Terrible Tuesdays

All cross country runners at my school seem to be moody on Tuesdays. 

This is because Speed Days are on Tuesdays. 

Cue horror music. 

Speed days: can't live with them, can't SUCCEED without them. 

As much as I dislike them, I stuck with them at practice today.

We ran 6 800s. I kept all of them (except for the 4th, which was about 3 seconds over) under 4 minutes. 

But the annoying thing about speed days is how hungry I stay afterward. 

I ate SOOO much food afterward and I'm still hungry!!!!!

Does anyone know how to fix this?!

Also, just on a curious note, how many calories (ballpark) do you consume per day as an athlete. 

People always tell me 2,000 per day is the standard, but I usually eat between 1400 and 1800 depending on the day's level of hunger. At this point, I don't want to lose weight, I'd just be happy with maintaining. But I'm just nervous that I'll overestimate my calories and put on more weight. 

Letting Go

As a girl who used to be 'a bit hefty', I often find it hard to be happy just the way I am.
I stopped weighing myself a couple of months ago. No matter what the number was, I wasn't happy with it.

Sometimes you just have to stop and take a good hard look at yourself.
And this is the honest conclusion I came to:

I'm the healthiest I've ever been.
My diet isn't 100% perfect, but it's close enough (I'd say anywhere from 90-95%).
I put good foods into my body to fuel solid workouts that challenge me.

I think a lot of my negativity has stemmed from the energy crashes I experienced this summer and the slower race times.
The neurotic part of me worries that I'm getting out of shape, but the logical part of me knows that's not possible. I have kept consistent mileage and strength work.

I'm trying to add yoga back into my life because it gives me a sense of balance.
I will also (hopefully) start rock wall climbing again when the wall at the college opens back up.

As a senior in high school, I just feel like I'm in an awkward transitional phase.
I feel so ready to start college life and find my place in this world as an individual, but I've still got a  year left.

So until then I'm trying to bide my time and find activities around her that are stimulating.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you manage the stress and lethargy?

Food Fight

So I feel like I've been eating way too much food lately. 

But at the same time, I'm trying not to beat myself up about it. 

I know I'm exercising a lot and that none of what I'm eating is junk food.

Still, with all my past food struggles, it's always hard to know whether or not I'm eating the right amount. 

But I ran five miles today.

And even though it was rather cold and rainy outside, I'm glad I did it. 

My grandpa also seemed to be doing a bit better today. 

He joked around with me more than he did yesterday, which is always a good sign. 

He's told me not to spread myself too thin by visiting him so often, but I can tell that the company perks him up. 

The two of us about 3 or 4 years ago during Christmas.

Parental Control

This morning I was talking with some of my classmates before the bell, and one guy was complaining about his boss. He kept talking about how he was such a horrible guy, and his main example was this: 

His daughter, instead of being grounded, was being forced to run a certain number of miles. My classmate went on to say that the father forced all of his kids to stay active in sports whether they wanted to or not. 

This was my response: "Good!"

The classmate seemed shocked that I would support the father's actions in forcing their kids to do a sport, or punish them with physical activity. Maybe I'm callous, but I think that's one of the best parenting strategies that I've seen. 

Some people may say that making decisions like that for your kids is unfair or cruel, but I simply see it as a parental role. It's not a parent's job to be liked, it's to raise their kids to be the best people they can possibly be, and if that means you have to make most of your kids decisions until they're legal adults, so be it. As someone who has struggled to get their eating and exercising under control, I see health and fitness as a vital piece in making you the best that you can be. 

I don't want my kids to end up like this.

My classmate countered by saying, "But what if the kids grow up and rebel by dropping all the sports and rules their parents forced on them?"

That's their responsibility. Parenting can only go so far, once you're an adult, you have the control, and that includes the responsibilities of choosing between an apple and a Twinkie ( or a trip to the gym vs. an all day Jersey Shore marathon). 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I ever have kids, I fully intend to keep them involved in some sort of physical activity. I can only hope that they take those skills and keep them once they're out on their own.

My Road to a Healthy Lifestyle

So I know it's been a LONG time since I posted. I just couldn't really keep up with everything going on in my life. 

But I feel like trying to pick my blogging up again, so I figured I'd pick things back up with the story of my "healthy turnaround" this past year. 

I guess I should start with the beginning of the summer. I was dating a cute boy, but we didn't have anything in common, other than the fact that we were dating out of boredom. 

I've struggled with my body image all my life, and dating a tall, thin guy only made me hate my short, soft figure even more. I went through a diet rollercoaster, eating obscene amounts of junk food and then throwing up. Horrible, I know, but I wasn't in a good place.

Me before my turnaround.

Near the end of the summer, we broke up and I turned my focus back to running, something I was set on doing, but not very good at. My diet and extra weight was holding me back. But luckily, I have one of the best coaches on the face of the planet. I was going to the Summer practices, and Coach (seeing my commitment) promised me a spot on the Cross Country Disney trip. 

That was just the push I needed. I wanted to prove that I deserved that spot. I started to turn my diet around and run more often. School started, but I could still barely push past a mile without huffing and puffing. 

But I stuck with it. My distances increased, my times decreased, and the fat started disappearing. I ran the Disney 5k, and although my time wasn't that hot, I was proud of all that I'd accomplished, and I had a great time. 

Getting healthier.

Once the season ended, most of my running buddies dropped the activity for the year, but it was just the beginning for me. I've been steadily bumping up my mileage, and I'm up to about 30 miles a week. I've continued to drop weight, and I've added yoga and strength training to my schedule. 

I rarely crave junk food now. I can't remember the last time I had a Dorito (an old favorite). I love fruits, vegetables, whole grain, and fish. I weigh every week just to make sure I'm not losing too much weight, but I try not to let the number on the scale influence my body image. The important thing is that I feel healthy and happy. 

 Feeling a lot better.

 I plan to continue training, and want to work my way up to a half-marathon.