dorianaldyn Member

Congratulations on absolutely killing your previous PR with a new one! Do you already have a full in mind to sign up for? I'm doing my first full in just under two weeks. The one thing I didn't really think about when I signed up was that a May race meant my training began in January. So, I had to load up on all sorts of…

Good skills!! That's awesome!

I've been training for a marathon, so I've been running far more in the last several months than I have in my lifetime, and I don't think my metabolism has slowed. While I can tell I'm getting more efficient (ie, 20 minutes spent running will burn fewer calories for me today than it did 5 months ago), that would happen…

I have a 410 and while overall I'm pretty happy with it, it does take for-freaking-ever to find satellites. There's no point even bothering to try to find them if I'm indoors, so I end up standing around outside my house trying to stay warm while my watch searches and searches before my runs. Other than that, it connects…

I'm showing my age here, but this was circa 1983-1984 when I lived in PA. Those were the days of playing Michael Jackson on the "ghetto blaster" (such an awful term, but that's what we called them back then) and everyone would come over and listen and try to do their best moon walk.... the early days of MTV when they would…

When I was 9 I moved from a very sheltered, white community in Northern CA to a suburb of Philadelphia. Once there, the boys were generally all very nice to me, but the girls weren't so welcoming. I got teased a LOT about my accent (though I still think of it as a lack of an accent, haha!) and I got teased a lot about my…

Last night after dinner I felt absolutely stuffed, yet my dinner was only 246 calories. I felt so stuffed because most of my dinner was roasted cauliflower and roasted asparagus. I added a little bit of chimichurri sauce and served it over 1/2 cup mixture of brown rice & quinoa and it was great. For me, finding some lower…

My alarm goes off at 4:05 and I'm usually out the door, on my run, by 4:30. I've become quite good at running in the dark!

Healthy weight loss and immediate gratification do not go together, I'm afraid. From your post, it sounds like you need to work on the mental aspect of it all - sign yourself up for the long haul, really come to grips that this will be a GRADUAL process and then start in with the healthier eating. Quick fixes rarely work…

Well, from the looks of it I'll be against the grain here, but I quite enjoy my whole grains and have no desire or reason to give them up. I successfully lost weight by simply watching my overall calories. The only really good thing I see about the whole primal/paleo movement is the elimination of processed foods. But, in…

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, very interesting. Overall it seems that I shouldn't have too many expectations at this point about what I'll do after the marathon. I'll plan on running the race, seeing how I feel during and after and let that guide me on how I recover and how soon I start running again. I definitely…

Not only can you pull them up, but they look like they fit comfortably. Great job!

Usually my training runs are pretty flat, so for cross training last weekend I went on a hike with a big elevation gain. It worked different muscles, it was lower impact - it worked out really well for me! If only it weren't allergy season...

Gosh, my races have all been so different - some I've stayed in a hotel, some I've driven to the race that morning, and I biked to the start of another! If I'm in a hotel, I have to do a bit more planning - packing begins earlier, and I have to make some accommodations for a decent pre-race breakfast (which for me could be…

My body fat percentage is currently pretty low, but I'm running. A lot. I'm currently training for my first full marathon. I'm also (for the most part, still transitioning here and there) following a plant based diet (so no meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, butter, etc.).

Did my 4th half marathon earlier this month, have my first full marathon in May. After that I'm not sure what I'll be doing - potentially the Big Sur Half in November.

I'm doing my first marathon on 5/19 too, except my 20 mile run is this weekend, after which my taper begins. Unless you're up for a longer run this weekend, I'd say you should just follow your original tapering plan. So you may have to walk here or there during the marathon - honestly I don't see that as a problem at all!…

That's a tough one! Personally, I wouldn't, but only because I'm a crazy-avid believer in breastfeeding and my previous experience with my prior two kids is that I could NOT tolerate anything bouncy whatsoever while still breastfeeding them. That meant only very low impact exercise for me for one year postpartum. I don't…

At the beginning you'll definitely need to take more water breaks - do so and don't feel guilty about it. Leave the video playing and join back in as soon as you can. You WILL improve! Do the fitness tests too, because you will see improvement in those as well.

That's fantastic! Always great to get a PR :-). You just never know how a race will go until you run it. And you can totally get down to sub-2:00. My half history: July 2012: ~2:30, Oct 2012: ~2:30, Nov 2012: ~2:19, April 2013: ~1:53. After the race in October I started losing weight. After the race in November I decided…

Numerous safety experts have said to go with your instincts if you feel like something isn't right. That being said, it can be really easy to freak yourself out over nothing. I remember once walking in Berkeley with a friend near campus when we were about 18 and we totally got freaked out and even at the time we could tell…

Pace is always this enigma to me because I run what I run. Having said that, my pace has greatly improved since I started training for a marathon. I did my first half last year and I was around 2:30. Did a second half, different course but same time. Did a third half in November and by that point I'd lost about 10 lbs and…

Definitely make your own, I never buy canned beans! Make big batches and then freeze smaller amounts that you can pull out of the freezer. I would definitely recommend soaking them prior to cooking. After the soak, rinse them really well and then use new water for the cooking. This aids with digestion. You, and those…

No one I know wants to head out at ~4:15 am from my house and run at exactly the pace I want to run at for exactly the distances I need to run according to my training schedule - so I run alone. I'm completely happy/fine with that. I listen to my music and think about all kinds of random stuff. Oh, and I do my best to…

I have a full time+ job, I have two preschool-aged kids and a husband that travels extensively for work. For me, the only time that works consistently is the morning - so, everyday, my alarm goes off at 4:05. This allows me to fit my exercise in and shower before getting the kids up to get them ready for preschool. I'm…

Yes, you can do it. If you're out of breath, take a breather but keep the video running and you'll feel guilted into rejoining in no time. Keep water and a towel close at hand and you'll surprise yourself with how much more you're able to do each week, each workout even! You'll be plenty tired after the fitness test (the…

An awesome stir fry... we tend to just throw in whatever veggies we have on hand and last night it was: broccoli, asparagus, red bell pepper, carrots, celery and a small can of water chestnuts. We flavor it with a little yoshida sauce and some orange juice concentrate and serve it over brown rice. Yum! Tonight is going to…

Feel free to add me - currently training for my first marathon in May. I grew up biking and while I love swimming recreationally, I'm no good at swimming laps so I don't know if a triathlon is in my future. I need a mountain biking/running biathlon ~ that would suit me just fine. As for pop tarts - my favorite were always…

I would never argue that organic produce tastes any better than their conventionally grown counterparts. I don't buy organic for taste, I buy organic to avoid toxic chemicals. In general, all our produce comes from our CSA, so it's all locally grown and organic. We eat what is in season. The glaring exception are the many…

Make sure you share that YMCA article on here, can't wait to read it! You're going to do great on your first half marathon. I'm currently training for my first full, but I have a feeling I'll still prefer the distance of a half even if I end up doing OK. The half is a perfect balance of being super challenging but not…