Turkey Trot recap! I DID IT!!!

Saturday, November 21, I successfully ran my very first 5K and feel the absolute need to recount exactly what happened in all it's glory.

Part of me is still buzzing with happiness from it and another part of me still can't believe it finally happened. After all this time, all the training and all the injuries, I ran and I effin' CONQUERED. I started officially training in June, got injured, stared re-training in September and here I am! 9:30 was the time to register and after I let Mandy take a picture of me, "You're first 5K! Awwwww!" she said to me in a mock-motherly voice.

When I arrived to register I was instantly brought to complete and utter nervousness, the only people that were there were part of the Rider Running Club. When my running obsession had first started, I contemplated joining up with them. However, one day on campus I saw them all running and they are FAST. To save myself the possible embarrassment I decided not to get ahead of myself. Although I knew that finishing was the main goal, my fears about my injuries suddenly kicking in began to get to me. These kids were FAST, we're talking less than 8 minute mile fast and maybe even less.

I was being a weenie and didn't to finish last but just kept reminding myself that just finishing at all is a big enough accomplishment in itself. 10 minutes before we started, Sam, Jen and Mandy were there and just kept telling me that this was what I had been working for. The reiterated what I had been telling myself, finishing was all that mattered. It was true, even if my leg gave out and I fell to the damn ground, I would've crawled through the finish line if I had to. I was determined beyond belief. Don't worry though, I didn't have to do that.

16 of us were running (my number being 12) and after a small introduction we were off. The course was easy to follow; we stayed within the campus the entire time so I always knew where I was. Once we started nearly everyone took off ahead of me but there were a couple people who seemed to be at the same pace as I was. My special playlist "TURKEY TROT!" blared in my ears the entire time, specially made the night before for maximum awesomeness. The miles honestly flew by, I kid you not!

Before I knew it, I was approaching the end. Maybe it was a combination of all the training I've been doing and the adrenline of the moment but my leg didn't hurt ONCE and I never really had the urge to slow down. I just kept concentrating on how my body was feeling and the music that was pushing me to continue going.

I had set up my playlist accordingly so that a song from the FAME soundtrack called "Hold Your Dreams" would be playing as I approached the end of the race. Once it came on, I lost all control of my speed and ran like I had never run in my life. Any pain, sweat or tiredness vanished completely; I'm pretty sure that may or may not have been my first runner's high ever. Sam had been sitting on the steps near the library, being my own little cheering sections. She jumped up and started yelling as I reached the finally stretch.

It was one of those times that I honestly think that fate was definitely on my side. I was running the final stretch while the most powerful part of the song was streaming into my ears. Beautiful instrumentals and the following lyrics,

"Hold your dream, don't ever let it go, be yourself and let the world take notice. You'll find strength when people bring you down, they will see, if you would only, only believe"

I hate to sound super cliche about it but it was one of those moments that you would get out a movie.

And then I crossed the finish line. I felt the tears form in my eyes and although I did want to cry, I actually didn't. I've never been more proud of myself than at that moment. I had finally beat the odds, beat ED, beat everything and everyone who thought I couldn't save myself. And I proved them all wrong. I was living proof that recovery IS possible. It was just an amazing moment.

I grabbed some of the free swag (Gatorade, granola bars, tiny waters and energy supplements) and then found out my time.

27:08.

Holy shit.

27:08.

I couldn't believe it. Back in June I was lucky enough to be running 11 minute miles and now? Now I could pump out 9:30 minute miles like they were NOTHING. It was unbelievable.

What has happened since then? I'm still running 5 days a week, slowly pushing myself a little bit more each day. Working my way back to 5 milers and am actually running ANOTHER 5K towards in December. Another thing to look forward to! And who knows, maybe sometime in the future I'll be training for a real marathon. How's that for an accomplishment? =D

Topic, topic, topic, running!

Blogging in the fine arts computer lab. You know, the usual. I've got fifteen minutes until my Publication Design class. I'm just going to touch on a few events but am not going to promise that I extrapolate on them on a later day. Lest we forget, I'm a crap bloggie blogger sometimes.

Topic #1: Halloween! A whole group of us planned on taking NYC by storm (bad joke....) for the second year in a row. There was more of us and because last year was such a success it was only natural that the trip be repeated. However, when Mother Nature wants to rain, she's going to rain. It was a DOWN POUR and it didn't help that we couldn't find where the parade started AND the massive amounts of weenie people freaking out about the rain didn't help. Did that stop the fun though? Hell no. I'm fairly notorious for not letting something like rain ruin my day so I was OK with what had happened. The rest of the night resulted in all of us roaming the streets of NYC (more than 50 blocks). We saw a plethora of bonkers Halloweeny people who were still in chipper spirits and remained as optimist as possible. Granted, it was no village parade, but it was still a good time and there's always next year.

Did I mention that I was sexy Benjamin Franklin and we had Krispy Kreme doughnuts? Oh yeah =P

Topic #2: Peppermint Mocha Latte. OK, so it's not much of a topic. I had it earlier today and well, I don't recommend it. It was just WAY too strong. I don't know if they're all made like that but even though I like the flavor of peppermint this was just too much. Sigh, if they would just have the Pumpkin Spice Latte for ALL of winter this wouldn't be an issue!

Topic #3: Poems. I don't like writing them and had to sit through a class of them today. It wasn't pleasant. I did have to read mine out loud and the professor said, "That was very good." Compliments are always welcome but coming from an art professor? Errrr.......

Topic #4: Running! I was a little stressed about running but everything seems to have fallen back into place. I'm less than 3 weeks away from my 5K and am prouder than ever to announce that I am back to running 4 milers again. My leg? It's been a little iffy but after the first half mile it gets warmed up again and everything has been going quite smoothly. Not going to jinx myself though! I need to be careful either way. This is a topic I PROMISE I will be updating on. =D

Ahh, it's 3:16! I've got to head to class.

Until I blog again my bloggie loves!

Honey Sunshine, rainbows and... Domo? What the hell kind of post is this anyway?

A good one, that's what kind!

OFFICIAL POST! PREPARE YOURSELF BUMPKINS!

Whoa, overly dramatic much? Nevertheless, I'm here to give a proper update as to my life that is Rider University. There's a lot to mention so I'm going to attempt to keep it as entertaining as much as I can!

A rainbow? What a perfect way to begin! You can imagine my excitement when looking out the window and spotting this beautiful creation of Mother Nature just chillin'. You know, being pretttyyyyy. I took thousands of pictures (by that I mean 8) and it brightened my day to no end!

Let's move to the food situation, my favorite part! On the picture front I'm kind of lacking but I'll do my best to suffice with my eloquent words... or so I say =P

So let me describe Dalys Dining Hall, it's... interesting, I guess you could say. The selection of food is quite vast and it's especially exciting if you're a freshman. However, two months in and there's a chance you'll start getting sick of it. There are certain things that are always at Dalys, no matter what day is. This includes pizza, french fries, grilled chicken, cold cut bar, soups, ice cream, the wok station, bagels, the salad bar, the antipasto bar and the elusive WALL O' CEREAL. This is Dalys in a nutshell.

Personally, I have no problem with the place most of the time. There's always fresh spinach, a good amount of veggies (including whole sweet potatoes!) and a bunch of other things that keep this nutrition savvy girl content. However, it's still a challenge to eat there sometimes, not going to lie, but I've been handling it very well if I do say so myself! I need to start branching out and exploring the possibilities of creating new/fun/healthydeliciousawesome things! Dalys has a lot to offer and I just need to be creative! You know, spinach salads with the fixins is always amazing but I know there's MORE out there!

And as for food reviews, er, I kind of suck but I will say that I received my sample of Kashi Honey Sunshine and fell in love with them!

They sort of reminded me of Cap'n Crunch but with only a hint of sweetness, not at all overpowering and it didn't leave a weird taste in my mouth afterward (sorry Cap'n!!). Along with that, they're also packed with 6g of fiber (WOOT), all natural and only 100 calories per serving. The price is steep, as are all Kashi products, but next time they're on sale I'm definitely buying a box! Thumbs up!

Onto the next, running! So... I'm happy to report that yours truly will be running her first REAL 5K in the beginning of November!!!! I cannot even begin to talk about how excited I am and how much my love for running has grown; it's unbelievable. I started retraining when I first got back to Rider (not knowing about the 5K yet) and started out slow, despite my annoyance with having to build up my endurance all over again. However, it was the best thing I could've done. By limiting myself to 2-2.5 miles for the first few weeks I was able to reintroduce the high impact back to my legs. Now, I'm FINALLY back to 3-3.5 miles with no pain... I couldn't be happier. Even my speed is getting better, which I wasn't expecting. Today I ran a practice 5K in 30:32 with a pace of 9:47!!!!!! Now I know that compared to the other women of the blogworld that's still pretty novice but I've never been in training long enough to get under a 10 minute mile... and I finally did it; I got down to the single digits. I feel so accomplished and so proud of myself and just, so elated. This is only the beginning, it's only up from here!!!

Other random happenings include:

• I ventured to Rutgers to see my girls Liz and Danielle, which was amazing. We saw Streetlight Manifesto, a ska band, and well, there was dancing, people pushing everywhere and it was just a giant sweaty good time! I also had my first bubble tea which was delicious to the 1000th power. Liz ordered it for me (since I had never had it) and she later told me it was sweet yam flavored.
  
  

Is that not the best thing ever?!?!? See the rainbow sitting in the background? Yup, clearly it was meant to be. I want another one. Right now. Hahahaha. Oh dear, I love my G-field crew, so, so much!

• I saw FAME and it was spectacular. We all danced in the aisles... and in Starbucks. ;)
• My classes have been going really well and I'm enjoying every single one of them!
• PHOCUS is also going really well. We just finished up alcohol responsibility week and although I was sick I contributed the best I could.
• Yes, I got sick, AGAIN and it sucked just as much as it did the first time. My throat is still bothering me a little bit but otherwise I'm fine. I'm sick of being sick!
  

Eeeeee, could this be the end already? I think I've covered everything important and as much as I would love to sit here and keep on blogging I must do that thing called homework. Jane Austen is calling my name.... I must attend to her wishes!

Enjoy the rest of the day everyone! =)

Damn it Domo, get out of my pictures!

"I'm dying my hair nylon yellow"....Silly, silly boy.

It's been a long time since I've blogged, guilty as charged, but alas, I have to put it off again on the count of homework that must be catered to. Art paper, front page paper design and I have to finish and tidy up my story for it's debut in the workshop tomorrow! Eek! Everyone seems to be very kind and professional about the constructive criticism so I'm not THAT nervous about it... "that" being the key word in that sentence.

The main reason I'm taking a break from my paper writing is because today is HIS birthday and, because I suck at life, he's been on my mind. I very rarely think about him anymore (Can you believe it?!?!) but certain things spark my memory back up. I mean, I've changed into a completely different person since this time last year and since seen him only once this year, I wonder if he's changed as well. I still do think that he had a huge impact in my recovery and as much as the situation sucked I'm a better person because of it =)

Yeah, sorrrrry for that little, well, whatever that was. People don't seem to like when I talk about him so I don't really mention him that much anymore. Everything is OK now though, just another part of life!

I'm going to try to blog for real later, meaning there will be a bunch of pictures that have yet to grace the blogworld! Until later!

This is carved into the desk I'm sitting at... I do love when positive messages make appearances in my life at random!

G-field, Rider, back to G-field and back to Rider again. Confused? I would be.

Late night blogging. Got a TON of stuff to say but it's already midnight and I have to get up super early tomorrow to go back to Rider!

"Isn't she at Rider already?" you may ask, well, I ended up coming back to G-field (after only 3 weeks of being gone!) It was a very wedding planning kind of weekend; the main reason I came back was to go wedding dress shopping with Cate, Shan, my niece and my mom. I guess you could say it was something of a surprise for Cate and it's been a pretty good weekend to say the least.

More detailing will come tomorrow for sure. I've got a bunch of food reviews to put up... ahem, someone may or may not have gone to Whole Foods yesterday :P

So yes, tomorrow I shall be back and there shall be lots of good ole' information and PICTURES! You know, because as I've said before, everyone loves pictures! Hahahaha.

It's a Russell Brand doll.... who would've thought eh?

Nighty night everyone =)

Product review! (just like a REAL foodie!)

Bonjour blogworld! Classes are back in action and I think my brain is reentering the "RIDAH U!" mindset.

Purchase review time!!!! A couple days ago, during a group visit to Target I found something that I've been wanting for quite the qwhile.

The Nike+ iPod Sport Kit!!!! I was SO excited to have actually spotted it and bought it on the spot. My pedometer from Walmart had been quite loyal to me for the past month or so but I knew I needed something more. OK, so it wasn't like completely impulsive; I've been reading up on this for 2 weeks. One of the only reasos being because MY Nikes happen to be one of the types compatible for such an attachment.

It's very simple to use. You put the tiny sensor (the size of two nickels laying flat side by side!) in the underlining of the left sneaker (there's a space for it) and then you click in the iPod attachment and you're done! A new section shows up on your iPod and you just navigate it to your preference from there.

So far I've gone through 5 runs with it and I'm extremely pleased. I'm able to upload my runs to Nike.com and it keeps them all nice and organized, something I'm not too exactly awesome at doing. My pace and length of time and all that is included as well. As of now, it's a good investment but for long term purposes? I wouldn't recommend it. The main downside to it is that the battery isn't replaceable in the shoe sensor so it has to be replaced after a certain amount of time. For a college kid, I say this is a good thing to have. If you run a lot of races or just long distance in general, invest in something more durable (Garmin anyone?) For now though, Nike makes me happy!

College kid, hardcore.

As promised, I'm back once again for my better blogging bonanza! (say THAT five times fast)

I'm currently watching all these people unpacking their cars and moving back into the dorms. It's really weird to watch actually, mainly because I never would've expected that I wouldn't be one of them this year. As much as a pain in the ass this week was, it was definitely worth it. My room in Switlik is everything I could want it to be! Want proof? Look no further =D

The pictures are in the wrong order, whatevs. This is my closet... fairly organized and I have my handsome friend Erik to guard all my stuff for me like he's done for the past two years. Hahahaha.

MICROWAVEEEEEEE!! I probably shouldn't be that excited about it but the more I think about it, the possibilities are endless! I already made a bitchin' bowl of oats! Alas though, we can't forget about the fridge, the Brita and Mr. Coffee; they're all very important to the room dynamics as well.

My desk...already covered in stuff. I haven't even started classes yet. Ahem, if you look in the bottom right hand corner you'll spot my new Nikes in their adorable glory.

Hi bed hiiiiiii! I like being by the window, I can creep on everyone who walks by! Er, um, I mean... I can watch the beautiful sky and, uh, trees. Heh.

No, in all seriousness I'm really digging the setup this year. I can't explain it but I just feel so at home... it's kind of like things are slowly falling back into their proper places. That's my optimistic self putting her two sense in.

Random side note, I finally broke out a container of plain chobani. Now, I've never been much of a "plain yogurt" type of person under any circumstances. When I eat yogurt, I like some sort of underlying flavor; vanilla, strawberry, anything! But, like many other things in my life, I have the women of the blogworld to thank for losing my plain yogurt virginity. HAHA. When I made my bitchin' bowl of oats (mentioned earlier) I threw about half the container of plain chobani in it along with half a cut up peach, some Kashi GoLean and almond butter. Verdict?

I loved it! Duhhh, as if there was ever any reason to doubt the blogworld in the first place? I could taste the yogurt itself but it added a really nice creaminess to the oats. I mean, these ladies throw plain greek yogurt all over everything and I was scared to put it in my oatmeal! I'm glad I did though. Now that I know how awesome of an addition it is I think I could work my way up to using it as a replacement for sour cream and many other things in general. The blogworld has saved my life again! They're like a bunch of superheroes.......

I WILL GO TO THE HEALTH LIVING SUMMIT NEXT YEAR. I WILL.

You know, just in case anyone was wondering what one of my goals for the year will be.

Oh, the bathroom crisis. It's not really that big of a deal but it SUCKED none-the-less. Yesterday, I got up nice and early, ran an easy two miles on the treadmill (with NO PAIN!!!) did some more leg strengthening and was all set to take a nice shower when I got back to Switlik. So I go to put the code in and... it doesn't work? Hmm, maybe I didn't do it right. Try again. Still doesn't work. OK, I'll come back. Came back 5 minutes later, tried 10 more times... still didn't work. Basically, repeat that process 3 more times. Needless to say, I WAS NOT HAPPY. I had to go to PHOCUS in a short time so I didn't have time to run all over the building looking for an RA. Thank God for Wet Wipes. Yes, like a true, true college student I used Wet Wipes instead of a taking a shower.

Gross, I'm aware. Luckily one of my fellow PHOCUS members is an RA in Switlik so I got him to find out the new code for me. And it wasn't until later that night did MY RA decide to come by and be like, "Oh, the codes changed be-tee-dubs." THANKS. Either way, I know the code now, I helped out some girls that didn't know the code and life is content.

I'm heading out now to do some STUFF shopping with Kat and Laura. Hopefully I'll get some fun stuffs!