50 States in 5 Years

Today is my 25th birthday and tomorrow is the San Francisco marathon, my second full marathon. Just like every time I'm about to run a race, I have the race jitters. When you're about to run a race, there are about a million things running through your head-- have you've trained enough? Are you prepared for everything? Do you have the right clothes, enough bandaids, Gatorade, and Gu (flavored, nutrient-filled vaseline-like substance)? Are you're going to make it? Then right before the race, there's this calm that comes over you, all the doubts go away. You just push it all out of your mind, shut up, and run. I'm waiting for the calm to come tomorrow morning.

Training Run (20 miles) Before and After the run.

Like most race runners-- I'm highly addicted to the rush I get from crossing the finish line. Each time, I find myself thinking of the next race I want to run.


My next goal, is to run a race, half marathon or marathon, in each of the 50 states before I turn 30. I've been planning this goal for a while now. Luckily, there are these running events put on by running groups such as Mainly Marathons that runners can hit 7 races, 7 states, in 7 days. I'm hoping to knock at least a couple states off my list that way.


Although I have big running goals, I'm hoping that I have enough money to get to and run races in all 50 states. Races are pricey-- ranging from $40-250 per race plus the cost of hotels and food. But, I figure that I better do this while I'm young. There's a saying that I absolutely love: There will come a day when I will not longer be able to run, my body will give out, my knees will give up, my mind won't be quite so sharp, and my body will be laid to rest, but today is not that day. Today, I will run.


So tomorrow, as I run across the Golden Gate Bridge, for a bit I hope to stop thinking about my journey here-- all the training, preparation, and planning that goes into a marathon and my future with all the races I plan to run. During my marathon, I will remain present in mind and lay the future and past aside as I run in the moment. Here's to 25 years on this earth, today, and the upcoming years-- I will to strive to make them the best.

How to Eat like a Marathon Running Weight Watcher

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a food addict. I like shopping for, prepping, cooking, and most importantly eating food. I used to think that to be healthy, I would need to cut out all the sugar, carbs, chocolate, fat or whatever the latest diet trend of the day happened to be. So I'd spend one day eating salad (no dressing), yogurt, and a tick-tac for dessert and the next day I'd eat everything in the house and an entire bag of Reeses.


When I finally joined Weight Watchers, I realized that I really could eat any food that I wanted as long as I ate it in moderation. So I still go to seafood buffets because they are my absolute favorite but I start with broccoli, mushrooms, and salads before I move onto the buttery, shell-fish heaven on a plate. This helps me to savor the main course but still get the food that I want. Another plus is that I'm still eating with everyone else and no sitting there drooling and dreaming about having just one more plate. I can still stay within my WW points range too.

In order to be able to run for 5+ miles, it is so important to eat. You really have to eat the right foods too or you'll end up in a port-a-potty, praying, and crossing the finish line 20 minutes later than your pace group. So my biggest tip when people ask me for eating advice is to eat TONS, like literally tons, of fruits and vegetables.

Add Vegetable to Everything
I add vegetables to every single meal in some way. When we eat spaghetti, I put grilled mushrooms on top. I should own stock in the Steamables frozen food bags, my freezer is stocked to the brim with snow peas, broccoli, mixed vegetables, and whatever other veggies look good to me. Especially during the school year, I'm too tired to cut and cook veggies so sometimes I buy them already and that really makes it more convenient to eat more vegetables.

This is a quick lunch for me. I sauté peppers (prepackaged and cut), add balsamic vinaigrette, and mushrooms. Heat a wrap for about 10 sec. in the microwave then add cheese. 

I've even convinced Thomas to do meatless Mondays with me. I make a vegetable as the main dish, my absolute favorite being Poor Man's Crab cakes, a recipe from Clyde Howard's Farm, they're made out of zucchini and taste exactly like crab cakes. I make a remoulade to go on top too.




Snack on Fruits 
Snacking on fruits throughout the day has saved me so many times from afternoon, boredom hunger. I normally have apples, oranges, and bananas in the house at all times then I add in season berries, peaches, etc. You can also try putting extra fruit like strawberries or raspberries in smoothies to bulk up the recipe and add extra fruit goodness.


To eat like a marathon running Weight Watcher, you should try to fill up on fruits and vegetables. Fats, carbs, and protein are important too but it can be scary, especially for a Weight Watcher, to add those at first. There are plenty of recipes to make vegetables and fruits taste great. Share your favorite recipes in the comment section so that we can all try new ways to get fruits and veggies into our diet.