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Friday, December 20, 2013

half marathons & the vegetarian challenge

Ola blog readers!

Let's talk about my favorite topic first...RUNNING!
It is OFFICIAL! Half marathon #2!!!
Ahhh yes, the magical thing that is running. The thing that I unintentionally took a two week hiatus from is now the thing that I'm refocused on. Since pushing myself to get out the door earlier in the week, I feel like I'm getting my mojo back. This morning I got out there again, and despite huge, hard snowy obstacles and tons and tons of black ice (eek!) - I got my 5k distance run in before work today. Slow as molasses but with those kind of road conditions, I'm proud I was out there at all (also...i'll do early anything to avoid the DREADMILL!). And riding on the heels of my renewed love for running...I registered for my next HALF MARATHON!!!! Yes...it is true...i'm crazy enough to
do a second one. Just registered today for the United Healthcare Half Marathon in downtown Providence on May 5th! Yup this girl is going back at it...training will kick off in February. Feeling much more confident in the training approach now that I sort of "winged it" with the last half marathon...not something I suggest doing (see my RnR Half Marathon recap for details of how I pulled that one off!). Anywho, I'm UBER excited to tackle my next one! Let's do this...!

Next up...the month long challenge of living as a vegetarian kicks off January 1st. Although I am very confident I'll be a-ok without meat of any kind...I'm starting to realize that regardless, it WILL be a challenge for the simple fact it will force me to get adventurous with food. It will require WORK to make sure I'm feeding my body properly - which if you've read my blog, you already KNOW that is a HUGE issue for me. But somehow I think this challenge is the exact thing I need in order to have a heightened awareness. My usual bland, go to's will no longer be an option. Last night for dinner, just
Sweet potato yummies!
for fun and to get a feeling for what it may be like I enjoyed a large, hot sweet potato with crumbled feta cheese and BBQ sauce drizzled over the top. It was delish! I will be eliminating all meat, but still indulging in cheeses (select cheeses) and dairy (will use almond milk in place of 2% milk) - but plan on keeping with my greek yogurt. All in all, I'm looking forward to the challenge of it all and will use a healthy dose of common sense along the way because it's key that I understand where my nutrients will be coming from and in what form (um, hello, I've got to wrangle nuts, beans, veggies and fruit to their optimal awesomeness!). I found some super helpful pages like the Tips for Vegetarians page on choosemyplate.gov and I also found a plethora of yummy veggie only recipes on the Food Network Vegetarian Recipe page.
Lastly, I'll leave you with something I saw on Pinterest (but of course, where else!?!?) To me this is what my 2014 will be about. I think it is beautiful and I love the use of the word warrior. I feel like I'm ready to go into battle and face all the things I have either hidden from or failed to follow through on this past year. I am a warrior for life, my life. I will lead and march my way forward into 2014 - with no regrets, eyes focused and chin up.

 stay strong,
Rachel
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8 comments:

  1. Running with RhynoDecember 20, 2013 at 2:08 PM

    Hey Rachel! I'm a first time reader :) I'm bookmarking right now. I am over 40 (just turned 41) so it's great to see what my peers are up to! I'm sure you'll have no problem giving up meat in January. There's so many good alternatives to out there. I'm a long-time veggie (technically pescetarian because I am eating fish these days) Try to ignore all the prepackaged "fake meats" out there and you will do just fine. Stay close to the natural source as possible :)

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    1. RachelDecember 20, 2013 at 4:36 PM

      Hi Crystal! Welcome to my blog, thanks so much for leaving a comment. And YAY! Another over 40 gal on a similar journey...love that. And thank you for the advice, my plan is to stay away from the imitation meats since just the sound of it frightens me...LOL. I'm looking forward to the experience. I do plan to still eat fish so it sounds similar to your chosen way of eating as well. I'm hoping I'll like it so much that this new way of fueling my body will stick. We shall see! Happy holidays to you!

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  2. UnknownDecember 21, 2013 at 12:47 PM

    congrats on signing up for half number two!
    welcome to the vegetarian world -- it's nice over here lol!
    and love the 2014 mantra!
    i can just sense you getting your MoJo back -- i think ya needed that little rest. we all do to reconfirm why we push so hard to do what we do!
    xo

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    1. RachelDecember 23, 2013 at 6:33 AM

      i think you are RIGHT Cyn...sometimes we need the break/hiatus so that when we come back, we are reminded of WHY we do what we do :)

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  3. Janelle @ Run With No RegretsDecember 21, 2013 at 1:40 PM

    Hi, I'm a new visitor from the Running Bloggers page. Good luck on your vegetarian challenge! What made you decide to do it?

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    1. RachelDecember 23, 2013 at 6:34 AM

      Hi Janelle - thank you for visiting! As for going veggie in January, it was just a matter of wanting to see how my body is impacted. And, to force me to get more creative in the kitchen and with trying new veggies. Once I get through January we'll see how I feel - but in the meantime, I'm actually looking forward to it!

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  4. AnonymousDecember 30, 2013 at 11:45 AM

    I find the best way to motivate myself to get back into running is to sign up for a race as well. I signed up for a race in January to help make sure I stayed motivated during the holidays and it worked.

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    1. RachelDecember 31, 2013 at 9:31 AM

      Agreed! Signing up for an upcoming race keeps you focused on a goal - which is a natural motivator!

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