A Weekend Hike

This Saturday, my friend Michelle and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to New York to go hiking. For a while we’ve been talking about doing a day hike and finally got around to spending a day in the wilderness.

We decided to check out Minnewaska State Park Preserve. The drive there was about one and a half hours, not too bad. It was absolutely breathtaking and there were gorgeous lakes, views and trails.

Our main goal of the hike was to find a waterfall — I love looking at them, they remind me of Tuck Everlasting — so we spent the day following a black and white, unmarked map, wandering long trails and asking our fellow hikers for help.

Around noon we made it to Lake Awosting — still no waterfall — and decided to stop for lunch with a view. We decided to do it picnic style, so I packed a salad filled with a ton of veggies and beans and munched on some cherries with it!

Selfie!! We ended off going of the cleared pathways and explored some of the wooded trails and walked along a small stream. To cool off, we dipped our toes in the water. Michelle ended up diving in where the water was deep enough! At the end of the hike we finally reached Awosting Falls, which was actually in the other direction than where we were originally headed! This was by far the greatest site on park — it sort of looks like the Tuck Everlasting falls too, just a little smaller.

We spent about five hours there and hiked 11 miles! Even though I got a little sunburned, it was such a happy day and my body really needed the nature. I really want to take a few more day trips like this during the rest of the summer. Hopefully,  I can find a few hikes that are closer to Connecticut!

How did you spend your weekend? Where’s your favorite place to hike?

Half Marathon check in: 5 weeks away!

There’s five weeks until I run the Faxon Law Fairfield Half Marathon, which doesn’t seem like too much time to prepare considering I took a few weeks off for my injuring. I am trying to stick to my training schedule, but I find it difficult to keep running without stopping for the longer runs.

For me running is a complete state of mind. I know my body can keep pushing itself and go longer throughout the run, I just need to convince myself that. On my seven mile run today, I stopped WAY too many times when I knew I could keep going. This run was especially hard because its finally getting hot again in Connecticut, which made my normal route more difficult. I really just need to fight through it!

To get into the right mental state it know I’m going to have to cheer myself on in my head (“You got this Courtney!”) and by telling myself that I’ll take a break when I reach a certain point but actually go beyond it when I reach it. I know it sounds silly, but after I reach a milage with these tricks I’ll be able to do it later more naturally.

Next weeks training plan looks like this:

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 4 miles

Wednesday: 5 miles

Thursday: 6 miles

Friday: Cycle class

Saturday: 5 miles

Sunday: 8-10 miles??

I’m really tentative about my longer runs because I’m getting back into the training, so I’ll see what I’m up for the week before.

What do you do to get into the mental state for running?

Full speed ahead into training

My appointment with the pediatrist went really well. I found out I have tendinitis in my right foot, which is not happy, but the pain should go away in four weeks if I continue to ice it and not overwork it. I barely feel any pain and I’m super excited to get back into training — nine miles on Sunday!!

I also learned that I have high arches and need a more neutral shoe for support — meaning NEW SHOES! After my appointment I went to the Woodbridge Running Company to find the perfect pair. The guys who helped me has ran marathons before, so he knew his stuff, and recommended I get the GEL-Nimbus by Asics — my favorite brand. I found out my shoes have been too small and I needed to go a full size up, since our feet swell when we run.

I used the shoes on my run this morning and it made such a difference! My feet could breath and the run was much more stable, I just need to break them in a bit before they’re completely comfortable.

I only ran five miles instead of the six miles listed on the plan. Once again it was a little difficult and I don’t want to push myself too hard. I usually just roll out of bed and run, but with these longer runs I’m going to try and eat something an hour before so I have more energy to last me the entire time.

I refueled my run with another smoothie and Irish breakfast tea. Later today I was supposed to only go into work so I could figure out shift, instead I’ll be serving tonight as well. It’s been awhile, so I think they’ll give me a refresher, but I’m excited to start making bank again.

What do you eat to fuel and refuel for your workouts?

Easy-ish Mornings

When I rolled out of bed at 8 o’clock this morning, I decided it was time to get back into my half marathon training plan. Recently, I’ve been experiencing pain and swelling in my right heel (time to go to the doctor, I know), but it’s been feeling better since I switched to bigger shoes so I thought I’d give it a shot. Boy, it was rough.

I set out to do four miles — which is usually easy for me — and found myself struggling without as much energy or willpower I normally have and had to stop once to catch my breath. Although I have been exercising on the elliptical, there’s really nothing that compares to the hills and the pavement and it’s MUCH harder. I use the Nike Running app, so it was nice to hear one of the athletes give me some motivational words at the end of my run.

Later today, I’m going to the pediatrist to check out my foot (I’m also bowlegged and have duck feet, so I need that checked out too). If all goes well, I’m going to try and run again a tomorrow, which is supposed to be a six mile run.

After a hot shower with some T-Swift music blasting, I made myself a smoothie for breakfast with kale, frozen berries, pomegranate seeds, Juice Plus protein powder and almond milk with a side of Irish breakfast tea (I know it’s not winter, but I just love this candy can cup — it changes colors!).

As I type this post, I’m icing my foot just to assure that some of the swelling goes down to before I meet with the pediatrist. Wish me luck with my appointment!

A summer state of mind

Now I have finished all my finals, it marks the end of my sophomore year of college, which  means I’m halfway done with my college career (crazy, right?). It’s sad to leave the close friends I’ve made, my activities and the comfort of North Carolina for the summer, but I have some exciting things to look forward to. I will be interning at a local magazine and documentary company and, hopefully, will be babysitting and waitressing for some extra cash. I’ll be busy, but that’s the way I like it and I’ll get a ton of experience.

Although this year was filled with stress and some bumps, I really learned a lot about myself and what my priorities are, and right now I should be focused me. Over the course of the semester I stress ate, partied a little harder than I should have and lost the healthy mentality I once had. I want that back.

This summer will be a cleanse — of healthiness and of happiness. Without the temptations of late night CookOut, unknown dining hall foods or FOMO over exercise, I am ready to make a lifestyle change and feel better about myself. So I have set a few goals for myself:

• Avoid processed foods
• Stay away from sugar
• Keep my vegetarian diet and eat mostly plants
• Run a half marathon in under 2:00:00
• Be kind
• Love myself

By sticking to these goals I am hoping to feel better about myself, possibly lose a few pounds and be a role model for those around me.

What are your goals for the summer? What changes do you want to make?