So 10 hours of sleep is your secret? I've "got milk" and sleep - watch out Heidi Klum!
Good afternoon, my friends! Hope you’re enjoying your weekend! Do I sound a bit chipper to you?
You may remember a while back I did a post about the average hours celebrities sleep, based on an article from People. In short, Ryan Reynolds doesn’t sleep and Heidi Klum sleeps apparently an average of 10 hours a night. Something tells me Ms. Klum is exaggerating, but that is not the point of this post…
Guess what?! Last night I slept as much as Heidi Klum!
That’s right, I went to bed at 8:00! Well, okay, I watched Felicity (most underrated show ever) in bed for 1 hour and then fell asleep at 9:00. I’m anticipating a busy July at work, so I’m trying to fit in extra sleep whenever I can. This Sometimes Healthy Girl may be living in the city that never sleeps, but that doesn’t mean she can’t sneak in a few extra z’s every now and then.
A New Sometimes Healthy Girl
This morning, I woke up bright and early at 7 am feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to run! Sometimes I feel like the entire second half of my week is spent in a fog of tiredness, so it was a pleasant change to have a bit of energy this beautiful Saturday morning. Continue Reading →
In the great words of Bruno Mars, last night, “I didn’t feel like doing anythiiing. I just want(ed) to lay in my bed.”
Now don’t go getting all worried on me. There was no sadness, deep introspective thinking about the direction of my life or lack of motivation to go to the gym. I was just straight tired from staying up late to watch the Voice working sooo hard. Yet, despite running on only 3 Dunkin Donuts coffees and 5 hours of sleep, I still wanted to work out.
Thus, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum – I WANTED to workout but lacked the ENERGY to complete a quality workout.
While reading this month’s SELF magazine (cover to cover, per usual), I was very intrigued by a statement from their cover model, Zooey Deschanel:
“Everyone needs a theme song! It should make you feel like a million dollars.”
Nothing too profound – remember this Sometimes Healthy Blog doesn’t always run too deep. But nonetheless, I like her thinking. Shouldn’t we all have a soundtrack to our lives? Part of the reason I like running so much is that I get to listen to my music and pretend that I am awesome. There is no secret to my ability to run two hours on a treadmill. I just turn to the “Success is My Only Mother F**** Option” playlist on my ipod (quote from Eminem song – yes, I know, it’s classy) visualize my future full of awesomeness and zone out.
My Theme Song
Zooey’s theme song is “Friends of Mine” by the Zombies. Never heard it, but I’ll have to give it a spin. My “life theme song” certainly changes with my mood, but for the purposes of this exercise, I’ll pick one: Continue Reading →
Gather round fellow bloggers, readers/family members and immediate friends. It’s time for me to share a little story with you about a rambunctious little Sometimes Healthy child. I already did a little high school reminiscing with you earlier this week, so why not go a little further back to the days where cell phones were a rarity (only Zach Morris and VIP’s owned them) and Happy Meals were just another food group on the pyramid. Of course, I wouldn’t just share a childhood story with you for kicks…it has a point.
However, you’ll have to read through it to get there. So make yourself comfortable, cook up some oats in a jar or some egg muffins and come with me on a little journey back to Omaha circa 1995.
It All Started with a Horse
You’d probably be absolutely shocked to learn that I was quite the energetic little child. Not only did I run my mouth a lot, but I couldn’t sit still. Therefore, my parents had to place me in every sport imaginable before I’d get tired of it and move on to the next. From gymnastics to soccer and softball, I pretty much tried everything…I even had a few weeks in there where is was taking a class called “Hammer Dance.” (It’s okay to picture this and laugh at me right now- I won’t be offended). Continue Reading →
This is exactly the phrase I repeated to myself over and over throughout the day as I psyched myself up for a killer run. As you know, I’ve been suffering from a mild case of Runner’s Block lately. It’s not surprising. I think marathon runners often struggle a little bit to regain the motivation after the big race (unless you’re a smart little runner who anticipates Runner’s Block in advance!).
I’ve been running at least four days a week, but the pace is pretty slow, and the mileage is pretty weak. Bad little runner girl! I find myself getting frustrated during my runs as I attempt to increase the speed or push a little further. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t get in the zone. Even my good friends Kanye and Eimnem aren’t doing the trick. In other words: I’m just not enjoying it.
So tonight, I told myself to stop THINKING about it and Just Run. I suppose this little mantra wasn’t that unique…merely an altered version of a little known phrase: Just Do It.
Ever heard of it?
Anyway with my iPod fully charged and my brain turned off, I set out to run until my body wanted to stop. Pace, distance and time were irrelevant -it was all about getting in the zone, switching to cruise control and enjoying the ride.
And what do ya know? It worked. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt damn good. In the end, I ran for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. I stopped to take some pics and do some tricep dips along the way so not completely sure of the time. Distance? I have no idea. Somewhere in the double digits range. Pace? Not too fast, not too slow, but just right.
I ran 20 minutes to my favorite spot in the city, the Lower East Side track. It’s what I like to call my special spot. I think I may have been a hamster in another life because I could literally run in circles (with good music) for hours without a problem. But, scenery like this is a bonus. I probably completed over 6 miles on this little track tonight…Not sure though, I wasn’t keeping track 😉
track + city skyline + male soccer players = runner's heaven
So What is a Perfect Run?
Sometimes I think it’s hard to put a perfect run into words – you don’t think it, you just feel it. For me Pearl Jam’s, “Given to Fly” feels like a perfect run. It’s not necessarily the lyrics of the song, but the way the music takes me to another place when I’m in the middle of one of those “magical” runs.
Want to know what it feels like? Click on the YouTube video below. I compiled some of my NYC running pictures together and set them to “Given to Fly.” I thought it would be a cool way to show what a perfect run feels like for me: Forget pace, forget distance, forget time – JUST RUN. Check it out (this is far from a professional video – in fact, it is the opposite):
A legendary, persuasive piece of soft and comfy furniture that tempts otherwise Type A individuals to stray from their normal routine to watch television, steal some extra sleep or simply engage in excessive bouts of laziness; Note: Said monster is not the same as the infamous Cookie Monster – however, the two sometimes work together to really throw a Sometimes Healthy Girl off her routine 😉
The Couch Monsta!
I’ve decided that every Wednesday will now be “Word Up Wednesday” where I’ll devote a post to a “new” word of the day. I’m borrowing the concept from Steven Colbert’s “The Word” segment. I’m sure he’s okay with it, provided I’m giving him credit. In an ideal word, one of my word creations will catch on in the same way Truthiness captured the nation. Here’s to hopin’ 😉
A feeling of covetousness, longing and admiration with regards to your co-worker’s mid-day meal
“Lunch envy” was rampant here in the office today. Word got out about my Around the World Egg Muffins and no fuss sweet potato hash browns and everyone wanted a taste. Apparently 17 muffins wasn’t enough 😉
Delicious leftovers served on a beautiful paper plate
While they tasted delish all warm and steamy last night, I must say I prefer them cold. The flavors really set in overnight, especially with the Mexicali. Yummy! The Denver Muffin even tasted better today. I nibbled on the sweet potato hash browns all morning but still left a few for lunch. Again, these were even better today, because I could really taste that cinnamon and sugar. I really think that Egg Muffins may surpass pizza as best-tasting cold leftovers 😉
The Morning Tune-Up
This morning I switched it up a bit and met with a trainer at my gym for a little “tune-up.” Obviously, as a New Yorker who works in PR, I cannot afford to go to a trainer very often. Continue Reading →
I had a great post planned for today. Let’s just say it involved the great outdoors. But then mother nature intervened….
Rainy big city
Oh April Showers – how dare you interrupt my exciting plans? But, alas, it was a rainy day in the Big Apple, so I needed to motivate myself to brave the windy rain and head to the gym for a run. Continue Reading →
Am I the only one that finds it absolutely fascinating to glimpse into other people’s morning routines? There is something so intriguing to me in learning about how someone else balances it all in the AM. Julie’s routine, for instance, amazes me nearly every day. That girl fits in so much in a short span of time! Gym, dog walking, making an attractive and tasty breakfast, and finally making herself look fabulous (although I doubt it takes much ;-)). Please read her post for tips on streamlining the routine, because let me tell ya, I still haven’t figured it out!
My interest in reading about her routine led me to believe some might be interested in the typical morning for a 20-something New York girl who TRIES to be healthy. Please note: Today’s routine does not always happen. There are many days where I get home too late to wake up at such an early hour or days that I just don’t feel like waking up. Also, when I do fit it in, I’m generally 10-15 minutes behind schedule and running around frantically. But, here’s how it all went down this morning….Continue Reading →
When I have guests here in NYC, it is very important for me to show them a good time (and prepare my apartment). After all, this IS the greatest city in the world, so it is my job to make sure they experience it. It is a lot of pressure. I don’t want to let my great city down 🙂
First off, on Friday we went out to dinner in the West Village. We decided we’d just wander around until we found a good place. Unfortunately, while not planning dinner can sometimes lead to some hidden gems, it can also lead to some misses….
