May The Fourth ... Be With You

Sorry, I had to go there. Can I tell you how long it took me to figure out why I kept seeing "May the Fourth be With You" everywhere? Oh, from about 9:30 a.m., when my favorite daily blog, Cake Wrecks, gets posted until around 3:30 p.m. "Who decided it was Star Wars Day, why is it today, and why are people posting this like they have a lisp?" Clearly I'm a huge follower of Star Wars, seeing as how I've never seen any of the movies. It's the one with the guy with the pointy ears, right? Ooooh, just kidding.

Well, the Force must have been with me today, on May fourth, because I just had an excellent run. WOOHOO! "Holidaaaaay. Celebraaaaate." (Name that movie for 10 points.) I just knew I would be rewarded for my two lunchless days of work and missing all the beautiful weather we've been having. My time has come.

I ran at Veterans Park again today. I shy away from this one because I think the total track is just a hair over one mile, and I'm afraid to disappoint myself when I don't finish two laps in the same amount of time that I finish at Juilfs. Oh well, today I went for it anyway because I didn't want to run hills. And I'm glad I went. I got to see the only flying animal I really like: ducks. "Quack, quack, quack, Mr. Ducksworth."

Here are some shots of Veterans, because my pal, Rob, told me I should post pictures. (Hi Rob!)

Such a pretty day!

One of these days I'll ask some paparazzi to get a shot of me dying/running. I promise.

Anyway, not only did I finish in a spot that was farther than I did previously, I extended one of my runs with very little suffering AND added two mini runs during my cool-down. I don't know people, but I think I may only have another week or two left before I can try to bump up to Week 3. YIKES! Now that's frightening!

Frankly, I'm shocked I did so well. I haven't run for an entire week. How does that work out for you? Do you run better after a little break or when you keep a steady every-other-day-ish workout schedule?

Oh, and I need a little info from my veg head friends. I'm getting kind of peeved with people that ask about my protein needs. The Skinny Bitch writers stand pretty firm by saying we don't need nearly as much protein as Americans generally eat. Thoughts? How much protein do you eat? Do you feel like you have to pay special attention to it? How do you ward off protein-questioning skeptics?

Next run should be Thursday since most of my schedule fluctuations have been taken care of. Fingers crossed.

I'll leave you with this photo:

I had to primer the walls in the bedroom of my old apartment.
So, I took the opportunity to do a little branding. Silly, but fun.

Vegetarian Woes: I WANT MEAT!

So, like any proud round girl, one of my favorite televisions shows is on the Food Network: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

Guy Fieri, my hero. Along with Anthony Bourdain, of course.

Anyway, I watched an episode this weekend for the first time in ages, and it was hard. There was meat. Juicy, saucy meat ... on bread ... with stuff on it. Drooool.

Needless to say, this weekend was rough. I've encountered just a few of these rough days so far in my adventures in vegetarianism, and yikes, what a challenge! In fact, this weekend was so difficult for me, I started worrying about my ability to keep this up. Can I stay a vegetarian? And, if not, how long should I do it? Should I set a goal for myself? The lamest part is that I do still eat meat -- it's called fish. Fish is not a hamburger. Fish is not a hot dog. Fish is NOT boneless buffalo wings. And meatless pepperoni is not pepperoni. (Surely someone has simply added pepperoni spices to some soy protein, WITHOUT the nasty fake meat flavor and liquid smoke I hate so much. Blech!)

Sadly, I haven't talked to my doctor about this diet decision yet, and I'm curious about what she'll say. Surely she'll just be glad I'm paying attention to what I'm eating at all. I'm paying attention to how much protein I'm digesting, but am I paying enough attention?

Just some (vegetarian) food for thought. I'll post more later on this topic. But now, I must move my crap from one apartment to the next. Toodles!

In the Beginning ...

Well, this is it. I think it’s time to start the blog that I’ve been waiting to write. I’ve been itching to get myself established in the blogging world for some time now, but haven’t found the topic that would be worthy of my time and yours. But I think this is it.

With that, welcome to my blog, More to Love Running.

My name is Beckey and I recently started running. What’s the big deal, right? There are running blogs spattered all over the Internet, few of them more special than the next. The big deal this: I’m what MySpace flippantly refers to as “more to love,” or what the fashion world calls “plus sized,” or what old ladies in this country call big boned, heavy set or plump. Meat on the bones, junk in the trunk, squishy, fluffy, stout. My doctor calls it “obese.” Ick! Sounds horrifying. Whatever you want to call it, the truth is I’m fat, and how often do you see fat people running, enjoying it and sticking to it.

I haven’t decided how much information to disclose at this point, mostly because I’m embarrassed. The only people in the world who truly know my stats are my doctors, my former trainers, people who are really good at guessing and me. I will say this much, though: I’ll be 30 years old in 18 months and I don’t want to enter a new decade the way I am now. I’m 5’10” and, as I said before, medically obese (Blech! Yuck! Boo!), but I “carry it well.” I’m not a full-blown couch potato. I love being active; I just don’t do it as much as I should. I also love food and eat more of it than I should. I’m knowledgeable about nutrition and enjoy healthy foods, but I like the bad stuff too. Sound familiar?

Here comes the tricky part. I’m not one to set hard, fast goals for myself. Never in a million years would I say, “I want to lose X pounds by X date.” It’s not my style. I don’t like to set myself up for failure. However, I did recently commit to one extreme diet change and started enjoying a form of strenuous exercise.

Hello. I’m Beckey. I’m a vegetarian and I just fell in love with running.

“Hi, Beckey!” Go ahead and clap if you want.

Thank you, thank you. Okay, whew. That was tough.

This being the first installment of a blog that will hopefully live long and prosper, I don’t want to go spouting off into too much detail. I have a huge list of topics I would like to explore and I’ll save them for later. I do feel there are a few things to say right off the bat.

First, allow me to define a few key terms as they will be used in this blog from this point forward:

• Vegetarian – I eat fish, I avoid milk and eggs, and I’m suffering with a decision about cheese
• “Running” – Used lightly to refer to the earth-pounding mini-strides I take in VERY short doses between long stretches of walking and wheezing like a freight train

Also, I’ll probably refer to these two things frequently, but here’s what you need to know:

• The Couch to 5K Running Program (C25K) – This is it, folks. This is the genius step-up running program that started the mania. I’ve been following the plan for a little over a month now and I’m doing well. Yes, I stretched the first week into a first month, but I’m moving at my own pace and the future is bright.
• Skinny Bitch – I got this book for Christmas this year and it’s a big reason I decided to become a vegetarian. It’s not the sole reason, and I’m certainly not following the authors’ suggestions rigidly, but it’s been a great resource so far.

Finally, I’m sarcastic. I don’t know how much more I need to justify that, but consider yourself forewarned.

That’s it for now, folks. I appreciate your time and I look forward to sharing my journey with you! Please check back soon.