Category Archives: Health

We’re a Week In… Still Working on That Resolution?

Comments 2 Standard

I’m sort of a go-against-the-grain type of person. I really don’t like to conform or be considered a “norm”, so I’m not one to make resolutions. Sure in the past I probably tried to come up with some goal, but really I don’t January 1st  to tell me to be a better person. Every day is an opportunity to do that.

teachergoesbacktoschool.org

teachergoesbacktoschool.org

There is no research that supports making a resolution makes a person more active, healthier, a better friend, a better wife, husband, student or whatever. We already know that resolutions are pretty short lived. Why? Because to be truly successful you need to change either your lifestyle or who you are. When your resolution becomes who you are, you have successfully made a lifestyle change.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being ambitious and setting goals… I just don’t have the calendar dictate that to me, like I said.

Truthfully, I find the word resolution to have a negative connotation. Like I have this huge gap in my life that lacks any positive energy or flow. Like I offer no benefit to society. Sure we all have improvements to make and goals to set, but I just don’t buy into the resolutions business.

Not only that, resolutions are very overwhelming. We’re talking a year-long “goal” that I would consider normally comes in the form of a lot of sacrifice. How is that going to make me a better person? Thinking too long term about what I should or shouldn’t eat is very daunting. That I can’t have a cappuccino during the week or I need to reduce my intake of chicken fingers? Not going to happen. It’s so restricting and suffocating. Oh man, I think I need a cupcake.

Do I need to make a resolution to work out 5 times a week starting January 1st? Do I need to schedule my gym workouts so I go? No, although I can have an idea that I might go to a yoga class on Mondays, but I’m not going to have it set in stone (because I am sitting here on my cozy couch staying warm instead of walking in the cold to run on a boring treadmill 😉 ). During the week I can stay on a schedule, however on weekends I have a hard time being places at a certain time. I need that unstructured time. I need the flexibility and I feel like resolutions do not have that. Maybe I just don’t know how to make resolutions…

On the other hand, I can handle long-term academic, career-related or running goals. I can handle knowing I will be spending a couple of years in school getting a Master’s, or take some teaching-related trainings throughout the year. I love that stuff. I can register for races months in advance because races aren’t really something I need to work on completing. I just do them. So do I make a resolution to take another course or run more races? I don’t think so because I already know I’m going to do these things… So… I don’t get it.

Anyway, my “resolution” is to stick with no resolutions. Any moment of any day is a chance to grow as individual. To be a better me for me, and for others.

So if you’re a resolution person and need to make one to get you on track to a better you, I wish you all the success and fruitfulness you are looking for. Or you could just try this one:

Sniff… I Know, It’s Just a Widget

Leave a comment Standard

Today I will be removing the widgets for “2013 Completed Races”… sniff. I know, I know… those little square boxes of my scheduled running accomplishments are just little date reminders, but to me they represent productivity and growth in running. Those little boxes make me feel successful, particularly since this I’ve been sitting on my couch in this cold and blustery weather – and that means less and less outdoor winter running for now… but 2013 is over! I need room for my “Upcoming 2014 Running Event” widgets, categorized by season of course 😉 . Weeeeee!

What races (running events) are participating in this year? Check out my widgets for registered races so far.

Bye Bye 2013

Leave a comment Standard

From my own stand point, I can not make a single valid complaint about the year I had. Yes I encountered some challenges and struggles, as we all do. But any complaint I can muster is really very insignificant.

So here’s to another year of travel experiences, good times, eating, and discovering with friends and family.

Cheers 🙂

Legs + Cold = Heavy Brick Legs

Leave a comment Standard

Ted Corbitt 15k in Central Park this am.

West side, looking at The San Remo, light flakes at this point

West side, looking at The San Remo, light flakes at this point (mile 1/5)

  • 6 train up to 103 Street – good.
  • Walked to 102 Street entrance of park – good.
  • Baggage line – no big deal.
  • Didn’t get my usual beginning of race instagram pic because I was waiting in the bag line – fine.
  • Entered the corral area and started right away – awesome.
  • Big flakes falling from the sky – pretty (and somewhat blinding).
  • Nice run until … legs and butt became cold heavy bricks with extremely tight hip flexors! – no bueno.
  • Slight struggle to physically push myself through this stiffness for about 3 miles (miles 3-6) – big thumbs down.
  • Passed the start/finish at mile 5, sounds of Adam Levine getting his moves on – muy bueno.
  • Music faded and kept trying to extend my legs back, kick my heels up and the like – not overly helpful.
  • Mind and body back in the race around mile 7 – good.
  • Wind started to pick up back on the east side miles 7/8 – thumbs down.
  • Finished in decent time despite the minor hang ups – excellent.
Thin blanket, leaving the finish area heading back to the east side.

Thin blanket, leaving the finish area heading back to the east side.

Holiday Season is Here

Leave a comment Standard

First, I am very thankful that I was able to sleep in until 8:30 this morning, despite Brett and I both forgetting to turn of our alarms. At this time of year, sleep is so essential.

So we got up, bundled ourselves and headed to our usual diner around the corner for breakfast. In conversation during breakfast I mentioned to Brett that we should walk over to Dunkin on Lex to pick up the correct K-cups and possibly from there we would be able to see the Macy’s parade balloons. Neither Brett or I are parade people but this was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and it’s the kick-off to holiday season!  So Brett made a face and said he would go, but only as far as Lex.

Well, we left the diner, picked up the coffee, stepped back out onto the street and looked across the avenues … and we couldn’t see anything. It was pretty chilly and I contemplated going home, but instead I told him to go home and I’d just walk over to catch the end of the parade. I had to!

I hung a right and headed toward Rockefeller. I’d say my timing was pretty smack on – I got to see some of the enormous balloons as I approached 6th Avenue, just on the other side of Rockefeller. Many people, young and old – toques, puffy scarves, mitts and parkas on, to experience this iconic NYC event. It was energizing absorbing everyone’s holiday spirit! Although the end of the parade is not as cool as the beginning – all the new balloons are at the front – it’s still pretty cool to watch numbers and numbers of people controlling these huge inflatable characters and shapes. They look so small in comparison.

IMG_5201 IMG_5205 IMG_5209

I’d say my hour this morning walking through Rockefeller, watching families all bundled – some making special trips into the city just for the parade and to experience the festivities, and observing that 15 minutes of parade pushed me into the Festivus season! For these moments and opportunities I am forever grateful.

IMG_5211

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Holidays everyone! Take one of the most stressful times of year and turn it into a relaxing season of sharing, giving and cheer!

Jab, Cross, Jab, Kick!

Comment 1 Standard

Oh how I missed you! I missed kickboxing classes! This was my thing about a decade ago. I used to be obsessed with kickboxing and boot camp classes. I guess that’s why I was in pretty good shape then.

web.jamarx.net

web.jamarx.net

So I decided to try the Jab class at the gym. I’m very particular about instructors, having been one in the past. I know, it sounds like I’m picky… but I guess I am. I used to be more so when I taught classes, but as time has progressed I became less “judgmental”. Well, not really judgmental, I just look for certain things from instructors in their classes. This class wasn’t the best I’ve participated in (that title goes to Jenny at Spa Lady in Edmonton), but the instructor was a fun, high-energy crazy dude who pushed us the whole 45 minutes. So I’ll go back for more. Except I need to dig out my cross-trainers before then. I wore my running shoes, not even thinking about it – no bueno.

Was I tired? Not as tired as I thought I would be, but I may not be able to lift my arms tomorrow.

Oh Jeez, What Have I Become?

Leave a comment Standard

I joined the New York Health & Racquet Club a couple of weeks ago. When I visited the club on 50th Street in the spring I liked the cozy feeling of the club. It didn’t feel like the other gyms I’ve tried in the city. Unpretentious, homey.

I waited to join knowing that summer would get me outside, however I was looking for a closer, cheaper spot to get back into my yoga practice too.

So I decided to bite the bullet and join a couple of weeks ago since the weather was getting unpredictable … Great class schedule and facilities that I want to use.

Soooooo, I went to the gym tonight and tried something new… I even got a new outfit for it… and joined all the others… in the pool… for… aquacise. Oh my gaud, did I just say that out loud? YES – OKAY! I said aquacise! Holy crap – what has happened to me?! I thought it would be a good idea to do some non-impact exercise! Turns out was right. In fact, little old Judy pretty much kicked my butt. I didn’t know that pool noodles and foam pieces would make my arms quiver. I’m pretty sure I will have a hard time moving my poor limbs tomorrow.

Who knew splashing around with people double my age would be kind of fun, even the conversation in the sauna afterward. Oh my gaauuud, in the sauna? I feel like I belong in an episode of Seinfeld.

 

Hiking vs. Running – Events From the Last Two Weekends

Leave a comment Standard

I cannot say I like one more than the other because each activity is glorious in itself. The rewards different, the experiences unique. Of course logistically, running is very convenient and accessible for me, whereas hiking requires more planning and more complicated transportation plans.

Hiking overview: Lisa and I had a great time hiking at Bear Mountain last Saturday. Not only did we hike part of the Appalachian Trail (towards Georgia hahaha!), we stopped at the area’s Ocktoberfest and wandered through the Bear Mountain “zoo” with beer in hand. The weather was gorgeous considering it was the last weekend of October. Usually our weather at this time of year is quite nice, minus the last two years (Sandy last year and blizzard the previous year). This was a most enjoyable day.

IMG_4846

The lake at Bear Mountain

Beautiful leaves!

Beautiful leaves!

"Bears and beers"

“Bears and beers”

Today’s race: Dash to the Finish Line, a warm-up to the ING NYC marathon. A little jaunt that started three blocks from my apartment (awesome), ran west on 42nd Street (awesome), up 6th Avenue to Central Park and ended at the marathon finish line of tomorrow’s marathon (fabulous). I’m pretty sure next year I will be crossing that line after venturing the 26 miles through all five boroughs. I’m driven to do it and I think I can. I have a year to prep myself mind. Oh and my body.

IMG_4906

The Start

Running toward the finish

Running toward the finish

IMG_4922

Walking home through the Literary Walk afterward

So what do I choose? Well you know I love running. But if I had more opportunity and willingness to seek out nearby hikes, I would probably hike more. I’ve just gotten so used to how races work, knowing what I need, etc, I’m not sure I will put in the same effort to find hikes. Unless of course they are arranged by someone else or LivingSocial again!

Is This Sustainable?

Leave a comment Standard

This post is a bit of a scatter between scenarios, but I know you’ll get what I’m saying and you will probably agree.

Because my school is environmentally themed, we work with an Education for Sustainability (EfS) consultant.

When we first began our work together aligning our curriculum to EfS in 2010, I really wasn’t sure what this whole thing was going to look like. While I thought the purpose and the content were definitely important and necessary, how were we going to fit these ideas, this language and all this content into daily teaching practices.

We learned a lot of theory and models of thinking. Ok interesting but with the little time we have as teachers to plan and grade and teach and plan and plan and plan, I really just wanted to get to the nitty-gritty of this EfS and plug it into my plans. But there was a reason why we didn’t just jump right in – we wouldn’t have been putting this into practice in a way that would be sustainable for our current practices or our mental models. We needed the time and knowledge for our own mental models to shift to this way of thinking before we can teach it and sustain it in our practices.

This couple of years’ work with the consultant has been productive. Now I deeply understand the purpose of the approach to learning and teaching EfS. Not that I didn’t understand it before, or didn’t think about sustainability before… but now that I can look back on the progression of the work that we’ve done and now knowing some theory is internalized, it is the fabric of how we should be thinking, speaking, teaching, living, etc.

The beauty of our conversations and time together is that our consultant has a way of making sustainability connections to almost anything that we talk about: food, communities, garbage, animals, wedding plans, life lessons, work, cooking. And as she speaks, I listen intently. I am her kool-aid drinker.

So funnily enough, as I was running in Prospect Park for my Rock n’ Roll Brooklyn 10k yesterday morning, I found myself thinking about our conversations from our meeting last week. I noticed I could ask myself the title question at any moment, whatever I am doing, in practically any circumstance:

Can I sustain this pace the entire race?

Will that banana sustain my energy for an hour?

How much longer can I sustain my current career?

How do long-distance runners sustain their bodies when they are worked so hard?

Would I be able to sustain my mental state if I ran a whole marathon?

Will water sustain my need for liquid or should I grab a Gatorade?

While my internal questions in the midst of my run seem silly now, they were important at the time and may contribute to the failure or success of my next running adventure!

But seriously, sustainable thinking and living practices require a lot of attention initially, but become habit over time. A positive habit. A habit that could sustain your happiness, your longevity, your life.

I’m Not a Ditcher

Comments 4 Standard

For the past four weekends, I’ve participated in a race. That means on either the Saturday or Sunday the past four weekends (and two more coming up) I got up early to go some location to run… at least 10k… is something wrong with me? Ha! Maybe! I knew when started registering for all these fall races I might regret it, but I don’t.

Friday night was the first night I thought I might ditch the morning’s Ash Bash 10k in Battery Park. What were my excuses? Well, let’s see…

1. I had a migraine on Monday, and residual headache all week, so not feeling good.

2. I was feeling hormonal and grouchy.

3. I had been this intense hunger the previous couple of days so what if I was starving during the race? I wouldn’t be able to finish.

4. Were there going to be bathrooms on the route (even though I usually don’t need it).

5. The humidity.

6. I’m tired!

7. I don’t want to have to deal with the weekend MTA line closures – which always means having to change your plans for travel because the subways are all messed up.

I thought my list was pretty decent. Pick an excuse, any of them.

Well, those who know me, know I am not a ditcher – unless there’s a really good reason.

So as usual I wake up before my alarm on Saturday morning, I take my time in the bathroom, getting dressed, eating… I feel fine so I can’t really ditch the race. I guess I’ll go.

Once I leave and get into the morning air, I feel good already. I stop for my usual small bottle of Poland Spring at the hole-in-the-wall place I always get it from and continue to the 6 train. Luckily, the station is open and downtown trains are running. The train goes one stop to Grand Central and I wonder if I should hop out wait for the express across the platform… but I know better. Stay on the 6. I ride down to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall and get off the train, the last stop. I walk all the way west along Chambers Street towards the Hudson, knowing the start line is there somewhere.

When I arrive at the River Terrace in Battery Park, I’m glad to see the beauty of the haze hanging on the Hudson. I love the sounds of the usual buzz of runners before a race. I know we are all there to not only run, but to support sustainable health initiatives in Kenya.

We will make two laps on their mapped route. I already started making my list of reasons I was glad I didn’t ditch the race when I walked out my door and as we begin the run down along the river, I am mentally making a longer list of other reasons I’m glad I showed up.

1. A fisherman catching his first monkfish of the day.

2. The sound of the water against the wall.

3. The site of Lady Liberty in the morning haze.

4. Knowing I am running along the NY/NJ state line.

5. Watching an outdoor boot camp class as I run by.

6. Noticing that some leaves are yellow and have already fallen.

7. Discovering where Laughing Man Coffee Company is (click the link ladies 😉 ).

8. Watching the guard open the NJ Ferry terminal.

9. Watching the Staten Island ferry make one of its many daily crossings.

10. Listening to some lady yell at the volunteer for cheering us on because “everyone is sleeping” and I laugh out loud.

My “reasons I’m glad I didn’t ditch the race” list beats my “excuse list” by far. So every time I think I don’t want to run, I need to remember why I do.

All in all, I’m glad I registered for all these races – six straight weekends in different locations. I see something new, run with a different group of runners, and feel great afterwards. Not only that, I know that some of the registration fees I pay go to charities and I might get myself another medal 🙂

But we will see how I feel next Saturday morning when I have to go down to Prospect Park… and the Q isn’t running!