EFTB

battling the bulge with a vegan diet and exercise

Author Archives: tofubelly


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No-Train 10K — Check.

santa monica classic 10k 2013

Good looking group.

Hey, I ran the 10K!  In style!  (Yes, I’m the one in the gold sequined skirt.)

And by run, I mean I was the 33rd SLOWEST person to finish the 10K.  Literally.  I beat only 32 people out of 1,518.  I saw the truck picking up the cones that delineated the course driving closely behind me, and I ate the dust of countless walk/runners and mothers with running strollers.

But by God, I did it.  I finished that damn 10K, despite having spent the entire month prior with no running and no training.  I did it!

santa monica classic 10k jump

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Couch to 10K… literally.

My last post, about the Hollywood 10K, was over a month ago.  And that was basically the last time I ran.

But that won’t stop me.  Tomorrow morning, I’m running another 10K — the Santa Monica Classic.  This probably isn’t what they mean when they say “Couch to 10K,” but here’s to hoping that I’ve retained some of that running ability I built up before last month’s race.

One thing’s for sure — I haven’t lost my running fashion sense.

ImageThe only reason to run is to look ridiculous while doing it.

See y’all at the finish line.  Even if it does take me an hour and a half to get there.


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2013 Hollywood 10K

Hollywood 10K post-race

Run Club members post-10K, getting our bling on.  Right to left: Lisa, Bryce, Jamie, Michelle, and Katie.

After a rather late Friday night at work, I got home at 10 p.m. and hopped into bed.  I was leaving the house at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, after all.  It wouldn’t be a race if we didn’t roll out well before sunrise.

Hollywood 10K: we were on our way.  I was sleepy.  My brain wasn’t quite awake yet.  I seriously considered shutting off my alarm when it woke me up at 3:30 in the damn morning.

But I pushed through and picked out my awesome running outfit: purple Nike “Just Do It” cotton tee from the Primm Nike Outlet, lululemon running crops, Roadrunner thin no-show socks, Nike Zoom shoes, and hella bobby pins.

With a little help from our Run Club friends who already navigated the parking situation, Jamie and I parked with ease.  Then the five of us headed over to the start line, to wait in a 20-minute line for our PRPs before race time.

Hollywood 10K pre-race

Pre-race, mosying forward to the start line in our corral.

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{EFTB Playlist} Slow Down – Clyde Carson feat. The Team [Explicit]

Have I ever confessed to you my love for rap?

If you’ve ever taken a ride with me in my humble, leather-free Prius, you know I bump only the best, bass-heavy, baller jams.  And let’s get real — 90% of my running playlist is rap.  My current fav is Kendrick Lamar.

But more on that later.  This song is the perfect combination of bass and an important message to all you runners out there.

Inspired by my new endurance running strategy, I present for your playlist consideration, Slow Down by Clyde Carson:


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Unlearn Your Weaknesses

overcoming

Things I know about runner myself:

  • I’m a very slow runner.
  • I can’t run for very long without walking.
  • (And my kitty, Dexter, is not a fan of being held.)

Therefore:

  • Running long distances is difficult and frustrating.
  • When I start a run, I tend to overcompensate — running at a quicker pace than I’m capable of sustaining while I have as much energy as possible — so I fit in as much running as early as possible before I poop out.
  • And when I run outside, I don’t usually run with anyone (and definitely not my husband, who is a speed demon), because I don’t want to hold them back.

But this past Friday, when I was sitting on the couch feeling lazy and sorry for myself because of how crappy a runner I am, Jamie nudged me and nudged me until I begrudgingly agreed to go on a short run with him.

As he hit “Start Activity” on his RunKeeper app, I took off.  And Jamie, the fast runner that he is, said something totally unexpected.  He said,

Where are you going?

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OMFG. Thug Kitchen.

In the last two days I’ve seen at least three people, who do not know one another, rave about a blog called Thug Kitchen.  (E.g., Giuliana’s super amazing blog.)

So I thought I’d quietly check it out in my five minute coffee break at work.

And now, as I sit here trying to mute my uncontrollable laughter while sitting in my office, I extend my five-minute break to ten minutes in order to pass on the message to you, my dear readers, as soon as possible.

Check. This. Sh*t. Out.  {WARNING: Extremely foul language ahead.}

http://thugkitchen.com/

It’s educational.  And even better – it’s almost entirely vegan.  For my fellow veggies, check out this post about vegan meals.  Hilarious.


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{EFTB Playlist} Heart Attack – Demi Lovato

Ladies, do you to rock out, sing along, and get your run on to pop rock anthems by amazing female vocalists?  Then look no further.

In the same vein as Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger, my latest guilty pleasure is Demi Lovato’s Heart Attack, and it’s at the top of my running playlist (which, let’s be honest, doubles for my car sing-along playlist).  If you haven’t heard it yet, PRESS PLAY, and then get your butt over to iTunes.


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Goals Are So Easy… to Set.

Guys, I’m really good at setting goals.  I mean really good.  Not to brag or anything, but it’s a fact.

goals

I mean, just look at all of these races that I’ve signed myself up to run this year:

(Links provided in case you’re insane like me and want to pay to be forced to run a set distance.)

But accomplishing goals?  …I fail.

Truly, it was perfect timing when I signed up for these races (yes, I basically signed up for all of them at once).  You see, the first one was just over 12 weeks away, which provided me with the perfect amount of time to properly train for it.  I looked up Hal Higdon’s 10K training guide and diligently entered each run and workout into my Google calendar.  This time, I was going to train, for real, hardcore, and come April 6th I’d be able to run the whole damn 6.2 miles.  Like a boss.

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Five-Day Juice Fast: Day Four (and Final)

Yes, in a five-day juice fast I made it just four days before cracking.  But tonight, at the end of day four, I couldn’t seem to stomach my second-to-last juice.

photo

And rather than force the juice into my stomach, I went with my gut and what my body and mind craved.  I ate.

And it was glorious.

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Five-Day Juice Fast: Day Three

I miss food.

I’d heard that day three was the hardest of the fast days.  But after Super Bowl Sunday day two, I didn’t think anything could be worse.  I was wrong.

Today, much more than the last two days, I’ve really been craving food.  I miss the texture and taste of rice and beans.  I miss the heartiness of a meal that I can chew.  And yes, I even slightly miss the feeling of being a little too full after overeating.

chipotle

I miss Chipotle!

Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that I already have tomorrow’s juices sitting in my fridge, I might consider ending my juice fast at day three.  And still, it’s not because I’m hungry, but because I miss food.  Flavorful, hearty, interesting, varied, filling food.

That said, I’m definitely pushing on to day four of the juice fast.  I’ll take it one day at a time and let you know tomorrow if my five-day juice fast turns into a four-day fast.

But now on to the fun stuff — the weigh-ins.

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