I. Died.

I want to start off by saying that the title of this entry is dedicated to the wonderful and inspiring Rachel Zoe, star of the hit Bravo show "The Rachel Zoe Project". Ba-nanas.

Running in the rain is not my cup of tea, because I like tea and I do not like running in the rain. OK, it was "raining". It was more of a slight drizzle or mist, but rain is rain to a Jewish girl and her hair.

The following description is really for Alyssa, who needs a good EGR fix:
I decided to run a little farther around the neighborhood despite the gloomy weather, hoping the endorphins will kick in and put me in a better mood. This seemed feasible, taking into account that I knew I would do about a mile and a half and call it a day. What I did not take into account was the walk around the lake with Merrill a couple days before (which was fabulous socially, but not so great for my legs) and the lapse of judgement the previous day when I decided to do some stairs in an attempt to strengthen my legs. All it did was make me pant and wheeze in about 45 seconds. And it hurt my legs even more. Awesome.

So, wearing my sexy Nike running pants, I set out on my journey. In the rain.

I ran down my street and about halfway around I decided to take a side street to make it to Hall. I then ran past (the former Woodcliff School which is now dedicated to our former superintendent and I have no clue why...he never cancelled school for us, so why are we honoring him with a building?) and that's when it hit me. My legs, specifically my knees, felt as though the top half of my body weighed 2 tons and all the weight was going straight to my knees. I'm fat and it's raining. Great attitude.

Now that I've put myself down, I lost my confidence and headed home defeated, walking the the last 5 minutes to my house.

After that, I realized how important a positive attitude is. There's no way I'm going to be able to do this if I become defeated after a little pain. No pain, no gain, right? Right...right?


Song of the Day: Bring It All Back To You; S Club 7

Meet my running partner, Tony Soprano

I would like to preface this entry by saying that running outside has never been my forte. Whenever I used to get that burst of energy to run, it would be on a treadmill, and while the run would only be a mile or two, it was a good run and I usually had to stop because of a bathroom break or my TV show was over. So, this training is really new because I'm running outside. And let my tell you folks, running outside is NOT easy.

The last time I ran outside was a beautiful day in September. We had been having a string of bad weather, and one freak day of glorious warmth and sunshine fell into my lap - what else could I do but take advantage and go for a run? Bad life choice. I felt as though my lungs had been sat on by a mini Tony Soprano. I could mentally picture him sitting down with a sausage in one hand and a colt 45 in the other, sinisterly grinning and shoveling food into his mouth while he constricted my airway. Not cool, Tony, not cool.

Therefore, when the time came today for me to run, I was extremely realistic...aka I set the bar low. Really low. I knew it was going to be a short run in terms of distance, but I have to force myself to run. As I ran through the neighborhood, I prepared myself for Mr. Soprano to make his 2nd appearance and smother me to death (nearly). But he didn't show, and so I kept on trucking. As my speed began to slow, I kept going. If I had gone for a run without a goal in mind, I would've quit right then, with the philosophy "Why work harder than I need to?" holding me back from doing better than I expected. But today, the first day, pushed me onward. And I wasn't feeling bad. Dare I say...I was feeling...good? I LIKED running? BLASPHEMY!

As I rounded the corner to head back home, I felt my knees start to weaken. Uh oh, I thought, Tony's found a new location to have some chicken tetrazzini and a glass of brandy. Well Tony, BRING IT ON. I kept going until I started to trip after my own feet and walked for a minute to rejuvenate and catch my breath, and I ran a bit longer.

This may seem like I ran a long distance - not true. I ran about a mile, a mile and a half in total. But that's ok. I'm proud. And that's the reason I'm doing this.

*I would like to say that James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano, is a very talented and respected actor, and by no means do I mean to piss him off, in case he has a little bit of Tony Soprano in him.

Running Down a Dream

I've decided to take up running. At first glance, this phrase typed out seems totally illogical, borderline insane, maybe even a typo. Me, an avid TV watcher and expert at sitting on my butt, wants to run. WTF?!?!

Sure, I could stand to lose a pound or two (read: 15-20). That will help with my self confidence...I would love to be able to go into a store and not feel like a giant heifer who bee-lines directly for the Larges, hoping that a skirt or pair of pants will be too big and I can go down to a medium. And it'll get me into shape. My typical "mile-run-and-I'm-done" is a great start, and I have the beginnings of what I would call athletic abilities, but by no means am I in shape. My inner tube reminds me of that daily, while I barely stay afloat in my life.

It's a goal. I've tried so many different hobbies and sports in my life, and I've never stuck with anything. I remember when I was applying to colleges, and I was asked by my high school guidance counselor what my skills and hobbies were. I had no answer. I've tried everything once, and that's as far as it's gone. And recently, let's just say, life has had a crazy turn of events in the past couple of years, where a lot of things in my life turned out differently than I ever thought they would.

I want something to call my own. Something where I can be proud after every single time I do it. Something where I can see results each and every time. I want consistency. I want to feel proud of myself for accomplishing something I never thought I could do.

And so today, I pledge to you, myself, and the high powers of running, that I will train myself to run a 10k race in May. That I will cut back on the fatty foods and eat healthier. That I will run when I'm scheduled to run, and do cardio when I'm scheduled to do cardio. That I will cut out Diet Coke and only drink water and Powerade....wait. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Baby steps, baby steps.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the week, as well as the beginning of my journey. I will seize the day by seizing the road.

Song of the day: Running Down a Dream, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers