I know it’s been a while, my friends, but I have news…



YEP.

Philadelphia Marathon Recap!

MY FACE! Perhaps it wasn’t the best decision to have the anonymous veil whipped off after almost 6 hours of continuous running? Not my most attractive state, but whatever I RAN A MARATHON.

Just a quick shoutout to Peguin! We had coffee the night before I went home for the race, and gifted me the ‘unstoppable’ shirt I wore during the race. She’s amazing and the shirt was truly a great gift—it definitely helped my parents see me when spectating! <3

—-

So almost a week after this race I think I can start to sum it up fully. 

We’ll start with the morning of. 

6am - Wake up (we slept over at a friend’s apartment which was 5 min from our corrall)

6:15am - realize I don’t have my nike+ usb doohickey or headphones, text parents to get them at home.

7:00am - race starts, we stand around in corrall for another half hour. It was great being surrounded by so many runners. SO MANY. This was a huge race, (for me) about 30,000 people. The weather was chilly but GREAT, you could tell even this early that it was going to be perfect running weather.

Mile 1 - After starting a bit fast, my sister and I reined it in a bit. Around mile 1 we saw our parents and I grabbed my nike+ and headphones.

Miles 2-6 - Smooth sailing, getting into a groove. We saw our mom at mile 6, she nearly ran into a small child trying to get photos of us, it was hilarious :)

Miles 6-13 - I admit, the beginning of the race was exceptionally fuzzy for me. I remember we stopped at a port-a-potty around mile 7 (?) and I also know that there was a killer hill around where the Philadelphia Zoo is, which was around miles 8-9. Other than that, I just remember running, eating Gus, and drinking water. 

Mile 13.1 - at the halfway point, my sister decided to split off and go faster. I was moving pretty slow, but I was eager to be conservative. Coming up to the split-off point, an older black woman on the sidelines shouted “You can do it, you’re almost done!” and a runner ahead of me said, “I’m only halfway!” to which the spectator cried, “OHHH LAWD! You have to do it again!?” Hahaha, it was very cute. 

Miles 14-17 - All I remember about this was some very pretty views of water and feeling start of my right quad tightening up. 

Mile 17 - I met Nicole, a runner who was going about my pace. I asked her how she was doing, and we ended up running the rest of the marathon together. 

Miles 18-20 - Nicole and I decided that we would run until mile 20 then do, perhaps, a run 10 walk 1 situation. We high-fived at mile 20, then stopped to walk for two minutes. We got drinks, then as we started to run realized the sheer amount of pain that walking had caused us. We didn’t really walk for the rest of the race, at that point it was just too painful. The cramp in my quad/behind my knee persisted, changing my gait awkwardly. 

Miles 20-23 - The second-hardest part of the race. Open, bleak roads. No water stations. We were dying. Around mile 23 I saw my dad and he jogged with me for a bit, and so did my mom. At the point in exhaustion/pain, I was not interested in talking to ANYONE. I have the shortest fuse when I’m like this. It was so amazing that they came out, though! 

Pictured: PAINPAINPAIN

Miles 23-26.2 - The hardest part of the race. People aren’t kidding when they say it’s half-20miles, half-6.2miles. I just kept running, but I was really feeling like shit. My legs felt like they were fused together, like lead. Near the end people were saying things like “Go Molly! You’re almost there!” but whereas if I had energy I would have bolted ahead, I almost didn’t believe them. You mean, I wouldn’t be running forever in running purgatory? No way. Anyway, once Nicole and I saw the finish line, we bolted. I finished in 5:47, which is an EXTREMELY long run, jesus christ. My sister finished a good 20 minutes before I did, which makes me think that I could have gone much faster. I was eager to keep Nicole’s company though, and was very timid about speed. Were I to run another marathon I would be less so, I think.

After the marathon, I hugged Nicole and we exchanged ‘I couldn’t have done it without you’s. And it’s kind of true, it’s amazing how much strength you can gain from a stranger when they’re going through something similar to you. I got my medal and water, got pics taken, then went to the massage tent. UNFORTUNATELY, the massage tent was closed, much to my dismay. I felt pretty beat up, so I went home, ate 3 pieces of pizza, then passed out for 4 hours. That part was great. 

My overall feelings about the marathon, were that it was great. But I hardly remember most of it. And after I was done, I felt no elation, just satisfaction. I truly think the moments of breakthrough for me came in the training. Pushing myself, alone, on a bike path. The medal is awesome and I feel like a badass, but I don’t feel very different, being a marathoner. People talk about post-marathon blues, and I definitely feel that. I’m feeling a bit aimless now, fitness-wise. I’ll keep updating the best I can, but now that finals are barreling at me, I’m feeling the heat. We’ll see how it goes, thanks everyone for your support!

Running a marathon tomorrow!

Wish me luck!

The Truth About Models

slender-scarlett:

This is a really interesting subject for me to write about, because before I started working in the fashion industry I definitely had a lot of pre-conceived ideas about models. I had an idea that they were grumpy, bitchy, self obsessed girls who were lazy and selfish.

Let me begin by explaining what I do. Twice a year I work as part of the show production team at London Fashion Week. It’s my responsibility to check the models in when they arrive for the show, make sure every model has a dresser, and this is the best bit, talking to the designer to find out what their vision is for the show eg. Energetic, slow, dreamy, or confident etc. Then I have to lead the girls (or boys) down the catwalk for the dress rehearsal and show them where to turn, how to turn, how to walk, how to pose etc. Then when the show begins, it’s my sole responsibility to make sure the models are in the right order and going on at exactly the right time, and making all their changes in time. You know how fashion shows look really calm and tranquil from the front? And you’d assume everything backstage is totally chill, right? Well no, because behind that wall I am going batshit crazy yelling at everyone to get their shit together. Last season I did 25 shows in a week, so by the time I graduate from university, I’ll have produced over 50 fashion shows.

One of the things I thought about models before I started working with them was that they were snobby and thought they were better than you. Nothing could be further from the truth. A lot of the girls I work with are between 15 and 18 years old so they are still babies, really. They are often from overseas and their English isn’t great, they’ve often been dumped in a strange city by their agency and left to their own devices. A lot of them are homesick and sending money home for their families in poorer countries (a lot from Eastern Europe eg Poland, Russia, Ukraine etc). I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve merely smiled at a girl when she’s made eye contact with me, asked her how she is, where she’s from, has she done any other shows that day, what’s she doing tonight etc and she has responded as if she hasn’t spoken to another human being in DAYS. (Because she probably hasn’t).

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(via slenderscarlett-deactivated2012)

"The marathon – I like to say it’s almost like life. You’re going to hit hiccups and you’re going to hit rough periods, but it’s how you handle them and how you come through them."
—
Paula Radcliffe
Running a marathon IN TWO DAYS OMG

Less than two days, really.

Sorry I’ve been so absent lately! I’ve been sporadically running, but I feel good. I woke up with the niggling of a UTI which freaked me out, so I’m basically focusing on flushing out my system (YAY HYDRATION).

I’m super excited overall!

Keeping my head above water - (yesterday’s) 8 miles

So today I had 5 miles to run, but I slept in til my class…And after class it’s dark now…So no run for me.

My run yesterday was 8 and I’m really proud I got it done. I did walk a lot of it…My body has been really, really sore lately too. Not sure, even my upper body is achy. 

I’m struggling to balance a truly heinous amount of work with running. Sure, it’s taper, but I feel like I’m really really having a rough time keeping up with, well, everything. It’s that time of the semester, I guess! 

I’m trying not to throw my eating out the window. I’m probably not eating a enough, but even when I eat crap I try to eat an equal amount of healthy stuff too. It’s a push/pull struggle to keep myself alive and functioning, but I haven’t thrown in the towel yet. 

I’m running a marathon in 20 days.

20. Days.

oof.

9 miles (in the freezing rain, not even kidding this time)

So I intended to go out for 11 miles today, and do 11 miles tomorrow morning. My training program says either this week I should run 21 miles at once or 11 & 11 in a 24 hour period. 
Yeah, I only got to 9 today. Because I was running in freezing rain. It was hard! I didn’t really prepare myself the best I could have, though I did start my run, then bust into the local running shop demanding gloves (!).
 It was a coooold soggy run. When I got home and stripped down and looked like I was sunburnt, my skin was beet red. It took me maybe 2 hours to warm up, and then I fell asleep. A little scary, I admit! It’s a bummer that my longest run ever, (this is the last long run week til taper!) had to be cut short so drastically, but there’s no way I could have gone longer. Proud of what I did, though! :p

You can’t REALLY tell how red I am, but look at the crook of my elbow and the skin under my belly button (which was covered by my spandex). YES I’M SUCKING IT IN HERE. 

Food food food food

So I’ve been eating pretty crappily lately. Mainly because I’ve been trying to use it cope with stress. I can tell this is getting into a slippery slope zone, as my urge to eat nasty stuff isn’t going away. But, I can definitely feel the effects—I’m dehydrated and really sluggish and I’m breaking out. Time to get back on track. 

My general goals for now are: 

- To only drink water, and to drink 3 L throughout the day (3 refills of my camelbak, basically)

- To eat one ‘serving’ of carbs a day. I’ve said this in the past, but I don’t mean cutting carbs. I mean eating one serving of purely starchy food each day. (such as two pieces of toast) I plan on getting carbs from other sources.

- To eat salad for at least one of my meals a day

- To only eat what’s in my fridge. I’ve been eating out too often, while I have plenty of healthy food at home.

- Bring snacks with me. Snacks meaning baby carrots. :|

- Obviously, continue tracking my food. Eating ~1400 calories/day

So that’s the plan! It’s not even remotely different than how I usually eat, but I’ve been having so much trouble lately that I feel it’s good to put it down on ‘paper’. 

Weight vs Body Fat

At my ‘fittest’ back in April, I was at 133lbs, and ~29% body fat. 

Today, much to my surprise, my scale told me I’m at 29% body fat at 143 lbs.

Clearly the muscle mass to my legs from running contributed to this. Not to say that I don’t want to be somewhere near where I was in April, b/c I was much more balanced then (though my quads were not nearly as badass as they are now…), but it’s cool to get that kind of perspective.  

Come to me, giant mixing bowl of salad and lentils and feta cheese

Come to me my beautiful precious…

Also, thank you



This helps more than you guys know! <3 <3 <3
 

[yesterday’s] 18-19 Mile Run (also known as: The Run I Ate Popcorn)

So yesterday’s run went way better than expected. Despite avoiding it most of the morning and my intense anxiety I get before any run, it was one of the more comfortable, even-keeled runs I’ve had in the past 6 months of training (holy shit, 6 months, really?)

I think there were a few reasons it was great:

  • I’m using my new shoes now, which relieved a lot of the blistering issues I had and foot pain
  • I wore my new tech shirt I got from the Newport Half Marathon which kept me feeling fresh throughout (SO GOOD)
  • I had my fuel belt with me and a gu (more on that later)
  • New music and audiobooks kept my mind occupied
  • There was a YMCA at my half-way point, so I got to use their bathroom and recollect myself before heading home.
  • It was cool, even downright COLD during the run which while slightly uncomfortable at times was so much better than being overheated.
  • While the half marathon, at first, just intimidated me, I now realize it gave me a huge boost of confidence in the amount that I can run at once. Way less walking this run!

When I got near my place, my nike+ said I had gone further than 18 and I was pretty confused. Nike+ is great but not always accurate, especially with varying inclines. Turns out I ran around 9.6 miles out and back, so closer to 19 miles I think? I did walk a bit, but not nearly as much as I have in the past. 

While I had my Gu with me, which I ate halfway through, I realized I was getting hungry with about 5 miles left. So I stopped at this little ice cream parlor and asked if they had candy. They didn’t, but they had chips and stuff. So I asked for a bag of popcorn. Turns out they don’t accept credit cards, but the nice lady gave me it for free :)

It was a little surreal to be walking and munching on popcorn while all geared up in running stuff, but it didn’t upset my stomach and I think helped in the long run. Gonna go buy me some Gus for saturday’s 21 miler though.

After my run I took a quick ice bath with a 5 lb bag’s worth of ice. Today I’m feeling really nice and while sore, I’m not nearly as torn up as I thought I’d be. Last night my giant callus on my toe started to come off so I clipped it off (yeah that’s kinda gross, sorry). I hope it doesn’t blister up on the new skin, but I have a bandaid on it for now. 

My training’s peaking this week, guys! Omg! Gonna kick some ass!  

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So nervous about my 18 miles today.

Before I go, I plan on going over to CVS and picking up some things I need and hopefully a couple bags of ice for afterwards. GONNA NEED IT. 

Amica Half Marathon Recap



Okay, so I signed up for this race in August. I had never run a race before, and I was woefully inexperienced/unprepared (not in terms of fitness, but in every other way). 
I just wanna take a minute to give a shout out to asthepenguinruns who very LAST MINUTE got me a ride with her friends and gave me a ride to the carpool and all in all made this experience WAY LESS SCARY and WAY MORE FUN :D

I got up at 4:30am, and got all my stuff on, smeared myself everywhere with anti chafing stuff. I waited for a bit in the lobby of my dorm for penguin and ate my peanut butter sandwich (is there any better pre-run food? Seriously?)

When we got to the race it was a bit chilly, but perfect running weather. My stomach was a little unsettled, but not to the point that I was concerned (I did brave the port-a-potty, just in case). When we were waiting in line I ran into a friend who used to work at my school, which is kinda crazy considering the number of people there. We definitely started way too far forward in the line, but it didn’t really effect me overall.

Before we started the announcer said that there was an 88 year old woman running that day, and that she did her first ironman at age 67. I wanna be that woman!!!! Also saw a pregnant woman running with a sign on her back that said, “That’s right, you just got passed by a pregnant woman!” Haha!

The first few miles were pretty good, I wasn’t sure how to feel about people passing me and whatnot. After a while I realized the vast number of people running ahead and behind me, so I relaxed a bit. When we got to the ocean views though—OH MAN, was it gorgeous! I kept spazzing out to myself.

I ate my first Gu that day, (I grabbed three by accident, so I ate two on the course and am saving one for my long run sat). I have to say, the moment it touches my tongue I kind of recoiled, but once i was actually in the process of eating it was really TASTY. I got the strawberry banana flavor. Whether it actually did anything, I dunno, but it was a good placebo nonetheless.

My feet were feeling pretty beat up near the end, which encouraged me to retire my old shoes and pick up my new ones today. No regrets there, they had a long run (no pun intended). After the race I took off my shoe and drained the giant blister that had appeared—right next to a huge callus already on my foot. I’m going to have toes of steel pretty soon.

At the finish line (which was anticlimactic b/c I had no idea where it was!) I found penguin in line for massage and snuck my way in. The massage was GLORIOUS and the woman working on me really released my hips nicely. I then proceeded to eat 5 pieces of pizza and a bagel with cream cheese -POKERFACE-

I ended up going home with penguin and the gang who were carpooling. The whole experience was really lovely and I impressed myself a bit with my time — 2 hours 20 min, so a 10:38 pace. Not that that’s super fast, but I usually have a hard time keeping a ~10 min pace on >10 mile runs. 

I admit I wanted this race to inspire me more, but instead I felt a bit more scared than I thought I would. Doing double that distance freaks me out, but I don’t feel it’s out of reach. Which is good. Monster month of training is coming up and I’m ready to kick the teeth outta it! 

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Themed by: Hunson