I am going to run a marathon.

Not all at once, of course. I’m not suicidal. But today as I laced up my sneakers, I mentally added my miles up in my head. Since Sunday, I had run 18 miles. “Well,” I thought, “that’s kind of close to 26.2-ish!” So bam, a little late into the game, my goal was born.

I tried to figure out the best way to divide up the remaining eight miles. Since today was nice outside, I went for six. I’m only two miles away from reaching my goal. Except I think it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, which means I may have to painfully slog through those two miles on the treadmill.

I was also pleased with myself because, I reasoned, if I was able to pound out 24 miles in six days, that must mean that I wasn’t THAT out of shape, right?

Considering that you’re really not supposed to randomly run 4 miles one week and then 24 the next, I believe that this exercise plan may be unsustainable. As in, I’m capable of running quite a distance, but will I make this a regular part of my routine?

No.

I officially have even more respect for Sarah than I did before, because this girl takes one rest day per week and runs five to six miles every single time she goes outside. I cannot imagine spending every week with the kind of exercise schedule I have been following, much less the kind of exercise schedule she follows.

The main problem with running is that it’s tedious. I do have a good time mentally sorting out what I’m going to eat the rest of the day, choosing some outfits and figuring out what I’m going to do with my life. But that can only keep me entertained for so long.

I wish I lived near a nice trail or body of water. But 6th Street will simply have to do.

In celebration of my almost-week-long-marathon, my father and I headed to Ingredient for lunch. I ordered the Asian salad, sans fried wonton crisps and accompanying sourdough roll. When we returned home, I found that both my mother and sister had brought home Encore leftovers.

If you’re a human, you don’t just let Mongolian beef sit in the fridge. So I nibbled. And then I nibbled a little more. And eventually the nibbling turned into shovelling, and the shovelling left me with a near empty container.

Sarah listed a fruit popsicle as a “treat that I deserve”. I haven’t yet eaten a fruit popsicle this week, so I’m going to trade in the afternoon Mongolian beef snack for the fruit popsicle as my one “treat.” Those two foods are obviously comparable calorie and fat wise. Whoops.

I think I could probably cut out cakes, cookies, pies and such for a month or two. But not being able to eat a turkey panini from Ingredient or the Ma-Po tofu from Encore is quite challenging. Grilled cheese sandwiches used to be a staple of mine, and yes, it’s been tough transitioning. But I think I miss these unhealthy entrees more than I miss dessert.

With that thought, I may go downstairs to eat just one more bite of my dad’s leftover panini. But I had fish and sweet potatoes for dinner, so that has to count for something.