portrait-photo

This started as my journey from the Couch to Half Marathon. I ran my first half marathon on September 18, 2011.

Now, it has morphed into my journey to a happy and healthy lifestyle - running, eating well, learning to love myself and my life!

Name: Amanda
Age: 25
Height: 5'4.5"

Things I like: soccer. sleeping in. days off from work. the ocean. my boyfriend. the color pink. Philadelphia. October. Christmas. the first snowfall. oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. flowers.

A sample of food for the day. Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy Yogi Tea - yummy and reminds me of fall!Gala Apple - mid morning snackSpiced Wafers - 3 cookies a serving, to go with my Amy’s Spinach Lasagna Frozen Dinner for lunch. Cliff Z Bar - mid afternoon snack, if I need it And of course WATER! You know that weight loss/getting healthier is like, mostly food related?  Yeah, I know that too.  But knowing and doing are two completely different things.  Soooo here’s to DOING!  Quote for today:  “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

A sample of food for the day.
Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy Yogi Tea - yummy and reminds me of fall!
Gala Apple - mid morning snack
Spiced Wafers - 3 cookies a serving, to go with my Amy’s Spinach Lasagna Frozen Dinner for lunch.
Cliff Z Bar - mid afternoon snack, if I need it

And of course WATER!

You know that weight loss/getting healthier is like, mostly food related?  Yeah, I know that too.  But knowing and doing are two completely different things.  Soooo here’s to DOING! 

Quote for today: 

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

(via mc-beast)

"I always loved running…it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs."

— Jesse Owens

"To a runner, a side stich is like a car alarm. It signifies something is wrong, but you ignore it until it goes away."

— Anonymous

Funny Marathon Spectator Signs

Had a good laugh at some of these!

runningwithguts: ourtimetochange: A few words on pace… When I first started running back in February, I really got hung up on pace.  But the truth is that beating myself up over that is quite silly and pointless.  I would compare myself to others that I knew to see if I was faster or slower.  None of that matters.  We are all on different journeys.  Is it fair to compare my speed to someone who is now in their first month of getting healthy and trying to exercise?  Is it fair for them to compare their speed to those who have never struggled with weight and always been fast? This has been really bothering me ever since I read a comment on a local social media site with a group geared toward runners.  In a discussion about a race which involved various corals, a runner made a comment about one of the slower corals, and labeled it the “Doughnut Brigade”.  Such arrogance and thoughtlessness repulsed me.  I am sure there were plenty of people in that coral who were excited to be running at all, excited to be losing weight, excited to be getting healthy, excited to be alive.  To be judged and packaged so quickly by someone who has always been thin and naturally a fast runner saddened me.   It seems like I tend to have more respect for those who are slower but had to work harder to get where they are than for someone who has always been able to just hit the ground and run fast. Your pace in running is much like your weight with regards to getting healthy.  Sure, if you are getting healthy, getting on the scale is one measurement of your progress.  But it is not the end all be all.  You have so many other factors to consider.  So why can we not apply that to running?  Yes, your pace is a great indicator, but what about your weight, your age, how long you have been running, terrain, what you ate, what you drank, etc., etc.   I have since stopped worrying about what my pace is compared to others.  My only comparison is with my previous runs and if I am getting better or not. If you feel like you are slow, who cares?  You are still running.  Yes, you are a runner, regardless of whether you do it fast or not.  You are still covering the same distance.  You are still out there making yourself a better version of you.  Whether it is a 14 minute mile or a 7 minute mile, IT IS STILL A MILE! Only compare yourself to yourself. And even then, do it in moderation. I still have a hard time not comparing my pace to my pre-tendon injury pace, even though I know it’s not fair to myself to do so. Just go run and have some fun. This is just what I needed to hear before tomorrow’s long run.  My half marathon is in four weeks and I know I’ll have to keep referencing this post.  Running is all about you - not the other people on the track. A mile is a mile.  Reminds me of this quote: “I often hear someone say I’m not a real runner. We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner.” -Bart Yasso

runningwithguts:

ourtimetochange:

A few words on pace…

When I first started running back in February, I really got hung up on pace.  But the truth is that beating myself up over that is quite silly and pointless.  I would compare myself to others that I knew to see if I was faster or slower. 

None of that matters.  We are all on different journeys.  Is it fair to compare my speed to someone who is now in their first month of getting healthy and trying to exercise?  Is it fair for them to compare their speed to those who have never struggled with weight and always been fast?

This has been really bothering me ever since I read a comment on a local social media site with a group geared toward runners.  In a discussion about a race which involved various corals, a runner made a comment about one of the slower corals, and labeled it the “Doughnut Brigade”.  Such arrogance and thoughtlessness repulsed me.  I am sure there were plenty of people in that coral who were excited to be running at all, excited to be losing weight, excited to be getting healthy, excited to be alive.  To be judged and packaged so quickly by someone who has always been thin and naturally a fast runner saddened me.   It seems like I tend to have more respect for those who are slower but had to work harder to get where they are than for someone who has always been able to just hit the ground and run fast.

Your pace in running is much like your weight with regards to getting healthy.  Sure, if you are getting healthy, getting on the scale is one measurement of your progress.  But it is not the end all be all.  You have so many other factors to consider.  So why can we not apply that to running?  Yes, your pace is a great indicator, but what about your weight, your age, how long you have been running, terrain, what you ate, what you drank, etc., etc.   I have since stopped worrying about what my pace is compared to others.  My only comparison is with my previous runs and if I am getting better or not.

If you feel like you are slow, who cares?  You are still running.  Yes, you are a runner, regardless of whether you do it fast or not.  You are still covering the same distance.  You are still out there making yourself a better version of you.  Whether it is a 14 minute mile or a 7 minute mile, IT IS STILL A MILE!

Only compare yourself to yourself. And even then, do it in moderation.

I still have a hard time not comparing my pace to my pre-tendon injury pace, even though I know it’s not fair to myself to do so.

Just go run and have some fun.

This is just what I needed to hear before tomorrow’s long run.  My half marathon is in four weeks and I know I’ll have to keep referencing this post.  Running is all about you - not the other people on the track. A mile is a mile. 

Reminds me of this quote:

“I often hear someone say I’m not a real runner. We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner.” -Bart Yasso

That’s what Tumblr is for!

That’s what Tumblr is for!

(Source: believe-toachieve, via believe-toachieve)

getfitgetskinny: Running’s a mental game.

getfitgetskinny:

Running’s a mental game.

(via runsonveg)

The audio was used for a Versus commercial, but I much prefer the images that whoever did this used. I watched this a few times before my run yesterday & I believe it definitely helped.  Then I watched it again before bed.

Like I said, this isn’t actually a Nike commercial, but it could be. Nike has some of the most inspirational ads ever.

And Explosions in the Sky has to be one of the best bands out there. In fact, my boyfriend & I are going to see them in October!