Dani Dishes 1-13-14
/On this episode of Dani Dishes, I celebrate being DOPEY!!! There are quite a few tears, but overall my quick thoughts on one AMAZING life-changing experience.
Dani Dishes 1-6-14
/On this episode of Dani Dishes, I pose the question: "If you were given the chance to redo the hard times in your life - would you?" Check out the video for my answer!
1st Run 5k To Ring In 2014
/New Year's Day. What I do on January 1st tends to set the tone for the entire year. Okay okay. If I sleep in on New Year's Day it's not like I'm sleeping in the rest of the year ... or am I?
Maybe I just use the "setting the tone" as an excuse to get myself to sign up for a road race. ;)
Since 2011, I have walked or ran a 5k each New Year's Day. In 2011, I had a herniated disc so my wife and I walked the course. I apparently also perfected the thumbs up as the years have gone on. ;)
In 2013, my first New Year's Day back in Boston I participated in the Lowell's 1st Run 5k (which you can read about here). I loved the bling so much (pictured below) I had to go back for more in 2014!!
And I even recruited some friends and blog readers to take part as well! <<evil grin>> :P
My wife and dad made the trek to Lowell with me - it takes about 35 minutes from our house. The bib and hat pick-up takes place day of so we made sure to allow for a little extra time pre-race.
The line moved smoothly and I had my number and hat in no time. Thankfully the pre-race packet pick-up/area to hide from the cold was in a nice VFW hall in Lowell. Same spot as last year so we knew the lay of the lands.
After running into my friend Robin (darn me for forgetting to snap a pic), I went back to chit chat with my two best supporters and was tapped on my shoulder by Susan. Susan is a blog reader who was walking her first 5k. I was so proud to meet Susan and be a part of her first 5k.
I had my bib secured to the usual spot - on my leg - in no time and it was time to head to the port-o-potties. :)
With over 1,300 runners between the 5k and 10k option, we made our way to the Start corral at about 10:45am. I wanted to get a good spot in the corral.
It hit 11am, the National Anthem played and we were off!
Thanks to the race photographers for grabbing a pic right after the Start.
Since I had run the course the previous year I had a vague recollection of what to expect. I stress vague. So yes I forgot the course started out on a hill. Oops! :P
I wasn't really sure what to expect from my legs since I had run 10 miles the day before and New Year's Day marked the 35th and final day of the Runner's World Run Streak (#RWRunStreak). But, I told myself that I would give my all - as always.
The legs actually felt great. I just decided to let go and have a blast.
Mile 1: 7:39
As the race went on, the scenery and terrain started coming back to me from the previous year.
It was great to see so many runners out starting their year on such a positive note. I just smiled at all the runners around me and thanked the few spectators that braved the cold weather to cheer us on. (It was 13 degrees at the start of the race!)
Just before the half way mark, we start our decent from the incline to the flat shot along the River to the Finish. It was around this time I started asking a woman near me where she got her jacket. Hey it looked cute and functional. The woman had no idea, but told me she would tell me at the Finish since she "wouldn't be able to forget my outfit." I decided to take this as a compliment and a reminder that not everyone likes to chat during races as much as I do. :P
As we hit the flat straight route along the River, the wind picks up and attacks you right in your face. I remembered this from the previous year. I remembered feeling like I was running in place on a treadmill. Thankfully the wind wasn't AS strong as the last year, but it was still packing a punch.
Mile 2: 7:24
I made sure to thank all of the volunteers freezing their booty off to keep traffic at bay, hand us water and keep the tunes going. Unless I am having a hard time breathing, I always make sure to thank all volunteers/police officers! :)
Plus, I had to give a nice pose to the race photog who was positioned just before the turn towards the Finish area.
I tried to pick it up a notch for the final mile and actually felt like I was making up some time...
... until I looked at my watch. ;)
Mile 3: 7:33
I was really shocked when I saw that time. Can I blame the wind? Either way I was happy with the time, but realized I am still learning to "feel" my pace. Something I am working on in 2014.
As I hit Mile 3, a random guy started creeping up my right side and I knew there was NO WAY I was letting him pass me this close to the end. So I kicked in everything I had left and booked it through the final 0.1 miles of the race.
BOOM!
First race of 2014 complete: 23:43.1 (7:39 min/mile) -- 52 out of 869 overall and 4 out of 169 in my division.
Oh and you wanna know who came in third in my division? Yup, my girl Robin! ;)
Within minutes of finishing, I was joined by my Saturday morning running buddies, Nanci and Cristina ... who I had nicely convinced to do the run.
They both did great.
And I KNOW you are wondering how Susan did. She ROCKED it. She experienced a side stitch during the walk, but slowed down the pace and kept moving forward. I am so excited for Susan and again happy to meet her before the race.
I was sad to miss a couple other friends/blog readers at the race, but I know everyone had a blast - which is all that matters.
***
Did you start the New Year with activity?
Tedy's Team Group Run - 12 Miles
/You may be double checking your calendar and wondering to yourself: "Hmmm, I thought today was Sunday?" Well you are correct.
Normally Tedy's Team runs take place on Saturday mornings, but with the cold temperatures set to be -5 with wind chill some of my teammates and I decided to postpone the run to Sunday.
Amazing decision!
My teammate Nanci organized a small group of folks from three different Boston Marathon charity teams to meet at the end of the Minuteman Bikeway in Bedford, MA.
The path has been cleared by a dedicated group of volunteers and the weather was a balmy 25 degrees. ;) It felt like a heat wave for recent Boston standards. :P
Shortly after 10am the 8 of us headed out for a fun 12-miler. I really love running a group. It helps pass the time and it is the pick-me-up you need when you are deep into a run and your mind wants to quit!!
I was happy I brought my phone with me so that I could capture a couple in run photos for the post.
I am getting better at remembering to document my runs. It is a wonderful thing to look back at.
Mile 1: 9:25 Mile 2: 9:28 Mile 3: 9:35 Mile 4: 9:27
Just after hitting Mile 4, we took a much-needed pit stop at the local Starbucks. It is located in Lexington Center and right along the path, which was perfect for all of us to either stretch, grab water or take a trip to the bathroom. It is like they knew we would be missing our Tedy's Team water stop. :)
It was great listening to Cristina talk about going from a 14 min/mile runner to a sub 3:40 marathoner. She started running 7 years ago when she came to America and decided to give up smoking. She used running as an outlet and is one amazing inspiration!
Once the group was set, we headed back out on the path. It was nice meeting a couple new people who I hadn't chatted with before. I love getting lost in conversation because it helps the miles pass.
Mile 5: 8:57 Mile 6: 9:03
We had decided on an out-and-back loop so at Mile 6 we hit the turnaround and headed back to our cars. Why yes we talked about how telling ourselves: "Let's run six miles then back to the car" makes the 12 miles seem shorter. Anyone else? Hello mind games to get a long run done. :P
Mile 7: 8:57 Mile 8: 9:07 Mile 9: 9:04
The Minuteman Bike Path offers such gradual inclines that you don't really recognize it is happening until you are on the decline. :P Thankfully most of us knew that going in as many of us have used the Minuteman path for training runs before. But it was a nice surprise for the newbies. ;) I'm sure their legs appreciated it.
The path had a constant flow of runners and bikers, which is such a great motivator. I love waving and giving the "runner's nod" to folks passing by. And of course I forget I am wearing Superman socks and that is why folks are giving me a second glance as I run by. Yes folks those are capes attached to my socks! Be jealous!
Mile 10: 8:50 Mile 11: 9:02 Mile 12: 9:18
The last three miles were only tough because of my shoulders. Since getting rear-ended due to snow on Thursday, my neck and shoulders have been super sore. I took 3 rest days (Thurs, Fri, Sat) to try to recoup, but the neck/shoulders started to feel heavy by the end of the run. I think it was from holding my arms in the usual 90 degree angles that may have put a little extra pressure on the shoulders. I know I will be okay for next week's Dopey Challenge, but it was something to note.
Additionally, my foot felt pretty strong the whole run until a little nagging soreness came in at the end. I think some of that could be on account of the slipping from the snowy ground. But, it wasn't anything more than I have been dealing with since September. I am still waiting to hear the results on last week's MRI.
As we finished up the final mile, we ended back at the parking lot. The parking lot in Bedford is known as Depot Park and features the Rail Diesel Car 6211 (pictured above), which is a vintage passenger car which formerly ran on the Boston-Bedford rail line.
I really want to thank Meghan and Julia for really great conversation out of the path. It was great to talk about running, weight loss, addicting behaviors and other things. Yeah sometimes convos on runs turn into cheap therapy! :)
But, this week I cannot say "until next week's run" as I leave for Disney on Tuesday. Soooo I will rejoin the Tedy's Team group runs on January 18th...
***
Week 3 Workouts:
Sunday, December 29: 10 mile run
Monday, December 30: 4 mile run and 50 min Spin class
Tuesday, December 31: 2 separate 5 mile runs for a total of 10 miles
Wednesday, January 1: 1st Run 5k
Thursday, January 2: REST DAY after getting rear-ended in the snow
Friday, January 3: REST DAY after car accident
Saturday, January 4: REST DAY after car accident
Sunday, January 5: 12 mile group run
***
Looking To Donate
Are you interested in helping to fight Stroke? Please feel free to click on the link HERE to share a donation. Wondering how much? How about $12 in honor of the 12 miles I ran today with Tedy's Team?
2013: Finish What You Started ... 2014: Consistency
/2013 proved to be a year. The End.
Oh is that not how a "Year In Review" blog happens? Not gonna lie I haven't really done one of these before. :P I guess because big things happened at the end of the two years this little slice of the internet has been around.
2011 - deciding to move back to Boston from Chicago
2012 - Grampa unexpectedly passing away on December 27, 2012.
2013 rounded out without major issue so let's see what kind of review I can put together.
The year was truly defined in April. It gave me the mantra for the reminder of the year: Finish What You Started!
I can't believe how long ago the trip to Disney in January 2013 feels.
It may have been just 365 days ago, but it seems likes a world away.
Why?
Simply put.
April 15, 2013.
That date will forever be engrained in my mind ... and tattooed on my body.
On that day, I lined up for the Boston Marathon with Tedy's Team in honor of my Stroke Heroes - my grandparents.
For those that read the blog you know the ordeal and if you are new - 1st Hi! :) and 2nd feel free to read about my Boston Marathon Bombing experience here. I was lucky to cross the Finish Line 1 minute before the explosions happened and for all of my friends/family/teammates to make it out of the area unscathed.
But that one single event impacted the rest of the year. It never truly leaves you or your memory. Months later it is still hard to walk down Boylston St or to hear folks talk about the events on that day, but it made the city of Boston and the country come together.
It gave me a sense of purpose for the remainder of the year. Simply put: Do things those hurt/killed on that day can't!
So I set out starting in May to live in the moment with friends and family, find new fitness challenges to conquer and earning some amazing accolades.
Friends And Family
Friends, Family and Folks I have met through the interwebs became the backbone of 2013. I needed those faces, those hugs and those interactions to remind me how lucky I was to be living, to be breathing, to be walking.
One of my BFFs, Lindsey, & I enjoying wine! :)
In June I had the honor to attend Suzi Storm's wedding in update New York. We had not met in person before that day, but had formed just a tight friendship through social media that I happily jumped in a car for about 7 hours to witness the biggest day of her life.
This amazing meeting led into Fitbloggin. An amazing weekend for bloggers that I attended in 2012 for the first time. After encountering about 8 hours of delays on my way out from Boston to Portland, I finally made it. Fitbloggin has a special place in my heart. You can read why here.
Fitbloggin occurred at the perfect time. I needed to be surrounded by the love and in a judgment-free zone. Many of the people at that conference were the first to check on me after the Marathon Bombings. The hugs and love experienced that weekend are still felt today.
My other best friend, Sarah, and her family moved to Bar Harbor, Maine (over 5 hour drive from Boston) at the end of May so when her daughter - my Joanna - turned 1 in July. We took the long trek to see them. We spent over 12 hours in the car to spend 12 hours with them ... and it was worth every minute in the car.
Wouldn't you agree for that face?
But just a couple weeks after that, we faced a roadblock. My wife, Tori, underwent an ACL replacement the day after her birthday. It put a big hinge on our summer/fall plans, but seeing her have a healthy recovery was worth the sacrifice.
As a result of the surgery, Tori missed out on the adventures I had meeting new friends through racecations in September and October.
Philadelphia
Cape Cod
Providence
Brooklyn
Los Angeles
I even hosted my first meetup/tweetup in Los Angeles. It was AMAZING to meet so many folks that I had only interacted with before online.
Check out the pics and recap here.
As I mentioned, the theme of this year was to hold on to the loved ones and it spawned meeting social media friends IRL (in real life) and it was magical. I loved seeing online relationships foster into real friendships.
Oh social media.
Fitness Challenges
In the beginning of 2013, I focused on the Walt Disney World Half Marathon and The Boston Marathon. But I knew I needed to keep signing up for races in order to push myself farther outside of my comfort zone.
During Memorial Day weekend, my friend Kim and I took on a special challenge. We were going to take on two races in one day: The Boston's Run To Remember Half at 7am-ish and the Cambridge 5k Freedom Run 5k at 9:30am.
And we made it!! Kim experienced a leg injury/cramp during the Half, but I refused to lead her side and she finished like a champ - leading to this amazing embrace being caught at the Finish Line.
But on that day we did, we conquered 16.2 miles! :)
Then came the obstacle races. These scare me more than a marathon. I have limited upper body strength so they freak me out. But in 2013, I conquered two obstacle races and even got to do the second with a team of Boston bloggers. :)
In September, I took on the challenge of completing two half marathon in two days in two different states - ZOOMA Cape Cod (9/28) and Rock 'n' ROll Providence (9/29). It was an amazing experience and went smoother than I thought. :)
Oh and I even dabbled in more intense trail running. Yup, that included one at night - thank you See Sharp Run for being my light - in more ways than one and one in the big mountains of Maine, which reminded me I am injury prone. :P
Haunted Trails of the Night 10k
But the biggest fitness challenge of 2013 - the one I dreamed about for ages - was...
tackling my first Sprint triathlon!!! It was something I never imagined myself completing, but it was a blast. And yes, I was quickly hooked! Which may have led to one of the 2014 fitness goals. :)
Amazing Accolades
Weight Watchers bestowed a couple amazing honors on me in 2013. In our annual April celebration, I earned the Rookie Leader of the Year award and Diamond Leader status.
In October, I was contacted by WeightWatchers.com and told I would be featured on the website as a Success Story. While I can't show any of the photos from the photo shoot yet (it hits the web in March 2014), I can share a couple pics from the trip to NYC itself.
Great dinner with fellow WW Sucess Stories - over 330 lbs lost in this pic
Little trip to Statue of Liberty with the wife
For the second year in a row, I won a spot on Got Chocolate Milk's Team Refuel. Thank you all again for taking the time to vote! :)
Out Of The Comfort Zone
This year I made two big leaps outside of my comfort zone.
At Fitbloggin in June, I was asked and accepted a spot in the new Fashion Show that took place during lunch one day. I was nervous, but knew if there was a place to make an attempt at walking in a Fashion Show it would have to be at Fitbloggin.
Look I even tried to strike a pose. :P
I even put myself out there with a goal of running 1,000 miles in 2013 ... and you know what? It happened!! :)
What was even cooler? I exceeded it. I ended up setting a 2nd (1,111) and finally a 3rd mileage (1,150) goal for the year.
It was one of my proudest moments. Seeing my body accomplish such a big goal that seemed so daunting when I set it in January 2013.
But even with injury and sickness, I pushed forward and used that goal guide me!
***
So to say 2013 was eventful is an understatment. It had it's lows, but with the help of friends and family they turned into highs. It was a trying, yet fulfilling year.
What could 2014 possibly bring?
Consistency.
My goal is to be more consistent in life. Have I fully defined that yet? No. It will be a work in progress as 2014 dictates. But I know I let some old emotional eating habits creep in in 2013 and I am ready for those to quietly fade away.
What about fitness wise?
The big goals of 2014 are: The Dopey Challenge January 9-12, The Boston Marathon April 21 and my very first Half Ironman September 7.
Wow! I would've never imagined myself signing up for these five years ago, but now is the time to learn, to love and to push my limits.
Bring it 2014!
Dani Dishes 1-1-14
/On this episode of Dani Dishes, it's time to let the emotions/thoughts out on the #1000MilesIn2013 goal & completing the #RWRunStreak!! And of course a THANK YOU to you - the viewers!! :)
My quest to 1,000 Miles in 2013!!
/2013 Total Mileage To Date: 1,150.00
January: 75.39
February: 102.22
March: 140.5
April: 76.89
May: 83.00
June: 72.01
July: 80.29
August: 129.00
September: 128.90
October: 65.40
November: 54.50
December: 141.9
Happy running!
Dani Dishes 12-23-13
/On this episode of Dani Dishes, I need to say THANK YOU to all of the readers/viewers/followers of mine! I even had to give a shout out to a few I was able to meet in real life this past week!
Dani Dishes 12-16-13
/On this episode of Dani Dishes, I want consistency and I am asking for your suggestions. I'm trying to curb the trend I have been on since moving back to Boston January 2012.
Eating Disorders And A Slip Up...
/I messed up. I backtracked.
I gave in to an old habit.
This past weekend I made myself throw up after eating too much.
I was weak.
For those that don't know, I have battled both anorexia and bulimia. You can read a little about that here.
I never say I am someone who is healed. Those eating disorders haunt my thoughts and dreams to this day.
But thanks to Weight Watchers I learned that I could in fact lose weight in a healthy manner and control the urges.
This past weekend was different. I felt mentally weak. I ate too much. I felt sick. My immediate response was to purge.
How did I feel after the fact?
Horrible. Mentally exhausted. Ashamed. Weak. Like a failure.
Wow - crying while writing all this. Okay, I can do this.
I didn't want to do it. But I did. I have to accept that fact.
But I need to know I am stronger than that.
This was Saturday, December 7.
I didn't tell anyone. I wanted to hide it. I wanted to ignore it happened.
But it ate at my soul and my self-esteem.
I am not defined by the eating disorders I have suffered from.
I am human.
It is the first time I have slipped up in well over a year.
But it shows that I am not 100% rid of eating disorders or the mental side of them.
I'm not sure if anyone truly is.
Can I take good away from this situation?
Yes.
I recognized why it happened and I know the next time I feel the urge. I will reach out to someone. I will not be afraid to show weakness. I will ask for help.
Because when I don't ask for help - I suffer.
Phew! I feel better already getting it out there.
Eating disorders are tough. They consume you mentally and physically.
I knew that I hit rock bottom with them in 2006. In terms of anorexia and bulimia. Over this last year, however, I've come to realize that I also was a binge eater and closet eater.
Whenever home alone in high school, college or thereafter, I would eat and hide the evidence. I didn't want people to know what I had done. I didn't want them to see my shame. In my mind I would say I was a "boredom" eater, but that wasn't the case. I was burying emotions deep down by food. I was finding comfort in chips.
I lived in the Boston area until I finally moved to San Francisco in 2007. Once I left Boston, I worked hard to stop the closet/binge eating. You know trying to start fresh.
When I started planning to move back to Boston in early January 2012, I was scared. Would all the old habits come back? I would be working odd hours with Weight Watchers and spending much of my time during the week alone. The thought of the old habits coming back terrified me. Especially since we would be housing with my parents until we found an apartment. They would have foods that I had banned from the house since starting WW - aka trigger foods.
WW and tracking saved me this time around. Many people dislike the fact that WW stresses "tracking" your food choices. But for me I HAVE to. If I don't track, it "doesn't count." Will I ever reach a point where I don't have to track? Maybe.
For now I need to track for more than just knowing what I have, it keeps these eating disorders in check.
I know that ended up going on a total random tangent there. But I had to get these thoughts out.
Please know if you are someone suffering from an eating disorder, you are not alone! Reach out to a friend or me. I am happy to listen.
I am human. I slipped up. That slip up, however, does not define me.
I live. I learn.
