kapachino

Category: exercise

  • I’m Not That Crazy

    So I heard on the radio the other day about this guy who ran 63 marathons in 63 days to raise awareness for a rare childhood disease. My first thought was, “That is insane.” My second thought was, “This makes my training for the Texas Independence Relay look so weak.” But then my next thought was, “That is insane.” And I feel perfectly fine about my running aspirations.

  • I’m OK, You’re OK!

    I apologize for my last post, which I admit was utterly depressing. I really have been going through something lately, and I think I can honestly say that last week was one of the worst weeks of my life. That post basically summarized how I felt up to that point.

    But! I have wonderful people in my life who have been there for me, and I have received many words of encouragement and much support. I do believe that I am loved by a mighty God through whom all things are possible. I now have complete hope and confidence in my situation, and although it remains difficult, I know I can make it through to the other side. Not only that, but I know that the other side holds a better life for me and those involved in this ordeal.

    So, let me talk about some random, completely unrelated things to distract me and to make this a happier place to be. First of all, I went to see the movie The Jane Austen Book Club with my roommates, and I loved it. I’ve only read two of Jane Austen’s books, and now I’d really like to read the rest. A long time ago my grandmother gave me the complete set, so I have them all. But that’s beside the point; the movie was really cute and funny, so if you like that kind of thing you should see it.

    Secondly, I have now witnessed a C-section and a vaginal birth. Both were fascinating, but I have to say that when I have kids I really don’t want a C-section if I can help it. Also regarding school, I have the rest of this week off, which is quite nice, but then next week I have a test in both classes so I need to hit the books.

    On Saturday I ran the Race For The Cure. I think I did pretty well, considering the pack of people I was hindered by. Not that I was trying to win any awards or anything, I was just hoping to have a decent personal time. Also on Saturday I went to see the David Crowder Band in concert. It was pretty good, but not one of the best concerts I’ve seen. The place was pretty big, and we weren’t very close. Also, I was extremely exhausted and I think I actually dozed off during one of the songs. Oops. However, the opening band, The Myriad, was really good, and the whole experience was worth it just to see the people around us dancing and getting into the music. Sometimes Christian rock concerts are just hilarious.

    In conclusion, I hope everyone has a great week. I know mine will be better than the last. To quote Mandy Moore, “I’m looking forward to looking back on these days.”

  • Got Guts?

    Over the weekend I went to Austin to run in the Got Guts 5K, which benefited celiac disease awareness. Conveniently, one of my best friends and ex-roommate Carmen now lives in Austin so I got to stay with her. Also, she ran the race with me which made it a lot more fun.

    This was an interesting race because it was almost completely run on grass. I’ve never done an off-road race before, and I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t like it at first, but by the end of the race I was used to it. Also, all the food provided was gluten-free. I tried some of it, and there were some cookies that I really liked! I brought home a whole lot of gluten-free snacks to give to the people I know that have celiac disease.

    Other running updates:
    >I still really want to run the Texas Independence Relay, but my team is up in the air.
    >I’ve been following a marathon training schedule and it’s going really well.
    >I’m going to join a gym soon because my schedule is making it difficult to get to the park at safe times.
    >The next race I’m signed up for is the Tabor Homecoming 5K on October 20.

  • Running, My Old Nemesis

    So my friend Katy, who is lately inspiring me to a healthier lifestyle all around, mentioned that she is planning on running the Texas Independence Relay in March. Soon afterwards I found myself telling her that I was interested in running it with her. What? I have never run more than a 5K in my life outside of soccer games. Do I really want to do this?

    The relay is a little over 200 miles long, split up into 40 legs. Each leg is somewhere between 3 and 9 miles long. Each person will run about 3-5 legs, depending on how many people are on your team. The race is nonstop, so there will be some nighttime running, some middle-of-the-day running, and some morning running.

    I want to run it because it’s a big event, and it sounds fun. As much as I think I hate running, I keep coming back to it. I keep entering random 5Ks, so apparently I like the races. I would get to experience the great state of Texas in a way I never have before, and I would get to visit a lot of cute small towns along the way. Also, I want to get in better shape. Yes I play soccer, but it’s totally different. That keeps me in decent shape, but I want to be in good shape. Or even great shape. I like to have a goal to work toward in order to motivate me, and this seemed like just the thing.

    So I need to start training. The other night Katy sent me a marathon training schedule, but it was confusing at first glance. It did inspire me though, so I figured since I had the next morning off I’d go for a run. My mistake came when I decided to get 8 hours of sleep so that I didn’t end up going running until around 8:30 a.m., and by that time the sun was well up in the sky and the heat index was definitely in the 90’s. I ran for 15 minutes before giving up.

    I vented to Katy about my frustration and she explained the training schedule to me. It’s set up in a way that seems totally do-able, and gradually builds up endurance. It begins 24 weeks out from race day which for us isn’t until September 16, so I think I’m going to wait until then to start in hopes that it will be a tiny bit cooler. (Ha!) In the meantime I will try to step up my amount of bike rides and yoga sessions just to get myself moving more.

    Happy Thursday!

  • How Long Will You Live?

    I just took this quiz that estimates your life expectancy. Mine is 89 years! That’s pretty good, but I also found that I can:

    >Add 2 years to my life by lessening my sources of stress
    >Add 2 years to my life by taking 81 mg of aspirin every day
    >Add 4 years to my life by eliminating fast foods from my diet
    >Add 1/2 a year to my life by cutting out unhealthy snacks
    >Add 5 years to my life by increasing my exercise regimen to 6-7 days a week
    >Add 1/2 a year to my life by getting appropriate blood tests annually
    >Add 1/2 a year to my life by getting my blood sugar checked

    If I did all this I could live to be 103.5 years old! Then again, I could drop dead before the end of the day. Regardless, let’s analyze my situation:

    1. My current sources of stress are school and finances. In one year I’ll be done with school and I’ll be making the big bucks. Therefore I will have no more stress in my life.
    2. I don’t think the aspirin really pertains to me at 25 years old. Maybe when I reach 30 I’ll start taking it.
    3. I had McDonald’s last night. But! I had the apple dippers instead of fries and apple juice instead of Coke! So that’s something, right?
    4. Is 5 scoops of ice cream with chocolate syrup unhealthy?
    5. Well I can tell you right now that the 7 days a week suggestion is not going to happen. I’m exercising 3 days a week right now, so maybe I’ll just start with moving it up to 4. Two days with soccer games, and then a day of bike riding and a day of yoga should do it. Yoga totally counts.
    6-7. These two can be combined. I hate having my blood drawn, but I think I could handle it once a year.

    What’s your life expectancy? What’s the major way in which you could increase it?