycle. The cycles build up as the weeks progress.  I start at 20 minutes (so 5 complete cycles) and work up to 45 minutes ( 9 complete cycles).

 

CROSSTRAINING   

 

Also called recovery sessions. Placed after a long run to aid in recovery. You can do any form of light cardio at a 6 or 7 on the scale, except running of course! I typically use the static bike or go for a walk and STRETCH a lot!

 

 

 

My body likes running 3 days a week including 2 rest days. Hopefully when I get stronger and more experienced I can incorporate a fourth day. The previous program had a long run on Sunday, recovery Monday, rest day Tuesday, short run Wednesday and Friday, Fartlek Thursday and rest day Saturday. 

 

I find that I like to have a day of "rest" between running. So this is how I organize my running:

• Long run Sundays
• Recovery Monday including weight training (arms and back)
• Short run Tuesday with ab exercises
• Rest day Wednesday
• Short run Thursday with ab exercises
• Weight training Friday (legs)

 

This is my first week and my body feels great. I will go through the six months tweaking my schedule based on how my body feels. Next week, for example, instead of the short run on Tuesday and Thursday I will incorporate 20 minutes of Fartlek instead.

 

I've found it's important NOT to do intense weeks every week. I plan to do 2 intense weeks followed by an easier week. I like to vary the intensity. Of course I will listen to how my body feels and adapt my schedule accordingly. 

 

The same holds true for my long runs. I ran 16 miles last week and so will run 8 miles this week, 10 the following week, then back down to 8 again. I will run the 16 miles again at some point but I won't go pass 20 miles.

 

I want to challenge myself. Yet, I know that going too hard too fast simply leads to injury and burn out. My main goal is to avoid that this time around. Only until August do I have the schedule planned. Based on my body I will continue to build my schedule as I go along. 

 

I also plan to run some shorter races during the course of my training. There's a 5K (this will be my second) the beginning of August. I'd like to run a 10K and another half marathon before finally running the marathon in February 2012.

 

If interested, be sure to check out this link for ideas. It has beginner, intermediate and advanced programs. There is tons of information out there, as you can imagine, so just do some trial and error research. That's the best way.

 

 

Stay tuned for posts on how I prepare for the 5K, 10K, and half marathon, and for monthly updates on my progress.