I turned 30 last weekend.
The impending 30th birthday has loomed down on me for the second half of 29. OMG 30!!! REAL ADULTHOOD!!!
I celebrated down in San Diego with a mish-mash of people that I love. It was nuts because Comic Con was happening the same weekend as well. Chiara and her husband came out! And after they left everyone else said "who was that girl she was really cool." No joke. Here we are at the W being classy. I even put on a semi-skanky dress for the occasion!
I may write a whole post about looking back to my 20s if I can think of anything insightful but for right now, I'm just happy to be 30. And why not? In the words of Tim McGraw, "The Next 30 Years Will Be The Best Years Of My Life".
I'm getting larger.
Apparently getting older also means a slower metabolism. I went to the doctor this week and I've gained a good seven pounds since my appointment last year. No, it's not muscle. Granted, I'm not even close to overweight but very few women (myself included) I know are happy to see the scale go up. I've been trying to eat more intuitively in the past couple months, but this strategy doesn't work because I'm a fat kid who loves to eat at heart.
"WHY YES I WILL HAVE SECONDS OF THAT!!!".
I'm also confused as to what to do about it. On one hand, I don't really care. I don't think I look bad (in fact sometimes it's nice to be less sinewy), but I'd like to get back to where I was before. I also don't really want to haul around extra weight at races. I'm trying to eat more healthily and hope that that it just slides off. This is tough because I freaking love food. Especially things like red meat, cheese, and ice cream. Oy.
A Time Trial...ish...
I was planning to run the San Francisco Half Marathon in two weeks but now I might not be available to do it. We'll see, but some things from Anthony's side came up and so I may be busy that weekend.
On one hand I'm really disappointed because I was looking forward to it. On the other hand, my training has been pretty sub par for a distance event, so maybe it's for the best.
I also figure it's time to get back to the 5k revolution. I just signed up for one this weekend AND I decided to try to build some confidence this morning:
This morning, I time trialed myself on the treadmill to see if breaking 20 is even possible. It is!
Yeah yeah...I know it doesn't count. The treadmill might be off-pace, I only had it on 1% incline (1.5% is probably more accurate at this speed). Hell, maybe I just let the treadmill run for 20 minutes while I stood by it and did some stretches and then took a pic.
And...I'm just faster on treadmills. I don't know why, just am. I think it's because the weather is great on them, there are no hills, and all you have to do is just run. No worrying about pace.
But if I can break 20 on this machine, maybe I can have the confidence to do it on the road soon.
3.1 x 6:25 = 19:56. Sweet.
Yay Happy Birthday! Love the red dress!!! You look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday fellow 30 year old, and you look great in that dress! I stayed at the W the only time I went to SD :)
ReplyDeleteThe whole weight issue got me too. I've been gaining weight during marathon training, and I'm not over weight by any means- but I decided for this current marathon I'd try to lose some weight. Maybe like 10 lbs from where I was at because I also felt I have some extra weight holding me back. 6 weeks into training I've lost about 5 lbs. mainly through portion control and running 45-55 miles a week.. I no longer eat everything in sight post 19 miler and I'm noticing differences in how I feel (mainly) and a bit how I look. It's going to be difficult to determine if the weight loss really impacted my times since there are far too many variables involved- the main one being that I was never consistent with training until now- so of course I expect my times to drop significantly.
And dude. That sub 20 5k is blazingly fast! I hope in my old age I can run that fast some day! I've done tread mill time trials and have run very similar if not slightly faster times in actual road races. If you can pace yourself properly I see no reason why you can't do that time on the road. :)
Happy birthday!!! I will crap my pants with excitement when you break 20. I could offer words of wisdom about gaining weight, but all I can say is that I now look back on myself three years ago when I was like, "wah, I'm fat" and want to smack myself because I am heavier now than then. So I'm trying to not repeat that now. Oh and I also try to eat less junk. Yay.
ReplyDeleteHappy 30th Birthday Bunny!!!
ReplyDeleteHoly moly that's crazy that you can run that fast on a treadmill. I can never come close to running as fast on a treadmill as I can during a race. I think the competition of other runners gets my adrenaline going and gives me that extra push. I'm also deathly afraid of tripping and falling while running all out on the treadmill.
I think you look great in your red party dress.
Thanks! Yeah I feel like people are one way or the other as far as treadmills.
DeleteWOW! I absolutely love your dress :D I'm just about to turn 20, I hope my birthday goes as well as yours!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! 20 is a big one :)
DeleteMaybe it's just me, but speedwork on the treadmill always feels so, SO much harder than speedwork outside. From where I'm standing, to be able to crank out 19:56 on a treadmill like it ain't no thang indicates good things to come in your 5K life. Hope you get a fun opportunity to test it out soon!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY 30th gorgeous girl!! Um...19:56 on the treadmill? You are out of control! I actually run faster outside for some reason?!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sad I missed the birthday weekend extravaganza! How cute is Chacha?? And, hey, slightly-slutty-red-dress.
ReplyDeleteSad you won't be at SFM. Boo.
I run better on the treadmill - running outside almost never feels easy to me, but the treadmill feels effortless. Lame.
You are so overdue to break 20:00 in the 5K. If you race enough of them it'll happen - there are too many variances with course length, tangents, wind, hills, etc, that, IMO, it's hard to predict or expect to happen on any given day. I am having this same aggravation with 22:00. Effing 22:05. Stupid. I think I'm going to attempt 2-3 in the next couple months because I know it's doable.
ReplyDeleteRelieved everyone liked me well enough - sometimes (often?) I think I am self-centered and talk only about myself. Ha!
i totally agree with chacha, just cause u haven't broken the 20mins in the last few months of training isn't bc u got worse or "gained" 7lbs or haven't trained hard enough. there are just too many factors, it's not that linear of a relationship. one day it's all just gonna come together!
DeleteHaha I know I know...
DeleteI'm right there with you on the sub-20 5k. I always get so close I can taste it, but then just end up eating ice cream for dessert with my 20+ results.
ReplyDeleteHey treadmill stud. I always find that tough treadmill workouts lead to strong workouts. They force me to run harder than I do outside where I let my mind wander....part of why I hate treadmills. Hard work
ReplyDeletesoo true!! :)
DeletePS there is NO way that you gained 7lbs! Are you sure you didn't just wear some really embellished jeans, with metal spikes and studs to weight u down?
ReplyDeletehahahaha. it must be the embellished jeans! But that is true, those dr scales are so random. and time of day and water intake, etc. that number should be taken with a grain of salt. most importantly, numbers do not define beauty! (yes, I know, all this running physics stuff, whatever)
DeleteDangit you're right. I was wearing several pounds of spikes! Yeah I mean...I suspect it's more like 5, but I should eat healthier. It's not going to kill me to stop going through a half gallon of icecream every few days for a bit.
DeleteI know you CAN break 20:00 in the 5k my friend. You WILL do it sooon!! :) When you do it we'll celebrate at yogurtland k?! "hello kitty" theme is back right now! I'm collecting all of the different spoons. My son just told me to make sure that I don't give him the "hello kitty" spoons in his lunchbox when he goes back to school. lol! :) anywaysss...
ReplyDeletewelcome to a new age group!! 30-34! 7 xtra lbs. looks good on you. the last time I saw you I actually thought you looked thinner. :)
love the pic of you & Chiara! love that her eyes are OPEN!! :) xo
btw are you going to run OC fair 5k next mo? I just registered this a.m. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the sub 20 3.1 even if it was on a treadmill. The fact that you did it means that it's possible again ....in a real race!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday FB! Go rock the 5k!!!
ReplyDeleteThe sub-20 is there...you just need to unleash it. As for the weight thing...I've dealt with that aging weight change thing a couple of times. I have some ideas for you, if you're interested. But talking with people about food and weight is always kind of dicey...especially when you don't hear what you want ;-) And THIRTY!!!!!!! Fucking A, girl! Thirty is super fun. I remember that even though it was, like, 20 years ago :P
ReplyDeleteBelated HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (but I think I hit you on FB) anyway...fun to keep saying it :)
I'm slowly back-reading your blog and had to step in and say a late Happy Birthday! The 30s truly are The Best (so far--I hear good things about the 40s, too).
ReplyDeleteMy first metabolism wall hit at around 29/30, too, and I'm facing down another one right now. I think they move in decades. If XLMIC sent you tips on dealing with this, I'd love to hear them too (maybe I'll even email her myself). It depresses me that all the 50-plus women I work with who have maintained decent weights seem to eat like birds. I like my seconds and my ice cream too. My one consolation is that none of them run.
You can do a sub-20 5K. I know it.