Volunteer Opportunities with We Run This City Youth Marathon Program!!!

 I am very excited about an upcoming opportunity to volunteer for the We Run This City Youth Marathon Program. This program offers youth from the Cleveland Municipal School District the opportunity to participate in the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon.  I first became familiar with this program when I ran the 10K in 2010. I ran with a couple of my friends and we all noticed this group of children who ran, laughed and had fun together. We also noticed that they were great competitors.  I later met Tara Taylor, the director for this program through social media and found her to be a warm, genuine person. She truly cares about the children that she works with. She has a desire to teach these children lessons that will transform them into runners and even greater humans. She and her staff work hard to teach life skills and reinforce positive values that are taught at home.  They are currently preparing for this year’s Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon and they are looking for volunteers. Volunteer opportunities include cheering, working at registration tables, running with the students and many, many more. If you are interested in assisting, your help would be greatly appreciated!!! For more information feel free to contact Sheena Tsai at sxt278@case.edu.  

From frozen to fresh in a matter of days...

The most awesome fridge ever!!

     Prior to last year I was a believer in buying in bulk. I frequented our local BJs about twice a month. I kept our freezer stocked with meats, fruits, veggies and frozen snacks. I decided that I wanted to stop consuming frozen foods in such high quantities. I knew that eating healthier would translate to awesometastic abs and improved health and ultimately improved running times. The change was difficult due to a lack of space in my refrigerator. I own a deep freeze and almost half of the refrigerator space was a freezer. It was so much easier to buy frozen! I decided to buy a refrigerator with no freezer.  I wanted  to have more space for fresh foods. I searched for a couple of months for the perfect refrigerator. I kept finding them with wire shelves and I wanted glass shelves. I finally found a Frigidaire brand refrigerator with glass shelves and crisper drawers. I bought the refrigerator but had to wait a couple weeks for it to arrive. In the  meantime, we used up all the foods in the upstairs freezer. When the new fridge arrived, there was so much room in it!!! We immediately went shopping for fresh meats, veggies and fruits. We have not purchased any frozen pizzas, pizza rolls, meat or vegetables since that time. We still have a deep freezer but have not filled it like we used to do. There have been no Market Day purchases and no frozen food hauls from BJs or GFS. At this point, the only foods in our deep freezer are frozen fish and frozen fruits for smoothies. 

     I made other changes that were not related to the fridge. During previous school years, I bought snacks galore for the Joes lunches. These snacks included but were not limited to yogurt, granola bars, applesauce in cups, chips, juices or sports drinks, packaged crackers and fruit snacks. Despite my many attempts to make the snacks last for a specified amount of time, the biggest Joe managed to scarf them down in a matter of days and this would lead to arguments and me pulling my hair out. The snack that pushed me over the edge was a box of 48 granola bars. Big Joe managed to demolish this box in 2 days. I was livid!!!! I decided that this school year would be different. I have been paying for lunches at the beginning of the month and buying fruits and vegetables for snacks at home. I still buy pretzels in bulk and the littlest Joe is a baking sensation so there are always some baked goodies around. I also have less stress about disappearing lunch snacks!!!

     The last change that we have made is meal planning. I experimented with it a couple of months ago and it has stuck. The difference now is that The Joes are more involved in the plan. The littlest Joe controls our kitchen calendar because she has the neatest handwriting. She also plans out meals on our calendar. She usually does it when we are all around and she accepts input from everyone. The biggest Joe is focused on gaining weight for football so he wants protein, protein and more protein. His suggestions are all chicken, tuna, eggs etc. The littlest Joe is rather bossy though, so, she makes a lot of decisions about what we will be eating.  When the meals are planned, we plan according to what we want to eat AND what each of us wants to cook. It seems to be working well. The littlest Joe cooks a lot. The biggest Joe likes for us to cook for him. Sharing the cooking responsibilities is one thing we need to work on.  I buy fresh groceries according to our weekly menu and waste very little food with this plan. I am very pleased that we are taking big steps towards eating clean and being healthier people. I am also excited that the Joes understand that what they put into their bodies effects their performances as athletes.

A new year of running

Happy New Year!! I am very excited to announce that I have been chosen again to be an official blogger for the Cleveland Rite Aid Marathon. I ran the 10K last year and decided this year to challenge myself and run the half. I ran my first half in 2012. A friend of mine (Nikaeda, the running diva)  told me about an inexpensive half in Youngstown and it seemed like a good idea to sign up. I ran the Mill Creek Classic in Youngstown, Ohio. If you have ever run this, you know that this is a ridiculously difficult race. No one warned me. My only goal for this race was to not walk. I wanted to be able to say that I RAN a half and mean it. I ran with a partner and we completed the race in 2 hours and 48 minutes. I am so proud to say that I did not walk a step. I would like to run the Rite Aid Cleveland Half Marathon in May. My goals for that race are to not walk and to finish with a better time. So far, a few of my friends have elected to run in concrete sneakers alongside me. The infamous cousin J will be joining me for his first half.  My friend Rebecca will also be running her first half. My friend Michele told me that she would like to run the full. She is a half fanatic and has already run one full.  The last time I trained for a half I used this training plan. It seemed to work pretty well and I increased my mileage slowly and felt confident with the distance. Are you interested in challenging yourself? Are you a slower runner? Are you interested in Running in Concrete Sneakers with us? Let me know. I would love for us to be able to encourage each other! You'll also get a snazzy little tee!! Check it out!!! The Joes will also be sporting these when they complete the 5K!