Update: July 2008

I wasn't planning on having another update post this month, but alas I slacking on my blogging again. It is easier for me to write a post about me and what is going on in my life than it is for me to compose something more thought out. I still have a few posts brewing, but every time I sit down to write them I get frustrated with the incoherency of my thoughts. I think what I really need are a few old-fashioned high school brain storming sessions. Majoring in a science has not helped with my creative writing ability...

In any case, for me this month (and next month?) is about meeting a few athletic goals:

1. I want to run 3 miles at a 9:30 minute/mile pace. I know that's pretty slow for some of my friends, but since I haven't run competitively since high school its a good goal for me. As soon as I get to that goal I am going to start running with a local running club called the Daybreakers. They meet at 5:00am... but I know if I start running with them I will be motivated to boost my pace and my mileage. I am logging my runs here (click "View my training log" at the top).



2. I want to be able to do 100 push ups. This is to help me build upper body strength... since I really don't have any. The four athletic activities I do most often are running, hiking, biking, and yoga - none of which help my arms out at all (well yoga may help a little). I used to swim a lot, but lately I have been more into my land-based workouts, so to balance it out I am going to do pushups! I was inspired by a user group forum at runningahead.com. My workout program can be found here if you want to join me.

Besides working out this month I have been working in the lab, a lot. Research is still going well, though, and I am excited to be starting a new project where I will be using a virus to trace axons within the brain. Its great because I get to integrate my passion for molecular biology and my love for neuroscience into one awesome experimental set up.

Somehow this month I have also found time for fun! You can ask any of the people I spent the 4th with about that. Maybe I had a little too much fun... but hey, we all need a little break sometimes, right?

My Life Goals (In No Particular Order)

Get PhD

Have own lab

Win Nobel Prize

Consistently Eat Healthy

Consistently Stay Fit

- Run

- Swim

- Bike

- Weights

- Yoga

- Hiking/Backpacking

- Snowboarding

- Surfing?

- Scuba Diving?

- Do one or more triathlons

- Do one or more 5K and 10K races

Get Scuba Diving Certification

Go Skydiving

See the world

- Visit every continent

- Visit Japan

- Visit Hong Kong

- Visit New Zealand

- Visit Australia

- Visit Britain

- Visit France

- Visit Spain

- Visit Germany

- Visit Amsterdam

- Visit Italy

- Visit Greece

- Visit Egypt

- Somewhere in Africa (Humanitarian work in Tanzania?)

- Somewhere in South America (Humanitarian work in Chile?)

- Go to Alaska

- Go on a Multinational Cruise

Live Abroad

Speak Spanish Fluently

Live on a Beach

Live Simply

Be an Interesting Person

Be Environmentally Responsible

- Eat Local when Possible

- Don’t Eat Meat

- Recycle

- Use Less Energy

- Use Less Fossil Fuels

- Buy from Environmentally Responsible Companies

Have a Dog

Have a Parrot

Have Kids?

- Put Kids in Good Schools

- Make them Play Instruments

- Make them Learn a Language

- Make them Play Sports

- Raise them to be Morally Responsible Atheists

- Know them, Love them, and Support them

Donate Money to Worthy Charities

Do Humanitarian Work More Often

See Everything Possible

Experience Everything Possible

Know Everything Possible

Working it Out

It's a widely spouted "statistic" that the average American gains between 7 and 10 lbs over the holiday season. While a New England Journal of Medicine article showed those numbers to be exaggerated, it is still probable that most of us put on a pound or two over the holidays. I know I did.

Of course the abundance of food during the holiday months is one culprit, besides that holiday foods seem to be oh-so-succulent and full of calories compared to the food we might eat the rest of the year. I mean how often do you have a honey-glazed ham in July or a piece of pumpkin cheesecake with whipped cream in March? Also there seems to be an understanding during the holidays that eating healthy doesn't need to be a priority, after all it is a special occasion, right?

And I don't know about you but the business of the holiday season wreaked havoc on my workout schedule. In October I was working out 4 days a week but halfway through December with finals and gift shopping on my mind my workouts became weekly or worse.

Now that school is back in session and holidays are getting smaller in the rear-view mirror (though let me just throw out a "screw you" to Valentine's Day and its associated candy) I am finally back in a place where healthy eating and exercise are on the table. I mentioned in my post on New Year's Goals that staying in shape this year is a priority for me, and here are a few things I plan to do to accomplish that goal:

1. Stay away from french fries and pizza as much as possible.
I am not a sweets person at all (thankfully) though I do enjoy and occasional dark chocolate bar or bag skittles. No, my biggest temptation is greasy salty foods. I love french fries and can scarf them down in inspiring quantities, and I have been known to eat 4 or more slices of pizza for dinner multiple times a week. Now I agree that neither fries nor pizza is particularly terrible on occasion, all I'm saying is that cutting down on the number of occasions I have them wouldn't be a bad thing in my case.

2. Cut down on the diet soda intake.
By far my biggest health vice is the over-the-top amount of Diet Pepsi I drink. I am a vegetarian so I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, I don't consume too much saturated fat or sugar, and generally I follow doctor's orders as far as getting my vitamins and 64 ounces of water daily... but wow do I drink a lot of diet soda. When I'm at school I usually drink about 4 glasses a day, and when I'm at Matt's apartment it can be twice that. I console myself that though fake sugar isn't the best thing in the world, its better than all of the real sugar in non-diet soda... but several recent studies have shown that people who drink lots of diet pop are just as bad off as people who drink regular when it comes to things like diabetes risk and obesity. No good. I think that I can sacrifice my Diet Pepsi for water if it means a healthier mid-life, thanks.

3. Eat more Omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid, and antioxidants.
Omega-3s are great for your heart, folic acid is vital for women my age (especially if we plan to have kids someday), and antioxidants prevent cancer. Need I say more? Probably not but I will. It is harder to get Omega-3s than one might think. The main sources I know are flaxseed and salmon, not to mention soy milk that is fortified with Omega-3s. One think I want to try is making fresh basil pesto using flax-seed oil instead of olive oil, I bet its as good as it is good for you. As far as folic acid I just try to get it in my vitamins and cereals though I'm sure I could do better. And ah antioxidants: they seem to be in every fruit and veggie don't they (especially those greens)? Of course some of the best sources I have heard are tomatoes, cranberries, blueberries, and pomegranate. I could stand to have a few more of those in my diet.

4. Build up, mix up, and maintain the exercise.
Thus far I have run 2 miles a day each day of February (not to mention biking and lifting). Of course it is only the 3rd day of the month, so I'm sure I won't be able to say that for long. Really what I want to do this year is increase the speed and distance I run regularly, cross train more, and keep a steady workout schedule for the entire year. Right now 2 miles is my standard run, though I sometimes run 3 miles to challenge myself. I would love to run 3 miles twice a week and 5 miles once a week and to build my speed from 11 minute miles to 10 or 9 minute miles. Also, I swam twice a week every week last semester -- it would be awesome if I could do that this semester as well. Biking once or twice a week and mixing in some upper body weight training would round out my workout. Listing it here, it seems quite ambitious but really it works out to about an hour and a half at the gym 5 or 6 days a week. Besides, I have been talking about doing a triathlon for over a year now, and if I really stick to these fitness goals this could be my year.

New Year's Goals

It is already almost the end of January, so I guess I have gotten a late start... but I thought I should still at least note the things I want to do in 2008:

1. Write More and More Often
As mentioned in my first post, I have started spending more time playing games and stumbling than doing things that are creative and productive, so my goal is to change that this year by writing more on this blog and on other blogs, and perhaps by creating something for publication such as a short story or a poem. In fact I have considered writing a novel, maybe this is my year?

2. Stay in Shape
In 2007 I managed to get in shape and lose a lot of weight, but over the holidays I became lax in my workout schedule and eating habits, which caused me to gain some of the weight back. This year I want to work out regularly (3-4 times a week) and eat healthfully throughout the year instead of in spurts. For me working out usually means running on the treadmill or perhaps riding a stationary bike. This year I want to start doing yoga again, start snowboarding again, and ride my bike outside more often. I used to do those things all the time, but it has been a while. Another thing I would like to do more often is hike and backpack.

3. Cultivate Friendships, Old and New
Since I have been in college I have become somewhat introverted and even shy. I don't know why... in high school I was quite the extrovert and even still I love being social. Its just that in college I have gotten wrapped up in my own life to the point that friendships have fallen by the wayside. To counter that I want to start making a point to spend time with friends I have and also to make new friends whenever possible. On a practical level this means making dinner dates and plans to go out together, calling friends as I think of them, and starting up conversations with the people around me instead of just going about my day thinking about all of the things I need to be doing. I have learned that while there are always things to be done relationships need their own time and attention and should be a priority.

Those are really the main ones. I have several other goals, like I want to visit Europe or do a triathlon, but those are things that can wait. Hopefully by taking steps to better myself I will be able to accomplish everything in my lifetime.