210 Miles before New Year's Day

What in the hell did I just do?

Friends, I just committed myself to running 210 miles before 1/1/2011 on Nike Running's website. I did the calculation, and I am FREAKING OUT !

This means I will need to run approximately 2 miles for 7 days everyday, until 1/1/2011 or run 3 miles 4 days out of the week. Friends, I'm gonna need your support because I really need to beat my goal of 210 miles. I think that I am going to run 3 miles because I really enjoy some days off to rest...plus this will be good for my muscles.

This is more than losing weight. This is about losing fear. I need to realize how powerful I am...especially when I begin to chose my thoughts (reference from blog #3). I am more than a conqueror and I am the master of my fate!

I will be looking to you all for support. I really need encouragement along this journey. If you're on Nike Running.com, I encourage you to run with me so that we can together become succesful.

Just like Nike said.... "Just do it" and that's just what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna BEAST on these 210 miles. Who knows...ya girl may just end up running 220 miles.

p e a c e .

Road Runner...

Hey Team Runners!

I hope your day is off to a great start. I just had to check in with you all let tell you about my AWESOME run yesterday! I got in about 2.1 miles, and I was really proud of myself...not because of the length, but because of how I felt when I was done.

As I was running, I saw my reflection in a store window. I thought to myself, "Go girl!" I mean, I was actually running, handling my  business on the road. Immediately, M.I.A.'s Road Runner song came on and I began to sing along..."Road runner, road runner...goin' hundred miles an hour. With yo radio onnnnn!"

Yep. That's right. Call me Ms.Road Runner.

 (Las Cruces, NM. Road Runner)

I continued my run, enjoying the beautiful AZ weather, there was water, greenery, people all around me. I just had the biggest smile ever on my face. Here I am running 2 miles after a long day of work, and I feel great. Thank you God for the life you give me daily. It's only right that I appreciate and cherish it.

I kept running, and as I reached the 1.5 mi point, I began to get tired and think to myself, "I can't do this...maybe I should just cut the route short and get home to these papers that are due." Then as I hit one of the street corners, I saw another runner. Then another runner. It was my reminder that there are others out there just like me that are challenging themselves. Of course the cornball disease came over me and I gave a thumbs up to a fellow runner. He smiled and shook his head. I even noticed that his nod wasn't the normal, "I got this" nod, it was more so, "I'm dying over here, and thanks for the encouragement."

Runners United.

I finally made it home. As I ended my run, Lance Armstrong congratulated me on a great run. Not gonna lie...it made me feel really awesome! Although it was only a recording from my Nike+ monitor, I did something great during my run. I beat my personal best.

Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement. You guys are awesome. I look forward to hearing your stories about running and fitness. Tonight, I'm going on a run with one of my readers, and I am really excited!


p e a c e .

grub.

Hey Runners!

Happy Monday, I hope your week is off to a great start! I woke up pretty sore this morning, but I gotta stay focused, I plan on running as soon as I get home this afternoon. My goal is to really hit it hard! People have been hitting me up left and right asking if I would run with them! How awesome!!

I wanted to post something on eating before running. For some of us, we like to run early in the morning and get it out of the way. Good plan, and keep it going. Yesterday (Sunday) I woke up and ran at about 9am. I want to provide you all with some eating tips before running.

First, we all know that nutrition and fitness go hand in hand when creating a healthy living style. You'll be roadkill if you decide to run a mile with garbage in your stomach.

Q u i c k   T i p s

-Before your run, you shouldn't be full and you shouldn't be starving. Your body needs energry to perform!
-Avoid fatty foods, such as cheese, bacon, ect. They will sit in your stomach and make you feel uncomfortable.
-Avoid caffeine...after running your stomach won't be happy.
-Eat 45 minutes before running to avoid cramps.

Some of my faves

-Toast with peanut butter!

-Small bowl of cereal

-Nutritional Bar

-Almonds

-Egg whites

I have to take this time to share my favorite nutiritional bar with the ladies::

It's the Luna bar! You can find them at your local grocery store, sometimes on sale for $1. They have so much nutirion in them, I eat one before my run and feel satisfied. The other cute thing about this bar is that they have inspriational quotes on the back...which I love. Oh..did I mention they are filled with FIBER? Hehe. I think you know what that means.

It's important not to put crap into your bodies. Seriously. You need your body to perform well when you're running. Treat your body well with nutrition and it will excel when training.

That's all folks. Talk to ya'll soon! XOXO.

Today is the day !!

Hey !! Hopefully everyone had a pretty cool weekend. I wanted to check in with you all, and first thank you for all your support thus far. I have gotten a lot of positive feedback about this blog...hopefully I will motivate others to transform their lives.

I just got in from a 2mi run, and I gotta say, it was pretty motivating for me. All while I was running, all I could think about was this blog, and how excited I was to get on and talk to you all about running!I hope that everyone was able to get out there and start running or walking today.

If not...I strongly encourage you not to wait until Monday. Why do we always put things off until Monday? We have got to break out of that mentality. Same goes with a diet. If you decide to start a diet, don't wait until Monday to do it...start challenging yourself the second you decide! I've learned that when we over think things, we have the opportunity to talk ourselves out of doing something.

I have a running partner that usually doesn't get off work until late in the evening. I noticed that by time my partner got off work, I had eaten dinner, and was settled at home. By then, I told her that I was too tired and would go the next day. Well this week I took accountability for my actions and goals.

Key word ::        a c c o u n t a b i l i t y

What are your goals? What do you want to do? Define them, remember them, and celebrate them.

So back to my story...My goal was to start running. To get off my butt and take better care of my health. To invest in my mental and emotional stability. I got off of work daily at 330pm, and right fromwork, I went straight to my room, threw on my running clothes, grabbed my iPod and hit the door. I didn't even think about how far I'd run until I got out to the trail. After my run, I felt great, and I had my entire evening to myself.

You have got to start NOW! Don't wait! Your happiness is waiting for you. What's 20-30 minutes of meditation?

When you choose to control your thoughts, you have the ability to become POWERFUL.

Let's do this together. Let's become powerful.

Let the Sunday Funday begin.

c h e e r s !!

tiffany

It's like waxing your brows...

I couldn't resist yet another post. I just had to let you all in on my little secret!

If you're new to this running thing, there's something you must do for yourself. You have got to treat yourself to something new before you hit the trail! No really, I'm serious! It's like the first day of school, you get all new stuff...starting this running journey is just like that. No, as a matter of fact, it's like waxing your brows. Ladies, you know what I mean. When you wax your brows, you automatically feel prettier. Your self esteem goes up, and already you feel confidant. You may even feel like putting more time into doing your makeup. Guys, when your friend asks you if you wanna hit the club or a girl invites you to an event, the first thing you wanna do is get a fresh outfit....I'm just keepin it real.

Running is just like that. (well, for me at least..maybe it's just the queen in me)

Check out your local athletic store. For me, it's the Nike store at Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe. The first thing I got to motivate my new life of running was a new pair of shoes and the Nike + chip for my shoe & iPod.

 Ok, so this right here....is going to change your life. Get your iPod or iPhone and start your life long journey of running. This chip that you see on the left goes under the sole of your Nike+ running shoe. There is another chip that you connect to your iPod or iPhone.

Believe me, you won't be able to feel it when you run. Anyway, this cool tool (haha, that rhymed) will measure how many calories you've burned, your running distance, and performance goals while you're running. Tight, huh?! I remember one day I ended my run and all of a sudden this lady says to me, "congradulations, you beat your personal best!" It stores all your running history. And on top of that, you can create running music and a motivational song for when you're getting tired.  I think the best part is that as you're running, your personal trainer on the software tells you how far you have to go. For example, if I'm running 2mi one day, while I'm listening to JayZ the trainer will chime in and say, "1 mile down, you've reached the half way point."

Now, when I got home, I plugged my iPod into my computer and iTunes automatically sent my results to http://nikerunning.nike.com where I created a personal profile where I could compete with other runners across the world. On top of that, it gives you an option to automatically send your results to Twitter and Facebook so that your friends can watch you transform your life.

Oh, did I mention that this little gadget is only $19.99? Yep, don't sleep. Get on it!

http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/

I won't run without it...Oh yeah, let's run "together" Check me out at http://my.nike.com/vellumfive


p e a c e .

keeping up

Hey it's me again!

This blog is going to be AWESOME. If you want to keep up with me, feel free to email me makeup@vellumfive.com or follow me on Twitter @PYT1920

I'll make sure to post a blog once a week!..and that's a threat!


c h e e r s !

Hey Hey !

Testing, testing...Is this thing on?

Yo! I want to thank you for taking time out to read my blog about running! It is definitely more to me than just weight loss and competition, it's a time that I dedicate to myself to clear my thoughts, and imagine myself being the super woman that I am. I have recently started my journey in running this past May when I was gifted a pair of Nike running shoes and Nike+ chip to sync with my iPod. Little did I know that the gift that was given to me was intangible and would be incomparable to any gift ever packaged.

This blog is for the full figured woman that feels like running is the ultimate thought of "F you, and I can't do that." This blog is for the woman or man that was told by their family doctor that they need to get it together before their kids are without them. This blog is for the guy or girl that hasn't participated in sports since high school or college. This blog is for anyone that feels like they need to expand their horizons and challenge themselves.

((That's what life is about, right?))

This blog is for Y O U. No matter what you are going through in life, no matter what battles you are fighting, the answer is simple. Invest in Y O U. Make time for yourself. Whether it be investing in your physical health, emotional health, mental health...whatever. Stop doing everything for everybody and start making yourself happy!

For the past year I have been depressed. No seriously, I hated my job, hated working towards my M.Ed degree, and hated everything around me. Not because I was a negative person...it really was because I had no outlet to dump my emotional feelings into. My typical weekends would consist of me drinking and partying to numb myself of my unhappiness.

Little did I know, running would really be my outlet.

Growing up, I always played sports, but I hated running with every inch in my body. You wanna know how I became the best free throw shooter? I made myself stay after practice everyday to perfect my shooting skills. Why? So that I would make the shots every time "suicides" came around during practice! I don't know what it was, maybe I hated the burning feeling in my heart, maybe I looked at running as a "let's get this over" type of deal. Maybe I thought it was boring...

Well. I stand before you all today as a full figured woman that LOOOOVES to run. Yes it's challenging, but seriously, it has taught me something about myself. I have discovered that I am a queen, and I deserve to foster growth in myself and challenge my level of discipline.

Throughout this blog, I will be keeping it real with you 100% and sharing to you my feelings about running and how it relates to me as a young woman. I want to share updates with you on the latest tools, resources, and events in the local area.

My goal is to encourage someone to step outside of their norm and challenge themselves.Even if you start walking around your community or run a 1/2 mile once a week...whatever it is...I am encouraging you to do something different and invest in Y O U.

Keep in mind that I only started in May. Together, we will be growing and challenging ourselves. Any suggestions, tools, thoughts that you have, I encourage you to share!!

Here goes nothin' .....