Fairfax Four Miler
December 31, 2012 - 41:21 (10:20 pace)
December 31, 2013 - 32:49 (8:13 pace)
What a difference a year makes!
Hi friends, I know I haven't posted in awhile. Don't worry, I have still been working out & cooking up a storm (this weekend I ran 15 miles on the ice w/ the help of yaktrax, did a two hour trainer ride, made a five-alarm chili, Irish soda bread, Guinness beef stew, and homemade pasta!). It's just that when my work hours increase, my desire to open my computer while not at work severely decreases. And the last few months have been busy to say the least (accountant + year end = bad news).
I don't know about you all, but Christmas/New Years didn't feel like they happened this year. With the late Thanksgiving, I didn't get to do a lot of the things I usually do during the season (visiting the national Christmas tree and the state trees being the big one). And with the work craziness, I haven't had a chance to read the 1,004,323,498 "Get fit for the new year!," "New Year, New You!" articles. I typically am not one to make New Year's resolutions (it is much harder to commit to a workout plan when you wake up to snow/ice covered sidewalks day 2)! However, I took a week and a half off of work recently and had a chance to reflect on 2013 (in addition to catching up with friends, cooking a ton, watching Homeland Season 3 - not sure how I feel, and spending 32 hours in a car to visit family). I realized this is the one year that a New Year's Resolution has impacted my life and resulted in such an amazing transformation.
Unlike the last several years, this year has not been defined by one or two life events (first marathon/half-Ironman, new house/job, Ironman). Rather, this year has been defined by my decision last year to start cooking again in an effort to get healthy, and having the time/resources due to lack of training for an Ironman to take a deep dive into it. When I ran the four miler last year, I had just come back from 2 months in London. I had eaten out every day, traveled almost every weekend, and had a stressful time work wise. I came back utterly exhausted/wrecked. That four miles was incredibly difficult for me, and if it wasn't for chatting with a new friend Nikki I would have had a much worse time then I did. After the race, rather than go out for New Year's, I came home and made my first lentil soup and haven't stopped cooking since. I wrote more in detail about all of this here.
The deep-dive I have taken into the kitchen has greatly improved my self confidence and I have rediscovered/unlocked a passion that has always simmered beneath the surface. (And unlike my other passion of triathlon, this is one my high school friends can greatly benefit!). It has also completely changed my daily routine and my definition of "fun" and "relaxation." I have always enjoyed cooking, but this year my quest to understand the "why" of cooking has led me to great new heights. One of my goals I jokingly (not jokingly) made this year was to become someone that people get excited about whatever I bring to an event or coming over for dinner, regardless of what I am making. I feel like I have succeeded in this respect, but there is still so much to learn and I find that really exciting. I am no longer am afraid to try a new recipe when I have friends over and now believe I can make anything I want as long as I can find a good recipe. I will do a separate post about my favorite resources for learning how to cook/finding good recipes, but I truly believe with the information available on the Internet, anyone can become a decent cook.
Thanks to my cooking and my workout addiction, I have been able to eat healthy/not feel deprived. I have also been able to invite people over for a delicious dinner/socializing rather than constantly going out to eat, eating big and spending a ton of money. With these changes, I have managed to lose about 25 pounds since the beginning of the year, am finally back at my pre-college weight (freshman 15 for everyone else = freshman 50 for me!), and am running better than ever. Huzzah! (My favorite part of my team long run this weekend was having three separate fast guys on the team come up to me afterwards to introduce themselves and to tell me good job! This gave me much more satisfaction than I should probably admit.) I know it's a process and I will have my ups and downs in the future, but I am happy to have discovered the tools I need to succeed.
Before: Fairfax four miler December 2012
Afterish: New York Marathon November 2013
Overall, when I initially started to think about 2013, I thought I would end up thinking it was a disappointment compared to 2012 (Ironman!). However, what I ultimately discovered is that it has been one of the best year's I've had in a long time, with such a growth in my self-confidence and so many highlights spread throughout the year. I am excited to see what next year brings!
Thinking through the year, here are some of the highlights I want to remember (and given my horrific memory that I actually can remember - it's been quite a year!):
1) January's cooking challenge of cooking all but 1 meal a week
2) Spending a weekend with my grandma, making her Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and poached eggs. I have never seen her eat that much! I also made her cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving she is still working through.
3) Basic/Intermediate bootcamp at Cookology in Dulles
4) Puerto Rico w/ some of my favorites! (May)
3) Basic/Intermediate bootcamp at Cookology in Dulles
4) Puerto Rico w/ some of my favorites! (May)
5) (Both) Valerie's wedding(s) in DC and El paso
6) Cooking dates with Valerie (my idol)
14) And then getting a cat of my own. Meet Borris!
16) Ragnar Relay
7) Cooking with other friends/hosting dinners
8) Camping and Hiking (particularly 4th of July)
11) Hanging with my wonderful mini-me and this monkey (cousins), especially in the last few months. My mini-me is 11 and is now taller than me! These two light up my life.
12) Being Maid of Honor in my friend Suzy's wedding (also in Puerto Rico!)
13) Catsitting Suzy's cats during her honeymoon...
 |
| Yes that is the Ironman World Championship we are watching |
15) Bike Rides with friends, particularly the 20/120 weeekend
17) Army Ten Miler with my favorite dad
18) New York Marathon and a giant PR
19) And last but CERTAINLY not least, my new baby nephews! I started off in February with my faux baby nephew (not pictured due to lack of permission from his mother!) and finished on Halloween with my real baby nephew!
 |
| he has the best looks! |
No comments:
Post a Comment