Hi, guys! 
I’m putting in a couple of extra hours at NuVal today and tomorrow, so I prepared this afternoon’s lunch post right after eating breakfast this morning. It was sort of weird blogging about lunch just minutes after finishing my breakfast post, but I guess it’s never too early to start thinking about your next meal! 
Lunch
Once again, I tried to pack another well-rounded lunch that covered the nutritional bases. I’m probably a little low in the protein department, but I think I did well everywhere else.
Carrots and Oikos Greek yogurt + Uncle Sam’s cereal.
A Gala apple and FruityNut bar.
And now for a guest post…
Guest Post: My First Marathon
Hello Carrots ‘N’ Cake readers! I’m grateful for the opportunity to write a guest post here on Tina’s blog to share the story of my first marathon experience.
I’d always dreamed of completing a marathon someday. But I only dreamed, until one day 7 months ago, when I did something crazy. On a whim, I entered my name into the lottery for the New York City Marathon. When I clicked “submit” I assured myself that I wouldn’t get in, because after all, I have never known anyone to get in through the lottery. Well, imagine my surprise a month later when I got an e-mail saying: “Congratulations! You’ve been accepted into the 2009 New York City Marathon!” After reading the e-mail, I was slightly in shock, but quickly decided to get up and moving and begin the journey of training for a marathon.
Since I began training for this marathon, many people have said to me, “I could never run a marathon.” Well, I’m here to tell you that if I can do it, anyone can. It’s not easy, but it is an attainable goal. I’ll never forget the first time I attempted to run a mile – I only made it about 3 minutes before having to walk the rest of the way. I slowly built up my endurance and completed a 5K. I then moved on to a 10K and then a couple of half-marathons before deciding I wanted to attempt a full marathon. I’ve never been a fast runner and my goal with each race I enter is to simply finish. I encourage anyone with a dream of completing a marathon to give it a try. Your body will surprise you with what it is capable of doing.
While creating my training schedule I questioned how I would stay motivated during this time, considering I would be tackling this alone. At this point, I decided to begin writing a blog, runningtails.wordpress.com, to hold myself accountable and allow my family and friends to be updated on my training. It was the best decision I made during the training process. Blogging about the trials and tribulations of marathon training not only held me accountable to my running schedule, but also gave me an outlet to share my accomplishments and frustrations.
Running the New York City Marathon was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Although I had been warned it was a challenging course, I knew that this was the marathon I wanted to be my first. The crowds and bands along the way were loud and encouraging. The views of the Manhattan Skyline were breathtaking as I crossed the various bridges throughout the course. By far, the best view along the course came just after re-entering Central Park and seeing the finish line ahead, lined with crowded bleachers that were filled with cheering fans. I definitely hit “the wall” at mile 20 and struggled to make it to the end, but crossing that finish line was one of the proudest moments of my life. I had become a marathoner. Something I had only dreamed of for so long.
So if you have always had that dream of running a marathon, go for it! Start slow, start a blog, and start chasing that dream.
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Question of the Day
For those of you on board for Lose the Dough, what type of information do you want me to include as part of my game plan?
{ 57 comments… read them below or add one }
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What are your specific goals? To lose inches? If so, where? Weight? Do you have a lifting goal ie amount of weight?
Congrats on the marathon! AMAZING. I just started training for my 1st half, very excited!
how was the FruityNut bar? Never heard of ‘em!
Great guest post — such a fun story – so inspirational!
Great guest post, so inspiring!
I really struggle with packing good lunches if I have no leftovers.
Thanks for the guest post . . .
Great guest post! Running a marathon always sounds so daunting but I feel like everyone in the blogging world talks about it!
Great guest post! I ran NYC this past year too! It really is an awesome marathon…. ALMOST as awesome as Boston…. but not quite.
Boston rocks!
For lose the dough, I’d like to know if you have any specific calorie/nutrient goals.
And great guest post!
Greek yogurt is pretty high in protein, so you should be ok. As for “Lose the Dough”, I’m in a similar situation…I don’t really need to lose weight but I’d like to tone up some. I’m in on the challenge!
What an inspiration! I would love to have the motivation to train for a marathon.
What a great guest post! I love reading about marathon stories
Calorie intact vs. calorie burn would be pretty interesting. Especially how much would equal a pound weight loss? I never really understood how it all actually worked.
Great guest post! I also entered NYC marathon on a whim a few years ago and was shocked when I got in! I havent actually gotten in through the loterry SINCE then!
I love your guest post. Wow. That’s a huge goal to accomplish! Good job!
I’m always thinking about my next meal : ) I would like you to include your meal game plan (duh), what “treats” you are allowing yourself, and your stats as they decrease/increase for encouragement. I’m so excited to begin!
Your lunch looks great
Great guest post! I’m hoping to start with a 5k this year and maybe do a half marathon next year.
ditto the above – any calorie/protein/carb goals, are those dependant on whether you lift or cardio that day? losing inches goal? pant size goal? etc.
Also, check out Janethas blog (meals and moves at wordpress) – she has been specifically detailing what she is eating, when, and specificall detailing what workouts she is doing and how many set:reps and the weight she lifts. love all the information she is providing – I think it would be helpful since you are doin this 5month challenge, that you detail EVERY little thing, for your readers.
Great guest post!! Very inspiring story! As for Lose the Dough, I would say eating plan, if you are shooting for a certain number of meals, or when and what types of treats you will allow. And measurements if you feel comfortable!
Great guest post! I loved that last line
“start slow, start a blog”
Great guest post! I think it would be cool if you could include your weekly grocery list for Lose the Dough.
@Amanda@lessonsinmoderation: Check Trading Up Downtown tomorrow!
Your routine to loose the dough, what cardio you are doing, what strength training and what you are eating.
I used to always think about lunch the night before since I had to pack it to take to work. But it got me into the habit of planning a balanced day from the get go and not being hungry. With teaching I couldn’t leave to go find a more fulfilling snack if I got hungry mid class.
sounds like me starting to run haha. i was so terrible when I first started.
I would like to know how you plan to lose the weight. Calorie counting, or just generally cutting out certain foods? Also, how much weight are you planning to lose?
I’m in for losing the dough…I’ve started already ..slowly. I’m planning to lose about 5 pounds.
Awesome guest post. I’m going to run my first 5K in a couple months and maybe I’ll even get myself to a 10K this year! Woohoo!
great guest post! what an inspiration! I loev when she said thatyour body is capable of doing so much more than you think! such advice and so true I hope to run lots of 5k’s this spring in beautiful boston!
enjoy your lunch, quite well rounded and DELISH!
I’m totally on board for Loose the Dough! I need to loose 5 pounds I recently gained and am having difficulties making time to go to the gym. I would love to know more about your cardio and weight lifting routine. Thanks a lot for sharing.
I’d be interested in seeing the nutritional changes that you make over the next 5 months – calories, food groups, etc. It’s tough to navigate social events while trying to cut back on indulgences!
the usual stuff –
workouts – whats involved each day whether it be strength training, cardio, a class, etc.
food log obviously
just your mood in general, how ur feeling… whats been good, whats been a struggle, what challenges…
if youre doing anything else different than you normally would do, say cutting out certain foods or sweets or something like that…
I guess I feel just basically your blog now
haha… Good Luck =)!!!
Great guest post! The 2009 NYC Marathon was my first marathon too! It WAS such an amazing feeling to run through the city and to cross the finish line in Central Park. I get goosebumps just thinking about it now! I’ll have to check out her blog!
I’ve been eating a Gala apple every single day with lunch and can’t get enough — plain, with nut butter or sprinkled with cinnamon, it’s always a sweet snack.
Great guest post!
Fantastic guest post!
Great guest post….very motivating! I’d love to hear about calories and specific meal planning/grocery shopping for Lose the Dough!!!
I love how you have a lil mix of everything in your lunch!!
Jenna
It would be awesome if Lose the Dough included:
daily calorie intake – maybe what you’re aiming for
daily workouts – duration + content
any other helpful tips you discover
monthly check-in on your stat? if you feel comfortable
This is a great challenge! I’m getting married this May and had already begun a sort of ‘challenge’ on my own, but even better now that others are in on it!
What an awesome guest post! I’m training for my second half marathon this Spring but I’m starting to think a marathon might be in my future, eventually
I’d love to hear about any challenges you are facing along the way on your Lose the Dough endeavor. It helps sometimes to see someone else struggling with the same issues as me and how they deal with them.
Congratulations on running a marathon! It definitely scares me but it sounds like with the right training, anyone can do it.
I’m really interested in your lose the dough challenge but I don’t necessarily want to participate… I would be happy to lose about 5 pounds but I already work out and love what I do. I run, spin, do body pump classes or free weights and am trying to incorporate yoga once a week. I guess what I am most interested in is dietary changes. I often wonder if I am eating properly for my workouts and recovery…
What a great guest post – congratulations on the marathon! You are an amazing girl
This was a great guest post! Thank you for this, perfect timing. I just signed up for my first 5k – and I’m not a runner. But reading about others who didn’t think they could run, but then go on to complete a marathon, is just the kind of inspiration I need!
Like others, I’d be interested in seeing your calorie intake versus calories burned (not necessarily exact, of course
). I’m always curious about how much or how little it takes for others to lose weight. Sometimes I need to eat MORE calories if I want to lose, and other times it takes less (hate those times, haha).
Also, are you going to be increasing your cardio, strength training, or both?
How inspiring! Thanks for sharing that story. Congrats on the marathon!
love the guest post! i’d love to see the portion sizes and how you determine intake on that. i feel like i’m hungry all the time, so portions are a big thing for me
Tina – LOVE the well rounded lunch – easy, healthy and delicious.
LOVED the 1/2 marathon guest post – totally inspirational -thanks for sharing
Awesome guest post, that is so inspiring!!! It’s so cool to think that you can do ANYTHING you set your mind to! Running a marathon is one of my goals and I know it will be hard but i’m excited for the challenge!
That is a great story!
I’d like to see what you are doing differently from what you did before. Like are you eating differently, working out more, etc.
I am a lunch-packer who blogs about food, too, and you’ve just inspired me to start taking pictures when I pack my lunch as opposed to when I eat it. I have no idea why that occurred to me just now, but I wanted to say that you gave me the idea.
Love the first marathon re-cap. Go, girl!
Low on protein? Sounds like there is always room for a soy latte, if it were me. Hahaha
Awesome guest post!
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