goodhappyfit

ericapiper: If A then B #running #beer #logic I’m either...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:06:08 -0400

If A then B #running #beer #logic

I’m either running a full or half marathon on May 5. I haven’t decided yet. My plan has been the full, but grad school has deterred me from being able to fully commit to training the way I should. So far this is the longest run I’ve done, and it’s coming up quick. Ahh!

fuckyeahmcgosling: Justin Timberlake & Ryan Gosling - 1994

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:14:49 -0400

fuckyeahmcgosling:

Justin Timberlake & Ryan Gosling - 1994

First outside run of the year! My pace is (slowly) improving....

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:27:24 -0400

First outside run of the year! My pace is (slowly) improving. It’s especially good considering I’ve gotten used to running on a treadmill.

Lemon-thyme chicken breast, brown rice with steamed veggies, and...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:23:26 -0400

Lemon-thyme chicken breast, brown rice with steamed veggies, and Caesar salad.

Two eggs, 1/2 avocado, sharp cheddar, and salsa. Happy Daylight...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 13:00:28 -0400

Two eggs, 1/2 avocado, sharp cheddar, and salsa. Happy Daylight Saving Time.

Hazelnut coffee macarons with Nutella ganache filling.

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 22:32:13 -0500

Hazelnut coffee macarons with Nutella ganache filling.

ericapiper: egg, bacon (bits), cheddar, apple and onion on...

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 17:36:19 -0500

ericapiper:

egg, bacon (bits), cheddar, apple and onion on toast #omg #food

Photo

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 09:36:50 -0400

Notions & Notations of a Novice Cook: Making Cardamom-Peach Galette

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 09:58:55 -0400

Notions & Notations of a Novice Cook: Making Cardamom-Peach Galette:

peegaw:

Cream.cheese.crust.

Martha Stewart, you have outdone yourself. Really. I’m not going to say much about this recipe (partly because I’ve just spent the last 31 hours in the hospital and am now basically a typing zombie - thank goodness this post was already in the Drafts!), except that…

my progress.

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:49:34 -0400

Or lack thereof. I was just going through my archive and came across this post. I couldn’t find any stats posted since October 2010, but I had them saved on my computer for January 2012. Obviously I’ve gained some weight and that’s probably why I wasn’t posting it on here!

Between October 2010 and January 2012, hmmm… what happened? Well, I moved home. That right there is an instant five pounds, if you ask me. But I spent that first winter training for a marathon which I ran in May 2011. So while I may have gained a little weight from living at home with my family, I was running a lot more and kept it in check. Hah, and then after the marathon? Well I started working ungodly hours for the duration of the summer, stopped posting in here, stopped running at all, and stopped holding myself accountable. Then I moved to a new city, spent six months without a job, became severely depressed, suffered a knee “injury” and spent the winter cooped up in my basement apartment without a gym membership. So there’s that.

I’m about three and half weeks into training for another marathon, and I weighed/measured myself at Week One. Next weigh-in comes at Week Nine and then again in the final week.

I’m putting this out there for the world to see. My goal is to get my body fat percentage back down to… 20%. Losing five percent body fat is a lofty goal to set, but I do believe it’s possible. That being said, let’s do this! I’m ready!

goodhappyfit:

September 2009:

5’4

130 lbs.

28% body fat

April 2010:

5’4

123 lbs.

24% body fat

October 2010:

5’4

119 lbs

20% body fat

January 2012:

5’4

124 lbs

25% body fat

June 2012:

5’4
125 lbs
25% body fat

Today, I ran 7 miles.

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 23:56:00 -0400

I haven’t run that far since my marathon, in May 2011. Actually, I take that back. Last fall when I decided to start half-ass training for a half-marathon (note to self: half only applies to the distance, not the dedication of training!), I forced myself to do 10 miles as a “wake-up call” of sorts, which was not the best of strategies. Last fall I tried to do too much, too soon, and I failed. I ended up hurting myself and making it nearly impossible to even run a little bit.

Over the winter I gradually started running a little more, but not without pain in my knee. I finally switched shoes (back to my old, standard Asics) and was suddenly able to run without pain. But I still couldn’t run a lot.

I started one mile at a time. Literally, the first few weeks, months even, I only ran a mile at a time. I took things slowly until I was sure that my knee pain wasn’t going to creep back up on me, and as it stayed in check, I started to add a little more distance here and there. I took it as an opportunity to work on my pace, running shorter distances at a faster tempo. By April I was running two miles at a time, and by May I could actually keep up with my boyfriend (comfortably, too!) for two miles at his pace (his slow pace, probably, but nonetheless!).

Before I knew it I was going three miles. Then one day, even four! That four miles was so epic for me, and I ran it at a pace that I’d never achieved before above one mile.

At that point I made the decision to pick a marathon this fall and start training for it. If I really wanted to get serious about getting better (I did), I needed a serious plan to stick to. I put together an 18-week program and gave myself PLENTY of time to build up my distance, SLOWLY.

I’ve been keeping most of my runs during the week nice and short (not above three miles), working on my pace. Saturdays (or Sundays) are reserved for my long, slow distance run. Today, that was seven miles, and I did it comfortably in 80+ degree weather.

I guess my point to all this is, a couple of months ago I felt like I would NEVER be able to get back to where I once was as a runner. Even when I started training for the marathon, I still had my doubts. Running four or five miles I thought to myself, I am never going to get there. But with persistence and dedication and most importantly, PATIENCE, I am slowly (but surely) getting there. One day at a time, one run at a time.

By the way, I got new shoes so I am no longer running in my two year old, beat-to-death Asics. They are the new Saucony Kinvara 3 which, so far, are phenomenal (*fingers crossed*).

Crepes.

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:36:18 -0400

Crepes.

Pan-fried chickpeas and bacon pieces for dinner

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:45:32 -0400

Mmmmmm, fiber.

BOOM. Please ignore my kindergarten X’s. If I were cool, I...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:14:23 -0400

BOOM.

Please ignore my kindergarten X’s. If I were cool, I would make this a gif of all the X’s appearing one day at a time. But alas, I do not have Photoshop or patience so this is what ya get.

Other notes: I lowered my mileage by one mile this week (not sure how much of a difference that actually makes) because my legs were feeling pretttttty tired after the first week. I’m not used to all this running anymore. Also, I traded yesterday’s LSD run with today’s rest day in favor of spending the whole day at the beach yesterday. I ran it today instead.

On getting faster. And other things.

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 23:59:33 -0400

Things that are new. Here are some:

I lost my one job. Then I got a new one. Then I quit my other old one. So I have one job now, Monday through Friday and I love it. Plus French lessons.

I have been kicking major ass in terms of running. I have been focusing on speed rather than distance, as it seems every time I start to get my distance up again I get hurt. As a result of this, I think I might actually be getting kind of fast! Fast for me, that is. I can run much faster for short distances (the other day I ran 2 miles in 17 minutes! That is lightning speed in my world! And the great news is, I’m getting to a point (knock on wood) where I can manage slightly longer distance runs (baby steps…) and even keep my pace up for them! Today I ran 4.8 miles in 45 minutes, for an average pace of 9:18 per mile. And I was just aiming to maintain a normal, comfortable pace.

So if my short-distance pace is getting faster, and my long-distance pace is getting faster, that can only mean one thing… I’m getting faster! Woo!

Today I decided to buckle down and spend the summer training for a fall marathon. I’m not sure which one yet, and I haven’t signed up for anything, but I started making a training program and I’m really excited to get started.

On a completely unrelated note, I’ve developed a crazy (probably unhealthy) obsession with Game of Thrones. Don’t judge me.

rebeccalando: Have you had your self-hate today?

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:13:15 -0400

rebeccalando:

Have you had your self-hate today?

gocookyourself: Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Squash - In...

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:01:50 -0400

gocookyourself:

Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Squash - In Pictures

Butternut Squash / Streaky Bacon / Chilies / Gruyere Cheese / 2 Cloves Garlic / Oil / Butter (1)

HEAT oven to 200C

CHOP chilies and garlic

SLICE squash in half with sharp knife

SCOOP out seeds with a spoon (2)

SCORE a cross pattern into flesh of squash with a sharp knife (2)

FILL cavity with chopped chili, garlic and a knob of butter (2)

REPEAT process for other half of squash

DRIZZLE oil over top and season with salt and pepper

PLACE in oven for 1 hour

BUTCHER bacon into bits

FRY in oil until brown and crisp (3)

GRATE 100g of Gruyere cheese

REMOVE squash from oven

SCOOP out flesh of squash into bowl (4)

MASH squash with a potato masher

THROW in bacon and cheese and stir

ADD salt and pepper to taste

SQUASH the squash mix back into squash skin

TOP with a little leftover cheese

RETURN to oven for 15 minutes

REMOVE and squash into your face (5)

FOLLOW us on Facebook

GO COOK YOURSELF

Omg.

ovadiaandsons: Run Just got back from a lovely...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:05:11 -0400

ovadiaandsons:

Run

Just got back from a lovely almost-three-miles myself!

Now off to teach a French lesson and then Happy Hour (serving, not drinking. womp womp)! Monay monay monayyyy!

Better option, I suppose…

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:56:51 -0400

Better option, I suppose…

Oh my gosh, tumblr? Is that you?

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:10:56 -0400

I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long, I really am! It’s just that, my life has suddenly gone from extremely lame and boring and uneventful and depressing, to still really lame and boring but busy-busy-busy! Here are some things that have happened since we last met:

I got a job! (definitely already posted about this, but we’ll pretend I haven’t) It kinda sucks and I just sit in front of a computer all day long and sort through faxes, but it’s money in the bank, right? Not much money, but some money is better than no money!
Speaking of jobs, I got a second job. Ironic, considering I applied for said job in OCTOBER(!) and hadn’t heard anything from them, and then as soon as I was content with the one (part-time) job and decided to stop looking/stressing about finding another, they called me. I actually start today with orientation, so we’ll see how it goes.
I have been tutoring French, which has been a very different and fun experience for me.
I took the AFAA Primary Group Exercise Certification exam, but have not yet received my results because I haven’t sent them my CPR certification (because I don’t have it yet… oops… add that to the list of things to do)
I got a (free!) gym membership (thank you, living with my boyfriend and being considered his dependent for benefit purposes even though we are not married so I get a free spouse gym membership at the university where he teaches!)
I recently got back from a 8-day vacation in Jamaica with my boyfriend and his parents. It was so beautiful, so perfect, so needed. For fear of sounding spoiled, let me just say that I have never done something like that. I have never been to a resort, I have never been on vacation for a whole week (I did go on a cruise with my grandparents when I was about 14, though), and I have never gone on a “spring break” trip! Throughout all of high school and college, I never spent my spring break anywhere warm, and so after a fall/winter that literally made me want to die at times, I was so happy and thankful to get away.
I’ve been running again! Oh my gosh, you guys, it’s been so long. I bought some new shoes (New Balance Minimus, oh how I love thee!) and started running very short distances (like 10 minutes at a time) and forcing myself to foam-roll every night. Over the past couple months, I’ve slowly built my distance up to three miles and have not been having any knee pain! I still foam roll almost every night on the days that I run. I am so-so-so happy to be running again. It’s hard to not let myself go longer distances, but I don’t want to do too much too soon and end up injured again. I’ve been taking advantage of the short distances by working on my pace. My starting pace has gone from 5 or 5.5 mph to 6 or 6.5. Granted, I can’t run that fast for very long, but it’s getting easier and easier every time.
I was accepted to the French graduate program at Michigan State University, with a teaching assistantship! So come this fall, I’ll be working on my master’s degree and teaching French classes full time. I’m so, so, so excited! Finally, all of this sitting-around-and-waiting stuff feels validated!

I think that about sums it up. For the past month, I’ve literally been too busy to even think about blogging. At first there was this little guilt in the back of my mind that came out and poked me every now and then, but eventually all of the busy-stuff just kinda covered it up. This morning I came to tumblr and found I had a message from a new follower asking for some workout advice.

She reminded me of why I started this blog in the first place. Not to gain followers. Not to make myself feel cool because people might read what I write. Not to be liked and reblogged and featured on tumblr’s tag pages. Just because there was a time that I was confused about working out. A time where I had questions and concerns and needed to look at someone else who had done it and find out how they got there. A time where I couldn’t run a mile and had no idea what to do with a pair of dumbbells. A time where the thought of actually paying for a gym membership boggled my mind. A time where I had no idea how to cook and properly feed my body. I started this blog because I fell in love with working out, being healthy, cooking, and taking care of myself. And I wanted to share that love story with other girls who might need a little bit of inspiration or guidance. I started this blog because there might be just one teenage girl out there who wants my advice, and if she can come to my blog and read my story and hear my advice instead of one of the millions of “thinspo” blogs who would tell her to starve and overwork herself, then that’s all that matters to me.